Just caught this thread. I have one shop that I would recommend. It is the Court Street Ford Collision Shop in Bourbonnais (just north of Kankakee).
Yeah, yeah I know what you are thinking, why the heck would you use a dealership body shop? Well, this shop is actually run as an independent body shop that happens to be connected to a dealership. Court Street lets the shop manager run the place as his own, so he does quite a bit of non-dealership work. The shop manager restores motorcycles as a hobby and does them right. He has a good eye for detail and knows how to run a shop.
In the spring of '98 I had my 86 SVO Mustang painted there as well as my GF's 86 GT Mustang. We are both very pleased with the work they performed on our cars. Those that have seen my SVO should be able to comment on its quality. A standard base coat/clear coat paint job with minor body work (i.e.- door dings, etc) goes for around $3K. They apply 2 coats of base with 2 coats of clear followed by baking the paint/car in a booth oven, which cures it in the matter of just hours. You don't have to wait for the paint to finish curing to wax it or be paranoid about driving it right away with "soft" paint.
Anyway, here is the shop's info. Just tell Larry that I sent ya and to set you up:
Court Street Ford Collision Shop
558 Latham Drive
Bourbonnais, IL 60914
Larry Glidewell, Manager
815-939-6422
