What's the best part, The build project or the use of?
 

I've just finished almost three years of a rescue project. I enjoyed it tremendously and couldn't have gotten through it without Pelican shopping and how to threads.

Now that the car is done and I commemorated the event appropriately, I am now wondering if I will suffer withdrawal or if using the car a lot will replace that feeling of enjoyment with more good feelings.

Thoughts?

I think it depends on the person and the project.

Maybe someone can come up with a Kübler-Ross style "5 stages of a project"

I have done several big projects on my 911. I replaced all the rubber suspension bushings and shocks. Another time was the installation of the Duel Khuel system. I just recently dropped the engine and did a lot of oil leak fixes and intake refresh.

I enjoyed the project, but driving it with the upgrades was the best part. I can drive all summer long after the AC upgrade. The suspension is much more precise. Every project turned out great. Driving is the best part for me.

Of course my daily driver is a 86 El Camino. With cars from the 80s and a combined 468,000 miles there is always another project to do.

I have always liked the build part better. That's because I did almost every aspect and it always brought new challenges. The only thing I never bought was a sewing machine.

For me? The build. I often dread driving a 'project'. In case it 'fails'.

For me, it depends. I've some projects where the build was more fun, and when I had the final product I looked at it and thought "now what?" With other projects, the finished product was more fun.

Right now I have one that's a bit of both. I'm working on a 1963 Type 3 Karmann Ghia that I bought halfway through the project. The bodywork and paint were done, all I had to do was assemble it. Yeah, right. While I can appreciate that I didn't have to do the messy bodywork and paint, I also feel that the work that was done was not up to my standards, and I really should have re-done most of it. OTOH, my goal was a running, driving T34. Despite having a head-start on the project, it has still been expensive, which is probably why a lot of these types of projects never get completed.

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That's very nice, Thom.

I am just in awe of that car Thom.

On topic, I used to be a build person. Now I'm a driving person. Unfortunately, my car has different ideas. Won't be before end of August that I can even think of going to paint. Can't wait to go back to Gemini Blue.

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eeh, it gets boring- then you also find out the project isn't the "perfect" car after driving for awhile...

Then you sell it, find the next "perfect" car and start over. I think I'm up to like, #20 or something like that.

rjp

The build was better for me. I've done so much there is little else to do unless I wanted to spend big money for very little gain.

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A zen thing: it is better to travel than to arrive!

I am a perpetual tinkerer, when I finish a car it is time to move on to the next project. I always sell cars at their best and never really get to enjoy them, which is sad in a way. Unfortunately my free time is getting more and more scarce, I'm trying to train myself into getting a newer reliable car and keeping the Mustang as my project. One at a time is my mantra, we'll see how that works out.

You build guys, I can't figure it out...

I wish we lived closer, my SC needs lots of things done ;)

I get the most satisfaction from building/restoring stuff and enjoy figuring out how to repair/rebuild components vs buying new. Unlike many who sell and start over with something else..... I get very attached to my projects and very rarely sell anything I have sunk lots of time into. I can sell newer items that I have not invested time in, but I can't fathom the idea of selling anything I have built or restored myself regardless if it is a $50 old bicycle or a scratch built airplane worth 10's of thousands.

Could! nt you spend more money on a bigger wing? I myself like the building part. It's therapy for me and a chance to enjoy the end results.

Building can be ok on the short term, but enjoying the finished product is much better

This is what happened to me with my 911 - I went too far. I was having too much fun putzing with it that in the end I made the car horrible to drive. The car was fun to drive, but for no more than 30 minutes or so at a time - it would just wear me out.

I used to love to build them, more than driving them or showing off a finished project. Then I started turning wrenches for a living a few decades ago and have no desire to take my free time and do what I do for a living.
I think bringing my 911's up to speed was my last build of any kind.

As a kid I was building elaborate train sets and built pretty much everything myself. Tracks, switches, tunnels, landscaping, buildings, even little people. When everything was finished and the trains ere running in auto mode I stepped away and let my brother play with it. Now I enjoy working on my cars and driving them.

My 1956 Karmann Ghia is an example of an excellent balance between the two. It took me about 6 months to restore, and from purchase to completion was about a year. Haven't done much to it since other than change the oil and adjust the brakes.

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