How old are you?

[brownz]

The reason that im asking is I alsways see a ton of progress on the car in the project section. Im 26 years old and just bought my first home and dont understand how people build such high end cars? High paying jobs? debt???

Just something me a my friend were talking about and would like to know

[ModernMuseum]

A whopping 27. I also just bought my first home around the same time that I started my project.

I think, for most people, it's a combination of decent salary, debt and priorities. People allocate funds differently and come from a variety of backgrounds. Also, I think a lot of people save money by doing their own work. The people that pay to have a lot of work done by the big companies have to be pulling in some serious cash to pull off their top notch projects.

[chops101]

Brandon I have a son your age named Brandon.
I can assure you when I was your age, it was all I could do to pay mortgage, car payments, pampers, utilities, student loans and grocery store.
Not until my kids got somewhat older did I have the disposable income to start doing the Harleys, drum kits, and recreational cars. Hang tight your time will come.

[Nessumsar]

24 here. :)

[Bryce]

I am 27. My wife and I both work. We have ZERO debt, except for our house.

I do all my own work on the car. It was also my first car. It has been a combination of many smaller projects.

[Taylor1969]

31... bought a house last year and the car has been around for about 5. I work really hard at work and am fortunate enough to have a little money to support my hobby. I wish I had a little more time to devote to the car, but I try to maintain the balance of spending time with my wife, the car while keeping food on the table.

[brownz]

I am 27. My wife and I both work. We have ZERO debt, except for our house.

I do all my own work on the car. It was also my first car. It has been a combination of many smaller projects.


Im in the same boat. I own a 2006 2500 4x4 silverado, a 2010 honda civic si sedan and all the debt I have is my house no credit cards student loan or anything. and I do all my own work on my camaro. even though its a slow process.

I must thank my parents for letting me live at home for free and pay my car off in less then a year to buy my house lol

[thomasmoto]

Well I'm knockin on 50's door and I agree with what was said earlier. If this is really important to you and you are willing and able to give it your all you can advance and succeed. My daughter is a college senior this year and I'm looking forward to that being over, but it really is just priorities. We try not to poop away money, but it still happens at times. Most of the owners of the cars you are talking about eat, sleep and breath them everyday. I do, it's more of a way of life than a hobby. My car still would probably not be considered to be in the class of vehicle that you are talking about, but I enjoy it and I usually only get to go to 1 or 2 of the events that are held every year. I talk to lots of people that go from 1 to the next. I sure can't do that, much as I would like to. Just can't afford the money or the time. There is a fair number of people that are retired now or sold their business's and have those means. I was surprised of how many of those were on the Hot Rod Power Tour this year. As Greg said before, if you keep this as your passion and have patience I believe it will come around for you too. I'm hoping to retire in 5-10 years and having my car in much better shape and be able to participate in more of these events. Also I can tell you this. Meet, find, and befriend as many people as you can that share your passion. Seek out sucessful people, not just the guy down the street that just plays with his hot rod now and then, but the kind of people that are truly making this work. They will help you in ways you might not otherwise think of. Cause just like everything else in life, it's not so much how much you know, but who you know. Go, if you can work it out, to SEMA at least once. I've gone 3 times and met many of the "movers and shakers" in the industry and the more they see your face around and talk to you the easier it is to make great contacts. They have some kind of group that is targeting the "younger" folks in the industry and their whole purpose is to help each other. Sorry i can't recall what it was called. My daughter met Christy Edelbrock, Chip Foose, and a whole host of others there and they were excited to have young people coming into the industry. Just keep your eyes on the target.

[dontlifttoshift]

31....now I feel old.

This is what I do. I fabricate hot rods for a living so parts discounts and the ability to do all my own work save for paint and upholstery make it easier. We have no hobbies other than this (which is enough, between car shows and autocross we keep plenty busy) so all the spare money goes into cars. My wife is a badass and loves the cars so that helps, and she's an accountant, too. Also my daily is a beater s10, I always drive beaters because I would rather spend time and money on the hot rod.

Donny

[thomasmoto]

Yep having a willing spouse is mucho important too.

[evostilo]

Me three, my girl is super cool with my car addiction/obsession.

I also look for deals online,CL,E-bay have actualy save me tons.

Im 27 and on my 5th show car started young, but still live at home LOL

[SickSpeedMonte]

Just turned 25 here, today is actually the 1 year anniversary of when I bought my first house. You don't see any fast progress from my car in the projects section here though. I know where you are coming from. I am lucky enough to have a great job doing what I love that pays well, and I kinda like having to pace myself in a way. If I had tons of disposable income to throw at my car and get it done, I don't think I'd have as much fun building it. To make it worse, I bought a forcloseure (mild case, no worries) that needs a little bit of work. Replacing carpet, sprucing up the pool, going to be buying a pellet stove before too long, etc etc.

Would it be nice to have a ton of money for tools and shop equipment? Absofreakinlutely! But in reality, I'd use that to pay off student loans :(

Right now, I'm working on some really labor intensive projects that (ideally) don't cost too much money. I'm making a mold from scratch for a 'glass console, and modifying the dash into a mold for a 'glass dash. I spend just enough money on my car to keep me sane for now. Except when sicmonte offers up a forged small block at an insane price... couldn't pass on that :D

[pokey64]

29. No kids yet. Only debt we have is our house (less than 50% owing on it). Spent the last 8 years super commited to work. This has been great for our finances but a pretty boring life. I make good money but we're also frugal. We save up to buy nice things and don't waste money on "crap". Bought my wife's Camaro last year so we'd have a hobby to enjoy. It came with some "gremlins" that we're cleaning up. It's been expensive but we've never gone outside of our means. Paid a shop to do the motor/trans swap but I did the rear end, suspension, brakes, AC, and stereo myself. Hope to have it wrapped up soon so we get to enjoy the rest of the Summer with it. I've got my Impala to work on next which was my first car. I'm sure kids will slow the hobby down eventually but I don't see it ever going away.

[Randy67]

Bunch a young ones, I just turned 43 Sunday. Now get off my lawn..... JK

[sik68]

I'm 27 and spend only my disposable income, and I set very modest goals for the progress of the car. Of course, "modest" is a relative term here on pt.com :)

[carguy502]

27. Married with no kids for a couple of years and no house (houses in LA are still stupid expensive) with no debt. Wife is supportive, but the workplace is not there. Lame.

[rickpaw]

34 here. No debt other than the house. Wife & 2 kids. Did all the work on the car myself except for final paint/engine work, and looking for deals on ebay, cl, for sale section so I was able to keep the cost down.

[Motorcitydak]

24, have a pretty well paying job, just bought my own house last year and spend 2-300 on the car every month. I do all my own work and that helps a lot. I don't have much other debt tho, just the house payment and a car payment. I ride a motorcycle a lot which keeps my fuel bills down a little and its also fun as hell.

[SRD art]

Sorry a little long winded but I think it's worth the read. I turned 41 this year, happily married for 15 years with 4 kids ages from 13 to 3. Bought our first home about 6 years ago. Some small debt but not like most people. Daily drivers are older cars and we live on a budget because my business is seasonal- We don't have a lot of nice new things like the latest and greatest 60" TV, Ipods for everyone, etc. We shop at Walmart for $20 jeans instead of $200 at the mall and use coupons and buy from the sale ads at the grocery store. My wife and I do date night every Friday but we quit spending $40-50 a pop like we used to before we had kids. Now we have a fun time trying to keep it under $15 each week. You'd be surprised how much you can do on that little of $. I'm now back in school in a street rod program so that I can put 25+ years working on cars along with my design experience and new fabricating skills to work in a shop for some steady year round income to better prepare for retirement.

With my path in life family needs are first so I've had to become more resourceful in building my cars. I've always wondered what it'd be like to be able to spend $80,000 restoring a muscle car or $150,000 on a show car. Before becoming a designer I worked in a shop restoring muscle cars and one day had a great revelation that really taught me something. I was doing a few things on a client's restored 70 Challenger T/A to get it ready to sell. As I was wrapping it up I took a good look at the car. I compared it to my 11 second street/strip Nova and realized that the Challenger was really just another car built in the 70's and was no different than my car. It could easily sit next to the Challenger at a car show or cruise night and no one would know I only have about $12K in my Nova. The Challenger sold on ebay for $120K the week after we worked on it. My point being that you don't have to spend $100,000 + on a car for it to be cool. A lot of times a car or part has "perceived" value that's just as much as real value. My Nova's goal was to build a 10 footer that goes fast in a straight line. The wagon is a different story. The majority of the $'s going where it will count the most- the suspension, and second to that is appearance. When the dust settles I think I'll have roughly $8000-$10,000 in the whole car start to finish. If I had $200,000 in savings to blow on toys would I? Probably so. But that's what Hot Rodding is all about, building what you can with what you got.

In summary- here's what I've learned over the years of building on a budget that has worked for me...

Be patient and be prepared. Good deals always come to those that wait. If you have a few $ set aside you can take advantage of those good deals when they come along.

Make friends. I have one friend that knows everyone. If I need a part he sends the word out for me and usually finds me decent used parts for super cheap or for trade. I have another friend that runs a rod shop. Met him by doing some project illustrations for him. Now if I need advice or insight on my project he's happy to give his opinion.

Network. Our local Utah Muscle Cars forum/ club is a pretty tight knit group. If someone is selling something on ebay or the classifieds, it always seems to get offered to club members first and/or at a discount over asking price. If anyone ever needs help working on a project there's always several volunteers ready to come over and give a hand. Paying for a couple pizzas is a lot better than $70/hour.

Shop around, be resourceful and do your homework when buying new parts. Example, if you want Flowmasters and you find out that Summit mufflers are really Flowmasters in a summit box for half the price, why not buy the Summit ones? Be wary of cheap Chinese crap that falls apart or didn't work right in the first place. Ask about products on forums or just do a google search, most answers to your questions are already posted. As I said do your homework. Another example- Recently I found a complete plastic dash cap for my 79 Cutlass wagon from a parts distributor for $250+ shipping and thought it was a great deal. Just to make sure, a little searching within about 30 minutes I found 3 other distributors that sold the same product, probably all 4 made in the same factory, and the least expensive was $169+ $30 shipping. Praise the internet.

Shop around part II. There's nothing wrong with buying good used parts or bought but never used parts on ebay, swap meets, junkyards, or asking the guy on the outskirts of town if he'd like to sell a few parts off the car in the weeds on the side of the house. Seriously, is there really any value in flashing an invoice in front of someone to show how much you have in the car unless you're selling it?? Clean brand new parts get dirty and abused just as quickly as used ones. Lots of people fail to plan and throw money at their projects and then decide to go a different direction. I see that all the time on ebay and the local car classifieds.

DIY. Most of my mechanical skills are self taught and friend taught hands on learning. I didn't know paint and body so now I'm in school for it. Many tech schools with auto programs have a paint your own car program or transmission or ...? classes in the evenings for community members. Anything I can't do myself I have networked and made enough friends along the way that I can get professional services for a discount or for trade.

Hire a designer. A small investment in a good project designer / illustrator will give you (or your builder) a visual road map to go off of. Folks like myself and others that do this for a living can help you see the vision of your car BEFORE it's done, and can save you a bunch of money avoiding mistakes or misunderstandings. You'll never end up with the "wrong" wheels or wrong paint colors/scheme etc. Guys like us study cars like some people play video games. A lot of us have had design school training so we can help you avoid an automotive "fasion faux pas" and can throw some ideas past you that you may not have thought of. A project illustration is also a great motivator for when you're so frustrated you want to bag the whole thing or for periods when the $ runs out or you get sidetracked. In the end you get to hang the illustration in the living room because your wife said no when you asked to park the car there. :)

And most important,
Plan and budget- "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Every section of my car has a set budget, such as suspension parts, interior, engine, etc. Since I have a set budget I can go to work researching the best bang for my buck in that area. I collect data by copying and pasting in a Word document, along with website addresses and dollar amounts. Along the way as I stumble across new ideas I can go back and adjust everything accordingly. When I've got everything laid out and see that everything is in the budget I buy a whole bunch of parts at one time. My wagon project is just about all mapped out so when school starts up again in about 3 weeks I can get right to work and I'll never waste time standing around wondering what to do next. Everyone should have a good large dry-erase board in the garage or at the shop that's filled with their game plan.

Hope my thoughts add something to the conversation.

[John Wright]

46, two kids 15 & 11, a working wife who pays for the kid's tuition to school and very little debt. Working towards no debt(hopefully in the not too distant future the one loan will be gone)

[zombiekiller]

32- no kids. Wife and a dog.

Neither the wife or I want kids.

Student loans are paid off, no CC debt.

We owe on our truck, but otherwise are debt free.

We just moved from DE to TN, so our pockets took a bit of a hit, but we're bouncing back. I have one simple rule for car hobby stuff. If I can't pay cash, it'll have to wait till I can.

We make a good buck and my level of car hobby is certainly much much much cheaper than kids!

[wellis77]

33, two jobs, full-time student, wife works full-time as a dental hygienist, living in one of the more costly cities in the world, no debt, living on a tight budget. Building my car on a cash basis scouring everywhere for the best deals on the parts I need, most of which to date have been used, with an exceptionally loving and understanding wife.

[Trevon]

20. :lmao: Single, not many bills, but I'm in the military so I also don't have a lot of money to put into my car most of the time...when I do have money though it goes to my car...this deployment is helping greatly with that.

[brownz]

SRD art

good write up!

[moreHP]

40 here. And also in the no debt catagory. I use the credit card but never more than I can pay off when the statement comes. Driving the same truck I bought new for 20 years now has also helped free up income for project cars. I live very modestly without the latest and greatest stuff and I am just fine with that.

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

34..

1 wife..

2 kids..

9 cars..

[79-TA]

24, just finally getting done with my engineering degree :banghead:

[intocarss]

50, "Poverty is owning a race car"

[Bryce]

24, just finally getting done with my engineering degree :banghead:

Congrats!

[Toadman]

I'm 42 and also in the very little/no debt category. I own a steel fabrication shop with my brother which helps a ton when I want a custom part made. I'm also super-fortunate to have a company owned pickup that I drive. As far as my car, it is definitely not a high-dollar build, but been slowly built over winters during the 8 years that I have owned it. Last summer, during my LS1 swap, was the first time the car didn't make it back on the road to enjoy during warm weather. I have been verrrrrry frugal by buying used parts when I can, and searching until a part I want becomes available. The car has come a long long way since I bought it, and It still has a long long way to go... But I'm going to enjoy it in the meantime.

[BigMal69]

32 - married with an 18 month year old. Believe it or not, I built my first car (1966 Mustang Fastback) while in graduate school. I had no wife, no kids, and a buttload of time. I am on my second build now (69 Camaro) and with the wife and kiddo, it is twice as hard.

[sr73bu]

28.... wife, 2 y/o son and a dog....

The best advice I can give is to live well within your means... no body NEEDS a huge house, a new car for every driver in the house, an Iphone and every hbo channel on the planet... especially if you have a hobby like this... Most of my friends have all of the above and really can't enjoy any of them.. because technically they dont own any of it... I get laughed at because as a designer and someone who is pretty tech savy I have the crappiest phone and the most basic cable...lol... but at the end of the day, my bills are all paid, I can do things with my family and I still have a tiny bit of money I can through at my car... of coarse, after some goes in savings (lol)... I'm also lucky to have a solid job, but I never forget that anything can happen, so before I even thought about starting to work on my car again... the past 5 years have been nothing but paying off student loans, saving money and of coarse packing my lunch at work... times get tough, back off the car, knowing its still in my garage and its mine... is the best motivation I have, even when I'm just walking by it to take out the trash for weeks at a time...

-Sean

[Ishmael]

It doesn't matter how old you are. Some guys have money. Some guys have skills. Some guys have both. A lot of guys have neither and don't do a lot of posting in project updates. A lot of guys slowly buy the parts they need when the prices are right and then are in a position to move forward so it seems like they are making progress quickly when it took years to get all the parts together. I'm 36 and fall into the "no skills no cash" group. I've owned the car since I was 15 and have only driven it for 4 years seasonally. Imagine that project update. The worst thing I did was sink money into an engine only to replace it with an ls2. I should have put the car back together and been driving it for the last three years doing small projects along the way instead of trying to do everything all at once and never having time or cash to work on it.

[LUACE]

33. Wife, 2 kids (15 month old and a week old baby). 2 homes, 5 cars (2 camaros), wife and I both have good jobs and salaries... I have all the parts to build an awesome pt car, I simply don't have time to do anything car related at the moment. Anyone interested in building it for me? J/k

[Twentyover]

56. Old enough to know better, young enough not to care.

Debt free with the exception of three mortgages.

[clancj]

north of fifty and an empty nester. thats how i do it.

[yellow1098Greg]

28 and i know exactly what u mean.....I want my car in the worst way to be "the way i want it"....and i definitley dont have the funds to pay right out for it.....I dont have alot of backround in the mechanic end of it...But i want really bad to learn and have been searching for a school that i can take at night or once a week in addition to my full time college i am in now....I am in an area (orlando) where i dont really know anyone else with my same hobby and knowlegable and willing enough to teach me anything and have been reading as much as possible to learn what i can so i can do all my own work to save money plus i really love the do-it-yourself part of it.........i actually started school late because of a minor league baseball career and my car is basically my happiness in my life and i spend every extra little dollar i have on it. I also drive a 5 thousand dollar car around because i love my hot rod so much. All my spare time is spent reading about it and its all i watch on TV. haha

[Takid455]

30 here. Started big car project when I was 24/5.

Finding deals, good job, doing work yourself and no debt. Lived at home till recently. My killer is too many cars. while I do flip some here and there, it takes away from your main projects more than it funds them I feel. There are a few I could sell for a good profit, but I opt to keep those. Also good money investments and management is key. Only spend what you can afford to loose.

I do have access to a full shop which helps. Key point is know and use your resources wisely.

[77thor]

north of fifty and an empty nester...

+1. My youngest will be 25 in Sept.

[Chris 68]

21, in college, no debt!

[wmhjr]

Turn 50(ish) in a month. Have 2 kids, youngest is in 2nd year of (friggin expensive) college. Expect to retire long after I'm in a grave.

[grenade inspector]

just turned 23, just bought my first house. I don't have a lot of money but, aside from the mortgage I don't have any debt. I also do everything I can and a couple things that should be left to the pros myself.

[srh3trinity]

31 and in my last year of residency. After five years of college, four years of Med school and three years of residency and possibly another year of fellowship, I have become very disciplined in saving and the idea of delayed gratification. I have bought the car andhave very slowly bought parts. I moonlight a lot and my wife has a good paying job. We are expecting our first child so money is being redirected to that (gladly). The reason you don't see a build thread from me is that I haven't made much progress. All in good time.

[85GPLEf41]

30, 2 jobs, school loan, finally got my house last year, 1 kid who i pay support on and i hardly ever see...awesome girlfriend who doesn't question how i spend my time or money as long as the bills are paid of course and she get's some quality time as well. After having my G body Grand Prix for over 12 years i am finally starting to put a little bit of money into it.I have given up on having the latest and greatest in technology, vehicles, attire, etc etc. Just learning to be happy with what i have. I may not be able to buy or do everything that i want to my ride or even in life in general but it's all good!

[rockytopper]

I'm at the half way mark its all down hill now.

[Tom Welch]

48, married 25 yrs, 3 sons, oldest in USMC, 2 younger ones still at home/college, I've helped build several cars but only 1 of my own. I now have the means to build what I want and I am doing just that, at my own shop, too. Thank God, I can finally do it my way.

[Scott Parkhurst]

44 til November, one 4 yr-old daughter, maybe one more baby next yr. Didn't get married til 37! Lots and lots of girlfriends before then...heh heh...Spent my 20s and most of my 30s living at the beach in SoCal building cool cars and working at awesome engine shops and then Popular Hot Rodding/Engine Masters magazines. Now I'm a happy husband/Daddy in the Midwest. Life has been a lot of fun so far. I was building 2 P-T cars (a '65 GTO clone and the wagon to tow it) but I'm having so much fun with the wagon that I sold the GTO project. I'll stick with it for awhile.

[64impala]

29 in the Air Force. All I can say is it takes time! MONEY! more time and patience, lots of it. It can get very discouraging but push through the build process and it will pay of in the end. Good friends always help as well. Good luck! Im doing a frame off on my 64 impala in a 1 car garage. Its been in work for 5 years and the chassis, suspension, and floor pans are all done. Now time for body work.

[Bigblue73]

44 here. Three kids, 14,11 and 6. Working wife with a great job. I work for an employee that challenges me to create new products. Hence my working relationship with Hurst and may new venture with LED lights. I save a bunch and allow about 3 grand per year to go into my car. One thing to note is the market is changing rapidly and what was once not there - is now( I'm a Mopar guy and we always have to wait). Take it slow and have fun.

[chevnut55]

38 today. builkt my own stuff by myself with help from no one and painted, bought and sold other cars to be able to build my collection. devorce and a kid hurt the wallet but put stuff on hold and thing of them as worthless in times you need $$$ so you will not sell and never be able to replace it later.

[Vicinity]

21

No House

2 Cars (951 is the other car)

[Throttle]

32 yrs old

I restore/repair/restomod vehicles for a living and do all my own work other then the motor building and interior. The only debt I have right now is my garage I just built. I wouldn't say I have a great paying job, but it gets the bills paid and I have some left over to put in the Camaro every month. I built my own house on property that I own, so that is a plus also.

[NJSPEEDER]

Please clarify, is this related to my birth year or how old I frequently get accused of acting?

-Tim

[absintheisfun]

34 here.

My wife and I have zero debt and the project is just now getting started (for real this time! lol).

We worked like dogs for the last 10 years to pay off ALL of our debt and put away a decent rainy day fund. As a result, we quit our jobs and restarted new careers in fields we love. I'm an GMC Technician and my Wife works with animal behavior problems. We aren't making a whole lot of money right now, but enough to cover the bills.

The theory is that if you do what you love, the money will come. So far, so good.

If you stress about making money, it takes away from the time you would otherwise use to enjoy everything else. We burned our wick at both ends because we had an end in sight. Looking back, it was a good decision, but at the time it royally sucked!

As for the project-learning from research and trial and error. very, very little has been done outside my home garage.

[SRD art]

38 today. builkt my own stuff by myself with help from no one and painted, bought and sold other cars to be able to build my collection. devorce and a kid hurt the wallet but put stuff on hold and thing of them as worthless in times you need $$$ so you will not sell and never be able to replace it later.

happy b-day!

[lnirenberg]

59, 32 yrs married (to the same wife), 3 kids, 1 spectacular grandbaby & down to only 5 cars including daily drivers. Would already be retired and spending all my leisure time with family and cars but as long as my 87 yr old dad and business partner comes in the office 3 days a week I will keep working. Not much time to work on my cars so I get my vicarious thrills by designing the builds myself and then resort to throwing money at it, mostly well spent. Taking welding class to bone up (at a local art studio vs trade school with a very eclectic group and flaky but highly skilled instructor) and once retired will work on more skill sets so I can be more hands on with projects and ramp up my time at the track. All my guy friends are car guys which outside of our mutual passion for cars is a much more heterogeneous group than wife and my couples friends. My wife appreciates the beauty of the various cars I own/have owned but not a car person. Key to our long marriage—she is never surprised when something new shows up in the drive and she never asks how much I spend on them.

[BADNBLK]

30 about to get married, and my first kid on the way. Got 3 houses, some debt, but not serious. Feel about normal with most of my friends. Wish I had more to put towards the Camaro, ut we all know how that goes.

[MichaelUser]

46 married with 2 great kids, son 11 (got a used XR80 for his b-day), daughter 8 (little soccer star). Time is not on my side lately. Projects are second to sports, but hey kids are first for now. My son does want the Duster done so he can drive it. Very cool. My daughter wants the buggy ready for the desert season this winter cool too! No major bills, no car payments but I do want a new car to drive to work daily. My modded Cummins is getting a little old to drive everyday. I just can't get around paying $45k for a new Boss Stang. Speaking of which I work in the automotive aftermarket in sales for aFe Power. Things are great!

[DarkBuddha]

First, I totally understand where the OP is coming from... it's downright perplexing how folks can build such awesome cars sometimes. But I'm gonna tell you, age probably has very little to do with it specifically. I'm 38 and I'm no better off than any 27 year old with a new house and young kids and mediocre income. In fact, right now I have no income to speak of. But even before, when I had a decent job, my Mustang project was slow going... so slow that it's now 10 years since we started and it's still not done. And I'm not talking about some crazy high end super killer pro-touring build either... just an old school, very budget oriented restomod (no Cobra brakes, no rack and pinion, no trick a arms, no fancy name brand "gotta haves"). In fact, because the Mustang was such slow going, I got another car that I could make bits of progress on while driving it (my XR4TI), and it's been a super budget car too.

The fact is that building any car to any level is a product of basically 3 things... time, money, and skill. The more that you have of any of those gives you more ability to the get a car built quicker (and better, and to a higher level), but if you don't have a bunch of any of them, the car just ends up finished on a lower level. But none of that matters, the point is to build it to whatever level you can and be happy to have it. There's always more/faster/better, but something is better than nothing.

[stage2ROUSH]

going to hit the big 5.0 as of August 16, ( yep the day Elvis left the building for the very last time)NO KIDS !! 4 dogs, that we adore !!! and I'm more than man enough to say that !! my wife and I have been married 19 yrs in october, but..... been together 29 yrs, and she is my love, my rock, and everything to me!!!!!we still want to ( and we will) build a REAL PT car but as of now our 05 mustang GT does just fine !! how have we done it ?? not selfish at ALL !!! . p.s., if we hit the powerball tommorrow night, watch out, one NASTY project coming your way !!!

[skigoose]

41 two kids, and a awesome wife, married 10 years, when I was your age I built a budget build, and made a little money on it, then again and again, always did most of the labor myself so I could enjoy car for a while and make some money when I sell it. That being said, I am doing the 6 figure build now, and sold two cars to get it started, I am about 35% into build, and have purchased about 80% of everything, now I save a little here and their too buy more parts. I can tell you that when I am finished I will never do it again.. I will buy the next one DONE..

[Poxic]

27, married, no kids. Very affordable mortgage due to buying a repo, and fixing it up. No debt other than the house and my wife's car payment (<$200/mo). Right now I'm building the car that will be my toy that I'll have for a long time... because kids are looming on the horizon and the car building will have to slow or stop.

I'm a fireman. I don't make a lot of money. I suppose it's just crafty budgeting. Oh and deployment money doesn't hurt.

[rfalker1]

Just turned 26, over the hill lol.
Just bought my first house, Got a great deal. Mortgae payments are alot but its ok. I have no car bills and have paid for all my parts already and half of my cost on labor. Plus I have one daughter, she is more expensive than the house bill. No student loans either.

So, now its basically time for me to decide if I want to try and pay off the house first... (if I get this awesome job, or try and buy a toyota supra and make normal payments on the house. I guess its due to the fact that I am blessed with a great job and great parents soooo. I am really blessed lol

[lnirenberg]

going to hit the big 5.0 as of August 16,
Speaking of dogs and multiples (which you weren't) oddly our puppy turns 5 on 8/16

[band1t]

25 here my girl friends are a 79 trans am and a 65 C10
I have a steady job and still living at home

[WEAVER]

47. And still plays with toys

[Off Duty]

As one of the other guys said, this will be a bit long winded so bear with me.

First the Stats:
Age: Mid 50's this year.
Wife, 2 grown kids 23 & 26, and 1- five (5) year old granddaughter, all living in the home.
Occupation: Retired LEO.
I now own, or should I say they own me, three (3) businesses:
-Private Investigative/court process agency - Sole Proprietor w/contract personnel.
Running this one is like herding cats!
Time lines, deadlines.
Overly demanding, many times pompous, arrogant clients, many not a bright as they'd like others to believe, trying to micro-manage and nickle and dime you to death.
Then there are the contractors/employees!
Forget the stress or potential dangers.
The paper work alone is enough to kill you!:hand:

-Personal Safety/Self Defense, Training, and Consulting group - Sole Proprietor w/contract personnel.

This one is fun, and gives me a chance to give a little something back.
By utilizing experience gained in over 30 years in the law enforcement community, 20 years in the private sector (approximately 15 years concurrent with law enforcement) including a good bit of personal protection service, and 30+ years in the martial arts, and by collaborating with several experts in their given disciplines, we have been able to develop a defensive tactics program that is both "real world" effective and relatively easy for most anyone to pick up quickly.

Not trying to re-invent the wheel, we've intentionally kept it simple.
And there's no reason to be in "Israeli Commando" condition to make the techniques work for you.
Remember, you're not going to "war", you're entering into what is going to be, like it or not, a very short term "battle."
Get in, get out, go have a beer:cheers:

Our weapons programs (firearms, knife, improvised weapons) are again the result of the combined efforts of many highly skilled technicians/tacticians, and is continually reviewed and refined to provide the best available training for real world scenarios.

-Marine Training, Safety & Consulting Group - LLC with 2 very close friends.
Being a native Floridian and former Coastie, the marine environment is where my heart and passions rest.
It always has and likely always will be.

I've been around boats and the water most of my life.
I'm now blessed with the opportunity to do something I truly love, and make some $$ at the same time :twothumbs:twothumbs

My two (2) partners in this endeavor, are both "boat people", two (2) of us being former Coasties and LEO's, and all with a long list of "cred's" in the field.
We provide small craft training from PWC's to yachts.
We also provide security and safety evaluations for marinas, hotels, and other waterside facilities, and consult on various marine accidents.
We utilize specialized contractors (OSHA specialist, etc) as needed.

Ok, so much for the job scene.

Financial:
Speaking of the home, we owe just a tad under 14k, but there's that damned HELOC at 52k still biting me in the a$$!!
We would have had everything paid off except that:

1) We moved my father in with us after he became Ill. That's where the HELOC comes in.
Instead of moving (we couldn't find anything we really liked) we decided to rebuild the home we were in.
We added a room for dad, and did some necessary remodeling at the same time.
Looking back (the old hindsight = 20/20 thing), remodeling was probably not the best move we could have made in the long run.

Moving him in with us was however, a great move!
He was able to spend the remainder of his life, a little over 6 years, in daily contact with his grand kids, and they with him.
I was there to look out for him, as he was for me as a kid.
He had a comfortable place to live out the remainder of his life, and maintained ALL of his independence until the day the stroke came.
Three (3) day's later, he was gone:crying:
None of us could have been more blessed in our lives, than to have it play out as it did.:twothumbs

2) Wife retired - While I was thrilled for her, it really made life tough for quite some time, and threw our timeline for debt reconciliation off considerably.
There was no real discussion about it. She made the decision, I supported it, and that was that.
Since her retirement income won't kick in until she's 62, and as we have always been a 2 person working household with bills made accordingly (including the decision to go with the HELOC!), this proved to be a bigger issue than I had planned (there goes that whole "I planned" thing again!)
That said, I refused to allow this to influence her decision.

At the time, I only had the first business with it's somewhat erratic income.
There were several times where we ended up living of CC's, and more than a few times I considered going back into full time law enforcement.
I was (and still am) a fully certified LEO, working only PT, and doing it for the love of the job and the people, and not for the $$$.
I was only paid when I filled a shift for an off duty/injured officer, or worked an off duty or special assignment.
The rest was for nada.
IMO, if you can pull it off, it's the best way to be a cop :smoke:
When some s**thead threatens to "have your job", you tell them to "take it!" The pay sucks and the hours are rotten anyway:lmao:

3) A few medical issues requiring a bit more CC debt.
4) Some old tax crap as a result of being a lousy administrator and NOT hiring people that do that crap for a living to do what they do best!
A great, but expensive life lesson.

We're now down to one small car payment, and a couple little credit cards, all less than about 10k total.
My goal is to pay all this crap off and be done with it by the EOY, maybe middle of next, depending on how things go.

For now, we pay cash for everything we can, and we plan and save to be able to do so.
If we use a CC, we pay it off at the end of each month.

Re-Evaluating Life:

1) *Note to self* - It's too short to be miserable!

This past year has been horrible!
I've lost several people very close to me.
More than a few my age (+/- a year or so), including one of my best friends and former motor partner at the Sheriff's office who was four (4) years my senior and appeared to be in good health.
Two (2) friends from school, one younger by a year or so and one my age, another buddy from work, and most recently, my natural mother.

2) Money without health and happiness is worthless!

In the PI/Court Process world, I've cut back on some of my clientele, getting rid of the deadwood, the PITA's that make my business life miserable, and adding some "new branches."
New clients that allow us to do what We do best without all the drama and micro management.
It's all based on trust and reputation.
They tell us what they need and leave us alone.
We in turn, provide them great results.
It's a win-win and everyone is happy. :)
That simple change has made this part of my life considerably less stressful.
My income has gone down a bit, but it'll come back with time, and the $$$$ was not worth the aggravation!

The defensive tactics program is a release.
A way to "giving back" a little of what I was blessed to receive over the years.
(Our programs are not expensive for a reason:) )

And finally, when I'm on, in or near the water, I'm at peace.
Whether I'm teaching, training, or just chillin' out, it's therapeutic for me, and allows me to recharge my batteries.

Projects:

This is an interesting topic.

As some here know, I have been attempting to meet up with a lady who has a '65 T-bird for sale. It's in rough shape, but I really had the desire to go PT with it and see what happens?
Something "different."
As things go, she's had surgery and other issues, and I've had work and a death in the family.
All of which have resulted in delay after delay in getting together.
I'm getting the feeling that "somebody" is trying to tell me something!

On the ride to and from Ga. this past week for mom's funeral, I had too much time to think.

A few years back, I decided to cut back, to thin the heard, and sold both my '00 Z28 vert, and '87 Corvette.

I bought a non-descript, econo-box for business (thus the 1 car payment) and kept my 89 Landcruiser FJ62.
Fast forward to now- The cruiser has been sitting, in need of repair and modifications, for over a year:(

To really put it in the condition "I'd" want it in, would require an engine/trans swap, at least a rear axle swap, and about 10k+ to accomplish everything including Paint/body/interior (again, to be the way "I" want it).

If I were to swap in a Chevy drive train, then you no longer have a Toyota.
You have a re-bodied Chevy, so why not just buy a Chevy?

I've always loved the old 'Burbs', so....

On the way home, I decided to take the next step, and sell the Land Cruiser.
We'll place the $$ we get out of it on our debt instead of throwing it out the door, and be that much closer to FREEDOM!

Eventually, I'll pick up and older Suburban. You can pick up one in great shape under $3k around here all day.
If you don't mind a little tweaking here and there, you're looking at more like $1500.00:twothumbs
And it's a CHEVY!
Something I can get parts for all day long, just about anywhere on the freaking globe:lmao:

In the meantime, I am starting on my son's 1987 Grand National.
The engine is done and waiting to be installed.
All that's really left to make it streetable, is the body and interior. so it's headed to the body shop next week.

The old guy there has also been a blessing in my "project" planning life.
He's willing to let the car stay there as long as it takes to complete, and do the work as we have the time and $$$, without going into debt to do it.
He's even going to allow me to assist so I can try to learn something new.
His rates are insanely low, and his end product and work ethic is tremendously high.

In Summary:

I really only have one (1) "project" and it'll take as long as it takes to complete on a cash only basis.
Most people wont remember in a year or 2, what kind of car you had, or what your track times were.
They will remember the good times, shared among friends and family.

So given the choice, I'd rather spend more quality time with people that matter.
Spend my money focusing on getting out of debt by mid-next year and staying that way, rather than stress over trying to have the best of the best in automotive technology.

IMO, friends and family, not possessions, are the things that are really important in the long haul.
:cheers:

[dropit69]

i was 40 yesterday !!!!!!! i have 5 camaros and a Vette i have bene blessed..lol

[SLO_Z28]

26, single, no car payments, all my bills combined are around $1000. I have $1200/month in "whatever" money, I invest most of it and am doing fairly well, if everyone here eats a McMuffin while gassing up at chevron my stocks would appreciate it! My car is fairly cheap, I spend more going to events than I ever do on the car. I have easily spent $2300 going to events in the last year, and $700 on my car XD .

You could build a car for $5000, in less than a year, and actually compete at the events on here.

[ModernMuseum]

I must be getting older than I realize.

In post #2 I put that I'm 27.....I've been 28 for the better part of the year :nopity:

[cobragt]

44 and I'm always on a tight budget.

[craigs73]

25 wife a 2yr old and 7 yr old whos a step son two car payments house payment and other bills lol not much income for the project.............. but nxt yr one car should be paid off to free up some money for project... i bought my house 4 yrs ago ............. working towards no debt :) other than house of course

[Anchor]

22 with a long term missus. Had a few cars.. Sell new Fords for a living. Have around $1000 a month to throw at the project atm.. Wish i had more :(

[94SNGLTURBO]

29- married for 3 yrs togethor 9 yrs. 22 month old little boy. had are first house built in 2005 and now were having are 2nd house built since i wanted a 3 car garage. other then the house no bills everything paid for
65 chevelle, airride, ls2 turbo, built 4l80e, custom HOK paint, custom interior, 18/20 forged wheels
2006 m45 40k miles lowered on 22s
2005 fx35 46k miles wifes car also on 22's
2009 gsxr1000 2800 miles

[ChevelleNV]

42, not married, no children (unless you count my car in there). no credit cards, and almost no bills save the usual (rent,gas, food, etc.) and I am a jew when it comes to spending money unless its car parts or tools. make good money at what I do and that gives me about a 1000.00 a month budget for the car/shop