Hot Rods So how do you handle more than one project?

Hi HAMB folks:

I see a lot of you folks on here have more than one project going on at a time...I saw one guy on here had 4 old cars going at the same time...

So how do you mentally and monetarily pull off more than one project at a time??

I have a hard enough time just negotiating the highways and byways I travel to work....I could not even imagine a head full and garage full of different Hot Rods to pick from...

Just wondering out loud again...

MikeC

 

I have a few projects, but I prioritize the order in which I work on them.
I will only "work" on one at a time, but am on the alert for parts for all of them all of the time..which I like when scouring the swap meets/here/E-Bay/Ford Barn/ CL etc., seems there's always something I need for one of them.
Space is challenging, so moving cars around becomes an issue, it also requires a bit of organization of what parts for what car.
I like the idea of always having something "to do", no excuse for boredom.

 

Poorly......I have ADOSD....attention deficit oooooh shiny disorder topped off with CRS....lol.

 

Not too well....

 

One progresses while the others become weld splattered, grinding dusted, oversprayed parts storage spaces.

I do like the idea of multiple projects progressing simultaneously but it rarely happens.

 

Nothing ever gets finished, as much as I tell myself to concentrate on one I always have multiple unfinished projects on the go.


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

Just like dating in high school...

 

You mean a lot of expense and effort but nothing gets finished?

 

Classified ads section.

 

not very well, so I quit...only one at a time these days.

 

As I get older I try to focus on one thing at a time. Ether a whole project, or a major part of a project. For instance, I worked steadily on rebuilding my 8BA for a while. Only when it was done, and neatly on a stand, did I turn my attention to an OT 4x4 that needed a front axel rebuild. Now with that done I've moved back to the next Hot Rod project on my list. Rebuilding a '39 rear end.

~ Carl

 

I used to do this, but the downside was when I got to something I wasn't looking forward to on one car, I jumped to another. I still will group up certain jobs on multiple cars when it makes sense and I'm set up for it, but in the long run for me, things get done faster and better sticking to one at a time.

 

If you jump from one project to the other, you are still working on one project.

 

I go back and forth, spending money on one while working on another, then switch to another, then another........its frustrating. I never get anything finished. By the time I go back to one project, I sometimes forget what all I need to finish.
Stupid, huh? Is that what you wanted to hear?

 

I've shared this before but I remember Randy Nash aka Deuce Roadster relating the story of how a elderly gentlemen asking him why his roadster was still in pieces years after he purchased it.

He looked at Randy's cars, a unfinished big block Chevelle, a big widow F-100, a Chevy II, several bbc engines and a ton of parts.

He ask which car was the most important and Randy's reply was the 1932 Roadster and the older gent shared his knowledge to liquidate and pool the money into the deuce.

Randy heeded the old gentleman's advice and in less than a year he had the money to finish his roadster.

The moral of the story is do not to spread yourself thin. HRP

 

One disassembled car takes takes up at least as much space as 2 disassembled cars. I did that once and vowed never again. In fact, I ended up losing interest in one and would now like to sell a completely disassembled 64 Catalaina.

 

Working on finishing three cars and one bike. Plus a couple other hobbies, including doing nothing.
One day at a time.

Mike

 

As far back as I can remember I've had several in pieces. I have also had at least two others done enough to get in and Drive. When/If I ever sell something I can drive it's not till one of the projects gets done enough to replace it. When I need more $$$ I just work harder and longer on Customers cars for a faster pay day. So far so good.

 

I dont buy cars and take them apart. I buy junk and pile parts . Its always fun to add a part to an emerging car. I never rush or feel guilty for having 5 or 6 projects on the go. When i do work on them , i work on it untill a problem arises or funds stop me then i move to the next pile of parts. Always something to do . Mostly rust removal. In my spare time i research and gain skills/tooling to overcome what stops me.

 

Like everyone else, very poorly.

I currently have three projects but I always try to keep at least one running so I can putt-putt around town in a fun car. I have a 1934 Ford Sedan which I'm building for me personally, my 1949 Ford PU which I built for my daughter, and the 1928 Model A Sedan which I took in as trade and I plan to sell once I get it complete.

Currently, both the '34 and the '49 run, but both need work to be more drivable. My goal for every vehicle is a well built vehicle with proper metal work and shiny paint.

I plan to post a build thread of them each some day.

 

I'm only working on one car but if a part comes available for one of the other ones on hold, that is otherwise nearly impossible to find at a price I can afford, I can be temporarily distracted.

 

ive got a couple on the go.ones at work.do few hrs after work most days.some sats if I have to be there.others at home.few hrs in eves.some sats and sundays.drive the 3rd.

 

organization is part of it. not doing the same things at the same time to different cars helps. if i am rewiring my main project, i may take a day or two and replace some floor pans in another but i wouldnt start rewiring the 2nd car, too confusing. sometimes i need to take a break from one thing and do something else so having a second or 3rd car needing bodywork is always a good stredd reliever for me

 

I quit buying projects.

 

.....I have the same disorders Frankie!....and also a LOVE of the Red Green show, blue collar male humor at its absolute finest!

 

About 20 yrs ago I had four vehicles in different stages of build...One day I told myself, Look dumb ass you can either have four shitty cars or one nice one....So I sold three of em and finished my 57 chevy big window. Now 20 yrs later I have eight vehicles , two are finished ,paint chrome the whole 9 yards all the rest except the latest big window I bought run. My wife says I don"t listen.....

 

Priority!

 

I don't work on anything that cost money unless I sell part of the hoard to get that money. and im into a variety of things. I have livestock, tractors , bulldozers ,sawmills, ect along with cars & trucks. I know I will never get it all done. I likely will never get 20% of it done. That's not whats importiant to me. Its the fun im having. Sometimes I let things go for years and never touch them. My OT 82 wrecker set for years. But I bought a 60 Pontiac on Jan 1st. So in two days I pulled two engines and put one in. Because it became a priority. Eventually there will be a estate sale of my hoard. Or I might bury it in a ravine. Or let a scrapper crush it. I really hope one of my Grandsons will get the bug and take over where I left off when im finished.

 

Someone please tell me, what is the reason I need to finish any of my projects? I quit building AMT kits in 1967 when I got a drivers license, still have most of them unfinished. Got married built a house in 1978, that isn't "finished". I like having stuff, if I get tired of it or need funds for other stuff I sell some of it. I think about working on the right front fender of the Steelback along with the firewall of the T Bobtail, but it is a lot more fun following other HAMB builds. The more I do the closer it might be to wiring the thing, that has always caused me to sell the project. I'm very happy with what I have, looking forward to a box of parts to arrive for the Steelback any day now.


Bob

 

In the 90's and first 14 years of the 2000's I always had 3 or 4 customer projects plus customer chassis and parts, 1 full time employee and everything seemed to get done in a timely manner. Now in 2019 I'm semi retired and working alone my project seems to sit still while I keep the customer chassis going at a much slower rate than the old days? I also move at a slower pace at 73 but I still look forward to going to the shop everyday.