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A confession...

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Bill Redd

Bill Redd

Jedi Hopeful
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Okay. I have to come clean.
It's time for me to seek professional help.

My TR6 came back from the body shop about three months ago, and very little has happened to it since then.
My "grand vision" of Saturday afternoons with wrench in hand, music eminating from the old speakers mounted in the garage, and (occasional) cold brew nearby, has not materialized. Instead, the "honey do's" and "daddy do's" keep coming, as does that four letter word... "work" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/pukeface.gif
I have bit the bullet, and am turning the car over to someone who can help to get this thing back together.

Initially, I'm hoping to have them finish the wiring, and re-build the rear end. But, I may still be in denial...

If I ever want to get this thing back on the road, I may have them do more work...

I hang my head in shame among this group. I may have to log on under an alias in the future... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cowboy.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nopity.gif
 
Wow! Its good to know that I'm not the only one with this problem. I can tell I'm in good company. I have a 67 Spitfire outback begging for attention and a 65 Corvair with all of the carbs out getting rebuilt. Not enough time or $$$.
 
I too understand the nature fo the honey do's and work getting in the way. If I can offer one bit of advice/encouragment. Somewhere in my research for my frame off restoration I came across a bit of advice to guard against this very thing. They said to work on the car everyday, even if it for only 10 minutes, this way it keeps the project from stagnating. But if you can afford to have someone else do the work, I would.

So far this has worked pretty well, somedays, I just clean one part and that is allit allows, other days, I strip the entire frame.

Good luck
 
Well put! Just a few minutes a day keeps the enthusiasm up as well as chipping away at getting it done.
 
[ QUOTE ]
somedays, I just clean one part and that is allit allows, other days, I strip the entire frame.


[/ QUOTE ]

I've tried to do this but must admit it is tough to get much done with short work sessions. It might be better if I had space to keep all my tools out but many things need to be stored between use so that the other car can fit in the garage.

It's the 6 to 10 hour sessions where one can really make some progress so I really try to get one of those each weekend or sometimes sneak in a day during the week (self employment has it's perks). Another good block of time for me is from 7pm to 11pm+ especially if my wife is going out for classes or book club type stuff. That said, there have been months with almost no progress on the restoration due to crazy work demands and that's just the nature of the beast. Don't feel bad about parting out some of the work .. I'm sure there will still be plenty for you to do as time goes on and you will be that much closer to finishing.

Cheers,
John
 
Why be ashamed.
I'm sure most of you do something that took time, effort and training to acquire the necessary skills.

If you don't have the time to acquire new ones, I see nothing wrong with paying someone that already has them to do it for you.

And yes I farmed out a ton of welding and an engine rebuild...
 
Having been in the auto business for 25 years and having a sore lower back to show for it, I too have put off my pet project for too long. I decided two years ago that my schedule of traveling for my current job and home obligations did not allow time to be spent in the garage as I would have liked, so I found a good shop and have sent the car there for the work that I don't wish to do or that needs a lift to be completed.

This has proven to be the smartest thing that I could have done. I still get to putter around, which is all that I have time for or really want to do and I get more quality time in driving the car, which is why I own it in the first place. I used to feel guilty, but I got over it after I got my carbs back from TRF two tears ago, polished with a perfect line bore and new shafts, which had all of the potential to be screwed up by me, even if I had the time to do it. It was fun taking them off, cleaning them and reinstalling, but the major portion was better left to a pro at that job. I work 50-60 hours per week and I spent half of my life earning a living in a GM service department either turning a wrench or in management. Now I just want to play when I feel like it and drive.

My car is in a local body shop now having the entire underhood area color coated to bring it up to the way I want it to look. This is after paying to have new headers and a coated intake installed at another shop. A lighter wallet perhaps, but my back's not sore and I certainly have no guilt over it.
 
I think we need a PIAA club (Put It Off, Anonomous). 6 years into a 1 year ,just tinkering, I'm up for a charter membership.
don
 
[ QUOTE ]
I'm sure most of you do something that took time, effort and training to acquire the necessary skills.

If you don't have the time to acquire new ones, I see nothing wrong with paying someone that already has them to do it for you.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree wholeheartedly... That's what allows me (and most people) to make a living!

However, my original intent was to say "I did it myself."
But, I'll get over that when I get to drive it much sooner. Now, with business going well (and a shop that's going to "work this in when they can"), I should at least be able to afford some help!
 
6 years for me too!! Its the only time a Miata would have been better, but Im almost there so forget the Miata
 
[ QUOTE ]
However, my original intent was to say "I did it myself."

[/ QUOTE ]

Bill,

You don't have to do everything yourself to say that. Would you line bore the engine? Spray it? Do all the welding? You get the idea.

Doing some stuff is enough. Do what you have time for or can't afford to pay someone else to do. Farm out the rest with a clear conscience. It's still your car. You still did something. It doesn't make you a lesser person...

It just means that you'll be DRIVING it quicker.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Be the conductor and orchestrate the performance.
Besides, doing the work yourself is only a matter of degree. Does anyone machine their own parts or make the castings or tan the leather or...
So be involved to the degree that fits your situation the same as everyone else and proudly claim you did it yourself.
 
A lot of the work I do is for the hobby and fun of it, but it is also because I don't have a shop nearby that I've figured out I can trust - if I had one, a lot of the work on my car would have been done already, not by me. I like the idea of being able to do it myself if I need to, but that doesn't mean I really have to do it.

And when the car takes priority over the honey do/daddy do list..well I think that is time to rethink the priorities..

Randy
65 TR4 mid suspension rebuild, waiting on parts.
 
[ QUOTE ]
And when the car takes priority over the honey do/daddy do list..well I think that is time to rethink the priorities..

[/ QUOTE ]


Now there is a man with the right frame of mind. And if honey + kids = happy that means daddy gets more driving time when it counts!
 
Fortunatly my honey do/daddy do list is composed of mostly car stuff anyway....so I do lose time on my resto(MGTC) but at least I am still turning wrenches, better than slapping paint brushes, yup our master bedroom has been in primer since Christmas....Progress on it was so rudely interruped by the purchase of a TR6.
 
Thanks for all the great comments!

Maybe the way to look at it is that I'm not "passing it off," but providing a source of income for another, and allowing the British Car hobby to be a source of income for another.

Wow... I feel better already...
 
Anything that isn't being primed with zinc chromate, POR15 or powder coated, probably should't be done anyhow.
 
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