I'm the first guy to tell you the classic car hobby is unaffordable to most working class people but there's a huge difference between a ground up restoration and getting an old car roadworthy but not perfect so you can just go out and enjoy it.
I disagree with that 1st sentence, The Classic Car hobby IS affordable for the working class, just not the TOP of the lot, not many have 71 SS Chevelle money, but they do have 74 Chevelle or 76 Nova money, The guy down at the bean mill isn't going to have 71 AAR Cuda money but they have 73 Duster or 77 Volare money..... I have a kid (early 20 something so he's a kid to me at 52 years old) at work that was looking for a White 2 door 69 Impala like the one his Grandpa had when back in the day, but he couldn't find one that he could afford, So I helped him find a 4 door 69 Impala, not the exactly the same body but everything else was exactly the same and close enough, and it was half the price as a 2 door..... He really has no memories of the car so close is close enough.
In the last three years i have built a 69 camaro Total cost $68,000 A 1971 Duster Total cost $82,000 And a 1967 chevelle Total cost $38,000 And if i were to sell them i would be lucky to get half of the cost And zero for my massive labor hours. It's financial folly.
@@SesameStreetRacingChannelPeople are foolish and dump tons of money into something that is only worth what someone is willing to pay. Never have I seen anyone get more for a car than they put into it. If your time is worth nothing, then you may break even.
I’ve dabbled in the classic car hobby for a long time. First thing I learned was it’s cheaper to buy something in good enough condition that you can go to the local cruise night as is. When you get to the cruise you’re going to notice that everyone has a 68 Road Runner/Camaro/GTO/Chevelle, that’s why I ended up with a K20 Chevy Pickup. Not only are the less desirable vehicles a lot cheaper but they’re more interesting. If your vehicle is 50+ years old you’re going to get noticed. The coolest thing I saw last year was a slant 6 Barracuda! They made more with HEMI’s than slant 6’s. Any Wagon is going to stand out in a crowd as well.
Restoration is a 'broad' term. When I lived in San Diego, I tried to find a resto shop to do my 67 fastback mustang. Not a single shop I found actually used a roticery to do full body resto. The majority of cars I say in the area were done by DIYers, some really well. I resorted to doing it on my own. 3 years later, $30K in parts, 2500 hrs labor, it was done. It was a well documented big block 4spd car and was published in more than one Mustang magazine. 28 years later, I opted to sell the car for $58K as I had my fun driving/showing this car. It was never done as a business opportunity, but rather to live my dream of restoring a car to this level in my lifetime. I'm very glad I did it when I was single.
Apologize for this being long... Restoring a classic car, is one of those things called a dream. It's relatively easy to get big eyes, and into it by buying that project car you want that needs work, but it's cheap. Reality hits real fast. I was there myself, I bought a '71 Pontiac Trans-Am in 1978 for $4K. I was a greenhorn to the hobby, and sure made some mistakes. The idea was to follow the example of a car magazine article I saw back in the day; "The $5000 Muscle Car". The idea was to buy a car in relatively good running, driving and complete condition, do some fixing up, and wind up somewhere around that budget. The Trans-Am seemed to fit that bill. Ran great, looked nice, no rust. Then, reality hit. Discovered that the car had been repainted over the top with lacquer blue stripes and clear coat over the original cameo white enamel, a no-no. Exposed to moisture in the metal storage unit I had the car in for a time, the whole top of the car had turned brown, checked down to the metal. Later on having saved the estimated money to have it painted (sure, I could have hacked at painting it myself, but I wanted a professional paint job that would do this rare car justice), other things went wrong, including finding the car had been rear-ended in the passenger side rear, causing waves in the sheet metal along the car that I didn't have the eye to see when purchased. Found the right rear quarter panel had been replaced. Problems piled on; A privateer garage painter disappearing and leaving my car abandoned in a junk yard in the middle of the project. After some years more time, more deterioration caused it to morph into a need for a restoration. A call to a restoration shop get an estimate of 35K at the time. This was over my head and the original plan by far. I tried another privateer, who's work I saw on vehicles that he had done was beautiful. He passed away in a motor cycle accident after taking the car down to nuts and bolts. I decided, that's it, time to cut the losses. I finally sold the car in 2006 after having lost my job. Dream broken. A full car restoration, is for people with means, lots of skilled buddies to help, or people with the skills to do most of the work themselves. As far as I'm concerned, based on my experience, a bit of luck is also involved.
I disagree with the last statement..... TOP TIER full car restoration is people with means, but it can be done on a budget, Is a guy going to build a 71SS Chevelle, 70 AAR Cuda or 69 Boss Mustang for 10-15 k? No, THAT is for the guys with means but you can build a 74 SS Chevelle, a 74 Duster/Charger or a Fox body Mustang for 10-15k. You can't have Champaign and Cavier only standards when you have a Bud light and Microwavable Burrito budget, you have to be realistic. I have a 73 Buick Regal, the Buick Cousin to the Chevy Monte Carlo/ Olds Cutlass, that I have less than 10 k in. I paid $1200 for it and it was not only running and driving but was inspected, registered and plated. Is that my "dream car"? Hell no, but it's a Cool Classic Car that looks great, drives great, and turns head.
1 million for a clapped out 70 Hemi Challenger was a perfect example of where the classic car market is now. Slick marketing and dumb money with no brains is a bad combination.
Re: Finish the Car- I’ve been in several owner built homes. None were 100% finished. All lacked something, closet doors, finish the drywall, spare bath pretty rough. When doing a project, it seems that 50% of the work, is finishing the last 10%.
I'm in the boomer generation and the whole idea of fixing up old cars was it occupied our spare time and it was a relatively cheap hobby. Now you can't even get a set of points that are good quality and American made. My last project was a 2000 Mustang GT. This era is still affordable and not too complicated to fix up yourself.
Just finished a basket case for a friend. He got the friends and family deal. So my cost was vastly lower than he would have paid elsewhere. The total to me for parts and labor was $35,986. He paid $3500 for the car, and $5000 for the engine. So, about $45K. All of our local body shops quote $10K for paint, IF I brought it premiered and ready to go. I've done panel beating, and generally can make most simple patch panels. Painting primer is something I've done since 1988. Never once have I applied top coats, or clear. Decided it was high time to learn. Had to paint the car twice, but learned a lot. Installing upholstery and covering seats is a no brainer. This time I tried installing the headliner. Came out pretty good, and a steamer did help. Did use Just Dashes to restore the dash, arm rests, and center console. Well worth the cost, even though it was steep! I find these learned skills on my last project priceless, as these skills will be applied to my next (luckily personal) project car. I no longer fear painting, and headliners. I will need to learn some upholstery skill, and buy a used machine. Yes. It is no longer the 1980s were you could get a 67 Mustang notchback for $2500, or a Opel Manta for $500. Those days are long gone, along with $2.50 Big Macs, and $0.75 fries. But, the amount of reproduction parts available today, is far better than those days, where hunting wrecking yards was the only way to find some parts.
Charging 35k for a friend. He got suckered. I just painted my friends Porsche boxster viper red for $4500 (labor and supplies). That's regular shop rate and we did jambs and disassembled all necessary parts! Done in 7 days!
@@MAn-ti3ul I should have been more clear. The almost $37K was to rebuild and repair every system on the car, from the suspension, driveline, engine, interior, wiring, rust repair, previous hidden body damage, replacing four panels (with fitting and welding). Seat foam restoration, upholstery fitting. Converting the car from carburetor to EFI. Not just paint work.
@@dennisgardiner43 Still high in my opinion for a back yard job! I restore mostly mustangs & chevelles in a pro shop and never had a job reach 37k. You need to send those suckers my way!
Younger ppl are not interested in cars these days. Cars are seen as appliances and with EVs they are disposable items like a phone. There are too many regulations now and the hobby is too expensive for most ppl.
You are completely wrong, Tons of younger people are into cars these days, just not 70K muscle cars. Donut is one of the most subscribed to channels on UA-cam.
@@mokeimusic Watching UA-cam is not the same as buying and restoring a car. And I'm pretty sure you don't know "tons of younger people" or what they are doing.
My 26 year old son and all his friends don't give a darn about old cars, I work in a restoration shop and 9 out of 10 old car owners are from 45 -80 years old
@@mokeimusic No you are wrong dude. Just because you see people on You Tube don't mean that kids love those cars. I live across from the high school in town and kids (for the most part) don't drive and if they do they certainly are not any-type of anything resembling a muscle car.
Although ive owned numerous "musclecars," i Got out of the whole "musclecar" building in the early 2000's because of the ridiculous prices for these cars, and went for post war 40's 50's early 60's cars. way less expensive and just as fun. Now I buy cars with no engine/ trans for 2 to 3 k, pick up good running, used small block chevy/Ford engines for 500 to 1,500 bucks and go for a patina finish over shiny paint. I do my own mechanical work and upholstery! ( I taught myself upholstery after buying an industrial sewing machine at a garage sale for $200 bucks ) it's all relative I suppose, but putting together a running driving fully functional vintage car for less than 6 or 7k is not out of reach for most people that have the passion for it. .....(( just my humble opinion ))
When rich guys started having cars restored for them, the hobby became unreachable. In the 70’s we did just what a previous poster did, and that was to get a car running, working and drove it as long as we could enjoying the ride every time we drove it. We slowly worked on things as we drove them. That was awesome, but today things have gone the wrong direction.
Early 2000s I managed a Corvette only shop in California. When the auctions started on TV, we would get calls every time a Corvette would sell on TV for big money. In 2003 we were quoting minimum on 50k for restoration. At the time we were $116.00 hourly. The 50k was based on complete non crashed. Everything rebuilt or replaced. Many cars would run substantially more. Today their rate is close to $200. Hourly.
I've been a gearhead and my own mechanic for more than 50 years. I've thought about mechanically restoring an old vehicle if I make some money in myfiction writing and songwriting career, and my answer is not. One thing which occurs to me is that to do this you have to buy a house. Where I live in Central California, that's a minimum $300,000 plus just to have a two-car garage to call your own. Considering there are places in the United States where I could rent a nice condo or buy outright for not a lot more than I would be paying in property taxes, insurance and excess fuel, utility and the other inflated expenses associated with living in California, maybe it's nor a good idea. A 1990s-era Lexus LS400 is about as retro as I would want to get. Darn, I hate leather, but you just get a shop to put in cushy seat covers. Right?
All these restoration companies buy these up, redo them and charges a huge amount of $$ when selling. The average person has been pushed out by these prices, even if you do it yourself.
IF you can do everything yourself and you have a lot of free time you can do nearly everything. BUT YOU HAVE A LOT TO LEARN... I started messing with cars when I still carried a blanket... 3 years old. Photos of me taking apart the inside of a 1940 FORD. I learned to weld, fit panels, put an interior kit in - seat covers - headliners - etc. I got fitted for my first paint mask at 7 so I could paint a horse trailer then I painted wicker furniture for neighbors, I sandblasted and primed my 57 chev at 13 painted it sold it bought a 71 camaro - same fixed it sold it by the time I graduated I had a IROC Z - a 1969 CHEVELLE - 1968 RS SS 396 camaro and a 69 Corvette. Apprenticed myself to a race engine builder at 18 for 2 years and learned everything I could about high end circle track engines. Then college 4 years then pulp and paper industry for 15. Now I paint old corvettes mostly precise color matches for NCRS judging in lacquer or base clear sprayed to appear as lacquer.. I can restore stainless trim - press out dents and polish stainless trim, and do most anything except machine work -(no mills, fly cutters, hones etc) but am not very efficient at anything other than painting. I really prefer to work on nothing except original unrestored cars and doing recommissioning to make them serviceable and presentable for customers. I do restore cars, last one a 1969 Camaro L78 M22 convertible (only 20 built) and I had 200 hours welding patches and panels in the car prior to beginning actually restoring the car. There were another 500 hours in painting and assembling it. 700 hours approx. The subframe and rear end were already restored with the engine and trans installed in it, seats covered, all the trim was -polished. - labor bill was 70k.
There are still a lot of farmer spec cars like grandad owned that just need to be kept on the road. Who gives a sh*t if it has period correct spark plugs... you'll still get a lot of satisfaction out of doing stuff yourself and driving it. Having some rare car blown apart and living in some paint shop for 10 years, and then bankrupting me doesn't sound like fun at all. The museums are full of perfect cars, it's more fun to drive them.
American car culture is a fading memory. When young (class of ‘68), if an acquaintance drove up in a new car, it soon had the hood up with 10 guys surrounding it. When was the last September, when you & your buddies, drove around to dealerships to see the new models? Autos today are indistinguishable boxes. A box keeps my food cool, a box makes my food hot, & a box takes me to the store to buy food.
@@billhacks that was MY motivation to learn how to build my own engines and transmissions! Now I consider engine building the funnest part of building a car.
Your assessment is very accurate. I am in the restoration business. I do all aspects except for body and paint, glass and interior. It is an exceptional volume of work to take apart and rebuild 50+ year automobiles, and typically more involved depending on how many goobers worked on it before. It has become very expensive. Personally, I really like nice paint and great body work, but like many I have embraced patina and other warts.
20 years ago i priced a restoration (from a reputable classic car restorer) on a '70 Buick GS 455 convertible. it was $60k to take the car apart and re-assemble after the body work was done. That was without purchasing parts or any body repair. Always cheaper to buy one that's already done.
View it as a LABOR OF LOVE. I have a car done, 100% restored for sale for $80,000 - People say:, "you cant restore one for that" money, but I'm not even getting offers .. maybe because its winter in Wisconsin..
Great points, DJ! You're speaking about B-bodies the same way we used to talk about E-bodies 20 years ago. Today, the options for good entries into the hobby are mainly A-bodies and the much overlooked C-bodies. Both platforms were often owned by older buyers and taken better care of (grocery getters, Sunday drivers, etc.). Yes, aftermarket support is less but these cars are often in superior condition. I strongly recommend younger guys take a closer look at Fury's, 300's, Monacos and Polaras.
Your talking about restoration not just fixing up. You also double up on some stuff, "Maybe it needs engine or trans work" well you had already rebuilt an engine and trans, also buying all new parts and like you said, they share alot of common parts with other Mopar cars, that $1000 fender can and SHOULD become a $150 fender off of a Satellite, Belvedere or Polara out of a boneyard, where it's an actual factory made fender and ups the value of the car. I just rebuilt a 73 Buick Regal (same body as the Chevy Monte Carlo and Olds Cutlass) and I spent less than 10k on it including the price of the car with a paint job, but granted I did 99% of the work myself, The only thing I subbed out was doing the headliner and recovering the seats.
I bought a chevy astro van for work for $4300 six months ago Just getting it up to par mechanically im already into it for double that...and thats doing all the work myself.
There is no way to economically justify what I spent to resurrect my worn-out 1963 Ford Falcon hardtop (with its original 260 V-8 and two-speed Ford-O-Matic). But, ..... it has been my dream car since I was sixteen years old. My mind finally snapped, and I decided that I was getting older and there was no point waiting any longer. When I went to look at the car that I bought, I fell in love with it at first sight. I worked on it for about a year and a half before it began to perform like it was supposed to. That was twelve years ago. My Falcon runs perfectly now and puts a smile on my face every time I drive it.
IMO, as someone who has worked on his own classic(s), has helped many, and knows people who do restoration for a living, it comes down to ones own desire of what the car will be used for as well as the definition of "restoration". Most customers of restoration shops actually want an "over restored" car and are expecting jewelry as opposed to a faithful recreation of what Chrysler, GM or FORD would have mass produced. Check out some well preserved, all original, low mileage examples if you ever have the opportunity, you will see some orange peel or a mis-aligned panel once and a while, the things that most people would consider poor work. Also, most classics left do not need restoration, but rather all out repair. Restoration is actually saving, refinishing and reusing most of the original parts, if a car needs three quarters of its sheet metal replaced, interior completely replaced, driveline sourced and redone, you are way past restoration and into total recreation, again IMO, and those cars might as well be built to include modern convenience and safety items so that they can be enjoyed more often on today's roads. My '68 Mustang gets most of its service parts from Rock Auto since I would rather keep it on the road to enjoy as opposed to worrying about every last hose clamp to be correct, with the exception for parts that would only fit right and do the job that would be a reproduction part of course. As it is, I am trying to learn to play guitar half way good so that when the rich people take the car hobby away from me, I still have something cool I can do.
With the rise in housing, auto, food, insurance, etc. a classic car has to take a back seat. It will take years for a come back if there is a come back. Mean while in the coming recession the wealthy will be glad to pay you pennies on the dollar if you need to sell. Sad but I believe it's true.
Start putting unpopular cars on the road. I bought a 74 roadrunner clone that was half taken apart for 500 bucks. I have around 3000 into it now and it is a nice car. It also turns heads like it's a 69 charger. Everyone want to ask me questions when I stop. AND DO THE WORK YOUR SELF.
A new C8 base Corvette is now $71,000. It has a warranty. You can buy an extended warranty. It is fast, safe, handles superbly, has great AC and heat, is comfortable, and can be ordered in the color you want. It has no rust, no bondo, no electrical glitches, the tires are not ten years old.
Spot on. I have a 65 Mercury Park Lane convertible I’m restoring and I’m not a professional and I can’t work on it full time but it’s been a multi year restoration and I’m still not ready for paint. I decided to get the interior pillars and header re-chromed the other day, 650 bucks and I thought that price was actually pretty good. To get my bumpers done I’m looking at like $3k. 65 Park Lane convertible is an incredibly rare car, they only made 3008 of them and most people don’t even know they exist. You’ve really got to be into old FoMoco stuff to know about them, so there isn’t much demand. You’ve can find them for sale every once in awhile in pretty good shape for $25k or so. Definitely less than it costs to build it. I guess I’ll be keeping mine until I die.
Last summer I sold my 1966 Pont Bonavile that I had planed on restoring after retirement. The cost to bring it back to a #2 condition was just way to much . Also, I dont feel like working on cars the way I used to when I was in my 20s. Cars from the 50s and 60s had style.
'grasshopper'.. its not the destination, its the journey..... Im a 67 year old Mopar guy. I 'buy' cars, fix up somewhat and sell them. PRISTINE, nut and bolt restoration? Nope... Ive had more than 170 cars in my long life. I might die with greasy hands working on a old Mopar. My resent cars Ive found for under $10K running and driving. 1970 Barracuda (found north of SFO. California) 1971 Dodge Challenger (found in Bakersfield CA) 1972 Chevelle (Kansas) I sold each of these for under $30K, I made money on each one. None has a paint job costing more than $4K... Each one of those cars, had sellers, much like yourself, had bring dreams, or big profits and lost his way and gave up. I ALWAYS have my eye on the exit.... I KNOW what Im going to sell these cars for.... I LOVE listing my finished cars for sale at $29,999. and my next closest competition is "Asking" $75,000... lol..... Guess who's phone is going to be ringing off the hook. My cars dont last 2 weeks, up for sale... Do my cars have GEN 3 HEMI, with WILWOOD 7 piston caliper disk brakes, and 32 coat clear coat hand buffed and polished..??? Nope... go buy the other clowns car at $75,000.... I do this for "ME"..... I enjoy my work. I get and and out in less than 9 months... Sometimes I have 2-3 cars working at one time... Its a "HOBBY" and it doesnt cost me a dime.... Life is good, and my retirement is fruitful. Every time I think the World will run out of classic cars for me, I meet another guy like you, that had dreams of a $80,000 payday finish line, but right now he has a rusty hulk in the garage with boxes and boxes of new parts ready to go on the car...
I've restored several old muscle cars. It costs a minimum of 50 to 80 thousand dollars. Everything today is very expensive. The key to keeping the price down a little is having a good parts car that you can rob parts off of.
I had a Chevelle back in the mid 90s. There is no way i could afford to buy. I make decent money and it is still unattainable for me. It has gotten just too high for most people now.
Yep, all true enough. I'm working on a 1988 Corvette, which sat for a long time as a stalled project, and it was a smoking deal. I'll still have about $20k in a well-restored $10K car, plus a huge amount of time. And some new tools. But, at least today we have fingertip access to all the resources and information we should ever need. When I started in this hobby, it was parts shops, magazines, printed manuals, and the balls to tear the damn thing apart and figure it out.
You’re absolutely correct , the only option I see is to find an old car that isn’t so popular that is in reasonable condition, fix what needs fixing then drive it. For example I bought a ‘71 LTD 2door hardtop in good nick with a 4 barrel 429. It cost me $7500 ( about $5000 USD). I liked it so much that I bought a convertible with 25,000 miles on it for $17,000 and it drives like a new LTD. Magnum 500’s and BFG’s were all that it needed. My ‘62 Grand Prix cost me $21000 and I spent about $5000 on repairs. None have been resprayed so I don’t have to sweat about scratches etc. I know these cars aren’t for everyone but are examples. Life’s good every time I turn the key.
@ that it does, I’d love to get the Pontiac restored one day but I do have friends that have either restored a car or bought a restored car like my mate that paid $165,000 for a Torana XU-1 that is almost too nice to drive. It might get driven a couple of times a year on club runs and is a solid investment but how much fun is it? My advice to people that can’t afford their dream car is to aim a bit lower, don’t worry about paint and get out and enjoy driving the car. Later in life maybe you can afford something better but meanwhile get your hands dirty then hit the road. I do more miles in a week than most restored cars do in a year. Great channel by the way, just found it today.
Nothing like driving Burt Reynolds car from “White Lightning”… those big block LTD’s were powerful and were great on the open roads. I appreciate all classics, everyone has their own tastes and financial reasons for choosing a car. Unfortunately for me I’m about to sell my car come spring. My financial situation in today’s world has kept my options very limited.. a construction accident 35 yrs ago changed my direction in ways I never imagined. Anyway, my 1971 Roadrunner (Satellite clone) will have to go… it’s pretty nice I have to say with a 383 4-speed, bench seat, rally dash w/tach & white with the black stripes and spoiler, it’s identical to my highschool car except then I had a console and buckets then. I have over 30k (in parts) and hope to get 25k. I’ve owned it 21 years and its difficult to let it go but my property and a dry roof over my head is more important than my nostalgic memories and banging gears😢
Im 29, Always worked on Japanese cars but I always wanted a Muscle car. 4 years ago , I bought a rust bucket 340 Duster 4 speed and yeah , it cost a lot of money to buy parts! What they don't tell you , is the amount of sweat, tears, and blood it need to go back on the road. The car demand all your free time and now I know it's better to buy one that is already running. The metalwork is almost done and maybe it will be back on 4 wheel in a year! Im excited!
Always costs more to restore unless you can do everything yourself. There are few cars worth restoring these days. 68-71 Mopars, 68-72 Chevys and old Mustangs…. for the most part
I am afraid this hobby will only be for the rich to be in. We are so lucky that a couple sold us their 88 Camaro for $1000 ten years ago. The interior was perfect, the clear coat was of GM quality lol, but the engine barely ran. After rebuilding the TBI, respraying the clear coat, and some brake/suspension maintenance, the car looks good drives good for less than $10k. Fortunately, they made this generation of car for 10 years and G-body suspension and brake parts fit. So I bought 90 percent of my parts at AutoZone/ Oreilly. I think buying a car that is completely done or nearly done. I wouldn't attempt to do a complete restoration with today's prices.
I love going to OC Maryland Cruising week just to see all the different classic cars.It always makes me want one but I realize that it is way to expensive not to mention storeing it and the matinance
i never have the patience or money for anything nice, but i try to keep a drivable hobby car around ..currently have a 69 Pontiac Lemans. i replaced the engine, fuel pump, starter, and had a mechanic get the car running well.
In the late 90s I sold a consistent trophy winning 68 Chevelle SS 396 show car for $10.500, back then you could have got just about any muscle car for that amount. There were exceptions, obviously the more rare stuff was more.
You are very realistic in your overview of what a restoration actually cost. Am sending to my unrealistic son. Hope it leaves the desired impression on him, but doubt it. I own a spotless 87’ notch Mustang but think it’s time to let go, things are changing in the auto hobby so fast. Thank you for the video.
There's a difference between "selfishness" (greed) and "self-interest". The first is a vice, the second a virtue that allows you to care for you family and community. But., no quiestion that restoring an old car is a expensive hobby, but my '65 Impala keeps me busy in retirement.
The issue is getting the fixable car thats affordable. A trashed 69 Camero will go for $16,000. Rusty. No parts or engine/tranny. You can buy a full Complete body new for that. Then you $70,000 to get it nice. Road worthy is just not fun to drive.
My 3rd and final comment at the end of the video IS: you don't and wont need to buy many of the parts listed here and you don't need to restore it to new, most people will be happy with a RELIABLE restoration that's presentable inside and out.
I drove bug and bus in the 80-90's, went to a show recently and was blown away by the prices of parts today! I drove a couple of Challengers before the Volkswagens and miss them both. I sold them, I didn't wreck them. They still excite me and I regret parting with them.
If you cant to bodywork, paint, suspension, and most mechanical work yourself, take your "spreadsheet" and just worry about making that bottom dollar amount, sell that 10k turd and hit the classifieds or auctions, you will nerver be able to build that car.
Supply and demand. A hemi Daytona still on the showroom floor in 1981 was 25K. It was in Hemmings forever. We made 2-3$ an hour. Good money was 25K a year. You were not buying it. There was no restoration parts other than junkyards classifieds and NOS. All were expensive in relation to earnings. I could buy a 1969 SS 396 Chevelle for 500$ but to fix it if it spun a bearing or hit a deer. You needed another 500$ parts car lol.
‘69 RR 440/375 (Magnum) add 15% ? I didn’t think they built any with that engine. I thought the RR in ‘69 came with either 383, 426, or 440-6 (A-12). I could be wrong. Not a guru on all things Mopar by any means but me thinks if yours has a 440 Mag then it’s non original and should be negative 15%. Not that I’d turn my nose up at one. Plymouth wanted you to step up to the GTX for that velvet hammer.
I have been doing restorations since high school, I have done cars for people all over the states, movie cars and been involved in TV shows. I have my own cars that I have done my self. Now this is the best I can explain this. You can restore a car but you are going to spend a lot of time if you can turn a wrench. If you pay someone else you will pay double the cost to restore. First this guy uses a Roadrunner, cool car but Mopar are probably the most expensive car to restore, second the common restorations like 66-69 mustang, 55-57 chevy, 67-68 Camaro you are paying top dollar. Ok, so you pick up an oddball then you have to find parts or like I often do sandblast, rebuild a lot of these old cars parts are made to be serviced so you can rebuild most objects like wiper motors or brake components. your biggest cost is body work, then interior, engine drivetrain. The problem facing this hobby/ Industry today is this younger generation don't car about this old iron. When I was younger I built plastic models and built things. This generation is digital and mechanical sense is absent. Another thing is who is going to restore when every seal is a 100$, it's 100-500$ just for simple door handles or emblems. These greedy repops are not helping this hobby. So that being said, Make sure you research you project car and figure the cost and availability of resources needed for you project.
Forgot to mention, Chrome is the most important part of a resto and will be one of the most costly. its hard to find a good chrome shop let alone the EPA has cracked down on these guys hard. so pay attention to all the chrome on these classics and is one of the most overlooked cost factors.
Definitely accurate. However you don’t have to take a car to that level to enjoy it. Actually the nicer they are the less we are willing to drive them. Make it more driver quality and it’s less expensive and utilized more.
I decided as a Mopar guy that I was priced out of the classic market. I couldn't play with A-bodies and 340s anymore. So I bought a 98 Durango instead. I had multiple Dakotas through the years, but as new vehicles and daily drivers, not as my classic toy. Now it's their turn. They are still reasonably cheap, available, and just as much fun. In 20 years they will be just as valuable and rare. The 90's Magnum powered trucks, vans, and Jeeps are the future for the rest of us Mopar fans without deep pockets. They are modern classics. Get them while you still can.
To me, the hobby is not about trying to recreate idealized perfect examples of what the cars were, but to take them from their graves, and with my own sweat and ingenuity, give them whole new life, whatever that looks like. Yes, it costs money, but the way I do it I don't contract my work out, I instead buy tools and learn how to effectively use them. I don't go to machine shops, I rebuild and improve my own engines, using my own hands, basic tools, and hundreds or thousands of hours of research and theory. This means that when I am done, not only do I have one of a kind cool rides, but I also end up with more and more skills that are almost dead, certainly in my area. As a result, a few of the local shops are talking to me about helping them do things they haven't offered in decades, and people give me their phone numbers for random work all the time when I pull up at gas stations or whatever. It's all about how you go about the hobby.
What I've learned- with ANY car or truck- regardless of if it's a car in your garage that is your 'project' or your daily driver, you will need to expect the unexpected. You will be throwing money at it. My 20 year old Cadillac, now worth about $2500. just had a new water pump ($900) Coil packs and spark plugs ($600) Then, most recently, power steering high pressure hose, and heater control on the driver's side replaced. ($600) Now, it needs a steering rack. I am dreading another $1,000 repair. But it's paid for, runs great, and what's the alternative? Buy a new car and pay $60-70k? And those need regular repairs, too! My point? Your car will SURPRISE YOU. At least, I know my car will be in the parking lot when I come out of the store paying twice what I used to pay for groceries. I love honesty- and your video, is exactly that- real, honest and much needed. Thanks!
Good video, sharing the reality of restoring and or building a car just for driving. Not for the faint of heart for sure. Thanks for sharing. Have a great weekend. 👍🇺🇸👍
Instead of a musclecar, start with a pickup truck that was built in the millions. A recently registered Squarebody with patina, indian blanket seat covers with minor rust costs about $4,500 here in Texas. A/C doesnt work and the original motor is tired and leaking oil. You can get a longbed for less.
‘The car is all there’ Most do see a mess of parts and do not want to spend time or dirt their hands. ‘Do the work’ No they won’t, the newer gens want something now, doing nothing but press an order button. The rich buy a classic to look good pushing the prices high and making them out of reach for the few young ones willing to restore. Which is what is killing the hobby/industry: the youth is out of the equation.
You don't find the value of an old car and the best deals by surfing the net. The value of a car is whatever buyer and seller agree on. There are deals out there, but you have to go old school- talk to people, follow up on stories, pound the pavement, knock on doors. If "good deals" make it to the internet, they're gone within hours, if not minutes. $10k for a pile of Roadrunner parts is an ask that is high enough that nobody who saw the ad before you did bought it.
It's cheaper just to buy a new Challenger RT and enjoy......Because basically a new Challenger is a modern day restomod vehicle for the masses....It's got a modern day running gear but it's also got that classic retro style.....You can do 80 MPH on the turnpike all day long at 1600-1700 RPM and not even break a sweat.....Meanwhile in a 3 speed automatic car of any type(or 4 spd) it's screaming at 4500 RPM at 70 MPH....And it probably doesn't have air.... Or 4 wheel anti lock brakes....Or IRS......Or maybe not even a radio....But you can't hear the radio anyways because you have the window rolled down because you don't have air,etc...Plus late model parts are super cheap compared to reproduced parts for a collector vehicle....Old cars are cool and I have a few myself....But I also like the modern day muscle too.
Buying a completed car after carefully inspecting it will be your best avenue to take. In the past 10 years or longer, the quality of parts you purchase have declined greatly. Almost half of parts I've purchased need attention or just won't work at all. I've had to replace 3 camshafts in 2 different cars. Inspecting lifters have showed an alarming rate of defects in manufacturing. You can no longer trust parts right out of the box. Open your wallet, spend the money and buy someone else's completed car. You will be better for it in the long run.
Restoring a Porsche 914 right now and what you say is very correct. No matter what condition you buy the car in it will cost about the same as a fully restored one once you are finished with it. Unless you really like working on the car buy a finished one it will be cheaper.
You see hundreds of these car videos where there’s a pole building full of Mopars and trailer loads of parts and the 74 year old man always says, yeah-up….I’m keeping those, I’m gonna restore ‘em one day. (No, you’re not.)
i have a mopar collection of 7 68-69 Barracudas along with a new Challenger RT Scat Pack Shaker and a Chelleger Hellcat. all my cars are original and manual shifts. i constantly get into "arguments" on Facebook with the exact guys you are referring to who think you can restore a mopar for "$5000 dollars max!" LOL! i do all the work on my cars and one example is a 1968 Barracuda 340 4sp fastback Formula S. this car is an exact duplicate to the same car i had in high school (70-72). i had 2600 hours of labor in the car and at least $15k in parts/materials. i bought the car upon returning from Iraq in 2006 (USMC) and it was my "PTSD therapy." i paid $16k for the car in 2008. so i have around $31k in the car. HOWEVER, i did this car in 2008-09 - i COULD NOT restore the car NOW for what i invested 15 years ago. i watch Mecum and Barrette-Jackson auctions and the prices are down on all muscle cars. you can now buy almost ANY muscle car you want ALREADY DONE for $60k or less. now there are still a few "unique" cars that are $100k plus cars - but the "regular" muscle cars are way down in price. Mecum just sold a NICE 67 427 (390 hp) Corvette convertible for $85k and back in 2015, that was a $110k car all day long. so it is now cheaper to buy a car already restored than it is to do it yourself. the other problem now along with rising parts prices is that a LOT of restoration parts that were being produced 10 years ago are no longer available. go look at a "Year One" catalogue from ten years ago compared to one now and AT LEAST 25% of the parts in the old catalogue are no longer available. as to YOUR Road Runner estimate, i think you could probably take $10k off your final price with buying some used parts off of ebay or facebook marketplace. but you are NOT that far off on your estimates. when i did my 68 Barracuda, i started with a car from Oklahoma that was rust free and already was a decent "driver." as you know, it is ALWAYS better to spend a little more money for a better car to start with than to buy something that has been sitting in a hayfield for 30 years and needs sub-frame and all body panels replaced. your comment on paint,, however IS VERY accurate. i owned an auto body shop once for several years and did all the body work on my 68 Barracuda myself. when i went to get paint, i wanted PPG Acrylic Enamel as that is OEM to Chrysler products. PPG did have "factory mixed" gallons available for my Turbine Bronze color, however, the price was $998.00 A GALLON!! and that was in 2008! i ended up using Acrylic Lacquer (which looks close to OEM mopar single step enamel) and i found that paint at TCP Global paint and body shop materials in San Diego, CA for $315/gallon. THE BOTTOM LINE is - it is EXPENSIVE to restore a car now even if you just want a nice "driver" and not a "trailer queen" "perfect" car. anyone that is still believing that you can do any of these cars now "cheap" are stupid and should be persuaded not to even try. i did subscribe to your channel as you do know what you're talking about.
Cash for Clunkers, which destroyed a lot of Perfectly running cars and parts at the junk yards . Then when Covid hit a lot of smaller shops shut down when they couldn't get parts. Add inflation on EVERYTHING and it just takes any of the fun out of the hobby. There will always be people that love these cars but not everyone has the time and money to devote to them so the popularity as it stands now is at an all time low, no matter what you see on social media.
My stepson gave me a 1973 Nova hatchback. It runs good, trans shifts good for now. Needs quarter panels, taillight panel, front fender repairs. the costs of the body parts are a lot. Interior need work, a lot of work. It's not a desirable car for the year it is and going to sell it before sticking a lot of time and money in it. Just my take on even getting a runner going.
Oh my yes parts are ridiculous. I'm going slow on my 70 nova 4 door I got a decent paint job 5000.00. So far everything else done myself. Just a driver.
You're going to go Broke Restoring a Classic Car. That's why there are so many Unfinished Projects Lurking on Craigslist and Facebook. I've picked up quite a Few Sweet Deals, especially California Cars, No Rust. I wish I was Jay Leno, where I have Police and Fire Depts. calling me and telling me there is some Old Car in a Garage here, Jay. Do you want it? For Free?
With all due respect, you chose a mopar to use as an example, one of the most expensive vehicles to restore. And if you can't do a large part of this work, by that, I mean almost all of it or at least try to, then, Yes, you will have that much in it
Basically, you're shooting too high and you're not hitting anything. Its 2024 and us old guys are going off quickly. No one is willing to pay $50K or more for a car... Old cars are great, you can still get in one for under $15k.. No one really wants a garage queen. Get out and DRIVE...
Great video...straight forward and honest. Yes, it takes big bucks (subjectively) and lots of commitment to go through the entire process of restoring one's dream machine. The biggest mistake that most people make is dreaming too big on a small budget, and/or impulsively diving into something they really know nothing about because they saw too many (fantasy) episodes of Garage Squad on TV. BUT, anyone can enjoy the car hobby on just about any budget...just know your limitations. If everyone could afford a $125,000 A-12 Road Runner that very special ride would not be so special.
Oneaspect of car restoration you didn't mention was not having the car for a significant period of time while it's being worked on. Another cost we face is shipping and sales tax on all the parts and paint.
To paint my 1970 dart myself, the paint and supplies were 6k. This includes paint , sandpaper, filler, primer, etc. 50% of the paint price now is environmental surcharges. There is no such thing anymore of a 10k paiint job unless you just have them paint over the dents and rust or 3" of bondo.
I just finished a 66 bronco, Minimal filller usage because I did metal work. 1gal light USC filler 30$ USC icing40$ 2k primer/Hardener 180$ Sandpaper, tape. 200$ 1 gal BC Serwin Williams BC Brittney blue 280$, 2qts Wimbledon White 120$ Clear/ hardener 250$. Wet sand paper and buffing compounds 200$. Who ever sold you your paint made a mint and most of these materials will carry me over to another job.
You can still buy single stage acyrilic enamel paint in the USA 🇺🇸 for a couple of hundred bucks…it’s the kind of paint that they used to paint them at the factory
And you will never get your money back out of these cars. They are fun to drive and own but they are money pits. I have around 50k to 60k into my car. I tried to sell it on a classic car auction in 2023 with a 40k reserve. The best I was offered was 32k. Other then the frame and most of the body panels I had to replace everything else. So guess what? I’ll be keeping my car. I love driving it.
@einstein3509 Right, I still have my 1996 Ford F150 with a 5.0L (302) Windsor V8 with 211,000 miles on it and still going strong as the day I bought it back in 2015.
@@CJColvin That’s awesome I own a 1992 Ford F150 with the 4.9L (inline 6) I bought from a friend back in 2005 for $525. It now has over 335,000 miles on its and it’s daily driven. We own a 2011 RAV that is an absolutely great running car no complaints. Which one do you think my wife daily drives? You guessed it. She drives that old 92 Ford every day.
A lot of his prices seemed like full retail pricing for everything. A nice cruiser car can be done for less than half those numbers! Not every car needs to be a trailer queen!
It’s a numbers game. The amount of classic muscle cars left slowly gets lower and lower. Some get totaled. Some burn in a home fire. Some are stolen, etc…. Over the years this lowers the supply and the demand is still high for these cars. Why? Style. No cars since the 1960’s have the same effort put into style. Cars since then have become more efficient but they all look about the same. I bought a 1967 Firebird with a 326 and a two speed transmission in 1987 for $1200. I bought a 1972 Chevelle Malibu in 1996 for $3500. Both cars were in good shape and yea I miss working on them but now the hobby is to expensive.
When it comes to classic cars greed is not the issue rather supply and demand, all of the Boomers that are looking for 60’s muscle cars are peaking right now. Not taking into account inflation these cars that will sell for 80K today will drop over the next 20 years as the boomers age out. If I have a 68 Charger RT in nice condition and ask 100K and someone buys it how can that be greed? I enjoy going to car shows and seeing the restored or original cars of my youth but while I have the ability to purchase one just can’t justify the expense.
In 1982 a friend of mine bought a 1970 Dodge Challenger 440 - 4 Speed in decent shape for $1500.00. That car today would be worth almost $100K if it was kept up etc. Take into account these cars are over half a century old now. I own a 1974 Dodge Challenger (restored between 2006 - 2012) in Tucson. Total restoration cost to show quality was almost $100K over six years for it to be a 1970 T/A clone. This year I put a 408 Stroker custom built. The additional cost was $17K. I'm 65 years old. Unfortunately not many young people would have the means or passion to spend this kind of money on a hobby. (IMO).
Kids are buying cars from the 2000’s. My 21yo niece loves her 02 Honda Civic and has already fixed a few things up on it. She wouldn’t pay $500 for a 50+yo muscle car project but she’s still a car enthusiast.
I'm sorry but a Roadrunner would not have been representative. A Satellite would have been starting off in initial cost. Even that wouldn't be much better since Mopar parts for B bodies are crazy. I have done three and am now on my fourth a 67 Parklane. My 410 FE big block cost a total of $4000 in labor and parts with me locating the parts to be used. I assemble the engine. I do needed body work and paint ($500 1 gal. PPG Concept SS) if needed. I don't do upholstery but have someone trusted do it for me since 2003. My vehicles restored by me to a high grade 3 condition are 68 Mustang, 65 F-100, and 73 Polara. The recently acquired 72 Ambassador wagon turns out to need basic maintenance only. None of those three were more than $6500 beyond cost of buying. I will grant you that those selling projects are generally nuts when it comes to what they are really worth. I have 11 fine running cars.
Wanna make a small fortune restoring old cars?
Start with a large fortune
I'm the first guy to tell you the classic car hobby is unaffordable to most working class people but there's a huge difference between a ground up restoration and getting an old car roadworthy but not perfect so you can just go out and enjoy it.
That's how I am with my 1969 Cadillac Coupe, its just a nice cruiser, in good condition but has flaws.
I disagree with that 1st sentence, The Classic Car hobby IS affordable for the working class, just not the TOP of the lot, not many have 71 SS Chevelle money, but they do have 74 Chevelle or 76 Nova money, The guy down at the bean mill isn't going to have 71 AAR Cuda money but they have 73 Duster or 77 Volare money..... I have a kid (early 20 something so he's a kid to me at 52 years old) at work that was looking for a White 2 door 69 Impala like the one his Grandpa had when back in the day, but he couldn't find one that he could afford, So I helped him find a 4 door 69 Impala, not the exactly the same body but everything else was exactly the same and close enough, and it was half the price as a 2 door..... He really has no memories of the car so close is close enough.
In the last three years i have built a 69 camaro
Total cost $68,000
A 1971 Duster
Total cost $82,000
And a 1967 chevelle
Total cost $38,000
And if i were to sell them i would be lucky to get half of the cost
And zero for my massive labor hours.
It's financial folly.
Yeah but if it’s a genuine hobby you thoroughly enjoy, probably added years to your life.
If you can only get half...you must do terrible work and not know how to read the market.
Truth
@@SesameStreetRacingChannelPeople are foolish and dump tons of money into something that is only worth what someone is willing to pay. Never have I seen anyone get more for a car than they put into it. If your time is worth nothing, then you may break even.
What's the cost of sitting in a LazyBoy and watching Cable News all day ?
Moral of the story? Buy one that is done
Problem is. So many hack jobs exist, that look fantastic until you have to replace something and then it all falls apart
@@DominatorGarage One has to be sharp when buying those cars. One has to know what they are doing.
If you can’t spot a hack job during your inspection, you shouldn’t own older cars.
Bought 55 Chevy with $90k in receipts paid $50k for it.
I've rebuilt a few cars that someone bought restored and I'm redoing it.
I’ve dabbled in the classic car hobby for a long time. First thing I learned was it’s cheaper to buy something in good enough condition that you can go to the local cruise night as is. When you get to the cruise you’re going to notice that everyone has a 68 Road Runner/Camaro/GTO/Chevelle, that’s why I ended up with a K20 Chevy Pickup. Not only are the less desirable vehicles a lot cheaper but they’re more interesting. If your vehicle is 50+ years old you’re going to get noticed. The coolest thing I saw last year was a slant 6 Barracuda! They made more with HEMI’s than slant 6’s. Any Wagon is going to stand out in a crowd as well.
Restoration is a 'broad' term. When I lived in San Diego, I tried to find a resto shop to do my 67 fastback mustang. Not a single shop I found actually used a roticery to do full body resto. The majority of cars I say in the area were done by DIYers, some really well. I resorted to doing it on my own. 3 years later, $30K in parts, 2500 hrs labor, it was done. It was a well documented big block 4spd car and was published in more than one Mustang magazine. 28 years later, I opted to sell the car for $58K as I had my fun driving/showing this car. It was never done as a business opportunity, but rather to live my dream of restoring a car to this level in my lifetime. I'm very glad I did it when I was single.
Apologize for this being long... Restoring a classic car, is one of those things called a dream. It's relatively easy to get big eyes, and into it by buying that project car you want that needs work, but it's cheap. Reality hits real fast. I was there myself, I bought a '71 Pontiac Trans-Am in 1978 for $4K. I was a greenhorn to the hobby, and sure made some mistakes.
The idea was to follow the example of a car magazine article I saw back in the day; "The $5000 Muscle Car". The idea was to buy a car in relatively good running, driving and complete condition, do some fixing up, and wind up somewhere around that budget. The Trans-Am seemed to fit that bill. Ran great, looked nice, no rust. Then, reality hit. Discovered that the car had been repainted over the top with lacquer blue stripes and clear coat over the original cameo white enamel, a no-no. Exposed to moisture in the metal storage unit I had the car in for a time, the whole top of the car had turned brown, checked down to the metal.
Later on having saved the estimated money to have it painted (sure, I could have hacked at painting it myself, but I wanted a professional paint job that would do this rare car justice), other things went wrong, including finding the car had been rear-ended in the passenger side rear, causing waves in the sheet metal along the car that I didn't have the eye to see when purchased. Found the right rear quarter panel had been replaced. Problems piled on; A privateer garage painter disappearing and leaving my car abandoned in a junk yard in the middle of the project. After some years more time, more deterioration caused it to morph into a need for a restoration. A call to a restoration shop get an estimate of 35K at the time.
This was over my head and the original plan by far. I tried another privateer, who's work I saw on vehicles that he had done was beautiful. He passed away in a motor cycle accident after taking the car down to nuts and bolts. I decided, that's it, time to cut the losses. I finally sold the car in 2006 after having lost my job. Dream broken.
A full car restoration, is for people with means, lots of skilled buddies to help, or people with the skills to do most of the work themselves. As far as I'm concerned, based on my experience, a bit of luck is also involved.
Thanks for sharing, restoring can be a rough journey for sure. You don't know what you don't know till you start this journey
I disagree with the last statement..... TOP TIER full car restoration is people with means, but it can be done on a budget, Is a guy going to build a 71SS Chevelle, 70 AAR Cuda or 69 Boss Mustang for 10-15 k? No, THAT is for the guys with means but you can build a 74 SS Chevelle, a 74 Duster/Charger or a Fox body Mustang for 10-15k. You can't have Champaign and Cavier only standards when you have a Bud light and Microwavable Burrito budget, you have to be realistic. I have a 73 Buick Regal, the Buick Cousin to the Chevy Monte Carlo/ Olds Cutlass, that I have less than 10 k in. I paid $1200 for it and it was not only running and driving but was inspected, registered and plated. Is that my "dream car"? Hell no, but it's a Cool Classic Car that looks great, drives great, and turns head.
1 million for a clapped out 70 Hemi Challenger was a perfect example of where the classic car market is now. Slick marketing and dumb money with no brains is a bad combination.
We always need to remember that our old car’s job ito make people smile”.
Re: Finish the Car- I’ve been in several owner built homes. None were 100% finished. All lacked something, closet doors, finish the drywall, spare bath pretty rough. When doing a project, it seems that 50% of the work, is finishing the last 10%.
I'm in the boomer generation and the whole idea of fixing up old cars was it occupied our spare time and it was a relatively cheap hobby. Now you can't even get a set of points that are good quality and American made. My last project was a 2000 Mustang GT. This era is still affordable and not too complicated to fix up yourself.
A lot of parts are made in China for are classic cars and most is junk years ago are parts were made in USA and were great
Just finished a basket case for a friend. He got the friends and family deal. So my cost was vastly lower than he would have paid elsewhere. The total to me for parts and labor was $35,986. He paid $3500 for the car, and $5000 for the engine. So, about $45K. All of our local body shops quote $10K for paint, IF I brought it premiered and ready to go.
I've done panel beating, and generally can make most simple patch panels. Painting primer is something I've done since 1988. Never once have I applied top coats, or clear. Decided it was high time to learn. Had to paint the car twice, but learned a lot. Installing upholstery and covering seats is a no brainer. This time I tried installing the headliner. Came out pretty good, and a steamer did help.
Did use Just Dashes to restore the dash, arm rests, and center console. Well worth the cost, even though it was steep!
I find these learned skills on my last project priceless, as these skills will be applied to my next (luckily personal) project car. I no longer fear painting, and headliners. I will need to learn some upholstery skill, and buy a used machine.
Yes. It is no longer the 1980s were you could get a 67 Mustang notchback for $2500, or a Opel Manta for $500. Those days are long gone, along with $2.50 Big Macs, and $0.75 fries. But, the amount of reproduction parts available today, is far better than those days, where hunting wrecking yards was the only way to find some parts.
Charging 35k for a friend. He got suckered. I just painted my friends Porsche boxster viper red for $4500 (labor and supplies). That's regular shop rate and we did jambs and disassembled all necessary parts! Done in 7 days!
@@MAn-ti3ul I should have been more clear. The almost $37K was to rebuild and repair every system on the car, from the suspension, driveline, engine, interior, wiring, rust repair, previous hidden body damage, replacing four panels (with fitting and welding). Seat foam restoration, upholstery fitting. Converting the car from carburetor to EFI. Not just paint work.
@@dennisgardiner43 Still high in my opinion for a back yard job! I restore mostly mustangs & chevelles in a pro shop and never had a job reach 37k. You need to send those suckers my way!
Younger ppl are not interested in cars these days. Cars are seen as appliances and with EVs they are disposable items like a phone. There are too many regulations now and the hobby is too expensive for most ppl.
You are completely wrong, Tons of younger people are into cars these days, just not 70K muscle cars. Donut is one of the most subscribed to channels on UA-cam.
@@mokeimusic Watching UA-cam is not the same as buying and restoring a car. And I'm pretty sure you don't know "tons of younger people" or what they are doing.
Because they can't afford it. The days of picking up a 440 RR for $5k are long gone.
My 26 year old son and all his friends don't give a darn about old cars, I work in a restoration shop and 9 out of 10 old car owners are from 45 -80 years old
@@mokeimusic No you are wrong dude. Just because you see people on You Tube don't mean that kids love those cars. I live across from the high school in town and kids (for the most part) don't drive and if they do they certainly are not any-type of anything resembling a muscle car.
Although ive owned numerous "musclecars," i Got out of the whole "musclecar" building in the early 2000's because of the ridiculous prices for these cars, and went for post war 40's 50's early 60's cars. way less expensive and just as fun. Now I buy cars with no engine/ trans for 2 to 3 k, pick up good running, used small block chevy/Ford engines for 500 to 1,500 bucks and go for a patina finish over shiny paint. I do my own mechanical work and upholstery! ( I taught myself upholstery after buying an industrial sewing machine at a garage sale for $200 bucks ) it's all relative I suppose, but putting together a running driving fully functional vintage car for less than 6 or 7k is not out of reach for most people that have the passion for it. .....(( just my humble opinion ))
When rich guys started having cars restored for them, the hobby became unreachable. In the 70’s we did just what a previous poster did, and that was to get a car running, working and drove it as long as we could enjoying the ride every time we drove it. We slowly worked on things as we drove them. That was awesome, but today things have gone the wrong direction.
I really started noticing the skyrocketing prices when Barrett Jackson auctions were televised. People suddenly thought they all had $$ cars .
Early 2000s I managed a Corvette only shop in California. When the auctions started on TV, we would get calls every time a Corvette would sell on TV for big money. In 2003 we were quoting minimum on 50k for restoration. At the time we were $116.00 hourly. The 50k was based on complete non crashed. Everything rebuilt or replaced. Many cars would run substantially more. Today their rate is close to $200. Hourly.
I've been a gearhead and my own mechanic for more than 50 years. I've thought about mechanically restoring an old vehicle if I make some money in myfiction writing and songwriting career, and my answer is not. One thing which occurs to me is that to do this you have to buy a house. Where I live in Central California, that's a minimum $300,000 plus just to have a two-car garage to call your own. Considering there are places in the United States where I could rent a nice condo or buy outright for not a lot more than I would be paying in property taxes, insurance and excess fuel, utility and the other inflated expenses associated with living in California, maybe it's nor a good idea.
A 1990s-era Lexus LS400 is about as retro as I would want to get. Darn, I hate leather, but you just get a shop to put in cushy seat covers. Right?
J Leno said it best classic car restoration is the more money than brain's club.
All these restoration companies buy these up, redo them and charges a huge amount of $$ when selling. The average person has been pushed out by these prices, even if you do it yourself.
Never learned welding. Body work is the biggest expense. If you can weld and do body work👍👍
IF you can do everything yourself and you have a lot of free time you can do nearly everything. BUT YOU HAVE A LOT TO LEARN... I started messing with cars when I still carried a blanket... 3 years old. Photos of me taking apart the inside of a 1940 FORD.
I learned to weld, fit panels, put an interior kit in - seat covers - headliners - etc.
I got fitted for my first paint mask at 7 so I could paint a horse trailer then I painted wicker furniture for neighbors, I sandblasted and primed my 57 chev at 13 painted it sold it bought a 71 camaro - same fixed it sold it by the time I graduated I had a IROC Z - a 1969 CHEVELLE - 1968 RS SS 396 camaro and a 69 Corvette.
Apprenticed myself to a race engine builder at 18 for 2 years and learned everything I could about high end circle track engines.
Then college 4 years then pulp and paper industry for 15.
Now I paint old corvettes mostly precise color matches for NCRS judging in lacquer or base clear sprayed to appear as lacquer..
I can restore stainless trim - press out dents and polish stainless trim, and do most anything except machine work -(no mills, fly cutters, hones etc) but am not very efficient at anything other than painting.
I really prefer to work on nothing except original unrestored cars and doing recommissioning to make them serviceable and presentable for customers.
I do restore cars, last one a 1969 Camaro L78 M22 convertible (only 20 built) and I had 200 hours welding patches and panels in the car prior to beginning actually restoring the car. There were another 500 hours in painting and assembling it.
700 hours approx. The subframe and rear end were already restored with the engine and trans installed in it, seats covered, all the trim was -polished. - labor bill was 70k.
Nothing wrong with doing work for filthy rich people . If you provide the quality they are looking for price is not an issue for them.
There are still a lot of farmer spec cars like grandad owned that just need to be kept on the road. Who gives a sh*t if it has period correct spark plugs... you'll still get a lot of satisfaction out of doing stuff yourself and driving it. Having some rare car blown apart and living in some paint shop for 10 years, and then bankrupting me doesn't sound like fun at all. The museums are full of perfect cars, it's more fun to drive them.
@@shedbythetracks Exactly mate
@@CJColvin 😁
thats heresy you might as well pull a 383 out of a road runner and put in a fuel injected 440 oh wait never mind i left it running
@@matthewgibbs6886 😆
@@CJColvin 😁
American car culture is a fading memory. When young (class of ‘68), if an acquaintance drove up in a new car, it soon had the hood up with 10 guys surrounding it. When was the last September, when you & your buddies, drove around to dealerships to see the new models? Autos today are indistinguishable boxes. A box keeps my food cool, a box makes my food hot, & a box takes me to the store to buy food.
I dont restore cars. I just fix them and drive them. Its not worth sinking a ton of money into a classic and then be scared to drive it
It's sad that car culture is dying, Auctions and TV shows are to blame for all of this.
They are definitely part of the problem.
Other reasons are cost and fraud.
Car lots that buy car's and need to make a profit over and over.dont buy from classic car lots prices will fall apart.
They aren't the ones charging 5k to build a motor or 5k for a transmission etc.
@@billhacks that was MY motivation to learn how to build my own engines and transmissions! Now I consider engine building the funnest part of building a car.
Your assessment is very accurate. I am in the restoration business. I do all aspects except for body and paint, glass and interior. It is an exceptional volume of work to take apart and rebuild 50+ year automobiles, and typically more involved depending on how many goobers worked on it before. It has become very expensive. Personally, I really like nice paint and great body work, but like many I have embraced patina and other warts.
20 years ago i priced a restoration (from a reputable classic car restorer) on a '70 Buick GS 455 convertible. it was $60k to take the car apart and re-assemble after the body work was done. That was without purchasing parts or any body repair. Always cheaper to buy one that's already done.
After I finish a car I lose interest in it fairly quickly.
View it as a LABOR OF LOVE.
I have a car done, 100% restored for sale for $80,000 - People say:, "you cant restore one for that" money, but I'm not even getting offers .. maybe because its winter in Wisconsin..
Great points, DJ! You're speaking about B-bodies the same way we used to talk about E-bodies 20 years ago. Today, the options for good entries into the hobby are mainly A-bodies and the much overlooked C-bodies. Both platforms were often owned by older buyers and taken better care of (grocery getters, Sunday drivers, etc.). Yes, aftermarket support is less but these cars are often in superior condition. I strongly recommend younger guys take a closer look at Fury's, 300's, Monacos and Polaras.
Your talking about restoration not just fixing up. You also double up on some stuff, "Maybe it needs engine or trans work" well you had already rebuilt an engine and trans, also buying all new parts and like you said, they share alot of common parts with other Mopar cars, that $1000 fender can and SHOULD become a $150 fender off of a Satellite, Belvedere or Polara out of a boneyard, where it's an actual factory made fender and ups the value of the car. I just rebuilt a 73 Buick Regal (same body as the Chevy Monte Carlo and Olds Cutlass) and I spent less than 10k on it including the price of the car with a paint job, but granted I did 99% of the work myself, The only thing I subbed out was doing the headliner and recovering the seats.
I bought a chevy astro van for work for $4300 six months ago Just getting it up to par mechanically im already into it for double that...and thats doing all the work myself.
There is no way to economically justify what I spent to resurrect my worn-out 1963 Ford Falcon hardtop (with its original 260 V-8 and two-speed Ford-O-Matic). But, ..... it has been my dream car since I was sixteen years old. My mind finally snapped, and I decided that I was getting older and there was no point waiting any longer. When I went to look at the car that I bought, I fell in love with it at first sight. I worked on it for about a year and a half before it began to perform like it was supposed to. That was twelve years ago. My Falcon runs perfectly now and puts a smile on my face every time I drive it.
Its was totaly worth it then!
IMO, as someone who has worked on his own classic(s), has helped many, and knows people who do restoration for a living, it comes down to ones own desire of what the car will be used for as well as the definition of "restoration". Most customers of restoration shops actually want an "over restored" car and are expecting jewelry as opposed to a faithful recreation of what Chrysler, GM or FORD would have mass produced. Check out some well preserved, all original, low mileage examples if you ever have the opportunity, you will see some orange peel or a mis-aligned panel once and a while, the things that most people would consider poor work. Also, most classics left do not need restoration, but rather all out repair. Restoration is actually saving, refinishing and reusing most of the original parts, if a car needs three quarters of its sheet metal replaced, interior completely replaced, driveline sourced and redone, you are way past restoration and into total recreation, again IMO, and those cars might as well be built to include modern convenience and safety items so that they can be enjoyed more often on today's roads.
My '68 Mustang gets most of its service parts from Rock Auto since I would rather keep it on the road to enjoy as opposed to worrying about every last hose clamp to be correct, with the exception for parts that would only fit right and do the job that would be a reproduction part of course. As it is, I am trying to learn to play guitar half way good so that when the rich people take the car hobby away from me, I still have something cool I can do.
With the rise in housing, auto, food, insurance, etc. a classic car has to take a back seat. It will take years for a come back if there is a come back. Mean while in the coming recession the wealthy will be glad to pay you pennies on the dollar if you need to sell. Sad but I believe it's true.
Start putting unpopular cars on the road. I bought a 74 roadrunner clone that was half taken apart for 500 bucks. I have around 3000 into it now and it is a nice car. It also turns heads like it's a 69 charger. Everyone want to ask me questions when I stop. AND DO THE WORK YOUR SELF.
A new C8 base Corvette is now $71,000. It has a warranty. You can buy an extended warranty. It is fast, safe, handles superbly, has great AC and heat, is comfortable, and can be ordered in the color you want. It has no rust, no bondo, no electrical glitches, the tires are not ten years old.
Spot on. I have a 65 Mercury Park Lane convertible I’m restoring and I’m not a professional and I can’t work on it full time but it’s been a multi year restoration and I’m still not ready for paint. I decided to get the interior pillars and header re-chromed the other day, 650 bucks and I thought that price was actually pretty good. To get my bumpers done I’m looking at like $3k. 65 Park Lane convertible is an incredibly rare car, they only made 3008 of them and most people don’t even know they exist. You’ve really got to be into old FoMoco stuff to know about them, so there isn’t much demand. You’ve can find them for sale every once in awhile in pretty good shape for $25k or so. Definitely less than it costs to build it. I guess I’ll be keeping mine until I die.
Last summer I sold my 1966 Pont Bonavile that I had planed on restoring after retirement. The cost to bring it back to a #2 condition was just way to much . Also, I dont feel like working on cars the way I used to when I was in my 20s. Cars from the 50s and 60s had style.
'grasshopper'.. its not the destination, its the journey..... Im a 67 year old Mopar guy. I 'buy' cars, fix up somewhat and sell them. PRISTINE, nut and bolt restoration? Nope... Ive had more than 170 cars in my long life. I might die with greasy hands working on a old Mopar. My resent cars Ive found for under $10K running and driving. 1970 Barracuda (found north of SFO. California) 1971 Dodge Challenger (found in Bakersfield CA) 1972 Chevelle (Kansas) I sold each of these for under $30K, I made money on each one. None has a paint job costing more than $4K... Each one of those cars, had sellers, much like yourself, had bring dreams, or big profits and lost his way and gave up. I ALWAYS have my eye on the exit.... I KNOW what Im going to sell these cars for.... I LOVE listing my finished cars for sale at $29,999. and my next closest competition is "Asking" $75,000... lol..... Guess who's phone is going to be ringing off the hook. My cars dont last 2 weeks, up for sale... Do my cars have GEN 3 HEMI, with WILWOOD 7 piston caliper disk brakes, and 32 coat clear coat hand buffed and polished..??? Nope... go buy the other clowns car at $75,000....
I do this for "ME"..... I enjoy my work. I get and and out in less than 9 months... Sometimes I have 2-3 cars working at one time... Its a "HOBBY" and it doesnt cost me a dime.... Life is good, and my retirement is fruitful. Every time I think the World will run out of classic cars for me, I meet another guy like you, that had dreams of a $80,000 payday finish line, but right now he has a rusty hulk in the garage with boxes and boxes of new parts ready to go on the car...
I've restored several old muscle cars. It costs a minimum of 50 to 80 thousand dollars. Everything today is very expensive. The key to keeping the price down a little is having a good parts car that you can rob parts off of.
I had a Chevelle back in the mid 90s. There is no way i could afford to buy. I make decent money and it is still unattainable for me. It has gotten just too high for most people now.
Yep, all true enough. I'm working on a 1988 Corvette, which sat for a long time as a stalled project, and it was a smoking deal. I'll still have about $20k in a well-restored $10K car, plus a huge amount of time. And some new tools. But, at least today we have fingertip access to all the resources and information we should ever need. When I started in this hobby, it was parts shops, magazines, printed manuals, and the balls to tear the damn thing apart and figure it out.
I'm restoring 2 cars right now. Won't do any more. It's just too expensive.
Add orphan cars like my three Hudson,Nash,Studebaker! Challenge bigtime!
You’re absolutely correct , the only option I see is to find an old car that isn’t so popular that is in reasonable condition, fix what needs fixing then drive it. For example I bought a ‘71 LTD 2door hardtop in good nick with a 4 barrel 429. It cost me $7500 ( about $5000 USD). I liked it so much that I bought a convertible with 25,000 miles on it for $17,000 and it drives like a new LTD. Magnum 500’s and BFG’s were all that it needed. My ‘62 Grand Prix cost me $21000 and I spent about $5000 on repairs. None have been resprayed so I don’t have to sweat about scratches etc. I know these cars aren’t for everyone but are examples. Life’s good every time I turn the key.
If it works for you that is all that counts.
@ that it does, I’d love to get the Pontiac restored one day but I do have friends that have either restored a car or bought a restored car like my mate that paid $165,000 for a Torana XU-1 that is almost too nice to drive. It might get driven a couple of times a year on club runs and is a solid investment but how much fun is it? My advice to people that can’t afford their dream car is to aim a bit lower, don’t worry about paint and get out and enjoy driving the car. Later in life maybe you can afford something better but meanwhile get your hands dirty then hit the road. I do more miles in a week than most restored cars do in a year. Great channel by the way, just found it today.
Nothing like driving Burt Reynolds car from “White Lightning”… those big block LTD’s were powerful and were great on the open roads. I appreciate all classics, everyone has their own tastes and financial reasons for choosing a car.
Unfortunately for me I’m about to sell my car come spring. My financial situation in today’s world has kept my options very limited.. a construction accident 35 yrs ago changed my direction in ways I never imagined. Anyway, my 1971 Roadrunner (Satellite clone) will have to go… it’s pretty nice I have to say with a 383 4-speed, bench seat, rally dash w/tach & white with the black stripes and spoiler, it’s identical to my highschool car except then I had a console and buckets then. I have over 30k (in parts) and hope to get 25k. I’ve owned it 21 years and its difficult to let it go but my property and a dry roof over my head is more important than my nostalgic memories and banging gears😢
Im 29, Always worked on Japanese cars but I always wanted a Muscle car. 4 years ago , I bought a rust bucket 340 Duster 4 speed and yeah , it cost a lot of money to buy parts! What they don't tell you , is the amount of sweat, tears, and blood it need to go back on the road. The car demand all your free time and now I know it's better to buy one that is already running. The metalwork is almost done and maybe it will be back on 4 wheel in a year! Im excited!
Always costs more to restore unless you can do everything yourself. There are few cars worth restoring these days. 68-71 Mopars, 68-72 Chevys and old Mustangs…. for the most part
I did a 68 Camaro myself for 10k and I’m in Europe. This list seems a little much
I am afraid this hobby will only be for the rich to be in. We are so lucky that a couple sold us their 88 Camaro for $1000 ten years ago. The interior was perfect, the clear coat was of GM quality lol, but the engine barely ran. After rebuilding the TBI, respraying the clear coat, and some brake/suspension maintenance, the car looks good drives good for less than $10k. Fortunately, they made this generation of car for 10 years and G-body suspension and brake parts fit. So I bought 90 percent of my parts at AutoZone/ Oreilly. I think buying a car that is completely done or nearly done. I wouldn't attempt to do a complete restoration with today's prices.
There is a reason most car daddies are over 50. They have the $ and skills.
I love going to OC Maryland Cruising week just to see all the different classic cars.It always makes me want one but I realize that it is way to expensive not to mention storeing it and the matinance
i never have the patience or money for anything nice, but i try to keep a drivable hobby car around ..currently have a 69 Pontiac Lemans. i replaced the engine, fuel pump, starter, and had a mechanic get the car running well.
In the late 90s I sold a consistent trophy winning 68 Chevelle SS 396 show car for $10.500, back then you could have got just about any muscle car for that amount. There were exceptions, obviously the more rare stuff was more.
You are very realistic in your overview of what a restoration actually cost. Am sending to my unrealistic son. Hope it leaves the desired impression on him, but doubt it. I own a spotless 87’ notch Mustang but think it’s time to let go, things are changing in the auto hobby so fast. Thank you for the video.
I'd say add another 10K on your estimate. In restoring any vehicle you are going to run into surprises that end up costing more money.
There's a difference between "selfishness" (greed) and "self-interest". The first is a vice, the second a virtue that allows you to care for you family and community. But., no quiestion that restoring an old car is a expensive hobby, but my '65 Impala keeps me busy in retirement.
The issue is getting the fixable car thats affordable. A trashed 69 Camero will go for $16,000. Rusty. No parts or engine/tranny. You can buy a full Complete body new for that. Then you $70,000 to get it nice. Road worthy is just not fun to drive.
My 3rd and final comment at the end of the video IS: you don't and wont need to buy many of the parts listed here and you don't need to restore it to new, most people will be happy with a RELIABLE restoration that's presentable inside and out.
I drove bug and bus in the 80-90's, went to a show recently and was blown away by the prices of parts today! I drove a couple of Challengers before the Volkswagens and miss them both. I sold them, I didn't wreck them. They still excite me and I regret parting with them.
If you cant to bodywork, paint, suspension, and most mechanical work yourself, take your "spreadsheet" and just worry about making that bottom dollar amount, sell that 10k turd and hit the classifieds or auctions, you will nerver be able to build that car.
Supply and demand. A hemi Daytona still on the showroom floor in 1981 was 25K. It was in Hemmings forever. We made 2-3$ an hour. Good money was 25K a year. You were not buying it. There was no restoration parts other than junkyards classifieds and NOS. All were expensive in relation to earnings. I could buy a 1969 SS 396 Chevelle for 500$ but to fix it if it spun a bearing or hit a deer. You needed another 500$ parts car lol.
‘69 RR 440/375 (Magnum) add 15% ? I didn’t think they built any with that engine. I thought the RR in ‘69 came with either 383, 426, or 440-6 (A-12). I could be wrong. Not a guru on all things Mopar by any means but me thinks if yours has a 440 Mag then it’s non original and should be negative 15%. Not that I’d turn my nose up at one. Plymouth wanted you to step up to the GTX for that velvet hammer.
I have been doing restorations since high school, I have done cars for people all over the states, movie cars and been involved in TV shows. I have my own cars that I have done my self. Now this is the best I can explain this. You can restore a car but you are going to spend a lot of time if you can turn a wrench. If you pay someone else you will pay double the cost to restore. First this guy uses a Roadrunner, cool car but Mopar are probably the most expensive car to restore, second the common restorations like 66-69 mustang, 55-57 chevy, 67-68 Camaro you are paying top dollar. Ok, so you pick up an oddball then you have to find parts or like I often do sandblast, rebuild a lot of these old cars parts are made to be serviced so you can rebuild most objects like wiper motors or brake components. your biggest cost is body work, then interior, engine drivetrain. The problem facing this hobby/ Industry today is this younger generation don't car about this old iron. When I was younger I built plastic models and built things. This generation is digital and mechanical sense is absent. Another thing is who is going to restore when every seal is a 100$, it's 100-500$ just for simple door handles or emblems. These greedy repops are not helping this hobby. So that being said, Make sure you research you project car and figure the cost and availability of resources needed for you project.
Forgot to mention, Chrome is the most important part of a resto and will be one of the most costly. its hard to find a good chrome shop let alone the EPA has cracked down on these guys hard. so pay attention to all the chrome on these classics and is one of the most overlooked cost factors.
Definitely accurate. However you don’t have to take a car to that level to enjoy it. Actually the nicer they are the less we are willing to drive them. Make it more driver quality and it’s less expensive and utilized more.
I decided as a Mopar guy that I was priced out of the classic market. I couldn't play with A-bodies and 340s anymore. So I bought a 98 Durango instead. I had multiple Dakotas through the years, but as new vehicles and daily drivers, not as my classic toy. Now it's their turn. They are still reasonably cheap, available, and just as much fun. In 20 years they will be just as valuable and rare. The 90's Magnum powered trucks, vans, and Jeeps are the future for the rest of us Mopar fans without deep pockets. They are modern classics. Get them while you still can.
To me, the hobby is not about trying to recreate idealized perfect examples of what the cars were, but to take them from their graves, and with my own sweat and ingenuity, give them whole new life, whatever that looks like. Yes, it costs money, but the way I do it I don't contract my work out, I instead buy tools and learn how to effectively use them. I don't go to machine shops, I rebuild and improve my own engines, using my own hands, basic tools, and hundreds or thousands of hours of research and theory. This means that when I am done, not only do I have one of a kind cool rides, but I also end up with more and more skills that are almost dead, certainly in my area. As a result, a few of the local shops are talking to me about helping them do things they haven't offered in decades, and people give me their phone numbers for random work all the time when I pull up at gas stations or whatever. It's all about how you go about the hobby.
What I've learned- with ANY car or truck- regardless of if it's a car in your garage that is your 'project' or your daily driver, you will need to expect the unexpected. You will be throwing money at it. My 20 year old Cadillac, now worth about $2500. just had a new water pump ($900) Coil packs and spark plugs ($600) Then, most recently, power steering high pressure hose, and heater control on the driver's side replaced. ($600) Now, it needs a steering rack. I am dreading another $1,000 repair. But it's paid for, runs great, and what's the alternative? Buy a new car and pay $60-70k? And those need regular repairs, too!
My point? Your car will SURPRISE YOU. At least, I know my car will be in the parking lot when I come out of the store paying twice what I used to pay for groceries.
I love honesty- and your video, is exactly that- real, honest and much needed. Thanks!
Good video, sharing the reality of restoring and or building a car just for driving.
Not for the faint of heart for sure.
Thanks for sharing.
Have a great weekend. 👍🇺🇸👍
Instead of a musclecar, start with a pickup truck that was built in the millions. A recently registered Squarebody with patina, indian blanket seat covers with minor rust costs about $4,500 here in Texas. A/C doesnt work and the original motor is tired and leaking oil. You can get a longbed for less.
‘The car is all there’ Most do see a mess of parts and do not want to spend time or dirt their hands. ‘Do the work’ No they won’t, the newer gens want something now, doing nothing but press an order button. The rich buy a classic to look good pushing the prices high and making them out of reach for the few young ones willing to restore. Which is what is killing the hobby/industry: the youth is out of the equation.
You don't find the value of an old car and the best deals by surfing the net. The value of a car is whatever buyer and seller agree on. There are deals out there, but you have to go old school- talk to people, follow up on stories, pound the pavement, knock on doors. If "good deals" make it to the internet, they're gone within hours, if not minutes. $10k for a pile of Roadrunner parts is an ask that is high enough that nobody who saw the ad before you did bought it.
Asckids most of us had beaters...so getting the car above that will be nostalgic enough
It's cheaper just to buy a new Challenger RT and enjoy......Because basically a new Challenger is a modern day restomod vehicle for the masses....It's got a modern day running gear but it's also got that classic retro style.....You can do 80 MPH on the turnpike all day long at 1600-1700 RPM and not even break a sweat.....Meanwhile in a 3 speed automatic car of any type(or 4 spd) it's screaming at 4500 RPM at 70 MPH....And it probably doesn't have air.... Or 4 wheel anti lock brakes....Or IRS......Or maybe not even a radio....But you can't hear the radio anyways because you have the window rolled down because you don't have air,etc...Plus late model parts are super cheap compared to reproduced parts for a collector vehicle....Old cars are cool and I have a few myself....But I also like the modern day muscle too.
plus most of them are capable of handling modern fuels with ethanol blends far better.
Thank you for a highly informative breakdown! Bravo.
Buying a completed car after carefully inspecting it will be your best avenue to take. In the past 10 years or longer, the quality of parts you purchase have declined greatly. Almost half of parts I've purchased need attention or just won't work at all. I've had to replace 3 camshafts in 2 different cars. Inspecting lifters have showed an alarming rate of defects in manufacturing. You can no longer trust parts right out of the box. Open your wallet, spend the money and buy someone else's completed car. You will be better for it in the long run.
Restoring a Porsche 914 right now and what you say is very correct. No matter what condition you buy the car in it will cost about the same as a fully restored one once you are finished with it. Unless you really like working on the car buy a finished one it will be cheaper.
You see hundreds of these car videos where there’s a pole building full of Mopars and trailer loads of parts and the 74 year old man always says, yeah-up….I’m keeping those, I’m gonna restore ‘em one day. (No, you’re not.)
i have a mopar collection of 7 68-69 Barracudas along with a new Challenger RT Scat Pack Shaker and a Chelleger Hellcat. all my cars are original and manual shifts. i constantly get into "arguments" on Facebook with the exact guys you are referring to who think you can restore a mopar for "$5000 dollars max!" LOL! i do all the work on my cars and one example is a 1968 Barracuda 340 4sp fastback Formula S. this car is an exact duplicate to the same car i had in high school (70-72). i had 2600 hours of labor in the car and at least $15k in parts/materials. i bought the car upon returning from Iraq in 2006 (USMC) and it was my "PTSD therapy." i paid $16k for the car in 2008. so i have around $31k in the car. HOWEVER, i did this car in 2008-09 - i COULD NOT restore the car NOW for what i invested 15 years ago. i watch Mecum and Barrette-Jackson auctions and the prices are down on all muscle cars. you can now buy almost ANY muscle car you want ALREADY DONE for $60k or less. now there are still a few "unique" cars that are $100k plus cars - but the "regular" muscle cars are way down in price. Mecum just sold a NICE 67 427 (390 hp) Corvette convertible for $85k and back in 2015, that was a $110k car all day long. so it is now cheaper to buy a car already restored than it is to do it yourself. the other problem now along with rising parts prices is that a LOT of restoration parts that were being produced 10 years ago are no longer available. go look at a "Year One" catalogue from ten years ago compared to one now and AT LEAST 25% of the parts in the old catalogue are no longer available. as to YOUR Road Runner estimate, i think you could probably take $10k off your final price with buying some used parts off of ebay or facebook marketplace. but you are NOT that far off on your estimates. when i did my 68 Barracuda, i started with a car from Oklahoma that was rust free and already was a decent "driver." as you know, it is ALWAYS better to spend a little more money for a better car to start with than to buy something that has been sitting in a hayfield for 30 years and needs sub-frame and all body panels replaced. your comment on paint,, however IS VERY accurate. i owned an auto body shop once for several years and did all the body work on my 68 Barracuda myself. when i went to get paint, i wanted PPG Acrylic Enamel as that is OEM to Chrysler products. PPG did have "factory mixed" gallons available for my Turbine Bronze color, however, the price was $998.00 A GALLON!! and that was in 2008! i ended up using Acrylic Lacquer (which looks close to OEM mopar single step enamel) and i found that paint at TCP Global paint and body shop materials in San Diego, CA for $315/gallon. THE BOTTOM LINE is - it is EXPENSIVE to restore a car now even if you just want a nice "driver" and not a "trailer queen" "perfect" car. anyone that is still believing that you can do any of these cars now "cheap" are stupid and should be persuaded not to even try. i did subscribe to your channel as you do know what you're talking about.
Shop rates? What is overhead? Shop needs $5k/week. Example. What do they charge customers to keep lights on?
Cash for Clunkers, which destroyed a lot of Perfectly running cars and parts at the junk yards . Then when Covid hit a lot of smaller shops shut down when they couldn't get parts. Add inflation on EVERYTHING and it just takes any of the fun out of the hobby. There will always be people that love these cars but not everyone has the time and money to devote to them so the popularity as it stands now is at an all time low, no matter what you see on social media.
Came to say the same thing.
My stepson gave me a 1973 Nova hatchback. It runs good, trans shifts good for now. Needs quarter panels, taillight panel, front fender repairs. the costs of the body parts are a lot. Interior need work, a lot of work. It's not a desirable car for the year it is and going to sell it before sticking a lot of time and money in it. Just my take on even getting a runner going.
Oh my yes parts are ridiculous. I'm going slow on my 70 nova 4 door I got a decent paint job 5000.00. So far everything else done myself. Just a driver.
You're going to go Broke Restoring a Classic Car. That's why there are so many Unfinished Projects Lurking on Craigslist and Facebook. I've picked up quite a Few Sweet Deals, especially California Cars, No Rust. I wish I was Jay Leno, where I have Police and Fire Depts. calling me and telling me there is some Old Car in a Garage here, Jay. Do you want it? For Free?
With all due respect, you chose a mopar to use as an example, one of the most expensive vehicles to restore. And if you can't do a large part of this work, by that, I mean almost all of it or at least try to, then, Yes, you will have that much in it
73 Cuda, $54K into it ( so far) but worth every penny ...love the ride. Do much of the light work myself as I grew up racing Mopars.
Basically, you're shooting too high and you're not hitting anything. Its 2024 and us old guys are going off quickly. No one is willing to pay $50K or more for a car...
Old cars are great, you can still get in one for under $15k.. No one really wants a garage queen. Get out and DRIVE...
Great video...straight forward and honest. Yes, it takes big bucks (subjectively) and lots of commitment to go through the entire process of restoring one's dream machine. The biggest mistake that most people make is dreaming too big on a small budget, and/or impulsively diving into something they really know nothing about because they saw too many (fantasy) episodes of Garage Squad on TV. BUT, anyone can enjoy the car hobby on just about any budget...just know your limitations. If everyone could afford a $125,000 A-12 Road Runner that very special ride would not be so special.
Oneaspect of car restoration you didn't mention was not having the car for a significant period of time while it's being worked on. Another cost we face is shipping and sales tax on all the parts and paint.
To paint my 1970 dart myself, the paint and supplies were 6k. This includes paint , sandpaper, filler, primer, etc. 50% of the paint price now is environmental surcharges. There is no such thing anymore of a 10k paiint job unless you just have them paint over the dents and rust or 3" of bondo.
I just finished a 66 bronco, Minimal filller usage because I did metal work. 1gal light USC filler 30$ USC icing40$ 2k primer/Hardener 180$ Sandpaper, tape. 200$ 1 gal BC Serwin Williams BC Brittney blue 280$, 2qts Wimbledon White 120$ Clear/ hardener 250$. Wet sand paper and buffing compounds 200$. Who ever sold you your paint made a mint and most of these materials will carry me over to another job.
@Aaron-dp5kb Paint is $1800 a gallon in my state unless you want hotrod black from NAPA that's $600
You can still buy single stage acyrilic enamel paint in the USA 🇺🇸 for a couple of hundred bucks…it’s the kind of paint that they used to paint them at the factory
People who buy a car in this condition usually do many things themselves. It’s part of why you buy the car that needs to be restored
It’s my hobby, saves me from playing golf. 😁
Very sad it cost wayyyyyyy too much money just to do a simple restoration.
And you will never get your money back out of these cars.
They are fun to drive and own but they are money pits.
I have around 50k to 60k into my car.
I tried to sell it on a classic car auction in 2023 with a 40k reserve.
The best I was offered was 32k.
Other then the frame and most of the body panels I had to replace everything else.
So guess what? I’ll be keeping my car.
I love driving it.
@einstein3509 Right, I still have my 1996 Ford F150 with a 5.0L (302) Windsor V8 with 211,000 miles on it and still going strong as the day I bought it back in 2015.
@@CJColvin
That’s awesome
I own a 1992 Ford F150 with the 4.9L (inline 6) I bought from a friend back in 2005 for $525.
It now has over 335,000 miles on its and it’s daily driven.
We own a 2011 RAV that is an absolutely great running car no complaints.
Which one do you think my wife daily drives?
You guessed it. She drives that old 92 Ford every day.
@einstein3509 Awesome brother, I've bought my 96 F150 back in 2015 for $3300.
A lot of his prices seemed like full retail pricing for everything.
A nice cruiser car can be done for less than half those numbers!
Not every car needs to be a trailer queen!
It’s a numbers game. The amount of classic muscle cars left slowly gets lower and lower. Some get totaled. Some burn in a home fire. Some are stolen, etc…. Over the years this lowers the supply and the demand is still high for these cars. Why? Style. No cars since the 1960’s have the same effort put into style. Cars since then have become more efficient but they all look about the same. I bought a 1967 Firebird with a 326 and a two speed transmission in 1987 for $1200. I bought a 1972 Chevelle Malibu in 1996 for $3500. Both cars were in good shape and yea I miss working on them but now the hobby is to expensive.
When it comes to classic cars greed is not the issue rather supply and demand, all of the Boomers that are looking for 60’s muscle cars are peaking right now. Not taking into account inflation these cars that will sell for 80K today will drop over the next 20 years as the boomers age out. If I have a 68 Charger RT in nice condition and ask 100K and someone buys it how can that be greed? I enjoy going to car shows and seeing the restored or original cars of my youth but while I have the ability to purchase one just can’t justify the expense.
Great video, well explained
In 1982 a friend of mine bought a 1970 Dodge Challenger 440 - 4 Speed in decent shape for $1500.00. That car today would be worth almost $100K if it was kept up etc. Take into account these cars are over half a century old now.
I own a 1974 Dodge Challenger (restored between 2006 - 2012) in Tucson. Total restoration cost to show quality was almost $100K over six years for it to be a 1970 T/A clone. This year I put a 408 Stroker custom built. The additional cost was $17K. I'm 65 years old. Unfortunately not many young people would have the means or passion to spend this kind of money on a hobby. (IMO).
Great content, i wish i still had my old 69 roadrunner.
10k for a project car, is a lot a of money for a young kid to buy.
@@vintage76vipergreenBeetle exactly. But this what it is now.
@@DJsClassicGarage
The car hobby is slowly fading away. Only rich folks will be able to enjoy it. Just like horses. 🐎
When I was a kid you bought these cars for pennies nobody wanted them back in the late seventies $1000 got you a nice ride.
Kids are buying cars from the 2000’s. My 21yo niece loves her 02 Honda Civic and has already fixed a few things up on it. She wouldn’t pay $500 for a 50+yo muscle car project but she’s still a car enthusiast.
Its a lot cheaper if you do it yourself and repair serviceable parts instead of replacing everything from a classic industries catalog.
I'm sorry but a Roadrunner would not have been representative. A Satellite would have been starting off in initial cost. Even that wouldn't be much better since Mopar parts for B bodies are crazy. I have done three and am now on my fourth a 67 Parklane. My 410 FE big block cost a total of $4000 in labor and parts with me locating the parts to be used. I assemble the engine. I do needed body work and paint ($500 1 gal. PPG Concept SS) if needed. I don't do upholstery but have someone trusted do it for me since 2003. My vehicles restored by me to a high grade 3 condition are 68 Mustang, 65 F-100, and 73 Polara. The recently acquired 72 Ambassador wagon turns out to need basic maintenance only. None of those three were more than $6500 beyond cost of buying. I will grant you that those selling projects are generally nuts when it comes to what they are really worth. I have 11 fine running cars.