Has Anybody Else Lost Interest In Their Projects?

I never seem to lose interest once I start a project, least not to the point of selling it. Sometimes they sit awhile is all. I do have problems buying new projects while already having one going and that's where it goes wrong. I lose interest in the new project before it even gets started and I sell it, tired of it taking up space. I'm getting better though, I'm learning that there will always be the sweet deal on a car on my wish list come up WHEN I'm ready for a new project. Been tough but I've been passing up a lot of good deals on projects lately.

 

Before I went back to work for the Feds and damn near killed myself one too many times, this was the method I used. Working two projects at a time kept me from loosing interest and often let me work more productively; prep for the same type of work (welding or priming for example) on both projects saves a lot of duplicate 'donkey' labor.

 

*Standing up and looking uncomfortable*

Ah-hum,..... Hi,... My name is Harms Way,.... and I'm a "Auto-holic"

 

i have , i think one of the reasons is i realize i will never have the time and money to finish and enjoy the stuff i have , so i need to concentrate on one project and stop buying more of them so i dont keep jumping around between them

 

I think there are a couple schools here. Those who buy a project that sits and never really touch it and end up selling it, and then those that work on and invest lots of time and money in a project that end up selling. The latter would be a lot harder.

 

I agree with you capatainjunk I got my car done only by making progress a bit here and a bit there and not quiting. Thank the Bank for Visa

 

I find that when I'm making progress, I spend more time on the car, but when I run into issues, i.e., 'that ain't gonna fit,' my only time with it is standing there trying to figure out what I can do.

 

you must know me. lol. I figure they are investments. a break up, death in family can really take the wind out of your sail on getting them done.
I like just tinkering often. getting one running thats been sitting in an afternoon and flipping it. you often need to do that to finance other projects

 

Ive owned a 32 pickup project for over ten years and I keep saying ,One day Ill build it ,Right now Im building a 29 roadster ,Truck is next,Im keeping to the 2 ,Even though my dad has offerd for free ,A citroen traction ,I just keep to one at a time, And not buying anymore cars till the truck is done,Even if its free

 

Sure, I've lost interest in projects, most times it came with a lack of money situiation, kids College Bills for one. I'm down to the "Keepers" now. I'll be 61 next month and may finish one, but really what is the point, having them is what gives me joy. The 1912 T has to come out of its 14 year nap for its 100th birthday. The Moon tank for the Lyndwood rail it still missing. I've had the 1930 Roadster since 1962 (sold it and got it back 25 years later), would like to see it on '32 rails, but most likely will never see it finished. I've got a collection of parts for two other projects. I've ridden in others finished cars, but don't see it as something in the future with mine.

 

I always have a couple projects waiting in line . Try to finish one at a time, although if I get held up on one, I may jump ahead to the next one in line. And it is fun finding all the parts needed in advance so once I get started, I am not held up looking for something I need (or have to pay "all the money" for it cause I needed it yesterday. And than I still have to keep up with the finished ones that still require regular maintenance. As a friend of mine tells me, "Idle hands are the devil's workshop?" No idle hands here.

 

Never really lost interest in any project except my 57 Chevy I had for 16 years and never finished it. Decided to sell it and start building a Model A coupe. Now working on a 30 sedan and 31 coupe. I agree with Old&Low on working on two projects, working on the sedan while planning the coupe. Keeps me interested in both projects. If I really get discouraged, I jump in my son's Model A and take it for a drive!

 

I wouldn't say I get burned out on a project because thats the one thing I can go into the shop and do and slip away from all the other things in life. Put on some Johnny Cash and Dale Watson, listen to the tunes and just enjoy you and your machine.

 

I lose interest in projects about once a week.....
Some I've sold off to finish others, others just sit around collecting dust and if that's not enough...I take on other peoples projects which steals my time from my own.....

Current project...


Cars I "should" be working on...




Projects I had every intention of building up nice....but failing to follow through.....regret selling.

 

When you've been into old cars all your life and have finally accumulated a few, its hard to let some go. But I agree, maybe its best to get rid of some of the projects we'll never finish and concentrate on the really good ones we want to finish and drive. I never really lost interest in any of my cars but have been overwhelmed at times.

 

I think I have realized that this car is not a keeper but its good to learn on. If I could stay off the classifieds and craigslist I would focus more instead of looking for the next one. I decided I will see this one through but I am trying not to dump a ton of money in a car I know I won't keep.

 

I guess what it all comes down to is that old cars can come back from a dirt nap, but can dead interest ever wake up? In the morning, its time to sell. But by evenings end, its time to keep. It can happen that fast.

 

its been sitting in my shop for nearly two years.i pulled it out of storage with full intentions to get on it.june i pulled the fuel tank,straightened it,cleaned and coated it,added a coat of paint,before reinstalling i wanted to pull the ? valance? and get it straight and primed.got hurt at work,lost my whole summer recovering.
i probably need 500-600 hours to make it look like something,time to get on it or push it outside.
one earlier project was 200 hours and i managed it over one winter,so i just gotta muster up some gumption and tell everyone that wants my time to piss off.

onward and upwards.
i blame it on the guy that invented procrastination...

 

Can't get going on the Model A pickup sense the wife passed away in July 2009. I got a closed cab '30 body and got rid of the fiberglass body,but still couldn't get going on it. Every time I went to work on it I'd think how Janet would never ride in it and I'd go back in the house. So I'm selling it so it gets a good home and gets finished,all the parts are there to finish it and have a nice car/truck. It's in the classifieds and I hope it gets a good home.
But I am already planing my new project so I don't go nuts. This time it's back to Drag Racing,I miss my old rail. So I am going to build a rear engined HAMB Rail like the Barn Job only mine will be powered by a 1948 Ford Flathead V-8. I'm going to build it to be NHRA legal and to also meet the HAMP rules. That way I can run it anytime I want and have some safe fun.

 

I seem to get mine running and driving, drive them a few times and have to tear them back apart to build a different engine, do some body work, or change it up somehow. I've had my 65 just over a year, built a 302 last summer, drove it a little, got offered an o/t daily driver truck that could use that engine, so out it will come and I'm getting a 460 with the o/t truck that will go in its place.

I seem to have Front Engine Dragster on the brain lately and am seriously considering selling parts and pieces of other projects I started gathering to get started on the FED .

 

All too often when a project sits too long or becomes boring, the project was too ambitious to begin with.

Sometimes an "easy build" is what it takes to get the spark back.

Way too often I've seen folks trying to do a project above their skill, monetary, or patience level, remain undone.

 

i think age and your health play a big part in what you do with your project. In my younger days i did anything and everything. now, with knees that don't like to bend, a back that screams 'foul' if it gets bent over too long and just the act of getting up off the floor requires, at the very least, a chain fall, i find my interest waining. i'll pass on anything that requires the 'bullwork' of floor/trunk rust repair, or the trabillion hours of sanding and grinding. cars i had in the old days that i couldn't live without, i've found i can now. if i have to fold in half to get in a car, it ain't happening. if my knees are touching my ears, it gets a pass too.
sometimes location plays a big part too. when you live in the middle of nowhere, and parts are non-existant, or get delivered by the little brown truck, interest seems to wain also.
plus as you get older, you get a little spoiled. my o/t daily does everything i require of it, plus it doesn't require me to fold up like a road map to drive it. i know it's not 'traditional', but it is the truth.
at this stage in my life, i will only build from the ground up, and i make sure it's going to be driven by someone other than me.

 

In some way the HAMB has killed interest in working on my projects, following many of the builds is just a good as building your own. It does bother me that some guys have lost interest in their HAMB builds...............how is the Hellonwheels '36 3Window these days?

 

1 old driver, 1 project.

It's flawlessly simple!

(although I would also add "1 motorcycle in the house")

 

I won't say I "lost" interest in mine, but shifted interest. With a few off topic projects my interest shifts quite often. Since the '40 Ford is a full on build, progress is very slow on it. I am however always on the look out for parts, etc... for it. With the abundance of SoCal swapmeets I always tend to find a part I want/need here or there. This is also a project where I am trying to learn a few skills like metal body work, welding and the like. I am staying, let's call it "patient" on this project.

 

Only lose interest if i don't have the money to spend on it or want another car. I always have to sell a car to move on, i don't have alot of money and it always seems nice cars i want come up when i'm into a current project. That can make me lose interest so i've stopped looking at the sales sections and tempting myself.
What normally gets me going again , if i'm not feeling the urge to be working on a project, is i go into tidy-up mode and blitz the garage with a top to bottom clean and sort out. This means taking the covers off the car and rolling it outside. Normally by the time i've cleaned up and got a mint garage, seeing the car outside, looking half cool, all is good again. I'll grab a beer and just look at the car for an hour or so, thinking/dreaming of how it will look. Next thing you know and we're back in love, plans drawn up on the wall, nice tidy place to work in and i'm happy again!

 

I have sold off all the the three, My 54F100 custom ( which I will sell when the Falcon is done ) my 62 Falcon, and the rest of my life metal working project the 28 Chevy 2 door sedan project.
I have a plan and I have been good about sticking to it. Work and finish the 54, buy parts I need for the Falcon, and only buy great deal for the 28 Chevy..

 

Yup there all for sale Cheep!

 

I've had my '29 AA for 37 years, never running, and have lost interest for sometimes up to a decade at a time. It's not losing interest that's slowed me, though. It is the brutal economy, which eats away from all directions and leaves me no money to do even the simplest things over the last five years. I still want to get this on the road, especially now that I'm a couple of years away from retirement, but don't see a way to finance it.

 

I have a couple projects one being a 1952 Dodge 1 ton truck that I started about 10 yrs ago with intention of completing. Its has been now 8 yrs since anything has been done to it since my health and money has become a issue for me. I would like to sell this to someone who can complete this since I know I will never be able to.


Jen