When your heart rules your head
Discussion
I've copped some serious flack this weekend (from the Mrs) for my little project which I undertook as a cheap way to get myself out on some track-days.
I am a Porsche man (as you can probably tell) so opted for a cheap rough looking 944 as my chosen ride, and set about stripping it and making it look racey for some fun days out.
The trouble is, this has turned into a bit of a 'Race-storation' rather than just a 'strip it out and thrash it'... and there in lies the problem.
I liked the car, the shape has really grown on me, the way the rear arches flare and how it sits low and menacing - I couldnt help but have my wallet raided to sort the 'looks' and 'structure' as well as its ability as a track tool.
Unfortunately, as Im sure many of you classic / vintage boys will be fully aware of, a restoration cost can far exceed the real life value of a certain brand or model, and I can safely say that this little 944 will never be worth in pounds and pence whats been spent to get her in suitable fettle - I now feel obliged to help save her.
So, anyone else out their as stupid as me and thrown money at a car that you just 'like for what it is' regardless of future value or prestige!?
Please tell me Im not alone, I need some comforting words with the impending bodywork bill
I am a Porsche man (as you can probably tell) so opted for a cheap rough looking 944 as my chosen ride, and set about stripping it and making it look racey for some fun days out.
The trouble is, this has turned into a bit of a 'Race-storation' rather than just a 'strip it out and thrash it'... and there in lies the problem.
I liked the car, the shape has really grown on me, the way the rear arches flare and how it sits low and menacing - I couldnt help but have my wallet raided to sort the 'looks' and 'structure' as well as its ability as a track tool.
Unfortunately, as Im sure many of you classic / vintage boys will be fully aware of, a restoration cost can far exceed the real life value of a certain brand or model, and I can safely say that this little 944 will never be worth in pounds and pence whats been spent to get her in suitable fettle - I now feel obliged to help save her.
So, anyone else out their as stupid as me and thrown money at a car that you just 'like for what it is' regardless of future value or prestige!?
Please tell me Im not alone, I need some comforting words with the impending bodywork bill
Renn Sport said:
I do this all the time also!
I started with a really nice 924-S and spent loads with me spannering capabilities turning into an even nicer car.
I keep doing it!
Its hard to convince someone who doesnt understand the excitement a 'lump of metal' can bring. I started with a really nice 924-S and spent loads with me spannering capabilities turning into an even nicer car.
I keep doing it!
To be fair the Mrs hasnt really gone up the wall about it, and I understand that getting such a large unexpected bill for something which isnt an 'essential' probably appears a little strange - I guess some people get it, and others just will never understand.
That reminds me, I must spend some more money soon on another batch of tools I dont know how to use...
Simples...
It's a bloke thing, realy
to have your missus NOT up in the air must mean that God owed you some brownie points
I bought a scrapyard Midget that had been Arkleyed and almost destroyed by tin worm
Spent years of time and sqillions of Squids of money to put her back on the road (as a Midget!)
And though I have agreed value at 4,500 it would cost a bomb to get her back up to scratch if I ever let her go to seed again
like I say
it's a bloke thing
girls dont see it!
It's a bloke thing, realy
to have your missus NOT up in the air must mean that God owed you some brownie points
I bought a scrapyard Midget that had been Arkleyed and almost destroyed by tin worm
Spent years of time and sqillions of Squids of money to put her back on the road (as a Midget!)
And though I have agreed value at 4,500 it would cost a bomb to get her back up to scratch if I ever let her go to seed again
like I say
it's a bloke thing
girls dont see it!
The word Jaguar is engraved on my heart - and much deeper into my wallet. Every time I think that "that's it, I can sit back and enoy" something else comes up. My E type over 28 years has cost me a darned sight more than I could ever sell her for, the new C-type I don't dare think about, although to be fair the Lynx value has shot up over the years so at least one cloud has a silver lining. But now it is on with the search for a Kelsey-Hayes servo bellow and seals, plus a bit of rust creeping in to the bonnet of the E type which needs catching before it goes too far. Trouble is, I love thenm to death and only death will us part.
Or the bank manager.
Or the bank manager.
Its nice to read some comforting words... Ive never been adverse to blowing every last penny on my chosen 'wheels' at the time - its funny how the scariest bills always seem to be ill timed though!
Im going to have to keep a tighter rein on things for a little while after this latest episode - although, I reckon the old 911 could do with some TLC soon too
(Thats not to mention getting a tow bar fitted so I can trailer the 944 around, paying for the track day, petrol, selection of spares, suitable tool cabinet to store all the shiny things in, extra set of wheels, tyres, engine service, fitting the gear stick gator, additional decals and musn't forget the fire extinguisher)
(and maybe I'll think about getting an MOT on the 944 instead of just being a trailer queen, then it'll need insuring, taxing, everyday maintenance....)
MAKE THE VOICES STOP!
Im going to have to keep a tighter rein on things for a little while after this latest episode - although, I reckon the old 911 could do with some TLC soon too
(Thats not to mention getting a tow bar fitted so I can trailer the 944 around, paying for the track day, petrol, selection of spares, suitable tool cabinet to store all the shiny things in, extra set of wheels, tyres, engine service, fitting the gear stick gator, additional decals and musn't forget the fire extinguisher)
(and maybe I'll think about getting an MOT on the 944 instead of just being a trailer queen, then it'll need insuring, taxing, everyday maintenance....)
MAKE THE VOICES STOP!
A step far too far
DO NOT AH SAY DO NOT MOT THE CAR SAH!
She wont mind being a track baby
in fact she will love it...
(there there, do you feel better now? Shall you just go and sit in the conservatory for a few minutes whilst you think about the next track day... and think about whatever dubious improvements your missus wants at home next)
I dunno about a tow bar on the 911 though
how about a nice big old Granada as a tow car, lots of crap 80s chrome to upkeeep and time to get over the need to MOT the track car
DO NOT AH SAY DO NOT MOT THE CAR SAH!
She wont mind being a track baby
in fact she will love it...
(there there, do you feel better now? Shall you just go and sit in the conservatory for a few minutes whilst you think about the next track day... and think about whatever dubious improvements your missus wants at home next)
I dunno about a tow bar on the 911 though
how about a nice big old Granada as a tow car, lots of crap 80s chrome to upkeeep and time to get over the need to MOT the track car
No danger of the tow bar going on the Pork... I have a hideous modern euro barge for that!
My thinking re the MOT was, having put so much effort into getting the thing in shape, I could house the car in the UK, transport it easier and cheaper to trackdays (ignoring any channel crossing I may incurr), and be able to communicate freely with brit folk, as well as having a potential for closer and better choice of tracks (to where the car would be housed).
As an aside, I could also sell the current 'personal type plate' on the car to cover some of the previous / future financial damage.
Its just a thought - but you know what thinking does
My thinking re the MOT was, having put so much effort into getting the thing in shape, I could house the car in the UK, transport it easier and cheaper to trackdays (ignoring any channel crossing I may incurr), and be able to communicate freely with brit folk, as well as having a potential for closer and better choice of tracks (to where the car would be housed).
As an aside, I could also sell the current 'personal type plate' on the car to cover some of the previous / future financial damage.
Its just a thought - but you know what thinking does
RedexR said:
It is mainly a bloke thing , your car has to be just so... compromise is never going to bring you any happiness , do fully expect her to exact some revenge , mainly in the shoe and wardrobe department though.
Do you understand why your women need so many handbags?There are women who love cars as much as we do. There are women who frequent this group. I once made a comment about Clarkson being a girlie because he can't cope with a Moss box. I was promptly jumped on by a lady who commutes in Central London in an XK150 during the summer. On the Jag Lovers XK list there was a very active lady who was restoring her XK140 from the ground up. But it is mostly a bloke thing.
I'm sure tools is a bloke thing though. I think it was like collecting toy soldiers. You wanted to have rows of them all lined up neatly as a boy. Socket sets and other sets of spanners and screw drivers all neatly lined up. Great
davepoth said:
a8hex said:
I'm sure tools is a bloke thing though. I think it was like collecting toy soldiers. You wanted to have rows of them all lined up neatly as a boy. Socket sets and other sets of spanners and screw drivers all neatly lined up. Great
You've definitely not seen my toolbox. So I tidyed by toolboxes - all the pliers in one space, all the screwdrivers split by phillips or flatblade, washers and bolts have their own home, even the assorted files and knives etc which have been re-categorised to the 'tool' arena now have their own space...
I think I'll shut up now
I think I fall into this category too 
Partly with the tools, although they are a real mess at the mo due to some rearranging in the out buildings.
But also with the cars, I’ve spent about £10k on getting my Triumph TR7 to where it is today. And sadly it’s probably only worth £3.5-4k at most to sell, maybe not even that.
However I can justify it in several ways. Firstly it’s taken since 1999 to get to this point, so that’s only an average of £1k a year
Also, this £10k has gone quite a long way. It’s bought 2 TR7’s. A V8 conversion and engine, plus cam, full exhaust, 4brl carb and loads of extra’s and mods. Bucket seats, full respray and tidy up and a host of other mods.
I’m sure if I included tyres, fluids and regular maintenance it might be a bit more but I can’t see it having cost more than £12k max in over 10 years.
And that’s the key to it all, time.
If I’d bought a new Saxo in 1999 for about £10k it’d be worth £800-1000 tops now and for at least 7 years would have been out of warranty requiring maintenance and repairs.
Even if I’ve spent £12k and only managed to sell it for £2.5k that’s only £9.5 lost over the same period.
So in reality its cost almost the same as a small hatchback would have. If I’d bought new or nearly new cars and sold them 1-3 years later I suspect I would have lost similar or possible more depending on how much money they cost originally.
Partly with the tools, although they are a real mess at the mo due to some rearranging in the out buildings.
But also with the cars, I’ve spent about £10k on getting my Triumph TR7 to where it is today. And sadly it’s probably only worth £3.5-4k at most to sell, maybe not even that.
However I can justify it in several ways. Firstly it’s taken since 1999 to get to this point, so that’s only an average of £1k a year
Also, this £10k has gone quite a long way. It’s bought 2 TR7’s. A V8 conversion and engine, plus cam, full exhaust, 4brl carb and loads of extra’s and mods. Bucket seats, full respray and tidy up and a host of other mods.
I’m sure if I included tyres, fluids and regular maintenance it might be a bit more but I can’t see it having cost more than £12k max in over 10 years.
And that’s the key to it all, time.
If I’d bought a new Saxo in 1999 for about £10k it’d be worth £800-1000 tops now and for at least 7 years would have been out of warranty requiring maintenance and repairs.
Even if I’ve spent £12k and only managed to sell it for £2.5k that’s only £9.5 lost over the same period.
So in reality its cost almost the same as a small hatchback would have. If I’d bought new or nearly new cars and sold them 1-3 years later I suspect I would have lost similar or possible more depending on how much money they cost originally.
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