I have been tinkering with my '69 Firebird for the past few months, and the more I look at the body, the more I realize that I have about 2-3 years before I start to have issues.

I am guessing this because I see some minor rust in typical spots, just rust "runs" coming out of a few small cracks in the paint in usual stress points, particularly the bottom door jams, under the convertible trim (back side, not the windshield) and underbody rust on the frame and such. Nothing major at this point, and only noticeable if I really dig into it.

My question here is: How do you find a good body shop? What do you look for? I will be moving to a new town (San Angelo TX) and I won’t know anyone, is there a particular car club I should join and work with? I have heard nightmares about people being ripped off, I have no delusions that I would be able to paint the car myself, so I plan to disassemble the interior, remove the drive tran, and take the car in to a place for a frame off from that point.

While I also realize that an accurate assessment would be impossible, what price range would a convertible paint job be with minor body repair?