Jon, Great to see you back. Cost is totally irrelevant on all levels for many reasons and for the many variables that cannot be measured when restoring different cars. No car will ever cost the same as you know. Disclosure, I believe, was and is just fine....no worries! Please consider the re-opening of your latest resto thread! All the best!
I really do not see the reason why, but I do not think Jon needs to tell or justify what he has or has not spent. It is strictly HIS business. He has been gracious enough to clarify those costs, not to mention the great times he has had and will continue having with his son. Personally, that, is the BEST part of the restoration. His expenditures are a great guideline to many that might try to emulate and copy his wonderful interpretation, yet IMHO, I think the question should be how he has achieved such a great father and son relationship, bottom line, that is what it is all about. I am willing to bet my 2000+ hours @ $4 ea., that if it had been all by his lonely self, Jon would not have turned one screw. After all, I believe it is in one of the first few posts... So good for you Jon! I know all about it because I am lucky enough to have such a great relationship, and it is not luck, it is: "you reap what you sow". His resto's, are about a father and a son, with a car or two thrown in for good measure, a catalyst, that's all. This is a preparation for what comes for the rest of their collective lives, not the sort where at 18, children are requested to pay rent or get out as " we have done enough for you"... That, is the sure fire way to get them to leave forever. Get back on the real restoration Jon, post all you want/can, otherwise you and your son are the ones that will lose, not us. We are strictly coincidental in your happiness. And remember what Farragut said. Best wishes, and the usual regards, Alberto
What a great post!! Because of this I'm going to reopen the thread. Thank you Alberto for seeing life so clearly and for all who have been so supportive.
Hi Alberto, You got it down, man. As a matter of fact, John's first post, prior to starting the project that I like to call "a rebirth of the Dino GTS", was totally about the fact that his son Jeff, was coming home from school. John wanted to do a project "together" with his son. It was never about money, power or the make of car. Jon's resto threads are about more than cars. They truly are about family love and the sharing of a passion to bring family together. Resto #1 - - loved it!! Resto #2 - - want to see the resto-it!! Resto #3 or more - - I look forward to it/them. Cheers, Hank
I have spent $14,663 on #1582 doing all the work myself except paint and I am assembling a driver on a car I parked in 1982 and started working on two years ago. It's fun but I only paye d$25,000 in '82. I haven't read your project story but I can tell you it still is fun if you can afford it. Stii missing some parts but close to starting the engine this weekend. Wiring was a disaster but I want to drive the bloody thing before I die. Going to read your story now. clay
I have a neighbor in a similar position. In the 12 years I've known him, he has restored around 5 muscle cars. He drives them for a few years and if someone makes him a good enough offer, he sells it (almost always at a loss). It is about cultivating a passion for him. Nearly every time I drove past his house he would be in the garage surrounded by his three boys doing something on the cars. He now runs a dyno and performance shop with his oldest son.
My dream as a kid was to have an 8 car garage with a room on top. Come to think of it it still is...anybody got a picture of one so I can drool?
For comparison purposes only on my (formerly my) 1972 246GT: rebuild motor rebuild gearbox rebuild brakes rebuild suspension rebuild A/C replace starter Replace alternator new front and rear batch boards new headlights all new taillights and side reflectors refinish dash strip and repaint car (including about $7K for metal work) replace interior including all carpets door panels seats repair and install period correct radio new wheels X2 all new Michelin xwx from oker replace fuse box re-chrome lots of bits and pieces and any number of other operations required to restore a beautiful (but a bit rusty) Dino 246GT now in the possession of a fellow fchatter. total cost parts and labor? [size=+2] $102,000+ [/size] not including the purchase of the car. I missed several invoices while I was adding them up,couldn't read the totals so I skipped them I'd estimate those, from memory, at about an additional $5K. Project was completed maybe 4 years ago. I did not do a body off restoration, but we did strip the entire car to bare metal and repair all the bad metal. We did tear apart the motor and gearbox and replace most of the moving parts on the motor, and the synchros and bearings on the gearbox. We didn't re-sort the electric, it worked fine, but did replace one of the fuse boxes and the voltage regulator. It was making me nervous. Just for comparison. I did not do the kind of job Jon is doing where every bit and piece was stripped, cleaned and either replaced or re-installed. You make up your own number for the value of all that labor. Parts? = I'm guessing about 1/2 of the total cost posted above, maybe a little more. Just an FYI for comparison. DM
