ok so my car is at the media blaster now and Im starting to research body shops in the san leandro oakland, ca area. I don't want to spend a fortune, under 5k, but good. anyonehave any expirence in this area or any recomendations? btw, the body is rough (panels missallighned/poor welding)but rust free.

 

I wish I would have had my engine bay blasted.. It would have saved sooo much time on my part and came out looking alot cleaner... Im not too sure about shops in your area,, I just wanted to say that I think your doing the right thing getting it blasted..

 

thank you boogerschnot. i wish i had not rushed through the rust repair, i would feel a lot beter learning on somthing other than my pride and joy. oh well thats why its learning

 

I used Group II in San Leandro for my hood. I thought they did a good job. It was $500 to fit, prep, primer, paint, clearcoat, polish and install... including hood pins. I did provide my own paint which was a good match (not perfect, but hard to tell) from Finish Master just off Marina Blvd in San Leandro.

I just had it done about a month ago.

Bob is the owner of Group II. Its a small shop, no advertising but he has been in biz for like 25 years I think he said. Really nice guy. He is a Ford guy and loves Mustangs. You might give him a call. 510.483.9977 is his # and you could tell him Luke with the 68 Coupe sent you. He would probably remember me.

Its hard to sift through all the body shops in Oakland and San Leandro. There are thousands. But personally I like to avoid the International Blvd/East 12th corridor and East Oakland in general. This shop is in a good location in SL, on Lewelling @ 880. I found this guy by dumb luck but have been really happy with his work. He also says he does just about anything else because he has built a lot of Mustangs over the years. I will probably use him to help me install a front disc brake conversion eventually.

As far as price, I dont know if he will be under $5000. You should just be blunt with him about what you can afford. I am sure he will want to see your car before throwing out any numbers. He does quality work on some VERY nice classics and some work on average Joe cars so I would imagine he could work with your budget depending on how deep you wanted to go. Obviously the more prep work (sanding, straightening...) the better price you could probably negotiate.

Anyways, hope this helps. Good luck!

BTW, here are some pics of my hood:

 

Thank You very much I'll check them out.

 

Good luck with it. I know it is a hard decision trying to figure out who to go with. I am sure there are plenty of quality shops around. I just know I would use Group II again in a heartbeat and I dont come out of every shop with that feeling!