>really enjoy cars >buy a project >it ends up being way more work than anticipated >ends up slowly killing your passion >but then you actually make some headway >you can feel the passion returning >something else goes wrong and you are even further behind than before
I thought restoring something around the condition of pic related would be enjoyable and rewarding. It was not in any way. For all the time and money I have put into this car I could have just went out and bought a finished one and not killed my passion in the process.
Pic unrelated, too embarrassed to even post the TWO disasters I'm working on that I tried to make into one car.
Buy old rusty shell Cut out rust, weld in some plates, nobody will ever know. if it's trim just cut it off and pretend it wasn't there before, or rivet something else on. Rattlecan matte black Powertrain from a modern car
done
Asher Perez
I know this feel, I bought a barnfind classic too and it just wasn't worth the effort. I won't touch something I can't drive home.
This is how it starts. You just gotta do this and this and it's ready to roll! That optimism won't last long
Eli Barnes
Have you built a go kart?
You do this and this and it's ready to roll.
If you have moving parts left that aren't the steering wheel and hood latch you did it wrong. Projects need not be restorations. And you don't need a diff, or a driveshaft, or for the engine to be in the original engine bay, or for the engine and trans to come from a car, and not, say, a bike.
Daniel Rogers
I know your feel OP, don't give up just yet. It can take literally years to complete a project, I've been sitting on mine for the past 5 years now and still not close to completing it. The important thing is that you don't completely abandon it, stick to it no matter what anyone tells you. I held onto my car even through the darkest times of my life where selling it could've helped me a lot but I sacrificed a lot to keep it. Cars aren't just a passion, they're a life.
Luis Morris
Did you get some common sense and abandon that totaled 2005 GT yet?
Benjamin Lewis
>never liked this style >buy project and tell myself it will look nice >just having the bumpers chromed would be worth more than the whole car >understand why this style is so common now >fuck it and go this way >end up enjoying the car a lot more
That was my biggest hurdle. You aren't Overhaulin or whatever show is popular these days, and your car probably isn't worth that much. Just do whatever to get it on the road and have fun with it.
Angel Harris
Heh I had the same thing happen >find pair of mint bumpers for my car >$2700 buckaroos All of a sudden my slightly pitted and bent ones looked a lot nicer
David Garcia
>windows glass is hard to find for old cars >suspension Useless after sitting for 8+ years >Going through the trouble of making new mountings for everything just to put a different engine in. Unless use have a good bud in the machine shop, you can forget your "budget" restoration. Don't flip old cars unless it is your business. Make what you want to see. All pain is only for now.
Xavier Ramirez
with something like this its about the journey not the destination. change your perspective and have some patience
Wyatt Ramirez
I dont know what your on about mate, If you know what your doing it should only take about 2 years max and its a lot of fun, Then when you actually drive your finished project you feel good because you know that you were the one that made it all possible. Dont give up OP just have fun with what you have. >posted this pic earlier, we have 3 pontiac projects going on right now and I am having a great time.
Hunter Wilson
>buy project >have very clear picture of what I want in my head >then look at the actual product and it's terrible
Why I thought wheel well exit exhaust was something I could make work is beyond me
Jaxson Torres
Not him but the journey gets a little old when you never manage to get any results. I know what he means, you keep working on it yet it never is any closer to any notable milestones
Joshua Roberts
I made the mistake of buying a "driving project", something that was more or less complete that I could in theory drive while I was fixing it up. It's been love hate since I just want to drive the fucking thing, but it IS a fifty year old car, and lots of the fifty year old parts are getting tired. Although it seems to finally be running nicely. For now.
Also getting specialty parts fucking sucks and can be expensive as hell.
>Need two new throttle return springs >Each spring costs about $1.50 >Shipping is $80 flat rate because it's coming from Sweden >This is what I get for trying to be unique
Elijah Williams
That's because you never really realize just how much work a car is until you've had first hand experience. It's even worse if you're not a professional, restoring old cars is one of the most difficult things you could ever do in life and those stupid car restoration shows like Overhaulin have misled so many people into thinking it's easy.
John Williams
>buy non running car >well of course it doesn't run, all these parts are so old, it will be easy to fix >spend hundreds replacing tons of shit >still won't start >take off valve covers >oil in there is more like a glue >every single rod is bent somehow >hidden block crack also found
And that was went I learned that when a car gets parked for 20 years, there probably was a good reason for it
Blake Foster
When you make progress is feels good. I did some brakes today on mine, it took about 5x as long as normal since they hadn't been off in a few decades, but that's ok I still felt a sense of accomplishment. But I have been in those ruts where it just doesn't seem like anything gets done, and that's when you get burned out. Progress keeps you motivated, even if it's not huge steps
Ethan Fisher
>be unique
Biggest mistake I have ever made. I sure love having a car that doesn't interchange with any other models
Michael Barnes
You bought $80 worth of springs? What the fuck dude you can can springs custom wound one-off for half that!
Jason Miller
He's probably one of those guys obsessed with oem parts
Sebastian Wilson
I tried a variety of places in my city and they all turned me down or had no idea what an SU carburetor is, so I got pissed off and just ordered them. Probably could have found a place to make some if I kept at it, but I got mad and said fuck it. On the bright side, they work lol
Nicholas Brooks
>project sits outside because no garage >hadn't done anything with it in months because of lack of time >finally get some free time a few days ago >open door and discover hundreds of wasps have made it their new home >have been in hospital before from wasp attack so have a rational fear of them >have avoided it since
Really not sure what to do now
Anthony Roberts
Buy a propane burner from harbor freight, I love burning those little shits with one
William Russell
I would prefer not to burn the car down
Nicholas Cooper
Then blast them with a pressure washer
Justin Morris
Man. I killed my passion as well with my project car. I even took all the auto courses offered at my cc. I've spent so much money buying specialty tools n shit. I just spent 1k on welding equipment so I can start doing my floor pans, body panels and frame rails. I don't even wanna do this shit anymore.....but when I turn on the car and drive it around going WOT it makes me want to continue.
Connor Jenkins
Get a hand pump pressure spray bottle and use soapy water to take them out from a distance.
If fear is still too strong then build a wasp trap and place it as near the nest as possible, it just takes a bit longer.
Anthony Martin
Gotta be like that ass on the gas monkey show. Other people do the labor but he is the one that gets to drive the cars.
Ryder King
Idk why you guys bought actual chrome bumpers instead of getting knock offs and painting them chrome. Would've saved you a lot of money and literally no one could tell the difference until you got into an accident.
Parker Thomas
Introduce a natural predator, or cause factions to develop so the wasps will kill each other, or introduce drugs into their community to weaken them.
Or, ya know, buy some big spray.
Josiah Sullivan
>buy propane burner to keep driveway edges free of weeds >use it to torch fire ant hills Feels good man
How would one start faction wars with wasps? Can they each have different cultures as well?
Brody Campbell
What OP is describing is a good part of the reason why I don't wanna buy an empty shell, a heavily damaged car or similar.
With my dream car, the Mercedes C126, I want a cheap and worn 380 or something to start with. If the body is undamaged, no rust. no parts really missing and so on then its fine. I just wanna replace part after part without having to do the "whole thing" at once. Sure, repainting it properly might require a disassembly of pretty much everything, but everything else should be fine
Thomas Myers
Welding is a skill that will serve you for the rest of your life. Get on it.