2023 Mecum Kissimmee

[Teddy]

Originally Posted by 67since67

Additionally, these hard working shop owners are faced with ever increasing costs of doing business, aka overhead, plus cost of materials, local, state, and federal regulations, AND trying to retain competent employees.

I was on the phone this morning with my body/paint guy who mentioned how he no longer has anyone to install convertible tops. So many skilled people are leaving the business. - Bill W

I've been in the market for a quality classic car for the past two years or so. As much as the prices bother me, Bill's comments have worried me more so. I have noticed the difficulty in finding skilled people in our hobby. Maybe I'm wrong but I took 427.060 comment (post 19) as a compliment to guys like Rick. If a correction occurs, maybe the scammers and second-rate shops will fall by the wayside and the quality restorers like Rick will flourish. One can hope right?

[Big Block Bill]

Originally Posted by Teddy

I've been in the market for a quality classic car for the past two years or so. As much as the prices bother me, Bill's comments have worried me more so. I have noticed the difficulty in finding skilled people in our hobby. Maybe I'm wrong but I took 427.060 comment (post 19) as a compliment to guys like Rick. If a correction occurs, maybe the scammers and second-rate shops will fall by the wayside and the quality restorers like Rick will flourish. One can hope right?

I presume shops like Rick's have such a backlog for restorations, they can not get them all completed as it is. I believe it all boils down to the expertise and the staff to be able to continually produce a high end award winning product. Rick has proven time and time again that he and his staff are the people to deliver a restoration that is correct will pass all judging criteria currently in place.

Bill

[bergy]

I wouldn't mind it if the bad resto shops went out of business. In to 30 years of doing restorations though, I've only had one bad experience. I send the rare cars out for restoration, and do the less valuable cars myself (except for paint which I don't have the equipment or skill to do myself). If you've ever done a complete nut and bolt restoration, you know that it takes a minimum of 1,000 man hours. A lot of tedious work combined with knowledge and skill.

[427.060]

I guess I should have explained my comment. I was referring to the bad shops. The ones that are in it just for the money. The ones that don't put in the research to make sure the restorations are done correctly. The ones that hide and cover up bad work. Shops like Rick's will always have work because of the quality of what they do. I am sorry for not being clear as to what I meant.

[Lynn]

If the dash carrier is original, then it wasn't a U17 optioned car. Could have had the console without gauges, but the gauge package included the clock.

Mecum quit posting pics of trim tags and engine stamps, so no pics.

[Carleen]

She looks so sad
Fender drop, new repo fenders

[Lynn]

Although that fender droop isn't near as bad as most aftermarket fenders I have seen. Guessing the body shop spent some time correcting it, at least to a degree.

[Pro Stock John]

Some great Camaros coming up for Auction.

[black69]

my feeling on that orange Camaro is it was a maybe clever way to transfer an extra $80-100K to a seller. Maybe watching Ozarks skewed me a bit on potential money laundering, but something is real fishy on that car sale. I know people fight over a certain car type, but this is not a survivor car, its not a copo, its not a daytona or hemi cuda. Its not a costly to build resto mod. Just a very odd sale and smells funny. It's an elephant in the room sale (and the elephant is not a hemi )

[William]

It sold at Mecum IL 2014 for $60,000, again the following year at Mecum CO for $59,000.

Quite an appreciation.