z31maniac wrote:njansenv wrote: Return on the dollar is a significant deal to me: I've lost enough money in the "compact" scene that I've become more selective at the start of the project.Then I'll be the one to say it, either one of these ideas is completely stupid if that's the stance you are taking. Buy a Mini, Camry/Honda/other boring appliance. By the time my S52 swap and suspension rebuild is done on the E30, I'll have easily $6-7k into just this part, not to mention the $4k purchase price (and the car already came with coilovers), and it still needs the subframe monuts, RTAB's replaced. I'd be lucky to get $8500 out of it if I had to sell it once it was completed. 99.9% of project cars will NEVER see a good return on their money. Just understand it's money spent on your happiness, and if that's worth it go for it, otherwise don't.
Talk about bringing a post back.....
Not sure I completely agree with you, though I know where you are coming from. I DO do this because I love to, but that doesn't mean I have to lose my shirt on it. (like I did on an SRT swapped ACR 1g neon) I believe it's certainly subject to laws of diminishing returns, etc.
An example: I purchased, about a year ago, a 2003 Protege for $6500. I'd be lucky to get $4k for it now. (CAD).
I purchased, 8 months ago, a "diamond in the rough" '98 M3 for $6200 CAD. I've since put a bunch of time into it, driven the wheels off it, and about $2k in parts to catch up on maintenance (bushings/control arms/cooling/tires etc). I've been offered as much as $10k on it. Unlike the Protege, the M3 is well past the most steep part of it's depreciation curve...a clean E30 is (relatively speaking) on it's way up and hard to find.
In any case, my wife and I purchased the EXTREMELY clean e30 (now has 99k miles) which flew through the safety and emissions inspection and cost $2k. I have the parts in the garage to swap the 5-speed, and in this area a rust free 5speed e30 would easily have a rough value of $3200 safetied and e-tested. We won't sell it, but it's an example. Wheels, billies/springs and bushings, and we'll call it a day: she's looking at participating in "D super stock" auto-x locally with the car.
Z31maniac, I've been following your build for as long as you've been posting about it, and it's likely a bit more extreme than anything I'd have planned...though I do love it.
I never expect to make money on a project, but well purchased parts and projects don't have to be a total loss. I'd much rather chose a project that will "lose me less" than what I know the Honda guys have been losing on some of their "now out of fashion" swapped Civics. (btw: performance deals of the year can be had buying an already swapped Civic/Integra etc IMHO)
That said, my wife asked me last night if I thought I could put an LS1 (or variant) into the 325e thats giving up it's transmission for the swap.... Challenge car?
Nathan
