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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff/Illinois
Ouch. I've heard anything associated with the SF area is big bucks!!
Interesting thread here. Makes me think of the cars that Marshall has come across in his travels that were 'restored' that he has tried to make right. Some pretty roughly 'restored' cars running around out there many of them outright dangerous.
I guess, in retrospect, I'm thinking of the 'fun factor' involved. Fine Point cars are really cool, I love seeing them, but they don't fit my budget as I have a number of hobbies to attend to not just Model A's. Any hobby from guns to petroliana to coins to golf to horses to boating to 60's Muscle Cars to about anything out there, takes preemo bucks if you want to really get involved and go all the way. Therefore I guess I fall into the fun-to-have-a-solid little driver Model A Ford that is pretty much original in appearance but is never going to be on the cover of Model A News or The Restorer, and that is OK with me. You can spend some money on them as your budget allows to keep them safe and running well and go from there. And have fun with the car.
But, if you have that car that Grandad bought new, been in your family for many years, maybe Uncle Bud was sitting in the car the morning he heard of the Pearl Harbor attack and then he went off and joined the Marines etc. by all means spend the money to keep it up to a high level and keep the car in a controlled environment garage that's the key. And, by all means don't let it sit in a Morton building with a dirt floor.
And one other very important thing here on this, at least so far here in the USA we aren't being screwed with big taxes like our friends in Australia and New Zealand are. That adds a lot to the expense.
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Jeff, as I pointed out above, the price of quality labor is on the rise, and the cost of business overhead has risen too. Its not just in the SF area. Shops in larger metropolitan areas now must charge $90-100 an hour to be able to show a profit.
While it might seem like they are getting rich, I suggest you look at what other shops or professional services must charge to pay their bills and stay in business.
On a Model-A. when you break-down all of the different sheetmetal components that must be painted, ...and then add up the straightening time, the priming & blocking time, the refinishing time, and the polishing time for a professional quality paint job on each of those components, it is easy to have 4 weeks or 160 man-hours in producing a paint job. Now price-out what good quality primers and paints are plus materials, and you will find $1½-2k for just materials. Total all of that and tell me what the price is.
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