LemansBlue68

Just got my latest issues of Corvette Fever and noticed the glaring omission of any mention of good Corvette shops in the Detroit area in their "100+ Most Recommended Corvette Shops" article. They didn't even have any shops listed for Michigan, period. This is the Motor City for gosh sake! The land of the Woodward Cruise (and many other classic car events)! What goes?

I do most of the mechanical stuff myself, so no biggie, but I'm looking for a good body and paint shop that's no stranger to doing a decent paint job on my Vette. Anybody from SE Michigan that's had good experience in this regard?

randy72

The Corvette Shop on Gratiot (in Roseville) painted a coworkers Vette and it's pretty sweet. It's kind of a haul for you though. No idea on price or time.

LemansBlue68

Any idea of what he paid? What kind of prep work did they do before painting?

72 Stingray

I painted mine, so I guess that means there is one in my backyard... :D

But seriously though, I'm new to the area so I don't know of any shops through personal experience. I do know of one in Brighton that I guess you could say would not be recommended because they will have a friend's Vette back over the winter to do the job again.

I'll ask around to see if I can get some opinions. What all do you need to have done?

I hope to be doing a frame-off and a color change on mine within the next year, so my shop may be in business!

Good luck with your car. Maybe I'll see ya around next summer. :seeya

Alwyn678

I think KID ROCK and PAM ANDERSON will be opening one soon :lol: :jester :hat

chrisgable

thats one of the reasons Im selling mine. I cant find a decent mechanic that dont bend me over or just do half butt work or both. I try to do most of the work myself but I do half butt work too because I dont know what Im doing.
Theres been a few times I wish I went to a pro.

Steve Grodin

The recommendations in the CF article are personal recommendations by satisfied customers. Many Many months ago there was a request in the the magazine for recommendations. A person had to email them the info.

SILVRTOY

I can say first hand who not to deal with http://www.johnscorvettecare.com/ :mad

LemansBlue68

I'm still undecided about whether to do my car myself or let someone else have the hassle and mess. I've done body and paint work before but this is the first Corvette that I've tackled. I'd rather my 'Vette not be the victim of my learning curve. The body doesn't need that much; just stripped, blocked and painted. My wife complains about the mess I have in the garage already, too.

I was just surprized that no one from Michigan thought enough of their local Corvette shops to send in recommendations.

Bill Meyer

If you are in the Holland , MI area check out Hansen Collision and let Ray Watjer do the prep and painting. The man is very fussy and meticulous, maybe somewhat slow but meticulous. :yesnod:

72 Stingray

I look at the the hassle of doing it yourself (I actually enjoy that kind of stuff)as a lot more tollerable than the frustration of paying big $ for someone else to do it and then not being happy with the results (like the friend I mentioned above). The biggest hurdles to overcome are possessing the necessary equipment and having a place to keep the car undisturbed while you are working on it. The fact that your car doesn't need any glass work also takes the job a few notches down on the difficulty scale. However, complaints from spouses tend to take it back up a couple of notches too! :lol:

70L46

I was planning on stripping mine myself, but health problems mean I am likely going to have to turn the entire job over to the shop. I was planning on using the Vette Shop, I have had some mechanical stuff done there and am pleased, and have seen a few of the cars they have painted and they looked very good. I also need a new windshield frame, and they do have experience with that repair.

Bills17n72

if you are in the Grand Rapids area dont go to Grand valley corvette it will cost you alot of money no mater what they do ,and there will be a good chance the problem WONT be fixed, I found out the hard way.

Bill