Talking with the wife this morning about me selling the white car and putting some of the money into the green car to get it mechanically sound as well as cosmeticlly appealing.....told her that by the end of Jan. I should have my 2.0 back together and that will go into the car and once that is done, car should be darn near perfect for a daily driver.

Converstation went something like this:

"so, how much does it cost to rebuild the engine??"

oh, about 4 grand

"!@#$#$, how can it cost so much??"

that is just what it cost

.......well, I did omit the fact that yesterday I ordered a set of Nickies that pretty much doubled the original cost of the rebuild

should be a sweet little 2.0

I know your pain,
I've spent probably close to 15k on my project over the years.My wife has seen the boxes come,but I've hijacked the receipts.
I tell her I'm buying a part,but never let on how much it cost's.
I keep a bank account w/only my name on it to keep everything low profile.Been working good so far.
Some how,I don't think a wife can or will appreciate the value of an 8k engine,or a 5k transmission when the lawn needs mowing or they want a new washer.

But,somehow we all get by.
Ron

My wife is getting better about knowing what things cost. I cannot hide costs from her either because when I take on someone else's project and buy parts, she sees what things can cost. The latest was a set of new alloy lug nuts. I think she said, "My god! There just little nuts!"

To that I think I said "Hey now!"

You need to tell her how much money your saving by repairing the old motor instead of buying the new Boxster..... After all it just made more sense...

I have my "goodies" shipped to my work, sneak them in...

I do make sure she sees an item going out of the house when I have sold something....

is this lying to your wife???

you should quote kerry herr's signature (Va914):

"honey, the parts i sold paid for the new part"

just received my teeny, tiny box with ceramic lifters in it.... "honey, it couldn't cost that much, the box is too small"

You have never meant my wife. She can rebuild an engine on her own. She knows how much the parts cost, and why they cost so much. She also massages the budget to make it happen. She is the whole reason I have a garage, and a lift to go in it!!!

She is the best thing that ever happened to me..........

Yeah, we all need a big board painted like a thermometer with a picture of the boxster at the top. For each dollar we spend we paint a little more red showing how the money compares. Just make sure to use the price of a NEW boxsterS and never let it get past the 3/4 mark.

Clay you are a lucky man!

Mike,
This is hilarious. You should have added a pole to this thread. I've tried to get home before my wife to stash the boxes in the garage. A few occasions she came home during a break (she's walking distance to her business) and busted me.
Actually she's been pretty great about my new project. The only downside is I have to buy her something to "balance" out my purchase.
Felix

I agree, but it does have it's downsides. I can't hedge on the price.. if it's not in the budget, then I don't get it. Plus, she may be able to rebuild her own engine, but I am the (retired) professional mechanic. So I have to fix HER 914 before I can work on my own. Which explains part of why mine is taking years to get back on the road.

The upside is if I need help in the garage, she will throw on old clothes and come help. She may make jokes about "breaking a nail" but it doesn't bother her. She has even figured out how to explain grease under long fingernails to her co-workers.

ive had parts shipped to my dorm before . parents are like 'what did you buy this time?, well at least your enjoying the money you worked hard for'

my car is a bank account eater!

LOL this thread is great,,, I just bought some heads and paid for them using a money order so no paper trail. My wife won't know what I spent on these heads. Man, I can see I'm not the only one here hiding the cost of what goes into getting a teener the way you would like it to be.

Guys.. hiding this shit is going to bite you in the ass in the future. No matter how hard you try, she WILL find it. You really need to fess up and get it straight before it ends up in a big ass fight with the wife. BTDT.. won't do it again. Causes way too much stress on a marriage.

Be carefull. Not that I think I have that great of a system worked out. But I do let my wife in on many of the things I buy for the 914, which isn't much these days. It is pretty much a done car. Just things to keep me in small project mode.

also. just be sure to have a seperate "jewlery" fund incase she finds out.

All you guys better hope that your better halfs never figure out how to turn on a computer or your all busted.

Our agreement is: I have my money, she has her money. We both throw X amount into a shared account for the big stuff (house, mostly). I don't ask her what handbags cost, she doesn't ask me what car parts cost. She's been incredibly supportive when it comes to buying silly cars, too. The only time she asks about cost, it's out of curiousity.

It helps that I'm fairly cheap. It really helps that her year old car costs more than twice what my three cars cost.

That is a good point. My wife has a note on her car still. That coupled with cost of insurance and still mainting the car, she probably spends more a month on her car than I do on mine.

But she rarely comments on it. Example. Before I can send my dash to the Evil one, I have to get her cracked windshield replaced.

ugh.

Same here, it works for us. Does she know how much I spend on my car, nope, does she care, nope.
Well not as long as we can pay all our bills and put at least 1/3 of our income away in savings.

Alittle to cold at night to tell her how much I've spent

Busted

Dave

My wife will be driving the car as much as me when it is done so it's not to hard to convince her that I need parts.

Though somehow she still uses me buying parts as an excuse for her to get new clothes.

I just refer to my auto project as an "art" project. You can't put a price on good art. And, it kinda looks like a Picasso right now

I never talk about money, as 100 years from now it just won't make any difference.

Tell your wives to calculate the depreciation on the minivan of whatever she drives. The depreciation on a new car makes a $10K engine build look cheap.

Hmmm....Clay, why was your avatar peggin' when you wrote this!

Bottom line Mike, you did the right thing by being up front with her. I recently had to divulge the cost of a complete tranny rebuild with billet intermediate plate and Guard ZF LSD and I am glad I have kept my brownie point supply on the positive side! I am definitely with Clay in being REALLY LUCKY to have a wife that lets me do what I want. I work MY ASS OFF to earn the right. You only live once unless you believe in reincarnation

My wife is great

She says I need to see good for my work.
I buy anything I want and she keeps money in the account.

KT

My system was easy...I bought her a Luxurious, Fast RED, grocery getter and she's got nuthin to complain about.

I just buy what I want, when I want and I dont answer to her for anything. The rest of the bills are paid by me so whatever is left, I can do with what I want. Yes, I am an ass. But I work hard for my money, if I die, I cant take it with me, so I want to do with it what I want. I can replace a wife anytime.

Wonder how this plate would look on your chalon?

Scott, I bet your wife is looking for her return postage stamp right now.

still young, but ive got the girlfriend nagging....

Mike,
Good job being honest and up-front with your wife - as hard as it is sometimes. I'm straight with Jamie about the money I spend and it can be difficult at times because we think differently. A $350 914 repair will trip the nag-alarm, yet a $350/mo car payment is no problem. As Spock would say - That is ill-logical, Captian.

-Ben M.

(currently shipping parts to your WORK address...)

You Sly Devil

How does this look, Scott????


Lisa

My wife fully understands that I've passed the $40k point in my project. She was shocked only at the cost of the transmission ($4.5k). It should be obvious that we have seperate bank accounts.

She has been amazingly supportive because I think she truly understands that I'm fulfilling a childhood dream by building my version of the ultimate 914.

That Lisa is an illusion of fantasy. She hates the car, cant drive a stick and I would blow it up before anyone would take it from me. This car is like a kid to me. Its my blood and time in it. I have a gun and a shovel, and I know how to use both.

You know that I know that you know that she knows
how much she hates the car and I love it and so do you????
Right???
I just wanted to razz ya and try Howard's program!
I thought it was funny!

Lisa

I didn't know how normal I was until I read all these comments...

You think women are won over that easily? Ha!

Wait, are we talking diamonds? 'Cause if so...

mostly, yes. and definitely talking diamonds (sorry, mueller)

btdt once....

See, you guys have it good, and you still cheat!



I have no wife... don't feel sorry for me, feel glad for them...

like I needed to tell you...




M

woman cant live with ... too much work to bury em

i get the nagging but she lives with it, i have a dead line to have the car on the road... to drive it away from our wedding... but that date is only tenative right now

DAMN!!!

Yep!

And the houshold bills are covered before car (or Truck) parts.

porsche content only

Same here exactly. Plus the fact that the car has been on jackstands for a few years....... Makes every new dollar harder to spend.

A separate credit card would work well.

I also have stuff shipped to my work address, but that is because I am at work to receive it, not sitting at home between 9 and 5 for UPS to deliver.

Yeah, that's why.................What!!?!!