Our habit and how you support it

[76TA]

I'm roughly at the 30% mark when it comes to the completion of my project. The car was stripped to a bare shell, media blasted and sprayed with PPG. An eight point cage was then added along with all new front and rear suspension components. A transmission tunnel to fit a T56 was added, mini tubs, and a smoothed firewall rounds out the sheet metal work. It also received solid body mounts, sub frame connectors, a new Tanks. Inc. tank, a new front sub frame (DSE) along with a Strange rear end which rounds out my progress up to this point.

I've reached the end of my funds for now so back under the car cover she goes tucked away until I scrounge up another bundle of cash to wrap up the next stage.

There are some pretty impressive builds on this site. Minus the shop build threads; I'm just curious what the other DIY'ers do for a living to support our hobby...or better yet, habit.

I'm a member of a few different types of forums and this is usually a pretty cool topic.

I have a run-of-the-mill nine to five working at a financial firm. The take home pay is alright but nothing earth shattering. I have off every weekend and most bank holidays which leaves plenty of time to play around in my garage. At 30 years old I'm pretty sure I found the women of my dreams; it won't be long until we tie the knot. That's one life-event that I won't least mind delaying the project.

[214Chevy]

Well me, personally, I have a different situation from most 9-5'ers. I'm a full time firefighter. Therefore, anyone who knows how our schedule is, we only work every 3rd day, which equates to only 10 days a month. With my vacation, holidays, etc...I may only work approx 7-8 days a month. I'm also a nurse, the remaining 20-23 days of the month I work at an orthopedic surgery center to support my toys. My firefighter salary takes care of the necessary bills, mortgage, etc and 100% of it goes to the family bank account. My wife told me as long as nothing gets cut off (utilities) and the house doesn't go into foreclosure she doesn't care what I do with the nursing salary. I've been a firefighter for 18 years and have achieved the rank of lieutenant, so the salary is nice and is plenty to keep my wife off of my butt. I've been a nurse for 10 years and that salary is nice too with unlimited overtime to be made. The nursing salary affords me to buy car stuff, do other shopping that I want to do and pays for anything fun pretty much. I could've been lots farther along on my project, but I started buying other things like my gun hobby. I've bought a couple of expensive, high powered rifles, etc. I also bought 3 other projects that I don't have listed here in my signature. As if I needed other projects. One was the 72 RS that I had in the for sale section. LOL!!

[jarhead]

I'll be retired in a few months so that helps...I have more funds than I had 20 years ago. I also try to keep a balance with family funds, putting two girls through college, and paying the bills, etc...

At first I supported my projects by buying old Ford 9N and 8N tractors and parting them out, only the non-runners. I also buy and sell parts on Craigslist, and I look for good deals for my project's on Craigslist.

I like to barter with folks and trade for what they have or trade up with my stuff and add cash.

I'm usually willing to run something like a 12" rear disc, or a 17" rear wheel for instance and not go with the latest "Pro-Touring" must have.

I try to engineer things on my car like the clutch-arm to master action, instead of paying 3 times as much for the like kind item. It isn't seen but works similar.

Hope that helps...

[carkrazy1987]

i turn wrenches at one of those stealerships. master tech, 15 years of wrenching. that pays the bills, and when there is extra it goes into the car. but most of the funding for my car lately has come from side work (friends, family, neighbors). and the other supplement is buying "mechanic special" cars and reselling. its not the most lucrative, but it does supplement the toy fund. also like joe said, not having to have the latest and greatest helps. and doing as much as you can yourself.

[DOOM]

I own my own collision shop. I worked my behind off 75-100 hour work weeks . Took jobs in my shop that many shops wouldn't take . Every extra dollar I had left after bills and payroll were taken care of ,I would put in my parts fund . Purchased my car in 2005. Had over 3/4 of my parts purchased by 2010 that's when I started my car. It took another 6 1/2 years to complete. So stay with it work your tale off and you'll get it done.:gitrdun:

[fleetus macmullitz]

This Regis Philbin-esque thread from 12/11.

:D


“Millionairs on Lat-G?”

http://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php?t=34592&highlight=Occupation

[BigBronco]

I am one of those "millennials" although I don't want to ever claim that title.

I was born in 1985. Inherited the gearhead gene from my Father and Grandfather.

Anyways, I put myself through college and got my engineering degree. I work a "9-5" in the Oil and Gas industry. I am an engineer that assist with design, fabrication, installation, and operation of Ultra-Deepwater Oil fields around the globe.

It is a fun industry but the ups and downs can make it pretty stressful. Been involved in the industry since Macondo (Deepwater Horizon) event.

Funny enough, myself, Nine Ball, and Will69Camaro all worked together at one point.

Good times.

[Che70velle]

I co-own an electrical contracting company along with my brother. We specialize in high-end residential homes. The crazier, the better for me. Today’s ever changing tech is utterly amazing.
I grew up with not very much, so I have a natural drive to bust my tail for what I want/need. I got my first job at 14, bagging groceries at a grocery store, where I walked to work most days, almost 5 miles one way. My dad would pick me up after we closed. I wanted an ATV, and I had to work to get it. What a concept!!! I tell my dad a lot how thankful I am, that he didn’t give me the world on a silver platter.
I do well for myself, these days, and am able to provide for my family, and play with plenty of toys. My 14 year old sons travel baseball keeps us plenty busy lately!

[WILWAXU]

This Regis Philbin-esque thread from 12/11.

:D


“Millionairs on Lat-G?”

http://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php?t=34592&highlight=Occupation

Is that the thread that started "Investing 102"? :G-Dub: :D

[DBasher]

I barely scrape by and vacation with Weld :headspin:

Actually I’m a Crew Chief in the HVAC world working on the waterfront in Seattle. Nice livable wage with an ever changing view, no complaints.

[Flash68]

I co-own an electrical contracting company along with my brother. We specialize in high-end residential homes. The crazier, the better for me. Today’s ever changing tech is utterly amazing.
I grew up with not very much, so I have a natural drive to bust my tail for what I want/need. I got my first job at 14, bagging groceries at a grocery store, where I walked to work most days, almost 5 miles one way. My dad would pick me up after we closed. I wanted an ATV, and I had to work to get it. What a concept!!! I tell my dad a lot how thankful I am, that he didn’t give me the world on a silver platter.
I do well for myself, these days, and am able to provide for my family, and play with plenty of toys. My 14 year old sons travel baseball keeps us plenty busy lately!

Love it Scott! :thumbsup:

[fleetus macmullitz]

Is that the thread that started "Investing 102"? :G-Dub: :D

Wow, I had forgotten that!

You have a very good ‘rememory’.

:thankyou:

[Paraman1]

I am an Electrician. I have worked on mostly large scale commercial and industrial projects in Idaho and Nevada with a stint overseas as well. It has paid for my home expenses and girls going to college for the most part with my overtime going into a general slush fund for fun.

After my divorce last year and my youngest daughter moving out I rented out 2 of the bedrooms in my 4 bedroom home and use that money to pay for Hot rodding while my electrical income pays everything else.

I will never have a 100K pro-touring car but my 64 El Camino has been slowly coming along with the latest project being a warmed over LS1 build and T56 install.

[slimjim]

Ever been to the coast and seen huge dredgers replenishing the beach? That's what I do for a large Belgium Dredging company, I'm currently building the worlds largest container terminal in Singapore.

It's far from glamorous, I'm a 2nd officer on a 11136 ton ship, I do 12hrs a day, 7 days a week, 6 weeks straight... however I then get 6 weeks off without as much as an email from the company which serves great towards my project!

I'm in a niche field being an Australian, working on a British passport, for a Belgian company, in Singapore, living in the US.

[jarhead]

Ever been to the coast and seen huge dredgers replenishing the beach? That's what I do for a large Belgium Dredging company, I'm currently building the worlds largest container terminal in Singapore.

It's far from glamorous, I'm a 2nd officer on a 11136 ton ship, I do 12hrs a day, 7 days a week, 6 weeks straight... however I then get 6 weeks off without as much as an email from the company which serves great towards my project!

I'm in a niche field being an Australian, working on a British passport, for a Belgian company, in Singapore, living in the US.

Where can I find pictures of that, i'd like to see it in action? sounds interesting:thankyou:

[Che70velle]

Where can I find pictures of that, i'd like to see it in action? sounds interesting:thankyou:

That does sound interesting indeed!

[slimjim]

The ship I navigate is the TSHD Brabo.
https://i.imgur.com/E5lCK6g.jpg

But if you're interested in the project it's called the Tuas terminal project of Singapore.
https://i.imgur.com/Bx4nc4B.png

It's very interesting how we're making it, very different from typical dredging procedures due to Singapores lack of remaining sand in the waters. either way, keeps me busy, I get lots of time onboard to order neat car parts then plenty of free time to instal them.

[slammed68]

I'm an application engineer. I work for a company that sells and supports CAD & CAM Software. My job consists of training engineers on how to use the software and showing them best practice. I also provide tech support, software implementations, and pre sales demos.

It's a great gig and it's awesome getting exposed to a wide variety of industries. it can be demanding at times but the pay is good I enjoy what I do.

[USAZR1]

I worked in Production Maintenance, for PPG Industries glass division. (now Vitro) Retired a couple years ago, after 42yrs service. My wife retired,last year. Between our firearms, our custom Harley, my 70 Elco, and traveling, I don't quite have the disposable income I used to have so building stuff takes a lot longer, these days. Being an older guy, I don't have to have the "latest & greatest" anymore, either, to be happy. Great to see the younger guys going nuts on their rides, though.

I also owned a sideline business, H&H Custom, for 27yrs, from 1979 to 2006. We built hotrods (musclecars & streetrods), custom bikes of all kinds, and even some aircraft.

[Boss 5.0]

I've spent my entire career in the collision industry in various positions. Make a good living, but nothing earth shattering.

How do I build my car and have hot rod funds? I do side work. Made a deal with my wife over 20 years ago, she gets my regular pay check to pay bills etc. The side job money is mine. This allows me to buy parts at will without having to ask permission. But, that's also why it took 8 years to build my car. Do a side job, but parts, do another side job, buy more parts.......

It works for us perfectly.

[tx71nova]

Im a Test Technologist at Polaris Industries in the Powertrain division. I run engine dyno for our 4 stroke engines for calibration and development. Its really interesting watching how different engines respond to tuning and hardware changes along with real time in cylinder pressures and just about anything else you could monitor.

Iv only been out of college for 2 years and built my car while I was in high school and part of college. The plan is to buy a house this year and scheduled to get married in 2020. Not sure how much attention my Nova going to get but my fiance loves the Nova so at least I know its not going anywhere haha. To keep prices down I do all my own work including paint/body, its takes more time but I love learning new and useful skills.

[Ketzer]

Ever been to the coast and seen huge dredgers replenishing the beach? That's what I do for a large Belgium Dredging company, I'm currently building the worlds largest container terminal in Singapore.

It's far from glamorous, I'm a 2nd officer on a 11136 ton ship, I do 12hrs a day, 7 days a week, 6 weeks straight... however I then get 6 weeks off without as much as an email from the company which serves great towards my project!

I'm in a niche field being an Australian, working on a British passport, for a Belgian company, in Singapore, living in the US.

Lots of cool jobs listed, but this is pretty darn fascinating...

[raustinss]

In a fabricator , 39 single ... only had one adult vacation and until quite recently always drove cheap or cheaper cars that I paid cash for . Now I have a 2017 Z71 Silverado the 656 a month I pay has made quite the dent in my car funds but I still find a way . Now if I can cut the beer budget and the stupid crap budget I might have more money towards the chevelle ...

[expensivehobby2]

During my early career, I was an aerodynamics engineer for Dodge/Dodge Motorsports/SRT. Then I was an aerodynamics engineer for Freightliner before moving on to consulting/client management for a CFD software company. Now I'm a toy engineer at Hasbro.

[preston]

I'm a software developer/architect, but I've never been immersed in my career and so even though I was born and raised in Seattle I never grabbed the brass ring. I make a comfortable middle class salary but have never received any kind of windfall or big payday. I built my car by being obsessed with it and frugalzing everything else in life for years, and doing ALL my own work (except bodywork and engine/drivetrain internals).

And the truth is, I can't afford it. I never went into debt but the amount of money spent is staggering. One reason after 20 years I have burnt out and am gonig to sell my car and forget about fancy cars all together. Yes my own fault for having overly lofty goals.

I flew too close to the sun, and melted my wings.

[kbclamper]

I'm a union plumbing general foreman for one of the largest mechanical contractors in the country. I get huge amounts of overtime that pays for my toys