No matter what shape it's in when you buy it, you'll spend $1,000...

to get it running.
An old guy told me that once, and I have yet to prove him wrong.

And of course, it's not the big things, but the eleventy trips to the parts store for fuel line and fittings and a thermostat and a fuel filter and a fan clutch and lengths of heater hose and fuel line, and fan belts and and and and.

But oh it is sooooo sweet when it finally gets on the road with a "quick" engine regasket and tune up and all the other crap that was bungled together by the previous owners corrected and looking like its SUPPOSED to.

Latest "running" project we bought that "just developed a little miss on the way home from the swap meet": blown head gasket, no fan shroud, plug wires that looked like a bowl of spaghetti, heater hoses zip-tied to the alternator which was eating them, PS and Alt. belts misaligned with wrong brackets AND wrong crank and water pump pulleys, the most worn out fan clutch I've ever seen, leaking front seal on trans, kinked rubber fuel line going to the pump, fuel pump bad, kinked hard line going from fuel pump to carb, two of four bolts holding the bellhousing to the block were missing, and the two that were there were only finger tight, flex plate to torque converter bolts not torqued, except the one that was cross threaded, no PCV valve, power brake vacuum hose mushy and not sealing to port on intake, trans pan butchered and torque converter/bellhousing tin cover MIA.

Initial purchase price: $2800 plus a pair of 15x4.5 Torque Thrusts.
Additional funds to make the "driver" actually do that? Don't know, don't wanna know.

As of 12:00 today, Boy Wonder is now driving a very sharp looking 37 year old Dodge 4x4 as his daily driver.

-Brad

 

I wish it only cost me $1000 to get mine running. I don't even know what I've spent, or how much more I have to spend, I'm getting nauseous...I have to go now.

 

I am past that mark already , but mine is just a shell , no motor , no trans , no wiring , and the interior well its shot to sh*t too , and the guy who owned it before me , he though it was going to be easy . well after 4 years he found out its not unless you have a idea what yoru doing , taking it apart was the easy part , putting it back together is the hard part if you do not have a clue and watch tv shows on how to do it , but atleast the guy saved me some time by removing stuff .. so I can replace the rotted rockers.

 

I don't think I've ever bought a running project that the trans didn't die on me within the week.

 

I bought a 1956 Panhead for $500.00 bucks and spent about $26.00 and ran like a top,,,everything else I have bought ate my lunch! HRP

 

Sounds about right. Although the plus/minus on that is about $1000, too.

 

that needs to be adjusted up for inflation

 

Yep, and another grand 'personalizing' it. Never got the wheels and tires you want, doesn't sit right, steering wheel is wrong, stereo...

 

I've NEVER bought a 'reasonably priced' used car that I didn't end up spending at least $100 on. Projects? LOLOL!!! It's cost me that much just to get them home! LOL!!!

 

Bought a 67 GMC truck for $900 bucks once. Wouldn't shift into any gears except reverse and 1st, and it ran like crap. When I looked under the hood I noticed a little gap between in head and intake on the 230 6-banger...laid my finger across the top of it and she smoothed out a little. Cost me $8 and change for a new intake gasket. Sprayed a little WD-40 into the column shifter, and it dissolved the dried out grease enough to shift into all the gears. Mounted up a set of used tires I had sitting around, and started driving it every day. I had less than $1000 in the whole truck-including the gas I burned going to pick it up.

I've bought several "project" cars that took less than $1000 to get to "driver" status.

 

Glad yall got her squared away man!! Ill grab the RamCharger and we can go get stuck in Braselton!!!

Cheers
Hodge

 

"No matter what shape it's in"?

The old man's theory is inherently flawed.

 

hey Brad, i got the check the other day, it was a pleasure doing business with you.

 

I'm looking at 1K in the rearview mirror. Probably put 3-5K in each car and not done yet (but getting close!)

 

I think the $1000 number's probably about right as a mode but not a median, you can't go too much lower but you can go much, much, much higher.

Also pretty much assumes you're staring with a complete vehicle sitting on four wheels.

 

$1000 ain't what it used to be. Just send your daily driver to any corporate repair shop and they'll come up with $1000 worth of stuff they "recommend" you fix.

 

I spent about a grand to get my 61 running. Just don't think about it!

 

I kept track of the time and money spent on my first build. After that I just didn't want to know; I'm happier that way.

 

fun...but true. bought a 71 chev c20 camper special a couple months ago....and figured i'd probably dump atleast 500 in it to make it more daily driverish......has a pair of what seem to be the rustiest flowmasters ive seen....and someone did a hei swap without having a vacuum advance on it...rockin a consistant 10 mpg.. (its a factory big block ride) but looking to up that with a msd setup I have and some carb work.....