NEW THREAD-Why we don't finish........
I bought my Bel 1 in central Cali in 1999 as a roller and had it shipped to the east coast. I had a vision of an A9990-style street/strip machine. I was a total novice and it sat for a year before I began to take it apart. I learned quickly though and the more I'd 'learn', the more I'd go work on it. I finally had every nut and bolt off of it a year or two later.
It got painted in the fall of '02 but then sat for 6+ years. Every time I'd go to work on it, I'd find that I needed something - a tool to do this or that, supplies, a new bolt, just on and on. It was driving me crazy. I spent more time painting stuff that no one would see like under-dash bracketry and such. All I wanted to do was burn rubber but I was so far from being finished that it got demoralizing.
Also working against me were several factors. Number one was the garage I had is over an hour away in CT at my dad's house. (I live in NYC and don't have a garage of my own and they're cost prohibitive to rent around here.) It's also very small, dark and cold. My tools, parts and supplies slowly encroached on the work space to where I couldn't even get around the car anymore. Just not a good situation to be productive.
I was also spending money and time looking for and buying parts but they were just accumulating all over the place. I had stuff stashed in two states! The early B's require a lot of unique stuff, which is never cheap either. Just not a good way to go about finishing something. The fun quotient was going way down.
Also, during this time, I met my wife and naturally spent a good amount of my time with her. The car was furthest from my mind at that point. I'd tell myself I was gonna go work on it and time would just slip away. It sat and sat for years without any progress and it was killing me.
After a lot of thought, I sold it early this year. I figure I lost a few bucks in the deal, but I did OK. I felt relieved when it was gone. I was so happy to see it all go, the guy who bought it took EVERYTHING, even the old 6 cyl. radiator that I took out of the car.
My next project will be one that does not require taking the whole thing apart to paint. I will pay more for it if I have to. I'll try to tackle smaller projects, like re-doing the engine bay or putting a rear end under the car as opposed to re-doing and entire car. Hopefully I will bne able to drive it during that time too, so I can enjoy it on some level.
Whew!
Greg
I bought my Bel 1 in central Cali in 1999 as a roller and had it shipped to the east coast. I had a vision of an A9990-style street/strip machine. I was a total novice and it sat for a year before I began to take it apart. I learned quickly though and the more I'd 'learn', the more I'd go work on it. I finally had every nut and bolt off of it a year or two later.
It got painted in the fall of '02 but then sat for 6+ years. Every time I'd go to work on it, I'd find that I needed something - a tool to do this or that, supplies, a new bolt, just on and on. It was driving me crazy. I spent more time painting stuff that no one would see like under-dash bracketry and such. All I wanted to do was burn rubber but I was so far from being finished that it got demoralizing.
Also working against me were several factors. Number one was the garage I had is over an hour away in CT at my dad's house. (I live in NYC and don't have a garage of my own and they're cost prohibitive to rent around here.) It's also very small, dark and cold. My tools, parts and supplies slowly encroached on the work space to where I couldn't even get around the car anymore. Just not a good situation to be productive.
I was also spending money and time looking for and buying parts but they were just accumulating all over the place. I had stuff stashed in two states! The early B's require a lot of unique stuff, which is never cheap either. Just not a good way to go about finishing something. The fun quotient was going way down.
Also, during this time, I met my wife and naturally spent a good amount of my time with her. The car was furthest from my mind at that point. I'd tell myself I was gonna go work on it and time would just slip away. It sat and sat for years without any progress and it was killing me.
After a lot of thought, I sold it early this year. I figure I lost a few bucks in the deal, but I did OK. I felt relieved when it was gone. I was so happy to see it all go, the guy who bought it took EVERYTHING, even the old 6 cyl. radiator that I took out of the car.
My next project will be one that does not require taking the whole thing apart to paint. I will pay more for it if I have to. I'll try to tackle smaller projects, like re-doing the engine bay or putting a rear end under the car as opposed to re-doing and entire car. Hopefully I will bne able to drive it during that time too, so I can enjoy it on some level.
Whew!
Greg
