Vb bodywork and paint

[NZR8]

Hey so my vb basically needs a restoration, although it is pretty straight but has rust in all doors and possibly behind front and rear screens and a fair bit of surface rust around the body.
I was budgeting on up to 10k for panel and possibly up to 10k for paint aswell but got a panel beater to have a look and he reckons it will be 20 or so just to take all rust out and get it straight enough for paint because it will need to be sandblasted because of surface rust which is $2500 and said can easily put $2000 into each door (although I will be trying to find some rust free ones) and can be $2000 or so if the rust is bad behind the screens and then basically everything else adding up.
so my question is who has tackled it themselves? I’m a stainless welder/fabricator by trade but have never worked on car panelwork before but the reality is if I have to save the money and pay someone it will never happen at that kind of money.
What’s everybody’s thoughts?

 

[losh1971]

Yeah panel work is expensive. I'd be looking at stripping it down to the shell yourself and replacing as many rusty panels you can with good ones. Unless you're really attached you might be better off finding another VB body.

 

[figjam]

Your VB sounds like it is in the condition that my HJ wagon was before I had it restored. In hindsight, a waste of money. I did not do it myself, I had it done by a local, but very proficient panel beater/spray painter. I can't remember what it cost, but it was a lot cheaper than a new car.

The car was 25 years old, the body was straight, had never been pranged, interior and engine had been replaced over the years, and I thought that the car was irreplaceable, as an equivalent Commodore to my liking did not exist.
It bought an extra 7-8 years life to it before the tin ants appeared in places that were beyond fixing, all around the roof gutters, top of windscreen, front chassis rails, and door jambs. In short, the body was stuffed and the structural integrity was suspect.

When it got rear-ended while stopped at traffic road works, insurance-wise it should have been written off, and I could see all sorts of structural problems, but, being a bit short of $$$ I convinced the panel shop to dodgey it up so I could get a few more years out of it, (not a wise decision,) and that was when the penny dropped. 12 months later I gave it away to be re-incarnated as a donor vehicle for a 1tonner and sedan, as it had a lot of good/special interior and mechanical bits.

Moral of my story, unless you have a lot of $$$$, don’t restore a rusty car. You are just delaying the inevitable.

 

[delcowizzid]

My mate just got 2 hq monaro doors fully repaired metal finish like new for 1000 each they were pretty bad

 

[Vin999]

Hey so my vb basically needs a restoration, although it is pretty straight but has rust in all doors and possibly behind front and rear screens and a fair bit of surface rust around the body.
I was budgeting on up to 10k for panel and possibly up to 10k for paint aswell but got a panel beater to have a look and he reckons it will be 20 or so just to take all rust out and get it straight enough for paint because it will need to be sandblasted because of surface rust which is $2500 and said can easily put $2000 into each door (although I will be trying to find some rust free ones) and can be $2000 or so if the rust is bad behind the screens and then basically everything else adding up.
so my question is who has tackled it themselves? I’m a stainless welder/fabricator by trade but have never worked on car panelwork before but the reality is if I have to save the money and pay someone it will never happen at that kind of money.
What’s everybody’s thoughts?

As figjam said ... think about it, it makes big CENTS and save you heaps of dollars.

I am doing a car now sitting on homemade dolly wheels, I have restored/washed/wire brushed, etched and painted every original suspension part and brake components including diff and reinstalling complete new bushes, springs, shockers and disks, its taken ages cleaning 30 year crap and taking things of and tagging them in boxes, it aint expensive because I am doing all the **** myself along with pressure wash and paint under the body and mechanical work. Now I am ready to strip engine bay metal for an original colour respray but I am not going to touch the outside paint body.
I was lucky to find an original pretty much rust free car unmolested fully factory optioned car and that is the reason plus a efi conversion that I am doing the resto. My paint is in fair condition and after a fine cut back I will get it clear coated and polished back as a cheap way of getting more years out of car with shine and leave it at that stage without disturbing any rust time bomb that would definitely be lurking under old paint jobs. and enjoy car for an old dinasour that it is.

I have so many times stopped myself (money vs reality and the penny drop scenario) going down the path you want to do as in bare chassis sand plasting and stripping interior and every body part gut job, but trust me it aint worth it unless you have the vb brock race car.

But if you want to spend nearly as much as a new gen 4 car by the time your finished that's ok, even though car is over capitalised....at least you have the stainless/welding skills you can save a lot of money on body work if you replace rusted parts with available new body panels from rare spares and get a new paint job, but its gonna take time a lot of time and dealing with a lot of people who only car about the money.

If you have the passion for that model do it, enjoy and learn new things but as figjam said maybe help yourself and at least get a better less rusty donor body, good luck and enjoy what ever journey you do.

 

[figjam]

My mate just got 2 hq monaro doors fully repaired metal finish like new for 1000 each

I had a HQ Monaro, bought from the original owner, garaged, definitely no rust. It alternated it’s duties being driven as a daily, or sitting in the garage unregistered.
My intention was to ‘showroom recondition’ it, ( I think the HQ shape is the best looking coupe, of any) but apart from removing the vinyl roof, cleaning, polishing and replacing interior bits, it never happened.
About 10 years ago, another penny dropped with me, and I sold it for about a quarter of what it would be worth today, but I don’t regret doing that. Sometimes ambitions and reality can be confused.

 

[Vin999]

I had a HQ Monaro, bought from the original owner, garaged, definitely no rust. It alternated it’s duties being driven as a daily, or sitting in the garage unregistered.
My intention was to ‘showroom recondition’ it, ( I think the HQ shape is the best looking coupe, of any) but apart from removing the vinyl roof, cleaning, polishing and replacing interior bits, it never happened.
About 10 years ago, another penny dropped with me, and I sold it for about a quarter of what it would be worth today, but I don’t regret doing that. Sometimes ambitions and reality can be confused.

I get what you mean I sold my hq monaro many years ago, I was happy I still made a good profit, just recently I came across it by chance and it still has the original plates, but wow it had a complete resto job and looked liked when I first bought the car. I am glad someone else did it and not me considering the pricetag required, I couldnt handle the stress of looking over my shoulder all the time with a $100k vintage car with certain type people around., no problems driving it though, at least we can admire what they done them and not have to worry about the paranoia of having 1.

 

[Trevor loves holden.]

Unless the vb has some kind of close family connection then why a vb weren't they the worst model of that serries, how's the boot carriage my bro vc rusted out he had to get a boot floor welded on but he did drive on the sand a lot putting the boat in the bay. He brought the VC new had it for awhile went through 3 motors, 2 blue then last black engine first one shot a lifter out the side of the block and into the starter motor. Car paint jobs ant the expensive part its preparation if you can sort the rust out and prime it u will save your pocket.

 

[keith reed]

I have spent an eye watering amount on my vh (lot on bad work) and even I would baulk at what you are thinking of doing. If the car is a v8 it
would be touch and go as to whether it is viable. Dump it and buy something in better condition.
If however you have your heart set on keeping it and you have one close to you enrol in a night panel beating course at your local poly tech. As you already have welding skills it should be fairly easy for you to pick it up.

 

[NZR8]

I have spent an eye watering amount on my vh (lot on bad work) and even I would baulk at what you are thinking of doing. If the car is a v8 it
would be touch and go as to whether it is viable. Dump it and buy something in better condition.
If however you have your heart set on keeping it and you have one close to you enrol in a night panel beating course at you local poly tech. As you already have welding skills it should be fairly easy for you to pick it up.