one step at a time/budget/trading work

[speedshftr]

i know i should just be happy to be healthy but its hard for me wanting to do so much on my car on a tiny budget/actually no budget.i get a side job and buy a part ect.im trying to realize that i cant have it all and must make exceptions ect.im to the point where i need some things before paint and must realize they may have to come later.
i was very lucky and was able to paint the interior of my buddies bodyshop/2 coats 3000 sq feet.i had all the materials and he had no out of pocket costs.in return he is buying my paint and painting the car and wet snding and buffing.he is also doing the final blocking. i also painted his 3 car garage at his house.im happy with that and so is he so its a win win deal for us.

my bodyman that did all the floor patch panels quarters inner and outer wheelhouse.cut drip rails ,filled marker lights ect ect started out as me paying him a very great deal of 30 and hour cash.well long story short my money got funny when they cut our o/t at work.he said no problem i need some stuff done at my house.im putting new doors and trim and painting some rooms at his house.i tried to give him a few b ucks last week but he said no,just fix some things at my house.what a great feeling that some people are not money motivated.
do any of you guys ever trade for work being done to your car?it has worked for me great so far.in the big picture of things needing car parts is not really a problem just another addiction/lol

im just wondering how everyone balances things out/looking for other stories to relate too
thanks for reading my long winded read
happy holidays

[70rs]

I have traded out for work before. I have been a cabinet maker/installer for over 20 years now. I did a light re model on a kitchen for all the machine work and rebuild on a 383 chev motor and 4sp trans. I had about 1300 in materials in the kitchen and zero out of pocket in the motor and trans. That one was a really good deal for both me and the machinist.
I also did a custom entertainment center in trade for a Dana 44 front and a 14 bolt rear, both with posi units and fully rebuilt.
All of this went in a 1965 GMC 4X4 I had when I lived in Oregon.
I built a custom fish tank stand for a fresh NP 205 transfer case for the same truck.
Side jobs used to get me anywhere from 8k to 20k a year in extra income back then. But now I can't do that. I've had one too many injuries and need to change careers at 38 years old. Not fun, but part of life. just have to roll with it.
If the only way to keep your project moving is to do it one part at a time or trade out labor for parts you need, then go for it. It was a good motivator for me to pick up those projects and extra hours to get my truck done just so I could take it out and abuse it.
As long as you and the other people involved in the deal are happy, that's all that matters.

[caper150]

Yeah I do it all the time, for instance I painted this car:


For help in building this:


Saved me a ton of cash.

[speedshftr]

thanks for the replies/that garage is sweet/

[GM Muscle]

thats pretty much what i do. i paint cars for a living so i do alot of side jobs and just alot that money for my car. its a slow process. but i can say one thing is for sure. just save the money and buy the parts you want the first time. i have already upgraded several parts that i penny pinched at first and never used. i do almost anything and everything i can my self to save money and try to barter and swap every thing else. i know all this stuff for these cars seems way expensive but like johnny cash says it "one peice at a time". i now have a large pile of very nice parts that i have been collecting, hopefully ill get to put all them on my car soon. like i said its a slow process but even us po' folk can play with these cars if we just have a plan and stick to it. a good example is i just scored a nice set of 19" wheels as long as i paint a roof on a mustang. sounds like a hell of a deal to me! keep on truckin

[Young Gun]

I am planning to do something like this... I am gonna trade my motorcycle for some work. Got a buddy who does cars for a living but is ridic busy... For a bike Im pretty sure he would make some time on the weekends to work though haha

[cencal69]

Do trade all the time. It's a great way to quadruple (at least) your money.