Here's something for the "other halves" to consider.
My father has restored a '34 Ford coupe, a '40 Ford pickup, a '46 Chevy
2-ton truck, a
'55 Thunderbird and a '65 Mustang (he started restoring a '46 Piper L4,
but sold it before
it was complete). He's currently working on a 1919 Seagrave Pumper and
our 100M.
He also got fascinated with antique windmills for awhile, collected a
few old gas pumps
and bought an antique player piano to restore, but lost interest. I
can't even list all the farm
equipment he had to keep working on a shoestring in order to stave off
financial disaster
during rough times (he farmed 80 acres while working fulltime as a
college career counselor).
My mother never quibbles about the costs, because Dad has worked harder
than two men to
provide for his family and a comfortable retirement for them. Mom
worked fulltime herself
until a few years ago, and keeps the family books so she knows how much
things cost. Dad
agonizes over the spending more than she does; she tells him if he
really wants it or needs it to
just get it. Her only quibble was over the '55 T-Bird; that's "her car"
and she wanted it done
before he started any more projects.
Dad has had a heart attack--refused to even see a doctor until several
days after--underwent
quintuple bypass surgery and fought two types of cancer through surgery
and radiation (the
latter was particularly brutal, he never recovered fully and vows to not
go through that again).
Many people would have packed it in a long time ago--he's 75--but Mom
and I both know
what keeps him going is his interests and his projects; he just has too
much to finish to quit.
Mom and Dad celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary last month. I say
celebrate, but
they probably just exchanged cards (unless Dad forgot).
bs
Richard Bittmann wrote:
>Ned, David & All,
>
>OK. Since it's time for true confessions.
>
>I built a spread sheet tracking Date, Item, Purchased from Whom, Amount,
>Method of Purchase (cash, check, visa, gas card) and State Sales Tax (for IRS
>deduction) but no mention of the time spent obtaining parts and doing the
>actual restoration work.
>
>I built another spread sheet when I started the project which compared costs
>from several suppliers side by side of everything I thought I needed, so I
>could find the most competitive prices (not accounting for quality which can
>vary wildly). When I finished that spreadsheet, I informed my wife that the
>project would cost $28,000 or so. That didn't sound too bad so we forged
>ahead.
>
>I've kept the cost spreadsheet up meticulously. Today, 3 years into the
>project, the cost for a complete concours restoration is double my first
>estimate. Tension in the family (my wife - the boys are 35 & 39 and are too
>smart to say anything on this subject) is high. She is working harder than
>ever and I've never worked less (in our business that is). I have a huge debt
>to her to overcome. To top it off, she is going with me to Healey Rendevous
>Nelson 2006 (it think to put the icing on the debt).
>
>I've invested my time, our money and have put much at risk for this project
>and it could cost me for the rest of my life! Let's hope it was all worth
>it!
>
>
>
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Bob Spidell San Jose, CA bspidell@comcast.net
'67 Austin-Healey 3000 '56 Austin-Healey 100M
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