Charger Restoration IN$ANITY - has anyone ever felt this way?? Is it worth it?

[bakerhillpins]

I guess it all depends upon if you are treating it as an investment or as a hobby right? I have a short list of hobbies that I have that will never get me back what I put into them but its not about the investment it the item, but rather the investment in the fun and enjoyment you get out of it. Just like the tickets to the ball game or the races, money paid for the pure enjoyment. 

I am working to get myself a charger that is mostly complete and tinker with it because I don't have the funds or space for a full restro. Plus I want to make it an experience that I share with my kids too. Maybe at some point it will become a full restro project but only time will tell.

After all, you cant take it with you!

Bryan

[Goodz]

If youre looking to fix it up to turn a profit, you got the wrong impression from someone because it seems like that RARELY happens.  If you are doing it as a source of pride and excitement, well that comes at a price.  All those "little" items add up real fast.  I bought my car for $2200 (+$400 shipping) and am not at $7500... and I havent even touched the body work which needs a lot of help.  It's nice when I get to work on the car.  I feel like I am learning new and exciting things each time I come here and do something on the car.  That makes it fun for me.  If I think about the bill, suicide starts to look really tempting, especially when I ran into financial troubles.

[SFRT]

Restoration is a harsh mistress.

If you dont enjoy the process, you shouldnt be doing it. If all you want is a cherry vehicle, you are better off just buying a finished one. IMAO, fixing up a car is 99% about getting in there and laying on the hands and 1% is the final product. Money? you will never, ever stop spending money on a project car.

[bzabodyn]

I'm in the same boat as you, SD70RTSE - but I'm probably in the game a little more so, $$$-wise... I could have definitely tackled some of the project myself, but because of the condition of the car when I got, and the quality of what I wanted as the end result, there is no way I could have finished the project in 3yrs giving it every spare moment I had - and to me, my time is worth A LOT - I have a wife and young son (too young to spend time with on a resto project) that I love with all my heart and would much rather spend my free time with them vs. toiling away at a project that could turn into something that's never-ending...

After the initial resto, I will do all the maintenence work, etc myself, but for those that have seen the pre-resto condition of my car, you know what kind of a mess it was - but, a #'s matching, original one-owner HEMI car deserves the best resto I could afford, not some driver-quality, shadetree mechanic-type stuff... I have another engine/transmission that I'm looking for a super bee project that I CAN do that kind of driver-quality resto, but I'm staying hands-off on the HEMI car other than purchasing/sourcing parts, etc... Being done right the first time and within a reasonable time frame is worth the high price of admission (not going to give an exact number, but I'll say it's under $100k though not by much)...

I do wish I had something to play with a little more, and hopefully if I can find a complete super bee less drivetrain, I'll have that... but for now, I'm just watching the process from a spectator point-of-view until the car is completed and waiting for that first time I get to drop the clutch and hear that HEMI roar!

BZ

[Zinc]

Been into musclecars 20 plus years and only within the last 5-8 years everyone has been worrying about what they have into them, myself included at times.  It is a hobby, right?  I play golf, take trips with the wife and never worry about what I spend.  Mopars should be no different.  If you have the money and enjoy it, don't worry about what you have into them, just my 2 cents for the day.

Rick.

My feelings exactly, if your in this "hobby" worring about how much money you have into your car, how much you might expect on your return investment should you decide to sell, then your not "cut out" to be in the "hobby", your only concern if your trully into the "hobby" should be your next projects needs

[89MOPAR]

  For the guys who throw away their receipts , I'd say you are making a mistake.
Just throw them in a box.... you don't have to add them up.
Yes, I'm sure you'll NEVER sell your car, but if you ever do, it is a nice selling point. [ unless your receipts are for crap parts]

  Conversation Example on a car I went to look at with a friend, A Cuda with rough body, and a high asking price.  After looking over the body which needed a lot.
   Seller - " Well, the body needs work , but the motor is cherry, it has 10K into it { 383 } "
   Buyer - "  Ok, well fire it up "
   Seller  gets car started  - runs roughly....
  Seller  -  " Well it needs to warm up , and probably has bad old gasoline ".  -- engine warms up - doesn't sound much better.
  Buyer - "  Doesn't sound that great, how much was put into the rebuild ? "
  Seller - " 10,000 dollars "
  Buyer - " Show us the receipts on the motor "
  Seller -  "  Ummm, Hem haw, blah blah, .......Well, I don't actually have any "
   Buyer - " OK then, since I don't know whats inside the motor, and you are using that as the basis for your asking price, than No-Thanks. "
 

[The70RT]

It helps when you get a car like i did 30 years ago. This way the cost will be down since I am doing a lot of it myself. It will be longer than I wanted it to take but will be worth it when I have only 20-25 K in it and other comparable ones twice that. I could have sent it out and worked on other stuff to make money for the resto but this way I know how it was done and can be proud of what I did. I am not the kind of person who does nothing in their spare time. I always need a car to be working on. I guess it is an addiction to me. I will never be done tinkering with a project. Someone will have to finish a project someday for me when they find me dead someday ....but at least I died trying. 

[Joshua]

Have you guys experienced this feeling? Does it finallly end when the car is finished? I feel like I'm insane for spending so much money on an asset that I'll probably only be able to recoup 50-75% of my costs if I sell it.

If you can't recoup all your money, + make a profit (and account for inflation) is NOT an asset.....it's a liability....

[Brock Samson]

[bzabodyn]

Also - I'm one that if I had to choose - I'd MUCH rather enjoy driving, detailing, etc. a completed car than working on a project... I know the rewards are in the journey, but I'm a "destination" kinda guy....

BZ

[Brock Samson]

we get these posts every so often,..
when folks have had it up to here with trouble and problems and set backs that pretty much come with any ambitious endevour..

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QEJjASV20kc

here, i'll do my own motivational poste3r for ya'....



"O.K. Boys up and at 'em!  JUST THIS One More Time!.. This will be the last time we do this I Promise!"

[snooter]

i just sold my 69RT for 5K..paid 2.5K....it was in pieces and nothing was complete....i ran the numbers and said muck it...my buddy owns a body..he is now restomodding the car...sure it pissed me off...nice  rust free b5 blue 69RT..but no way i would ever finish or ever get my money back...plus i like the 68 better cept for the taillights

[Wango Mango]

I'm almost finished with the restoration of my 70 Charger R/T SE. I bought it in 2003 and have been putting money into it ever. I haven't done any of the actual work on the car, but I have located and purchased all of the part necessary to restore it and put it back together from places such as YearOne, PGClassic, Paddock, Ebay, DodgeCharger.com Forum, etc. The way I feel right now is - I can't wait until this project is over because I don't want to spend anymore money on it. It will be a relief to know the car is done and I won't have to buy more new reproduction parts that are very expensive such as pillar post moldings, dash plastic, interiors stuff, etc.

Have you guys experienced this feeling? Does it finallly end when the car is finished? I feel like I'm insane for spending so much money on an asset that I'll probably only be able to recoup 50-75% of my costs if I sell it. That's just a guess.

--Mat

Wow, what a great thread Mat & I connected with not only your situation, but share that common ground, too.   Its also good to know everyone who replied to your post has "been there, done that" & offers you wisdom, empathy, encouragement & good advice.  That alone should motivate you to get it finished & enjoy it.   I'ved looked back many times w/ some regret & guilt, but as soon as I turn the key & the Hemi fires up I know its gonna be a good day.   When someone tells you your car made their day or thanks you for letting them gaze at your motor or allowing their kid to sit in it, or for the memories it brought back, the cost factor fades away.   I'd love to do most of the work & maintenance myself & learning how is my goal, but until then I gotta bite the bullet, too.   My only advice is in the meantime,  do some of the small stuff yourself & make sure anyone who works on your Charger is trustworthy, knowledgeable & comes w/ highest of recomendation.    I'm embarrased to say how much I've got in my Challenger & the mistakes I've made, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying the car.  It could be a trailer queen but its not.  I use it for deliveries at work & just got back from a 1500 mile trip thru dust, wind & snow to experience Vanishing Point Revisited & I'd do it all over again.  Common sense is a good thing & lessons learned, too, but these old Mopars are time capsules..& you're bringing back a piece of history that's meant to be enjoyed.    Best wishes in your resto. 

[69bronzeT5]

Restoration is a harsh mistress.

True to that!

[Finn]

Its what I work for.
Just bought a full disc brake conversion and some interior stuff I needed at the mopar spring fling event
Ending up spending 2 grand that day and I still walked away smiling.
F**king love that car.

[Mike DC]

 


I disagree about the "only in the last 5-8 years" sentiment. 
I agree that the price increase has been pretty big since then, but our basic attitude isn't that much different at all.


I remember buying gas for $1.40 in the 1990s, and I also remember people complaining about how outrageous it was then.  I remember people buying decent Chargers for $4000-10,000 in those days, and I also remember everyone complaining about the "skyrocketing prices" and how the little guy was being totally pushed out of the hobby.   


Gas could have stayed at $2.00 a gallon today, and decent 2nd-gen Chargers could have leveled off at $12,000 a pop today.  We'd still complain. 

[gordo1968charger]

is it worth it?hmmm
FOOKIN' A!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dodge Don]

It is a fact that this is an expensive hobby whether you do the work yourself or farm it out to pros.

Ebay is chock full of restos not completed because someone underestimated the $$, time and persistance it takes to restore a car.

I think you need to balance thinking with your heart (the passion) against thinking with your head (being realistic and making sound life choices).

[charger01]

When I first bought my car off ebay, my plans were to install a motor and tranny and drive it.  It turned out the car was in a lot worse shape than I thought.  Once I started woriking on it, everything snowballed, and I wanted everything as nice as possibe.  I sat down and made a list of everything thing I needed.  It came to a lot of money.  If I would have known then how low my estimate was I may have given up.  I quit saving my reciepts.  Kinda quit caring how much I spent.  It's going to be my son's car someday.  It's more than a car to me now,  it's a piece of me.  Kinda funnny how personally attached you get to a car when you put all your blood , sweat , tears and money into it.

[charge69]

Great Thread!!     I happen to be in the process of a full restoration on my Charger  and am bleeding money at a rapid rate!  This is without a restoration shop touching my car and one will not!  I and a knowledgeable and capable friend, whom I am paying good money, are doing everything but the machine work on the engine! It still costs a lot of money but, I get to get dirty, bleed and sweat on the car and learn every inch of it as we do it! When we are finished with our "shadetree/shop-at-the-house" restoration this car is going to be stunning and as original and correct as we can make it down to an acrilyc enamel paint job on an arrow-straight body!

Yes, I am concerned and conscious of the money being spent but, if I wanted to maximize my profit, I would have just sold it unrestored and been done with it.  I love the car and cannot wait to see her fully restored to trailer queen condition and then driven like it should be driven! Hobbies are expensive! How much does a bass fisherman spend on equipment? Does it appreciate in value? Do they worry about that?

I am getting as much fun out of doing the restoration as I will driving it when it is finished!

Carl

[68charger383]

You also have to think of these cars as being in a mastercard commercial:

$30K to build a car you could have bought for $20K and been driving for the past three years
500 hours spent rebuilding your car
Driving a charger-priceless

Asset, liability, money pit, time bandit, home wrecker....have to factor in the satisfaction of doing the work and the pleasure from driving the car. Things $ can't buy and there is no spot on the spread sheet for...

[ChargerSG]

Never thinks about the cost of restoring, just how much funds and time thats sets the limits(for the moment)
And its allways worth it

[gordo1968charger]

HOME WRECKER
when me and the wife have a ding dong,the blue 40 year old mistress gets brought into the equation.
MONEY PIT
speaks for itself
i love driving mine more than anything in the world and would not sell it for any amount of money,i ve gone through too much shit to sell it,plus the money would get pissed away on worthless items like a new sofa or dishwasher.

[superduperbee]

HOME WRECKER
when me and the wife have a ding dong,the blue 40 year old mistress gets brought into the equation.
MONEY PIT
speaks for itself
i love driving mine more than anything in the world and would not sell it for any amount of money,i ve gone through too much shit to sell it,plus the money would get pissed away on worthless items like a new sofa or dishwasher.

javascript:void(0); When the wife complains about me spending money on the car, I remind her how we pissed away 10 grand going to Disney! Finish the car and enjoy it.

[280bb0]

I hear ya !! Im at that point infact I put mine on Craigs list . Bought mine 16 months ago and did a bunch of work converted it to auto on floor bought buckets rebuilt the motor in the process of changing the color of the interior etc found a big block that would like to put into it and then I look at the money spent and what money needs to still go into it like a paint and it makes you feel sick. Then took it out for a drive yesterday and loved every mile.