A repair/paint shop near St Louis?

[stever_sl]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by jclay</i>

Starts at $5000 and goes up, to totally strip the can, repair or replace all panels that have rust and repaint.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I'm ready to pay for a full treatment. Thanks for the lead, I'll definitely follow up.

[TR7Aaron]

Steve,
You've stated that this particular car is important to you, and I can understand that. But... for $5000, you could buy a REALLY nice TR7 (or maybe a TR8) and be driving and enjoying it within a week or so.
If you go the restoration route, how much of your original car will still be original after the restoration? Plus, you'll probably not get to drive the restored car for a year or more while it's being done.
I recommend (and have before) NOT to restore the car.
TR7's are still inexpensive enough that for $5000, you could conceivably buy 2 - 4 of them that still run and drive.

Once again, I understand the sentimental 'value' attached to cars (and other stuff too), but from a financial standpoint, it doesn't make any sense to sink 5k into a TR7.

JMHO

Aaron
1976 TR7 FHC (an ongoing project)

[PeterTR7V8]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by TR7Aaron</i>

Once again, I understand the sentimental 'value' attached to cars (and other stuff too), but from a financial standpoint, it doesn't make any sense to sink 5k into a TR7.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

That makes me feel pretty stupid. I'm starting from a low base though. [B)][:)]

Its true what you're saying & I give the same advice to anyone before starting a costly resto. But sometimes this is the car you want to be tied to. Like, I would rather pay to make my wife look like Jessica Alba than marry Jessica Alba. I think that is the same thing but don't quote me on it.


Never say die. At least not while you're still breathing.

[jclay (RIP 2018)]

Gee, that is strange. I have put over $15,000 in mine and I haven't even repainted it or redone the interior.

jclay

[url="http://web.mac.com/jclaythompson/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html"]My Triumph Site[/url], [url="http://web.mac.com/jclaythompson/iWeb/Technical/Intro.html"]Technical Stuff[/url], [url="http://homepage.mac.com/WebObjects/FileSharing.woa/53/wo/HJMTK8gsojtwKleP.1/0.2.1.2.26.31.97.0.35.0.1.1.1?user=jclaythompson&fpath=Triumph_Articles&templatefn=FileSharing4.html"]Download Page[/url]

[Cobber]

<font size="2"><font face="Comic Sans MS">Well now the question of where is point that sets the level of rational economic capital investment in a restoration isn't always easy to determine, it's dependant on what you hope to achieve with the restoration.

If your really lucky, you can end up with a small fortune restoring cars, the trouble is you need a large fortune before you start!

If your only interest is making money, don't waste your time on a resto project you'll never recover the capital outlay.
But that's not why we're here is it?
So what you need to judge is, are you going to get sufficient enjoyment out of the resto process and the finished product the justify the cost?
The longer you are going to keep the car, the more the cost can be justified.
Indeed if your are in for the long haul then el-cheapo patch up jobs are not going to make much economic sense as not only will you have more down time every time the car falls to bits, it'll end up costing more to keep patching it up in the long run and you will probably end up with a piece of worthless scrap at the end of it all!
Where as if you do the job right you'll only have to do it once, Do it wrong and you'll have to keep redoing it until you finally do it right!
Having said that, you should always start any resto from the best possible base car that you can afford, as you can waste a lot more money trying to polish a turd than you would spend on buying a half decent car to restore in the first place!
Now here's where you have to ask your self, What do I want? What do I want it to do? What do I want to do with it? & How long am I going to want it for? Then divide the cost over those goals and see if your going to get the bang from you buck$ that your going to be happy with!

There endeth the lesson!</font id="Comic Sans MS"></font id="size2">

80'Triumph TR7, , 73'Land Rover (Ford 351. V8),
'89 Ford Fairlane
85'Alfa 90, 69'Ford F250.
76' Ford F100

[jclay (RIP 2018)]

Well, God has blessed me with some surprise money. So, I didn't have to sell my 7 to pay for my daughter's weddings. (2 in 10 months!)

No money left for cars, but family is really more important that Triumphs. (I keep telling myself that!) One 4th of July, I crawled out from under my car in the middle of pulling the trans, just to take my baby to see the fireworks. Finished the job about 3am.

God
Wife
Daughters and son-in-laws
Grandson
Triumph

All the rest is small stuff!


jclay

[url="http://web.mac.com/jclaythompson/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html"]My Triumph Site[/url], [url="http://web.mac.com/jclaythompson/iWeb/Technical/Intro.html"]Technical Stuff[/url], [url="http://homepage.mac.com/WebObjects/FileSharing.woa/53/wo/HJMTK8gsojtwKleP.1/0.2.1.2.26.31.97.0.35.0.1.1.1?user=jclaythompson&fpath=Triumph_Articles&templatefn=FileSharing4.html"]Download Page[/url]

[stever_sl]

I don't really care what the restoration of this particular car of mine costs. I'm not rich, but just this once I don't have to worry. I bought this car when I was young, the very first new car I ever owned, and it oulasted my first wife and my second wife, it's been with me through 4 jobs in 3 states, it's seen all of my daughters born and raised and out on their own. It's "my" car in a way that no other TR7 could ever be. Practicality doesn't enter into it!

What would a new 2-seater cost today? That's a good yardstick for what I'm willing to pay to get mine back on the road. In the meantime, while I wait, I wouldn't say no to a nice TR8 to round out my "collection"!

- Steve Richardson
St Louis MO
76 TR7 (original owner)

[jclay (RIP 2018)]

Good on ya', Steve!

[FI Spyder]

Makes the decision a lot easier if you look on the restoration as a hobby rather than a chore. In my case I have TR7 to drive (Spider), It's a hobby for me, Yellow TCT has only 30,000 miles and cost me $100 with rust on only two spots other than surface rust on some edges.

While it is better to start with a better car than a cheap rusty one Steve has a strong point.

On the other end of the scale there is a young fellow that spent $2,000 on a rusty coupe and had a chance to buy my Yellow TCT before I bought it and use his coupe for parts but wanted a coupe (probably felt he waisted his money) and turned it down.





TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra

[Hasbeen]

When you put it that way Steve, of course it's the right thing to
do, & the best of luck with it.

I had a yacht for 22 years. For 15 of those she was my home,
workshop, & means of travel.

It took me 5 years from when I stopped using her, to when I could
let her go, & yachts, not used, are a big problem.

Make sure you keep us up with progress.

Hasbeen

[TR7Aaron]

I didn't mean to offend anyone regarding "is it worth it". That's obviously a personal choice and I fully understand it.
FWIW, I've spent boatloads of money on medical costs for my dog(s) whereas many others would have the attitude of: "why bother, it's just a dog".
To each his own and I respect that.
Steve, if you decide to tackle some of the work yourself and need a helping hand, contact me and I'd be glad to help.


Aaron
1976 TR7 FHC (an ongoing project)