Changing colors

[abecx]

I have a 300C and I've been recently dumping a lot of money into it to keep it current. I want to keep it as my daily for another 5+ years and one of the next things on my list is to fix the body issues and change the paint color.

I have minor damage here and there, nothing massive, so I'm not too worried about that. ( scratches, probably some small body filler on the door ).

What worries me the most is changing colors. I have a silver car and it just not a deep paint color. I want to change to graphite metallic pearl ( a lexus color ), but I want to do it right.

My interior isn't really paintable now that I've installed dynamat everywhere.

What would I be looking at price wise and whom or what should i look for in a paint shop.

I've budgeted $5k for this, let me know if that sounds realistic.

[TeeShock]

How perfect do you want it? Firewall? Inner fenders?

Depreciation comes to mind with color swaps. I had it done once and would never do it again unless it was a rotisserie car.

[abecx]

I'm not really too concerned with resale value, but I also don't want it to look like shit. Perfect as in I would be ok with them pulling the engine.

I think you're right though, pulling EVERYTHING out of the car would be the best idea and putting it on a rotisserie.

in 20k-30k more miles I plan to rebuild the bottom end of the car to a 426, that'll give me a bit of downtime, would also probably be worthwhile to replace some other key components on the car or at least do maintenance on them such as the transmission, the rear end as well as suspension.

I think going with what you're saying, I should wait until then. Fuck that is going to be a big all at once wallet hit.

[Cooter]

$5k for a quality color change is not realistic...

is this like your dream car or something?

[TeeShock]

$5k down on an srt8 and you won't have any downtime

[abecx]

Its not really about it being my dream car, its more to do with the options which would be to either spend $20k on my current car, or spend $30k and buy a new one. I would rather keep mine and do things right on tasteful upgrades than spend $30k on a new one.

I just dropped $8000 into the engine and $2000 into the interior, that leaves me with $10k left to spend, also keep in mind this is a lofty budget, I can increase/decrease this if I want. I still need to do suspension and then paint to end it off. I don't really race, so in regards to suspension I want to replace all the bushings on the car and replace the stock coil overs. I have some self leveling bullshit from the factory that I haven't looked into yet. I might add some small things like a braces and shit but I don't really need anything since its my 'daily' ( I work from home so don't drive much ).

I'm sure that will leave me with ample money for a decent paint job. If $5000 is too low, what should I be estimating, $10k? Were not talking show quality here.


Downtime isn't an issue, and I don't want to buy another SRT8, these things are fucking expensive to work on.

[Cooter]

kinda follows my train of thought, which is to sell iThey're for however much you can get.

Take that and add it to the $20k you're talking about spending (which will be closer to $30k... you know how projects go!)

And get something closer to your dream car without having to build it.

[Tyrone Biggums]

let me know if that sounds realistic.

Yes! Dumping 20k in to a Chrysler 300C to drive it for 5 more years is the most realistic thing I've heard in my life. Proceed!!

[mustang_revival]

Sounds like a big expensive pain in the ass for not much return.

[abecx]

I asked for information on paint, not advice on how you would spend my money. lol

and my 'dream car' makes no sense for a daily driver. Who the fuck would want to drive an overheating Pantera all the fucking time.

[Counterfiend]

Honestly, 5K for a decent paint job is possible but its really a matter of how much work you wanna put into it. The color change is where it gets tricky. 100% disassemble, pull motor. Are you going down to bare metal before spray or just get a good key on the paint / clear before a respray? If its a car that you are just wanting cleaned up bit, why not look into a quality wrap job? Crazy color options now, will last you the rest of the time you own the car and companies even wrap jams.

[mustang_revival]

I asked for information on paint,

get a quote from these guys:

http://www.stuartspnb.com/

Stuart's Paint and Body, Inc.

They will take care of you.

From their FAQ - How much will it cost to do a complete paint job?

Our complete paint jobs start at $5000 and go up depending upon the condition, color and type of vehicle. It is a labor-intensive process that removes the original paint and primer, restores imperfections in the body and applies new primer, paint and clear coat.

[Cooter]

If you asked for information on how best to commit suicide, I would try to talk you out of that too.

That's what friends do.

Carry on

I asked for information on paint, not advice on how you would spend my money. lol

and my 'dream car' makes no sense for a daily driver. Who the fuck would want to drive an overheating Pantera all the fucking time.

[abecx]

Here is what I had listed out. I just wanted something that sounded ridiculous but could carry a family in it, 300C SRT8 felt like the best option for what I wanted. Jackie has her own car, as well I want to build a play car aside from this one. Not everyone wants to put an LS engine in a fairmount




Just wanted to try and keep track of the stuff I'm doing in case anyone cares.


What: I picked up a 2006 300C SRT8 a few years ago, I've always liked the ridiculous tank looking front end of these Chrysler/Mercedes built cars. I dont know shit about HEMI's other than enough so I dont sound like a squid when someone talks to me about them.

Goals: The main objective is to keep the car as driver friendly as possible while adding more power and convience of newer cars. I have kid(s).

Interior: $2,000
x sound deaden interior ( 4 boxes of dynamat )
- $685 amazon
- $1275 ( 15 hours @ $85 ) Texas Audio
. iPad mini into dash
- https://youtu.be/KCKGS11XDjs
. replace factory amp and sub
. replace head unit
. replace all control lights with red LED's
. suede stitch interior pieces

Exterior: $0
. Clean up exterior body work
- minor door ding damage
- switch to single piece front bumper
- replace fender well liner
. Paint Car
- No bullshit paint job, pull motor etc
- Graphite Metallic Pearl ( lexus paint )
. Possible widen rear fender well for more tire clearance.

Engine: $7,550
x compression test
- $220 Brandon
x diablo sport tuner
- $200 craigslist
x cai carbon fiber tube hammer filter
- $325 Inertia Motorsports
x CNC'd heads new castings and blnded valves
- $2,200 Modern Muscle Performance
x port matched intake
- $625 Modern Muscle Performance
x max plus cam ( 218/226 Duration 0.566/0.556 )
- $525 Inertia Motorsports
x kooks long tubes
- $1,075 eBay ( new )
x kooks highflow cat
- $610 ebay ( new )
x corsa extreme exhaust 14440
- $1,350 Amazon
x QTP remote electric cutouts with turn downs and wireless remote
- $500 Amazon
x billet catch can
- $250 Billet Technology
x head bolts, waterpump, head/intake gaskets, 180 thermostat, oil pump, lifters, timing chain
- $1,000 Moderm Muscle Performance
. 426 short block


Suspension
. possible air suspension
. replace all bushing with polyurethane
. add braces where needed
. widen factory wheels to comfortably handle 335's.

Drivetrain
. nothing yet, keep reading about halfshafts being an issue.

[71chevellejohn]

Plasti dip
/thread