Cost of restoration

[Pat H.]

Re: Cost of restoration

I'm working on my 59 which I've been gathering parts for many years. Look for original parts and refurbish them if possible. I had a great plan with a budget, but when I started taking the car apart, things started to go south. Fortunately, my body and paint guy knew what he was doing. I had planned on restoring the chassis myself, but he want the frame and the body together, which added cost, but in hind sight it was probably the right thing to do. I'm reassembling the car in my garage and if you think you have found everything, think again. I haven't calculated all I've spent so far, but I figure by the time it's done it will be in the range of $50K and that doesn't include your time. And as many have said, do get frustrated. If you can't figure it out today go and have a beer and try again tomorrow. You will eventually get the desired results. Happy restoration

[Dave C.]

Re: Cost of restoration

Damn it, I was hoping to work on the chassis, while he was doing the body, but hey I'll take the advise of someone whos already been down this road , and probably save myself some time and money in the long run. how could it possibly take so much time and money, to rebuild a car that GM built in a couple of days, and sold to the public for $ 6 grand.

[Pat H.]

Re: Cost of restoration

Dave,
I did work on a GM assembly line briefly in 1966. Remember, that all parts were in baskets ready to be bolted/screwed on to the car and each assembly worker had just 1 or 2 jobs to do, not a complete car. You are now dealing with a 40 + years old car and parts deteriorate wear out etc, so restoring these parts to factory fresh takes a lot longer that just bolting it together.

[Jeff C.]

Re: Cost of restoration

Depending on the amount of out side work $50,000 to $100,00.
Jeff

[Steve M.]

Re: Cost of restoration

Write up your own estimate for parts required using the catalogs..... and any work that you can't do yourself such as chroming, plating etc. Then double it. then add $10,000 for the things you forgot........

He's not joking.

Especially if this is your first restoration.

[Dave C.]

Re: Cost of restoration

Dave,
I did work on a GM assembly line briefly in 1966. Remember, that all parts were in baskets ready to be bolted/screwed on to the car and each assembly worker had just 1 or 2 jobs to do, not a complete car. You are now dealing with a 40 + years old car and parts deteriorate wear out etc, so restoring these parts to factory fresh takes a lot longer that just bolting it together.

I was just kidding Pat, that is so cool that you worked on the assembly line back then, I was only two in 66

[Robert N.]

Re: Cost of restoration

Dave,

I second Gene's advice. Think hard if the originality of your car is good candidate for the (higher than you think) cost and (longer than you imagine) time it will take. Being an L-71 is great, but it will still be a NOM and transmission and will have a replacement front clip and reproduction interior which will all get dinged if you want it judged. Plus you will pay dearly for the heads, carbs and intake if you try to numbers match. You can't turn a farm horse into a thoroughbred and either takes similar money and time. While it may sound crazy to you at this point, maybe it is better to find a more original example to restore (way easier said than done) and sell what you have to fund it. Or stick to a less ambitious plan and enjoy what you have.

[Dave C.]

Re: Cost of restoration

Thanks for your advise, but I only paid $49,000.00 for the car , and I do have paperwork for it , so even though the original motor and trans are gone, I think it is worth spending the money on , the motor that came with it is date code , decked properly , and has date coded heads, as I mentioned before, NCRS does not even look at the trans numbers so who cares about that. there are not many real L-71 four speed cars left so it would be a shame ( IMHI) not to restore it , the car I almost bought before this one sold at Barrett Jackson in 2010 for $ 110,000.00 and after careful examination , ( and help from all you guys)I found out that it was a small block car, with a date coded L-71 in it, restored , but not frame off.
If an original L-71, isn't worth restoring , what is?

[Steve M.]

Re: Cost of restoration

Well stated, Dave.

The only issue you might run into is when you sell it. The ad is going to have those three letters that can be hard to overcome N-O-M.

But I agree 100%, your car's not ready for the scrap heap by any stretch.

[Dave C.]

Re: Cost of restoration

Thanks Steve, but I can guarantee, that half ( or more) of the REAL L-71s out there have restamped blocks anyway, and I see, many of them that are for sale with an advertised restamp and paperwork, that are well above the $100,000.00 mark, I'm not out to make money on the deal , in the end , I just want a nicely restored car, that I can love and appreciate forever , but if need be and I had to sell it , I could break even ( no labor , of course ) crap ,I had my 66 450 horse, for five years , paid $ 65,000.00 put a few bucks into it and sold it for $85,000.00, how can I go wrong here?

[Patrick B.]

Re: Cost of restoration

I agree with Dave that a real L-71 with paperwork is a good restoratioion candidate regardless of whether it has its original block. With the poor valve springs of the day, the hard use these cars got over the years and two gas panics that tempted people to install smaller engines, it would be amazing if a third of them still have the born-with block. Convincing paperwork is a better indicator of authenticity than just a stamp pad that is sure to produce a wide range of opinions anyway.

[Chris E.]

Re: Cost of restoration

Dave, when I talk to owners about this subject, I challenge them to think about what they want to do with the car when they are done and how long they intend to keep it. Both of those answers have an impact on what route the restoration will take. I know you say "NCRS Spec", but I would ask you to think more about that. Have you had a car through the Flight Judging system before? What level do you want to go to? If you want a Chapter Second Flight car, versus a National Top Flight car, versus a Duntov car, those three different goals will lead to to progressively more and more details that need to be discovered and solved for with your car. Good luck in whatever you decide. I applaud you for considering a full restoration. It is a big process, but a fun one.

[Tim G.]

Re: Cost of restoration

It's a beautiful and rare car and if you restore it, I hope to see it. I'm into Shelby's, also and the concern about original engines doesn't track with those cars like it does with Corvettes. Since your car has paperwork, I say "go for it".

[Tim G.]

Re: Cost of restoration

Please post a picture of your tank sticker if you don't mind. It would be good to view it.