So, I am building my first hot rod on my own. I have owned old cars since I could drive, but this is my first ground up build. I have a few years of experience working in shops, so I was not totally green when it came to knowing what is required to build a car from damn near nothing. When I budgeted, however, i completely neglected to include consumables into the equation. I can't believe how much I am spending on them. Welding gas, welding rod, tungsten, grinding discs, primer, tape, cutting wheels, longboard paper, steel rod for structural support during the chop and sections and BEER! I had no idea how much it all adds up to. Is this all something you budget into your build? If so, how?! If not, how much are you all spending on it? I used to have a hard time understanding why my boss got on my *** about throwing away flapper discs a bit prematurely, but now that I am paying for them I make sure to use them until every damn grain of sand is ground off!!! Thanks, -drZ
They ad up quick. I've fired guys for throwing consumables away before they are done. They don't understand, its not just the cost of them, but time ordering, signing, unpacking,,, you find yourself chewing through money quickly. Worst I had was a guy put a new bottle on a mig, reused the washer, it leaked out because he didn't notice it leaking AND left it on overnight. I run down, REFILL the bottle, only to have him do it again even after I warned him. After the second one, I showed him the door.
Try here for abrasives they are quite good and relatively inexpensive. http://www.lehighvalleyabrasives.com/servlet/StoreFront It does add up quick. I try to not think about it much and use stuff for as long as I can because I think I would cry if I ever totalled it up. Probably holds true for my whole build now that I think of it. Damn!! LOL
i always decide my "budget" then multiply by about 3 and that gets me ruffly where i need to be for the first month anyhow haha.
The two best theories on it I have heard: 1. Keep all your receipts but never add them up. 2. Take your new project and fill it with all the cash you have. If when you're done you can still close the door, you can't afford to finish it.
The ***** about consumables is that they don't last.... When a person actually has to pay for stuff like this, the importance of waste is better understood. I am thinking that if my son had to BUY the thinner he used for cleaning up his engine parts, he would have used a lot less than the 4 gallons he used..... I still have not found the right time to get his *** over that one..... but rest ***ured,,, he will hear about it...
I have spent more on my shop and all the consumables than I spend on the real projects. However, I have serious tool addiction and see no end to that. I am looking forward to the "change the oil and clean the gl***" stage but at the rate I am going I will be to feable to squirt the windex when i get to that stage.
I threw out my budget about a 1/4 way into my build and bought what I "wanted" and "needed" as I could afford it. Don't buy into the guys who say "I only spent 75 cents (slight exaggeration) on my hot rod" they are liars. It's hard to keep it cheap when you buy every nut,bolt, and part for a complete car. You will find there are some corners you can cut and some cool stuff you can make for next to nothing, however they are few and far between.I did the same as you and built my car from the ground up. I don't want to really think about how much I have in to it, because it would probably scare me. As far as consumables, I just figured them as casualties of war. Good luck with your build. Post some pics when you are done. BTW, what are you building?
There is other stuff you forgot, such as oil, trans fluid, diff fluid, friction modifier, anti-freeze, ***embly lube. The other nickel and dime items are nuts, bolts, washers, gaskets, gl***, rubber......... These things can easily add another $500-1500 to your project and they weren't in your budget...... They are certainly right about keeping receipts and not adding them up. My '56 Ford was totaled and my insurance company got an independent appraiser to set a value. He asked me to total my hours and receipts. Even though I didn't have all the receipts, and could never remember the countless hours, it really did piss me off to be adding up the costs. It is more expensive than you want to think about...........
Nobody's mentioned band-aids... I've probably used 8-10 big boxes of them since I started mine! Of course, I'm just an amateur builder. Between asperin, band-aids, nu-skin, and burn cream, I'm already over budget.
Not sure how much exactly, but it feels like its as much as I have in the whole damn truck. I did learn to make wire/.045's/flap discs/wheels/etc. last a lot longer once they were coming out of my pocket. Its not so bad now that I have figured out that Harbor Freight's 'consumables' are worth the drive and the $4 toll to get there every other month rather than going to Lowe's and Home Depot once a week and getting hosed. Oh, and its damn easy to get $100 into grade 8 hardware in about 10 minutes time
I agree. I did body work for too long to cut corners. My car will be completely painted and rust free when I am done. When I started my budget, it was more than I could afford. But, I have plenty of sheetmetal to bang out while saving money for the goodies I want. I figured body and ch***is work would be virtually free because I am doing it myself, but that is turning out not to be the case. The car I am starting with is a 1930 Tudor sedan. I am trying to build a phantom A400 hardtop (it will still have the B pillar, but no convertible top). It will be done in a semi-traditional late sixties fashion, chopped on deuce rails with a Chevy 302 and 5 speed. I will post pictures at the end of this month when it will finally be rolling on all 4's. -drZ
I like to do several projects at once. That way you never have any money and get to spend all your time in the garage. Then I brag about how in only costs 250 to buy food for a month and the folks think I'm a genius.
This is one reason I chuckle when I hear someone claim, "I built this car for ______ (insert rediculously low number here).
Sorry Doc, "cutting corners" did not come out Like I intended, I meant cheaper alternatives. ie; instead of buying new aluminum heads or high priced vintage heads for my flathead, I bought EAC stock higher compression heads. I picked 'em up fo 25 bucks at a swap meet, and that beats 300-1000 bucks from speedway or epay any day.
I started to head out to the garage last weekend, and stopped short. I realized if I go out there, I AM going to spend money, no matter what I start into. It doesn't matter, I will end up at NAPA, or the hardware store, or online, buying SOMETHING...I don't have any cash to spare right now. So, I ended up sitting on the deck for the afternoon in self impossed banishement, planning what I will do when I do get the money!...Jeeze!
It's even BETTER when you start getting into the tool consumable like brushes and triggers for your right-angle grinder, wearing out air tools and have to replace them, welder maintenance or the WORST (don't ask me how I know this) is when you somehow mysteriously cut through your hose-cable on your welder and have to replace the whole damn thing! Don't let that happen to you! It's all worth it in the end and it really forces you to learn how to get the best out of your wheels and discs as well as where to get good prices for quality consumables. I learned very quickly that buying abrasives from places like Home Depot and Lowes will cost you virtually twice as much and generally last half as long because they're not as good of quality. Have fun and enjoy your build!
I am starting to learn that now. I used to work at a shop and was doing only body work. It took more time to try and get the oil out of whatever was being painted than it was worth. Solution: don't oil air tools. Just buy them at Harbor Freight, run them into the ground and get new ones.
our monthly consumable bills are somewhere between "staggering" and "astronomical". But I learned early on to buy the good stuff. the higher quality stuff lasts longer, works as advertised, and doesn't seem to try to kill You on a daily basis. case and point. My bandsaw takes a 93 1/2 inch blade. the ones from Harbor freight will last about a week. they are about 10 bucks. The ones from Norton come 3 to a package, and last about 6 months each, provided I dont get a wild hair to cut some 1/4 inch stainless with them. The 3 pack costs around 110 bucks. at first glance, I could buy 11 **** blades with that- but then, in the long run, I get 4 times the use out of 3 blades, and Chairman Mao doesn't get my cash.
Consumables.... Sandpaper, rol locks, band saw blades, cutting oil, sharpening costs,drill bits etc, it all adds up. Last year it cost me over 1,200.00 per month.
I have a rule of thumb for a build. Take your budget and double it. This applies to both dollars and time. If you come in under the doubled figure, you're laughing.
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