I caught myself telling a lie.I did intend to stay around 45,that got blown to pieces.Maybe there should be anew thread on how do you tell your wife how much you spent on your car,or how to lie to her and say a lot less.

Buy one already done that is close to what you want and then detail to your liking. you will be money ahead. Lately there has been a few nice higher end cars on ebay with good prices like the silver second gen camaro and dhardison's nova. Both right at $30K and neither could be built for close to that kind of money.

Mike

Just use the formula on the board of:

What you think it will cost x 2 and twice as long to build and you'll be right there.

i think another reason alot of these cars go out of buget is the bigger is better thought process.. i doubt i will actually ever need a schwartz chassis under my car or need a 1000hp motor.. i know protouring is all about handling and a very wide range of useage but lets face it.. there are lot of impressive, fun cars out there that dont have the biggest and best everything on them.. as fun as all those bigger and badder things mabye i know ppl have built cars with out them that would make me put a hickey on the seat..with that being said, set some realistic goals and realize you dont always have to be alpha male..haha..:thumbsup:

This is exactly what I was going to say. Hit the nail on the head. Buy one that is perfect, or close to perfect to what you are looking for, and finish it off. You will be money ahead. You can get to and beyond your 80k very quickly if you build your own car from scratch. Also a 69 camaro will always retain some good value a new z06 will not. Well not as much.

Labor?

who said anything about out sourcing labor.

sometimes we are the labor. But I did forget to put 3K for tools and a compressor.

Yep , What he said.

and buy your wife/girlfriend lots of stuff to defray the questions like:

1. When can I drive it/when can it be driven.

2. Will it be a "shifter" car?

3. How much money have you spent on that "Thing"?

4. Do I look fat in this?

(Actually, question #4 should be practiced between dude friends first and often because all questions from "Them" revolve,even in some small way, around this basic relationship question. Get this one down pat and the rest get easier.

Examples:
Q: "Jim, when can I/we drive that car."
A: Soon, Sweetie, I want to show all my buddies how georgeous you are"

Q: "Do you have to shift gears in that car?"
A: "Dang, I love it when you talk technical talk, lets go out to dinner tonight"

Q: "How much money have you spent on this thing?"
A: "Not nearly as much as I am going to spend on you this weekend"

Q: "Do I look fat in this?"
A: "Darling, I'd look fat in that, you look terrific"
OR
A: "You look unlike any thing I have ever seen in my life"
OR
A: "I wish I looked that good in that"

Say "Yes" and you are screwed(not in a good way mind you). Say "No" and she'll be more pissed at you than if you say "Yes".

Use basic fabricating skills in this area and you'll be fine.

A fuel filter, proform hose and black ano fittings through out will set you back $700 bucks. Add a Ricks stainless tank, aeromotive fuel pump and regulator, suddenly you have a $3k dollar drinking straw for your $15k motor. :rofl:

Unless you plan on spending the next three years on ebay hunting for deals forget about $35 or 45k.

Jim.... that whole post was GREAT, had me rollin..... but if you dont mind, I think I am going to write this one down and use it for future use.