Thanks Mike, on the one hand I agree completely, but then again I've seen works of art come out of the joe average garage. And maybe to some extent some of those cars may have even been nicer in the long run. I certainly understand the idea of the work on a (don't shoot me people) but, a lesser car. Only problem is, I don't have any. I only have 2 muscle cars...a 70 challenger conv. and a 70 Charger. Both are the exact cars I have always wanted. If having the work done was cheaper, I don't think it would be as big of an issue as it is. So on the one hand do I want to wait a year for a shop to do it and get charged a good amount for the work, or try to tackle it myself as budget allows, at my pace, learning as I go, and probably take 2 or 3 times longer. I have already reserved myself to thinking I would not attempt any work til I bought the majority of the needed parts/peices upfront. This is why I was asking what the associated costs are to doing it yourself. Assume my local shop would do if for say average of $10,000 (read prev post)plus my say $5000 for sheet metal parts, that would be $15,000. So what would it cost me to do it if I bought the sheet metal and everything else. $5000 plus ?????? I mean if it were to cost me say another 8grand, then I don't think it would be worth me tackling. It is just tough coughing up that kind of money, when I don't make much to begin with. And just out of curiousity, I have never really dealt with a shop before. How do people normally pay for that kind of work? Upfront, cash, credit, at the end????