When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I feel your pain. I've done almost everything on your done list. I'm at the end of a 17 or 18 month cycle of stuff getting done. It started out as a rebuild on the LS-5 that was in my 69 when I bought it.
Of all the things on your list, I don't see the absolute worst 2 jobs to do, at least to me. I've done the Heater core (I have A/C) and the power brake booster. I'm waiting on the new master and booster to get here. This will be the 3rd time I've done this job. I replaced it years ago, and replaced it with a 7" booster for clearance on the valve covers. Even though it was a new one, the booster didn't work. So, it's out, waiting on the new one to get here.
I truly do feel your pain. But, I've done this many times in my life (starting at 11 or 12 on my neighbors drag car). And this may be the last one I do, not sure. I'm 60 now, and not sure if I want to do it with another one, for my body and my wallet....
Every corvette "project" you see for sale here or elsewhere is the answer to your original question. Lots of reasons and situations that result in somebody giving up on their dream.
My own project is up on jackstands, as I type, with the front suspension removed. Should have it back together in the next weekend or two though.
I also feel your pain. This Jan will be 3 complete years on my 69 project. I was rolling along in my new garage and making daily updates to the forum and really enjoying myself. Then came moving which stopped my project cold for almost a year now. So I moved but have no where to work. Now waiting to build another garage. Oh well, can't wait to get started. and oh yea I had the car for sale on and off but I am glad I will have the chance to finish it.
RVZIO
Hi I see you have the Allen sidepipes do you have any idea how to make them sounds less? I bought my 74 just a few days ago and to drive it makes me going crazy, the sound from the pipes are way to loud.............
Thank you for your service to the greatest country on earth. During Desert Storm one I was glad the U.S. Air force was on our side.
Originally Posted by USAFVeteran
I feel your pain. I've done almost everything on your done list. I'm at the end of a 17 or 18 month cycle of stuff getting done. It started out as a rebuild on the LS-5 that was in my 69 when I bought it.
Of all the things on your list, I don't see the absolute worst 2 jobs to do, at least to me. I've done the Heater core (I have A/C) and the power brake booster. I'm waiting on the new master and booster to get here. This will be the 3rd time I've done this job. I replaced it years ago, and replaced it with a 7" booster for clearance on the valve covers. Even though it was a new one, the booster didn't work. So, it's out, waiting on the new one to get here.
I truly do feel your pain. But, I've done this many times in my life (starting at 11 or 12 on my neighbors drag car). And this may be the last one I do, not sure. I'm 60 now, and not sure if I want to do it with another one, for my body and my wallet....
Yes. I have done much of the same, and sometimes more than once.
- Differential still weeps from pinion
- Cruise not working
- A/C not working
- Drivers window glass alignment off
- Security disabled due to intermittent door microswitch problems
Between work travel and my frustrations I let the car sit for almost ten years before getting it roadworthy. The paint took longer but that was mostly due to the cost. That said I still enjoy owning the car, even if all offers are considered.
Before:
Now:
Hang in there and don't let the Winter blues get you down.
Anytime I work on any project without getting some sort of gratification from it, I start to lose interest. Its what causes so many projects around my home to stall. But then I get the bug to finish up something I started and see it through to the bitter end. Then I start looking for something else to take apart and "fix" lol.
I started the complete teardown and rebuild of my 72 and went like gangbusters for 2 yrs. Then a move to a neighboring state, put a little damper on the project. But I soldiered on once settled in. After my wife passed away, the project was full on. Every available moment was spent finishing what I started. It was an outlet to immerse myself in. It took a little over 4 yrs to complete and have on the road. A nut and bolt restoration. No stone unturned. Now its all about enjoying the car and making tweaks here and there.
Thank you for your service to the greatest country on earth. During Desert Storm one I was glad the U.S. Air force was on our side.
And thank you for your service also.
Not to derail your thread, but I didn't join for the accolades, I didn't join for the praise, I joined for my family. I joined for every family and every person in this country.
I'm not a hero for serving for 20 years, I'm just a dumb country boy from NC that is very patriotic, and really needed a job. I also had some real men in my life, my father (Korean war), my uncle, (just after Korea and Vietnam), my neighbor (Vietnam) to guide me in my path to manhood. I looked up to all these men, and praise them for helping mold me into who I am today.
Sorry for the derail, back to the topic at hand!!!
FREE is not really free! You get what you pay for. If you didn't pay anything, you probably didn't get much.
If you are a good mechanic, have plenty of salvageable parts nearby, and just LOVE to work on cars, the FREE car you got would be a good deal. If that's not who you are, you should have bought a vehicle in a condition more suited to your talents.
Finally, if you have just lost your motivation for finishing the car, you can:
1. Sell what you have and buy what you really WANT;
2. Take a break from working on it thru the holidays and re-start afresh after the start of the year. Also use that 'downtime' to detail out a logical plan for refurbishing the rest of the car.
I remember clearly being ready to give up or giving up on numerous occasions. Ours was a 2 year project to get it road worthy for me. I remember so clearly walking in the house and walking away from the corvette, sometimes for months. But it was the draw of the curved lines, that kept call me back. Like a woman.
If you need to take some time, take it, you'll go back refreshed and with a new attitude and perspective.
I have never had the thought of giving up on my projects but being a bit ADHD, I have gotten burned out on them. My 69 sat for about 7 years before I got back into it.
I have 2 projects that I am working on. I am reassembling my 69 after I had it painted and I have my 78 RestoMOD I am building. I found a plan of action that works for me - may not work for many. I will not work on either car for more than 60 minutes at a time and no more then 3 - 60 minute sessions in a given day. If I need a few more minutes to complete a task - that's OK. Then I walk away. I'll go back a few hours later and attack another task.
Like I said, this probably won't work for many but it beats the heck out of the project sitting for 8 years. I have used this methodology for a while now and it has worked very well for me.
Another thing I do - I do not set dated to be done. This is for fun and I want it to stay that way! No pressure.
I finished building my 4 seat sand car, and went right to work on the 69. And, when I'm done with the 69, I'm going to re-do the fuel system on the sand car to get some more horsepower out of it. I used good fuel hoses, but not the best. This time, I'll use the best I can find and afford.
When I'm done with that, I have 2 ATC70's to build. One is getting a 140cc motor and the other is getting a rebuilt 70cc in it, for a friends daughter.
I have a never ending supply of projects between me and my son. He has about 6 or 7 VW's that need to be done. But, I can walk away on those at any time, not my circus, not my monkeys.
If you are a good mechanic, have plenty of salvageable parts nearby, and just LOVE to work on cars, the FREE car you got would be a good deal. If that's not who you are, you should have bought a vehicle in a condition more suited to your talents.
I took on the car as a challenge and it is a challenge. I am finding out that takes a special breed of Corvette enthusiast to work on these cars. Like another poster said, "One bolt at a time".
Wife & I have been building cars for 33 years. This is our first Vette, and so far, the most fun one we have taken on. We always have multiple projects going on, so if we get fed up with one, we throw a cover over it and work on another for a while. But it is the love of doing it that keeps us in it.... watching THIS....
...eventually turn into THIS.....
(Also note... you can just barely see the truck on the far left side of the first picture, look again in the second shot!)
Beautiful. Care to elaborate on the total man hours?
Originally Posted by oldgto
Wife & I have been building cars for 33 years. This is our first Vette, and so far, the most fun one we have taken on. We always have multiple projects going on, so if we get fed up with one, we throw a cover over it and work on another for a while. But it is the love of doing it that keeps us in it.... watching THIS....
I hate drop dead dates, or by-when deadlines. It's the number one reason I retired. It causes stress, and is often created by us. Try not to impose a finish date on yourself. Your target should be to get something done, even a little, each day. I liked the one nut at a time mentioned in an earlier post. If you want to go to the garage for thirty minutes or four hours, you are the one who decides.
Beautiful. Care to elaborate on the total man hours?
No clue. Never counted. It`s a little over half built, and we`ve been working on it for well over five years. We`ll get a flurry where we buy a BUNCH of parts, and work on it.... then it will sit for a few months with nothing being done.
No clue. Never counted. It`s a little over half built, and we`ve been working on it for well over five years. We`ll get a flurry where we buy a BUNCH of parts, and work on it.... then it will sit for a few months with nothing being done.
If my Vette would look like this after 5 years I would be really proud of myself and the one that helped me achieve this creation.
There's a reason you see so many project cars of all styles on Craigslist, and elsewhere.
Some people have a hard time completing a project..excitement in the planning, disassembly, then a few hurdles come up, and project stalls.
What works for me is to make a list and commit to at least an hour a day to my project, even if it's just looking at it, or organizing things..eventually there is less and less to do, and it's done.
How do you eat an elephant?..one piece at a time.
Been through one complete restore on a 71 Nova so when I bought my vette it was one of those almost done cars. At 90% I got to do relatively simple affordable things. Someone else got to remove/replace body, paint, interior, compete drivetrain and some suspension. I got to tweak and complete and most of all I got to drive the thing. Kinda liked it this way
11-30-2016, 09:14 PM
