I get offers of done cars, and projects further along than mine just beginning. That really makes me stop and think. What keeps you from abandoning the plan in your head of the perfect machine? I daydream of taking the possible trade to the next level and wonder if its my dream or finishing someone elses? What keeps you on track?
Personally, I have an example to look to, and not exactly a good one. A friend of mine jumps from one project to the next, and in the 10 or so years I have known him, he has gone through 10 to 15 cars and has never finished one. Every time I consider selling my project, I think about him.
if somebody walked up my driveway and said hey you want to trade for something i like better my current one would follow him home i did have an older guy offer me his half done no title modelA sedan for my shoebox i told him no unless he got a title but i also told him i would trade him for the unrestored one family owned 56 victoria he was driving he said no his family bought it new
Progress..doesn't matter how much, as long as I do something most every day, eventually it gets done. The "burn out" for many, seems to come from being overwhelmed by it all/in over their head.
A well known rodder in Houston once told me his "secret" to getting projects finished. A large calendar with big day boxes posted by the garage walk-in door. Make up a plan of building and stick to it. On each day which is available for work you write a project which can be completed that day in a reasonable time period. Break big jobs down into incremental steps which can be done in an evening. Weekends are for assembling the little jobs into the big jobs. Stick to the plan and before you know it you have a nice little 32 Ford roadster or 5W Coupe or another roadster waiting to make its first trip. I actually did the plan, made up the calendar, and followed the plan for a couple of months and was amazed at how much progress I was making... until some thing cooler and better and whatever broke my concentration and...well. That said, it works if you can just stick to it.
As an Old Chef once told me as we were getting ready to do a banquet for about a thousand people, "Plan your work and work your plan"
I often wonder the same, why continue to slave away on the car when I could take one that's a little more cherry and drive it but what brings me back around is the pride of accomplishment, in the end I'll be able to say I built it and deserve that credit. If someone else started it your not fully on the top and the faults it has soon become yours. It's easier to know its your sweat and blood in it.
My cars don't see the light of day until they are done. Then I don't consider selling the for a few years so I can enjoy them. It helps if you have a finished car to drive in the meantime. So I always have a driver.
Building something the way I want it, there is a satisfaction in that alone that gets multiplied exponentially when you eventually get to drive it. That and the fact that the quality of most of the 'completed' stuff I see is so crap I would tear it down and start over anyways.....
The desire to see the dream come to fruition keeps me on track. For me, the personal pride I have comes from makeing the "dream" a reality with my own hands. A car is just a car until you put your heart and soul into it, then it becomes your car.
Nothing. The answer is that simple. Nothing keeps me on track. I'm forever hitting little snags, and the little snags turn into bigger problems via the butterfly effect, and the next thing you know I've gone from working on the brakes to working on the transmission. I've tried making a plan and sticking to it, but that just does not happen. Yeah, I jump around a bit, usually out of availability of parts, waiting on parts, having to make parts from scratch, etc., but eventually it all comes together. My biggest setback to finishing a car is... finishing the car. I love the actual working on the car part so much that when it starts getting close to completion I don't really want to drive it. I want to keep working on it. So, I pick up another project and the car I was working on sits with just a few minor things left to make it road-worthy. Worst part is, I KNOW I'm doing it AS I'm doing it. Getting ready to do it again! Picked up an OT Galaxie, got it close to drive-able and picked a 53 Chevy. The 53 Chevy is almost ready to hit the open road, and now I'm looking at a 52 Chrysler. It's a sickness.
Wait a minute....do I know you? Are we friends? Cuz I'm that guy for sure. I'm the most excellent "taker aparter" and parts "a gatheriner" I know. I can design and plan out some (step by step no less) great hot rods. I just can't finish shit. On the bright side some of you guys, most of my friends and a bunch of co-workers have gotten some swinging deals at my expense. Will I ever learn?????? Probably not!
beer! when i get discouraged, dont have parts, arnt confident on a decision/direction, or just am not feeling it. I drink beer and look at it and make vroom noises. Or ill clean the shop or clean and paint parts. I generally am obsessed with my latest project and will barely take care of the life around me untill it is finished. Or i get sick of it because it wasnt the "dream" and push it aside untill its re purposed/scraped/sold. Its not that i want to do some things its that like i have to do it. So i really think its the beer.
It has taken years for me to finally get a picture of my '30 Roadster as a finished car. Now that I'm happy with what it could look like finishing the actual build isn't that big a deal. Motivation and money never exist at the same time, having a finished project isn't a real goal of mine right now. Bob
I have started and finished many projects.... I've always had a plan. End up with something cool. I'm always on the hunt for the next one.
I seem to get discouraged too easy. I just found out today that my 51 flathead needs to have a couple of cracks fixed and also be bored. That really increases the cost factor. New pistons, rings , also the crank needs ground. The motor is already 40 over, worn to 50 over and the crank 20 under. Lots of machine work and new parts. $$$$$$. I have a 350 sbc and 700r4 in the wings. The motor is rebuilt and the tranny is waiting to be.....which will cost much less than a flathead v8 rebuild. I was hoping to have a ford in a ford, but the sbc will be just fine. There, I feel better already. Tim
Any large project is just a bunch of small tasks put together. Do something every day no matter how small the accomplishment might be . The worse thing you can do is to stop working on the project because the longer you delay , the harder it is to get started again.
Im not sure if i will ever quite finish my project.. Funds is a big issue but my main motivation is having someone else there to bs with, even if they dont help at all. Im working towards getting it road worthy and stopping right before I finish building my hot rod motor for it so that I can drive it in the mean time. I like making something unique stand out about my truck as well and the curiosity of seeing others reactions when its all functioning together keeps me coming up with new ideas, which slows down the process and eventually makes it a never ending project.. I think i would sell it for the right price though. My dad has a graveyard full of project cars i got ideas for
Inline 6 300 buddy! I've got a special place in my heart for v8's but I like the idea of souping up a motor that was from the same era and make as well as being something that not many people are running. Plus with all the motor work i'v had done to mine I will be making more torque and horsepower than a 383 sbc with 2 less cylinders! Turbochargers make me happy ... It was a relatively cheap build as well and it shouldn't give me much trouble swapping out the small 223 6 for the big 300 since the blocks are almost the same dimensions
The Jalopy Journal
