What did your resto/rod end up costing?

[ronh72c10]

I started planning for what I want to do to the 72 C10 and in trying to be more organized setup an excel spreadsheet of all of the parts I plan on buying. Boy did I get a shock, I priced out most of the parts and came up with a number in excess of $22000 CAD (~$18000US). Even when I cut it down I still came up with $13000CAD (~$10400), I can cut it down further but not much since doing the 383 and the tires/wheels really are a significant portion of that cost.

Just curious for those who kept track, what did you end up spending on you truck?

Ron

[Novaguy73]

Ive got probably $14,000 {including the $2750 purchase cost}in my Nova in my avatar and its not even painted. But it does have a richmond 5 speed 9" Ford rear and a bulletproof 350 that took up alot of that. Dude if you want a hot rod it costs $$$ And dont do it half assed or youll regret it. Ive got a 67 GTO sitting in my garage that i did half assed in highschool and i regret that now...

[pooz911]

Whatever your total estimate is, double it! that will be the actual price of what it will cost at the end.


When I originally started to tear my truck down, I expected to used a bunch of the original equipment. When I got it back w/ all of the paint and body done and buying some new parts, the old parts looked like crap. Almost everything that was bolted on is now new. I think I now have about $4000 worth of parts, However, I did some upgrades I.E. Tilt steering, tach and some others

I'll probably have about $20,000 into it when I'm done.




here are a couple of before/after paint pictures. I will take some more when I finish up the interior.


www.cardomain.com/id/pooz911

[see ten]

I haven't done the math in a while but I think the K10 is floating around 25K-30K.



I think the C10 is around 15K-17K. I might be off a couple K on either one. The K10 is currently insured for 20K and the C10 is covered for 14K. I need more insurance on them but I am waiting for the wife to buy a new car. Haggerty won't touch you if you don't have a newer vehicle per driver in the house. Since I have 2 72s and an 80 Z28 and a 99 Jeep, I need one more to add in before they want to sell me any coverage. Anyway it's just money right?

[HotRod71]

Looks good man. I am almost scared to death to imagine. It will be 10 years before I am done....LOL I will be doing bodywork and paint myself. Actually everything will be done by me except for some powdercoat that I can't fit in an oven and sandblasting. So that MAY cut down some of the costs.

[pissonNOS]

I did like novaguy73 did with his GTO and im paying for it now figuring inmy initial costs and what its now costing me I have just over $42,000 CAD into my truck but that also includes 4 trannys 2 rearends 2 motors and other things ive had to replace

[HotRod71]

[ChevLoRay]

There have been times when I defined my restoration/rod/current hobby vehicle as "a hole in the air, into which I continually pour money".

I have been told, and it has come to be seen as basic truth, that the cost of the total job is roughly four times the original "gut" estimate.

My truck cost $3K to begin, and now has almost $7K invested, and still a lot to go, but only a few more parts to buy. But always remember to spend your money on a good body, up front. The mechanics are much cheaper (relatively speaking) than body and paint will be.

The only other thing I would add is something I saw in a magazine editorial. That was, "Don't let the vehicle own you." If we are going to build them, we should also be willing to drive them. Anything less, i.e, trailer queens, is something that owns us and we cowtow to whatever the vehicle wants us to do. That usually requires more money.

[VetteVet]

This thread makes me look pretty foolish when I always recommend that a guy buy a finished truck for 10,000 or less. Unless of course a guy has an unlimited budget and plenty of time.

[ronh72c10]

So I'm not out to lunch on my estimates so far. Personally I don't want a trailer queen, it will be driven.

Ron

[purple gas]

On a vehichle it starts out as " where do I begin?" and eventually ends up as " where do I stop?" Where you stop is a matter of what you want to do with it. It doesn't matter if your building a project from the ground up, or buying a new ride from a showroom, with very few exceptions you never get your money back when you sell it. My last "Project" got me about 20% of what I had into it. BUT, I had a car I enjoyed driving and working on for 10 yrs. The truck I'm working on now is supposed to be a " budget driver" , so far I've spent double what I intended and hardly drove it at all. But it's money I can afford and time I've enjoyed ( despite the swearing & frustration at times). If I wanted a truck to haul things or needed reliable transportation I'd have gotten a loan and bought something to serve that purpose , knowing that depriciation is part of the equation. Be it a trailer queen or junk hauling beater as long as you can afford it and it satisfies your needs thats all one can hope for from a truck. If you treat it like a financial investment and expect to get every dollar back, or have dreams of making a profit your setting yourself up for a big dissapointment.

[subtle71]

My answers are:
I stopped counting at $20K, and that was in 2003.
It doesn't matter. I'm not planning on ever selling it.
I'd rather not talk about it.
It's my cocaine additiction. Did you notice it is white?

[see ten]

Budget it like a new car. Figure x amount per month over x number of months. My buds father in law asked him awhile back how much he had in his 67 stepper. Well he said about 16K. Dudes father in law kinda laughed and said "you will never get that out of it". Well my pal is pretty quick on his feet and asks the in law what he paid for his new Dakota quad cab. I don't remember the exact dollar figure but it was 20K plus. Then he asks pops " do you think you will ever get that out of it". That ended the conversation. If you know what you want and can't afford it, keep saving. If it's still not going to happen maybe you need to change your plans. Once you know what you want break it down in to realistic short term goals. If I had known what I was going to end up putting in mine I would have never bought them. And no I don't have an unlimited budget. I don't have kids, don't smoke, no recreational drug use, I am not an alcoholic. I am just careful with my funds. I have spent more than a lot of people would spend but there are guys out there that spend a lot more than me. Oh and buy the way they do get driven. My wife drove the C10 to work twice this week (50 min one way), we also drove it on a little 200 mile trip yesterday. Open up your wallet and look at your currency, Yep that's right it doesn't have any handles on it! I guess that's why we can't seem to hold on to any of it. Build it the way you want and make it stand out from the crowd! It makes all the guys in their belly button cars turn GREEN WITH ENVY!

[wibilly]

i think it's a question without an answer. i don't think there is ever a end or a finished project till it's' gone it's an adiction. no matter how complete it looks there is no end. there is always some improvement that can be made, or new accesory that you have just got to have. my truck went in my shop last fall for just a little lipstic and a stronger moter. then i found this place. you guys filled my head with all kinds of good ideas. my two month project turned into a life time project.i hope to have it assembled enough to take it out this summer but i don't think i'll ever run out of things to do to it.i have not kept track of cost, i just don't want to know

[wibilly]

that right there is the truck that got me going now there is no end

[72armyswbtruck]

Your right, budget it just like a new car payment, Every month buy your parts for that month, or do that much worth of work, save for the bigger items like paint, drive the truck while you continue to purchase parts for it. I now have almost everything for the interior and most of the exterior parts that I want to put on my finished truck, I already purchased and put in my crate motor, while driving the truck I have replaced almost all the seals and brakes, minus new lines that will come when I am ready to paint the frame. Have patients and don't get in a hurry. Also remember that even when your done you might not get out of it what you have into it, but that's not the point. Buy a 25,000 truck and when you have paid it off it is worth on ly 5k.
Not the case with these classics

[72CSTC5]

I have about 15-18k in mine right now and it is a thousand pieces right now. I figure I will have about 25k in it and if I would have had to pay to have it done, around 50-60k. It is a 1972 cst 2wd Blazer.

[HotRod71]

I am with wibilly, I don't want to know for sure how much I spend to a degree. My wife asked me how much the wheels and tires on the S-10 were and when I told her she about fell over. Told her it was best not to ask questions she didn't want the answers to.

[Karl Hoh]

How soon do you want drive it? Look in the mirror and answer the question. That will determine the cost/money to spend curve. My truck needs to be done by next winter cuz I need a 4x4, therefor i will do as much as I can my self and buy only what's really needed. I am in agreement with spending good money on bodywork and paint.

[LUV2XCLR8]

Hmmmmmmm, so do we count both yours and the PO's receipts?
minus the purchase price from him to me of course, ok if so then
it's around $30K for the PO, and $15K for me - $10K I paid = $35K
and oh yea, it still has yet to be painted, so add another $5K

[Chevrolet4x4s]

20-40k There worth it but

[low'n slow]

You get on that slippery slope of what is good enough. You spend $5K to have it painted, do those door handles look OK now? Ahh heck, they're only $50 a pair. Better get some. Oh, and might as well get new window rubber, and that windsheild has a few pits in it. It just goes on from there.

If your like me, you can start a project, seeing it through to completion is another thing. That is why there are so many "projects" for sale.

Everything is time and money. You need to have lots of one or the other.

[rkarr]

Uh... I think I agree with the statement that I don't want to know....
Realistically, this is therapy for me.... I'm already in it for almost $20k....
HOWEVER..... EVERY single nut, bolt, washer will have been turned by my 15 year old son and/or my hands... I expect to spend about $10k more before I'm finished...
It will be driven as much as possible, but I drive a company car for work...
Here's the sick part... My son doesn't want to drive a truck as his first car... Whatever *shrugging shoulders* I guess I'll keep it..
Really the process is more important to me than the end project... At least att his point.
When people ask me when I expect to have it finished.. I always reply that I won't put a deadline on it, I am WAY too competitive, and then it won't be fun... I am excited about driving it, though!
350 HP, 400lb torque, Fuel injected, 373 posi, 700r4 tranny, discs all around, 3/5 drop, 20" wheels...
It should be a blast to drive!

[Palf70Step]

My plan is to spend all of my children's inheritence, then take the truck with me. I think I have about 6,000 in mine and I'll probably have another 7,000-10,000 into it before I am done (if that ever totally happens). It is tru, whatever you think your going to spend, add a bunch more to it. Also the more you do yourself, the less those costs are (notcounting your labor), but for me that is what I got the truck for, so I can work on it.

[Billla]

Originally Posted by ronh72c10

I started planning for what I want to do to the 72 C10 and in trying to be more organized setup an excel spreadsheet of all of the parts I plan on buying. Boy did I get a shock, I priced out most of the parts and came up with a number in excess of $22000 CAD (~$18000US). Even when I cut it down I still came up with $13000CAD (~$10400), I can cut it down further but not much since doing the 383 and the tires/wheels really are a significant portion of that cost.

Just curious for those who kept track, what did you end up spending on you truck?

Ron

Never, NEVER ask this question in public where a significant other might hear the answer :-D

I generally figure a complete restore/rebuild for any american car to be ~$25K USD assuming you're not doing anything crazy (i.e., daily driver). Add another 8-10K for a really hot or unusual engine, and another 6-8K for mondo paint. I spent about $40K US on my first Corvette restoration, and it was NOT to "Gold" standards by any means...which I figure would have been another $20K+