Well it is snowing again in northern Illinois. Thought I would throw this question out there while I get ready to head out to the shop. Any of you guys or gals get involved in a long project and after a while you find yourself needing motivation for the project. Right now working on the Falcon I'm starting to run out of steam. Also just bought a house so that has been taking up some of my time. I guess I need something to recharge my interest. What do you guys and gals do?
i did on my last car that i planned to sell got frustrated with it....so i let it sit for a while did some work on my other car, my personal car that was more rewarding then someone showed interest in buying the set aside project...so back i went to it... it all worked out and now im starting over with a clean slate and alot of ambition to build something new good luck Zach
son these are the times that test mens souls,this is one small step for man,one giant leap for mankind.Get up,get up you son of a *****,cause Mickey loves ya.Do it for Johnny! Don't give up,get out there,dress warm and light that fire! get some **** done!Just trying to motivate ya
Usually my projects take up so much time, I've already changed plans for it a couple of times. Just change the plan and go from there... Or, on a more serious note, try to get some friends involved to help you out. I know from experience of wrenching pretty much alone all the time, having someone come over and help a little keeps you motivated better. Also watching some good car-DVD's or movies can bring back some of that interest.
I follow a path pretty similar to Zach's. Right now I'm burnt out on my truck, so I've been working on the house. The house work is mostly stuff I didn't take care of last spring and summer because I was busy working on the truck. At some point I'll burn out on the house again and go back to working on the truck. What I'd like to do is actually finish something! That's where Zach has me beat! Ed
I agree with BigBlock Mopar here. I usually wrench alone these days, but seems when I get a friend or 2 over things get me going. It seems talkin to them and seeing what they think or might do gets me back in gear. post up some pics and we will throw ideas at you
For me it just takes the right car p***ing by on the way to work. Or that kid in the *** wagon @ the trafic light. Or the fact that if I don't get it together i'll be stuck for the rest of my life driving my beeter! I think for me building the project at hand can be more rewarding then driving it. Well @ least that's true untill I see that one car or bike on the road that flicks that fabrication switch in the back of my head. If you have taken any pic's of your Falcon before you started just pull them out and look @ them. "See how far you've come"! I know you will figure it out. Good luck!
Here is the best inspiration: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=146912&highlight=hot+rodding+is+dead
Strip it all back down so it doesnt look like its finished and put some paint on that Bad boy then go from there........The new paint will be the inspiration to finish it.
Do you know any HAMBers in your area? I have breakfast every Saturday I'm not working with a few of them. When I have to park my late model truck next to a couple of 32 Fords, a shoebox, an a few other cool cars, that motivates me. Plus they help me out a ton. I had a really bad time with my project last week and was really close to giving up. fab32 came over yesterday got me squared away and ***ured me it wasn't as bad as I thought and I worked on that ***** the whole day after he left. Just having somebody around who's been there done that and knows what you're going through really helps.
SURE! It is a way of life for me. I think the best part of a build/restoration is finding the parts, maybe getting most things blasted and in primer, once I have a good picture of how things will look another project shows up. The new project takes the funds needed to finish the former project. I've had one race car painted, upholstered, and lettered, with all the remachined SBC parts in plastic bags for years, don't know what will get be back to that car.
I hop in my Mopar and whip up on some Ponchos......hahaha!...j/k..... Sometimes it helps to work on something different now and then....my 9 month old son and my wife just being diagosed with MS have taken up most of my time..... Although that Falcon is BAD...I don't think you could drag me from the shop 'till it was runnin'...hahaha!!!
I don't get much opportunity to get bored with a project these days. it seems that most of my spare time could easily be spent working on someone elses ride. Then when I do have time to wrench on my own and the bits n pieces I need to do it I'm completely out of energy. That said maybe you need a different perspective for a day or two. If you got a buddy that's a rodder go over to thier place and see if they need a hand wrenching or something. it'll give you a break and maybe they'll come by at a later date and do the same for you.
Least yours is inside! My coupe is sitting outside in a snow bank. All I can see tonight is the driver door and a huge pile of snow. Take a week or so and build a new bike. Sometimes a little change gets me motivated again. Gene
I pretty much shut down for winter. I dont have enough space so I need to have the door up and thats not happening right now. I do small things through winter, buying parts, making a game plan, organize my tools. Do a little buying and selling. I just have to focus. I have an old friend who is Kustom all the way 24-7. You call him at 12 a.m. hes on! giving you ideas on what to look for etc. He has a 49 Merc hes been working on since 1971! You talk about focused. I always think of that and it puts me back in the mindset. Just keep at the task eventually it will all be down hill.
start the GTO up. If that doesn't get you excited, t hen take it for a ride. That would recharge my batteries! The Falcon is looking good!
Paint???!!!! I was going to suggest looking for and spending some coin on that rare speed part that is going to help make it. Whenever I have cool old parts to bolt up it gives me a big boost.
As some of you know I specialize in huge projects. Burnout has reared it's ugly head many times. I've sold too many projects over it, and regretted it later. Now I simply do something unrelated for myself. That's how i started mountain bikeing. last summer I built a pond in the yard when I was getting sick of huge projects. I was feeling pretty burned out lately so Saturday I bought a 99 Vette. I can't seem to get rid of the smile on my face, or the bulge in my jeans! Maybe it was a little extreem, but It sure re-energized my life and my at***ude in the shop!
Ive been there too bro. last summer i got my model a just about where i was really happy with it .took it to the thompson g***er reunion and due to ****ty track conditions s****ed off everything from the firewalll forward on the cement wall.(not one usable part left) and no money left to start fixing it.so I just had to pick myself up by the balls and start all over again.stick by stick,piece by piece. so cheer up. at least youre not spending thousands of dollars you dont have doing things over and over and not making the car any cooler just to get back to where you were. your falcon is a truly kick *** ride! go out in the garage, put on your favorite tunes,and make yourself do something .whether you want to or not.eventually you will be inspired to go on.
Like mudslinger said, I have had good luck with cleaning and organizing the shop. Stay on the HAMB and if money allows, shop for vintage parts on the internet (I have found and bought some kick *** parts this winter from several HAMBERS).Doing these things kinda sets the stage to do some real work...Good luck!!!
i usually don't get burnt out on a project exept when it comes to body work. pounding on metal over and over again just seems to get boring. i either switch to another project, or i just take a break for a week and look at some pictures of what other people are building and go for a ride in one of my friends hotrods to get me stoked.
The Jalopy Journal
