Hot Rods Once you retire how much time do you spend in the shop??

Into retirement for 4 years now...

I did start work on the roadster in the spring of 2021. Got it completely torn apart and the landlord put the house and garage I'd been renting for 10 years up for sale. So... a move had to happen. I ended up renting a shop space for all my stuff and found living arrangements elsewhere. Spent the first 6 months of the shop rental getting the space usable and installing an air system, wiring and etc. The roadster is coming along; have the frame and running gear, other than engine and transmission, are all painted and assembled. Doing body work now and hoping to get primer and paint on it before fall when the temp. in the shop will drop below 60.

One of the drawbacks of the rental shop is that it's 5 miles from home and some days I struggle to force myself to drive over there and go to "work". 'Specially now that all I've been doing for the last 2 months is body work, sanding and more sanding. Still, I manage to spend about 5 hours a day, 5 days a week out there.

Keeps me busy and out of trouble...

 

Depends on the time of year. 5-8 hours, 5 days a week in the winter. Less in the summer due to caring for 10 acres. After being retired for 1 1/2 years I've finally gotten over feeling guilty if I'm not in the shop 8 hrs a day, 5 days a week. The last thing you need is to turn retirement into something that feels like a job. Getting out in a car or motorcycle is as important as accomplishing "work".

 

It’s having the time to do expansion and set up the shop before doing work. Run a gas line, run 220, wire it and light it correctly, equip it as I want then work..I’m in it daily hours depend on the woman or the grandson or if I just feel like drinking beer..

 

I’ve been retired for 27 years now. It took9 years to get my 2300sf shop built. Then my retirement got more serious. Until a few years ago, I was spending 5 to 8 hours a day, 5 to 6 days a week. Now at 77, I am slowing down, and most of my time is spent in a small shop office room reading and looking at the internet. I have a few smaller projects that get a little time; the biggest is to assemble anew motor for my Model A. …but boy, I am getting really slow.

 

Looking to retire December of 2024. Man, I can’t wait. So many things to do.

 

13 years retired, 75 now and looks like I'll make it till 76 the average for a baby boomer, after 76 we are in the bonus years. It's been a great adventure, still having fun putzin along playing with cars, home DIY projects and enjoying life with my wife, we're still friends after 40+ years, she's a saint. Life, Retirement is what you make it IMO, Nobody is promised tomorrow so enjoy whatever as the clock does run faster every year, take my word for it. Everyone, Have a Great day !

 

Eight years retired and haven't gotten nearly as far on my '29AA as I had expected, but a bout with cancer during the Covid lockdown set me back physically and financially. Made up for that over the past three cancer-free years but a big vet bill to save my aussie has delayed progress yet again. I substitute teach, so there's no supplemental income for the three summer months yet I make a little progress at the margins. This school year I expect to get back on track, maybe even get the truck running by next summer. If it's not hot and humid or cold and bitter out, I'm in the unheated/cooled garage or the comfortable basement shop doing what I can. At 74, though, I can only spend 3-4 hours in the garage before wearing out. My advice to those nearing retirement is take advantage of your good health now. It won't last forever, regardless of how much longer you live.

 

My target date also. Don't slow down leaving the parking lot...I might run you over.

 

I have a buddy, 4 years older then I am. He worked for an industrial roofer. Years before he retired he built a shop, and collected a bunch of stuff he wanted to work on after he retired. He planed on retiring the day he turned 62 and was going to work on his projects. He has a very nice shop, paint booth and everything, and he had some assume projects. The guy looked like the pictures of what healthy old guys are suppose to look like.

The year he was suppose to retire, his boss talked him into working another year, which turned into a couple more. He finally retired at about 67 years old. 3 days after he retired, he got sick. Now he has CPOD and is on oxygen, he can hardly move without stopping to rest every few feet. Hasn't worked a day in his shop. Had to sell all of his cool projects. His health has really gone down hill the last year.

If you have big plans for all the things you want to do after you retire, don't wait until you retire to get started. None of us know what the future holds.

 

The only days I am gauranteed to be busy in the shop is when there is a holiday like christmas or some other function/event that the whole family will be at. Missed lots of weddings because I had something to do in the shop instead.

 

Gene is so right about this, I has fine for all the corona virus shutdown, caught it in Jan, Then had my back go out
to the point I could barely walk to the kitchen. Spent months getting tests, oks from insurance etc, finally had back
surgury 6 months after it started. Meantime they found a lump in my bladder, had that removed this week. Fortunately the back is recovering fairly well, the tumor was not cancer, but it will be probably a year before my back
will let me lift a 50 lb item again. Enjoy what you can do while you can, I have not worked on my truck for close to a year now.

 

A whole lot less than I dreamed of.
A medical miracle am I.
Just weak as a Kitten
Maybe next year.

 

I’ve been retired now for three years. Two years ago we began going south for a three month period.
I normally got most of my large car projects done during the winter.
So now with all my 150 yr old house and car projects getting squeezed into a shorter time period I stay pretty busy.
I still but aside play time in the car and on my boat. I’d guess a typical garage and/or house work day is about five hrs. I’ve learned to break it down in smaller increments.
No more crunch time for me.
I swear I don’t know how I did it working full time.

 

It has been a couple of years since I responded to this. Realized that it took me 3 days to change out the clutch master cylinder on my car. I would do a little bit and call it quits. No rush - got a week until my car club's annual show.