RANT: I'm pissed and frustrated and I need advice!

Alright, normally I'm not in to people venting their frustrations on the HAMB, but I've just about had it.

I am seriously frustrated with my lack of a hot rod project. I grew up building cars with my Dad and Godfather and I have long dreamed about building a car for myself. My Dad always used to say that building a hot rod was something you do for yourself once you have finished college (it was one of his tricks to keep me focused and motivated), now I am 3 years out of school and the HAMB, sleepless nights, and a sketch pad are the extent of my hot rod endeavors.

I make decent money for a young guy, and I don't live an extravagent lifstyle, yet I still find myself just getting by, not saving shit and definately not having extra funds for a project. I do live in a relatively expensivwe area, but I am single, a renter and have minimal debt and bills. I don't get it! What the hell I am doing wrong?

I have thought about building so many things, thinking that perhaps I could find something that appeased my passion and my wallet, but nothing seems to fit the bill. I mean even for a starting point, a Model A body for example, your looking a $3000. I just don't have that kind of coin laying around. Hell, thats about 1/16 of my annual income!

So, as I said I am pissed and frustrated and confused!

Any thoughts?

 

Education = better job
Cooking ALL meals at home = more $
Not drinking = more $
Move to a cheaper area = more $

(alright one of those isnt the best )

So on and so on

Then start with a cowl and go from there ...... $200 and you are started.

 

The easiest way is to start out with a cheap project, even if it isn't what you want and work your way up by trading, selling etc..to get what you do want.

 

start with what you can afford--even if its plastic models to experiment with.

It doesn't have to be a high end car to be fun.
Get a crap box and see what youcan do with it!

Offer to help somebody else with there project, and develop some skills. This will get you in the loop for finding deals and abandoned projects---as well as making friendships that can last a life time.

 

If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

If you're spending, let's say $200 more per month to live in your upscale area, that represents $2400 you're not putting into your hot rod every year.

Taking your new girlfriend out to a dinner and movie a couple times a month? You're blowing a good $2-300 every month there.

Get it? Part of the lifestyle is sitting at the house and working on the car rather than going out and living in the fancy part of town. Your budget dictates what you can get done, so either make more money or re-prioritize or .... get used to it.

 

i think 48 grand in california aint much if you pay for any of the following every month:
rent, car note, insurance, student loan, food, recreational substances, women, cable television, etc.

 

You're not alone mate. I have just started with a 39 Poncho. It cost $200 And its fucked.

Look for something off-brand but still cool. And get the best you can afford.

 

Everybody has to start somewhere and it can sure be frustrating at times. My initial thought was that I needed a place to work and concentrated on that, buying a house with enough space for a project. It put off my indulgence into a project until I was almost 35, but by then other things were squared away and it has made for made for a pleasant experience.

You may have to adjust what you are looking for if you "have to have a car right now". A young friend of mine wants a roadster but cannot handle the money right now, He recently drove home a '50 Shoebox Ford Two-door for $2500. He is currently improving it and hopes to trade up when possible in a few years. You may need to start with an easily obtainable model until you are far enough along to land "the one".

If your desire is targeted only at a particular model, maybe be content scoring some good parts on occasion. I always knew I wanted a '36 Ford Three Window and just got the project car in the garage last fall, but I've owned a set of NOS '36 headlights and '41 Studebaker tailights, and other parts for the car for 12-15 years. Have always been on the lookout for the pieces, it was money well spent and kept the dream alive for years, never gave up and now it's happening.

Keep your head up and good things will present themselves. Just be prepared to act when opportunity knocks on the proverbial door.

Good luck, Johnnie.

 

Morgan Hill is only relatively expensive compared to the rest of the bay area. It is very expensive compared to the rest of the US. I would venture a lot of your cash goes to housing. Plus, since you are young and male, you probably pay a lot for car insurance too. Food ain't cheap around here either. Neither is anything else really. Short of moving, just cut back where you reasonably can and start with a more simple, less popular (therefore less expensive) project. A's are expensive because good ones are now rare and hard to find and a lot of people want them - demand equals higher prices. Just find a cool cheaper project, get it, work on it for a while and build up, sell/trade up from there. Don't worry, you have plenty of years left to have hotrods. Start simple and easy though. Don't jump in over your head on a piece of crap that will need a lot more work and money than you might now have. Be happy with what you can get/do for now and better stuff will come in the future.

 

You're not alone mate. I have just started with a 39 Poncho. It cost $200 And its fucked.

Look for something off-brand but still cool. And get the best you can afford.

I don't drink or smoke or do lines of whatever. Money is a pain in the arse...

 

I agree with the above statements, start with what you can afford. And live within your means, and be patient. The right deal will come along. I don't make anywhere near your yearly income, however, I do own my own home, am currently working on an A sedan. And picked up a 28 coupe for next winters project. Plus an 11 year old daughter whos looking at braces, and an ex wife.If I can do it, I'm sure you can too.

 

Not many of us have $3000 lying around to spend on an A body. Occasionally I do have $20, or $50, or maybe even $100 to spare though.

Save your $$.

If you're like the rest of us, you're probably YEARS away from hitting the road. Get pissed or get motivated... the choice is yours.

JH

 

Welcome to life kid..............I have never had much coin.....Most of my projects, I bartered for in one way or another, mostly by working on other peoples cars, so they would pay me in cash....or parts.

 

Do you have a place(s) to store and work on a project? ... Tools?

Do you want a full-on project, or would a cheaper classic driver be good?

Thanks,
Kurt

 

If you don't belong to one already find a club in the area to join, lots of knowledge and people willing to help someone starting out. Plus they know where a lot stuff is, and how to find deals and trade and swap and work your way up to something while making some good friends. Helping out will pay big dividends down the road when you're building yours.

 

Not many of us were born with a silver spoon!!
You have BILLS - I "get that". The question is - what can you do for that "extra cash"?? Scrimp here and there - do side work to stash a few bucks and once you get that "fund" started you need discipline. Put that cash in an envelope (SEPARATE bank account - whatever) and FORGET about it. It's NOT there for life's normal mishaps - leave it alone till you've found either parts or a project to spend it on.
I'm 40 something and I've NEVER OWNED a new car (it's just a bad investment) instead I've driven beaters or otherwise less than desireable turds - I still budget "X" dollars a month as IF I had that car payment - THAT money goes DIRECTLY into my car fund. Tax return gets divided - my share goes into my "dragster fund". Ocassionally I have to dip into those funds for "other" things - I hate doing it, but shit happens.

The long winded point is - you GOTTA PLAN IT - it won't just happen. I still brown bag it for lunch at work - more bucks to spend elsewhere. Booze, smokes, etc, none of that shit here - all that money goes to buy my tools that others think I must be loaded to have - hardly!!!!!!

Decide how bad you wanna do it - it CAN and WILL HAPPEN IF you decide you really want it.

Good Luck!!!!!

 

I agree, but $200 must be a typo. Try $1200 at the very least for him probably and $2000 wouldn't be too out of line. 1200x12=14400. 2000x12=24000. But the point is, the SF Bay Area is not sympathetic to young people starting out. It is very expensive and it is hard, no doubt. If a young working person around here is living a decent life and has any spare change at the end of the month, they are doing very well and/or are very fortunate. Without some nice flow down from the parents, it is a very steep uphill battle to make and save any money in this part of CA. I sympathize with Hans. I have been there for sure. It's a tough area to get a foot in the door and make it around here.

A few words of advice though, don't spend your last bucks on cars. Save what you can and invest wisely in real estate or business stuff if possible and spend as little as you can on car stuff to keep yourself happy. The sooner you can use what money you have wisely, the sooner you will be able to afford whatever else you want and not have to struggle with it the rest of your life. Just buy a decent $3-5K hot rod off somebody, drive it around and enjoy it while you do other more productive things with your money to build a better financial future for yourself sooner rather than later. Good luck and don't give up, it will come if you keep the passion and desire and sooner and better if you are smart about your game plan.

 

Well Hans I probably should not be giving advice and at the risk of being flamed I'll add my two cents. I'm at least twice your age and maybe older then your father but he was right to encourage you to go to school. In the long run you will no doubt have a higher earning potential to do many of the things you want to in life. With experience in the work force your pay will increase. However somethings in your post don't seem to add up to me. By your own statement you are earning $48,000.00 (16 x $3,000.00) per year. You say you have no savings. As a single guy even living in California, in a high rent district you should have more money left over unless you are really blowing the money. There are many guys with families that don't make that kind of money. Your probably not going to like hearing this but you need to sit down and figure out where your money is going. Come up with a budget and stick to it. That budget should include putting some money aside even if you eventually use part of it on a car. I don't know you, I don't know if you party a lot. I don't know how you spend your money. But it just seems as a single guy you should have more then you have and even enough to get started on some kind of a project. Now if youare bogged down with sudent loans that you are paying I will just shut up. But a bit of patience would not hurt either.

 

Money management and prioritize. Look at www.daveramsey.com I have very little left over for car bits at the end of the month. Progress is slow, but it is still progress.

Maybe start with a frame and work up from there. Model A's are cheap to start and build. Do the chassis, then drop a body on when you have cash.

 

Maybe you should get a room mate. One with HER own tools.

 

Hans, I have one word for you...STUDEBAKER! Barrett-Jackson has priced me out of the Mopars I love. I bought a '64 Daytona roller for a little over $800 and it's rust free. Many Studes can be found at very reasonable prices. Parts are probably more plentiful than anything other than a '32 Ford or '55-'57 Chevys with numerous vendors. The only difficult Studes to find are the '53-'55 Coupes and '56-'58 Golden Hawks. Many are rust buckets, but it's not hard to find a solid car either.

 

Call the wimablence!!! $48 k goes a long way if you know how to spend it.
Most of my working life i have made less. And my son works for me and makes even less and he has a home (not renting) we live in Valencia Cal. not a cheep place to buy a home. But we do it. . I have a home that is now is selling for $600k. So suck it up and save! Work all the over time you can and save that.
Do more with less

 

It's pretty simple.....make more money.....or spend less.

When my kids were growing up, I worked 3 incomes...a good full-time day job....a weekend and evening part time job.....and I bought and sold special interest cars. The family had a good lifestyle, and I had extra for vacations and a car-toy.

 

What do you want, and what do you have saved up to spend right now? If you aren't buying, you must be saving, right?

Eventually you'll have the money to buy something.

 

Move to Oakland you whining pussy.

Also, do you live in Cali and have no car? You probably drive a shitbox commuter car, don't you?. Trade it for a hot rod. I've been driving my hot rods through the NJ winters all my life because I always had one car that ran, and it was always at least 30 years old.

I don't think a tampon dispenser would look good on a Model A, maybe you should build a ricer?

Problem:Frustrated about money.
Solution:Get more money.

 

I sold all my toys (1950 chev truck, 1962 vw, and 3 brit bikes) to start a family and move to Montana from spendy Seattle 12 years ago. I worked my ass off on a few extra side jobs and didn't get in a hurry to replace my project(s) and it took me 7 years to find my dads 32 truck and my hardtop (neither of which are done). I have less than 4k in both and 80% of the parts stashed away at this point. If I would have got in a hurry that number would have climbed to 12k.

A quick rule in business, hobbies and life (and women)......

You can pick 2 out of the 3 choices - Quality, Schedule or Budget - but you never get all 3.

To find a quality project right now..... it will cost you, you can likely find a shitty, money pit of a project right now for cheap or you can take your time (saving your money, figuring out what you want to spend, scrounging back roads, talking to car guys, etc) and I'd bet a quality project will turn up for a reasonable amount.

s.

 

I know it sounds stupid, but hear me out. I started a dollar box a while back to help pay for property tax. Every night when I get home from work and get ready for bed, I empty my pockets and put any one dollar bills in a box. Some nights I have nothing to contribute, and sometimes I have $10. I put it high on a shelf so I can't see in. You can't cheat and snag a couple bucks when you are hungry. Every once in a while I may drop in a 5 spot, maybe 20 on payday or something. Give it a couple of months......you'll be surprised.

Sounds like it's time to shit or get off the pot to me.

 

Don't go for the big bucks hot rod right out of the gate. Work your way up. Get creative and scour the HAMB, Craigslist, Classifieds, Junk yards, everything you can.

Find a cool project in your budget and go with it, then trade up.

 

the best bet is if you have a car payment, sell that sucker and put the monety into something older. while your modern car will depreciate rapidly, an old car only increases in value. so yeah sell whatever you drive and buy a project, and the cheapest car you can find, and drive that while your building your project. the money you are now NOT spending on car payments every month can be spent on your new project car. and remember NEVER buy a modern car!!! unless you like throwing your money in the garbage

 

Sorry man,,,but you sound lazy,,,if you are making good money and you ain't trying to live high on the hog,,,,,

There is no reason on Gods green earth you can't have some kind of hot rod!

There is thousands of cheap projectsout there,,,maybe not a 3 window or a model A,,,but falcons, chevy II's, all types of early chevys and fords,,,plymouths,dodges,nash,,,hell I could go on forever,,,,,

Quit bitchin about not having a project and get up off your butt and wallet and do something about it! HRP