What do you when you're burned out on a project?!?

X1 for me my wife says I have car commitment issues O will.

 

Going to cruise ins and shows helps a lot as does working on other projects for a bit. And I have plenty to do with a house that's 67 years old, a shop that's 60, and a bunch of machine tools as much as 90 years old! Then add in 2 daily drivers, both '94 models, one w221K, the other w/102K!
Right now I'm pushing myself fairly hard, as I need to finish painting the frame to a decent appearance, then the roadster body, stripped of all removable sheet metal, inside, outside and underneath.
Then I can put the body back on the frame so that once again I have room in my shop to do maint and repairs on daily drivers (one is down now). And all the trouble I'm having getting an acceptable finish on just the exposed areas of the frame when used on a Hiboy is about to put me in a burnout mode!.
I'm hoping that since the car is to be black, no metallics, etc, that I can then paint the other stuff such as doors, dash deck lid, etc a few pieces at a time and they'll still match!
Dave

 

A couple friends of mine started a little deal where each week on Thursday, they gather at one guys house and help him with a project. Sometimes it's car stuff, sometimes garage stuff, sometimes house stuff, but when someone gets burnt out they help him over the hump on Thursday, and usually it gets them motivated for the weekend. I need help over the hump on my caddy project, or I'm going to have to pay to have it put back together.

 

I gave up a few times, just tired of working on it, it was in pretty bad shape. I gave up on it for a 4 year stretch once, didn't even uncover it.

Then started up again last winter, seem to be getting someplace now, ready for gages, interior, etc. fire it up soon, if I don't kick off first.

So what do I do in spring ? I buy a 48 Chev Aero Cp. and have not touched it since unloading from trailer but I did build a blower motor for it.

 

Watch these videos...

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=283866

 

Ditto Paul ....... here too, I repaint the shop, or build a tool stand, or clean out a box of parts that I was going to do later, rearrange the shop, moving the car to a different spot, always works for me.
I too have found that not having all of the pieces or material to fab with on hand is a BIG problem for me, it just drives me crazy to have to go hunting for parts and steel,etc. in the middle of an idea......
Glenn

 

I think this is good advice! When I'm in a groove, getting stuff done, I tend to let the shop get really cluttered. Then, the next time I walk in and the place is a pigpen I just don't have the same level of interest. Cleaning and organizing also gives me time in the garage, near the car, to think about the next step. My .02 worth....and oh, yeah, if it was easy every damn body would have one!

 

just like i was for a while there, you can only do so much you dont know untill it gets agravating, i just remind myself that im 19 damn years old with a car that most adults dont even have. and im building it my damn self.
just the knowing most of the shit i do to make stuff work on the car and things i've made for it just make me feel like im doing something great, as much as i miss the truck, i didnt build it, i bought it that way.
On the 58' hell, its like one big Revell model, most of the body is already together, you just have to fill in all the guts.

 

Buying another project or two helps me...but of course the process doesn't involve selling the 'burnout' project. It's always nice to have a distraction here and there, especially depending on the working conditions. I really like the idea of people rotating around garages to help their buddies, I wish I had a little of that action going on!

 

I keep at least 4 or 5 going at all times and have another 5 or 6 waiting for shop space. Get bored with one and move to another one for a while.

 

I usually have several projects going at one time. This last project has taken five years to finish and at times I have walked away for months at a time. My problem is time and money which frustrates me to no end. I have to work extra to have my hobby but when I do I don't have time to work on my hobby. Catch 22! Anyway I always found it helpful when I get burnt out to help someone else with their project or have a good friend help with yours. I think Concrete B hit on this. You will be suprised what an extra set of hands can help get done a short amount of time. You just have to have alot of staying power to get a major project done. I have also learned if it doesn't happen oh well. There are alway other projects. Some will get done some will not. I take a lot of heat for working on a project, finishing it and then selling. I just enjoy the build or working on anything mechanical for that matter. Hang in there!

 

i like the "pick 3 things rule" List 3 things i want to accomplish on a project whether its over a weekend, a week or just one day. Don't over load your ass, try and guess how long it will take to do it and double it, then when you finish early you really feel good about it.....

 

i've got one that i've had for 13 years.... pretty sure i will call it ... dis-track'd its currently in a bunch of piles in the corner of the shop...i guess there is always next year.... brandon

 

i've been burned out too, I guess when you've been working on the same car when you are able,for a decade,sometimes it gets old. I did aquire some new shop lights,they told me to take them home at work,because they had mercury containing flourescent bulbs. I love freebies. anyway,climbed up in my never sees sunlight rafters, and put them in. really makes a difference. now i can see what i'm doing and I actually got out there and worked again. gets old working in a tiny very dark garage,especially when the humidity is almost a hundred percent every day. I have been working on some of the projects,my manifold and carbs i built,my oil cooler setup, I have the wiring harness in the house,and i'm building it. just lots of stuff,but just haven't felt like getting out there and working on the car much. Oh I also got some of those daylight bulbs for flourescent lamps, I highly reccomend these. they make a huge difference in being able to see what you are doing. when you can see,it puts you in a better mood and you get more done. went out there and worked on running my AN lines from my oil pressure gauge to under my dash and back out to under the hood.

 

More projects!!!

 

Exactly! As I suggested, make the shop environment "friendly", and you'll find yourself out there much more often. Buy a little 1500 BTU A/C unit at Home Depot for $275 and air condition the garage...nobody likes to work in heat. Paint the floor with gray epoxy so that you can get low without wiping half of the floor with your shirt, and install a stereo to play oldies and what-not. Throw out (or sell) half the crap that you've never used and will never use. Make it your "man-cave", and your attitude on car work will change.

 

My burn out cure has been to switch to a different procect for a while. I've devolped a theory about why the new project always looks better. After you've been working on a car for a while you know exactly how much work it's going to take to finish it. But on a new project car it's easy to look at it and say"Just a little body work, stick a motor in it and I'll be driving!" Six months later repeat the process. That's why I've got three cars in the shop, my Triumph torn apart in the living room, and four more projects waiting. My
new plan has been to work on one thing until it's done. Seems to be working, my '68 Chevy car hauler is back on the road with new motor and paint, next up is the paint on the Jaguar with the small block, then I can get back to the '31 chevy coupe-or the '37 Olds-or the '53 Chevy truck-or---

 

i see to like to buy tools when I don't want to work...does it make sense??who knows but then I really have no excuse not to play around.

I also find it helpful to ask the same questions to everyone I know.

tok