The 5 Year Restoration - E30 M3 Reborn

[columbo_01]

My dream car. Really.

[CurrusDei]

Scarlett (what I'm calling her now) got to stretch her legs at Petit LeMans this year. Now i have to take all the tires off to get the klag/OPR out of the treads, but it was worth it!




Got to share her with some other enthusiasts too - lots of fun.

[RobE30]

Wow. That turned out great!

[Stanley Rockafella]

Including all body work (various dents and dings), new hood, new undercoating, paint and primer, wetsanding, etc I'm looking at about $8K.

This is for it to be perfect and have a lifetime guarantee on the paint.

I got a few quotes around $4-5k for a mask & spray, but heard so many horror stories about resprays gone wrong from "hey i know a guy" referrals or run of the mill collision shops that I went with a premium shop for a bare chassis full workup. Not saying your guys quoting you are bad (I dont know them obviously), but the stories i heard involved having to re-respray, work not holding up after re-assembly, clear mismatches from stock, ridiculous paint thicknesses, etc. The paint is so key to the result and i did so much work tearing it down that I went with gross overkill.

$8k?!
Recently (two days ago) I was laughed out of a reputable shop that works on Jag e types, 60's Ferrari's etc. when I offered them 15kCAD for similar work

Another reason why Canada sucks!

[Stanley Rockafella]

OP, do you have the specs on the dolly your shop made for you?

[phillipj]

$8k?!
Recently (two days ago) I was laughed out of a reputable shop that works on Jag e types, 60's Ferrari's etc. when I offered them 15kCAD for similar work

Another reason why Canada sucks!

There's a huge range in paint jobs, quality, what you are getting, also where you are in the country. A shop I work with is quoting $20k for complete surfacing and paint labor and materials, single stage glasurit, Linex underside, all small parts included. Depending on what you are really getting $15k canadian from a shop that does eTypes and vintage Ferrari quality work (!!!) might be a slap in the face to them.

[CurrusDei]

$8k?!
Recently (two days ago) I was laughed out of a reputable shop that works on Jag e types, 60's Ferrari's etc. when I offered them 15kCAD for similar work

Another reason why Canada sucks!

Yeh it didnt end up costing $8k. Closer to $13k and thats before accounting for paint correction and PPF

[CurrusDei]

OP, do you have the specs on the dolly your shop made for you?

I dont, but you could go with a dolly instead and use the front and rear mounting points, or just do what we did and use a tape measure and some lumber.

[Stanley Rockafella]

Yeh it didnt end up costing $8k. Closer to $13k and thats before accounting for paint correction and PPF

Good to know!
do you know if they went to base metal or did they only go to the primer level?
The shop I was referring to above, insists that they won't warranty their paint work unless they are able to strip it to the base metal.

[CurrusDei]

Good to know!
do you know if they went to base metal or did they only go to the primer level?
The shop I was referring to above, insists that they won't warranty their paint work unless they are able to strip it to the base metal.

Opinions differ, but we did not sand to bare metal because my shop said that the primer on the E30 M3 is new enough that it is bonded to the car from the factory better than they could recreate if they sanded to bare metal.
The argument for not sanding to bare metal is that the new primer and paint will adhere to the factory primer better than it would to bare metal. This does not apply to older cars.