I really appreciate all of your answers and more than that your kindness and patience. About 7 years ago I was sent out(boyfriend) to buy an economical excellent condition nissan with a rebuilt engine..but right next to it on this lot was a 1989rs with no engine and my love began. I won't bore you all with the details but damn I love this car!!! ok next question what should I expect to pay for a paint job? The body is in excellent condition but the hood now is showing alligator marks and overall I would love a new coat. Well guys??

How much did you pay for it? If all is well you can probably find a decent shop that will do a decent job for $1000-$1500. Is the paint job on there now the factory or has it been painted before?

I paid 1500 for the shell. I bought an engine for about 1000 and it had 70,000 miles on it another couple of hundred to install than I had it painted for about 900(at the time a friend owned a body shop, he no longer does) I have replaced alot since then including a rebuit transmission. What do I look for in a body shop? I assume they have to strip it down completely?

If you are looking to do decent paint job it's not required to remove the old paint unless the old paint is in bad condition, like has peeling or cracking through it. In this case the old damaged paint needs to be stripped or the new paint won"t last. I'm not sure what you mean by "alligator".

the hood looks like alligator skin. scaley(spelling) is it a huge difference in money if it has to be stripped?

well it does add labor to the cost. Labor is free if you do it yourself