Frustrated and Genera Whining

[Marty73]

I'm having a bad car day- and just need to vent- Anyone else feeling this way?

I grew up on Trans Am's and Mustangs but was always a lover of Mopar's - specifically Challengers, since I was a teenager and saw a silver 340 Challenger with orange and blue pin stripes - It just grabbed me. It was one of the most beautiful cars I had ever seen. I mean - it was just sexy. That was nearly 30 years ago- I think I was about 17 (I'm 53 now) and about 16 years ago I finally found my grail, my beauty, that was just begging for me to stop screwing around with the Mustangs and Firebirds and just said "I can be your girl". It had good floor boards and factory under coating. the "good old boy in a trailer park" who owned it charmed me to buy it.

So I took the plunge, I dropped by 2K on a e-body that had bad fenders and a wrecked front end. I knew i could do it- that wasn't an issue. It just wasn't what I was used too. I had restored Fords and Pontiacs and loved every minute of it. So here was my grail, my passion project, the last car I ever planned on restoring.

THIS CAR HAS FOUGHT ME EVER DAMN STEP OF THE WAY

So she looks pretty- but it is the one step forward two steps back- just infuriating at this point.

I'm just a little discouraged at this point.

I need some encouragement before I put this thing on Autotrader and say the hell with it....

[tparker]

What's the problem? What's fighting you? I have been fixing mine for almost a decade. I can't say I had anything too terrible but I didn't have a wrecked front end. Of course there are lots of little things to get frustrated with. I couldn't quite figure out how to get the molding clips out of the top of the door so I destroyed half of them or so. Then found out they aren't available anymore and cost hundreds of dollars when they are. I had to replace my trunk, which was a pain in and of itself. I painted it and took photos before I installed it. Only to then figure out I had to weld it to the frame. I had to grind off the paint then when I welded it, it burned much of the surrounding paint. Ugh. What a dumb ass mistake. LOL. It seems every part I buy is wrong and I have to buy it again. I thought I could remember were all the bolts go, but of course I didn't. I lost a ton of bolts and seems like I am buying them 1 by 1 with huge shipping fees. I am sure when I am all done I will find them. Lots of other little issues.

Hopefully you are making progress. It seemed like I was getting nowhere until I got to the point where I was able to put in the carpet, seats, and lay the console in. All the sudden it started feeling like an actual car.

Whatever the problem, don't give up. I am sure your making some progress. However, if you do give up and want to sell it, I'll double what you paid for it 

[torredcuda]

Projects can be frustrating at times, for me it is usually due to lack of money to buy everything new so I am constantly trying to fix parts or "make do". What kind of issues are you having - mechanical, body, electrical?

[dodj]

When I was in the resto phase with my car, sometimes I would just get a little frustrated or tired of it. Sometimes like what Torred said with lack of funds, other times - things just not fitting well and driving me nuts. So instead of working on it, I would take a one, two, or three month break. Then go back at it.
Now that it has been done for some time now, I'm glad I stuck with it.

Look at the resto threads by Daaboots or Dmod...people have taken on some pretty extensive restos. It's not for the faint of heart, and it's not all smooth sailing, but you will have one of the best cars on the road when finished.

Hope you stick with it.

[blown motor]

I've never restored a car from scratch and I have such great respect for all of you back yard mechanics that take on these huge projects. If you haven't taken a break from it do as dodj say and step away from it for a month. Then wrap your head around the idea that you're not restoring a whole car but a bunch of small segments, one at a time, one after the other. Small projects are easier to conquer than big ones. It becomes a mental game. Rome wasn't built in a day

[anlauto]

Are you really a "Mopar guy" I have a close friend who is a life long Ford guy, owned/restored  more then I can count, last year he bought a Challenger and hasn't stop complaining about the restoration and the cost of Mopar parts etc...I just took him with me to Chryslers at Carlisle for his first time....he was shocked at the price of parts etc...

[Rich G.]

Try spending 3 years doing body and paint work and then spend 10 seconds to sand through the paint and have to repair that spot!!! Now that's depressing! Remember, if it was easy everyone would do it!

[RUNCHARGER]

Just jump in and get it done. The most frustrating part is waiting for parts. Doesn't matter what brand it is they all have their own issues. I'll take working on a Mopar over any other brand anyday, that's what I'm used to.

[Racer57]

Sometimes its best to throw a tarp over the car and walk away until your ready. Frustration can make a person create even more issues.

[JS29]

 Some of my best work was on jobs that fought till the last screw of fastener was installed!!!    But once it was done, that was it. never had any more trouble with it.  When a job does not fight me, I get nervous.   

[Fern]

I put most of my 70 conv together
Can't say it was easy, but also wasn't tk the point that I hated it either. My only complaint is mopar parts cost more than other cars to restore.

[RUNCHARGER]

If I hit a roadblock I don't stew about it for more than a day. I find it's best to hit problems head on, overcome them and move on. I generally can do a car start to finish in 6 months depending on waiting for parts. I don't see the point in dragging a project on for years, it's no wonder people just give up on them. It's depressing seeing a project just sit in a garage, it's like an anvil hanging over your head.
This pile was way worse than any Mopar I've worked on. You have to be a contortionist 6 year old to get your body into the spots it needs to go. Twin turbo, AWD. I did a factory five LS powered rear engine thingee that was the same, twisted all around using mirrors to see where you couldn't get your head in.

[7212Mopar]

This is not a love and hate problem between two persons. It is just you so is already a much simpler challenge to solve. A couple of years ago I thought I was done and ready to reap the reward of my effort and the car broke the first time I took the car out on the freeway. It set me back and was very discouraging. Just need to calm down and plan how to face with it. The harder it is, the more satisfaction when done.

[Blowout]

I'm just finishing up my Pontiac firebird and got it to the point where I wanted it. It's a fun car and probably my favorite to drive at this point.  Might change my mind once the challenger is done. But I got frustrated with that Pontiac many times, like when my Muncie was rebuilt and then I had to send it back after it was installed because something came loose inside.  But those are the stories now that make for a conversation after the car is done. I've done a few things on my challenger and it's a completely different setup so it'll take some learning to get going on it, so I can see the frustration there.  And like everyone else said, parts are more money that's for sure. It's all a learning process and we tend to get frustrated on things we like to perfect. Stay focused and you'll realize, shit maybe it wasn't that bad. There are guys on here that help on a lot head scratchers too.

[Deezel]

No frustration with car but definitely frustrations with body shops.

I've been patiently waiting since November of 2022 to get my car into a reputable restoration shop. I've had 2 body shops pull the pin on my project and now the third one isn't sounding promising.

My car is stripped down to basically nothing right now because the first shop said they would be able to take it in December 2022, so I started dismantling it. December turned into Feb, then Feb turned into "I'm not sure when".

I got in touch with another shop that said they'd be able to get it in around April. Long story short, at the end of May they said they no longer wanted to do it. Never really gave me a reason why, they just said they were not interested anymore.

I found a third shop, at the end of May, that said they would do it but they could not get it in until Oct or so. I said no problem but make sure they reserve me the first spot for then. I contacted them again last week, just to touch base, and let's just say it's no longer sounding very good.