Budget to Restore My 68RT

[forsy1979]

Hey guys! 
Trying to put a budget together to restore my car.  Most everything on the car is original.  My challenges are this:  Is there a way to tell whether a part is restorable vs. buying it new?   Also,  I got an estimate of $16000 for ALL body and paint labor, paint, and paint supplies but doesn't include the sheetmetal.  Hes reputable.  The guy said he puts everything back on the car that touches the paint (side marker lights, doors, handles, mirrors, etc) so it doesn't get scratched up.  Does this sound reasonable? 
How much should I realistically budget for:
Rear end / suspension?
Refurbished dash?
Interior?
New parts in general like fuel line brake lines exhaust etc?

thanks for any help.in advance!  I need it! Lol

Clint




 

[moparnation74]

Things will add up quickly for a higher end restoration.  Next thing you know you have vested around 50k and up.

Restore as many original parts you have or can acquire.  Some repop items do not fit or look like the originals.

[Mytur Binsdirti]

Bank on 50 grand, but be prepared to spend an additional 20-30%.    

[1974dodgecharger]

Bank on 50 grand, but be prepared to spend an additional 20-30%.    

I know a guy doing his first restore on a mopar he saw my 68 and I told him how much mine cost as of current state it is and he said I overspent and said he only plans to budget 15k should be enough.  He has a body only 68 no nothing nada....needs engine, interior, exterior, everything has a good body to start with. Saids his will be showroom quality and will win trophies at meets....

He has lots of experience on Fords and Chevys......

[1965gp]

Being a GM guy (Pontiac) myself I agree 100%- 15k will basically buy trim, interior and wheels for a 2nd gen Charger. Wait until that guy buys those 68 only tail light bezels!

Best advice I can give is to make an honest assessment of what the car needs, what you can do yourself and what level you want the car built to. Be real with your budget- parts are much more costly for these cars. If you only have 15k to spend my advice (depending on condition) would be to get the car running and driving first. After that you can decide what your budget is for phase 2 which may be paint or interior depending on your priorities.

I decided not to go to a concourse level and just build a very clean driver to avoid that 50k investment.

[RIDELIKEHELL]

50k easy...parts are not cheap

[skip68]

The total I had into my car was $43k.   That's including the car itself as a roller.   The nickel and dim missing pieces took forever and adds up way more than you think it will.    Every time you turn around and think how much money you just put into it you just don't see it.    My car was a driver not a show car either.   The biggest factors are condition and completeness of your car and how much can you do yourself.   

[XH29N0G]

Very easy to spend much more than you expect.  Think carefully about what you want with it (level of restoration) and then budget more than you expect.   If you plan to drive and enjoy it, you may not need to go super high price, but costs rise very quickly even so.

When I started pricing, I had a budget like yours.  I started contacting shops for estimates and also did research on what they have done. The estimates I had for paint only, were $24K and $32K. I did not have a full restoration (interior is still original) and most of my sheet metal was good.  Unanticipated things happened in the restoration process but were not added to the price.  If the shop is good, they will anticipate what they are getting into.  In the end I spent more than that because we changed the engine and transmission so it reached $45K (on an XH! - not an XP like yours).  I didn't fix mine to sell, and I won't get that out of it.  I bought it from my dad in '83 and that is why I did it.    I am glad I chose the shop I did because of the level or workmanship.  

(I restored the first car I owned (at my dad's cousin's shop) and it was nice at the time.  People used to follow me in to gas stations to try to buy it (in the 1980's) but it had a lot of things I might now call character... that level would be find for me in most situations, but for this car I wanted more.)  

All I can suggest is to think carefully about what you want, what is realistic with your budget, build in some extra, and then enjoy when you get it back.  

Also, I needed to be patient because accumulating that amount of money took time.  I waited bout 10 years after setting my mind that was something I wanted to do.  I drove it up until the point I sent it away.


 

[charger_fan_4ever]

Hey guys! 
Trying to put a budget together to restore my car.  Most everything on the car is original.  My challenges are this:  Is there a way to tell whether a part is restorable vs. buying it new?   Also,  I got an estimate of $16000 for ALL body and paint labor, paint, and paint supplies but doesn't include the sheetmetal.  Hes reputable.  The guy said he puts everything back on the car that touches the paint (side marker lights, doors, handles, mirrors, etc) so it doesn't get scratched up.  Does this sound reasonable? 
How much should I realistically budget for:
Rear end / suspension?
Refurbished dash?
Interior?
New parts in general like fuel line brake lines exhaust etc?

thanks for any help.in advance!  I need it! Lol

Clint

If you need typical sheetmetal for chargers

quarters,dutchman,tail panel valnces and corners,trunk floor roof ect easily 5k in metal. My 70 i have around 7-8k in metal on the shell. So figure the 16k plus the sheet metal we are talking 25k.

interior 3k without dash or wiring
suspension brakes ect another 2-3k
weather stripping
trim
ect ect

50k estimates are probably close as stated.

[skip68]

Looked pretty good after $43k but still had it's flaws and room for improvement.   Honestly, if you have the money it's cheaper to buy one already done than build your own in most cases.   

[1974dodgecharger]

Looked pretty good after $43k but still had it's flaws and room for improvement.   Honestly, if you have the money it's cheaper to buy one already done than build your own in most cases.   

Well put...I hate to say it, but its true....buy one from someone who has to sell theirs in a bad situation.  In the end would you rather spent 50k or 25k for a done up one already the guy is selling....

[comet_666]

Depends on how far you want to go with it and what can be reused. I would say that 70% of my car was shot and now that it is almost done I have spent around $45k over 9 years and still have a ways to go. But it's personal preference too on how far your willing to take it.

[holanae]

Im currently restoring my 68.  With body work, paint, suspension, steering, electical, and some thermal matting I am currently at 22K.  My original budget was 40K.  Seperate your needs from your wants.  I wanted rear disc brakes but all I really needed were brakes that stopped the car.  I plan to purchase those later after its running. My advice is to be patient and wait for the deals and discounts.  Frequent the Group discount section on here, and wait for the 25% & 30% discounts. Watch CL, ebay, and on here for items you will need in the near future.

[moparnation74]

I decided not to go to a concourse level and just build a very clean driver to avoid that 50k investment.

Most of us here have never looked at these cars as an investment.  Mine is for pure enjoyment period.  They are all money pits.  So build it they way you want it to enjoy it.

[stripedelete]

Figure $50k or paint it with Rustoleum and drive it.   After that $16k paint job every part/component less than perfect will look like crap.  That's where you start down the $lippery $lope. 

At least that's the way it worked for me and I started with a body that only needed a door hinge.

[Mike DC]

After that $16k paint job every part/component less than perfect will look like crap.  That's where you start down the $lippery $lope.  

This.  


Everyone pays for perfect paint.  If you don't, then you will probably get imperfect metal work underneath too, which is a HUGE problem.    

Perfect paint makes all the other imperfections bother you twice as much as before.  And once you fix the worst ones, then next-worst ones stick out even more.  Pretty soon you've redone every inch of the car, inside & out.  

[RIDELIKEHELL]

Figure $50k or paint it with Rustoleum and drive it.   After that $16k paint job every part/component less than perfect will look like crap.  That's where you start down the $lippery $lope. 

Bingo.....Thats what will chip away and blow your budget...I have around 9k in paint alone(Canadian$)

[Stegs]

i think the best advice is to take your time, do a little bit every month or couple months


Slowly work on getting the car the way you want it....but enjoy at the same time


I think car ownership (especially classics) its not just 1. buy the car 2. totally restore it 3. drive it

Its more about the way the car evolves or changes over the years you own it. Everyone has their own personal touches they want to do, which is great


take your time, do little by little over weeks, months, years .......<----Thats how i am doing my car...

[Ghoste]

Whatever you come up with as a budget ahead of time, add 50%.

[skip68]

So true.   It's funny that you're door handles and trim looked fine until you have brand new shiny paint.       
Every little old piece stands out and all of a sudden looks like crap.   

[moparnation74]

Whatever you come up with as a budget ahead of time, add 50%.

True statement!  It is NOT just the cost of a paint job.

[forsy1979]

Thanks for all the replies and wisdom on this.  I having a lot of fun searching, researching, learning, etc.  Havent even touched the car for the last 8 weeks.  lol...

Im pretty impressed with this board.  You all (ya'll to some of you down south) have been super helpful, willing to answer questions even if they've been askied a bunch (68 registry anyone? lol) and I don't post much except when I first became a member and bought a car.  But I read the posts every other day or so and am learning a ton just reading your responses and such.  Thanks for being willing to help a guy like myself, who is not a gear head, but who loves loud, fast cars and wants to learn and have this as my hobby.  I will be asking more and more questions as I gain momentum on the project and come closer to throwing down the coin for whats needed to bring the old girl back to life...

Clint

[Zeeman]

Find someone that can help with the mechanicals, there's plenty of information out there. The money you save can help you out with the panel and paint. That's the way I did it, and ended up with a pretty good quality driver car for around 25K, with totally rebuilt mechanicals, diff, suspension, front end and brakes.

[forsy1979]

Great idea.  My brother in law is a mechanic.  I think if I can get the parts, I'll pay or barter with him put it back together.

[lloyd3]

It never ceases to amaze me when I hear what folks have to spend now to get one of these cars redone. Part of my amazement is that I was around when these things were new. Loaded, out the door (w/o the hemi, of course) you were talking about a $3,500 car at most dealerships.  I fear that the window of opportunity to truly bring one of these cars back from the dead has closed. Certainly for the average person. You are so-much further ahead to buy one done now, it isn't even funny.  I admire anyone wanting to resurrect a neat, older, car. Hell, I've done it myself several times, but the resources to do such a thing have almost all disappeared.  Environmental and zoning laws (i.e. government, both big and small!) have conspired to make finding even the simplest of parts and services almost unaffordable.  Junkyards and auto body shops used to be simple to find and utilize for most of what one needed (when one couldn't do it all themselves). Now, junkyards are highly regulated and must turn a car so quickly to ensure a profit that any older stuff gets either turned away at the door or it gets crushed immediately. Body shops are also highly regulated now (at least in the more urban areas), and won't even consider a small, non-insurance job unless they are totally at loose ends.  Unless you have all the parts you need, or you have access to a competent, part-time hobbyist/body man to either train you or work with you, you're faced with years of frustration and all the cost associated with safely storing the car and parts, let alone having a place to work on it. 

It's not so much what they are worth, it's what it costs to replace them, and that cost seems to be in a steep climb everywhere. 

[Mike DC]

 
I think our expectations are low for what a resto should/could ever cost.  This hobby has a way of thinking these cars should be cheap forever.  In reality there was about 15 years during the last 50 when they were as cheap as we fantasize.

A modern equivalent of these cars costs $30k.  Its more advanced & complex, but on the other hand mass production also RADICALLY cheapens a lot of steps in the process.  We can't expect to pay skilled repair shops to rebuild something by hand for anything like the cost of assembly-lining it the first time.  Hand-done restos are normally huge money losers on things, whether it's a building or a car or any other complex item.

[lloyd3]

These cars were produced in a very low-tech era, so keeping them running was a very rudimentary process (I always tell folks that they have/had the technology of a lawn-mower). Parts were available almost everywhere I went when I was a young-er man (in the early 80s). With minimal effort, you could find the parts you needed and you could piece something together that would be fast, fun, and relatively (& I use that word very carefully) affordable.  A little focused effort then had an almost immediate payoff. Fast forward almost 35-years now, cars are very high-tech on almost every metric (they are, indeed, cleaner, safer, and more dependable,...sigh!).  There is no low-hanging fruit anymore. Parts are always hard to locate and even finding an appropriate place to store and work on a car can be a challenge. The biggest hardship that I see is that you really can't drive them while working on them anymore (which was almost always my story then). So you're funding at least two vehicles all the time and nothing happens easily, cheap, or fast.  They really aren't cars anymore, they have become rather silly, expensive, big-boy toys.  They are still lots of fun to drive, and they evoke great responses in almost everyone (of a certain age) you meet, but...they are also getting damn old. Most have lived way-longer than they were ever intended to last. You really have to be dedicated to put one back together now, and you better be prepared to spend more money and free-time then you ever expected.  Get a loan (interest is dirt cheap), find one that is done (and done right), and buy it.  Enjoy it for a while and then let someone else enjoy it. That would be my advise.

[MxRacer855]

I think that paint/body job is easily in the ballpark.

my '68 is just leaving a nice body shop with a grand total of $13,300 in the paint and body work (and we cut out and installed all of the sheet metal ourselves).  

[NHCharger]

I spent just over three years restoring my 68, here's a link.   http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,95536.0.html

Ended up around 28-30 k when done, that includes purchase price. I did all the work myself, excpect for farming out the tranny and engine. My first serious attempt at body work.
Am currently looking for my next project/moneypit  

[1974dodgecharger]

I spent just over three years restoring my 68, here's a link.   http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,95536.0.html

Ended up around 28-30 k when done, that includes purchase price. I did all the work myself, excpect for farming out the tranny and engine. My first serious attempt at body work.
Am currently looking for my next project/moneypit  

man good work man....I know I said it before, but damn.

[RIDELIKEHELL]

I spent just over three years restoring my 68, here's a link.   http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,95536.0.html

Ended up around 28-30 k when done, that includes purchase price. I did all the work myself, excpect for farming out the tranny and engine. My first serious attempt at body work.
Am currently looking for my next project/moneypit  

Impressive 

[forsy1979]

I appreciate all of the input!  Im reading and rereading pretty much all of the responses to continue educating myself.  Yes.... My original plan was to buy it already done.  Money is cheap to come by and yes it'll be done.  Most of you don't know, Im a restorer by trade.  Real estate.  Im the guy the buys the old buildings and brings them back to life.  So....When i pulled CL up and found an RT all original and intact with a unique color combo, I decided to pull the trigger.  Good thing there were people from all over the globe interested in it.  The price was incredibly right...so i did it!  .. Here I am...LOL..

A very consistent bid ive been getting for the bodywork and paint.  $20,000.  I've gotten one written and three verbal and they're all at or right around $20,000.  The common statement "it needs quite a bit of metal".  I think this is an area I don't want to learn on as I want it to be correct, safe, and well done.  same with paint.  I will keep shopping around, but the ones that came are some of the best of the best for this area as far as workmanship and mopar knowledge and experience.   Not many mopar guys in my area... a handful.  I'm still searching, researching and making contacts though.

[Mike DC]

  
BTW:  A non-Mopar body man is liable to look at any unrestored Mopar muscle car and think it needs "quite a bit" of metal.  That comment doesn't tell you much unless the guy is into Mopars specifically.

I'm not saying they are wrong.  But I'm commenting on how your car may measure up against other Mopar projects.  Chevy & Ford guys don't come from a world where the supply of cars is so small & severely rusted & expensive.  Most of them just don't get it.  They see their Mopar friend working on a car they wouldn't touch with a pole and they say "why on earth don't you get a better starting point?"  It's hard to get through to them that this POS might be the best one out of dozens we looked at.  

[moparnation74]

 
BTW:  A non-Mopar body man is liable to look at any unrestored Mopar muscle car and think it needs "quite a bit" of metal.  That comment doesn't tell you much unless the guy is into Mopars specifically.

I'm not saying they are wrong.  But I'm commenting on how your car may measure up against other Mopar projects.  Chevy & Ford guys don't come from a world where the supply of cars is so small & severely rusted & expensive.  Most of them just don't get it.  They see their Mopar friend working on a car they wouldn't touch with a pole and they say "why on earth don't you get a better starting point?"  It's hard to get through to them that this POS might be the best one out of dozens we looked at.  

I agree with Mike as well.  Sure they have a good reputation and done quality work on other models but how many mopars have they restored?  How many Chargers?  Fortunately, some of these body men with brains have come to this site and asked pertinent questions about the unknowns.  Our cars are different for many reasons and they may not be remotely familiar with those differences.

It would be similar to ask you to sell raw materials as a trader.  You have sales experience as a real estate agent but none for raw commodities.

[ECS]

Chevy & Ford guys don't come from a world where the supply of cars is so small & severely rusted & expensive.  Most of them just don't get it.

Have you ever actually been involved with the restoration of a classic Ford or Chevy vehicle?  With all due respect Mike, doing a correct restoration can be every bit as difficult for the Brand X guy as it is for the Mopar Enthusiast.  Depending on the vehicle, it can even be more difficult.  

I am currently restoring a 1969 Pontiac Trans Am.  It has been significantly more expensive and difficult finding correct parts for that Car than for my 1970 Hemi Cuda.  Try (for instance) finding NOS Fenders for a 69 Pontiac T/A versus NOS Fenders for a 1970 Hemi Cuda.  The processes for how they were originally built may vary but the skill it takes to correctly restore them is the same.  The grass isn't always greener on the other side.

[skip68]

Good for you forsy1979.      
You're right that money is cheap right now and you are going into this with the right approach.   You'll be just fine.   If you love this car then don't think about the money, just think about the end result.   Build it the way you want.   

[1974dodgecharger]

I know a guy with a shell of 68 saids 15 grand with body work and all interior pieces and exterior is need he should be done....sent it off to body shop after some discussion it was sent back.......

[HeavyFuel]

Hey guys! 
Trying to put a budget together to restore my car.  Most everything on the car is original.  My challenges are this:  Is there a way to tell whether a part is restorable vs. buying it new?   Also,  I got an estimate of $16000 for ALL body and paint labor, paint, and paint supplies but doesn't include the sheetmetal.  Hes reputable.  The guy said he puts everything back on the car that touches the paint (side marker lights, doors, handles, mirrors, etc) so it doesn't get scratched up.  Does this sound reasonable? 
How much should I realistically budget for:
Rear end / suspension?
Refurbished dash?
Interior?
New parts in general like fuel line brake lines exhaust etc?

thanks for any help.in advance!  I need it! Lol

Clint

Man, am I glad this is all behind me......

Good luck, and don't add up the receipts.....you'll be glad you didn't. 

[Mytur Binsdirti]

I know a guy with a shell of 68 saids 15 grand with body work and all interior pieces and exterior is need he should be done....sent it off to body shop after some discussion it was sent back.......

[Mike DC]

Have you ever actually been involved with the restoration of a classic Ford or Chevy vehicle?  With all due respect Mike, doing a correct restoration can be every bit as difficult for the Brand X guy as it is for the Mopar Enthusiast.  Depending on the vehicle, it can even be more difficult. 

I am currently restoring a 1969 Pontiac Trans Am.  It has been significantly more expensive and difficult finding correct parts for that Car than for my 1970 Hemi Cuda.  Try (for instance) finding NOS Fenders for a 69 Pontiac T/A versus NOS Fenders for a 1970 Hemi Cuda.  The processes for how they were originally built may vary but the skill it takes to correctly restore them is the same.  The grass isn't always greener on the other side.

Yes I have some exposure to the brand-X(s).  IMO their cars are much easier when you are just looking for a workable street machine.  They can be equally difficult when it comes to very correct factory-type resto jobs.  Especially once you step outside the most sought-after stuff like Chevys & Fords.  A Mercury or a Buick is another story.