Projects Do you have too much on your plate?

I started to thin the herd about 6 years ago and have the avatar Zipper and a 1929 CCPU. Both of these cars require a certain amount of care and feeding. By the same token, I have more than my share of other interests that enable me to afford to pay others to indulge me in this hobby. I’m considering having some bumper stickers printed that say: I’M RETIRED AND I DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW PEOPLE WHO WORK FOR A LIVING GET ANYTHING DONE! At 77 I’m considering going back to work so I have some time for myself!

 

Don't fool yourself into thinking you will have all the time in the world to do what ever you want when you retire. I thought that too, I have been retired 5 years now. I do have some time to do what I want but you will be surprised at how many day to day things get in your way. Don't get me wrong, being retired beats the hell out of working, it just seems like I never get all the time I would like to work on my projects. Getting older and not as much get up and go enters into the picture too

 

Yes..But I wouldn't have it any other way

 

Two hot rods and eleven acres to maintain. Plus two pickups and the wife's car. I worked in the trades most of my life,
so I can do most things around the house. That is another curse! Plus if I see something cool, I say I can make that, since I am a hobbyist / artist. The real culprit is the age, and that is a fact that we are facing. Just keep on moving as long as you can, and stay busy, it is good for you. I am going to take a nap. Oh almost forgot, maintain all the lawn / landscape crap.

 

I hear you, I retired several years ago and made up for never getting any work done around the house, I re roofed the house, built a new deck, pored a new driveway, and built a new shop and then Brenda decided she wanted to own her own flower shop and continue her family's business I started helping her at the shop keeping the books & being a glorified delivery boy, most of the time is spent sitting in front of a computer with two windows open, the shop & the Hamb.

Keeps me out of trouble. HRP

 

My plate overflowed onto the table long ago, and now a bunch has spilled onto the floor.

 

Vehicle projects,no. Got my 47 Lincoln and the wife’s 88 F bird, plus her Expy and my F150. The F150 has had less than 5000 miles put on it in 3.5 years. I’m not home enough to drive my stuff anymore, I spend more time in the semi truck than anywhere else. My home time is less now than it was a few years back, and stuff doesn’t get done. And with the addition of the grandson living with us, time is for sure at a premium. Started a new carport recently, doing it all myself, so the vehicles sit until I get that done. Hard to make quick progress when you basically have one day to work on it, and help keep up with a hyperactive child!

Hoping to be able to retire in 2.5 years at 62. Then maybe I can catch back up to where I was 5 years ago......

 

The plate may runneth over but it beats pushing up daisies.

 

I like having multiple projects going at the same time, when I retired twenty years ago and after thirty years of being busy with automotive type work life was kind of boring. I gathered up a bunch of projects and treated them like my job. At first I was in get her done mode finishing one evert eighteen months but age caught up with me and I work a little slower now, two of my projects that I started when I retired took almost twenty years from start to finish but those are keepers anyways. For me now it is not getting done but just having the projects to work on.

 

I currently have 4 projects to waste my time on. The real problem is not passing up a part that is cheap of rare whether I need it or not. I recently brought home a 351c that a friend offered me because he was moving and had no time to sell it. I bring it home and my son stops by and asks what am I doing. He says that he is going to get stuck with unloading all these parts when I die. That may be true, however he shows up 2 days later with a complete tpi setup that a friend gave him. Next, I find a complete 40 Ford front end super cheap with axle, wishbone, brakes, spindles, shocks, and steering linkage, low mileage, stored in a fed barn for at least 50 years. THEN, my son shows up with an early Ford T 10 that needs a rebuild, plus tells me that he has a line in a good running 350 take out from an LS swap. I have a 3 car garage that my roadster is parked in and almost enough room left to walk normal around in, although it is requiring more and more sideways walking as time goes by. So, yes my plate overrunneth for sure. But, I have some NEAT stuff!!!!!

 

nothing urgent right now...I need to get the Barracuda going fast, but I have most of a year to do that. The old truck and Plan II are both working ok now, although the truck needs a new radiator (I put it off long enough to get through summer, so now I don't need to worry about it for 6 months).

The bus and the bread truck don't have firm plans yet, so they can sit for a while.

But the bathroom remodel is calling my name....after the fall road trips, that is.

 

I have 25 acres with house and a 30 x 60 shop near Lookout Mountian. I have most tools I need including two lifts. I have 4 projects to complete. I am 71 years old and I am semi retired. I building a 32 Ford roadster, 34 pickup, 40 sedan and a 55 F100. All are in various stages of completation. I have accumulated Ford parts for many years and they are all stored inside. I planned my retirement around my cars.
I am open to moving a couple of the projects, but I enjoy all of them. I saved them,out of the weather, for my retirement, and now is the time. I have gotten rid of several projects in the past years, but saved these four. I plan on living to be 100, but if I die tomorrow, I had fun. I know where my stuff will go when my time is up and that ips OK.
My wife passed last year and I now have more spare time. Between my property and the cars, I keep busy. I am fairly heathy and try to be careful. I can not do what I did 10 years ago, but I get by.

 

Not anymore, Danny. I"m down to one project and it's now driving. I gotta walk away from it long enough to slap new plugs in both my and my wife's daily drivers and change the timing belt in mine [hhr] before cold weather hits. This winter I'll yank the engine/trans/rear axle in the coupe and go through the trans/axle and swap out the rear main seal in the engine. Plenty to keep me busy but not overwhelming. I enjoy working on the coupe...no sweat.

 

You also forgot the part about your desire to start a new vocation as a bronco buster, I am told you have been practicing your dismount with a vintage Cub Cadet. HRP

 

I think mom told me to take only what I could eat. Or maybe it was what I could afford??? I have the 38 Chevy and 53 Stude Coupe in the shop, the 38 is a driver (although the heater core needs to be reinstalled) the 58 Hawk frame is in the other bay awaiting my getting paint on the 53 body so I can "mate" them. My wife is very understanding but at age 74 I don't want her to have to sell car parts that she has no idea what they are. Or what they are worth. Which may not be much.

 

man, do i have projects!! been retired 14 years and still don't seem to have made a dent in the mess. my dd is a '53 henry j gasser and a '63 plymrock s/s. spent the last 3 days without water to fix a broken sprinkler line.
first off, i build fiberglass molds of a lot of cars. grille shells,fenders and such. those aren't projects just parts. as far as cars goes hold on to your seat.
'54 ford coupe gasser
'64 comet
'66 dart awb
'59 studebaker lark gasser
'47 willys jeep
vw baja
'61 vw
'23 vwt
flathead dragster
440 dodge fed
'32 bantam altered flathead powered
'23 t altered 500 cad engine drag car
'71 ford f250
'79 ford f100
'55 chevy bobber truck
postal jeep made into a c cab
vw cut into an altered
'27 t full fendered vwt
'73 ford motorhome cut off and an enclosed box mounted to it
'glass fiat body.'27 t body,'29 ford roadster body, '23 t body, '33 willys coupe and truck body and molds to make most of them.
am i crazy or what. and to top it off, i'm 69 years old. i have an aversion to selling anything, so i will probably die with them all and anything else i get before then. i just saw a '65 corvair for 800 bucks not to far from me tonight on the list. always wanted to build an awb one of those.
as far as home stuff goes, bill burham said "the best thing he ever bought for his roadster was a gardner"

 

Simple answer..Yes. 4 as of today, a couple longer than planned ones. A '53 Chevy gasser that was put on hold to do the one in my avatar, which had to be put on hold to do son's early Chevelle, and the longest of them all is a '35 Chevy that I've owned since '72. But, after spending 5 days in a CCU last year, I have slowed down a bit. But still manage to enjoy them all. The earlier ones may have to go down the road though.

 

Sorry no video! But that cub hit a rut freewheeling down a steep hill and threw me like crazy stallion. Only remember laying on the ground and hardly being able to get up and walk. Much better after a week of pain and meds.

 

If there is a plate then I lost sight of it a couple years ago. Now I am scrambling like a mad bunny to get all my projects done and kick into hyperdrive every time there are snowflakes in air. I retired 4 years ago and still looking for the retired part. I hope to sell my current house and move next month then the list should get shorter.

 

I have potatoes on mine.

 

5 newer outboards
6 antique outboards
glass work on 3 boats
work on my cruising sailboat/retirement R/V
10 boats total
Model A project,parts,frame,suspension,350 SBC
305 chev and a V-6 chev for some project
getting into flying drones
Just retired, but finally coming to grips that I have to let go of some dreams....not getting them done
Good thing I'm not into motorcycles

 

Ahhh yes. Almost on the rediculous level. What I need to do, is slow down and breathe. Sell off some stuff and get room in the shop and in my head. Reboot may say it best.

 

How about a photo of you '54 ford gasser coupe. HRP

 

i would hrp but there is something wrong with my puter. it won't let me attach photos or email. another project i need to get to.

 

Not anymore. I am retired 11 yrs and only tackle one project at a time. There was a time I had cars scattered all over-no more. Keep my current cars in shape and ready and do 1 project at a time-help me retain my sanity to some degree. Current 40 is number 15
Still have a good stash of parts. Current 40 project goes to upholstery the 8th. I gotta find another 40!!! Also may go after a 36 3 window At 75 I'm good for a couple of more I think.

 

Thats kinda how I ended up with the 48 coupe. I had no intentions to really buy it but after seeing it, it was one of the straightest, rust free coupes I had seen in years. I knew I would never see a better one that was affordable, so it followed me home, damnit!

 

I have enjoyed my retirement (8 years now) and like some have mentioned keeping busy is not a problem, getting things done seems to be a problem. I'm making a sincere effort to make my/our lives easier, working on car projects has become work, not much enjoyment anymore and my/our priorities have changed with age/time/health issues figuring in. In process of selling off "stuff" that does not seem to be important anymore, at 70 now, making decisions that surprise me, one thing I've learned through time is things change, nothing is promised/guaranteed, life is good. I intend to continue enjoying the car hobby, eliminate the work/project part as I want to spend the time in other ways.

 

YES! But I have a plan, if all goes well I'll be picking up my latest project this week, a car I've wanted for a long time. In the trailer and out in the Hershey Swap Meet, it isn't coming home. Quick flip, cover some outstanding bills and maybe treat myself to some needed parts for the '39 pickup. I'll be 68 in December, so I could have a finished but unwired truck when I hit 75. Bob

 

When I need to get away from it all.

 

I voted no! I really only have a couple projects going on and that shouldn't be considered too many.
Here is a little snapshot of my life this coming week, a list from my wife:
There is nothing here that I shouldn't have to do and I'm not blaming my wife, she works a full-time job and I am retired.

SQUASH! I've got 30 buttercup squash from my garden that I have to cut up and cook and freeze so they don't spoil. Figure at least 2 full days, possibly 3. Carpal tunnel from the paring knife, here we come!

BLOOD WORK! This means a 30 mile trip into town to the clinic before breakfast. (there will be other little errands added to this, I'm sure) figure a whole day.

SANTA FE! Replace some brake lines on my rusty old suv. Undoubtedly will need some parts I don't have, maybe this will be one of the little errands added to the blood work trip. At least a half day labor.

TRACTOR! I have a Farmall Super C that doesn't start and I need it to rework my driveway before winter. I know it needs both an ignition tuneup and a carb rebuild. I will have to figure out what parts I need, then order. figure at least half a day. (this doesn't include actual labor, that will be next week when I have the parts)
A rough estimate is 5 days of my time, plus I do like to watch football on Sundays. That leaves 1 day to work on "my" projects and when that day comes around, I'll spend half of it scratching my head trying to figure out what I did the last time I worked on the project.
It is hard to focus on draining the swamp, when you are up to your ass in alligators!
Oh Yeah, there are 10 cords of wood laying out in the woods that need to be cut up, split and piled before winter hits.