The initial plan was that they were just gonna replace the rockers and
the radiator duct. That was supposed to take two weeks.
When that two weeks was up, no work had been done, but they discovered
that the driver's side frame rail was bent 1/4". Then they suggested
that they just go ahead and do the rest of the bodywork. They promised
the whole job would take no more than two months. Looking back, I should
have been alarmed that nothing had been done to the car during the first
two weeks, but I somehow let that escape my notice.
It has taken the shop 18 months for:
- new rockers
- new radiator duct
- new front fenders
- new hood
- new front and rear valence
- new floors
- new driver's side quarter panel
- frame straighten
- prep & paint.
This doesn't include all the work I did myself -- just little things here
and there, like taking the whole damn car apart, supplying the shop with
all the new parts (yes, I found a real, new hood, non-aftermarket!),
replacing the windshield (never, never try this yourself if you can
afford to have someone else do it), etc...
The good news is, the car is gorgeous and they gave me a serious break on
both the price (less than 4K for all of the above) and the payment terms
(whenever, no interest). Not to mention 18 months of free storage.
Not sure if there's a moral here...
-- Marc
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