It also depends on what each person "thinks" is really nice. I have seen cars at many shows that people love that have terrible body lines and gaps, overspray, and orange peel and runs in paint. The owner talks about his or her "show car". I just smile and say looks nice. But....a true top dollar Bronco has hundreds of experienced body work hours just in blocking. Setting perfect gaps in doors, hood, tailgate takes many hours of work to include cutting, grinding, welding, and hand filing. If you sent my shop a "new" body and wanted it back with a show quality paint job, I'd charge you 15k for body prep and then 15k for base and clear, cut and buff. If you dropped off an old Bronco and it needed everything done for a full show truck restoration, I'd charge you 100k+ and have it a year. But....your "show" truck idea may not be the same. There is a big difference between what you would see at SEMA and what you see at your local drive-in show. I love both and have built cars at both levels and the price between the two is significant. Bottom line: unless you can do all or most of the work yourself, you WILL NOT make any money and will likely never finish it. If you do it yourself and have little experience, you'll have fun, spend double what you think, and have a nice driver when done that's worth 1/2 of your money spent. Restoration is a hobby and a labor of love. I've made some money doing nice restorations, but not very much. Instead I do it because I'm obsessed with the process. I love rust repair. I love building drivetrains. I love body and paint work. Interior design and final prep. I own the restorations a few months and sale them in order to start another one...for me its the process that makes restorations such a great hobby, not the money.
