What keeps you motivated to keep 'chargin' on?

[elacruze]

PS. A few 'motivational' Charger movies you should watch if you haven't already (always worth repeat viewings):

Bullitt
Dirty Mary Crazy Larry
Cannonball

Deathproof
Vanishing Point (the original and remake)

Even the first Fast n Furious!

I have all these in digital files, if your email has no file size limit I can send them, or if you have a torrent application I can make .torrent files for you.

Another of my favorite car movies, which *only* has a Superbird, is 'Cars'.

[redgum78]

Hey Chargen86 good to see you have peeped up a bit. Yes yes yes we want some pictures. Get the digi camera out and shoot away, that's always a bit of a motivator too.
I agree with what everyone else has said...who gives a stuff what other people think about how long your project takes or money spent etc especially if they are not appreciators of our classic cars.
Also ask yourself what you want the car for when it is finished. If you want a show car its ganna cost big dollars for paint and body finishing. I am no expert in high quality paint jobs but if you are after a show winner then its gonna be tens of thousands for paint. You could put 10 to 20k into painting but its what is underneath that counts and that is where lots of the hours (which equals $$) are.
Do you want to be able to drive your RT and have a bit of fun or are you going to trailer it to shows?
I would rather have a lesser paint job and be able to drive my car, chirp up the rears, go on cruisers and just have fun than win a ribbon at a show but thats me. You may even be able to do both for a while but pretty soon your top dollar paint job will suffer from driving it around.

[bill440rt]

Never, NEVER give up!!! 

nvrbdn mentioned a great tip: Pick one little thing per day, and do it. Even something simple like sorting bolts or polishing a small piece of trim. It's one less thing you'll have to do the next day. By the end of the week, or month, you'll find that you got quite a bit accomplished. Much more than sitting just looking at it. Although, that can be a great motivator as well! 

Also, I don't necessarily buy the length of time it takes to finish a car. I've seen pro resto shops crank out a masterpiece from a rotted hulk in just 6 months or less, yet it might take the average Joe 2 years just to accomplish a simple paint job when that might be all the car needs. It all depends on skill level, budget, time, schedule, priorities, and sometimes LIFE just gets in the way. Sometimes putting a time constraint on something can just suck the fun right out of it.

Not EVERYONE can do EVERYTHING, either. There are some things that you might just have to pay someone to do for you. For most, it's bodywork. For others, it's mechanicals. I find it's easiest to get the most accomplished by dividing the car into sections (ie interior, dash, suspension, engine, body, etc etc), and just concentrating on that area until it's done. Trying to do everything all at once can be daunting. Make yourself up little projects, and finish it before moving on to the next. And, be SURE to post progress pics of all the results!! 

Stay on target, don't despair, and you can do it!

[Fred]

Here you go chargen86, this is what kept me motivated.
I just kept my focus on the end result...............what I knew it was going to end up looking like.
AND IT WAS DEFINITELY WORTH IT.

[440]

Being from Australia I know how the body shops can be a bit of a downer here. My car is still sitting in the body shop after 6 months and that's only for minor body work. The guy doing mine seems more interested in insurance work then to work on my car. I must admit I'm also in a bit of a rut and have slowed way down on progress myself, although I do continue to plug away on things here and there.

Same as you I constantly get asked from work "Have you got that thing on the road yet"? and It's exactly as you say, embarrassing.

I think bulls advise is spot on. Book you car into a reputable body shop and do everything else you can in the meantime. Every month you wait is one month you could have been closer to getting yours done. Getting everything else prepared will also take the better part of a year itself in my opinion. Remember too, It's not so much the tear down that's the hard part. It's all the cleaning of old bolts, nuts, parts etc that takes the longest. Assembling everything is relatively easy so it should go back together fairly quickly.

I also find that like mentioned earlier watching a charger movie re-ignites the fire under your butt to get you moving again.

[Darkman]

PS. A few 'motivational' Charger movies you should watch if you haven't already (always worth repeat viewings):
Bullitt
Dirty Mary Crazy Larry
Cannonball
Drive Angry
Deathproof
Vanishing Point (the 1997 remake)
Any Dukes episode/movie
Even the first Fast n Furious!

You forgot Blade! That is one badass 68!

[redgum78]

If that pic of Fred's Charger doesn't light a fire under you nothing will!
Lovely looking car Fred

[chargen86]

OKAY HERE IS A PICTURE, I KNOW ITS NOTHING INTERESTING BUT SINCE YOU GUYS ASKED...

Thanks for all the reccomendations Laxy mate! Im gonna join the hemi6pack forum for sure! I don't wanna get another cheaper car in the meantime because I wouldnt have all the space to keep everything! I dont know how you guys have so much space you must all live on a farm or something lol  

HeavyFuel man I cant believe you waited 20 years that what Im scared is going to happen to me  

Elacruze yes please I would love for you to make the torrent files for me! Such a nice offer   my email address is lpaaron@gmail.com

Redgum yes its hard, but at the end of the day I probably want to cruise into the sunset more than anything, over winning shows. I guess competitions are for old folks. No offence to any of the oldies on this forum  

Fred your car is stunning! I am so jealous! Dont you get scared when you take it out and park it somewhere that someone bad will scratch it out of spite or something? I feel like I will need to look at where it is at all times if I take it out into the big bad world  

440 glad you feel my pain! I wish the painters were more passionate and less dolar driven they are the lawyers of the car world my friend!  

As always thanks for the everything you have no idea how good it is to read all the replies  from you guys  

[Fred]

chargen86, that pic you sent in of your car is where I was at 4 years ago and it took 2 years to complete. There were times where I was seriously beginning to wonder if I would ever get to drive around in it before I kick the bucket.............it was depressing. But I made it and I've been driving it for 2 years now.
It's not the daily driver so I don't have any major parking issues. When we cruise anywhere in it and I need to park it, I make sure I'm always within visual distance and I do try parking it off on it's own somewhere.  Sometimes I'll find a bit of a crowd gathering around it but they are generally keen admirers and mostly just want to take photos of it.
I'm an older guy yes but for me it's all about driving it.
Keep at it man and soon you'll be cruising around in yours.

[Fred]

If that pic of Fred's Charger doesn't light a fire under you nothing will!
Lovely looking car Fred

Thanks Mate. 

[68blue]

Imagination keeps me going, I just imagine what driving it is going to be like and then get back at it. Have to admit it has been fun working on it, so I'll probably do another car after this one.

[lexxman]

Chargen68,That about were I 'am now.I have a few small areas that need work.Like it was said there yes light at the end,just keep pushing.

[road/track]

Hallo,
My name is Carl, I have been "chargin" 20 years now......
Yes I sacrifice my job my kids, my wife...this is what "Chargin" do to you...

On the other side, it's all about dreams......sell the Charger and you selling out your dreams..

Chargin is what's gets us going, sometimes it's the burdon it's self, but brighter times will come, hang in there..

[jaak]

I think my number one motivator was people saying I would never finish my car. Even one of my closest friends told me (just recently)..."When I'd stop by while you was sanding on that rough piece of shit, he'll never get it done".

I just kept chipping away at it. All and all it took me about 8 years. I have a wife, 3 kids and a mortgage. I bought parts when I had extra money (my car was mostly financed with money I made on the side) and did all the work myself.

Keep on keeping on, you'll get 'er done.

Jason

[ChgrSteve67]

Took me 9 years to finish mine.

the last three years i dedicated at least one day a week to working on it.

Can't tell you how many times I wanted to give up.

[chargen86]

argghhh guys I dont know what to do. My girlfriend found this thread I started and got really angry that I mentioned her and now she is urging me to give up the R/T "or else".
Sorry I know this isn't is relationship forum loll but at the moment I don't feel like chargin on 

[PocketThunder]

argghhh guys I dont know what to do. My girlfriend found this thread I started and got really angry that I mentioned her and now she is urging me to give up the R/T "or else".
Sorry I know this isn't is relationship forum loll but at the moment I don't feel like chargin on 

How many more women are out there?  How many more Chargers are out there?  Choose wisely my friend....   

[nvrbdn]

  tell her "i will miss you, oh wait, i got another bite." any one that will get that nuts over this thing is definately a control freak. its my way or else. if you sell the charger, get ready to bend over the rest of your life.    either that, or you really are tired of the car thing and need a push to do what you want to do. good luck with which either you choose.

[Patronus]

Chargers have a BIG truck... 

[Finn]

The first rule of dodgecharger.com is you do NOT talk about dodgecharger.com.
The second rule of dodgecharger.com is YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT DODGECHARGER.COM!

[Fred]

You could get rid of the Charger...........and in the end she might leave you anyway. And then what?
As PocketThunder says...............choose wisely. 

[DAY CLONA]

Hey guys,

Im feeling a bit down lately, it just seems so damn hard to get the gears rolling on my '68 R/T.
Im thinking of throwing in the towel to be honest, every time I wanna progress something gets in my way and sets me back. For instance do you know how long it takes to find a decent spray painter in Australia that wont rip you off? Plus they are talking one year waiting lists it is ridiculous! 
Everybody asks me "Have you finished the car yet?" and I keep telling them no and it is embarrasing. I thought I would be finished with it ready to drive in 2 years and now it is coming up to 5! My girlfriend thinks I am wasting time too 
I just want some support from others who have done the hard yards; was it all worth it in the end? The time, money, the obsession??? 
Otherwise I might turn my baby into scrap metal... at least I'd be making some money for once 

This is the point that you get off your duff,I can imagine things are a bit harder for you doing an American car down under, but the only way your going to get your car done, and have the drive to conclude the project is to do your own work, don't rely on others, so you've never painted before, try it, you may just adapt to it naturally, you don't know until you try, just sitting around waiting for others to perform work on your car will kill your ambition, if money is an issue, hustle some jobs on the side....anything, we all have some talent/skill or labour we can trade off to get what we need done....just do it, stop ya belly ache'in

[Laxy]

In all seriousness, if she can't appreciate your hobby, then fark her off asap. Otherwise the rest of your life will be filled with nagging about 'that bloody old car'.

I had a 6 year missus/highschool sweetheart/the works - she kept wanting me to sell my Val hardtop, so I stuck in a shed out of sight for awhile and went about breaking up, then pulled the car out, fixed it up and got it rego'd again and found a much better missus. Best thing I ever did, but the break up was also the hardest thing I ever did. 

And also, why was she on dodgecharger.com instead of in the kitchen? 

[nvrbdn]

you know what you suddenly realize when the wife walks from the kitchen to the living room???








         her chain is too long.

[Darkman]

In all seriousness, if she can't appreciate your hobby, then fark her off asap. Otherwise the rest of your life will be filled with nagging about 'that bloody old car'.