Have You Ever Said This “I’m starting to get fed up with the car” ?

Luxstang Wrote: I’m starting to get fed up with the car.
The more I do on it the more seems to fail.
Replaced the upper and lower control arms a few weeks ago. Took it for an alignment yesterday and the guy tells me he can’t adjust camber on the passenger side.. Turns out the hole in the rear ex-center washer is round so it no longer adjusts the camber properly. (Ok, when I replaced the control arms I could have sworn that washer was ok otherwise I wouldn’t have put it back in….)
Now I gotta wait for 2-3 days for a new set of screws with washers to arrive.
I had the wheels powder coated (and posted a thread about it) and I don’t like them anymore. The 18 inch rims rub with the new tires, I gotta get new ones but I don’t really want to either.
The rear windows are out of the car as I’m waiting for WCCC to fix my pancake motors, so no interior in the back at all.
Plus yesterday a big chip of paint flew off the rear quarter extension. I’ll need to try my painting skills on that….
I wonder if I shouldn’t just leave everything and simply drive the car into the ground as a daily driver and call it a day.

Hang in there with the Mustang, Luxstang, it will be even sweeter when you get it done!!!

My 73 is my second Mustang restoration (70 was my first) and my third personal restoration in the last few years.  I can attest that you do run in to those periods of time when it seems that the car just doesn’t want to be restored.

Heck I bought and drove the 73, maybe  5-6 times and it bent a rod and burned a valve. Had the heads redone. Drove it 3 or 4 more times and then discovered a bottom end knock had to tear down the entire engine and send it out for machining and rebuild. While trying to get it back together I ran into wiring problem and drive train problems.  Don’t even get me started on the rusted floor pans (now complete).

I restored my ’84 Corvette and I will tell you, there were day when I felt just like Luxstang (by the way he’s in Luxembourg).  The Vette was powered by the infamous Cross-Fire engine.  So many problems with the fuel system and multiple injector rebuilds, it was enough to drive you crazy.

Many folks do give up, you can find thousands projects on the internet looking for a new home.

But before you quit, go to the forums for you car, like Luxstang did, you’ll get some encouragement and maybe even helpful suggestions for getting through those periods.  Con some friends or neighbors to give a hand.  I found that a good motivator is to have neighbors come and see your progress.  I have one neighbor that loves to look at what I’ve done and another (Dan T.) who has even spend more than a few hours giving me a hand with some of the tasks.

Restoring a car is not much different then most things you tackle in life.  If you hang in there and stick it out to the end, it will be rewarding.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

My recent restorations:

1970 Mustang – Multiple Trophy Winner. Self-Restored

1984 C4 Corvette – Multiple Trophy Winner. Self-Restored

1975 Fuel Injected VW Bug – $30k Frame Off Nut Bolt Restoration – Managed Project

1973 Mustang – In Progress. Follow #ProjectSportsRoof Self-Restored

This Fascinating VW Prototype Would Have Been Revolutionary

By the late ’60s, VW was in a legitimate full-on panic about replacing the Beetle: somehow, they never really managed to figure this out. The Beetle was just selling too well for too long to worry until it was almost too late. Eventually, the Golf saved the day, but there was a brief moment where it looked like VW’s salvation would be much weirder.After VW bought NSU and Audi in the late ’60s, the much more conventional water-cooled, transverse front-engined Golf/Rabbit was derived from NSU/Audi designs and saved VW’s bacon, as well as set the company’s fundamental technical DNA to this day. But this was a sort of last-minute desperation plan. The goal of replacing the Beetle as VW’s core product went back much further, and almost culminated in a surprisingly sophisticated and unusual car, the EA266 prototype.

via This Fascinating Stillborn VW Prototype Would Have Been Revolutionary.

 

ES-266

EA-266

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Tim

Limited Edition Beetle GSR unveiled at Chicago Auto Show

Limited Edition Beetle GSR unveiled at Chicago Auto Show.

The stripey new GSR secures a 150 hp increase from its predecessor, amping up power to the front wheels to 200 hp, enabling a sprint to 100 km/h (0-62 mph) in just 7.3 seconds. With a top speed of 230 km/h (143 mph), power is made available to the wheels via either a 6-speed manual or DSG autobox. VW’s tried and true, turbo-charged 4 cylinder provides the go juice. And unlike the 40 year old’s 15-inch steel rim setup, the new GSR gets serious footing with black “Tornado” 19-inch alloy wheels and 235/40 rubbers.

Volkswagen's new Beetle GSR - only 3,500 will be made worldwide

I think they look “ok” and 200 hp ain’t bad in the little two door.  Can’t owning one, however they are going to be limited to 200!!!