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Spend big bucks for full resto or do a budget build?
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cantdrv55
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PostPosted: Fri May 26, 2023 9:14 pm    Post subject: Spend big bucks for full resto or do a budget build? Reply with quote

How did you guys decide which way to go with your build? I’ll probably be selling my 1969 sedan in about 10 years, just as I turn 70. I figure by then, I’ll have project cars out of my system. Did you take into account how long you’re going to keep the car in your decision to spend big on your resto? Or was it the potential of high future resale value?
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passionre
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PostPosted: Sat May 27, 2023 5:43 am    Post subject: Re: Spend big bucks for full resto or do a budget build? Reply with quote

At that point I would probably just do a budget build and fast.....depending on your resources of course you might go all out as well.. The most important factor to me would be getting it finished and enjoying it.
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Schatzievw
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PostPosted: Sat May 27, 2023 5:52 am    Post subject: Re: Spend big bucks for full resto or do a budget build? Reply with quote

Its a personal choice. I am 76 and started my resto about a year ago on a 74SB. My 1st priority was to get it running and road worthy. Since then it became a tinker toy,making refinements as time and budget allow. In my opinion, I prefer the character of old over a complete restoration. I get just as many positive comments as the shiny "new look" restos.
As far as resale goes, it is a tossup. A 3k resto could possibly double your investment. A 15k resto is much harder to recoup your time and money. JMO.
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Glenn Premium Member
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PostPosted: Sat May 27, 2023 5:57 am    Post subject: Re: Spend big bucks for full resto or do a budget build? Reply with quote

cantdrv55 wrote:
Or was it the potential of high future resale value?
Never count on making your money back.
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Schatzievw
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PostPosted: Sat May 27, 2023 8:06 am    Post subject: Re: Spend big bucks for full resto or do a budget build? Reply with quote

Glenn wrote:
cantdrv55 wrote:
Or was it the potential of high future resale value?
Never count on making your money back.


Especially if you put a value on your time!
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Cusser
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PostPosted: Sat May 27, 2023 9:12 am    Post subject: Re: Spend big bucks for full resto or do a budget build? Reply with quote

cantdrv55 wrote:
How did you guys decide which way to go with your build? I’ll probably be selling my 1969 sedan in about 10 years, just as I turn 70. I figure by then, I’ll have project cars out of my system. Did you take into account how long you’re going to keep the car in your decision to spend big on your resto? Or was it the potential of high future resale value?

In 2016 I decided to resurrect my 1970 VW which I'd retired in 1993 to save insurance costs, and just had been sitting on the side of my house. I'd just "been retired" after 40.5 years at same company, and my kids were grown up, so I took on the project of making my 1970 drive-able and roadworthy again.again. Nothing appearance or cosmetic was done.

This is all documented in my thread here, total cost was about $3K as I'd gambled on the transmission being OK, but I knew it was noisy beforehand, so I got a rebuilt transmission for it after I thought I was "done", so that made it about $3K total. In summary, I did the engine, brakes, electrical, new battery, new tires....stuff like that....
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

"Before" photo; tires are only flat on the bottom !!!!
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"After"
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OldSchoolVW's Premium Member
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PostPosted: Sat May 27, 2023 2:35 pm    Post subject: Re: Spend big bucks for full resto or do a budget build? Reply with quote

Ask yourself what outcome will give you the most pleasure out of owning it for the next 10 years … because in any project, that is the only payoff that matters.

I wanted my ’69 to look as it might have looked in ’71 … all stock, paint and interior in very good condition, the few tiny dings it has left just as is, running/stopping well … an honest bug. I ended up buffing out the paint, repainting the wheels with the correct two-tone look and replacing the carpet, upholstery and headliner with stock-look material. Along with rebuilding the brake system and replacing the fuel pump and lines it gave me what I wanted. A full blown restoration would have cost a fortune and I would have ended up with a car I’d be afraid to drive because of the investment made. Going the route I did (somewhere between a restoration and a preservation) gave me what I wanted and left me with the possibility of buying another if the opportunity comes along.

Glenn and Schatzievw are right. You’ll never make back the time and money invested … I’ve done 5 cars over the years and only broke even once (for the money I’d spent) … but I had a great time with every one of them! Very Happy


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cantdrv55
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PostPosted: Sat May 27, 2023 3:37 pm    Post subject: Re: Spend big bucks for full resto or do a budget build? Reply with quote

Thanks for the advice, guys. Your projects are an inspiration for me. I’ve decided I’m going to do a budget build so I can drive it asap and not be afraid to park it anywhere.
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clockworkbox
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PostPosted: Sat May 27, 2023 3:44 pm    Post subject: Re: Spend big bucks for full resto or do a budget build? Reply with quote

Usually anything after '67 isn't considered to be as desirable as pre '67 so putting a lot of money into a '69 might not be a sound financial investment. When I started in air cooled VWs in the late '80s, bay window busses and Vanagons weren't considered valuable but they fetch big money now so who knows? Post '67 Beetles are still refered to as "fat chicks" buy the early VW snobs.
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iowegian Premium Member
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PostPosted: Sat May 27, 2023 4:26 pm    Post subject: Re: Spend big bucks for full resto or do a budget build? Reply with quote

I went to a well known dental franchise last month to look into have some of my teeth fixed. They insisted that ALL of my teeth must be extracted and I would get full upper and lower dentures. The price was pushing $50,000 but they told me everything would be good for at least 40 years.
Then I went to an independent dentist who understood the situation. I'm getting some extractions, a partial, and a bunch of fillings all for well under 5 Grand.
I'll probably get 10 years of use out of these repairs which is good enough seeing as I am nearing 80 years old and I doubt that I'll be worrying about teeth in 2063. Very Happy
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PostPosted: Sun May 28, 2023 1:47 pm    Post subject: Re: Spend big bucks for full resto or do a budget build? Reply with quote

I own my cars to drive them, not buff the paint off the fenders.


For me, my enjoyment is in driving to meets, road tours, and afternoon road trips.

My opinion is: get it running, driving, and stopping well. Then split up the "pretty" work up as to have as little interruption of enjoyment ad possible.


For example I may repaint my fenders this year. Maybe
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MTT3107
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PostPosted: Mon May 29, 2023 7:49 am    Post subject: Re: Spend big bucks for full resto or do a budget build? Reply with quote

Well, I decided on the econo/DIY route for 2 reasons :

First: I like to do it, and the satisfaction of having a nice car, where you did all the work (or most of it ) yourself, is something you can't put a price on.
Second : I don't have the $$ to spend on a full-on professional resto.

Chris Vallone of www.classicvwbugs.com qoutes $60k-80k on his website for a full resto back to showroom condition. For me, that would be out of the question. EVEN if I had that kind of $$ lying around.
Would you get that back, if you sold a few years down the road? Who knows.

I bought my bug, a '73, about 2 years ago, and have been working on it ever since, off and on. But I maintained it in a driveable condition all that time, and have driven it frequently.
So, to use it, and have fun with it, it doesn't have to be in perfect condition. Even at it's current state, with faded paint, and some dings and rust spots, I often get a reaction
from people in a parking lot: "That's so cool", "Love your bug", " what year is it"..

I bought it for $4.5k, and have about another $3k in it. One more big ticket item coming up will be taking care of the dings and rust spots, and get it painted.
When that's all done, I figure I will be somewhere around $12k total.
Not sure that I could find a buyer at that price.


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vamram Premium Member
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PostPosted: Mon May 29, 2023 8:08 am    Post subject: Re: Spend big bucks for full resto or do a budget build? Reply with quote

I'm w/MTT on this one. I bought my '73 Super for $2.8k in 2018, barely running, rusty, moldy and w/several boxes of semi-useful parts. Over 2 years I learned to weld, replaced sections of floor, death foam sections, repaired strut towers etc,, painted it w/rattle cans, cleaned and painted the Marathon rims, rewired sections of the harness, rebuilt my 1st motor, a simple 1600dp, then a cheap local body shop paint job in 2021. No idea how much I spent although I do have all of the receipts. I doubt it was much more than $6k.

Since April 2020, I've put over 29k miles on it. I've had a few minor side-of-the-road incidents - pivot pin working its way out of the accelerator pedal, accelerator cable snapping at the carb's throttle linkage, idle solenoid wire working itself loose causing stalls at a stop, Friday's shredded fan belt...but that's about it. The rest has been regular maintenance, tweaking here and there for a better carb, and just drive-drive-drive. Cool

I can't imagine what kinds of things I'd have to buy and invest in and donate to 1st before I'd ever spend $40-60k on the restauration of a car, but there are quite a few.

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MTT3107
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PostPosted: Mon May 29, 2023 9:19 am    Post subject: Re: Spend big bucks for full resto or do a budget build? Reply with quote

@vamram : Looks nice !
Hope you get many more miles of fun with it !
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Cusser
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PostPosted: Mon May 29, 2023 10:28 am    Post subject: Re: Spend big bucks for full resto or do a budget build? Reply with quote

MTT3107 wrote:

Chris Vallone of www.classicvwbugs.com quotes $60k-80k on his website for a full resto back to showroom condition. For me, that would be out of the question.
Would you get that back, if you sold a few years down the road? Who knows.

You'd likely NEVER get back the dollar investment.

Most of us are not in this hobby to make money on VW investments....
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MTT3107
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PostPosted: Mon May 29, 2023 10:55 am    Post subject: Re: Spend big bucks for full resto or do a budget build? Reply with quote

Quote:
You'd likely NEVER get back the dollar investment.

That's what I think, too

Quote:
Most of us are not in this hobby to make money on VW investments....
Agreed.
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Dan the workingstiff
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PostPosted: Mon May 29, 2023 3:10 pm    Post subject: Re: Spend big bucks for full resto or do a budget build? Reply with quote

Get and keep it on the road.
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PostPosted: Mon May 29, 2023 7:33 pm    Post subject: Re: Spend big bucks for full resto or do a budget build? Reply with quote

I brought home a Perfectly running Convertible 9 years ago. It looked decent, but a lot of rust in the usual places...mostly BONDO'ED over. I immediately took it apart for a modest 3-5 year Resto/Mod. Again, that was 9 YEARS AGO!

So, I'd say time is a big consideration. Even if Professionally done, a Full restoration will take a considerable amount of time and of course, Money.
Good Luck.

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cantdrv55
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PostPosted: Mon May 29, 2023 8:25 pm    Post subject: Re: Spend big bucks for full resto or do a budget build? Reply with quote

Luckily, mine is a CA car so no rust but there is evidence of a front collision that could’ve been repaired better. I’ll address that later after I pull the motor to fix leaks and also replace rear axles, also for leaks. I will DIY it all unless I run into something I can’t handle. Want to keep repairs down to less than $2k.
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mikec4193
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PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2023 3:29 am    Post subject: Re: Spend big bucks for full resto or do a budget build? Reply with quote

Budget build everything in my world....

I have saved probably 10-15 vehicles since I started down the old car rabbit hole back in the early 2000's when I got my shop...

I have never made a dime on any of them...my joy comes tinkering on them to a point where I get bored with it or something else catches my eye....Having ADD is not fun but it does keep stuff moving around in my yard...

Keep it basic too...don't build it so you are the only guy who would want it...get it so it appeals to a wider audience so when the sale day comes you can get a decent buck for it...

Take lots of pictures as you go along with anything you are working on...then you can look back and smile at the stuff you have accomplished...

My 2 cents.

Hope you can figure it all out...

MikeC
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