Obsessive Projects - What's your Story

[RSBob]

It seems like whenever I start a new project on the car, it consumes every waking moment when not working, eating, or TRYING to sleep - trying to figure out what things to do next, or what order to best assemble them in. I get resentful when friends come over and I am in the middle of a multi-day project - unless they can help.

Right now I am reassembling my interior after paint. Everything came out except the dash and steering wheel and now I want to take care of all those nagging little problems that bugged me before paint. Tonight another couple is coming over and its cutting into my reassembly time - new door vapor barriers, new driver's side door pull for car without one, fabbing new mounting barriers, creating new seat mounts for Nurburgrings, and on and on are all waiting. Sure this will take a few evenings after work and can't be done in one night - at least by a closet perfectionist. Every project has a list - and rather than try to relax and do a couple and say - 'good job' it off to the next one like a Mad Hatter.

Even when my wife suggest, 'It's such a beautiful day, lets get out the tandem and go for a ride' I feel a little resentful. If I had kids I might go insane - even moreso.

Anyone else share this disease?

[Tim Polzin]

Converting my Targa into a Cab with power roof when everyone has advised me to go manual!

Got to be a sickness.

Tim

[Kurt B]

Converting my cab to a hardtop a la Thom. Big project w/ lots of work, but I enjoy every minute of it. Still squeezing in 964 jobs on the side--brake pads and things like that, nothing major, but just for a change of pace.

[svandamme]

buying a 73 911 S targa, for what seemd a good price, and beeing new at this , no ppi... and then realizing that although the price was good for an S, it needed lot's of work and money to get it in usable shape

first year i did chassis fixing and oil leak fixing only to find out when i wanted to drive again ... that my engine did not feel like awakening from it's hibernation... and there comes the engine rebuild story... at the point of allready having blown the budget...
now it's almost 2 years later, and i'll hopefully be driving it this weekend...

oh yeah , gave up chasing tail and booze and holidays and basical social life to fund it. obsessed? me ? i think not.

[cgarr]

Yea I guess you could call this Obessive! All started with flying in 1976, restored the 39 J4 Cub Coupe, Then scratch built the 1918 SE5a replica in 1983 then got the 72 VW in 1985, Strip and repaint, all new guts, came from Georgia and was very solid, then got married in 1987, got the 69 912 targa 4 years ago and rebuilt it, very little rust just had 7 paint jobs on it that had to be removed and all new guts the first year then rebuilt the engine the second year, Just got the 86 911 last year and am already looking at an engine rebuild/up for something to do, Im always looking for something to turn into just a nice track car too, so is someone is tired of their project? im not!

Craig

[RSBob]

Stijn, sounds perfectly normal, except for the tail part. But then a 10 hour drive through the backcountry and twisties can last longer - with fewer commitments!

[jtfreels]

Uhmm.... FINDING a nice 84 to 86 Cab that I can trust/afford/buy.

Jay

[svandamme]

Originally posted by RSBob
Stijn, sounds perfectly normal, except for the tail part. But then a 10 hour drive through the backcountry and twisties can last longer - with fewer commitments!

well , i do chase my cats tail to keep in shape... it's a fast little critter... and agile like nothing else.

[Argeo]

I hate the obsession. If I start and don't finish the task, it is all I can think about until it is done. I typically don't want to go out for drinks with friends because it will take awy from competing the job and money that could be sunk into the project.

Family and DIY stuff can work but it just makes everything take 10 times as long. Having just done a bare metal paint job at 2 hours here and two hours there, I do not recommend unless your patient. Even at 10 hours a week, my wife still gives me grief and most of the time I am working after the kids go to bed.

I guess I am just that special that she misses me.

David

[dmarv]

I started by changing the blower hoses from blower to exchangers. Then "since I was there" took off A/C compressor for a upgrade. After that removed exhaust to have jet coated, new turbo valve covers, bilstein shocks, oil return tubes, adjusted valves, changed front sway bar bushings, SS brake lines, cross drilled rotors, new ball joints, turbo tie rod ends, and Wevo transmission mounts. Today, after 2 years, I'm ready to put the blower hoses back on.

[Kurt B]

Well, I actually took yesterday off to do the following:

Drop the 91 off at a place to have the AC fixed. Replaced compressor, purged system (since I mixed refigerants), refilled the system, and total bill was 490.
But, I also sanded and filled and primered the hard top. Spent a lot of time working on that meticulously, testing the windows for fit etc.

Topped it off by changing the front brake pads on the 91 after it got back from the shop; but the rears were wrong, so I had to get those today during lunch, and while I was there I picked up the rear window moulding for the hardtop.

The hardest part of the obsession is watching all the money leave the pockets like REAL QUICK.

[Zeke]

Obsessive Projects - What's your Story?

Uh......my car?

[john walker's workshop]

yeah well, lets see,
87 cab, welded 930 flares on, 930 susp/brakes, needs paint work,
77 930, no real issues except paint,
49 cad convert, gotta fab and weld in rockers, paint, etc,
53 buick skylark, finish manual steering/brake swap, paint, top,
50 cad convert, too much to list,
48 buick woody, too much to list,
49 cad sedanette, wiper motor, low oil pressure diagnosis,
another 49 cad convert, bent frame repair, body, paint, etc,
62 vw doublecab, better engine, higher geared trans swap,
am i forgetting something? yeah, vacation, but too much to do.

[blue82coupe]

John.... you win!!!

[ianc]

JW, just think how much easier life would be if you gave up all those American cars!

ianc

[David]

I wish I had that problem... 13 months and counting.

And John you do win! Have you seen a phyc about this AADD problem.

[aftermath]

I have the ultimate 10 year project, 77 911 converting to rsr look, lots of rust, I have 2 young kids that live with me, no wife to help ( other than causing my to spend more time at the laywers than I like ) and a rental property at the lake I rent by the week, plus my girlfriend has me mowing her lawn also ( thats 3 lawns to take care of ). I think I get to touch the car every third week, sigh.

[JeremyD]

Wow - thought I had it bad - 3.4 build - and of course change the shocks while the engine is out - maybe AC hoses - what the hell.