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To start with i want a '76 cutlass supreme with with burgundy interior, which is hard to find. And trying to swap the entire interior from one colour to another is pricey as hell. So i found this car with the interior i want but shitty body. So some body shops i sent pics to said i shouldn't even bother with this car. One body shop quoted CAD 10K for body and paint. It has 144k miles and according to current owner he has maintained it mechanically well. Do you think it's worth doing the body and paint on this car? Is there a way i can bring down the body work cost?
Most people on this site likely trend to the "perfectionist" side when it comes to these cars - for good reason!
On the other hand, perfection is pricey. Maybe consider what your ultimate goal is - a show car, or is a "20 footer" enough to make you happy? Or somewhere in between?
Ways to reduce cost...
-Vo-tech body service
-know your goal, and don't spend more to exceed it.
-fiberglass bondo - universally despised as a "proper" repair method, it can be a compromise repair method. For the purists who recoil at this, is anybody likely to put $15k into that car before it rots its way into a junkyard? Even a non-ideal repair method saves the car, even if it only buys 5-10 more years.
-try bodywork yourself - lots of people (myself included) learned to paint their own cars. Lots of assistance available on this as long as you accept a possible outcome is that you won't ever sell the car at Barret Jackson .
-barter - trade your skills/services for that of a body and paint person.
-be patient and wait for the perfect car that some other fool has already spent $25k on, and buy it for $15 .
Buy it dirt cheap for the interior, find a solid body and make a better car out of the two..sell the parts you can, scrap the rest.. those cars have rust in places you didn’t think would rust. That one looks like one of those.
Buy it dirt cheap for the interior, find a solid body and make a better car out of the two..sell the parts you can, scrap the rest.. those cars have rust in places you didn’t think would rust. That one looks like one of those.
interesting idea! Seller is stubborn and won’t budge off CAD 3000 in fact he even refuses my request to have it inspected by a mechanic beforehand. He refuses to accept his car is not worth that amount in the market and I would say he’s emotional about the car (likely due to the fact He’s spent lots of time maintaining it mechanically, but not body wise).
Most people on this site likely trend to the "perfectionist" side when it comes to these cars - for good reason!
On the other hand, perfection is pricey. Maybe consider what your ultimate goal is - a show car, or is a "20 footer" enough to make you happy? Or somewhere in between?
Ways to reduce cost...
-Vo-tech body service
-know your goal, and don't spend more to exceed it.
-fiberglass bondo - universally despised as a "proper" repair method, it can be a compromise repair method. For the purists who recoil at this, is anybody likely to put $15k into that car before it rots its way into a junkyard? Even a non-ideal repair method saves the car, even if it only buys 5-10 more years.
-try bodywork yourself - lots of people (myself included) learned to paint their own cars. Lots of assistance available on this as long as you accept a possible outcome is that you won't ever sell the car at Barret Jackson .
-barter - trade your skills/services for that of a body and paint person.
-be patient and wait for the perfect car that some other fool has already spent $25k on, and buy it for $15 .
For me it’s for sentimental reasons. My dad had a white with burgundy interior cutlass supreme. Always wanted to get the same looking one and go cruising for old times sake.
So wasn’t looking for a collector car necessarily that would last 20 plus years. Probably something I can drive in the summer and fall for more or less 5 years. Any other color interior doesn’t have the same emotional value and it’s an hard interior to find.
I guess I need to figure out do I continue to wait for the perfect car for me (needle in a haystack), or fork up more coin then I really want. This car unfortunately has sacred me off. Almost everyone is telling me to stay clear of it.
-Vo-tech body service
-try bodywork yourself - lots of people (myself included) learned to paint their own cars. Lots of assistance available on this as long as you accept a possible outcome is that you won't ever sell the car at Barret Jackson .
x2
I painted my 71 98 by taking an evening vo-tech class. It turned out great and I saved a ton of money. If you don't buy the Cutlass you showed in the pic then at least consider it for a different car you may look at in the future.
i painted my 71 98 by taking an evening vo-tech class. It turned out great and i saved a ton of money. If you don't buy the cutlass you showed in the pic then at least consider it for a different car you may look at in the future.
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in fact he even refuses my request to have it inspected by a mechanic beforehand. He refuses to accept his car is not worth that amount in the market and I would say he’s emotional about the car (likely due to the fact He’s spent lots of time maintaining it mechanically, but not body wise). 
