complete rebuild spreadsheet / tool estimator

[gestalt1]

Oh, also, one of the most important tools is the workspace you have. Investing in renting an industrial spot can be worth it because crawling around on the garage floor really kills motivation.

[Discseven]

Mapping & spreadsheet tool is a great idea '74. You should discuss it with Pelican. If I were PP Sales & Marketing... I'd be all over that.

Read through posts... some fine & interesting thoughts. My added two cents = car's history is good reference. Assuming it's accurate in large part, it helps tell the car's story. From that, and for someone who knows 911 componentry, it's possible to create a reasonable parts/budget & work plan.

[tirwin]

Originally Posted by bpu699

Been there, doing that...

I will give you the short formula...

EXPENSE:

(Parts cost=5x amount anticipated + work hours X "Way more than I ever thought")X (unexpected expenses such as tools and bigger garage)

to the power of :

"realization I could have bought a new Porsche instead"

Divided by

"Hoped for astronomical appreciation and resale"


=

Lots of fun

Enjoy the journey

I think I’m going to print this and frame it in my garage.

[JabsZA]

Making the decision to go down this path is very exciting.
Trying to put together a detailed plan which includes costs, especially when this is your first time (like it was mine) - daunting....but that's what makes it fun!

I was a newbie when i started. Now i am a newbie with a lot of paperwork. :-)

I just completed a 18 month project and in my case my final bill tallied up to close to $100k. I am sure there are tons of smarter people who would be able to do this scope for much cheaper - and reading the forums, many folks do claim much lower costs, but i could not find a way. I researched like crazy, locally and internationally for close to 6 months - so i know that parts pricing wise i was not taken for a ride...and the 2 shops i used in Dallas who helped me with labor where i could not do it myself (either cos i didnt know how, or later cos i moved to NY and the car had to be finished), charged an avg $110 / hour.

I tried to do as much work as possible myself (except the suspension & engine which was done by William Knight with help from Dick Elverud). I made many mistakes - and learnt from them the easy and the hard (costly) way. I changed my mind several time wrt look of the car, or mechanical spec of the car...all in all meaning that most likely i wasted about $20-25k.

So, the biggest advice i can offer is: before you start anything - spend days, weeks reading (and re-reading) the forums here. Lots of smart people here. Lots of good detailed builds that you can learn from. Formulate a detailed picture of what your end goal is going to be and then start detailing it and then lock it in. I went a bit pedantic by classifying each critical component by categories i.e Interior, exterior, suspension, braking, frunk, trunk, engine, trans etc.. i even started weighing old part vs new part...Once your objective is clear - research parts, manufacturers etc...there are always 2-3 options for each part. Saving $10 or $100 here or there, adds up pretty quickly.

Try befriend someone on the forum or local porsche shop that can help with additional technical guidance.

All in all - a high-level costing breakdown for my build looked like this:

Body work + respray: 10k (added steel flares, sunroof delete, duck tail)
Interior: 10k (i spent initially 3k reupholstering OEM seats - only to spend additional 2k on Recaro XL bucket seats..and then carpets, rear parcel shelf delete, sound dampeneners - installed out of sight full stereo, only to take it out :-( )
Complete suspension: 10k
New CCW wheels + Tires: 5k
Complete engine rebuild + trans: 40k.
Other miscellaneous parts, tools, car shipping to shops etc: 5k
Labor / services by independent mechanics: $20k

All in all - it has been quite an experience.
Would i do it again? No. Many ups and downs during a project such as this. Many frustrating moments and in hindsight i wish i was even more educated (on engines for example) - that would have saved a lot of headaches. Resto-mods are not everyone's cup of tea, but this is my toy and i will fiddle and learn hopefully for many years to come. What about resale value - well, its not an original anymore and my engine is built and geared towards the track rather than DD or cruiser, but I am cautiously optimistic that having spent the most money on the most important elements: suspension, brake, engine, trans and having it custom built by folks such as William and Dick - will help me recoup my money if one day i chose to sell.

Anyways - good luck. Visualize the end goal, and it will all be worth it at the end.

This is my baby. Literally finished a week ago.

[mikl911]

Originally Posted by speedster911

^^^ or divorced if my wife ever sees the all the receipts for parts I throw into a BIG box in the garage. One day I will add them up but until then as others have stated- it's a hobby, an education and an awesome feeling when you get the car back on the road after working on it.

Minimum of 2x the budget for parts
4x the time forecasted
-50% return on investment
Smiles per mile once completed - priceless

I thought I was the only one that did that.

[Montreal911]

it's super nice! don't hesitate to post more picture: rear shot and inside

thanks for sharing!

[LIRS6]

oops - misplaced

[Dmitry at Pelican Parts]

Originally Posted by 1974-911

Hi guys,

I'm looking into buying a 911 in a very bad shape for my next project and I'm hesitant at doing so just because I don't *really* know what i'm getting into. Actually I know I will take anywhere from 18-24 months to complete the re-build however I don't know what it will be like financially.

I was wondering if anyone here ad a predefined spreadsheet (or web based tool) that maps at a high level different components to the Pelican website for parts and costs. As an example, the spreadsheet would have the high level elements defined as:
- Exterior/body
- Interior
- Electrical
- Engine & tansmission
- Suspension

The user can select one or multiple elements (ex: suspension), the tool would map out ALL the suspension elements (torsion bar, bushings, tables, etc) and their associated part number and cost. The user could then have an easier task at estimating the work and cost at hand by picking and choosing which items in the suspension he wants to refurbish vs buy. Also, the user can order everything at once instead of putting multiple orders in the system.

I know this site has a similar feature for specific projects but I didn't find anything for a complete overhaul.

I know it's a long shot but i'm convinced i'm not the only one here obsessed with documenting things so anyone has gone through this exercise before?

Take a look at the link below, it's specifically designed for engine rebuilds and will populate the parts that you'll need. Please let us know if you have any questions!

Porsche 911 Engine Rebuild Wizard - Introduction