General P.I.T.A. but SO worth it.

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nodemon

nodemon

FABO Gold Member
FABO Gold Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
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Location
St.Louis
You buy a project Demon because your first car was a Demon 37 years ago. This is your first project and you're 53 years old. You think it'll be fun...no big deal. You deserve it. The wife won't care, she'll be supportive and happy for you. You're accused of a mid-life crisis...that, "you're just trying to re-live your past"... A few friends encourage you to go for it, they'll help, they say...and then ghost you. You know very little, you're just a driveway mechanic. You try refinishing parts, fail, try again and still fail..but not as bad. Then you learn to except your novice skill level and suddenly your work becomes acceptable and doesn't look too bad after all...far from perfect but a certain feel good pride that you did it yourself. You research, read articles, watch videos and ask for advice. You reach out to members on this site and find not only great help, but genuine, good people that have the same love of Mopars that you have. One member, local to me, even reached out to help do some welding and didn't want a penny for it. He gave up a Saturday to help me and did a great job. Another member answered a want ad I put out for seat tracks and ended up giving me two sets. Bucket seat tracks are not that easy to come by and are not cheap when you do and he GAVE them to me and said, just pay it forward someday. Damn.
There are other examples and I'm for sure grateful. I'm sure most of you can tell some stories of the good people too.
I could go on and on with my story but I'll end it with the reason I started this post. This may seem pretty trivial to some, but sometimes the simplest "achievements" can be motivating and powerful. I just finished the first coat of white paint on the lettering on my heater bezel..lol..:D
I had to buy some magnifying glasses and a micro paint brush. It's the little things, right..?!?

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Yea man! Go for it! Mid life crisis rule and screw the world!
Just smile at everyone that claims your going through a mid life crisis and laugh and simply say what I say.

“I NEVER GREW UP!”
“I took a temporary adult detour. I’m getting back to where I was, the program at hand.”


Learn as you go and in time you’ll get your stuff lookin and running good. Take your time!

OH! By the way it looks excellent.
 
Just take your time, don`t make it a race. I spent a decade on a ground up build, to challenge myself and I love what I built, but I`ll never take on a total basket case again... well maybe a 41 Willys :lol:
 
Welcome to the car hobby... (not that your new, just that it's part of the experience) Apparently I've had an ongoing crisis since I was 15.... LOL.. I've received help & I've given help... As most of us have...
I see the paying it forward as a big part of keeping people involved in our hobby..... A day helping often fires up peoples motivation/enthusiasm...
Every project challenges you but you learn & the next project gets easier & the results often get better....
 
If it's a mid life crisis, I've had one since I was 13 and I'm nearing 60 now. Yeah, there's lots of genuinely good people here. Some of the best.
 
RustyRatRod said:
If it's a mid life crisis, I've had one since I was 13 and I'm nearing 60 now. Yeah, there's lots of genuinely good people here. Some of the best.
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You're one that has answered and offered advice to several of my posts.. Thanks !
 
I have to agree with EVERY post here so far. I am kind of on the same journey, but without the wife & friends ghosting me. A lot of good advice here. I was a mechanic in my youth & have lots of tools & some skills. I'm 62, work in my driveway, (When it's not too bad outside) but I still enjoy working on all of my vehicles. (All Mopars by the way) Good therapy. That heater bezel looks really nice by the way & it's a motivator to do things yourself, that's how you learn too.
Keep it up, I know I will.
 
mopar head said:
Just take your time, don`t make it a race. I spent a decade on a ground up build, to challenge myself and I love what I built, but I`ll never take on a total basket case again... well maybe a 41 Willys :lol:
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It's the same as my doctor always says. "This isn't a sprint, it's a marathon". lol
 
nodemon, well said in your first post, i think a lot of us can relate. Your not alone, ive got a lot of great advice from the FABO family. My restoration skills have gotten so much better thru trial and error but my mechanical know how is still pretty weak, I keep reading and asking questions, some of which are dumb but im learning along the way....Rich
 
Ever since Tricia Dament kissed me in 4th grade and i jumped my bike off a dirt mound......

Full life crisis.

great site, great members.
 
Mid life crisis, I bought my race car at 58 years old. I'm now on the verge of turning 72 and have really enjoyed the journey. It started as a painted roller and has progressed to a mid 10 second car. Now I'm in the late stages of putting the car in the low 9 second bracket.
 
A spot on remembrance for the OP, but I might add, I told the wife don't worry, I'll build the cars for the kids when they grew up, I finally divorced her after 26 years, the kids grew up, they don't want them, I've built motors when younger, but wanted the peace of mind of having a reputable mopar builder do mine, the last two builders post build up and died, I wanted to shave, recontour my chrome bumpers, which I did, and the internet consensus was don't DIY, so I did anyway, including the grinding on the lower least unseen parts, left the part of the finishing process on the top seen parts to the "experts", my side came out perfect, top came out all wavy, last year during a total move, I had 4 cars that I needed to get rid of, 3 62's and a 72, for months I was only asking half of the scrap price, I finally scrapped them when I found no interest. Here is the 62 Polara 500 on the way to the scrap yard,
We all have different paths it seems and meet a wide variety of people, but regardless, I am very blessed.

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@nodemon You did a GREAT job on the heater bezel. :eek: Next time someone accuses you of having a mid life crisis, keep a straight face and tell them when you get your car done, you will be able to enjoy it until you're 106 years old!
 
Old saying, "We only go around once in a lifetime. Might as well make the most of it."
As far as growing up,my father would say "I'm a 18 year old stuck in a 89 year old body."
For me, I doubt I'll ever grow up.
 
nodemon said:
You buy a project Demon because your first car was a Demon 37 years ago. This is your first project and you're 53 years old. You think it'll be fun...no big deal. You deserve it. The wife won't care, she'll be supportive and happy for you. You're accused of a mid-life crisis...that, "you're just trying to re-live your past"... A few friends encourage you to go for it, they'll help, they say...and then ghost you. You know very little, you're just a driveway mechanic. You try refinishing parts, fail, try again and still fail..but not as bad. Then you learn to except your novice skill level and suddenly your work becomes acceptable and doesn't look too bad after all...far from perfect but a certain feel good pride that you did it yourself. You research, read articles, watch videos and ask for advice. You reach out to members on this site and find not only great help, but genuine, good people that have the same love of Mopars that you have. One member, local to me, even reached out to help do some welding and didn't want a penny for it. He gave up a Saturday to help me and did a great job. Another member answered a want ad I put out for seat tracks and ended up giving me two sets. Bucket seat tracks are not that easy to come by and are not cheap when you do and he GAVE them to me and said, just pay it forward someday. Damn.
There are other examples and I'm for sure grateful. I'm sure most of you can tell some stories of the good people too.
I could go on and on with my story but I'll end it with the reason I started this post. This may seem pretty trivial to some, but sometimes the simplest "achievements" can be motivating and powerful. I just finished the first coat of white paint on the lettering on my heater bezel..lol..:D
I had to buy some magnifying glasses and a micro paint brush. It's the little things, right..?!?

View attachment 1716188455
Click to expand...
Awesome work @nodemon .........Now just don't drop it :lol:

As for the "mid-life crises"......I never understood why someone would consider a new hobby or a new challenge in life a crisis. IMHO, this is averting a crisis. There sure are a lot more things that could get you in trouble than wrenching on an old Mopar. My wife knows exactly where I am, and supports me 100%. Now......If I grew a comb-over, bought a new wardrobe and started hitting the titty bars at 58, that would be cause for concern.:)
 
If our hobby was easy everyone would be doing it, most of my friends are just jealous and wished they could do it. I love going out to the garage even if I don't lift a single tool, sometimes I just love to look at my cars or plan on what my next move will be. One thing about it I don't have to sit in the house and watch NCIS, BONES, CASTLE, or any of those other shows my wife has watched the same episodes 100 times over and over. For the most part she leaves me alone, my kids think that my cars are cool but don't want to get involved with them, and my 9 year old Grandson has already told me that the 68 that I am building right now will be his high school car. I am 70 now and this will probably be my last project, but sometimes I just love playing with MOPAR'S more than anything else, and by the way you did a very nice job on that heater bezel looks great.
 
My problem is obvious, I’m mentally retarded with the mentality of a 21 year old which means I’ll never have a mid life crisis. New cars? Yuck which solves that crisis, I have a cup holder called my hand.

The folks here are the best and I feel I’m in like company.
 
nodemon said:
You buy a project Demon because your first car was a Demon 37 years ago. This is your first project and you're 53 years old. You think it'll be fun...no big deal. You deserve it. The wife won't care, she'll be supportive and happy for you. You're accused of a mid-life crisis...that, "you're just trying to re-live your past"... A few friends encourage you to go for it, they'll help, they say...and then ghost you. You know very little, you're just a driveway mechanic. You try refinishing parts, fail, try again and still fail..but not as bad. Then you learn to except your novice skill level and suddenly your work becomes acceptable and doesn't look too bad after all...far from perfect but a certain feel good pride that you did it yourself. You research, read articles, watch videos and ask for advice. You reach out to members on this site and find not only great help, but genuine, good people that have the same love of Mopars that you have. One member, local to me, even reached out to help do some welding and didn't want a penny for it. He gave up a Saturday to help me and did a great job. Another member answered a want ad I put out for seat tracks and ended up giving me two sets. Bucket seat tracks are not that easy to come by and are not cheap when you do and he GAVE them to me and said, just pay it forward someday. Damn.
There are other examples and I'm for sure grateful. I'm sure most of you can tell some stories of the good people too.
I could go on and on with my story but I'll end it with the reason I started this post. This may seem pretty trivial to some, but sometimes the simplest "achievements" can be motivating and powerful. I just finished the first coat of white paint on the lettering on my heater bezel..lol..:D
I had to buy some magnifying glasses and a micro paint brush. It's the little things, right..?!?

View attachment 1716188455
Click to expand...
WOW - absolutely stunning!! Can I send you mine to do? At the least, you must post up how you did it!! That looks fantastic!! Well done!
 
Your never too old for tittie bars, just make sure you never walk in with more than 20 dollars.
 
nodemon said:
You're accused of a mid-life crisis...
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CFD244 said:
I never understood why someone would consider a new hobby or a new challenge in life a crisis. IMHO, this is averting a crisis.
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First of all, nice work on that dash piece. I have found that a fine tip silver paint pen works quite well.
So you have been accused of having a Midlife Crisis??? I call BULLCRAP on that. By definition, a crisis is something bad. @CFD244 beat me to saying that getting a new hobby/project car is averting a crisis. In my opinion, a Midlife crisis would be to NOT do something you really want to do. Then, when you are 85, you will be sadly lamenting over your failure to act 30 years ago. I am 73. I have known several people who retired and watched TV all day. They got fat and wheelchair bound, wound up in a nursing home or died. I am super busy with all my hobbies. I love to work on cars, I can do heavy rust repair, I do paint and body, I can rebuild engines and transmissions, I can do interior work, I run a small powder coating business out of my garage and I like doing things around the house. Go for it, @nodemon.
 

Demonx2 said:
WOW - absolutely stunning!! Can I send you mine to do? At the least, you must post up how you did it!! That looks fantastic!! Well done!
Click to expand...
I let the heater bezel and instrument panel soak in 99% alcohol for several days, during which I sand with 400 and 600 grit. It's a pain, at least it was for me, sanding in the corners and in-between the letters. The factory chrome under the paint is tough. I used a hard bristle brush to get to the areas the sandpaper wouldn't go. I stripped EVERY bit of factory evidence. Maybe overkill but that's what I did. After they're thoroughly/properly cleaned, I sprayed with SEM Sand Free Adhesion Promoter. You don't have to, but then I put on a light primer coat. Then sprayed with SprayMax matte black. Not correct factory color code but I like the contrast between that and my dash frame, Spraymax 2k Satin, which also is not factory color code but I like it. I'll be spraying the bezels with a 2k matte clear for durability. Then my next step is to mask off for the chrome areas. I'll be airbrushing those areas with a gloss black then the chrome. Finally, a clear over the chrome that's specifically made for it.
 
nodemon said:
I let the heater bezel and instrument panel soak in 99% alcohol for several days, during which I sand with 400 and 600 grit. It's a pain, at least it was for me, sanding in the corners and in-between the letters. The factory chrome under the paint is tough. I used a hard bristle brush to get to the areas the sandpaper wouldn't go. I stripped EVERY bit of factory evidence. Maybe overkill but that's what I did. After they're thoroughly/properly cleaned, I sprayed with SEM Sand Free Adhesion Promoter. You don't have to, but then I put on a light primer coat. Then sprayed with SprayMax matte black. Not correct factory color code but I like the contrast between that and my dash frame, Spraymax 2k Satin, which also is not factory color code but I like it. I'll be spraying the bezels with a 2k matte clear for durability. Then my next step is to mask off for the chrome areas. I'll be airbrushing those areas with a gloss black then the chrome. Finally, a clear over the chrome that's specifically made for it.
Click to expand...
Holy crap, I'd rather go to the dentist.:)

You must have unbelievable patience. It certainly shows in your work :thumbsup:
 
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