I just purchased a 1950 Chevrolet 3100 pick up. It has a custom bagged frame and new everything but paint and body work. It was chopped sectioned channeled and the hood pancaked. There is only small signs of rust and absolutely no bondo. Fenders have some dents like most classics do. You can see the welds around the hood new cab corners and wherever they are pretty much. The gaps around the hood and doors need a good amount of attention. I don't know much about the body work and was looking for some advice. Can the truck be taken to not quite show quality but a decent paint job? Or should I take it for what it is and leave it a good quality driver. I live in Chicago area if anyone is close by. Thanks Mitch
I'm sure those that are good with this sorta thing, will want some good clear pics of the areas you are describing, before answering
it is up to you as to how perfect it will be. but, finish work can really eat up manhours if you will be paying
figure at least $50.00 per hour, times 40 hours per week, thats $2000.00 per week with Hi-school math. And that is only for one man, most jobs have two men on it. Lotta shops are at $100.00 per man hour, like they said at the speed shop, Speed Costs Money, How Fast ya wanna Go, Kid?
Spend yer money to radius the fenders, all four round, will look fantastic. Get a good side view, have Moose photoshop it..
Drive it as is, looks good to me. How much $$ do you plan on spending (Budget) as it will soon get away from you.
Mitch, I vote AS IS... you can always paint it Trucks where made to be used The first ding after dropping $7k+ on good paint and body work will piss you off I've driven this for 4 years and I never worry about where I park it
If it were mine, I'd drive the wheels off of it this summer as it sits. That will give you enough time to shake it out and find what you like and don't like about it. If you just bought it, there may be other mechanical issues you need to get sorted first. Trust me, there will be plenty of time in the winter to work on the body. Go out and have fun with it for now.
It looks good, as is, but I'd paint it. You don't have to go for the Riddler award type paint job...do a driver quality.
I would do a driver quality paint job on it. But then I don't understand the desire for satin finish on otherwise nice vehicles.
Our local community college has an auto body class. They take in cars for the guys to learn body work on, supervised by the teacher. Your cost is the price of the materials used. I've seen some pretty decent jobs (and some just OK) roll out of there for around $500! You need to get your car signed up at the beginning of the class schedule (or before), and your ride will be tied up for several months. I suspect the instructor can give you an idea of what to expect, then, you get to decide if its worth the chance. Might be much better then watching a cool truck change into a rust pile. Gene
Clean it and smooth it as best you can and paint it. Even if you just use tractor paint and a light color to make up for your lack of experience in body work. Dents and dings look OK on a beater truck but yours has been customized a ton and dents and dings don't make for a good custom.
There's lots to be said about not driving a shiny car or truck. It sure is nice not having to worry about your paint all the time. They drive the same either way. Gary
The time-consuming labor does make for a smooth surface and good fit of body parts. Nuthin you couldn't do, after watching somebody with good technique show you around.
I like the looks of a clean primered ride. That being said,it doesn't work very well long term up north here in the hangnail. Most primer doesn't stop rust for very long. They use salt here. Most guys are itching to get their car out as soon as the snow is gone. Once the snow is gone it takes a few good rains to remove it from the roads. If you drive in one of these early rains, you are splashing salt on your ride. Paint gives you better protection. If it was me, I'd probably drive it for the summer and then plan on a paint job over the winter. Hard to tear apart a ride that's turnkey when the sun is shining.
Maybe I take a different attitude towards stuff like this, but IMHO, if you have a badass custom, it should be as nice as it can be. This certainly falls into that category. This truck has a lot of great custom work done to it, and has all the makings of what could be a truly outstanding custom. Pancaked hood, bagged, channelled... this is big timer stuff already done. You should find someone who can finish the car the right way and take it to the next level. I'm not talking Ridler contender stuff, but good, straight bodywork, proper gaps, shiny paint... done proper. When it comes to "just make it a nice driver", I think of less desirable cars or cars that don't have significant custom body work done. For example, I thought nothing of driving my beater 63 Fairlane all over the tri-state area in all weather, parking it in crowded parking lots, etc. But if someone smashed a door into the side of the candy paint on my '57, there would be a felonious assault to follow. I'm not sure how much money you have to spend, or what your ultimate objectives are with the truck, but that's how I see stuff like this.
Enough is enough. I'd enjoy it as it is, if I were you. Maybe add some pinstriping, panel painting, a flaked roof or flames when you feel like it. Unless you're a painter by trade, it doesn't make sense to make it "too nice". Just enjoy it!
I agree with the drive it this summer/season and enjoy it and figure out a plan for what you want to do. That truck is hell for familiar either from the truck board or from FB. The first time around on my truck in 1973 I was a fairly inexperienced 26 year old with a young family and a rather rough 48 chevy pickup that I had paid 75.00 for as a running and diving bush painted beater. I went from that to a painted truck with very few flaws in the body work in a three month period of time and drove it from McGregor TX to Tulsa for the 73 NSRA street rod nationals resplendent in 72 Monte Carlo Placer Gold that I didn't know I had to clear coat hence a satin paint job years before they were the hot lick. That body got pretty slick and smooth by this guy who didn't know much about body or paint work at the time but was willing to put in a lot of hours working one panel at a time until I got it to where I felt it would look presentable. I still drove it to work every day except when it was at my buddy's getting painted. I went after one panel at a time and worked that panel until I had it as good as my skills allowed and went to the next panel and worked it. Central Texas guys will remember Foster's paint supply That put lacquer primer and custom mixed paint in spray cans. As I didn't have an air compressor when I started I packed arm loads of spray can primer out of there at least twice a week. Late I used my father in laws little put put home made air compressor and what was probably a 5.00 spray gun to shoot the primer and I could buy primer and thinner by the gallon. If you get the body up to par for shiny paint there is usually someone who is prety handy with a paint gun who takes on side jobs and will shoot a pro quality paint job for a reasonable price as long as you buy all the materials and have it prepped. I even swapped rears and transmissions in one night and drove it to work the next day with open drive in the process.
For this style (custom), you are kind of stuck. With the current issues (panel gaps, dents, weld seams showing), you either leave it as a work-in-progress or do a pretty darn good paint job. The 'driver quality' thing is a cop-out. Body and paint is 90% prep. This truck and most older cars require a lot of work in the body just to get back to undamaged. The difference between adjusting all the gaps, fixing dents and finishing the seams, plus one round of blocking then paint (what most would consider a 'driver' and the bare minimum for this style) VS. going to the next step and working the edges to very consistent gaps (filing, welding, maybe another 8 hours AFTER the panels are all adjusted and the hinges are solid) and at least 1 more round of blocking would be a small percentage of the overall price. Consider this bringing it up to a modern car level. Better than the truck new, and good for local and regional shows, but not 'show quality'. That requires fitting each piece of trim, truly straight panels, cut and buff all surfaces, etc. That's going to increase the cost by multiples. So, I agree that you should enjoy it this summer, fix any issues or things you don't like, then consider how far you really want to take the finish. Contemplate colors, price out seals and hinges (if needed), check out local body shops, price out the chroming to go with that fresh paint, and have you priced interiors yet?
Get some recommendations for local shops, then talk to those shops about what it would cost to paint. If the work fits your budget, go for it. I think the whole thing about having a car that looks too nice is a copout...I've always been careful with my vehicles, whether they're shiny or not. I had a really nice paint job done on my daily driver a couple years ago, and it pretty much still looks like it did the day it rolled out of the shop.
I like the auto shop suggestion. The young guys guided by the instructor will love working on something awesome instead of another import. Choose a cool factory color and let them have at it.
Thanks guys. I love all the different opinions. This truck drives Better than any other air ride truck I have driven so I know it's the right truck to invest good body work and paint into. I think this winter I will get it down to metal myself and see how good I can get the gaps. If it looks good bare metal I might drive like that for 1 more summer. I have gotten prices from $5000 body work and flat black to $15000 shiny paint job. One guy told me it's the wrong truck to try and paint get another one. If anyone knows someone interested in a winter side project in the Chicagoland area please get me in touch with them. Having a hard time finding someone to refit the door windows too.