What You Love To Hate

[SECURITY]

Most of us have been through it.. when we think 'THATS IT! im selling this POS MOTHERF*CK OF A CAR and letting the next guy spend all of his money and time on it!!! RAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!'.

but we always end up keeping it and spending all of our time and money on it because (for me at least) we know that in the end when its finally running it will be worth it....... when its FINALLY running.

this is mainly for the guys/gals who go through the depression of having their car in pieces with no end in sight who feel like throwing in the towel and setting it on fire in hopes of an insurance claim....

whats your worst moment and what is your best? why do you keep it? and why do you keep putting yourself through it?

ill go first...

ive had my car for almost 5 years, ive gone through 5 or 6 builds (not at my fault, i just cant find a decent engine builder!!), a paint job and a whole bunch of other issues that have kept my car off the road for around 1/4 of the time ive had it..

my worst was on my first engine build... elbow deep in oil, havent been clean for 2 months straight because of the constant dismantling, cleaning, fitting, parts everywhere in my garage, parents giving me crap all the time about it, money disappearing, bills to pay..... i was going to set it on fire but remembered i didnt have insurance.

best is when its finally running and im hitting the track or nasho (royal national park in sydney), absolute best feeling and thats what i always think about when im in that situation. for the entire 1hr its running right, its worth it.

[l_uk3y]

I dont really go into the "I'm sick of this Im selling it" side of things. I more get the. "I wish I saved for an extra 12 months and got a GTR" . But then i say. I'd do it now but i've already spent about the same or more as the purchase price in aftermarket bits. And feel im too far into it to bail.

I keep the car because at the end of the day. It is family now, and the reason I put myself and my bank account through it. Well. I might need a Psychiatrist to answer that. Cuz it is sorta crazy when you think about it. Finally get it back together after having it off the road for a month or 2. Then after a week pull it back down for something else. Never ending. People are asking me now if i've sold it because its so long since they have seen it.

Best moments. A few.

-The day i drove the car after 5 months of coilpack problems with a new set of splitfires. That was good.

-Driving the car on the 2 hour trip home after I bought it. (Felt amazing after coming from a 1.8 lancer at the time)

-The day I first broke into the 13's at Heathcote Park. That feels like forever ago now.

-The current turbo install i'm doing. Quite enjoying and its by far the biggest DIY job ive ever attempted

Worst moments. Also a few

- Took a long time to diagnose an issue which turned out to be broken studs on exhaust manifold causing leak

- Looking back at how much work ive put in and what I've spent and the car doesnt look "Magazine worthy" and people don't seem to notice the effort (Just a rubbish Import).

- Feeling the constant fear of being defected every single time I leave the shed.

Still to be decided but hopefully great moments coming up in 2010 at some point

- The 2 hour trip home after the Turbo gets tuned

- First ever track day (circuit) - Winton most likely

Luke

[R34 GTT Rider]

Good luck with it mate, you sound like you're having a nightmare. It'll shine and make you proud one day though! I'm sure of it

[SECURITY]

i have to agree with you on the defects part as well as people not seeing the effort but when i did the plenum everyone has been noticing the engine bay looking much much cleaner which is a start.

at the end of the day i keep it because id hate to see it go as well as the thought of someone not respecting it the way i do. im glad my last car was bought by someone in SA so i never see it again, it would burn me too much!

[zebra]

I was in the same boat as you guys...infact i actually put the car up for sale megga cheap...I didnt get 1 look at it...so i bought a nice daily driver and now going to have the skyline purely for track work.

after breaking just about everything possible on the car (on its 3rd engine, 4th turbo setup yadda yadda yadda)

i got left stranded with out a car too many times.

Im still having engine/tune dramas but instead of dwelling on those issues ive turned to doing other things on the car...dong the suspension atm to take my mind off the the engine/driveline which is the biggest headache.

I find that ignoring the broken stuff and spending money on new stuff or improving the car rather than repairing broken stuff makes me keener to get the car going again so i can try the new cool suspension stuff.

[napower]

mine has been in pieces for soooo long, fixing a major accident and doing the bee*r r32.4 conversion. Its been doing my head in seeing it at work doing nothing for a while, we have to work on customers cars first and there isnt going to be a stop to that for a while. its making me depressed almost caus it started construction shortly previously to my little brothers death, which he was so excited too about the conversion. im committed to finish this project 100% caus of what happened and will continue waiting patiently but it sucks sooooo hard waiting and waiting and waiting just to fix commodores with stockies and big quarter damage, seriously average of 8 commodores a week,hoon style commos.

sorry for the sympathy call but thats the way it is.lol 

[GTS4WD]

Im looking down the barrel of it atm.

The car has (does not have, is more to the point):

Engine

Box

Diff

Steering rack

LCA's

Fuel Pump

Im at the point where the problems keep arising. The headaches continue. The hurdels seem endless. More money, more time, more effort and more sunburn and late nights.

Just the other day, I too was thinking of starting the exact same thread as you just have.

But I realised that I cant sell it even if it was for sale for a short period of time - I just couldnt part with it. Tomorrow is a new day. I know ill simply go back downstars and contiue on it. Ill know Im one step closer.

It sounds silly, but its all goals related. If I set myself smaller goals (figure out whats stopping my lock issues) you acheive them easier. Which keeps you motivated and positive - Im getting something done. Yes, its only a small goal, I still have to solve it. But you constantly see yourself acheiving something. You kind of know, that when (not if), no matter how long its going to take, when its working well and nothing is irritating you for that short period of time, on Old Pacific, or the track, nothing is sweeter than knowing, "I accomplished this"

Thats just the way I see it though.

If you didnt build it, its not yours.

Edited January 13, 2010 by GTS4WD

[NZM.031]

i hate when you start to either

a) make a list of a few things you wish to purchase for the car, all seeming reasonably cheap.. then you add it up and its near $20000 and you have only scratched the surface.

b) listing all the mods youve done to that car on the for sale ad and seeing just how much youve done to the car and how close the end is... and then remembering how much the initial "to do" list added up to as the new owner hands you 1/3 of what the car owes you, then driving away in a bargain.

c) spending all your paychecks on bits and pieces and scavenging for used parts.. because that brand new HKS 2530 kit seems soo expensive and out of reach.. only to look back and you could have paid for a kit twice over if you had just waited and saved up.

d) sell stuff for 1/3 of the price to make a quick buck because you need cash now for something you think you need.. then doing the same thing a few months later to get something else.. ive learnt that lesson the hard way... if id just waited and kept saving, id have a really nice downhill bike, freeride hardtail bike, aprilia rs125, race spec kx250, wr400, a kick ass mini truck, and a comfy as statesman.. but instead i sold them all for whatever i could get as soon as i could get it because i had some hairbrain idea to get the next thing on the list.