1966 Rust Repair and Paint

[yeaitsgotaslant6]

Hello.

So, I’m finally making the choice to restore my mostly original car. I love the car, and while I could hunt down an example in better shape, I doubt I’ll find an ordered hardtop in more desirable colors (for me at least.)

But, while I’ve priced out a new top, interior, suspension upgrades, motor freshen up, AND I just bought a parts car with all of the needed parts to replace what needs (back light box for the center console, front right fender and trim work, AND an A/C dash to add in Vintage Air during the resto...) I could speculate all across the board what it will take to get the metal work done right, and a decent application of correct single stage CC-1 PPG Powder Blue and clear on the car.

I am NOT going for a 1000 point car.
Done right to factory spec is fine with me.
I drive my cars, I’m fine with middle of the road decent.

I guess my questions are, what you guys think about the metal needs/ cost to do it.

And ballparks on paint.

Would you attack paint yourself? If you have, what do you think about what I have here?

I did look through a couple pages of this particular forum, and I’m sure somewhere there is relative threads, PLEASE link me to them.

I appreciate you all in a way I can’t tell you.

I'm no child anymore, but around here I shut up and let the adults talk.

Thanks for your time.

 

[yeaitsgotaslant6]

A few additional...

 

[BigCah]

What a beauty! I also have a 66 300 ...have a love for them. That color is da-bomb! Thanks for all the photos, rust doesn’t look bad at all. Do you have any good pics of the interior and dash you could show us?

 

[yeaitsgotaslant6]

Sure do. Pictures of the Blue 300

And also pictures of the parts car I just picked up.

 

[yeaitsgotaslant6]

A few pictures of the parts car.

 

[Davea Lux]

I love this color combination. I am not trashing your car here, but this would be my honest evaluation. The lower part of of both rear quarters below the trim line will need to be cut out and spliced with fresh rust free metal from a donor car. They appear to have been previously patched with bondo. The rust on the upper trim line appears to be superficial and can probably be cleaned up and resealed after the trim is removed. The trim on the back window may or may not have rust perforation hiding under there. Front fender rust and hood rust is superficial. Passenger rear wheel well also appears to have rust creeping out of bondo, the arch will need to be cut out and replaced with clean metal. What sort of shape is your trunk floor in? A lot of cars with lower quarter rust also have rusty trunk floors. It would also be a good idea to inspect the stub frame and rear frame rails before committing to a lot of body work. You will be into some significant expense to do the rust cut out and splicing at a body shop, probably something approaching $3k, possibly more. If you are good with shop tools and a wire feed welder, these are repairs you can do yourself for a lot less money. A quality repaint once the body has been cleaned up will run another $4-$5k. I do not think trying to paint the car yourself is a good idea. Paint components are highly toxic and you can kill yourself from inhaling paint fumes. The isocyanates in paint products are known carcinogens as are some of the metallic pigments. You need a full body paint suit and a fresh air respirator to do automotive paint work.

Dave

 

[yeaitsgotaslant6]

I love this color combination. I am not trashing your car here, but this would be my honest evaluation. The lower part of of both rear quarters below the trim line will need to be cut out and spliced with fresh rust free metal from a donor car. They appear to have been previously patched with bondo. The rust on the upper trim line appears to be superficial and can probably be cleaned up and resealed after the trim is removed. The trim on the back window may or may not have rust perforation hiding under there. Front fender rust and hood rust is superficial. Passenger rear wheel well also appears to have rust creeping out of bondo, the arch will need to be cut out and replaced with clean metal. What sort of shape is your trunk floor in? A lot of cars with lower quarter rust also have rusty trunk floors. It would also be a good idea to inspect the stub frame and rear frame rails before committing to a lot of body work. You will be into some significant expense to do the rust cut out and splicing at a body shop, probably something approaching $3k, possibly more. If you are good with shop tools and a wire feed welder, these are repairs you can do yourself for a lot less money. A quality repaint once the body has been cleaned up will run another $4-$5k. I do not think trying to paint the car yourself is a good idea. Paint components are highly toxic and you can kill yourself from inhaling paint fumes. The isocyanates in paint products are known carcinogens as are some of the metallic pigments. You need a full body paint suit and a fresh air respirator to do automotive paint work.

Dave

THANK YOU this is the type of answer I'm looking for!

So, i posted a couple extra pictures above, I have several donor quarters available, (I've been hording a bit), I kept these because I hoped that having the pieces available would bring the fabrication cost way down?

I can't weld. I have zero experience with metal work.

But $4-5k for paint is music to my ears. (I've been sweating hearing about $10k paint jobs that simply sound like I'm asking for concourse level work for a car I drive.)

 

[Newport 66]

That's a beautiful color combination!
Bodywork is definitely a skilled trade and as Dave pointed out paint fumes are nasty. Best to have a pro do it. You'll be very pleased with the results!

 

[Davea Lux]

THANK YOU this is the type of answer I'm looking for!

So, i posted a couple extra pictures above, I have several donor quarters available, (I've been hording a bit), I kept these because I hoped that having the pieces available would bring the fabrication cost way down?

I can't weld. I have zero experience with metal work.

But $4-5k for paint is music to my ears. (I've been sweating hearing about $10k paint jobs that simply sound like I'm asking for concourse level work for a car I drive.)

You can spend $10k for paint at a first line restoration shop, that will be for a factory perfect paint job. For a daily driver, a good exterior repaint will usually suffice and you can get that done for a lot less money. The important thing will be to remove all the accumulated rust. Having patch panels will bring the cost of the splicing down some, but body shops are a time driven enterprise, and their time is money, usually $100-$150 per hour. The bulk of the cost is always labor.

Dave

 

[stubs300]

I can't weld. I have zero experience with metal work.
But $4-5k for paint is music to my ears. (I've been sweating hearing about $10k paint jobs that simply sound like I'm asking for concourse level work for a car I drive.)

The bodywork, welding, etc. is going to bite your wallet in the booboo, don't kid yourself! If you can do 99% of the paint prep after all that bodywork, your best bet for paint is finding a Maaco and have them do the shoot. My brother did this and got out the door with a real good driver quality paint for under 5K. I love the color, don't change that! Good Luck

 

[The Goose]

Totally agree w Mr Stubbs. Do it yourself sanding will save you $$$$$.
If it truly is going to be a driver will you be able to park it and walk away for long minutes or even hours? I’ve had big buck paint jobs and it’s almost impossible to not babysit all that effort and expense. I painted mine at Maaco, the $300 spring special. Single stage enamel it is bright, shiny and looks good going down the road. I drive it down dirt roads, park it at the movies or downtown unsupervised for hours. Three days after it was painted I got my first door ding. Definitely not the tragedy it would’ve been on a $5000 paint job.

I got yelled at by a little kid for sitting on my hood at the Spring Fling. It was hilarious “Dad look at him he’s not supposed to be doing that”, pretty dang funny.

 

[Mike66Chryslers]

I highly recommend reading the article linked-to from this thread.
Why does bodywork and painting cost so much? We break it down

It basically says to figure out your expectations going in, decide what work you're comfortable doing yourself and what you want to leave to a shop. Then use those answers to guide you when approaching shops, to find one that will work well with you. I wish I had read this before starting my restoration, because it pointed out some things that I learned the hard way. I wound-up switching bodyshops halfway through my resto.

Also, you'll get a more accurate $ estimate from a shop if you're willing to tear into your car a bit first to expose the problem areas. With some of that bubbling rust, they'd really like to see what it looks like under the paint.

It's good that you have a set of good replacement rear quarters but they're off a 4-door so they are about a foot short of the door on your 2-door. That's not a big deal if you're just replacing the lower quarter behind the wheel. I was in the same situation and one of my rear quarters was a mess. One shop I talked to wanted me to source a rear quarter from a 2-door, but the shop I wound-up at was able to graft the 4-door rear quarter in and it came out perfect.

 

[azblackhemi]

Something to consider if you do some of the bodywork or prep yourself is don't expect any type of warranty from the shop that paints it. They certainly won't guarantee what happens to their paint after something underneath it fails. Not trying to be a Donnie Downer and discourage you to do your own work but it needed to be pointed out.

 

[mrfury68]

Any work you can do yourself will save you money on the project obviously. The grunt work like removing trim pieces and bumpers are things you can do. Do you know of a body man who does side work? His overhead isn't as high and you pay him cash so you get a better price. Be careful though as you would hiring anybody to do work for you. References and quality of work are important. I do not have any skills in body work or paint either so I can relate. Take your time, do your research, get a factory service manual if you don't have one. The car looks to be in decent shape for its age. The rust areas are typical for these cars. Good luck with the project and keep us posted.

 

[yeaitsgotaslant6]

I highly recommend reading the article linked-to from this thread.
Why does bodywork and painting cost so much? We break it down

It basically says to figure out your expectations going in, decide what work you're comfortable doing yourself and what you want to leave to a shop. Then use those answers to guide you when approaching shops, to find one that will work well with you. I wish I had read this before starting my restoration, because it pointed out some things that I learned the hard way. I wound-up switching bodyshops halfway through my resto.

Also, you'll get a more accurate $ estimate from a shop if you're willing to tear into your car a bit first to expose the problem areas. With some of that bubbling rust, they'd really like to see what it looks like under the paint.

It's good that you have a set of good replacement rear quarters but they're off a 4-door so they are about a foot short of the door on your 2-door. That's not a big deal if you're just replacing the lower quarter behind the wheel. I was in the same situation and one of my rear quarters was a mess. One shop I talked to wanted me to source a rear quarter from a 2-door, but the shop I wound-up at was able to graft the 4-door rear quarter in and it came out perfect.

Awesome advice!!! Thank you!

Would it be weird if I asked what you paid? Even if you’d like to send it privately to me?

If you’re not comfortable with that, I completely understand.

thanks again!

 

[yeaitsgotaslant6]

Something to consider if you do some of the bodywork or prep yourself is don't expect any type of warranty from the shop that paints it. They certainly won't guarantee what happens to their paint after something underneath it fails. Not trying to be a Donnie Downer and discourage you to do your own work but it needed to be pointed out.

Yea, I’ve gathered that from here and elsewhere during research.

I can’t complain, I would do the same to a customer if it was the other way around. Can’t expect them to guarantee what they aren’t 100% involved in doing.

fair point!

 

[stubs300]

This is my brothers ride, he had body work done that he couldn't do and we did the rest, then sent it to Maaco. Cost was about $3500 back in 2006. Good Luck

 

[yeaitsgotaslant6]

This is my brothers ride, he had body work done that he couldn't do and we did the rest, then sent it to Maaco. Cost was about $3500 back in 2006. Good Luck

I’d argue that that quality is good enough for me. I guess my feelings are, back in 1966, as the cars came down the assembly line, they weren’t being prepped for days on end. Primed, painted, cured off it went.

I want that quality. I get “lasting quality restoration” is the goal. But, if 10 years from now I need to paint the car again because I drive it to shows and pleasure cruises, that’s going to happen with a 5k paint job or a 20k paint job. It’s still a car. It’s still going to deteriorate.

I appreciate the video, things are getting far clearer for me.

Thanks.

 

[The Goose]

Something to consider if you do some of the bodywork or prep yourself is don't expect any type of warranty from the shop that paints it. They certainly won't guarantee what happens to their paint after something underneath it fails. Not trying to be a Donnie Downer and discourage you to do your own work but it needed to be pointed out.

Very very true and you oughta know.

You gotta work that out before hand. I’ve been doing this since the 80’s. I’ve gotten pretty good work out of the stoners at earl schieb until they closed. Anything special or a $$$ flip car I took to Bruce Painter the painter Lol!!! Now that I’m out here in California I’m kinda on my own. I have a few buddies who paint but it’s wayyy outta my price range. Maaco was pretty cool - find a private owned franchise and they’ll work with you. I got the full warranty over my crappy bodywork. They just charged me the extra $80 to “seal it” (okay???) and with my coupon it was still $300.

 

[TxDon]

That is a beautiful car as it sits. I'm sure my opinion will be in the minority but I would not restore that car, keep it original. Assuming you have no structural rust problems, I would just repair the obvious rust bubbles and do very selective painting of a few areas, matching the existing color. You can easily have a very nice looking car that remains driveable and you will not spend the fortune that restoration will cost.