So, does anyone else keep an Excel sheet for parts and prices?

[Vicinity]

Or am I just weird?

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/05/e0rcyh-1.jpg

[68Formula]

When I did some major upgrades, yes. Smaller projects it varies. Helpful in making sure you have everything you'll need, track that you actully received it, and by listing the part numbers you can look up the places to get the best price and order all your parts in batches. Can save a lot of money, aggrevation, and downtime.

You may not want a running total though. :doh:

[Vicinity]

The total was the whole idea behind it! I was trying to get it from bare metal to running car in under 2 grand. I came close.

[Ripped]

Yep, I did.
When I was full into the rebuild, I kept a separate sheet, for some things, Like; Body, Interior, Engine, Drivetrain, Tires/Wheels, Electronics.

I think it helped a lot, where I would have a separate column for different prices, from different suppliers for the same or similar parts. Saved a lot of money, doing that.

The other spreadsheet, which worked good, was to help figuring out wheel offset, tire sizes, backspace, width etc. This helped me max out my tire size and get the right wheel width and offset.

[Flash68]

Absolutely. I use excel in google docs to track my car project(s) and add new tabs for researching parts, prices, etc.

Never hurts to be organized! Unless you don't want to know how much you have invested in a project. LOL

[Vicinity]

Absolutely. I use excel in google docs to track my car project(s) and add new tabs for researching parts, prices, etc.

Never hurts to be organized! Unless you don't want to know how much you have invested in a project. LOL

Good idea, Flash. Uploaded mine to Google Docs, now I can view it on my phone!

Gonna try and reorganize with tabs now.

[Chad-1stGen]

Yup. I've done a number of spreadsheets from shopping to just organizing the many todo items when the car was more of a project.

However, I also use Quicken and track 100% of every dollar that comes through my hands. I've used quicken for 15 years and 100% tracking since 2005. I recently ran a spending report from 2005-2010. Taxes were my number one individual expense. Anyone want to guess what number two was lol? Yup, the automotive category. Its amazing how fast everything adds up. What is more depressing to me though isn't how much I have into my car. Its how much I have into my car compared to the level of car I could buy for less. I've seen cars that would put mine to shame sell for far less than I have into mine.

Stupid expensive hobby lol.

[Six_Shooter]

I try not to think about how much I have into my projects. lol

[go-fish]

I've used excel for my project since day one. I have everything on it except consumables.

[Trevon]

I also try to list everything on google docs...everything from what I know I want to wish list with prices and URL of where I found it.

[wellis77]

Yup. I track every single cost of my build, comparing actual costs to advertised, tracking my budget, etc. My wife thinks I'm nuts...

[Happyfunballs]

Guilty.

[jy211]

I am a Virgo, so I do, but it's mostly to make sure I don't buy duplicate items LOL.

[JChilders]

I have one for my build that I keep on my work computer. If my wife ever saw it I would be in big trouble.

[davidk68]

I did one to get a handle on how much I had in my car when a friend of a friend was really hot to buy my car from me. When I hit the total I said HOLY SH...... !!

[John Wright]

Good job on your Excel logbook Dan....I need to go back and go through my receipts to see what I've spent and where I need to go next. I didn't need another excuse to use Excel again, but I love coming up with new Excel projects.

[Ron.in.SoCal]

I did a project budget spreadsheet when I was in the planning stages. After the shell shock, I figureed what was must have vs. like to have. Of course, some items moved into he must have category as time went on. I also did mini budgets for sub categories like engine build, etc. All receipts of actual spend go into a file. I've thought about totalling it at the end, but do I really want to know? ha!

[Toadman]

I have one for my build that I keep on my work computer. If my wife ever saw it I would be in big trouble.

:lol: +1, glad I'm not alone!

[Jarcaines]

Yes! I tell myself it's for planning purposes, but I think I really made a spread sheet so that I can spend time thinking about what I want to do that I can't afford to do. It helps fill the "I don't have enough money yet" void a tiny bit.

[shopking68]

Yup! I am keeping a spreadsheet just like that on my build also.

[1969CamaroRS]

Yep definitely use Excel for project and budget planning.

[wmhjr]

Mine starts with the original donor car purchase and is organized by:

Date
Vendor
Category (suspension, wiring, interior, body, etc)
Part number
Unit price
Quantity
Extended price
Shipping
Tax
Invoice number
Tracking number
Method of shipment

Indexes and pivot tables make tracking stuff incredibly easy and help with warranty issues. Also made my insurance policy a breeze and protects my interests in the event of a loss.

[Vicinity]

Mine starts with the original donor car purchase and is organized by:

Date
Vendor
Category (suspension, wiring, interior, body, etc)
Part number
Unit price
Quantity
Extended price
Shipping
Tax
Invoice number
Tracking number
Method of shipment

Indexes and pivot tables make tracking stuff incredibly easy and help with warranty issues. Also made my insurance policy a breeze and protects my interests in the event of a loss.

Thanks, now I just went and re-did it again. :)

I just added in shipping/tax with the total price. I now have a notes section for any sales I may have used for pricing.

[Takid455]

I do the same as Chad-1stGen except w/ excel. While it can be disturbing , it helps keep cost under control and see where your money is going. Also if you sell a car or get an appraisal, it same lots of time. It is only as good as the effort put forth. I track just about every dollar since 05.

[martin 1768]

Never did and never will. for me this is a hobby, if i could have all the money ive spend on my build back, i would spend it all on parts. without looking back.:woot:
Martin

[1red68]

no, but after reading this I'm feeling the need. i hate to be a micro manager though... I work with one and it drives me crazy.

[6'9"Witha69]

Mine starts with the original donor car purchase and is organized by:

Date
Vendor
Category (suspension, wiring, interior, body, etc)
Part number
Unit price
Quantity
Extended price
Shipping
Tax
Invoice number
Tracking number
Method of shipment

Indexes and pivot tables make tracking stuff incredibly easy and help with warranty issues. Also made my insurance policy a breeze and protects my interests in the event of a loss.


Another super type A like me. I have all this and a priority/ grouping column, which allows me to do prioritization and sumif functions to see subtotals by category and allows on the fly adjustments/results. Being that I spent 5 years as a Senior Financial analyst, I over do everything to do with budgets and finances.

[Vicinity]

Ok, I completely re-did it. I'm pretty happy with it now.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/05/2hyjxc7-1.jpg

[GaRys69]

Also made my insurance policy a breeze and protects my interests in the event of a loss.

Thanks did not even think of it for this.
And I thought I was the only one this anal.

[wmhjr]

Never did and never will. for me this is a hobby, if i could have all the money ive spend on my build back, i would spend it all on parts. without looking back.:woot:
Martin

This has nothing to do with not spending money or wishing I had not. I never look at the totals. It's all about having a detailed record tied to a digital receipt (I scan my receipts to PDF) so that when I have an issue, I can call the manufacturer and say "I bought X on 24 Oct 2010 under invoice 12345, received on 29 Oct and it is a warranty repair/ replacement". Or any number of other purposes.

Let's put it another way. In many cases it's ended up saving me money that I could then spend on OTHER parts. And if my car is ever stolen or heavily damaged, there is zero risk that my insurance company can claim the build was not documented and verified. They got a watered down copy of my spreadsheet along with photos before issuing my policy.

[wmhjr]

Another super type A like me. I have all this and a priority/ grouping column, which allows me to do prioritization and sumif functions to see subtotals by category and allows on the fly adjustments/results. Being that I spent 5 years as a Senior Financial analyst, I over do everything to do with budgets and finances.

Do you have every receipt/invoice/instruction set scanned to PDF and titled according to invoice number so that you can copy the invoice number from the spreadsheet into the search window and have the PDF image open? :) It comes in VERY useful. And windows indexing makes it so easy these days.

[Martin71RS]

haha...more like me...

I didn't do it on the Camaro but have a spreadsheet for the Nova.

I know allready I will put more into it then it's worth but I will have a good daily when I am done.
It is shocking to see how small things add up.

Once the Nova is finished I will put it up on my page...

I keep track of all costs, shipping/taxes(which in my case is a lot), hours spent working on the car and miles driven to get parts.


Martin

[Vicinity]

haha...more like me...

I didn't do it on the Camaro but have a spreadsheet for the Nova.

I know allready I will put more into it then it's worth but I will have a good daily when I am done.
It is shocking to see how small things add up.

Once the Nova is finished I will put it up on my page...

I keep track of all costs, shipping/taxes(which in my case is a lot), hours spent working on the car and miles driven to get parts.


Martin

This is exactly why I did not include all the stainless bolts I bought and replaced all over the car. I can only assume I've spent over 200 dollars buying 2-3 bolts and washers at a time.

[wmhjr]

This is exactly why I did not include all the stainless bolts I bought and replaced all over the car. I can only assume I've spent over 200 dollars buying 2-3 bolts and washers at a time.

One advantage of including everything though... I don't know about you guys, but my vendor list includes 124 different vendors just for this car. I've gotten different small parts and pieces that are kind of "unique" (even odd sized bolts with specific heads) from all over the place. I can't remember off hand where every single item came from (for the small stuff). So, having everything in the list allows me to search when I'm looking for something similar to go right to the best supplier I've had for the same or similar items.

Remember, you don't have to total up the costs. But I'd guess I've saved tons of time and in some cases made deadlines because I could do a quick search, immediately find the vendor of choice, call and refer to an invoice number which they related to a customer number, and get a part enroute asap. Friends have observed this and now I get calls about once a week asking for a referral to a vendor for a specific type of part. Often, I'm faster at finding info than the vendors themselves now and it's all just the friggin Excel worksheet.

[Vicinity]

One advantage of including everything though... I don't know about you guys, but my vendor list includes 124 different vendors just for this car. I've gotten different small parts and pieces that are kind of "unique" (even odd sized bolts with specific heads) from all over the place. I can't remember off hand where every single item came from (for the small stuff). So, having everything in the list allows me to search when I'm looking for something similar to go right to the best supplier I've had for the same or similar items.

Remember, you don't have to total up the costs. But I'd guess I've saved tons of time and in some cases made deadlines because I could do a quick search, immediately find the vendor of choice, call and refer to an invoice number which they related to a customer number, and get a part enroute asap. Friends have observed this and now I get calls about once a week asking for a referral to a vendor for a specific type of part. Often, I'm faster at finding info than the vendors themselves now and it's all just the friggin Excel worksheet.

Fortunately, I have a Ma and Pa shop down the street that sells every kind of bolt, so I never have to worry about ordering. My biggest problem is I'll typically forget what size and buy a bunch I don't need. :)

They even have the original interior trim screws, that really kind of blew me away.

[68Formula]

On a side note, anyone do this for a 4l80E swap? I'm planning on putting a list together, and it'd be a great headstart making sure I have the necessary parts and maybe some good sources for them. PM me please.

[BonzoHansen]

This is exactly why I did not include all the stainless bolts I bought and replaced all over the car. I can only assume I've spent over 200 dollars buying 2-3 bolts and washers at a time.

indeed, hitting lowes for one off bolts got pricey. I ended up at a local fastener place and got boxes fo stainless bolts for what a handful cost me at lowes.

excel, ms money and maybe even an accesss database. sick indeed.

[67rally]

I try not to think about how much I have into my projects. lol

x2!

God, what if my wife stumbled upon that document by accident?

[lnirenberg]

I do it mostly as a discipline to thoroughly plan the various aspects of the build, pats and services required, a base budge, track variance to budget and develp a timeline. My problem is I set up formulas that are self calculating which means in no time I see I'm o er budget, stop entering expenses and just through the receipts in a folder. It's just to disturbing to know the real total and in the end if I enjoy the car it's still only worth what a ready willing and able buyer is willing to pay when I'm ready to move on.

[Vicinity]

At this point, I'm really happy with my total. I may not be in the future, but I'm way under budget, as I've built my car far better than a car I passed on over a year ago, which has been pretty much my goal.

That's the only real reason I have a "Grand Total".

Glad to see I'm not the only one so anal about budgeting. :)

[Gandalf]

So, does anyone else keep an Excel sheet for parts and prices? Or am I just weird?]

You're in good company Dan! I've kept one for the past 3yrs and put everything in there going back to day 1. If I'm in a good mood, I'll sneak a peak at the auto-calculated totals, otherwise, I just update it and file-save lol! No sense in looking back - it's gonna hurt, it's all a matter of how much!


Stupid expensive hobby lol.

Amen to that Chad! LOL!.


hitting lowes for one off bolts got pricey. I ended up at a local fastener place and got boxes fo stainless bolts for what a handful cost me at lowes.

Yes - I now do same. Even if the price for 50 is the same as a pack of 3 at Lowes and I only need 2..... I buy the 50 on principle and donate the remainder to the shop. That way I don't feel bad when I need to steal a fastener while at the shop later on. (And it's often cheaper than beer lol!)


God, what if my wife stumbled upon that document by accident?

Yikes!!!

[BuddyP]

I have a spreadsheet, although not as pretty as yours.

[Vicinity]

I have a spreadsheet, although not as pretty as yours.

The colors help hold my attention. :)

[NJSPEEDER]

I save receipts but I am afraid to add them up. I think it would just make me cry. lol

[Satatic]

If i kept records then i might go over budget, with my way i can just estimate what I've spent and never go over budget. win/win

[chicane67]

I find it imperative to do this.

It's easier to not only to catalog individual items, distributors and cost, but it tracks time lines and helps prioritize for specific components to keep the ball rolling forward in completing things in order. Not to mention, tracking FIA legalities for sanctioning bodies... and it definately helps for insurance purposes.

No... you are not the lone ranger... as the proof of this thread details that reality.

[jerhofer]

I am in the process of installing a LS1 motor in my '77 Camaro. My son and I installed a LS1 in his '79 El Camino about a year and a half ago. As I began my project, he mentioned that he had set up a spread sheet for the El Camino. I hadn't thought of doing that previously, but I have set one up for the LS1 project. At the top I am listing the parts that I have to buy while the lower section list those parts that I have sold off the old motor. This way I can easily see what it is really costing me to do the swap.

www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com