Cadillac sheet metal

[David Cotton]

Can anyone tell me what a fair price would be for 1964 Cadillac sheet metal parts such as trunk lid, doors, quarter panels and hood. I want prices for solid driver quality items that need refinishing. Thanks.

[David Cotton]

Great information everyone. Thanks.

[Jason Edge]

Thanks Tony. Yeah..those bone yards where parts have sat out for decades in the weather often leave parts less than desirable. The stainless trim is about the only thing that holds up well in the weather.

[Jason Edge]

Just to add, I will be headed to up to Lake George, NY July 9 traveling thru NC, VA, MD, NJ, PA, and NY can can bring prepaid items with me for a nominal fee for those that live in the North East.  I will be adding more in the coming weeks. Here is a quick map of my route to NC for anyone "on the way".

[David Cotton]

Thank you for the information.  I have seen those ebay prices as well and appreciate the realistic figures you talked about. 

[Jason Edge]

From a parts supplier side I can give you the following: Trunk lids, and hoods generally start to rust on the outer under lips. Doors start to rust at bottom near around drain holes (that clog up)  and across the bottom. rear qtr panels take considerable work to remove. Fenders rust out at bottom in front of door where the framing traps debris and moisture and often need repair in this area. They also often rust long the trim holes where they have trapped debris and moisture and along the top edge where they bolt to inner fender next to hood.

 From 41 parts cars (and 5 drivers) from the South East it is rare that any of these items with Zero Rust. If you do the price generally follows  the condition vs price J curve, often exaggerated out there on eBay and elsewhere. I generally price mine on a mild J curve. For example, I'll sell a hood in nice straight condition but maybe a bit of rust thru issue under the lip for $100 to $150 depending on amount of work that needs to be done to repair. I currently have a very nice, very straight 64 hood with no rust through, only a bit of surface rust under the lip for $250. I see these listed for (and selling for) $500 and up on ebay etc in a similar condition.  

Another thing to consider is shipping. I have people drive to NC from Texas, Florida, New York and even repeat customers from Canada due to shipping cost. They usually couple this with vacations on the interstates that criss-cross through my state. If you have to have it, the big carriers will ship the item for a cost. I remember last year a guy wanted a fender I was selling for $150. Price to ship UPS was $450 to ship from Raleigh, NC area to Atlanta, GA  ...about 700 to 800 miles both in the SE. The customer immediately (as expected) said no way! This is one reason I do not get into shipping anything bigger than what I can stick on my front porch US Postal (limit of 70 lb and 130" length + girth). Early on I chased down shippers for days on end only to have customers tell me "ARE YOU CRAZY?" when they saw the shipping cost. When I leave it to the customer it is up to what they can do to retrieve or transport the item. I remember selling a trunk lid for $150 and seeing the Overnight Invoice from NC to WA state for $625...and that was 10 years ago. 

As far as rear qtr panels, there is a lot of effort in removing these. I watched two guys from a very reputable SC body style shop up with the acetylene torches, zawsaw cutters, etc and spend a good 2 to 3 hours getting the rear qtr cut out of a donor parts car. That's up to 6 hrs of work, and most shops charge $50 to $75 / hr for that type of work. So...I let anyone that needs items cut out of a body show up and I will sell for a very reasonable price ($125 for the complete rear qtr as I recall), but it is something I leave up to the customer.

So..like anything else, most items follows the condition vs price J-Curve, and consider shipping. Of course, make sure you are getting the correct part for your year and body style, or at least understand that "yes, that deville fender will find your Fleetwood 60 Special, but you will have some old trim holes to fill, and some new ones to drill."