We need a neiborhood based around PT car's like living on a golf course but we will just have gargages in the hood and you will have to own or be able to contribute to the hobby???? anyone with me....:lateral:

Great way to paint a picture Greg...

I like the simplicity of the whole thing.

Best post I've read in awhile. :thumbsup:

Take care of your health issues first !! Hope all is going to be okay!! Sux but I hear where your coming from...:cheers:

Todd- Thats cool, I get it. I guess I fall into the catogory of the big chase and love to build, I too try to do as much myself and it truly does save a lot of money. This allows me to spend the money on the expensive big ticket items, definatly the Drug Attic. Now where do I find that rehab center :rofl:

With out a doubt, you guys have made my car building journeys educational and cost effective and your a fine group of coconuts as well.

Rich

after reading through this entire thread, this one quote states exactly the way I have always thought when it comes to cars. my Camaro is nothing special, but after I built it (for the second or third time), friends and family kept telling me that I'm wasting my money because I'll never get the money back. I just told them it doesn't matter, and they will never understand.

some people think I've "wasted" too much money on cars in my life. I think they've "wasted" too much time not enjoying life.

I am the second paragraph, My car was a mistake. I never meant to go all out crazy on it.

Wow, I never imagined when I was eating my lunch at work today and starting this thread based on an off the cuff conversation that this kind of insight would be laid out. Thanks to everyone that has posted so far. I think anyone working on or starting a project would be well served to read through what all you guys have had to say.

Personally, I am trying to stay focused because the project I am working on is my Dad's. He has trusted me to bring his dream vehicle to reality. He has work multiple jobs (construction) all his life to provide for our family. He has let me do whatever I wanted. I've raced go-karts, rode atv's, he put me through college, we built my 69 Camaro in High School, we raced stock cars and now it is his turn. That's why it is important to me to actually get to the end of this project.

Other than changing engine choices (which he was fully in favor of) we have tried to avoid alot of these pit falls. We try to plan steps ahead so that we know where the expenses are and what we have to spend each step.

We also try not to buy then re-buy. For example we almost fell into the "Bigger Brake" pit. We have 13" 6 piston Wilwoods for the front and 12" 4 Piston for the rear. Then they came out with the 14" stuff. Do we NEED 14" 6 piston mono-blocks all the way around for what he wants to do with the truck. NOPE! Were they new, trick, and twice the price YES! That extra 14-1500 will be used very well someplace else.

Even trying to be smart, this stuff is still expensive.

In the end, no matter what it turns out like I would never trade the time my Dad and I are spending together working on this truck. The new friends that I have met along the way from this site and other places are just bonuses! It's not just about the cars.

:cheers:

I have 5 acres of grass to mow this summer,I will let you use my tractor :lol:

I'm on the same page a Greg just with a lot less tools (for now:unibrow: )

I am a car guy through the bone. Even waisted 7 years in a marriage with a girl that kept me away from them. Now she is gone and I am happy with my understanding wife :lol:

I will own many projects in my life. Some will finish so will not but I will be collecting tools and equipment the whole way to do it myself.

I know my limitations with money and I won't put myself under water.

I am in a phase of my life now (3.5 year old daughter whom I can't get enough of, very busy with work, etc) where I don't have much time at all for building my car, so it will take a long time to complete, and that's just fine with me. When I was younger (and especially when I was single!), it seemed time was relatively unlimited and I was banging out big project after big project...For me, I like the building of the car as much, if not more, than when they are finished. So nowadays I am focused on setting up my small garage/shop, and working a lot slower than I used to.

I keep costs in control (my definition, not my wife's!) by mostly buying new or slightly used parts secondhand, wherever possible. That way I don't feel like I have a giant amount of "real" money tied up in the project. I tell people all the time, that if you just have the patience to wait, and you keep your eyes open, the parts you want, will most likely come around.