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2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
How much is your "prom queen" costing you?
I just bought my 68 about 3 weeks ago and shes in really good shape. I just "want" to fix some small things this fall before I store her. I'm looking at fixing the wiper door/ wiper motor, the dash lights/ switch, and bought most of everything I need. I just been putting it on the card, a little here and there. I just looked at my statement. Palm to forehead, I'm into $800.00 bucks and haven't even opened the boxes yet.
My sweety is going to be high maintenance, glad I love her. As long she doesn't want a grand a month, I just need to pay attention. I'm starting an account for her. I'm putting 50.00 a week away and next spring I won't have to charge it, just stand next to her with a roll of ones and tuck them into her wipers as she rolls on by.
It varies by month. Sometimes you'll go months without having to do, or spend anything and other times, you'll be shelling out hundreds and hundreds of dollars. The C3 motto should be "They're never done, ever"! Believe me, they always need something and that's just part of the C3 experience!
I am doing everything now so I will not have to nickel and dime myself next year....it was a lot of $$$$$$ getting to this point on a working man budget.
I say do it all now and pay it off later.....the enjoyment factor is better.
Not including the cost of the car, I have inadvertently put approximately $300 per month into my car. I've owned the car for a little less than 48 months.
That's in 'injections', mind you.
It was 'death by 1,000 paper cuts' for the first 9 months. Then the engine came out. Then it was $1k at a time until the end when it all came together. It was $2k to get my engine out of hock. All told, the engine build took 14 months from taking it out of the car to putting it back in.
Didn't spend much for 12 months, then blew $2,500 in a few weeks to rebuild the rear end.
I'm in 'maintenance' mode now. Probably won't spend much until the frame replacement project starts taking shape. Then it will be another $4k shot on a 5 speed and a rear end rebuild.
So...if I was able to sit aside $300 a month, I could do really cool things to my car at the same pace I've been doing them, if that makes any sense.
$50 a week...$200 a month...is a really awesome place to start. I've talked with the CFO about that and it hasn't ever gotten any traction. She complains when I talk about spending money, but then she'll happily shell out $2k for something WHEN WE HAVE THE MONEY TO SPEND.
That's probably the key...don't make the 'toy' car a burden.
Last edited by keithinspace; 11-13-2015 at 11:36 AM.
She's 44 years old- had plastic surgery- heart transplant from a German -both hips replaced and her plumbing has been redone yet she keeps having hot flashes...
I have no idea what I've spent- and LIKE it that way!!!
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
Originally Posted by Richard454
Ummm...mines not really a prom queen...
She's 44 years old- had plastic surgery- heart transplant from a German -both hips replaced and her plumbing has been redone yet she keeps having hot flashes...
I have no idea what I've spent- and LIKE it that way!!!
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
I got lucky that the previous owners did the big spending. New interior, suspension, paint. They did the conv top themselves and blew it. I'm having a shop replace it next year, should be around a grand. And I want to covert to power brakes. Mine are like pushing on a stack of bibles. It stops but not like I think it should. Next spring she's getting a tail shaft bushing and the brakes adjusted.
I estimate I'll have spent 35K on my 79 by the time I'm done.
You know it's bad, is when the stack of receipts gets too big to stuff in a drawer, without overflowing. I don't even keep the receipts anymore, except for a few weeks to a month and then, in the trash they go. No idea what I've spent and I've given up tracking it!
Bought my '72 May of this year for 13,300 knowing she needed a few things....I now have 14,700 including tax tag and title. The only noticeable improvement has been the new chambered exhaust....All other issues are just little fixes. She could use a new makeup job but looks pretty good in pics and at 15 feet or so. Here she is in the front yard posing for pics before the big dance.
So far I'm at 200 a month.
Still have to fix the A/C and the issue with down shifting.
You wanna spend money, try owning a fast race car !!! I spent 4k on a carbon fiber nose and front wing after an incident at Indy this summer. Life is short, if you can afford it (hobbys) then enjoy it.
My basket-case is slowly turning into a prom queen.....$10,500 including purchase price.....
add another $1,500 worth of chrome still hanging on the garage pegboards......and then comes the paint.
Last edited by doorgunner; 11-13-2015 at 04:55 PM.
11-13-2015, 10:40 AM
How much is your "prom queen" costing you?
