small parts adding up.... :(

[ledphoot]

It's crazy how much the small parts that used to be trivial cost now... Had to purchase headlight / dimmer / wiper switches, speaker grilles and was shocked at the level of spend for these little guys. I am getting close. Gotta drop the speaker grilles off at the powder coater. Then it's on to buying the rest of the interior pieces.. I am guessing about $3K more to go.. ugh. LoL.. This car better be all that I remember and then some

[JS29]

The end justify's  the means! 

[7212Mopar]

I kept most if not all the receipts I spent on the car. But I stopped counting a long time ago. I just want to get done so that I can drive it. I think I am there now on mine except work, family to do and weather is keeping me away from it.

[Brads70]

Sheesh guys, don't  be talking like that the wives might see. HaHa

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Tapatalk

[ledphoot]

It's fascinating how some of these switches that used to be $20 are 10x that now or more.. A NOS wiper switch is on some sites for $400! LoL.. Crazy. Speaker grilles? More craziness. A/C Vents?? They're made of gold... I'll have some serious coin in this car and a lot of it could have been avoided.. Keep track of all your small parts, wrap them up nice and store them in an organized fashion... This is craziness.

[CudaMoparRay]

Unfortunately, supply and demand are driving this craziness 

[Slotts]

   I had nothing to do with this one! 

Jim

[340challconvert]

 
I keep a spreadsheet with price paid, vendor/source, part number if applicable, date purchased, and a line for notes. 
I also included NOS parts I bought years ago, and clean used original parts on my sheets that I bought more recently.

Scary, but doc recalculates as parts are added
Any parts installed; I X the column to track what I used.
Total is over 35k in fixing a car I bought in 1979 and had it stored since 1984.

Only way I can be accurate as I proceed. I feel the pain others are experiencing on the cost of everything which has gotten out of control!

[HP_Cuda]

What you guys don't like paying extra $$$ for those Hemi Headlight switches???

Add Hemi, T/A, AAR to any ad and bump your price up by 50%!!!

[70 Challenger Lover]

That's exactly why it is so important for me to try and buy complete cars when I can. Some things can't be saved of course but you'd be surprised how something small like a cable or window hardware can be cleaned up to look and work like new. There are those who will say it isn't worth their time and if you run a shop and charge everything to the customer then that's probably true but for the average hobbyist, you have to trim costs by cleaning and reusing as much as you can. Those little things save you 40 bucks here and there and it definitely adds up. If you are looking to do a perfect restoration then you are gonna have to dig deep into the wallet.

[BIGSHCLUNK]

I still save my paper work but i refuse to look st it anymore. Im well into the 5 figures zone 

[RUNCHARGER]

Yup: It isn't good to add it up.

[gzig5]

Ignorance is bliss.  If I concentrate on what's being spent, it takes some of the joy out of it all.  I spent nearly 2k on just basics and some tools and a welder when I got the car.  But those tools will pay off ten-fold as I do the work myself.  Doesn't mean I don't try and find the best deal though.

[ledphoot]

All the little crap that disappeared from the car over the last thirty years of sitting really did ad up. No instrument cluster or switch panel. Dash pad destroyed etc. I bet if I add up what it took to do just my dash alone it is around three grand. The car had no interior... and I am picky as hell. I can see pretty clearly that I will be st 6-7k into my interior before it's all said and done.

I was just shocked at how expensive some of this stuff was. I have bought instrument panel switches before and I am just blown away by how high the prices have gone. I will be scrounging the parts swap meets for spares just in case. Lord knows what a headlight switch will cost in another 20 years.

At least when I am done I will have the car I learned to drive in, the car I took my date to prom in etc.

I have really enjoyed putting it back together so far and in a few months when I fire her up I imagine I will be all smiles and not think twice about what it took to get there.

[Rich G.]

Whats worse is when you sold all the parts you thought you'd never need years ago and now you need them and you're paying 10x what you sold them for!!!