Hot Rods Retirement work load

Been retired going on 10 years.Never been bored.There's always things that you still have to do but also make the time to do what you want to do.This Hobby and belonging to an active car club helps.

 

I'll just go ahead and not say anything here.

 

Retired at 55,11 years ago sorta forced because some idiot thought it was a good idea to do a u turn in front of my panhead with me and my wife riding to an event. After that and lots of doctors I decided life is to short so I got full pension plus a decent insurance settlement so money is no problem if being careful. In those 11 years after the doctors I built a blown 31 chevy coupe, a 41 Willys and currently installing ac in my avatar 52 gmc. and totally loving the life. No debts, do it if you can.

 

Retired 11 years ago as a union construction worker 6 years before my bride could retire.
We both have pension benefits as well as our SS and over the years have spent less than we earned so we can enjoy our retirement years together.
I’m most fortunate that I’ve always had the support of my wife with our lifestyle and have found the balance to share the workload around the house so we can continue to share and enjoy our retirement.
Treat yourself well!

 

Never tell friends and family that you are retired. When they ask you why you are at home all of the time just tell them you have a lot of vacation time that you have to use up. If they know you are retired they will think up a lot of stuff for you to do for them "since you are not busy and probably bored".

 

After I retired I was so busy I wondered how I ever got anything accomplished while I was working. I worked in the Aviation industry for 40 years and coud care less about ever getting on another aircraft.

 

I retired ten years ago by accident, (bought a house in the country) and couldn't live in two places, so, went in and told my boss "fuck you, I quit", a guy I got along well with, but always wanted to say that. I have never looked back, got a job I go to when the phone rings, or not if it don't. What I will say is this, for those of you still working, QUIT NOW, in the last ten years, doc's found a tumor in my neck, caught it, and I survived a widowmaker, a couple years ago. That's two for me, number three will get me, I turn 65 in april, been married 39 long miserable years today, to the best woman I could have gotten, and have realised, life is short, quality time is your time, someone will replace you at your job, no matter how good you are, and your name will be history faster than you know. I make my rules now, and as previously said, piss people off with the word no, but its my time, I'll use it as I see fit, spend time in my shop, no hurry, I think I'll even have two coffees in front of the tv this morning. Life is short, live it. LeRoy.

 

Well I’m 73 and didn’t retire until I was 72. Worked for a great family owned company and last ten years owning my own business. Didn’t retire because I enjoyed working, learning and meeting new and innovative people. I always said I would know when retirement was right for me and I was right. When I retired it took about six months to shut business down and make a smooth transition but by that time I was ready.

I along with my wife thought retirement would be very difficult for me seeing I was always busy. Not so! I still stay busy with all that life throws at you, including home maintenance, car projects, etc. the difference is I now get to plan these things on my time. I think people make the mistake that retirement is a time to slow down, rest, make up for all those years of working. Not for me so far, it’s a time for new adventures, experiencing new things, focusing on things I can do not those I cannot. It really helps to have a good attitude and sense of humor.

 

Retired last April at 66.
My wife just retired this past month.
I stay plenty busy. Best thing is I only do what I want to do.
Get up in the morning and only then plan my day. Love it.
My wife being home is fun. It’s like we are always taking a vacation.
Keeping track of what day of the week it is, is the hardest thing.

 

Retired at 62 and don't regret a second. Busy? Hell yes! But I am working on all my own shit, well, as much as the wife will let me!

 

ten years ago I got married (third time), retired and moved to a "new" 70's house that I thought was OK because it had a 40x50 two story shop in the back. Since then I've done a gut and replaced the kitchen and master bath, virtually all of the doors and windows have been replaced (still have three...probably not going to worry about--I am 75) thought I would get the 38 Chevy running quickly....but I am slow. Did a bunch of work (and lost lots of money) on a chopped shoebox,I don't miss that car, sold a Vette I had for a few years but I did get the 38 on the road again and getting really close to have the Studebaker on the road, a project that "taught" me lots of new skills. My wife retires in a month or so..but we have been sharing the shop for almost the full ten years after she took a welding class (she is a metal sculptor) so I don't see a lot of change. I've been lucky, I hope all of you reading this can be as lucky as I have been!!

 

I will be retired 10 years in December. I could have worked several more years but the politics at work got to the point it wasn't worth it. Everything is paid for and I have a fair pension. I took my social security at 62 as did my wife which is our mad money. The best thing about retirement is that, O shit I have to work tomorrow morning feeling no longer shows up on Sunday afternoon. Also, you don't have to finish a project on the weekend. Monday or whenever is a nice feeling.

 

The down side to being retired is knowing that I'm retired, the old guys I got parts and services from must be retired too and I can't rely on them anymore. Have to find new sources for my stuff.

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Quit the third shift/first shift two job pay checks about 30 yrs ago. Watched the 'lifers' retire and get the cheap watch, the party, and those well wishes to enjoy the life they'd been bustin' their ass all those years to get. Then a little later I'd hear they died. Since I owned a watch and hated parties, was fully vested and had everything paid for, I figured to enjoy life while I was young enough to do it, and spent the next 30 years doing exactly that. Grabbed SS at 65, just in time to be rewarded with a bypass, pacemaker, hip replacement and a shattered ankle. So far 'retirement' has been a bitch, but getting there sure the hell wasn't.

 

I retired in 2009. Here are some of my learnings from the past ten years...

1) Take time to do things for your health. Don't use the excuse that you don't have time to exercise. Lose 10 pounds. If your health is good, the rest is easy.
2) Spend time with people. Find a new social group. Stay away from negative people.
3) Take time to give back. Volunteer and help someone else. It will help them and make you feel good.
4) Spend less than you make.
5) Don't go to sleep at night without a plan for what you will do the next day.
6) Spend some time and do things for and with the spouse. Happy wife, happy life.
7) Don't kiss aluminum storm doors when it's below freezing.
8) Read #1 again....

Moselli

 

I found the following article from Hemmings Daily of particular interest. Many HAMBers will recognize Michael Lamm from his decades long career as an automotive journalist and very interesting car guy.
HEMMINGS DAILY
Confessions of an elderly “mechanic”
Michael Lamm on Nov 20th, 2019 at 9:00 am

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Primeval “mechanic” Michael Lamm prepares to adjust the pedal linkage on his 1964 Jaguar E-Type after having a new clutch installed.

I’ve been 18 for most of my adult life. But then last spring, I suddenly woke up to my real age, 83, when our family physician, Dr. Walt, diagnosed me with pneumonia.

I’d never been sick a day in my life, and I figured—still convinced that I was 18—that pneumonia didn’t sound all that terrible. But my nose wouldn’t turn off, and about a week after I got the diagnosis, I started getting these achy pains in every bone, muscle, tendon and joint in my body. So Nurse JoAnne, my good wife, told me to go back to Dr. Walt and let him figure out what’s what.

Dr. Walt poked and prodded, then shook his head and promptly ordered a bunch of scans and lab tests.

I told Dr. Walt, “The tests won’t show anything, because I’m a healthy 18-year-old and have never been sick, ever.”

“We’ll see,” said Dr. Walt.

Surprise, surprise! What the tests showed was that I had blood clots in both legs—totally unexpected—and Dr. Walt immediately put me on a blood thinner, Eliquis. That’s when I realized I wasn’t 18 anymore.

In a previous column, I happened to mention that now, at age 83, I’m still fortunate enough to be able to work on cars. That’s been my longtime hobby—tinkering and fixing—and yes, I do still indulge.

Yet as you might suspect, tinkering is not the same at 83 as it was at 18. Certain realities have crept in, some of which remind me of my mortality. And with the realization that I’m definitely 83, mortality does come up as a topic of discussion.

I should back up a bit and mention that in the year 2000 I decided to sell all four of my hobby cars. I’d owned them for much too long, and I wasn’t learning anything new. So I sold all four—two Panteras, a 1951 Hudson Hornet sedan, and a 1967 Camaro convertible—and decided to buy interesting cars, one at a time. The plan was to keep each of my new acquisitions for six months, work on it, learn from it, and then sell it again. Whether I made or lost money wasn’t a huge concern and, as it’s happened, I’ve about broken even over the years.


This 2000 Porsche Boxster S, meant to be an engine donor, turned into a regular driver in need of a only a few joyful repairs.

I should mention, too, that I put the word “mechanic” in quotation marks up top for a reason. I’m not really a mechanic in any professional sense. I’m much too slow, and that’s usually intentional. I like to spread a job out, work on a car slowly, think about what I’m doing or should do, savor my successes and lament my failures. I do a lot of lamenting. But basically I’m in it for the fun, and it is a hobby that can give me a great deal of pleasure—has for decades.

So the cars I currently own are a 1964 Jaguar E-Type roadster (OTS), which I bought in 2003 and will drive to the old folks’ home; and a 2000 Porsche Boxster S that I bought several months ago for the engine. I wanted just the engine at that time, because a previous Boxster had developed a leaky head, and I’d been advised to replace the old engine rather than try to fix it. Thus this second Boxster.

But the second Boxster ran strong, and because I’d been quoted from $4500 to $9000 to swap engines (a job beyond my skills), I decided to sell the first car and keep this second one as my everyday driver. It did need some work—new front rotors and pads, rear control arms and drop links, oxygen sensor, hood and trunk struts, window regulator, brake light switch, two new horns, top cables—all of which I joyously installed, so I haven’t regretted keeping this car. It still needs tinkering from time to time, which suits me fine.

As for the E-Type, the radiator header tank rusted through from the inside after 55 years, and I recently replaced it with a new one. Also, something went wonky with the charging system. The voltage regulator tested okay, so I removed the generator, lightly sanded the commutator and armature, put in new brushes, and it now charges like a champ.


Kevlar sleeves and heavy gloves are no fun, but they’re a reasonable precaution against cuts and scrapes when you’re on blood thinners.

Although I currently feel better than okay, I have noticed that my post-diagnostic tinkering demands certain concessions. At 83, I have to be a lot more careful about how I work on cars. It used to be that I’d think nothing of skinning a knuckle or cutting a finger. Those sort of things didn’t bother me much. Now, though, with the blood thinner, I try to avoid cuts and bruises of any sort. I wear these awful Kevlar sleeves when I work, and I’m using a heavier grade of gloves.

JoAnne has loaded up my workbench with sterile pads, cotton swabs and adhesive tape, just in case. Plus I now always carry my cell phone when I work alone, which is most of the time.


Another admission of no longer being 18 is having to keep a first-aid kit at the ready in the garage.

I notice, too, that I’m not as physically strong as I used to be. At 18—when I really was 18—I could toss 100-pound bags of horse oats onto car fenders, no problem. Today, a 35-pound carton of books makes me grunt. I feel my lack of strength especially in my arms, hands and fingers, as when I’m pinching pliers or replacing a wheel.

My knees also remind me of my age. If I’m squatting or sitting on the floor, I now have to grab hold of something to help me stand up.

Nor are my eyes what they used to be. I’m much more dependent on drop cords and those wonderful little LED flashlights—the type that can shine down into hidden crevices.

And those 12-hour days don’t happen anymore. I can still put in that sort of time, but I really don’t have to so I don’t. It’s not so much a lack of stamina, but I like to take a little recreational nap after lunch. And my muscles remind me that, after some periods of physical labor, they’ll ache the next day. Or I’ll get cramps in my hands—another side effect of pushing too hard. The body lets a person know when too much is too much.

So the abrupt realization that I’m no longer 18…that working on cars at 83 demands certain concessions and a generous dose of humility…has shown me that the automobile and the human anatomy share an aging process. Both deteriorate with time. And while cars are usually restorable, people aren’t, but good maintenance and a pleasurable hobby help keep the body young, relatively speaking.

 

I live in a hundred year old house that is almost livable. I work 7 days a week on the house trying to get it to be a decent place to live. I discovered a long time ago that when one is not punching a clock he must treat his life as though he is punching a clock. I have not been practicing what I preach much this year but the gist of it is that you have got to plan days off and hours to be worked or you will work 24/7.

 

I was thinking of retiring at 62, I,m 60 now. I can stay until 62 or leave now with nearly 2 years wages.Not the most difficult decision I ever made. Just waiting for the leaving date.

 

18 months. 18 long months before I can even think about retiring. 18 months before my semi truck pays off. Then there are a couple of credit cards I want to pay off. 18 months. If I could work every day, it would be no problem. But I can't. Freight sux right now. Nothing I can do about it. Just take it one day at a time. It always slows down this time of year, but this year it slowed down earlier than usual. Just about time you get the ends to meet, somebody moves the damn ends.

 

I'm just a bad attitude away from retiring, but the money comes in handy and the new garage isn't built yet. I have a feeling as soon as the paint dries my resignation will be submitted.

 

I retired 6mths ago when I turned 60 however health issues over the past few years have slowed me down considerably. Apart from that I'm determined to soldier on and get everything done that I'd planned on doing before retirement and health issues. As many have alluded to, one day at a time. I still need to live within my means and not be extravagant. My driver cars and builder car keep me focused however I need to downsize into a smaller house. I'm building a larger 3 car garage at my son's to store my cars and tools etc as the current house is way too large and garden, as much as I enjoy it, requires too much maintenance.

 

I'm 68 and been retired 3 years. I highly advise it if you can. You can choose what you do, when you want to do it. Hell today I didn't take a nap I pulled a all dayer.

 

I retired in 2015. Sold the house up north and moved south to much better weather. Got a small part time job. And having the best time.jmho. Snowman

 

I retired 7 years ago ,at 61, on a planned retirement from a job I had for 33 years. It was “who I was”, and I miss it! If I had a choice when I retired I would have stayed! But if I could go back, now, I wouldn’t.
I have everything paid paid for and my retirement is a little more than what I was making working. Turned down a part time job that paid $25 an hour, because I felt like I don’t have enough time to do things , now. Probably should have taken it.... might need a little structure in my life.lol
It sounds good, but my wife didn’t make it to enjoy it with me. My biggest problem now is lack of motivation! I’m remarried, but the old drive has driven off! I used to work or “ do stuff” all the time. We travel a lot,now, which is fun , but expensive. I’ve got several projects, but never seem to have time to do anything on them. Gunsmoke , Bonanza, Rifleman seem to get in the way! Lol I sleep late, goof off, hang out at our local drinking hole. But these things are my choice.
We don’t baby sit nor do we let people talk us into helping them......much. Luckily, none of our family members need any help.
When people ask me what I’m doing now that I’m retired, I say “ nothing” and they tell me that’s what I’m supposed to do when you retire! But.... it doesn’t feel right! I spend a lot of time on the internet, like now, and I think that kinda gives me my “car fix” and then I don’t have that need to work on them.......maybe.lol
Yesterday, I find out I’ve got a heart condition!! So maybe I wasn’t just lazy! I can blame it now on my heart condition! Lol That’s my retirement story.








Bones

 

I have a friend who know fights COPD he has all the will to get it done but runs out of steam within minutes

 

I retired 12 months ago when 61 y.o. Didn't have much in the super fund (pension fund) but I sold my classic Holden ute and panelvan for good money. I also sold my '39Chev pick up project to be able to pay off debts owing and pulled the pin. Best thing ever.
I still drag race as often as possible with my avatar and the best bit, NO ALARM CLOCK. I realised I'd been getting up to an alarm clock from the age of 14 years and 10 months and couldn't do it anymore. I still wake early but I can roll over and doze off again without feeling guilty. Plus 40 years of driving trucks, hand loading and unloading, had literally ground me down.

 

Retired at 57, Teamster for 30 years driving dump trucks. 65 now and keep busy with lots of things. Work on the hot rod is my main hobby, restored a pontoon boat a couple years ago to enjoy with Grandkids. Last year restored a camper for my cherry 85 GMC and we have started traveling. I'm loving retirement and highly recommend it as soon as you are able to, no second chances.

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I'm 75 been retired for 11 yrs, and today I wonder how I ever found time to go to work with all the shit I have to do to take care of the house and 5 acres of trees I live on. BUT I still find a little time for my cars.

 

Retirement is great. Only thing I miss is looking forward to holidays, vacations, and Saturday’s off.


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I retired at 62 and drew my Social Obscurity. I would have preferred to work a little longer but I was a lithographer and computers pretty much shot that down in flames. For a couple more years I did a little part-time work for the school district just to get the same health benefits as the teachers. Quit that when I was old enough to get Medicare at 65.
I promised myself that I would sleep late every day once I was retired. I kept that promise and don't get up 'til 8:00 in the morning just to feed the pups. I have a list of things to do that would keep me busy every day and I do a couple of them every week. The rest of them can wait 'til I get around to it. What are they going to do, fire me?
Every once in a while I have a beer with my lunch, or with a snack if I want, and feel like a new man. A couple of times the "new man" has had a beer, too. I have forgotten what Rush Hour is. I'm not sure but it might be the opposite of Happy Hour. On Mondays, I walk the quarter-mile to the mailbox to get some exercise. On Tuesdays, it's too far to walk so I take the car. On Wednesdays, I skip getting the mail because it'll still be there on Thursday. On Fridays, I forget and think it might be Monday so I walk........ unless I think it's a Tuesday and I drive. Every day is a weekend and I know one of those days the Post Office doesn't deliver. When I do walk, I might meet a neighbor out in his yard and chat for a while. From there I may continue to the mailbox or I may walk back home. It's a coin toss.
I could go on about my day but I think I'll go out to the garage and work on the car. Or maybe not. What was your question?