Body cost

[save the racers]

Just finishing my body and I don't have to work tomorrow.Thought i would post this just for a reference.
$400+tax -- 7 sheets of aluminum
$27 -- 1 box of exploder rivets
$13-- 1 box regular rivets
$420-- md3 evolution nose, stickers, valance ,they killed me on shipping
$120 -- steel,tabs. bumpers, t-bars, extras
$50 -- 1x1/4 aluminum strap. Reused all I could
$335 -- Md3 roof. Reused my old one
$1365 -- Minus $335 (reused roof)=$1030 total

[RacerX10]

bodies were a lot cheaper when we made our own nose pieces and roofs

[save the racers]

According to my wife I might be making them next year.lol

[RW57]

We buy generic MD 3 noses 135.00 and pick them up going to attempt a roof this year made a couple practice runs with scrap looked pretty good .You are saving 6 to 8 hundred bucks labor doing it your self that's the going rate around here just for body install if new decking labor rate is from what I am told is 12 to 15 hundred bucks plus aluminum .

[Punisher88]

I typically charge 900 labor for the full decking, sides, and nose.

[hucktyson]

It's crazy how cheap body guys work ...

[25drtrkr]

$3500 is the goin rate in my area for a complete body!

[A ron]

$3500???? wow

[powerslide]

$3500???? wow

How many hours do you reckon you have in hanging a whole body?

Using the $3500 rate(not sure if that is interior). I wouldn't think it would take more than 40hrs to build/hang one. Maybe if you are putting in an interior it might take 60hrs. At 60hrs it comes out to $41 an hr. But at 40hrs they are getting $62 an hr. My hours are just guesses I might be a week or two off. I took $1000 off for materials in the example above

A lot of guys that do bodies around here do double the materials. So in STR example it would of been $2060 because the roof was provided.

[25drtrkr]

That's a complete body less (not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)pit. This is a legitimate race shop, not someone doing it at their house.

[A ron]

I would think @ $3500 buying the stuff to build your own would be paid for the first time you used it.

[Wheelman33]

I would think @ $3500 buying the stuff to build your own would be paid for the first time you used it.

But would it look as good?

[RW57]

One thing that cuts time down is having old decking for patterns.We raised cage on our car and took out drop deck and went with flat deck. Some patterns would still work also rules changed and back of car can be wider I probably have 8 hrs so far and body is not made yet deck has been a big pain in rear so far with all the changes.Last alimnum work I did on rock crawler I charged 25 dollars a hour. The 8 hrs is on deck alone still has probably 4 hrs to go then body is next will have probably 30 hrs minuminum in all of it.

[save the racers]

Those 7 sheets are with a new pit.
I want to add in all the stuff I reused just to give an ideal what a all new would cost.
$40 -- ROOF CAP
$50 -- hood scoop
$100 -- body mounts,hood pins, scuff plates, spoiler hinge,end adjuster
$20 -- body bolts jclips
$40 -- nose supports
$50 -- acess panels

$100 -- shop supplys welding gas, wire ,cut off wheels, tools you broke etc..
=$450+1365=1815 for all new

[RW57]

If you figured your time in I can easily see the 3000 dollar range for cost people who can do it themselves are very lucky in the money they can save. My son is getting his first taste of redoing the decking from scratch it has been a real eye opener for him.He is doing a good job but tends to want to rush things a bit he bought the material so every mistake cost him money he is learning though.

[King1]

We make our roofs and roof caps out of metal. And usually what is left over you can make fender sides or tops with it. It will save you quite a bit of cash and plus its much safer to have a metal roof, ask Josh McGuire what he thinks of a fiberglass roof.

[RacerX10]

ask Josh McGuire what he thinks of a fiberglass roof.

What happened ?

[King1]

He flipped his car a few years ago and the roof broke off and when he landed on his roll cage the track came inside the car so to speak and gave him a compression fracture. Said if he had a metal roof on then the outcome would have been different. I can't help but agree with him.

[save the racers]

I don't know how long it took me but,I think I've got 30hrs in pulling plastic off aluminum.

[25drtrkr]

There must not be many capable race teams in your area? Around me guys are building bodys and decks for other racers at less than double the metal cost.

I think it comes down to the same old question, "whats YOUR time worth?"

The majority comes from one shop, the owner of which is almost a perfectionist!

[25drtrkr]

Like I said must not be many capable people around you. There are no less than 20 different places around me to have a body done. All of which will look the same as Grt Harris or whoever built them originally.

I build my own and refuse to do anyone else's because there isn't hardly any profit in it.

Only 2 in a 150 mile radius!

A few do their own, that are decent! The rest look like they found it instead of bought it! lol

[RW57]

You hit the nail right on the head .Someone who has never built a body and decking do not have a clue how much time and work it is.Same with paint and body work people are always asking me to paint their cars trucks etc I politely tell them no they ask why so I start rattling off cost of materials they go into shock most of the time I tell people to take to Macco.

[Lizardracing]

At my local track there isn't much reason to spend time on perfection as someone will rip it off for you on the first turn of the first race anyway.

[RW57]

Amen to that brother every year my dad tells my son he is wasting his time putting on a new body on for the very reason you said of course he does it anyway.Usually what you said happens some idiot tears off one of the sides the first race.