How do you guys pay for your "charger project"

[FlatbackFanatic]

I've had mine for 9 years, it was a driver when I bought it, so that helps. But with a wife and two kids its hard to get any extra money, you just do what you gotta do. So far I've been able to do most of the work myself, now i just got some body work to do, and some of that will have to be done by someone better than me.lol.

[Cooter]

Sounds like a lot of us are about the same. Work and keep your head up and look for deals. It helps if you have any type of skills to be in the car hobby. If you don't you better have money. ANYONE can do a lot of their own work....but they say they can't because they never try, so they would rather pay for it. I would rather be showing a car that I did not what someone else did. If you can read a manual or have a computer it's all out there to be learned. I am a jack of all trades and a master of NONE. If something breaks I try to fix it myself before I call out a repairman. I have never been given anything or gotten any amount of money from lawsuits, dead uncles, parents, lottery etc. There is deals on Craigslist, newspaper etc all the time on cars and parts....you just gotta look and be there before someone else with the money. Just in the last couple years here is a few examples. I bought 4 nos fenders and two 32 ford windshield frames for 600 and sold them for 3000 on ebay. I bought a Cadillac for 500 from coworker and did nothing to it and sold it on craigslist for 1000. Bought a Buick for 200 replaced the engine and made 2000. I have stripped parts from junkers that I got cheap all my life, then scraped the rest. Was doing some work for others too but that got old. Yeah it's tough but when you want something you gotta do what you gotta do and find a way. 15 years ago I went from no house payment and sold my shack for 14K and bought my new house and now pay over 1400 a month since adding my garage build on to it. At times I thought wouldn't make it....but I keep plugging away. I have only took 2 nice vacations in the last 15 years so money management is a plus

Amen, Couldn't have said it better. I haven't been to the beach since I was around 9 or 10 Y/O in 1982...

[71ChallengeHer]

I do what I can when I can afford. Sometmes the things I want to do with it get pushed aside for the things that need to be done. And a really good tip day helps.     Plus good friends that work for food and beer. 

[charger490]

I retired from atlantic richfield took a lump some payout invested 100000 in cisco systems that split 8 times and than sold the stock 5 years ago and that is how i made the money for my three cars. and i am still working at 77 years old.

[c00nhunterjoe]

i started saving money for my car when i was 13. bought the car for $2000 when i was 15. it was a runnign and driving car with nice paint but full of bondo. i have done all of the work myself on the drivetrain except pressing new valve guides and seats in the heads. i have done ALL of the engine work, trans, rear, interior electrical etc etc etc. that saves alot of money. but i have had my car for 10+ years now and it still isnt done...lol. its a long hard process when you have other things in life that take money too- like a wife and kids.

[Back N Black]

Well, i pretty much have the same story as everyone else. Buy and sell, work on other people's cars, sell a few things on e-bay. Had a couple of part time jobs over the years. I have 4 years into my restoration and the car is done except for the rims and tires. I had it appraised and insured last week and really enjoy driving it, it is more fun than i imaged. I also enjoyed the restroation part, looking for the next part or getting a lead on parts. Driving countless miles to pick up parts and making great friends along the way. Would i do another restoration? absolutely.  

[mopar73]

Donate plasma twice a week 50$   Same as everone, save and spend money wisely and don't put the family budjet in peril over buying car parts.  Some things just have to wait.  I've spent 3 years on my car so far and it will be another year at least.

[mauve66]

my wife pimps me out...........................

[472 R/T SE]

It used to be when I wanted some thing I'd not turn down overtime.  Thing was the cranes' I was on worked lots of weekends any ways so there wasn't much choice.

It helped being in the hobby already & the cars you had or knew of were all of sudden valuable.
I don't envy anyone trying to get into the hobby in just the past 5 years or so.

[motorcitydak]

I bought an 86 Chris Craft Scorpion boat 2 years ago for $1500, fixed it up like new over the last 2 years and sold it in July for $3500 then I bought my project '68 Charger for $3000. I am funding it by bartering and trading when possible. Doing all the work myself and buying parts slowly as a great deal comes along. Then I work and over time shift or two to cover the cost. While it would be nice to just order everything I need for the car rite now, I do not have that $20000 that I would need to do that. If I spread that over the next three years however it becomes more possible and realistic

[BrianShaughnessy]

Usually it helps if you can be one or both of the following:
1.  Born rich / independently wealthy.
2.  No wife or kids.

Barring those circumstances...   I work some OT and live cheap whenever possible.   Put some stuff on the credit card and pay it off over time if necessary.

Forget vacations, forget new cars, forget big houses, forget boats, forget fancy restaurants and whatever else you can think of.    Try living within your means.

Still smoke?   Quit.
Eat out for breakfast and lunch at work?   Brown bag it.
Drink like a fish?   Quit or cut down severly.   
Gamble?  Don't kid yourself... you're a loser.   Stop it...  and stop buying the scratchoffs at the deli while buying your lunch too!

It's all about your priorities and the choices you make.   

I have a bunch of crap in the garage and some extra Firebirds to sell off.   Otherwise Sinnamon is on the pay over time plan.    I didn't expect to start another project but it happened.

[elacruze]

I've owned mine since 1980, and only started having 'restoration' done on it last year. I could only afford the important bits-engine and driveline-before now.

To answer the question directly, I'm not paying for it; you are! Thanks to the unlimited budget Congress gave the MRAP program, I'm in Afghanistan keeping U.S. forces alive and well in them employed by Navistar Defense.

I've been putting in 7 12hr. days for two years now, and signing up for a third. That will get the car finished, I figure it'll amortize to about $1500/yr for all the years I've owned it. That's about 10 years of overtime in 2.
Plus, I only have my Girlfriend's kid, who's 21 now. No wives, houses, or overhead until '05 so nothing to dig out of. I consider myself very lucky as far as the car goes, but most people think I've missed out on a lot...I was about to put the car in BJ in Palm Beach when this job found me. Lucky boy.

[71ChallengeHer]

my wife pimps me out...........................

Really ? How much ?   

[riggs626]

I buy cars or pick up cars with blown motors transmissions wrecked it doesnt matter as long as i know i can resell them. Like the last one was a 99 deville dented doors and trunk paid 300 for it put another 300 in it and had it looking nice and all my cars i make sure the new owner doesnt have any mait for 3months to be done on the car but I made 3700 off that car so that will pay for my rockers and Now I get to start over and flip a 02 cavalier that needs a motor and some body work!

[ZSmithersCharges]

Donate plasma twice a week 50$   Same as everone, save and spend money wisely and don't put the family budjet in peril over buying car parts.  Some things just have to wait.  I've spent 3 years on my car so far and it will be another year at least.

You just gave me a really good idea  I'm not even kidding.

[Long Island RT]

I bought my RT in 1988 for $1000 bucks - dropped a few hundred into it and beat the crap out of it for a few years.  It then got parked for about 15 years while my life went on.

I saved every piece of change I had from 1992 to 2006.  I mean I would go out of my way to get change and save it in jars.  Sometimes I'd drop a few bucks or a twenty when I had extra.
I had 4 five gallon pails when all said and done, just over 12 grand

Back in 06 - I had (the wife too) some better than expected bonuses - Put some towards the boys future and had another 5 g's for the Charger.

3 years later and I'm 3/4's of the way done.  Did it all my self except fo the final stage of paint. (I still don't have the front fenders painted yet)

I now budget about $2-300 a month on it. - I should be finished up in about a year.

[Armudster]

 I'm into the hobby, but I like to live life in a good way also, at least once a month I go to a nice restaurant, I go to parties often, I smoke 2 packs a day(trying to reduce to 1), drink 3 times a week, I like to play poker, I like new gadgets and games, try to travel at least once a year, and I am kind of a sex addict, it really makes it harder, but not impossible, it just takes more time and effort, I try to buy the better car that I can afford and do everything that I can myself, that helps a lot, and I have a good paying job, I try whenever possible to buy parts and resell, and the same about some cars, I bought a Galaxie once for US$2000,00 and sold it for US$8000,00 for example, I also try to reserve a small part of my income to do stock market investments, I have a good broker here, I may not win a lot, but it cut risks in half so this also helps, my Dart is almost ready I need only 2000 dollars or so, and it's only been a year since I have it. I am also trying to learn everything I can, so I can do more and more.
 I will start having bodyshop and resto classes here in Brazil and a good friend teaches me a lot of mechanics,  next I am selling my Dart when ready, looking to get at least US$30000,00 and then will move to US to Lima, Ohio for 4 years to do a major in High Performance Mechanics, and I hope to buy a 68 Charger while I'm there, something solid in the 15000 to 25000 range to then do all the work myself, this will be a keeper and I plan to bring it back to Brazil when I'm ready with my education, I think everything is moving along so far.
My ultimate goal is to have the Charger which is my dream car BTW and open a shop here in Brazil using a lot of lessons learned in the US that still aren't available in Brazil, like CNC ported cylinder heads and camshaft fabrication for example, I'm planning to get in Ohio in July next year and will start college as soon as I get there, of course when living in a new country I need to cut back on some expendings, but nothing radical, maybe I will quit smoking, maybe not, as far as everything goes, I am doing fine and I'm only 25, with no kids or wife, and no interest on new cars, and since I was 15 I always spent 25% on drinks, parties, vacations and other miscellaneous, 20% to 30% towards cars or car savings(in case I don't need anything or need to buck it up a little more for something), and all the rest is for investing and making more money, so you don't need to cut back on anything, you just need some money management, just my  

[Charger440RDN]

I bought my RT in 1988 for $1000 bucks - dropped a few hundred into it and beat the crap out of it for a few years.  It then got parked for about 15 years while my life went on.

I saved every piece of change I had from 1992 to 2006.  I mean I would go out of my way to get change and save it in jars.  Sometimes I'd drop a few bucks or a twenty when I had extra.
I had 4 five gallon pails when all said and done, just over 12 grand

Back in 06 - I had (the wife too) some better than expected bonuses - Put some towards the boys future and had another 5 g's for the Charger.

3 years later and I'm 3/4's of the way done.  Did it all my self except fo the final stage of paint. (I still don't have the front fenders painted yet)

I now budget about $2-300 a month on it. - I should be finished up in about a year.

I don't mean to hijack this thread but can you post some pictures of the charger, the little I can see in the avatar is nice 

[Brock Samson]

 Worked two jobs for 14 years which paid for my Auto intrests and my Band's studios (three different ones over 20 Yrs.) I either fixed or bought parts for the Charger in Approx $2K amounts every couple or few Mos.
   I took out a loan for my first $10K paint job in '89. between '89 and '99 I just bought parts incl. all the BB drivetrain parts, I have detailed extensivly how I proceded with my R/T from purchase in several similar threads.
  My car is and allways has been a driver - it's only been laid up for paint or the engine swaps a few Mos. In more then 25 years and I am quite proud of that. 

[Troy]

I don't drink, smoke, party, go out on the town, buy expensive clothes/shoes/jewelry. Nor do I have cable/satellite, a cool cell phone (with premium plan), a wife, kids, or expensive hobbies. My major bills are shop/garage, fuel, insurance, and this web site. I buy parts when I find deals and try to do a lot of the labor on my own. I'm always juggling time and money (I typically have one or the other but not both). Recently I've sold a few cars and will probably sell a couple more so I can have more drivable cars and fewer projects. I think if I only had one car I'd be a lot better off/farther along but then I'd probably just find something else to mess with.

Troy

[69bronzeT5]

I don't really do much with my cars at the moment. Once I get a job, I can do more. I just do what I can with what money I have.

[Armudster]

 I forgot to say that the another reason I can afford having a Mopar and still continuing to have fun is that I have only one car, so I do just one car at a time, I can´t imagine what my life would be if I had a lot of projects, at least I´m not ready for it, my main priorities in my life is A. Get a Charger and B. Have a shop, all while having fun and enjoying life, and always having some money invested for the future, after I have all that I will start thinking on having a second and maybe third project, and just after that I will even consider getting married and having kids, but this is only my way of thinking.
 

[Long Island RT]

I bought my RT in 1988 for $1000 bucks - dropped a few hundred into it and beat the crap out of it for a few years.  It then got parked for about 15 years while my life went on.

I saved every piece of change I had from 1992 to 2006.  I mean I would go out of my way to get change and save it in jars.  Sometimes I'd drop a few bucks or a twenty when I had extra.
I had 4 five gallon pails when all said and done, just over 12 grand

Back in 06 - I had (the wife too) some better than expected bonuses - Put some towards the boys future and had another 5 g's for the Charger.

3 years later and I'm 3/4's of the way done.  Did it all my self except fo the final stage of paint. (I still don't have the front fenders painted yet)

I now budget about $2-300 a month on it. - I should be finished up in about a year.

I don't mean to hijack this thread but can you post some pictures of the charger, the little I can see in the avatar is nice 

I can do better - I started my own thread:
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,53769.0.html

[HeavyFuel]

I'm into the hobby, but I like to live life in a good way also, at least once a month I go to a nice restaurant, I go to parties often, I smoke 2 packs a day(trying to reduce to 1), drink 3 times a week, I like to play poker, I like new gadgets and games, try to travel at least once a year, and I am kind of a sex addict, it really makes it harder, but not impossible, it just takes more time and effort, I try to buy the better car that I can afford and do everything that I can myself, that helps a lot, .......blah, blah, blah,.................. so you don't need to cut back on anything, you just need some money management, just my  

Really, you don't have to cut back on anything?  Sounds like you cut back out the spouse and kids, a major influence on most people, and probably a big part of life for most of the folks on this site.  So yes, lots of us do need to cut back and make smart choices that are good for others not just ourselves.

[Armudster]

I'm into the hobby, but I like to live life in a good way also, at least once a month I go to a nice restaurant, I go to parties often, I smoke 2 packs a day(trying to reduce to 1), drink 3 times a week, I like to play poker, I like new gadgets and games, try to travel at least once a year, and I am kind of a sex addict, it really makes it harder, but not impossible, it just takes more time and effort, I try to buy the better car that I can afford and do everything that I can myself, that helps a lot, .......blah, blah, blah,.................. so you don't need to cut back on anything, you just need some money management, just my  

Really, you don't have to cut back on anything?  Sounds like you cut back out the spouse and kids, a major influence on most people, and probably a big part of life for most of the folks on this site.  So yes, lots of us do need to cut back and make smart choices that are good for others not just ourselves.

Sorry, I think I expressed myself the wrong way, of course some sacrifices have to be made, but I mostly do what I like to, just try to avoid doing it to much, of course getting married and having kids would change everything, but I try to not think about this things yet, I'm still young and have my life ahead of me, but of course things like that happen without much warnings, one day your fine and the other you meet the woman of your life, or the condom can blow up, so these kind of things change everything, but I hope to get my life togheter and start a business before moving on in the next stages of life. If I have a son now for example it's bye bye for my education, my dream car and my dream of owning a shop someday. It may sound selfish, but I think it's not.
See ya