Let's talk about Small Victories

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OCswinger

OCswinger

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I don't know about you guys and gals, but my favorite Forum on FABO is Member's Restorations. It not only shows me just how talented some of yall are, it inspires me to get off my butt and get back to work.

Which brings me to my topic. I have been working on my Duster for about 4 years now, and I would say I am pretty far along, but I am no where near the finish line. As I peruse the Member's Restro page, I get this guilty feeling like I haven't walked the dog in two weeks.

But, today I finally checked off a box on my To Do List. I installed a shifter and installed the trans cross member and new trans mount. I know it may not seem like much, but I am pretty stoked something got knocked off my list. What I am trying to say is keep chugging forward , small progress is still progress.
 
Progress is good. Everything of mine is at a standstill again, including the new garage (waiting on permits and plans). The Barracuda is at a buddy's shop to get the trunk drops and quarter patches done and he's been feeling like crap for two months or more...
 
All the little things add up. It's gotta be done, so the small victories are just as important as the big ones.
 
When I was restoring my 69 Fastback, and was in the post paint reassembly phase, I brainstormed and made up the most complete list I could of everything that needed to be done. Then I broke things down as much as possible into a lot of smaller tasks. I assigned the best guess of a completion time to each task. Then I loaded it into a spreadsheet. There were over a hundred lines. When I had 2-3 hours to spend, I would look for a task with a 2-3 hour estimate. Then I would mark that task off by placing a color in that row. It made me feel like I was constantly accomplishing something. I liked it, and you might too.
 
When I was neck deep in my Satellite, I would sometimes go to the shop with either a "work for an hour and get done whatever gets done" or a "complete one specific task" hard agenda (no just standing and looking).

It absolutely does add up.

Also, sometimes "cleaning off the work bench" is an acceptable accomplishment that is directly related to the project.
 
I'll have 3 weeks into kickdown brackets by the time I'm done.

20210615_193312.jpg
 
While this is not a resto for me, it is a project that I just want to look good. A multi colored surface, rust being one of the colors, is not what I want the car to look like rolling down the track for this drag car build I am embarking on.

I like the question of “How do you eat an elephant?”
“A little here, a little there.” As 318WR said.
“One piece at a time.” As Gemini motors said.
:rofl:
This took a while to do since it is outside, primer and paint can not be done quickly. A cool low humidity day with very low winds is what you wait for. I do t want my neighbor to be sporting a drop of my colors on his cars.
Sooooo much nicer then under the hood!
DFA0BD7D-5EEA-4F34-B2BF-6F73C8773C93.jpeg
 
There's things on my car I don't remember doing...ever work on a car in the dark? that's when you know you are getting good :)
 
Just other day, I rebuilt my engine, trans, and rear end. and installed my new interior, and mounted my 4 new tires...then I woke up from that dream! Oh well!
 
rumblefish360 said:
While this is not a resto for me, it is a project that I just want to look good. A multi colored surface, rust being one of the colors, is not what I want the car to look like rolling down the track for this drag car build I am embarking on.

I like the question of “How do you eat an elephant?”
“A little here, a little there.” As 318WR said.
“One piece at a time.” As Gemini motors said.
:rofl:
This took a while to do since it is outside, primer and paint can not be done quickly. A cool low humidity day with very low winds is what you wait for. I do t want my neighbor to be sporting a drop of my colors on his cars.
Sooooo much nicer then under the hood!
View attachment 1715752566
Click to expand...
Funny I shot 2K primer in the yard on Monday..the neighbor was like "lemme move the wifes car" I was like "don worry bout it..there wont be that much overspray..." funny thing is hed do it in a heartbeat and not say anything to me at least i said something...but yeah body work in the home garage yoou hav eto wai tfor perfect conditions to spray anyway...
 
At my age and some physical challenges that I have right now (as well as time), you have to learn to pace yourself.
You need to look at the car's progress as a positive one even if you wipe the dash off.
20 small things add up to 2 big things, and then the project is well on it's way.
Done?
A car is never ''done'' in my book, but satisfactory for now is a good thing.
And the rest will come in time, as it always does.......
 
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Yeah I was looking at my car "in primer" after Monaday's paint gun fun and thought "I ought a run it in gray primer..." :)

working a paint gun is work you don't realize it till you are doing it. I had the "thirst for beer" afterward :0
 
Dartswinger70 said:
Yeah I was looking at my car "in primer" after Monaday's paint gun fun and thought "I ought a run it in gray primer..." :)

working a paint gun is work you don't realize it till you are doing it. I had the "thirst for beer" afterward :0
Click to expand...
You could call the Car Prime Time. :)
 
Y'all have tapped into my world for sure. Yesterday I spent a ton of time trying to get the power steering hoses out of the gear box. They are majorly stuck, and that's with soaking multiple times with Kroil and PB Blaster. I finally gave up and greased the new U-joints and finished changing the rear end fluid. Not much progress, but I have to keep telling myself those are two more small things done.
 
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