Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

 So how do you come to your end as a car guy?

Maybe you just grow out of it?

Do you burn out or just fade away?

Do you just grow out of it?

Does it come to an end with a whimper or a bang?

Maybe it just ends with an ache and a groan?

My vote is going to be for the ache and the groan. Especially since I recently  hurt my back, which has lead to problems with my hip and leg as well. 

This wasn't due to some traumatic event, I wasn't trying to lift a transmission into the bed of my truck. I wasn't even straining to push a dead car out of the street. 

No, I was just scrunching sideways to either pick something up or to lay it on the floor. Scrunching is bad.

Physical condition and general health have a lot to do with our hobby, especially as we age. 

If you have always been a hands on kind of guy, it comes as a real shock and wake up call when you find that you can't do the things that you used to do, easily, or maybe not at all! Or maybe that you should just refrain from doing any of them! 

I'll admit it, I'm old. But I thought that I had more time!

Though I had two back injury episodes in my past, starting all the way back in my mid 30's, my second was in my late 40's. Nothing unusual about that. 

DIY is what the car hobby means for many people, myself included. I don't see much point of messing with an old car if I have to pay a mechanic to do all the things, big and little, that the hobby entails. The added cost kind of negates any advantage of owning an older car. I would choose to own newer cars instead of paying so much money on an older hobby car. 

So is it going to end with a groan? I sure hope not.

Going out with bang might mean getting in over your head, being involved with a number of unfinished, (or not even started!) projects. Personal problems such as a divorce or catastrophic health or physical issues can bring your participation in the hobby to a grinding halt.

This will ultimately lead to the next scenario.

Ending with a whimper might be due to a gradual decrease of interest, and your cars will be sidelined and less time will be spent on them. Eventually they are just parked, buried in your garage or possibly sold.

How do you think that those barn finds end up in that barn?

So what can I do about it?

Do I even want to do anything about it? 

Is it time to let my car guy card lapse? Do I still even like cars? What does it mean to be a car guy?

That's a lot of questions, does anyone even care about the answers?

Yeah. I still do.

I have written that there is no standard, everyone can experience the hobby on their own terms.  You can like old cars, you can like new cars. You can like the true Classics. You can like stock factory models or you can like hot rods and customs.  You can actually own a hobby car or just read about them. You can get your hands dirty and work on them yourself, or you can write checks and support the mechanics and shops that are essential to this hobby. 

It's your call, It's my call. It doesn't really matter as long as you are having fun. It seems that it's the fun that you have to be careful with. 

Once that is gone, then what's the point?

I still like driving, I've put 6,000 miles on the Flex since we bought it.  

I guess that I still like my cars, though I'm getting the feeling that I've just got too many of them. 

It's probably best just to keep one of them in mind at a time

It's been a couple of weeks and I've been feeling better, not quite as good as I was, but better. 

I guess that life doesn't particularly get easier as you get older. There is usually a reduction in demands on your time from having young children. Retirement gives you a lot more free time. It also can reduce your income. Then there's that physical condition thing. Gotta keep an eye on that! It's about taking better care of yourself and encountering  and accepting your limits. You've also got to re evaluate the things that you once thought were so important.

I just got the '07 Mustang back from the mechanic. I was having some more deferred maintenance items addressed.

I was having the transmission fluid and filter changed, the rear brake pads replaced, as well as the biggie: the fuel pump.

I've done these jobs before, well back in my past, and I may well do some more of that type of work on my hobby cars. I just needed to get this work done now, as my Daughter is taking the car with her as she moves out. I want it be in the best possible shape, within reason. 

Is this the next step?

 

There was a time, like most of my life up until now, when I was content to have a whole pile of "not quite right stuff." I've been filling up my life with that stuff, but maybe it's time to become more selective. What good is having four, not too good cars? There's so much effort involved with just holding on to those things, is there really enough return for the effort? 

I've still got plenty of projects ahead of me. Whether I'm going to enjoy them or not will be the question.