I'm having work done on my 67' coupe right now. Its an indipendent business owner that rebuilds cars. I'm having the following done to my car:

Engine: New engine including new boss roller block, TF heads, carb intake, pistons the whole job.

Trans: Aode trans from another car (used)

Rear end: Brand new 8.8" rear end with locking diff, custom made new from the wearhouse.

Suspension: suspension package, roughly 800$

Labor from this guy. He's had my car all winter and hasn't done anything to it yet. He's only ordered the AODE trans and some engine parts.

Today he said he's charging 24,000 for the whole job. I want my car built for the street, not the track. 24k seem steep? I feel like I could buy a whole new car for that.

 

So.......you dropped your car off and agreed to have him do work before you had the total cost estimate supplied to you from him?

And on edit: suspension for $800? Not likely...I just bought a whole new FRONT at well below retail and it was $1300 for stuff and I didn't go overboard...it is all stock style stuff...reinforced uppers, roller perches, springs, shocks, sway bar, lowers, adjustable strut rods. For $800 you will get some parts reused and nothing upgraded past stock performance...if you are lucky.

 

That sounds steep... and gay that he's had your car for months and hasn't done anything....

 

Sounds standard for where I am, thats why most of us here do most of our own work. My local mustang shop charges about 25k for a complete build. I say do most of it yourself as you can, it takes time and patience, but you will learn a lot and save some money, hopefully.
Kip

 

yep steep is right, i work in a shop like that and i will admit do as much as you can on your own.

 

I would get my car back from him asap if I am understanding you here. $24k invested in your coupe for what you described is too high... I think you should trust your instincts and get ready to get some legal help if this guy tries to pull some BS on you. A simple letter from a lawyer on legal letterhead stating what you want and the rationale behind it will do the trick. We all know it's easy to dump money into these cars but this is not the way to do it.

You seem to have a bad feeling about this and I would get your car back asap. The guy sounds like bad news.

And you are right... For $24k, you could buy a VERY nice 67 Coupe.
Good luck with this!

 

If you drop your car off and tell him to build it up for the street, I'm sure he is happy to charge you 24k, especially if you are willing to pay it. Like said before, most of the people here are here to get info and advice on what to do themselves to avoid the 24k price tag. Most can't afford that, including myself. The only labor I've paid on mine so far was the blasting job to get it to metal. I am dreading the day I have to pay someone to do the body work, even though I will be very excited to get it done, but I hate paying someone thousands of dollars for a job not knowing if they will treat you right and hopefully will do a quality job. I'm planning $3-$4 for just body work, ready for paint. $24 sounds right if he's doing all the work and parts too. It isn't cheap to restore or rebuild these cars. It is a hobby for most and aren't most hobbies usually cost $$$.

 

Where to start.

AODE...why are you doing an electronic transmission?
Suspension...Get details. A coil over package costs 2500-4000 in just parts. I would want to know exactly what he is doing there.
Rearend...Why a 8.8? Most mustangs came with 9" and that is the preferred rearend for most all performance guys. 8.8 is what my Bronco has and it is good but not great.
Engine...You can spend 1000 or 20K on parts. I would ask for a parts list. (ex. he is using 4340 crank and rods? What compression ratio? Are the pistons forged? etc.)

Don't panic, but I would get more involved or you are going to get hosed. It kinda sounds like he has a bunch or parts laying around and is going to put them on your car. (i.e. why an AODE and 8.8 rearend?)

 

As far as the cost estimate- do some research and price all the parts and supplies it will take, then figure out the labor required for everything and add it all together. Take that figure and double it. That will be roughtly what it will cost to have everything you want then restored/fixed/replaced properly. You can go cheaper yes, but it's better to do it right the first time. You don't make money restoring or fixing up these cars, it costs more to do the work to them than the car will be worth once it's done.

Of course, don't always go with what the first person you find tells you, shop around and visit other people/shops to see what sort of cost they would come up with.

 

Okay, from what it sounds like, you are only having the work done that you listed: Engine, Tranny, Rear end, and Suspension. That said, get your car back from the guy as soon as possible. 24k is enough for an ENTIRE restoration, or at least very close. Unless he is installing the best of the best of everything, which he wouldnt need to for a street car, he is overcharging you. Not only that, he will not do quality work if he has had your car this long and has not accomplished anything.

Ill add a little story:
I had just purchased my mustang and took it to the first shop I could find (it had classic mustang in the name, so i figured it was good). All they were supposed to do was: new seats, seatbelts, and steam clean the engine bay. After about a month of them trying to install crappy rusted out seats for $1500, we still took it to them to have the rest of the work done. They kept it for about another month after quoting a 2 day job or something. They screwed up on the seatbelts: wrong color, not the kind we asked for, and holes were drilled incorrectly. ya, major safety issue. The seats were sub par... rusty and terrible plastic parts, also the wrong color. And, when the steam cleaned the engine bay, they decided to wash the rest of the car with the same strong power washer. They stripped off paint, damaged things, and got water on the interior of the car. My dad and I basically had to steal the car from them because we were afraid they would get pissed and start destroying it. The owner claimed he was gonna press charges, but then realized he would be screwed and just told us to forget about it...

So ya, after that, I am really careful about who does work on my car.