Want to buy a clunker - say, a beat-up ཿ Camaro convertible - and turn it into a slick and screaming street-legal racer, perfect for cruise-ins at the local drive-in?

Think again, says Don Butler, 58, the president of Zakira's Garage in Fairfax, a custom car shop that focuses on pre-World War II English and European racing cars.

"Most people who start from scratch end up with a great car, but after they figure out how much time they've got invested in it, they're making about 50 cents an hour," said Butler.


Founder of a machine shop that focuses on repairs or restoration of cars valued at $2 million to $5 million, Butler said most backyard mechanics find out too late that muscle cars tend to vacuum money.

Here's why:

Polished steering column: $399.95.

Stainless steel alternator bracket: $109.95.

Chrome-plated oil sump: $224.99.

Chrome kit of brackets, pulleys, tensioners, belt and other shining hardware for a big-block Chrysler Hemi: $2,895.

And those prices don't include the engine or a conversion kit costing $4,299.

The engine itself is another $5,999 on eBay, though shipping and handling is free.

But a backyard mechanic can make money on a muscle car.

Jim Allen, 55, Milford, restored a 1956 Corvette in 1986, won a national award and sold the car for a profit.

"I made some money off of it," he said, "but now it's worth maybe $60,000 - five times what I sold it for. I think people are probably better off buying one that's already restored, then paying to fix any problems."

Buying a classic car as an investment is probably the wrong thing to do, said Jim Grundy, president of Grundy Worldwide, Horsham, Pa., a classic-car insurer that insures 200,000 classic or collectible cars.

"I've found it to be a 90 percent male industry. I think most wives wish their husband would spend as much money and time on them as they do on the cars."

John Eckberg