Why restoring/modifying cars seldom pays

[KemppiFrog]

Been there, but long ago. Sorted out my BIL's MG PA for pocket money. Bit later he sold it on for £10...as wooing my sister needed something a bit more comfortable. The amount of time building hot Minis was not really wasted, as it was a training for other things I got into, like restoring old biplanes and other exotica. There was a time in the 70/80s when you could make money on restoring 'classics', but it was a bubble. Have to take my hat off to my cousin, who bought two GT40s (among other nice stuff, like a F Daytona) and made nice margins. But he moves in slightly different circules.

Bit like the amateur boat building world. If you get back the cost of the materials, then not bad. Forget your time.

 

[KemppiFrog]

Well I have a waiting list. Two vehicles waiting for full restoration and another for respray. Then I have two waiting for mechanical and welding work. Add to that the upholstery work and I should be OK for a few weeks! This is all Reliant related too. Big benefit is that local bodyshops are scared of fibreglass.

Hat of to you in a very niche market. I assume you have a small corner dedicated to the Trotters? Nothing special, just some photos and a few candles?

 

[wookie]

I have two waiting for mechanical and welding work. Add to that the upholstery work and I should be OK for a few weeks! This is all Reliant related too.

How do you go about welding near fibreglass ? My mate has a Renault Alpine that has a fibreglass body but the rear strut towers need welding, I'm happy to do the welding it's the fibreglass that worries me, I was thinking off cutting out the nearby fibreglass, doing the welding and then rebuilding the fibreglass back up, but to be honest I might get him to farm out the fibreglass work to an expert.

 

[KemppiFrog]

How do you go about welding near fibreglass ? My mate has a Renault Alpine that has a fibreglass body but the rear strut towers need welding, I'm happy to do the welding it's the fibreglass that worries me, I was thinking off cutting out the nearby fibreglass, doing the welding and then rebuilding the fibreglass back up, but to be honest I might get him to farm out the fibreglass work to an expert.

Polyester fiberglass is not so heat sensitive as époxy. If you keep your welding in short bursts, and not right next to the GRP, then probably OK

 

[ajlelectronics]

Quite. Nothing to be scared of at all, just the same precautions as you would take with metal bodies. Fibreglass will not suddenly burst into flames from welding nearby.

 

[ajlelectronics]

Hat of to you in a very niche market. I assume you have a small corner dedicated to the Trotters? Nothing special, just some photos and a few candles?

A few of my jobs. The red GTC and cream seat is my own project. Four years so far, but light now showing at the end of the tunnel.

 

[Swift&Bold]

@marlinspike
Very nice, I love the 900 especially the T16.
Like you I am working on the drive, on a 9-5 Aero though so not as much to do as you have (rusty transmission tunnel?) where you end up spending a couple of hours setting up and clearing away as well as praying for good weather.
It seems that good 900's are starting to appreciate.

 

[marlinspike]

Ours is a Saab 900 T16S, commonly called a c900 aero in the UK, or SPG in the States. Saab are still a viable cheap classic, certainly compared to say Fords or Minis. Body panels are hard to get new but most of the other bits are still available. It's rust rather than mechanicals that kills them, especially the transmission tunnels, where arches and boot.

We have had 3 900 turbos, a 9000, and finally a 9-5 estate which was part-exed about 7 years ago. The 9-5 is a good car and certainly a bargain at the moment.

BillJ on here is a Saab owner (several) and runs a side company supplying parts, called Saabits. I think he does mostly the older models.

Ajlelectronics - my dad had numerous Reliants and we sold his last Robin for £200 about a year before he died. I am impressed with your work. One thing I would like to learn is auto upholstery as a new set of seat covers always looks amazing.

 

[Bill Edwards]

Restoring for profit is not far from impossible to achieve.
If you're doing well you get the money back that you spent on parts. But never your time, that's given away for free. It's seen so often on projects which get abandoned and sold for whatever reason.

If you charge your time out at a low hourly rate plus the parts it still makes for an eye watering figure which very few people will pay for a restored vehicle.

Realistically, most of the highly priced vehicles which dealers advertise (and presumably at some point manage to sell for, or close) aren't anything close to a proper restoration. More like bolt on a few pattern parts to replace failed bits or where it'll sound good and a thick coat of paint and nice description. To do it properly would at least double the cost for it to be commercially viable.

 

[RonA]

Since you obviously missed the smiley on the end of my comment I'll be a bit less subtle, I was being sarcastic, I know how many hours these projects swallow, started work on my pickup thinking just be a couple of months, a year and half later it's still not finished....

Hi Wookie, sadly I come from a generation where words only were the lingua Franca, I have no idea what an emoji or any of these other modern add-ons mean. If I took your comments to be offensive I apologise. Sarcasm or any derivative is hard to convey by words alone, emojis or similar even more so. Perhaps we can both learn by this thread.
RonA

 

[Wedg1e]

I always fancied a Kitten for reasons that defy reason... although maybe the one I saw with a Rover V8 in it sometime around 1990 had something to do with it

My bro was a SAAB fan; his first was a 99 convertible, blue with a white roof as I recall... then after working in the Middle East he came home and bought a 9000 saloon, about H reg I think? Ran it for years before selling it to a mate, it went on to interstellar miles. He later had a 900 but then got into jobs that came with a car or allowance and now drives a Merc

 

[Wedg1e]

How do you go about welding near fibreglass ? My mate has a Renault Alpine that has a fibreglass body but the rear strut towers need welding, I'm happy to do the welding it's the fibreglass that worries me, I was thinking off cutting out the nearby fibreglass, doing the welding and then rebuilding the fibreglass back up, but to be honest I might get him to farm out the fibreglass work to an expert.

I've welded a few TVR chassis; the issue is more that the grinder sparks melt their way into the gelcoat and then go rusty!

 

[colnerov]

I always fancied a Kitten for reasons that defy reason... although maybe the one I saw with a Rover V8 in it sometime around 1990 had something to do with it

That will be the Beardmore brothers one?

http://www.beardmorebros.co.uk/

I've welded a few TVR chassis; the issue is more that the grinder sparks melt their way into the gelcoat and then go rusty!

It will do the same to glass as well, you can scrape them out/off with a Stanley blade but they leave a scar in the windscreen.

Colin

 

[Swift&Bold]

........My bro was a SAAB fan; his first was a 99 convertible, blue with a white roof as I recall... then after working in the Middle East he came home and bought a 9000 saloon, about H reg I think? Ran it for years before selling it to a mate, it went on to interstellar miles. He later had a 900 but then got into jobs that came with a car or allowance and now drives a Merc

He took a step down then?

 

[marlinspike]

Our Saab resto has a rear side window with some grinder sparks melted into it. You don't realise how far they travel. Just another thing to add to the 'to do' list.

 

[MrFluffy]

It will do the same to glass as well, you can scrape them out/off with a Stanley blade but they leave a scar in the windscreen.
Colin

I wish this was more widely thought about, just ordered replacement side window glass for the 101 when someone previous's grinding sparks have burnt the original and left scars in them. You can razor them out, but theres always a mess afterwards.

 

[Robotstar5]

I wish this was more widely thought about, just ordered replacement side window glass for the 101 when someone previous's grinding sparks have burnt the original and left scars in them. You can razor them out, but theres always a mess afterwards.

Could be worse, one of my neighbours ended up marking the UPVC frames and double glazed units of his porch with grinder sparks.

 

[wookie]

Hi Wookie, sadly I come from a generation where words only were the lingua Franca, I have no idea what an emoji or any of these other modern add-ons mean. If I took your comments to be offensive I apologise. Sarcasm or any derivative is hard to convey by words alone, emojis or similar even more so. Perhaps we can both learn by this thread.
RonA

No worries, I'm glad we've not fallen out over it, that was not my intention. I agree sarcasm can be hard to detect in the written word.

Good luck with your project, don't forget to post more pictures as the work progresses, we always love pictures on here.

 

[KemppiFrog]

Could be worse, one of my neighbours ended up marking the UPVC frames and double glazed units of his porch with grinder sparks.

Yeah, tell me! Managed to put some sparks onto the front glazed door and windows of our barn, from around ten feet away. Slightest touch on a windscreen means it is scrap, as the wipers don't work.

 

[brightspark]

Yeah, tell me! Managed to put some sparks onto the front glazed door and windows of our barn, from around ten feet away. Slightest touch on a windscreen means it is scrap, as the wipers don't work.

I had some dick ruin my windscreen with a grinder a pebble cracked it fortunately and it was replaced