Excel Spreadsheet for Project Build?

[socaldodger]

Anyone have an excel spreadsheet for their project build? Like some overview on all the parts needed, pricing, total cost etc?

[SparkyRnD]

I use one for each project, and track everything needed, bought, and sold to recoup some costs. I edit it almost daily, and constantly tweak as I find new deals to save some money. Each project is different, and what items you start in your list will not be the items you finally end up with, as you will forget simple things like ujoints, brake pads, hoses, shop towels, filters, bulbs, and a lot of other minor things. Plus, there will be items you won't know about until you are elbow deep in the project.

I would suggest starting with a list of everything you can think of that you want to do. Then, when assigning prices, mark them all up by 10-20%. Then, break down each of those items and think about every incidental or remotely related item you can, and add those to the list. Then, think about all the stuff you haven't thought about yet (see where I am going). If you think it will take you 10,000 for a project, you had better budget 15,000 to start with. Then, as you get farther into the project and find deals, you can start trimming back the prices you have assigned as you nail down the budget more and more. Don't forget to factor in tax, shipping, returning items if they aren't right / don't fit / change along the way and become useless.

And for the items you sell to recoup the costs, list what you realistically think you can get, and then subtract 20-30%. That should cover the bases and leave you with a realistic budget for a project.

When people think of a transmission swap for example, they price the transmission and sometimes the clutch. But they might forget the hydraulics, slave cylinder, shifter assembly, shift knob, driveshaft modifications, mount and crossmember, bolts for the bellhousing, computer reprogram (depending on engine), exhaust changes that might be needed, and other incidentals.

I've been building projects for decades, and have used spreadsheets (on paper before Excel, and later on the computer) for each build. It helps me project what I need, where I'm at, and when i'm over my head (this statement is why I use a spreadsheet before I even consider buying a future project). It tells me what I can really afford, and where I should set my sights / spend my money.

[SparkyRnD]

socaldodger asked for a copy of a spreadsheet for his build, and I'll put one together. I can post it on my website where people can download a copy if they want.

I can try to set something up over the next few days as I have time. For formulas, it's super simple, and I use only two or three basic ones.

1. say in column A you have the description of the part or task, then in column B, C and D in the same row, you have the price you are budgeting (I say column B, C and D in case you are building the car in 3 phases, and you want to account for the money in each phase).
2. make sure that when you are budgeting and price checking, you include not just the cost of the part, but also tax and shipping. Same with labor, make sure to discuss your project with a shop you intend on using, and get their labor rate and start assigning values to that.
3. in Column E, write down the name of the company or website where you got the part, and in Column F write down any notes about the part (for example, in column A I might put "tires", and then in column E I will write "DiscountTire", and in Column F I will write Hankook 275/30r19). That way I always know specifically what the part number and name is, so I can constantly price check and adjust my budget either up or down depending on if the part goes down in price, or if prices jump up.
4. once you have all the items in all the columns, then it's time to start adding totals of the various columns. Go to the last row in your spreadsheet where you have items, then skip about 3-6 rows. Go into the blank cell of Column B, and type =sum(B1:Bx) where X is the number of the cell two rows above where you are currently (they are all numbered cells). What that does is it will add up every item in the entire column, up until the last number in your formula. Repeat for Column C and D. The reason to make the last number in the formula two spaces above the total itself, is so that you can have room to write a title above each total (I write Phase 1, 2 or 3).
5. now that you have the totals for each phase, you need to add them together so you can see the overall total of the build. Go down about 5-6 rows, and in Column A, type TOTAL. In Column B, type =sum(Ax:Dx) where x is the number of the row where the phase subtotals are.
6. now if you want to get really accurate, you can create another tab where you list all the parts you can sell with approximate prices, and total all that up, and create a line on the first tab showing the sold items, so you can see what it really will cost once you offset the prices from sold items.

I will set up a spreadsheet that has basic items for builds, and will have the formulas already in place. If you want to modify them, save a copy first just in case you want to go back. Also, for those wanting to start planning this way that don't have experience with Excel, I would highly recommend going online to google.com and typing Excel spreadsheet beginners tutorial, and watch a few free videos that show how to use / manipulate the formulas.

Building a car this way can be a daunting task, but it WILL help keep numbers in check and tell you what you really have available, what you really can / can't afford to do, and what has to be done in phases. Plus, it's great for getting accurate insurance policies, proof of value if it is ever damaged or stolen, or if you ever decide to sell it you have a document showing everything that was done to the car. I also constantly update my spreadsheets, and if something has been paid for, I put it into a 'paid' column and grey it out, so I know it's already been purchased and doesn't need to be in the spreadsheet anymore.

[SparkyRnD]

Here is a link to the spreadsheet I put together this morning:

www.rndfabrication.com/documents/ProjectSpreadsheet.xls

Click on the link and save to your desktop, and contact me with questions

[Protour_Pinto]

I can see a shop having one or if someone has to account every dime to their spouse but for me I cant see making one. All my builds are on the ultra cheap and I think it would take something away from the "Sport" of it.

In some states on a scratch built car you have to produce all the paperwork for getting a V.I.N. and reg. I can see how it would be helpful there too.

[carguykeith]

Nice spreadsheet! I did one for my build and found it VERY helpfull, but would incorporate the vendor and PN idea into my next onr for sure. I have a seperate word doc with that info in it but would be nice to have it all in one place.

I do have a couple of recomendations that I found helpfull with mine:

-First is I broke my list into areas (just left a blank row with only a title like "Front Susp"), then I added a subtotal for each section (another row) so I could see if any one area was grossly more expensive and I could think about dialing it back.

-Under each subtotal column I also had two subtotals, what I had actually spent and what I had left to spend. This was a little tedeuos, since you had to add and subtract cells from each subtotal when you bought something, but it was nice to see progress as the left to spend subtotal got smaller and smaller. This also made the grand total left to spend and spent formulas easy, since they were just a sum of the subtotals.

-Last but certainly not least I have done everything in my power to make sure my wife NEVER sees this file! I don't even have a copy of it on the home computer, just my work computer and a backup saved in my personal email account. Sure she knows I spend all of my money on it and she supports me in that, but I guran-damn-tee if she knew the actual doller amount things wouldn't be so amicable...

[feeble]

Here is mine and I would be very nearly lost without it.

http://www.mustangiitech.com/files/mh_build.xls

It is an extremely handy reference for all things "My Car" and contains links, ideas, brain farts, etc, etc. There are some snippets of forums posts from here with links back to the original thread for suspension topics I have been investigating. Some portions are still a bit fuzzy as I work through everything but it helps me prioritize and set direction.

The "MH Build" worksheet started out with my previous car which I parted out. I kept some parts for use on the new car and the spreadsheet came with it. I have each area of the car broken up into sections, hyperlink where I can and the number of every scanned receipt. I need to get the receipts linked to the pdfs on my laptop and I would like to do as you suggested carguykeith so there are "have spent" and "left to spend columns". I use separate worksheets to do different "what-if" scenarios.


Would be kinda cool if there was an official Pro-Touring project spreadsheet template.

[Simmo]

Cool thread, given me ideas how to tweak mine further. I've used multiple sheets to separate brought and sold stuff (you can still source data from other sheets) and a "wish list".

For me it's an invaluable tool, I can keep track of everything bought and sold. As of right now I know my titled frame and body owes me nada...by the time I move the 9 inch (for a new one :) I'll be in positive territory.

I don't wana blow a silly amount of money on this thing so a spreadsheet is a must to keep track of it all.

[Martin71RS]

I am keeping one for my Nova project.... includes parts and prices (also shipping/taxes), stuff sold, activities including the hours spent on it and miles driven (to go to the garage/get parts) and fuel costs.

I am nowhere near finished but have allread over 1500miles (= fuel costs) in it.

I did not do this for the Camaro...and maybe that is a good thing....The Nova is a budget build so I want to keep track. In the end it still will cost me more than it will be worth, but it's a hobby.

I just want to see in the end what the real world figures are and a spreadsheet helps.

Martin

[SparkyRnD]

Oh, and make sure to make it password protected so the better half doesn't know what you REALLY spent on it!

[cspecken]

Thought I would throw this out there, if you do not have Excel there is also Google Docs, which has a spreadsheet component. You can simply create a new spreadsheet and open up one of the Excel documents listed in this thread. Also, if anyone is interested I started a MS Project template for my own project, it is not 100% complete but it can give someone a good starting point.