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  #31  
Old 11-17-2010, 11:17 PM
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Originally Posted by GGR View Post
Agreed. If you make a profession of your hobby, you loose both the day things go wrong. But professional restorers do not make money by reselling cars they have bought and then restored. They get paid fortunes to restore cars bought by others who will resell them at a loss...
In my observations, hobbies don't become professions. At least not enough to support a family with. Most car restoring enthusiasts would grow their money faster working at a 7-11 during their hobby time instead - if making money for time spent were the goal. Net, net, most 'projects' are a loss to be involved with, versus getting a job.

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  #32  
Old 11-18-2010, 12:06 AM
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Originally Posted by GGR View Post
Agreed. If you make a profession of your hobby, you loose both the day things go wrong. But professional restorers do not make money by reselling cars they have bought and then restored. They get paid fortunes to restore cars bought by others who will resell them at a loss...
Yeah but you're not doing it for the money are you Gael? Even as budget conscious as you are with all of your tuning mods on the coupe (which I admire very much), you could have quite easily bought a lightly used late model Porsche 911 and be able to go very fast without ever getting your hands dirty. But I suspect that there are many people on this forum that do this because they are well paid in their day jobs, and use this hobby as a method to unwind from it.
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  #33  
Old 11-18-2010, 07:11 AM
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Originally Posted by alabbasi View Post
Yeah but you're not doing it for the money are you Gael? Even as budget conscious as you are with all of your tuning mods on the coupe (which I admire very much), you could have quite easily bought a lightly used late model Porsche 911 and be able to go very fast without ever getting your hands dirty.
That's correct, in my case I take a lot of pleasure in searching, trying, and doing something unique with my hands. Driving it is just doubling the pleasure. I take it as a hobby, not as a business. Some people spend money in diving, climbing mountains, flying etc. Me it's with fiddling with bolts and nuts.
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  #34  
Old 11-18-2010, 07:23 AM
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Making money on a hobby? That is blasphemy. Shucks, if I were to calculate what it cost me per pound of the fish I catch and release/eat then I'd be right up there with the government.

Nah, tinkering with cars is for the pure enjoyment. I'd starve if I tried to do it for a living.
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  #35  
Old 11-20-2010, 01:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Skid Row Joe View Post
In my observations, hobbies don't become professions. At least not enough to support a family with. Most car restoring enthusiasts would grow their money faster working at a 7-11 during their hobby time instead - if making money for time spent were the goal. Net, net, most 'projects' are a loss to be involved with, versus getting a job.
Assuming someone can get a job!
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  #36  
Old 11-20-2010, 04:10 PM
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I am the odd one..It's my major hobby (genealogy is the second...)and I work on Mercedes to pay the bills . I have more than enough work . In fact i have had to turn away a lot of work because I lack space . I am also picky on the type I work on, preferring pre 1990 mercedes so that means the owners are sometimes broke and work to a budget. I like doing their cars because they appreciate the effort but I also have wealthy customers who think the same. Then there are the pricks who have the money but hate spending money . Those people are usually told to politely go and have sexual intercourse .

As to values... It depends on the market. Here in Australia there is a crazy desire to own early Holdens which are GM brand. They are pretty awful cars but the auction prices reveal that a high demand exists for the,. In Germany it's mercedes pontons and finnys which change hands for good money .
Where as here a top notch finny is struggling to fetch $4000 an unrestored holden rust bucket will easily bring $5000 plus .
Check out the prices here and try and explain how a Holden EH,drum brakes,tiny engine,three speed,non synchro on first , no air,often no heater ,no radio etc makes more than a pristine W111 250 coupe?
http://www.shannons.com.au/auctions/?id=FL10DAG051TGBB6U
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  #37  
Old 11-20-2010, 05:12 PM
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Here is what a ponton should fetch.. Considering the cost everything on these. Good luck to the seller.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/MERCEDES-BENZ-220S-1958_W0QQitemZ110610364540QQcategoryZ101895QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286.m7QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DLVI%26 itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D3%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D5095037559671321796#ht_500wt_949
Check out the 220a on this page....
http://www.classicthrottleshop.com/classics.htm
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  #38  
Old 11-20-2010, 05:36 PM
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Assuming someone can get a job!
Oh, they could get a job, but that would break into their loafing time. To read wish and want posts from ahem, one heavy 'hobbier,' it pretty well nails their lack of funds. That's where working at 7-11 would come in...
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  #39  
Old 11-20-2010, 08:13 PM
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If you don't mind a bit of swearing ,this pretty much sums up the nonsense that I have to go through occasionally .

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7452561/
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  #40  
Old 11-20-2010, 09:04 PM
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Like anything, for you to make money at it, you need to get skilled and fast enough so that you can be better then anyone else out there and then people will come to you. A friend of mine in Carrollton rebuilds SU carbs on MG's, Jags and other cars. He charges $125 per SU. He has a day job, but he spends another 8 hours every evening in his home garage doing this.

He's never short of work.



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Originally Posted by mercmad6.3 View Post
I am the odd one..It's my major hobby (genealogy is the second...)and I work on Mercedes to pay the bills .
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  #41  
Old 11-21-2010, 07:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Skid Row Joe View Post
Oh, they could get a job, but that would break into their loafing time. To read wish and want posts from ahem, one heavy 'hobbier,' it pretty well nails their lack of funds. That's where working at 7-11 would come in...
Loafing time? I wish! I've been applying for stuff for the last ~1+ years and I've only been able to find part time temp work (at least it paid well while it lasted). Sometimes the only thing someone can do is reduce the cost paid per hour for something.
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  #42  
Old 11-21-2010, 08:49 PM
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A friend of mine found the time and the job to allow him to build a car to race on the salt lakes. he holds a FIA record in his class with a Suzuki 500 hatch which he managed to get to 129 MPH. This is a three cylinder micro car which he bartered for . he worked a part time job at night rolling news papers for a newsagent shop . This gave him just enough money for rent and spare cash to buy the odd part for his car ,which wasn't often because he made a lot of the bits himself including throttle bodies and supercharger manifolds . All were made from scrap stuff he 'found' around the place. because he worked from Midnight to 7 am everyday,he had all day to catch up on his project.
I know it all sounds a bit "Burt Munro " but it's true.. Check it out here.
http://www.dlra.org.au/profiles/222.htm

it takes around 3 days solid driving to get to the lake from Queensland and Leigh Drives his race car there and back. he carries a spare engine so he can swap classes and in case the unforseen happens..

So where there is a will there is a a way to do things and so long as the idea is there you can do it or at least try.

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