Rain gutter?

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Reaper

Member
Joined
May 30, 2017
Messages
12
Well my father and I finally found our first "barn find", a '47 Merc Eight coupe, couple grand and $60 to have it towed home and its now ours. We currently have tranny fluid sitting in all 8 of the flathead's cylinders hoping to free it up. Interior looks great, all the chrome is there (and some extra parts), body has some rough spots, the worst being the rain gutters (guards), they're pretty much completely shot, barely hanging on and rusted through in a couple places. I'm a body man but Im feeling like this is out of my league, whats the correct way to go about replacing these. I gave a buddy a call and inquired for a rough idea on what he'd charge and he tossed a $1500 number to remove/delete the gutters and filling in what needs to be done to give a factory appearance, is this a fair number?

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Nice Merc. I'm jealous! :D

Eliminate or replace/repair? I have the same issue with the 38 Ford PU cab I have for my next project. In my case, they are really too rotten to save.

Depending on the extent of the rot, in some cases, it is possible to fill the bottom of the drip rail with body sealant (or maybe epoxy) then paint over it. Nobody really looks in the rain gutters much anyway. That way they still work, too.

If they are really really bad, like mine, how do you feel about shaving them completely off and just filling the area as needed for a smooth custom look? You won't be driving it in the rain much anyway. Right?

If it is just the part with the primer on it, shortening them is a possibility that you might get away with. Not a bad custom touch.

As for the $1500, :eek: it sounds to me like somebody doesn't want any part of the job. :D

I'd check the aftermarket, like Mac's, for replacement parts. I'll bet once you have them in hand, you will know what to do with them.
 
Depending on what actually needs done, I don't think he is out of line. Most guys on here will balk on a number like that without thinking about what actually goes into it. To take those back to a factory appearance as you said, is a very labor intensive process, and labor hours add up fast. On a $1500 bill at a shop rate of $75/hr. that's only 20 hours. Being a body man I'm sure you can understand better than most home garage guys...
 
Depending on what actually needs done, I don't think he is out of line. Most guys on here will balk on a number like that without thinking about what actually goes into it. To take those back to a factory appearance as you said, is a very labor intensive process, and labor hours add up fast. On a $1500 bill at a shop rate of $75/hr. that's only 20 hours. Being a body man I'm sure you can understand better than most home garage guys...
Guilty as charged, your honor. I'll admit to being out of touch with the cost of body work these days. But I suppose I shouldn't be. I went to the wrecking yard and bought a clean door for my '04 Dodge Stratus. Took it to the body shop, and it still cost $850 to repaint it and install it. The cost of everything is crazy these days.

And that, my friends, is a big contributing factor in my love for rat rods. :D If I was going to leave the top on the 38, I would shave the rain gutters. Fortunately, there is a rag top RPU in its future. :cool: Stay tuned.
 

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