GEARHEAD CONFESSIONS: Maybe I need counseling...anyone else feel this way?

[ChargerBill]

This is ON TOPIC as far as cars are concerned...in fact, I think it's THE main reason we are all here. I mean, we are all somewhat obsessed when it comes to cars...we're gearheads, grease monkeys, car nuts...but maybe some of us have it worse than others. I think I fall into that category...I may need some counseling. I mean, why am I SO unwilling to let go of parts, cars, tools, etc...? What makes me think I can get ALL these projects done? Here's MY situation...anyone care to advise or comment?

1969 Charger - 4 year project. Granted, some bad crap has happened in my life these last 2 years, but I should still be farther along. Finally getting the sheetmetal patches in and getting to block sanding. Parts everywhere still in 26 boxes, up in the rafters, in about 70 baggies, 4 eight foot shelves full, doors on stands and front fenders and hood still in my (late) fathers garage and even have parts hanging from the rafters in my 2 car garage.

1956 Chevy pick-up - had it since I was 19...it was my grandfathers and my fathers. It is a carb tuning and charged battery away from running...and it runs STRONG! Sports a 327, Muncie M22 tranny, 12 bolt posi rearend, Mallory HEI and MSD II Blaster coil, rebuild front axle, etc... Needs paint and some light body work. Going to shoot it flat black and put a set of reverse chrome steelies I have out behind the garage.

1978 Blazer - had for 8 years. Still sitting at my folks house in front of one of the garages (they have 3 for a total of 10 stalls). New 6" leafspring lift (no blocks), 36" tires on 15"X10" American Racing Outlaws (solid aluminum) wheels, 327 that runs OK, bullet proof NP205 transfer case with SM465 stock tranny, completely rebuilt front axle, new front and rear driveshafts, new brakes front and rear, RS9000 Rancho adjsutable shocks,   new exhaust & mufflers, body is FALLING apart literally. All the welds are splitting, can see through door sills to the ground, front end damage...the body is not salvageable.

1958 Chevy big window custom cab body with bed and front clip. My mom wants to JUNK the 1958 truck parts (in HER yard) and wants me to move the Blazer out of her yard. It sounds kind of strange me saying "my mom" this and "my mom" that, but my dad and I always worked on our cars together at his workshop (biggest of the 3 garages) and he had no problem with my cars and his cars sitting in his yard together, so they stayed there after he passed away. Anyway, the Blazer's body looks so bad that no one has shown any interest in the Blazer and I have easily $7K into the drive train/running gear. I figured that if I put the '58 body on the Blazer frame I'd have a cool 4X4 and I'd be making a space in her yard (which is all she really wants). I would need to shorten the blazer frame and weld the elephant ears (body mounting tabs) from the old '58 frame onto the Blazer frame and shorten the rear driveshaft. Wiring would need to be fabricated and adapted as well. Not any easy project, but not a very difficult one either...just time consuming. I could then either sell the '58 4X4 (for a GOOD profit)without a problem, or keep it and have fun for a while. Hey, I REALLY would sell the Blazer if someone wanted it and I could get some decent money out of it...I know I'll NEVER make back what I have into it. I would even part it out if I thought it would make it easier to get rid of and could make some CHARGER money doing so.... But even over at the Chevy Truck message boards I've seen NO interest at all.

So, that's my CAR ADDICTS ANONYMOUS confession. I have too many projects and don't know which one to ditch because I apparently "have issues". I really do think there might be something wrong with me...why am I such a packrat? And on top of keeping what I have, I think I have time to part out a New Yorker so I can keep the drive train, and was also seriously considering buying a running 318 Satellite for a daily driver type car. Maybe it's because of my dad who collected old cars and left 12 behind (all running and in good shape) for my mom to deal with after he died.   Maybe like him I keep thinking."If I just fix this and part this and sell this I'd break even and have enough money to do this and this...." I SERIOUSLY want to know how can I just stop obsession over these piles of metal and walk away from some of them... Maybe I should keep just one that is running, and maybe (or maybe not) one project. Or at the very least, how do I learn to not care so much?....

And along with advice, I'd also like to hear YOUR car absession story... Let's hear 'em guys.

[JimShine]

1969 Charger- Trying to use this as the fun car, but it seems to need something major every couple of months. Out of the gate this year the tires had to be changed, then the front end had to be rebuilt, after painting the car the oil pump finally went, now my transmission died. Almost $2.5K into it this year and it ends on a sour note.

1968 Charger- The one I am supposed to be restoring constantly taking a back seat to the progress of the '69. Started the year thinking the car would be on the road ina   years time. Made no progress at all, but did buy all the sheetmetal for it. Now I am taking the long approach and going through the entire car even if every piece doesn't need it. $3K into that one this year in parts and nothing has been done (except for the removal of a ton opf bondo)

Parts- Just getting to the point where extra parts are starting to pay off. The extra transmissions means I can get one for the '69 rebuilt without having to remove the one in the car. We can swap them in a day. But I am sick with the interior stuff. I probably have a whole extra interior in black for no reason (neither car is black inside). Lots of pads and stuff I wont ever use, but I love having them. Also been stockpiling engines. Het them free or cheap and even duds are good for picking off bolts and small goods.

[Brock Samson]

 Deep Subject Bill, one i've been struggelin with for some time now,..
   Why am I so attached to my freakin cars?.. especially the Charger?.. I know it's something I built myself dreamed of and all that but,..
it's a material object , so, is is right to "love" it?.. Because as LTD sang, "Love Is Lost On Material Things"...
And now in my spiritual quest, it's become apparent that works are not gonna save me...

more...

[694spdRT]

Don't worry Bill you are not alone....it seems at times this hobby is more of an addiction than fun. I recently finished up my '69 after a lengthy and expensive resto. I thought I was good for a while...wrong, bored again.

Last night I could not sleep at all because I am now working on building a small shop in my garage to work on the Challenger this winter. So between thinking about what needs to be done to both the shop and car another night without sleep came and went. I also got the '68 Charger which is not that bad, but needs a good once over. The Challenger was an absolute bargain that will never happen again so I can't sell it and the '68 Charger has been in the family since 1975 so no sale either. I also have a '77 Trans AM 4 speed "Bandit" that I restored when I was in high school. That will also never leave.

On top of that my dad has a '79 Lil Red Express we are trying to finish up by spring, my brother-in-law and I are going to start his '70 Charger 383 4 speed real soon, and dad also '59 Plymouth Sport Fury to do.   

BTW: I also can't sell any parts I have, even the ones I have three of, because I "might" need them someday. 

[Blown70]

Well I did have this delema about 3 months ago... I had E 440 HP and an F 440 HP six pack setup etc.  Charger grille, almost too many parts to list.

Sold them all.

I sold my 69 R/T  to Charger4404spd..... I do miss it but it needed a better home. Then what it had.  I am much happier to see what Steve has been able to do with her and enjoy it.

At one time I had
69 R/T SE
70 V-code 4spd bee
70 383 Bee
69 Number matching GTX 440 - 4spd
70  charger Project.

I only currently have the 70 left.

I could have kept all of them but it would ahve been 10 or more years to get to them all.  I just wanted them to have better homes

I know a lot of you may not feel that way and wish you would have.  Well yes I will say I miss the 69 but again I know it has a better home. Then I could give her at the time.  I poured all my heart soul and $$ I had in HS into her....  So it will always be special.... If I ever can I will buy it back....assuming steve will sell it..

In closing you have to do what is right for you... PERIOD.... I would have love to have hoarded all the cars but you know what..... Never would have had a chace to enjoy them.

Tom

[palindromes]

I can totally connect Bill.   I've got 6 cars parked around my house (in a very residential area with ordinances nonetheless), the only true 'classic' being the '68 charger mess in the garage.   Every day is an adventure keeping them running, convincing the wife that car work is more important than home improvement work and of course keeping city compliance officers at bay...wouldn't trade it for anything!

[RD]

bill its just one of those things.  I have a 73 charger, 73 roadrunner and a 71 duster needing a lot of attention, but nooooooooo... i just laid down $643 on machine work for a 1.6L toyota corolla engine so I can get a good gas mileage car.  arghhhh.   

[RallyeMike]

My name is Mike, and I am a Gearhead.

[bull]

Not me. I've only got one butt to fit one seat at a time, one pair of hands to operate one steering wheel at a time and no time to work on anything. I get frustrated when I have too many pots boiling at once so my goal now is to try trading up to the nicest '68 I can afford and then make myself happy tinkering and driving instead of sweating and rebuilding. I'm tired of working on junk.

[Chargerguy74]

I'm working 80 hours a week just to blow my paychecks on mopars. No money for clothes, if I want a new shirt, I'll buy the cases of beer with free shirts (2 birds with one stone). I carry GTS whitebooks in my inside pockets. My walls are covered with pictures of mopars. My bed is full of NOS parts, and I sleep on the couch. I just bought a truck camper for more parts storage. Yeah, I'm not addicted to Mopars.

[RD]

I'm working 80 hours a week just to blow my paychecks on mopars. No money for clothes, if I want a new shirt, I'll buy the cases of beer with free shirts (2 birds with one stone). I carry GTS whitebooks in my inside pockets. My walls are covered with pictures of mopars. My bed is full of NOS parts, and I sleep on the couch. I just bought a truck camper for more parts storage. Yeah, I'm not addicted to Mopars.

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

[Old Moparz]

And along with advice, I'd also like to hear YOUR car absession story... Let's hear 'em guys.

I bet it's because of your deep rooted, political views. 

[Afturhrz]

If it will help, Ill gladly buy anfinished project at the right price,,,derdek@juno.com

[Old Moparz]

Let's see, I have 6 cars/projects & none are finished, so I guess I fall into the same category.

1969 Satellite Convertible:
Was my daily driver back in the mid 80's until I decided I was going to take it off the road to restore & modify it. The body shop screwed me over with shoddy work that still needs to be redone, & I filed a lawsuit that went nowhere even though I won. This all happened the same time I bought my house in 1989, so it's been an up hill thing with this car all the way. I never had the space to disassemble & redo the car correctly, & didn't want to lose the chance to drive it either. (It is roadworthy & legally on the road, it's just in primer.)

1971 Scamp:
This was also a daily driver from 1988 until around 1993. I got it when I took the Satellite off the road, so there were no plans other than to just drive it. That changed when I decided to get some rust fixed, & one thing led to another. New paint, new chrome, new seat cover & carpet & more. The motor was redone, but only to keep it going after the timing chain went so I can drive it. It was too nice to use it in crappy weather, so this one came off the road when I got my new, Nissan   pick up in '93. (All it needs now is the brake lines I picked up & some TLC.)

1968 Coronet Convertible:
Bought it basically for the urge to build my Charger convertible I always wanted. I started gathering Charger stuff & finally bought an entire shell. I was planning to cut the rear clip off my '68 Charger, but it was too nice to do that. I also changed my plans when I realized the Charger ragtop was beyond my capabilities with welding & fabrication. Now the Coronet is for sale because I will never get to it.

1971 Barracuda:
Not much to say about this one except it's one of the cars I've always wanted. It's a project, but I knew if I didn't get one when I did, I'd never be able to afford one later. It's going to collect dust for now as planned, but I have almost all the parts for it. It's for later on, much later on.

1968 Charger:
Like I mentioned, I planned a convertible Charger, but not now. Now it'll be a Daytona, even though it's a '68. If I snag a solid '69 or a '70 before I start, or even trade it for one, I'll use that for the replica instead. For now my plan is to make it from this one, & it'll probably stay a base '68 with maybe just the tail panel swapped. (We'll see)

1970 Road Runner:
I had the urge to move away from major projects for a while & get a finished car to enjoy. I had a '70 GTX years ago & wanted another, but this Road Runner had what I wanted & was close enough. (It's a 440, 4 speed pistol grip, & it's a '70 with an air grabber.) I contradicted myself with another project by getting this one, but it had so many things done already & the price was too good to pass on. I figure with about $1500 or so, this will be on the road for about $7000 less than the others I looked at. Of course my first set back was the rain for a week & a flooded basement. I was going to bring the trans to a shop to get it checked before I install it, but I had to bail out water first.

I need to stop gathering cars, get rid of 1 or 2, & finish something already. The Scamp & the Road Runner should be back out on the pavement very soon, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It's always something, like right now I have to move furniture this week to make room for a used piano my 6 year old daughter is getting. It'll slow me up again, but that's more important than a car anyway.

[plum500]

The number of cars I'd have would directly relate to having more money, time, and space to work on them

I've just got one '71 Charger on the go now -- my first one, still learning lots about everything -- mostly about patience and taking the time to do it right...or, accepting how long some things are going to take, and there's no point in doing things more than once -- the right way.

Don't think I'd ever have more than one project on the go -- but who knows, wouldn't mind testing that theory out at some point.

An engine rebuild in the living room would probably only inspire me to plan it well and be neat about it. Though my wife probably wouldn't go for that

Try not to limit the budget on other things, but have to admit, any other decent sized expense always gets compared in my head to something for the Charger. Guess that's one way of judging the value of it... "better be worth it, I could have a new exhaust system for that price".

Fred.

[Orange_Crush]

Like Bull, I only have one project car (though I do own several cars, among them, a '71 Jaguar E-type) but I only have time to work on one car at a time.

As far as obsessions go, lemme tell you a story.

I met a guy the other night who worked for the gas company here in town doing service calls.   he and I got to talking about different things and, come to find out, he is actually a Chef with about 15 years experience as head chef in several 4 star restaurants in the area.   He had to get a job with the gas company because he got cancer and he had to have a job that provided insurance.

In any case, when this fella got to talking about food, he got the same look on his face that you or I get when we talk about cars.   He talked about how he spends 4 or 5 hours at a time in his kitchen cooking up these incredible dishes which he then puts in tupperware and takes to work for his co-workers.

We all have to have our obsessions.

[Old Moparz]

Like Bull, I only have one project car (though I do own several cars, among them, a '71 Jaguar E-type) but I only have time to work on one car at a time.

As far as obsessions go, lemme tell you a story.

I met a guy the other night who worked for the gas company here in town doing service calls.   he and I got to talking about different things and, come to find out, he is actually a Chef with about 15 years experience as head chef in several 4 star restaurants in the area.   He had to get a job with the gas company because he got cancer and he had to have a job that provided insurance.

In any case, when this fella got to talking about food, he got the same look on his face that you or I get when we talk about cars.   He talked about how he spends 4 or 5 hours at a time in his kitchen cooking up these incredible dishes which he then puts in tupperware and takes to work for his co-workers.

We all have to have our obsessions.

Okay, lets plan the gathering at Carlisle & see if he'll tag along to cater some grub. It has to be better than the vendor food there. 

I know what you mean by this though, a friend of mine is really into old guitars, both acoustic & electric. He's got some beautiful guitars, like a 20's Martin in like new conditon & a '57 hollow body Gibson ES. When you bring that topic up, he's a different person. Anything else in the discussion, & he's almost comatose.

[Charger_Fan]

694spdRT, at least your projects are constantly in a forward motion!

Man, I'm sure glad to hear some of these stories...I thought I had a real problem, now I see I DO! But at least I'm not alone.

Quite often, I've found myself telling my wife that I'm seriously afflicted with this car thing & that I wish I could have taken up moth collecting instead. That way, my required storage/display area would only consist of something the size of a bedroom.
The only thing that's kept me from hoarding every cool deal I run across is friggin' m o n e y. If I ever had any real money to spend, I'd be downright scary. As it is, my current inventory consists of;

1966 F100 truck...owned it since 1980. It was my first vehicle, I had tons of fun with it & I'll never sell it...it's been in a halfway disassembled state since 1990.

1970 Charger 500...owned since 1986. Always wanted one, drove it as a daily driver for a few years, decided I wanted to fix-er-up, got hit by a drunk driver one night, stuffed it in my garage with plans of fixin'-er-up & even though I haven't officially started working on it, I can't bear to part with it.

1989 Suburban...bought it for my wife for Christmas in 1995 (I even wrapped it in a big red bow), because the Reliant wagon we had was too friggin' small. It seems to eat 700R4's & is gurrently sitting at my house with no forward gears...has been for 2 years.

1970 Charger SE parts car...couldn't pass it up, because it was a good deal...it's currently being stored in a storage lot owned by my work, but It's coming home soon & gonna live in my back yard.

1984 Mustang 5.0 convert...was my son's car, until he lost interest & bought a truck. I drove it for a while, then it developed an intermittent ignition problem. I stopped driving it for a few weeks, then some kid broke the windshield witha rock...into the back yard it went & was quickly trapped there behind this next truck.

1965 F100 truck...snagged it from it's original owner for $400...yep, another sweet deal. It does have a bunch of parts I've been needing for truck #1.

Those are just the non-running cars. There's also a minimum of 4 running cars that trade spots in the driveway too.
Here's a pic of my Charger in the (pit of a) garage from last year...it is being used as an anchor in this pic to hold my daughter's Mustang from rolling down the driveway as I swapped the trans. Why you ask? Because I can't get it in the garage!
I did make a promise to myself to stop using the Charger as a work bench/storage area & so far it's worked.
The bottom pic shows my dead Sururbus, daughter's Mustang & dail driver S-10.

I'm afraid to show you my back yard.

[Old Moparz]

Misery loves company.

[Vainglory, Esq.]

Not me. I've only got one butt to fit one seat at a time, one pair of hands to operate one steering wheel at a time and no time to work on anything. I get frustrated when I have too many pots boiling at once so my goal now is to try trading up to the nicest '68 I can afford and then make myself happy tinkering and driving instead of sweating and rebuilding. I'm tired of working on junk.

Me too, except that I'm not interested in trading up.  I'm going to finish the '70 that's already almost done.  No projects until I'm finished with that and everything is paid off.

[SirNik73]

If my Dad had a reason to kill me it would be over the topic at hand. When i was 5 my dad decided to buy himself some land. a 40 acer piece of property just outside of town.... this property had become known as "The Ranch". On the Ranch only one thing seems to grow...... my car collection. my list consists of:

in order of year

1951 GMC Panel Wagon (the one withthe windows think "pre-Suburban")

1951 Chevy 5 Window pickup. got it for free for parts for the Panel.

1968 Mercury Cougar, got this one for free just a few months ago... no power train... but they stuffed a dresser where the back seat had been.

1973 Charger my favorite car, the reason I'm here

1973 Charger parts car... its came withthe charger when i got it.

1978 Toyota pickup... free. got it in high school as a project.... used it as parts for my friends 82 Toyota 4x4 rock crawler.. and now its on a trailer to go to the junk yard.

1981 Mercedes 300D also free, this was total impulse after i spent a bunch of money on my mercedes daily driver (1984 300SD)... thought a free parts car would be good. tried to give it to my roommate, but he didn't want it. think I'm gonna pull it apart as planed and scrap the rest.

1983 Toyota tercel 4x4 wagon, my first car i totaled it!

1983 Toyota tercel 4x4 wagon, my second car.. got it because it was cheap and i already had a parts car for it!!!!!!!

1983 Toyota tercel 4x4 wagon, my latest car, the second Tercel got stolen (it got found striped 2 weeks later) and my dad and I frond this car for 80$ and i put it together in a weekend!

1984 Mercedes 300SD my dad gave it to me after i graduated. its old but i love the way it drives! and i love the Diesel


nothing newer then that. i don't trust newer cars. if i can't rebuild it then i can't trust it.

[cudaken]

 Bill, it is easy question. We are looking for are lost youth when we could do anything and nothing could stop us. We are chaseing the dreams that we never had when we where young.

I have all so foud the quest is sometime more fun than the victory. I had more funny day dream about getting the 70 Cuda than driving her in many respect after 96,000 miles.

Blower engine, well it all most have put out the flame but there is still some warm ambers left in me.

We also want to stand out in the crowed as well, so a little self center. Like ----ing the Prom queen.

I think the main thing is it keeps us young in the heart.

                                       Ken, your friend

[Old Moparz]

Bill, it is easy question. We are looking for are lost youth when we could do anything and nothing could stop us. We are chaseing the dreams that we never had when we where young.

I have all so foud the quest is sometime more fun than the victory. I had more funny day dream about getting the 70 Cuda than driving her in many respect after 96,000 miles.

Blower engine, well it all most have put out the flame but there is still some warm ambers left in me.

We also want to stand out in the crowed as well, so a little self center. Like ----ing the Prom queen.

I think the main thing is it keeps us young in the heart.

                                                          Ken, your friend

That was really on target, nicely put Ken.   

[Lowprofile]

Sometimes, we need to walk away from that which we obsess over. Clear the Mind, Cleanse the Body, Revive the Spirit.

As I see it, you should part the Blazer out & Get rid of the 58', or sell it as a package deal.
Keep your energy focused on the Charger & the 56' pick-up. Keep it simple, bro. Not only good for you, but for everybody around you.

[89MOPAR]

 Bill, maybe put a time limit on projects-
as it is you have your job, household, daughter, and charger to take care of. there are only so many hours in a week.
What if you said -if I don't make any progress on [insert car or truck here] in one year, it gets advertised for sale.[?]
It will be hard when the phone calls come in and you tell the potential buyer its a cool vehicle because.... but when you see the $$$, that wll make it OK.
Take a few pictures of each vehicles. Then after they are sold, the pictures can be tacked up in your garage. And you can say to yourself , " I loved that truck, and it was cool that I owned it, but the money helped toward getting the charger finished "
You'll always be able to look at the pictures, and they will bring a smile to your heart.

I've owned alot of cool Mopars, and wish I still had all of them, but selling the ones I sold,  helped pave the way toward owning others.
Many of them I have pictures of, some I don't , but I can imagine them in my mind.

Maybe you associate the trucks with your dad and enjoying being with him.
Even if the trucks go , you will have the memories of a Dad who was fun , inspirational, and supportive.

Clearing out some of the "clutter " will allow your mind to be free of feeling bad that these material objects aren't getting enough attention.
Also I assume the trucks + good drivetrains are all paid for awhile ago. At this point even if you take less $$ , than what they "are worth"
it is still like reciving free money.  Money in the bank is no good if you don't have access to it.