Cost of classic car restoration

[Mountaintown Creek Ranch]

I have restored a few classic cars over the years. I never seem to be close to my budget for the restoration so I thought this might help anyone considering this endeavor.

 

[greybeard]

Avoid a lot of that by buying your wife an old car too......

 

[Lannie]

Wow! My husband had one of those Fieros when they first came out. I didn't think there were very many of the "Pace Car" edition made. He was a Trans-Am guy back then, but he had to have that Fiero just because it was rare. He only kept it a year...

 

[Mountaintown Creek Ranch]

Here are my last ones.
1980 Z28
1967 Cadillac Eldorado ( never should have done this )
I'm getting too old now .....I've had a 70 Monte Carlo on the rotisserie for about 3 years. Had to have surgery on my hands so it kind of took me out of the game for the time being.

 

[greybeard]

Wow! My husband had one of those Fieros when they first came out. I didn't think there were very many of the "Pace Car" edition made. He was a Trans-Am guy back then, but he had to have that Fiero just because it was rare. He only kept it a year...

There were 3 pace cars made for race day at Indy with the superduty 4 cyl capable of speeds to support the pace laps, and then, like all other Indy pace cars, the car company-GM made replicas of that model. About 2000 of them made with the much lower hp 4 cyl 'Duke' engine. . I bought one from Virginia and had it shipped down and the 2nd one from Gatesville Tx and drove from East Texas to get it. I believe the last time I checked (around 2015) there were around 500 of them known to be left in North America.
At one time, I had 5 Fieros, four 1984s and one 1988. I no longer own any.

 

[greybeard]

My brother's 1951 Studebaker 4 dr Champion. We pulled it out of my father's auto shop after he passed away in 2007. It had been wrecked in the front end in late 1951, my father bought it from the guy that wrecked it. Basically a new car that sat in the back of Dad's shop for 56 years but all the new body panels were there with it. Brother got the engine running and the transmission shifted fine But, my brother came down with cancer before he got very far along with it and ended up selling in Little Rock Ark.


Didn't yet have a wife to worry about with this one:

 

[Little Joe]

My Dad is a retired auto body tech and shop owner and shop teacher, he restored and built many street rods. He has always said it is cheaper to buy one built than to build it yourself. He built a few 34 Ford Coupes, a 48 chevy truck, corvettes and bought a few 39 chevy sedans as partially complete and one complete, the completed one was the best deal.

 

[alacowman1]

He's right..cheaper to buy than build..

 

[Mountaintown Creek Ranch]

He's right..cheaper to buy than build..

Absolutely.... But there's also a lot of pride in knowing every inch of your car.
your own restoration is not a profitable business because your passion gets the best of you.

 

[greybeard]

your own restoration is not a profitable business because your passion gets the best of you.

I've more often than not heard it referred to as insanity.. not all that different from raising cattle.

 

[alacowman1]

I Bought this when I was 18..traded it to a friend ,then bought it back ..then let him have it again..he finally decided after 30+ years he wasnt gonna fix it..so he let me have it back..if it didn't have sentimental value, I'd of said to heck with it years ago..

 

[Mountaintown Creek Ranch]

Looks like that's a real SS 396? Worth quite a few dollars these days

 

[alacowman1]

Looks like that's a real SS 396? Worth quite a few dollars these days

It's a real SS ..but this 396 makes number 4 that's been in it ...i strained the vocal cords on a couple when I was a kid…I could twist those small block out of the frame
but those old big blocks didn't cotton to the young and dumb..those engines ain't as cheap to come by nowdays

 

[Named'em Tamed'em]

It probably is cheaper to buy one done already, I have 10K in my 390 fe and transmission in my '55 Ford F-100.

 

[Mountaintown Creek Ranch]

Nothing sounds better than a big block trying to idle

 

[chaded]

Here are my last ones.
1980 Z28
1967 Cadillac Eldorado ( never should have done this )
I'm getting too old now .....I've had a 70 Monte Carlo on the rotisserie for about 3 years. Had to have surgery on my hands so it kind of took me out of the game for the time being.


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Why do you say you shouldn't have done the Cadillac?

 

[Mountaintown Creek Ranch]

I paid $3,500 for it. So it was a complete restoration. About 8 years.
The availability of parts is difficult. Some parts I had to make, or have made.
If you buy original (new old stock ) the price for 1 part can be crazy.
$1,500 for the front hood crest...but it was 1967 brand new in box.
That car is also front wheel drive so the monolithic rotors and brakes were an issue.
I did it for my wife, it was her dream car. I am pretty sure I will never get 1/2 money I put in it...but it drives like a CADILLAC

 

[Travlr]

I found this '62 Galaxie 500 XL convertible in a junk yard. It had been there for over 20 years.

 

[wbvs58]

I thought everyone in Texas drove around in cars like that.

 

[Splash]

Ole Blue - My '48 GMC. After market wheels and bed but original drive train. 228 straight six with a 4 speed. Doesn't like going faster than 40. It'll get me between the farms but I'm on and off again about whether to repower it so I can run farther afield with it. But there's a part of me that want's to just keep it simple. I would imagine the restoration/repowering balance sheet would give me some regret.