jay770

Hey guy new to CO. Here's a few thing about my car. Its a 1971 cutlass S. it has a 455 engine, front disk brakes etc. My problem is I'm eager to drive it but I dont wanna just put paint on top of rust. My question is where do I start body or frame, engine and trans. what? Also Im here in Atlanta Ga and haven't been able to find any shops here that doesnt sound like there just trying to rob me. Example Atlanta Auto Restorations told me 50,000 at the least. Another interior shop "forgot there names" said my interior would be 4500.00. Does these prices sound about right.
P.S.
All of this because I went to a YearOne car show.

70 cutlass s

Hi welcome to the site. No on 50,000 for just a S model you would never be able to sell it and get your money out of it. You can buy really nice ones for around 10,000-15,000 that have been restored or in very nice condition.

What to start with it, depends on the condition of the car. How much rust are we talking about? Pics would help.

We have a few members that live in your area that might know of a good person to do the work.

joe_padavano

The sad reality is that it is not cost effective to pay a professional shop to completely restore most cars. $50K is probably about right, given labor costs. That's why most of us do the work ourselves. Even then, a good quality resto will cost upwards of $10K in parts alone. Interior kits (seats, door panels, carpet, and headliner) will likely run close to $2K for materials, plus installation. Rust repair and paint is an open ended question, but good quality work with new metal properly welded in takes a lot of labor. Even with the body straight and rust free, a quality paint job will be anywhere from $5K to $8K if you have all the work done. I paint my own cars and it will cost me close to $2K just for materials. If you're cash-limited (and who isn't) then consider taking automotive courses at the local community college and working on your car there. My friend took several engine building courses and built the 215 in his Jetfire over a couple of semesters. That included doing his own porting work, boring the block, etc.

jay770

Hey thanks for the reply Im new to this wholw forum thing how dow you load pic or make one of those picture links

Oldsguy

Here ya go!
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ng-photos.html

Jamesbo

When you reply make sure you are in “Advanced” If it says post a “Quick reply” hit “Advanced”

Scroll down below the box you type in and hit “Manage Attachments” A new box will pop up.

Hit “Browse”

The hit “Upload” and wait a few secs for the pics to up load. Then close this box.
Next you can hit “Preview Post” and your pictures should be there.

There is a size limit on pics