When I brought home my 71 home 6 years ago, my wife was a little concerned. My last project was a ground off restoration of a 61 VW Bettle. I owned the car for 11 years and never drove it. That project saw ups and downs. It was a lot of rust work and I was learning. The car went to paint and lacked interior and wiring to complete. My son was born and we were building our house. It made since to move on from it. The wife (Sharon) said this is completely your decision to sell the bug.

I found the 71 that had been sitting since 91 and need some work, when it came home she instantly said " here we go again, I'll never see our garage" I promised to not spend any money on the car unless it was to make it road worthy. As you guys know it's hard to not buy some of the cool parts, so I began with the essentials, brakes, fuel, electrical. I got it running and could make quick trips up the road, no 5th gear, the hell hole, needed some help and the floors were filled with Bondo. I completed rust work knowing I just wanted a daily driver, rebuilt all systems, windows, stainless steel fuel lines, J west fuse box, Bursch exhaust, heating system rebuild, wipers rebuilt and all heater hoses. I found a complete parts car ($400) on The Samba that aided in wanted parts, fog lights, rear bumper pad and things I didn't even know were missing.

After 2 years I rewarded myself with Empi reproductions and registered the car. I drove it with no interior and worked out all the water leaks and have been slowly improving its appearance, last year I located my barn find 72, Sharon said you can buy it you just have to figure out how to pay for it. I sold my Mini Cooper S and then had an orginal pristine 72 914.

I've been wanting to get my daily painted and met a guy that does body work on the side, we agreeded on price which included the purchase of a 94 Cadillac to barter for body and paint. I purchased materials and he gets the Caddy. He's going to use the drivetrain for an El Camino project. I go into the momma don't know account , negotiate a deal on said Caddy and BOOM!! There's a Caddy in the yard, the 71 gets stripped, and I place another order to my 914 Guys at 914 Rubber, our guest room that is sitting empty to be repainted becomes a storage room for all the parts. If all goes well it should be done in the next few weeks. I can get the Caddy out of the yard, guest room painted and enjoy both cars this fall. I love my beautiful wife and greatful for her understanding she of all my projects.

It is great to have such a understanding wife. Good luck with your projects.

Indeed, the support from wives/girlfriends is very important part of any restoration project.

I agree. Wife/Girl friend/significant other's understanding and patience is of paramount importance.
My wife (Eliani) and I have been married for 41 years and she has lived through I don't know how many car projects and restorations. She is also understanding of the need to have more than one car/project at the same time. Not only that she has often been the clear leader on the sidelines when I had an automotive setback or felt discourage, and has become very proficient as a break bleeding buddy.
So here is to the wife/girl friend/significant others.