Hi HAMB folks So I got this 1940 Ford coupe Jalopy in my garage in my garage (my supposed ed dream build) in the first week of May 2019 and I am already bored with it...been thinking about getting another AD style Chevy truck or maybe a roadster pickup kinda vehicle... How do you stay focused on one project??...My ADD or ADHD what ever they call it kicks in and I get roaming eyes on the local Craigslist and start planning another project...I think since 2006 I have had over 10 old cars come and go thru my hands...some get finished some don't...also add 2 race cars to that mix too... So what is the trick to staying on task and getting one done before your start thinking about getting another one started??? Any insight please please chime in... MikeC
Old magazine collection... sometimes seeing cars done up right can keep you motivated and help steer you in the right direction..
Buy driving projects. Then in the off season tackle one area that needs attention, drive it for the summer and repeat as necessary. Not quite so over whelming as staring at a bare frame and 2000 parts on a garage floor.
Don’t worry about it. Buy them,sell them and enjoy the process. When the “forever car” ends up in your hands you will know it.
Keep one driver ready car and then projects if possible. Fire to work on long term projects ebb and flow. Desire, money, and time doesn't always go hand and hand in my case. Perhaps the 40 isn't your dream car?
It's like anything. It always looks good in the other guy's yard but after a while in your own garage the novelty wears off. Kind of reminds me years ago while actor Hugh Grant was dating the smoking hot Elizabeth Hurley and he ends up getting caught with an ugly hooker.
I still own the first car I bought, an OT '72 Formula Firebird NEW @ 18 years old. I have had my '57 Pontiac for 36 years. The "new" one in the garage is the '32 Ford Roadster, only 4 years and I will never sell it either! I don't get bored with stuff, I like continuity in my life! In the 46 years my wife and I have been married we have only owned 3 houses. The last time we moved it was so I could build the garage I always wanted, and also a little more privacy. I have been blessed to have what I have, and I appreciate it! I do have ADD to some extent but not with my possessions, that's where the OCD takes over! KK
I couldn’t care less I buy them, fix them, break them, build them, yell at them, drive the everloving shit out of them....... then move on to the next one. Never grown attached to any of them. I would have kept them all if space and funds permitted but alas...... I have bought and sold stuff in weeks, held onto a project that stalled for years and everything in between. I got my merc now and everyone loves it..... shit so do I, but if a 50’s or older two door shows up..... bye bye merc. I’m here to have fun and just like in my single days I’m looking to put notches on something give me variety and spice I want one of each and each of one !!!
Wow...thanks for all the replies.... Well, I guess I should not feel too bad then...I have never gotten attached to any of the old cars I have had...I tinker with them until the inner voice says "enough"...the longest I have ever had a project toy I think was a Willys Jeep...that was 2 years...could not wait to get rid of it... The 1940 Ford coupe Jalopy I was on fire with it for May, June, and July (writing checks like a drunken fool)...it is now August and the wind is gone from my sails for sure...I think I am stuck with until at least springtime now...and that is ok...I need something to tinker with over the winter...and spend more money on it too... Out with the old....in with the new... MikeC
I try... but I don't. It's tough to stay focused in the summer anyway. I was pantsafire in the spring too but the heat, shows, summer fun and other seasonal activity has kept me, my interests, and attention out of the shop most days. Don't take it as a sign that you've lost interest in the car, you probably haven't, you're just focused on other things. It's also quite fatiguing dealing with an eaten up, rusty, dirty old pile of a car; I know, that's all I have to work with. If I were you, I'd let it sit until you get excited about it again, probably as soon as fall hits I'd wager. That or if you decide you want to set a goal or purpose for the car. The Pine Tree Jamboree is looking for flathead powered Hot Rods, Kustoms, & some Vintage Racers. That or something like it might light you up a bit, just a thought. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/the-pine-tree-jamboree-1-2-fast-hot-rod-races.1154839/
I have all 3 of my old cars up and running and I am already wanting to start another project, unfortunately I will have to sell something to finance another car or truck, I also need the room to build something else. HRP
I tend to gravitate towards real junk. Cars were someone's baby since they were new and don't always deserve the fate they're given. 9 out of 10 times I'll buy something, get it running and/or make it a little better than when I got it. Just enough to put it above 'parts car' status and sell it..not always at a profit. If you made an effort, but the love is gone, send it down the road.
I am never happy until they are running and reliable. Then I start getting roving eyes. Same with anything else. I go crazy having multiple projects. Regardless of the subject. House, work, family. It’s in my personality to start and finish a project before going to the next.
With me having multiple projects is almost a guarantee nothing will get finished, I have learned my lesson, one at a time. HRP
I also will get them running and safe, then start looking for the next project. Seems that I never keep them more than a year or two... I always try to trade up!
I'm having a similar problem I bought a 38 willys truck and this was going to be my 1st hotrod but was concerned that I may spend years and thousands on something that just wasn't me. I decided to buy something I could use and enjoy while gaining some experience and an idea of what I wanted from the truck so bought a 40 willys sedan. Bought it and had a bit of spare cash to get seat belts fitted for my 4 yr old as car seat laws here are pretty strict (uk) but I want it safe for him. Used it for a few months had a few problems spent all summer and the cash I had put aside for the belts and now loosing interest in it plus it's tight in my garage with the 2 in there so working on it is a chore
Ancient Chinese proverb- "One car on the road is worth 4 in the shed". Get a beater-driver up and running, work on your project until it gets to you, go back to improving/modifying/driving the beater. Repeat as necessary. Take the beater to local meets, where you will be further inspired to finish your project car. This method has kept me from going nuts/getting bored for about 40 years. Now I have several finished cars and the arse hanging out of my daks (broke), but it works for me.
I hardly ever finish a project. I like building more than driving. I seem to get to a certain point and usually somebody sees it, or I advertise it, and it goes down the road. I generally make some money on them so that's good, too. I don't ever plan to sell my current project ('32 5 window) since I've wanted one for ever. Anything else is for sale at any time. I have another project I started about 8 years ago and I'm in too deep to walk away from it. Lose interest from time to time but always tend to go back and do more on it. I own most the parts so funds aren't the issue, interest is. I have too much invested to sell it as a project I would lose my ass, it needs to be done. If your heart isn't in it, try to sell it before winter and get a new one in there for winter work. Don't spend more on something you don't want anymore. That's how you get upside down in project costs. SPark
Dr. Phil moment's here= if your compulsive ..... That's your problem. If you buy to flip= You should know how to flip...... if you buy for yourself as a future project, you should know what you want and have researched before dropping coin.... if you just buy stuff of C/L because its a good deal, you have better have scored for yourself, or make a killer flip...... If you just like hitting keys, and buying because it seemed a fair deal, which is ok if you really want that, .... And now were bored? Lost interest? Sounds like not so smart shopping........ Old tried and true= Just because you can, and are able to, does not mean you should...... If anyone comes here and bitches about how they bought something, and wants to move onto another- what does that really say? I made a bad choice? I bought a P.O.S? I really didn't want that in the first place, but bought it? Some people complain about spending/wasting their money.......... Who's fault would that be with piss poor decision making?