What's new
By:
Filters

Unfinished projects

mjlogan88 said:
Big difference between "finished" and functional. Finished is often a moving target too

I basically don't sleep until a project is functional. Once it is functional I usually enjoy it and sell it before it is finished.
Click to expand...

This is me. I get the most enjoyment out of “building” or fixing something. Then when it’s functional and just needs some finishing details, I lose interest and want to start on the next big thing.

This has caused me to regret selling a lot of vehicles :homer:
 
I figured that the hardest part for me is to get started to do the work.

Once I got my ass in gear it's somewhat easy.

Soooo, for 2022 I made a commitment to put it at least 30mn every day, no matter what.

Turns out that I almost every time went over the 30mn, just because I started the task.

I spend a lot less time on social media thanks to this.
 
Welcome to Hell
 

Attachments

  • 37A5B8D5-311C-40B3-887B-EA72FB85A4E8.jpeg
    37A5B8D5-311C-40B3-887B-EA72FB85A4E8.jpeg
    1.7 MB · Views: 40
Might help motivate you to clean up a bit/organize. I wouldn't want to work in that mess either, might be time for another carport or two.
 
arse_sidewards said:
Projects are never "finished". There's always something that can be improved. Just make your house livable and your cars and machines run and you can play whack-a-mole improving what you can where you can.
Click to expand...


100% me....

My house build became live-able in October of 2020. I at that point became very lazy at home for about 6 months... Didn't want to turn a wrench or screw driver on shit (jeeps, boat, house..etc.. etc.. didn't matter).

Now I just focus on what falls into my cross hairs....

Shitbox CJ7 is getting 90% of my focus right now trying to get it prepped for a wheeling event on March 5th. Working on it every evening.

House is getting about 35% (I know that is 125%) of my attention. building underpinning, stair cases, fixing shit... all on weekends during the day.

My 78 CJ5 is getting like .00001% of my attention... It gets gas and I check the oil in it. Although I'm picking up a new battery for it today on my way home so maybe it's getting like .005%. It needs about 1000% of my attention though it's not good on the road or off road, it's only good for putting around and slinging mud at the moment.
 
Dan said:
Might help motivate you to clean up a bit/organize. I wouldn't want to work in that mess either, might be time for another carport or two.
Click to expand...
Lmao
You should have seen it before. The cords thrown about… yea that was laziness but it’s actually not half as bad as it was.

12x20 is pretty restrictive but I should get in there with the shop vac again and suck up leaves abs misc.

If I had an 18x40 space with real walls and a non leaking roof I would feel so much better
 
mdmike said:
Pics of 55 Chevy?

I was in the process of restoring a 55 myself about 7 years ago. Then while on vacation in CA, I found a very nice/rust free 55 and thought to myself, "Man, this car is almost perfect and it will save me 10 years of my life!". So, I bought that and had it shipped across the country.

Fast forward a year, and.....

099.jpg


.....thats when I realized why I can't have nice things. :laughing:


Its back together now and very driveable, but I'm getting the itch to tear back into it and swap the mediocre 350 with a 6.0 LS.

20191102_143422.jpg



Its weird, I feel lost without some sort of automotive project to tinker on. Then I tear into something and wonder what I've done to myself.

Its a vicious cycle, and I am my own worst enemy.
Click to expand...

Looks real similar to mine

goodguys1.jpg
 
nbjeeptj said:
Its all pretty much run of the mill hot rod package, 350 engine, 700r4 trans, factory looking interior. How about yours?

IMG_1213.JPG
2.JPG
Click to expand...
Same!

Very mild 350, 700r4, 10 bolt with 3:73's/true trac.

Also stock style interior. I redid door panels, kick panels, and built a console.

20201209_175051.jpg
20201209_175430.jpg
20201209_175541.jpg
 
SomeGuy said:
Make a list of all the things you have to do.
Finish something, anything...
Scratch it off the list.
Feel accomplished, ride momentum.
Click to expand...
this. I don't have the fun car projects at the moment, but I've got a bunch of house shit to get done, kid coming, etc similar to you. Start with the small shit that annoys you and go from there.

If you can convince yourself to just get it done, and that it doesn't have to be perfect, that is a huge help. I finally admitted to myself 95% of people are not going to notice if I spend 1hr on that trim job, or 20hrs to get it perfect. I'm getting it done, and if I have free time in the future (I won't) I can redo it better to my liking
 
budget76 said:
this. I don't have the fun car projects at the moment, but I've got a bunch of house shit to get done, kid coming, etc similar to you. Start with the small shit that annoys you and go from there.

If you can convince yourself to just get it done, and that it doesn't have to be perfect, that is a huge help. I finally admitted to myself 95% of people are not going to notice if I spend 1hr on that trim job, or 20hrs to get it perfect. I'm getting it done, and if I have free time in the future (I won't) I can redo it better to my liking
Click to expand...

Agreed. And that is a HARD lesson for me to keep in mind- I work all day under a microscope with custom tools I made because surgical scalpels are too bulky.


te-perfect-is-the-enemy-of-good-voltaire-132-29-66.jpg
 
Yay! Another project to add to the list! Tossed on an emergency tarp because we are expecting 12” of snowfall. This thing will be caved in by morning
 

Attachments

  • 8719DBE8-B0CA-40B2-8DD9-9EB011D06BD9.jpeg
    8719DBE8-B0CA-40B2-8DD9-9EB011D06BD9.jpeg
    1.7 MB · Views: 22
I have learned not to start new ones unless I have to. I have too many 'open items' currently. Slowing ticking away at them, but really want to put up my shop so I can not have more than one thing going at once and not have to fully clean up everything to do something else.

We will see. I gave up on my Jeep project last year and traded it off, sold the boat too. Want to do another but know what will happen if I start now.
 
[memphis] said:
I’m not following. I have been thinking about sheeting it with barn tin
Click to expand...
I've seen a lot of those frames collapse from the weight. I thought some internal post bracing would help.

You mean the tent is gonna tear? My dad's kept them alive with a lot of sweeping-off.
 
[memphis] said:
$5000 would get you everything including NIB stuff. ARB, spartan, gears, rebuilt SM465, rebuilt LS engine, D300, leaf springs, ownership (the holy grail). Frame isn't welded together and I haven't bought a reproduction tub yet. :flipoff2:
Click to expand...
You still in Memphis? 😬
 
subybaja said:
I've seen a lot of those frames collapse from the weight. I thought some internal post bracing would help.

You mean the tent is gonna tear? My dad's kept them alive with a lot of sweeping-off.
Click to expand...
This tarp is two years old, UV broke it down. Summer time it was easily 100f inside

I keep the snow off of it but today was the straw that broke the camels back
 
subybaja said:
Agreed. And that is a HARD lesson for me to keep in mind- I work all day under a microscope with custom tools I made because surgical scalpels are too bulky.


te-perfect-is-the-enemy-of-good-voltaire-132-29-66.jpg
Click to expand...
Correct is the enemy of done - contractors
 
Picked up my International back in 2016. I never seem to have time to work on it. Half the problem is the garage is so cluttered that if I get the urge/time to work on it I spend most of that cleaning shit up then don't want to work on it :confused:


My pops was helping me with it too but when he passed very unexpectedly in 2017 it really took the wind out of my sails to work on anything for a long time.


Also, the woman always seems to come up with house shit to do :shaking:
 
Phrases to live by;


For house projects “do your best and caulk the rest.” - Confucius probably.

For vehicle projects “don’t get it right, just get it running.” - David Freiburger of Roadkill/Motor Trend.
 
Uggh, May this year will be 10 years I've been fighting this Carryall project, however I have done nothing to it since fall of 2018 due to all the changes in my life.

It runs, but still has transmission issues (rebuild for Allison has been waiting on parts for a year now)
Needs:
wiring finished
interior finished, including installing windows, roof, and having seats upholstered
Frame needs paint
Fuel tank /cell has an ever so slight, one drip per day weep that needs fixed
Vintage air system needs finished install and wired
On Board Air system for T-case shifter and rear suspension needs plumbed

Excuses why its not been done.
M.S. diagnosis in 2015 after 3 years of nightmare tests and all the nerve damage that comes along with that disease, and perpetually feeling like shit / being in pain / loss of motor-skills that sometimes come back and sometimes they don't. (Got an awesome Pimp limp on hot days now).
Divorced in 2019 and the $$$ and stress that goes with that.
Got into ATVs and that whole scene as a distraction / mid-life crisis.
Moved in 2020 to a property that needs a ton of work and has land to play on now so that's a distraction
New shop space still not fully wired because electricians are expensive, I am cheap, and I have a friend who already agreed to do it all but he's swamped all the time and I keep acquiring more machines that need circuits.
New girlfriend also seems to be more of a time vampire than originally started out as too.
Also, the new shop space has become more of a time and $ investment than I thought it would be. More space means more tools and just getting that whole thing up and running has been quite the process.
Some of the above tools are a beat ass old Bobcat that because a refurb project over the summer, but that goes with the getting the workspace ready.

Lately though, I've managed to put a stop to the buying. I am out of room for more tools, and now I am ready to get back to work on this machine. I have been storing other machines and projects for friends and family too, and that stuff is leaving here soon and will free me up. I don't get nearly the visitors or distractions at my new place and as the weather gets better, I'll spend more time working in the shop. I lost all of January with having COVID and also the snow has kept me busy.

I want to get this truck done so I can enjoy using it. Right now it functions enough that its not stuck in one spot but also its not at the point I can jump in it and use it for Sunday errands without still worrying about bugs. Lack of windows and roof are also not great for the weather.

IMG_20190217_142149_896.jpg
 
AlxJ64 said:
Uggh, May this year will be 10 years I've been fighting this Carryall project, however I have done nothing to it since fall of 2018 due to all the changes in my life.

It runs, but still has transmission issues (rebuild for Allison has been waiting on parts for a year now)
Needs:
wiring finished
interior finished, including installing windows, roof, and having seats upholstered
Frame needs paint
Fuel tank /cell has an ever so slight, one drip per day weep that needs fixed
Vintage air system needs finished install and wired
On Board Air system for T-case shifter and rear suspension needs plumbed

Excuses why its not been done.
M.S. diagnosis in 2015 after 3 years of nightmare tests and all the nerve damage that comes along with that disease, and perpetually feeling like shit / being in pain / loss of motor-skills that sometimes come back and sometimes they don't. (Got an awesome Pimp limp on hot days now).
Divorced in 2019 and the $$$ and stress that goes with that.
Got into ATVs and that whole scene as a distraction / mid-life crisis.
Moved in 2020 to a property that needs a ton of work and has land to play on now so that's a distraction
New shop space still not fully wired because electricians are expensive, I am cheap, and I have a friend who already agreed to do it all but he's swamped all the time and I keep acquiring more machines that need circuits.
New girlfriend also seems to be more of a time vampire than originally started out as too.
Also, the new shop space has become more of a time and $ investment than I thought it would be. More space means more tools and just getting that whole thing up and running has been quite the process.
Some of the above tools are a beat ass old Bobcat that because a refurb project over the summer, but that goes with the getting the workspace ready.

Lately though, I've managed to put a stop to the buying. I am out of room for more tools, and now I am ready to get back to work on this machine. I have been storing other machines and projects for friends and family too, and that stuff is leaving here soon and will free me up. I don't get nearly the visitors or distractions at my new place and as the weather gets better, I'll spend more time working in the shop. I lost all of January with having COVID and also the snow has kept me busy.

I want to get this truck done so I can enjoy using it. Right now it functions enough that its not stuck in one spot but also its not at the point I can jump in it and use it for Sunday errands without still worrying about bugs. Lack of windows and roof are also not great for the weather.

IMG_20190217_142149_896.jpg
Click to expand...
I did some Googling... very cool!
 
This thread makes me feel a bit better. Well at least not alone.

Bought my Taco as a "driving wheeler" in Jan 2017, exactly 5 years ago. I knew it needed some work but planned to knock it out that spring. I kept finding things I didn't like that were done halfassed by a PO. So I kept digging... And opened up every can of worms possible.

Between career changes, back to college briefly, family life, health issues, house work/buying/selling, property work, and more it's been either no money for the rig or no time for the rig. Lately I've had some money but no time so I've amassed pretty much everything to get it done. Now it's just a matter of making the time to actually do all the shit. By the time I'm done I will have built or rebuilt everything on it aside from the original SAS crossmember and shackle hangers.
 
One step, then the next. Pick a place and go start to finish on one.
 
I like the building process, challenge and learning more than having the junk at the end.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Back Refresh