Projects How do you fund your project cars?

better than your soul to the devil...he he he

 

I'm 9 to 5 for the government and have a small construction company that I do on the weekends and evenings. That combined with a hell of a supportive I can pay for this vice.

 

My drag racing program is limited this year, GO FIGURE. However I am trying to have a good season with the coupe. Working 50 + ours a week at my age does take a toll, and the hot weather does not help. But I am going to see ZZ TOP in concert on sunday.

 

I am always flipping something for more money, doesn't matter if it is a Walmart clearance item which I sold 2 of today or something from a local farm auction or an online auction which I did buy a Dynaweld trailer last week in Ill on auctiontime. I even brought out the leftover stuff from when the local airport got sold and the new owners had no interest in the helicopters and related parts so I got a smokin' package deal on that stuff from the seller. I always have something for sale.

I am also always hauling scrap home and separate it and haul it in when price goes up. scrap just went back up to $200 a ton here so I will start hauling next week again. I have over 400 water heaters and a bunch of other stuff piling up behind my shed. I have over 3,000 pounds of copper but will hold that until that comes back some more, I miss the last spike trying to hold it for more but it happens, you just need to time it right. Helps that I have a couple of plumbers and 4 heating and air conditioning repair guys on my pickup route so I have no shortage of getting stuff.

 

So far on the Freddie & Flo Project I have stayed out of the catalogues , dismiss 90% of eBay Dreamers ads , hit all the swap meets , substituting steel for fiberglass , deal with collectors I know for their original parts which I do prefer over fiberglass if price is good and go on HAMB classifieds for deals that can't be beat and are real barn find originals in need of rebuilding or restoring . Learning to walk away and come back in a few months is a game I'm good at if you sold it fine no worries if you got it I set a fair price and explain why I set the price then we deal till both are happy . I learned this at 12 when I bought my first - a 34 Ford pickup V8 flathead basket case . Most guys are reasonable but if I walk away from a price I don't ring twice

 

Patience.

Right time, right place - and enough space. Only buy what you can afford. Buy what will take you the farthest and is in a condition that appeals to what you feel like working on NOW. For some, who are more skilled than I, that's a pile of panels.

For me that meant buying a car that would run, drive and stop - I wanted the value on day one. I wanted a platform to build on. At least to be able to drive around the neighborhood.

Truth is for many years I could not afford what I have described above. I was also actively making decisions that weren't consistent with the desired outcome. Took me time to recognize this.

Got married, had a child.

Waited.

Cared more about my family than anything so I worked harder and harder - forgot about fun stuff for ten years. One day I looked at the bank account and I realized I could finally do what I wanted.

Found the car I wanted last year and also found that I could afford it.

It came at a price - I watched from the sidelines for a long time.

 

I'm the before picture model for a wrinkle cream ad.

 

I guess I am doing well, at 59 year old, my girl friend is 17 years younger then me.