What is Happening to our Hobby ?

[Rich G.]

I restored my 70 Challenger and my 71 Barracuda and in the process of restoring a 73 Cuda. I put the same time and effort and whatever it takes to restore it the best I can. I know it will never get what the 70 or 71 will get even though I'll probably have the same amount of money into this as I do the other cars. But to me it's a hobby and a constant learning experience and that cost money. I just throw the receipts in a folder and try not to add them up!!! Labor of love as they say.

[mopartaz]

Our hobby (or addiction) was starting to get out of control 20 years ago. That was one of the reasons i kind of got out of it. It was also aggravating seeing hundreds of trailer queens that never got used or saw a cloudy day. Even the guys with modded cars when asked what it would run in the 1/4 would always say they never ran it or were afraid it would blow up or some nonsense. One of the reasons i bought my '62 is because you don't see too many at a car show. and i have no guilt if i put in a cage and a 600hp stroker BB.
  But to get back on topic, yeah the cost of a resto is insane and will probably lead to cars just sitting somewhere gaining value as an asset. I'm dealing with that conundrum now with my Cuda (keep it/sell it). Cant find a reasonable body guy to lay paint on either cars. Guess i'm going to have to learn how to do that also.

[RUNCHARGER]

Well around here you pretty much cannot find anything to build so that answers that. Sure there are some being held hostage by flippers however when those guys die their estates will get rid of those projects at reasonable prices and those cars will get built as well. So, I think there won't be many projects go to waste in the future.
Not all these projects will get done in a tradition manner as the younger guys will mod them a bit and Patina and other fads come and go, however they will get built.

[PLUM72]

I agree the replacement part costs are very high.  Sadly in many cases you don't get what you pay for.  You do have to decide what you want to do with the car, and the end result goals.  If the car is going to be an OE show car, you'll pay the prices.  If its a weekend cruiser, you can get away with other "lesser" parts.  For instance, instead of buying a TTI or Accurate exhaust system, it might be worth having the local exhaust shop bend up some pipe.  Do you need a date coded XX part or will a Rock Auto replacement be okay?  While its always nice to have new stuff, cleaning up the old and reusing what you have keeps the costs down.  For many of us restoring a car requires us to dig deep and discover new talents we didn't think we had.   

[JS29]

Materials and paint have gone through the roof, thirty some years ago i could buy everything i needed to paint a car for a few hundred dollars. now it's thousand's of dollars. The finishes are so nice that it takes hour's upon hour's to make it look good. nobody want's to get dirty and do physical labor anymore, so to get help in the shop cost's are ridicules. And if someone tells me that they aren't looking for a show paint job,I Don't bevel them. and even if that is the case, all there friends will get there magnifying glass out to nit pick it to death. A gallon of descent clear is over three hundred dollars. paint can run up to six to eight hundred. and that is MY cost. I hate what has been happening to the auto body business because it makes guys like me look greedy.     

[YellowThumper]

In my opinion the restoration value % of these really have not changed. "Back in the day" we did not have the off the shelf items like we do now. The car prices reflected that. Their values were lower because of cost to locate parts such as full replacement panels and repair. % values of the initial purchase of these cars are higher now because of the availability of aftermarket parts.
I don't suspect there are more rotting away in fields today than there used to be. If anything, I believe more will be saved due to restomodding. As noted, more and more just want the turn key (or push button) version that has the old looks and new reliability. New gen Hemi's are becoming the new norm for power and reliability.

[RUNCHARGER]

Paint costs are high however I don't think parts costs are.
I had a set of NOS 70 Challenger quarter panels that I sold in 1990, Pretty sure I got $800 each for them. That's pretty expensive compared to pretty much as good AMD quarters that you can buy at a store of your choice today. Date coded stuff is pricey today but inline with the current value of completed cars as compared to say 10 years ago I think.

[JS29]

Classic cars, Labor = nothing at the time of resale! If you want to make money restoring a car, do it for someone else. We do it for the  of cars. and besides it;s better than wasting money bar hopping, gambling or a drug habit. 

[YellowThumper]

@JS27 looking at it from another perspective. Let's say you drop the 35k into it and now you get to enjoy and drive what you want along with showing it off for several years.
Now it's time to sell. Lets say you end up selling it for 25k. That is 10k out of pocket for a badass car you got to enjoy for years. You would have more into that in payments for even the basic of a new car.

That is how I justify my stable. Yes it is a losing investment. But overall minimal if "invested" properly.

[anlauto]

We have a lot of Negative Nancy complaints here, and I agree with all of them....however....call around or just look around....EVERY shop in my area is busy, new shops popping up every month....I think the car hobby in general is booming....maybe not OE Gold restos at every shop....but a heck of a lot of resto-mods and other cars being built....so somebody has the disposable money 

[Mr Lee]

Like many, I've been restoring my '70 Challenger in stages for many many years.  By the time im done, yeah i probably could've bought a done one for less than what I'll have into mine.  But, I really don't think I'd get even a FRACTION of the satisfaction of starting up and driving a car I simply wrote out a check for versus one that I slaved over, and personally turned each and every bolt on and built piece by piece.  I built my car my way.  I know the ins and outs of it.  I know there isnt an inch of bondo hiding under the paint.  To me, thats worth a lot.  Im sure lots of us on this forum would agree.  Half the fun is building the car.  Forget the money / profit end of it.  How many guys on here purposely havent added up all their receipts?  I know i havent.  Dont wanna know.   

As far as all the 318 cars still sitting in fields, I think a lot of em will be restored with the mindset I mentioned above.  Maybe they'll throw a big block in them and wont care that its not numbers matching because it'll be THEIR car.  Built the way they wanted, and they'll have a great experience doing it... and doing 100 ft burnouts when its done.   


But I do hear you on the cost of parts, and that is disappointing.  Its definitely not a cheap hobby. But what is these days? 




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[Morty426]

My advice is buy what you like, then you really won't worry about how much money you spend. This is no longer a money maker and yes things like paint have gotten crazy. 

I'm going to go look at a car on Wednesday and hopefully I can buy it.  It's very rare and desirable yet it will never bring what I will have to spend on it to make it what I want.  I don't give a $%^*(.  It's just money. 

Good luck. 

[6Pack70]

Like many, I've been restoring my '70 Challenger in stages for many many years.  By the time im done, yeah i probably could've bought a done one for less than what I'll have into mine.  But, I really don't think I'd get even a FRACTION of the satisfaction of starting up and driving a car I simply wrote out a check for versus one that I slaved over, and personally turned each and every bolt on and built piece by piece.  I built my car my way.  I know the ins and outs of it.  I know there isnt an inch of bondo hiding under the paint.  To me, thats worth a lot.  Im sure lots of us on this forum would agree.  Half the fun is building the car.  Forget the money / profit end of it.  How many guys on here purposely havent added up all their receipts?  I know i havent.  Dont wanna know.   

As far as all the 318 cars still sitting in fields, I think a lot of em will be restored with the mindset I mentioned above.  Maybe they'll throw a big block in them and wont care that its not numbers matching because it'll be THEIR car.  Built the way they wanted, and they'll have a great experience doing it... and doing 100 ft burnouts when its done.   


But I do hear you on the cost of parts, and that is disappointing.  Its definitely not a cheap hobby. But what is these days? 



Very, very well said.  I totally agree with you.   The only time I touch the receipts for my Cuda is when I need to push them down to get the drawer to close when another receipt gets put in there. Lmao


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[dodj]

I don't keep receipts. If I approached my hobbies like an accountant...I wouldn't have any hobbies.

I don't try to justify the cost of bringing home a limit of walleye either..... Because I know it would be cheaper to just go out for dinner at a nice restaurant.

[JS29]

As soon as you sign the paper work on a new car you lose 10% of it's value.

As long as there is food on the table and the bills are paid, enjoy the car and you will have something to look foreword to when you retire.