John,
The one thing I couldn't find in your e-mail was what your plans are for this
car. Personally, I'd never look at an automobile as an investment -- remember
all
those folks that lost tons of money on "real" collector cars in the late '80s
and
early '90s? What I do is examine the car's value to me. I don't think about
resale, whether I'm working on my daily driver Spit or trying to find a
restorable
oddity or maintaining the 300k+ mile sedan I bought new a bunch of years ago.
Rather, I consider what I'm getting out of the car:
- Are operating costs less than a car note, insurance, and maintenance costs
for a
comparable car in better shape?
- Is the pride I get from showing it off on the street or at a car show, the
fun I
have driving around the countryside, and the satisfaction I feel after
finishing a
repair job, myself, worth giving up another enjoyable hobby (like eating)?
- Is a high degree of reliability or functionality a requirement?
My guess is that you want to end up with a nice looking, reliable, fun hobby
car,
and you've obviously got some work and expense ahead of you. That said, can you
afford to do the work you've outlined and do you think you will get enough
enjoyment out of the restoration work and driving the finished car to offset the
costs. With Malibu Barbie's Dream Car, I figured I could afford to spend (note
that I didn't say "invest") $1,500 a year on fixing DPO neglect and wear and
tear
without feeling too guilty about not buying a "real" car. Next year is going to
break my budget as I begin to do all the appearance things she needs (and that I
want), but I'm not concerned about recouping my expenditures when I think about
all of the fun I've had with her.
If, however, your concern is mostly with getting a show quality car for the
least
amount of money, then, you'd probably be better off watching the classified ads
and picking up someone else's labor of love.
(IMHO)
-Schuyler
Haeg1 wrote:
> Last night I sat down and started to itemize all the parts that I will need to
> rebuild the suspension and brakes for my car.
> I have a few questions and thoughts for list members:
> 1) Do these numbers look realistic compared to your actual experiences?
> 2) What are your thoughts on ways to best reduce the costs of rebuilding a
> car?
> 3) The financial facts of restoring my car are looking bleak to me.
> - Is my car going to be worth 9-10K? even if it turns out great?
> - I keep thinking that 7K will buy an extremely nice TR4 or TR6.
> - I have a garage full of used parts if I purchase another TR6.
> 4) I am obviously at the crossroads of my TR6 restoration. So far I have spent
> much labor and little money. If I proceed there will be no turning back. I
> could use some encouragement from anyone who has been there.
> 5) I feel that scrapping the project is just the easy way out. I would hate to
> see my car turned into a parts car.
> 6) On the positive side, I could be driving and maintaining a nice TR next
> summer.
> 7) Regarding the 4K estimate for autobody work: If I deal with the inner wheel
> well repair, outer sill replacement and fender installation myself, there is
> hope of getting the car painted for 1.5 to 2K. I'm concerned about squeezing
> 2K out of the body work, and having an inferior restoration. Mechanical repair
> is much more my strength than autobody repair. I have no welding experience to
> date.
>
> Thanks for any input that you may have.
> John H. in Minneapolis.
>
--
Schuyler E. Grace
schuyler@bellsouth.net
schuyler.grace@atl.frb.org
http://members.tripod.com/~schuyler/
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