TripDeuces

Motivation, it's a problem for me. I can see the final result but getting out to the garage seems to be a problem for me. I'm not adverse to attempting things I've never done. In fact, being out of my comfort zone is almost a challenge.
I know I suffer from PTSD from my accident but it's not like my garage is a minefield. I just have this blah attitude which I need to change. I love my garage, it's sanctuary at times.
Anyone else going through this? Anything you say might help me. I'm a perfectionist too so that's in there. I want to say I'm a seeker of excellence more often.

coppercutlass

Been there my self. Got second degree burns breaking in an engine. I took some time off and didnt hit the garage for a solid 2 months. I slowly got back to it. I recently hurt my back so the tinkering has been to a minimum as being in good shape for work is more important. I think when things happen ., specially when its something we love it sets us back. We fear screwing up. I recently had to break in an engine i built for a friend of mine and i was nervous as hell. Despite having a fire because a spark plug wire got too hot i faced a real fear and something did go wrong but we went back at it and i now had a little less fear going into it. It took us 3 try's to get that engine finally broken in (ignition issues) but it got done and no one got hurt. Im prone to really bad anxiety so overcoming hurdles even ones i have overcome before can really slow me down because i fear fear. I hope it helps . I know there has been times i went months with out going into the garage. I went for years with really bad anxiety and i finally broke the cycle. It all came down to fear. But one major accomplishment helped me really put things into prescriptive for me and its been a good year since i had any issues.

marxjunk

always...

i used to walk away and comeback with no issues..now when i walk away...its hard to go back...but i have no prob starting a new project..when it gets old..i move onto another.

find a buddy..or hire a guy..when someone needs me or is counting on me...i am all bidness...for sure..

oldcutlass

I found a buddy to work on stuff with. We've been doing car projects together now for about 4 years. Sometimes we work on my stuff, a lot of times on his since he has more stuff than I do (I have all the fun without the expense). We also take in car projects for profit which helps fund our personal stuff. The nice part is I always have something to play with. A buddy will keep you motivated and two heads work better than one.

Gary M

I keep buying parts/tools to do the job but haven't committed to the small day to day one step at a time progress. Maybe a trip to a car show to see what the end result can be, could help. Money can slow things down too. Let's face it, Chip Foose ain't coming to our house so a little at a time work most likely will lead to a motivation to move to the next step. I've never done a frame off but so far it's like climbing a mountain. One step at a time. One victory at a time. When it's done and I'm at a car show or driving it around town being asked if I did the work, I can say yes. Knowing it was done the best you could makes it worth while too. More confidence that no surprises are in store because someone cut corners before you bought it. Been there. Are you still reading this? Get back to work!

66-3X2 442

Do something on the car daily. Not talking about a 8 hour day but a little at a time and the next thing you know,it's complete.

marxjunk

when things where good i had 2 guys that helped me take cars apart..and let me tell ya, just having to be there to open the shop and watch what was going on, made me excited and i got so much personal stuff done...

when scrap went nuts, i couldnt buy cars in my range so it stopped...and my personal stuff came to a near halt..

for me its decades working in a shop as a body man... with people in the next stalls...it was company, i was happy...and we all made a lot of money..we all worked together..now getting someone to help is murder..even though i will go help..it doesnt work the same way...and not sure why

some guys are good by themselves...and that aint me..and i know it..

i just bought 4 cars to part because scrap has dropped..i get 2 or 3 more, and i will hire a guy and boom..i will be back in the swing..

right now...its a chore to even walk out in the shop...i mean i can talk myself out of it pretty easy...its lack of company..plain and simple..

then there was the car chick i lived with..shewould work til midnoght every night if there was a project..i mean get greasy and dirty and she loved it..when i kicked her out...she took all her tools and my freakin dog...

i miss that dog...and her tools...lol..i just wrote a country song i think..

coppercutlass

66 3x2 442 nailed it. I usually work no more than 4 hrs on my stuff. I'm not an all nighter or over achiver. I just chip away at things and take my time. It keeps me from being burnt out.

BackInTheGame

I'm in the same boat, but for a very different reason. I've ridden dirt bikes all my life, mostly off-road in the mountains. Eleven months ago (09/26/15) I got helicoptered out of the mountains for taking a tree branch, at about 25 MPH, to the upper chest. Imagine a jousting injury... Thing slid up my chest protector, then poked into my chest breaking a rib in front, tearing my upper lung and breaking another rib in back, against my scapula, tearing skin, muscle, nerves, everything in its path. I nearly bled out while waiting with an open, sucking, chest wound. After about 2.5 hours the forest rangers/EMTs could not find a pulse nor blood pressure, it was so low. It was three hours from the accident until the chopper was able to find a place to land and load me up. Needless to say, my wife was extremely upset. By the time she found out about it ('bout 23:00; nine hours after the accident), I was already out of surgery and in recovery. Since then she hasn't let me ride, under threat of divorce. Riding has always been my release... Had I not been wearing the chest protector and other gear, I would have come off the mountain in a bag instead of with IV's hooked up.

Now to bring it home... I see the bike on the stand, next to the 442, and it PULLS me, literally PULLS me to it. I get darn near despondent wanting/needing to ride. And I can't. This makes working on the 442 feel like a time-filler, instead of something to enjoy. Instead of enjoying working a whole weekend on the 442 and making real progress, I'm lucky to get in a few hours before I have to just get out of the garage. But it is getting better, little by little.

BTW, the 442 has been on jackstands for nearly 4 years now while I collected parts and tools. I have completed the front suspension, brakes, steering, headers, and a few other MAWs under the hood. Now I'm working my way toward the back for suspension, brakes, and anti-spin swap-in, and then interior. But right now it's not as fun as it used to be; it feels like a chore sometimes... "gotta get the fuel lines done this weekend..." instead of "I really want to get the fuel lines done this weekend!"

Hang in there, I'm sure it will get better for you; as it is for me... little by little... short term goals...

Good Luck!
Rich

Koda

Things I have found help is keeping the place clean. I am happier when my place is cleaned up, and that covers apartments, garages, whatever. That being said, you can stop and start up later if you get demotivated. Getting enough sleep and exercise helps too.

I've owned mine for 11 years and all I have done is gotten it driving.

don71

I get it too. No motivation. I often blame it on the hot summers but sometimes its other things.

Good suggestions from the other guys. Maybe identify those things that keep you from doing what you want to do.

Maybe I'm preaching to my self, or maybe the choir. I know I could do a lot better, hope you can too Trip.

steverw

Alot of time, i dont want to go out to the shop when i get home from work. Its hot, im not really tired, but just dont want to get into it that late in the day. Im on call every other week so i cant get to involved, if i get called i have 30 minutes to stop working, close the shop, get cleaned up and get to work all in 30 minutes. I live 24 miles in the country from work. I get most done my weekend im not on call, and some weekends i am on call ill go in to work in the mornings then come home and usually dont get called back. But i can usually get quite a bit done this way. I have my body 95% ready to paint, just a few more small things and i will be buying PAINT! Finally. PPG, DBC Tahoe Turquoise. I have the dash, firewall and bottom of the car painted, but i cant wait to shoot body color.
So sometimes doing just something can lead to doing more, even if you really didnt plan to. Hang in there you will get it done, your off to a great start.
Steve

Troys Toy 70

I believe that most of us feel the lack of drive during the process. After all, we are disassembling and reassembling a car over a period of multiple years in most cases. Cars that originally took less than a day to build. Granted everything new and many people made that possible. My point is progress is sometimes difficult to gauge, when your in deep. Circumstances are different for every one, as well as timelines.

For me the four biggest de-motivators are:
1) Poor organization skills- As I have never done this before, it's what can be kept, where to keep it, what to buy new and when. Etc, etc.
2) Messy or cramped work space- I wish I had more room to spread things out, and I have more room than some guys on here. I just took the body to the paint shop, and now I need to clean and reorganize my work space for the frame. This isn't fun and doesn't progress the car any, takes a lot of time, but it must be done.
3) Guilt over other things that need done. Need to some things to the house, yard, spend time with family. When nothing is pressing, it is more fun to work on the car. Then it's guilt because I didn't work on the car.
4) While not a perfectionist, I do have certain perfectionistic tendencies. I want it to be right, and this takes more time for a first timer. Worry about the next step, and so on. It is a vicious trap if you let it get ahold of you.

I guess my answer is press on when you can, find satisfaction in the small things, and remember these vehicles were not perfect when they left the factory. They were good enough.

I think you are doing a great job, I haven't comment much on your post but have kept track. I think there is a lot of that here as has been mentioned in other posts.

66-3X2 442

You should work on no more than a couple of items @ a time. Do something like the heater box,when complete bag it and store.Blast,clean and paint the bumper brackets.These are just a couple of examples but you get the point.Keep the shop clean and organized. It's very easy to get overwhelmed when restoring a car.

ELY442

X3, when I'm on vacation, then its a sun up sun down day in the garage.

70-442-W30

Maybe plan an event that you are going to take the car to. Have that as your motivator. Nothing provides a little kick in the tail like a deadline.

I'm not sure if you have music in your garage or not, but I've found that playing your favorite tunes when working can really help remove the boredom factor from some of the more mundane jobs.

pogo69

I am the same way, at times something as simple as an oil change I will go out to the garage and look around at what I need and visualize the work in my head but can't seem to start. SO I have learned after 57 years that thats ok and I will do it when I do it I am not going to be hard on myself. And once I start it gets done. Being obsessive compulsive does not help either because sometimes I am all in for months and other times I lose interest and no work for months while I get involved in something else

Tedd Thompson

I feel your pain, and can relate to it. As I have gotten older and more disabled(got the DMV card to prove it) I find it harder and harder to start a project or worse yet finish one that I have almost done. My issue is standing for any length of time(bad knees) but motivation is probably my biggest project stopper. I just do not have the ambition I use to have and I'm very slow at what ever I do. The only thing golden about the golden years is the color of your ****.... Just keep on keeping on..... Tedd

mfgusa

Eric nailed it. Having a buddy with you precludes all else, unless he always needs something fixed and drinks all your beer. If that's the case, then...


I have a 55 Chevy waiting behind a "sentimental" rust bucket '87 Daytona job that I should never have accepted. Imagine how hard it is to get out there to do that, yet I do because the 55 is suppose to be next.


I did some runs at WIR in my sons S-10 6.0 truck. After a couple of mid 12 passes I became motivated to also prep my Cutlass for some drag strip action instead of car shows. I've got a pretty good start on that.


So when tedium sets in, I try to put a "carrot on a stick" to keep me motivated.

Rustbucket2

My brother had a hard time getting out and working on his car. I told him every day go out a do something to do with the car, clean a bolt or two, paint a bolt, anything, and soon his car was done and he was driving it! as a side note, cars are never really done.

cutlassjoe

I really like this thread. I have run into the same issue too and it makes me feel better that others have the same type of issue. With me it's time. I used to have a sales job where I was more in control of my schedule. I could work from home and set my own appointments with customers. This gave me the flexibility to do things around the house so I could have more time with my car. My new job while very cool and pays well is 8-5 and I usually stay later. So, I'm getting home at 6:30 at night. After dinner there is no motivation. I have only been to a couple of cruise nights and two car shows this year. I have three cars in my fleet to look after and maintain on top of my 442. Plus all the other yard work and stuff.


What I have been doing is going to the shop that did my resto on Saturdays. We meet for breakfast and go to the shop and play with our cars. During the winter we help them with customers cars so they can get them done and out of the door. It's a lot of fun and I have made some incredible friends and learned a ton about restorations and what's involved in them.

lshlsh2

Having that issue myself. Monday had all day to myself no wife or kids was planning to do some little things. Never got there, got into a book and never got there. To many hours at work just needed to relax.

rocketraider

When I worked rotating shifts and had plenty of time off to do things, the cars (and everything else) got attention. When I got moved to a M-F dayshift job that started out 7-3:30 every day, and then morphed into 7-4:30 and eventually to 6-whenever including being on call 24-7-365, I lost all my motivation because I was always at work or trying to guide some knucklehead thru a job via telephone. If I lucked up and got a week of vacation I was so burned out from work that it would take me several days to even feel like doing anything, and by then it was time to go back. So EVERYTHING suffered.


Can't tell you the last time I went to a cruise night- probably two years ago. Work always got in the way of the big spring and fall swap meets too- no option of taking any time off during those big maintenance shutdowns. The only reason I got to Nats in Kingsport this year was I was on short term disability and work couldn't touch me.


I'm retiring Sept 30, and I know it's gonna take a lot to get my motivation back. I'm ten years older, things hurt, and my car bud/helper is still working and has his own family obligations with a 13-yr old son playing travel baseball. But I hope to have a car ready to go to 2018 Nats.


What a world.

AJFink

I am now going into my first down time from my restoration. But what I am doing is planning, saving money, and organizing. I have most of my parts in a storage unit and boxed in segments for cleaning and repainting. But taking time off is not that bad I'm able to get the Honey-Do's done which makes living at home sweeter and easier when I do go out to the shop. Sometimes all I do is stare at what I have completed and fine some things I missed and ether make a note or complete it. I'll be going to a car show this weekend, that will get the motivation bug going again even if its just doing smalls, at least its something.


After reading a few of these post should help.


Good luck and hang in there!

coppercutlass

I may add i work as collision repair tech for a living. I tend to work alone very rarely do I have help I just can't work with other people unless I really need the help. Keeping my self from being burnt out in the hobby is crucial ad it's also a big part of my career. I have learned to manage. That's the biggest thing for any of us in this hobby

VI Cutty

Try reading the post backwards, you might get your dog and tools back...

TripDeuces

Great posts all and thank you. I think doing anything once a day out in the garage will help a lot. Hearing your stories let me know I'm not alone in how I feel. All great suggestions.
I do have music out in the garage. I couldn't work without it! I bought a cheap tablet for $50 and downloaded my music (MP3's) on to it. Then I got a set of $50 Blue Tooth speakers and mounted them on the rear wall of the garage. I just set it to play randomly. No commercials and all my favorite music.

Thanks again,
George

ignachuck

A great thread. I've read every reply.

Me, I'm a list guy, always have been. Lists for the car, lists for the house, the yard, work, everything. I go from list to list. Something on the Olds isn't working out- go to another list and find something that can be done- then go back and try that Olds task again. I keep the tasks simple- small wins- lots of them- makes me feel that at the end of the day I've accomplished something- everyday. I'm never idle.

The lists don't get any shorter as I go along- but at my age, everyday I feel I'm making progress, and that keeps me going!

Chris J

Sounds like all of us have this problem from time to time. Several posts could have been mine as I do exactly the same thing. If nothing else I will go out to the shop and just hang out, clean it up or spend some time tinkering. I also became really good friends with the guy who painted my car. He has a shop in town, I usually spend at least one day a week at his shop helping with cars. I have learned so much and gotten to work on some really cool cars.
CJ

70-442-W30

My suggestion: sticky this thread and that way it's easy to find. Sounds like a common problem for everyone. Very valid ideas to help resolve and motivate. Great topic!

mfgusa

If all else fails there is always Matt Foley.

tru-blue 442

Thanks for posting this mfgusa. Chris Farley was called away to soon.
An over actor for sure, but He Was Funny...

This is a good thread. Between running a business and enjoying or trying
to enjoy your hobby while thoughts of retirement dance through you head...

I like the mechanical more, because I understand it better if that makes any
sense. Body work...must be a left side of the brain thing, I kinda hate it.
At the same time, I never had any experience with doing any of it, so there
you go.

Trip, your're not the only one who needs a kick in the ***. I agree we all get
demotivated at times, such is life.

Railguy

I trick myself into workig in my garage / shop. IF I need to work on on a carb I tell myself I'm just going to unhook every thing which takes 15 min . Usually once I get started I I do alot more than what I planed on. And if I only do the 15 min. job, well it will eventually get done. Also I have a chair that's in front of the AC in the summer and next to the wood stove in the winter.
Railguy

VI Cutty

Trip, you're obviously not the only one and it's comforting to know that I'm not the only one either...like many others have expressed, I share a lot of these motivational issues too.

Some of the things I find which affect me:

- Committing to too many things and work for others - I feel guilty taking time to work on my own stuff when I don't feel like doing the work on theirs. Turns into avoidance which is a hell of a spiral.

- Not enough room - I have piles of parts and too many cars in the shop which leaves me little space to move or work. I might have a strong urge to cleanup my engine compartment but need to spend time organizing instead.

- Not enough organization - all those piles of parts are hard to disperse into storage because my storage sheds and shelves need time spent organizing them better. I need (or feel I need) all those parts because selling them provides the funds I need to build my cars...and they do that job very well. But it means always acquiring new piles of parts which get added to the old piles of parts...another vicious cycle

- Perfectionism - I pressure myself to do the job to a high standard the first time, even if I've never done the job before. If I don't feel I'm ready to do it perfectly, or get worked up over potential problem areas then I'll procrastinate on it. Even the simple jobs. I used to be able to slap my cars together with duct tape and bailing wire and be happy with them...miss that attitude and I'm trying to find a happy medium.

Depression/Stress - We probably all suffer it to some degree. I have a pretty good idea where mine comes from (too much time at home missed due to extended deployments over the last 36 years). It is probably a major demotivator and can be difficult to overcome without help.

Like others have said, I find some sort of companion noise in the shop is essential - music or non-distracting TV. I'll go out there and even if I'm not motivated I'll putter, which in itself slowly progresses something at any rate.

It seems to roll in cycles...some weeks I'm a whirlwind of activity and progress, other weeks I'll languish and find it hard to muster up enough motivation to make the next day's lunch.

Good luck finding yours...hoping to have plenty myself this weekend!

TripDeuces

I'm happy this thread has gone so wild. It wasn't my intention but I guess it is helping many people and not just myself and that is a good thing.
I have found that putting up my white board has helped as it keeps me focused. I write down what is needed next and pound away at it little by little.
I try not to do too many projects at once as it tends to clutter up things. I keep it simple.
Being a perfectionist is good at times and also has it's drawbacks. When I took on narrowing my frame it made me anxious but I found I was pretty decent at welding and was able to tackle the job pretty easily. Body work on the other hand is a different story for me. Patching things in sheet metal is not so much welding as it is laying tacks. I just need to slow down and concentrate. I just can't stand for things to not look good. It's a learning experience but I'll get a handle on it.

Keep it coming all, this is great.

marxjunk

you will never finish a car you will want to drive if you are a perfectionist...they wherent perfect new, and people cave to the pressure of its gotta be perfect or i wont drive it...

the most fun i ever had in a car was a ruff old turd i did a motor swap..that car was ruff..ugly..and not "perfect" anywhere...but it was enjoyable..very fun car

theres a diff between doing it right and making it perfect...one gets built the other gets fiddled with and never sees sunlight....

deadeyejedi

chris farley,priceless!! i get obssesed with my projects in the garage or anywhere else hard to start anything until the previous job is completed (which was a challenge on a three year project)everything goes on the back burner for hunting season .looks like this thread is great motivation in itself.keep on chugging along deuces !!

bluecab

George,

How 'bout a Garage night/ BBQ/ for some of us locals?

I'll bring the burgers and beer.

I for one would love to see this fantastic project up close.

It would get ME off my *** and act as an inspiration, too..

oldcutlass

There is a fine line between being a perfectionist and ****.

TripDeuces

I'm not a perfectionist to the point I can't finally call it good and move on. We all know cars weren't perfect from the factory to begin with. For example, I know my frame and body are within an 1/8th inch of where they need to be. That is well within factory specs and good enough for me too. Of course this was all done with a tape measure and my MK2 eyeball so I've already factored in a fudge factor. I'm not building a submarine just a nice street car that will be driven hard within reason.
I've always had the ability to call it good enough and walk away. I guess that's a blessing in disguise.
David I'm all for a get together. I'll have to bring my own beer though because I'm a Celiac.