The Crystal Ball

Over the years, we’ve built cars for dozens of people, and have found two concerns common to all customers, regardless of how wealthy they may be: “how much will it cost, and how long will it take?”

Unfortunately, no hot rod builder alive has a crystal ball. This is not production work. A builder may be able to come really close on a “Plain-Jane” ’32 Hiboy, or another car that he’s already built (if, he’s kept good records of the hours he’s had in it). But when you’re looking to radically customize a ’55 Chevy, or stretch a Model “A” Pickup in a way that has never been done before, you enter the realm of the unknown.

Unknowns come in many forms. For example, it’s unknown what condition the body will be in until you completely strip it down to bare metal. The only thing known about unknowns is that you’re always going to encounter them.

Because of this fact, many professional builders are reluctant to give estimates, and prefer to work for “time and material.” This is great if the customer and builder trust each other, and share a very clear vision of the final project. But, many customers don’t like to work on a time and material basis for two reasons: 1) they don’t want to be taken advantage of 2) they find it difficult to budget for the work.

There are no easy answers to this dilemma. But, there are guidelines to be aware of when working with a professional builder on a project. First off, to do a high-quality vehicle with superior fit and finish, you can expect it to require a minimum of 1,500 hours plus parts. This is for a fairly stock project with a body in decent condition. To take this same vehicle and make it a show winner you can expect to, at minimum, double the hours. Anything radical in terms of a chop or stretch, etc., adds numerous hours as well. Parts prices on a project will vary considerably depending on engine/transmission/suspension choices, but can easily run into the $60,000+ range.

These numbers may shock you, but they’re realistic. Consider what it takes to build a modern car. Visit any General Motors dealership, order all the parts to build a new mid-size (base price $20K), and it would cost you more than $40K. Then hire someone to assemble the vehicle for you and paint it; you could easily spend another $40-$50K. This is exactly what must be done when building a hot rod from the ground up—only when you’re building a hot rod, many times the parts don’t exist and you need to fabricate them from scratch. When considered in this light, 1,500 hours plus parts is an incredible bargain.

As for the breakdown on these hours, we’ve found that 1000 hours of the labor is accounted for in chassis/hookup and assembly work, while the other 500 is in body work and paint while unknown ancillary plating and upholstery  may round out the rest. Obviously, this is not an exact formula, but it’s a fairly consistent guideline. When people become aware of the hours required, they often decide to “skimp” in one area or another. Inevitably, this leads to disaster. Many times, the car ends up costing more than it should have, while the quality suffers.

The best plan when working with a builder is to decide as much as possible before work begins. If you don’t feel comfortable with a “time and material” estimate, don’t start the project. Be prepared to exceed a budget if there are significant unforeseen problems in the build. Above all, go into the build with as much information as possible. Your research and planning will pay off in the long run.

As for the time it takes to build a vehicle, it depends on how much the customer can afford to spend each week,  and how many projects are under construction in the shop, and the scope of the project itself. Note: project changes are the root of doubling the price of a project. When everyone understands these things going into a project, the experience is enjoyable and exciting.

By the way, don’t forget the SO-CAL Speed Shop Open House on Friday, June 19th, 1:00pm to 6:00pm, 1357 E. Grand Ave. Pomona, CA 91766, 909.469.6171 (Switch Board Closes at 5:00pm). As you know our open house is held in conjunction with the L.A. Roadster Show where you will be able to enjoy the debut of the L.A. Roadsters 50th Anniversary Hiboy. The car was built to be sold at the 2016 Barrett Jackson Scottsdale Auction with the proceeds benefiting AXC. Be there!!!

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