Average yearly income in 1957 was about $5500 This hot rod Cost $2,300.00 So things really haven't changed that much at all Other then finding some of the parts This is from a article in Life Magazine from April 29th, 1957 Makes one Think ??????
I don't think quite that much, but it will be a large chunk of the bill....way out of my bracket FOR SURE
About that time Rod & Custom ran a series, The ROADSTER, Yours For a Dollar A Pound. The final episode was in the October 1955 issue. They said their completed roadster cost $2286 and that was hiring all the work done. A reader who had some parts left over from previous projects, and planned to do his own work, figured to build his for $1000. Some costs estimated as follows: Chassis components (see July R&C)...$95 Welding and cutting...........................12 Machining driveshaft..........................21 Tires and tubes.................................80 Mounting tires and tubes......................3 ----------------------------------------------- Total..............................................$211
what's the Average American income today? that 32 was only 25 years old in 57, so it could easily be a $50,000 body, doors and trunk today in the same condition.
It depends on how much you make I guess. Here's another way to look at the term "average income", it means that 1/2 of the people make more and 1/2 of them make less and the fewest are at the middle ground average $ income.
Further: Cadillac engine, see August episode..............$250 complete with transmission Ford transmission, no longer needed, subtract -25 Special alterations to Cadillac engine 200 ---------------------------------------------------------- Complete chassis with Cadillac engine, $636
I think that's the one of the main point this thread is making. Hot rod cost / yearly income of yesterday and today. I spent all day making 2 parts, door post feet. (You can put them in your pocket) there's no way anyone would pay what that cost to make.
Yes, the price of gold was $35 an ounce then. I don't follow it, but last I saw it was around 15-16 hundred dollars an ounce.
Body, either handmade of aluminum or modified Ford roadster, Installed, painted, complete .........................................$1250 Chrome plating, windshield, instruments, upholstery............400 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Grand total..................................................................$2286 Whether you could build a car for that, hiring all the work done, that is what they estimated. They figured if you could do your own bodywork and painting you could bring the cost of the body down to $150. There it is for what it is worth, a complete rundown on what it would cost to build a roadster in 1955. ---------------------------------------------------------------- At the time, a new Bel Air hardtop with V8 and stick shift had a list price of $2166.
Don't forget the "average" body now would have either been scrapped or turned into a race car then ... Nobody was fixing the JUNK some of us start with...
I sold a full fendered '32 3 Window with a built flathead, an outstanding car, for $450 and I was lucky to get it. That car today would easily bring north of 80 grand.
I have this thought with distressing frequency. Most of the cars I've built or bought in the last 20 years could have been done for $1000-2000 in 1957, and have been close to 100X that in the last 10 years. Admittedly I used to do a good part of the work myself, or with help from buddies, while now I depend on professional help for the whole build. But it's painfully apparent that what used to be a relatively inexpensive hobby is now pretty limited to guys who have a lot of money or who can do most of their own work. And, in 1957 I couldn't earn more than $1.25/hr.
That '32 that was in that LIFE feature is still around, it is full fendered now, owner passed away about 6-8 years ago. Bob
My handy dandy inflation calculator says 2300.00 1967 dollars would be a little over $19,000.00 today. A 25 year old car would be a 1989 model. You might be able to build one for $20,000.00. Kind of hard to factor everything in.
That's median income Average is just that, an average of all income divided by number of income earners. It takes a LOT of minimum wage fast food workers to offset the Bill Gateses and Warren Buffets of our country All I know is, pretty tough for a guy in his 50s to buy the cars he drove in high school these days, they seem to have gone up a LOT compared to income increases...or maybe it's all the other stuff like being a "responsible adult" and taking care of a family that make it tough.
I over heard an old guy bragging to someone what an Edelbrock manifold cost him back in the fifties. I remember thinking, "Yea, but it took you two months to get it and polio was killing people."
True! And what no one mentions anymore is the "cost of living." Back in 1957, a person could make it on a single income. No so today. Here's a link to a good read about the cost of living in 1957 as compared to 2007. And things are no better 7 years later (2014) http://mercyman53.com/2007/10/21/1957-verses-2007-income-and-expenses/
I have grandchildren who are older than a lot of HAMB posters and they're working two jobs just to keep their heads above water. I paid 29 cents for a gallon of gas in '57 and they're paying $3.50. Minimum wage then was 90 cents an hour and today it's $7.25 or more depending where you live. From their point of view, an iPhone at a couple of hundred bucks is more important than a fine set of wheels. It's all relative.
It's very interesting to see the back in the day breakdown. I guess it's worth noting that building a good solid 20 year old hot rod Ford in '57 cost about what building a good solid 20 year old hot rod Honda costs now.
The Jalopy Journal
