In a message dated 11/5/03 6:09:33 AM Central Standard Time, spaceace3113@xxxx writes: > Are we to assume that the values a rising? because > I had a wicked car to start with and still spent real money. I would definitely agree with you. in my case, i paid about $15,000 for mine and i have put probably the same amount into it to get it 'just right' and i still have a little ways to go. when i bought mine, it was totally driveable with 41K miles, all updates, 9.5/10 on exterior and 9/10 interior. the brakes were rebuilt with new tires, fascias painted, as well as quite a few other misc things within the last year before i got it. however....... i wound up rebuilding the entire fuel system by replacing pretty much every part except the distributor, doing a complete 30K mile service, new locks, window regulators, seat covers, total clutch and transmission service (all clutch and hydraulic parts replaced, tranny opened and cleaned), stainless brake lines and new master cylinder, numerous engine control switches, total cooling system overhaul with pump master kit, new fans, new radiator, hoses, etc..... the list goes on with all the little stuff. the main thing that gets me is that when i find a problem with a part of a system, i wind up doing the whole works even if it doesn't need it, because i know that it will eventually and i'd rather get it done at the same time. for instance, i had one fan burned out and i was replacing my water hoses anyway so i did the whole thing while i was at it. same with clutch. i only needed a new roll pin in the tranny and a new clutchline (went to stainless), but i decided i might as well do EVERYTHING. it runs you a lot more money but in the end it is worth it to know you took care of everything at once. i suppose i would be below $25,000 if i only replaced parts that needed to be replaced, but i'd also have a car that isn't so reliable and i might fear going from ND to TN next spring..... and i wouldn't take home so many trophies from shows! to do it the way i do it, i would say $35,000 is more realistic. Andy [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]