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E Type I Saw Yesterday

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Constance Martin

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Yesterday we went to a local Tech meeting hosted by a Automotive Paint and Repair place. True their forte is doing retro Hot Rods.
We were promised an E type to view that had just been finished.
I am not totally a purist, our 68 has triple carbs, and we know we will never show concours....but this poor E had a Leaper on her bonnet!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cryin.gif
The paint job was nice, but not perfect, the motor area was painted black, with the body being a 2003 Opalescent Green, the rubber around the bumpers was wonky, and the engine was filthy.
Since we are looking into a new paint job on our Ruby, when we asked how much for a paint job we were told atleast 20K.
For 20K I would personally like to see something much nicer than what we saw.
OK sorry to vent, but had to share my thoughts. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/angel.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif
 
$20,000 is really really high unless there is a lot of body work also. I have had 2 E-types painted for considerably less than that and the paint is perfect on both.

If you can do some preparation yourself it saves a bit. Such as remove whatever chrome and other parts not to be painted that you can. Not sure at what stage your car is.

Bruce
 
Here are photos of my "Ruby"


https://community.webshots.com/user/cotswoldjr

Her paint is great at 15/20', but has that lovely, haha, crackle patina. So she is due to go in and get a full body paint job.
She spent most of her life in a basement, and we have not found any traces of rust yet.
Pretty much have replaced everything, so have seen her up on the lift many times, and she is in getting a full heart/lung transplant as I type.
(engine).
My husband and I are willing to remove all the chrome, and even get her bead blasted and prepared to paint.
We know from a local very reputable painter that we should get a very good job for 5K to 8K.
This 20K quote was way over the top for the work done.
I think the guy thought he had a bunch of Jaguar owners with deep pockets.
Most of us are "Enthusiasts" not rich owners.
JMHO of course.
 
Most E Types will come in under $10K for body and paint work which includes strip to metal The only way a repaint could be $20K is if the body were a total rust out.
 
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/iagree.gif John's numbers sound right to me. I have seen a wonderful paint job on an MGB for 5K, and a terrible one on a Benz for 9K, it all depends on who's shooting the paint. You should get a really good job for those numbers.

Just as an aside, those shots of Ruby just reinforce the absolute beauty of that design!
 
CCM -- where are you in Washington?

The best body man I know is Paul Hoey's "Hoey's Autobody" in Olympia, WA. I don't think you'll find anyone with a better resume -- his '67 Lamborghini Miura won the Monterey Concorso Italiano outright (first car in history to win Best in Show, Best Lambo (judges trophy) and Best Lambo (Lamborghini Factory Choice.)

He's not cheap, but I would bet he's on par with other professional (non-Maaco) shops... I've seen his work on steel, aluminum, fiberglass (an Elan he has in there,) and carbon fiber (one of his personal racers.) Very impressive, extremely professional fellow.
 
I will look into that. Thank you for the tip. I plan to get several estimates.
SammyB, do you do the SCCA Historics in Kent and Portland?
Hey, we have one of those, "White Garages", on the side of our garage also.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I always go (and cover for my column) the SOVREN Northwest Historics at SIR/Pacific Raceways over the 5th-8ish of July. Been going for many years. I actually did a parade lap in the rumble seat of my father's 1929 Franklin about 6 or 7 years ago, and it was downright scary!

Paul Hoey actually races with SOVREN. He races a Lotus Formula Ford. It's painted the same pistaccio green as his Miura, but with a disco silver center stripe. The guy is a stud, because he was run off the road at Portland, hit the wall and the car was demolished (open wheel cars don't do well in 70mph hits into the wall!) He came back just a month or two later to the Maryhill Hillclimb and was the fastest car up the hill by 7 seconds...then he was beating sportsracers at SIR for the Fall Vintage Races. (I saw the in-car camera footage last week.)

I personally haven't made it down to Portland yet. I've always had conflicts.

So where are you in WA?
 
I heard a quote from one of the most respected classic car restorers here in the mid-south. He told a fellow car club member $7,000 to do a straight rust free '64 E-type. That was bare metal job.
 
My last response on this thread was to critique what seems to be an outlandish price for an "acceptable" paint job. Jacks Toy Store (my business) does many levels of paint and body work in accordance with what the customer wants and you pay for what you get. Time and effort equals money. If you want a Pebble Beach winner, the project can cost you $30k and upwards depending on what you start with. If you want a head turning daily driver the cost may be as low as $10k. If you want an average job that is a daily driver, it could be under $5K. Less than that, take it to Maaco or Earl Shibe. As you approach perfection, those last miles can be very expensive on an exponential curve. There are no short cuts in acheiving true restoration. Most discount body shops will never approach the quality that an enthusiast requires. When they realize what that standard is, they usually withdraw from the game unless they are dishonest and dont mind disgruntled customers. You have to make up your mind what your standard is and deal with honest outfits. There are no bargain basements for restoration quality work. There are so many ways to cut corners in body work with todays technology, you will not know that you have been had for six months. I offer this humble advice to dispell the notion that front end bargaining is going to be productive with the final result. Quality is acheived through fair price and trust.
 
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