The usual "fed up with my project" rant.

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J

Judge Mills

1971 Plymouth Duster
Joined
Jan 6, 2009
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Location
Westport, Washington
Don't make me jump! I'll do it! :violent1:

Went through my build thread last night. I can't believe how little progress I've made in 12 years. I've basically ended up with a full blown restoration, except I don't have the skills, time, money, tools or talent to do it correctly. I just got done hooking up all the new brake lines, and I didn't get that feeling of accomplishment like I thought I would, or like I always have. I've got a LOT of work ahead of me, and I simply don't know if it's worth the money.

The local parts store is about a 40 minute drive for me. I was going to buy gas line this morning, but they don't have a roll of it. What? So, like usual, I'll end up buying it online, probably getting the wrong part 1 or 2 times.

I honestly would like something to tinker on, not replace every single thing on. My high school mistake has turned into a 30 year old's worst nightmare!

I have major rear body panels that after sanding down, found out need replaced. It probably had about 20 lbs of bondo on each side. Front fenders need patching. I have a sunroof that I want to fill in and make solid again, since it was a JC Whitney piece. This requires a welder, and no one friends within two hours have the skills to do it. Need new wheels, since I updated to 73+ front end discs and Ford 8.8 rear end with discs. Need new front seats, since it came with 70's Japanese truck seats that had two bolts holding them in. Have to order a new driveline, since getting the old one cut down with travel time will about equal a new one. Denny's hasn't gotten back to me on a quote yet, but I'm guessing $450 range...

Sorry for the rant, but I just feel the build up today! Sometimes I just get the itch to offload it and get something else that already runs...
 
Sometimes I just get the itch to offload it and get something else that already runs...
that statement...not a bad idea..sometimes
 
...hey, I was with you around 3:54 when absolutely nothing was going right....grrrrr..I want to drive....
 
Isn't that how this started back when you got it you were just gonna fix this n that and throw on a paint job and drive the wheels off it right? There are hundreds of us in the same boat what started innocently as a driver cosmetic build mushroomed into a full blown expensive restoration. I personally have the want to at least do some bodywork and paint my cuda, but I know i'm anil and the engine bay has to match the outside, well while the engine/trans is out i'll freshen them up, well shoot might as well take out the rear and put in my 8 3/4 oh hell now I need new wheels/tires, drive shaft, interior ect. 10 years later it's still in pieces and i'm still broke! So I leave it as it is and drive it!!! I feel your pain!
 
Don't know what to tell you. Take some time off. At my age, and one reason I looked for a pretty straight and rust free car is that I really cannot do body work, and wanted something good enough that I could drive it in the condition the body "is."

At my age (65) and having lost some friends, I don't want my car torn down in some garage when I die. I want to be driving it

The last two days I just got done arguing with some tires. It's just about worn me out. It takes me about 10 times as long to do anything as it used to, and that's with power tools and a hoist, something I didn't have when I was young.
 
I have used your thread looking at your rear suspension and transformation to the 8.8 :thumblef:

Keep this happy face on and I do understand not having a driver, but know that you have got it rolling things will get better :cheers:


Winter is approaching, maybe find you a cool truck project that is a driver :glasses7:
 

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My dad has a stepside 91' GMC sitting in the driveway, but my mom won't let him get rid of it. They never drive it. Ever. I've been trying to get him to sell or give it to me for years! 350 small block; the possibilities are endless. My dad hasn't wrenched since the 70's, so I know it will get worse before it gets better. It runs & drives, just needs a simple caliper replacement on the front. Somehow I need to convince my mom to give it up. She should be having plenty of fun in their lifted 05' GMC.
 
I can relate but the difference is I bought the car last October as a 6 year build and 6 month later it is a driver and I am broke and hear about it everyday. I worked on it daily and put in very long hours to get it driveable by spring. The picture in my avatar is the car. The car still needs work on the interior but Its winning shows so I will wait for awhile to save my marriage. The money invested already is just crazy and all the work was done by me. Except the actual painting...Keep your chin up it will get done...Bill
 
I didn't read your whole thread, but it seems like you've gotten a ton done. Unless there's something I'm missing here, I would bolt it together with what you have, get some cheap wheels (even just LBP steelies, they'd be cheap), and drive it as is. Be sure to put any bare metal in epoxy or something first of course. The only catch I can see is that you need a driveshaft? What trans and rear do you have? If it's something standard like a 727 or 904 and 8.75", it shouldn't be hard to find one from a 340 Duster or whatever. Anyway, I'm sure I'm missing something, but at the point you seem to be at, just get it together, forget about pretty, and just drive it and have fun for awhile. It won't be hard to take it apart again later, or better yet, just take apart a small section at a time and finish it while driving. Let go of the idea of having a perfect show car right from the get go... or ever, maybe. I'd be more than happy to come and help do whatever, but clearly I'm too far away for that.
 
I agree that should be a given, the worse thing to do is to let one set, see if they will let you bring it back to life before it's to late :thumblef:
 
And what do you mean by gas line? Do you mean fuel line (the rubber stuff)? If so, just get fuel injector hose. Holds up better to the alcohol in modern gas. Any auto parts store will have it, or probably even Farm & Fleet or other places. Or do you mean the hard fuel lines? If so, are you sure they need to be replaced? Any store should have that and you can make it yourself, or the kits aren't terribly expensive as a last resort.
 
12 years, You have more patience then me. I get frustrated at the 2 year mark. Dont sell it. Ive abandoned 2 really nice close to done projects and regret it.
 
Just get the thing moving. My car could use some serious work too if you bring it right down. But when I drive it it doesn't matter, make it run and drive man. THats all you really need.
 
hello judge...

i am just finishing up my 68 barracuda. i am now into it about 1850 hours and probably around $5k (not counting the cost of the car). this has been a one year project. i have some thoughts for other FABO project folks.

i've been a car nut for over 40 years. i'm also a lawyer but almost became a psychologist. i got a lot of that "book learning" stuff in my background. i have two cuda's, a 68 and a 69. i wanted to do the 68 first but i knew i needed "a plan" before i started. so last summer, i started working on my garage in preparation. i wanted a decent and organized place to work with all the tools and items easy to find and in one place. once i got the garage organized i then started on the cuda. however, this is the crucial part to beginning a "big" project - DON'T DISMANTLE THE CAR INTO A PILE OF PARTS!!! restoring a car by yourself is as much a psychological endeavor as it is a physical one. DO SMALL PARTS OF THE CAR ONE AT A TIME!! I started with the engine bay. I spent probably a month just doing the engine compartment. Once that section was done, I had something nice to look at and to get immediate reinforcement from. YOU HAVE TO KEEP SHOWING YOUR MIND THAT YOU ARE MAKING PROGRESS!! After the engine bay, I did the door jams, then the trunk area, then the front fenders, then the quarters, then the top, then hood and finally the doors. It is also CRUCIAL to keep cleaning the car up from the work you are doing!! That is another psychological way of making your mind feel you are making progress. Also, it makes you feel good to see the results of your labor. YOU HAVE TO CONTINUE TO CREATE POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT!! The other practical side of doing a project in little parts is that you can do each section completely and with great detail. Once you have completed several sections with great detail, the car begins to look like something to be proud of.

Let me admit something right now before you all start jumping on my advice - I know this approach does not work well for a complete nut and bolt rotissourie resto. Yes, you HAVE to dismantle the car completely if you are going that route. But in my humble opinion, it is VERY hard for a single person to do a rotissourie resto by themselves. My view is that if you are doing it all by yourself, just try to do the BEST section by section resto you can. At the end of your project you will still have a car or truck that you can be proud of. And as to pre-project planning, I cannot emphasize enough how organizing my garage and getting all the tools together in one place and easy to find has made completing parts of this project incredibly easy and less stressful.

I have purchased a number of vehicles off of ebay and see "abandoned projects" all the time. It is better for you to end up with a "pretty nice" vehicle than a pile of parts in your garage that your wife is tired of looking at.
 
Thanks @jimharvard . Encouraging words. I feel a little better tonight after hitting Craigslist and Ebay, unable to find a decent project within a few hundred miles. It lives to stay in the garage another day...

I think the biggest reason I get frustrated is I usually have to modify or heavily modify any piece I replace. It's much different working on vehicles at work, where I just simply replace an item. I bought a complete brake line kit, but had to modify nearly every line because I modified something else, like the rear end or using a brake line adjuster. Years ago I ran in to a similar problem hooking up a power steering pump. I'm just hoping from here on out, things are much simpler. I'm really glad I bought a standard gas tank that SHOULD bolt right in. It has the correct vents at least! I think that's my next project...
 
Jimharvard....I made the exact mistake you mentioned in taking everything off the car I could unbolt and now feel overwhelmed.I'm not planning a nut and bolt job(not enough money or patience) but wanted a nice cruiser and car show car.It's hard for me to do things in the order they should be because I only have a one car garage and have to move the car in to work on it then out so we can park the DD in out of the hot Arizona sun.I now wish I would have did like you mentioned and did one area at a time.Been unable to work on anything for 9 weeks now due to knee replacement surgery but have formulated a plan to get me back on track so I can enjoy my project rather than looking at it and thinking...maybe tomorrow I'll do something.Being 64 years old with some health issues doesn't help much either.At least this thread has made me realize I'm not alone in my thoughts.
 
When you get to the breaking point throw a cover over it and walk away. Selling it will just lead to regrets. I don't think there is a member here that has not had your feelings. In my case the car is going sit, with its pretty paint job, for a long time as we need to finish our house. So it sits in the corner of the garage, under a cover.
 
I Know the frustration and labor. You will feel so much better if you keep moving forward. Takes a long time when you do it yourself and you don't have the funds that others do.

I did this all in my garage including body and paint. Make a plan and a list and stick to it. Get the list then start the work. So Money doesn't stop progress in labor.

I have it done for two years and won three local shows. Won't pass tech for the times it run's so it is getting turned into a race car for my son.

I have 2 more A-bodies to do and I'm done. I am 58 and my bucket list for now
 

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Judge Mills said:
Don't make me jump! I'll do it! :violent1:

Went through my build thread last night. I can't believe how little progress I've made in 12 years. I've basically ended up with a full blown restoration, except I don't have the skills, time, money, tools or talent to do it correctly. I just got done hooking up all the new brake lines, and I didn't get that feeling of accomplishment like I thought I would, or like I always have. I've got a LOT of work ahead of me, and I simply don't know if it's worth the money.

The local parts store is about a 40 minute drive for me. I was going to buy gas line this morning, but they don't have a roll of it. What? So, like usual, I'll end up buying it online, probably getting the wrong part 1 or 2 times.

I honestly would like something to tinker on, not replace every single thing on. My high school mistake has turned into a 30 year old's worst nightmare!

I have major rear body panels that after sanding down, found out need replaced. It probably had about 20 lbs of bondo on each side. Front fenders need patching. I have a sunroof that I want to fill in and make solid again, since it was a JC Whitney piece. This requires a welder, and no one friends within two hours have the skills to do it. Need new wheels, since I updated to 73+ front end discs and Ford 8.8 rear end with discs. Need new front seats, since it came with 70's Japanese truck seats that had two bolts holding them in. Have to order a new driveline, since getting the old one cut down with travel time will about equal a new one. Denny's hasn't gotten back to me on a quote yet, but I'm guessing $450 range...

Sorry for the rant, but I just feel the build up today! Sometimes I just get the itch to offload it and get something else that already runs...
Click to expand...
onFabo
Take a look at the pix of mine here onFabo, i have had this cuda for 5 years, its a super slow going project, but im not going to sell it because its not going to be real easy to find another one at a cheap price. I had lots of metal work to do and still do to it, plus everything else it needs. Pick away at it slowly. Do one job from start to finish, then work another thing from start to finish. You need a gameplan. Trying to do it all gets me fustrated. I am currently finishing up dressing the welds from my subframe connectors, then its onto scraping undercoating.

I wish you all the best. Remember we are all here for you.
 
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