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| It's only a DuraFlame log but it does the job. |
Which it will certainly be after the Holidays.
Thoughts while relaxing next to a New Year's Day fire. There's no guilt today in taking it easy.
This was another post that was found crumpled up in a dusty digital file. It was cleaned up a bit, straightened out, revised a bit more, and now I can share it with you.
This post came about because I had been reading a thread on the H.A.M.B. (Hokey Ass Message Board) where the question arose, "How much do you spend a week on your project/hobby cars?"
A lot of guys on this forum are older retired guys. Some have plentiful income streams to play with. Most are more modest, and they augment them by buying and reselling old parts. Some guys are in tighter financial conditions and are living primarily off of Social Security.
I remember how one old fellow said that he can only spare 25.00 a week to direct towards his project. Some weeks he just puts that away to build up his car fund.
Many of these older guys do have an advantage. They already own one or more desirable cars that they have had for years. They also have the tools, equipment, space, and experience to do a lot of the necessary work themselves.
Some of the guys on the forum are younger guys in the middle of family raising responsibilities. We can all remember how tight finances can be during that time of our lives.
There aren't many Jay Leno types on that forum.
But we all want to continue to make progress on our projects, even if we have to wait to save up the needed money for the "big stuff."
I had some pretty big recent expenditures on my truck; front brakes, tires, and alignment set me back around a grand, and registration is over two hundred bucks due by the end of the month. My '96 Mustang got the manifold and hoses it needed, and will need a new battery soon. My 2007 Mustang got a new set of tires only a few months ago.
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Those expenses were from over five years ago.
I recently bought tires (again) for my Daughter's car, the '07 Mustang. I also bought new tires for my '06 Mustang, last Summer, and more recently for my '07 F150. Then a battery for the '06 Mustang and just last month, another battery for the '07 Mustang. These expenses totalled up to well over three thousand bucks. These really put a dent in the old bank account, or more accurately, on the old credit card.
That's just the reality of multi hobby car ownership. Then there are also expenses that occur for the family cars. I let the "house" pay for those! Nobody ever said that this hobby doesn't cost money.
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If you want to do something productive with your old cars and aren't in a position to spend much money, you could spend some time washing, waxing and detailing them. Really wash them, get down and wash under the rocker panels and bumpers, wash the trunk and hood openings. I've got a copy of the book; "Ultimate Car Detailing" that contains a lot of good info on how to preserve your car's appearance.
If you want to do something productive with your old cars and aren't in a position to spend much money, you could spend some time washing, waxing and detailing them. Really wash them, get down and wash under the rocker panels and bumpers, wash the trunk and hood openings. I've got a copy of the book; "Ultimate Car Detailing" that contains a lot of good info on how to preserve your car's appearance.
I'll bet you've got some cans of wax, chrome polish and protectant spray already sitting in your garage,
Vacuum the leaves from under the hood and trunk.
Vacuum the carpets, dust the dash, wipe up all the dirty fingerprints and dirty smudges on the door panels and armrests. Wipe up spills from around the the cupholders
Clean out and organize the glove box, console, and trunk. Use this as an opportunity to remove all the stuff that you've been lugging around.
Clean and treat the seats. Make any necessary repairs to torn stitching. It may not return them to factory pristine condition, but it stops further damage and it shows that you care about your car.
Polish the dash chrome, aluminum trim, polish the instrument panel glass/plastic.
Replace burnt out bulbs, especially the ones in the dashboard. It is a hassle, but this is something that we notice every night that we drive our car. Those burnt out bulbs are a constant annoyance.
Chase down some of the most annoying rattles. I save different pieces of packing foam and product wrap to wedge into the back of parts. Sometimes a folded piece of card stock can be wedged in a joint to tighten things up. It's best to have a passenger with you who can push and squeeze down on various connections while you can concentrate on driving, It's more productive and more importantly, much, much safer!
Really clean the windows from the inside. I've found that this really makes quite a big difference in how I feel about the car when I'm driving it.
Wash the outside of the car carefully, using a toothbrush around emblems and paintbrush in body seams. Concentrate on removing any wax residue build up.
Clean and wax door frames and striker area.
Pull the wheels and thoroughly clean them front and back. Wash and treat the tires with Bleche White and protectant.
Vacuum the leaves from under the hood and trunk.
Vacuum the carpets, dust the dash, wipe up all the dirty fingerprints and dirty smudges on the door panels and armrests. Wipe up spills from around the the cupholders
Clean out and organize the glove box, console, and trunk. Use this as an opportunity to remove all the stuff that you've been lugging around.
Clean and treat the seats. Make any necessary repairs to torn stitching. It may not return them to factory pristine condition, but it stops further damage and it shows that you care about your car.
Polish the dash chrome, aluminum trim, polish the instrument panel glass/plastic.
Replace burnt out bulbs, especially the ones in the dashboard. It is a hassle, but this is something that we notice every night that we drive our car. Those burnt out bulbs are a constant annoyance.
Chase down some of the most annoying rattles. I save different pieces of packing foam and product wrap to wedge into the back of parts. Sometimes a folded piece of card stock can be wedged in a joint to tighten things up. It's best to have a passenger with you who can push and squeeze down on various connections while you can concentrate on driving, It's more productive and more importantly, much, much safer!
Really clean the windows from the inside. I've found that this really makes quite a big difference in how I feel about the car when I'm driving it.
Wash the outside of the car carefully, using a toothbrush around emblems and paintbrush in body seams. Concentrate on removing any wax residue build up.
Clean and wax door frames and striker area.
Pull the wheels and thoroughly clean them front and back. Wash and treat the tires with Bleche White and protectant.
Polish headlamps, tail lamps,and turn signal lenses.
Touch up chips and scratches in the paint.
Rub out, polish, and wax the exterior paint.
Clean up under the hood, detailing under the hood makes a huge difference. Wires and hoses can be rerouted, loomed and covered.
Clean up the underside of the hood itself. This seems to be forgotten by almost everybody.
If your car is not yet in the running state, then you could clean up suspension and engine components. If you paint them now, they'll have plenty of time to dry.
These are chores that take much more time than money. They are such small items that can seem inconsequential by themselves, but when added up in total, make quite a difference.
These items will keep your project progressing forward, and they will improve it's overall appearance. If nothing else it just might help maintain your car in it's current state.
These are chores that take much more time than money. They are such small items that can seem inconsequential by themselves, but when added up in total, make quite a difference.
These items will keep your project progressing forward, and they will improve it's overall appearance. If nothing else it just might help maintain your car in it's current state.
Either way it's a plus.
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The last couple of years I've put a lot of time and energy into working on my hobby cars. During that time I let a lot of projects around the house sit undone. This year I plan on making my house more of a priority. One of my biggest projects is to paint the house. I also have to fix the garage door and the driveway. I've actually got to do something about the driveway first, before I can deal with the garage door. Then I'll need to rebuild the side yard fence and front fence and gate. Then I'll need to put up that shed for my motorcycle. I've already painted the side of the garage.
I've got to finish painting the interior of the house, a project that I started during the Covid lockdown. I just spent some time reseeding the front lawn. The results were pretty good, so I plan on finishing a few patches that I missed, and then redoing the side yard. My plan is to have that done before the rainy season has passed.
Honestly, I actually enjoy working on the house and yard. Being retired, you'd think that I have plenty of free time to get all this done. However, since I've got a lot of free time, I find that I waste a lot of it. I remember when I was working full time and raising a family, free time was scarce and it was a resource that I didn't like to waste. It took a little discipline to be productive, but I was usually successful.
I also find that the short days of Winter make me feel lethargic. It's hard for me to get motivated to work once the sun has set. The good news is that the Winter Solstice has passed, and the days will be getting longer. Once the Holiday decorations are stored away, I'll be able to use my garage again.
I try to stay away from making any proclamations about New Year resolutions. My personal goals are centered on my health and becoming more productive. But It's only the day after New Years, and I've got an entire year ahead of me! Plenty of time to get things done.
Happy New Year's to all.
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