Hmmmmm...what it costs...

[Jagarang]

Just a portion of what has gone into my project. These figures are from the "Restoration Shop" that Frank and Prodigy Customs saved me from.....


95% if this is labor.

The grand total on the list below is $60,060.81

[muthstryker]

so how much money do you have into your car now..? so i know what im getting myself into

[Jagarang]

Isn't that kinda like asking a girl her age?

100+ actually

[Madspeed]

so how much money do you have into your car now..? so i know what im getting myself into

Heh well I can tell you this much.
I have over 3k in wheels and no tires yet (another 1500)
2500 in sheetmetal 1 1/4, tail pan. roof, upper and lower valience, grill,
5500 + into my wayne due front setup, 1300 in my wilwood brakes (fronts only no plumbing, maste cyl, and no rears yet)

12k + in my 496 bb chev eng that still needs porting and pushrods,

5k in origional purchase of car

Still needs interior (complete), guages, paint supplys body diped and stripped, glass, weatherstrip kit, tail lights, head lights, electrical, 6 speed trans clutch and all the stuff, rear end custom made and the list goes on

and i would say its safe to say I as well need another 30k +
andI do 90% of everything myself. Bodywork eng work trans work rear end electrical ect ect

If you cannot do your own work expect the price to doubble maybee tripple

hope that helps put it into prospective for ya


gl Ken F

atm iI have about 30k into this car

[muthstryker]

you know maybe i need to rethink this whole thing

hope it doesnt come down to me selling the camaro and just not doing a pt car at all :/

[ProdigyCustoms]

What Kevin isn't tellin us here is these invioces got him nothing but a painted shell, and body panels, not one of these panels attached to the car, a botched mini tub job that did not increase his rear tire potential one bit, and a rebuilt engine that had to be torn down, crank thrown away, rods thrown away, and rebuilt, again! And for $50k he spent on paint, we now have to repaint it!

The shop was beutiful though, I wished my home was so nice. It is interesting, we had a guy stop by the shop for a tour last week that was interested in having a 69 Camaro built, your typical mini tub, subframed, 18" tired, 700HP Pro Tour Camaro. He was refered by a mutual friend with another shop that does not do this type of work. the potential customer told his friend he was disappointed with our shop, it was not what he expected, we did not even have a sitting area. I told my friend to recomend Kevins old shop, they have a nice seating area, LOL!

It is down right criminal what happened to Kevin, and the intimadation they used to keep the car there, convincing him they were the only ones capable of doing this car, and how lucky he was to have them!

But doin't feel alone Kevin, as we speak another car is being loaded out of a shop that took $20K, bought Quaters and fenders, striped the car to a shell, media blasted the car to bare metal, and told him his $20k was gone, send more money! it's on the way to us.

[colt zantop]

just some more reminders that this hobby isnt cheap and sometimes shops (crooks) like whats metioned above make it even worse.....thank god I havent found one of these shops yet! isnt there laws against that stuff??.... I paid 12k for my car that was "semi" restored with a nice 350, american racing wheels etc....... sold motor, trans, wheels, for 1500.00.....then had it stripped and repainted, new body panels, chrome etc.... total about 6K then another :

4600.00 in wheels+tires
2000.00 in brakes
1500 interior parts(gauges etc.)
4300.00 LS1 and trans (stock)
4000.00 in misc motor parts including headers
1700 in radiator + fuel tank
1200 in suspension (far from done!)
+ tons of small misc stuff that adds up like driveshaft,wireing harness, vintage air, etc.! and oh yeah....dont forget labor from DSE for engine work, firewall shave, subframe powder coat, fuel and brake lines ran, fuel tank mounted and some other misc fab work dont ask! but well worth it! LOL

Im in mid 60K range.... and still want new rearend and some other misc suspension stuff.... it never ends!!!

[colt zantop]

Matt...dont sell the car...this stuff dont happen overnight....ive been at it for 4 years!!! do a little at a time....then take a break....it will be worth it in the long run

[Steve68]

I never had a problem sitting your shop Frank!! I think I sat on Bills goat frame, one of Kevins wheels, my own subframe, leaned against the old red car!! Rather have my car at your shop, that at my own buddies shop!! and I help him sometimes,

Save your car from paint Jail!!!

[Jim68nC]

matt, my first Camaro wasn't PT'd like all get out, i had plenty of fun with it just the same. i am stepping it up a few notches this time around but i'm not a PFC in the Army anymore.

Have fun within your means/ability. Its very easy to get caught up dreaming about all the cool parts out there. (as has been pointed out before) If that don't work for you, ask Bob Johnson to adopt you..

[Jagarang]

What Kevin isn't tellin us here is these invoices got him nothing but a painted shell, and body panels, not one of these panels attached to the car, a botched mini tub job that did not increase his rear tire potential one bit, and a rebuilt engine that had to be torn down, crank thrown away, rods thrown away, and rebuilt, again! And for $50k he spent on paint, we now have to repaint it!

I thought the number shock alone was bad enough, and I had blocked some of those details from my consciousness. Damn you and your freakish elephant like memory!

I'm not a well to do oil baron, Arabian sheik, or a pimp guys. I was making about $20/hr for the majority of this build and basically working 2+ hours for every one I was billed. Thats one of the reasons it's taken 15yrs to get the car ALMOST done. I can only work so many hours in a week, so the shops have to hold off on work until I can pay again.

[datsbad]

Yeah this is definately not a cheap hobby . I am not going to go over my cost . I am sure you guys know where i am at without labor .....

I need to sell some stuff, check out the classifieds. 2 cars for sale I own !

[Clean Cut Creations]

This is what you got for a bill? A piece of paper with some numbers on it? What do these numbers mean? There seems to be only a few entries explained. Your explaination will help me better understand your issues.

[Clean Cut Creations]

I just realised that this bill runs from '98-'04.........WTF????
Was your car at this shop for this long? What took so long?
Starting 10/21/98 then NOTHING billed in '02......then 8/19-12/29 in '03....then 1/7-2/12 in '04..........Sounds to me like they let this one sit then slammed it through!




(edit: I just reread your above post explaining the time it took to build this car and the fact that you worked 2/1 hrs for hrs billed and the fact that you were making $20.00/hr. Sorry for jumping the gun.)

[Clean Cut Creations]

We did MAJOR panel replacement on this '55 for a customer. We ended up replacing all panels except for the roof, cowl and 1/4 inner structure. The vehicle was dissassembled, blasted, rusted panels replaced, bodywork completed, painted, set back on the chassis, front sheetmetal assembled, glass and outer trim installed for near the mid $40's. All of the work was completed in about 6 months. The customer is having the car wired and interior done at another shop. He will finish the rest of the assembly himself at home. Our shop labor rate is $75/hr + materials.

[dgumoe]

dollar signs like that are precisely why i gave up on PT and went back to drag racing

[trapin]

I have no idea how much I have into my build thus far and believe me.....I don't WANT to know!!!

I'll figure out the damages when the project's done. Of course, I'll get myself drunk first.

[Jagarang]

I just realized that this bill runs from '98-'04.........WTF????
Was your car at this shop for this long? What took so long?
Starting 10/21/98 then NOTHING billed in '02......then 8/19-12/29 in '03....then 1/7-2/12 in '04..........Sounds to me like they let this one sit then slammed it through!




(edit: I just reread your above post explaining the time it took to build this car and the fact that you worked 2/1 hrs for hrs billed and the fact that you were making $20.00/hr. Sorry for jumping the gun.)

I wasn't in paint jail, I was interred in South Florida's evil paint concentration camp! In fact the project and I were next in line at the "BATH HOUSE" when the allies(Prodigy Customs) rolled in and saved us!

The information in the Xcel spreed sheet is my own personal copy of the bills I was sent. They were billing me on a weekly basis. Any entry you see WITHOUT a second total for the same period is Labor ONLY. The second entries are for taxes on shop supplies.

The saddest part of the "Restoration Shop" story, is that I thought they were my salvation from a prior shop in a not so good part of town. The guy who ran that shop was a friend of mine and trustworthy, HOWEVER he didn't supervise the work his guys were doing. The bottom line on that is that the 80% rear quarters they installed were garbage, with inches of bondo in them to cover a piss poor job. They had to be removed and redone by the "Restoration Shop".

The car was at my friends shop from early 1994 through to the start date of the billings posted above. My friend burnt through $7000 before I transferred the car the the "QUALITY" shop.

The horror stories are numerous on my project and I've been burned to many time for tooooo much money to count.

It may sound like I'm a bonehead who deserved what he got, but my real problem is that I TRUST people to do what they say and to do it they way they should.

If I shake a man's hand and tell him I'll do a job for a certain amount, I do it. I'll hold myself to my own standards of quality which likely will be higher than what people expect, since the best form of "advertisement" is word of mouth on a job done right, with better than average results.

My willingness to believe other people hold the same values is where my NAIVETÉ has burned me again and again.

Frank is paying the price for my evolved paranoia and has earned my trust through what I hope will be a lasting friendship and a successfully outcome!

Ranting a bit I think? It helps to type some of this stuff semi anonymously since there really isn't any other outlet.

Think what you may, but I'm just a regular guy, with a dream and a 3500lb chunk of American iron!



I'm still working up a complete tally including parts and the like. If you guys are interested I could post most of it just for curiosities sake. I know that when I read car build ups in the magazines, I'd always like to see hard numbers and never do!

I don't want to discourage anyone in the hobby with my story.

I truely LOVE every inch of my car. I have been psychotically devoted to it for MANY MANY years, to a fault in fact. Many, actually most, say I'm insane and honestly a complete fool for doing this at what it's cost me financialy, maritally, and physically.

The bottom line is that I've done what I wanted to do to the car, I've enjoyed the experience, would have liked to have done the work myself, and honestly there is part of me that doesn't want to finish the car. I like shopping for parts, trick bits, and neat sheot! I like planning, visualizing, and conversing about it. I wish I had the opportunity to actually learn the manual skill involved with doing what I love, but life has a way of getting in the way.

The car is a joy to me, it's exactly what I have wanted for sooooo many years, and whether or not other people like it or hate it, really doesn't affect my feelings about it. Just ask my wife, friends, family, etc.
!

[ProTeal55]

The cost to have a mainstream "PT" car is way outta hand.
Having to pay $3000+ for wheels is out of control , in my book.

I would love to make my car into a wicked PT car, but I refuse to spend the cash. I bought my car to drive and enjoy, not just throw money at it to make it acceptable to other people.

Thus I am going for the lead sled / custom route on my car. MUCH cheaper in price, and I don't need big wheels & IRS to be accepted..

My 2cents.......

[BRIAN]

The problem is most guys read these pages and see all the twin turbo and 10K wheel builds and feel they need to do the same to one up the next guy. Most cars are so generic with no creativity but have the must have latest untested parts. 450hp is going to be more reliable than a 1000hp beast.

I just can't understand why everybody needs all the accys and technology in a Hot Rod? Didn't we used to build them by tearing all that stuff out? If you wan't a Porsche go out and buy one. It will be cheaper, more reliable, and hold it's value better. To each is own.


I have about $35 grand total in my last Rambler project. But I did everythin myself except the sewing for the interior. Is it a perfect Chip Foose $500k car? Hell no, but it turns heads from even the best. Cut out all the BS stuff that you feel you must have and build a reasonable car you will use. I do not care who you are there is some hesitation to beat on a big buck show car. I did a burnout within 10 minutes of getting the car out of my driveway.


Sorry you have been jerked around and hopefully you will be satisfied with the end result. You are not alone in the I never checked the totals game. Look8ing for a reasonable "Different" style build? Give me a call.