Cost is the first question on almost every restoration call, and no honest shop can answer it in one sentence without seeing the car. What we can do is explain what moves the number, so you can read a quote critically when you get one. The factors below run roughly in the order they hit a build: what the car is, what has to happen to the metal, how it's finished, and what turns up along the way.
We've been restoring vehicles in Sherman since 2001, and we're deliberately not printing dollar figures here. Any number in a blog post would be wrong for your car. Every build is quoted individually after inspection.
Why one car can't price another
A restoration isn't one job. It's bodywork, paint, mechanical, electrical, interior and trim, each with its own labor, and the hours in each depend on the car you start with and the standard you want to finish at. Two cars of the same year and model can need very different amounts of work because of what's under the paint and how each owner plans to use the car. Labor hours drive the total more than parts do.
Condition and rust
Starting condition is the biggest single variable. A solid car that has lived dry needs far less than one that sat in a damp barn or a field. Surface rust on a panel is a sanding job. Rust through a rocker, floor pan, cowl or frame rail is a repair job, and what you can see from outside is rarely the full picture. That's why we inspect before we quote, and why a quote on a car nobody has looked at is a guess.
Metalwork and bodywork
Metalwork and bodywork are usually the largest block of labor. Cutting out rusted steel and welding in new metal, correcting old accident repairs, stripping layers of filler, and getting panel gaps and body lines straight all take hours that don't show in the finished car but decide how good it looks. A low quote often means this stage was priced thin. Bodywork is done in-house, so it's estimated from the car in front of us rather than from a subcontractor's number.
Paint and finish level
Paint cost is mostly preparation, not product. The gap between a good driver finish and a show finish is how many times the surface is blocked, primed and refined before color goes on, and how much of the car (door jambs, underside, engine bay) gets the same treatment. Decide the finish level early, because it changes the work upstream of it too. Paint is done in-house; here's more on our automotive painting work.
Parts availability
Popular models with a deep reproduction market are the easy end: panels, trim and mechanical parts can be ordered. Rare, low-production or orphaned vehicles mean hunting used originals, repairing parts that can't be replaced, or fabricating them. Ask early which parts are available and which would have to be made. It affects both cost and schedule.
Mechanical scope
Engine, transmission, brakes, suspension, cooling, fuel and wiring can each be refreshed, rebuilt or replaced, and that choice moves the total. A car that runs and stops safely may only need a sorted-out refresh. A tired drivetrain, original wiring and worn suspension add up quickly. A modern powertrain is a different scope again; see our notes on engine swaps and conversions. Mechanical work is done in-house, alongside the body and paint.
Upholstery and interior
Seats, door panels, carpet, headliner and dash pad are all hand work, and materials and pattern complexity change the hours. Re-covering a bench seat in a correct pattern is a different job from a custom interior with new foam, stitching and trim. Upholstery is also done in-house; see our automotive upholstery page.
Discovered issues and change orders
Every older vehicle hides something until it's taken apart. The question is what the shop does when it finds it. At Texoma, if an approved task runs out of time, or we discover something that expands the scope of work, we contact you and get a change work order approved before continuing that labor. You see the new scope and decide, and nothing is added silently. The same goes for "while we're in there" requests from the owner: they're welcome, and they're documented as changes.
Deposits, payments and seeing the work
We take a deposit, and the amount varies by project. Whatever shop you choose, it should explain its deposit and payment schedule up front and show you where the money goes. Here, every completed labor task is photographed, and the photos appear in your client portal, so you can follow the build without driving to the shop. For more on what to ask any shop before you commit, see choosing a restoration shop: what to look for and red flags to avoid.
Cost, finish level and time move together
Labor hours are also calendar time, so the same factors that set cost set the schedule. As rough ranges: a driver-quality restoration, or a solid car needing mechanical and cosmetic work, typically runs 6–10 months. A full show-quality restoration runs 12–18 months. A frame-off restoration of a rust-heavy or incomplete car runs 18–24+ months. Every build is quoted individually after inspection, and parts availability and discovered issues can move the timeline. The full discussion is in how long a restoration takes, and the choice between frame-off and frame-on restoration is one of the biggest scope decisions you'll make.
See the range of our work
We've worked on everything from tractors to Airstreams. To see finished builds, look at our 1965 Ford Mustang restoration, the 1971 Buick Riviera restoration, the 1984 Ford Bronco rebuild and the 1977 Airstream Sovereign restoration. Use them to decide what finish level you want, then bring that to the quote conversation.
How to get a real number
Be clear about your goal before teardown: a car you'll drive often, or one for the show field. A well-built driver you can finish will give you more than a show car you stretched for and can't complete. Then let us look at the vehicle. Our classic car restoration page covers what we take on. When you're ready, request a quote or inspection and tell us about the car. You'll get a quote built from what we find, not from a formula.