I presume you have not got the skills to do the job yourself or possibly the facilities or tools. If you want to save a lot of money go to night tech and learn how to do it. You get the skills and save a heap of money. Another way is if you know anyone in the panelbeating side of TAFE they sometimes take on jobs for nothing to give the students practical work. I had the offer to paint my van at a TAFE but circumstances changed. I would have had to pay for materials only, labour was free. Knowledge and skills are never a burden.

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Chris

Everything I like is either
illegal, immoral or fattening.

You did say that you wanted it spot on

It`s not surprising to me,

would you like a quote on a brand new twin cam Bimmer 16v cyl head converted complete 1400cc turbo injected power unit now...or will i tell you once you`ve got back up off the floor???

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

No offence at all mate it does appear to be a little "Champayne taste on a beer budget".

Sleeping Beauties has gooses drop off their current country club pissing contest cars to the shop and say "send me the bill".

They must do a reasonable job if they're as busy as they are and people must pay for it otherwise they'd shut the doors, you gotta realise the bloke doing the quotes would visit a heap of guys everyday with the same aspirations of a perfect job but are completely insulted when a price for perfection is given. Quoting high like they do must be a method of sorting the dreamers and the spenders.

If your employment situation entailed doing a job for $5000 or $25000 both involving the same time and effort commitment which one would you take on????.

I'm not defending the guys at all....dont get me wrong, I know of a fella who works there and also know beaters who have visited the place with thoughts of working there and from WHAT I'VE BEEN TOLD they don't really have a lot of equipment in the place compared to the average smash shop, then again some blokes get by with what they've got and do a decent job.

They're probably the only panel shop in QLD making any money out of this god-forsaken industry the rest of us are still working for the same hourly rate we were in 1991!!!! Its not "easy" work otherwise you wouldnt be looking for someone else to do it.

As the saying goes mate, if you want something done right your better off doing it yourself Its not rocket science at the end of the day just hard work and determination, plenty of guys on this forum do an excellent job on their minis with no trade background and only a home workshop to do it in.

Maybe give it some consideration, always plenty of advice to be dished out on Ausmini!!! all you need is a reasonably small investment in the right tools and a willingness to get dirty

I reckon the guy had his fishing rod in his left hand when he quoted you $25k, and maybe something else in his right.

I one person bites at $25k then he is laughing.... all the way to the bank.

Do it yourself you will be amazed how much you learn and how easy it is if you take your time and don't rush.

Daniel

there arent gonna be any rubber/plastic bits in mine either totally naked in 2 weeks thats my goal

_________________
Bling me up Scotty!
"wait till it grows into a plant...then bunny rabbit THE PLANT!"

1966 Morris Mini DeLuxe FOR SALE

hahahaha
let me guess...$15,000? $20,000? personally i'd rather spend that sorta money on the engine than the paint...i have budgeted around the $15K mark for the engine...but i wanna get the body and paint outta the way first then we can talk

_________________
Bling me up Scotty!
"wait till it grows into a plant...then bunny rabbit THE PLANT!"

1966 Morris Mini DeLuxe FOR SALE

yeah true...i am willing to get dirty...wouldnt be taking the thing apart on me own if i wasnt you wouldnt believe the piles of old shite i've found in that mini so far...not much rust as of yet...and absolutely NO sign of bog/major accident damage...

i've always assumed that panel beating was more of an art than a skill...i just really wouldnt know where to start and given my work situation i am not sure i'd be able to do a tafe course

_________________
Bling me up Scotty!
"wait till it grows into a plant...then bunny rabbit THE PLANT!"

1966 Morris Mini DeLuxe FOR SALE

i was fairly honest with him (wolf)...told him $5000-$6000 was my budget for this part of the build and he basically said "there's no way we can do it for that"...he then suggested i strip the paint myself and that would save them a fair bit of time and effort and might bring the body and paint work down into my price range...depending on the extent of panel damage and rust...

_________________
Bling me up Scotty!
"wait till it grows into a plant...then bunny rabbit THE PLANT!"

1966 Morris Mini DeLuxe FOR SALE

I did my course at night many years ago. I presume they still do courses of this nature. Once or twice a week each night for 3 hours per night.

_________________
Chris

Everything I like is either
illegal, immoral or fattening.

this prospect is looking more and more appealing...unless i can find a really good panel beater that i know can do a good job and wont charge the earth...i am gonna go with the TAFE course...

i'll need to invest in a mig welder i guess...

_________________
Bling me up Scotty!
"wait till it grows into a plant...then bunny rabbit THE PLANT!"

1966 Morris Mini DeLuxe FOR SALE

Yeah Andrew, the big problem with this type of job is all the fiddly bits & pieces that have to come off the car,,,then bang into the beating side of it all,,,filling & prepping & painting,,,& then all those fiddly bits & pieces have to be re-furbed & fitted back on,,,sounds simple when in fact """"TO GET IT ALL SPOT ON""" is basically a bucket load of time & effort & bits & pieces & equip & material & & & & &

Lots of that time can & would be wasted too, there is a whole heap of down time in jobs like this. every single time,,, you hand someone a car & ask them to strip it down, make it all wonderfull & then put it all back together perfect, yeah well $25K is about right

If they were just doing a bare body allready delivered like that, a bare body, then $5K is about right too

No,,,it`s not rocket science, but you do have to "KNOW" your stuff or you`ll end up doing that same job over & over & over till you correct all the mistakes of the "LEARNING" process

I didn`t become "TheMiniMan" over night & i don`t work for bottles of Jim Beam (ok maybe on the small jobs )

stick with it Drew,,,you know what you want, aim high & work hard, stick with it & it will happen mate.

Now, about the price on that turbo, injected, twin Cam, 16v, mini motor???

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

well other than the engine and subframes its more or less apart now...i would be more than willing to strip the body back to bare metal if it would bring it down into my price range...

i am quite happy i decided to disassemble and reassemble the mini myself...saves money and its fairly fun, a great learning experience too...sure beats sitting infront of the telly all weekend

seriously...how much would a donk like that cost? a butt-load i am guessing...but if its within $15,000 i'd prolly consider it...as long as i can get 100hp atw...i'll be stoked

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Bling me up Scotty!
"wait till it grows into a plant...then bunny rabbit THE PLANT!"

1966 Morris Mini DeLuxe FOR SALE

inazuma_x arent you a blacksmith? if so you can beat metal no probs then just learn how to get the body up to painting stage then out source for the painting shouldnt cost crap all that way

i dont think the local panel beaters wanna be in the back of your mini with a wire wheel getting every bit perfect thats why the quotes are so high you can do all these bits your self then etch prime them your time is free theirs is not

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67' Matic
73' S

yeah...the problem is that blacksmithing is different from armor smithing...which car body work most closely matches...and which i also happen to have almost no experience in...dealing with thin sheets of metal is a blacksmith's worst nightmare...you get uneven heating and get almost no time to work on it as the standard anvil dissipates the heat from large-surface area, low mass objects quicker than you can blink...also a standard heel n horn anvil is no good for shaping flat sheets of metal (unless you either want a cone, or a thinner flat sheet)...you need specialized anvils which i dont have handy and which most people outside the UK or US have never heard of...the only real advantage i am at is that i have a fairly large variety of different types of hammers ball pein, straight pein, cross pein, sledge...you name it...i've got it

if it was a wrought iron chandelier or armchair i'd be in business...

i suppose cold-forging is always an option...but yet again...re-equiping my forge for that kinda work is REAL expensive...it cost me thousands to get it how it is now

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Bling me up Scotty!
"wait till it grows into a plant...then bunny rabbit THE PLANT!"

1966 Morris Mini DeLuxe FOR SALE

For a glossier finish apparently it is better of to dry naterally rather than bake it... If it is baked it apparently dulls it??

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If you want more inches, stroke it
Life's a garden.... Dig It!
http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=20746