How much did you spend on your GL Bug?

It also has to do with people performing their own labor. All my money is in parts, I do all the work myself. An example would be that one person could spend $2,500 more because they paid to have their car painted and I will paint my car myself. If I were to include all my labor as if I had to pay someone the total price of my car would be over $25,000. Alex has all of us beat he spends some serious cash on hi-end upgraded parts. Good thing I'm keeping my car mostly stock.

[petevw]

^^ yup, if you don't do as much as you can, your project will get expensive really quick. my knuckles, and arms are always scraped or cut.

[zen]

$20k or so to date. probably $25k when done. GOD. but it will be more fun than anything else in the price range and a one of a kind. can't beat spending your money on that. better than drugs.

[kdanie]

I guess I'm the low baller, cheap SOB in the crowd....

I have about $6,800 into my stealth GL so far and will have about $8500 into it when finished and painted. I call it a stealth GL because it won't look that much different from any other nice bug until you look under the skin and realize it is almost all Porsche except the body/pan. I want to keep the cost down and don't want it too flashy or it will get stolen....

Here's the major items: (approximate $$)
$3500 for a fairly stout 2.0L type4 with 911 cooling and dual 40mm Dellortos
$350 for parts to fab the header and ceramic coating
$550 for N/A 944 brakes all around (includes machine work/stainless hoses/caliper kits/hard lines/master cylinder)
$450 for a 902 5 speed, includes clutch and shifter (I just machined a sweet aluminum shift knob from some scrap)
$550 for set 912 steel wheels/hubcaps/new tires (includes a 356 Porsche 4.5" wheel for the spare tire)
$250 for a pair of 911sc seats for the front
$350 for gages, NOS 914 tach, 912 speedo, 5 more VDO gages and senders including CHT on each cylinder head
$600 for suspension, I narrowed the front beam my self, HD shocks, CB dropped spindles, front adjusters, 944 26mm rear torsion bars, 944 rear sway bar, custom front sway bar, new bushings/bearings

The rest is all the other little stuff that really adds up quick.

I expect paint/body work to be about $800. I used to be able to paint a car for about $400... those days are long gone!

Tunes will be about $350.

I do all my own work except engine machine work like heads/crank balancing/rod rebuilding etc.

It's about 2/3 done after 2.5 years of on/off work due to other projects. My wife's getting pissed....

Oh yeah, when finished it will be about $2500 over budget!!!
ken

[Alex]

You also have to realize that I have a split. Parts for it are very expensive and the restoration cost a lot too.

Also......this is my dream car. Let's say I spent 40000$ US on it....it is still a lot cheaper than a new 911 and I can say I build it to the specs I wanted. I can not do everything on my car but I do as much as I can.


Alex

Originally posted by Alex
I can not do everything on my car but I do as much as I can.

I will do all work to my car, what I don't know how to do I will learn myself. No one will molest my car.

[darren]

1303 2.4 turbo injection type 4 engine. 901 gear box , 944 brakes, FFSR. 2" wide wings ( STEEL) . All parts are new or recon various body mods .too much to list. All parts sand blasted and two packed. 89.9 % complete . as seen in the last issue of total vw (readers rides ) will break or sell complete £ 2500

Currently advertised on a UK Forum.

This car has been 10 years in the making, loads of subtle well executed body mods. I'm halfway between buying it and talking the guy out of selling it ......felt like i was stealing it from him

Sad to see him almost giving it away

[Vincent]

If he is selling it then he is probably lost intrest in it. I would say buy it.

[bren]

just over £15k in mine.. and still more to do.. (thats just over $24k US)
biggest lump sum was £2.5 for bodywork.. the rest is parts as i do all the work myself.

i could have done it a lot cheaper.. i could also have spent over 3 times that.. and im not talking about getting someone to do the work for me.. parts choice is a massive factor.

this question is like asking how long a piece of string is really.

[Vincent]

It is all realtive if you think about it. I have a friend that bought a chopper from West Coast Choppers and payed $75k US for it. That to me is crazy but he will think i am crazy for spending $30k on my bug....

[ShApE]

ahh yes

74 super: $230
t4: $250
recaro seats out of honda crx: $27.50
17's with ventus rubber: $600
and if i get enough money in time, suspension: $250

[NYBugman1972]

I dont know. I dont want to know.

But, let's look at it...

$200 for the car
$400 +/- for the MaXX struts
$600 for wheels (tires were free)

Then there's bodywork, paint, interior, instrumentation, various carbon fiber parts, etc etc...

Not to mention the first pair of rotors I bought when I had empi's, the Topline disk kit, and the old weld-a-struts I had. Oh, and there's engine parts also! And various parts that I had to re-buy, like crappy bumpers, trip pieces, etc.

You get the picture...

[Vincent]

I had a thought on the cost of our cars.... I sell cars for a living... I had a customer come in the other day with a 1999 Suburban that he had payed 32k for when he bought it He still owed 10k on it and it was worth 5k ....

So not it is not bad to think of investing the kind of money it takes to have a kick *** GL bug.... at least when we are done, not that we ever are, It is better than when we started...

Most people end up spending 25k on a car and in 5 years paying for it and when they are done it is not as nice as when they bought it. We on the other had will take the other way at it. We start out with a car that is pretty bad off under 1k starting price most of time and then spend 5 years and 20k + and end up with a kick *** car.

So I am giving all of you justification for spending as much money as it takes to build the GL bug of your dreams. after all it is just money!

[ShApE]

[SteveStromberg]

At least its not a 914. Check out this guys project

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showt...hreadid=114837