$7000 paint job
Drug home plenty of cars when I was a kid with my brother. He is a genius. Anything mechanical he can tear apart and fix, all with almost no thought. I was stationed close enough to home to think I could get the childhood mechanics going again. He wasn't interested. He now finds parts and pieces here and there and calls me. We bullshit about stuff and that makes it worth it to me. Had my son help me on the 74 where he could and that is time I would like to have forever. He has competing interests as a teen but the time he and I spent was worth every dime. Wife and daughters hang with me. Matter of fact, the wife spots cars and tells me about them. Found a guy here local who has the knowledge and has allowed me to learn. Almost an apprenticeship. I pay him for stuff I can't do and want right. Community college has classes I will attend, but I work full time in the Army and can't do that....free time, don't have much with 6 kids. Learning and making mistakes, misjudging people, getting screwed. All part of it. I think I will have the knowledge and courage to do one myself when I retire. Four more years will be 28 years of service and I will work part time and play part time. The money spent is all relative...