not what a person wants to hear who's looking for his first zed. maybe i should look for a tr6 instead.

not what a person wants to hear who's looking for his first zed. maybe i should look for a tr6 instead.

Just remember to wave at every Z that blows by you on the road. We'll be looking for you!

zhead240,

TR-6's are great cars; I have wanted one for a long time but, they too can be expensive to maintain. At least you can re-shell the car if you have a bad one. I wish that was a possibility for the S30 cars. As always spend the money upfront and find the best one you can afford and you'll thank yourself right away as well as later.

just kidding about the tr6. i've heard those english cars are in the shop more than on the road, plus very expensive to maintain.( just ask my bro-he has a jag.he claims his mechanic has put more miles on it than him)

Your'e including storage fees / rent for the shop? OMG

Labor is a fine line between hobby and business. Hobby labor is free, of course, I count labor I pay for in the "services" column. So far, this folder is mostly parts. The machine shop for the engine just went into services even though it had some parts in the bill. What about "consulting services"? All the cost of lunch at Hooters and beer - how about beer? Are you including beer? Do you keep receipts for beer?

- how about beer? Are you including beer? Do you keep receipts for beer?

Thanks Chris, needed a laugh!!

ChrisA

You told me at the winter car show, Vicky. Actually, I thought it was rather inspirational.

Inspirational? How about InZane! I don't think I would have the strength to write the checks again for a project like that. I had to have hand surgery after the car was done....loss of feeling due to constant pressure of an ink pen against checks

Vicky

~$7,500 all on parts-before front windshield, exhaust, paint, springs, seeatbelts, shocks, upholstery,and sterio(not necessarily in that order). Granted, I have bought NOS when ever I can find it reasonably, and refurbed that I could not find NOS. All of the labor is from my perspiration, I didn't count filling the welding tanks, wire, generic sheet metal, or bribes to others(food, drink, women, taillight lenses...)

Will

You're whining, Vicky. No one builds a car as nice as Zrush without....This is a size issue.

Bribes go in the beer file, right? Let's see....debits on the left, credits on the right...

Don't forget the colored ink!

Will

Chris,

I don't include storage fees, bribes, beer, drugs or any other peripheral expesnes related to this hobby. Can you imagine those trips to Tampa and the nights spent at Mons Venus being added in to the cost? I only suggested that "if" I were to have been required to pay storage fees can you imagine how high the true cost would be?

Getting back to labor charges though; I feel that you have to include such costs because it is too much work to separate the costs (IMO) and there are some jobs that I would rather not tackle myself because I know that I know not when it comes to welding in new sheetmetal for example and I wouldn't want to shortshrift any of my S30's. The same holds true for things such as NGK or factory plug wires vs. "el-cheapo" wires from Autozone.

:nervous:

I could not even start to add up my hours, but the receipts for work I have done - including labor - go in the "services" file. With a fair amount of accuracy, I'll be able to see what I spent on parts for each car as well as services. They will include the body and paint work, the dipping, machine shop, and I may have a pro do the upholstery. I also keep a file for tools and supplies, and will pro-rate that to the car. I'm keeping pretty accurate records so that I can speak with knowledge about how much it costs to restore one of these babys. So far, the parts file is the thickest. But that is because I bought parts for 26 before I started so as to compensate for inflation. I'm going to get bit on prices of parts for 27, but I am a much wiser shopper now.