Pride vs. Reality

[IronRat]

Taking a hard look at the punch list to get my car on the road and trying to be honest with myself. I'm starting to think it might be wiser to cut my losses and move on to another car that might be more realistic for the actual time I have to work on it and the $$$ too get it on the road.

Have you ever had that talk with yourself? Something along lines of: "Self maybe it's time to walk away"

Is is smart to have 10K in a car that fair market is about 6K? More important is the time factor. I can make more money, I can't make more time.

 

[Tripper]

I've had that talk with myself a few times but learned to ignore myself! All depends on what u're after but I don't sell cars very often & when I build one the way I want it... I plan on driving it for a long time! Only had a few cars that were ever worth as much as I put in!

BoB

 

[IronRat]

I've had that talk with myself a few times but learned to ignore myself! All depends on what u're after but I don't sell cars very often & when I build one the way I want it... I plan on driving it for a long time! Only had a few cars that were ever worth as much as I put in!

BoB

Bob - The money is a smaller part. I say what I'm after is running full throttle down a lonesome highway vs. talking about driving my car….eventually.

BTW - Finding leaking freeze plug tonight isn't helping

 

[earthman]

$10,000 invested in a car would be way too stressfull for me. That is about the budget for all five of mine but i like them slow and rough. At this point i believe they are each worth a little more than i have in them. Yours is running now is it a possibility to just drive it, enjoy it, and consider it a work in progress? I learned a big lesson about appreciating what i have and not letting myself be frustrated by how far i was from my goal. I let go of too many wonderful old cars for that reason.

 

[Flipper_1938]

You also have to count the enjoyment/entertainment/therapy value of the build.

Lots of people pi$$ away a couple grand taking a trip to the beach for a couple of days to unwind. There is no way to ever recover those expenses. Do they care? No.

Why should you be so concerned about getting your money back out of a project? If all of my toys were destroyed in a storm tomorrow, I would be bummed....but I have already gotten my money's worth out of all of them.

 

[IronRat]

...Yours is running now is it a possibility to just drive it, enjoy it, and consider it a work in progress? ….

I'd be very happy if that was the case. Oh, it runs & drives but the 400turbo won't shift into second. don't get me wrong 1o mph was a pure joy after 1 year of not driving it.

I need a trans, new tube a-arms, a radiator & tires to drive it safely over 10mph.

You also have to count the enjoyment/entertainment/therapy value of the build.

Lots of people pi$$ away a couple grand taking a trip to the beach for a couple of days to unwind. There is no way to ever recover those expenses. Do they care? No.

Why should you be so concerned about getting your money back out of a project?…..

I don't discount the pride value in doing the work but I'm a driver 1st…greece monkey 2nd. I do appreciate the comment on pay for life's experiences, I've spent plenty on hunting trips and don't regret a penny of it.

The money comment was just a way to keep perspective. This is just a car to have fun with, I have no emotional attachment to it. This my 21st car. I buy 'em drive 'em and move on to the next one. I have no problem with depreciation. I've made money selling some of my guns. With cars I'm happy with fair market just to help buy the next one.

 

[smallfoot]

I don't think my pride would let me walk away...

 

[billy]

Pride shmide
Dump it and get a driving legal one
Then change stuff if you want in between cruises

 

[billy]

I will never do another from the ground up build
For me it is all about the driving

 

[Neverdone]

I am a build fan. Not driving is not that big to me. I drive when I can but for the most part enjoy the build more than anything. I also bargain shop and try to keep costs down but still get the look I am going for. I am currently in to my 54 project at about $2400. With another probably $500 I could be on the street, but not done. Far cry from what some people put in to them. My dodge I slid in at about $4500 and while the look isn't for everyone and there are some things I could have done different I am still happy with what I got for the money invested.

I look at things slightly different. Money is tight but time isn't. If I am not done for 10 years, then at least I have had something to do for 10 years.

 

[Snake Farm]

Wish I could help you IR but I'd be totally the wrong person to ask. I mean, I've had my Willys 35 years and only driven it around the neighborhood in the last two or three years. Then again I probably don't have over $2000 invested in it. Then there's my Chevy II, it's been sitting in my garage for thirteen years gathering dust while I gather parts...I've never driven any 1st Gen Nova let alone mine. I have about five grand invested in it and it's in pieces!
My problem is I get attached to everything so I have a hard time letting go even if it does make good sense.
I do enjoy the therapy of building but like Billy I'm about the driving too, and I'm spoiled in that respect because I have my '57 for that......even though it hasn't been out of storage for a year and a half because of me spending all my time on my daughter's house.
Neverdone makes a good point about money being tight but time isn't but....he's just a damn kid! [ddd Time is tight for some of us so I say if you're not attached dump it and buy a driver!

 

[Torchie]

Like many of you I have bought. Sold.Built. Flipped. Hot Rodded.Restored......
You name it. All of it was fun.
My advice to you IR is to do whatever makes you happy. [cl [cl
Torchie
p.s. Money is something that you can make. Time isn't.....

 

[Skip]

I love driving a hot/fun car. I love building stuff. I also feel that if it ain't fun anymore move on. No matter how much money or time we have, if we aren't having fun, we should be doing something else.

NOTE: I can relate 100% to the "pride" thing. My high school track coach instilled a "never be a quitter" thing in my head that I have had to wrestle with for the last 50 years! Quitting something I have committed to do is a huge challenge. Sometimes quitting is the right thing to do. That is why I developed the philosophy that I shared in the first paragraph.

If you are done with a car, clean it up and put it on the auction block. Somebody will love it, and think they stole it.

 

[BillM]

Sorry I/We can't help you out on your question IR.....other than to say that you need to assess what makes YOU happy - I'm with the others....it's all the hunt and the build that makes me happy, but every one of us is different.....

 

[I-R-POPS]

Let it sit and do something else for a while and you will be able to answer your own question. Works for me when I have those thoughts. And I do have the same thoughts. I could have bought a brand new pick up for what I've got in my last three projects.

 

[IronRat]

Thanks everyone for the comments, support & good thoughts.

 

[Todd]

I get where you are coming from. To me the finishing sucks. Bodywork, paint, fiddly crap slows me way down to the point I lose interest. Really forcing myself to finish the AD-kota so I can get back on the dodge/ranger.

 

[Willowbilly3]

Most of us learned what we are capable of by tearing into something that eventually overwhelmed us. If it's not fun anymore, move on.

 

[Flipper_1938]

The Toyota FJ40 that I am building with my daughter is a stillborn project of mine from many years ago. If I would have unloaded it years ago, she wouldn't have this project.

If you liked it enough to buy it....it must do something for you.

 

[Country Misfit]

My problem is,I have 5 voices in my head and they all want something different