I have a restoration shop nearby which is willing to work on my truck in pieces. The one man shop does very good work as I had him paint my 65 Mustang this past summer and I was very satified with the work. I'm thinking about taking him the doors one at a time and then the hood to work on. The doors were shot by a pellet gun and have a lot of small dents in them. I'm not much on body work, so I thought this might be a way to get something done on my truck during the winter when it's too cold for me to do anything on it anyway (no heated garage). I will eventually turn the whole truck over to him for painting, but I have a lot of mechanical work I need to do to it first. Has anyone else had any body work done piecemeal? Any comments welcome...

 

Vern,

I'll second your question as I have a similar situation and would be interested in any experience other folks have had.

The body fellow I'm working with didn't seem to think there would be any real issues doing the various parts of the truck separately. The only thing he insisted on was that I buy all the paint up front so he could cross-mix containers and guarantee all the paint was the same color.

 

that is common for all tyhe paint up front. i was told the same thing about doing pieces but i havent started yet.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 24-Dec-02 AT 12:45 PM (EST)]In my case, I haven't even thought about paint color yet. I thought I'd have the parts primered and a sealer put on them with paint to be considered later. The main thing I want to accomplish at this point is just getting the body panels straight...

 

There's absolutely no reason why you can't do it piecemeal. Unless you have some custom lines or detail flowing across seperate panels. I gave my cab to my bodyman to work on without the doors... then we did the doors seperately. We did fit the doors to the cab afterward to check fit and finish and it was fine... had to do some hinge hole changes to get the fit right, but would have had to do that anyway...

I'm using a new bed and a tilt front end so basically that's all the body work there was to do...cab and doors..

It's also a good way to get your body work done as you can afford it.

john :-X12 I'M READY FOR SANTA CLAUS !!!!!!! :-X12

 

It is not uncommon to do body work in this manner.
we do it all the time in the shop where I work. I would recommend that if the parts will be stored for a long period that an epoxy primer be used on the parts to prevent rust forming under the work that was done. Regular primers are not moisture proof and will absorb moisture allowing the metal beneath to rust. No sense in paying for the body work and then having to repair rust again later. Another advantage is that epoxy primer when sanded can have a light coat of plastic applied where needed in case the panels get minor dents in them while being stored.

 

Bodywork piecemeal is fine. Painting piecemeal could be a problem. Paint fade could be a problem if you take two or three years to get it all painted and use a color prone to fading. Red for instance. I am beginning to get a little nervous as I upgrade parts. Storage away from direct sunlight is probably prudent.

'fenders

 

Thanks for the comments. The suggestion on epoxy primer is something I didn't think of and will ask for. My plan is to have have the doors and hood done while I'm working on the mechanical stuff and then take the whole truck and have it painted. I'll be using fiberglass fenders.

 

Vern

This past year I did exactly the same thing you are talking about. I took the truck apart and sent parts to the body shop to have painted and repaired if needed over a 4 month period. You will have to let the painter know how much you are painting since he will order all the paint needed at once to assure color matching. After I had taken all the parts off (front fenders, hood, rear fenders, tailgate, box) I drove the truck (about 7 miles) without all these items on to the body shop to have the cab and doors painted. What looks I received from people. I made it without any problems, and about two weeks later I did the return trip with a new paint job on the cab and doors. Returned home and started reassembling. I had the running boards done last year and the paint all matched perfectly.

This way helped me and the body shop. I wasnt in any hurry and when they had down time they worked on the truck. Towards the end my paint guy worked on the weekends to complete the job. Overall everyone was happy.

Good luck

 

Vern,

... I did the peace meal body and paint work myself. First the cab, then one door, then about 6 month later the next door, then the complete front end. Between the cab and the front end I had about a year or so. The biggest problem is the paint itself, especially when using a special mix made just for you. The paint shops never gurantee that they will match. I was pretty lucky. I can't see the difference between the front fender and the cab. Wonder if I will see more when the truck is all done, washed and parked in bright sunshine.

However, I do not care too much about it as mine is going to be a work truck and will get new dings and scratches quick. But that's fine.

Also my home made body work is anything but great. I don't care. But I can say I did all this. No one else to blaim, nor to give credits.

For sure I have to re do the hood. This thing had a thousand dings, of which I was only able to get fivehundred fixed. It look OK in primer, but with paint I can see 'em all.

Good Luck !!!