Can anyone give this gentleman an estimate of the man-hours to bring that car
to life? --And anyone who can either confirm or offer other estimates of
cost?
In 1991 I spent a year and $25,000. The car was mine already so I didn't have
to buy one to get in the game. The 25K covered taking it apart, frame repair,
putting it back together and finish work by someone who knew what he was doing
and me doing the grunt work. We worked on it every weekend and two nights a
week. That also didn't include any drive train work and other than a new
clutch it hasn't needed any, but I stored that engine with the cylinders
filled with oil. In today's dollars that would be $34,000 but I was paying
someone $30/hour for half the man hours put in. I'm not mechanically inclined
enough to even think about doing it alone. There's no reason to think that
the car in question can't be put back together, but, as has been said, you
really don't know what isn't there or what condition the drive train is in.
The engine and transmission could easily cost $4000 more when done by a
professional if they both need attention and you decide to make changes in the
crankshaft, head, flywheel, etc.
This process will never be cheap or easy. That said, it can be rewarding on a
level that money and time alone can't begin to compare to. After all, how
many of your friends have built their own car? I'm all alone in my small
group of pals, although every one of them has a little sweat equity in mine: I
told them I wasn't going to let them drive it if they didn't.
Bill Moyer, BJ7
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