Help needed - restoration!

Hi guys, the bloke at the body shop has now rejected my car cos its too much work for him cos hes on his own or something, and it is a big job. you will all remember the do a few weeks ago where my mum smashed into it, so theres accident damage to fix aswell. hes the only decent body man in my remote location, and the only reasonable one too.

every where else doesnt seem interested cos they all want stuff thats in and out the same day.

im asking on here for anyone who can, or who knows anyone in the rossendale/burnley/manchester area that can fix my car.

it needs:

a new rear panel fitting,
4 pieces welding in (small) under sills and front arches
tailgate pulling out/filling,
some other dint filling work,
all smoothing, blowing in, and re laquering. (damaged panels only)

i know a lot of you guys restore your own cars but i simply dont have the facilities to do so. i am an engineer so i could fabricate pieces to be welded, but i am very inexperienced with body work. :?

my luck with the whole project has gone steeply downhill :cry: , so any help atall would be greatly appreciated.

cheers
Greg :wink:

keep trying!!!
You'll find a body shop in the end, try ones who specialise in classics - although this may cost more you will get a better job.

I can't believe they all want stuff to do in a day, My wifes car had a scratch on the rear bumper and it took the body shop a week 8O !!

they do that when they fancy charging you for storage! theyll always keep all they can possible to earn some extra cash storing. my mate took in a bumper and a bonnet to be sprayed, kept it three weeks charged 150 quid storage! 8O

they just dont want to take on a job as big as mine, thats why i thought an enthusiast might be interested in doing the job.

Greg :wink:

Greg,
     Try this fella, he runs a body shop that is in Bamber Bridge and he's pretty good. I took my cabby to him and he sorted it properly without any storage charges etc and he had it for a couple of weeks.

The garage is called Auto Body Centre 01772 698969, ask for Dave Pullen and tell him Dan with the red cabriolet referred you. He's just doing my mates Renault Clio after his daughter went into the car in front so he'll be happy to do yours I would expect.

I know that he has a trailer but I don't know if he collects/drops off etc… unless you pay for that.

Most importantly he does a GOOD job. My paint work is still gleeming after 3 years and it VW red… renowned for fading!!!

Hope that helps.

Dan

Hey greg, my sisters boyfriend runs his own little bodyshop. He is a perfectionist and Extremely cheap for his work! A friend of mine was quoted ?700 off somewhere for some paintwork on his corsa and having all the blackbits colour coded but Aaron has quoted him something like ?280 for slightly more work than the other guy was going to do.  It sounds cheap and some say you get what you pay for but I will vouch for him.  He's in the Stockport area. If you're interested pm me and I'll give you his number. Cheers, Andy B.  :twisted:

Just an idea also, rather than getting the tailgate repaired which depending on the amount of damage will only add to the labour cost. buy a "new" straight one and remove the trim off it yourself. Its a lot cheaper to respray a panel than beat and fill etc..

Anyway good luck with it.. I had to see 10 or 12 shops before I found the right one with the same way of thinking as me and a price that was agreeable 8)

thanks guys, iv bin in contact with a few others, they just see a big job with a fair bit of rust and welding and dont really want to know.  they seem to put me off doing the job, or charge something ridiculous to put me off. i suppose its not their everyday work, and basicly cant be arsed. i imagine a body shop man who is keen on the car would do it gladly, most of the mechanics i know love it! shame the bodymen arnet the same

i suppose i was hoping someone on here could do it, as all the shops seem just a waste of time. however, ill get in contact with those above if i cant sort one out, im just getting sick of having a wreck instead of a car :cry:

cheers guys,
Greg :wink:

its a shame you live to far away from the man who did mine, Dave was very thorough and Michael who did the prep and paint was very complimentary about the job done. Including 2xwings 2x sills and rear arches I paid ?610
Dont be put off but look at other avenues, ask 4x4 garages like landrover sales etc.. they always know a welder…

thats the kind of person i need! and that is a very good price too! for that ammount of work anyway. as i said someone with interest would do the work. yeah thanks for that tip, there are one or two other places i will give a try tomorow, think theres a lanny place too. im surrounded by quarries so there are a few crews that trek up there, see them on the trials bikes, theyre often half preped or primered, ill give them an ask next time.  thanks for the advice :wink:

Greg