hi what the costs to do a full restoration or it better to do a minor restoration what do think thanks

 

There are too many variables involved to throw numbers around. Is the body rusty? Are you rebuilding the drivetrain? Is the interior shot? I am just doing paint and freshening up the interior a bit and I figure on spending about 6 grand. That's with no upholstery. Byt he time I redo the suspension, go through the engine and trans in a few years, I figure high teens.

 

the body is good nick the underneath needs floor pans may need inner rocker a bit on the bulk head and were the spere wheel sits in and minor issues but main body outer in in quite good but new front nose but its also going be the knight rider nose the welding is quoted at £900

 

Those Knightrider conversions cost a fortune for a full one with all the interior parts.

 

Like was mentioned, the costs vary depending on what you start with and how much of the work you do yourself. Based on what you just mentioned, it would probably be cheaper to buy a low mile original car. It will cost much less than trying to fix one that needs this amount of work.

 

Scott - it sounds like he may be in England - pickings may be slim when it comes to getting a clean rust free car over there. But I agree. I bought my TTA with low miles so I didn't have to go through any aggravation restoring it. My rust free, clean 82 that I have owned since I was 19 will probably cost me more then I paid for the TTA by the time I get it where I want because I am trying to find original parts for it, and that is proving to be an expensive endeavor. Some day I will find the correct seat material.

 

Yeah, I saw that he was from across the pond, but wouldn't it still be cheaper? Even if he had to import it? Or is the import cost so much that restoring a very rusty car is the better choice? I don't know.

 

hi i am in england its only the drivers side witch is bad i thought if im replaceing 1 floor pan i may as well do both of them

 

Correct. It's hard to put a number on it but I bet a typical quality restoration of new paint and bodywork, new interior, powertrain rebuild, suspension rebuild and detailing on one of these cars would set you back 15-20k excluding the price of the car.

You could lower this by doing everything yourself but few people actually have that kind of time, even if they arguably have the skills. I've noticed that people tend to greatly overestimate how much time they can realistically put into a car project, which probably accounts for all those "basket cases" you see for sale on ebay for pennies on the investment.

Since no 3rd Gen saving perhaps an ultra low mileage 1LE is worth close to 20k, it's probably going to make more sense for most to spend 8-10k for a mint low mileage example, unless you really do have time for a project or have a special attachment to the particular car. And a restored car, however well done, is not going to be worth as much as a low mileage original. That's just a fact of life. And of course the more you "personalize" and deviate from stock, the smaller your potential resale market becomes.

 

My TA restoration/resto-mod project is up to around $16K so far and I'm not done. I'm doing every last bit of work myself except for the paintjob and I have about 3 years into the project. I have also owned the car for over 8 years though and am very attached to it. The sad part is, my car was in excellent shape BEFORE the restoration! Now it's just like new though. There are a lot of variables to get a true cost, but figure at a minimum $10k-$14K to do it correctly.

 

All depends on what you consider a restoration. Going all out? Nothing skipped? Easily over 10k

 

I would throw $20k in a bucket and assume you'll never see it again.

 

I'd say $20-30k if you want everything to work and be correct.

 

hi i am going to get the structul problems sorted them drive and save to do a restoration may be a mild one witha full body respray what do think as it runs fine starts first time and also it does drive thanks

 

well an update the car is has been welded and only used 1 floor pan not new but off another car and the rockers as well but didn't need the rockers at and patched the floor unneath you can't tell it looks un touched the battery trays are in and a few other things and now the is solid again no holes i was fearing the chasis legs where weak but they are very strong qutoing the welder "i've seen alot worse than this yours are almost perfect" even the outer rockers are A1 same as the inners are perfect but are now A1 again after all this time its now done, if you what to see pics just say progress has been made

 

Progress has been made,pics please,

 

It's ALWAYS more than you plan / think

 

here are some pics



thats most of the befores
now thes are during


these are after





thats the pics for now i haven't post every pic but you get the idea and all off and abit more all in budget one more pic


enjoy

 

I think you missed a zero on the end. A nice driver-quality resto would easily run you $10k. If you want a concours-correct resto right down to the nuts, bolts, & body markings, you could easily sink $100k into it.

 

If you're planning on $10k or more to restore a mostly stock car, then consider just buying something already done. It will save you time, heartache, and money. There's plenty of nice ones around and even with shipping, you might come out ahead.

my 4 cents


Jeff ~

 

In 2010 I spent about $20K just on parts to even begin a cosmetic restoration of my 92 GTA. That included NOS parts, new leather and seat foam, pretty much everything you could think of brand new and original if possible. I was quoted $6K for the paint job, stipping it all down to metal and using the correct mica and not metallic flake, oil based not water based, and it was going to be top notch show quality from the best guy in my town. of course I don't have a spec of rust or corrosion anywhere being an all CA car. That was even going to include all of the correct GM trim black on the t-tops and so fourth. Figure another $4K just to redo the stock suspension (I have over $7K in mine with upgrades) and you can easily be at $30K and that's starting with a 100% complete and rust free car and doing all of the work yourself except for the paint and body. That still doesn't even include a drivetrain rebuild if you need it.

It takes allot of money to do things right nowadays. I never went ahead with my resto because I came up on a '56 vette for a great price and so I sold nearly all of my NOS parts I had bought and put my GTA on the back burner for the '56 vette. I don't even tell you the kinda money I had in that

 

30K goes real quick on a Proper restoration.

 

You should also take into account what your starting with also. A well maintained car will cost considerably less.

 

To just chime in with my own experience to date, I planned to sink (notice I did not say "invest" ) at least $20k - $30k in to my pace car restoration -- and it is not and will not be a nuts and bolts resto.

My car was 100% original, no rust, no damage, etc. Just worn out.

I am able to do the wrenching on my car, but none of the machine or body/paint work -- that stuff I knew I had to farm out to local shops. Right now, with tools I've had to buy, shop work, parts, etc. I think I'm somewhere around $18k, including the cost of the car.

I will never get my money back out of the car but that was not a concern going in. I wanted to restore a Pace Car to drive and enjoy and that's what I'm doing.