is the cost of restoring an E body exceeding its value when complete?

[ogre]

So now 9 months since I acquired my 70 Challenger R/T, and I am still worried about being upside down as an investment.
I am not complaining but I did this as sort of an experiment to see if you could pick a reasonably rare car that is hurt bad and restore it for less than its final worth using subs, and shops to do the work. There is no chance as far as I can see, the one place I have my car at told me paint alone could run 15K.
Just curious for those of you who have these cars are you right side up or upside down and do you care. I have another car that is so upside down it will never be right side up but it's a part of the family for over 40 years and so it goes.

Oh and once you lose the matching engine status, does anything else matter? Can you vary off what was factory without taking more of a value hit? My Challenger had a 383 4v, drum brakes, I could easily go Disc and 440 but I was trying to keep it the same as its build sheet. I even passed on a Dana 60 since it didn't have one.

Still new to all this, so please forgive the dumb questions.  I do like the car, it will be a scream when finished.

[Katfish]

Yes, you will be upside down
This is a hobby, like golf, not an investment

[B5fourspeed]

How much of the work can you do yourself?

[ogre]

I have done everything except frame pulls, transmission builds, and rear axle stuff beyond bearing changes.
I have put in new floors, metal patched everything else, body work and painting with House of Kolor paint.
I have a 440 6-pack in my charger, and I am just finishing another 440 for my 66 charger so yes I can do it but it takes me longer.

The experiment was to be less the builder and more the general contractor, like house building but it appears it is the wrong model to follow.

What about sticking to the build sheet once you lose the engine, does it hurt more or help value? I had some fun finding the 6 way non power seat and I am still looking for the right steering column with the light.

I like golf but I really suck at it!

[Dmod1974]

Labor is very expensive, and unfortunately, builds require massive amounts of it. I've spent a fortune on my car, but I did everything except for paint myself and would still make a decent profit if I sold it, not that I ever will. Granted, my own time is worth something too and this isn't my career, so I'd probably never do anything this involved again unless I win the lotto and don't have to work anymore!

[MoparLeo]

The way to buy a car for investment is to buy what everybody wants and is already restored.
It  almost always[ costs less to buy a restored car than to buy the car and restore it yourself. As said before, this is a hobby not an investment./font]

[6bblgt]

   invest in a "DONE" car
unless your investment is SWEAT EQUITY (@ a $1 an hour)

all the vendors involved in the restoration process have re-figured their prices to consume more than any available profit

[6bblgt]

many 6 & 7 figure cars have lost their original engines - don't use it as an excuse to build it your way unless it's what you want & desire to keep it

one needs to gauge the desirability of the original combination:
a non-original engine rotisserie restored triple-green column shift automatic 383 R/T, isn't going to have the resale value of the same car restored "plum-crazy" with a 4-speed

what was your car's original configuration?

[anlauto]

I restore cars for a living....I find a lot of people talk about the "cost of labour" as being the big expense....but, I hate to tell you, the cost of labour is nothing compared to the cost of parts  , oh and $15K for paint is cheap these days

[RUNCHARGER]

What Mopar Leo said. You can actually make money buying a correctly done car and just keep it in proper shape, drive it a bit then sell it when it appreciates. Heckuva lot less work and less aggravation than restoring a car and possibly profiting less from the experience.
But some of us love taking a pile of dirt and building it into something.

[ogre]

I really love this site, all good information and no BS.
The car to be specific is a 1970 Challenger RT, 383 4v, AT, AC,PS,PB. Rally dash, 3 speaker, V35 radio, 6 way non power seat, black interior, Plum Crazy paint, black vinyl roof, bumble bee stripe, chrome mirror, rally hood, with lanyards.  And bloody drum brakes!

labor is 118/hr where I live.

Sweat equity is cheap, and I cant fire myself for being slow. I found the parts to be very non uniform, I just got tail lights for 100 w/o the center but everything else, saw 2 other sets for 300 and 400 and a supposed right side only NOS piece for 1800.  That is pretty much the pattern.

i guess once the car comes back from the shop it should be clean from the firewall back to the back bumper, then I need to do a little more of  that sweat equity.

thanks for all your opinions,
ogre

[RUNCHARGER]

From my experience: In order to break even you have to do all the work yourself including body and paint and shop for deals on parts. When paying others and paying full retail on all parts there is no chance (Unless you take shortcuts or lie to potential buyers I guess). Of course you have to be savvy buying the project too. For instance I would not have bought a project with A/C because of the cost of getting it working properly and the fact pretty much all buyers won't pay any extra for an A/C car, Upgrade from the factory 383 to a factory 440+4 though will make the car easier to sell and more valuable as well. And a factory 4 speed will add a ton of interest and value for sure. A lot of the time just because an option is rare doesn't mean anyone cares enough to pay more or buy a certain car over another one because of it.

[torredcuda]

Trying to pay shops to restore a car and not be upside down is pretty tough, it`s tough even if do 95% of the work yourself and don`t figure in your time.

[Dakota]

The way to buy a car for investment is to buy what everybody wants and is already restored.
It  almost always[ costs less to buy a restored car than to buy the car and restore it yourself. As said before, this is a hobby not an investment./font]

yep.

[Joegrapes]

I did all the work myself, but I wasn't doing it to try and make money.  The one thing that always seems funny to me is the labor. People say their time is worth X, but the reality is unless someone is willing to pay you for your time it's worth nothing. Doesn't matter if you're working on your car or sitting on the sofa watching Star Trek reruns. Don't get me wrong, if you do this for a living or if you decide not to go to work and work on your car instead, then there is money either being made or lost while working on your car. Then your time has value.