Motivation

[tfeverfred]

Ya know, sometimes I look at my list of "T Bucket things to do" and, quite frankly, it's freakin' over whelming. Sure, I've been here before and I sure as hell remember the hard times. I tell myself, "You did it before, you'll do it again." That usually gets me going, for a little while. Then, there are those times, when you need something more. Maybe you show your wife that new part you just scored and all she can muster is, "Eh. What's that do-hickey-thinga- ma-jig" do?". Your joy is crushed. You stomp out to the garage. You stare, angrily, at the mass of parts and soon, you begin to think, "Maybe I should have taken up stamp collecting." or "Maybe, I've bitten off more than this old dog can chew."

Well, guess what? THIS is, hopefully, a remedy. Well, maybe a bandage, but take a look at these clips and tell yourself, "I WILL NOT DENY MYSELF THIS MUCH FUN!" "You've earned this!" "HELL! You freakin' DESERVE it!"

Now, get off the freakin' sofa and head to the garage. The BEST is really to come. When, I'm feeling doubt, I yank out my old Hot Rod movies. You guys can look at these.

 

[choppedtop]

I seem to stay motivated during the building stages okay. It is the finishing that I slow down. I drove around in bare glass and some primer for about a year before final body work and paint. Now I have one car that I hit body work hard for 2 weeks. Got it ready for paint, now I am in a slump on final sand before paint.

 

[Mike J]

I know the feeling tfeverfred, I used to build stock cars in 7 months, now i started this T project 3 yrs ago and just now getting it to the roller stage.

 

[choppinczech]

Fred, I feel'ya on the overwhelming part. I'm 4 years in with realistically 4 more to go.

I'm the reverse in motivation though. I can only work on my car on weekends. By Wednesday I'm chomp'n at the bit to get on it. I end up killing myself trying to cram in as much work as I can in those two days. Long long days. Luckily I have a very understanding wife too.

 

[tfeverfred]

I tell myself....... "complete the mission". GO! I seriously work at finding the means to an end.

 

[fletcherson]

For me, it's the interruptions that kill momentum... Seems like I get rolling, make good progress, something comes up and steals my focus and energy, and it's very hard to get my stride back... I used to juggle numerous major projects all the time, I gueass I used that up....

 

[ChrisK]

I've been doing lists. Small list for example today was put the front end back together after paint. Brakes, spring, wheel bearings, rotors, dust caps, flex lines. I get everything I need by visualizing doing it from a list. I would have forgotton the seals had I not have done the list.

I get all the parts I need so I'm not waiting at the parts counter saturday. Still got a lot to go on the car. Going to run some wires to the back in a harness before I put the body back on. I work 2 hrs a day on it and at least 30 minutes of that is getting a list together for the next session.

 

[fletcherson]

Lists are very useful. I used to make lists all of the time, main focus lists, contingent lists, etc.. I never seemed to accomplish all, but it did help me focus. Having to stop and run after parts is a real pet pieve of mine....momentum killer. Progress is the best motivator for me. Seeing it start to come together has a way of energizing me. The other thing is energy from a partner. I used to have a couple guys involved in almost everything. Even if they didn't offer much help, just having them around to talk and bounce ideas around really made it seem to go better. I really miss that aspect. We called it " moral support" lol. Maybe just handing me a wrench or a beer.... Can you post any pics so we can get a feel for your project? I was doing pretty good on mine, but it's been on hold for a week or so. Life's interruptions, and the wether has been horrible, so I've felt horrible....this week will be better!

 

[ChrisK]

Heres my body after paint.

 

[fletcherson]

Looking good! Motivates me to get my rear in gear.... I like your color choise. Is that a mopar color? I had a Dakota that was similar to it, 2003, I think. When I used to restore cars for people, It seemed like a real grind until it got to the reassembly stage. That's when the fruits of my labor began to blossom. I like that stage because I could see the progress. My favorite part, other than seeing the expression on their face when they first saw the finished product, was watching the car leave my shop, lol!

 

[ChrisK]

Its a burnt orange metallic from the duplicolor paint shop. I matched it with the darker vht orange engine paint. With paint and filler and sandpaper it came out to $430 for the whole paint job. It took about a month of weekends to do it. By far the most labor intensive part of the build. 90 percent of it was sanding be it the fill stage or the cut and buff stage after the clear coat was on. I'm glad its done.

 

[fletcherson]

Finishing is a lot of labor intensive work. Color sanding and buffing isnt my favorite thing to do either.

 

[choppinczech]

That's a really nice color. Looks juicy.

 

[rubicon]

Looks good. I'll be glad when I'm done with the body work. Haven't started it yet. Its the one thing I've been dreading. I tackle my project a little at a time. If I start working on it, I like to get at least one thing done.

 

[rbsWELDER]

Love the color!!!

 

[benT]

Its a burnt orange metallic from the duplicolor paint shop. I matched it with the darker vht orange engine paint. With paint and filler and sandpaper it came out to $430 for the whole paint job. It took about a month of weekends to do it. By far the most labor intensive part of the build. 90 percent of it was sanding be it the fill stage or the cut and buff stage after the clear coat was on. I'm glad its done.

Lots of guys think that they have to spend thousands on paint for these little hot rods and that's not true. As you have shown, there are lots of very economical single and 2-stage paints that with time and effort will yield excellent results. Great Job!

 

[ChrisK]

You could almost just rattle can it with flat black and go for the rat rod look. You could probably do that for under $50. No body work or nothing. Then get a seat cover from wal-mart with a junkyard mini van seat and some shag carpet remnants. No shame in any of that. These cars should be fast and cheap and that would be built quickly.

Its kind of cool looking at that more so than some big buck trailer queen.

 

[Gerry]

Very nice.

 

[tfeverfred]

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/media/black_smoothy.540002/full

 

[tfeverfred]