Newer car Basket Case

I agree this sounds like a nightmare. I used to have a motor cycle shop that I ran. Oh course when starting the business up I would accept jobs that I didn't really want but needed to get the word out that I did a good job on service and repair. I always lost my butt on these types of jobs as it's almost impossible to account for your time up front. And most people won't pay you straight time unless you are on a very good relationship with them and the bike is a restoration that's worth money when done. Best of luck on this one, hopefully all the pieces are there.

Brian

I feel very very sorry for you. It sounds like a dredful nightmere. On the customer's part, I understand liking a car and wanting to keep it going. I like my car, but it IS still just a Grand Am, and I'd probably just throw my hands in the air and search out for another car. Even if I just had hopes of having all the parts I needed at my disposal.

I'm not at all suggesting that to you, that would be dumb. But I honestly don't know if I'd go through all that trouble as the customer. Doesn't seem worth it to me. All this money could be spent on a better car.

Best of luck on this one though!! Honestly.

Tony

As far as missing parts you probably will be OK because the former guy didn't want to take of more than necessary, hopefully. You may have to scronge aroung those boxes for miscellaneous. The engine you're getting doesn't sound like a prize, but maybe it will be a surprize. If they didn't want to take any chances and did the head gaskets while the engine was out that could be a plus. I'm sure you will warn your customer that you can't warrant an engine you did not work on and never heard running. You can offer that the both of you will have to watch it closely for early failures. He must have gotten some short warranty with the engine, excluding your labor of course.

Actually the customer wants to get it running properly, drive it for a month or two, then sell it. About the only way they can break even on the money spent. The salvage value of the car with out a good engine is very low. Even though the rest of the car is in better then average condishion. Charles

I wouldn't say that. The other "mechanic" is nothing more then a parts changer. A rather good conn artist. I personally can't stand him. He used to work for my land lord, who he ripped off.

Some odd things are missing. He pulled the fuel rail out. Moved it over, left it connected. Yet one of the injectors is gone. The belt tensioner has been disasembled, and the spring cover is gone. I know I will have to make a few trips to the salvage yards. Thankfully I know where a 95 Grand Prix is sitting with a bad engine that I can rob bols from. Charles

Better stop at the drug store for that big bottle of Tylenol.

Sounds like its going to be headache time.

========= Harryface =========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~282,025 miles_~_~_

~_~_~_~_U.S.A._~_~_~_~_~_

~~~The Former Fleet ~~~

89 Cavalier Z 24 convertible 78 Holiday 88 coupe 68 LeSabre convertible 73 Impala sedan

In this case Charles:

Your responsibility is to warranty the installation only!

I.E.: Wiring as connected or any repairs made to wiring, belts and hoses for leaks or slippage. (They are responsible for quality) Loose or missing bolts, because you can go to a salvage yard to get what's missing and charge by the hour, plus a procurement fee.

I would by no means warranty the customer supplied assembly!

I have done basket cases like this, being one of the very few shop operators in the area, with the brains to work out of a hornet's nest that some back yarder, or a friend of theirs weaved.

So my advice: "Don't warranty what you have no control over, motor or transmission!)

Refinish King

I bet as a drive in $100.00?

as a tow away, free towing, for the title?

Around here tops for a good running 94 drive in with a rotted sub rail: $200.00!

Refinish King

condishion.

Running the local salvage yards would pay as much as $500.

As a dead car with no engine, missing parts $100.

That's because it is in above average shape, and has less then 100K miles. Charles

This area's tight!

You can get 3.1's with less than 100K for $300.00 or less. With amazingly low miles, $350.00 to $400.00.

The salvage yards in the immediate area pay shit and a nasty hello around here, when I ran the shop full time, I couldn't get more than $50.00 a car.

It's a depressed area, with lots of rich people, so I made the money on restorations, and the spoiled little rich kid's newer cars. But made a decent living off of the average Joe, I couldn't overcharge them, because they worked for a living like me, that's why I was so popular with them. I always gave them a break and respect.

Screw the rich!

Refinish King

This is the Gen III Heads engine. First Beretta 94 to 96 and only a few other cars, due to an extra sensor location in the back head. If you can get the late 94 to current 3100 (3.1's) that cheep, I might have to come get them from you.

Depends on the car, the yard, and whats wrong with it. We would pay $50 for any american car that was intact, yet in-op. $50 for anything you could drive in. One or two that we paid $1000 for. They were all rebuilders, and all late models. We would pay $500 or so for cars we could sell atleast $2000 worth of parts from. That's before over head costs.

I remember one peson who came in. Drove his 1979 Buick LeSabra in with him. Tried to sell it to me for $1000. Said he had called us for months writing down the prices of the parts we quoted him on the phone, and swearing we would make $1000 to $1500 off his car.

We had 25 1977 to 1985 LeSabra RWD's in the yard. Most bought for $50, or given to us. Low demand on the parts, easy to get vehicals. We mostly used them from monster truck shows.

When I explained that to that idiot, you would have though I had just shoot him in the nut sack.

Sounds about like the business the body shop I worked at got. We specialized in Restoration work. Always had some old tin in the shop awaiting parts, or free time. We would do average joes collision work, and some rich boys customs work. The problem with this area is, not enough people want to restore older cars to make a go of a small resto shop. Charles

Here:

You could do restorations and close the door to collision work. but when you do the facts and figures: restorations at $60.00 an hour and collision at $42.00 an hour. You can always beat flat rate from the collision guide on collision, so collision is always the winner in the profitability ledger.

Paint and materials: the insurance companies squeeze your nuts so tight, it's a wonder that you make any money at all on a collision, and you have to fight on a small job. because they pay on refinish time percentage for materials, so $22.00 per hour on a 2.0Hr. spot job, you can't even prime the job for that!

Of course unless you want to use off brand shit?

not me!

Refinish King

PPG for most of my career and not a problem yet. Every time I used Dupont, always a pissed off customer!

Our little cheat was we would always bill a customer for paint. Even if we had a quart of that color in the cabinet that we bought for another car. If we did paint work, and you were not getting a bulk amount done, you got charged for a quart. Regaudless of who you were.

We had a pretty good relationship with a few insurance adjusters. We would also try to under bid some of the larger collisions shops on a job. Plus when ever we found a problem, we would call the insurance company first, then the customer. Im not sure what Jim usually billed his labor at, I think it would change if he knew the person. He did my dad's car twice (got rear ended, and then months later a deer). Did my mom's van, did allot of extra work for almost nothing. Some how got the insurance to cover a broken winshield when it was rear ended. I still can't make heads nor tails of that one.

Nope. Off brand stuff is ok for Demolition Derby Cars. Heck for them the Equpiment paint Tractor Supply Company sells is perfect. Cheep per gallion, holds up to a few good hits. Dry's well in less then clean area's. Lay a few good coats on, and it holds up to weather pretty good too. Rustolium Equipiment paint does well also.

Sounds like Jim there. Heck we even used PPG plastic body filler. He did one 1969 Camaro Convertible that the customer speced DuPont paint on it. Took three months to get it right. Every time we would buff it out, something didn't look right. Everything else I saw him paint was with PPG.

BTW: how much do you charge to lay down a show & street (#2 driver) on a

85 T/A with factory ground effects, and the areo wing? Plus a fiberglass cowl hood (bolt on harwood). I was going to try my hand at it, but it's been so long since the body shop days, Im no where near good enough to get the quaility I want. I was going to have a buddy of a friend do it, but after seeing some of the recent flops he's had.. Well I think I need someone of a higher caliber.

Charles My S-10 4x4 is going to be DP90. Nothing else looks right on it.

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Providing my building is built:

you bring the car wit parts all removed. I can do it for about $2,000.00to $2,500.00 plus materials, providing the car is fair condition?

That's a lot less than I charge the regulars!

Refinish King

I have a complete fuel injection rail, and a rebuildable head for that motor...I also have the upper intake, , and the large intake hose off of it.

I could bring you a shell with trailer axles under it, doors, hood, fenders, hatch (with wing on it) un-attached. Most for the parts sand blasted and just in a sealer coat to prevent surface rust. My Land Lord has a sandblasting business, and cuts me a break on blasting. He's pretty good at it (I have seen far, far worse, and a few better).He does a lot of car bodies, and I have yet to see him warp a paniel.

After the vandelisim, the body shell has some large dents. Someone took cross bracing for some pallet racking and used it to beat the body. Every window got broken. The winshield has a 4 inch hole in it, they even smashed the gauge cluster! So it's no where near decent. Part of the reason I want someone who is good to do her. She's my pride and joy. She will never be prefect by any means, I just want to restore her former glory, maybe a bit better. A part of me died when she got in the shape she is in. Charles

Not many people get asked to even ride in my Trans Am, Fewer still are trusted to touch it, so far no one but me has ever repaired her.

Ill keep that in mind. I have thought about converting an older 2.8 car to Gen III 3.1/3100 head, intake, and injection set up. How much would you want for the parts you have? Charles

cheap.....If they are in fact what you are looking for. I would need to run the number on the head to be 100% sure. I am second guessing myself. The motor was out of a 1994 Grand Am. They are well used parts and have no clue what they are worth. I won't gouge you. I also have the steel coolant hose to go with the parts too. I dunno. see what they go for around you, and then I'll price mine taking shipping into consideration, and try to beat thier prices with shipping....Hows that sound?

Go figure...they sponsor Jeff Gordon...ewwww

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