From time to time I see someone post about their intent to purchase (or have recently purchased) an S30 with the intention of restoring it. Once in a while we also get to see feedback about the unforeseen costs of a project and a decision to halt or abandon an effort. I thought it might be of interest to some to get a pretty good feel for the costs that might be incurred in a resto project so here is a tracking report on my project. Here's a bit of background on my starting point and the project:

- a one owner car, always garaged, never wrecked or broken.

- always a Dallas-area car, no rust.

- 92K miles when it was put away in 1982 due to badly leaking valve seals.

- body work and paint, the engine rebuild and install, glass installation, and the carbs rebuild were the only contracted items.

- a head overhaul might have been adequate for the engine but I opted for a full rebuild.

- seat covers, carpet, handbrake and shifter boots are new, all other interior pieces are original.

- I did all the rest of the work at a $0 billed cost.

The spreadsheet started with a needs list that grew as I identified new items. As I acquired each item, I transferred it to a purchased list and that is what you see in this report. Realistically, I think I have 99% of my items tracked. This was anything but a cost-is-no-object effort as I scoured the internet to find the best possible price on everything.

I hope some current or future restorers can get some benefit from this.

Z Restoration Report.pdf

Nice insight for those who approach a similar project. The little bits and pieces add up and usually aren't factored in prior to taking on a project. Thanks for posting!

Dennis

Jim,

This is a great resource, thank you for sharing.

Keith

Add about $800-$1000 if you want to replace most of the small rubber grommets on the entire car.

Great spreadsheet.

i've been trying sooo hard to NOT keep track of what i'm spending on my resto - otherwise i would have stopped long ago!

seriously though, good info and pretty dead-on. a key component to note is that you started with a nice example. it's so easy to fall for the lure of a cheap "project car" and halfway into it realize that it would have made so much more sense to start out paying a few thousand more for a solid, rust-free car...