Losing Motivation with a Project

Anyone else have this problem?

Right now, I am knee deep in the restoration of my 1987 Shelby CSX (Turbo Dodge not a Shelby Cobra, for those who don't know ). I got the car from a fellow GRM'er that posted it up on here in 2010 for a deal that I could not turn down, and began working on it last year. It came with a good amount of spares, as well as a good amount of upgraded parts.

It was cheap for a reason, and that reason is RUST. The car is a lot worse than I originally thought (and probably worse than the seller thought). It needs front floors, two other small floor patches, outer rockers, and lower fender patches. I'm on a very tight budget with the car, mainly because I'm cheap and money is tight right now.

So far, I've gotten the car to the point where it's a bare shell (with the drivetrain still in it) and the rust needs to be repaired. I had fellow GRM'er Pseudosport over to help me repair most of the passenger side floor pan, but there is still a lot of work to go. I have bought the rocker patches, and I have a hood to cut up to make floors and other patches, but I'm just losing motivation. Once I get the car back into a rolling shell, there's still the engine and drivetrain to go through, and then general maintenance stuff, like shocks, brakes, etc.

My biggest issue is right now I am just overwhelmed with how much work it needs. I can barely weld, and it needs a lot more welding. It's the classic case of biting more off than you can chew. Not only that, but I have other projects that distract me (just bought a cheap Dakota and I also have a '79 Trans Am that needs some love) and little spare time these days. I do not want to give up on the car, because it's very cool and very rare, as they only made 750 of these in 1987 (mine is car #115). Who knows how many are left.

Motivate me!

I swapped over a Daytona CS powertrain to a k-car about 8 years ago. I got it running, got it registered, had it on the dyno, took it to an autocross, life was good. Then I took it apart to get it pretty for the challenge and there it sits. I have no motivation advice other than to say that once the car runs again, it will be a lot more fun. Decide what you need to do to get it together to go for a drive, even if that means not finishing up some of the repairs right now. Get it on it's wheels and feel the power again. Then pull the carpet back out and fix the floors. The longer you don't drive a project, the harder it is to love it.

In reply to mazdeuce:

You wanna know the funny part? I've never driven this car or any other Turbo Dodge before. I've been in my friend's GLH once, and I thought it was pretty cool. Other than that, seeing them tear it up at the Challenge and attending a SDAC car show back in 2007 is all the Turbo Dodge exposure I had before buying this thing.

The short term plan is to fix the rust and get it back on its tires. If that happens, then I can work on making it run. It's just finding the motivation to get that far that I'm having an issue with.

It also needs a title and registration to go for a drive, but that is another issue entirely.

Theres a Shelby Charger that runs around here by work all the time...it looks rough, but a closer eye spies a sleeper in disguise...the paint is in bad shape, but there is no rust. The panels all line up and gaps are small. It has just a faint purr when you see it drive by, but if the driver stomps on it, she roars. Its pretty awesome.

I stopped in the corner quickie mart on my lunch break, and the guy was there. I asked briefely a little about the car, and he was happy to chat. She was on her last legs, massive rust underneath, the motor was sitting on top of the trans with only the lower mounts intact, the uppers had rusted through. The floors were gone, and the interior shot. he got it for the price of free, just had to drag it out of the owners back 40.

The car came with a bunch of extras, and the guy had never picked up a welder before. 3 years later, and it breathed life once more. It took a lot of work and a bunch of time, but he learned a ton and now has a badass sleeper that no one sees coming. It pulls strong, and is his DD.

He nearly tossed the project one night after needing stitches after she bit him with her rusty teeth. He was nearly broke, almost out of spares, and the ol' lady was on his case for the rusty hulk in the driveway. But now he owns a legitimate piece of history, and hes a very happy guy.

Basically, it can be done. If you lose motivation, walk away for a week or a month. Spend the time saving some cash to get something she really needs. Then, you can get yourself hyped up to install the expensive thingy-bit that will move the project along, and feel refreshed having spent some time away from her. Youll be soooo much happier in the end when youre cruising around in #115. ANd youll get a salute from the rest of us as you rumble by!

You should head over to Carver this weekend and hang out with me, Chris and the rest of the guys. We can motivate you. Our current list of restorations going on include, an MGA getting a 5.0, a 55 Hillman with a 2.3 Ford, a Beetle chassied 59 Fiat, a BMW 2002 race car, several TR8s, a Sebring flared MGB race car, and Chris' garage full of Japanese weirdness. Oh and then there is George's garage full of Porsches.

tr8todd wrote: You should head over to Carver this weekend and hang out with me, Chris and the rest of the guys. We can motivate you. Our current list of restorations going on include, an MGA getting a 5.0, a 55 Hillman with a 2.3 Ford, a Beetle chassied 59 Fiat, a BMW 2002 race car, several TR8s, a Sebring flared MGB race car, and Chris' garage full of Japanese weirdness. Oh and then there is George's garage full of Porsches.

I really do need to hang out with you guys at some point.

Does one of you own a REPU? I saw one on my street a few weeks ago. I think it was green. It was in nice shape and said Rotary Power on the tailgate. I thought someone local on here said they had one.

In reply to 4cylndrfury:

GREAT STORY!!! That's just what I needed. Keep them coming.

It really sounds like the same story as my car. I am planning on making it a total sleeper. No one knows what these cars are around here, or really anywhere else, for that matter.

I was given a pretty much rust free 1980 Spitfire a couple of years ago. I got started on the engine ASAP, did the brakes, suspension, shocks and decided to go with a euro carb and exhaust setup. That's when I really hit a brick wall. I need some of the fiddely carb connectors and could not make up my mind what to do about the transmission. I have a 1500 OD trans in my 64 Spit. I have a non-OD 1500 trans and a MKIV four synchro trans in my storage building. I have considered putting the OD in the 80 and MKIV in the 64 and making the 80 SPit my "road car" and teh 64 an autocross car. The problem is the 64 is a currently a driver and the 80 is not. Also the money I out into the 64 isn't what one (I) would spend on an autocrossing Spitfire. The reason I didn't make it to the Mitty this year is because The Roadster Factory finally sent the dash pad for the 80 that had been on backorder for 4 years.

One thing you can do is stop buy additional projects

The first thing I would do is pare down my collection to one project, then one driver for each working family member (which hopefully aren't projects). Lot of time and love for a car that probably won't be worth a hell of a lot, but will be really fun!

You're looking at the rusted floors wrong:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAL8hJRzztE

I fabbed up over 80 patch panels/pieces for the TR4. I picked a corner/section/floor - whatever and just worked it until it at least vaguely resembled what was supposed to be in that space - and moved on the the next section. In the big scheme, it only took a few nights/week for a couple of weeks to go from a rust bucket to clean shell. Consistently working at it is what got it moving along. Other projects, I've just taken a week or two off of work and dedicated the time just to the project (it helps when you have 6 or 7 weeks of accrued vacation time).

The engines in the turbo dodges are fantastic. When they work, they work so well, and they're incredibly durable. With a non intercooled 2.5 in my k-car, boost turned up (probably too far) I put down 200 lb/ft on the dyno. The hp was down because I was losing power above 4000 rpm due to a small exhaust, but the car was a beast down low. I could spin the tires at will. Your car will be worth it in the end, I promise.

Chris owns the repu, a 79 RX7, some goofy mitsubishi van and an even goofier dodge/mitsu early 80s car. Funny story about how I met Chris. He would drive by and see all of the stuff in my driveway, but would never stop and introduce himself. One day he figured out I was on this forum and put two and two together. He sent me a PM and said he didn't want to seem like a weirdo by just stopping in. I quickly pointed out that he was driving a rotary powered pickup truck and there was no avoiding the weirdo tag at that point. One of the guys in our group owned a dodge GLH back in the day, so he might be of some help. There is also a guy up by the airport that has a mint black glh.

I'm losing motivation/money for my challenge project too
I'm not making the kind of money I expected at the new job, and I'm torn between going somewhere else and sticking it out here to wait for the promotion that I'm supposed to be getting soon. Supposedly.
There's so much to do on the car, and like you, I've never driven or even ridden in one (an s30, which is my project.)
I need a front airdam
paint inside and out
some 15x8" wheels
trans
trans c member
t-mount
Diff
radiator and overflow and hoses
some gauges
a fuel cell and everything associated with installing it
probably going to have to redo the brakes and most of the suspension
at the very least carb to manifold gaskets
header & a little bit of piping to run the exhaust out the side behind driver
seats and harnesses (going to buy from guy at work, he has extras from his pinto race car)
the e brake cable is stretched so I may be replacing it
refinish the stock steering wheel

I'm not too optimistic on making it in time for the challenge this year
and anyways, the ultimate goal for the car is a three rotor swap, so I'm questioning the point of putting money into an l24 & 5 speed when I'm going to need to get a 20b and a late rx7 trans and everything for that swap, especially when I have so much E36 M3 to pay for already that I don't have money for.

SilverFleet wrote:

tr8todd wrote: You should head over to Carver this weekend and hang out with me, Chris and the rest of the guys. We can motivate you. Our current list of restorations going on include, an MGA getting a 5.0, a 55 Hillman with a 2.3 Ford, a Beetle chassied 59 Fiat, a BMW 2002 race car, several TR8s, a Sebring flared MGB race car, and Chris' garage full of Japanese weirdness. Oh and then there is George's garage full of Porsches.

I really do need to hang out with you guys at some point. Does one of you own a REPU? I saw one on my street a few weeks ago. I think it was green. It was in nice shape and said Rotary Power on the tailgate. I thought someone local on here said they had one.

That would be me!!! I am in Middleboro all the time,and have been meaning to PM you about meeting up sometime as I know you must live in the area near my parents, as you said you drive by that orange Saab Sonnet all the time,and so do I when I get out that way.

When did you see me in the truck? I go over to the village market store in Middleboro quite a bit, so maybe you saw me over there. maybe I can motivate you to get the Shelby going,and you can motivate me to get this Mitsu van going again after many a set back.

Chris

I've always sucked at welding. So when I did my GT6 rebuild (with tons of rust) I did the entire floorpan, rockers, and rear fenders in fiberglass. I hate fiberglass work, but I can do it, so I did. Plus it wil never rust again

Here's your motivation:

Chrysler P-bodies are awesome. You will LOVE driving it when it's done.

For project motivation, I like to make a list. List every little thing that you could do that has anything to do with the car or completing the project.

Do you need to pick up some crap in the corner of the garage to have a place for the new tires? Put it on the list and give it a number.

Do you need to find a new windshield? Put it on the list. Need to install that windshield? Yup put it on the list with another number.

Then when you go out and do little things just start crossing them off the list.

Tools dirty from the last time you helped someone else on their project? Clean them up and write it on the list just to cross it off right away.

It's all about proving to yourself, by just glancing at a list, that you are actually making progress.

RossD wrote: For project motivation, I like to make a list. List *every little thing* that you could do that has *anything* to do with the car or completing the project. Do you need to pick up some crap in the corner of the garage to have a place for the new tires? Put it on the list and give it a number. Do you need to find a new windshield? Put it on the list. Need to install that windshield? Yup put it on the list with another number. Then when you go out and do little things just start crossing them off the list. Tools dirty from the last time you helped someone else on their project? Clean them up and write it on the list just to cross it off right away. It's all about proving to yourself, by just glancing at a list, that you are actually making progress.

This is a really cool idea.

Ross's list idea works. I know, because I don't make lists like that, and I get demotivated.

That said, seeing this thread yesterday morning DID motivate me to spend several hours last night tearing my wife's motorcycle apart (I've been avoiding it like the plague for several months).

Mazdax605 wrote:

SilverFleet wrote:

tr8todd wrote: You should head over to Carver this weekend and hang out with me, Chris and the rest of the guys. We can motivate you. Our current list of restorations going on include, an MGA getting a 5.0, a 55 Hillman with a 2.3 Ford, a Beetle chassied 59 Fiat, a BMW 2002 race car, several TR8s, a Sebring flared MGB race car, and Chris' garage full of Japanese weirdness. Oh and then there is George's garage full of Porsches.

I really do need to hang out with you guys at some point. Does one of you own a REPU? I saw one on my street a few weeks ago. I think it was green. It was in nice shape and said Rotary Power on the tailgate. I thought someone local on here said they had one.

That would be me!!! I am in Middleboro all the time,and have been meaning to PM you about meeting up sometime as I know you must live in the area near my parents, as you said you drive by that orange Saab Sonnet all the time,and so do I when I get out that way. When did you see me in the truck? I go over to the village market store in Middleboro quite a bit, so maybe you saw me over there. maybe I can motivate you to get the Shelby going,and you can motivate me to get this Mitsu van going again after many a set back. Chris

Ha, I knew it! A REPU is just too weird NOT to be owned by a member of this forum!

I literally live right around the corner from the Village Market! I walk there regularly. Such a weird little store, but very convenient. I saw you probably a month or two ago.

Funny thing about Middleboro: People seem to embrace project cars and older cars in general. The Town Hall has a car show every Thursday night from June-October, and there's a restaurant up the street from my house that has cruise nights every Saturday all summer. All sorts of weird cars show up, and there's some strange "creations" driving around town, like a DIY 50's proto-El Camino thing and some 70's land barge with tacked on fins like a 50's car. People LOVE my Trans Am too. In my old town (I'm from Hingham, MA) people considered it an eye sore. Here, people compliment me on it! People randomly stop by my house and ask me about it.

I can weld and I have a welder and I am kind of local. A BBQ and a bunch of people all working at once can make a lot happen in a short time. I see a gathering of GRM's happening and we could bang out a lot of it in an afternoon.

RossD wrote: For project motivation, I like to make a list. List *every little thing* that you could do that has *anything* to do with the car or completing the project. Do you need to pick up some crap in the corner of the garage to have a place for the new tires? Put it on the list and give it a number. Do you need to find a new windshield? Put it on the list. Need to install that windshield? Yup put it on the list with another number. Then when you go out and do little things just start crossing them off the list. Tools dirty from the last time you helped someone else on their project? Clean them up and write it on the list just to cross it off right away. It's all about proving to yourself, by just glancing at a list, that you are actually making progress.

I'm a "lists" kind of guy. I already have a white board in the garage with a to-do list of stuff for the CSX and my Trans Am .

One issue I've had is that the CSX is literally everywhere. Parts of it have exploded all over the garage and even into our garden shed, which SWMBO is not too happy about. The interior, hood, fenders, and doors are not attached to the car at the moment and are everywhere. There are also boxes of spares and little parts that came off the car all over the place too. And that's just for the CSX. I have piles of Trans Am parts too.

What I need to do first is clean out my garage and make a new list.

One thing that has been driving me nuts is not having a "summer" car, and my Trans Am is nearly there. Right now, it needs the mini-starter to be installed that I bought years ago to replace the troublesome stock starter and the PCV system to be hooked up correctly so it stops dumping oil into the #3 and #5 cylinders. Once that's done, I can attempt to make it pass inspection, which it probably won't due to excessive rust. To do that, I need a weekend worth of time, because I need to remove the header to install the starter.

OR....

I could focus all my time on the CSX and skip the Trans Am for this year. Right now, it needs the following to run and drive:

-Floors welded in

-2 other holes repaired

-fenders repaired

-reinstall sheet metal and ground effects

-seat situation figured out (have some WRX seats that may work out)

-Interior reinstalled

-steering wheel situation figured out

-remove head to do head gasket and sort out turbo

-clean up engine bay wiring and simplify things (it's a real mess under there)

-replace clutch

-reinstall head

-clean up or replace cam (has some rust on it from sitting)

-Replace consumables, like belts, hoses, etc

-Sort out radiator and intercooler situation (car came with the wrong radiator and intercooler is bolted BEHIND it: whatthe: )

-Find a set of good tires and mount/balance them

-Freshen up the brakes

-reinstall head and replace gaskets

After all of that, it will be ready to drive. Luckily for my wallet, the car came with a lot of the consumables and other odds and ends, so it's just a matter of having the time to fix it all.

Which route should I go? Fix the Trans Am up enough to drive it this summer and then work on the CSX, or go full tilt on just the CSX and restore the Trans Am the right way later on?

For the record.... The Trans Am needs the following to be "done":

-Interior gutted

-front floors patched

-driver's rear 1/4 patched

-door skins replaced

-hood replaced

-front spoiler and wheel flares fixed/replaced

-trunk lid replaced

-nose replaced

-wheels refinished

-interior pretty much completely replaced, you name it and it needs it

-paint and big birdie decals done after bodywork

-better fitting headers and exhaust installed

Rust wise, it's actually better than the CSX. The big ticket items like the interior, hood, paint, decals, and headers/exhaust are things I need to buy, and I just don't have the money right now. I have about 1/3 of the interior already, as well as a new nose (minus grilles), new wheel flares, and a lot of other odds and ends. I've had the car for 10 years now, and I never want to part with it. It's the giant Hot Wheels car I always wanted as a kid. I've come close to selling it a few times, but 10 years in, I don't think I ever could.

Stop making me regret selling all those cars I have had over the years.

The funny part is I probably miss my powerpuff blue 1979 mercury zephyr wagon with the strait 6 200 cid motor the most. And this is from someone that has had 928s4, 951 a 75 formula 400 Several mid 80's fire-birds and TA'a and more cars than I care to admit to.

Then there was the 74 impala sedan in red oxide primer with the hardware cloth grill. Much more fun than a Porsche.

Oh-ya and the Grand wagoner that had the front re arranged by a mac truck. For some reason people got out of the way really fast when they saw it coming.