[vesnyder]

The expenses are not limited only to the upgrades, but you are talking a 20 yr old car here. Assuming you have medium wrenching skills and are not afraid to do basic things like tear a door panel off, replace a clutch cable or repair simple oil leaks - I agree with your logic. But if you need to bring it into a shop everytime something gooes wrong - and it will on a 20 year old car - your financial model is shot to hell.