Body off: How many hours
Discussion
Hey guys... quick question to those that have sucessfully undertaken a body-off chassis restoration on their Cerb.
Thinking of having this done at my garage which estimated 100 hours for the job. Does this sound familiar to you?
Surely depending on what had to be done exactly, but a range on what you had spend time-wise would be really useful for me.
Cheers.
Thinking of having this done at my garage which estimated 100 hours for the job. Does this sound familiar to you?
Surely depending on what had to be done exactly, but a range on what you had spend time-wise would be really useful for me.
Cheers.
It only take a few minutes
https://vimeo.com/48726971
and then a few more to put it back
https://vimeo.com/64001222
https://vimeo.com/48726971
and then a few more to put it back
https://vimeo.com/64001222
Edited by ukkid35 on Tuesday 5th March 22:36
Still working on my ability to apply time lapse to real life ukkid.
Cheers all.
itsallyellow said:
If you had all the parts available and worked 10 hour days I think you could do it in a week.
So I think 100 hours is safe
P.S you won’t have all the parts and things will go wrong!!
Thanks, and sure true with the parts... I am prepared for the fact that the overall duration will be much longer. Just wanted to understand if the 100ish hours that I am getting charged are close to reality. So I think 100 hours is safe
P.S you won’t have all the parts and things will go wrong!!
Cheers all.
sweeper said:
Still working on my ability to apply time lapse to real life ukkid.
Cheers all.
What is their hourly rate? If that is drive in and drive out at £50/60 per hour it is a good price. If it is £100 an hour then maybe not so.itsallyellow said:
If you had all the parts available and worked 10 hour days I think you could do it in a week.
So I think 100 hours is safe
P.S you won’t have all the parts and things will go wrong!!
Thanks, and sure true with the parts... I am prepared for the fact that the overall duration will be much longer. Just wanted to understand if the 100ish hours that I am getting charged are close to reality. So I think 100 hours is safe
P.S you won’t have all the parts and things will go wrong!!
Cheers all.
This would be ex parts. Difficult to guess since the true condition is hardly visible in situ... probably another 3 to 5 grand in replacement parts, bush kit, ball joints, drop links, wheel bearings wile we are at it, etc.
I believe the whole exercise could set me back 10-12 grand easily.
I believe the whole exercise could set me back 10-12 grand easily.
sweeper said:
This would be ex parts. Difficult to guess since the true condition is hardly visible in situ... probably another 3 to 5 grand in replacement parts, bush kit, ball joints, drop links, wheel bearings wile we are at it, etc.
I believe the whole exercise could set me back 10-12 grand easily.
OK, in that case it sounds expensive..I believe the whole exercise could set me back 10-12 grand easily.
sweeper said:
This would be ex parts. Difficult to guess since the true condition is hardly visible in situ... probably another 3 to 5 grand in replacement parts, bush kit, ball joints, drop links, wheel bearings wile we are at it, etc.
I believe the whole exercise could set me back 10-12 grand easily.
I believe the whole exercise could set me back 10-12 grand easily.
agreed, and don't forget the dreaded VAT.Wow... thanks Byker28i. I managed to find your chassis refurb thread below, but not the mentioned invoice.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Any chance to re-post or help me where to find it? Cheers.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Any chance to re-post or help me where to find it? Cheers.
Here's the thread featuring djstevec's car from the videos
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
And a thread showing photos near completion
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
And a thread showing photos near completion
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Edited by ukkid35 on Friday 8th March 09:12
Back in 2016 I had a body-off chassis refurbishment on my Cerbera 4.5 £10,050.00
To give you an idea
Chassis work £5,500.00 --- this was a fixed cost
Blasting chassis £150.00
Steam clean £75.00
New lower wishbones £260.00
Metalastic bush set and thrust washers £199.00
Heat shielding £500.00
ACT water hose kit and metal pipes £282.00
Ally hub back plate £92.00
Rear arb bushes £51.00
Brake hose kit and new handbrake cable £172.00
Lower ball joints £85.00
Rear adjusters £79.00
Brake copper pipe £75.00
Bolt kit £110.00
Front brake pipe brackets £12.00
Diff mounts £68.00
Rear drop link bushes £12.00
Fuel filter £18.00
Waxoil £45.00
Repair engine front brackets £0.00
Repair engine mounts £0.00
New starter motor £300.00
Radiator rebuild £225.00
Oil and filter £55.00
Steering rack rebuild £362.00
Servo cap £20.00
Front drop link £29.00
MBE temperature sensor £25.00
Radiator bobbin £4.00
Exhaust hanger bushes £8.00
Air-con re-gas £60.00
plus the additional labour
After that there were still some things that needed doing as I found I still had PAS pipe leaks and oil pipe leaks from pipes I guess should have been replaced at that time. Add about another £800 depending on what you count.
The whole job was supposed to take about 3 months but took about 7. I'm not quite sure what was going on there. Looking back I would have liked the garage to me more local to me so I could pop in once every couple of weeks and/or as and when things got found.
As an aside, as it was a chassis off and clearly all the bushes get replaced, I was going to get the Powerflex poly bushes but I was strongly advised to stick to the Metalastic ones. I don't know what anyone else's experience is.
To give you an idea
Chassis work £5,500.00 --- this was a fixed cost
Blasting chassis £150.00
Steam clean £75.00
New lower wishbones £260.00
Metalastic bush set and thrust washers £199.00
Heat shielding £500.00
ACT water hose kit and metal pipes £282.00
Ally hub back plate £92.00
Rear arb bushes £51.00
Brake hose kit and new handbrake cable £172.00
Lower ball joints £85.00
Rear adjusters £79.00
Brake copper pipe £75.00
Bolt kit £110.00
Front brake pipe brackets £12.00
Diff mounts £68.00
Rear drop link bushes £12.00
Fuel filter £18.00
Waxoil £45.00
Repair engine front brackets £0.00
Repair engine mounts £0.00
New starter motor £300.00
Radiator rebuild £225.00
Oil and filter £55.00
Steering rack rebuild £362.00
Servo cap £20.00
Front drop link £29.00
MBE temperature sensor £25.00
Radiator bobbin £4.00
Exhaust hanger bushes £8.00
Air-con re-gas £60.00
plus the additional labour
After that there were still some things that needed doing as I found I still had PAS pipe leaks and oil pipe leaks from pipes I guess should have been replaced at that time. Add about another £800 depending on what you count.
The whole job was supposed to take about 3 months but took about 7. I'm not quite sure what was going on there. Looking back I would have liked the garage to me more local to me so I could pop in once every couple of weeks and/or as and when things got found.
As an aside, as it was a chassis off and clearly all the bushes get replaced, I was going to get the Powerflex poly bushes but I was strongly advised to stick to the Metalastic ones. I don't know what anyone else's experience is.
Looks like you’re in Germany...?
If your garage hasn’t done one of these before it might be worth talking to a few specialists in the u.k. they know all the pitfalls, have the knowledge and supply chain - it will take them a lot less man hours to do the same job. If you have Euros Forex is also your friend at the moment. It is worth considering getting the work done here.
I have recently shopped around for a body off, met with / talked to just under 20 companies. Across these ballpark labour only is about £4K (well under what you have been quoted) ranging to full packages including parts etc. £6.5-£8.5 (again, well under your quote).
I also believe that getting the work done in the right place will add more value to your car in the long run. After too much research and probably a bit of overthinking I decided to go with Topcats, and am very happy with my decision they have been flexible to all my requests, fastidious and focussed on turning it around. They’re very busy with cerbs at the moment (a good thing).
I made a spreadsheet of all the companies that can do this for you and am happy to share if you pm...
.
If your garage hasn’t done one of these before it might be worth talking to a few specialists in the u.k. they know all the pitfalls, have the knowledge and supply chain - it will take them a lot less man hours to do the same job. If you have Euros Forex is also your friend at the moment. It is worth considering getting the work done here.
I have recently shopped around for a body off, met with / talked to just under 20 companies. Across these ballpark labour only is about £4K (well under what you have been quoted) ranging to full packages including parts etc. £6.5-£8.5 (again, well under your quote).
I also believe that getting the work done in the right place will add more value to your car in the long run. After too much research and probably a bit of overthinking I decided to go with Topcats, and am very happy with my decision they have been flexible to all my requests, fastidious and focussed on turning it around. They’re very busy with cerbs at the moment (a good thing).
I made a spreadsheet of all the companies that can do this for you and am happy to share if you pm...
.
wurgle said:
Back in 2016 I had a body-off chassis refurbishment on my Cerbera 4.5 £10,050.00
To give you an idea
Chassis work £5,500.00 --- this was a fixed cost
Blasting chassis £150.00
Steam clean £75.00
New lower wishbones £260.00
Metalastic bush set and thrust washers £199.00
Heat shielding £500.00
ACT water hose kit and metal pipes £282.00
Ally hub back plate £92.00
Rear arb bushes £51.00
Brake hose kit and new handbrake cable £172.00
Lower ball joints £85.00
Rear adjusters £79.00
Brake copper pipe £75.00
Bolt kit £110.00
Front brake pipe brackets £12.00
Diff mounts £68.00
Rear drop link bushes £12.00
Fuel filter £18.00
Waxoil £45.00
Repair engine front brackets £0.00
Repair engine mounts £0.00
New starter motor £300.00
Radiator rebuild £225.00
Oil and filter £55.00
Steering rack rebuild £362.00
Servo cap £20.00
Front drop link £29.00
MBE temperature sensor £25.00
Radiator bobbin £4.00
Exhaust hanger bushes £8.00
Air-con re-gas £60.00
plus the additional labour
After that there were still some things that needed doing as I found I still had PAS pipe leaks and oil pipe leaks from pipes I guess should have been replaced at that time. Add about another £800 depending on what you count.
The whole job was supposed to take about 3 months but took about 7. I'm not quite sure what was going on there. Looking back I would have liked the garage to me more local to me so I could pop in once every couple of weeks and/or as and when things got found.
As an aside, as it was a chassis off and clearly all the bushes get replaced, I was going to get the Powerflex poly bushes but I was strongly advised to stick to the Metalastic ones. I don't know what anyone else's experience is.
There are some high prices in there! To give you an idea
Chassis work £5,500.00 --- this was a fixed cost
Blasting chassis £150.00
Steam clean £75.00
New lower wishbones £260.00
Metalastic bush set and thrust washers £199.00
Heat shielding £500.00
ACT water hose kit and metal pipes £282.00
Ally hub back plate £92.00
Rear arb bushes £51.00
Brake hose kit and new handbrake cable £172.00
Lower ball joints £85.00
Rear adjusters £79.00
Brake copper pipe £75.00
Bolt kit £110.00
Front brake pipe brackets £12.00
Diff mounts £68.00
Rear drop link bushes £12.00
Fuel filter £18.00
Waxoil £45.00
Repair engine front brackets £0.00
Repair engine mounts £0.00
New starter motor £300.00
Radiator rebuild £225.00
Oil and filter £55.00
Steering rack rebuild £362.00
Servo cap £20.00
Front drop link £29.00
MBE temperature sensor £25.00
Radiator bobbin £4.00
Exhaust hanger bushes £8.00
Air-con re-gas £60.00
plus the additional labour
After that there were still some things that needed doing as I found I still had PAS pipe leaks and oil pipe leaks from pipes I guess should have been replaced at that time. Add about another £800 depending on what you count.
The whole job was supposed to take about 3 months but took about 7. I'm not quite sure what was going on there. Looking back I would have liked the garage to me more local to me so I could pop in once every couple of weeks and/or as and when things got found.
As an aside, as it was a chassis off and clearly all the bushes get replaced, I was going to get the Powerflex poly bushes but I was strongly advised to stick to the Metalastic ones. I don't know what anyone else's experience is.
High prices?
Out of interest which prices look high to you? The starter motor was more because there are two different types and you want the Tiltron not the Nissan I think. Outside the same, inside not the same.
Keeping tabs on things (and cost) is one reason I'd recommend trying to be able to visit rather than abandoning the car at the garage. In my case it was a 6 hour 350 mile round trip. A chap at work has early 1970's 911 which has been much restored and being as local as possible seems to be a consensus.
A possible negative to your getting it done locally is e.g. if you need the (TVR) power steering rack refurbishing then it can be done in the UK but are there the specialists on the TVR specific bits outside the UK. Might be quite a few DHL bills. I guess its a question to discuss.
Finishing the repaired chassis
As we're talking body off, when they are redoing the chassis, how are they going to finish it? Assuming powder coat but...
My research was some will not phosphate dip the repaired chassis which I think is important. It needs to be done straight (hours) after shot-blasting before any corrosion has a chance to happen.
This put me off my local garage but in hindsight I think the better plan would be to say get them to get the chassis back to restored metal ready for paint, then sort the finishing myself and return it to them for fitting. This may run into problems with chassis rust "guarantees" but if you can be confident in the work you're having done.
You need to make sure that it has been powder coated first with a zinc loaded coat prior to the top coat in white. I say white because that's what I wanted as any chips are more obvious, and I think the factory colour on mine, but pearlescent purple if you prefer.
http://www.powdercoated-customcarparts.co.uk/refur...
I was advised by a powder coater who did some diecast boxes for me, that if you put on too many layers of powder-coat it becomes easier to chip. Three seems a maximum in a non hostile environment i.e. the guitar foot pedals I was making, not sure about a chassis.
The above looked interesting as they talk about a self healing base coat, have done stuff that goes in an engine bay and offer 5 year warranty, but I have no experience of the company.
I had some of the inaccessible bits wax-oiled prior to refit but not all of it.
You can't molten zinc dip the chassis because it will warp but has anybody come across electroplating with zinc. That should be OK shouldn't it?
Also I seem to remember while vegetating in front of the TV, I think it was Beetle Crisis, he had the body electro-painted by dipping in the same process they use on modern cars giving a very protective primer coat. Not sure if you can powder coat on top of this though.
Out of interest which prices look high to you? The starter motor was more because there are two different types and you want the Tiltron not the Nissan I think. Outside the same, inside not the same.
Keeping tabs on things (and cost) is one reason I'd recommend trying to be able to visit rather than abandoning the car at the garage. In my case it was a 6 hour 350 mile round trip. A chap at work has early 1970's 911 which has been much restored and being as local as possible seems to be a consensus.
A possible negative to your getting it done locally is e.g. if you need the (TVR) power steering rack refurbishing then it can be done in the UK but are there the specialists on the TVR specific bits outside the UK. Might be quite a few DHL bills. I guess its a question to discuss.
Finishing the repaired chassis
As we're talking body off, when they are redoing the chassis, how are they going to finish it? Assuming powder coat but...
My research was some will not phosphate dip the repaired chassis which I think is important. It needs to be done straight (hours) after shot-blasting before any corrosion has a chance to happen.
This put me off my local garage but in hindsight I think the better plan would be to say get them to get the chassis back to restored metal ready for paint, then sort the finishing myself and return it to them for fitting. This may run into problems with chassis rust "guarantees" but if you can be confident in the work you're having done.
You need to make sure that it has been powder coated first with a zinc loaded coat prior to the top coat in white. I say white because that's what I wanted as any chips are more obvious, and I think the factory colour on mine, but pearlescent purple if you prefer.
http://www.powdercoated-customcarparts.co.uk/refur...
I was advised by a powder coater who did some diecast boxes for me, that if you put on too many layers of powder-coat it becomes easier to chip. Three seems a maximum in a non hostile environment i.e. the guitar foot pedals I was making, not sure about a chassis.
The above looked interesting as they talk about a self healing base coat, have done stuff that goes in an engine bay and offer 5 year warranty, but I have no experience of the company.
I had some of the inaccessible bits wax-oiled prior to refit but not all of it.
You can't molten zinc dip the chassis because it will warp but has anybody come across electroplating with zinc. That should be OK shouldn't it?
Also I seem to remember while vegetating in front of the TV, I think it was Beetle Crisis, he had the body electro-painted by dipping in the same process they use on modern cars giving a very protective primer coat. Not sure if you can powder coat on top of this though.
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