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losing motivation, looking for inspiration


nismoluv

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Im not sure if its seasonal affective disorder or what, but recently i just want to sell my 83 to the first guy that shows up. Ive have this car for 7 years and it has never been started up or has had a battery connected. I bought it from a sketchy dude for $400, and it was in the wake of having my daily driven 81 stolen, joy riden, and promptly totalled.

 

I bought the car with a blow engine, in hopes of swapping in a V8. Its been slow going. Its been taken apart several times and i have lost a ton of items over a couple of moves. Ive bought a ton of items as a result.

 

I guess what im looking for is a little motivation or a consensus to dump the car and move on to greener pastures.

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I'll say what my dad would say to me and what I say to my son, "Grow up, get out there and get it done.  When your done then you can screw off all you want."

 

Sorry I couldn't resist.  Bottom line you need some discipline! I still do!

 

:icon10: :icon10: :icon10:

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It sounds to me like you need to come up with, and write down a plan of attack. Write it out in any logical way you see fit and start doing things one at a time. I have a 78 and my best friend has a 71 and he has similar issues your having. He see's his car and tries to attack every angle and everything that needs fixing. But doing to much at once just leaves you lost and annoyed at the end of the day.

 

Just have to do things to it with out overwhelming yourself that way at the end of a day working on it you feel good because you've accomplished something.

 

What exactly does your car need to run? What parts have you acquired? We can get through this!!!!!!!!!!!!! haha

 

Oh and watching car videos a lot helps haha.

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Reading builds threads makes me mant to get out and get going . The first thing I did was get my shop cleaned and stuff in order all my tools cleaned and put were they go. Then all things fell in order and if my shop gets messy I stop and put stuff back were it lives so I know were it is when I need it . Nothing gets me unmotavated more than looking for a bolt or tool for 20 mins just to find it sitting under a pile of dirty shop rags.

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Reading builds threads makes me mant to get out and get going . The first thing I did was get my shop cleaned and stuff in order all my tools cleaned and put were they go. Then all things fell in order and if my shop gets messy I stop and put stuff back were it lives so I know were it is when I need it . Nothing gets me unmotavated more than looking for a bolt or tool for 20 mins just to find it sitting under a pile of dirty shop rags.

At least I'm not the only one.

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Partner up with someone and buy a cheap pair of Hyundais or Kias secondhand....then go run along guardrails to see if sparks fly off like they do in a movie. Have a friend run alongside you on the freeway while you both exchange blows to the cars body with baseball bats and ball pein hammers. Do some bumper tag and see if you can get the other car to stall without stalling yourself. Run em backwards into a big oak tree and then drag the back end around until the tires blow. Pour gas all over it and spark it by a lonesome roadside and sit there crying until someone picks you up out of sympathy.

 

Try to keep a straight face the whole ride home.

 

Once you are in the door, you will be FULL of ideas and inspiration. I know it always worked for me!

Edited by Tony D
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First off, I not trying to be a jerk. What have you accomplished in 7 years? If its very little then you just not putting the effort into the car and it will never be done. If this is the case you have 3 choices. Sell the car and buy one that completed already. Nothing wrong with that option as all of us are not inclined to completely build up cars. 2 Pay a shop to work on the car, At the end of ym last project I wanted to finish car but I knew I would be able to do it in time. I contracted a shop to rewire the car and do the entire brakes plus a few other things. It was expensive but the car was finished. Third is get off you ass and work. Building these cars are not always easy and they require dedication and hard work. If you dont put the time in it will always be a pile of parts in the garage. Set small realistic deadlines. Work on it an hour a day. Even the small tasks add up.

 

Good luck with what ever your decision is. Its a long hard road but in the end you will have the pride of something you have contributed to owning. From experience; I have found the road to the destination is just as good as the final project.

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I agree with the earlier post that said to write down a plan - sort of a "to do" list. If you want to get fancy, fold a piece of notebook paper in half the long way. On the left side, list the things that need to be done. Add the current date to each item to keep track of how long since discovered. In the left margin, give each entry a priority number1, 2, or 3.

 

Items with a one are easy fixes, items with a two can be delayed until you have a little time, and items with a three are things that keep the car off the road - like a blown motor or leaky brakes.

 

As you chip away at the list, write the corrective action on the right hand side of the page. For instance, "changed fuel filter" or "filled tires with air". You can also list parts and cost in the corrective action to keep track of expenses. Don't forget to list the date the task was completed.

 

Might seem complicated, but it's easier than it sounds and creates a "feel good" moment when you close out a task. It creates a great document to chronicle your project.

Dennis

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"Third is get off you ass and work. Building these cars are not always easy and they require dedication and hard work. If you dont put the time in it will always be a pile of parts in the garage. Set small realistic deadlines. Work on it an hour a day. "

 

Some people don't have an hour a day, they wish they did, but don't. That statement is being a jerk. Just because you have free time, doesn't mean everybody does. And don't EVEN go there saying that to me in a retort...you've no clue!

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Partner up with someone and buy a cheap pair of Hyundais or Kias secondhand....then go run along guardrails to see if sparks fly off like they do in a movie. Have a friend run alongside you on the freeway while you both exchange blows to the cars body with baseball bats and ball pein hammers. Do some bumper tag and see if you can get the other car to stall without stalling yourself. Run em backwards into a big oak tree and then drag the back end around until the tires blow. Pour gas all over it and spark it by a lonesome roadside and sit there crying until someone picks you up out of sympathy.

 

Try to keep a straight face the whole ride home.

 

Once you are in the door, you will be FULL of ideas and inspiration. I know it always worked for me!

 

If I lived out in some random desert area I would do this probably every 3 months. 

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My various projects have taken years and some are still not done. Make a list for sure. When you have time pick one or two items that you know you can complete. Then keep updating the list, but always look at what you crossed off. I swear one month the only thing I accomplished was putting the radiator hoses on and filling it up with coolant, but I always got to look at the line through that one task. Mountains are moved one shovel full at a time. You just get to pick the size of the shovel. :)

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Get rid of the car and spend as much time with your family as possible. A car can become such an idol-I know mine is for me. I think about it when I'm on dates with my wife, my thoughts drift to it during the sermon on Sunday, and when my wife asks me what the sermon is about, I have no idea because I was bench racing when I was supposed to be listening.

 

Now, if you just can't part with the car, come visit me this summer for autocrossing and drag racing. You will sprint to your garage to get back on your car project!

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Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I think my weak link is time and that fact that I am unorganized. Once I get the rear suspension put back together, Ill get it on the ground and have my wife push me up and down the street to get the wind blowing through my hair...

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We tend to jump into these elaborate vehicular upgrade-ventures when we're young, hankering for something fast but not too terribly expensive, anxious to prove our skills and to assert our individuality.  But life remains inchoate and unestablished.  Then comes college, or grad school; job search, maybe relocation, maybe hopping from job to job, building one's career.  Then perhaps buying a house.  Maybe romantic relationships, family.  In brief, life happens.  And as life happens, the car-hobby can fade to insignificance.  What was so crucial and self-defining at age 19, becomes peripheral and vestigial at age 29 or 39.  Eventually time becomes more expensive than money, and a new Z06 becomes cheaper than hopping-up one's Datsun.  Things evolve, life evolves, but the car remains invariant, frozen at when we were 19.

 

So then what?  Then the fellow who's now middle-aged starts yearning nostalgically for when he was 19.  And then the motivation returns.

 

Don't worry about lack of progress over 7 years.  Give it another 7, and another, and another.  Then come back to the car once your kids are in college.

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