Ground rules for 5k Builds

[Mater]

i think we are only allowed to remove cost if it came form the project its self not just scrap we had laying around

becuase if that's the case i already have $900 off of the lebaron form scrap and cat converters i have taken

[Stich496]

point taken..

[Thumpin455]

Hey guys, I need some input. Ok the LeMans cost me $1500, but I have gotten $2k worth of interior parts, and about another $1000 or so in mechanical stuff. Since I used those parts on another car, what would be the value of the car since I didnt sell any parts from it. I can provide a breakdown of what I have pulled for the GTO, and what it would cost new, but since its used where should the value of the parts rest?

How about we have a vote or some kind of consensus about using parts from it on another car we own?

[STINEY]

My thinking is this: You needed to buy the interior stuff to complete the rental/restoration deal you have with the cars owner (or future owner as per the plan)

So, while I don't think you can "write off" rental costs in the $5000 budget (that's the kind of shady stuff the car magazines would pull!)
I do think it fair to write down the cost of the project car by 1/2 of the cost of what the new interior stuff would have been. Especially since the interior is well documented and didn't "magically" appear when your budget was getting tight.

Now when that takes you into negative cost territory it gets a little more murky....... but as long as your negative cost isn't more than say the cost of a new crate motor or similar then I think its still fine.

We all know you aren't going to BS us BSers too bad Todd, after all, you are one of us (or we are one of you, or something like that!)

[SuperBuickGuy]

if you have the parts, it's free. Consider it this way, if you didn't buy the project you'd never use the parts and throw them away (unless you're Stiney, then you just fill another barn)....

plus

Stiney, all of your projects are less than 5k because they aren't done

and in that vein,

at what point is the cut-off? is it 5k to make it road-worthy? or is it 5k over the life of the vehicle? is it 5k purchase price?

Still

my 2cents says "whatever you SPEND cash money for" is the criteria.... yeah, there are wheeler/dealers here who will make us all jealous, but the truth is if anyone here got the same deal, they'd do it too.... and as this is a hobby to make the most with the least - I think seeing what people can do without artificial constraints (such as having to value the parts you've stored away for just such an occasion) misses the whole point.

[Mater]

i beleive the original goal was how fast can you make it for $5,000. it was sort of a small compition for drag week that i am no where near ready for

the van has sort of made my budget get weird

[Bob Holmes]

Nobody gets to go negative.

Value the vehicle at a fair price before you get started. Then add and subtract from there.

I'm with SBG, we're generally looking at cash transactions. Now if you just had that engine handy in the garage, and you really know that you bought it for the project, step up on the cost. If you had the engine sitting under the work bench, covered by boxes with unknown crap in it, it has a 1" layer of dust on it, and your buddy says "I had no idea that you had that...what is it" then put a value on it.

This is all for fun...you don't even get a plastic $5 trophy. Be fair and we'll call you on shit we think stinks.

[Mater]

so $0 is the lowest we can go at any given time then?

i know i will never get there just woundering i am actualy starting to get geared up on the lebaron getting parts coming in

[Bob Holmes]

No car is worth $0. It has a scrap value.

[Mater]

i was not talking about the car's value but the whole build

currently i am at $986 total value if for some reason i got $1,000 for the van after i scrap it i would be at negative $14 for the whole build would this be koasher?

[Thumpin455]

Im not trying to go negative, just seeing what kind of budget I will have to work with. I can always dig up a car I traded some bucket seats for, or only have $300 cash in it and build that. Those two are lighter than a 65 LeMans, and mostly complete cars as far as metal goes.

So an engine we have had sitting around a while doesnt have to be full cost? I can get behind that. I have the 455 I pulled from the GTO last year, but when I built it back in 94 or 95 it only cost me $1k for the shortblock. It also has 40k+ on it now. So when I get to this project in earnest, I will post pics and what I think the stuff is worth, and you guys can give it a thumbs up or down.

Like Stiney, I have a big pile of parts to choose from. I could put something together and only pay for gaskets, fluids, and things like that, it just wouldnt be that fast or reliable. All sorts of crap I have collected over the last 25 years or so, trading parts or labor for most of it, and cash outlay has always been low because I have always been poor. For Stiney and I its more like Junkyard Wars, we just have to find the stuff.

[STINEY]

For Stiney and I its more like Junkyard Wars, we just have to find the stuff.

[Beagle]

Can I deduct the 300.00 fine from the city from my budget or is that a cost? lol.

[TheSilverBuick]

Can I deduct the 300.00 fine from the city from my budget or is that a cost? lol.

D'oh!

[Mater]

Can I deduct the 300.00 fine from the city from my budget or is that a cost? lol.

ouch


i do need you guys input on the cost of soemthing though. i am going to turbo the lebaron i will be using stock GTP injectors but no idea what to price them at as they came off of my black car i scrapped last year. one yard had them listed at $70 for a set (LOL) but i can get them on a local forum for $1 an injector