Hot Rods just stare at it

I'm in the "take 1 step forward.. then 6 steps back" stage.. (fabricating errors..) and staring at it is just frustrating. So I avoid it... Planning takes place in my head.. and When my wallet can keep up with my planning.. I might actually do something about it. Otherwise, it will continut to gather dust.

 

I'm as guilty as the next guy for starin' at it, hoping it will build itself! But seriously, sometimes I reach a roadblock and don't quite know what to do next, so I put the tools away, grab about 3 or 20 beers, set my ass in a lawnchair and just look at the thing for a while. Eventually it will tell me what I need to do next!

Pluck

 

As soon as I start sitting and staring the vehicle is for sale. If I'm not motivated enough to do the little things that require no money then I have lost interest.I've started dozens of project cars and finished 4.

 

You should be able to build a traditional hot rod for less than 2k with paint, so no excuses, a really small pay check (700 or so) should get you enough parts for a roller model a with hyd brakes, you just have to chase leads and bargins, the stuff is out there. I have more $ in my cars, i'm building but that's because of the extras, and i get paid crap, and live in an expencive part of the country

Sometimes ya gotta decide on eating or hot rodding, and YES you can live on Top Ramen for weeks straight, especially after swap meets, or feed $10 of couch change into the U-scan machine at the grocery store

besides you can always cut and buff the underside of the fenders or polish engine internals

 

Yes, I found my 1930 Ford Roadster body in 1962, sold it around 1976, got it back 25 years later, just went down to the basement and looked at it again.

 

yes,i stare at pictures of my project,actually doing it now since i have a pic on my monitor to remind me i need to get working on it.its always either money no time or time no money,or just the fact that its not at my house but stored at a cousins place and when i do have time i just want to relax and not do anything after working my 40.but at least i have my project and im slowly collecting parts,making plans,getting info from the hamb and i have faith it will all come together after 13 years of it sitting.one big motivation has been watching all the guys/gals here on the hamb building theirs and that makes me feel i can do it too,,i hope

 

I bought some cool finned valve covers, set them on top (no gaskets, no bolts) and stared at for hours....

 

Yes ,But that is the best time you get ideas ,,Im going out in the garage now,The computer is starting to stare back at me,

 

Yea, i stare at it. But i'm usually drinkin. Then i do something i think is cool at the time, then hate what i did the next morning. Oh what a tangled web we weave!

 

Man, are we some sick fuckers or what?

I've built every aspect of several of my projects in my mind. Like many of you, my money is not available at this time (though I am working on that problem with the help of Mr. Dave Ramsey). So I tell myself to go do the cheap or no money required tasks but I lose motivation knowing that I can only get so far. If I'm gonna build something, I wanna stay on it and I can't right now. So I stare at cars, stare at pics of my cars, and live vicariously thru others by staring at pics of other cars here on the HAMB.

And, what bothers me is I'm not getting any younger and my projects are usually 3 years at least. If I don't pull another piece of junk in here, I'm still looking at least at 21 years of building.

 

'Staring at stuff' is a sickness and needs to be reckognised as such.
Some of my best inspiration has come from sitting in front of a project, on a padded stool for an hour or two with cold beer in hand. kids are asleep, wife is watching telly, the radio is playing , you are at one with the world in the shed and its late!!

 

That's why when you start a build thread here on the hamb you can go back and refresh your memory of what you have acomplished so far, or just stare at it. And some times that will get me motivated to just go do anything that will show progress again...John

 

Its good to know I'm not the only one. I'm on my first project and have found myself sitting in it or in a lawn chair just staring at it many times. Sometimes it just feels good to grab a cold one and sit and think about what you've accomplished so far.

 

Oops! Looks like I've been lying to my students-I use this as an example of my adult ADD. Now I'll tell ya'll what I tell them in order to help them to motivate themselves. When I catch myself in that position I (sometimes) try to find some task that I can complete in a fairly short amount of time, regardless of how insignificant it might be. When that task is completed hopefully I'm on a roll-or not!

 

Since I got laid off, I found myself spending too much time just starin cuz I could not buy anything....so I just stuffed it all into one building, now it is soo packed in there i hate to even go in it!!! Started working on other peoples rides to help with some income...if I can stay busy enough I might not even think about that stuff crammed in the barn!!!

 

This sums it up quite nicely.

 

Yep! Helps me unwind and forget about all the bullshit, plus I can formulate my next move. While everyone else is watching the T.V.s I'm daydreamin'....

 

I can only stare so long. It seems like there is always something you can do as long as you have gas in the tanks and electricity.

 

yup

 

Since I've been laid off,have no extra money and nothing I have is selling all I can do is stare at my merc.

 

I built this rad chair out of a giant coil spring and a tractor seat, when I need to think I sit in it and wobble around the shop. I also take pictures of the car I'm working on and look at them off and on during the day . I find that lookin at the car away from the shop even in photo form you see things a little better. I also kick back sometimes and watch a slideshow of my photos on the big screen tv.

 

Hours? no.

That reminds me; I have a friend that
never finishes projects. One day he was
over and I was having a hard time with
a pulley not coming off. My friend then
says "Whenever I get frustrated I go in
the house and watch a movie". A movie!
Fuck, take up smokin'. 5 minutes for a
cigarette is acceptable, but a movie???

I guess it depends on how motivated you really are.

 

Sit and stare? no, there's no room in the garage. I'll walk past 2,3,4 times a day just taking care of life, always thinking about it. I needed tires recently. It took me 6 months to sell enough parts to buy them, then I got the stupid idea to paint the wheels while the tires are off. Now it's been on jackstands for 3 weeks, no time to blast and paint. Was going to do this weekend, but, hey guess what? Something else came up. Still on my mind though. It will get done when there's time.

Devin

 

Yes I do. I sit there and think of how I can make more work for myself, an how I can dig a deeper hole. I wonder how many pounds of substrate I've ingested. I sit there and think about how sweet it will look when I'm done. Probably spend a quarter of my work time just staring at it.

 

I do work 10-12 hours, on a graveyard shift.
I think about cars the whole shift. When I get up
at noon I hustle till I have to be at work. No time
for me to stare,,,,, except after paint. I will sit and
watch fresh paint dry. I think I am protecting it more
than anything though.

 

haha...yeah...damn car ...sometimes i wish it would talk back too...

 

Now I can't stop staring at the winters quick change catolog and the moon catolog I whish I could just get the shit I need so I can do somthing to this damm 32. I feel like I am just I am just a peice of dust or a stale cookie left over fro x-mas. I guess I will just go out in the model a and do some burn outs. that will make me feel better.

 

We should all get together and stare at shit. that would be cool.

 

Hot Damn, I love that pic. That is so cool. I would stare at that all day, too.. if I could.

 

I sit there. I stare. I furrough my brow. I think,then I think some more. It keeps me up at night. It's worse than being in love.