Thoughts

[Hombre0321]

I was somewhat surprised to see I have been a member here on this site for 8 years and only have 3 posts. In looking at those posts it brought back some old memories. I have posted some pictures in those 8 years of a few of my cars, sadly all of those are gone and have been replaced. Some of them I should have kept too. That old Model A coupe had been with me a lot of years, lot of stories from that old car. Why in the world I ever let it get away I will never know. Also I only have fond memories of my 46 Ford Coupe, another one I should have kept.

Today I find myself on the threshold of doing another deal. You see I have this pretty cool little green 1929 Model A tudor that I have had for a couple of years. In those years it has just sat and I have not driven that little car hardly at all. That is a little strange as I usually drive the hell out of my cars. It is a cool little car, great running 351 W and a Tremec 5 speed. Today is one of the few times I am even getting it out of the shop as I load it up to take it to a far away place to get it a different home. I hope they treat it better than I have.

In the trade for this car I am getting a dream car for me, a 1934 3 window coupe, its Big Block Chevy powered and it is another failed project that got put on the back burner by the prior owner. The country is just full of cars just like it, they all seem to start with great expectations and dreams of what "CAN" be and then at some point in time the realization that "CAN" be and "IS" are to completely different things.

I am going to post a picture of that little Green Model A just so that there will be one somewhere and maybe ever once in a while I can take a look and re-read this post and hope I don't say: "Man I should have kept that car"

[enjenjo]

I'm on the same page as you are. I have not had my car out in nearly 2 years. I start it every couple weeks but that is it. The other one I am building I have not touched in about 5 years. This has to change.

[58 Yeoman]

Somewhere along the line, someone on here has motivated me to get to fixing my two cars...just don't remember who it was. I replaced all the brake cylinders on the Galaxie and did a couple other little things that it needed (besides doing that * padded dash last month). I've gotten it to where I can now take it somewhere for a ride.

It changed places in the shop with the Yeoman; more room to work on the double side of the shop. I'm going to get it up on stands and fix the brakes on it also. I used to drive my cars more when I was working. Now that I'm retired, seems I have so much other stuff to do, that they just sit in the shop. Evey few months when I see my stepson, he asks me if I'm driving the cars.

No more big projects for me. I bought a 55 Olds dash the other day at an estate sale (at least he told me that's the year). It's pretty much complete, and I'm just going to clean it up and hang it on the wall. I may hook up a power supply to turn on the lights.

[kb426]

I might be the worst person to comment on this thread. I drive my 51 most days. My 32 is a hot rod. Leaf springs, no power except ac. It has 27,000 miles on it and I've enjoyed them all. It's been totally dependable. The 51 has power steering, hydroboost brakes, electric windows and ac. It also has ridetech coilovers on all 4 corners. It's a cadillac compared the the 32. It also has rubber floor mats so it's low maint. I'm not a show car guy. I just want to enjoy my stuff and not be embarrassed by it's build quality. However, I'm aware that as we age, there isn't enough time, period. I just sold one of my bikes on ebay. It's 12 years old and has 3300 miles. Too many toys, not enough time. I think when I retire, I will say the same statement, I will need more time to do less. To be realistic and not start a large project that you know you won't enjoy finishing is a sign of wisdom. To be happy and satisfied in life appears to be a balancing act with all in our lives. Enough talking, I think I may go do a burnout.

[Hombre0321]

Yea guys I hear you. I simply don't know how I get in this mess, I also am retired and I have been a car guy all of my life. now I have the time to do the stuff I want to, and cannot find the motivation to get out in the shop.

I mean its not like I don't have plenty to do. two winters ago I built a nice little car. 1931 Ford Model A, I chopped it, built the chassis and got it road ready. my plans for this car all along had for it to be Hemi powered. Trouble was I didn't have a Hemi. I did have a small block setting in the shop that I had swapped some stuff for, so in goes the small block and viola the car is on the road. I have put quite a few miles on this car, but I still wanted a Hemi for it. As luck would have it I find a 392 58 Hemi not to far from me. I go up talk to the guy. You all know this deal--Motor was built 5 or 6 years ago and never used so it just sat. Guy wants a built price for the motor as well, read that a lot. So I do a cursory inspection. I took a bore scope with me and stick it down the spark plug hole and all I see is carbon. So unlike the story of just being rebuilt and never run, it has been run after all. The guy has no receipts for the motor so I assume that it is NOT just rebuilt. I offer him several 100 less for the motor and with no deal head home. Month later guy calls and say he will take my offer. I get it home and rip into it.

This quickly turned into a strange deal. Turns out there was no carbon, not a speck. Don't have a clue what we were seeing in that bore scope. It does have a nice "NEW" set of Jahns pop up pistons. It also has a solid lifter roller cam, another weird thing is the rockers. It does have adjustable rockers on 6 of the cylinders the other two have adjustable push rods. What is up with that? Also those two cylinders with the adjustable pushrods have different roller lifters, they are completely different both in weight and in manufacturing, those four lifters are also obviously new. The pistons have no size markings on them so I "assume" ( don't ever do that) that they are standard and count my blessings. Well I was a little to quick in that counting thing as when I measure the pistons they turn out to be 4.118. For those folks you are not familiar with the early Chrysler hemi 392 they are a 4" bore, meaning that this motor was bored a lot, in checking the block it was in fact 4.120.

I do not have a clue why anyone would bore a block .120, I did have the block sonic tested and much to my surprise it has as much as .225 left in the walls. I don't know a lot about this stuff, but I do know enough to check with folks who do know. And it seems that for a street motor you need a minimum of .180 wall thickness for the thing to live. So for now that motor just sets, maybe one day I will finish it and it will see the road once again.

I did find another 392 though, as a matter of fact I found 3 more 392's and one 354 Hemi. So I am Hemi poor, I got one ready to go. Took it to the machine shop and had it bored .040 and installed a set of Egge pistons, new bearings, new everything. Then I think man these old Hemi's are pretty heavy at 720 lbs. That is a lot of weight for my chopped Model A to haul around without completely rebuilding the suspension. So I go about lightening that Hemi up. These old Hemi's have over a hundred and twenty ponds of cast iron hanging off of the front of them, so I went with all aluminum timing cover crossover and water pump. Then I buy a set of Hot Heads Aluminum heads for it, got that motor down to 520 lbs. Then I get this wild hair to put a blower on the thing. Sometimes I have the sense of a disabled yard rat.

So that means those 10to1 Egge pistons have just got to go. So I order me a set of Ross forged 8to1 pistons and start the build all over again. Get the blower and all of the drive parts in, Ross when I ordered the pistons needed the deck height so back to the machine shop to have the block decked. Finally get all of that done, all the parts setting there in front of me and I flat ran out of gas. For what ever reason I am having the hardest time getting back out in the shop to get this done.

In a way I think I have a little insight into "What" may be going on with me not doing this. I have spent a ton of money, and I mean a TON of money. It will all be worth it when its done and running down the road. But what if all of this very expensive parts and machine work etc. doesn't work. This indecision is just driving me nuts and I think that is keeping me from getting back to it. Maybe this long rant will help me get out of my own * way. Thanks guys...

[Crosley.In.AZ]

thanks for popping back in.  

Since the small  Drag strip Speed World on the far west side of metro Phx, closed up.  My enthusiasm to finish my 1948 Simca drag car has dropped to about 1%  .... Started work on the Simca at the urging of a friend about 5.5 yrs ago.  SpeedWorld at  that time was rumored to be in trouble.  i should have held off the Simca Build

I doubt I will  finish the 62 Morris Minor that I started 10+ yrs ago.

To be honest, I am close to selling most of the shop out.  Keep some basic tools, welders, the 1962 Falcon , etc .... Sell this house.

[jaybee]

I guess I might as well comment here too. Sometimes life just gets complicated. After buying my project and building my Des Moines shop it was a steady string of alternating between 55-70hr workweeks and having my jobs eliminated. Honestly I made the wrong decision. Rather than picking out something which would (and still will) take years to complete I passed by two better projects. One was an original AD pickup just begging to alternate between driving in the summer and working on it in the winter. The other was a 1957 Chevy pickup, already red with Cragars, short an engine and trans. The prices were right and either would have given me something cool I could have been driving every summer for years. I didn't think of myself as a truck guy.

In order to get a job with good pay, reasonable hours, and benefits I had to sell the Des Moines house and move to Kansas City. I've been here 3 1/2 years now, love what I do, and they seem to like me about as well. But now, of course, it's years down the road, I'm still not back in a house, everything is in storage, and AFTER I fix all that I'll be right where I was a long time ago.

If I had it to do over again I'd have bought something that runs and drives (or almost does) even if it isn't just what I want. Skip R gave the best advice I never took on the original Cybercruzin site. He said buy something that runs and drives, or at least is close enough to get it that way in short order. Drive it all summer while thinking about what to change first. Do that during the winter but don't make it too big to have it back on the road by spring. Do it again the next year. And the next And the next. And...