Not sure if this is the correct place to post this, apologies if it is not. I am looking at a couple of 442's to buy and one of them would need a repaint. I live in NY, was wondering if there are any recommendations of top quality paint shops/guys somewhere in the Northeast that I should consider. I would like to paint back to stock color and specs and I would like it done right. Willing to travel a little if its worth it. Appreciate any suggestions.

Thank you

 

All really good high end paint shops that do resto work are going to have maybe a year waiting list. If It's high end work, Paintworks in Dover NH did my 70 GS 455. Matt Woods in NH does good work, theres another shop up by Epping (Gauthier?) in NH that does good work. All these places are going to be a year out and 15K to maybe 25K base clear average repairs laser straight. The Northeast is expensive!

 

Thornton Restorations, Quakertown, PA. Ask for Lisa or Troy. Only the best high end work.

 

Right, Thornton's does great work. Xtreme restorations in Slatersville RI is another place that does great paint. These resto shops typically do better work than regular body shops. They do better work because they charge more. They charge more because great paint jobs require a lot of work. They will turn out the product faster, as long as you pay them. The most important things is to make sure you are well prepared financially. Be very upfront about your budget. I can't tell you how many people I've seen who put their cars in for work and ran out of money. That's how cars end up in body shop "jail".

 

The main question to answer is: How good is good enough?

I am one of the few people on this board who actually worked in a GM plant "back in the day".

I was a line worker at the Framingham B-O-P plant back in 1972. They made A body cars there.

The way these cars were painted would blow your mind.

Primer was applied by dipping the body into a vat - no following up hand sanding of any type..

2 painters (one on each side of the cars) gave the body a quick spray, and off to the oven to cure.

Minimal coverage as the cars were moving at 1 per minute per station.

Paint jobs were mediocre at best - no show quality here.

My point is that if you want the car to be "correct", a 20k paint job ain't the way to go.

FYI - I used FSA Restorations in Franklin Mass. Nice job for fair money spent, but not Barrett-Jackson.

 

As they said above, it really depends on what you want done. For my driver, I was just looking for a repaint with small patches in both my rear quarters. Even though just about any paint shop could do the work, most do not work on "old" cars. They make their money on collision repair. The few restoration shops in my area (southern Maryland) were talking between $25-30 grand for the work.

The reason that I went into this is to tell you to NOT limit yourself to restoration shops. I was able to find a small body shop that normally makes their money off of collision repair. After checking out their work and their shop, I spoke to the owner and he said that he loves working on old cars every now and then, and would do the work as long as I was not in a hurry (because of his other commitments). I dropped my Olds off in November and made a deal with him that as long as I had the car back by the end of March, I'm happy. Price...9 thousand

I've stopped in on the shop twice since dropping it off (a reputable shop will not mind you doing this). Right now, my olds is sanded all the way down, patches installed, and he gave me back all of the trim for cleaning and or replacing. But I digress. Like I said before, do not limit yourself to resto shops and you should be able to find a good one that is somewhat close to you.

 

I agree with you, my 442 was done by a shop like that, at a reasonable cost, not a resto place. A lot depends on what needs to be done to the body. I did the body on the 442 myself. Took me all summer! My GS is a triple black vert and was "restored' when I bought it. I bought it on the seller's description, a huge and stupid mistake. When it came, I was like 100 feet away, it was on the truck still, and I tas wavy gravy down the sides. The paint was actually pretty good. But the body work was really poor. Black is the worst. That's why it cost a lot. Plus, I wanted a drop dead killer show car. I understand how original cars were painted. I owned NEW musclecars in the late 60's and early 70's. Weirdly, i grew up in Franklin MA, the town mentioned by My442 for a good shop.

 

yes frankie,good ol'franklin,ma ,home of the nhra quarter mile on 495 north of king st. on ramp.jc

 

If you want a 442 specialist names mentioned were Matt Woods of Mission 442 and Troy Thornton. Thornton is prob the biggest name in 442 resto.

http://www.mission442.com/

http://thorntonmusclecars.com/

 

New York State is tremendous how far are you willing to send a car to a shop along way away????

 

I hear you Jim, ahhh...that WAS the good old days when we had our own private dragstrip.

 

Consider that labor is the most expensive part of the process. Anywhere is the area of NYC is going to be considerably more than say, Upstate, Central or Western NY. The shop that did my car billed out at $35/hour. You'll easily pay three times that down towards the City.

 

Your experience is invaluable and educational!!