Rover Sports Register Forum

I’m looking for someone to do painting and bodywork on my 1946 Rover 12, ideally in London (where the car is kept) or the southeast, but potentially further afield if necessary. Does anyone have any recommendations? I’ve approached quite a few bodywork/restoration companies so far but they don’t either want to take the job on or are reluctant to provide even an approximate cost estimate. I realise this kind of work doesn’t come cheap and that unexpected costs can emerge in the process of doing a job but I don’t want to get into a completely open-ended arrangement, which is what some people I’ve spoken to seem to be looking for. Any suggestions much appreciated. Thank you.

Well, read this and think it over
https://lulis.org/2017/07/29/%D7%93%D7% ... 9D-%D7%93/

Hi John,

Finding a suitable bodywork restorer depends greatly on how much work needs to be done and the standard of the finished job you are looking for. With that in mind, it is really just a matter of how much work needs to be done by the specialist and how much you can afford to spend getting it done. The problem Classic car owners face (particularly with pre-War and immediately post-War cars like yours) is that the restoration cost will far outweigh the value of the car. Rovers are worse in this regard than some other marques but anyone who has watched Bangers &Cash will be in no doubt that there is no money made in restoring classics of any sort unless the vehicle is particularly special and pretty much all pre-War type cars are going down in value at the moment.

How does that translate to Rover enthusiasts? To be reasonably cost effective, body restoration is largely a DIY job with, perhaps, the final paint finish undertaken by a professional to make the best of the car. In terms of value v cost, it’s best not to think about it and certainly not if ones own labour is taken into consideration! We do it for our love of the cars.

I have restored two Rovers and it’s fair to say that each have taken 1500-2000 hours of my time. In both cases I did all the work except trimming the seats and re-chroming. I painted both in my garage to a fair standard but I felt the Tourer was a far better car than the job I was able to do, so I subsequently stripped it down again and got it painted by a local specialist. To make it worthwhile, I also had them fill and flat the panels again. Even with no body reconstruction to do the cost was almost £7k. The firm are Deal of Kelvedon, just off A12. Not too far for you to travel and I would recommend them. Robert Deal is a decent chap to do business with.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Tony.

Hello Tony,

Thanks for your insights and recommendation. I will try contacting Robert Deal. I am not looking to make a profit on the car at any point and I understand already that the amount of money and time that I'm going to end up putting into it will far exceed its cash value, and that's absolutely fine. But I was hoping to find someone willing to give me at least a preliminary idea of how much it might cost to do some welding and painting, on the understanding that costs could rise if anything unexpected emerged. I did actually find a couple of guys at one point who gave me a quote and made a start but then let me down. Unfortunately, I'm not really in a position to try to take on bodywork and/or painting myself. Apart from not having the skills, the car is in a lock-up garage with no power supply etc.

Regards,

John