Hello All, I have come to this site a few times and even had a couple of posting up, but now need some help. We have a 66 Riviera that we bought which is a good base car to work with (minimal rust, one dent, one sideswipe, but no rot at all). This is our first car to work on and it has not been as smooth as i would have hoped (but does anything !!) :grin: In any event, my questions are: 1) It was smashed on the passengers side fender which i will be replacing with a 67 fender. Since it is off the car and the radiator support was "slightly" damaged, should i replace the it or have it straightened out? (Keep in mind that this is NOT a restoration project, just would like to have a nice daily driver as money and time prohibit a full restoratioin for now). 2) Have received a couple of body shop quotes and they were VERY, VERY much more than i had anticipated. I have pulled the chrome off, but should i have the car completed stripped down to the bare metal (which would expose all rust and/or imperfections, hence the high body shop estimates) or should i leave the paint on there now and have them scuff and paint over it? (again, this is not a resto project, but just to be a daily driver). We will be doing an color change and adding a vinyl top. 3) I live in Connecticut, any good paint shops here that would paint the car for a reasonable price? We would like to be able to go to a cruise night by 4th of July. Is this unrealistic? Any support would be greatly appreciated as we are very excited about driving this car as soon as possible. Motor has been rebuilt, interior is clean, just the body left. Thanks, Kevin
SOunds like you answered your own question..daily driver..not a resto..if you have skills at metalwork..straighten it out yourself..and save the $$$$ for other tasks...
Shop in Milford Sounds like a nice car! I don't know where you are in Ct, but in Milford there's a body shop that has done good work for me and some of my friends. The shop is: Carl Massafra's Auto Body 80-B Collingsdale Dr. Milford, Ct 06460 203-874-1940 He has all sorts of work being done there from fender benders to Pro-Street. If you go, check out the Wildcat convert in the back of the shop being resto'd. Carl is a nice guy and a true enthusiast. He should be able to match the level of work you're looking for. I don't think he'd give you a Maaco job, though, as he won't let anything out of his shop that bad/cheap looking. Tell him I sent you. Good Luck!
Ken, Thank you very, very much. This is funny as i live in the Hartford area, but the car is located at my girlfriends house in North Haven right near Milford !!!! This is great !!!! :beer I will definately look him up and let him know you sent me. I will plan on stopping by his place on Friday and will check out the car in the back. Is that yours? Also, we should plan to meet at a cruise night soon as i would really like the car on the road by July. Thanks! Kevin
