All to familiar story....

[BrianS]

Saw this ad on Craigslist, seems like a typical story. I feel bad for the guy

"The story
I bought a stock 1974 Cuda with a 318 and auto tranny. It was supposed to be a retirement present to myself. I bought a 1974 knowing I was going to Frankenstein it to a luxury hot rod. Not to over powered, and dependable. I had the car at a restoration shop for 10 years. In that 10 years I was constantly promised and put on hold while all others were put in front. The car was on the rotisserie for almost two years.

So what has been done?
Car taken apart
Rust removed
Undercoated
Body work
Primed
Tubular front end installed
Engine and tranny installed
Shaker hood installed

Needless to say this shop burned me out and I have lost allot of interest in the project.
I have no idea of what the car is worth in this state, but I will share what I have spent.
I do have receipts

1974 Cuda 20k
95% body work primed and undercoated
engine, tranny, tubular front end install 25k
Rebuilt 350 hemi out of a Durango 10k
Tubular front end 5k
Transmission 5k
New steering box 1k
Shaker hood 2k
Headers 1k
Radiator 1k
Rallye 18” wheels 1k
1970 tail square lights 1k
16” brakes 1k
FAST wiring

The car needs very little body work, paint, wiring, interior, exhaust, and basically put back together.

I have all the stock glass, all interior, radiator, A/C, wiring, rally wheels, hoods, doors,
Seats, console, dash, door panels I have about 70k (including 20k for the car) MAKE OFFER. If I dont call you back means I don't accept the offer."

 

[1STMP]

Why quit now? The finish line is in sight.
Sad that so many give up on their dreams.

 

[Big Bad Dad]

I don't understand all of these similar stories about restoration shops. Why do people leave their cars in them for so darn long? Have a legally enforcible contract with a completion date. If there is a problem locating parts or other legitimate delays, sign a legally enforcible change order. Otherwise have a penalty in the contract for lack of due diligence on the part of the business. (Kind of like the way construction projects work.) This thing of dropping off a car and leaving it for years while the parts get lost or stolen is just plain nuts. But, I guess the "checkbook restoration" people that don't do their own work are easy prey......
I mean, WOW!
The car in the original posting had 73 THOUSAND dollars spent over 10 YEARS! And it ain't done yet? And what will a 74 model Cuda, originally a 318 car, restomod be worth when done?

 

[Richard Cranium]

That’s true. Since it sounds like he’s not doing anything himself, it’s only going to take another measly 100-150 large to finish his dream car.

Why quit now? The finish line is in sight.
Sad that so many give up on their dreams.

 

[Big Bad Dad]

I went back and read the original Craiglist posting again. The last line kind of shows how the guy thinks. Is this supposed to be some kind of online auction where you place a bid, sight unseen? And if he doesn't like your offer, he won't talk to you? Hmmm....

>"I have about 70k (including 20k for the car) MAKE OFFER. If I dont call you back means I don't accept the offer."

 

[Hey-O]

Well here's an idea, keep it!! I have a friend that just bought a 69 Cuda for half that and it's worth twice that. Some got to win and some got to lose, good time Charlie's got the blues...

 

[68BabyBlue]

That’s true. Since it sounds like he’s not doing anything himself, it’s only going to take another measly 100-150 large to finish his dream car.

My dad was a working artist (photography). He was fortunate to land a day job at Penn State, and eventually leverage his talents into a tenured professorship. On an hourly basis, his craft paid virtually nothing. Had he charged a professional rate for his efforts, some of those photographs would have been worth as much as a well-restored B body. He never sold one for more than a tiny fraction of that amount. Professional restoration shops are run as a business, and charge accordingly.

Our hobby is made up of artists (those who restore themselves, and possess the talent to create amazing works,) and art collectors (I fall into this category.) Most restored cars I've owned would probably have consumed three times my purchase price, if I had paid others to do the work. If I had been able to do most of the work myself, probably would have spent at least twice the price, plus a thousand hours labor.

 

[Richard Cranium]

My dad was a working artist (photography). He was fortunate to land a day job at Penn State, and eventually leverage his talents into a tenured professorship. On an hourly basis, his craft paid virtually nothing. Had he charged a professional rate for his efforts, some of those photographs would have been worth as much as a well-restored B body. He never sold one for more than a tiny fraction of that amount. Professional restoration shops are run as a business, and charge accordingly.

Our hobby is made up of artists (those who restore themselves, and possess the talent to create amazing works,) and art collectors (I fall into this category.) Most restored cars I've owned would probably have consumed three times my purchase price, if I had paid others to do the work. If I had been able to do most of the work myself, probably would have spent at least twice the price, plus a thousand hours labor.

As most of us know, it's easy to get financially buried in a car or any project, and it's especially worse if you farm out the whole project. Just watch Fantom Works near the end when they talk about the hundreds of hours that they have into any of their project cars. All those billable hours comes at a hefty price. How many hundreds of hours do you think are into that 74 Cuda just as it sits?

 

[Runcharger]

Exactly, how many of us would go up to a perfect stranger and tell them to bring their car by for a year or two and we'll store it inside our garage and work on it 20-30 hours per week for free?
On the other side I would be at the shop once a week and taking action if I didn't see progress on each visit. Pay the hours as you go too, which should be laid out in a contract.
On my own cars I make a personal commitment that if I can't get it done in one year I might as well sell it. These lifetime projects make no sense to me but if people are fine with that then it's their business. I think for a lot of people the dream is more fun to them than the reality, I guess it would be like having a half done painting hanging on your wall?

 

[YY1]

Yep. Good luck getting half of that- 35K.

If it was painted in a non-polarizing color.....maybe.

 

[Budnicks]

IMHFO, I say good luck with that
it's worth maybe $0.50 cents on the dollar
it's all old used parts now, unboxed, everything all out of warranty
unfinished, unpainted, un proven
a Resto Mod built to taste (nothing wrong with that either)
that there's still a **** load of work needed & $$$ to spend
(depending on how much you can do yourself)
how many will spend $45k
(1/2 of what he alleges he has in it)
even at that for a hull & a bunch of miss-matched custom parts

(so he has $90k in it, $70k on/in parts ?, nothing wrong with that if
that's what you want & you originally spent that, but not second-hand stuff)

especially if it's not a 68 Charger R/T (even then think twice)
a real 1970-71 'cuda/not a 1974
(sorry I don't mean to demean 74 Barracudas')

when you can find &/or buy a $70k car (especially 1973 & later)
if you look hard enough
already, finished, painted, running & driving
with 1,000% less grief & BS

(now if you can get it for $0.25 cents on the dollar, maybe (?)

to each their own

 

[Fran Blacker]

I've said to guys before "If you can't do a large part of the work yourself, buy a car that's done"!

 

[eldubb440]

he was obviously satisfied with how things were going every time he shelled out some money..... there is only one person at fault here

 

[1STMP]

That’s true. Since it sounds like he’s not doing anything himself, it’s only going to take another measly 100-150 large to finish his dream car.

Me thinks the guy is way over estimating
his costs to date. He's trying to glorify
the sale. Had he had the talents to do this
work himself, the asking price I'm sure,
would be much lower.
No one I know expects to recoup the total
cost of their builds as they know full well
(or should) what the market will bear.
Mine has taken 27 years to get it where
it is. I've never approached my build
as to it's recouperable expense. I can
only explain it as you either love rebuilding
something you deem as worthy in
resurrecting, or lose all interest and give
up on it. This guy has lost all interest.
Once on the road, I'll revel in the fact,
that come hell, or high water, my final
goal has been reached.

 

[YY1]

"Trying to get back what I have in it" with or with out the word "just" is one of the worst red flag lines in any for sale ad.

The "value" of parts, installed, purchased new, whatever IMO is 50% of current low retail, further reduced by any undesirability to any potentially interested party, and then further reduced by the "bundle" status.

 

[moparedtn]

Name the shop.
Better yet, invite them here to tell their side of the story.

 

[68BabyBlue]

I bought GTX number four in this state of limbo in 2010. I paid maybe 50% of what the seller had in it. It was a numbers matching car, with complete documentation, excellent option package and colors. Sold it at a slight loss a few years later, when the shop storing it hadn't touched it. Sadly, the buyer (a friend of a friend) passed soon after, and the car is still in pieces. Seems to have a dark cloud hanging over it.

Baby Blue (running and driving) came back to me at a bargain price in 2013, making the transition painless. Another break I caught during this lesson was that I spent nothing at the shop during the process.

 

[Rusty34]

This is going to be a tough one. He is hoping to attract someone who has the same vision for this car as he did so he can recover his investment in it.

 

[moparedtn]

Fools and their money...

 

[Black_Sheep]

If I had to pay a shop for all the hours I have in my build it wouldn’t be affordable. It sounds like the owner didn’t understand what he was getting himself into. He would have been better off buying a done car…