just a comment about my truck

[Buddy]

I just wanted to say I add up all the cost I spent on my truck during the total rebuild today. I tore my truck down to frame and started from there. I replaced almost every nut and bolt on this truck. I realize that this truck thing is totally just a love for the truck and not a money making project. I just cant get over how much money i have spent. i really had no idea that I had so much into it. I mean I knew i had a fair amount of money into it but MAN i spent allot. I am not complaning but i just wanted to know if i am the only one that thinks " man thats allot of money" I mean I go in dump a ton of money into a truck i couldn't get half of what i have in it. I didn't build my truck to sell it or worry about money. I did it as i had the money, i was also going through some hard times ( divorce) this project keep my head on straight and kept my mind off of things. I love my truck to death but sometimes I wish i would have done things different. I look at some of your guys trucks and think wow you guys have some serious talent. Mine still needs a ton of interior work. Always have a hard time finding good interior parts and always find things I wish I did different.  Anyways don't know what i was getting at with this post just wanted to make a few comments... at the end of the day Love the way my truck and the heads it turns. Just think of the money spent sometimes and always laugh and think is this thing going to start today....Thanks for listening....

[Grim 82]

These trucks can be good therapy, or they can make you need some therapy. I have more in my truck than what it cost to buy it new, and if I had it to do over there isn't much that I would have done the same way. I don't even have paint on it yet so the cost is still ongoing.

[Buddy]

thanks for the comment, i was worried i was the only one that would do things different.. however for every one thing I would change thereis one I wouldnt change. Thought you guys would think my post was crazy and make no sense... glad others agree and understand my comments

[1980c10]

I know where you are coming from, for me working on my truck can be therapy. It also gives me something to do when I'm bored. When I get in to drive it; I open the door with the door handle that I installed, sit on the seat I custom fitted, look over the dash and through the windshield i put in. I turn the steering wheel that I saved from the junk yard, I turn on the radio that I installed, sound comes from the speakers and amps I installed. when I am driving my truck I know it rides great, feels tight in the steering, goes when I hit the gas because of what I done to the truck. Bottom line is not what I spent but when I drive it it is my creation. Most of my drives in this truck are drives for the sake of driving it. Other are to make a driving somewhere better. I get a kick out of a total stranger coming up to me asking me 20 questions about the truck and then crawling on the ground to look underneath.
I may spend more money on it then its worth but that would be even more true if I bought a new truck 5-10 years down the road.
To me it is a great investment considering what I get out of it and it will never be put up for sale.

[79chevykid]

im 16 and i always wonder if i am wasting my money on my truck like everyone tells me but i love working on it and every time i buy more parts it makes me excited to work on it, also it gives me something to do to keep me out of trouble. theres not a whole lot of kids into working on cars or that even know anything about that kind of stuff around me so it keeps me kinda independent from others. money is usually the last thing on my mind lol but i have a decent job so every penny i make goes into the truck. i agree with the whole therapy thing, my parents are in the process of a divorced and its nice to get away sometimes and just relax and work on the truck when things get nasty. i just hope some day my truck will be finished and i can say "ya i built that myself"

[VileZambonie]

Rest assured, you can always guarantee that there is someone that has spent pathetic amounts of $ on theirs like me. I don't give a crap what I spend on things I love though. You can equate it to money better spent than on a woman you're gonna divorce! 

[bake74]

     You said you spent a lot of money on it, but you didn't say if it was cheaper to buy a new one or not.  Everyone has a different opinion on what's too much, to me if I don't spend as much as a new truck with payments and interest, and have a custom truck that will out last a new one anyway, then I am ahead of the game.  Just my thoughts.

[bake315]

I've spent my entire life buying cars or trucks that I needed.  This is one of the very first that I've truly wanted, and if I end up spending more on it than on all the others combined, at the end of the day you'll still find me with a smile on my face.

Rest assured, you're in good company here. 

[Cheyenne]

This post here really is great I like how you came, and told your story. We all are going to second guess ourselves on details and money. The thing is it therapy like the kid going through a divorce, I'm proud what he doing, he be smarter for it. The guy that started the post I have depression it came from no where I'm young married and have kids. Old cars, and trucks clear my mind for a bit. My dad rebuilt a 78 Cheyenne in 85 so it's like in my nature to love these. I'm a chevy guy first and for most. My job is to keep older vehicles on the road to not sit but be enjoyed. I got a 64 impala ss also and the older men love it takes them back. I have my 81 regal my 1st car I got when I was 18. I've put money into them there my babys in way but it's a like a addiction and it better than me the way I was. I was crazy and now sober almost 10 years these old vehicles are what gets us through, what we enjoy and that they are not rusting away or being junked. To anyone keeping there old car/ truck right u good with me. You put man hours into something you like you buy something from a dealer it means notta to me..

[slammed79]

I'd rather spend the money on something like these trucks and be able to fix something when it breaks.

If when its all said and done and I've got more into it than a new truck, so be it, this will turn more heads and I'll have that satisfaction that comes with it.

[fitz]

This thread is so good I don't know where to start.
Playing around with these trucks (or any old vehicle) is like playing the stock market.
You didn't make or loose any money until you sell.
If your in it for the long run you won't regret a dime you put into your truck.
Allot of you guys say you could have bought a new truck for the money you put into your trucks. Keep in mind new trucks don't stay new forever.
Quick example:
  I bought 1 new vehicle in my life. A 97 Dodge ram 1500 4x4 short bed sport. Red with grey int 360/auto/ Posi with 3.55's/loaded. A sweet truck that cost me $25,000
to drive off the lot. Sold it 5 years later when it hit the 100,000 mile mark and got $11,000 for it. I loved the truck and enjoyed every minute of owning it, but it still cost $14,000 in depreciation over 5 years. That does not take into account the maintenance/repairs along the way, as all vehicle require that.
  In my eyes $14,000 can get you a real nice 73-87. Now I understand some of you guys may be building true show quality vehicles and have spent more, but I think a $14,000 would get you well on the way.
  I just enjoy driving old vehicles and as long as I can keep the cost within reason I don't worry about it. 

[Cheyenne]

I very much agree with fritz good post man

[gto109]

For me working on my truck and the gf's 86 t/a is a way to get out and relax.  If I get a lot done so be it, if I get nothing done I don't mind.  With in the next year ill have both of them back on the road again.  Then its back to my 67 Le mans convertable (frame off restomod) to clear my mind with.  Sometimes I have help and others I don't.  The 2 Pontiacs I didn't keep track of anything spent on them.  Just for the fun of it i decided to with the truck.  Although lately I have needed a lot of help with what ever I work on due to a accident at work.

[Stewart G Griffin]

So, how much money have you spent on it?

[daschlag]

This is a great thread.  You know what they say, "it takes all kinds to make up the world".  I'm glad there are people out there who are passionate about their trucks, taking the time (and money, which ultimately equates back to their time) to keep them running and represent themselves.  I have a lot of respect for guys who can turn nothing into something beautiful, make it look easy, and enjoy doing it.

To the original poster: don't feel bad about spending a lot on your truck.  At the same time, the fact that you weren't aware of how much you had spent is a sign that you could maybe manage your project a little more effectively.  Try making a list of all the major work you want to do.  Then prioritize the list - what do you want to do first, second, third, etc.  Estimate time and costs for each improvement.  Then pick one, work on it until it's done, and move onto the next one.