Frame up restore or RestoMod. Cost?

[Nickm1024cobra]

Im curious how much you spent, or someone you know %) spent on a frame up restore or restomod.

I realize cost will vary wildly based on your personal taste and how far you took it. I've been keeping track of my costs and I'm interested in what others have done. It's a labor of love and I know its not about the money, but in the end it does cost some decent coin.

Nick

 

[AZ73]

I'm around $45,000 so far, but there's not much left that's original and the motor alone was $10,000 (it's a Dart block stroker), and the cost of the vehicle (paid too much). I've done most of the work myself using only new parts and higher end parts. I have maybe another $12,000 to go with wheels/tires, material for paint, and interior/weatherstripping. As with most custom cars, I'll never get out of it what I have into it financially, but that wasn't the point of the build.

 

[JAFO]

Bought my 1973 Bronco in 2007 for $2500. Bought a rebuilt 302 from Advance Auto for $1200, Edelbrock intake, Holley carb, new 3rd member (all in 2007) thinking that I was just going to mechanically fix the truck. New axles, wheel bearings, rebuilt the trans. Then learned all about door posts and how they shouldn't be so darn rusty. Anyway, ended up putting all the mechanics on hold and tore the truck all apart and did a real frame off. Not much of the original body remains. Seven years later I am almost done. Added Wild Horses 2.5" lift and have touched everything, repaired or replaced. Only thing I did not do is the painting. Recently bought a used lid. All new dash stuff. New heater blower. Heater core. etc. etc.
I did a rough estimate and I think I am getting close to $20K invested. spread over seven years it doesn't hurt too much. I haven't factored in my bazzillion hours of my labor of course.

 

[Prizefighter]

I'm in the middle of the process right now and have $20k in parts with about another $5k+ to finish up in parts. All the parts are new mostly and I went for the better upgrades like front discs with Tbird calipers, chrome moly shafts, rollerized C6, etc. I also saved on some costs by skipping the fancy stuff on parts that didn't mean a lot to this build - no digital speedometer, no A/C, no hard top, tailgate, or full doors to spend a lot of time and body work on. All the little pieces add up like door felt, gaskets, and trim.

The labor and paint for the frame off will probably be $15k. So, $35-$40k sounds like a real number for me.

 

[Whoaa]

There are some really good major restoration shops in the country. Quotes from these guys vary, but seems to range in the $90,000 - $140,000 range.


I spent about $32k last winter cleaning up my 77'. Mostly suspension, interior and drivetrain work as the body was already in decent shape. I'm still not happy w/ the transmission so that'll cost another $4,000, then it'll be real close to what I want. I did all of the work myself, so this doesn't include labor. Plus of course the cost of the rig to start with.




My stock 73 Bronco needs a few things to get it cleaned up the way I want. This one is an all original rust-free Bronco so that makes for less work. New gaskets to seal up some leaks and a few other misc things, probably cost $12-15k to make it near perfect. However its drives so nice as-is, I really enjoy now, always gets lots of attention when I take it out...flaws and all.

 

[Glass Pony]

I have about $30,000 in mine. $4,000 of that is in paint and powder coat that got farmed out, and $1,000 for the Bronco originally.
The other $25,000 is just parts as I supplied all the labor except when I needed an extra set of hands I would call the wife out to the garage.

 

[Teal68]

You guys are making me feel better about all the money I spent. I thought I went over board, but looks like I'm right in there with everybody else. Very close to $27k for me. $5k for the Bronco and $7k for metal, body work, and paint. The latter was a big chunk of change in this build! I restored, replaced, or re-built the rest myself.

Not running as purchased, but pretty solid. Front floors were decent but some rust through so replaced them as well as hood, front fenders, pass inner fender, and pass kick panel:



Finished at a high level of detail IMO. Also added power steering, power brakes, and converted to automatic:

 

[doghows72]

Ouch, I'm feeling RELLY good about mine. I'm into mine about 12k so far including the cost of the bronco. I figure after next spring when I do the 5.0 explorer and 4R70W swap I'll be in around 15 k.

 

[Blue Bastard]

Receipts near 30k...... No real labor cost included.

 

[ep67bro]

Money spent can vary a lot! In my 67 I have around 15K, I have done all labor my self including paint. It is not show condition but its solid and gets complements all the time. My wifes 73 I have around the same into, Shoot I have $3,500 into the trans alone :-X. But this truck is not as nice and cost more up front. I am in the middle of a engine over haul and a few other upgrades so she can be a solid driver because I think I am going to do a total over haul of my 67. So long story short $15K to $20K for a solid driver, and up from there depending how nice you want it to be!

 

[redwards69]

Including price of rig (which I way overpaid for), I'll be over $40K. when done. Very little of this truck will be original though.

 

[MyOriginal66]

I'm probably $45k into mine and have another $10-$15k or so to go. Could have easily spent a lot more had I not done the disassembly and reassembly myself. Had I gone the coyote route I'd add another $8-10k.

 

[Prizefighter]

I came across this thread discussing the same thing from 2012. Prices are still expensive. http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=207905

 

[SoCal68Bronco]

I'm at around $19-20K. I did 95% of the work myself. Still need paint.

 

[sprdv1]

I never keep track. Too much to think about, LOL

 

[duffymahoney]

I have every receipt. But I don't want to add it all up. That would be depressing.

 

[C Saporito]

I have every receipt. But I don't want to add it all up. That would be depressing.

LOL, not as depressing as the wife seeing the total, if I don't know she don't know.

 

[duffymahoney]

My as*hole friends keep telling my girlfriend numbers. Which are high but probably pretty close!

 

[Jc.av8r]

Do it yourself? $15-30k depending on the starting condition of your truck and what you paid for it.

Contract the labor for the same build? $30k-60k


I think a lot of people will tell you less than what they actually spent. In my experience, we generally tell our wives we spent about 10% of what we actually did. We generally tell our buddies about 75-80% of what we actually spent. Not surprising when some of us can barely admit the truth to ourselves!

 

[Casey4wd]

My as*hole friends keep telling my girlfriend numbers. Which are high but probably pretty close!

If you are nervous telling your girlfriend... you would be really nervous telling your wife!