Art & Inspiration What percentage of builds on the HAMB get finished?

Mine's taking up half of my garage, waiting on me to save up enough money for a chassis. I own the body, it's titled in my name, the engine is done. It's just playing the long game. I'm not a fabricator, so I have to hire some parts out and that takes time to make and save the $$$.

Devin

 

If I start it I will finish it, I don't bail on projects but I won't start on something unless I know I am invested.

 

Does it really matter?

 

When it runs, its done…..

 

I’ve let cars go that I was moving along on only cause the buyer came up with a price I couldn’t refuse. A lot of them were done but needed paint or interior and they wanted to go a different way than what I had in mind.

 

I read in Hot Rod magazine years ago, 80% are not finished by the original starter of the project. Life tends to get in the way time and money for most. It's a great hobby, it takes a huge commitment of money, years to obtain the necessary equipment, experience, reading here or anywhere does not make you a builder. I've learned from watching the car/hot rod TV shows you can do a complete build in 10-30 days, everything is easy peasy, So........ I'll start ordering parts today, line up a body shop, interior shop, a few buddies for help and I should be driving it just after the holidays, end of January for sure. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

 

I finished mine! Do a search for “The Varmit”

 

Nag.....Nag.....Nag!!...

 

My stuff never gets finished...always about 90% complete, always changing something. even if it is on the road.

 

I know a few older guys that have bough several cars through the years to hoard & keep to fix up some day & have gotten too old to do anything with them. It's sad to me too see this happening, them buying up good cars & let them sit outside & rot when someone else would take them & get them running & enjoy them. I have 2 street rods, a muscle car, a drag car, late model SS Camaro & 2 everyday beaters. All are finished completely except the car in my avatar. It's currently in line waiting on interior (2 cars in front of me) & after that it will be 100% done. The guy that is going to do the upholstery has a 1931 Model A coupe that he has had for several years. It is mostly complete & all original. Rusty but not rusted out. I made a deal with him on it this past Friday & will be purchasing it soon. I have my drag for sale & I am going to slow down after 42 years of hauling ass. I want to build a traditional hot rod out of the Model A coupe. I have been reading & lurking on here for years. I'm interested in souping up a Model A with a factory 4 cylinder. The car in my avatar was a complete rust bucket when I got it in 1992. I sure hope I don't fall into this not finished category but I'm only 57 & still working a pain in the ass job everyday. I know some day I won't be able to continue with my hobby. I enjoy working on them nearly as much as cruising & showing them. Thanks to everyone here on the Hamb for all the shared knowledge & threads about their builds & pictures. Hopefully some people will take heed to this & finish their cars or at least get them running so they can enjoy them. If not make them available to the future Hambers & hot rodders.

 

Finished? Are they ever really finished?

Once I get one to where I can drive it, I don't want to tear it apart again to paint it. Instead I'm thinking up what else I want to improve or change to my likings.

I don't have a build thread here because of some things that would be deemed off topic to the purists, mine falls somewhere in between a resto mod, a mild custom, or maybe even some would call it a street rod. I don't care what anybody calls it, as long as it suits me that's all that matters. I like lots of different things, that's what makes the world go round.

I do have a build thread of it on a couple of other boards that aren't as limited in their focus, one is a Ford board, other I'll not name because it offends so many folks, but just say anything from rusty to shiny goes. I'll show a few non offensive pics of it once and a while here, but for details you'll have to go to the other places.

While it might not be my dream car, it's close enough to enjoy. It's older than me, it's different than what everybody else has, and I like it. That's all that matters....

 

What's that saying, "The first 90 percent of the build takes 10 percent of the time and the last 10 percent takes the other 90 percent of the time." I think a lot of guys run out of steam after all the excitement of buying the car and then ordering up the parts from the catalog. The rest of the road to the finish line is filled with detours and disappointments that just need to be powered through if you want to complete the car. And I think paint and bodywork kill off a lot of dreams. It's a lot of grueling work if you do it yourself. The price of materials can be pretty shocking if you don't know about it at the beginning. Start shopping around to get that really beautiful paint job we dream about and when the $20k estimates start coming in, it's time to bail.

 

I think that applies to the money end of it too.

 

Majority never see the road again…scant few complete although some guys i know have spent 20 years to complete a build and one i know of is still dabbled with occasionally during 35 years,,,
I’ve done 2 frame offs start to finish..a third I completed the body and sold as medical event was going to delay progress for a year and I didnt want a albatross staring at me in the garage for that long.

 

Rockable Did you give up on farmer12 yet? My favorite one and I'm about to bale.

 

My priorities
1) stay employed, some level of career advancement so I can fund retirement and kids education.
2) spend time with my daughters and ensure they're raised well
3) keep wife reasonably happy, lotta honey do's there.
4) work on cars.

May not be everyone's priority, that's what's right for me.

As much as I like building, 1 in-process and 1 on-deck. I'm thinking I may need to buy a "done" car to have something to drive to honor the above priorities.

 

One thing you have to remember, many folks have other interests as well. My passions include cycling, skiing, black powder shooting as well as woodworking. I also have a 15 year old playing Legion baseball which is like a religion around here. When I finished my Touring I was working full time in the hot rod shop and putting in 5+ hours a night plus 16 to 24 hours every weekend on it. I did that for almost 18 months. These days, I have many other things I want to do with some of my time. TM and I will get the roadster built for the salt. My GMC is actually not far from going back together. But food and family are first on my list at the moment.

 

I just counted fourteen “projects” in my possession, five of which are friendly here, and two of the remainder that are licensed and driveable, or at least could be with no additional work. I haven’t added any in the last five years. Everything except the G20, F600, and a couple of 4x4s is stored inside, most in the heated shop.

One non friendly project needs the interior installed, which I have had in boxes for maybe ten years. It’s one of this summer’s projects.

I started actively working on my basket case 36 five window late last summer, but everything is on winter break until we return to Michigan in April. It really doesn’t bother me that I haven’t made measurable progress on the automotive projects since I took early retirement 13 years ago. I rebuilt a project house, and sold it last summer, so now I am starting on the hot rods.

In the interim, I realized that part of my enjoyment is just being around them, and accumulating parts and tools. I own them, rather than them owning me. Hopefully a couple will come up to driver condition in the next couple of years. Should be doable if my health holds up.

If not, I guess I will have bigger issues to deal with.

 

Is that a sedan delivery with a window on just one side ?

 

Only done three I posted here, but they all got finished. And I finished as many others for friends during the same time period.

 

No. I left it on my list just in case.. Eric has not checked in for a LONG time. He just vanished. He was SO close to finishing a beautiful build. I hope someone finishes it.

 

Just a lurker but IMHO the question is irrelevant. There is so much wisdom passed on by those who depart way too soon (BLUTO, RICHFOX, etc, etc) that it is the journey which is important and not the end result. IMHO.

 

Teacher's note seen more than once on my grade school report cards...
"Ricky has trouble finishing projects."
Or a variation...
"Ricky would get more done if he applied himself."

I'm working on it.

 

^^^^^ saw much of the same on my report cards! : )

 

And we wanna build hot rods.
Haha...

 

I think the only build tread I've done on here was my 48 Plymouth coupe. Over the last 10 years, many of the builds that were started when I was doing my coupe are now off topic and would get closed if they were updated. Unfinished, the build threads can still be read, updated they get deleted. I've been driving the coupe for 10 years and 70,000 miles+. Its finished.
The last two builds I've done will not be posted here, but one was drivable and sold, and the last one is drivable now, it may or may not get body work and paint.
Projects I've intended to build are 100% done, but a few were bought for parts or income. Those were 100% not finished, but were never intended to be finished.

How the rest are doing is none of my business.

 

Problem I have is, when the project is drive-able someone wants to buy it from me. I sell it, then start collecting parts again. So, now I have four not finished H.A.M.B. friendly projects, that I will never complete. I want to keep them , as long as I am still alive.

 

To note, just because a build thread doesn't get updated doesn't mean the car wasn't finished.

Mine is running so I consider it finished but still being worked on.

 

Yup, I bought a done car this time around for all those reasons. Built in the past when I was single and had nothing but time. Nowadays, I don't. I have a project chevelle ss at my pole barn. It looks great sitting under the lean-to all pulled apart. But it hasn't been touched, nor will it be, in a looooong time! And I don't care at all, as I roll past it in my shoebox....

Some day someone will get a cheap deal on it I'm sure. My wife will get rid of it when I die.

 

My screen shows a faint drivers side window opening framing the darkness of the unlighted garage space in the background.