Help! I think I'm sick of this project!

WARNING - LONG POST!
So how do you know when you're over it - your project that is. What factors generally lead you to abandon your project and move on to another one? I have been working on my '64 Comet 2 door post car since the Summer of 2007 and am getting close to being finished with the mechanical part of the build - I'm still a trans., driveshaft, and about $500.00 short of being driveable.
I've redone pretty much everything from one end to the other (wiring, suspension, brakes, etc.) but I'm finding that I'm just losing interest in the whole thing. Visually, the car needs a fair amount of body work, paint, and a full interior - which I can't really afford. I'm just about at the $7500.00 mark now and am really hesitant to spend any more money.
I guess my needs changed, when I bought the car - I just wanted something - anything to work on. Now I find myself really wanting something to haul my bikes / motorcycles / mini bikes around in (think Ranchero / El Camino / Econoline / A-100 etc.) I know I can't get my money back out of it with the economy the way it is - I was thinking of trying to find someone to trade me, but you never know exactly what you're getting yourself into. I've considered just stashing it in my brother's garage and leaving it there, but that seems pointless. I even thought about cutting the deck lid and back gl*** out and making some sort of Ranchero thing - but we all know how that usually goes. I don't want to drag a trailer around behind it or hang a rack on the back bumper either.
I'm completely stumped at this point. Do I sell it and just **** up my losses - I expect to get less than half of what I've got in it if I sell. Do I yank the drivetrain and everything else out and try to find a Ranchero to put it in? Do I take a chance and trade for something else? I realise now that I should have been more careful when I bought it in the first place.
What would you guys and gals do?

 

I would take a break from it. Step back, go to some shows and try and find a few to look at. That might be enough to get you back in the project. If you can afford to store it and find something you can drive and work on, that might be your best bet.
Store the Comet and find an A100 to drive while you work on it, that way you can still work on it when you want. I have bailed on a few projects and have seriously regreted it everytime.

 

That's a ****py position to be in , but if I were in your shoes, here's what I'd probably do. Sounds like you've got a solid platform with the suspension and all that rebuilt. I'd start looking for a '64-'65 Ranchero to transplant all your hard work and money into. They're not that hard to come by, and reasonably priced, at least in my neck of the woods. All you'd need is the shell, sounds like you've got everything else. Plus you could swap the front sheetmetal from the Comet onto the Ranchero and have a really cool one of a kind ride.

 

That's an interesting thought seeing as how I've got an extra set of fenders, hood, front bumper, grille, headlight doors, etc. etc.

 

Do you not like your Comet?

 

Show it to us

 

Not so much. It's alright but, I'm not in love with it - never have been. I just couldn't afford the cars I really like.

 

That's a bummer, seeing as '64 Comets are my favorite car from the '60s. You're probably frustrated and bored since it's a money pit and you've got all this time wrapped up in it... but no payoff yet. Get it on the road, spend that last $500. Drive it around some and see if you reconnect with it. Wish you were closer, I'd trade you my Mopar for it.

FYI, I'm pretty sure Comet fenders won't line up with Ranchero doors.

 

I knew someone would ask. It's only been out of the garage 4 or 5 times in the last 3 years. I don't really have any pics of it, but I'll try to get some as it's in the garage at my brother's house.

 

Awww your just bored.

If you trade off this project for an elky or sim. you still won't have anything to haul your stuff because it will be tore apart for 3+ years waaaaaaiting on you. Finish it then trade finished for finished. Better yet you could barter what your good at for what you are not. Example: I know excelent body/paint men who do not know there way around inside of an engine we barter labor.

Barn-core has some excelent ideas!!!

I also think everybody gets there at some point and I imagine that "knowing" when you are there and what the signal that you get is telling you could be different for everybody.

When I get there I can tell because I get bored, and F*** around instead of getting things done. I usually have just lost my motivation.
What I do about it? take a step back, review the " I have this finished list" instead of the "to do list" . Take a look at the progress pics.

Sometimes I work on something different for a short time (couple days), that brings that accomplishment feeling back. Maybe its clean the shop up and pjoject (nothing like a spiffy shop!!!) or get on that PITA project that I have been putting off. Sometimes I try out a completly new and different skill set on something that I know very little about. That stimulates the brain.

Hanging some pics of the completed concept for inspiration help alot.

Don't give up, finish what you started.
Serial project staring is a problem. Wastes your time, your money, your talent and your iron. = your loss
The only ones who benifit from it are the guys that ****** up your loss and finish it.

If you started this particular project because you could not afford what you wanted, that makes you that much further away from what you really want and would be in love with, don't it?

 

Bummer..

well take a break from it..and play with your other toys for a while..you will know when the time is right to get back on it

 

Wow, I wish you were closer - I've been in love with your car since the first time I saw it on here. I guess the fact that I'm a pretty die hard Mopar guy that owns a Mercury is part of why I've never connected with it.

 

Don't get rid of it until you've put a hundred or more miles on it.

I had a buddy who spent YEARS and lots of money on a '64 Ranchero G***er.... and then gave up, pulled off and sold all the expensive parts off it, and sold it as a roller for $500.

He drove it a few times, but for all the work and time he put into it.... it was just sad to see him not get to enjoy it.

He was in a similar spot, he got the car for free but he never really "loved" it.

So my advice; Get it going, work the bugs out and get a few hundred miles on it. It may change your whole perspective. If not, a running driving car sells for a lot more than a sitting pile.

 

Its pretty straight out you said you don"t like the car, never have ,so throw an ad out for trade for old pickup,el camino,ranchero,load up the bikes,go out and have some damn fun,theres a lot guys would love to have a COMET to wrench on.

 

You asked for opinions so here goes. If after all this time you still aren't in love with it, you never will be. I bought a 64 Chevy II, that was a running driving car. Took the 6 cyl., powerglide out of it, and was going to put a 350/350 combo in it. Got it all apart, and lost interest in it. I even lost a bet with a guy that bet me I'd never finish it. Anyway, 6 months after it just set in a corner in my garage I came to realize it was never something I would finish. I sold it at a major loss, but was through with it. A year later after saving some money back up, I bought a wrecked 39 Chevy and built it from the ground up. Build something you know you will really love and keep.

 

You've just learned one of the major lessons in car building. A project car is like a marriage. Just like a woman, you should at least THINK you are in love with ANY project before you marry it.

And just like a woman you are not in love with, it's time to move on.

 

the comet-ero isnt too bad of an idea i think it could be done right

 

Well said james 427

 

i was the same damn way with my 1960 f100 i traded that off for a cool 1956 olds rocket 88 the best thing i ever did so far this year other then my son being born one day befor i traded the truck off

TRADE IT OFF if it was up to me lol

 

Put it up for sale as-is. There is someone out there that will appreciate everything you put into and know how close it is to being done. Don't be afraid to take the first offer, most times they are the best one that you get. At least you will know it's going to a better home where it will be loved more.

You might break even (not likely) or even loose a few bucks on it, but you'll know whoever got it will enjoy it more than you ever will when it's done.

Take the exact amount you get for it, plus what you can spare and pickup something that you will really enjoy.

You have to learn to cut your loses and move on to something that you will work on and drive. Otherwise you will end up in the rut you are in now.

Bottom line, if it stops working for you, fix it or move on. Life is too short.

 

None of that. It aint the car, it's you, you are tired. Park it. Take a year off. Baseball spring training is right around the corner. Go to a few ball games. When you come back the car will be there.

 

I thought so too, but don't have the skills to pull it off. It would solve my problem - I think. Anyone ever seen this done right - or at least close to right.

 

If you have had the car as long as you have and you still don't like it, that is not likely to change. You have 2 options here. Finish it and sell it or trade it for something you really want. Building a car is an act of love, not an act of pity. Build the car you want, not the car you got stuck with. I love my Galaxie and I still enjoy working on it. Sometimes I get frustrated by it, but a little time away makes me appreciate it even more. Put an add in the cl***ifieds and see what happens. Someone might want to trade you a car that is more to your liking. Don't settle for less than your dream.

 

Here's the car in question. Sorry about the cell phone pics. It's four lug, but has an entirely new front suspension with a disk brake conversion and a maverick 4 lug 8" inch rear hung on all new parts. Now how the heck did that happen? Can anyone fix that?

 

Your just burned out, take a break. Then dump the $500 bones into your car and get it on the street.

 

Dude, sell the rights to your anti gravity machine and buy a wharehouse full of what ever you want..

oh, the pics are upside down,,my bad......

 

Dont cut that car up into a truck. Buy, or trade the comet for a ranchero. Guys with a 64-65 rancheros are into 64-64 comets, just trade for one.

 

I had a 50 buick special with the same feelings....took a good look at the thing and it was great to look at, at the proper angles, but the interior didnt feel right, and the ramp like rear roof wasnt looking too great either....long story short, if it dont make you happy, sell it for all its worth and build something you dream of, even if its one piece at a time...

 

that body isnt that terrible.....my suggestion....spend a few bucks to make it a driver......then sell it or trade it....a small investment and a few more hours work will get you a lot more money....you just may find a body man who wants something mechanically finished to trade.

 

I just found this thread.I feel you should sell it and move on.I am a Comet owner and really enjoy the 64-65s but if you are not happy why extend the pain! By the way,64-65 Comet and Falcon doors are the same,except for trim,they are basically the same car from the "B"pillar forward,I have a Falcon door on my Comet wagon project.I have seen three 65 Rancheros and one sedan delivery with 65 Comet front sheet metal ROY.