Hey guys Im thinking of things to do with the mini and someone told me that I should just enjoy what Ive got and when Im ready to start spending cash to sell it and buy one that has already been restored.

I have a 78 clubman that runs great and is fun to drive. The body is certainly not straight but is pretty much rust free. My question does 2k go far to respray a car? I know its a "how long is a piece of string" but just try to get some sort of idea

Cheers

2K is at the cheap end of the range (ie barely enough for all but backyarders or someone willing to push it through quickly) unfortunately. Such a job is not likely to last more than a couple of years. I've had cars painted for $1K and it shows. I've also heard of someone paying $11k for a resto paint job so there's a wide spectrum. Often the type of paint used will also impact the price as the prep and finishing work required differ. Two pac enamel is now more widely used and cheaper than Acrylic Lacquer.

Over the years restoring and doing up cars (not all of them minis) I've found finding a good panelbeater and/or spraypainter to be the hardest task. Good luck.
KB

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Talk to John From JC Racing in Sydney there doing a mini at the moment not sure what they charge but very good at what they do.
they have help me out with my RX8 over the years.

Even if you do it yourself, the paint isn't cheap.

if you are going back to bare metal you're looking at etch primer, hi fill primer then top coat and maybe a clear coat depending on what you use. and all these need thinners, hardeners, prepsol, etc

You've also go to consider the costs assosicated with cutting out and fixing rust (cutting / griding discs, welding rods/wire, gas, etc) maybe 2 types of filler (fiber glass and fine) depending what how much filling you need to do.

Then there's the pile of sand paper you will go through while you are doing the job

there is no doubt you could get the car painted for 2k, but don't expect anything special.

also considder, if you plan to prep the care you self (body work, primer) but get it top coated by a shop, they are still going to charge for time/materials for masking it all up and preping the surface.


The final thing to think about is, if you strip the car back to get it painted, are you going to put all those old rubbers back on, or replace them with nice shiny new ones.... because they aren't cheap either

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1975 Hairy Lime/White Clubby
Build Thread: http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=80657

I agree with what someone once told you. It is far cheaper to buy a car someone has already restored as apposed to restoring yourself but then you never know what the quality of work was. I prefer to restore my own cause then I know everything is done right. All the rust is removed not just the visable rust, all the small things like brake lines fuel lines get replacd.

At the end of the day you get what you pay for.

The deluxe im restoring now I thought maybe spend 500 on panels to replace well so far its about 1200 just on panels I could have skimped and no one would know but soon enough the rust internally would come through the new panels.

If your going to the effort to strip the car for a respray you may as well spend the money and do it right or leave it alobe.

Rodney

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The best part of fixing your mini is the test drive

Minis..

1976 van daily drive
1975 van
1968 deluxe in the shed
1967 deluxe high strung 1310
1959 austin healey sprite

Thanks guys