Awakening

[NC-car-guy]

Some of you may not want to see what follows.  Its been a bad news weekend and it got me thinking....

" Where have I been while these family and friends have been going down hill?"

 

Where else, busy building a shop to fix a car and then working on said car.  I work all week, and the weekend I spend working more, with the goal in mind of having a cool old Buick to drive.  In the meantime, my grandmother is now blind in one eye and 20/80 in the other and they can't figure out why (found out Friday).  Back when my dad died i was always too busy to hang out with school and work. Same with my uncle last year. I've got my priorities wrong.  I cant get these people back. Things are never they way they "used to be".

I still want an old buick to drive and tinker on, but the restoration stuff has consumed every spare minute and dollar of my life. Countless weekends, thousands of dollars, not a hell of a lot to show for it.  The hunt is fun, the tinkering is great, the folks you meet along the way are amazing.  But I haven't enjoyed most of that because im constantly doing heavy work trying to assemble some rust bucket.  I know one can say to take my time and build a car, but you never know when your time is up, and I'd rather enjoy the car while I'm doing well and start paying more attention to the people in my life. Sorry for such a long post.  If anyone needs a parts car, or has time for a restoration, contact me.  I will be clearing my collection so I can buy one good driver.  Maybe I'll drive my grandma in it while she's still here (turns 90 in March).

[EmTee]

Reminds me of the guy on the Ed Sullivan Show I saw as a kid.  I just Googled it and his name was Erich Brenn.  He'd get a series of plates all spinning at the same time on sticks.  Life is that way - always seeming to add more plates to keep spinning.  The trick is figuring out which ones to keep spinning and which ones you can afford to let fall.  It sounds like you're at one of those crossroads.  From what you say I'm pretty confident that things will work out for the best.  In the end you only have to answer to the person in the mirror.  For what it's worth, I still remember taking my grandmother for a ride in my '56 Chevy (which she bought new) after I got it back on the road in high school.  Looking at her in the passenger's seat it was as if 20 years melted away.  I can still remember her excitement to be back in the car.  Yeah, I think you have the right idea.   -Tim

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zhoos1oY404

[JohnD1956]

That's a realistic story Matt.  I hope you can make that drive with Grandma!

[MrEarl]

While I think you have made a wise decision to go ahead and look for a good driver, I think you need to stop beating yourself up over any lost time with loved ones. After years of building a farm and working with first emu and then breeder goats, I came to what I thought was the same conclusion you are making regarding lost quality time with family and "sold the farm" so to speak so I could spend more time with my mom, kids and Rita (and Buicks). Both the kids in turn have numerous times recently told me they would not change a thing in the way they were brought up and the work ethic they learned from working the farm when they were young has put them where they are now. I can empathize with you that busting ass all the time doing hard laborious work, procuring salvaged materials instead of just going out and buying new and sometimes feeling depressed because you don't have the finances to just buy things gets you down,  but take it from me, when you look back at what you have accomplished on your own and with your own hands your head will raise and you will have the greatest feeling no "rich guy" can ever have. (unless said rich guy got that way by doing as you and I have done) Riches aren't always measured in dollars and cents.

Don't be too quick to sell that 4 door Rivi that you your self have always said you loved and wanted (over a 2 door even) Build a lean to for it next to your new shop and put it on the back burner for awhile. I really can't advise you to hold onto the parts cars however as I think you have probably seen there is no money to be made with them, just the good feeling of helping others with parts.

Just set your priorities in life with family and your hobbies (the old farm house and your cars) don't worry about what people say and be happy. After all, even as young as you are, I think you are starting to see that life is indeed like a roll of toilet paper, the closer to the end you get the faster it goes. And although life sometimes seems like a rollercoaster ride at the fair...there is no getting back in line to buy another ticket with this one. 

Like I said, I think you've made a wise decision. And keep your chin up dude, you're amongst some of the best friends you'll ever have right here.

 

 

 

Edited February 6, 2017 by MrEarl
Remove a bad word and correct spelling (see edit history)

[NC-car-guy]

Thanks for the support guys!   I did some reflecting last night, had a drink, talked to some of the family in question. I tend to get over ambitious in many things I do, and then get angry when I can't meet my own unrealistic goals.  The shop took an entire year from starting to clear crud out of the old shed it once was, to what it's become now, which in my opinion was way too long.  I've been playing with old cars for over 20 years now, never with much to show other than an empty wallet, so I have been getting a little discouraged.  I think taking on multiple cars at once is just too much on top of working on the house, family, job, volunteer commitments, my little egg farm, and still trying to have a social life.  I am thinking I will try to sell the harder of the two projects (maybe get a little bit of money back) and work on getting the better car running and driving (also a 4 door hard top).  I had originally set the better car aside thinking I'd need much less energy and motivation to complete it, so I'd tackle the hard one first.  I'm going to roll the better car into the shop (solid floors and rockers, etc) and put the rusty one up for sale.  If the rusty one doesn't sell, I will do as Mr. Earl suggested and put up another lean-to and set it aside.  If I get a bonus this year, I am going to be irresponsible and buy a driver.  Past 5 years all my bonuses have gone into retirement, home repairs, paying down student loans, etc.  This year, if we do bonus, I am going to enjoy it and get my instant gratification!   Thanks again for letting me vent and empathizing with me. 

[MrEarl]

Sounds like a plan! ? And take it from me, you can never put too much into retirement! Things take time, be patient. You've been to my place, hell it took me 30 years to make the mess you saw.

 

[Fr. Buick]

I have been in the "time to thin the herd" mode as well, and probably will have to do it again the next time I move to a new parish - a few years from now God willing.

 

A nice driver that you can have fun with, park for a few months of work, and then drive again is worth the looking and waiting.

 

Be sure to keep a good parts car for it, though!

 

Meanwhile, focus on making time with the family "quality time."

[old-tank]

Get the driver and work as time allows on one other.  When you get frustrated go for a run in the driver.  And forget about instant gratification (that's only for the 'original profession').  The restoration on my website took 7 years, but I drove my other toys over 50,000 miles.

[JohnD1956]

1 hour ago, old-tank said:

Get the driver and work as time allows on one other.  When you get frustrated go for a run in the driver.

 

Thanks Willie, for saying what I wish I had thought to say!  

[Larry Schramm]

As for estimating the time to complete a task, I estimate how long it should take to do it and then double or triple that number.  That is usually the correct time because "stuff" gets in the way of completing the task as quick as you initially think it should be done.

Edited February 8, 2017 by Larry Schramm (see edit history)

[60FlatTop]

I have told my children that they can't make a wrong decision as long as it truly is a decision and the best one they were capable of at the time. Or the best under current constraints. Some may not have the outcome one expects, but they are a part of the process of life. To follow and let decisions be made for you can go radically wrong.

Every decision I have made in my life has brought me to this moment. I wouldn't want to change it for something unknown due to a past decision I may think I regret. Each one had its place and time. And they have culminated into today.

 

Just be aware. At one point in my life every time I picked up a ratchet it was in the loosen position. Today I am conscious that when I pick one up it is set for tighten. That simple awareness makes me happy.

 

Before I went to work for myself I used to start my weekly one on one meeting by saying "This week has been a net positive experience." My Boss would give a nervous smile. In November my company will celebrate a ten year anniversary. "That decade has been a net positive experience."

Bernie

[Thriller]

I need more people like you in my business, Bernie. Alas, I can't expand to the USA just yet, but plan to meet those criteria this year. 

 

[Grimy]

5 hours ago, 60FlatTop said:

Just be aware. At one point in my life every time I picked up a ratchet it was in the loosen position. Today I am conscious that when I pick one up it is set for tighten. That simple awareness makes me happy.

I've appreciated that observation--when possible--since I was a teenager, a very long time ago.  Sometimes I mutter under my breath, "THAT was a success..."

[ScarredKnightfan]

Your post is rather timely for me ... not necessarily in the car department, but more along the lines of re-evaluating, etc.

 

When I was forced to sell my car collection a few years ago after losing a job after my 4th open heart surgery, I was angry & devastated.  But, now, it was, in multiple ways, a blessing in disguise.  We don't always see the message ... sometimes, when it's too late to really "know" &/or "enjoy" it, but ... everything happens for a reason ... well, most of the time.

 

 

Cort, www.oldcarsstronghearts.com
pig&cowValves.paceMaker * 1979 CC to 2003 MGM + 81mc

"Father Time still takes a toll on every minute that you save" | Clint Black | 'No Time To Kill'

[NC-car-guy]

Yep, in the mood to dig up old posts today.  Just re-read this thing 6 years and one pandemic later.  Gram and I went out big time for her 90th.  Us and a few friends took an uber downtown, we bar hopped munching on appetizers, craft beer, and a couple shots along the way.  It was great, we were out until midnight!  By 91, she was wheel-chair bound, we went out but did not party nearly as hard.  I quit my second job later that year and spent more time with the family.  I've continued to cycle... buy more, sell off, buy more, sell off.  I no longer buy $750 project cars but have certainly noticed the thrill of the hunt is what I crave, once I gather them all up the to-do list just stresses me out, so I thin the heard again.   Mid last year, I had my little "mid-life" crisis and bought a brewery and a red convertible.  6 weeks ago, I left my big corporate job to embark on a new adventure in a smaller town.  Less hustle and bustle, no 24 hr on-call, no large teams reporting to me with all of their problems.  Honestly the 1st two weeks I was lost.  I'm settling in, mentally wrestling with downsizing my home, and trying to decide what to do about 9 cars. 

[60FlatTop]

8 minutes ago, NC-car-guy said:

I left my big corporate job to embark on a new adventure in a smaller town. 

I was once asked what was the best thing about having my own business. Without question it has been to be able take the most fair minded action in any instance.

 

 

[Machine Gun]

15 hours ago, NC-car-guy said:

Mid last year, I had my little "mid-life" crisis and bought a brewery and a red convertible.  6 weeks ago, I left my big corporate job to embark on a new adventure in a smaller town.  Less hustle and bustle, no 24 hr on-call, no large teams reporting to me with all of their problems.  Honestly the 1st two weeks I was lost.  I'm settling in, mentally wrestling with downsizing my home, and trying to decide what to do about 9 cars. 

"Mid-life crisis" is a pejorative term used by envious people who wish they had the courage to do what people like you do. I did something similar in 1995. It was scary for sure, but it was the best thing I could have done. Looking back on it, the truly scary part was enduring my prior professional life.

Edited May 6, 2023 by Machine Gun
Typos (see edit history)

[Kosage Chavis]

My Dad used to tell me growing up...Out of all the things you want to do, pick one of them and maybe even two, and pray like hell that you might have a chance to do them.  In other words, keep your life simple.  I think you should keep that one Buick like @MrEarlwas saying.  Drive your Grandmother around in it.  Keep some parts and pack them up and store them out of sight.  Clean up everything else.  Hope you are doing okay Matt.  God bless.

[NC-car-guy]

18 hours ago, Kosage Chavis said:

My Dad used to tell me growing up...Out of all the things you want to do, pick one of them and maybe even two, and pray like hell that you might have a chance to do them.  In other words, keep your life simple.  I think you should keep that one Buick like @MrEarlwas saying.  Drive your Grandmother around in it.  Keep some parts and pack them up and store them out of sight.  Clean up everything else.  Hope you are doing okay Matt.  God bless.

Unfortunately Grams is gone now.  But I do need to simplify.  No matter how much I like all my stuff, when I look at how much time I actually use it.......   it really should be sent to someone else to enjoy.

[MrEarl]

1 hour ago, NC-car-guy said:

it really should be sent to someone else to enjoy.

Couldn't agree more. You can send the '39 or the red convertible to Buick Gardens, I'll even pay for shipping.

[NC-car-guy]

1 hour ago, MrEarl said:

Couldn't agree more. You can send the '39 or the red convertible to Buick Gardens, I'll even pay for shipping.

What a rascal!  LOL Problem is I have a reason for keeping each thing that I keep (or at least that's what I tell myself).  I'm get too wrapped up in the sentimental value of certain things.  Example:  I have a room in my house that is setup like a 1950s living room.  There is a restored 1950 Haywood Wakefield section sofa, a restored 1955 Stromberg Carlson television (from my grandparents), a 1958 sears stereo console (chassis is currently in line for resto), two of my grandmother's 50s fire-side chairs, and other various bits all illuminated by a sputnik ceiling light.    What do I do with all of this?  I sit in there once and a great while and sip bourbon while watching bewitched, the munsters, Andy Griffith or some other old show on the old tv.   Was it a good use of time/money?  Probably not, but i feel like people with appreciation for these kinds of things is getting less and less.

[MrEarl]

4 minutes ago, NC-car-guy said:

Was it a good use of time/money?  Probably not, but i feel like people with appreciation for these kinds of things is getting less and less.

I don’t know what you’re talking about!

(says the fool who’s spent the last 8 years building a retro 30’s Buick Sales and Service garage and buying circa 20s-50s stuff to put in it) 

[Barney Eaton]

Reflections from a bunch of "old guys" is not always listened to........... Matt you have come to the point that you are asking "did I do the right thing"  and the old guys have answered. 

The problem to avoid is doing a 360 flip and not enjoying anything.... crawling into a hole is not the answer.  

[NC-car-guy]

44 minutes ago, Barney Eaton said:

Reflections from a bunch of "old guys" is not always listened to........... Matt you have come to the point that you are asking "did I do the right thing"  and the old guys have answered. 

The problem to avoid is doing a 360 flip and not enjoying anything.... crawling into a hole is not the answer.  

I do enjoy reading everyone's responses.  I know that what's right for everyone here may not be right for me but seeing what works for others, I can skim off info that's good for me.   That said, it's your second statement that is what I'm really figuring out.  I grew up very poor and so as my income has increased, so has my penchant for buying stuff I wanted when I was a teen/younger adult.  Now I've had most of the stuff that was on my bucket list (except a pirate ship) and I'm now looking around thinking about how I have more stuff than I need or can use, more project than I can complete, and not sure it was as magical as my younger self had thought it'd be. 🙂  You're exactly right, I need to find that medium that works for me.   I appreciate everyone's feedback.  As for the guys you just called old, you may be in for a fight @Barney Eaton.....  🤣

Edited May 8, 2023 by NC-car-guy (see edit history)

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Matt , you are my kind of man!   ENJOY.  While you can.  You earned everything you have. 

 It does not matter if the money was well spent!!  It is yours.

  One of my younger brothers once asked me why I wanted to spend money on " that old car"?   He had just spent more on a new bass boat than I still have in my car.   To each his own.

 

  Ben

[B Jake Moran]

I had to get out too.  I am more interested in the chase, like Wayne Carini.  Once I got my cars, I sold them.  In so doing, I am about $250,000 behind on my retirement and now I can't retire until I am 70.  I own no old cars, but continue to look.  

 

Matt, that small town move is a good decision.  

 

Once my now 21 year old daughter left the house 3 years ago, my wife filed for divorce.  We divorced amicably.  We resided in Des Moines, Iowa, which as part of Polk County Iowa metro area is now 800,000 + and growing. 

 

Owing to my job in field service, I moved to Iowa Falls, Iowa, a town of 5,600 and wow did I love it.  Like stepping back 45 years to a simpler, quieter time.  On Sundays, you could almost hear a pin drop downtown. 

 

However, I got remarried to a teacher with 2 years left before early retirement and I moved back to the metro.  It was either that or not get married.  We like our house, but get hounded by the HOA, which governs many suburban neighborhoods in modern America.  We now long to move back to Iowa Falls, but will likely have to settle for a small weekend home, like some have cabins. 

 

Still no collector cars.   I live vicariously through those who do own them.  

 

My last 2 were purchased off a $10,000 low interest personal loan.   This was the post BCA election time where the groups were differentiated, and our group lost, so I decided to drop out of the BCA and stay in the Cadillac LaSalle Club.  

 

So, instead of 2 Buicks, I bought 2 Cadillacs.  A 1993 Allante convertible and a 1976 Coupe deVille.  Coupe deVille was $5,600 and Allante was $4,000.   

 

Wife says divorce, so I had to sell quick.  I sold the Allante for $3,300 but right before shipping it the check engine light came on and I put $800 into new spark plugs.  So it sold for a net $2,500.   

 

The 76 CdV went to New York for $3,200.  And ebay grabbed $400 for both sales.  That's why I am out.  

Edited May 9, 2023 by B Jake Moran (see edit history)

[NC-car-guy]

1 hour ago, B Jake Moran said:

I had to get out too.  I am more interested in the chase, like Wayne Carini.  Once I got my cars, I sold them.  In so doing, I am about $250,000 behind on my retirement and now I can't retire until I am 70.  I own no old cars, but continue to look.  

 

Matt, that small town move is a good decision.  

 

Once my now 21 year old daughter left the house 3 years ago, my wife filed for divorce.  We divorced amicably.  We resided in Des Moines, Iowa, which as part of Polk County Iowa metro area is now 800,000 + and growing. 

 

Owing to my job in field service, I moved to Iowa Falls, Iowa, a town of 5,600 and wow did I love it.  Like stepping back 45 years to a simpler, quieter time.  On Sundays, you could almost hear a pin drop downtown. 

 

However, I got remarried to a teacher with 2 years left before early retirement and I moved back to the metro.  It was either that or not get married.  We like our house, but get hounded by the HOA, which governs many suburban neighborhoods in modern America.  We now long to move back to Iowa Falls, but will likely have to settle for a small weekend home, like some have cabins. 

 

Still no collector cars.   I live vicariously through those who do own them.  

 

My last 2 were purchased off a $10,000 low interest personal loan.   This was the post BCA election time where the groups were differentiated, and our group lost, so I decided to drop out of the BCA and stay in the Cadillac LaSalle Club.  

 

So, instead of 2 Buicks, I bought 2 Cadillacs.  A 1993 Allante convertible and a 1976 Coupe deVille.  Coupe deVille was $5,600 and Allante was $4,000.   

 

Wife says divorce, so I had to sell quick.  I sold the Allante for $3,300 but right before shipping it the check engine light came on and I put $800 into new spark plugs.  So it sold for a net $2,500.   

 

The 76 CdV went to New York for $3,200.  And ebay grabbed $400 for both sales.  That's why I am out.  

sorry to hear you had a rough go of it!

[B Jake Moran]

There was a lot of fun mixed in but there are so many hobbies that a person should just pick another one.   

[NC-car-guy]

Been doing a lot of thinking.  This weekend I went on another road trip with @Pinhead63, to drag home more junk.  As long-time car friends, we've been on many adventures to go get some treasure that I've found somewhere, including a few trips to the famed Buick Gardens to relieve @MrEarl of things he rounded up on his own adventures.  While stuck in the truck together for a hundred miles or so and then over a beer after, I vented and talked out my car ideas to another car guy.  I found:

 

1:  I used to make fun of those obsessed with convertibles, now I find it a great, safer alternative to the Harley motorcycle that I gave up.  I love the open-air feel.

2: Will I really ever get around to fixing all the things that need fixing on 7 cars or just continue to stress over it?

3: Is is really practical to sink more money into a new shop, when I barely used the one I have?

 

 

I now have two houses to maintain, I really want to get my boat back in the water and spend time feeding fish, I'm enjoying being closer to my nephews and teaching them car/boat things (and maybe a few swear words along the way), I still have a day job, AND the bar/brewery I bought with friends.  🙂

I believe for now, my course will be to keep the ragtop, and sell the rest.  Maybe down the road, I can sell the 72 ragtop and get a 55, but for now, those 50s ragtops are top dollar.

 

All that said, I bought the truck below almost a year ago (this is my 8th international harvester) and reasoned that it would be my brewery truck; keep the patina, have a logo put on the doors, and drive as advertisement in parades, deliver some kegs locally maybe.  So this truck is 3/4 ton and they don't make brake parts for it anymore.  1/2 ton trucks have full disc conversions available.  The front axles are identical, so I set out looking for a set of half ton hubs.  Well, they came attached to a whole frame, which was this weekend's automotive adventure.  Locked rear axle and my winch worked like a charm.  Getting it back off the trailer?  Mañana!

Edited May 22, 2023 by NC-car-guy (see edit history)

[B Jake Moran]

Matt

You and I share a love of Internationals, and like most of the old vehicles I like, my interest came from very little. I also like Triumph TR's especially the TR4.  I have owned 2.  I have owned a 1973 Datsun 260Z, and many other cars.  

I know this is a Buick forum, but I can't remember what drew me to International, except - like Buicks are to Chevys and Fords, I like the ones less collected.  

 

I was "getting close" on a 1956 S110, but the guy took the hood for another 56 International.  Dropped the price to $2,000 BUT where am I going to get a hood for a one year only body style (hood anyway).  

 

My other focus is on later year halo cars like the C4 Corvettes, the Chrysler Crossfires, maybe a nice Reatta.  And for Buick, that's the rub.   Reattas were made from 1988 to 1991, about 3 1/2 years.   The much later "Cascada" - an Opel badged as a Buick, is a nice convertible and collected now. 

 

I also like the last gen Rivieras, and would love to own a 1998-1999, especially a 1999, because like the 1991 Reattas, in theory, the low numbers of made cars makes them "collectible."  

 

But other than that, a person is hard pressed to call anything made by Buick after a certain date as something that gets noticed as a collector.  I doubt I would get much of the proverbial "thumbs up" with a 95-99 Riviera. 

 

And, it doesn't seem to make much sense to get a "non" convertible such as a last gen Riviera.  The same kind of goes for me in looking at the C4 Corvettes (1984 to 1996).  I see some nice coupes, all of them have removeable roof panels, but why? When convertibles are so prevalent at the same prices.   The Chrysler Crossfires are the same way, they made both coupes and convertibles, but I would only consider a convertible. 

 

I like your point about a convertible being a safer version of a Harley.  

 

Buick made nice full size convertibles as you are aware - from 1962 to 1975.  Of course, I know they made convertibles long before that, but a 1960's to 1975 Buick convertible is modern, easy to drive and gets "decent" gas mileage.  But, it won't fit in the garage, our modern suburban garage.   Which leads me back to the so-called "modern" collectible Buick, a rare dinosaur.