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Wonder what it would cost to build a replica Silver Arrow? Maybe someone has already don this but I’ve never heard of it.
Funny story. I was talking to Scotts Hot rods who builds Chassis’ and they told me they built a 34 Silver Arrow Chassis for someone years ago. They no not have the owner details anymore but have the measurements and design they did.
A Bugatti Atlantic coupe replica made from steel is quoted on the Oracle (internet) as taking 12000 manhours. That’s roughly 3 guys working full time for two years. At $75/hr (pick your all up labor rate) that would come to 900,000 of fabrication/assembly labor. It is a smaller car.
A rough rule of thumb is ~17 manhours per lb to build the 1st example or a one-off prototype aircraft from aluminum with formed and built-up structure. That doesn’t include manufacturing the engine and systems but does install them. Assuming 1000 lbs equivalent of Silver Arrow aluminum body to build would estimate out at 17000 manhours which seems ballparkish to the Bugatti example. That is 1.3 million at $75/hr. The Silver Arrow body was probably more like 2000 lbs of steel but the volume of material that would need to be formed might be roughly equivalent to a 1000 lbs of aluminum as a wild guesstimate.
Finding a donor chassis probably is a relatively small piece of the cost puzzle.
Using foam molds and fiberglass can be done for less, probably in the range of maybe 1/2 to 1/3. This of course is assuming everything is done on a professional write checks basis.
Maybe someone else has some better examples to work from, but I am guessing well north of 1 million.