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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ losing determination

Posted by: i love porsche Jul 25 2005, 11:18 AM

i love my 914...and i dont think i realized what i was getting into when i decided to restore one...now im not giving up..but i just feel so worn out and like i havent made any progress...

the main issue is money....it takes alot of it for this car...and its hard to save up with my expenses...without money i cant really do anything...i keep trying to set goals for myself..but then i realize i wont be able to achieve them because of my lack of funds....its pretty stressful...maybe i just need a break from working on it for a couple weeks and i need to enjoy my other car and save my pennies....

im really hoping to get it painted by the end of this year...so hopefully i can do that...

anyway...what do you guys do when you feel like youve ran out of gas

Posted by: Headrage Jul 25 2005, 11:27 AM

Try and hook up with a group of other 914 owners. Once you see them all driving their cars it should motivate you. It worked for me...

Posted by: redshift Jul 25 2005, 11:28 AM

Projects should not envelope you with stress.. back away from it, and see it as a longer term item in your life, and throw wild parties at the smallest success.

It's not a walk in the park, for most. It's challenging, and doggon'it, the car is fun to drive, lord knows that's all there is.

M

Posted by: GTeener Jul 25 2005, 11:33 AM

Welcome to the club!

I'm guessing 60% of us 914 owners are in your same situation. Probably one of the top reasons we own a 914 in the first place

You gotta pace yourself brother!

...And prioritize your project.

Like for me, my car currently needs bodywork & a new paint job, but not as bad as it needs new tires and a tune-up/leak-sealing check-up

I've been a 914 owner since 1999 and as many know I've gone back and forth as to whether I should be sinking my little discretionary income into a 30-year old car that I KNOW I will NEVER get back if I do ever sell her. I've put her up for sale at least 3 times, only to reconsider after a great day autocrossing

If you truly love your 914, then you just need to be patient with this ambitious project. Afterall, what's the hurry? It's not going anywhere, right?

Someday you'll have a beautiful 914 back on the road and you'll look back at this little mental breakdown and laugh.

Hang in there!

Posted by: ClayPerrine Jul 25 2005, 11:47 AM

I sit in my 914 and make "vroom vroom" noises.....

I also have a tendency to put some inspirational music on the stereo...... "Red Barchetta" by RUSH.

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/r/rush/119966.html

Posted by: ArtechnikA Jul 25 2005, 11:48 AM

most of the time there is a LOT you can do without ready cash *IF* you don't mind driving a partial restoration. lots of people *do* mind this, but that's an individual choice. i ripped the waterlogged carpet out of my Targa within the first couple months of ownership because it's easier to bail water from bare floors (i also replaced the top, which helped...)

break it down into tasks of not more than a weekend that you can DO and develop a small continuing sense of satisfaction.

i'd have been glad to ferry you to the Hershey EvilFest Sunday - there were 4 914's in various degrees of "done-ness" and plenty of motivational talk on projects.

is this a dedicated project car or is it your daily driver too?

Posted by: zymurgist Jul 25 2005, 11:56 AM

Not strictly 914 related, but it took me 3 years to rebuild my Corvette. Once I pulled the I-feel-like-I'm-fixin-to-die engine out, I promptly got infected with DWD. (While the engine's out, why not go over the transmission. And the brakes. And the front suspension. And the rear suspension. And...) It got to the point where I would go for weeks at a time without looking at the car for fear I would take a sledgehammer to it. Basically I was spending money on parts and machine work, and had nothing to show for it exept a car with no suspension or powertrain.

I think you have to pace yourself and if you get frustrated, walk away for a little while. Having car oriented friends might help. Buying a motorcycle might help with your sanity too, but I bet you wouldn't get the car back on the road any time soon if you did that.

Oh yeah, the upside for me was, once I got to the point where I could start reassembling the car, everything seemed to go much faster.

Posted by: SirAndy Jul 25 2005, 12:10 PM

QUOTE (GTeener @ Jul 25 2005, 10:33 AM)
I'm guessing 60% of us 914 owners are in your same situation.

most of us have been there, just hang in, meet up with fellow owners, get a ride in someones 914 just to remind you how much fun they are.

look at it this way, if this is your low-point, it can only get better from here ...
Andy

PS: this is a pic from my "low-point" during the restauration. i was ready to give it all up right about then ...

Attached image(s)

Posted by: URY914 Jul 25 2005, 12:12 PM

Man I feel your pain. I hit the wall last night on my PITA trunk lid.

Just leave it for a while and come back to it.

We have all had this happen.

Like someone above said, find someone to talk to in your area face to face. Show them your issues and share the pain.

Paul

Posted by: balljoint Jul 25 2005, 12:12 PM

When I don't have the $, I substitute elbow grease.

Good advice already is break it down, take a smaller task that doesn't require anything more than maybe sandpaper and do it, and do it perfectly. Like cleaning all of your grounds. Then invite a buddy over for a beer so he can admire your work.

At times "vroom, vroom" noises can also help.

Posted by: SirAndy Jul 25 2005, 12:54 PM

QUOTE (balljoint @ Jul 25 2005, 11:12 AM)
At times "vroom, vroom" noises can also help.

haha yes, i am guilty of that as well ...

Andy

Posted by: SirAndy Jul 25 2005, 12:55 PM

QUOTE (balljoint @ Jul 25 2005, 11:12 AM)
At times "vroom, vroom" noises can also help.

and even brad-holio has done it!

Andy

Attached image(s)

Posted by: i love porsche Jul 25 2005, 01:33 PM

yeah..thanks for the kind words guys...this is purely a project car...it is in need of a lot, its a rolling chassis as of now...but i think about driving it every day...my daily driver is my 924S, but ill take your advice...and try to find some other people in my area to talk to face to face...

here is the current condition

Attached thumbnail(s)

Posted by: Dave_Darling Jul 25 2005, 01:44 PM

HAH! I took that Bradholio pic!

Walk away from the car, but set a deadline for getting back to it. Because if you don't have some sort of deadline, you may wind up walking away and burying the car under "storage" stuff for four years.... And then paying someone even more money to fix the things you forgot you were in the middle of four years previously.

(Don't ask me how I know this.)

--DD

Posted by: redshift Jul 25 2005, 01:46 PM

$20... you need $20 worth of SEALING primer, in spray cans... you'd look at it in an whole other light..

M

Posted by: rick 918-S Jul 25 2005, 01:51 PM

Start a progress thread. post every time you make a little progress. Even if it was just garage cleaning day and you blew the dust off of it again. You'll get to feeling like you have to show your stuff. Get back to the basics.

Are all your parts organized in bins with labels and clean, ready to install? Cleaning parts is a nessesary part of your work. Cleaning parts is time consuming not money consuming. When you have 6 boxes of cleaned, painted and ready to install parts you'll get motivated! Oh ya!

Posted by: dralf Jul 25 2005, 02:06 PM

I hit the wall yesterday with my teener. I though I had it in good enough running condition to drive it to the WCC get-together in August, but my 60 mile drive yesterday indicates it needs many more parts and attention than what I have $ for or even time.

The car is so exelerating when I am fooled into believing it is fully fixed and I can take it out for more than a spin around the block. I too will need to get away from it for a few weeks and spend some time with my woman and have some drinks and just chill. THis restoration is a process to be enjoyed, and at the moment the thrill is gone.

Keep the faith, and you eye on the prize.

Posted by: SGB Jul 25 2005, 02:43 PM

Rick is right. Tell the club everything. Success, failure, frustration, stupidity, brilliance, delusion... whatever. We have ALL gone way, way down defore we started climbing back outta the hole. You'll get sympathy, understanding, harrassment, as well as stupidity, brilliance, and delusion in response! But ya gotta enter to win! Go on back out there and unscrew a part! It'll make you feel better. Whever an inanimate object nearly defeats me, I stop and say to myself "woah- who's smarter here?" With most non-living objects, even after a beer I can say proudly (maybe a little slurred though) "why, I think I am!" So, see, even if we can't really fix your car for you, we can add to the delusion!

Lewd Guck!
-Scott

Posted by: tat2dphreak Jul 25 2005, 02:49 PM

QUOTE (rick 918-S @ Jul 25 2005, 02:51 PM)
Start a progress thread. post every time you make a little progress. Even if it was just garage cleaning day and you blew the dust off of it again. You'll get to feeling like you have to show your stuff. Get back to the basics.

this is exactly what I've ben doing... when you post that 10 minute progress that took you 2 hours.... all it takes it one "good job" to make you want to keep it up! remember we are all here for encouragement and the occasional

also, I picked an event... and I want to have the car at that event... MUSR 7 so that is a big-time motivator! BIG TIME!!

last year I ran out of gas on the project, I set my sights to low and got complacent, then took a few months off when I could have been doing a lot of these little things... now my pace is slower, but steadier, and I get a lot more done!

it IS very hard to stay motivated... but beer and friends help! that's another thing, have a local buddy stop by to help... even if he does nothing... that company helps!

oh, and being organized DOES help... I spent almost an hour the other day looking for my angle grinder tool that removes the wheel... I AM NOT organized

Posted by: type11969 Jul 25 2005, 03:19 PM

If you want some motivation, next time I am up working on my 914 or Beetle, you can stop by and check out my 914. Well, you may not be motivated by looking at my 914, but you will at least feel like you have a lot less to do on yours.

I went all out for a few weeks on it, but I've taken some time off to get my Beetle up and running. I needed at least one project on the road.

I have found that accomplishing a small project does help with motivation, like cleaning and painting a part of the car that may not even be on the big list of things to do. When you hit that wall, then you can admire that one part.

Also, I find reading this board to be good motivation.

Posted by: i love porsche Jul 25 2005, 04:33 PM

hhmm..i guess you guys havent noticed but i DO have a progress thread and the link is in my signature....the thing is that only sometimes people post or answer my questions in it...not blaming anything but just saying

and chris..thatd be great...pm me when you plan on doing some stuff on your teener and i will come by ...hopefully it will be before the end of summer

Posted by: ArtechnikA Jul 25 2005, 04:44 PM

QUOTE (i love porsche @ Jul 25 2005, 06:33 PM)
hhmm..i guess you guys havent noticed but i DO have a progress thread and the link is in my signature....the thing is that only sometimes people post or answer my questions in it...

IMO a blog is not the place to ask questions. it may be a place to record that you have had a question answered...

as is readily evident, just about NOBODY keeps up with all the threads and what is happening in all of them. expecting people to also follow all the blogs to see if there might be a question in one is expecting more than is reasonable, IMO...

if you have a question, and you haven't been able to find the answer from the last time someone asked that question with a reasonable search in a reasonable amount of time, post it here.

USE A MEANINGFUL TITLE FOR YOUR POST; it will do wonders for getting meaningful answers.

Posted by: i love porsche Jul 25 2005, 05:15 PM

but its not a blog..its an actual thread....that doesnt matter anyways lol...no reason to argue

Posted by: GTeener Jul 25 2005, 05:31 PM

QUOTE (Dave_Darling @ Jul 25 2005, 11:44 AM)
HAH! I took that Bradholio pic!

Walk away from the car, but set a deadline for getting back to it. Because if you don't have some sort of deadline, you may wind up walking away and burying the car under "storage" stuff for four years.... And then paying someone even more money to fix the things you forgot you were in the middle of four years previously.

(Don't ask me how I know this.)

--DD

Dave, can we get a high res version for the club calendar?

Posted by: ArtechnikA Jul 25 2005, 05:42 PM

QUOTE (i love porsche @ Jul 25 2005, 07:15 PM)
but its not a blog..its an actual thread....

aha. well. if you post to it, it'll get bubbled to the top, at least for a while...

but i don't follow them all, and if you're asking any T-IV questions outside the 3 or 4 i've learned the answers to, i won't be able to help ...