Frame off restoration - quotes please

[andyman86]

So it seems that there are a lot of members on here who maybe own or manage their own shop or work at body shops, and I'm hoping you guys can give me some insight on this.  I'm looking for a price quote on a frame-up restoration - excluding motor work or mechanical work.  I'm talking just frame and body.  I have an 86 K10 shortbed that needs work.  I don't have the facility, time, or know-how to do all that it needs but if I were to pay someone to restore the frame and body, what do y'all think it would cost (ballpark figure of course)?  Here's some more details:

- 1986 Chevy Silverado K10 Fleetside Shortbed
- rusty frame (but mostly just surface, very minor pitting)
- standard body rust at cab corners, rockers, and lower edges of the doors
- rusted through at two or three spots on the firewall, especially at the corners where the windshield meets the cowl and under the cowl
- both front inner fenders are rusted through at various spots
- bed and tailgate are solid as a rock
- would be interested in doing full body paint once all the body work is done (but not showroom quality)

So, lets assume I'll do the mechanical restoration bits along the way once the frame and body are safe and secure.  And lets also note that I do not want or need to make this a show truck.  Just good enough to last as a daily driver/hunting/fishing truck that maybe my unborn son can inherit one day.  What kinda price range am I looking at?

Thanks as always,

Andy   

[fitz]

I'll toss out a number of $8000 for driver quality work.
That's for labor, materials, and aftermarket parts (doors, fenderwells, etc).
Let's see what Blazin & Lorne have to say.

[winky]

Our shop charges $79 hr labor on body labor.
Assuming you just blasted frame with leafs and diff still on I'd say somewhere close to 20 hrs that's including removing cab bed etc..
Fenders 4 hrs (just paint prep de badging, not fixing dents )
Doors  5 hrs
Cab 5
Bed 5 (not including the inside of the bed)
Body repairs.. Would you want fiber glass or replacement pannels?
Paint time 15 hrs
That's a rough rough guess add about 10 hrs for stuff I missed.
That's not including paint and supplies etc

[Blazin]

Hard to say without seeing it.
I'd say low price maybe $4,000.00, high price $8,000.00
It depends on what quality of product is used too. Biggest thing to remember is you get what you pay for!

[winky]

^^ exactly if you came to our shop we could do it kinda cheep (compared to most shops) and it look almost just as good. BUT it wouldn't last as long. You want to get all rust spots replaced with metal and have it properly sealed. Your looking at a pretty Pennie. When I go back to work Monday ill get you a better idea but like Blazin said, it's hard to tell without seeing the truck. For all the rust you can see there's almost always just as much there that you can't see.

[andyman86]

I'm sure its very hard to quote without seeing it, so with that in mind I really appreciate the responses and the rough figures you guys were able to provide.  I actually had a worst-case-scenario number of $10,000 in my head, so if it would be $8,000 or less that would actually be really nice (still hurts though).  Would it help if I put some pictures up for you guys to look at?  Sort of a few snap shots of the good, the bad, and the ugly? 

This is the only one I have right now:

 

[andyman86]

Alright that didn't work so well.  I'll mess around with it and get some better, larger, pictures.  Thanks again though everyone!

[Blazin]

Some of the floor, and cab mount area from the underside. the floor with the floor mat pulled back. firewall / inside the cowl. The tail gate hinge area, in behind the tail light. Plus anyother spots you have in mind.

[thirsty]

Maybe one or two of the minor pitting you are talking about on the frame also.