[dataway]

There are a lot of sour grapes out there for people that paid someone else crazy money to work on their cars. The guys that have never held a wrench or a spray gun in their hand have no choice. But for "amateurs" that have been working on cars their whole life, who have been or are, mechanics, painters, metal workers or welders it's a way less expensive proposition. There are many threads on this forum showing average guys doing tremendous work, taking more time, showing more care and attention to detail than anyone that does restoration for a living short of the guys that charge $150K. With the exception of show quality paint and body work, it's all within reach of the average guy. And most of our cars are not of the rarity or value that would warrant show quality exterior work anyway. As for mechanicals, the average gear head is going to do better work than you would get from a restoration shop.

Labor is the major cost in any restoration, and the DIY'er is not paying that. Much like the fine furniture market, some of the best stuff in the world is made by "amateurs" now. The business of making custom furniture has almost disappeared because there are a million Grandpas out there making outstanding furniture for a fraction of the price because they aren't in it for the money. This was driven by a whole new world of high tech, quality woodworking equipment that became available to the average guy in the last few decades. Same is happening in the auto restoration market, FAR more tools, consumables, parts and materials are now readily available to the amateur, along with a wealth of information made available by new technologies. It's now easy to access the expertise of people who have been doing this kind of work their whole life and are more than willing to share their talent and information.