Much respect given...

[custom cabby]

as i was trying to gather some info on something i wanted to do on another subject, i had a rather big smack of reality. maybe this is something i shouldnt be doing! i mean i have ALWAYS had a love for the vintage rods (and the like) and as i purchased one a couple years ago i have had so many ideas and wants for this thing that it not even funny. and a small part of me always wanted to have something that my 5 boys and i could take the interest in and draw us a bit closer... and i thought this could be the ticket. well, after these couple of years putting a few bucks towards this truck here and there and considering selling it a couple of times and changing my mind a couple of times... i still really am not seeing the picture.

there comes a time when i guess you have to say "this is beyond me!" i just dont have what it takes to put this picture together. i have the want but sometimes your wants are a bit more costly then what you thought they would be in the beginning.

so, for those of you that have the means and the knowledge to do what you have set out to do and accomplish your dreams.... MY HAT GOES OFF TO YOU.

 

[Bonehead]

Don't go giving up on us! I have found, that if you really want something, you just have to make a plan. Sometimes it takes a little longer, and some extra will power to stick with the plan, but as they say, "where there is a will, there is a way". Hang tuff dude.

 

[roddguy1]

I'm with Bonehead on this one. Don't give up on your dreams. I personally have been working on my truck off and on since 2001. I've gone through many hurtles in that time. More than I care to think about, but I kept my vision. Just hang on, what you don't know now will come with time. Then one day you will look back and remember all the fun you had over coming the problems.

 

[Coffinmaker]

I can tell you something..

Dont give up ..NEVER.Go back and read what I wrote when I first joined..I DID give up and quit.I saw what these guys do and thought..."HELL , I was a car builder long ago..I can do this..!!" Much to my surprise it was WAY bigger then I thought.I have built cars,but if it didnt come off a shelf I didnt buy it.Built my share of Chevelles,Camaro's and Dodges.When you do this build you realize what these guys on here are all about..some of the coolest and nicest guys you will ever meet.I did belong to several sites but dropped off all of them and stayed here.Man have I asked some REALLY dumb question..BUT hell,ya gotta learn sometime.The point I am making is.."Stick with man..!!" If an old dude like me can learn this..ANYONE CAN.I dont know how many times I have just about given up..but will see someone doing a build and KNOW I can do it.Sure there is a hell of a learning curve but it is so cool to do a build like this.I havent even started mine yet..( collecting parts..) that I even bought ANOTHER cab and 2 engines in the last 3 days.!!Take a step back..deep breath and read about the builds on here...some guys do it quickly while others take there time..money problems..family issues..BUT they dont and didnt give up.I was told.."It dont get built in a day..TAKE your time.." Ask a few guys on here..I am CONSTANTLY bugging them BUT they havent given up on me,so I wont give up on them or my build..( LOL..I think a few want to kill me sometimes..) Build on man....LIVE your dream..!!!

 

[Willowbilly3]

When I started mine on my lawn in 2003, I figured it would be done in a year. I have moved 3-4 times, had it in storage for a spell. I was going to get rid of it when I moved from Texas to South Dakota but my girl friend talked me out of it. It might be half done now and I am determined to trudge on. I need to finnish one thing.

 

[donsrods]

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger on this one............we have ALL been exactly where you are right now. As a matter of fact, I'm currently in the same place, where I have a bunch of stuff I could be doing on one of my projects, but haven't been to the shop in a couple of months. I just have no incentive to want to do any of it right now.

My Son Dan is also stuck in that same spot.........he is so close yet so far, and working on it for 4 years has taken some of the fun out of it. I think after Turkey Run we will all have some renewed energy to get going again.

Just put a tarp over it and go catch a couple of fish or kick back and watch some football for a while. The urge to do it will return again and you will be glad you kept your stuff. Believe me, been there, done that.


Don

 

[Black Magic]

I my self have came very close to giving up and selling, I have even wanted to crack the fuel line and throw a match on it. Like every one said take a step back and leave it alone and you will come back to it with a freash breath and when you are done and out crusine it you will see there is know other feeling I know of that can match it. All the sweat, trears and hair pulling(not many of us have much left lol) was worth it all , I hope you stick in there.

 

[clipper]

Custom Cabby Your Preaching to the choir on this one buddy. I would venture a guess that we have all been in that same state of mind from time to time. I myself am finding the energy and desire to get back at it. If its money find what you can do without it. Take something apart and learn every thing you can about it. Surf the net,read up, go visit someone with the knowledge you seek. You just might find out that you and each of the boys might have a specialty for particular part of the car. Just think 6 of ya all pulling together, look out world here we come! Hang in there pal. Mom used to always say its always darkest before the dawn.

 

[Banjoman]

Dont Stop

Custom, thats funny you post this because just yesterday my wife and i were finishing the interior on our 46 International and was talking about all the times in the last year that i came home and said "im ready to sell that son******h" and she would say, take a couple days off and you will be ready to work on it again, and after seeing all the work i did, some of it nice and some not so nice, I DID IT ALL and am so glad i didnt stop.. there are alot of guys on here to answer questions and help you though the tough times but please dont stop, i promise when your putting the carpet and door panels in you will look at it and say WOW i did it......and all the crap your going through will be worth it.

 

[hotrod preacher]

my opinion too

hey i know as well as you do the urge to quit! my project 46 ford truck started back in 1999! My wife was pregnant with our 1st son and i just HAD to have this old rusty truck to build a hot rod. Well, 4 moves, 3 kids, and 2 churches later, i'm proud to say that the 46 took it's 1st shakedown run on election day 08!! i've been where you are..and like the others have already said, just put it around back or cover it up or whatever it takes to give you the break you need...you'll more than likely find the "want to" again, and if after a LONG rest you still feel like it wasn't meant to be...find a smalller project to tinker on!!!!

HRP

 

[Bonehead]

There are the guys I respect. Quite a few really good chearleaders here, but I would not want to see them in skirts.

 

[Banjoman]

Darn Bonehead, I guess i'll go home and put my jeans on then........

 

[Abomb]

It took me 9 years to drive my Coupe.....not everybody can do it over night.

If it's skills you lack, take a class or find a mentor. If it's cash.....wait til you find the right deal on the part you need.......Of course, that's mostly why it took 9 years to drive my car.

 

[Tripper]

It took me 9 years to drive my Coupe.....not everybody can do it over night.

Cabby,
A-bomb is right. It definitely takes a while (I've been working on my '41 Ford PU for a year & a half & am probably 1/2 way through). If it's the $$$... there are many ways around that. Being overwhelmed is another matter. I find it helpful to make a list of 10 things that need to be done in order of their importance. Start with the most important one & think & work *only* on that item or project. Once you finished that one... got to #2 & so forth. If you need help with how to proceed... there are *plenty* of people here to lend advice & support.

BoB

 

[Sam_Fear]

Where are you at on this project? Do you have a 'Build' thread? I'm a newb here so I don't match the projects to the names too well yet.

Aren't you thinking about getting a welder?

 

[dmw56]

Every project is different. Some will take for ever and it will seem as if you ran into every obstacle there could possibly be. You can never tell when you first start. If you lose interest in a project take a step back and wait a while maybe that flame will get rekindled. Other times you may just have to sell it and find some thing that gets the flame burning again. And other projects you may have to just scale back and take your time to achieve what you want. I have built cars in a little as 6 months to as long as 18 years because life and other things got in the way.

So just hang in there and don't give up hope.

And Coffinmaker quit bugging me!!
Just Kidding!

 

[Abomb]

If you lose interest in a project take a step back and wait a while maybe that flame will get rekindled.

That's another reason I took so long, I would get overwhelmed with the amount of work to be done,,,,,,so I would build something else. A 59 ElCamino, a shovel head harley and a 56 chevy wagon. Finally, I sold all the distractions and got back to the A. Once you get into it, it becomes a sickness.......now the Model A has gone down the road, and I'm getting ready to paint my new 55 Buick.

Guys like me always lose interest, but I try to at least drive every project I start, Keep at it, unless you've decided that your heart isn't in the HOBBY. If it's just the particular project that's not tripping your trigger, maybe it's time to move on to something that will.

 

[Cyanide Jello]

I may be a young buck but after workin on cars (not really being able to say I've built my first car yet) but after working on cars since I was about 16, you do get fed up with projects after a while when things don't seem to fall into place... I've been workin on my truck for 4 years this coming January and have considered selling a few times... If you feel like quitting, set it to the side, take a deep breath and work on something else then come back to it... Chances are the direction you wanna go has changed and the way you want to go about doing things has changed and you may have a better idea about doing somethin than what you did when you got fed up with something... I've always been told that things happen for a reason and if its meant to be it'll happen. Things will fall into place when they want to... If its the knowledge you lack then get creative with it... Experiment... Explore... You can't go anywhere sittin still... If its money you lack, just remember that less is more and to work with what you already got... You can always make somethin outta nothin...

 

[earthman]

Sounds to me like it is time to simplify and trim the project down to more of a workable possibility.Don't do like me CC. I have given up on and lost so many old treasures the list would break your heart to read. I t has taken me all these years to face the facts of my limitations in skill,patience, money and time. My first project was a '31 Chevy tudor bought for $25 complete when i was 15. I let it go because i only looked at what it needed to satisfy my unrealistic plans instead of appreciating what i had. Wouldn't i be pleased to have it to drive now even completly stock with the fenders taken off, the doors wired shut and no glass.

 

[DougnDog]

Giveing up

I would not normaly say what I'm about to say but being on the web makes it easer the guys have given you encourgement in the past 2 pages their are a lot of people out their who would change places with you if they could. I'm a Project 112/ SHAD Vet I spent 8 yrs in the navy 61-69 I was exposed to bio/chemical warfare agents. the DOD wants to forget us but the VA has to care for us by order of Congress. I've been in pain and sick to one degree to a nother from the time I was 30 (1975) I now have only 4-5 hrs a day of good time each day. I live on SS Disability and a very small VA penstion(the VA cant pay us comp because the DOD says we were not exposed to anything they cant admit it because what they had us do was illegal.) I live with my Daughter to be close to a VA hospital. 5mo after I started my rod my 35yr old Daughter came down with 2 types of breast Cancer. shes going through cemo now. GIVE UP Man some days I feel like giveing up on life.....but I dont the guys have given you all the reasons and the way to go on. don't be a loser take their advice because I know a lot of Vet dead and alive who envy your choices Doug Grant