The real costs of a slick ride

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FreeSandwiches

FreeSandwiches

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So I've got this car that I'm digging myself into pretty deep these days. I really see it as something that is going to be with me for the rest of my life as it was a gift from my uncle, but I've been trying to get a scope on what it is going to cost me to get this thing to be a real work of art. I love to wrench and am fairly competent, but you know I'm not really in a serious car culture around here, and I'm really just wondering what sort of time and money other people have put into their gems. Here's a breakdown of how far I'm into it now.

$1400 for the car
$2000 to ground up rebuild the motor

I didn't pay that, but just including it for ref.

$800 for exhaust
$250 for custom metal tranny lines
$850 for a 550 Carter carb, headers, and an offy intake
$300 to replace the gears in the diff after they exploded
$300 misc parts

So, I'm $5800 into the thing now. I love it do death and hopefully I'll get the new motor cranked this weekend. I'm just wondering about my approach. I mean, when all this is done, I have to think about interior, bodywork, pulling it all apart, having it soda blasted and repainted, chroming it out, performance (turbo the size of my head?????).

What sort of approach should I take to paint, body, and interior after it's running again with a fresh powerplant?

What would y'all say you've spent on your babies? Time, money, blood sweat tears? How much does planning effect the final cost? How do you really KNOW what it should be when it's done?

Gimmy some wisdom!

http://www.millerhooks.com/Pics/Dart
 
Whatever you think it's going to take, double it. Collect stuff you need before each section of the project. Don't skimp on the body. If you have it long enough it should be an investment.Good luck and have fun.
 
Can't you make your own tranny lines.Time and patience,maybe a new tool and you will be proud and more skilled when your done.
 
$250 for custom metal tranny lines,

Are you nuts??????

Made mine myself from metal tubing from autozone and couldn't have $30 in both of them.They fit great and it only took a couple of hours to fit and bend
 
I wish I was $5800 into mine, but unfortunately it's like a drug addiction and I've spent more then I really should of, but it's one of those things you keep dumping money into and don't regret a bit of it, lol
 
Dart-swinger said:
$250 for custom metal tranny lines,

Are you nuts??????

Made mine myself from metal tubing from autozone and couldn't have $30 in both of them.They fit great and it only took a couple of hours to fit and bend
Click to expand...

Agreed, definitely do this yourself, I was a noob when I started doing this but it's not as hard as you think, spend the extra time and save your $$ for more things!!!
 
I dont even want to put a number on what I have invested in mine. Its not yet ready for the road and I have more in it than it would ever sell for but I like the car and plan on keeping it. From my point of view its money that is building the car the way I would have ordered it so its worth it.
 
FreeSandwiches said:
What would y'all say you've spent on your babies? Time, money, blood sweat tears? How much does planning effect the final cost? How do you really KNOW what it should be when it's done?

http://www.millerhooks.com/Pics/Dart
Click to expand...

I have spent as much or more $$$ than probably any car on here. I have done so many high dollar items over that it makes me feel ill sometimes.

First and foremost when you are doing a total job have a PLAN.....example of my car's rear suspension.
1- superstock springs/inboard kit then
2- triangulated 4 bar then
3- finally a custom triangulated chromoly 4 link.

Dont get me started on the motor or brake do-overs. Im just glad I have a decent job that is not really affected by the economy.
 
I kinda go with the car body and the mods to it first while gathering pieces for the other parts,the bolt on stuff can be changed out later,weekend projects after it's running and driving so to speak but that's just mee :cheers:
 
Interesting topic. To make one of these early A's "perfect" would cost a fortune, maybe at least ten times what the car is worth after it is completely restored. It would be easy to ruin the fun of these cars by overspending on them.

The probelm with the A-bodies is that they are NOT worth very much when you go to sell one but it costs almost as much to re-do as a B- or E-body. So you should really like the car and don't ever expect to get even half of your "investment" back.

I think that you, and anyone else re-doing a car, should understand what it'll take to make it what they want. Then like someone else said at least double it; double the time, the money and the effort.
 
Wow, I hate to think what,"perfect", would cost. I have been working on, "GOOD" for around 24 years and I'm not there yet. I know I have finished it at least three times since I got her in 1985. Every time it's done, I do more. I won't say what I have in this not finished car, but I bet I could have a new Challenger and get change. This is not a hobby, it is an obsession that we all love because we did it. If you pay someone to do all the fun stuff, you will have at least three times what you could do it yourself for. You will enjoy every minute of your trip to completion. You will learn things you never thought you would. You will make FRIENDS, that will last a lifetime. Forget the cost, enjoy your car. You will spend it little by little and it will never stop. Heck, I am starting on a new engine build, I figure at least 4-5 K.:cheers:
 
Cuda67 said it just right. I have roughly $11k in mine (4k in body/paint) haven't gotten to disc swap, rearend or wheels. I don't even think about what I've spent.

On the other hand, I've got no car payment and I'm driving a car I love, not some snapped-together plastic thing.
 
Spent $4500 on the car which I completely gutted.
Spent $2000 for the 340.
Spent another $5800 to build the 340, new carb, intake, etc.
Spent $500 for sandblasting & another $500 for paint.
Spent $900 on a new compressor - mine took a poo and I needed to paint the car.

Man, this is making me ill.

Bottom line...costs alot!:read2:
 
and it never stops b/c as u go along u see something u wanna change or decided to get new
 
It depends on how much you do yourself and what type of build you want to do, sky's the limit, see rjsjea's build, probably every bit expensive as it is impressive, lots of high end stuff going into that :-D

Do everything you can yourself including body and paint and it'll still add up but at least it can be kept somewhat manageable.
 
You guys are great.

I know, gimmy hell on the tranny lines. I've done them before, and to be honest I'm never really happy with my bends. This was a joint decision between a friend of mine and myself. I did some electrical work on his honda so he was going to help me do my lines, then he said **** it and dropped the cash for the new lines. I am REALLY happy with them though. I never would of thought of that routing path and the bends are spot on fantastic. I'm currently redoing the fuel lines myself if that makes up for it. So far I'm $8 invested in stuff that doesn't look awesome, but will do for getting it started this weekend. Maybe I'll go for braided and look like a cool guy.

Like a lot of you I definitely see the this as a lifetime project however I guess I could have it looking pretty and driving all right in a couple years.

cuda67's 24 years sounds about right to me. I dunno the scale of it seems daunting from the beginning I guess but I really love the idea of a car I can drive forever and my kids might be able to as well. No honda will ever offer that for sure. Amen to no car payment and low insurance as well.

Sounds like I'm on the right track to a money pit, but I guess I'm not doing it to sell the thing, just dreaming cruising to the mountains with the leafblower boxes open and pretty girls half drunk and whining about the AM radio in the passenger seat.
 
My car might be worth $8k to the right buyer.

I've had it for 9 years and spent more than $25k since I bought it.

I bet I have several hundreds of my own hours into it.

It doesn't have a selling price, it's my friend. Short of being homeless and hungry, I just plain wouldn't sell it. Even for enough money to get a "better" one. Or two even!

Dollars spent: $30,000
Car's value: $8000
Net loss: $22,000

Cruising MY Scamp on Saturday night: Priceless
 
Hehe, straight to the heart of it there chums.

hotrodscamp: I don't know if you can ever be homeless if you own a car that size.
 
Most car enthusiasts hate 4-door sedans. I was one of those guys for many years.

I was looking for a Duster to build and somebody dropped this clean, rust-free, very-low-mileage (for its age) '72 Valiant UGLEEE 4-door 318/904 car into my lap for the princely sum of $100.00, in 1998.

I did some research and found out that it was 15 pounds lighter than a same-year Scamp, and only 25 pounds heavier than a same-year Duster, so I started trying to look past the aesthetics... toward performance potential.

I started driving it with the 318 and soon had a 360 Magnum lined up for it.

This car was the victim of "time." Everything on it that moves (and, I mean EVERYTHING) got replaced, including the rear axle assembly, the steering box, the entire drivetrain and all front-end components (LOVE the Firm-Feel box!!!), and of course, the engine.

Seems like the worst thing I have done is buy a lot of stuff twice.... sometimes, three times. Made a lot of mistakes along the way, but I'm getting there. I bought heavy-duty Moser axles for it recently, and just had a new driveshaft built (the third driveshaft in it since I've owned it; this one with 7290 u-joints), the crush sleeve in the 489 third member replaced by a solid spacer, and will be buying some $400.00 slicks very soon to replace the D.O.T. Drag radials I have on it that don't work very well for me.

I haven't kept tabs on the dollar figure, but the combination of the blow-thru Holley, the new Vortech supercharger itself, a complete TTI header-to-back-bumper exhaust system, and the half-inch fuel system MOST LIKELY have pushed the total spent to over 16K...maybe more.

Pretty absurd for a car that wouldn't bring $8K on its best day, in the marketplace.

But, hey, I didn't build it to sell (good thing!!!)

I built it to make me smile... laugh, even. When it runs 93+ in the eighth-mile, it does that, and as the guy said, that's "priceless!" :cheers:

Just another A-Body junkie...

valleave(5)1.jpg
 
I havent kept track with the Dart but with the Scamp.

I traded a 69 Barracuda shell for the body. I figure it was worth about $2500
I paid $2500 for the 340 dyno'd at 480hp.
$500 for a 904 and T/A 8" converter
$700 for TTI headers
$125 for a mini starter
$300 for a custom built TQ
$125 for a LD340
$250 for a new gas tank
$150 for a 3/8" sending unit
$100 for the fuel line.

The list goes on. I figure I had about $6000 in to it but it still needed a rear, brakes and front end rebuild when I sold it.
 
Yay for a wagon that no one will want when it's done.

I used to be a rotary guy... so I'm used to having a car that no one will understand but me. Make it clean and a nice daily driver. If I can get it to run 13s I'd be stoaked.
 
FreeSandwiches said:
You guys are great.

I know, gimmy hell on the tranny lines. I've done them before, and to be honest I'm never really happy with my bends. This was a joint decision between a friend of mine and myself. I did some electrical work on his honda so he was going to help me do my lines, then he said **** it and dropped the cash for the new lines. I am REALLY happy with them though. I never would of thought of that routing path and the bends are spot on fantastic. I'm currently redoing the fuel lines myself if that makes up for it. So far I'm $8 invested in stuff that doesn't look awesome, but will do for getting it started this weekend. Maybe I'll go for braided and look like a cool guy.

Like a lot of you I definitely see the this as a lifetime project however I guess I could have it looking pretty and driving all right in a couple years.

cuda67's 24 years sounds about right to me. I dunno the scale of it seems daunting from the beginning I guess but I really love the idea of a car I can drive forever and my kids might be able to as well. No honda will ever offer that for sure. Amen to no car payment and low insurance as well.

Sounds like I'm on the right track to a money pit, but I guess I'm not doing it to sell the thing, just dreaming cruising to the mountains with the leafblower boxes open and pretty girls half drunk and whining about the AM radio in the passenger seat.
Click to expand...

I often ask myself why I do this and it is always the same answer, "I am never more at peace than when I am in my car." I love it when I am driving the roads and some young kid blows the horn and gives me a thumbs up, makes me feel kinda proud. The truth is that I have about 15-20 thousand in it now, but as I said, I want to build a strong 360, just because. The entire car needs to be re-done and I plan to do it all again. I just can't take quite as long,:love7: I'm not sure I have that many left but, Hey, maybe one of my boys will pick it up.
 
Buy the time I'm done, I could have purchased a new Challenger SRT also. But it is not the destination, it's the journey. If I could give you any advice, do not skimp on the body and paint, everything else can be replaced. Good Luck.
 
well if you get it done let me know i will give ya a couple grand for it hehe. the reason i love my wagon is because i know there wont be anything like it when i take it to a show. who else will have a 63 valiant wagon with a slant six and 7" cheater slicks.
 
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