If you are referring to the black one I bought, that hit the "show circuit", you havn't been following my build thread.
It was advertised as "needing fuel system and throttle cable, thats it". I couldn't go look at car so took sellers word. Well, it is missing 30% of what would come in a new kit, broken windshield, core mock up motor (not built and running like was posted on forums), not one single wire, parts missing from the digidash which I had to buy a new one, parts missing from the hvac system, paint overspray in all jambs and still waiting to receive thousands of dollars in parts that I am sure I will never see, but was part of a signed sales agreement. The shear time spent in trying to locate parts you didn't know where missing is 50% of where my time goes building it. So, the car I got was worth exactly what i paid. Not the "show car" the seller advertised it here as. I would of been ahead buying a new kit from Fran when you figure in labor hours to correct things and research time.
The $175k price is abit high I admit. And $85k for a straight track build or nothing fancy build isn't far off either, but, There is many builds on here that do deserve a $120-140k price tag. It will cost you out of pocket in parts plus kit about $90k to get there though. Then 1000-1300 hours to get there in a properly finished, reliable street car with all of the amenities. So yes, you will be eating lots of labor, but not all of it.
I have doubled my investments many times with cars I have built. Just need to find the right buyer and advertise correctly. Oh ya, and have something nobody else has so you can control market. My builds are usually top notch though and command more.
Being sponsored shows nothing about your experience. It just shows you don't want to pay retail for parts and trade that for being told what shows or events you need to hit. Building a car like this is nothing like starting with a stock car and adding parts to it.