Well, I picked up the 911 after having it's final wet sand and having the seats re-done in leather.

I started the Negotiations on having the Blond completely restored:

You can see the later 1973 doors and 2 new lids which are in better shape than the ones on my car.

We stripped out the seats so that a late style back pad can be put in. They are doing the entire interior in leather, except for the dash.

Deciding on Leather or Vinyl for the Back pad. We agreed on Vinyl since it would not be taking abuse like the doors and the seats.

Stripped out interior showing where the seat bracket needs to be welded in for the movable passenger seat. I brought components from my 1973 for this interior conversion so that if, god forbid, I even want to go back to the original interior, I can.

OK, so what are they going to do?

The blond has cracked paint in many areas from being applied too thick. they are chemically stripping the paint off the car down to bare metal. They will cut out and weld in new metal where the cancer is.

They are fixing the trunk lid pivot point.
Welding in the Clamshells for stiffness
Changing the doors and the hood and the trunk lid
fixing all rust (Windows out)
Weld in a new jack point passenger side
weld in seat brackets and tilt for passenger seat
Recover 2 seats in very supple leather except the seats cushions and seat backs which will be automotive cloth
recover the arm rest in leather
recover the dash, dash front and knee pad
under body recoat for rust protection
re-paint the entire car it's original yellow.
install new sail panels
paint the roof
paint the rocker covers and the front valence

Total: $3000

Ready in 2 weeks

OMG!!! 3K?? I've gotta see how this comes out. I may have to make a trip to TJ. How did the taildragger come out? I'm absolutely green with envy.

I'll take photos tomorrow. It came out fantastic. I ran through a "poo puddle" in Otay Mesa on the way back and I need to get a car wash before photos. Mirror finish in the paint!

Yeah, i can't wait!

BTW, they have a Late model Boxster in the shop - Autocrosser front end fatality, being re-vived.

Wonder if they'd paint a trailer?

How do you contact these people?

Thanks,

Randal

Over on the Bird Board I have a thread open on this.

Los Panchos

Se hable Espanol...

Some of the people speak English, to wildly varying degrees. The son of the Owner is fluent. The manager,Ramiros, speaks very good functional English. The owner is very good to fair.

I think they'd paint just about anything you can get to them. I do not know the legalities of bringing a trailer into Mexico.

son of a......!!!!!

ok, a grand to ship out west, another few hundred-ish to pay one of the west coast boys to do the negotiations and get the car south, 3 grand-ish for the new stuff, another grand to get it back out east....... hmmmmmmmmmm wonder what the wife would say?

Well, _my_ wife was doing all of the talking...since she's the Native...

red beard,

any idea of individual costs for reupholstering:?
*backpad (leather / vinyl )
*dash and knee pads in leather
*seats in leather / vinyl

id love to go this route

think i could do it for 400? (vinyl)

It's the Aggies getting all the deals!

Gig-em Aggies

Red Beard,

How's their metal working skills? The rap on TJ bodyshops is Bondo, Bondo, and more Bondo. In years past, I've seen some pretty scarey work. Hopefully, Los Pancho's is looking to develop a good reputation for return US business. This on the surface it appears to be good from the pic's I've seen. I'm also interested in the answer to the question regarding trailering cars across the boarder. My wife too is a native, so language is not an issue. If you were to have plates, registration, and title, that should be adequate comming in this direction; don't know about going. Cars and Gov't officials in Mexico can be a real challenge. One final question. I expect this is an all cash transaction.......any up front money? Any $ surprises after work is complete? Dollars or Pesos?

Thanks,

Andy

Actually, these guys _dont'_ bondo. I saw them working on a Vee-dub Micro Bus and they were cutting out cancer and welding in metal, hand shaping the whole time. I don't know about other shops, but the whole point of going to Mexico is the labor is cheap, not the quality.

Here's an article

http://www.sdreader.com/php/cityshow.php3?id=C083001

Trailering is much more difficult. The Mexican Authorities worry that you're dumping garbage in Mexico. Bringing it back into the states isn't an issue, except they will probably want to search it pretty closely and I'd have something showing ownership,etc.

They like US$ and usually require a deposit. I haven't had any issues with costs going up. In fact, they have to worry more about people not paying, etc.

James

Hey, I recognize that place.

Red Beard,
Was the paint applied too think by them? I thought you had them paint it origanally.
They painted Slits teener too thick. It has several runs.

andys,
we had Los Ponchos remove the side turn signals and weld metal in their place for a Euro look. It turned out beautiful!! I will attach picutres when I can. And yes, they used metal

Acox,
I had them completely paint my truck including the cab and with clear coat,
re-pad and reupholster my bench seat,
new carpet,
new headliner
For $1,050!!!

It is Beautiful!!

again.....pics ASAP.

What kind of paper work do you get to show the authorities? You just go down there, drop off your car for a week, then drive it back up with no questions asked by the border patrol? Arent there labor laws and such that require all labor done by mexicans be taxed and some go to their "government"?

Went down to AAA and got the Mexico "TourBook." The AAA people said they can arrange for insurance for both cars and trailers. About $8.00 per day.

Probably a San Diego AAA office would know exactly what works and not. And I'm sure they would have had lots of experience with their members.

Papers? We don need no stinkin' papers....

That is precisely what people have been doing for almost 100 years.

To answer your final question, there is a 10% tax on the work, local sales tax.

When I go racing in Mexico I get a full coverage policy on the truck and trailer but I could not find a company that wanted to insure the P car, even if it was over 30 years old. The final policy I was able to get covered the car on the trailer incase of an accident where it fell off or something weird, but not against theft. I left that to the armed solders they have at the race circuits and so far have had no troubles. when you get the work done, there will be a detailed estimate and you have to leave a deposit as James noted. This will be you ticket when coming back into the US as to what you have dome over there.

For those of us closer to Jaurez, anyone know of similar services south of El Paso?

At every crossing, you will find the Mexican Motors.

At the less well know points, you will find the best prices. But I warn you, high price does not always equate to high quality.

James

Nope, it was like that when I bought it.

My only problem with the paint job was that I didn't give them enough time. They asked for a week and I made arrangements to pick it up. It looked as if they had painted it the morning I was going to pick it up. They were working on the runs when I arrived.

In prep, I had pulled all the trim, door panels, etc.

Now, that said, here is the good parts:
1. They fixed dents in the rear quarter panels.
2. They welded up, with metal, my side marker holes, a rust hole (2" in dia) in pass front fender.
3. They painted my rockers, rear/front valence, engine cover mesh without being asked.
4. they painted the inside of my trunks, door sills, doors - WITHOUT being asked.
5. They fixed a fucked up rear trunk lid. Big asses make dents.
6. They pulled the outside door handles, taillight assys, etc, PRIOR to paint.

The cost of this was $780 including the taxes.

When I crossed the border on the return trip, I was only asked why I was in Mexico and I told them "you are looking at it". All he asked was what I had paid and said "Damn good deal".

OH, BTW - Corvette Yellow is a dead match for Sunflower Yellow (Yellow cars are faster).

I am not unhappy

this is such a smoking deal. with the right planning a person could head down, get a paint job, and be all fancy for wcc 05. the savings would pay for the hotel and and probably the whole trip.

kevin

Would you trust them to weld on the AA GT Steel flairs and paint the car??
Just Curious...

-Steve

I would trust them to most anything and give them the time to do it.

First shot with the new paint

Rear shot

look at the hood shine

why wouldnt they spend the 30 sec to tape off your wiper mounts?

looks like they did a great job on the paint though, especially for the money.

Yep, and they aren't done yet. Too bad I can't have them do the polish out in 3-6 months....

These guys really do good work, but yes, I can't understand some of the short cuts they take...

I was going to ask about the fog lights and horns they didnt tape off. Did they charge extra for making the color match the rest of the car? JK, Looks great James, I hope I get to see it before you move away.

Okay, Im really really tempted to go to mexico to get my teener painted. No bodywork has been done by me, but its really straight. There are two spots of surface rust, but nothing major. I have PPG paint I want to use sitting in my garage I bought the other day. I am really concerned though. It is out of country and Ive heard bad stories about dealing with the border patrol. Issues with them taking the car and such. First, does anyone have an idea of cost for them to do minor rust repair and change color? Second, can anyone give me reassurance to trust them? Third, How long does it usually take?

As for the trust, I have had cars done by Garage Los Ponchos since 1981. I was turned on to them by a neighbor that did Gia restorations and he had two to three a year done by them. I have have had a Cal Look Bug, a Toyota, VW vans (twice) and 2 914s. I pointed James to them and he has been happy so far and as he said you have to be aware of some of the ways they do things. If you are interested in going, I would be happy to go over with you or one of the other guys that have gone over there can go to help ease the worries. Remember they like to take their time and usually want a week or so to get the car done. I can't wait to see the "blonde's" leather interior.....

I might have to take someone up on that offer. If I could drive to san diego get someone to follow me down thats already done business with them it would make me feel better. A week to get the car done would be perfect. I wont be ready to take it down for another month or so, though.

With all your experience with them, have you figured out their prices? Any idea how much they would charge for a color change if I supply the paint with minor rust repair and side indicator removal? And a leather dash and seat recovering?

When I started there was no tax on the labor but that soon was corrected to let the government make more money! Both my 914s cost about $600 which included dash recover, new carpet, seat recover, taking out some dents, targa top resurface on one so it looked new (6 years ago now). From what I have seen costs are about 1/3 to 1/2 or so of the costs in San Diego and we have lots of labor here. Take a couple hundred for the down payment when you go is the only thing and make a list of what you want done in detail.

People in glass houses...I've seen your window squirters...

I think you'll find, as I did, that it's not so much over spray as fine dust. I checked the windows seals yesterday from the primer, and they didn't have overspray.

It all depends on what you want done, how gringo you look, and how much money you look like you have.

I had the 911 painted, using my paint, for 800. Add the dents and other such, etc, I was out $1200.

The Blond was much more work. I expected, at Los Panchos prices, it to be around $3000. They didn't just do a paint over. They stripped the paint. They installed a set of seat rails, re-do of 2 seats in leather, leather dash, leather center cushion, re-vinyl everything else, rust repairs where they weld in metal, etc. This was a restoration job.

A simple paint job is usually $700. Carpet $120.

Safety: I have had 3 cars done by Los Panchos. My 1982 911 SC, My 2001 Jeep Cherokee and now the 914/6. The Jeep had a cooler break open and wet the carpet. $200 to have the entire car re-carpeted. $500 to remove every ding, scrape etc and then have the whole car clear coated. The Jeep looked new!

The locals are not interested in Porsches. There is no market for them. They are more interested in SUVs.

James

I just got back from Poncho's last week with my 1973 Zambezi Green 914. I have been following this thread for quite some time and I asked many questions from some of you with more experience with this way of painting a car. Special thanks to John Rogers for taking several calls with questions I had and for giving sound advice. The logistics were very interesting as I shared the Tijuana Van from the boarder to Downtown L.A. I did the same going down to the boarder to pick up the car. $13.00 from the boarder to 7th & Main St. in downtown LA. I am pleased to state that no one from Ponchos tried to smuggle anything in the car as one member was sure would happen.

I paid $700 for body prep and paint. I used their 2 stage base/clear and I could not be happier with the outcome. I made an extra trip down to check the prep work before they shot color. The work was top notch and I was completely satisfied with all the prep work they did.

For an extra $300.00, they welded in a new battery tray, R & R'd both bumpers and painted F & R Moldings + side rails and roof. They also installed a new dash board and passenger side outside mirror. This is a heck of alot of work for the money.

They were great to deal with and were very proud of the work they had done for all the Porsche Gringos del Norte. If I can help anyone else with information, I would be happy to pass it on.

Steve H

cough up some pics!

Sorry,

Here is a link that you can go to see some photos. It's getting there but, like most 914's, is a work in progress.

www.guapozx.com/guapo/gallery/porsche

sdh

looks excellent!