AMCR -70 RR Vert - $18k MAX labor Rolling Chassis Deal

Ok, here we go. The owner knew that the car had been hit in the left quarter and repaired improperly. He also knew there was rust in the trunk pan and previous repair on the right quarter that needed to be straightened out as well.

He wanted the car done right and he wanted it done for a fair, fixed price.

After seeing what we had done for other customers, he allowed us to give him a firm price labor contract and then he trailered his car over 2500 miles to have us do the job for him.

We're posting the whole job here, start to finish.

A little bondo over rust?

Common problem area...

Still look mint???

How about this side?

Need a closer look?

More?

OK, but this is the last one on this quarter.

Back to business. Here is the part of the back half that didn't need rust repair...

Honestly, the previous repairs were not only done incorrectly, the whole car was crooked. The wheel wells were not even directly across from each other.

Look closely at the left wheel well and how far back it is compared to the right one...

Hmmm, they don't reproduce these parts...

Fortunately, the customer had a spare. But, they sort of modified those at the factory on a car by car basis so it might not fit...

We'll make it work better than new.

What? A piece is missing?

Not any more...

I've just updated the title posting to make it clear that this is a restoration thread and not just a new pricing deal.

More pics later in the week.

I generally don't take too many pictures. Don't have the time. The 70 RR on my sire is a major repair case. Frame rails, inner & outer rockers, pretty much everything from the doors back. I swept more of that car off the floor than was left. I have a 70 Bee I have owned for 30 years I plan on documenting for a book I have in the works. I plan to keep the left low beam headlight and replace everything else. That car will allow me to show every possible area and pitfalls of restorations. I am still envious of the lack of rust on your project.

CLONEGUY LOOKS LIKE YOU GUYS HAVE A GOOD LITTLE BUSINESS GOING,KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK..

just curious what is an approximate material cost, say an average of your last two jobs, no parts just materials,thank you.

Nice project, and it looks like your doing pretty well overall. Its great to see the help your getting from the mopar people and the work looks good. And the end result is a better finished car.

Ones got to admire your commitment to make things as good as they can be for the money involved.

It looks like the service your offering does and will fit a certain crowd.

Dont know why the guy from NY says "Hey look at me" Maybe he needs to start his own post or maybe hes looking for work

Its good to see as well you not just working on the std mopar, now a RR convert

Yes I was a doubter like many at first...but it looks like your train is still rolling down the tracks full speed.

Tim,

Don't be surprised at the skeptical responses. As a society, we've become so jaded and cynical most can't believe what you're doing is real because they've never seen anything like it before. Doesn't matter though, because you sound like a genuinely good guy who is trying to build a business by being honest -- what a novel idea! Keep up the great work... I love to read/see your posts.

So this is a 18K paint and bodywork job?

Not including paint and materials?

Looks good Tim.
I'm still waiting for the " $ X Max labor Scuff,shoot,buff" post!

I spoke with Tim and he sounds like a stand up guy, I inquired about redoing my car, we spoke about details plus he invited me to his shop to look at the work they had done.
I will be taking my car to him for a make over.
It will be going from this ugly yellow to black!

Ralph I like the yellow and black combo... Especially if it's the factory/orginial color...just my

Tim the work looks awesome I have already paid the 18k to the guy I chose but this is what I got back.

If you guys were in australia I'd be there in a shot.What we as customers need is good strong quotes that are stood buy.I paid up front and this is what I got back after over 2 years.This is a genuine R/T and now I'm left to save up from the paint job.

http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t146/kwe38/?action=view&current=untitled.jpg&newest=1

Looks like you guys are doing a great job! Have you ever done a resto-mod or a custom Mopar for a customer?

I'm sorry for the delay in posting. I'm going to add the pics from middle to end on this one today.

This one took longer than it was supposed to as well. Totally our fault as we were juggling this one and the 70 B7 Cuda.

Here's a door latch we had to replace.

More door latch

last latch

Trunk

Trunk Welds

more...

getting serious now...

always butt welds...

More

Other side...

Sealer

more sealer

blah, blah

more blah

bottom

outside sealed

color

other side

Looking good!!!

clear

We don't need no stinkin oven!

Getting closer now...

Ready to go home...

packing up...

Don't forget the decal!

Bye Bye

Tim
Because you butt-welded that patch into the B Pillar for the convertible wedgie thing, does it get reinforced from the backside at all?
Just wondering because of the constant stress, I would be afraid of your welds cracking after being ground flush like that?

In truth, this is what we do best. We'd rather do these partials than anything else.

Unfortunately, the car got home with some scratches in the clear coat. We will be working with the owner to polish them out after the paint has cured.

This is my vert. I purposely waited until I got the car back and looked it over before weighing in on Tim's thread. I've detailed the restoration from my perspective below. I'll follow up with some pix for those that are interested.

Background. My 70RR convertible is an original 383, auto, B3, blue bench seat car. The RR came with a fresh air hood, but no switch/harness. I decided from the beginning to restore this RR as I would have bought it had I been smart enough in the day. I grew up driving a 68RR and have restored a couple 70RR hardtops, so I’m familiar with the 68-70B bodies. My daughter owns a 70 Sport Satellite which sits in my barn (used as a reference). B7 has always been my favorite color so the exterior color choice was easy. I decided to add a 440-6, AM/FM, P/W, PDB, console/buckets (white interior), and the full fresh air system. My goal is to restore it as it would have come off the assembly line with these options/colors.

Condition. The car had been painted at least 3 times. It was hit in the left door area at some point. The door, jamb, and quarter were replaced, rather crudely, with hardtop metal and the left wheelhouse was butchered in the process. I had collected what I believed were the primary body parts necessary to fix the car, including NOS left quarter, NOS rear shelf, mint left wheelhouse (hardtop), extra wheelhouse cap, and AMD full trunk floor. There were a few other odds/ends like the left door jamb didn't have the cutout for the door wedge (which I got from a boneyard 70 Coronet conv). In addition, there was severe rust/prodigious bondo at both qtr-rear shelf joints. I had done some initial bodywork, replacing the radiator side panels to convert from 22” to 26” rad (using 70 Coronet donor). Thx to Scott Smith for the nice repro 26” 956 radiator.

ACMR. I received estimates for bodywork/paint (I’m reassembling the car) from various restorers, some local, some mopar, others multi-makes. In most cases, the estimates varied between mid-high 5 figures, in one case low 6 figures. Interestingly, as I worked my way from California across the country, the estimates generally came down but of course involved increasing distance. I began following the ACMR 70 B7 Cuda thread, intrigued by their fixed price and work with the B7 paint. In my discussions with Tim, he described the research they did on the 70 B7 color for the Cuda. I described the condition as above, with pictures, and we negotiated a fixed labor cost for the following key line items (as stated in the contract):

1. AMCR will restore the body shell to original factory condition
2. Align body panels, doors, trunk, hood to factory specifications
3. Finish with factory B7 Jamaica Blue (70 version), no hood stripe
4. Factory primer/overspray undercarriage

I provided the sheet metal described above, parts needed to do the panel alignments, and was responsible for purchasing required paint and supplies. I’m not going to state the price here, but it was less than their advertised amount. Tim is certainly welcome to comment on the price and my review.

Delivery. I left on Monday, 5 Apr and arrived at Mike’s place (Tim’s partner) around 2pm Thurs, 8 Apr. I trailered the car on my open 18ft car hauler and Chevy 2500HD Dmax. I spent the day talking with Mike at his home/shop. Tim was dealing with some family matters and not available, but I talked with him on the phone several times. Mike and I went over the car, discussed the bodywork/paint, and inventoried the parts I brought with me. We spent some time looking at the 70 Cuda. I departed Thurs evening.

Timetable. In my discussions with Tim and Mike, there was no precise timetable agreed to. Shortly after I dropped the car off, they lost the 3rd member of their team for several months. In addition, Mike was dealing with fairly significant family health issues which I won’t discuss here. Mike is the body/paint guy so he was doing the majority of the work on my car. He isn’t much of a computer geek, so most of the email was between me and Tim. Tim would send regular (occasionally irregular) updates and pictures via email. Mike and I spoke frequently on the phone.

Changes. Mike uncovered substantial repairs/bondo in the right quarter and fresh air hood, and recommended these be replaced with AMD reproductions. Fortunately the AMD 70 fresh air hood is an excellent reproduction. Mike said it fit better than the original. The cost to me was the price of the quarter and hood, no change to the negotiated labor cost. The original plan was for ACMR to install the windshield and conv top, however, since I was installing the dash we decided not to install the windshield. We agreed to forgo installation of the top to save time.

Arrival. The RR arrived Monday, Nov22 via enclosed transport that I arranged. (Sidenote: the fellow that transported the RR was outstanding – would highly recommend him for anyone moving around their prized mopar/classic. Total professional. PM me for contact info.) Roughly 7 ½ months, a little longer than I had expected (4-5mos), but understandable given Mike’s family priorities. When the car rolled off the trailer it was spectacular at first glance. However, on closer inspection, some issues were evident. These are the biggies:

*The trunk lid and hood have clearcoat scratches
*3 holes in the right inner fender, under the washer bottle, were not filled as agreed
*Doors: both are difficult to close. Alignments are good. Mike worked on this for several days without much success and we discussed it along with possible remedies. I’ve managed to get the right door closing almost normally but the left is still problematic. Mike thinks perhaps the new weatherstrip may be too firm. We’re still working this one.

Summary. The bodywork is top notch (there was a lot of it). Panel alignments are good. Hood and trunk close properly. The paint job is very nice, assuming I can buff out the scratches. I’m satisfied with what was done for the cost. Mike is very thorough and takes a lot of pride in his work. He was very distressed about the clearcoat issues and has shipped me some materials for touchup/buffing.

Another arrival pic

Grille installed

I was wondering if any temporary braces were welded in and used across the door openings? Converts are more flexible and a lot of metal was removed from the car, thanks.

Looks pretty good.

Power windows installed and working. I converted from manual windows and used factory hardware. Fortunately the glass/channels are the same. I fabricated the up/down stops. Purchased the harness and regulators from a fellow parting out a 70 Coronet conv with P/W.

Restored heater box ready to go in. Thx to Jules DAddio for help on some parts.

Well I'll be the first to say....

It's great to hear a review from someone finally about AMCR's work

The car looks spectacular for sure and I wouldn't sweat the clear coat issues, they're usually a simple fix.

However without a number figure put on the total cost of the body and paint it's hard for me to voice an opinion on whether or not Tim's offer is a good deal.

I can't speak for all the "doubters", but I confess that I was one of the first ones to say a "full restoration" can't be done for the $25K max...and I'm surprised that you said they have come in under that price.

The one comment I will make (IN MY OPINION) I don't like how the car wasn't properly stripped completely before any of the rust repair was done.
Check out the blasting job on a green A12 in another thread....That's how I start all of my restorations as well, stripped to the bare bones first...Several of Tim's photos on their projects show them welding in new metal right next to painted and sometimes rusty metal.
Again...This is my opinion, and that's not to say there is anything wrong with the method they use.

Yes..I agree with Mike....Before you pull all your hair out..remove the door seals 100% and see then how the doors close.
The best aftermarket seals I've found are Metro SuperSoft They come packaged on purple cardboard.

Makes sense Tim, thanks for the input.

Man, I got a 71 barracuda convert. I should let you do.
But its really, really rusty..Great job for the money...

WoW...Ok...
The total cost to the customer was only $15K for both 1/4's, trunk floor, rad support, etc...ALL body work and final paint and polish???

The owner supplied the parts and paint/supplies ? correct? That had to be another $5K at least, or maybe $7500 ???

I would say that's a DARN GOOD price....not cheap, but not crazy expensive either...The finished product certainly reflects the money spent as well....

Good Job AMCR

It's a good to get feedback from the customer .

so, I'll ask, how good is your metal man?

If he can fix this and still keep the total at or under the 18K for the body alone. ( I'll do everything else ) we need to schedule a shop tour and time frames.
- ps , see below



I'm jossing you on the nose repair part. I've known about this car for 25 years and this nose can't be repaired without a doner for the bent side. It is worst than it looks.

[quote This takes care of issues even if they date back to a late Friday afternoon in 1970 back in Hamtramck.

---

St. Louis

That car looks great and I always appreciate professional builds where the guy posts pics of his work. My 70 RR convert is a rusted mess and I've been mulling over the 'max $25K' resto. for a while. Not ready to not do it myself but boy that and the B7 Cuda gives me something to think about