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I seem to have a problem finishing projects. When I get towards the end of a project something else seems more fun to start. I like the frame/suspension work & manage to do the chopping etc, but due not finish the project.
I have a 66 Silver Shadow & a 48 Chevy pick-up sitting in one of my garages. Both turned out great, but I am now off & running to another project before finishing those.
Anyone else have that problem?
Don
I have a few unfinished projects.....
smaller project for me... started rewiring my firebird last weekend but injured my thumb skiing last week (darn near tore it off :eek: ). was hoping to have that project finished this past weekend but the work goes much slower with one hand out of commision (dominant right hand, of course). Made some decent headway though and should have it finished next week.
good luck keeping motivated...
-Chris
I either get too many projects going and don't have the time or money to finish them up, or like you, get going on a new project and leave the old one sitting...
My '71 Ford pickup is the prime example. I've had it for 17 years and always used it as a fill in project when things were slow. Well, things never seem to get slow enough to get it done..... But I'm going to get it done by spring!!!! Then probably drive it around for a weekend or two and sell it.... Need the money for other projects such as the 'maro, Ranchero, Torino, or one of the Mercs.....
I suppose if Uncle Bob sees this, we'll all be accused of procrastination or ADD!!!!!:LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
I'll get to it................:whacked: :LOL:
[QUOTE=Dave Severson]
I suppose if Uncle Bob sees this, we'll all be accused of procrastination
Dave,
Here's a shirt for ya:LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
That would be me
!!!
You got me pegged. I trashed my left arm in Oct 06 and am still sulking over it. I can work on the car. But now I seem to have a brain lock. But I know one of these days it will come in a fury I hope. :whacked:
Kitz
Yup, I got 2 unfinished projects, getting rid of 1 of them, funding the other.. Selling the Falcon for whatever I can get out of it, and putting that into finishing the '51 Chevy... After all the problems w/ the Falcon, I'm just burnt out on it.
Whenever I start a project, I'm really high on it, and fascinated by what I'm doing. By the end of it, things get pretty ugly. However, I think of what my great old dad, (long dead now) had to say about people who never finished things. He reaches out from the grave, and still directs a lot of the things I do in this life. When I was a kid, I did whatever I could to avoid the derision I heard him heap on "quiters". Funny isn't it. I'll be 62 in a few months, and I still conduct my life based on the things my dad thought a man should do.
3rd winter and 3 cars gone through, with kids 8 and 12, full time job and then some, redid the kitchen, also a bathroom. 44 years old and I feel like I will never find the time if I wait to get around to completing a project. So I work till I cant no more from being tired or the wifes patience is running out. (she is already more patient than I deserve)
Look on the bright side, you can't die while you have unfinished projects.
(That IS the rule isn't it?):LOL:
I stripped the paint off of my '59 Corvette in 1971. Did the body work a year later and then......................................................... What year is this?
I have been making slow but steady progress on the stepside. I'm determined to drive it this year so I can get the Vette going next winter.
Well, if it is, guess I'll be around forever!!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter
I got SUCH a case of the fukkits this weekend that all I did was play warcraft on the internet.
Work doesn't scare me. I can lie down and fall asleep right beside it. Since I retired, I have never been so busy. Don't know how I had time for the payroll job. Take one item off the list, and two more appear. I go play with the coupe while I ponder which honey-do to do next.
I am seeing the way to eternal life......
I think those peaks and valleys hit all of us during a build. For me I get real excited about the prospects of a new car coming together, I love mocking it up. Propping up the body, engine, tires and stuff into something that resembles a car, while sitting back in a chair thinking about it is lots of fun. I don't even mind the mundane chores of building the suspension and engine mounts. But when I get down to the short strokes, like wiring, painting, etc. I sort of run out of steam.
I think the money thing enters into that somewhat too. Don's car went together in 88 days because he stepped up the the plate and bought pretty much every little part needed before we ever began. All we had to do was walk over to the stack and pick out the next part we needed to install. I have never had that luxury, so I have to save up to buy some of the bigger parts, and during that waiting period I sort of lose interest.
We have to remember though that this is a hobby, a diversion from our daily lives, and when it starts to become like work it is time to take a little break, step back, and not return to it again until we become interested once more. I guess that is why some builds take one year and some take 20 years. :)
Don
I think motivation and money are the factors that drive any project.In my case I had the ability to build another car (after 40+ yrs) but because of the lack of motivation and my wife not really having a love for cars after me spending money building a 32 in our young marriage instead of buying furniture,etc. I just buried the Idea of building another car.When bordom set in after retirement,my wife made a suggestion (to my amazement) why don't you build another car.The rest is history,the car is finished and I am enjoying the fruits of my labor. Very few times did I get frustrated and definitely not wanting to Quit.People say are you going to sell it and build another car,not at the moment. Motivation,Motivation,Motivation, (MONEY)
aint touched it since it blew up may 07 :( got the motor done and back just need an intake for it now and for it to warm up so i can paint the motor and set in and break it in.
In a way I am glad to learn about this situation by others. I used a year (not wasted) on a book because that was a project I wanted to do and it will be out on May1, 2008 and I am gaining on finishing my computer project for this Winter's work, but when it warms up I have to get back to the roadster and bite the bullet on wiring the beast! Last Fall I did help build a Game/Guest room in our attic and I have built two small boats and brought a '73 MG midget from a hulk with a tree growing in the middle to a 95% restoration so I just have to get in the garage and finish that '29. This message is mainly to psyche myself up to get busy on the roadster and I will work teaching this summer again to pay for a top so that a large part of the expense of the roadster has been paid for over the last four years of Summer work. It helps me to psyche myself up! Yeeha!
Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder
Quote:
Originally Posted by Don Meyer
Me and you both, Don.... Think I'll go get a couple more projects this weekend, 2 more should be good for another 10 years at least!!!!:LOL:
"... I think of what my great old dad, (long dead now) had to say about people who never finished things... Funny isn't it... I still conduct my life based on the things my dad thought a man should do."
There's a famous quote, but I can't remember who said it: "When I was a young man, I thought my father was the dumbest man on Earth... The older I get, the smarter he was!"
My dad died in 1970 at the age of 56. I never ever thought he was dumb, but we did have some drastic differences of opinion at times. The older I get, the more frequently I catch myself agreeing with the things he said and did. Sometimes I say things to my own son and I catch myself thinking "Damn! I have become my father!":HMMM: :rolleyes:
As for projects, I used to drift from one thing to another and never finished much.:whacked: Finally, I just made up my mind that I could not start anything new until the previous project was finished or sold. I allow myself to collect parts and materials for the next, but no work can commence until the current one is done. What this does is it keeps me hustling to get things done so I can see my next "brainchild" come into existence. I have 3 different ideas floating in my head right now; parts and money will decide for me which one I will build. Meantime, I'm pushing to get the roadster done so I can start on the next one... whatever it is...:D
Quote:
Originally Posted by J. Robinson
I used to have to do that same thing when I had a big shop and bills to pay...... then it was a job.... Now that it's all mostly for the challenge of doing it I cosider jumping from project to project as a means of allowing my creativity to choose it's own course..... Even though some confuse this with ADD....:LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
The main reason I should never be allowed to have a bigger shop is that I would just have that many more projects going on!!!!! Sometimes I just can't help myself....:whacked: :whacked:
Heck, I sell most of my projects before they're ever finished anyway.... All it takes is a guy with a big enough check book to convince me he likes the car more then I do and it's gone!!!!!!!
Finances and weather drive my enthusiasm. I hate working in the cold or wet weather, and this year has been a doosey! Then there's the 1858 house I live in that demands my attention(all wood) and work projects, etc...But summer shows are a good motivator!:D
Yep. That, too, is a limiting factor. I just have a two-car garage. There's just enough room for my current ride and the one I'm working on. If I start anything else, something has to sit outside...:rolleyes: :3dSMILE:Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Severson
Space or the lack of it is the great limiter in our hobby. Does that mean that I may not live forever - na........I'll find space somewhere!
Don
Well, whatever ya do Don.....Don't go in with a couple others and buy a warehouse......:LOL: :LOL: :LOL: Talk about job security....:LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by Don Meyer
An hour a day,even if it's tinkering, it will get done. now I have a friend that never finishes squat. He'll draw the heck out of it with differant colors, go through catalogs, make lists, he mind drives long before completion and that's a project killer. People ask me what color or kind of interior and what wheels, I don't know yet, for me to finish, it has to go systematicly, then stare awhile, next step, stare etc...Anybody notice all the 75% complete rods for sale lately, it's sad with the economy....
My dad has a 4900 sq ft shop and it is packed to the rafters. I usually roll my 48 out in the driveway to work on it. :whacked:Quote:
Originally Posted by Don Meyer