Total cost for your restoration

[dayclona]

I held off commenting/ replying, so that I could give you an opinion from an owner's and "shop" perspective, from a owners veiw I believe in doing as much work as possible to defray the cost; I think one problem with us mopar owners is we have more than one project going on at the same time :yesnod:and we're trying to squeez the money between two or more cars! not counting just paying the daily bills of life,family,business, etc. etc. I think it's best to concentrate on one car at a time, devote the most your budget can handle to it , DO IT ONCE, DO IT RIGHT!,.......nothing sucks more than looking at your car 5-10 years later , saying to yourself , it needs new paint, or a fresh engine, or re-restoration!......face it , we're all getting older! how many times you want to keep working on the same car!
         
I'll brake down my last personal project, the green on green 1970 Daytona, also known now as the Walter Mellon "Watermellon" (see mopar collectors giude sept 2005 or DAYCLONA. com for pics) I had a pretty rusted hulk of a 70 charger, my friend pete(aka Chargervert) decided to save me the trouble of welding for the next two years! and donated a Texas rustfree shell ( or a roof and rear qtrs lol ) I allready had a few accumulated parts, but replacing everything , whether or not it was there! cost me  $30,000............major costs were 440/6pak.....$6000.........Keisler 5 spd.....$5000......legendary complete interior.......$2800......4 wheel disc brakes....$1200........$8000 year one ........for repro trim, nuts ,bolts, clips,....the "little" stuff that ADDS UP!......$3000 for paint/body supplies.........$1500 repo rallies/ polyglass........$2500-3000.... gas tank, radiator, suspendsion, exhaust, etc. etc..............fortunately, I make my own Daytona repros, otherwise add $12,000 in Daytona parts, then my total would be $42,000 plus.......and this is with several people (me ,Pam, Gary, Pete.......whom you all know) doing the work ourselves, and I mean every facet of the restoration is done "in house" no outside jobbers/vendors/shops..................Now from a "shop" perspective the LABOR COST ....to do a car like this encompasses the labor on the drivetrain, months of body/blocking/fabricating, interior work/assy. painting EVERYTHING not just the body.......and the biggest chore... assembly! all this would cost in the neighborhood of $60,000.+...................plus the cost of parts mentioned above!......so depending on what you can or cannot do or afford ,your cost will vary grealty!.....................................

                                    Mike G./ Dayclona Enterprises

[yellowcuda]

Well, scary thought.  We did ALL of the work ourselves, replaced both quarters, the floors, the trunk and had to make many of the metal pieces that aren't made, so that saved money.  We have over $20,000.00 in just the engine though.  With the gear vendor unit and everything else I would say close to 40K, and that is without paying anyone.
Now I am depressed.

[Spartan]

I've got about $12k in it so far and thats just engine rebuilding, interial materials and added options.  I still have to get the interior back together and body work/repaint.  Some of the stuff I had to outsource since I couldn't do it myself.

[cudaken]

 Last 10 years of my free time, a round 500 hours. All so have eaten up 85% of my will power as well.

                                           cuda ken

[RTPTRON]

I purchased my 68 Charger RT back in 1998 looking pretty good but needing everything otherwise.  I paid $10,500 and then had to install a new fuel system including tank, lines, fuel pump and vapor separator.  Then I had to install a complete brake system before I could safely drive the car.  Over the next few years I replaced every electrical component on the car at least twice until I had an electrical fire in 2001.  That required a new Engine and under dash harness and no more electrical problems.  The car has been running great for the past 4 years but had some rust bubbles and a dent in the front fender.  It looked good at 50 feet but not so good up close.  I put it in the body shop for paint and body in February of 2005 and it is still there until maybe next weekend.

All of the above puts me at around $30,000.  A lot of this was wasted on a lot of labor for electrical repairs and parts that did not really fix anything, a fuel tank repair that lasted a few weeks before I replaced the tank for less than the repair that didn't work.  In 2003 I put around $3,000 in front end rebuild, new wheels and tires and Edelbrock EAS Shocks.

I don't really care that much what I have invested because I will never part with it.  Well, maybe a totally crazy offer like $100K might take it away.

[Shakey]

By the time all is said and done - $35,000.00 CDN for a high # 2 '69 Charger R/T SE.  The appraisal states it will be worth slightly more than that when completed.  Keep in mind, that is being according to my Wife, overly picky!

[genlee1970]

Hi!! To all the members who finished restoring their Charger, How much did you spend to restore your car?
And to all who's still working on their car, how much do you have into your car and what do you figure will be your total cost when finish?

Why i'm asking this question, it that I got a ball park figure about $60,000 canadian to restore it?   I just want to justify spending this much.


mike

I've got around $17,000 into my 70 R/T General Lee. The initial purchase price was $3,500 back in 99. The body was in great shape, needing only patch panels on the rear quarters and some serious block sanding on the rest. I did all the paint and body work myself with the guidance of the fine folks at Dayclona/G-Series as well as Chargervert. Thanks guys!!!! I did all the other work myself as well, of course it helped that I was a tech for 14 years. Everything   was replaced/rebuillt, (except the trans; it works sooo well I'm afaid to mess with it.) That's the way to go, as far as I'm concerned. My car isn't a concours level resto, but it's a clean, straight, very presentable driver that is super reliable. I've driven it to Carlisle 2 times, the Nats twice as well as Dukes Fest in Tenesse with no problems. (Btw,Carlisle is the shortest trip at 8 hours) Some things you may be able to handle to save money are: 1) Interior work. Really quite simple when using the Legendary stuff.The headliner can be a pain though. 2) Brake and fuel system installation.3) Front end assembly; not rocket science and they make all the specialty tools (Check in MCG etc) Also final assembly. Time consuming, but again, not rocket science, especially if you were the one who dissasembled the car in the first place, which I wasn't my car came disassembled and in boxes like a Revell model kit, with parts missing !! Thanks again to Chargervert for letting me use his car's as an assembly guideline, and furnishing some of the missing parts.. The other aspect is time, which I believe you mentioned you were short on. Working solo, I think the total time spent on my car was about a year and a half, give or take a few months, working a couple hours at night and on weekends. Which brings me to my closing point; you can always make more money, but you can't make more time. What do you have more of? Anyway, hope I was of some assistance and didn't muddy the waters even further. Good luck.

[hemi68charger]

Surely you jest........... Man, that's a scary thought....... Since I'm in it for the hobby,  I don't keep track of that stuff.. Now, if it was a business, I'd have a different attitude...

Troy

[*]

I had to ask my wife this question to get the answer..... She keeps all the reciepts.

My car started as a restoration but ended up something else but I have over $35,000 into right now. If it doesn't sell in a few more weeks, you can expect that number to jump a lot more.

[MoparUSAF]

2 Years
so far about 3000.00

[NorwayCharger]

Aprox $ 60k in parts alone.
+ work and paint material.
+ purchase of the car

[SFRT]

I have restored or completely custombuilt  4 major projects over the years. and learned some lessons about being zen so $ and a finite number is not my approach. Instead, I sold a bunch of collectible stuff I had in storage and bought the R/T.and a bunch of intial structural work as a package.so in my mind the car was 'free' as I just swapped  a bunch of dust collectors for it. I have a personal 'monthly fun money' budget which is also 'free money' in a way so basically my system is:

rent for shop space and car lift: 500.00 a month

2 days a week of my time not spent lazing around: free

then...I can throw $ XXXX  a month at it forever..until it is 'done'...without affecting any other aspect of my life. If I didnt have the car to spend it on, it would just get blown on crap like eating out, buying other crap or whatever. SDo, in my feeble mind I will be 'investing' XXXX $ a month in my 'fun hobby'..at the end of which I will have a vehicle, that if i  ever sell it, might return 1/2  or less...of my investment. Most people I know spend more on shit like going to vegas, buying drugs etc, so in a way I am not wasting the money...in my reality anyways.

it will end up being a huge amount of money, but I am debt free and have a stable income so basically, in my mind the car costs nothing. I expect to noodle on this car for 2-3 years before it is what I want, and since I have used this 'zen' system before, it will be stress free. I t will also be nice to have my 'special happy place' where I can dissappear to every week and skin my knuckles, be dirty,drink beer and listen to the radio in total solitude. 'me time'. no customers, no bullshit, just me and this crazy project.

I set no deaqdline. I will just noodle on it forever. for me, thats the entire point..sorta like therapy basket weaving.

[68RT4ME]

Geeeeeezzz! I'm getting ready to send out my '69 for the body and paint work this Jan. I'm stripping the car down with some help from a few friends and plan to reassemble it with their help when it comes back from the shop.

I have the entire new interior for it already but need to send out the instrument cluster for a re-do along with the bumpers and some other odds and ends that I don't feel I can do. I've set aside 20K so far to do the car with but I have to say,,,,

"YOU GUYS ARE STARTING TO SCARE THE HELL OUT OF ME!!!!" 

I'm start'in to think I'm gonna be a lil short.

[SFRT]

IMHO any restoration project ( except perhaps for some totally insane 1 of 3 hemi car you can flip for a illion bucks) is basically a losing proposition, and 'profit' or 'coming out ahead' doesnt really enter into the equation. It's more like 'pay to play' or something. I accept that fact as step 1 in any project. a resto is 'bonus gravy' seperate from real life...like a high price strippper or something.

[bzabodyn]

Damn - I only wish I was around some of these numbers!

I'm not going to say what I bought the car for, but I will say that the resto project was started with a contract in place (vs having to shell out who knows what a month for 12 months) - turnkey project to #1 condition including purchasing a donor car for $16k.... won't give an exact number, but let's say between $75-100k... which is MUCH less than the next closest quote of $125k!!! 

But, this is a full #'s matching HEMI 4-speed car...

BZ

[sick dawg]

Can't give a dollar figure! not because I'd have to kill you, but the resident shedevil (wife) would kill me!
69 hemi clone with all new everything! car done right too! big $$$ !  she thinks the old cars I have are so cute.  good thing she has no idea of what I've spent on them.

[1969chargerrtse]

What a great thread.  34,000.00ish and counting on another 5,000 at least.  If I go 4 spd and console next year, lets add another, what? 3,500.00 if I'm lucky.  Then when I redo the dash, just the black plastic and wood panels would be 1,000.00 at todays prices.

[JimShine]

My '69 is currently at $11,500. This was for the car, tranny rebuild, new trunk pans, partial resto of the interior, new tires and rims, front end rebuild, fuel pump, water pump, oil pump, headers, grille, some trim that was missing, gas tank, fuel sending unit, straps, and a low grade paint job to keep it from rusting. The car still needs  some engine help, and lots of body work and a prefessional paint job. Most of the work has been done by me or friends did things. It really helps to have a buddy who is willing to lend a hand!

Man, much has changed in 2 years. Half of the car is repainted (due to damage fron an accident), the rest will be done at some point in 2008. The rest of the interior has been wrapped up. I also sunk some coin into a 440, had it machined and rebuilt, rebuilt 727, and a sure grip rear end. Three weeks after that post I fried the tranny, but used one I had kicking around. I had to replace almost everything electrical in the ignition system as well as someone had it cobbled together. I would guess that I have around $15K into it now.

[69bronzeT5]

$400- purchase of the car
$400- grille
about $3-4 for other parts
If I remember right, $600 for the car that the 383 came out of

minus $300 from the sale of the 318....


So about $4-5k so far.


And I'm budgeting hopefully around $10k to finish it up. That includes sheetmetal, body, paint and a few misc. stuff I need

[NMike]

well my car is a complete driver as of right now. i plan on a rotisserie this spring. i plan on replacing almost all of the usual metal, trunk, floors, quarters, end panels, rockers etc, etc. i am planning on doing the body then re assembling it with most of the older parts. budgeting $10 000CDN with me doing the work, and buddy painting.

i plan on replacing the interior and engine in the future. that way the project SHOULDN'T seem like an endless money pit for years to come with no enjoyment.

[Chris]

So far 35k towards the restoration with about another 25k (it adds up pretty quick) to go, I am hoping car will be done spring or summer 08.

[bullit68]

very interesting AND depressing reading all in one.i redid a 68 4 spd rt hemi clone about 8 years ago and it cost 42k with me doing almost all of the work myself.and that was just a nice driver quality job.i was depressed when i added up the bills.i now have two original hemi projects waiting for my time and money and i don't know how i can do it.i do know that i want to make nice drivers only since that is what i like to do with them the most.lets face it,why go through all of the expense to make EVERY last nut and bolt correct and perfect if you're going to drive it?and if you're not going to drive it,whats the point?

[70 Charger RT]

My 70 RT cost about $45k to do a rotissarie restoration.  I did most of the work myself but farmed out the final paint.

[1st_charger]

Wow!!! I saw the title of this thread and thought there's no way I want to say what I spent on mine but after seeing some of the post I don't feel bad at all. From a beat up striped roller to a fun driver 10 years and 33,000 paid 1600 for the car. Body and paint work cost just under 5000 good to have a friend that owns a body shop I guess! And the body and paint work is all that was farmed out. Now its not a rotisserie or a hemi car but I don't feel bad about what I spent on it! and I'm sure I will be spending more as I decide to upgrade here and there!

As A side note you all have very nice cars and I'm guessing like me for you its not about what you spent or what its worth!   

[68charger383]

face it,why go through all of the expense to make EVERY last nut and bolt correct and perfect if you're going to drive it?and if you're not going to drive it,whats the point?

I thought I was so upside down in my car until reading this thread...I guess I'm about the same as everyone else and still going....basically, the car will never be done...always something else I can do to make it better or a new repop to buy (new upper door pads and arm rests coming out, time for new door panels, boom-another $1K to the list ).