NEW THREAD-Why we don't finish........

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that really sucks moparmetal, last comment you made on my post, you said you had a great mopar girl. I'm sorry to hear things have gone sour.

Phil
 
When I bought my (ex) 70 Six Pack Challenger the friend I bought it from had started a disc brake swap. Problem (for me anyway) was he was not going to use "correct for 70" parts under the hood. And after spending an entire YEAR looking for one O them shitty lil brass parts I decided to hell with it and put drums back on it. Not having that part kept me from getting new brake lines, cause I had to know what I was buying for.

Anyway, two weeks before the car was finished it had no windshield or rear window installed, no motor or trans, or exhaust, or dash assembly, or steering column, or front seats, or door panels, or headlights, headlight buckets, grill, bezels, front or rear valance, wheels and tires, and the hood wasn't painted.

Two weeks later.....

17Temmag0r.jpg
 
Another fun, sane and true account from CaptKirk! I have fell into all types of these setbacks and found i never had the right plan and never finished the project at the time. Number one, buy the best car you can. If i had my teenage and young adult life to relive, i'd save for three years and buy a good clean, Musclecar instead of buying cars needing total restos. It's nice to say i own a 1970 Hemi Cuda, but if it's a shell with no engine, paint or interior for 15 years what do you really own. I bought alot of cars that needed alot of work and never came close to truly finishing them. the bondo-bucket 1969 Mach 1, the 56" Chevy hot rod, never did get it painted or detail what i wanted, The two V-8 Vega's, The bad sub frame Firebird, I sold and LOST money on each and everyone before spending every extra dollar working on them. I finally decided, buy a car to restore (Fix up) and don't buy another until it's done. I got my Duster 340 by luck on the cheap, rust free and needing detailing and some light restoration. The project started in 1993 and was finished (well there never finished) in 2007. It took every nerve, sweat, and patience but the end result was worth it.
 
68 Sedan said:
When I bought my (ex) 70 Six Pack Challenger the friend I bought it from had started a disc brake swap. Problem (for me anyway) was he was not going to use "correct for 70" parts under the hood. And after spending an entire YEAR looking for one O them shitty lil brass parts I decided to hell with it and put drums back on it. Not having that part kept me from getting new brake lines, cause I had to know what I was buying for.

Anyway, two weeks before the car was finished it had no windshield or rear window installed, no motor or trans, or exhaust, or dash assembly, or steering column, or front seats, or door panels, or headlights, headlight buckets, grill, bezels, front or rear valance, wheels and tires, and the hood wasn't painted.

Two weeks later.....
Click to expand...
:roll::roll::roll::roll:
 
DANG thats a pretty hard row to hoe. I thought I was doing good on my car.Three years and paints done interior is all collected and motor is built. But 2 weeks makes me feel like a loser. Guess i,ll shut the garage up and go get a beer and turn on speedvision. Maybe overhauling is on. I thought that was only on tv they could do a car in 2 weeks. Going back to my corner now.
 
Most of that was simple assembly. The motor, trans, dash, seats, etc were all done and waiting to get used. So its not like I did nothing during that year. I'll wind up doing my Sedan the same way.

Since I've got to do floors, everything will get pulled out to make room. So the dash, column, heater box will all be done assemblies ready to go back in, as will the motor, trans, and rear end. The front suspension however, won't be done and ready to go as a unit. I don't have two complete sets so I can have one in the car to roll on, and another "in process".
 
340wedge said:
Another fun, sane and true account from CaptKirk! I have fell into all types of these setbacks and found i never had the right plan and never finished the project at the time. Number one, buy the best car you can. If i had my teenage and young adult life to relive, i'd save for three years and buy a good clean, Musclecar instead of buying cars needing total restos. It's nice to say i own a 1970 Hemi Cuda, but if it's a shell with no engine, paint or interior for 15 years what do you really own. I bought alot of cars that needed alot of work and never came close to truly finishing them. the bondo-bucket 1969 Mach 1, the 56" Chevy hot rod, never did get it painted or detail what i wanted, The two V-8 Vega's, The bad sub frame Firebird, I sold and LOST money on each and everyone before spending every extra dollar working on them. I finally decided, buy a car to restore (Fix up) and don't buy another until it's done. I got my Duster 340 by luck on the cheap, rust free and needing detailing and some light restoration. The project started in 1993 and was finished (well there never finished) in 2007. It took every nerve, sweat, and patience but the end result was worth it.
Click to expand...

Some worthwhile words of wisdom here, folks! Every project car looks great in the light of day, and often seems like an easy fix to a younger buyer that hasn't fought the battles yet. Many times you ARE better off spending (beg, borrow or earn the extra cash!) and having a "rolling wreck" rather than a mouse-terrarium on blocks and a pocketful of high hopes. Truth is, time passes swiftly and in the, say, three years it takes to get a project to a driveable state, a lot can happen that can totally change your life. Is your car gonna be part of that history, or parked out in a barn somewhere? A point to ponder........:glasses9:
 
i can never aford a driver i always end up with piles of crap lol im 18 and iv had prolly over 20 cars keep in mind every single one of them was a mopar and liek 5 of them have ran but cars iv had that ran were usuly to rusted out to do anything with
i think i came out good on my latest "71 charger" it runs and is pretty strait :)
 
Why don´t I finish? I do not have a really good answer on that one.
Question is: Why? And of course: Why do I (we) "play" with old cars?
I am not sure if there is a word for it but I would call it to have some "everydayedge".

What I mean is for example:
I pull the string for the garageopener at work, when the gate is 15,6 inches above the hood of your car I step on the
throttle and have enough time to whisper a very foul word when passing under the gate with a 0,5 inch margin. I smile
and feel somewhat satisfied with myself hearing he radio antenna hit the garage gate.
This is something that gives some edge to everyday routines..

It is something that makes the heart strike a little bit faster.
A small rush of adrenalin that makes nasty customers and ordinary everday problems easier to handle.

When I come home from work and feel that my working day has not fully ended, meaning that my problems from
work still pops up in my head. Did I really ordered X tools? Must check when I can deliver a X to X and 2X to X...
Is there something extra included with X? Did I relly faxed the purchase in time?

I can imagine that jumping off abridge with a rubber cord to your feet by a stoned hippie and jumping is the same
phenomena. "everydayedge"

Or jumping out of a fully functional aeroplane with a parachute that at least theoretically will stop you from hitting your
landing spot too hard, preventing one poor person to scrape you off the ground. "everydayedge"

Nothing of the above draws my interest, but...

Driving with my Valiant at a empty icy road way too fast with brakes that would make Flintstone laugh..
That gives me some "everydayedge". That makes my pulse increase and my everdayproblems to seem less of a problem.
Another vehicle would be safer and go faster but it is not the point. If I did not have my "everydayedge" I don´t know if I
could live life at all.

I am not a fantastic mechanic or do not have a brilliant mind, but I am enjoying doing my projects myself.
That goes for more or less for all of my projects. I build speakers for example. It is great fun but the end result
is not always perfect. But that is not the point.

Painting.. Done that for twenty years now. I would never call myself a proffesional or an artist. An artist drinks cheap red wine,
is somewhat "red" as far as politics goes and does not wash his clothes because his washing machine is broken. I am not an
artist. But I paint. But that is not the point.

Same thing restoring cars. I will never win any trophies or have my car published in a magazine. But that is not my goal or my
ambition with my restorations. My goal is to get as much "everydayedge" as possible out of every hour and dollar invested. It is
about every aspect of the project(s), planning, searching for parts, construction, building and of course driving or using it when it
eventually gets finished.

I have a enourmous source of knowledge to look for information, such as all of you here at forabodiesonly and other place. A hobby
and a project in the garage has became so much more. Although I do not post very often at all at any forum I gladly read at all of
the forums and especially this forum as much as I can, there is a friendly atmosphere here not found at many places. Do you believe
that Facebook works this way? I don´t think so.

Restoring Cars have become a part of my life and has been so for over twenty years now and it adds something to my life. Something good.

Sometimes it freaks out a little.. A project that was meant to be, that would have been built if I had the knowledge and tools when I was 15 years
of age. But when it will be done it will add some "everydayedge" to my life. Just as any other project, finished or not, and just as the next project will do.

And yes, it has gone way too wrong many times, but what the hell, Its the name of the game and beer heals all wounds..




I am not sure this added anything to the topic but it felt good writing this down. Hope you all understand where I am getting at. I have some difficulties
with every non-scandinavian language. Restoring cars or mopeds or painting gives me my "everydayedge" and is my therapy for my soul.
 
No Japo-scandinavian issues there....

I think this (and similar) hobbies allows us to all play God, or at least play doctor. We create life. We save lives. It takes a certain kind of person to cut up a fellow human in an effort to repair damage or replace a part, or fix a dented fender. No way I could do that.

But I CAN save a "life". Doesn't give me delusions of Godhood, but it allows me to create what is for ME anyway...ART.

I used to play a myriad of musical instruments. I used to play the french horn well enough to play with the Ft.Worth Symphony.....if one in the horn section kicked off to make a spot. I never could paint or even draw good stick figures. But for some reason I CAN take a pile like this Sedan (or the Challenger I posted pics of) and turn it in to something functional, something beautiful. It keeps my mind busy getting in to the forensics of their original assembly. Yeah, the forensics of it all.

While I was restoring the 69 Bee I used to own I noticed the weird angle the original jacking instruction sticker had been at. So I gave it some thought. I thought, the car was on a moving assembly line. And the guy placing that sticker was probably right handed (no offense to any lefties out there). So I figured out that if I stood BESIDE the car, with my right hip at the quarter, I could take that sticker in my right hand and holding my hand thumb down I could reach out with that sticker and place it on the trunk lid in almost the exact place at almost the exact angle as the original. That also told me the guy putting the sticker on was about 6' tall.

Did ya ever think that much about something as simple as a jack sticker? I certainly never did till then. But I'm a freak, and you are too. And we're all Gods and Doctors......in our own way

and yes, the pics below are of that same Challenger I posted earlier

abc.jpg


abd.jpg
 
I'll toss my 2 cents in this great thread. At the beginning, I looked at my project with my mind's eye, not as it really was. I saw it complete, painted and running as I wished.

I bought my project Challenger as a partial basket case from someone who had started it and ran out of motivation and money. I thought to myself, "Easy project! Just finish what the other guy started." Boy was I wrong! Project creep set in fast. "Well first, I'll bolt this bumper on. hmmm... Why don't these holes line up? What's this? Old rearend damage? Damn! The frame rail is tweaked." PO replaced the trunk floor but never plug welded it to the frame rail, lol.

To make a long story short. I tore it completely down and started over. And yes, it's cost me about three times as much as I thought. Timewise? This is my 5th year.

Lessons learned:
Always take someone who can look at a potential project with more of a objective eye than you.

Approach a large project by breaking it down in to smaller and smaller pieces. I'm an engineer, so my approach was systems. Body, paint, front suspension, rear suspension, brakes, electrical, and so on.

Body work first, broken down to areas, broken down to individual pieces. Complete each one before moving to the next and you'll have a sense of accomplishment to stay motivated.

Body and paint is the biggest and most expensive part. Do it FIRST! It's easy to stay motivated with painted shiney parts. Your spouse will agree also. My wife was literally kicking me out to the garage saying, "Get that thing done so we can go for a ride!"

Re-think your enjoyment. While I was jones-ing to drive a Challenger again, I realized that the project allowed me to rebuild a car better that the factory did. Take extra time and effort to finish parts in clear coat so nothing ever surface rusts, adjust that window so it perfectly seals, and so on. Yes, it's over-restoring but that's what I want. You won't believe how nice and easy my doors close <grin>.

And to Captain: Your threads have inspired me at times. Thanks! I hope these responses will inspire you.

For those interested, it's not an A-body, but it's a Mopar Project. Check out my progress at the link in my sig.
 
well i aint been workin on my dart, but i finally started doin the hydro install in my 5th ave, and i set a date that i want it done by, the 4th of july. i even worked on it in 46* rainy weather today, ya thats right 46* in friggin june!! ive really wanted to do this, so ive now got the motivation to do it, heres a link to it

http://www.dippy.org/forum2/index.php/topic,1027.0.html
 
Yes, we ARE stuck on this site. Which is why I've limited my internet time to AFTER my garage time is finished. If I stayed off the 'net completely I'd get more done....but I'd lose my inspiration (which is all of you who read, post and reply to threads on this forum; post pix and inspiring resto threads). So, is FABO crucial to my project? ABSOLUTELY! Without you all, my project would still be sitting under the tarp unmolested, and all my goofy stories would be nothing more than memories long forgotten stored away in the back of my mind. Someday The Duke will be finished.....thanks to all of you who have followed along, commented, encouraged, and egged me on. And for that I owe you a great big Thank You!:cheers:
 
Hey mopar kid 340, why don't you sell all of your's and get one nice one? That is if you don't have any sentimental value behind any. I though of doing that a whild back. If I sold my 69 barracuda, my 1973 dart sport 340, and my demon, I would have close to $20k. But instead of selling anything, I bought my 1970 duster, and then sold my barracuda. I still ponder it sometimes, and think if I sold all three that I have now, I would be well into the $20's. Makes you think. But my 73 dart sport 340 is my baby ( first dodge, and my second ever car) so I just can't fully comitt.

Don't you have 5 dodges? you should be able to get $15,000 at least if you average $2500 per car.

Phil
 
Some more input from me:

Money is whether I want it or not just about the greatest issue. I try as much as possible to be honest with this since it can cost just about anything. Luckily I do the bodywork and painting myself but parts are not free, especially when the daily drivers break down once and a while, the house needs some attention. Almost forgot my fiancée, but she is not that expensive, she likes kind words and cuttling. It is pleasure for free unless biproducts are considered... Two so far and they are NOT for free.

Loss of Momentum. That has happened to me a lot of times. The solutions that works for me are selling the project and purchasing a other one or buy yourself another project. I often run out of inspiration or momentum when the body is painted and ready when my moneyexpenses are about too begin. So either I sell it as a rolling shell or if it is considered a keeper I buy another. I know this makes no sense but I work at my best (and slowest) with many projects ongoing at the same time. Each one should analyze how they work and how to keep the momentum at steering speed at least. Also, do the project, as someone said, they way you want it rather than the way someone else wants it.

Time. Be realistic about it. If buying a barely rolling rusted and wrecked body and having it ready for go too soon is only making you sorry about it. Exactly the mentioned I have standing on my driveway and I might be a little optimistic about doing this in seven years. I also keep in mind that I have two other major car projects and two, or three moped/motorcycle project also.
 
Finding what you want is a big part of it as well. I could not make my mind up between a 69 69 340 dart or a 68 69 340 barracuda. I couldn't find a decent project for either and almost settled for a 67 cuda formula S but knew I would be always wishing I waited it out. The 273 was a great motor but I love the 340. I just about bit on a 340 4 speed Duster as well but I love the Darts and Barracudas. Patience is the key from finding the car to rebuilding it.
 
Yup, this is a biggie. For some strange reason we get to a point where we start putting things off, and then wander off the beaten path. We argue with ourselves that we'll do it tomorrow, or next week...it's too late tonight, my buddy just called and wants to go out for a few beers, I really don't feel like it tonight......you name it, someone has already used it as an excuse. There's nothing really wrong with taking a little break (as I did tonight) but you've got to have the stones to jump back in. I'm hugely guilty of this line of thinking once my train of thought has jumped the tracks. If I can force myself to focus and concentrate, I know I'll keep plugging away. But I have to use mental trickery such as "I'll take tonight off, but get back to it and hit it hard Tuesday". This way I've forced myself into setting a hard goal, and if I don't make that goal, I'm pretty hard on myself. Those of you who are procrastinators might try this technique.
It's pretty easy to blow off working on your car when nobody gives a ****. Starting a resto thread has helped me immensely; because not only are you all seeing and reading about my progress, but you are acutely aware of any LACK of progress and your reminders have spurred me on at times (thanks!) I would strongly recommend a resto thread for those of you beginning a new project, or even in the middle of one, if you're having trouble staying motivated. Comments?
 
oh captain my captain, What a great thread. This forces me to relive some of the worst moments of my resto, but if it can help the beginners then it's all worth it. I am by no means an accomplished automobile restoration specialist, but I have learned alot over the past 2 yrs, it took 18 months to get it from daily driver to daily driver....keep in mind I alloted 6 months when starting the project. Here are some things that I ran into and some thoughts on how to make it through.

Money: I'll just talk about how to deal with money issues as the other money topics have been covered.
Plan little projects that cost TIME not money, this will help with keeping the project moving when the money runs out.
The little things like cleaning parts or reconditioning a small part to reuse (also helps because you don't have to buy it new)
Buy things in the order you need them.....VERY important...don't go out and buy a high dollar part, or rims, or something when you wont be able to install it until X gets done...chances are you will need that money to finish X and you wont be able to use all of those shiny new parts that are sitting in the shop until you get X done (problems beget problems) Many of us here have nice new parts sitting around and "never" get to install them because something that they depend on isn't done yet....keep what little funds there are fluid so they can be used for what you are currently working on


Scope creep:
Some scope creep is inevitable (rust that you didn't know you had... etc) but this helped me out (kept things in perspective).
Draw up a project plan......order things by priority and dependency...AND revisit your plan to keep on task and review time lines ( they always change ). obviously paint is dependent on body work but there are other gotchas. For example - if you plan on taking the dash frame out...do it while the windshield is out. and there are tons more examples.
IT IS NEVER what you expect..sometimes better sometimes worse....as someone mentioned some things take less time than you think, some things take more. As you revisit your time line you will see where you can make up some time..

Demoralization:
This can be caused by both of the afore mentioned problems among other things, and keep in mind that problems beget problems. The things mentioned above helped but I still fell into the "what did I get myself into" quagmire. The place you get when you get that "solid" car home to realize it's more solid rust than solid metal...or when it takes you X yrs/months longer than you expected.....If some of the senior members remember one of my early posts:
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=17689
I was about 4 "real" months into the project...
THIS SITE.....everyone here WANTS you to succeed! Also, don't forget to relish the victories.......Also, don't forget to relish the victories.......don't get so caught up in the "next" thing on the list that you forget the accomplishment you just achieved..(revisit your project plan and SEE how far you've come).
CLEAN your shop/garage, get organized... I know this is hard but you have to have room to work and you have to be able to find the tool you need to get something done. On top of that, there wont be any tools or parts or etc that get damaged by "kicking" around who knows where..I had to do stuff to make it "look" different, it gave the appearance that something was getting done.

Well enough of rumbling down memory lane.. hope this helps.
 
player1up said:
oh captain my captain, What a great thread. This forces me to relive some of the worst moments of my resto, but if it can help the beginners then it's all worth it. I am by no means an accomplished automobile restoration specialist, but I have learned alot over the past 2 yrs, it took 18 months to get it from daily driver to daily driver....keep in mind I alloted 6 months when starting the project. Here are some things that I ran into and some thoughts on how to make it through.

Money: I'll just talk about how to deal with money issues as the other money topics have been covered.
Plan little projects that cost TIME not money, this will help with keeping the project moving when the money runs out.
The little things like cleaning parts or reconditioning a small part to reuse (also helps because you don't have to buy it new)
Buy things in the order you need them.....VERY important...don't go out and buy a high dollar part, or rims, or something when you wont be able to install it until X gets done...chances are you will need that money to finish X and you wont be able to use all of those shiny new parts that are sitting in the shop until you get X done (problems beget problems) Many of us here have nice new parts sitting around and "never" get to install them because something that they depend on isn't done yet....keep what little funds there are fluid so they can be used for what you are currently working on


Scope creep:
Some scope creep is inevitable (rust that you didn't know you had... etc) but this helped me out (kept things in perspective).
Draw up a project plan......order things by priority and dependency...AND revisit your plan to keep on task and review time lines ( they always change ). obviously paint is dependent on body work but there are other gotchas. For example - if you plan on taking the dash frame out...do it while the windshield is out. and there are tons more examples.
IT IS NEVER what you expect..sometimes better sometimes worse....as someone mentioned some things take less time than you think, some things take more. As you revisit your time line you will see where you can make up some time..

Demoralization:
This can be caused by both of the afore mentioned problems among other things, and keep in mind that problems beget problems. The things mentioned above helped but I still fell into the "what did I get myself into" quagmire. The place you get when you get that "solid" car home to realize it's more solid rust than solid metal...or when it takes you X yrs/months longer than you expected.....If some of the senior members remember one of my early posts:
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=17689
I was about 4 "real" months into the project...
THIS SITE.....everyone here WANTS you to succeed! Also, don't forget to relish the victories.......Also, don't forget to relish the victories.......don't get so caught up in the "next" thing on the list that you forget the accomplishment you just achieved..(revisit your project plan and SEE how far you've come).
CLEAN your shop/garage, get organized... I know this is hard but you have to have room to work and you have to be able to find the tool you need to get something done. On top of that, there wont be any tools or parts or etc that get damaged by "kicking" around who knows where..I had to do stuff to make it "look" different, it gave the appearance that something was getting done.

Well enough of rumbling down memory lane.. hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Great advise....some things floating around in there I hadn't thought of! Excellent comment regarding buying things you want but don't yet need...we're all guilty of that! How many (show of hands!) have a brand-new carb or manifold or whatever and the engine is still lying in pieces? (Let me put my hand down so I can finish typing) Yes, you need a goal!!! Written is better yet! And if you get flustered, or stuck, or demoralized, log in and tell a bunch of people who actually care.....FABO members!
 
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