Project Opinion - When its it time to call it quits?

[Mattman2010]

I have been working on my 85 crew cab for about a year and 3 or 4 months and I am just starting to loose motivation on it because every time I think I am getting somewhere I have to dump more money into it to fix something.

What I am looking for is opinions on when to quit working on a project because it is to much. So here is some background information on me and my project.

I wanted a crew cab really badly and I finally found one that the guy was asking $1500 for. I went and look at it and it had rust in spots that I had never seen (should have been a really big sign for not buying it) but I figured I could probably fix it, I got the guy down to $1100 and bought the truck. Well I tore all the body off and converted the frame to 4x4. Well I then started looking more into the body and realized the mistake that I had done buying the truck, the whole body was trash, so I went out and found another truck for $400 and stole the body off of that truck. Well worse comes to worse and I dropped the bed, but I saved the cab and the front clip. I built a new transmission hump for the cab which I am afraid that a molded floor mat will not fit over, and painted the front clip and cab white. And like the body on the first truck everything I pulled off of that truck had a bad seal and so I have basically ended up replacing everything on the truck. So now what I was hoping would be a somewhat cheap project I have over $6k in and not even close to done. I still need to find a replacement bed, and paint it and the doors, figure out what to do with the floor of the truck because of the transmission hump. And fix a bunch of stuff that I did when I converted the frame that I don't like. I would say I would easily be able to spend another $5k on this truck, but in the end I think the truck will only be able to get no more than $2k when I am done. I know you loose money building these things but that is just to much when I am only 19 and in college working a minimum wage job, and it sucks every time I think I am getting somewhere I end up putting each paycheck into the truck just to fix something.


I still want a crew cab 4x4 truck, what I am trying to figure out is if this project is worth continuing on or if I should stop while my loss is low and find another one in better shape. I have seen several lately that are less than $2k that have good interiors, and seem to have no rust and dont need a paint job. Yes they are only 2wd, but I have all the parts to convert the truck on my current project. And most of them are 4 speed trucks so I would only have to cut a hole in the floor for the transfercase instead of making a whole new hump like i did. I think that if i started with a truck that didnt need a paint job, and didnt need an interior that is where I am going to save most of my money. Most of the parts that I want to keep off of my current project are the parts that I have the most money into, and then whatever I have left I would just try to sell off to make some money back. I figure that I can just swap all of my new parts over to the new truck and have the truck running in less than a month and be able to drive it all the time and not have to dump any more money into it. I mean I hate to give up on my project because I have so much time and money, but its starting to get a little ridiculous. I might even keep my current project for a future project, but all of this is just ideas for right now.

You might be wondering why not just leave the truck the way it is for right now and just drive it, well it has nothing for sound deadening in the truck right now, all i have is the metal between me and the motor so it is really loud in there. One reason why I am thinking of buying another truck is that I think the interior for this truck will cost the same amount as one of these trucks that is less than $2k. My floor modifications just scare me in thinking that I will have to find something custom to get it to fit my floor. Interior stuff is really expensive and I need all of my seats repaired and so I am thinking about just finding a truck that I could just convert to 4x4 for right now and drive it, then I can work on painting things later on. This whole frame off thing is just starting to be to much for me, I want to try to work on other projects but I am a guy that cant start messing with something else till what I started on is done, plus my income can really only support one hobby at a time

Ive pretty much convinced myself that starting with a new truck is probably the best way to go, my dad (who has helped me a ton on this truck) just kind of wants me to keep what I have and keep going, but I am to the point that I just cant justify putting more money into this truck. My dad wants to be done with helping me with my trucks for a while, but I guess he doesn't understand that there is probably another years worth of work to be done to it.

Sorry for this long rant, I am just looking for opinions on this.
Thanks, Matt

[space wrangler]

pics?

[Mattman2010]

That is the current picture, I have a ton in my build thread.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=426463

[GmtGmt]

Your over the worst, keep working its better to have build your own than bought something someone else build.

I have been to this point with lost motivation and gotten through it

[Mattman2010]

I dont think I have even hit the worst part. I just cant justify dropping another 5 grand into the truck when I have an old leaky 6.2 and a 465 that would work better if it was rebuilt. Any of the trucks I am looking at are all stock, except for maybe the motor. So technically I would still be building my own truck. I am starting to think about keeping this truck for a future project buying another one and swaping a lot of my parts from my current truck to a new truck and be done with the project for a while.

As for lost motivation, it is manly from how much money I have dropped into the truck and how much more I need to drop into it. I love working on it, but this whole throw another $200 at it every week sucks.

[space wrangler]

after looking at the work you've put into it, i say keep it. ..just lay off for a while and come back to it when you're more motivated.

[jitteryguy]

Originally Posted by space wrangler

after looking at the work you've put into it, i say keep it. ..just lay off for a while and come back to it when you're more motivated.

I agree, and next spring hit the salvage yard's and watch Craig's list. there's alway's clean Suburban's get'n part'd out. you could get most of the interior and new door's from one of them and save a bundle right there.
even though your gonna replace em, throw some paint on the door's and bed, be'n one color is a big motivator !

[THE "10" SILVERADO]

Originally Posted by jitteryguy

....even though your gonna replace em, throw some paint on the door's and bed, be'n one color is a big motivator !

That's the truth!

[meter swinger]

Looks like you have the disease.
I would not recomend buying another rig unless you plan on leaving it alone and driving it "as is".
Youll regret taking on another project right now, and youll be lucky to get above scrap prices for what youve got now. Sorry to be blunt, but like the other guys i say stick with it and get creative. Youl be building hot rods the rest of your life so you might as well learn to deal with it. Time and money will haunt your projects as long as your building them.
Btw it looks to me like your making progres, keep at it!
Posted via Mobile Device

[Weasel Diesel]

Now how's that for motivation

[Mattman2010]

Originally Posted by space wrangler

after looking at the work you've put into it, i say keep it. ..just lay off for a while and come back to it when you're more motivated.

The amount of time and money I have into the truck is about the only reason I dont want to get rid of it. There are several things that I have done to this truck that I really look back on and say "why did I do that", I am not a body man and I am starting to see that, I have hit the paint a few times and it comes off really easy so i guess I didnt even paint the truck right. I love my truck, the way it looks doesent bother me, I get a smile on my face when I drive it even though you are deaf and it looks like ****. The more money I have to keep dropping into this thing starts to make the smile go away.

Originally Posted by jitteryguy

I agree, and next spring hit the salvage yard's and watch Craig's list. there's alway's clean Suburban's get'n part'd out. you could get most of the interior and new door's from one of them and save a bundle right there.
even though your gonna replace em, throw some paint on the door's and bed, be'n one color is a big motivator !

I have a complete interior I could throw into the truck, its not the color I want, but it would work for now. I also have new doors, I just have not done anything with the new doors yet. As for the interior, I dont think I can do anything with the floor because of modifications I did to the floor.



As for painting everything white, yeah it sounds like a good idea, but honestly I am not loosing motivation from the look of it. With my minimum wage job I am making less than 10k a year. Knowing that my truck needs basically half of a years worth of money really is a downer. I am to the point that I just either want it done or gone. In the past two weeks I have spent $200 each week just trying to keep this thing going. First my starter went bad, that was $250, then the next day my power steering box blew up. With my really limited income i am just not sure i can take dropping so much money into the truck to get it even at a comfortable driving state.

Originally Posted by meter swinger

Looks like you have the disease.
I would not recomend buying another rig unless you plan on leaving it alone and driving it "as is".
Youll regret taking on another project right now, and youll be lucky to get above scrap prices for what youve got now. Sorry to be blunt, but like the other guys i say stick with it and get creative. Youl be building hot rods the rest of your life so you might as well learn to deal with it. Time and money will haunt your projects as long as your building them.
Btw it looks to me like your making progres, keep at it!
Posted via Mobile Device

Yes, I would say that I have the disease, but I dont think I will ever want to try to do a full frame off again like this one. I will do it in steps if I ever do one. If I buy another truck a simple 4x4 conversion and it would be done (unless I could find a 4x4 crew cab then I wouldnt even have to touch it) I would be swaping my engine and transmission and trasfercase into the truck, but that is all simple stuff. It wouldnt take me more than a month to get another crew cab converted to 4x4, and I have all of the parts. I would probably do some things to it at a later time, but it sure wouldn't end up like this truck and be a full frame off.

What I am starting to think is stop on this project and find another crew cab that has a full interior and a good body that doesnt need paint. Take all my 4x4 and drivetrain parts out of my current truck and stick them in the new truck and then save my current truck for a future project. That way I can get a truck on the road soon and be happy with it for now and do other things I want to do and then when I finally get out of school I could build the dually of my dreams.

[bikes&bowties]

Man we are always in the same boat... Only difference is, I have 6 months left of high school and I wanna dump money in mine while I still can... My biggest hold up is also interior, and drive train! Does the interior have to be factory? And I'm going to Berliner my floor $50.. Not the greatest, but with a quiet exhaust it won't be very noisy compared to my tires, I wish I did a frame off to begin with and got it more prettied up underneath. And body work does suck! I hate it... I say let it sit for awhile and see what you decide.... If you still hate it when you look at it in a month. Call it quits. But if you are like me, you will be ready to dive back in..
Posted via Mobile Device

[IOWNATRUCK]

Trucks and cars and boats and anything with a motor is basically a money pit. Thats just something you have to accept if your into these hobbies, because once you are done, you'll be beyond satisfied, ive felt the same with my truck that i was working on for around two years, 10k later, and i was finally done. youre over the worst part, trust everyone on here, ha weve been through it, its all worth it, good luck man.

[old Rusty C10]

i agree finish what you started.. im into mine for over $13,000 and im not even done

[68 SWB]

I think you should stick with it. One reason is you will not get your money back out of this truck if you bail out now, you need to at least get it to the point you can use it for a while to get some value out of it. Think of it like you bought a new truck... it would depreciate but you would be able to use it every day and it some point it will become less reliable and then you would have to spend more money on it. This truck is the opposite, the more you spend on it the more it will become a new truck. If you can't drive the truck it is of ZERO value to you in my opinion so that would be my priority, and then getting looking right from there.

One thing that might help is post your vision of what you want the truck to be when finished and maybe a list of what is needed that you know of, this way the guys here can help with advice. You see quite the variety of trucks on here so everyone's opinion will be different.

[Greenlee]

I just read through your build thread. That is a sweet truck and I think you will regret selling it.

Last time I put a carpet kit in one of these trucks it seems like I had to trim a couple inches on each side so i think your hump will probably be fine.

Watch Craigslist for a cheap non running Suburban for your interior parts.
Posted via Mobile Device

[rotgg]

been working on mine for three years still not finished lol just keep plugging at it you have to be patient

[Dieselwrencher]

STICK WITH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At least your truck is drivable, 1 out of 3 of mine are. The whole deal with your floor mod issue, go to the junk yard and get some carpet from a burban and cut the center out around your custom hump. Go to a carpet store and find something that matches close and glue it to your hump. Install your interior and drive it. If you don't want to throw money at an old vehicle, get out now. Something always wears out or brakes, or just won't work. Even on full restores when they get done have their issues. Take a step back, gather your thoughts, and finish it with what you have. I agree paint your doors at least. And as far as how nice the paint job is, who cares. If you don't like it, sand it down and redo it. It's a learning experience and when you get the art of paint and body work down, no one can take that from you!

[csb#356]

This is when you just need to step back and not look at it for awhile. One day you will be motivated again to start working on it. If you've already put this much time and money into and you have a place to let it sit then I'd say keep it. Come back to it one day when you're done with school and finish it when you're ready and have the money. I had a pickup just like this that I bought for 600 dollars and I dumped so much money into that thing putting the drivetrain together just the way I wanted to but when I looked at it, it was still rusted out and little things just kept going wrong with it. I got frustrated just like you and so I parked it and bought one that was in better shape. I too am in school and don't have much money right now and this last year my dad told me to get it out of his yard so I took out all the parts that were worth while and I scrapped it. I wish I wouldn't have done that because now I wish I could drive that thing again and the one I'm driving now is much nicer. Sorry for the rant but I would really advise you to keep it if your old man will let you keep it where its parked

[Mattman2010]

Originally Posted by bikes&bowties

Man we are always in the same boat... Only difference is, I have 6 months left of high school and I wanna dump money in mine while I still can... My biggest hold up is also interior, and drive train! Does the interior have to be factory? And I'm going to Berliner my floor $50.. Not the greatest, but with a quiet exhaust it won't be very noisy compared to my tires, I wish I did a frame off to begin with and got it more prettied up underneath. And body work does suck! I hate it... I say let it sit for awhile and see what you decide.... If you still hate it when you look at it in a month. Call it quits. But if you are like me, you will be ready to dive back in..
Posted via Mobile Device

Yes we do seem to be in the same boat all the time haha. I wanna dive into mine and get it done, but with my recent luck with the truck lately and started looking at interior stuff the amount of money I need to spend just started making me rethink whether or not this was a good idea to keep going or not. Stepping back really does seem to sound like some really good advice right now.

Originally Posted by IOWNATRUCK

Trucks and cars and boats and anything with a motor is basically a money pit. Thats just something you have to accept if your into these hobbies, because once you are done, you'll be beyond satisfied, ive felt the same with my truck that i was working on for around two years, 10k later, and i was finally done. youre over the worst part, trust everyone on here, ha weve been through it, its all worth it, good luck man.

That is the reason I came here to ask for opinions, this is my first one and so I came here because I figured if anyone knows about these trucks it would be here and i figured others here have been through what I am going through.

Originally Posted by 68 SWB

I think you should stick with it. One reason is you will not get your money back out of this truck if you bail out now, you need to at least get it to the point you can use it for a while to get some value out of it. Think of it like you bought a new truck... it would depreciate but you would be able to use it every day and it some point it will become less reliable and then you would have to spend more money on it. This truck is the opposite, the more you spend on it the more it will become a new truck. If you can't drive the truck it is of ZERO value to you in my opinion so that would be my priority, and then getting looking right from there.

One thing that might help is post your vision of what you want the truck to be when finished and maybe a list of what is needed that you know of, this way the guys here can help with advice. You see quite the variety of trucks on here so everyone's opinion will be different.

Yeah I know I wont make my money back, but I just started thinking that if I backed out of the truck now I could at least keep my loss somewhat low instead of spending more and then deciding to back out. The truck does run, I have been driving it but the power steering box took out a new seal somehow so the truck doesn't move unless I need to move it.

I will have to figure out what I want exactly for my truck to be considered done. I have a good idea of what I want, but there are other things that I have no idea what to think.

Originally Posted by Greenlee

I just read through your build thread. That is a sweet truck and I think you will regret selling it.

Last time I put a carpet kit in one of these trucks it seems like I had to trim a couple inches on each side so i think your hump will probably be fine.

Watch Craigslist for a cheap non running Suburban for your interior parts.
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks man, I am pretty proud of most of what I have done. I dont plan on putting carpet in this truck. I am looking at a vinyl floor mat, I have a feeling that I would just ruin a new carpet if I put one in the truck.

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

STICK WITH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At least your truck is drivable, 1 out of 3 of mine are. The whole deal with your floor mod issue, go to the junk yard and get some carpet from a burban and cut the center out around your custom hump. Go to a carpet store and find something that matches close and glue it to your hump. Install your interior and drive it. If you don't want to throw money at an old vehicle, get out now. Something always wears out or brakes, or just won't work. Even on full restores when they get done have their issues. Take a step back, gather your thoughts, and finish it with what you have. I agree paint your doors at least. And as far as how nice the paint job is, who cares. If you don't like it, sand it down and redo it. It's a learning experience and when you get the art of paint and body work down, no one can take that from you!

Being able to drive it has really helped with keeping me motivated. Im going to take this "Step back" advice and try and figure out exactly what I want my truck to have so that when I go back to it I will have a plan that I can go off of.

Originally Posted by csb#356

This is when you just need to step back and not look at it for awhile. One day you will be motivated again to start working on it. If you've already put this much time and money into and you have a place to let it sit then I'd say keep it. Come back to it one day when you're done with school and finish it when you're ready and have the money. I had a pickup just like this that I bought for 600 dollars and I dumped so much money into that thing putting the drivetrain together just the way I wanted to but when I looked at it, it was still rusted out and little things just kept going wrong with it. I got frustrated just like you and so I parked it and bought one that was in better shape. I too am in school and don't have much money right now and this last year my dad told me to get it out of his yard so I took out all the parts that were worth while and I scrapped it. I wish I wouldn't have done that because now I wish I could drive that thing again and the one I'm driving now is much nicer. Sorry for the rant but I would really advise you to keep it if your old man will let you keep it where its parked

Thanks for the motivation man, Im going to take a break from it. I have not quit working on it for more than 2 weeks sense I have been working on it. So time off will probably be good for me.

[bikes&bowties]

Plus you can save money and/or spend it elsewhere. The truck wont go backwards just sitting. I know when I get into doing stuff it gets to me after awhile. I mean at any given time between my own stuff and farm stuff I have a few big projects going. I get overwhelmed (just like you are) and can't do anything but sit back and look everything over. You then look at how far you have come or what else you can do to get to your end goal...
Posted via Mobile Device

[Weasel Diesel]

Stay with it, the economy kicked us all in the groin. It is gonna pick up and you will be able to get back on track. In the meantime, make yourself a couple extra bucks doing small stuff. I figure nickels going into the project is better than nothing going into the project. I go around to yard sales and storage auctions, buy stuff and re-sell it for a bit more. Not a killing, but it keeps my project going, so I don't fall in the "stuck" rutt. Yes, right now I am "'Po Rick" just trying to keep my project going, but when she's done, I shall be "King Richard" when I'm cruising the Hardees in that Bad Boy...

[72freak]

I never spend more on one than I can get back out of it. Thats when I know when to stop. But with that siad......this was abviously a vision and a dream when you started it. If it is still your dream....walk away for a while and come back to it when you have the mindset and $$. If its no longer your dream and you want to do something else...move on. You have to be 100% detached from the project to do that or you wot be able to ever let go of the time and money you spent/wasted. Another option is to "budget complete" the project and then later on change over to the fancy, nice or racy things you had originaly planned for the project.

I went back and re-read your post. You are correct...you can buy a descent driver about like what you are building for less that what it will cost you to finish yours BUT then you will want to pick it apart and re-do everthing and you will just be back in the same situation you are in now. I would walk away from it for a while, save some momey and watch the for sale ads across the country. See what you can find a replacement for and if the times comes you are back interested in your project and you have not found a replacement...start back up.

[riz]

Stick with it, bro! I let my K5 Blazer sit for 10 years before I finally got the motivation to work on it and mine was 100% driveable.... it just had no interior. I started in April of last year and it's now near completion and I'm so glad I didn't try and sell it. It will all be worth it in the end. Good luck to you.

RIZ

[67swb72klb]

some times u have to just take a break and go back at it another day keep it looks like it has came a long way so far it is a... beast !!