Quote: Your car looks great so far, sorry to hear it's not done. I'm not sure American Muscle Car Revolution knew how difficult correct restorations would be! With the amount of real time involved in doing these, the 25k labor charge is un-realistic to me. I'm not here to criticize their work, only to point out some lessons for others.
Everyone seems to say the top shops in the country charge to much, but going by this thread it doesn't seem to be so. Why? EXPERIENCE
At this point you have invested all this money, and time, in a car that is still far from done & driving. You have gotten hosed some horribly inflated prices, like the Frank Badalson trans job! A pro shop could have done this in house for $500.00. You have had to do a lot of research, and a lot of things have had to be redone on this car that should have been done correctly in the first place. A top shop could have had this done already, correct in the details, running & driving delivered to you and for $50-75k, parts & labor. If that sounds like a lot of money, how much is your time & sanity worth??
I hope your car gets done soon, it's very nice! Good luck
I try to tell every potential customer those exact words, but the initial dollar figure of $50-75k sometimes scares people to death. When the expense is drawn over a 2-3 year period that helps a lot. Plus, sometimes people just want to drop off a car, knowing when they get it back, it's correct and has over 200 road miles on it, ready to go-with no headaches to them!
You will have a beautiful car, don't fret!
Thanks for the comments. I am not giving up on anything. This car will always be a work in progress even when its 100% back together. As I find more detail parts, it will add to this project. You have to understand thats it will never see the Mopar Nats or even local shows. I did it because I love these Mopars and they represent a special part of automotive history. Its also kind of a challenge to hunt parts down and the people you meet along the way have educated me quite a bit. Some really good people and in some cases not so good people. The Badalson issue is long resolved. Lesson learned but there wont be a next resto so a lesson to all. Frank is a very knowledgeable person on these cars and I will continue to buy his resto products as I need them. Anyway, when the car comes home and I start working on it, i will post some updated pics every once in a while. In the next week or two, I will give a thorough write up on my experience with AMCR. Stay tuned........
