Thread: Project $ 3 K Is Underway

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You've nailed it exactly Brian, building a car is tough, dirty work. Sure, we do it for "fun" but I think most of that fun is the anticipation of actually getting do drive it. Burning yourself, cutting yourself, ingesting paint fumes and grinding dust may be fun when you are 20, but as you get older the attraction diminishes a little, at least for me.

The semi- concentrated build I did on my T, and the 88 day thrash we did on Don's T wore me out, and frankly I need some downtime now to recharge. I do want to get back on the Dodge truck, but that won't happen until probably the first of the year (unless I just start piddling around on it) and it is going to have no timetable for completion. If it is done for Billetproof in March, fine, if not, I'll drive my T.

My '27 took me 6 years to build. Some of that was saving up paychecks to go on to the next phase, some was trying to locate oldtimey/hard-to-find parts (this was pre-Ebay), but most of it was me sometimes just not having the energy to go out into the garage for days, weeks, or even months at a time. When it starts being not fun you have to walk away from it for a while until the desire returns.

Our plan is to get the shop cleaned up from the mess we have made over the last year or so, help Dan whatever way we can on his car, and take a financial and physical deep breath.

Don

Sounds good to me. Its hard to get motivated in the cold and rain that we've had the last few days. So I'm taking a little holiday myself, until next week. The finances to do car stuff is high, and it gets easier, with time between tasks and time for the scrapes to heal.

....So with a pause as he shut off the shop light he held the shop door and said with delite..."To everyone a great christmas and happy rodding to all!"

Hey Don
How's the post server/Christmas blues? Any more peeks at Dan's car. Photos always appreciated. Plus I loved tracking the updates on this thread. Good peeps, with good banter and dialog! How is your car doing? Enjoying driving it? Hope so, keep on posting, Steve.

Surprisingly, I haven't really been driving it as much as I thought I would. It looks like I am going to accept a job at a local marina pretty soon, so that has been sort of my main thing right now. It will be nice working again, this retirement stuff is for the birds. I am going to go to a show this Saturday though and will have some pictures to post after that. I am parking with a friend of mine who is taking 10 of his cars. One in particular is super cool. It's a '27 roadster pickup he built in about 1958 and it is unchanged since then. 283, two fours, powerglide, white painted suspension, etc. I love that car and he never uses it anymore, so it will be great to see it out in the sunshine again.

As for Dan's '29, he is making slooooooooooooooooow progress on it. Dan agonizes over every d*** bracket and weld, and for the past week he has been sitting in a chair studying the mounts for the rear quarter eliptic springs. We had them figured out 5 times so far, but he keeps coming up with better ways to do them. The mounts won't even show, but he wants them to be pretty. He must have gotten this perfectionist thing from his Mother, it sure wasn't me. The Hoover dam was built quicker than his hot rod.

So, if he ever gets anything else welded on there I'll post some pictures.

Don

I understand sloooooooooow! I haven't posted any new stuff for 3 reasons. Direction, weather, and finances! My lack of direction over the last month was mainly because I was being strung along for a rebuilt long block at $500.00. I finally got an email yesterday saying he sold the block. I responded with where was I not clear that I wanted to buy it, but know some info first! I'm sure I'll be glad in the long run I didn't go there. But in the meantime, I've held up on a number of ways to go foward, due to if I got the engine, that would be the priority. So now I think tackling the wire harness first, might be the way to go, once I get those pesky brake lines in. Since it's dry this week, I'll roll the truck out of the garage and finish the brakes if it kills me!
The "one thing at a time" mantra, seems to help! I realize it will be an on going project, so setting up goals for different things to work on will be a must, and sticking to them. My first goal is to get it drivable, so I can figure out what needs to be done to keep it that way, so for now brakes and wiring are a good start!
I look foward to Dan's progress. You had mentioned earlier in this post that shipping costs alone on Project 3K were a killer! Now I understand! What do you know about Summit's universal wiring harnesses? Is it worth the extra cash to use a Painless harness instead?

Believe me Steve, I have stock in UPS and Fed Ex, and don't even get any dividend statements to prove it. What would be really interesting is if a person kept track of EVERY penny they spent on a build, like the $ 10 we spend for some sandpaper, or bolts, etc. We count in the big stuff, but I bet we would be amazed how much the little things add in.

Don

Don,

I did a complete tally on every nut and bolt I bought for my A-bone sedan. It was completed in April, 1986. I may have missed a couple of hundred bucks, but I even recorded the late night trips to the corner gas station to pick up a filter or bulbs, etc. There were even entries for freight charges. The spreadsheet was broken down by subassembly. Each subassembly has all the costs for that sub. For instance, the engine cost consists of the purchase of the engine, machinework, accessories, etc. The Body consists of the original body, plus glass, running boards, sheet metal, bolts, etc.

Here's the summary:

Body 4,971.79
Engine 2,306.49
Frame 1,824.97
Running Gear 2,593.73
Suspension 1,855.49
Interior 1,456.51
Misc 622.25
Paint/body 1,524.26
Wiring 387.34
Total $17,542.83

I did virtually all the work myself except for the soft top, upholstery and final paint spray.

Seems cheap today, but, it I remember correctly, it was considerably more than a loaded Monte Carlo or similar car in 1985.

You can check page 2 of my gallery for what $17.5K got me back then. . .

That's really an eye opener Jack, and those were 1986 dollars. To put it into perspective, here are some statistics from 1986:


How Much things cost in 1986
Yearly Inflation Rate USA1.91%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 1895
Interest Rates Year End Federal Reserve 7.50%
Average Cost of new house $89,430.00
Average Income per year $22,400.00
Average Monthly Rent $385.00
Average Price for new car $9,255.00
1 gallon of gas 89 cents
Casio Portable Color Television $249.99
Tandy 600 Portable Computer $1599.00
Bacon per pound $1.75


I tried to find 2007 prices for comparison but couldn't find any, but I think we all know what those are. Your sedan would probably cost you $ 25,000 or more in parts now I would guess. BTW, nice looking sedan.

Don

Don,

Thanks.

Most of the money '84 and '85 dollars. The average inflation rate from 1985 through 2007 was 3.16%. Bringing that forward to 2008, increases the total cost to $34,880.65 equivalent (parts & labor). Not far off from what I estimate on the yellow coupe.

Don, I'm sorry to hear your not driving my car to much, just make sure you only drive to keep the tires from going flat from being parked to long. Like i said before I want to meet you and your sons. You never know when I get the urge to drive 15 hours for dinner and drinks...........LOL
BradC

Originally Posted by BradC

Don, I'm sorry to hear your not driving my car to much, just make sure you only drive to keep the tires from going flat from being parked to long. Like i said before I want to meet you and your sons. You never know when I get the urge to drive 15 hours for dinner and drinks...........LOL
BradC

Usually you Northern guys start to think about Florida when cabin fever starts getting to you. Yeah, we'd love to meet you.......next time stick around for a few minutes.

Jack, those numbers make sense. Wonder what it will cost 10 years from now?


Don

Don it's a recpricating North South thing. In the summer, Floridians flee north, and in the winter snowbirds south! Most of the time I'm thankful where I live. But I sure miss the warm when it's cold! I've kept most of the reciepts on my build so far, I'll try to keep a running total! If you don't mind my asking about what did 3k evolve into?

Originally Posted by stovens

If you don't mind my asking about what did 3k evolve into?

Oh Boy, this otta be good!!!

Isn't that kind of like asking a fat lady what she weighs?

I built this one for $1,700... back in 1976. I sold it in 1984 for $5,050. The car still exists (in Huntsville, AL) without the dummy blower and with different paint. Wonder what it's worth now?