OK, I give you the long version.
It was late 07 and the car had just come back from being sand blasted. By that time I had gathered all of the big parts that I knew I was going to need to get the body done. I had found new...front valence, replacement front fenders, inner fenders, both complete rocker panels,rear frame sections and a rear filler panel.
Over the years I had gotten a few estimates but wasn't able to come up with the money it was going to take. I also hadn't found someone that I was 100% satisfied with. The estimates I had gotten were right around the same price. It would take roughly $25,000 to get the bodywork and paint done on the car. That was only time and materials...All the parts that would still be needed would be extra.
I went online and asked if anyone knew of a good bodyshop in or near Iowa. Afterall, part of the fun is being able to see the car during the whole process. From that post, I heard of a company called Classic Revival who was located in Dyarsville, Iowa. The good thing was that they were only an hour away from my house.
I looked them up and gave them a call one day and talked to the owner.(Tim) I told him that I had an origonal owner 73 Challenger that I needed to have some work done on and he seemed interested. I asked if it was ok to come by the shop sometime and talk a little further. We made an apt for a Saturday morning and my dad and I made the short drive to the shop.
The week before, I had taken a lot of pics of the car and all of the rusted areas so I could get the most accurate quote possible. I put all the pics on a CD and brought it along with me to the shop.
Tim seemed very nice and was interested in what we had to say. We walked into the shop and saw that he was in the middle of restoring a 70 Challenger R/T 440. It was a real black car with red side stripes. I didn't know it at the time but it turns out the cars owner was someone I knew from my hometown where I grew up.
Tim showed us the 70 and went over all the bodywork that was done to that car. At that point, the engine comp, interior, underside and trunk had already been sprayed black. He was in the middle of setting all of his body gaps, getting the car extra straight before the body was sprayed with color. I mensioned that black was very hard to get looking good and straight. Tim said that he does every car the same way. It doesn't matter if the car is going black or white. It gets the same attention.
I gave Tim my picture CD and he said that he would look it over and give me a call in a few weeks. He said that he had done a number of Challengers and Cudas over the years and should be able to give me an accuarate estimate. He also said that he has good records of what each step of the process took him as far as time and materials. He said every Challenger/Cuda should be the same as far as bodywork and paint. The only thing that would vary is how much metal work the body would require.
