You need to find a guy who's willing to do the paint work in his garage. Guys who are painters will usually do it much cheaper. find someone who will do it on the side, or just get a mako paint job for the time being. As for the engine, all you need is 12 volts going to a coil and then you can jump the starter. start going to car shows and talking to people who have already got it done. You need to get out on the streets and find someone with the knowledge and ability to do this. Network!!!I couldn't find a shop willing to sand it down for 5k except maybe maaco, every single paint shop I talked to said their paint jobs start at 20k. I mean EVERY shop like 20k was a memo that went out. One shop told me that he isn't interested in projects under six figures, the rest of them honed in on 75k. I considered just getting it running and driving and then doing a maaco job and having fun but it quickly started losing its glamour the more I got shut down.
I don't know what you have invested in the car but it really doesn't look like it needs a lot to me. Panel alignment is just a little time-consuming but you can easily handle it. I would definitely take the mako out the first thing you need to do is get that engine running. Cuz if it doesn't run then that determines how much time and effort you should put into the bodyI was going to shops that paint classic cars, I've read to never take a classic to a body shop. I did find one "backyard" guy that only paints classics that said he could do 12k but his wait list is almost a year out, and I feared that if I took it to his shop it would end up in hotrod purgatory! I will see where my listing gets to, and if it doesn't get me where I need to be I may try a mechanic that I have heard about to help me get it running and driving and then start exploring the back channels for a private painter. In Houston there is just so much work to go around that it seems like shops just name their prices. My local Maaco actually posted some classics on their facebook that they did that looked really good for 3500-4k but they said that they don't do any panel alignment and that makes or breaks a cars appearance imo, and there is an art to getting that right.
I completely rebuilt two cars on my back in a driveway in New Jersey. Sometimes it was only 20°. If this car is as important to you as you're making it sound, this is easily doable. For a few hundred bucks you could order up the wire harnesses and with the knowledge on this forum you could install the stuff yourself and an afternoonI just get overwhelmed when I try to look at getting it running myself because I don't what I need to wire it up, like voltage regulators and other electronics and how to wire it all, and it sure would be nice to have a lift... ugh.
Look for a local GTO club. These guys are all over the place and they literally live for showing people their cars. You're just not looking in the right placesHeck, I would love to find someone with a 71 or 72 that would just let me look at some stuff on their car!!
I'm all over this forum everyday telling people that if it was easy everybody would be doing this. There's a good reason why you don't see 71 GTOs on the road all day everyday. You can invest yourself in the car and get it done rather quickly, but first you need to decide whether you want to be one of the few and the proud. Otherwise you might as well just go buy a 2022 Challenger with a hemi in it and just be like everybody else. There isn't the single part of that engine wiring harness that you couldn't get resolved on this forum in under 24 hoursThat is some great ideas. I am going to see where the auction lands and if it doesn't meet my reserve, I have found a fair shop highly recommended that said he can take it in next week and help me get it running and driving. If I can do that, it will be huge because I don't have a nice car trailer with a winch to cart this thing all around. Going through this process is actually forcing me to learn that I have a better car than I even realized! I just need a little help getting moving in the right direction.
Yeah @Baaad65 can literally send you thousands of GTO picturesWell, if you don't get what you want, just stick around here and there are many who can help/coach you through it and get the car back on the road.![]()
Spot on, Jim!You would be selling yourself short by not getting the engine running. Any machine/engine shop can put the engine on a run stand and fire it up. Houston also has a number of trade/tech schools and some of them will take on projects to aide students in automotive repairs - to include the older cars.
Why does the car have to be restored? You don't think you, or anyone seeing your car, wouldn't enjoy the car unrestored and simply cruising down the avenue or set in a car show lot? The prices you have been given are stupid TV prices - nut & bolt rotisserie prices. You already have much of the car done and it would not take 50K to bring it back. A 20K paint job? - ABSURD! With the right equipment, you can do most of your own work UNLESS you just prefer not too. You can easily sand the primer with an electric flat sander or step up to air tools and use a DA. Paint? Go fast & dirty with a Rustoleum semi-gloss black paint for a hot-rod look that many will be turning heads to see - you may even get a good resale price with it like that.
If it is a car your really love and want to keep, then make it work for you and forget about the stupid priced restoration route and get it on the road and running/driving. If you can read, the Shop/chassis & Body manual will be a great guide to start with.
It is your choice.![]()
Yes, and I think my friend John may actually join the forum and share lots of photos of his well done numbers matching 72Yeah @Baaad65 can literally send you thousands of GTO pictures
Yup. About 10,500 and only 780ish Aztec gold models, of those I’d like to know how many automatic with a/c were madeFrom what I have read the production numbers on a 71 are extremely low. It's certainly not the most desirable year but it's also a lot rarer than many of the other cars
8 million to be exact 😉Yeah @Baaad65 can literally send you thousands of GTO pictures
they made 80,000 of mineYup. About 10,500 and only 780ish Aztec gold models, of those I’d like to know how many automatic with a/c were made
You are definitely right, I have been watching Youtube and getting this engine running won't be that difficult. I think I am going to get it running with a temporary gas tank and then worry about the gas tank once its running well.I don't know what you have into the car, but a buyer is going to put another $15,000 in for paint and mechanicals, and have a reliable, daily driver, finished car, worth at least the investment. I would get it running and driving, then hit Maaco for a cheap temp paint job. Drive it, finish it, and wait for this covid shit to pass, then get the Aztec Gold you want.
I am on year two of the temporary gas tank. I didnt want my engine sitting around doing nothing as I address other issues. Its good enough to putt around the farm or go to town a few times.You are definitely right, I have been watching Youtube and getting this engine running won't be that difficult. I think I am going to get it running with a temporary gas tank and then worry about the gas tank once its running well.