<VV> expenses

[Tony]

At 2127 04/16/2004 -0400, SPYDER62@aol.com wrote:
>In a message dated 4/16/2004 5:50:23 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
>qcc65@charter.net writes:
>In the last year I have rebuilt new 140hp & 180hp engines for my licensed
>cars and the cost each time has been near $2000.
>I agree with others that nobody wants to give a decent price for a good used
>engine.
>Not bad for an Engine rebuild, just price out some paint if you want sticker 
>shock. My body man next door just painted his brother in-laws 65 Impala in 
>Regal Red $400 per gal and just did a van in purple pearl the pearl was $135
per 
>oz. And here I am with 3 cars and a Ultravan to paint this summer LOL.



And this is exactly  why I do my  own engine/mechanical work and I do my own
painting and bodywork.   It's the only way I can afford the hobby...  and if
something goes wrong afterwards I always know who to blame.   And, I know who
will fix it for free.   


Roman Red, Forest Green, LeMans Blue, Ermine White, all lacquer, were bought
for less than 150 bucks/gallon last time it was purchased (a couple of years
ago) from a local supplier.  Clear still costs about 70-80 bucks/gallon
depending on who has it and how much discount I can snag (and how old the
stuff
is).  

No clue what the prices are like now, since it's been a while...  but I
imagine
I'll be finding out soon enough.  I'll be needing another gallon of Forest
Green.   

The white was fairly cheap as paint goes, about 75 bucks as I recall, black is
cheaper at about 60 bucks/gal. and even cheaper still if I go to the local
"big" auto parts store and buy "store-stock" Ditzler black lacquer they have
stashed in the back, overstocked and looking to get rid of it.    The
sorry-assed part about all this is that I  recall buying Roman Red for 45
bucks
a gallon (when I last painted the '65 ragtop) and black was 24 bucks/gallon
(when I painted the '63 Spyder) and the gallon of white I bought to paint the
'60 (sitting on the shelf now for over 6 years) cost me about 40 bucks and yes
it's still good, I churn it up and mix it on a regular basis and it still
looks
fine and dries smooth and hard on a mixing stick which is good because I'm
gonna be using it sometime this year, with any luck.   These were DuPont and
Ditzler paints.   


tony..