Cost of Restoration

[fiat218]

I will admit, I am not doing a full restoration, but I'd say I will have all new under carriage , bushing,shocks,etc
I will have my transmission gone thru, it at the shop as we speak, new 2.0 build to the max,street driving,I did not skimp out on anything with the inside or outside pieces
New paint and then some, new top, the floor is great but I removed all the carpet and going to epoxy the metal after sanding it, the seats are newly done but I will take them in and get a gold or what ever matching close to the color , piping done. I have got new rechrome tail housing,new red lens ( just bought them last nite off of bay less
My consoles are in awesome shape for being original or maybe some one replace them before me,I will get new small things as in the heater parts,cables etc, my gauges all are clear and work,replace the bulbs I guess
The back seat will go back in,that in immaculate shape

I'm not doing a full restore, but the money ads up fast and I now I would never get it back ,but it not for sale anyways

[johndemar]

Like others have said, if you don't want to do the work yourself, from a monetary standpoint, your better off buying something that has already been sorted out.
On the plus side, these cars are pretty easy to work on and it's part of the fun of owning them.
I am far from being a mechanic, but I do know how to read and follow directions.
There's a wealth of information from the guys on this site.

How much do I have in my car? I doubt it's 10K, but i've never added up the invoices.

[zachmac]

How much do I have in my car? I doubt it's 10K, but i've never added up the invoices.

Don't do the math! It's always just like a poker game, all the losers lost less than the winners won!

[jadikb]

My 1969 124 is being restored professionally right now. I have spent $10,000 on it so far and that will cover the engine and transmission rebuild and reinstall. He will also rebuild the differential and rebuild the brakes (including painting the calipers red).
I partially restored the car 20 yrs ago and added a $7000 paint job which has held up very nicely. I will also put in new seats, wheels and tires. By the time I’m finished I will have shelled out $30,000 to $35,000. Is I worth it? Of course! The car has been in my family since new. I had my first accident in her. My mother gave her to me when my father passed and I promised him I would make her perfect again.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Your story sounds very similar to mine. My '69 spider was purchased new by my dad, and it was picked up from the dealership on my 6th birthday (just a coincidence). In return for maintaining all the family cars (including the Fiat), the spider was transferred to me when I went off to college. Here we are several decades later, and this car has been through a brush fire (enough to melt the tires and top and the paint on one side), a flood, numerous minor accidents, crossing the US several times, and probably the most severe test of all: several girlfriends. I have not put a lot of money into it, but it still runs pretty well. I did upgrade to the 2L engine back in the late 1980s, and it did get repainted when the insurance covered the damage from the brush fire in 1991. And I still have the original typewritten sales receipt from 1969, dated on my birthday.

Is by chance yours red? Mine is.

-Bryan

[baltobernie]

Here's my post on the topic from 2008, FWIW:
http://www.fiatspider.com/f15/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3339

[Bills80]

I like the title, "The Cost of Restoration". Most people that have never done a real restoration and don't realize what is involved. The first thing is the love of doing it. To take a project, whether an individual item or a complete car, to a restoration shop and say "I want to restore this car as it was when it came out of the factory" has a very rude awakening. I don't know of a shop that will not take advantage of someone who says that. I know of someone that had a car who took that car to a shop and told them he wanted it to be shown at a concourse event. Six months before the event he was told by a friend he needed to physically go to the shop and see his car. There was an enormous amount of money already spent on the car and it was not close to being finished. He moved his desk and secretary into the shop and monitored each second that was spent on the car. Rule is, If your going to do something like this, be close to EVERY shop you have doing work for you and monitor the work. Ask questions, get quotes and make them stick it. The cost isn't just what goes directly into the car. If you want to do the work yourself and learn, there is a tremendous cost at first but the satisfaction is so gratifying. I rebuilt my first Ford Flathead engine at 14, I'm 67 now. A couple of years after I sold the car I ran into the new owner at Hersey, PA at the BIG event in October. He told me no one believes him when he tells them a 14 year old built the engine. Cost of equipment to do a good job. Add up what decent tools cost. Compressors, glass bead machine, paint equipment, torch, the list goes on. Cost of a place to do the restoration. How close to your house is the shop where you plan on doing the restoration. Are you married and have kids? What cost is the family going to endure? Do you have time to do this restoration? Do you have the money to do this restoration? To do the restoration yourself will save you 2/3 of what a shop will cost BUT you have a lot of upfront cost, Tools and equipment, etc and TIME. But the satisfaction of completing that project and having someone tell you how good it looks is oh so gratifying. There is also the cost of learning. Do you have the time to go to a body shop and get someone to teach you how to fix a rusted hole in a fender? Engine rebuilding? Going to a shop class at a local college to learn restoration skills, it only takes (costs) time and money.