reckon

how much you spend on any project to me is about:

1) am I ever going to actually sell it?

and then

2)how much will someone actually pay for it after me (NOT how much is it worth)

this happens in restoring anything: cars, motorcycles, and bicycles are no exception

I have a 1967 mustang with only 130K original miles, and just NO RUST AT ALL ANYWHERE, which is unusual for mustangs of that vintage, the title is salvaged so it's never going to be worth much more than about $3500, as opposed to a non salvaged stang in the same condition would fetch upwards of 15K.

I have probably got about $22,000 into that car in total with repairs and modifications over the years, but to me, it's all good, BECAUSE I'M NEVER EVER EVER SELLING IT.

my motobacon fixie conversion cost only $200 in total, and I could sell it after the custom paint job for more than $450 if I wanted to, but again I like it so much, I wont ever sell it, so I'll probably start getting higher end parts for it (like better hubs and a quality headset)

the point is spend according to a plan if your worried about making your money back, or if you don't want to spend over what the thing is worth (remember not WORTH, it's what someone will PAY) and if you just want to ride, spend as much as you want.

ThunderChunky

please show us a picture of your road conversion and we will tell you how much you could get for it. $450 seems a bit high.

reckon

most road conversions don't have gold leafed lugs, and glass like british racing green urethane paint jobs with hand painted lettering and stripes, not to mention a re-tapped bottom bracket (takes standard 68mm sealed BB's now)

won't be painted till spring,......(you can't do good 4 or 5 layer custom paint jobs when it's wet out)

and $450 is quite a reasonable asking price for a good conversion with quality components, built by a certified technician,...I'd take $400 cash. (and don't forget this is the SF bay area, not bakersfield)

this is the kind of paintwork I do:


and:


the point was not trying to start a "whats worth what" argument, the point was: figure out what you want from the thing (sell or no) then spend accordingly, and don't get all stressed out about spending more than the thing is worth if you just want to ride and enjoy the thing (which is why we do this remember?)

but I see some of you just like to start arguments on the internet, and you know what they say about that:

ThunderChunky

actually i would still like to see a picture of a nice road conversion since most are done on the cheap, but i guess you could just call me ******** and be done with it.

Johnny Nemo

Spend your money on what you want. Forget what everyone else thinks. Make sure you write down what you spend, that way you can explain it when your wife busts your ass for blowing the kids college money.

dahoss2002

With gas about 3 bux a gallon, u will break even in 3 months and be ahead when 09 rolls around!!!!!!!!!