$10k "resto" in perspective

[Robert_A_Brady@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Robert A Brady)]

I seemed to have touched of a bit of a flurry when questioning Michael 
Williams post about his quote for $10k on a cosmetic restoration of his '69 
spider.

I thought I'd contribute the DIY perspective, as my '74 gtv has just been 
through 90% of its "restoration."

Here is a summary of some costs involved in repainting and doing some "minor" 
body work on my '74 gtv, over the last few months:

1.  Paint: ~$650 in materials (epoxy primer, surfacer, base coat, acrylic 
urethane clear).  
2.  Stripper/filler/abrasives/consumables/misc. metal prep chemicals: ~$200

.... still wanna go down to virgin metal??? :)

3.  Metal (outer rockers, front 1/4 panels, misc. patches): ~$300
4.  Labor (let's see, at $0.01/hr, that'd be...): ~$1
5.  Tools (mine are fully depreciated :), but if you'd have to start from 
scratch): ~$1500

Grand Total (just to do the outside, I still have some floor work and need to 
redo the interior): $2551.00 

So, $10k still looks pretty steep, of course, at $50/hr, you'd be up to 
$7500... again, without the floors. I'm sure Paul Irvine can give some better 
estimates on the costs of those, but $1500 to have someone do them wouldn't 
surprise me.

The point of this, I'm not sure... maybe it's just a cathersis.  I guess, the 
bottom line is that restoring a body is not cheap, any way you cut it.  Some 
night when I'm sufficiently liquored up, I'll open the Quicken file and find 
out what I REALLY spent..... 

All in all, it doesn't make much difference since it's the ROI that counts :)

Bob Brady, DVAROC

------------------------------