Bodywork specialist wanted Beds, Cambs or Herts

Mon Jun 23, 2014 8:11 pm

Hello
I'm finally planning on getting my rear arches repaired and looking for a capable bodyshop ideally in Beds, Cambs or Herts I'm in St Neots.

My car needs the inner and outer arches replacing, these have been repaired poorly and the inner arch rotten.
I understand it might be possible to cut away part of the wing to replace the inner arch and then replace the outer arch with a repair panel.

Any advice from anyone who lives in the area above and can recommend someone who ideally has performed this before.
Also any advise on doing the above rather than a whole new rear wing would also be appreciated. I plan to keep the car and want a good job doing that will last.

Tue Jun 24, 2014 10:27 am

Try Frankies bodyshop, based near MK.

Tue Jun 24, 2014 5:20 pm

Thank you, they must be pretty good I see from the website they are booked out and not taking on any more projects for the time being.

Wed Jun 25, 2014 2:47 pm

You could try my guy in Leighton Buzzard, used him loads and never had any problems, always a top job.

Email: dm.motorworx@gmail.com
Mobile: 07972104619 / 07510781598

Wed Jun 25, 2014 4:52 pm

Mine's going here tomorrow for a full inside/outside respray and sill replacement (plus other work).

Looks to do a very good job and owns a few E30s himself. Was also on Channel 5, and is due to be on Channel 4 soon to.

http://www.retroclassica.com/Contact-Us.html

Might be best to just pop down, as I did, as his email communication can be a bit sketchy.

Wed Jun 25, 2014 7:25 pm

Thanks for those suggestions I will check them out. Particularly interested in Retro Classica as I would like to do some of the prep work myself.
Triggerfish it would be nice to hear how you find their work, how long have they got your car for?

Wed Jun 25, 2014 8:27 pm

a fellow zoner in st neots ??

Wed Jun 25, 2014 8:58 pm

Rusty318IS wrote:Thanks for those suggestions I will check them out. Particularly interested in Retro Classica as I would like to do some of the prep work myself.
Triggerfish it would be nice to hear how you find their work, how long have they got your car for?

I'm doing all the strip down myself to save on costs (and because it's something to do...). Hence the car looks like this, ready for collection tomorrow:

I've got about 3 weeks of leave from work to take by the 1st September, so I'll ask what I can do to help out while it's with them.

I asked, and they reckoned it would take about 4 weeks maybe less, to return it to me. (That's to respray inside/outside, repair inner sills, replace outer sills and fix any other rust encountered (known issues in the boot, rear inner arches, bulkhead, floor and flitch panels.) I'd then need to rebuild the car myself though. I'll let you know how it goes, but I've seen his E30 M3, and it's good, as are the WIPs he's got there (gave me a tour of the workshop when I first arrived).

Wed Jun 25, 2014 9:35 pm

Thanks for the picture, hope it all goes well. I'm hoping mine is not going to need quite so much work but until the bodykit is off I won't know the extent of my work.
I am putting mine on the road next week and shall take it over soon to see what they think, I will look out for your car!

Wed Jun 25, 2014 9:38 pm

ross2009 wrote:a fellow zoner in st neots ??

Quite a car you're building there. Mine is a standard 325I Sport in White.

Is yours on the road?

Wed Jun 25, 2014 9:40 pm

it was i took it bk off the rd about this time last year was on the rd for about 3 years in that guise

not seen yours about

Wed Jun 25, 2014 9:53 pm

No I haven't got storage for it in St Neots at the moment, but it will be visiting over the summer so keep your eyes peeled.

Mon Jul 07, 2014 10:58 pm

Hi , my 1989 tech 2 Sport is due for the exact same treatment - rear inner and outer arches plus other rust repairs - i have been quoted by a Classic Car Restoration firm in Norfolk budget figures of £5k to get the shell back to me with new metal ready for paint.

Then a further £5k to paint - potentially £3 to £5k in new parts and a further £5k to reassemble.

I want to restore her but £20k is a little strong - just interested to see if you are budgeting on similliar figures for your rebuild ??

Thanks in advance for your reply.

Tue Jul 08, 2014 6:32 am

5k to put it back together? This is why if you have space and time stripping it your self and putting it back together your self is the best way of saving a good wedge of money. Also you will probably take more care over it.

Tue Jul 08, 2014 10:22 am

The work I've listed above is coming to £4.5k, and I've seen the quality of his work, and it's fine.

I'm putting mine back together myself too - plus this way I can see the car 'naked' to check what's been done/the quality of the work.

Tue Jul 08, 2014 10:25 pm

I can definitely recommend Walter at Retroclassica, he has painted 3 of my cars before, and he will be doing my arches over the winter

Sat Aug 02, 2014 12:43 pm

Just been over to see RetroClassica, very impressed. I'm confident they will do a good job on my car. Quite a few BMWs in there, including as mentioned above the very impressive M3s. Thanks again Triggerfish for the recommend.

Sat Aug 02, 2014 1:04 pm

No worries.

Mines in there currently too, dunno if you saw it? Once its done I'm happy to meet up if you want to look it over, but there's enough stuff there lying around in various stages of repair to get a good idea of the quality if work anyway.

I was there yesterday and they offered to roll my arches and spray the wheels foc for me too

And I had a quick drive of the William Clio there for sale. Very tempting!

Sat Aug 02, 2014 9:30 pm

Oh yes I wasn't sure if that was yours or not, yes had a good look round. There certainly won't be any rust to worry about when they're done very thorough.
Would be great to see it when it's finished. I'm going to take mine over for them in October, that way I get a couple of months enjoyment out of it first and can get on with some of the smaller surface rust bits myself.

Yeah i'm pleased I can take it all apart and put it back together myself it gives you confidence there is going to be nothing hidden.

I didn't spot the clio always liked them, some nice looking cars, I see they're rebuilding a kr200 Messerschmitt now that's a rare find.

Tue Aug 05, 2014 11:29 am

You will have seen a certain green snotter in there too.

Wed Aug 06, 2014 6:20 pm

Ah yes I did very nice it looked too!

Wed Aug 06, 2014 8:17 pm

Ooooh, is that your 5 series? A nice car that!

Wed Aug 06, 2014 11:53 pm

TriggerFish wrote:No worries.

Mines in there currently too, dunno if you saw it? Once its done I'm happy to meet up if you want to look it over, but there's enough stuff there lying around in various stages of repair to get a good idea of the quality if work anyway.

I was there yesterday and they offered to roll my arches and spray the wheels foc for me too And I had a quick drive of the William Clio there for sale. Very tempting!

Are they taking pictures along the way for you, if they are could you put them on here, it's always good to see some before, during and after pics to get an idea of the quality of their work.

Thu Aug 07, 2014 1:34 pm

They said they were. When it's back, I'll copy them into my build thread (not that I really update it on this site!) and link it here for future for others.

Tue Aug 12, 2014 12:39 am

TriggerFish wrote:They said they were. When it's back, I'll copy them into my build thread (not that I really update it on this site!) and link it here for future for others.

I just had a look at your build thread, it will definitely be a good test of their work, I'll look forward to seeing the results.