Have your feelings changed about enjoying the build vs the driving more?!?

I've had my '51 Ford off the road for 2 years or so for work, and I just got it driveable again.

I used to miss driving, but now I'm not even sure how much I care about driving it.

What I really *DO* enjoy is planning out what I'm going to do next and overcoming the challenges of having too much ambition and too little skill!

I used to never understand why guys would build a car and not drive it all the time, or build it and sell it, but now I think I sorta get it.

I'm kinda looking forward to finishing this one and selling it, so I can move on to the next one.

How about you, have your feelings about driving vs building changed over time?

maybe I'm just getting old LOL

 

I wish I had the bux to build them and keep them but it always seems like something forces a sale.
There is something very cool about daydreaming about the next project and starting in on it and eventually completing it...but ultimately I wanna drive

 

no, I really love the driving it part. Now I come out in the garage and usually choose to take a ride versus sitting and fiddling with it.

 

by the time i get to start driving one project, i need to sell to finish another. so im always doing both

 

Hell no, drive, drive, drive!

 

I want an old daily driver... so that's what I'm building. I already have plans for what I want to build next, but I cannot wait to drive my truck! EVERYDAY!

 

I enjoy driving my Shoebox and going to shows and all that. I must always have a project at all times. Before ones done I've got the other planned in my head. I hate to be bored and have nothing to work on. I do enjoy the build.

 

All I have done is work work work on mine, Im ready to have some fun. When it does hit the road, I may be gone for a month.

 

I have been building for over a couple years. I have never had the car on the road. I am waaaaaaay over the build. I WANT TO DRIVE!

 

For me, it's all about the drive. Can't wait to be done building....

 

It's been driveable for 2 years now, and I'm ready to start the body work and paint and interior... but my wallet hasn't fully recovered from the "getting it driving" phase yet.

 

I enjoyed my car the most back when it was just a pile of parts in the garage and I could go out and mess with it whenever I wanted, as much or as little as I felt like doing right then.
The very best thing was a cold day with the heater going and cutting up the body and moving things around, feeling the garage heat up from all the welding and grinding and dreaming of what it would look like when it finally rolled out of there.

Now that it is 'on the road' it is much harder to get motivated to work on it - even though there is still a ton to do - because doing so will take it out of action and create a mess that didn't exist before.

Back when it was a full-time mess, it didn't matter. I miss that.

 

I'm with Denise! when i get my car de-bugged & ready, I'm gonna drive to Everyones house!

 

i like both.but another build is allways in my head.my bird speed truck has over 23000 miles since 2007 on it. it is listed on [gasp]ebay now. all projects are fun for me.i have never kept any ride for long.

 

I like building cars more than driving the old cars.

 

Definitely the build for me.

 

As I get older...its all about the drive!

 

great thread, i was thinking the same thing, I used to rush through the build in a hurry to get the car on the road. I hated the build

In the past few years I build a car, drive it for a year then, sell it just so I can build another one.

 

id rather drive than build

 

I like driving, and keeping two old cars on the road is project enough for me. I've had the never-ending projects and enjoyed them but now I like to hit the road and see some scenery more than looking at the walls of my garage.

 

Winter: Build

Summer: Drive

Rich

 

I'm fortunate enough to have been able to hold on to my last five builds... I'm also fortunate to be able to drive them all down the race track.... BUT...if I had to make a choice of building them or driving them, I'd have to go with the building.... I really enjoy the build, it last a lot longer than the six seconds of the run! lol

 

Man, I thought this was figured out already!

Build one. Drive it. Begin building another and drive said finished vehicle in between!

 

I can relate to the original post. It seems like whenever I have free time (which is limited) and I decide to take the car out for a ride, I almost feel like I've wasted time on a weekend that I could have spent working on it and making changes.

It's always great to take the first few drives after swapping engines, building a rear end, etc, but after about the 3rd time out of the garage, I start to get the urge to take it out of commision for another project. I thought maybe I was the only one with that warped opinion! LOL

 

Finished? You mean car projects get finished?!?! I didn't think they were ever truly "done".

 

iam drivin to drive
"and the bowtie rolls on"

 

When there is nothing left to do to them, I kinda get bored with the car (or bike) and it's time to start planning the next build.
But I'm to the point that I think I'll keep the next couple of projects I finish, if they ever get finished.
Larry T

 

I enjoy the build. when its in the build stage, even if its a drivable project, its still a bucket of dreams. i spend hours upon hours thinking and planning. scouring magazines, catalogs and classifieds. i LOVE hustling deals and parts. its the pursuit that i enjoy. once my latest project was finished, i was already over it. i have zero interest in the car now. i'm ready to dump it and start over....

HOWEVER...
i've always had a drivable old car for when i get the itch... mostly just shows and showing off... but i still like driving them. i think next time i'm just going to buy something dead solid that i dont have to mess with and just drive it. like i did when i drove old cars because i had no choice.

i guess i've yet to find a car to fall in love with and enjoy driving for the sake of driving it. been close twice, but needless to say they are both gone.

 

yep Im a build guy.....Ill get one going and think Ill work on it as I drive it and then somehow ill find something I like more or have to have and the driver is gone for a car that needs lots a work to move on its on

 

I love doing both, I also have a hard time letting them go.