So I took my 79 Berlinetta to the shop to get it rrunning and they told me I need a whole new brake system, a coolant leak fix, and the transmission linkage and mount need minorwork . They then quoted me 4000 dollars. I feel like that'sreally high, bbut I haven't been by to get the itemized list yet. Should Itake it somewhere else or does this seem fair?

 

Yes, it sure seems like they're trying to get into your pocket. I can't imagine a shop couldn't replace the entire brake system, including calipers, rotors, drums, wheel cylinders, and even lines, and cost that much money. The coolant leak, trans mount, and linkage repair/adjustment, couldn't be too much either. A mount is less than $10, and takes a few minutes. The linkage adjustment, and replacement of bushings shouldn't be more than $25. If the coolant leak is hoses, they can all be replaced for less than $75 in parts, and an hour's labor.
Unless you've got no mechanical aptitude, no place to work, and no tools; I can't imagine you couldn't do all these repairs yourself for less than $300 in parts, and a weekend's work.

 

Do you have any friends with auto experience that can help you? Start asking around, might surprise you who knows something.

 

They do not want to do the work. Replacing brake line can be very time consuming depending on the conditions of the mounts. Restoration places deal with these types of problems all day long but a regular flatrate garages have less experance.

OR

Many shops work on flat rate. There is a set of books that says changing this part takes X hours. I am sure if you add up all the chiltons times for every single part you needed it would be over 4K but the fact is when you are changing lots of parts on one system you can do it much faster then what chilton book say for all the single parts. BUT some garages have agreements with mechanics that they will be paid flatrate for all jobs.

Example of how flatrate works:
You need a mufflur, that is .6 of an hour. The pipe from the Cat to the mufflur pays .5 of an hour and the tail pipe pays .3 hours. So to replace the whole exhaust system pays 1.2 hours. But I can replace the entire exhaust system as fast or faster then I can install a mufflur on a old cars. The fact I am not trying to "save" any parts mean I just cut everything away with torches. I have done complete exhaust systems in well under .5 hours. As you can guess this would be even worse when it comes to the brake lines themselves.

What you are talking is a lot of work and can be very time consuming. I just made all new brake lines and and fuel lines for a 96 Tahoe. It took me about 40 hours without a lift. Having a lift would have cut that down to 30 hours or so. Hopfully any shop you go to knows they can get line kits for your car and are not quoting making everything like I did on the Tahoe.

 

sounds like they are playing you for a chump. take it elsewhere.

if your near NJ, i'll do it for $3995......................LOLOLOLOLOLOL

seriously, use advance auto or O'Reilly's online and see how much stock parts would cost. there's a lot of companies making resto brake lines. price the parts, subtract that from $4000 and you'll see how much they're charging you.

brake lines really aren't that hard to do if you have the right tools.

 

Classic Tube sells a complete brake line replacement kit for under $200. Calipers run about $15 ea., rotors about $20 ea., drums about $22 ea., pads, shoes, etc. are around $50, and a master around $16 exchange.
So it looks like they're charging over $3600 labor to install all these parts. And don't forget the shop probably gets 20% off these parts prices.