My 70 Cuda restoration was started in 2000 in my 2 car garage and not finished till 2005 so it took 5 years to restore. I did most of the work myself with having machine work done on the engine and short block assembly done at the machine shop. I primed, blocked and sanded the car 3 times and test fitted the front end from the doors forward 6 times before I was happy with the fit. I painted the inside and bottom with acrylic urethane paint. I put the rear end, K-member and all components back on the Cuda myself after I painted them. I made a make shift paint booth in my new 24X30 garage built in 2004 and based the Cuda at home letting it set for 2 weeks. I then blocked the base with 1000 grit sand paper to make sure no dings were missed after setting around for 5 years. I rented a paint booth at a local body shop for a weekend and put 2 more coats of base and then 3 heavy coats of ppg global clear on the outside. The $200.00 for the shop was well worth it and I will never do a complete paint job in a 2 car garage again. I bought many new parts and tried to use over what was in good shape with out cutting corners. I put the whole car back together in my garage including all the glass. I thought I could restore the Cuda for around $14,000 by doing all the work myself but I went over my figure by $8,000 dollars after I added up all my receipts. I know around here shop rates are $45.00 to $100.00 range and a couple a people I know just had cars restored and one has $55,000 in his 383 70 superbee and the other a 69 six pack superbee has $100,000 in his car but it looks concours quality and he drives it on the street. I would try and do as much work as you can yourself to save on the price of the restoration and shop around for the best deal on parts as prices vary from supliers. I bought items from all over the country just to save money and it saved me a whole lot. I have to many man hours in my Cuda to keep track but it takes many to do a complete restoration from top to bottom.
