Also...you gotta have an understanding girl/finance'/wife. My wife knows my affliction and actually encourages it. The other day, when I fired up the 302 in my 54 for the first time, she immediately posted on FB, "Felt the house rumble as Don just got the 302 in his 54 tudor to fire for the first time...very exciting". Now THAT my friends, is sexy talk from a woman.
well guess I'll wade in here with some geezer pontification. I was raised by depression era parents who taught me to save and pay cash. Now that I am months from my 70th, I am glad I have one more hot rod. Last year it was prostate cancer, still recovering from the robot surgery. Now the asbestos I got in my lungs from submarine engine rooms (MM1SS), detected in '92, appears to be acting up. So sometimes it is more than wife, kids, house, etc, it is also a function of mortality. You gotta keep living the way you want to. If that is build a hot rod after you are on SS, so be it. I have done my duty, sold a beautiful '32 phaeton with carson lift off top to pay for part of my daughter's college costs. I know where my priorities were in those days but the kids all have kids now, their responsibility. My wife is not well, having memory issues so I am full time caregiver. This old black primered, flathead powered chopped hot rod is my mental health structure. Even a short putt to the IGA puts a smile on my face and lets me escape reality for a little while. So many factors, HRS, to answer your question, depends on the person, no one size fits all. Kind of like looking for specific survival rates for certain cancers, the answer is it is different for each and every one of us. Do what is right for you, you never know when the Reaper comes knocking!!!
My cars were paid for with overtime money. At one point, on my first rod, my wife said it was taking too long and to take the money out of the savings account. I told her no, the car would get built with overtime money or it won't get built at all.
I had to think about kids and a house and a wife in college and two sets of braces and scoliosis and at one point had to take out loans against my 50 to take care of my shit and it took forever but i made the last payment tuesday and finally got the rest of the metal needed for the floors. Yah, it took a long time and i have worked on it a little bit at a time but, there have been times when i was glad I had that old car to take the edge off of life. I can only afford to work on it slowly. I'm fine with that. Make it work!!!!!
I'm something similar. I've spent the last 40+ years building and racing motorcycles. Racing was the end. A job merely was a means to that end. I had no ambitions to a career. If I had to choose between eating and going racing I went hungry. Now I'm retired and have no nest egg. SS and a small pension from the last job gets me by. Like Porknbeaner I haven't left a mark or really care that I haven't. I have a friend I grew up with who had a "career". He's retired as well and quite comfortable. BUT I wouldn't trade the fun my life has provided for his old age security. Its been a trip so far and Bonneville 2012 beckons. See ya there.
for me it's my MEDS.always has been. i have no other hobby's and its kept me sane. when everything is paid up bills-kids-wife. i buy a part. that will never change.
I loved reading all the answers so far. I sold My awesome corvette that I loved to get $ to buy my rod. I agree that life isn't long enough to think about the "what about this"or "what if this happens",,,we have to live our lives to take care of our most important responsibilities but also never forget about having FUN!! We all need something to make us smile,,,whatever it might be!!
If you're going to do it, do it before you have kids otherwise you may never do it. Kids are a bigger money pit than hot rods for sure....
Everyones priorities are different. heres mine; Family Nothing comes before my family, Only when my families needs are met do I entertain spending money on my hobby. That said you can count on spending at least $10,000 dollars on a project car, I know that sounds like alot but if you spread it out over a year its $27 dollars a day, over 2 years its $13 dollars a day. The enjoyment can last a lifetime and the longer you keep it the cheaper it gets. Cars can always be sold, no you will not always recoop all of your time/money invested but they can turn a quick buck when you need it, as for some other hobbies that dont. I would not look at a "project" as an investment a project to me is a keeper, I would only see a car as an invetstment if I bought it to flip, the longer you keep an investment car the less profit you will make, this sound like im back pedaling but its 2 different types of build with 2 different types of goals in mind. Godspeed MrC.
I just dropped my 9" off at Jim's driveline for narrowing, re-splining, re-gearing and a posi upgrade. That will run me about $1200 and it took me a while to scrape up the cash. Meanwhile, I'm working on my frame at home in my spare time, but won't have the cash to get it powdercoated till the end of the summer (at least)...Baby steps!
I actually act like you friend, "Career" above fun, but in moderation. Which is why I could afford to buy a unfinished project, cars are my mental release though. Takes longer then if I did not work 60+ hours but still like doing the work myself even though it would go faster if I sent some stuff out to specialists. Backround I grew up with parents that were more then a little freewheeling with money, I spent years of my life trying to do the opposite. I am all cash, all the time except for the house. Last year I made a solid six figures and still pinch pennies on used parts and reselling parts/cars on the weekends. But I always end up cutting deals to guys looking for that last part or project start which I feel is at least someway of paying back. Plus it keeps the garage clean.
Isn't hotrodding traditionally done while financially strapped and short on time? Been that way since the '40s for most fellas.
It really comes down to how bad you want it, Yes you should take care of your family first, That shouldn't even need to be said. But I figured out long ago that if you wait until you can afford it, Chances are you will never have it!!.....I know many guys who have worked all there lives and done alright for themselves, Now they are retired and have some of the coolest hot rods you will ever see, Most of them built by someone else (Ask me how I know)....Problem is they are border line too old to enjoy them. So they just sit in their garages collecting dust. Don't believe me??...look around at the car shows, And the guys with a full head of white hair, Or Almost No hair have the collest stuff. For me I am a little diffren't then some, I will finance a hot rod just like I would a new car, As making those monthy payments is alot easier than trying to save a big amount of money. When guys come to my shop, I hear all the time about how they wish they could afford a 32 ford like mine, And I tell them it is as easy as 36 monthy payments.. And don't get the wrong idea here, I am not talking about a Done car I am talking about a 20K unfinished project. As I do not buy my cars I build them. Another way is to buy, sell & trade and keep trading up until you get to where you need to be. this works good if you are not married, As if you are married it is hard to keep the wifes hand out of the kiddy as you are trying to build it up. (ask me how I know) Anyhow you have to figure out what you want and go for it, otherwise keep wanting and wishing until you die. I started out with nothing, and now my buddys tell me I have more stuff than anyone my age should have, But I don't think so I want more.....LOL
Someone once told me " if you wait to have kids until you can afford it you will never have them" think of hotrods in the same way . Just jump in balls deep and dont pull out till your done ha ha ha.
scrounge for parts, and keep your ears open. i take alittle out of every pay check n put it towards my merc till i have enough for what i need. anywho, just my two cents
You are right on this!....when I was in the trucking business we charged everything on a rewards card and payed it off like clockwork every month, Never paid any interest, And got alot of gift cards to home depot, lowes, olive garden, All free. But you have to play their intrapment game, As they change the due dates every month and try to get you to slip up and be late in paying so they can charge you interest, Also for alot of people this just doesn't work out as they charge more than they have and can't pay it off every month, Then they are in trouble.
First off, hot rods aren't an investment, unless you invest a lot into them. I get asked all the time, "How much to build one like this?" T Bucket). So, I toss an amount out that I think is fairly close to what I remember having in it. But I know that there is no way I could sell and get what's in it. I think it's rare for a homebuilt car to turn a profit. I payed for my parts by cutting out the bullshit in my life. No Starbucks. No What-a-burger for lunch everyday. No movies (theatre). Bought second hand stuff when I needed something. Being on a budget means taking the time to ask around and scrounge. It can be done. My T is proof of that. Shit, I ate hotdogs from home for lunch a lot of days, but I had a goal and spending $8.00 a day for lunch was out of the question. In my case, I didn't have a family or girlfriend at the time. That of course helped a lot. But if I had, I still could have built my T, it just would have taken longer. That being said, if you have a family, it'll take longer. You have to stay the course. Network! I read all the time about guys getting a car to fix up, but it's not what they REALLY wanted. Why would you settle for second best? If you want a deuce, save for it, collecting bits all the while. It will come together. The true question isn't "can you afford?" It's "WILL you afford?".
The short answer is no. but as long as the babies have milk, the lights stay on, and the wife doesn't bitch too much i will always find a way.
Having survived my "mid-life crisis" some years ago I think I can safely say that when it comes to cars, there are things we need and things we NEED! NEED! isn't always rational, but it sure can be fun!
nope i cannot afford to do it. when i think i can, it is not true. some months i have a functional creation. some months i do not. i have had some really ragged rides, long before they were cool enjoyed them all. a couple of nice rides have past through also. enjoyed them too. some of them not so nice when i was through with them. shit happens. perhaps one day i will own a true rolling work of art. perhaps not. i do not care. what i do care about is that i have fun with cars til i die. might be driving mine or looking at yours i dont care. its an addiction i choose not to break. such is my lot in life, i accept it with open arms. so until i die i will buy, trade,sell, chop, hack, cut, lift, lower, modify, mangle, race, run, cruize, view, be viewed, read books and mags, surf the net, bullshit and bench race, photograph cool stuff, hotrod and customize cars, bikes, boats, mowers, and all things mechanical that i possibly can. i hope its a long list. if its not.........oh well!!! just doing what i do!
This is a way of life for alot of us. Ive had alot of different cars/trucks over the years and when it comes down to it, if its important enough to you, you will find a way to afford the stuff you want. I have also learned at a young age to use my own labor instead of paying someone. If you cant afford or you dont know how then you learn. Thats have the fun.
You will never have the money you want to spend, few of us do....We all learned to do what we can, and swap favours, parts, whatever it takes. Years ago, I was ripped off by a shop no longer in business, money hard earned, was very bitter, but it was my aha moment, I looked at him and told him that if he could do work that shoddy, so could I, it started a life long passion to learn how.....and my workmanship is pretty good after all. If you want to get into the hobby, find a way, just like we have. If you can learn, you can build a car. Get busy.
The Jalopy Journal
