[Gmachine1911]

Finally got this heap back from the body shop today. Here’s what she looks like...literally the only original metal is the dash, inner rear quarter panel structure and inner roof structure, everything else is new.
Since the beginning of this project, there were some (not on this site) who questioned why a person wouldn’t just buy a reproduction body and start with a fresh slate. While I’ll admit I questioned that many times along the way myself, I was confident that for me, it was more cost effective to refurb the old body, even one that was in terrible condition. So for the good of the experiment, I’ll tip my hand on some personal information and lay out how that scenario shook out for me.
Keep in mind when I say body, I’m counting everything from the doors back (no front clip, no suspension) but including everything that welds to the body such as frame connectors, mini tubs, torque boxes, and even door latches, door hinges, roof panel, trunk lid and trunk latch. This car may be the closest “apples to apples” comparison of New vs Old simply due to the fact that literally almost everything was replaced that can be bought for this car. As with my previous builds, I keep a very detailed spreadsheet with every cost associated with the car so it’s easy to track budget, expenditures and part numbers and sources.
So for comparison purposes, if a person were buying a new 67 Nova body from Real Deal Steel and it included the automatic shift, bucket seat, quarter panels, doors, roof, deck lid and mini tub options, as well as $500 for shipping (which I think is conservative) and sales tax (7% for me), you’d be at basically a number very close to $18,083 for a car with No VIN tag, no subframe connectors and no torque boxes. Keep in mind, that’s not taking into account getting any sale deals on the body, etc. but it’s also not taking into account the fact that you’re gonna spend a minimum of a few thousand dollars (if you’re lucky) getting that new body properly gapped and adjusted for paint prep. It also doesn’t account for the fact that you won’t have a VIN tag...or if you do, add the cost of the donor car and bail bond (if you get caught!) to the price of the body.
In my case, for the car you see there, while not perfect, I believe it represents something closer to a finished product in that it has proper gaps all around and includes a VIN tag and the reward of saving an original car from the graveyard...all at a price that’s $13.58 less then the new body shipped to my house but otherwise untouched.
My point with all this is simply to provide a real world example with hard numbers for others who may be considering a “New vs Refurb” build. At the end of the day, there’s no right or wrong way, only personal preference. For me, my preference was to preserve the VIN and know that I had brought some old bones back to life!