How to value parts from a parts car that you buy cheap?

I need to do a good reading over the rule book, but curious about how to value parts off of a parts car if you buy said car for relatively cheap.

To be straight-forward - a turbo MR2 for 1500, and if I wanted to keep/use the trans out of it, do I do it as whatever is left over after I sold other parts off of said car, or the 'street value' of the trans?

I paid 1500, already gotten back about 800 on the car without even listing too much, should be able to get a few hundred more, easily, before Im left with only engine and trans, and considering using one or both of items on a potential GRM Challenge car. 

Trying to plan this out best I can, use my money in the most efficient way

While this isnt related to what I put above, I do have another question on this part of rule book:

"Partial Exemption: The Burchett Rule: Brake friction materials, lines, calipers, master cylinders, boosters, rotors and drums may be replaced with fresh ones that are duplicates or stock replacements without increasing or decreasing the budget. “Duplicate” is defined as having the same listed application in a major parts catalog as the part being replaced. Stock replacement is defined as having the Challenge car’s year, make, model, and trim listed as an application in a major parts catalog, or, if non-OEM front and/or rear subframes/axles/hubs/knuckles are used, the year, make, model, and trim of the donor vehicle listed as an application in a major parts catalog. This rule does allow adding stock replacement brake parts to a car that did not come with any at the time of sale. The purpose of this rule is to allow for safe brake components, not to allow for budget shenanigans. Original brake parts cannot be sold for recoup and then re-bought without budget impact to take advantage of this allowance."

So If I refresh the brakes it doesnt go against my budget, right?

Like, just stock for stock (car Im thinking of has been sitting a LONG time), replacing pads and rotors and fluid would not be calculated into my 2000 bucks, right?

These items are budget exempt:

1. Seat belt or harness and its attachment hardware.

2. Fire extinguisher and its attachment hardware.

3. Roll bar padding.

So a roll bar isnt mentioned in here, but if a rollbar is used to attach a harness: would it be included in budget?

Im looking at a convertible car, so trying to fiture out if a roll bar would be included in the budget or not

Going to address post 2 and 3 first because easy.  Yes stock replacement brakes are allowed exempt and no a roll bar is not exempt because of the line above what you posted.

If something is not listed as budget exempt in the $2000 Challenge rules, it is not exempt.

On point number one you can do normal recoup meaning you bought it for $1500 and you've recouped $800 so for a total budget hit of $700 or you can do it as a parts lot.  Here are the rules for parts lot.

How to Budget Parts Lots:

 

A part’s cost may be pro-rated by weight or quantity if from a homogeneous parts lot (example: zip ties, nuts and bolts, a box of 20 identical axle shafts, etc.), or relative retail value if it was purchased as part of a heterogeneous parts lot (all-you-can-carry sales, storage unit buyouts, garage cleanouts, etc.) Relative retail value is calculated as follows:

1. Assign and prove a fair market value to every part in the lot.

2. Add those fair market values together to calculate the total fair market value of the lot.

3. Express the fair market value of the part you are pro-rating as a percentage of the lot’s total fair market value.

4. Multiply the actual price paid for the lot by that percentage in order to determine the part’s relative retail value.

I will say that doing a parts car as a heterogeneous lot is not easy and has it's own distractors.

Rollbars are expensive (I guess they could be found used), do people normally just fab their own?

Yes roll bars and other non-exempt safety items are expensive and hard to budget for. But since they are required to go fast, think of them as speed parts no different than a turbo or nitrous kit. You can buy main hoops on amozon for about $94 shipped just search "competition engineering main hoop".

But first of all, consider if you actually need one? The vast majority of Challenge cars can barely crack 15 seconds which is no less safe than merging on the interstate. NHRA doesn't require a roll bar until 11.50 for hardtops and 13.50 for convertibles, which is darn quick for under $2000. If you just want to use a racing seat and harness, you can add a simple harness bar much more easily and cheaply. 

Your parts car accounting is correct. You bought it for $1500, you recouped $800 (so far). It's really that simple. 

I have 2 budget questions. 
 

1- do I have to account for welding wire? Right now I am mostly welding on this car but I weld random things here and there, I am on my first spool since starting the car and I don't expect to go through more than 1 or 2 max, do I count that?

2- I had a can of weld through primer in the garage, I have no idea where I got it or what it costs. What do I budget that at?

Thanks

In reply to NY Nick :

The welding wire counts.

hybridmomentspass said:

Rollbars are expensive (I guess they could be found used), do people normally just fab their own?

I bought a used Mustang rollbar for $50.  I reworked it a bit to fit in my MR2 Spyder kart.  It was actually a fair bit of luck that the legs landed in areas that I could make work.