Story and Question

[MG_Midget_74]

I have been a C++ programmer my whole career and I have grown to truly dislike it. I have also a owned 1974 Midget for about 30 years now. I got laid off at the end of May. I have been working on various projects while looking for work. I want to do something different. I have been working on cars almost my whole life (50 years for the record).

I was thinking of restoring cars. Now, you will immediately retort this is not the moment because of the economy to be doing that sort of thing, this may be true but I would rather not go back to work for someone else.

I was thinking about purchasing a Bugeye and restoring it to attempt to make some money. The starting point for most of those is high.

I found a 1964 Sprite. That requires a lot of work, however as for all of the metal on this particular car the owner already has the replacement pieces. The asking price at the moment is $1000 and comes with the original 1098 and a spare 1275. 1275 is frozen however.

My welding skills are decent along with my painting skills. Also I have plenty of room. I was not a bad programmer and as such I have 5 bays ( hey it paid well )

Thoughts on the idea and the car. No, I do not expect to make a lot of money, if any. Its just to get going and test myself and the market.

 

[tony barnhill]

HOLY COW!!! That car's a goner....it's not worth more than $200-$250 as it sits - & that's as a part car!

I'll tell you this: I have almost $25,000 in my '63 Midget & it was a solid car...here's what it looked like before I started my restoration:

& after:

...& here's my next project, a '64 Midget, that cost less than his asking price - & it also is solid:

To say the least, there's no money to be made in the car you're thinking about unless he gives it to you & you never figure your labor into the selling price!

Sorry, but that's my opinion.

 

[Trevor Jessie]

There is no money to be made in restoring cars and selling them. You could make a lot more money by doing jobs for people... Such as panel replacements, sand blasting, etc. But even then it takes awhile to build a reputation.

If you still want to "flip" a car for profit then find one that has spent all of its life in a dry, and warm climate.

 

[Golden_Swan]

Tony, Don't be too critical of people in Massachusetts. Just because you live in the south doesn't mean other people don't have rust. (Yes it is rusty)

As for Trevor's comment. Believe it! You don't make money restoring lbcs. If you want to make money, go to the local car auctions and bring home a few late model cars that need minor work - then sell them QUICKLY. Don't do too much work or use much time on them. But be good at selling when a customer comes along.

Three cars with $500 profit within a week is a WHOLE lot better than working a month on a sprite, investing money and maybe - probably not - making a profit.

 

[Pythias]

I'll tell you this: I have almost $25,000 in my '63 Midget & it was a solid car.

WoWzA! $25,000??

Let's see, $8K for paint and body work?
$7k for engine and tranny work?

Where's the other $10k?

 

[tony barnhill]

I'll tell you this: I have almost $25,000 in my '63 Midget & it was a solid car.

WoWzA! $25,000??

Let's see, $8K for paint and body work?
$7k for engine and tranny work?

Where's the other $10k?

Every nut/bolt/washer/rubber grommet/weatherstripping/stainless trim/rechroming bumpers/new grille/top/tonneau cover/complete new interior/complete new suspension to include shocks/new radiator....should I continue?

If I put it back on the car, it was new!

 

[bill_young]

You might be able to make a buck or two if you were dealing with Healey 100s and 3000s or Jags, but to make money on MGs you need to be both lucky and at least start with something like a MGA Twin Cam, TD, TC, or pre war car, or if you're really lucky a car with a historic racing history such as the TC that recently was sold at Barrett-Jackson which Carrol Shelby drove. Other than that, they're just too plentiful and common to be worth the effort to restore for that cost much less make a profit. Most of us put far more than they're worth into them as a hobby, certainly doesn't make any financial sense. I wish you well in your new career what ever that may be.

 

[walshja]

maybe there's money to be made in parting out cars?

if you can find a complete car, that's in pretty rough shape, you can at least sell the gauges, shocks, carbs and things like that for at least $500, probably more. but then your back yard would look like a Sanford & Son episode . . .

 

[Glen_B]

I've done three and a half LBCs from the ground up and there is no way to make a penny on them. Mine were ALL rust-free CA cars that neeeded little or no panel replacement. If you're doing it for anything besides the love of the hobby, you're on your way to an expensive lesson. As someone else pointed out, big Healeys, Jags, or other high end cars that tend to have checkbook restoration owners may pay you enough to make a thin go of it, but for Spridgets, Morris Minors and other low-end LBCs the best price you can expect won't come close to covering the cost of the parts, much less your time. I love all mine and am lucky enough to have the space to keep them all for now. But when I have to sell one eventually, I expect to take a loss. My "payment" has been the fun of saving the car from the crusher, the sense of accomplishment when others smile as it goes down the road, the pure joy of driving a car I assembled myself and the knowledge that I can pick and choose a good home for it when the time comes.
All that considered, I guess I can't help but come out ahead on mine in every way but $$$.

Glen
'59 bugeye
'59 Morris Traveler
'58 Austin A35
'59 Morris flatbed (coming to a street near me soon)

As you can see from the dates of my cars, I'm too lazy to read a complicated wiring diagram.

 

[spritenut]

Like everybody else said...Restore a Ferrari but not an MG if you want to make money.
Having restored at least 1 Sprite a year for the past 7 or 8 years, I can tell you
You will maybe cover the parts and money you shelled out. If you get real lucky, you will find you made $1 (one dollar) per hour for your time.
And yes, I do everything myself except mount the tires.
I restored a square body Sprite to original condition (not concours) a year ago.
It cost me $4500 in parts, paint, and stuff, A nice square body is worth $6000 TOPS in the real world if you want to sell it. More like $5000 is what they are selling for. So for my 1000 hours of work plus parts, I could stand to make .50 cents an hour!
Now a Ferrari takes the same amount of body work and paint, the parts cost a little more but some of them are worth 500,000 bucks!
Anybody got a Ferrari hiding in the barn :wink:

 

[mxp01]

We have a local shop called Ross' Restorations that does very good restoration work. My son and I met the owner, George Ross, when we inquired on an MGB George had for sale on his front lawn. George was asking $14K for the car, which we thought was outrageous. However, George began to explain all the money he had in the car, and his asking price made sense from a cost + basis - but it was well beyond what I was willing to spend (not a big "B" fan).

You have to look at what a reasonable top end restoration will bring, then figure that to be the absolute ceiling on the revenue side, and then figure how much money it would cost for you to bring your project to completion. The difference is your potential profit. Keep in mind that the top end price is just that - the top end. If your restoration is below that quality then your asking price will have to come down. Also, the top end price will only attract a very few buyers, so that is an issue as well.

Remember, just because you think the car is worth x dollars it doesn't mean there will be a ready market for that car at that price.

Mike Pennell

 

[jlaird]

Hay Tony, I hope you kept all that stuff you replaced. I think I could build a driver with it, no joke.

 

[tony barnhill]

Hay Tony, I hope you kept all that stuff you replaced. I think I could build a driver with it, no joke.

Jack - you could! Yep, I kept all of it...most is fine just looks its age.

 

[MG_Midget_74]

Thank you all very much for your thoughts.

Update

Because the owner is in foreclosure, the price has come way down. There is also a 74 Midget now on the table. The 74 is in the same tough condition.

The general idea behind the 64' was not to stick with cars of that caliber but to use that as a starting point for more profitable cars. We all need to start somewhere and being that I have owned one for almost 30 years seems like a good starting point.

As for a 14,000 MGB, I was thinking more along the lines of AHs, I have always had thing for mid 50's American pickup trucks, Cameos are big buck trucks.

As I watch my life pass me by (philosophy time), I am truly disappointed by how unhappy I was an engineer (EE and software). Do something and making no money is far more enjoyable than making huge money and being unhappy. When I complete a task that most people pay others to do, I look at and say wow, that feels good.

 

[scoutll]

After all is said and done, it comes down to, "what do you want to do?". All great advice, but you are the one you have to satisfy.

I'll tell you one thing.. Judging by the looks of the 64, if you manage to "get er done", there aren't going to be many out there that'll stop you.

 

[Shealey]

Do Sprites for fun. Find a big Healey, Triumph, Jag, Mercedes or something other than the little cars. Most of these are rusted and the cost to replace panels is the same if you weld in a pan is a Porsche or a Sprite. The end price is when you'll see the difference.

As a former collision/resto shop owner, I post with experience. No one makes money building cars for resale. On the other hand, if you can do the work for others who can't and charge a fair and honest price you will make money.

 

[jlaird]

Tony, I know how to make old stuff look new.......... In fact blast cabnet is outside at the moment cleaning up the last items that I have not gotten to as yet. Stuff that I am going to tuck away with the rest of my stash.

Some day, in the distant future I hope, someone is going to get an intresting stash when they take over Miss Agatha.

Save a spot inside Tony. She ought to look really good right up front. Hehe.

 

[GeeBee1]

IMHO, it is more profitable to get a better example in need of a few minor items (bad trans, engine, or TLC) and flip it.

 

[tony barnhill]

Save a spot inside Tony. She ought to look really good right up front. Hehe.

That'll be a long time, Jack! & when the time comes, we'll add on so she has her own place! hehehe