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MG MGB Technical - rust repair

What is the shop time for replacing complete sill sections on both sides of car and rear quarter panels from the chrome line down?
I have been quoted up to 150 hours???
One side has already been stripped off ready
for new panels. 1973 mgb roadster
W.A Good

At $50/hour that is $7500, at a more realistic $75/hr. in most places that is $11,250. I'm speaking US $$. Does the estimate include a show quality paint job?
It seems to be an excessive time estimate to me, but I'm not a professional body repairman. FWIW, Clifton
Clifton Gordon

i was quoted $6500.00 to replace sills all 4 pieces per side and both rear quarter panels including paint
(a base/clear,urethane.)he said he charges
$2000.00 to spray. he is your backyard bodyman,who belongs to the local car club and has a high standard of work.
W.A Good

How much is a Heritage body shell?
Bill Boorse

That is ridiculous! The cost including panels should be no more than £350 or 750 canadian dollars per side.
Chris Betson

W A I think your man is high but I think Chris is low It really depends on the quality of the job but my thought is you should get a very nice job for a little less then half your quote- Ric
R E L Lloyd

I agree with Chris --its rip-off artists like that make people invest more then a car is worth to revive it.It also causes lots of salvageable cars to be scrapped. Surely a club member shouldnt put it to a fellow LBC owner so badly.
I guess that explains why I prefer to do my own work.
Gil Price

Chris is absolutely right, most places in the UK quote at about £350-500 per sill, I believe. And that includes the metal necessary. That's probably about 10-20 hours per side?
However, as I am discovering, a simple sill job may end up uncovering other areas needing attention. I knew my splash panel support and trumpet needed doing, but when they cut the back panel I decided on having the whole lower half rear wing replaced which has added to the time factor.
The biggest problem I find with some specialists is that they don't stay focused! They quote a turnaround time of five days, and now two months later........with the sill removed but no progress, I can hardly threaten to drive the car elsewhere, they've got me by the proverbials!
Martin

In 1998 the PO of my car had complete new sills castle plates jackpoints etc plus new lower front and rear wings, from local non MG body shop, with appropriate internal rust treatment, waterproofing & repainting. Quality of work is superb and there are no visible signs of the repairs even now. I was surprised that this cost £2700, which must have been more than the current value of the car. I think I would have shopped around a bit more! This amount would equate to about $6000, it looks even worse in dollars.
FWIW
V Todman

£2700 - That doesn't sound as unreasonable as it looks if you work on £1000 for the two sills. Then the lower half wings are probably around £200 to buy, and then you have the pleasure of welding all that flat panel without distortion. Probably would have been cheaper to fit new wings! And then the paint work. If the PO didn't do the prep work then there is a fair bit of cost there, too, stripping the interior for welding, preparing the panels for painting etc and polishing and re-fitting which all adds to the labour.
But that is the joy of buying someone else's expensive restoration as opposed to doing it yourself! Chequebook restorations are ok for exotica, but for MGs you need to muck in and do as much as possible yourself to minimise the pain!
FWIW
Martin

Hate to say this, but once the rust is really in their, you are probably better off sourcing another car...the body is always more important than the mechanicals IMHO...you never seem to get rid of all the rust unless you are basically taking the car to bare metal...and at $50-75/hr, it's always gonns cost cost cost!
Pete
P J KELLY

This thread was discussed between 15/09/2003 and 16/09/2003

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