replacing quarter panel

[chevynut]

I wonder if the buyer knew the joints were lap welded. You can hide just about anything with bondo...for a while. I'd be pissed if I found out.

What made the car worth $245K? Got any pics?

[BAM55]

I wonder if the buyer knew the joints were lap welded. You can hide just about anything with bondo...for a while. I'd be pissed if I found out.

I would also be pissed on a car of that magnitude, but they may never find out as often as those show cars change hands. Now a car I buy on the street I expect and seen awful things but a car that is work 245,000 It better look good in bare metal.

Personally I've never seen a car I thought was worth 245,000 no matter how good it looks. I know there are a few that sale with that price tag, but man that is a lot of money to pay for a car lap welds or no lap welds. I saw some very famous car builders rides up close and personal and I was not impressed the body work and I've seen some garage built rides that were straight as an arrow. All I'm saying is quality of work is not always reflected in that price tag.

Not only speaking in general terms I have not seen this 245,000 dollar car.

[Rick_L]

There's an awful lot of cars from "name shops" that have a LOT of bondo, some with a butter coat over the whole car. You can level it with block sanding but will it stay that way?

One of the things I'd fear about a lap weld would be thermal expansion. Will there be a witness line if the car sits in the sun all day?

[BAM55]

There's an awful lot of cars from "name shops" that have a LOT of bondo, some with a butter coat over the whole car. You can level it with block sanding but will it stay that way?

One of the things I'd fear about a lap weld would be thermal expansion. Will there be a witness line if the car sits in the sun all day?

Yes I agree totally.

[Tabasco]

I found a picture of the $240,000 car. Here is a link to their website http://patricksclassycars.com/ They have pictures of several high dollar cars.

[Run-em]

If you can't get to it to seal it if butt welded, how is a lap joint going to be fully sealed?

[chevynut]

Wow, that's a nice 57 but I sure don't see $240K in it. They don't even show pics of the engine or chassis. The wheels seem low-buck to me. The buyer probably likes red. LOL!

[chevynut]

This is a car buddy of mines 57 and I think it is every bit as nice as that car posted other than the fact that its not a convertible. He has at the most 40-50 in his car and that is because he farmed out a lot of the work.

I don't know how he built that car for $40-50K farming out a lot of the work. I have about $45K in my Nomad and I've done 100% of the work so far. I also shopped for good deals on parts, like the 502 longblock I bought for $4400 an the Ramjet EFI I pieced together with new parts. I have $2200 in the exhaust alone, counting the EW headers, stainless magnaflow mufflers, DMH cutouts, and all of the 3" stainless v-band clamps, tubing and mandrel bends I welded together myself. I have most of the parts now, but still have paint, chrome, and interior work to get done.

[Rick_L]

Even if he did all the work himself, how can he say he made a profit? Is his time not worth anything, even if it wasn't cash out of his pocket?

As for the $264000 convertible, the buyer didn't pay market price. Nice restored stock 57 convertibles sell for $45-50k, I find it hard to believe you'd have to pay $75k for the mods on it. So that's $125, and you can't get that back out of it most days most places. Cheap wheels? Those appear to be Budniks, and they aren't cheap by my standards, though there are ways to spend more.

You seem to have a double standard on the wheels vs. the other costs you boast.

[BAM55]

Even if he did all the work himself, how can he say he made a profit? Is his time not worth anything, even if it wasn't cash out of his pocket?

Rick I agree with you on my buddy's ride I thought that was low but he is happy with the money so who am I to argue. I hated the fact that he sold it but he sold it to friend of his. I guess when you owned the car for many years, you forget all the work that went into them. Plus we all know we could never get back the labor that went into them. Plus he may feel that way because it was cash at one time and not spread over the build for years like he built it. I don't know its not my car and I would not have sold it for that. I told him that and other guys I know told me they would and they have clean cars so I thought maybe I'm the sentimental one.lol

My point was I could not image what a 240 thousand dollar classic car looks like. I've seem some beautiful cars in my life but 243,000, a 100,000 yes even 120 but 240 man that's crazy. That car must have pure gold exhaust, brake and fuel lines.

[chevynut]

LOL.You have to have friends Chevynut.lol He farmed out to friends and have buddies that can do what he can't. Like body and paint. I've done IFS installations for buddy's for as little as 600 bucks those are friend prices. Also bartering is possible you do something for me and I'll do something for you.lol You paint my car and I'll install your front and rear suspension or fab your dash or whatever.

That's cheating. If I counted the money I made from my C4 conversions, my car cost me nothing.

Besides, we're not talking about labor, which is what friends might do. I'm talking about parts only. I could have bartered some, but if I sell my parts and buy other parts isn't that the same as bartering? I have sold lots of Tri5 and corvette parts. Some of this gets philosophical.

I don't know what the hell you guys are doing but man you guys are spending a hell of a lot of money.

I keep a spreadsheet with my costs, just for grins. Here's a quick high-level summary of what I've spent so far:

Car $500
Body/trim $11200 (sheetmetal, liftgate straightening, moldings, fillers, primers, supplies)
Chassis $3300 (seamless frame, suspension, coilovers, steel)
Engine/Acc $9500 (longblock, manifolds, sensors, TB, ECM, alt, brackets/pulleys)
Exhaust $2250 (headers, stainless tubing/bends, mufflers, v-band clamps, cutouts)
Trans/clutch $4200 (T56, shifter, clutch, TO bearing, fork, slave, master, driveshaft)
Fuel system $850 (tank, pump, sender, plumbing)
Cooling $1200 (fans, radiator/condenser, sensors, overflow)
Steering $950 (column, u-joints, shaft, steering wheel)
A/C $1350 (evap kit, lines, bulkhead, fittings)
Interior $1480 (seats, seatbelts, Raammat, mirror)
Wheels/tires $2100
Brakes $2482 (Baer kit, ABS brake pump, prop valve, plumbing)
Electrical $2300 (wiring, door lock/window/fan/light controllers, fuse panel, cruise control, battery, battery box, pdl, pw, raingear, keyless entry)


I'll bet most guys have 30-50% more in their cars than they say, when you add the "nickel and dime" stuff. It really adds up. Plus I've spent thousands on tools and equipment to build the car.

[Rick_L]

Looking at your list, it's very easy to pile up a bunch more expense in fittings, connectors, fasteners, welding rod, sandpaper, specialty tools, and the list goes on and on. Stuff that's not a big ticket item on your list but associated with every one of them. I know I buy these kind of things 3-4 times a month, and the bill is a lot more than the cost of a meal or even a tank of gas.

[BAM55]

That's cheating. If I counted the money I made from my C4 conversions, my car cost me nothing.

Oh and by the way I was wrong about the yellow 55. I talk to a buddy last night who told me it sold for 37 thousand, still too low if you ask me, but he is happy.

It may be cheating but I don't have that kind of money.lol I don't count money that did not come out of my pocket I consider that a trade.lol I have gotten rearends, engines, heads, cams, tools through the barter system. I don't count that towards my build. Also most of my car buddy cars are garage or backyard paint jobs and thats a huge expense these days.

I'll bet most guys have 30-50% more in their cars than they say, when you add the "nickel and dime" stuff. It really adds up. Plus I've spent thousands on tools and equipment to build the car.

I could not agree more I believe that to be true. I don't think people count the nickel and dime stuff and yes it does add up thats why we don't like to count it.lol Sand paper, flap disc, cutoff wheels, welding wire, welding gas, scrap metal, filler, etc. adding that stuff would make you crazy. Not to mention the screw ups and redos.lol

I also keep a speadsheet but when I hit a certain total grand I deleted it.lol I just thought my wife does not need to see this.lol

Chevynut from what you've said you spent 45 so far. For the sake of agreement lets say you spent another 20 for paint and interior. That brings us to 65 grand. The hell with it lets add another 10 grand because its play money.lol As nice as your ride is I can really see that. 75 grand and you have a beautiful nomad. Just like I can see that guy with the black convert caddy had 70-80 in that car. I also could see the purchaser paying 98 for it. But a quarter of a million for a car that looks no better than any other nicely built car. I know it sold for that I looked that webpage but that is just crazy. Maybe its just me it but I don't see anything special about it other than its a very nice convertible.

[Troy]

Chevynut, I don't see the drivers side rear quarter Belair Script and Shield or holes in these pics are you adding them later?

Bam, I agree with you that it will likely be harder to make the panels straight if they're lapped, and will probably require more filler.

I did those quarters quite a while ago as you can see by the dates. It took virtually no filler to make them smooth, except at the joint to the rocker. I sprayed a couple coats of SlickSand over the epoxy, and that's about all it took. I replaced both quarters.

This is the car now, in final primer....

[chevynut]

Troy, the holes are there, they just don't show up in the pic. I stuck some used parts on the passenger side and didn't put any on the driver's side. Here's another pic where you can kinda see them....