Ryce Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 I joined this forum to ask you British guys a few question. I live in Miami and have a 77 911 that I have driven for over thirty years all the time and do a lot of my own repairs. I have been watching “free tv” specifically Car SOS and Wheeler Dealers. Some of the cars they fix would be crushed in the states because of the cost of the rust repair and lack of skills. The “specialist” skills I see on these shows are incredible by state side standard particularly panel beaters. There are a lot of rusty air cooled 911 in Miami to be had cheap. I figure with special crates I could ship four cars over and back in a 40 foot container for $1500 per car. my questions: What is the hourly rate for body work in England? Stateside it’s about 100- 125 pounds/ hour What does a good whole car paint job cost here say with PPG paint? Not sure I posted this in the correct section of this forum so let me know please. Miami Ryce (thanks Robinwild for the new tag) My car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aspro Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 Long distance restorations are like relationships, they don’t work in my opinion. You really need to be overseeing the work as it progresses to ensure quality and see exactly where your money is going. Yes workshop rates are cheaper here. Probably half if not less than what you’ve quoted. But I’d say the savings aren’t worth the aggravation. Just my opinion. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nige Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 (edited) I've never had my car fully restored by a UK specialist. Hour rate - I reckon most will be less than what you have suggested, but not by much though. Maybe £60-100 p/h Paint - I've just paid under £5k for a full windows out and panels off repaint in it's original colour. You can easily pay double or half elsewhere. I think your biggest problem will be project managing it from the States. Bodyshops/restoration specialist over here are notorious timescale fantasies. Whatever deadline is quoted double it to start with, even if you are pestering them on a weekly basis for updates. Most are useless at emails, phone call is best if you are lucky, visits in person are a must. You could quite easily not see the car for a couple of years. Parts prices - I think they cost more over here. Also once the car is delivered back how would any post resto issues be managed? Edited February 6, 2019 by Nige Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROBINWILD Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 Ryce...glad you liked it ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topcarrera Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 39 minutes ago, Nige said: Hour rate - I reckon most will be less than what you have suggested, but not by much though. Maybe £60-100 p/h £100 p/h !!!!!!!!! ?????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Type911 Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 £50 to £60 down sarf..........................cheaper oop norf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingnonut Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 If you want it cheap ship em to somewhere like Poland but as suggested project management and quality control will always make it a ball ache Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phill Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 (edited) You could employ someone to come to the states and carry out the work there. I'm sure there would be someone willing to live in the States for 6 months for £25000. They could do just your cars, weekends at the beach, what's not to like. Excellent job for a retiree or single person. Just an idea. Edited February 6, 2019 by Phill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nige Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 1 hour ago, topcarrera said: £100 p/h !!!!!!!!! ?????? That's why I said maybe. Bet there is somewhere that does! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Comerford Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 Even a Sportwagen isn’t that much and they’re very good I think that as long as you are able to reasonably accurately quantify the damage and the numbers work out then you could make this work. If you don’t know what to look for, don’t bother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
786 Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 If you're serious, PM me and I can get you in touch with a couple shops here in Texas that do restorations. Very reasonable prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
World Citizen Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 5 hours ago, Phill said: You could employ someone to come to the states and carry out the work there. I'm sure there would be someone willing to live in the States for 6 months for £25000. They could do just your cars, weekends at the beach, what's not to like. Excellent job for a retiree or single person. Just an idea. How would that work 🤔 wouldn't be a very economical way of doing it, takes a lot of tools/equipment to restore a car properly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angusb Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 1 hour ago, World Citizen said: How would that work 🤔 wouldn't be a very economical way of doing it, takes a lot of tools/equipment to restore a car properly +1 .with no Garage , spray booth, welder, folders, shop tools!!! To make a mute point,some of the best quality restoration shops , with lowest rates, are in Poland. As the others have mentioned, in any restoration you need to know exactly what is been done, and be able to asses if its been done properly.I would not wish to manage this abroad, on one car, never mind four. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
World Citizen Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 10 minutes ago, angusb said: +1 .with no Garage , spray booth, welder, folders, shop tools!!! To make a mute point,some of the best quality restoration shops , with lowest rates, are in Poland. As the others have mentioned, in any restoration you need to know exactly what is been done, and be able to asses if its been done properly.I would not wish to manage this abroad, on one car, never mind four. Whizzair flights are dirt cheap too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondrian Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 Labour is cheaper here by some 30-40% and parts are cheaper there by 30-40% - I think most resto’s end up at around 50/50 for parts/Labour once you take into account the trimmings, under carriage, engine, g/box so at the end of the day it’s not going to work out much cheaper if any to make it worth while the effort & headaches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamTompkins Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 9 hours ago, Ryce said: I joined this forum to ask you British guys a few question. I live in Miami and have a 77 911 that I have driven for over thirty years all the time and do a lot of my own repairs. I have been watching “free tv” specifically Car SOS and Wheeler Dealers. Some of the cars they fix would be crushed in the states because of the cost of the rust repair and lack of skills. The “specialist” skills I see on these shows are incredible by state side standard particularly panel beaters. There are a lot of rusty air cooled 911 in Miami to be had cheap. I figure with special crates I could ship four cars over and back in a 40 foot container for $1500 per car. my questions: What is the hourly rate for body work in England? Stateside it’s about 100- 125 pounds/ hour What does a good whole car paint job cost here say with PPG paint? Not sure I posted this in the correct section of this forum so let me know please. Miami Ryce (thanks Robinwild for the new tag) My car Hi Miami, nice car. Don’t be fooled by the TV shows making it look easier than it is. My friend had his Daimler Dart restored by Car SOS a few years back. Did a great job on it, however, what you see is a small part of it. Tim does bugger all and Fuzz has a team of 30 plus that you don’t see on the TV. The cost of the actual restoration was substantial.Colin, my friend, reckons that he had £50k work done on the Dart. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryce Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 Ok that was an interesting response, thank you all. As far as management coming to the U.K. a lot sounds pretty good considering what a mess Trumpy is making of the US. Air fares are dirt cheap. Poland? Maybe I need to find out more. Parts are no problem, a long time friend runs Vertex Auto in Miami, I could load everything into the same container. I’m an Architect and watch rehab shows and wonder what planet they are working on so I understand what I see on Car SOS is not accurate. i need to look into this more but I hate the fact that old air cools are being stripped of parts and then cut up for donor panels or crushed. The skill level of specialists here is still amazing but I’m watching a crew fix a pipe near my local bus stop and wonder if it will ever open again, way slow! No offense intended good work takes time. Miami Ryce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alastair Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 You think Trumpy is making a mess.... Get yourself over here to see what a real mess looks like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
786 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Strange you are ignoring the US shops. For example: http://www.uber-werks.com/body-and-chassis-restoration/ "A typical floor pan replacement is about $1800." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryce Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 Yeah I’ve been in London a month listening to the BBC news and still can’t figure out what Brexit is really about. As an outsider it seems being in the EU isn’t all that bad. 786 - I agree $1800 is a great price to replace a suspension and floor pan but in Miami it’s a lot more. That San Sntonio shop might have cheap labor as it is close to the Mexican border. There was a recent post on Pelican Parts about the subject and the consensus opinion is that the is cost closer to $5000. If the SA car was already on a rotisserie maybe that price didn’t include tank removal and some other related work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Bernau Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 28 minutes ago, Ryce said: Yeah I’ve been in London a month listening to the BBC news and still can’t figure out what Brexit is really about. Easy. Brexit means Brexit, and we are going to make a success of it. According to our robotic Prime Minister anyway. We all just need to believe harder and the sunlit uplands await... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R2D2 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 25 minutes ago, Richard Bernau said: Easy. Brexit means Brexit, and we are going to make a success of it. According to our robotic Prime Minister anyway. We all just need to believe harder and the sunlit uplands await... Can I hear "Rule Britannia" in the background? Ryce - you're not alone, nobody knows but we mustn't complain as the "the British people have spoken". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
786 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 1 hour ago, Ryce said: 786 - I agree $1800 is a great price to replace a suspension and floor pan but in Miami it’s a lot more. That San Sntonio shop might have cheap labor as it is close to the Mexican border. There was a recent post on Pelican Parts about the subject and the consensus opinion is that the is cost closer to $5000. If the SA car was already on a rotisserie maybe that price didn’t include tank removal and some other related work. I wouldn't put much stock in what you read on Pelican, those guys love to post inflated prices. Talk to shops directly and you will have a much better understanding of the true costs. There are several shops in Texas I can point you to, all are in the same range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phill Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 What did Tusk say......... Must be something about the name Donald........the whole thing is a debacle. If it was in a political sitcom you'd be laughing because you wouldn't think it could actually be real. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryce Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 I really don’t have any understanding of the whole thing, I hope the best for both our countries. Whatever happens 911 IBs will still be great fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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