Dave Hounddriver Posted July 29, 2011 Posted July 29, 2011 I needed to get some body work and a paint job done on my 20 year old pick up. The rust was starting to win the battle. When I found out my filipino brother in law is a good body and paint man, I made a deal to hire him for a month to get the job done. Labor is cheap here and he is probably worth 450 pesos for an 8 hour day working in a Manila body shop. I pay him 300 a day because we are not in Manila and because he is family who I help feed from time to time.So George, the brother in law, needs a helper. George cuts and welds and paints but his helper does all the grunt work. Enter brother in law number 2 who works for 200 pesos a day. I suggested that the men work from 9 to 5 to get in their 8 hours but that did not work. They start work at 8 because breakfast is at 9 and they don't want to miss that. After a half hour breakfast, their next break is an hour for lunch at 12 noon. Then a 20 minute snack at 3 PM. Then home at 5.With all this cooking, the wife needs a maid. The maid comes at 7:30 and leaves at 5:30 and costs me 100 a day. She eats with the men, of course. The maid is walking distance away but the men live an hours motorcycle ride away. They cannot afford to travel that distance to go to work and I do not want them living here all night so I have to pay 100 pesos a day for motorcycle gas. Lets not forget the cost of the food they eat which probably totals 300 a day and that means . . . . The total cost of 'cheap labor' to fix my car is 1,000 pesos for an 8 hour day. They have been working on my car for 14 days and they are about half done. The materials have cost me about 30,000 pesos so far (automotive paint is very expensive) and I have put out about 30,000 more for tools that I can sell after or keep for other uses.It means my vehicle restoration will be about 60,000 plus the cost of the tools. But what a job they are doing. I have seen body men work in other countries and it is all about getting the job done quickly. Even here I have seen body men use buckets of body filler to do the job fast and easy. These men are cutting out every inch of rusty metal, replacing it with new sheet metal of the proper thickness and strength, and smoothing it so the body filler they will need is a very bare minimum. They have totally restored this old truck, taking it apart piece by piece to cut, weld, replace, seal paint and more. When they are finished I will have a 20 year old truck with a body that is like new. I swear it will last for another 10 or 15 years without major work to it.So if anyone has an old vehicle they want totally restored, let me know and maybe we can work a deal when the men are finished with mine. I was thinking of posting pics when it is done but the pics just won't do it justice. You can't see all the hidden work they are doing to keep the old girl running.Am I happy about the money? It is half again what I had anticipated so no. Am I happy about the job they are doing? Thrilled! Which is why I am looking for customers for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art2ro Posted July 29, 2011 Posted July 29, 2011 (edited) I bought a 1979 Toyota Corolla 2 dr SR coupe in 1998 for P60,000 as is with lots of rust everywhere under the chassis. I had a auto shop in Olongapo City restore her in and out for P42,000, but no engine work since it was still OK. I still have her to this day! Edited July 29, 2011 by Art2ro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum Support Old55 Posted July 29, 2011 Forum Support Posted July 29, 2011 Enjoyed reading your body work adventures. Just an idea maybe there is a need to add a section listing known honest quality crafts persons? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hounddriver Posted July 30, 2011 Author Posted July 30, 2011 Thanks for the comments guys. To Art, that's a good idea to buy a rusty car and fix it. Perhaps I could find a rusty old car that I can buy cheap, have the guys fix it up, then sell it to recoup my money and do it again. The plan is to create good work for the family members that keeps them close to home and to make a little to recover the cost of the tools. I'd be willing to try it if anyone knows of a high value car going cheap because of the body condition. Just pm me the details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art2ro Posted July 30, 2011 Posted July 30, 2011 I've been an all around aircraft mechanic my entire adult life with the U.S. Government while active duty in the U.S. Air Force and as a Civil Service employee at Travis Air Force Base in Northern California. I bought, restored classic vehicles, especially 1966 to 1968 Ford Mustangs and sold them for a hefty profit as a back yard mechanic in my mother's 2 car garage! Yeah, if I was 20 yrs younger and had the adequate capital, I would consider to having my own vehicle/motorcycle build/repair/restoration shop with good quality workers here in the Philippines and own the land and building which is the only way to go, because leasing wouldn't be practical IMHO! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hounddriver Posted August 28, 2011 Author Posted August 28, 2011 It is with regret that I feel the need to report that things did not go exactly as planned. The rebuilding work on my truck body went on for 8 weeks. At that point I told the men they need to put it back together. While the repair job is all good work, the men are what I would have to call 'perfectionists'. That means they are dragging the job out being extremely finicky over every little detail and thus losing track of the budget for the big picture. I thought for a while that they were dragging it out to keep the pay coming but when I dismissed them, they both had other jobs at similar pay the same day. So I did not get upset, even though I am now driving around with a half finished car dressed in green primer paint. I will take a couple months to get over it and replenish my budget and then I will have the boys 'round to put another month into it. The labor is cheap enough. They like doing it. Its the materials that cost, such as a tank of acetylene at 2K pesos and a tank of oxygen at 1K pesos and these only last a few weeks. So if anyone wants body work done, call a shop, do it yourself, anything except getting relatives to do it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art2ro Posted August 28, 2011 Posted August 28, 2011 Labor is cheap in the Philippines, but it's the parts, other materials and tools that will cost you dearly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piglett Posted October 1, 2011 Posted October 1, 2011 Enjoyed reading your body work adventures. Just an idea maybe there is a need to add a section listing known honest quality crafts persons? that would be a VERY handy section to have ..........what say you MOD??? piglett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piglett Posted October 1, 2011 Posted October 1, 2011 I've been an all around aircraft mechanic my entire adult life with the U.S. Government while active duty in the U.S. Air Force and as a Civil Service employee at Travis Air Force Base in Northern California. I bought, restored classic vehicles, especially 1966 to 1968 Ford Mustangs and sold them for a hefty profit as a back yard mechanic in my mother's 2 car garage! Yeah, if I was 20 yrs younger and had the adequate capital, I would consider to having my own vehicle/motorcycle build/repair/restoration shop with good quality workers here in the Philippines and own the land and building which is the only way to go, because leasing wouldn't be practical IMHO! hey Art i have a 66' mustang in the back yard , when can U start in on it??? :D :unsure: :dance: piglett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piglett Posted October 1, 2011 Posted October 1, 2011 It is with regret that I feel the need to report that things did not go exactly as planned. The rebuilding work on my truck body went on for 8 weeks. At that point I told the men they need to put it back together. While the repair job is all good work, the men are what I would have to call 'perfectionists'. That means they are dragging the job out being extremely finicky over every little detail and thus losing track of the budget for the big picture. I thought for a while that they were dragging it out to keep the pay coming but when I dismissed them, they both had other jobs at similar pay the same day. So I did not get upset, even though I am now driving around with a half finished car dressed in green primer paint. I will take a couple months to get over it and replenish my budget and then I will have the boys 'round to put another month into it. The labor is cheap enough. They like doing it. Its the materials that cost, such as a tank of acetylene at 2K pesos and a tank of oxygen at 1K pesos and these only last a few weeks. So if anyone wants body work done, call a shop, do it yourself, anything except getting relatives to do it for you. where are the before, durring , & after pictures ???? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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