Didya ever..................

[orbit]

...........hit a wall in regards to working on your hobby car?

I've owned a '68 GTO rag top for 13 years now. I've done a lot of work on it, only thing I have yet to touch is the body (needs a few minor things touched up to be darned near perfect) and the interior (that was done before I got the car and it's still pretty decent).

Up until this winter, it was a running, driving car. I did a cranking compression and leak down test on it earlier this year, after noticing it had a slight miss. It has intake valve related problems on two cylinders. So it's gonna get a top end redo; refurbish the heads and install a new cam and related stuff. I got that stuff bought and paid for three years ago. This past winter I got a disc brake conversion kit for the front end and it's still in the boxes. Same with all new brake lines for the car.

The rest of the car is in top shape and needs no attention at this time.

The only thing I got done on the car so far in the off season is a trans service. I started taking the accessories off the engine in advance of it's coming out for the head/cam work. The block and radiator are drained and the wiring is pretty much disconnected and sitting off to the side. It's a matter of dropping the exhaust, unbolting the torque converter, pulling the six bolts out of the bellhousing and the two bolts out of the engine mounts. That's how close I am to having the engine out and on a stand.

It's not that I haven't had time to work on it, I just have no desire to do so.

My wife and I were pretty busy with the building of a new house/selling of the old. I know that took a lot out of me as the house stuff lasted 18 months. I'm glad that that is over, but there's still some ticky tac stuff that needs to get done around here.

I'm seriously considering leaving the car in the garage this year.

Am I burnt out? Should I leave it 'til I'm ready to attack it? Should I just tinker with it and hope the desire comes back?

Has this happened to you?

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: Didya ever..................

Hasn't happened to me for more than a week or two. Things that really get me motivated back into wrenching are:
Watching Automotive sporting events.
Attending Automotive events other than car shows, the cars have to be doing something.
Wanting to enter an event.
Preparing for a much needed road trip.
and coming up with a goal for the car and working to make it happen.

Sometimes a little change can remotivate me, like changing the exhaust sound so you'll want to drive it more just to hear it, and driving it more means it needs the disc brakes, new radio, give a mouse a cookie.......

[bearphoto]

Re: Didya ever..................

Orbit, if the thing is driveable or close to it, how about taking it out for a spin. Might get you motivated some. Otherwise, tinker with it occasionally and set a goal to get the car into a show soon? If you are in need of heads ready to bolt on, I have a set of 6X's and a set of 7K3's off a gto, just dont remember the year.

[Joeys66chevy]

Re: Didya ever..................

NOT WANTING TO WORK ON IT :'(?????? Blasphemy is what I say, pure blasphemy.
im going with the take it for a spin idea, nothing better then the smell of rubber and the feel of that magic thing we have in abundance of our cars....TORQUE

[thevic24]

Re: Didya ever..................

my thorn in the side are auto trannys. ive had good and bad luck(mostly bad >) but i will still tackel them and at least try to seem like i know what iam dooing

[J. Daniel Jones]

Re: Didya ever..................

Know just what you mean. I've found it's kinda like going to the gym. Just get out there and say I'm just going to go turn one bolt and quit if I don't feel like doing more. Before you know it an hour or two will have passed.

My two cents.

jdj

[ImpalaSam]

Re: Didya ever..................

In my opinion, if the car is drivable don't do anything to it that will make it undriveable unless it is totally necessary. I have not driven my Impala since 1992!
Looking back I had a car that was drivable but not perfect and I started working on it and turned it into the eternal project. When all you do is work on your project and never get any return on the work it makes it real hard to stay motivated. For me now I have to set small goals, because I am so far away from
getting finished, and work toward them it helps me stay the coarse. I have also found that making a list of tasks and marking them off as they are done to be helpful, makes me realize that I am moving forward. Good Luck.

[yellomalibu]

Re: Didya ever..................

Yes.

My car hasn't been to the track in over two years, and only been on the street a handfull of times in those 2 1/2 years... I lost the bug. Part of that was due to the engine swap that overpowered my suspension and ruined a perfectly good race car. The solution was another thousand dollars...

I wanted to fix the house up and flip it. I finished the house, but now the housing market sucks (and I'm recently self employed), so I'll have to wait a couple years before thinking about selling the house again.

Coming around here and hanging out with car buddies again has rekindled some of the old automotive flame that used to burn so brightly. I've worked out a trade to get my Chevelle back to streetable status...but my buddy's garage is so busy with projects that I don't know when I'll get the chance to make the swaps. (Heads, pistons, converter...)

Whatever you do, don't sell it. It's paid for (I'm assuming), and it wont hurt anything to just let it wait for your interest to come back around.

[jays67]

Re: Didya ever..................

ya my 67 pick up has been in the shop for 5 years in peices for a redo and it is slowly comming togeter but i don;t work on it often because it is mine and will always be so i have my life to finish it
the cars i build for other people get done and my wifes and the toys i drive till i am bored but my truck is sitting

have a built 440 small block for it
tranny done
body done
interior done
just need to paint and assemble
ahhh opne of these days it will be done lol

[msc66]

Re: Didya ever..................

Everybody gets burned out at some point. Sometimes adult life takes over and you just have too much going on. Since you're lacking drive I wouldn't pull that motor. You may never get it back together. Why not just pull the heads and have the valves done? Save the cam and disc brakes for when the bug bites again.

Of course if you don't even feel like doing that it s ok (strange but ok )

[JOES66FURY]

Re: Didya ever..................

Well, I know my share of "car Guys" who after purchasing a home dumped the hobby beacuse there was "so much to do 'round the house" Another freind after spending 10K on a wicked stroker motor for his 64 Nova just sold it and walked away...he was burnt out...but he never drove it...it just sat...Why it happens I cant say but when I get sick of mine and get the urge to sell.. I spend allot of time at the races and at local cruises...You have the parts...it aint gonna cost you nothing but time to get out there and do something...get the motor together and go for a drive...if that aint enough for you to put the brakes on and have fun again.....then mybe its time to send her to a loving home...I think IMO that guys who hit this "wall" are the guys who rarely drive the car..or never get too....

[L98camino]

Re: Didya ever..................

Yes, several times, on the same project. It always comes back though. I am four years into the Elco and I haven't worked on it for about four months. I travel a fair amount for work and two of those months have been out of town with at least one more month to go before I get home. >

I don't have a good excuse for the other large gaps in enthusiasm. It's so close now that if I really buckled down and got after it, it would take about three months to finish. That will probably stretch to six though... crap now I'm bummed. After the paint was done I went full blast for a while, but that was over a year ago.

I have a '67 GMC Short Fleetside, it needs a complete redo, but I just do one thing at a time so I can still drive it. I've converted it to 4 wheel disc brakes with hydro-boost, 9 inch, I6 to V8, 3 to 4 speed, power steering, and it's never been off the road for more than a couple of months. Some day I'll have to tear it down to fix the rust, but I love driving it so for now I just collect parts and think up more stuff to do to it!

Hang in there, it will come back. If you sold it you would come across a sweet deal on a motor and kick yourself. Believe me, I know.

[SpiderGearsMan]

Re: Didya ever..................

I tried to make a rust bucket rally sport camaro perfect , after 15 years , it was rime to pull the plug , but I always had 2 or 3 cars at once

now , I have none ...enjoy it while you can

[Gary 351C]

Re: Didya ever..................

More times than I can even count! I'll really get going on it and then Bang! something comes up and I loose the momentum. My biggest problem is my job, it takes up way to much of my time, like 14 hours a day! > There are a few things that can get me motivated though: going to local car shows, seeing cars that are actually finished is a great motivator. Another thing that usually works (and this may just be me) but, looking through all of the old car magazines that I've had since I was 14. Hot Rod, PHR, Car Craft and others, I still have 90+ percent of them. Back then, this is what got me hooked on cars in the first place, and flipping through them can re-ignite the "Fire". And sometimes, I actually force myself to go out there and at least do something! and before I know it, I'm totally enjoying myself and hours have gone by and I've gotten a lot done.

[Schtauffer]

Re: Didya ever..................

If you don't want to do it, don't. What happens then is the thing where you feel obligated to work on it, so you do, but don't really enjoy it. Then when it is all back together and drivable, you think, "Now this stinkin' thing better run right, after all that time I wasted on it." But then it still doesn't do what you want it to, and you're disappointed.

Its much better to work on it as you have time and want to, and enjoy the process of taking it apart and putting it back together. You will do a better job on it, and enjoy it more when it is done.

My car took about four years. I skipped some of the things I was going to do (A/C, stereo, power windows, better suspension) not from lack of time but because I was simply tired of working on it. I just wanted to drive the POS. My logic was (and still is) that I can still put that stuff on it later if I choose.

Whatever you do, don't sell it. You'll regret it.