So I have a Challange question or two..

Trying to decide which way to go for maximum fun within the budget limits.

The vehicle I have in my possession came with a blown up engine. I have another but different configuration, it's a V8, as a replacement, but can I just put another same stock motor, it's just a 4 cylinder, back in with little to no budget hit or how is it handled?

Secondly, how do you FMV a transmission built years ago and never used? Receipts don't exist anymore and what my memory thinks that's in it, the current prices have about tripled compared to when I built it. For the record, it's a Ford AOD with a complete rebuild with the Alto commercial direct clutch kit, "no spin" spirolok ring on the input drum, SC OD servo upgrade, 4 ring 2-3 accumulator piston, a used Performance Automatic full manual trans brake valve body, and probably more that I can't remember. It still needs a proper input shaft, but that's small potatoes compared to the orginal price/fmv.

Question 1 - Replacement of a broken motor with a stock motor would impact the budget. The reason is you bought the car in that condition and the price (theoretically) reflected the cost of a truck with a blown motor.

Question 2 - For unique cases where FMV is a little fuzzy I have seen posters make a thread on this forum asking for what they believe FMV would be based upon there experience. I think this is the most judicious method to determine FMV. Usually, they are FMV based on the current parts market. I'm not sure if saying FMV 10 years ago is going to be in the spirit of the event. I know nothing of Ford transmissions so I will let others chime in.

For your transmission maybe find old magazines with those parts advertised from the time you built it?

On the engine either new engine hits your budget.

So what if I fix the old engine? I was told it was overheating/overheated for the reason it was pulled out.

Ranger50 wrote: So what if I fix the old engine? I was told it was overheating/overheated for the reason it was pulled out.

Same. Hits the budget.

In reply to Stampie:

You'll never know the advertised price on those parts because they came from a transmission parts place. I want to say I had $400 or so in the whole build back then.... To build it today, you'd be well over a grand because prices have doubled. I remember buying master overhaul kits less steels for sub-$100, now you can't buy any of them for less than $200. Although the last 727 I did, I was able to get a master kit plus a different year range paper and rubber kit and flex band for $75....

In reply to Ranger50:

If you "think" it was around $400 at the time, I would say there is your costs. You bought them when they weren't a grand and shouldn't be charged as such. I would likely add $100 for the core transmission though. Big budget hit for all that though.

In reply to singleslammer:

Cores were only $25 back then too. $35 for certain other models. This was back in anywhere from '95-99... Way before everything went nuts on price.

Thanks for all the feedback so far.

Ranger50 wrote: So what if I fix the old engine? I was told it was overheating/overheated for the reason it was pulled out.

You said it came with the blown up engine. If you fix that engine, the budget hit should be just the parts you needed in order to fix it. In theory, you could also fix it and then sell it to recoup money back into your budget (minus the cost of the parts you needed to fix it).

In reply to dyintorace:

So, let me get this straight, if I fix it for say $10, that's the budget hit? I suspect I could get away with a new head gasket and some 400 grit and elbow grease on the head and deck.

Sounds like you're on the right track!

Um yes - anything you do to the vehicle to improve it from the condition you got it in increases the budget by the amount it cost you. $10 or $1000.

I would think that fmv of the trans is just that: what would a fair price be for it if you put it up for sale today?

If you don't know, call up a transmission shop and ask how much they would charge you for the same tranny.

In reply to Ranger50:

Let's talk fmv.
If you have a Pinto with a bad motor and generally it is not perfect then you'll probably be hit with a fmv near scrap, let's say $250.

If you ask for fmv of a Pinto missing the 4cyl engine and missing the 4cyl trans the scrap price will go down considering it is missing these heavy metal items. Let's say $150.

If you take that $150 value then you can not recoup into your budget the sale of the 4cyl and trans. Essentialy, you already have benefited from the deduction of the 4cyl and trans by $100.

Now, go buy yourself a sub $1k Ford Explorer. That will get you 5.0, trans and axle to cram into Pinto. Sell off as much of the Explorer bits as possible to get toward $1008 in recoup.

In reply to jfryjfry:

It isn't worth jack because right now it's missing an important input shaft. If I spend another $150 right now, it's worth something. So I know it's a value plus 150. What's the missing value? Is it what I seem to recall what I spent 15 years ago or something else?

Why does a trans shop matter? Their value is much greater inflated than mine, I built this myself. There really isn't an monetary value I can place on something I built myself for myself and no other, or can you? Because in today's money, it's well over $1500, if not closer to 2k, to go to someone else. The brake is now 800, rebuild kit is 2-250, direct clutch kit is 100 or more, etc ad naseum.... No one is going to spend that on mine.

I'd say the $400 you paid for it IS the fair market value for it. That's what you paid for it. Should you be penalized for sitting on it for all those years?

This can get exhausting. But I would expect that the fair market value is not what the transmission shop would charge you for it but rather what they would pay you for it if you sold it to them. I imagine those two numbers are pretty far apart to your advantage

In reply to Appleseed:

So if I claimed $550, it should be livable within the budget confines?

In reply to Ovid_and_Flem:

They will treat it as a core. They don't know anything about it nor do they care. JMO based on working at them.

Ranger50 wrote: In reply to Appleseed: So if I claimed $550, it should be livable within the budget confines?

Remembered $400 + $150 input shaft sounds fair to me.

In reply to Appleseed:

Agreed

I don't know if this will help but recently I asked about FMV on a transmission that I bought years ago. The FMV given by the board was to high to fit in my build so I decided to go another route. Plus honestly a transmission built like yours isn't a make or break at the Challenge. A you pull it half off day transmission would be cheaper than what you have in yours and what today's FMV is.

Hey, stampie, john welsh or you other challenge veterans....Did you attend town hall? Did I understand the new rule is you can't recoup more then your purchase price on your car? Example, I paid $500 for my car. Is my Max recoup on stuff I sold off the car limited to $500?

We're currently clarifying the rules, and should have the changes published in a few weeks.

Again, nothing is final, but it's my understanding that the new max recoup on stuff you sold off your $500 car is $1008.50. If you also have a $1 car you're using for your build, and you recoup that $1008.50 from the $500 car, then the max you can recoup from your $1 car is $0.

In reply to Tom Suddard:

Thanks Tom. I was just curious. I've sold just about everything of value on this piece of E36 M3 Corvette. Mostly 5 and $10 interior switches and parts that are NLA 4 guys restoring these old cars. I got probably less than $200 and that's probably about all I can sell off.

But it does raise the question of is $100 car that you can sell off parts totaling $1,000 really a $100 car. Doesn't really matter it's all in fun

Ovid_and_Flem wrote: In reply to Tom Suddard: Thanks Tom. I was just curious. I've sold just about everything of value on this piece of E36 M3 Corvette. Mostly 5 and $10 interior switches and parts that are NLA 4 guys restoring these old cars. I got probably less than $200 and that's probably about all I can sell off. But it does raise the question of is $100 car that you can sell off parts totaling $1,000 really a $100 car. Doesn't really matter it's all in fun

It is, because that $100-500 pain in someone's butt is worth to them the price they put on it because they don't think like we do. We see the value of the parts and not the headache of the whole. Then we make it our headache to get the parts we want from it.