Is it profitable?...

[JLad10687]

Is it profitable to completley restore your own cars and sell them? I mean get a crate engine, restore the body, the works, like the $40,000 cars you see for sale. How much does it actually cost to do all that? Especially if I have to have the car in the shop for atleast some of the things that must be done.

[curtis73]

I think it depends entirely on the car. My buddy just picked up a 69 firebird today. Its nothing special, but its a 350 V8 car, the numbers match, its partially disassembled, and it only has 89,000 miles on it. He got it for cheap and he plans on making it a drivable car, detailing it as best as he can, and selling it for $3000 or so.

But some cars like the rarer specimens can be tricky. A 70 Chevelle SS 454 can be a profitable car, but if you are restoring it to turn a profit, buyers want to usually see a correct restoration with attention to detail. Those details are expensive to duplicate for the restorer and scrutinized by the buyer. Contrast that with a 71 Chevelle 350 that you can bastardize with a 454 and some rally stripes and you can turn some decent money with a more drivable car that doesn't have to be perfect to sell.

I've never bought expensive classics for the purpose of restoration. My gig is buying less desirable classics with low miles, making them runners, then selling them for basically what I have in them. Sometimes I turn a profit but more often I just break even, but in that regard its basically a free car for me

If you're a restoration freak and have the knowledge to restore the rare classics, it is high-priced to get into it, but your reward is the big bucks from the sale. Buying the slightly less desirable cars affords you to use a restification approach where everything isn't perfect but it makes a nice daily driver. Less money in, less money out.

It seems when you get to the extremes like classic Italian roadsters, your buy-in is often in the high 5 figures, and the flawlessly restored result is often well into the 7 figures making it almost difficult to sell.

[JLad10687]

The idea was a 70 charger and putting a crate 440 in it, new trans, etc. I saw one for 2500 in running condition and the engine cost about 3G. I'm not sure if it needs a new trans or what but id probably want to do that too.

[curtis73]

What engine did it come with? You might get some better cash for it if you rebuild the original motor, even if its a 2bbl 318. At least keep the original motor and offer it for sale with the car so the new buyer has the choice of using the 440 or the numbers-matching original. Mopars are some of the pickiest since some of them are bringing $3 million while others are bringing $2000.

Keep in mind that buying a "new" tranny is just buying a rebuilt one and turning your old one in. It might be smarter for that reason to keep the original tranny and have it rebuilt... probably better than "new" anyway if you use quality parts.