How much to budget for a complete repaint..?, A tough question I know but I got to ask... Options

[Nozzle]

Well after doing the standard Spring clean-up on the old girl last week, it looks like the valiant efforts of the 36 year old Saturn Yellow to protect the body are starting to fail. But before I start putting together a serious savings campaign for a full-bore repaint I need to ask what I should plan for as this is very new territory for me. I would be having a professional shop do the prep and repaint as I've got zero talent in this area. I figure rust repair costs will just have to be one of the unknowns at this stage so I'm really looking for a paint-only figure.

The 914 in question lived almost its entire life in Santa Barbara, CA and was never in an accident so far as I can tell. A hell-hole repair was done by AA two years ago right after I bought the car and now the windshield base on the drivers side where it meets the fender line is starting to bubble. No doubt there is more to be found but that's what I know for sure.

So the main goal is to get the car repaired and preserved before the rust gets any worse. The plan would be for me to disassemble the entire car and then have a good shop do a presentable repaint in the original color and take care of any rust issues found. In other words I'm looking for perfect metal not perfect paint.

So any help on what I should plan dollar-wise for for the prep and repaint would be MUCH appreciated. Of course any help with locating a good restoration shop in the MD, VA or PA area would be very cool too...

Thanks everyone,

John

[rick 918-S]

I can't really comment on cost as I have been out of the collision/custom business as long as some of you all were in school. I can comment on quality and the cost of cutting corners because you have a budget. Body shop materials have come leaps and bounds bryond the factory applied materials of 30+ years ago but labor saving ideas and good technic are still only as good as the guy running the show. Plan for the worse and hope for the best. Choose a shop that has a solid knowledge of these chassis', find someone that you can trust, and be glad you can even find a shop that will consider taking on your rust. There are many shops in this area that won't touch rust or restoration with a ten foot pole even if your holding it. And remember, shops don't have x-ray vision. Sometimes the best guys miss something. How they handle it makes the difference.