How do you fund your Zcar Project?

[gav240z]

Hi everyone,

I thought it would be interesting to read how everyone funds their projects. Obviously car restoration is an expensive exercise so how does everyone get the money together?

 

Do you have a stash of cash you saved before you started?

Do you sell Zcar parts on ebay?

Did you rob a bank?

Do you mow more lawns than Jim's mowing?

Are you an international man of mystery with deep pockets?

 

You get the idea, it may also be a good topical discussion if you tell us how you hide the expenses from the other half?

 

 

Look forward to your replies.

[JP240z]

ive wanted a 240z since i was about 8 years old.

so since 15 ive been working reguarly at casual jobs saving for my zed.

originally i'd planned to have a bike when i turned 18 as well....but the zed threw that out the window as expenses climbed. So i guess i was one of those who saved about 15000 before they started their z project, and now after buying my sound system ive got none left to spare lol.

 

hope that settles a few views about the hardworking younger generation lol.

 

cheers,

Jack.

[C.A.R.]

Not very well!

 

[24OZ]

i always finance the start of the project by begging,borrowing or stealing,then i save as i go for the rebuild...............if i saved all the money required to complete the Z before starting it would never happen as i would never spend that insane amount on a car :?

[matt drago]

I just dipped into the Equity mate For the initial purchase of the car anyways.

 

And I have no hints or tips on how to hide it from the Mrs as she is into cars as well. Her tastes are more expensive than mine though (any Lamburghini will do for her at the moment, but it usually comes back to a R33/R34 GTR).

[Azman]

generally just hard saving, odd mechanical service and repair jobs on the side, as for hiding it from the missus, well that wasn't hard with baby #1 on the way it was her idea to save and spend the money to get the car back on the road so I can enjoy it while bubs is growing up. Then once old enough I can get down to the real work on it.....

[zedevan]

i borrowed some of the money from my parents to purchase my car, and was waiting for my tax to come back, and if i hadn't spent anything by the time i got my tax back i would have had enough to pay them back.

 

somehow that plan didn't work out, and i hadn't really spent up on the car at all in the first year. i guess $60 in petrol a week is quite a shock when your previous expense was only a monthly phone bill. things are getting there slowly now (shocks and bushes, with rims on the way), i'm working full time this year so hopefully i can save up a bit (for brakes and engine stuff) instead of wasting it all (on none car related things) lol, but i'll need to buy a semi decent laptop for 2008 so i'm not looking foward to that waste of money. i'll see how things go.

 

and the only way i found to keep gf happy is to waste more money on her than on the car...prob y that didn't work out lol

[620Z]

The wife (being an accountant) often used to ask me where all the money was going that I used to withdraw from the account. She never knew the od mods being made to my Zed of 13 years. Then she found my stash of cash (couple of grand) and went crazy! Do! Had to promise never again.

Now much to her disapproval I just spend what ever I want. I used to go cheap on stuff trying to save a few bucks for the Miss's sake. But usually found a few years later I was spending twice as much again redoing it properly. Damn got sick of that. :x

But rule number one if you ain't got it don't spend it for all you young folk out there thinking a loan might be the go. Remember every time you think this will be the last big fix or mod, I can tell you it won't be.

[Zeddophile]

Well, I fund it from eating bread and water, spending all my paypacket and utilising the account at work Not a Z, but my rangie has been seeing many many improvements of the expensive kind in the last couple of weeks.... Have you ever noticed that right after you've spent everything you had saved up on some big improvement (say a brand spanking and bigger engine), something else which never played up before suddenly dies? Most annoying.

 

As far as hiding it from the significant other, I'll offer this tip. When the parents and siblings are all petrolheads, and have a number of cars floating around, pick off the daughter! Mine loves both my cars, and gets just as excited about the mods I'm doing as I do. Doesn't even question the expenditure, she just accepts it because she understands it

[zdream]

Have the tools and know how from building cars over the years, now have all machinery and tools and the work comes to me for jobs on the side. money goes back into my zed :lol:(P.S really gun running helps, pimping my ho's and the mean green! I WISH :lol:

[Azon]

and the only way i found to keep gf happy is to waste more money on her than on the car...prob y that didn't work out lol

 

You are joking!?!?!? Good thing you dumped her already! I spend 10 times less on my girl than my cars and I wouldnt say i spent that much on my cars either :/

 

As to my fund sources - I work ful time on every holiday and receive a scholarship from uni - still nowhere near enough for my cars and still in debts to my parents (hence nothing done to the Z in the past 6 month )

And yes $60 on fuel is a lot for me too!!!

[zedevan]

semi joking, but still not good! i guess a fair bit of money went into having dinner out so often etc but i'll lump that into the keeping her happy category lol, even if i enjoyed it

 

does your scholarship pay for books also? i dont actully have any uni expenses to deal with as hex and parents have been nice enough to take care of it for me. i wish i'd done specialist maths as not only did i basically do it the year after at uni anyway but then i could of gotten a scholarship...ohwell

[Natez]

im a hitman

 

 

nah, watever cash is spare i save for that sunny day to play on the Z, never really put cash away, never really have a budget

[Graedat]

I call it my SMUGGLERS FUND!

 

X amount every pay goes into this fund to keep the zed project alive and ongoing.

 

I must include the fact that the wife has one also.

[thehelix112]

I'm currently stateside trying to save some money. I spend every spare second that I am not working or looking after the wife thinking about my car back home, and how I can get it over here. My main problem at the moment is now that I am working fulltime I have to be semi-responsible. It was much easier to justify spending 90% of my PhD scholarship every fortnight.

 

Dave

[Toecutter]

Dave, are you a doctor now?

[RBZ 260]

hmm funding a project is hard also when u have another 2 lined up.

 

though it all started being bored over long weekend. and decided to buy a old car and "do up" initial budget was set to 5k. ie cheap car under 1k another 2k to bring it back to life 1.5k for engine and box and other items ie 1k. well didnt have money saved up but tax returns help a lot plus little work on the side help fund it (on the side: ie fixing and repairing things for other ppl buying selling cars).though a full time job helps with cash but time is only limited few hrs after work and weekends. so loong project.

 

another tip is do it your self. if u know how to u save heaps. shop around. invest in tools if u think u can do it your self. tools are always needed and never waste of time. buy good stuff so it lasts.lucky my late father left me with knowledge and fair amount of tools and a workshop.

 

though the initial estimate of 5k is blown out of proportion more like 8k at the moment and probably another 2k by its all finished. in meantime i still managed (tax return) to buy 2 other cars and an engine for one of them.

 

though weekly i spend at least 100 on car.

 

as for miss well im engaged but not living with her so there arent any issues. though shes bit of a petrol head too spending few $$$ on her own car but once the house statrs getting build it will slow things down in car department . ( reason y im stocking up now :twisted: ) though she doesnt like my 260z she does like the 240 and she wants to get a 350z once we finish the house. and shes not forcing me to sell any of the other cars either.

 

TIP: get a chick that likes cars or suffer in hell (if u are car nut that is).do your priorities and if want happy relationship at home put cars second. they wont run away. just increase in value :lol:

[thehelix112]

Sulio,

 

Not really no. I have submitted my dissertation and it is off being examined in the UK, USA and AUS. In other words I'm hanging out like a shag on a rock waiting to hear back (and have been since June).

 

Dave

[apsilon]

Well my project has barely progressed past the buying the car stage but my plan is simply to take a portion of my pay each month (hopefully $500 on average) and put it towards the car. That could mean spending it right away or it could mean putting it aside for a few months until I have a larger amount for larger purchases.

 

My project doesn't have a timeline and I'm fortunate enough that I'm single, don't have kids, no mortgage or rent, have a well paying job, a small but decently equipied workshop and am OK with my hands and willing to try.

[sid280]

I wait and wait and wait until cheap stuff appears then i buy it - and i ask every customer who comes through GT Suspension here if they have any old parts for sale, picked up 17inch Wheels / Tyres for $600, MSD for $550 (new) R32 GTR Calipers / Discs for $300, 3 big-ass amps for $200, Turbo and Exhaust Manifold for $280 LANDED from japan.......