I always love to start a new project, but the momentum slows as time goes by. Its great to reach the end, but by that point, I'm just tired of the car & usually end up selling it. I never seem to keep done cars around long. For some reason, the gr*** always looks greener on the other side of the hill ! Lately, Ive bought more complete projects that will be less labor intensive. I'll see if that helps with the longevity of ownership !
Well said. Pic***o was asked, "Why do you paint?" Pic***o replied, "For the joy in doing it." It's all about process to me. Yeah. It's cool to attend/participate in events with the builds, but to me, the real reward is in building it...."The agony and the ecstasy".
Being my first, the build was awesome. Then having to do it again, I found myself repeating the fun. Now, I enjoy the drive. It took a while to realize what I had done. I always enjoy the look some people have when I tell them I built it. Knowing that I finished something that, in the past, was a dream, is the new happy happy joy joy.
If you ever bail out on the Deuce,....Don't forget Frank,... I am #127 on the list,.. ( I moved up from #154 due to some,... ah,... "Accidents",.. that happened to some of the guys ahead of me on the list over the last year),..... I am hoping to be # 97 by the end of 2012.
The build is everything to me. Buying 100 cars can't replace the fun of building 1 car. Driving is fun, but unless the trip takes 6-18 months, it's second to the build. On my current build, I'm making as many parts myself as possible. Weld bungs, brackets, you name it, I'm making it. Takes more time, probably costs more, but calling a supplier and ordering does not have the satisfaction of making the same thing. Did I mention I like the build?
Afaulk said it for me. I did a OT tupperware torpedo (80 Vette), my bro-in-law loves it and it financed the '35, which was complete, but I tore it apart and made it better. Now starting on the coupster with the y-bock and it's making me think, fabricate, weld and all the other fun things that this hobby brings. Still on the ch***is, but thinking of where I can store a COE for the next project. RB
My first true build was my 65 c-10. It took three years to complete. I put 3000 miles on it and then sold it with no regrets. Tons of work went into that truck. You are the only critic in your own garage, when you bring it out, it all changes.
Maybe that's why I've never finished a car. I've driven them after getting them to drivable condition, but never had one with glossy waxable paint. I'm spending more time on a friend's car than my own at the moment, so maybe the build is where it is at. I'm fabricating a bunch of sheetmetal stuff for a T Coupe that is very challenging. It's a lot of fun making something from nothing. The big reward right now is the car's owner ogling and appreciating what I've done.
Jeem, thanks for starting this thread. As others have said it's all about the build. I have tried to explain this to other non-builder car guys and they don't get it. I guess I'll have ya'll as company in the asylum after all.
I think you and I have had this discussion before... I like not only the build, but the "find" and the fleshing out of my ideas. The thrill of the hunt has always been a big deal for me, and finding all the right stuff is a bigger deal than the finished car. With me, generally once the car is three dimensional and a physical reality, I'm happy as hell to sell it. I think Pete Chapouris is credited with the saying "You start loosing money as soon as the first brake line is bent", I can't disagree with that. Probably why all of my stuff has always been primed, well built, and evil...
I just swapped a nice,finished car for an unfinished project. They say admitting you have a problem is the first step toward a cure---but I think I'm just fine.
On the other hand...I have to ask. (because I've never done it) I imagine there's a very big difference in cruising alone in your finished rod, vs cruising with a bunch of your buds in a caravan of hot rods. Isn't this true guys? The sharing, the comradery, the destination, hangin' out, etc. I know ya can't always travel "en m***e"...maybe rarely, even. But doesn't this put a whole different slant on it, and help to introduce some "magic" into the experience? And make you glad you've got a finished car?
It is absolutely magic! Even better though is ONE good friend that you cruise with who is just as agressive as you and who's ride is as capable as yours... All sorts of fun trouble ensues! I'm talkin' to you ElPolacko! But, either or, I have to admit my "finished" car is always the most astetically challenged of the batch.
I too love the build. Usually when I finish a car I drive it a bit and put it away. Although the car in my avatar is a lot of fun, hop in and drive. nothing but engine sounds and wind, kind of like a motorcycle only I don't have to put my foot out at stop lights.
I recall a customer of mine telling that, hands down the MOST EXCITING time of his (car-)life was the NIGHT BEFORE he picked up his new -fill in the blank- (project, barnfind whatever, in this case it was a 911 Turbo)...Made perfect sense to me! Something he'd been working toward, hoping for over many YEARS, and the anticipation was the big hit. I understood that completely Maybe actually reaching the summit is an anti-climax, and it really is all about the climb...It is for me. Eric
Yep, that's something I realized about myself quite a while ago. Breathing life into something that is ailing or dead has to be the biggest accomplishment on the planet.
Awesome! Someone mentioned camaraderie, yep, definitely important and nice to share with your friends. It's great to have buddies that can do one thing or another and you can share your strengths, but by and large, I'm working in the garage by myself. Probably 70% of the time. That's WHY I enjoy it so much....just thinking and problem solving and crafting something useful at my own speed.
Cool thread, we do this car building thing to satisfy ourselves, right? I don't know if its because not everyone can, or even wants to for that matter. I am with you on the process. It always ends up like giving away puppies, you can't keep em' all and you hate to see em' go.
Well Jeem, I'm the same way. You'll finish the build and expect to feel a 10 when you only feel a 8 or 9. Why? That's because you miss building the car. You'll also start driving it around looking for flaws and places to improve it. That and worrying about traffic around you. It's legitamate stress that pulls on you.
I always found that the build is all the fun. I don't know if its the work or the help from friends and family. The fact is I'm not happy unless theres a car to work on in my shop. In a way I guess I have a type of ocd (Obsessive Car Disorder). I have found its Hard for me to stay on track as far as a build goes I'm always looking for my next project. I know that my Dad don't have to many years left so I want to build as many cars as I can with him.
Ever sell a project and have the buyer return with a finished vehicle and let you take it around the block? That happened to me years ago with a '28 AA rack body truck that I'd collected a bunch of NOS stuff for and planned a drop dead restoration. Fellow did a nice job finishing it, but boy was I glad it was his not mine after a 1/2 mile run around the block.
I spent 30 years trying to get to Mt Rushmore. Something always happened along the way that led to a different adventure. Finally a few years back the wife and I made the trip together, found a pretty neat little car museum and some other neat stuff along the way. We got there walked around the whole thing as much as my tired old legs would allow and when we left we look at each other and said, wow that was neat wasn't it. on the way home we stayed in a motel because of a looming tornado met some folks found a couple of pretty cool old wrecking yards etc. You know where this is going right? You're a builder friend, nothig will ever take the place of the trip. Lighting it off is just the destination then it is off on another adventure.
A****st my other thoughts aready posted here, Getting what ever I'm working on driveable ("finished" in my book) also brings thoughts of "why didn't I think to do that better than I did". Not the whole car by any stretch, but I tend to be a bit critical of my work, so in with the "whoopee let's go for a ride!!" there is always "damn, if I had just taken the time to make that front end 1/2 lower...".
That's kind of the point for the '37. Transportation to Pomona and points unknown. Quartzsite(?), maybe, but not at night, not again....
'Course, a ten in Quartzite would be a solid "3" anywhere else in the world! They do have the tomb of Arizona's camel driver though... Just ask Craig about that one! EDIT!!! Sorry, there I go careening wildly O/T again! Back to your normally scheduled thread...
I've cruised alone and I've done a bunch of trips with a group over the years. Both have their positive and not so positive aspects. Going with a group is fun but you end up stopping where the "group" wants to stop and p***ing up interesting stuff that the "group" didn't stop for. Lunch and gas station choices seem to be what the lead car's driver picks. The good is that you have the company of other car people to enjoy the trip with, If someone has trouble there is usually someone in the group that can come up with a solution and maybe the needed part. My buddy never carried a spare because my spare worked on his car. Plus he knew I always carried enough tools to do what could be done on the side of the road to get a car back on the road. In the early 80's we left my house here with 35 miles on a totally fresh truck headed for Waco, Tx for family vacation and to hit four rod runs in three weekends. We traveled alone the whole trip but got to stop at where ever we wanted to and eat at what ever looked interesting along the way. The little cafe in the middle of Muleshoe Tx had great ice tea then. My problem is the opposite of most of the guys here. I love the build process but once the vehicle is up and running it never gets finished as I am always driving it. I've never had one done to the point that there was nothing left to do as I always find an excuse to not finish them.
Glad you brought it up. I am close to finishing my first real hot rod - ground up. Now, I've owned many "bolt-on" cars that I have modified even extensively, but this is the first ground-up early car. The thing is, I have always enjoyed the driving experience, not so much the actual work. Until this car. I have been on this car for three years and have learned more about fabrication, systems and patience than I thought possible. The only real problems are what NOT to do to the thing to keep a theme going. Lessons: 1. I will NEVER look at another running hot rod, no matter how "Fonz'ed out" and dismiss the effort of the builder. 2. I now know how a shop can have $$$$$ in "just a simple" process like setting up a brake system or fuel system. 3. I literally could not have built this car without the shared experience of all the HAMB'ers on here. Thanks! 4. I can't believe how many times I've had this thing totally ***embled, totally dis-***embled, then re-***embled, then... well many of you know. 5. The only way to have the perfect hot rod is to have ten different cars. 6. Nothing I will ever do on my car will be as perfect as I envisioned it would be. 7. I have no real idea how much I'm gonna dig driving this car til I'm done. But I gonna finally truly understand the pride of driving an owner built car.
The Jalopy Journal
