If there is anybody left on here who threw in the towel, at what point did you give up? I am in for so much money I can't stop, but I am sick, I
mean SICK, of going to the shops every single day for some little bolt or something. I have to get the car out of the garage in a month, and need to
get some progress soon.
I don't want encouragement. I just want to vent. One day out of the 7 I work on the car is fun; the rest just aren't.
quote:
Originally posted by RK
If there is anybody left on here who threw in the towel, at what point did you give up? I am in for so much money I can't stop, but I am sick, I mean SICK, of going to the shops every single day for some little bolt or something. I have to get the car out of the garage in a month, and need to get some progress soon.
I don't want encouragement. I just want to vent. One day out of the 7 I work on the car is fun; the rest just aren't.
^^^^^^^^^^^
What jollygreengiant said
Bin there, one of the best feelings in the world - makes all the dark times worthwhile.
Why do you need to get it out of the garage in a month? Is there nowhere you can store it for a bit until your enthusiasm returns? As I said to one
other guy on this forum who was talking about giving up, my car was bought nearly complete and took another two and a half years to complete. At times
I didn't touch it for months. But it is now complete SVA'd and registered. Hopefully tomorrow if a rolling road session goes well I will be
able to drive it properly (whatever that is). Have I ever thought of parting with it? No, because I knew eventually it would reward me with a h**l of
a lot of fun.
Find a friend with a garage or rent one, put it away for a bit and come back to it. You will not regret it.
Yep - we've all been there.
Have you thwrown anything at it yet like a spanner or socket?
Pat ;-)
Give it a break for a while, then go to a motorkhana or club meeting, enjoy the renewed enthusiasm after that
quote:
Originally posted by RK
One day out of the 7 I work on the car is fun; the rest just aren't.
keep going, I've been there when you feel that you can't make any progreess because of one thing or another. Yep I've thrown things
when things went wrong like launching my drill across the drive when drilling a hole in the nose cone and the fibre glass ripped.
But you walk away for a few days and when you open up the garage an see it sitting there you realise all the progress you've made and it is worth
while and mine isn't on the road yet.
Ive found some bits hard.. (Obviously.. Im still young ) but like, i can just imagine getting it done, and seeing my mates in their heavily modded
nova's, corsa's, fiesra's etc.. And fingers crossed ill have a pretty unique car
Yeah I packed in, £3000 into a build @ 4 years ago, then I came back and have spent an even more stupid amount on another build. If it's in your blood, you will regret stopping and you will end up spending more time and cash on the long run
Oh yes - I've been there a few times. Every so often you get to a good point and all the pain goes away. For me, it was getting the chassis on
its wheels, then starting the engine, then driving the car up and down the drive.
Do you know anyone who has a Locost of any sort? If so, get yourself a ride in it. Otherwise, look out for any owners having a get-together in your
region (there are a few Canadian builders), and see what's around. Otherwise, get onto the North American Locost list and make contacts that
way.
I got into the same state a while ago, then I got given a wild ride in Jon Ison's Isonblade at a Newark show. Scared the life out of me, but I
was still grinning like a cheshire cat when I got back. That was my first ride in a seven-style car!
I had been dragging my heels up until then - I really got stuck in afterwards. 
cheers,
David
[Edited on 27/9/07 by David Jenkins]
When I was building with my Dad (Keith) and Brother (Phil) I was getting the most grief from family and to be honest I asked myself then, "was it
worth it" - the answer is "no".
Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed the build, the first time for most of the time. The second time I hated it for most of the time. It nearly cost me
my marraige and everything that it implies.
However, the enjoyment I get when on the track (not on the road) makes it bareable. There are too many w*nkers on the roads and the 7 is simply too
small to defend itself. I drive 50K/year and driving is basically the last thing on my mind at the end of the day. Weekends I want to spend together
with my kids, both of them and in the S7 I can't!
If you have no kids/family then absolutely go for it... if you have, manybe back off or reconsider. I don't mean to be pessimistic but these are
the facts for me.
Steve
The main reason I kept going was that I needed to keep active after a serious back injury. My doctor told me to look forward to having a wheelchair as
my main means of transport - so I decided to rebel a little
Nearly three years on, the car is finished and I have done 10k miles so far this year, really enjoying the car and the attention it gets (which was a
bit disconcerting at first) I have exhibited the car at a few shows this year and made loads of new friends too.
Only trouble is, I now find myself less active and the back is starting to twinge again - so time for another build soon I think! I wonder if I can
get a grant on health grounds 
I got majorly fed up with my build many times. Particularly when I got stuck on how the hell to do something....
I did, however, have the advantage of a garage to keep it in. So I just put the build to bed, locked up the garage and waited until the petrolhead in
me resurfaced..... Usually didn't take that long and I'd have thought of many ways of getting round the problem in the meantime....
IMHO it's inevitable that in a project which lasts anywhere from 6 months to 6 years that you will lose heart at some point. If you realise
it's really not what you expected or want then I see no shame in selling up and moving onto to something new. However - as ha been said - the
gratification of completing it and achieving something that a lot of people dream of be never do is too great for me personally.
As Hellfire rightly mentions it certainly shouldn't cause suffering in other areas of your life or to other people though.
With sprog no.2 on the way I'm mentally preparing myself for selling up the Indy next year. I wiil re-invest the money into a new project, but
it will have to be something with 4 seats
I think there is a time in everyones build where they think the same. Ive certainly been through it. For me i soldiered on as ive failed on smaller
projects before so for me this was the big one to prove to myself i could do it.
As said before, once you are on the road all of those feeling fade fast.
The thing that got me through was firstly balancing nbormal home life with the build. I rarelky built during Saturdays and Sundays - these are family
times, so restricted myself to evenings only after kids were in bed. Secondly i took time every now and again to reflect on the achievements to date
and plan the next stages correctly.
It is too easy to assume building a car is nothing special as so many people appear to be doing it. The truth is it is emmensely special, very few
people could do the same. You will be amazed how many people give you credit when it is finished. Ive even had old ladies walk up to me in petrol
stations and praise the car.
Maybe its time to take a little time out for planning and collecting bits so the build time can be more productive. And remember - its not a race
(well i guess losing the garage puts a slant on that but there are always other ways to skin a cat)
time to pack it in is
1when the guys at a&e know you by name and dont need to ask you your details
2when you have lost your wife to the guy next door coz you never see her
3when you need to paint it red to hide all that blood.
when your zimmer cant get in the garage.
anymore anyone.
Actually, I'm guilty of all but 2 so far, but all the time I spent with her aunt from Belgium last weekend was time I wished I was working in the
garage.
My wife informed me not long after I received the frame, that it was to be HER car (a 98 civic) that was to be in the double garage this winter, and
NOT my 06 A4 Now which one is worth more??? Winters here are very long and cold, and a garage is a godsend. Scraping the windshield every morning is a
bore. I have nowhere else to put it except maybe one of those tents people put in their driveways; where the car would rust away in front of my eyes
all winter.
The problem with going to buy stuff every day is that you forget what you need: I have 3 rubber mallets now and innumerable useless bolts with no
nuts. I know, make a list...
I've thought many times before that I don't know how single builders manage to finish. It was difficult enough for me and my brother, but
when you're on your own you can't borrow (or have thrust upon you) each other's enthusiasm.
When there's 2 of you building you both have lows, but usually not at the same time, so one will be up for it even when the other isn't and
enthusiasm is contagious.
Although having said that, enthusiasm is in short supply in Yorkshire during the winter months, especially when you're building in the back
garden under a tarpaulin (if you're lucky)
Make a list of the next five jobs to do and pin it up. Work out what order they need to be done. Then cross each job off as you finish them. Keep the
lists when done and put it with the previous lists and look through them to see how much you've achieved. Make a new list!
Don't think about jobs not on the list or how much is left to do after the list to finish the car.
Adrian
It's not actually how long it takes; I'm making good progress, it's that every single bolt or action requires me to check with someone on here or long distance phone (during their work hours), to see if I'll break anything by doing whatever. I have not made a decision on my own yet without it being wrong. I lack the basic skills. My wife says it's just a course I'm taking, and if it costs, so what. Cost is the least of it.
When I started my car I knew three-fifths of very little about what makes a car work. I had some mechanical skills as I had done some fairly
complicated model engineering, and a little bit of basic car maintenance, but otherwise zilch. Now I have a damn good idea about fundamental car
principles, but still no expert - I'm still learning (fortunately). The learning is a big part of the fun - currently I'm learning about
bike carbs, and planning how they'll be fitted.
My car has always been a hobby, not some kind of fancy life challenge. If I'd really hated it I'd have given up way back. Fortunately this
forum (plus the old newsgroup) helped me along, together with the gentle nagging from my wife to get it done.
I have been fortunate in that both my kids are grown up, and I have a decent-sized garage in which to do the work - and to leave it when I've got
cheesed off. I have sympathy with your wife and her wish to get into an unfrozen car in the morning... NOWHERE in the UK gets cold weather like
Canada!
Best of luck...
I went through a low period with my Fury build (before I found this site!!) when I'd failed my second SVA (on noise again!) and got diagnosed
with meningitis (only viral but bad enough!).
About three months later I took it for a blast and crossed the Wales Rally GB road route from Pembrey. I stopped at a roundabout to let Carlos Sainz
go and he waved, pointed at the Fury and put his thumb up! Worth all the pain!!!
Wyn
I built my car 15miles from home in a single garage with no electricity working maybe 7 or 8 hours a week on it . Can't remember getting to the point of giving up at all and although I have 40 years in the motor trade I treated it as a hobby . If things didn't go right I left it and got on with something else. Might be worth fitting something like a Kenlow Hot Start to your Audi , that would save a lot of hassle? Keep with it !
RK,
I hope it helped to vent.
Your right to feel the way you are feeling. Its normal and natural.
I won't try and encourage as I'm only at the start of my build and it would be patronising of me to say anything else.
I will say from OTHER experiences in my life that I find spending too long on forums leaves me with no time to ACTUALLY do anything, and in fact I
have acheived nothing by being on the forum. You could try to review "non productive" build time spent.
Maybe review it and spend the time with your wife? It's something I'm trying to do now our first child has just been born. I think its a
worthwhile investment.
If I get that nice back panel from you Dangle, it'll definitely help motivate me! It'll be my first piece of bodywork acquired.
I built mine at a time when secong daughter was born and i had to take time off for a minor operation which turned out to be more traumatic then i
planned (tonsils). Its all doable if you plan it out in small manageable jobs.
I know what you mean when you have to keep asking and checking, but think how much harder it would be without such a good source of knowledge /
encouragement.
One day you will look back and wonder what the fuss was about. Then you will be planning the next upgrades and go through it all again
Oh, once is going to be plenty enough, thanks!!
You guys have been amazing though (so far!), and I can't thank you enough (even the unnamed person who recently sold his car and moved away...)
Now I know what "numpty" means for example!
I must say something positive: I put my rear end, parking brake (2 x 20 km trips to the motor factor (Mazda dealer for us) for info), hubs and brakes
all together yesterday. Felt pretty good, I have to say.
It's not easy all by yourself that's for sure. The US builders are all into reinventing the wheel, not putting "kits" together as
most on here do.
Nah, the brits are just purists. Once we have a good idea we stick with it in essence - just tweek. After we decided the best wheel should be round
no-one seems to have come up with better design
Good news ref build update. When you say 20 miles to closest factor i guess that is just like us going into town 2 miles!!)
Wasn't like that in Vancouver where I'm from. Our area is very spread out. Shopping is not any fun, which is why I can afford the project.