Question for you guys with more than one project?

[Back N Black]

How do you manage your time, money and resources for each project? Do you concentrate on one car and finish or are you jumping all over the place? Do you have lots of projects with nothing on the road or??? I have a lead on another project, not sure if i should jump on it? 

[twodko]

For me regardless of the project, I complete one task at a time and work on only one project at a time. This is the only way I complete things and do them correctly.

[SRT-440]

I go back and forth between my RR and GN...but they are both on the road. For instance, the GN needed new window switches and lock switches along with the regulator greased up...I finished that...and now I"m about to have the windows retinted. Then I'll move back to the RR...I just start small projects and finish them up before I move on.
Now, if they weren't on the road and needed a LOT of attention and repairs I'd prolly just stick to one and put the other on the back burner until the time was right. 

[BrianShaughnessy]

Ignoring updates on Black Betty because I need to pay for more parts and labor on Sinnamon.   Completely ignoring my Firebird...  again.

[moparstuart]

Ignoring updates on Black Betty because I need to pay for more parts and labor on Sinnamon.   Completely ignoring my Firebird...  again.

be careful your girls may start fighting and acting up , you must not pay to much attention to one and not the other   

[BrianShaughnessy]

Ignoring updates on Black Betty because I need to pay for more parts and labor on Sinnamon.   Completely ignoring my Firebird...  again.

be careful your girls may start fighting and acting up , you must not pay to much attention to one and not the other  

I keep them separated a good 10 miles for now.    Betty got a new starter...  but Sinnamon got new stuff from Carlisle too.


couple a biches   

[elacruze]

How do you manage your time, money and resources for each project? Do you concentrate on one car and finish or are you jumping all over the place? Do you have lots of projects with nothing on the road or??? I have a lead on another project, not sure if i should jump on it? 

The amount of time required to complete a project increases by the square of the number of concurrent projects.

I just don't do it anymore.

[Dino]

1 project is all I need and it needs to be weekend projects.  I don't have the space, time, and more importantly energy to do big projects.  This is probably the last classic car I will own. At this stage in my life it's all about enjoying it and that means tinkering with it while driving it.  ( not literally though, that's very hard to do.)

I know there's people who love working on several cars and there's nothing wrong with that but I think many will never see their car on the road.  If all you want is work on cars then that's a moot point.

I used to like restoring cars more than driving them but that's no more.

[tan top]

  only have one project ,     sell the rest  ,  lifes too short ,    i prolly had 3  on the go at any one time  through my teens  &  early to mid 20s then slowed down late20s , looked round realised lifes too short & decided it was a bout time i  took the charger appart , to do a nut & bolt resto /rebuild   & sold every thing else parts etc etc that wernt  charger related ,  , & just had 2 cars  a daily driver  & charger ,    

*EDIT*  bare in mine with all these projects on the go ,  got the charger few days after my 18th birthday .

[Daytona R/T SE]

My Daytona is doing life without the possibility of parole in body shop prison.

The rest of the herd could be sold or crushed at any moment without warning.

Getting real close to just being done with this shit.

[twodko]

1 project is all I need and it needs to be weekend projects.  I don't have the space, time, and more importantly energy to do big projects.  This is probably the last classic car I will own. At this stage in my life it's all about enjoying it and that means tinkering with it while driving it.  ( not literally though, that's very hard to do.)

I know there's people who love working on several cars and there's nothing wrong with that but I think many will never see their car on the road.  If all you want is work on cars then that's a moot point.

I used to like restoring cars more than driving them but that's no more.

X2

[doctor4766]

  only have one project ,     sell the rest  ,  lifes too short ,     i prolly had 3  on the go at any one time  through my teens &  early to mid 20s then slowed down late20s , looked round realised lifes too short & decided it was a bout time i  took the charger appart , to do a nut & bolt resto /rebuild   & sold every thing else parts etc etc that wernt  charger related ,  , & just had 2 cars  a daily driver  & charger ,   

Did exactly that myself this week.
Sold the yellow Charger for a decent dollar.
I plan to spend some of the cash on my Dodge, but use most of the money doing a trip to the States next year.
Just gets too difficult sometimes, and although I'll probably have seller's remorse, it's the only way I'll ever get to have my dream vacation.

[Dino]

  only have one project ,     sell the rest  ,  lifes too short ,     i prolly had 3  on the go at any one time  through my teens &  early to mid 20s then slowed down late20s , looked round realised lifes too short & decided it was a bout time i  took the charger appart , to do a nut & bolt resto /rebuild   & sold every thing else parts etc etc that wernt  charger related ,  , & just had 2 cars  a daily driver  & charger ,   

Did exactly that myself this week.
Sold the yellow Charger for a decent dollar.
I plan to spend some of the cash on my Dodge, but use most of the money doing a trip to the States next year.
Just gets too difficult sometimes, and although I'll probably have seller's remorse, it's the only way I'll ever get to have my dream vacation.

Dream?  Weren't you going to Skip country?  That's gonna be more like a nightmare vacation!   

J/K, enjoy this vast stretch of insanity we call home.   

[440]

Just make sure you drive on the wrong side of the road, everyone speeds and you can turn right against a red.

You also have sales tax and have to tip.

[doctor4766]

Lol thanks RJ.
And Dino I'm planning a 3 week drive accross  the country, so if there's anywhere I should avoid I'm happy to get some tips

[Dino]

Just make sure you drive on the wrong side of the road, everyone speeds and you can turn right against a red.

You also have sales tax and have to tip.

Not every red though!  Doc look for the no turn on red signs so you don't get caught.  Ifyou don't see a sign you're good to go!  depending on the state you can also turn left on red as long as you're going down a one way street.  There's websites that list all the laws by state, study it before you go.

[doctor4766]

Damn, sounds like it'd be easier to learn the language  

Maybe I'll just take the backstreets instead.

[Dino]

Lol thanks RJ.
And Dino I'm planning a 3 week drive accross  the country, so if there's anywhere I should avoid I'm happy to get some tips

Yeah, the south!    

Nothing I can think of no, depends on what you want to see.  The one negative most people encounter is the immens long drives with nothing to see but corn and wheat fields.  Plan your trip and keep an eye on the weather.  Not kidding on this one, do your homework if you plan on driving through tornado alley, desert valley, the rockies.  All of these places and more could be the last you see if you are not aware of what can happen and how to handle it.  Same as Oz really, a tourist that doesn't plan probably won't make the trip coast to coast either.  There's a lot of people living here but there's vast stretches of nothing where you won't see a single soul.

Tell us what your dream vacation looks like so we can help plan it.  

[doctor4766]

I'll do that in a thread perhaps?
Basic plan is to start at Carlisle in July and head west from there...

Gotta head to work now, so I'll start a thread later today.

[440]

Oh yeah, pedestrians have right of way so no, they're not trying to jump out in front of your car  

Denny's restaurants shouldn't be avoided.


In all seriousness though it really depends on what you want to see and do. What are your main goals? I love Vegas and took my wife there but she hated it  

[Dino]

Oh yeah, pedestrians have right of way so no, they're not trying to jump out in front of your car  

Denny's restaurants shouldn't be avoided.


In all seriousness though it really depends on what you want to see and do. What are your main goals? I love Vegas and took my wife there but she hated it  

Well obviously you didn't give her enough coins.... 

[440]

She found playing the same game for long periods of time boring even though she was doing quite well. I think the number of people and the magnitude of the buildings/shows/displays etc got to her. Sensory overload if it's something you've not seen before. My favorite part was always the $2.99 ham/eggs or steak with Nevada ID.

This thread has gone a bit off topic, sorry.

[Silver R/T]

At this time my project is put on back burner (Charger) and I'm working on customer's project (67 FJ40 truck)

[440]

Without bucket loads of money and time I'd say it's impossible to do more than one project at a time and have it completed in any reasonable amount of time. Throw a family into the mix and it makes it that much harder.

[Cooter]

Working on my cousin's 1973 Type LT Camaro until he ran out of a job...Stopped began to work back on my 1970 Challenger R/T clone, which I'm currently working on. As I type this, it's 9:00 PM and I've been at the shop since about 7:00 this morning. Been doing this most of my life. Sure it gets harder and harder to do, but If I want it, I've come to realize that This is life with restoring old cars. Years ago when one could buy one of these 15-20 years old and all it needed was the fun sh*t done to it, yeah, it's fun, but not anymore. The same cars i bought 20 years ago are Rust bucket junk today and require alot of time and patience.

Throw in my Son's 1966 plymouth which is running, but needs interior and paint to be "finished" and I'm rolling three.

[moparstuart]

My Daytona is doing life without the possibilty of parol in body shop prison.

The rest of the herd could be sold or crushed at any moment without warning.

Getting real close to just being done with this shit.

i will be right over

[440]

Working on my cousin's 1973 Type LT Camaro until he ran out of a job...Stopped began to work back on my 1970 Challenger R/T clone, which I'm currently working on. As I type this, it's 9:00 PM and I've been at the shop since about 7:00 this morning. Been doing this most of my life. Sure it gets harder and harder to do, but If I want it, I've come to realize that This is life with restoring old cars. Years ago when one could buy one of these 15-20 years old and all it needed was the fun sh*t done to it, yeah, it's fun, but not anymore. The same cars i bought 20 years ago are Rust bucket junk today and require alot of time and patience.

Throw in my Son's 1966 plymouth which is running, but needs interior and paint to be "finished" and I'm rolling three.

That further enhances our point, you do this full time and you have 3 on the go. Granted you have customers cars that probably consume most of your time. What would you do if you were the average Joe who works an average 9-5 job ?

[Daytona R/T SE]

My Daytona is doing life without the possibilty of parole in body shop prison.

The rest of the herd could be sold or crushed at any moment without warning.

Getting real close to just being done with this shit.

i will be right over

Bring a buttload of cash, Stewie.

[moparstuart]

My Daytona is doing life without the possibilty of parole in body shop prison.

The rest of the herd could be sold or crushed at any moment without warning.

Getting real close to just being done with this shit.

i will be right over

Bring a buttload of cash, Stewie.

I will gladly pay you tuesday  for a daytona clone today   

[Daytona R/T SE]

My Daytona is doing life without the possibilty of parole in body shop prison.

The rest of the herd could be sold or crushed at any moment without warning.

Getting real close to just being done with this shit.

i will be right over

Bring a buttload of cash, Stewie.

I will gladly pay you tuesday  for a daytona clone today    

You gotta take it all,

Sweetheart

[moparstuart]

oh ok I'm writing out the check right now

[Daytona R/T SE]

oh ok I'm writing out the check right now

Check ? 

What am I gonna do with a check ? 

Cash, baby !  

And, my Imperial goes straight to the crusher.

[myk]

How do I manage?  I don't.  Car projects are never truly "finished," but none of my cars have nothing other than maintenance done to them because I don't make Leno money.  The Charger however is getting a lot of attention because if there's one car that deserves it, it's THAT one...

[Cooter]

That further enhances our point, you do this full time and you have 3 on the go. Granted you have customers cars that probably consume most of your time. What would you do if you were the average Joe who works an average 9-5 job ?

Um, I don't restore cars for a living. I AM the average "joe" that works his 7:00-5:30 Job turning wrenches. THEN, I push these pieces of sh*t into my bay and work another 3-5 hours at night, get up the next day and do it all over again. You want it bad enough, you'll do what it takes. You want it like most in the hobby, you'll throw up your hands and "Buy it now".

[Troy]

Do the opposite of me and you'll be all right! I currently have five "classics" and a 4x4 toy. A while back I had 11 cars overall and realized it was just too much to manage. I've never had more than two of my toys in drivable condition.

I end up rotating time/money/effort between them. When I buy a part for one car I realize that I also need it for something else so I end up buying 3-4 of everything - but not enough to completely finish any one car. When all the cars are projects it's not too hard to plan some work for one then move to another that needs similar work (ie welding or priming). Budgeting is slightly easier too - as long as you're doing your own work instead of paying someone else by the hour. However, once a car gets on the road, it tends to break or need maintenance which tends to throw a wrench into the budget and schedule for the projects. More drivable cars just makes things worse.

I make decent money and have a fair amount of free time (more in the winter). If I had a family or a house to take care of I doubt I could make any progress on the cars at all. I will likely sell off a couple more before I'm through. I really don't enjoy working on cars (but I do like the satisfaction of accomplishing something myself). I'd rather drive! I say buy one that's done or mostly done and enjoy it. A single project requires a deep commitment - more than many people can handle. Multiple projects turns you into "that guy" with a barn full of cars that haven't run or been touched in 30 years.

Troy

[Old Moparz]

Do the opposite of me and you'll be all right! I currently have five "classics" and a 4x4 toy. A while back I had 11 cars overall and realized it was just too much to manage. I've never had more than two of my toys in drivable condition.

I end up rotating time/money/effort between them. When I buy a part for one car I realize that I also need it for something else so I end up buying 3-4 of everything - but not enough to completely finish any one car. When all the cars are projects it's not too hard to plan some work for one then move to another that needs similar work (ie welding or priming). Budgeting is slightly easier too - as long as you're doing your own work instead of paying someone else by the hour. However, once a car gets on the road, it tends to break or need maintenance which tends to throw a wrench into the budget and schedule for the projects. More drivable cars just makes things worse.

I make decent money and have a fair amount of free time (more in the winter). If I had a family or a house to take care of I doubt I could make any progress on the cars at all. I will likely sell off a couple more before I'm through. I really don't enjoy working on cars (but I do like the satisfaction of accomplishing something myself). I'd rather drive! I say buy one that's done or mostly done and enjoy it. A single project requires a deep commitment - more than many people can handle. Multiple projects turns you into "that guy" with a barn full of cars that haven't run or been touched in 30 years.

Troy

It hasn't been 30 for me.



Yet.   

[moparstuart]

oh ok I'm writing out the check right now

Check ? 

What am I gonna do with a check ? 

Cash, baby !  

And, my Imperial goes straight to the crusher.

paul has first dib on the imperial before crushing it

[Daytona R/T SE]

oh ok I'm writing out the check right now

Check ? 

What am I gonna do with a check ? 

Cash, baby !  

And, my Imperial goes straight to the crusher.

paul has first dib on the imperial before crushing it

Nope.

Straight to the crusher.

[BrianShaughnessy]

Multiple projects turns you into "that guy" with a barn full of cars that haven't run or been touched in 30 years.[/size]

Troy

It hasn't been 30 for me.



Yet.   

Concurrently no...     consecutively probably.  

[moparstuart]

oh ok I'm writing out the check right now

Check ? 

What am I gonna do with a check ? 

Cash, baby !  

And, my Imperial goes straight to the crusher.

paul has first dib on the imperial before crushing it

Nope.

Straight to the crusher.

meanie

[Back N Black]

So, you guys with 5 plus projects, what do you see in the future? a garage with 5 completely restored cars or is it just hoop dreams. Do you give yourself a time limit?

[Troy]

I have one "resto-mod" almost ready for paint, one "semi-restored driver" going into primer, and one "complete restoration" not started yet. Once one is finished I will likely sell one of my current drivable cars since I only bought it because I didn't have anything else to drive. My other current drivable car will come apart for a full restoration once space is available. I have convinced myself that three finished cars is a fine number so something else will get sold at some point. It's hard to sell a project but much easier to lose money by selling a freshly finished car - not to mention all the additional time/energy/frustration that goes into completing one. I had almost all my cars for sale at one point and got fed up with people (which comes easy for me) so I pulled them off the market. If I don't sell I'll just keep them for however long it takes to finish or until I get completely burned out.

Troy

[Daytona R/T SE]

So, you guys with 5 plus projects, what do you see in the future? a garage with 5 completely restored cars or is it just hoop dreams. Do you give yourself a time limit?

I've chosen my three "keepers".

The rest of them are leaving.

I'll salvage or swap some parts between the cars keeping the

Best stuff for the "keepers"

The rest will either get sold, or stripped and crushed.

[Magnumcharger]

This is a difficult question to answer!!
How do I manage to have four project vehicles on the go all at once?

Its a juggling act - plain and simple!
In reality, it's just two working projects: the Deora replica and my Charger R/T. And what I've been doing on these two cars is basically devote myself to the process of stockpiling parts - then work on one until I run out of required parts to push forward. Whereupon the other project gets moved front and center.
The Charger has new rocker panels, inner front fenders and a 26" rad support to be installed, so that's my priority.
The Deora has a buttload of new sheet metal to install, so that'll come afterwards.

I recently scored a truckload of NOS metal for my '68 Barracuda, but I really don't want to get started on it until the metalwork is finished on the Charger. My 1979 Chrysler 300 needs a few parts to bring it back up to snuff, and I'm actively searching for what it needs.

I enjoy searching and aquiring parts, and having a diverse group of cars to restore makes looking for parts and networking a full-time hobby!

[Cooter]

So, you guys with 5 plus projects, what do you see in the future? a garage with 5 completely restored cars or is it just hoop dreams. Do you give yourself a time limit?

I NEVER put a "time limit" on anything.. All that does is set you up for disappointment. I simply work on 'em until they are Looking good enough to grab a few thumbs ups, and Then drive the sh*t out of 'em. it just takes time and there's nothing like the fury of a patient man.

[Bobs69]

So, you guys with 5 plus projects, what do you see in the future? a garage with 5 completely restored cars or is it just hoop dreams. Do you give yourself a time limit?

I NEVER put a "time limit" on anything.. All that does is set you up for disappointment. I simply work on 'em until they are Looking good enough to grab a few thumbs ups, and Then drive the sh*t out of 'em. it just takes time and there's nothing like the fury of a patient man.

There's nothing like the fury of a patient man!

I like that.  I'll have to let that thought marinate to get the full meaning of it.

[carsnguitars]

So, you guys with 5 plus projects, what do you see in the future? a garage with 5 completely restored cars or is it just hoop dreams. Do you give yourself a time limit?

Got one for each of my kids and goal was to get them all drivable first keep it fun for the kids, then we just pick tasks and work on them.
The fun is in the journey. I get to do this with each kid, and they learn, appriciate the car and have quality time with dad.

As for when your done, are we ever truly done with these cars! I will leave em to my kids and hope they enjoy them for a long time and hand em down! till we run outta gas or its 20 bucks a gallon.