Projects How to price out a build?

don't have the skills to do it yourself........be prepared to expend copiuus amounts of cash, even if you do lots of work yourself looks like 30-50k of parts and matl

 

It all depends too on your level of skill. If you are mechanically inclined, good at interior and body work, then paint may be all you really have to farm out. Even if you can do everything yourself, you'll still be out the cost of parts. It's the little things that add up quickly too. Little rubber seals that have dried up, cloth wrapped wires that are brittle to the touch, broken dash parts, missing handles, and many many more things that can quickly add up. I would agree with those who say to buy a car that is mostly complete to spare having to spend on all those little bits, but there in lies another problem. When is a car too complete to warrant not cutting it up and leaving it original. There is merit to that too, but both options can be expensive regardless. Good luck!

 

Well, you're gonna hate me...….that's too much car for you to bite off for your first. You won't get it done, it'll sit and you'll be sad that the car hobby is passing you by, go buy something running and slowly modify it to suit you. Like everything else, if you want to get into this hobby you gotta pay your dues, it takes a seasoned builder years to build a custom, a guy with polished skills and knowledge and tools, which you admit you have none of. You gotta crawl, then walk before you run, and you're at the crawling stage, buy something that will put a grin on your face, then walk to something more complicated and some years down the road....when you've learned to run, step up to building your first custom. How much will it cost was your question? LOTS, if you don't understand whats involved and can't do 90 percent of it yourself. I'm being kind here, don't be offended.

 

Thanks for the advices guys. I’m going to buy the four door that has the driveline already redone and use my money to have the body mods done.

I feel I’ll end up dropping a lot of money into this coupe and just have a driving stock car which is cool but I’ll be broke at that point.

 

Probably a good choice and hey, that more door Merc is pretty cool and you can enjoy it now....

 

A friend who is a paint and body man once told me. Park the car in the garage and roll the passenger and drivers side window down 3 inches, and every time you walk by shove a 5-10-or 20 dollar bill in the window (no ones). And when it gets full enough to start coming back out the windows you could have enough.

 

Well I guess you answered this yourself but two things come to mind. You maybe selling yourself short in as if you can do suspension and brakes including brake lines you can do the fuel lines easy peasy. It never hurts to learn doing something out of your comfort zone. Also , maybe you have a friend that has some mechanical knowledge that can help. With either car the more you do or try to do gets you knowledge about that car and will help you down the road.

 

My experience since 2008 when I bought my '40 Ford project is as follows; it has taken a lot longer than I expected, it has cost geometrically more than I thought it would, and perhaps most importantly I've learned that I didn't know nearly as much as I thought I did when I started the build. I've learned a ton, met some amazingly skilled people, and had some fun. And, if my radiator comes in on Friday like I'm hoping it will, we may even crank the engine and dial it in over the weekend. If we do I'll post my first pictUres and video of the build.

 

Asking for advice on how to build a hot rod is one thing. Asking how much it will cost to have someone build a hot rod likely means you can't afford it. Buy a welder and some tools. Start learning. You'll find all the answers.

 

80K sounds like a ton of money, but when you consider rent, insurance, taxes, heat, electric, water and sewer, and whatever miscellaneous I missed his part gets thin in a hurry.

 

Keep shopping. What's the hurry? Shop and keep saving. The longer you shop, the more money you will have and the nicer start you can have. Don't be in such a hurry.

Buy the car that is as close to what you want to end up. Don't be sucked in by wheels, color or things you DON'T want. Don't buy something you don't want to end up with just because it's cheap. If yo can walk away without looking back it's not right. You will be paying for something that you won't be keeping or wanting to work on.

Craigslist, HAMB, lots of good sites to shop, don't limit yourself so fast.

I've built from nothing and built from finished running cars. Both ways have advantages, and disadvantages. Both are expensive, you're building a car! It's expensive if you are honest with yourself.

Never underestimate time, money and effort needed to do a project car. They will all snowball. Rust, bad purchases, buying something "close but not quite what you want" will all come back to bite you.

Be BRUTALLY honest with yourself on your skill set, what you have for cash (of solid, dependable friends willing to work for beer and pizza) to cover what you can't handle and what you are capable of learning to handle. Projects are a great way to learn new skill sets. Tools are a major expense if you don't have them or friends that are willing to loan them to you. Welders, torches, benders, hand tools, etc. really add up.

With no prior experience, I don't know of ANY way you could honestly estimate the cost of a build. You don't have that skill set. You have no basis for what it takes. It's expensive, takes a lot of time and both things will stop you in your tracks. Best bet at this point would be to shop, shop, shop and find something you like that has most of the work done and needs finished. Decide what you want and keep the search narrow. Take an experienced builder friend with you to check it out. Somebody you trust, somebody to be your conscience and give solid guidance, not someone that will just agree with you. You want brutally honest opinions since you are a virgin. Listen to them.

Not trying to discourage you, just trying to keep you from being discouraged once you start.

SPark

 

how can you put a price on all this fun?

 

Start with a budget and then watch it blow out as well as your time frame

 

Use what has been said here many times before.

Find a shop, get your estimate...get every item listed, get timelines and prices etc, etc...get everything in writing, it will be up to you to make sure the shop you chose holds up thier end of the contract, you will have to pay.

That said, find a reputable shop..you are listed as being in Northern California. Gambino's is in the BayArea, no experience with his place, but he has a great rep here on the HAMB. Just offering a suggestion.

Main thing is, get every detail you can see or forsee in writing..get a schedule, last thing you want is a pile of parts coming back to you in 2 years and being poorer for the journey.

 

I would also say triple or quadrupedal what ever you think.

But before you start think what level/quality of parts you want.
ie.

1. Scrap yard hunter that will scavenge old shit and just use it/make it work.
2. Use second hand parts but recondition with new rubbers/seals etc.
3. New after market parts.

End goal? (be realistic)

1. Just want an old car dont care if it is unreliable - i love patenia.
2. Image before mechanics. nice paint and interior.
3. Dont want to be that chump with nice paint but always broken down. Mechanics & speed first.
4. A good bit of both please for my crusier.
5. Show car.

Not sure about US prices. but I would think put four zeros behind most those End Goal pullet point numbers to get the cash price other than Showcar what could be limitless depending on what you want.

 

I do all my own work and for the most part, know what I'm doing, but the parts alone have come out to over $20000. If you don't know how to do it, I would say find a great finished car, don't change it to your vision or you will have a just a pile of parts. Probably a lot cheaper than getting one built.

 

Quick way- look up selling prices of cars that are done to the level you aspire too, then triple it.