Hey Neville,
We bought our's to just knock around as a weekender doing small projects.
No show car - just an old farm truck doing some odd jobs. Somehow a 400HP 351W snuck up on me, Mustang II IFS, A/C, metallic paint, etc..

I still just drive it around doing projects but it looks very nice.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

 

My panel was to be a tow vehicle for our race car trailer. Heck we drove it cross country to get it home while making notes of what it needed, mostly for my wife's comfort and preferences:
Upgrade PS from the power ram assisted (very loose and numb) stock box.
Upgrade the manual front disk rear drum brakes to power boosted.
Add tilt column with smaller steering wheel to eliminate the "bus driver" driving position.
Resolve the brake pedal thru floor, clutch pedal hanging from under dash weirdness.
Remove homemade hitch and replace with a class IV hitch.
Replace "plate o spaghetti" wiring with modern fuse panel/wiring harness so we could add some modern electronics/electrical accessories like we had grown accustom to having on long trips i.e. power windows, door locks, sound system with satellite radio, cd player, power outlets for laptop, gps, cruise control etc. Replace damaged/non existent door weatherstripping to stop wind noise and keep all the AC cooled air from leaking out.

Well the plan was good, but life got in the way:
Built a beautiful garage mahal to work in.
Bought a new pickup to tow the trailer with so we wouldn't have to rush the panel.
Spent average of 60 hrs a week at our business while traveling around the country to national races almost every weekend to keep up our championship points.
Suffered unexpected heart failure.
Had to close and pack up our business to reduce stress.
Wife suddenly and unexpectedly (to me) decided to leave for greener pastures and other sheets after running up >100K in CC debt.
Spent 2+ years with lawyers and in courts arguing over who was to get what including the panel.
I got most of the physical assets including the panel and a good share of the debt, she got most of the financial assets including most of the cash money and 1/2 my already decimated by the ecomomy IRA.
My continuing health and age has prevented me from getting a job so I am living on SS and a small draw off what's left of the IRA just making ends meet. I have most of the parts to finish the panel, now I just need to re motivate myself to finish it, it's hard when you have to work alone.

 

It's good to hear from you all, thanks for your responses. Certainly some interesting stories there, many start with a plan, or at least a list of preferences, and as some have said, life, or a truck with a number of hidden surprises, gets in the way. A saying from Army days seems apt, " the best laid plan never survives contact with the enemy".

Generally it seems, you have all pressed on, some quickly, others sidelined to at least some extent or period of time. It is frustrating isn't it, to have a dream that is delayed or even sidelined because of problems that arise, even if not truck problems. More power to those who persevere and succeed, we get a vicarious pleasure from seeing others complete their projects, it inspires us. When we make mistakes, or lose our way or even completely revise their plans as some have said, well life teaches us to be flexible I guess, I just hope that we can stick to our guns and get the things we want and not get sidetracked down ultimately disappointing avenues.

I really enjoy reading your responses, it all strengthens my faith in human nature, that people persevere and succeed, even when faced in some cases with pretty devastating setbacks, whether they be financial, personal or simply just buying a truck that wasn't as sound as you thought it was. I love my truck and I regret putting it aside for a while because I was disappointed with the money I had to spend that didn't really take my to my original goals.

I hope we get some more people interested in contributing their experiences. if you wish to contribute pictures, I will not complain, has anyone mentioned that we like pictures?

I have just ordered some parts for my truck, just small stuff, that I should have done before to get the cab interior generally in better shape and better for me the operator. I lost my way a bit but am now back in control hopefully and ready for some tinkering and some great cruising.

I went to a local car show and rockabilly music, Kustom culture festival today, and had a ball, I didn't take my truck because of the little things I need to do, and I did not know what to expect, but soon I will take it to some local show. It will never be a show pony but it will be great to do it.

I would like to post some pictures of this and a recent large 10 day rock and roll festival combined with a 2 day car show but have not been able to post pictures this time. The site will only let me download 5 pictures to an album and I could not get them to show in a thread. I will try again.

Sorry for the long winded rant, I think I just like to hear myself type.

Cheers.

 

I think that is rare that one of us gets a project and completes it in a year or two. It is possible to do with a fat wallet but if you do a high percentage of your own work (as I do) it is not going to happen that fast. A number of years ago I restored a basket case 1938 Ford Woodie (one pic in my gallery). I kept track of my time restoring the Woodie. The only part of the restoration that I did not do myself was recovering the 3 seats and trimming the carpet. I also paid a machine shop to bore the block, paid for any rechroming of trim and traded services with a friend that woodgrained the dash. I logged 1700 hours over a 3 1/2 year period (I was working a regular job full time but was a bit younger). Unless you have fantastic original wood (I did not) a Woodie will take more time than an all metal car.
I have owned Willard, my 49 since 1977. I did a few mechanical things back then and drove it regularly for 10 years, including a cross country trip. It sat in my barn untouched for almost 20 years until I started a full build back when I joined this forum. I got a good start but hesitated for a few years while I did a ground up on another antique car. I currently have the chassis all built in final paint, the cab in final paint and am at the block sanding point on all of the remaining sheet metal. Hope springs eternal that I get to drive Willard again next summer. We shall see.
I have stayed with the plan on Willard but got sidetracked with the restoration of another antique car plus a boat restoration.

 

Hello Bill, thanks for your comments. I, and perhaps some others, am not mechanically competent, or in fact, competent at anything, certainly anything to do with cars, motorbikes or anything else I am interested in. So I enjoy reading blokes, or the ladies, stories of their trials, tribulations and successes along the way to ultimately completing their projects. I am sure it must be very satisfying to do this kind of thing. I personally have to pay to get things done. You have obviously had some good times with cars, I envy you that and wish you joy and good luck with your future endeavours.

I have pledged to try to do some small jobs on my truck, although I had no success with the first job I tried recently. I realise I panicked, even though I had downloaded a set of instructions from this site and vowed to work through them. A couple of problems and I asked my mechanic to sort it out, which he quickly did, to my eternal shame. I will try again with other things.

Funnily enough, when I was young I cut the guards and bonnet on a Beetle to turn it into a Baja bug, and modified an exhaust system to make a high level offroad style set of pipes. I also stripped down and transferred all the components of a XS1 650 Yamaha motorbike, that I wrote off, onto another frame and got it going well again. Nowadays I hate to put up a shelf for fear it is going to collapse.

Sorry I have done it again.

 

Back in college I had a '53 F-100, bought it in totally complete running condition with little rust for $250. It was an old farm truck and it was great for all the moving I had to do after college. So I decided in my "old age" that something like that, cheap and useful for dump runs, was just the ticket.

I'll admit I bought on impulse and without inspecting, and I got screwed. At least not too badly. But for a dump-runner, I figured I could make it work. Well, about then I got onto FTE and things kind of escalated. Hard to maintain interest in a total POS-looking truck, knowing what it could be. As I got more time and money I've gradually ratcheted up where I want it to be, just about as done now as I could be without completely re-doing it to concours condition. Which I have no desire for. Still, it costs me less than a couple grand a year all told, and biting off little chunks while still being able to drive it has worked out well.

 

I acquired my 55 around 1986 and my original intention was to just drive it and do a little work on it as time allowed. I already had some pretty extensive builds in progress when I got it. I must have been under the influence when I traded a perfectly good DD for the truck. Word of warning.....never go look at a vehicle in the dark or when it's raining unless it's in a well lit garage. Against my own rule I wound up with the 55 in my driveway that ....after closer inspection should have gone to the salvage yard. Badly installed frame clip,rusted out panels, worn out parts, and the list goes on. I let it sit for a while and finally decided to work on it when I could and build it as a custom, doing all the modifications that I had always wanted to do since I figured I couldn't screw it up any worse that it was.

As it was.....



I had worked in paint and body work since early 70's so I decided to fab everything that I possibly could and adapt as many salvage parts as possible to save $$$$ since my budget was based only on money that I could bring in from side work or buying and selling parts.

I usually keep more projects going than I can possibly keep up with, not to mention too many hobbies.....boating, motorcycle touring, camping and the list could go on. All of which kept my truck pretty much on the back burner. And the big one that really slows you down.......Life in general. Over the passing years I would get hot and work on various parts of the truck.....chop top, shop fabbed bed, tailgate, running boards, different frame clip and the list goes on. I retired several years ago....so I've accomplished quite a lot since.

Most recent photo as it is today



Still a lot to do, but I get a little done everyday. Recently got a chance to hear it fired up through the new exhaust system and that was a real shot in the arm to get it driveable.

Plan you ask.......for me there was really no plan. I kinda did stuff as it popped into my head. My way of doing this build would for most people been an unfinished project for sale a few years down the road, but I'm fairly persistent, not to mention my wife and daughter have threatened my life if I should ever consider selling the truck.

 

Some great stories and fun to see how everyone does it a little different to fit their life style.

PS that quote is from a John Lennon song "Life is what happens while your busy making plans".

 

To all those who have responded so far thank you for your comments, I haven't got to respond to all but I have enjoyed them, it is interesting to see how projects progress for people, some like Ben for example or Albuq, start off with a simple end result in mind and it turns out a lot different.

Have you ever stood in front of a beautiful car at a car show, say a popular but everyday sedan, that has had megabucks spent on it and think to yourself, " I bet you started out thinking I'll just put on a nice set of wheels and a set of extractors". Now there is a plan that changed dramatically!

In fact even buying my truck on holidays changed dramatically as I travelled around. I started out thinking of perhaps a beater, not unlike Drewski's before picture, that I could end up driving and using for anything, like carting garden soil or rocks to just using it for whatever and not worry about the body.

OR a relatively inexpensive but nice enough better truck for a daily driver, either way, for say. up to $6000 or so, or perhaps a bit more for a nicer one, but I kept missing out on cheaper ones, they sold fast it seemed, or they were too far away to look at and eventually I started looking at higher priced ones. Twelve hours before I was due to fly out of LA to home I looked at this truck and did my usual trick of falling in love with it and the brain went into neutral as it usually does. I didn't haggle as much as I usually would and paid too much, especially considering the work that needed to be done on it as it turned out. I couldn't drive it which didn't help and I guess should have been a warning.

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Love at first sight, I loved the colour and nice wheels and WWW tyres looked great, I was hooked and I thought if I don't buy this I am going to go home and I had looked in Australia for a long time but didn't find a mid fifty pickup I liked enough to pay the asking price for. And I always think i can do it cheaper than paying someone elses price, I should know better by now.

Cheers