Something to chew on for Friday

[elwood-914]

Those numbers are scary! Maybe that's why I'm single.......ya think! .......then again IF I had another income in the household I would be thinkin SIX !!

[Zeke]

Originally posted by Clay Perrine
The payback to all the work and money spent comes when you finish the car and you drive it.

Like Rick's Alien or Zois' Manfred, we each start with the same pallette, and we each create a unique work of automotive art that shows off our inner thoughts and hopes and dreams. We all cannot be automotive engineers, but we can be automotive customizers. What we end up with is priceless.... its a tribute to our dreams that we can touch and drive. Unlike the brand new Boxster or Corvette, there is no one out there with one exactly like it.


And having a car that I can say "I built that" is worth more than a new Carrera GT or Ferrari F40. The owners of those cars show off their money, we show off our skills.

Zois didn't "build" Manfred. I did. He put a six in it, which is still a job in itself. But, the chassis and interior were turnkey. Everything worked on the car except the motor and the relay panel when he took it away.

The cost to a running car, which it was the day before, was more in hours than dollars. About 1000 hours. I won't mention the exact cost as he is selling it, but let's just say a lot of the asking price is for the six and the ancillaries.

If anyone says I can't build a 914/4 ready for the track for around 10K, hand me the money and I'll show you a car 1000 hours later.

AFA dreams, well I had a few wrapped up in the 914. But, what I've learned over time is, if you dream in one hand and crap in the other, one is sure to be full.

[schosh]

I'v been trying to guess what Larry does for a living to allow such an extravegant lifestyle.
I've come up with a couple of ideas.

A. Budget planner for the Goverment

B. Procurement agent for the Pentagon

C. NBA player

D. Bill Gate's stock broker

E Intellectual Property lawyer


(just jokin witch ya Larry...hope you ain''t offended none )

[LarryP]

It's true, I give Bill stock pointers all the time. He never listens though.

In a month or two it will be nice enough that i will finally take some pics of the car. I figure I might as well.

As far as the car, well, a divorce tends to make you look for diversions. I guess I needed a big diversion.

[elwood-914]

Originally posted by schosh
I'v been trying to guess what Larry does for a living to allow such an extravegant lifestyle.
I've come up with a couple of ideas.

A. Budget planner for the Goverment

B. Procurement agent for the Pentagon

C. NBA player

D. Bill Gate's stock broker

E Intellectual Property lawyer


(just jokin witch ya Larry...hope you ain''t offended none )

Ya forgot one
F. Pimp

Just kidding Larry.

[PCA7GGR]

A couple of years ago, I bought a '70T that the prior owner had converted to a widebody 2.8 RSR replica. The receipts that came with the car totalled about $2K less than I paid for the car. The receipts did not include his purchase of the 911 before the conversion nor labor (he is a mechanic that swapped labor).

Having both done conversions (i.e. the RSR), bought/sold conversions (i.e. 914-6GT based upon a '70 1.7), and various 914s used to feed a racecar, my experience has been that its usually cheaper to spend a bit more for a clean, mechanically sound car than the cheaper "fixer-upper". That is assuming that what you are buying is, or is close to, what you really want.

Just my two-cents worth. Unfortunately, I also keep speadsheets on each of my vehicles. I try not to look at them too often - the totals add up pretty fast.

[smooth_eddy]

Wow, $60k??? And I was feeling bad about have put about $16k into mine... It does tend to make a 914 owner never want to sell. The money and time we put into these cars will never be returned. My receipt pile is quiet large too. I don't think I will ever total it. It's not like I can use it a tax deduction. Sigh......

[schosh]

It's not like I can use it a tax deduction. Sigh......

Ya know smooth you just gave me an idea.....

If my doctor could prescribe a 914 as an anti-depresiant maybe I could deduct it !

[smooth_eddy]

Well $60k would be a depressant to me. Better make that appointment Schosh...Keep us posted.

[Joe Bob]

Originally posted by Zeke
Zois didn't "build" Manfred. I did. He put a six in it, which is still a job in itself. But, the chassis and interior were turnkey. Everything worked on the car except the motor and the relay panel when he took it away.

The cost to a running car, which it was the day before, was more in hours than dollars. About 1000 hours. I won't mention the exact cost as he is selling it, but let's just say a lot of the asking price is for the six and the ancillaries.

If anyone says I can't build a 914/4 ready for the track for around 10K, hand me the money and I'll show you a car 1000 hours later.

AFA dreams, well I had a few wrapped up in the 914. But, what I've learned over time is, if you dream in one hand and crap in the other, one is sure to be full.

Yup...it's in the ad...someplace...Uncle Milty/Zeke did a bang up job on the tub. It was nice working on a clean 914 for once. Makes the job of re-doing a drive train a lot easier....this was my first small bore conversion. Big difference in the driving ....it has a lot of heart for a little bugger. Kind of like my PITA Daschund....

But to get back to $$ and the thread subject....the stuff ads up. I got the best prices I could....negotiated every price and swapped and traded did the install work myself with the help of a local 911 friend....I still will only break even at the asking price.

BTW....1000 hours x $50/hr (this is a LOW shop rate)= $50K....

[LarryP]

That's exactly right. I was going to ask (read, point out) the wage issue. If you do it yourself you do it for love. If you have no TIME to do it yourself, you have to pay someone shop rates. And it gets really costly, really quickly.

I think its worth it though.