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I did all the prep work, dent repair and rough blocking on my car. The shop did the final blocking, and painted the car inside and out (door jams, package tray, pillars, trunk, and all the removable parts (splash pans, skirts, etc) in base-coat clear coat for $3,500. That was taking the car to them as shell, no trim, windows, interior, etc.

A gallon of high quality primer alone will cost around $150 with reducer and activator. Figure the same of more of each gallon of paint/clear.

With what I put into with welding, dent repair, filler, masking, primers etc. I probably have a total of about $5000 into the paint. That will me doing all that labor. If a shop did it all, it would have cost me $15,000. Which is really more than my car is worth on it's best day.

So to do it and make the numbers work, I had to invest all the sweat equity.

Let me say I just recently found and skimmed through BigKev's project blog and was very impressed for a number of reasons. Nice job. After the 1st several pages I did jump 4 pages at a time(been there done that) till I got to the paint prep and sprayout. Your journey is a great blueprint for what others should expect as far as tool requirements and time frame and skill level etc. I guess in Cal and in other areas the DEC requires water base and restricts all else. Taking the shell to a booth is the best way. In other locals, single stage, 2 stage,base clear can be had online from HOK and eastwood and others. I can say,very good results can be had with Eastwoods urethane. 120 a mixed gal. 2 gal per car. You must be in a vented enclosure with the correct 3M respirator with prefilter which must be changed to new EVERY project. the charcoal filters loose efectiveness after a week or 2 once opened. But we are getting way ahead. I wish I had documented a paint job to add to the info here. Spraying water base at home is not a viable option. As a computer tech guy by trade your purchase of the welder,flanger,shrinker streacher etc can give some a realistic view of the expenditures involved. Is there a next project in the works for you? Will you attempt a paint job on it? Your just about there as far as tool outlay. I have sprayed with $200 hvlp and a $10 gravity feed and great results can be had with the latter. It is more about the prep, set up,gun adj,and paint reduction.

In Calif, a paint shop is allotted a set number of VOCs for each paint job. So you can either spray Single Stage, or Water-Based color with a Clear over it. The clear uses the VOC allotment, which is basically the same as the Single Stage.

That rule doesn't apply to hobbyist if you are painting less that two cars per year yourself. So if you are a hobbyist, you can spray the good stuff. But, not all paint supply stores carry the full VOC color coats that are compatible with a clear overcoat anymore. since their main customer base (paint shops), can't use them.

My car was painted water-based color with regular clear coat. I painted the dash, other interior bits, and all the black on the car with single stage urethane.


Any new projects are on hold at the moment until bigger life issues are resolved. Going to be home to a different house soon and merging households a bit. So until that all shakes out, nothing else is getting started.

I still tell my sons (who are now grown)that if they want to succeed, there are three things they must do: research, research and more research! Somebone has done it all before and has the wisdom to give good info from their experiences.

Hence this site being so very good for us Packard nutters. And BigKev's Project Blog (amongst others) is a great example of where to go to get the good information and experience to help us.

Excellent advice, which has tempered my rush to purchase a Packard. I have a tendency to create what I term an "artificial sense of urgency' when there is absolutely no need to be in a hurry.

I guess now that I have finally committed myself to eventually buying a pre-War II Packard, whenever I see the "perfect car" i'm fearful I'll never have another chance at such a car. Fortunately, I'm forcing myself to listen to "the voice of reason," and relaxing. I realize I need to take the next few months to research, study, and get to know the lay of the land, AND save money. So, when that "perfect car" comes along, I'll be ready.

In the meantime, I'll be badgering all you poor souls with my endless stream of "routine questions." Luckily, everyone with whom I've chatted, have been patient and helpful.

kind regards
Garrett Meadows

I have five "never another chance like this" cars in my garage and I even missed a couple.

The key is leverage. Compare the difference of what you can do with an old Packard, Buick, Cadillac, whatever in your garage or a pocket full of money.

Barring 250 one hundred dollar bills in your pocket, how is this concept? Instead of buying a project car for, say, $5,000 and spending 3 or 4 nights a week for the next 5 years working in the garage, doing all the hard work, farming out the specialties, spurting out cash in hundred dollar and thousand dollar increments on a project you really hope comes out good; one could get a job in a parts store or evening part time job in some low commitment job and earn about $125 a week. Put all the money into payments for a 48 month, $25,000 loan. Buy the nice finished car and drive it to your part time job smiling the whole time. You could even stop by a friend's garage on the way home when they are burning the midnight oil and see how their project is coming along.

Think about that the next time you are trying to get your nails clean enough to do surgery on Monday.
Bernie

Buy a car with the best paint/body/interior you can. Unless you are dealing with a Twelve engine, mechanicals will usually always be cheaper to fix than Paint/Body/Interior, which are the MOST expensive items to restore.

Extremely sagacious advice. Considering that (a) I live in an apartment, and (b) what I know about the mechanical workings of the most simple gas-powered engine--including lawnmowers--can easily fit on the head of a pin, I have to buy a car that is good to go. Hence, as one kind respondent stated, buy the best car you can afford, so as to minimize creating a "money pit."

I really appreciate you putting my mind to rest about possibly missing those once-in-a-lifetime-cars. As I've discovered, there is an element of fluidity in the availability of Packards often based on the capriciousness of owners/sellers. So, I'm preparing to dig my heels in for the long haul.

kind regards
Garrett Meadows

As you are seeing, pre-war closed 110's and 120's represent a lot of car for the money (just like when they were new). Super 8's was even be a possibility for you. The trim pieces for the Senior Eights are however harder to find because of the power production.

In 1984 I was 35 years old and had been struggling with "restoration" projects since I was 12 years old. I had flown in to Moline, Il. to witness a boiler test at the old Keewanee Steam Boiler Plant. While my colleagues were testing local brews I was on the used car strip looking over the back rows of second rate car lots. Under the lights I remember the moment of my epiphany. Looking at a black mid '70's big Mercury I realized what a head turner a 10-15 year old car, with eyes, could be and how good a well maintained one can be. From that night I decided to maintain my cars in that general condition; just good ten year old well maintained car condition.
I have really enjoyed the hobby immensely since then. I buy better cars, do component restorations, and today I can start and drive everything in the garage. I have defined a pragmatic and achievable standard for myself. It feels great! And I do have a clean car that just turned 20. I bought it a few years ago; no restoration required. I also have a car that I owned in 1984 that was 20 years old at the time. Time goes by quickly.
Bernie