anybody on here ever feel overwhelmed with their project

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moparmat2000

moparmat2000

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Not looking to have my car in a left for dead forum, however sometimes it feels like its never gonna get done. Family obligations, bills that come with family obligations, leaves precious little time or money to work on it. Sometimes if im out in the shop i say to myself, this thing aint never gonna get done, i dont want to be 65 and just starting on it again. I got way to much in it to throw the towel in.

My wife says go out there and work on it, for some reason my hearts not in it. Dunno if its depression or not. I can go and piddle around in the shop and waste a day, or i can waste it sleeping on the sofa, or go to work, and my family will try to find some new way to spend my hard earned cash.

I dont think i bit off more than i could chew. I used to do restorations this in depth years ago as a single guy. It would b nice if there was a fellow mopar maniac in my neck of the woods to help boost my morale, help me keep going.

Oh well
 
Sometimes I get like that with mine too. Especially during the winter. Gotta just keep pecking away at it.
 
Least you didnt buy a "ready" to go Dart to drve it 15 mins and engine starts knockin and hasnt been runnin or drivin in over 4 1/2 yrs now. Although I could part it for more than I have in it
Also helps to get another everyonce in awhile and play with it instead
 
I,ve been in the same boat before with building one of my cars.I find it easier to make a list of "things to do" then I can work on a single area til it,s done then move to the next part of the list.Having many things to do on a car gets overwhelming sometimes,but if you pick away at bits it will all get done quicker.Maybe thats just me,but maybe worth a try for you.Good luck.
 
I have and I do.. Specially closer to summer it gets knowing I might not have it on the road. Means another year of not cruisin. But do like scott says make you a plan of action.
 
Llike eating an elephant...........one bite at a time. When I see articles that say "it took 12 years to finish" or something like that I can relate.
 
I have been there for the last 6 years my cuda has had to take a back seat to my sons cars, i always picked one thing to accomplish when i finished it i moved on,having too many things going on at once makes it hard to see improvement,our latest project is leaving tomorrow after 2 years [sold it by accident kinda,last saturday] now that it's gone i'm not sure if i can even start to redo my car, arthritis has got my hands,wrists ect. hurting terribly, waitin on the V.A. appointment so the doc may get me some better meds so i can work on it or save up and have it done or leave it be.I will always have a passion for this hobby even if i can't turn wrenches.
 
Yep, I feel overwhelmed all the time on my projects. Having a handful of them doesn't help either. I have to try and keep focused on one or two cars at a time otherwise things really get out of control.

Make a list of things you need to do. Keep it short, you can always add to it. You can make it a list of things for the month, week, day if you have to. Then just do one thing at a time. Even if you just do something that takes 20 minutes, its something you don't have to do later and can check off the list. Especially when I start feeling overwhelmed or bummed out on a project, I keep my tasks short and easy. Maybe it only took me 30 minutes to paint up my speaker bracket and mount my dash speakers, but hey, I got something DONE. And it had to get done eventually, and I didn't spend the entire day in the shop. Any progress is good, even if it isn't the big part of the project. Heck, my Duster doesn't even have an engine it right now, but it has a really nice set of 4" speakers in the dash. Gotta do what you can do.
 
Hey man, I feel for you. Aside from my car that spends it's time continually falling apart and rusting/rotting out while being a DD I also got another project that some of you guys know about.

My Dad bought a '65 Falcon back in '99 when I was only 5 or 6 years old. Bare bones little car, 170 and 3 speed on the tree with power nothing. He took it off the road in '08 after the floor boards got so bad it was becoming a structural issue. I started the project in '10 and it went on and off for a few months and I haven't been able to do jack since. I miss the car, I grew up with it. Time is a big issue. But finally I'm taking the plunge into getting back into the car on Monday cause I got some downtime but the deppressing thought is that it needs a whole new interior and it hasn't ran and drove since '08. Doesn't really matter if I finish the body work, dad can't afford paint or to go through the car and give it what it needs. I can't either.

I still got you in mind for that bumper btw, I'm trying to find a way to get it, I'm unemployed right now and functioning financially through savings and tax refunds (I payed a **** ton of taxes last year and let dad claim me). On top of that, I'm being picky torwards part time jobs (done fast food, never again. Same with minimum wage) and I'm very serious about going to school in the fall. My job schedule has to be set, I can't do weekends period cause when my girlfriend graduates, she'll be on the other end of the state in college and I gotta maintain that relationship somehow. Further more, if I'm really to get anywhere, it's gotta be a job I want to get outta bed to go to like Autozone, Lowes, Harbor Frieght etc.

Point being, there's times when these projects and just life in general gets to feeling pretty damn pointless but when it does, just try and muscle through and talk to us guys if you need to. If it is deppression, remember, you're never alone cause alot of us have been there. There is a reason I refer to the fine men and women here as family. I've been dealing with deppression since I was a toddler, yes you read that right, a toddler and I've been on anti-deppressants since I was 7. I'm 19 now. I was 17 when I figured out that my real problem is that I'm extremely manic-deppressive. I cycle several times a day, that's extreme.

Somebody mentioned, make a list, that's a great idea. That's what I'm gonna do on the Falcon cause 3 years later, I don't remember much of what was to-do.

Keep on it, keep strong and keep burnin' up the pavement. :burnout: And remember, we're all here when you need us.
 
I know what you guys are going through. The Valiant is done and now I have a 66 Barracuda and 70 Challenger to do. I sometimes wonder whats wrong with me. I'm always looking for more projects. I can't afford the finished product so I have to do it myself. Anyway, I guess I'll get them done sometime. Jerry
 
Thing is, the older we get, the harder things seem to be. Least for me its been like that. Today, just jacking the car up and removing 2 wheels gets me breathing hard and I need a short rest. 20 years ago, I was pulling the trans out with 4 jack stands and a floor jack in under 2 hours.

A list is a good idea. Another idea is to do one thing at a time. Finish one thing before moving on to the next. Its easier and cheaper to rip the car completely apart, then to put in back together better then new, lol
 
I've officially thrown in the towel 6 times now but keep pushing myself again and again. Its not going to run away if you don't work on it for a few months to save money.
 
I really dont get any morale boosters from my wife, im sure the kids think its a joke. I mean she doesnt knock my interests, but i dont feel like she's supportive either. Kinda neutral on the whole thing. Its like nobody sees my vision.

Its like im a hamster on a treadmill every day. The more i make the more everybody wants from me. These cars and myself arent getting younger, dare i say it the parts are gonna get more scarce. At 45 im feeling pains in my body i never had before, im sure it will get worse as i age.

I dont want to end up the bitter old guy who wont part with anything, but wont work on it either and lets it sit and collect dust in the shop. I think i need to just close the door on my shop and leave it be for awhile. I just dont feel like my project or i are getting anywhere any time soon.

I dunno if it all makes sense but it does to me.
 
welcome to my Pain.......all over a 1973 Dart Sport 340 my mom bought new in Abilene, and a 74 Duster I bought in Abilene Texas back in 1997......


Moms Dart
Moms73DartSport340.jpg


My 74 Duster from 97'
KellysDuster.jpg



I feel like the end of the tunnel is a long way out alot but I just refuse to give up...


then for your reading pleasure.....

The 70 Dart.....
(make sure to check the dates on these...)
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=32628

My current project..., 74 Duster 360....
my ummmpteenth attempt to achieve MY dream car....
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=91659

One Day,.......My Duster will look like
BlackDuster002-1.jpg

but with buckets and console....and tinted windows.
 
moparmat2000 said:
Not looking to have my car in a left for dead forum, however sometimes it feels like its never gonna get done. Family obligations, bills that come with family obligations, leaves precious little time or money to work on it. Sometimes if im out in the shop i say to myself, this thing aint never gonna get done, i dont want to be 65 and just starting on it again. I got way to much in it to throw the towel in.

My wife says go out there and work on it, for some reason my hearts not in it. Dunno if its depression or not. I can go and piddle around in the shop and waste a day, or i can waste it sleeping on the sofa, or go to work, and my family will try to find some new way to spend my hard earned cash.

I dont think i bit off more than i could chew. I used to do restorations this in depth years ago as a single guy. It would b nice if there was a fellow mopar maniac in my neck of the woods to help boost my morale, help me keep going.

Oh well
Click to expand...

YOU IN MY HEAD? I very well could have wrote this! There are days and the last few years quite a few of them! I wish when I said I think I'm going to restore a car that someone kicked me directly in the nuts as hard as they could to get that idea out of my head!
 
moparmat2000 said:
I really dont get any morale boosters from my wife, im sure the kids think its a joke. I mean she doesnt knock my interests, but i dont feel like she's supportive either. Kinda neutral on the whole thing. Its like nobody sees my vision.

Its like im a hamster on a treadmill every day. The more i make the more everybody wants from me. These cars and myself arent getting younger, dare i say it the parts are gonna get more scarce. At 45 im feeling pains in my body i never had before, im sure it will get worse as i age.

I dont want to end up the bitter old guy who wont part with anything, but wont work on it either and lets it sit and collect dust in the shop. I think i need to just close the door on my shop and leave it be for awhile. I just dont feel like my project or i are getting anywhere any time soon.

I dunno if it all makes sense but it does to me.
Click to expand...
I feel the same way alot of the time just say the hell with it . But like you im already in so deep its too late to back out now . Its ether keep it or crush it . I was thinking of tradeing my cuda off for a wagon then i got to looking at all the **** ive got for the cuda that i cant use on a wagon just could not do it . What im going to do is push it to the side and when i get to where I can save money for it agin. work on it then. if that day never comes .. Some one will mess with it after im dead. I would help ya but your a state way . Feel like moving lol JK
 
Moparmat,

I sincerely feel your pain! I was out of the car stuff for many years, about 20. Before I bought the Dart I would build the car and engine in my head many, many times. Had mounds of bills, wife with a stroke in 2003 and me with cancer in 2004. Paid out over time about 100K, that was with pretty decent insurance. Had everything paid off and finally got the Dart in 2008, then the economy tanked and our business was suffering. Took a 25% reduction in pay to keep going. Car had no engine at the time and needed all kinds of $$ to do what I wanted. Sure I could do some of it with no money, but at times, many times, no motivation. I would go out in the garage and just look at it, sitting on jack stands and say to my self, "my little car" in a sad tone. My wife would just tell me get out there and work on it. She has lived with my car genes since the first time I took her to prom in 1974 in my 71 Roadrunner. In 2011 things were looking up and was able to start buying the parts I needed. I had a running list of "to do's" and would update almost every 6 hours, knocking off what was accomplished. I had an Excel sheet on my computer at work and would check off the parts needed to completion. In the beginning I would buy, just one wheel, a pair of shocks, the coil, one tire, etc., etc. Just one thing at a time, I would drill into my head, just one thing at a time. Wire the ignition, install one seat, make mount for fuel regulator and on and on. One thing at a time! I am 56 now and so happy that I stuck with it and drove myself to get to this point. I know it is discouraging at times. Hang in there, drive yourself to do what you can, even if it is blasting and painting one part...........and you will get there!!!
 
Are you overwhelmed with the project, or overwhelmed with life? I hear you on the obligations. It gets me down at times. I go out to the garage though, when I am down, turn on some music, have a couple beers and putter on the car and my mind wanders from the stress of life. It is one of the only times when I really relax.

Pick away at it, one job at a time, and find some satisfaction in the small jobs you complete... And who cares, so the f what if you are in your 60's when it is done? My dad is in his 70's and still playing in the garage. enjoy the journey, not the destination.

You have a supportive wife and that is half the battle. to get your drive going again pick a small job that you would like to do on it and get started! Like the Johnny Cash song - one piece at a time.

My 2 cents, I feel your pain
 
Sorry i posted this thread twice, im using a smartphone, and my reception was bad, wasnt sure it posted.
 
Wake up man! Snap out of it! Sounds like you just need a swift kick in the ***...
Sure life gets in the way. I was in my 50's before I could even start - and the car had been sitting in the garage for almost 20 years at that point! I was damn near 60 when I completed the Duster.

Anyhow, I don't know how large Abilene Tx is, but surely there are car clubs and car shows to look into. They don't have to be Mopar specific. Most all the car shows I attend are not restricted to one mfgr. They are good places to meet car guys and just talk. Might be a guy with a Camaro or Mustang - they might have a Mopar or likely know someone with a Mopar (note- this doesn't apply if it is someone in the middle of a Mustang club at a car show). Stop at a couple body shops and see where they suggest taking an old classic to, and go to that shop to see if there are any Mopars being worked on, or had been that they could share owner info on. Hell, place a Craigslist wanted ad!

In the meantime, enjoy the family and the obligations that come with it. Get your son or daughter or the wife to help you clean up the shop or a few parts for the next step. Take the family to a car show, but don't keep them so long they get bored with it - stop and get a cheeseburger on the way home so they equate car shows with fun.

You'll get there, determination.
C
 
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