You are now in the same spot many of us, including me have been and per your post regarding you having to wait to even get in with these guys is all but a shortage of qualified real and trained body men. It drove be absolutely nuts when mine was with my guy, I had to pay him every week, had no control over how many actual hours he actually worked, but was at his mercy. Very few, if any shops will even give you a firm quote on a classic car. The key is be patient, but let them know you're watching and at some point ask for a commitment. You may not get one, but try. After mine was done, I asked around at local car shows and found out its not uncommon to have a classic body restored and taking someone up to 6-8 months full time or $30k plus!!!!!