Budget for 818 Build, what have I missed?

[BossRabbit]

I've started something basic but I'm quite sure I'm missing so much. I'm really want to do this for under 15,000 but that's seemingly impossible.

If anyone has a budget sheet prepped I'd love to take a look.

ItemCost
Kit$10,000.00
Kit Shipping$1,800.00
Donor$2,000.00
Fluids$150.00
Wheels$400.00
Registration$750.00
Frame Powder Coat$500.00
Workshop Hire$1,000.00
Misc Tools$500.00






Tax$1,710.00
Total With Tax$18,810.00

[stack]

try to find a less expensive less desirable donor. I have seen subaru foresters for $900. use what you can and sell the rest for parts or scrap. Might be able to work it out to near free

stack

[Jacob McCrea]

Welcome. Respectfully, I think your estimate on tool cost is low, and also underestimates how many times you'll go to the hardware store, McMaster-Carr, etc. for nuts, bolts, washers, spray paint, cleaning products, shop towels, safety glasses, masking tape, adhesives, etc.

Hopefully this is not too far afield from your question, and for what it's worth: As for the tools, I have been building a Type 65 for a good long time, on something of a budget. I have been AMAZED by how many tools I've acquired to move the project forward - despite already having a decent tool set from 20 years of motorcycles, car maintenance, some time employed as a body man, etc., and frankly being enough of a gearhead to already own a commercial shop/garage for personal use. Off the top of my head, and excluding new fabrication equipment purchased for modifications, I bought (1) clecos and pins; (2) a bunch of drill bits; (3) an electronic circuit testing device; (4) line wrenches; (5) a small 90 degree air drill to get into tight spaces; (6) an even smaller 90 degree attachment for even smaller spaces; (7) a good hand rivet gun; (8) an angle finder for setting up the drivetrain angle; (9) two torque wrenches for the high-torque fasteners; (10) a nut-sert tool; (11) a few taps; (12) a bunch of little storage containers for organizing small parts; (13) some punches; (14) some pry bars; (15) a wire crimper; (16) a small tubing bender for brake and fuel lines; (17) the cheap Eastwood 3/16" double flaring tool; (18) some new files (nothing on a Type 65 fits unless it gets touched with a file first); (19) various abrasives, wire wheels and chemicals for reconditioning parts; (20) an engine lift; (21) heat shrink tubing; and (22) probably 10 other things I could list, but can't recall off the top of my head. I was pretty practical about this; nothing was bought "just to buy a tool," and I bought inexpensive tools where appropriate.

Tools I already owned, which were either useful or necessary, include (1) die grinder and angle grinder; (2) jack stands and hydraulic jacks; (3) a broad range of hand tools; (4) sawzall and oxy-acetylene rig to cut up the donor car; (5) air impact gun; (6) drills; (7) 3/8" 10-75 ft. lb. torque wrench; (8) a thread repair/rethreading kit; (9) a bench vise; (10) probably a bunch of other things I take for granted and am not recalling.

I would compare this list, and also search for the threads on this board discussing necessary tools, and compare that to what the workshop you reference provides, to see what you may need to acquire on your own.

This is not to be discouraging, but hopefully to convey a sense of what an undertaking this can be if you are not already pretty well equipped. Hope this helps and good luck!

[TheBabyBadger]

No sales tax... but you forgot...

And YES... you can go cheaper on a donor, but: Do you want to? Mechanical work ads up QUICKLY. Don't buy too cheap of a car. Try to secure something wrecked with a great engine and suspension. Also car-part.com is a great resource.

PAINT!

[BossRabbit]

I think your estimate on tool cost is low

Thank you for the detailed post. It's not discouraging, perhaps a lot of second hand shopping and borrowing might be able to keep costs down. I have to be realistic and take all aspects into account. Like you say, disposables are going to mount up.



try to find a less expensive less desirable donor.

I think this where savings have to be had. I think I need to spend it on tools :)

[TheBabyBadger]

Thank you for the detailed post. It's not discouraging, perhaps a lot of second hand shopping and borrowing might be able to keep costs down. I have to be realistic and take all aspects into account. Like you say, disposables are going to mount up.




I think this where savings have to be had. I think I need to spend it on tools :)


Read the edit on my post above regarding a donor.

[BossRabbit]

No sales tax... but you forgot... PAINT!

I think I can live with the gel coat until I can afford a wrap or a partial wrap.



And YES... you can go cheaper on a donor, but: Do you want to? Mechanical work ads up QUICKLY. Don't buy too cheap of a car. Try to secure something wrecked with a great engine and suspension. Also car-part.com is a great resource.


I need to do my research here before budgeting. I need something wrecked, which I can inspect and is a lucky action find. May take a long time but that's the only resource I have in abundance.

[TheBabyBadger]

Wraps are a waste. Expensive and no warranty. FYI. You wont save much. If you need a "deal" on paint, lemme know. I can shoot it for you. :)

[BossRabbit]

Wraps are a waste. Expensive and no warranty. FYI. You wont save much. If you need a "deal" on paint, lemme know. I can shoot it for you. :)

Thanks for the heads up here Badger. I just assumed a wrap is much cheaper. Still going to have to save a little up though!

[Sgt.Gator]

You'll need new tires on the wheels. Figure at least $1,000 with shipping/mounting/balance.
Probably an AWIC, Ducts.
Redo all the suspension bushings with Whiteline or another vendor.
Switches, relays, fans.
A dyno or street tuning session. $500. Cobb Accessport $650.
If you're tall you may need to cut off and raise the roll bar height.

[BossRabbit]

You'll need new tires on the wheels. Figure at least $1,000 with shipping/mounting/balance.
Probably an AWIC, Ducts.
Redo all the suspension bushings with Whiteline or another vendor.
Switches, relays, fans.
A dyno or street tuning session. $500. Cobb Accessport $650.
If you're tall you may need to cut off and raise the roll bar height.

You're going a little fast for me but I see there's more things to consider.

What's an AWIC? Ducts are for brakes I guess.

Tuning / Cobb seems like a luxury which I can ill afford.

I should fit in the car even with the Subaru seats.

[Jeff Kleiner]

You gotta' face the reality that a 2 grand donor car is going to be pretty tired. You're forgetting to factor in repair, maintenance and normal wear items to make the donor parts servicable; brakes (pads at a minimum, perhaps also calipers & rotors, flex lines), clutch, steering and suspension, engine timing belt, water pump, etc.

Good luck with your quest!

Jeff

[KenWilkinson]

Air to Water InterCooler

[TheBabyBadger]

No need for WAIC - He's not running a turbo engine. He shouldn't need to do any crazy tuning to run an NA 2.5RS or even a 2.2. They're pretty bullet proof and reliable, especially if he runs the cats and such.

It's important to be aware of costs, but no need to overthink either. Brake pads and rotors can be done at anytime, and his driving experience is limited so used parts should be fine for now and upgraded as his skill progresses.

I think you've got a pretty dialed list of what you need. Something else to keep in mind: The kit is AT LEAST 10 weeks out to delivery and such. So you have time to save, save, save in the meantime and get your donor parts handled. Also... the car can be a long-ish term project. No need to finish it overnight. Get as far as you can on your budget, and then keep going as money allows! Also... recoup some cash from the donor car parts. Taking the donor apart will teach you a ton! Don't be a part breaker, use online resources and learn how things are disassembled and reassembled correctly.

YOU GOT THIS! Now order your dream car already damnit!

[Sgt.Gator]

I missed the part about it being a NA build.

[redfogo]

I found it alot cheaper to just buy parts rather then a parts car. Do what works for you and what you can find local.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Also... the car can be a long-ish term project. No need to finish it overnight.


True, however remember that he doesn't have anywhere to build and will be renting a work space. Every month of rent drives the end cost up. I see that he has $1K allocated for rental---don't know where BossRabbit is located but around here that would only get you about 2 months at most.

Jeff

[TheBabyBadger]

Jeff-

I missed that part. So that's a good point.

B.Rabbit - I'd figure out a good place to do the build. You don't wanna burn yourself by having a crazy storage bill, I agree. Do you have a place in mind?

[Jacob McCrea]

"Every month of rent drives the end cost up."

Rabbit, honestly, Jeff's comment points out the biggest problem I see in the facts you presented. These cars can be akin to disastrous real estate construction projects, with time delays and cost overruns driving up the total cost at every turn, particularly for a novice builder. I say this from personal experience as I went 3 years with very little disposable income to devote to the project, albeit voluntarily and for very sound reasons. There was ALWAYS a temptation to use credit cards or dip into my retirement savings to move the project forward. This is despite basically having no storage costs. You don't want to find yourself incurring debt, on unfavorable terms, to move the project forward and "stop the bleeding" on the storage costs. Along the same lines, I would guess that every year builders end up selling cars upon completion because they've gone way over budget and are getting hammered by the debts they incurred. Again, this is not to be negative, but to offer the best advice I have from personal experience.

[Clover]

If you are renting space, you may want to see if FF will hold onto the kit for a bit while all the back ordered parts come in. It seems like back order parts stall plenty of projects, and if you are paying for rent, that backorder could cost you $500 here and there.

[BossRabbit]

I found it alot cheaper to just buy parts rather then a parts car. Do what works for you and what you can find local.

I'm going through this process now to determine what's the cheapest option. Been a busy few days for spreadsheets though. Hope it will also allow me to better assess damaged cars at auction.

[BossRabbit]

Jeff-

I missed that part. So that's a good point.

B.Rabbit - I'd figure out a good place to do the build. You don't wanna burn yourself by having a crazy storage bill, I agree. Do you have a place in mind?

Rental costs are more than I though but not too bad. I've car storage and rack time to calculate. The business owners seems like a nice guy and he's lots of free space so I'm hoping I can cut a deal for storage and rack time. It's got all the tools I need I'm sure. http://pitrow-diy.com/ is the place.

I'm not pulling the trigger on the kit until I've done my due diligence. And then I need it to land on time to avoid storage costs. That probably means a 3500 mile drive across America and ordering well in advance so when I can get the donor the project can come together.

[flynntuna]

Here's an alternative...

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?28587-818S-for-sale-Southeast-MI-15-500&p=327186#post327186

[Hobby Racer]

Here's an alternative...

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?28587-818S-for-sale-Southeast-MI-15-500&p=327186#post327186

This is not a bad idea, you can't build it for that $$.

[TheBabyBadger]

AND... He may be open to some negotiating. That thing is a steal FOR SURE! HOWEVER... check on registration. I don't know if being from out of state requires something special. As long as it's registered by body style it should revert to 1965 emissions and be CA compliant. Just something to check. Otherwise I'd jump on it!

[walt555]

The kit gives you a base to start from. Seem like a bumpster kit is needed on all models. Getting rear brakes to match to match the front vs using proportioning Valves to make the front match the rear just made sense to me. Not knocking the kit, that's what they had to do to make target price goals.