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Have you ever called it quits on a project? Given up? Dumped it?

I’ve definitely given up on stuff that I wanted to and should have long ago.

I still hang onto shit I should let go now.
 
I've only let one project go, as it was in far worse shape than I thought it was when I bought it. Put the drivetrain into a similar car that I still have. All the others either have family lineage or other meaning so they're awaiting revival.

Heck, I saw " $2k? $3k?" and am glad I'm across the country. If you have the room, my vote is to keep it until summer and at least shoot an hour here and there at it if your schedule allows. You might have some "aha" moment and get something fixed each time.
 
I've given up on a few cars and a K5 I should have kept. Either get burnt out on them or get to "one last thing" and stall out. Sometimes it's an expensive thing and sometimes it's just the work to do it.

I've also been on the other side of the coin and bought somebody's failed project.


Picked this up about 8 years ago from someone who bought it and never did much with it. I got it home and completely blew it apart. Thought about giving up a few times and would just walk away. Sometimes for a year or longer.

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Eventually my stubbornness to give up on it pushed me through to finishing it (or atleast being able to use it).

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Was building a 90 bronco2 d44 8.8 4L m5od doubler last build day was in 2009. 2010 I sold the doubler and the 5.13’s from the 8.8 2015 Sold the d44, had 5.13’s a Detroit superior shafts CTM’s, still have the shell and everything else. I decided to drop it on a shortened expedition, chassis and not do any hard-core wheeling because I’m just not hard-core.

2009 is also the year I sawzalled the then current b2 into pieces to scrap.

Didn’t lose much more than time selling it off.

I still have a bit of fight in me for the hotrod Lincoln project that I haven’t touched in years. Heat in the garage this winter should help that out.
 
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This thing. I didn’t realize the extent of the rust issue until I really started working on it. Bought it for 5k, spent about a thou on it, said fuck this I’m in Texas this is BS, and sold it for 3.5k. Oh well. Was a fun truck when it was running. Had the 351 and manual. Was my last play truck.
 
I abandoned (sold off) 2-3 projects under the duress of married life, and lost 3 more in the divorce & foreclosure.

That trauma is likely what makes me so stubborn about hanging onto the current collection. The primary project (2wd 6BT Ramcharger) has stagnated 10 years now. :homer:
 
I've got one project I stopped working on due to work slowing down. A '72 RS/SS Camaro. Didn't get rid of it. Now it's second in line after the Jeep is done.

It sucks that once you stop working on a project, it's way too easy to just keep walking past it.

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No. I have put projects on the back burner for years, but never given up on one.
 
bdkw1 said:
No. I have put projects on the back burner for years, but never given up on one.
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I'm mostly like this. But I did drop a 'mutant' FJ40 20 years ago after it stalled badly due to 200 mile trip to do shop time:homer: Ironically, I got 2/3s of it back earlier this decade(original frame, original back half) I working toward mild build on it after I wrap up other projects... that probably should be abandoned:shaking:
 
I started building this in 2014 to replace the first Toyota wheeling rig i built years prior. This is how it sits today.

I bought my house in 2015 and spent most of my free time and money remodeling and doing house shit. I worked on it here and there but I never had enough to make a dent in it.

In late 2016 I built my 40x80 shop, so there went more time and money. I also at this time one ton swapped my square body, which got me back out wheeling. It wasnt as much fun as my original Yota though.

In 2018 I met my wife and started losing interest in the build. I got heavier into demolition derbies, so building those trucks took place of the Yota.

I built my Samurai in 2019, which could wheel like my old Yota again so I was happy.

2021 I did a pretty good restoration on my square body

Last winter I spent a fuck ton of money on a Tremec TKX 5 speed and a Quick Performance 9" for my G body.

Add in there having a kid, buying and fixing up an old Baja boat, etc.

I don't see myself ever finishing this thing but I can't get myself to part ways with it.
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Over the years and Piece by piece I built a killer Spare SB2 408 SBC. 20-24 years ago I found a clean 400 2 bolt 2 freeze plug block about 30 cars in deep at Craig Fuel in Williamstown New Jersey. He put cars on the ground and back to back. I remember looking at what must been 1000 casting numbers. LOL . My Then Brother in Law helped me strip it down to a block in the Impala and we used a come along to roll it out of the engine bay onto a hand truck. Then Spent Hours layering backseat's plywood sheets and planks a car at a time atop all the other car hoods to roll it out to the drive.

I was so fucking broke. I used the Cuda Washer at work to clean it up. Did all the blueprinting and polishing work, clearancing for the future crank yadda yadda. The next year after bothering the local Machine shop all the bracket racers used (Who Didn't want Nothing to do with NY and Philly Evening Grudge racing Ass) to get it line bored for the Used Splayed Caps, Bored .030", Bronze lifter Bushing installed and decked. He would get a Car alarm and remote start every holiday for a family member and after hours when I got off work and he caught up I got to use the equipment with his oversight.

That block sat empty and bagged for a few years as I collected a Callies Dragon Slayer Crank, Carrillo Rods with the fancy Carr Bolts and My own part number Wiseco Pistons.:homer:

I Scored a roller cam and refresh lifters off Racing Junk.com .670-.654 lift cut on 104. From a Comp Eliminator rail.

I moved to Georgia with a prior wife and lost my job right after we Seperated. I had my street race RX7 that I drove Daily in her garage and was in the middle of Trying to swap in a 4500 into a early 90s Eldorado to replace the 4100. Factory Gold Package Car, Burgandy with the White Leather and Factory White Carpet Mats. Also In HER Garage. Along with all my shop equipment from the shop in Philly.

I then bought a Silver V6 SN-95 roller with an 8.8 with plans to drop the 408 into. At the time I also had a SWB chevy Cargo Van, A Chevy Conversion Van ,3 G body Malibus 2 V8 FC RX7s and a 90 Turbo 2 roller, 2WD S10 Blazer and 90s Integra GSR as the community beater.

My ex lives around the way from me in the same townhouse complex and I got too comfy with dual 2 1/2 car garages and nearly unlimited parking.

And bam. Living check to check I loose my Job. Then Loose my place and have to move in with 2 friends. one of which was a Conquest freak. Fucking 12 cars worth of every part inside the living room. 6 rollers in the driveway and his road race cars in the garage.

The 408 Went up for $700, The SN 95 went to scrapper after i pulled the brakes off for my Fox Body 4 banger Convertible. My Exwife got the eldorado and my Frame Table. I just never came back for em.

I never did anything else with my GTU. It did make me regret getting rid of it once i scrapped it. It was the perfect JIG. I could build any drivetrain K Member off of it but it got so chopped up that it was only a fixture. Back then i failed to see the value of a car unit body turned into a production Fixture.

I still Regret walking away from the 408. My old friend still has the Top End but he refuses to do anything with it other than use it for memorabilia nights. I really didn't need the 700 bucks. Just started liquidating shit and didn't stop

20 or so years ago When I Moved from Philadelphia to Atlanta I left my last 2 door G Body. 2nd Gen Emissions Legal Lt1 with just a mild port job and mill on the heads. LS1 T56 with Some Ghetto 5/8" adapter plate that made on the shop floor. Centerline 17X8 Lasers before they made them with the ugly Barrels. 1992 300 ZX outer Door handles fitted to the doors because NHRA says no shaved. And Why not. Anyways. I liked this one out of them all. It got me a Job at a dealership and got attention from the South Jersey GM tech center. Helped me get a job there too. I carried over the F body Harness and emissions equipment. As well as the BCM and Pass key.

Mainly A junkyard build with all used parts from South Jersey Pull A Part yards. It ran 11.88 in the 1/4 and pulled .92 G on crappy take off tires. IIRC I could manage 25 MPG if i babied it with the 4.10 gears. Back to Back Dry Hops on a brand new clutch made for a nice hole right through the HVAC box out the lower windshield frame. Yeah Dry Hops on the rough Prep in the shop. Great Idea.

It was this or my V8 RX7 GTU that would come to Atlanta, So the malibu stayed behind.That was the last time i Saw it. The guys next door from Shady and the Other Side from Red Alert racing did me a justice in making sure that nothing could be taken off, reused and claimed that someone else did it. That shit hurt to give the ok. The interior was fresh and complete with Tweed 300 ZX buckets and Upholstery to match. Itt sat there in the corner of my Shop in upper Darby for a while till the landlord got a new tennant.
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While in Atlanta I did a ton of FC RX7 Swaps and was around when that kicked off on the internet. I fixed a ton of issues on this FC for my friend. He let it go for $3500 and got it back. Gave it to me and i honestly said yes just to force him to hold it for me. I never came back for it and i'm sure he scrapped it when his fiance took his manhood.
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I have an OG chevy 632 short block Built by Bill Mitchell that i have been holding onto for maybe 28 years. I will never be able to afford a Top end or Fuel System to truly enjoy it. I saved it for my crew cab but it has lost the luster it once had for me. I may walk away from it and have it added to the mix of memorabilia parts at my old time friends garage. Right next to my SB2 top end. he just doesn't give it back. We have a morbid Go Fund your Boys Funeral thing going on with our parts and car stuff.
 
Life goals, interests, friends, even just what you can handle change over the years.

For a while my folks (retired) were in what I joked as the old people's golf cart club.
Group of maybe 15-20 friends that had side by sides/4 wheelers and they'd go on rides sometimes 2-3x a week spring to fall. My folks wore out their first one, a CF Moto and got a Wolverine. The CF had like 35,000 miles on it.

This went on maybe 5-6 years or so.

Well, the main "leaders" passed away or moved to someplace warm year round, others fell off the radar due to injuries/pain/sickness, etc and it basically dissolved.

Dad got a 2nd hip this spring and Mom some shoulder and knee surgeries so they were mostly laid up.

Said they used it maybe 10 miles this year, mostly going between the house and garden and other yard work.

Plenty of times I get free time and I just want to veg out. Barely feel like putting pants on, nevermind freezing my ass or sweating working on something.
 
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I inherited my Uncle's 1963 Studebaker Avanti R2 when he passed away. He literally gave it to me on his death bed. He took it apart in the early 90's to do a full brake job and it sat on jack stands until I pulled it out of his garage and took it home 4 years ago.

I did get it running (poorly) and stopping (poorly) and wanted to do a mechanical restoration and give it back to my Aunt to cruise to the local car shows.

Every time I touch the thing it gets worse. Parts are hard to come by and they're stupid expensive. I don't physically fit in the car and it keeps kicking me in the balls when I try to fix it, so its in "time out" in the corner of my pole barn until I decide what to do with it.
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I had a 67 coronet I bought cheap, put a 318 and 4 speed in it, and never could get it to run good. ended up pulling the motor and trans and selling them, then selling the body dirt cheap to someone becuase I had lost my shop and didn't have a good place to keep it all. those things start out at 10k in rough shape now. should have stashed it somewhere but didn't really have a good place.
I had a 72 dodge dart, that I had leave somewhere for awhile, so I drug it an hour away to a friends place. his dad was moving cars with a backhoe one day, and smashed the cowl in real bad. I ended up scrapping it.
 
Given up on a few usually over money.

Traded my first truck for a Samurai with all Toyota running gear because I'm retarded and wouldn't just fix the truck and wheel that instead. Spiraled into a completely unrealistic build for the budget I was on and eventually parted out down to a bare frame/cowl.

Mustang that I wanted to build into a track car got sold to a 24hr of Lemons team, had no money or time with a newborn kid.

Given up a couple bikes that weren't worth the money or effort.
 
When I get a project I have to work on it full force or I squirrel and it gets tossed. When I built my kit car, I ran into some hiccups, but had to push through or it would get shelved. Too much money involved to shelve it though. I started on it right when the 2020 scamdemic happened, so with the shutdowns I had plenty of time to get it done, since we really couldn’t do anything else. :homer:


I just picked up a corvette project that’s highly drive able but, could use another corvette project though hhhmmm :laughing:
 
I had a 85 4 runner with a 4 link and sold it. I didn't remember why i sold it. Bought a 86 pickup cut the ifs off started working on the suspension and started dating a girl and it ended up sitting before i sold it. It was just frame cab axles and tires. Ended up in Alabama iirc.
 
I bought a Subaru Outback limited wagon for cheap, needed a rear subframe and the doglegs in the rear door openings replaced. I cut the prices out of another car, found, pulled cleaned & painted a subframe for it. Installed it and started work on the doglegs. Then the motor blew in my mom's outback so the quick solution was to yank the one out of this car and stick it in hers.

It sat around engineless for another year then I scrapped it. Had the same thing happen to a forester I got, moms car needed the transmission. When you part out the project car it somehow kills any hope of finishing.
 
1960 CJ5

Got it running (barely) gas was dumping through it. You would smell like gas after a few minutes of driving. Manual steering manual brakes. But it drove.

Took it to a buddy’s house and put a brand new off fire v6, YJ leaf conversion, never fired it off. Had the first kid and COVID came around. Sold it with a brand new wiring harness and told em good luck.

Wish I kept it but I needed more seats anyways.
 
I'm about to quit on a project I started almost 35 years ago. I bought a 1941 Cad Coupe to flip, and when I couldn't sell it I decided I should build it into a street rod for my son to drive in HS. Well, He is 35 this year and the car isn't finished. I ran out of talent and skill a long time ago. Last year I decided to pull it out of storage and have been working on it. I just got done installing a set of coil overs ( camaro front end) and now the engine is burning oil and smoking up a storm. The car needs complete paint and interior too.

I've held onto it this long because my Son and I had dreams of it getting finished and him driving it. The reality is he has no room at his HOA home, and he isn't the mechanical type. I've been going back and forth about it lately. It looks better in the pic than it is.
 

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I had a friend give me a old WW horse trailer for a project. I started stripping it down and realized it was rusted inside and out, and had multiple layers of hack rust repairs. It's last tow was to the scrap yard, on a flat bed trailer.
 
Gdogg said:
How about if you die before a project is finished? Lol
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Inherited one of those from my old man when he passed, '53 International that he started restoring in the late 70's. Been sitting so long the brand new tires (Still have stickers on them) have gone bad. The flat fender in my avatar sat so long it turned back into a project from a running rig.
 
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