Customs Project creep, is it just me or does it happen to everyone?

So, I do this to myself every time. Ask any of my buddies. It starts out as a mild resto. I'll buy a driver and it needs a few things to make it a good driver. Then I stumble into the "well since I am here" issues. Before I know it, I have pulled the interior out, the wiring, the motor/tranny and rear end. Might as well change the brake shoes and the lines.....

Before long, I am 4 years into a "driver" project. And Lord forbid I stumble into a custom thread where someone has high end paint and lots of body mods....

I will be the coolest 96 year old custom guy around though.

 

Yep. It's really hard to know where to stop. That's why most projects never get finished for alot of folks. They get to deep and pockets and skills run out.

 

More times than I care to discuss. Some ended up down to the frame on jackstands.

 

Every. Single. Damn. Time!!

Every car I’ve owned started with a “ let’s get it running and make it safe....... then the “ might as wells” start and it becomes a big project

Hoping my Buick does not go down that road ..... or do I!!! Dammit !!

 

That’s why you don’t wait til it’s done to drive it. Then it’s not taking up space in the garage and if you need a project you work on upgrading it. Cheaper than a new project all over again I figure

 

I gave up. I just tell myself I'm doing a full restoration from the start. I just can't satisfy myself any other way.

 

I have to make myself refocus. Otherwise a decent driver turns into a frame up in a hurry.

 

Let us all know if that refocusing thing works. Lol

 

nope, I'm too cheap and lazy for that!

 

Guilty here as well. I'm way further into my Fury than I originally intended. However, being into the 4th year of the "rebuild" as it's not really a restoration in the traditional sense. I've come to find that this hobby is fueled by a creative passion, it's our art, so to speak. It's gotta be right or it ain't gonna be done! Thats integrity and I like that about hot rodding.

 

I think its the nature of the beast. The beast being us. You want the best car you can build and when you see something that isn't perfect you know you will eventually have to deal with it so why not now while you are observing it?
With these old cars/trucks, when you fix one thing, it puts pressure on the next weak link in the chain. I knew that when starting on my 56 Chevy so I just decided at the start to completely take it all apart and replace everything. It only took about 15 years at my slow pace......

 

Yep. Finished a LOT of cars for customers/friends, but my Chevy, I've been working on for almost 20 years!

 

Yep, you are preaching to the choir !

 

20 years into my avatar Buick. At least it's a driver now. With any luck I will get side windows in it this year.

 

Boy is that the truth. And it is always faster to disassemble them than get them back on the road.

 

I usually have to start with a complete piece of junk that needs everything to start with,(takes the mystery out) but I have been known to build a driver or two that would make someone else a reasonable project to start on

 

It sure seems like every project of mine suffers from "while I'm here I might as well...". I convince myself that I'll save time and money by taking care of those little extras that I find as I'm working on it- but I've accepted that I have a problem.... that's the first step, right?

 

I think that I enjoy the fiddle and faddel of dreaming about what cool custom tricks would set it a part , hunting down cool parts and the bolting together the bits and pieces when you can see it taking shape. I have a buddy that is the same way. The building of them gets the blood flowing. Finished feels like a loss.

 

Twelve years til a driver. Drove it 4 years until 96. Then it was time to blow it apart and, fix a few things and do the bodywork and paint. Mama wanted a 3 season room with basement and a porch on the back of the house. Hell, I've got the bobcat, might as well put a driveway back to the garage. Twenty four feet of fence so she doesn't have to see my stuff from the kitchen window and 36 ft. for the neighbors. House painting and new flooring. A 24x12 shed with attic storage. Sure thing mama. Two car carport, OK. Tree house for the grandson. Of course the 'while you're at its' bit me in the ass. Problem with stretched out projects, is your skill level rises and things you have previously done don't look so good now. Rear shock mounts and all it will need is body work, paint and a new interior.

 

The worst is when you buy a project to flip and then you fall in love with it, decide to dress it up a bit, then maybe paint it, and then go all out... I'm in the midst of this conundrum with my '57 F100... I've even had offers on it that would have tripled my money shortly after purchasing it (which was the original intent)… Yup, I'm an incurable dumbass.

Please don't take that out of context.

 

I don’t know about project creep, my project really only had one way to go.
In 2010 I started with this.

Then came this

Then after a whole lot of time and other stuff, I walk into the garage and this greets me.

 

I have to have something fun to drive. I've discovered that about every 5 years, I grow tired of what I'm driving, so I look for something else. Because I am already tired of the current ride, and because most of the time, I'm looking at a 5 year driving cycle, its much easier to fight off the "while I'm in here" beast.

Sometimes that comes back to bite you. My current coupe has been on the road for 6 years. I'm at a point there are some things that should be done, that may take it off the road for a couple seasons. I'm building a project truck that is suppose to replace the coupe for the time I will need to do the upgrades to it. The project truck has already been delayed for about a year, and right now its being delayed for a "quick" paint job because I didn't get to the paint before the weather got too cold. It may, or may not be ready for this upcoming season.

My concern is that project creep will be an issue when I finally get to the coupe. Being that this will be the first time I will be rebuilding a car that has already served us well for 6 years, and having a fresh replacement to drive, I'm concerned I might get really carried away. I never expected the coupe to be around anywhere near this long, but here it is, and I'm looking to repair it. This is pretty new territoriality for me. Gene

 

That’s what happens when you hit post before you’re ready

 

Yes but it adds to comic timing.

 

Yup, then I quit meth

 

I'm listening intently. Not gonna do it this time.
Not gonna do it, not gonna do it, not gonna do it!!!
My '53 Chrysler "build" is gonna stay real basic to start. Doesn't have to be perfect to be a driver...almost prefer it that way...less worry. I'll see about upgrading as time and money permit. But I am bound and determined to be driving it next season.

 

My mate once said why don’t you rebuild that motor before sticking it in you car?”
To that i say “this one runs better at the moment than the one you dismantled in you shed 3 years ago



Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

Heres the time lapse,

Heads might be bad, probably should just pull the motor
well its out, might as well freshen the whole thing up
trans is right there, Ill send it in
Nows a good time for paint, Ill save the interior
Paint looks good, old interior looks like crap
and so on and so on etc. LOL

 

I bought the Studebaker and knew it was a project, (thought maybe a frame off?) really knew it when I started disassembly and learning more about old Studebaker's, bought two Hawks for parts. Learned far more about welding body panels and floor than I ever thought I would. I'm retired..I have a reason to be alive tomorrow and something to do