I've been into cars for more than 20 years now and over the years I have had alot of neat rides. For some reason though, I never seem to keep any of them for very long. Most of the time, I end up letting them go with nothing to really show for it in the end. Granted, I am married with kids, so some of the funds are used to offset the expense of raising a family but alot of times I end up trading a perfectly good rod for some one else's basket case that never gets finished. Anybody out there in the same boat as me? Any former boatmates that have figured out how to break the cycle?
A few years back I decided I was no longer going to sell any cars or guitars, cua I always end up missing them depsite the fact that I'm usually chomping at the bit to get rid of em. Unfortunately, I'm out of room for more cars, so I might have to break my rule...
Hell most of the time I don't even end up with pictures. Here's the deal if you want to do something for an investment call charles schuab. My ol man told me a long time ago that from your own car the only thing you can ever expect to get in return is the enjoyment of it. You can make money on other peoples cars but that's work not hobby. That said if you build a sweet one and don't allow yourself to fall in love with someone elses basket you can at least break even or close to is. Nuff said.
Yes. Some of us are builders, some are drivers. Builders get bored once a car is complete and look forward to another project. They sell the completed project IOT fund another project that they've already envisioned in their head. Kinda like fishing or hunting in that the fun is in the process, not the product. I bet Leonardo Divinci was a builder. Drivers live for getting bugs on the windshield. Or low E.T.'s, or watching the sunset over the hood ornament while being serenaded by the headers... Building (or buying) a car is just a necessary prerequisite before driving it. Charles Linberg was a driver. Not O/T at all...
I'm more of an interested admirer with a touch of destroyer built in (like whenever I try to fix anything)...
fresh out of High School I discovered I could buy a car for 200.00 clean it up,get it running, and sell it for 700.00, use that small profit to move on to the next one..keep the ones I liked..I enjoy driving around an attractive car with a for sale sign and talkin to folks..you meet some frogs but what the heck, thats life..You do have to focus on the project that turns you on and have the fortitude to sell off the others to fund that project....
I am settling down. I used to build, get board and flip, but for the last little while I have been selling off everything but a few vehicles that I really want to keep. I have been car poor in the past (lots of cars, but little money) and would rather have some cash to do up the ones I am keeping and enjoy life a little more. My turbocharged camaro is going up for sale as soon as it comes out of the paint shop, sold my ramp truck already, and selling my Exploder. All I am keeping is a daily driver I will have some fun in (S10 with a V8), the 49' Chev, and my first car, a 69' Dart. The money from the camaro selling will go against the morgage on the house, and the exploder money will get rid of the visa bill. Then I will have a bunch less to pay each month that can be used for fun things and to make the cars I do have nice.
I think My problem is automotive A.D.D. What were we talking about? Sure is sunny, Where are my keys? Serously, I enjoy building them, then when they are done I am bored and searching for the next one. My Buds joke that I will not buy a car that runs! Like the hunt too, even the wild goose chases. Hoping that some day you will find that super rare and valuable machine. Havin a blast, Dave
I stopped counting how many cars and projects I've owned after 300. I think it is, in may case anyway, a constant search for the "right" car, which I now believe I had several times already but had to let go for financial and other reasons, like where do you keep all the cars you really, really, REALLY LIKE? What should I have kept? All of them or maybe just the 33 Ford Cabriolet with chopped top and Carson Top Shop top(?), 48 Plymouth Woodie Wagon(?), chopped 34 Ford 3W coupe(?), 49 Merc Woodie Wagon(?), 36 Studebaker 3W Coupe (yeah the one with the triangular rear window,?), 47 Ford Panel Truck(?),47 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery(?), 25-27 TT Truck(?), 27 Essex 2door Sedan(?), and the list goes on. I'll be happy with my Old Roadster(23 T built in 1969), enough parts to build a couple new roadsters, and the cherriest 29 Tudor Body and sheet metal I've ever seen.
I hate to get rid of anything. Only times I do is when I simply have to have the money to get something else I'll hate to let go.
That's alot of my problem. I will get a project drivable and then lose interest in it or a buddy will stop by and mention seeing a "fill in the blank" for sale really cheap and my mind wanders away from the current project. It would be easier if I could fixate on one particular style, the issue is I like too many different ones. Any thoughts short of electro-shock therapy? Don't know if I could afford the electric bill...lol
If you have the space to put them, a wife that enjoys old cars/hot rods, a little disposable income, your local sheriff is a car guy, your boss is a car guy..it can be a dangerous combination, and there is no stoppin ya! go for it! we only get to do this once..build a ten second race car, that'll get your blood goin...
I have the opposite problem. I have the 40 coupe I bought when I was 13, and can't part with it. It needs freshening, and I would get rid of everything on it except the main body and front fenders if I redo it. I know if I take it apart to go through it, I would never get it back together. A wife, 2 young kids, and no job makes the task like climbing Mt. Everest. But then I also have the same problem. I've had alot of cool old hot rod parts that I have bought cheap and sold because I have always had to sell one cool thing to get the money for the next. But I do like the trill of the hunt. I wish I had been able to keep the stuff, but the wife, kids, and no job have pretty much forced my hand on not getting to keep the stuff. Most of it's gone now, but i still keep my eyes open for the "next big score". That's also why I hang onto my coupe. If I was to sell it, I know I'll the money will pay bills, and I won't have one again.
"Any former boatmates that have figured out how to break the cycle?" I got some advice for ya... Quit getting rid of yer sh..tuff!! Problem with that is, then you'll begin to turn out like me. Now I gotta start savin for a garage to keep it all in. Wait a minute... What the hell are you doin on the computer anyway??? Shouldn't you be sanding on a certain Buick or something? LOL<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
Personally, I've had more cars (and bikes) then I care to admit, but for me I've always enjoyed the build as much if not more so then the driving part. Don't get me wrong I love cruising in anything that isn't like everyone else is driving...but I enjoy the figuring things out and making this work with that too. Yeah there are a couple cars I wish I never got rid of, but I'm not independently wealthy, so I have to sell one to move on to the next project. I figure for me, if I have a car on the road for two years I've had my fun with it and I need another project (the only exception to this was my last 67 Nova..actually had that one for almost 12 years...but I built and sold at least three other cars in that time). I guess it's a sickness, but I figure it's gotta be cheaper then getting married that many times (that's a hell of a lot more expensive to get out of)... A car doesn't get offended if you want to take another car for a ride
I know of no "cure" for this disease... It seems I'm always drooling over "available" project vehicles. In addition, I've been working two jobs to have some of that elusive "disposable income" to play with... Both of my bosses are car guys, and the local sheriff is a gearhead from way back. My fiancee' loves 'em, too... In fact, we currently have a total of 7 rides (and counting?). Let's see... Where do I begin? Ah, yes... There's the '59 Dodge 4-Door Sedan I bought when I was 18-years-old... Gotta keep that one... After all, it was my FIRST old car. Then there's the '56 Dodge 4-Door Sedan I bought a little more than 4 years ago... Got this one because the '59 was (and still is) in the shop. I was gettin' bored without a set of fins to cruise around in... Oh, and this one can't be sold, either... It's the car I met my fiancee' in... We went on our first date in this one... and she was sitting on the front fender the day I asked her to marry me... This one's definitely a keeper. That leaves the '60 Chrysler 4-Door Hardtop that her uncle gave us about a year ago... It's a surprisingly SOLID, running car that needs some paint and interior work to make it a really sweet ride. Can't sell this one... It was a gift. That'd just be wrong. It'd be like selling off a member of the family. Oh, and I can't forget the little '94 Mazda Miata that I bought from my aunt and uncle... This little car is a pocket rocket, not to mention the fact that it gets great gas mileage and provides tons of "smiles-per-gallon" in the spring and summer months... Can't sell it... It's just too much fun to drive... Then, there's the '57 BelAir 2-Door Hardtop that I bought this past winter... It's my DREAM CAR. It's also special to me because I bought it from a dear friend who has since died of cancer. This one's definitely gotta stick around. That leaves us with our daily drivers to play around with... My '97 Chrysler Cirrus and her '98 Honda Accord... I suppose those are disposable enough. To make matters worse, I have access to a FREE '65 Falcon 2-Door Hardtop, a FREE (*RUNNING*) '77 Chrysler New Yorker 2-Door, a basketcase '36 Ford Pickup, and a bargain $800 '68 Buick Wildcat 4-Door Hardtop that looks damn near NEW... The only thing I'm lacking is a big-assed warehouse to hold all of the toys I have or want (need?). On top of that, regular maintenance, tires, and insurance already cost a fortune. To be honest, I'm pretty much car POOR... but I love every minute of it. I suppose it's just a curse that all of us car guys have to live with. Maybe I should buy a few lottery tickets, huh? -NM
"Wait a minute... What the hell are you doin on the computer anyway??? Shouldn't you be sanding on a certain Buick or something? LOL" "You know Pepper, you can't polish a turd." LOL Maybe I should be remolding some trim into the cowl......
I enjoy building them as well as driving 'em, the key is to keep at least one decent driver while you flip the others.
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