Thoughts on investment
 

I am not building this car as a retirement plan or anything and I am well aware that cars as a whole are a money pit new or used eventually but I LOVE the 64 A body Pontiacs and I am going all out on this build. I asked in a previous thread if anyone thought I was crazy for saving a tempest and the concensus was that there aren’t that many left and you should build what you want. I have a vision for this car but unfortunately it’s a very expensive one. Recently I have had some snide comments both in threads and in private messages that have got me thinking about the staggering amount of money I am really putting into this thing but at the same time when it’s done it will be MY car. I will know every screw and besides body and interior it will all be done by me. I am terribly upside down in this car right now and I haven’t even done the FUN stuff yet. Anybody else totally upside down in their car and feel ok about it? So far I’m not phased I just wish the money flowed faster so I could speed up the pace.

I have 20k in my 63 tempest convert and have not got a sniff at 14K for it.Yes,I am stupid,I just spent another $500 on it last week on the rear brakes.And yes you are in exactly the same boat as me but only worse.Tom

I am also going to insure the hell out of it and drive the wheels off of it

Probably could have have bought one all done for 1/2 the price.....and been driving it all summer. A guy I know just sold a show car for 125,000.00.... he had 140k into it.....and he said he lost his 3,000 hours he had in it also. You go into a restoration process...because you have expendable cash....and you have no intentions of selling the car.

Oh I have no intention of ever selling the car. I will have other cars come and go as always but I have never seen a Tempest at a car show and it’s just as much fun as my GTO’s and making mods isn’t sacrilege. When I had my gold 64 gto this guy came up to me at the gas pumps all friendly and asking questions about the car. We talked and then he asked me how often I GOT to drive it. I told him other than my 77 C10 that was used for working it was my only car. After that he practically attacked me about risking a classic blah blah. I basically had to end up telling him to F off to get him to leave me alone

I was at a Cruise Night in our little town.....there was a 64 Tempest parked next to a 64 GTO.....and when the people's choice was announced...it went to the Tempest.....the guy with the very nice 64 GTO ..just chuckled.

Interesting things to think about.
I have owned my TA from new. I do almost all my own work to it, so my labor is free. It still costs $$$ for parts.
I have no concerns about the $$ in it right now, or when I'm where I want it to be when I consider it done. Money IS important to me mostly because I don't have much. Driving my cool car around is my only goal or reward. Folks still honk at me and give me thumbs up, even though it doesn't look very spiffy right now.
I truly don't care what anybody thinks my car is worth, or how much I (will) have invested.
Some of my car buddies constantly obsess over $$$ in someone's old car or how much money it takes to go racing. I don't care.

Boa bla lol

Yup...that's the way I look at it....Baby gets what Baby needs ....

Im a little upside down into mine. But I try to be reasonable about it. I know people who have 30k into 80s G bodies that they would have a hard time getting 10 for. So before I even started teh project I made sure I started with something that was at least going to have some sale value. Its cute to say 'I will never sell " but who knows what life holds. You might get bored and want something else, an emergency may come up. If that emergency came it would hurt a lot more to only get a 30% return. I try to keep mine where I will at least get most of my money back out of it.

I would be more likely to trade mine personally. I know myself well enough to know Im not allowed to have straight cash in my hands. Even if I told myself Im selling to buy another car I would end up doing something dumb with it. My car isnt on the market and Im not looking to move it, but as they say everyone has their price. If I got offered a nice 61-62 Catalina they could have the firebird probably.

I am currently way upside down on my Lemans. I must have 5-6k in the drivetrain for a car that looks like a primered multi colored pos. If I had to, tho, I could transplant that drivetrain into a better shell. But yes, it is a labor of love, and a money pit for sure.

I have had too many classic cars get away that I later regretted to where I can honestly say unless it was a life and death got to have money to save a member of my family I won’t sell the car because it just doesn’t make sense to lose even more money on something when everything else is going in the tank. If you’re losing your house and you got a car you sunk 45 grand in that’s only worth 13k I’d sell my Yukon and my wife’s charger and start driving it everyday and stick her in a used car. Same thing with guns and tools. The fiscal emergency WILL pass good or bad but the items gone forever. I bought a real Winchester m1 garand for 100 bucks and a real Thompson complete with drum magazine for 300 bucks one time from a guy that was “going thru a rough time” he lived thru it ruined his credit anyway for 400 bucks

First off NEVER SELL YOUR GUNS!
Before I bought my 67 I had picked up a 67 Tempest to clone. I didn't have a ton of cash but had been wanting a gto for as long as I could remember. I bought the Tempest for 3k. It had a caddy 425 in it ran like **** and needed a ton of work. But my desire to have a goat talked me into buying it. I had a friend that was a body man come over and look at it and he said that the car probably needed 10k in metal work(quarters rockers floors). He said sell it and save your pennies to get a car worth putting that kind of money into. So I did and a few years later and a ton of research I picked a very solid numbers matching 67 GTO for a few thousand more than the tempest. I still have a ton of money in the car and will never get what I have into it. But at the end of the day I took a step back and listened to the voice of reason and spent my hard earned money wisely.
Had I not listened to the old wise man I would have still sunk money into that Tempest. But in the end that Tempest would have satisfied my desire no matter how much money I put into it! The feeling of a 60/70's Pontiac is awesome in itself. The feel you get you wouldn't care if the car was a Tempest or true GTO. Sound like your to far into your 64 so finish it the way you want and drive the HELL out of it!

My 79 TA is what is commonly called a 20 footer I asked a guy who was in the restore business if he would paint it. The said he wouldn't do it unless he stripped the car down and fixed all the under panels with new steel. He said it would cost about $14,000, but the car would be worth $40,000. I told him it wouldn't because I ain't selling it.

Based on what you say above, I can tell that you have a good perspective on your '64. You recognize the car is not a retirement plan, and understand that you are unlikely to realize any sort of profit on the car given your current direction.

I say this: Build the car the way you want it, at the pace your budget allows. If you can truly afford to be upside down in the car but it brings you joy, then go for it.

Snide comments will always be there, but you can use those comments for motivation. It's your car, your money, and your life. There are FAR worse ways to spend money.

If the build of this car is not keeping you and your family from eating regular meals, then stay at it!

Best of luck with your project!

You can look at but this way...
Say you're into golf or skiing or any number of other hobbies. You would be spending money on equipment, travel, greens fees/lift tickets, etc., etc. that you would never expect to get back. You are paying for the time spent doing something you enjoy. Your car is the same way. You might not get all of your money back if you ever sell, but you're spending money for the time spent doing something you enjoy.

Ditto, and very well said.

One thing is for sure, it's not getting any cheaper to restore these cars. Prices are continually going up, paint jobs getting more expensive, materials are outrageous now, NOS prices are off the charts if you can find them anymore etc...

It's almost always cheaper to buy one done, even the higher priced nearly 6 figure cars that are restored to perfection cost more than that to restore them.

But, car guys that enjoy this hobby aren't in it for the money and pay no mind to the end dollar amount. As long as you're having fun with it and enjoying the process, that's what counts.

Then there are the really old guys that remember what these things cost new and think everyone else is crazy with their asking prices. My dad comes to mind :D

I don't look at my GTO as an investment, I do look at it as an asset. Just like my house. I like to work on my house too, but I don't do anything to it that might reduce it's value. I wouldn't paint it purple, even though I might like purple. Just like I wouldn't sell the original engine and replace it with a 455 .... just because I like HP. I wouldn't swap transmissions just because I like manuals. So there is a place in between for people that don't have a lot of money and have to protect their assets. If I had a couple million, or a great pension it wouldn't matter nearly as much. But when closing in on retirement I have to make sure I do as little as possible to reduce my assets. I'd like a car just the way I want it, I'd also like to not live under an overpass when I'm 70.

Exactly the way I look at it. This delimma really is just like most things. Moderation is almost always the key. You can absolutely have some cake. You just probably shouldn’t have it for every meal. Things are likely to get out of hand. My car might not be a great investment, but it is worth something and I try to keep that dollar spent to value amount from getting out of control is all. Moderation.

I’ve got about 15k into the engine. Which I, sure is an awful investment lol. But if lush came to shove I could buy a running 400 or 455 to drop in and keep my motor. Cars value probably wouldn’t change that much.

There is a way to make a small fortune with these old cars... Start with a big fortune. It will be small in no time.