How do you guys stay motivated?

I agree on breaking it up into small tasks. When I first decided to start building my 29 coupe project, I felt like having a panic attack when I thought of everything that had to be done at once. I only work on my coupe one day a week (due to child care and work schedules), and I take small things that need to be cleaned or are boring and tedious to work with me on Sunday when I am generally slow and bored anyway, and then the parts are ready to use on the day I actually spend in the garage and I don't have to spend hours grinding away rust or repainting something. I even ***embled the whole rear axle and rebuilt the locker on a table at work, and threw the whole thing in my trunk and took it home. Also, if I know I need something like hardware or a weird tool that is going to take me some time to drive and get or find, I try to do it on a different day, or it screws up my "mojo" for the day. Another thing not related to time spent, but can drag your project out and make you lose interest is lack of funds at the beginning to get major components together. I sold another o/t car to fund my project, (it has gone way over buget already though ) and now its far enough along, and I have most of the major components to see my self completing it without major financial hardship, or years of slowly saving to acquire parts. When building a hot rod or any project car where you're not buying new parts out of a catalog that are always available, and you can save up for, you have to have cash available when cool parts become available. It does help keep you motivated when friends stop over and can't believe how far you've gotten also, that always puts a smile on my face. I don't actually know anyone who has built a car like mine or can give me advice either. Most everything for this particular car I have learned on here, and the HAMB always gets me excited to work on my pile of parts too!

 

forgot to mention..... when mocking up...strip those leaf springs down to the main and add spacers for additional leaves... easier to get the look your after .... brandon

 

Keep it clean and simple, one thing at a time.

 

Whatever you do, don't stop. I stopped working on my 3 window a year and a half ago to finish someone else's 3 window. Now I'm working on another guy's 3 window and my car is in storage in someone else's shop because I needed the room. Its starting to look hopeless.

Dave

 

All good advice.
Sometimes the trick is not DE-motivating yourself.
I have a tenancy to over think stuff, especially when I am not exactly sure what to do.

I had made these real nice patch panels, my first attempt at forming sheetmetal, but then I was stuck, thinking, thinking, how to install them.

A friend comes by and tells me they are nice and to JUST WELD THEM ON. JUST DO IT.

So I did. It was much easier than I thought and thought and stressed and thought it would be. It was quick too.

Someone said "Dont be afraid to make a mistake" and thats good advice. You will make mistakes but often the forward movement is a net plus.

I like the "jewel" concept. I do that.

 

Sit down in front of a television, tune in to MSNBC finance channel, watch your retirement investments go down in flames. When you are through vomiting, go out to the shop and work on the car for awhile. I look on my current project as my "shrink".

 

Re: How do you guys stay motivated?


Money helps...

 

Motovation is easy for me. If I don't build/finish it before the last one leaves/dies I don't have anything to drive.

Basically the only way to build it is break it up in bite size pieces. If you set you goals for something attainable you won't be as likely to become discouraged. Say for instance you want to build a ch***is. Get a design either in mind or scratched out on the floor.

Now step back and look it it. Pretty daunting to build and entire ch***is or car. But you can maybe cut the pieces out. Then your next goal might be to tack it and square it. not such a big deal if you make up little goals that you can accomplish.

 

Forget the HAMB exists when you're in the garage. The talent level around here is so insane that it's real easy to think you're doing **** work when ya should be taking serious pride.

I wouldn't post 90% of the work I do here, cause it'd go down in flame. But ya know what, in the real world I've always got one of the nicest, quickest, most reliable rides around. I am so fortunate the HAMB wasn't around at your age, probably never woulda got started, thinking the hill was too steep.

good luck

 

All of the advice to break the project into smaller jobs is very good. The problem is STAYING motivated. To do that I believe you need to be building the car you REALLY want - not something you found that might have been cool then, but what is really in your heart. There are many unfinished projects out there - most becuase they were not the real dream and got set aside.

 

Make it a roller for now

 

Just keep you eyes on the prize. If ya wanna drive it ,you gotta fix it.

 

This made me laugh out loud!

 

I think this is a great point. I understand my work will not compare to a LOT of what I've seen on here, but I have a good eye for detail and I'm pretty sure I can tell what looks right and what doesn't.

I'm thinking about tacking everything together, then having a pro do the final welding.

 

Were the Cowl and cab a one piece unit at some time or did you collect the cowl one place and the cab in another? That is a 30-31 "Commercial" cowl, same as a roadster but with the rare under windsheild stamped sheetmetal cover. Looks like the cab is a rare aftermarket item, so you are working with something you may want to think about flipping for a stock A cab or funds, just a thought.

 

Not knowing what type of person you are, it's hard to say. And, much of it is hard to grasp and harder to communicate.

But, it aint easy. Without going into "zen" and meditation stuff right now, it has a lot to do with your "frame of mind" (pun intended). I agree with the comment of "make it a roller for now". A visual would also help: photoshops, drawings, pictures of ones you want to mimic, a mock-up.

The main problem for me is having and keeping the patience needed. I might start with good intentions of doing something well. Along the way the thoughts and/or feelings of "I want to get this done" kick in. A lot of the time the impatience starts when something's not turning out right, when it's not as easy as I'd like it to be. I usually blame it on not having the right tools. For example, a dull drill bit . I should take the time to learn how to properly sharpen it, but I don't, and I don't do what it takes to get it sharp. So, to sum it all up, GET AND STAY SHARP .

Now if I can take my own advice.

Thanks,
Kurt

 

Thanks. I thought I could count on you guys

Ed

 

insomnia

 

I bought the cab as one unit from a fellow HAMBER, whose handle is escaping me at the moment. From his research he thought it was a "Hercules" bodied truck. The fellow he got it from said it was found in the ba*****t of a 90 year-old guy who had had it for years. I like the cab because it"s different. The doors still have very nice woodwork inside and I plan to keep as much of the original stuff as I can. I love old stuff like that.

 

i like the cj2a behind it,,a 48 2a was my most feared project 21 years ago...now it sets out back with a 231 v-6 in it, 2.5-1 trans fer and i had to rebuild the t-150 trans years ago...power steering tilt furbird column, 4" lift full cage..............but that was easy...a hot rod is more intense i think....i like the guy who's reply was "money helps"..........i need lots more of that for motovation.......oh well out to the garage, you guys have me all hopped up now!!!!!

 

True words of wisdom, Shifty deserves a Nobel price on this one. That aspect truly is a downside of the internet, people don't dare to take part so much because their puppys "ain't worth it". There's always someone doing nicer faster cooler richer whatever things. This keeps the shyguys off from racetracks for example. They learned beforehand via www that they are not the fastest, end none of these whiners never even rode the quartermile actually. And people are checking the participant lists into shows wheteher it pays to participate or not, how tough is the compe***ion, will I win...

Nowadays all this **** makes me vomit, not everybody needs the fanciest piece of the block. There's much more out there, please do not loose your perspective, do your own thing per your own resources, and enjoy! That's Hot Rodding, not pleasing the crowd. Period.

What keeps me motivated then? Just doing it my way, getting my hands dirty and seeing the results, myself, for me.

 

above all, make sure it stays 'fun', granted, it's work, but when it starts to FEEL LIKE work, then the fun and the motivation goes out the window, hard to rebound from that.

ya, money helps, but there is so much stuff that can be done that only costs your time/labor, like cleaning parts etc..

way easier to keep motivated when it's fun.

 

Hercules is a maker I've heard about, you may get some info on the Fordbarn site. Having something different is great, if it is in good shape saving the original stuff is always a good move.

 

now thats ****ing funny!

 

Remember that EVERY 10 year period in the stockmarket has made money. That includes the 20s and the 80s when Black Monday hit. Just DON'T watch MSNBC and you will be fine

 

I've never had issues staying motivated on my own projects. Probably because I rarely get to work on them in between customer cars.

But, is that a flat fender in the background? Grill looks WWII Era, I'd like to see it. I used to work at a shop that restored them.

 

Like the guys say here get a plain of attack, one step at a time.

CRUISER

 

video is broke

 

Drugs.

 

I have a car project, my wife has an education project. We both want kids but would like to finish our projects first. Her project will be done a year from January, 15 months from now, so the clock is ticking for me to finish this ongoing project, 13 years, or forget about it for a loooong time. That's the real motivation. And she forces me to work on it because a good wife will always push you along and encourage you to achieve the goals that you set for yourself. And sometimes I do drive her crazy. Almost forgot to say I had project time today cause she was hanging out with the other wives and girlfriends from the car club. How awesome is it that they get along so well that we don't have to force them to hang out with each other?