47-55.1 Why Does Everything Take So Long

[Driver_WT]

I am getting a little discouraged with my 53 Chevy truck project after 3 years. The engine has been rebuilt, transmission upgraded, suspension is done, frame cleaned and painted, body work and painting completed. But the final (smaller) tasks seem to be taking forever (interior, door glass, channels and weather stripping, finishing up the wiring, bed wood, etc.).

We are taking our time and working to the best of our abilities (this is our first major project) although I have been working on cars for more than 40 years. But man the small stuff is killing me. Every little job seems to take half a day or more.

Any advice?

Thanks.

Wade

[vintovka]

Everything seems to take 2-3 times longer than ever expected. Its just the way life woorrks and i'm afraid big parts sellers take advantage of this. Think some bank on return period on shoddy parts expires before buyer gets them installed and tested. And i mean BANK. Just got my brand new fancy heater from JEGS installed and operational only to find the core leaks all over the cab. Took 2 years from time i ordered it till now so i guess i'm SOL. Remember this when thinking youll be ahead of the game by buying stuff in advance of install.

[Tempest67]

I know it is difficult not to have deadlines, but try not to.

I find when I put pressure on myself to finish something by a specific date, I no longer enjoy the project.

It is great to have a plan, what to work on next, ...etc, but avoid deadlines, as they will turn a project into a job. (fun into work)

Just take each little project 1 at a time, and eventually, they will all come together.

Hang in there, we have all been there

[Driver_WT]

Originally Posted by vintovka

Everything seems to take 2-3 times longer than ever expected. Its just the way life woorrks and i'm afraid big parts sellers take advantage of this. Think some bank on return period on shoddy parts expires before buyer gets them installed and tested. And i mean BANK. Just got my brand new fancy heater from JEGS installed and operational only to find the core leaks all over the cab. Took 2 years from time i ordered it till now so i guess i'm SOL. Remember this when thinking youll be ahead of the game by buying stuff in advance of install.

Yes and the other down side of buying in advance is I either forget I already bought and I buy it again, or I buy it early and then cannot find it. I just bought a second wiper linkage because I could not find the one I had bought earlier and then of course I found the first one that I bought.

[Driver_WT]

Originally Posted by Tempest67

I know it is difficult not to have deadlines, but try not to.

I find when I put pressure on myself to finish something by a specific date, I no longer enjoy the project.

It is great to have a plan, what to work on next, ...etc, but avoid deadlines, as they will turn a project into a job. (fun into work)

Just take each little project 1 at a time, and eventually, they will all come together.

Hang in there, we have all been there

Yep, that's what happens when I try to work on it more to get it done faster, starts to feel like a job if I work on it four or five times in a week.

[MiraclePieCo]

Enjoy the process. When you're all done, you'll miss working on it.

[vintovka]

Now Not sure even buying late will save many anymore. We in process of building a new garage for the 54. Going with metal as wood is out of sight. Got a quote on 18 January for $9,800. Today metal building company called and raised price to $12,500 blaming steel prices. As the forms are going in the contractor gets One call saying rebar just went up 30%. This afternoon 4 of his next projects got cancelled due price increases. Think we may be a up a fecal creek without a means of propulsion.

[jackson]

been working on my 49 for 10 years 90% finished mostly slow funds

[nvrdone]

every project i do - the truck, house, work etc always seem to get interupped by something more important . and then the projects allwasy take twice as much time and cost twice as much. Just seems to be the way with life. dont let it get you down. you could be sitting playing video games !!

[57FleetsideC4]

Originally Posted by vintovka

Everything seems to take 2-3 times longer than ever expected. Its just the way life woorrks and i'm afraid big parts sellers take advantage of this. Think some bank on return period on shoddy parts expires before buyer gets them installed and tested. And i mean BANK. Just got my brand new fancy heater from JEGS installed and operational only to find the core leaks all over the cab. Took 2 years from time i ordered it till now so i guess i'm SOL. Remember this when thinking youll be ahead of the game by buying stuff in advance of install.

It can seem like it takes forever to get things done. It will be worth it in the end. You will get it done just enjoy doing it. Steve

[dsraven]

I find, when it comes to buying stuff early and being able to find it later, that putting "like" components together helps. when I disassemble something, originally, I try to take pics and then put the fasteners back in the spots they came from so I know what went where and from which direction. then I try to assemble parts like they would be on the vehicle, where possible, and put those "like" parts in a bin or a box and label it. like a wiper system, disassemble it, take it out, reassemble it, label it and put it in a bin with a label on the bin. then you know exactly how the system went together a couple of years later. if I buy a new part for that system I put it in the bin with the original parts, after comparing the new to the old. if the parts are big, like patch panels or something, I try to put all those parts in the same place so I can easily find them. seems to work most of the time.
I have been working on my project(s) for 12 years. over that time it has gone in a different direction 3 times. haha. there is always something more important that needs to be done but, in the end, it is a hobby and we are supposed to enjoy hobbies. if it gets to the point of frustration and it seems like a job more than a hobby then put it aside for awhile and find something else relaxing and enjoyable to do, or, hire that portion out to get done. if hiring out make sure to take some pics before you hand over the keys, even with the shop guy watching, so you have "before" shots and the shop knows you will be keeping track. if they make a fuss then they are probably not the shop to use because they are afraid they may get caught screwing up. ask for any old/replaced parts back as well.

[mr48chev]

I resemble several of those remarks.

At 74 years old I have slowed down a lot from when I was 30 and often put in 16 hour days working on my truck in the summer when I had time off from Teaching.

My hands don't work that great on small detail items any more and that can slow things down,

I'd say that one thing that happens is that life sometimes gets in a way. Getting the truck project done on a tight schedule may not have the level of importance that getting your car or truck ready to go to a go to event did 40 years ago.

In 1973 I was living in McGregor Texas and the NSRA street Rod Natonals were in Tulsa 411 miles away. I had bought my 48 early in 1973 and was driving it to work every day. I decided that there was no possible way that my T bucket would be ready in time so I started in on the 48 and in a little over 3 months took it from a rather beat up dump runner with a hand brushed paint job to a pretty decent looking painted and upholstered mild custom pickup. I worked swing shift at a Ryder truck shop at that time and would get up in the morning work on the 48 at home for about four hours and then drive it to work and maybe work on it a bit when I got home at 11:30 at night. I spent most of my days off working on it or chasing parts for it. I bought a 61 Chev car rear axle from one coworker for 10.00 and a set of 15/7 Z28 Ralley wheels from another minus one hubcap for 25.00. Total investment when I drove it to Tulsa painted and upholstered (seat only) was under 600 dollars. That included buyng a whole truck load of parts including running boards and a couple of fenders from a guy in Waco for what amounts to pocket change.

A lot of the time was spent block sanding the body for hours and hours on end.

Now there is no way I could manage to put that many hours of a day in on working on anything without being totally exhausted.

I have just about every part to put the truck together but don't have any of those can't send back because they sat too long before I discovered they weren't that good parts.

My big issue right now is no shop to work in and I have to do everything outside. The weather is really nice right now an I think I'll get my door situation figured out today and decide which ones I am going to use.

I'd say metal has taken a jump in price by the number of guys looking for junk cars right now. Last year it was hard to give a hulk away and now they are advertising for them on FB and Craigslist again and offering money so scrap prices must be up.

[Driver_WT]

Thanks for all of the comments and encouragement. One of the challenges with this slow build is that my wife wanted to take her 87 year old father for a drive in our 53 Chevy truck (her father owned a 54 Chevy truck which he used on the family farm decades ago). Unfortunately, her father passed away last September, so she never got to take him for a drive in our 53 Chevy. The original plan had been to have the truck on the road by summer of 2020.

[youngrodder]

I all takes time. My first build was 11 yrs. I think my current one is going on 7 (and this one wont have show pain). Sure I would like to be driving it but I wont cut corners to get the finish line quicker. The goal is to have very few problems when you do get it on the road. Quality/craftsmanship takes time.

I make lists and check off as I go. It is satisfying to see the the checked off progress. It helps to visually remind you that you are making progress. Our brains tend to focus on what's ahead apposed to appreciating the journey we have already traveled.

Keep at it, and before you know it you will be on the road and forget all of this your first few miles logged.

Marc

[joedoh]

how many times have you said "while I am doing this thing, I should really do this other thing too"? Its the "while I am in there" clause, and its why projects take longer. part of it is your budget estimate gets flexible in the middle, meaning you might say at the project start ONLY $XXXX. but you spend most of it up front and then have income in the interim, so its easier to spend more and more percentages on while I am in there stuff, because you dont feel the budget slipping like you would if you were building for someone else.

if you are counting on other people to do work, I can understand how the schedule "moves right", which is a MS Project term for extending the end day. they call it paint prison for a reason, painters SAY they love doing custom work but it always seems to be their lowest priority.

one more reason the schedule stretches is because frequently you dont work on your own stuff the way you would if you were getting paid to do it. I have heard guys say "I worked on X and X multiple tens of thousand dollar builds" and their truck hangs around for 10 years, 20 years. when you get paid to do it, usually you are working with a team and a project manager that will stick a hot poker up your rear when you are late. doing it for yourself, being that project manager, frequently you let yourself off the hook. I did high end custom car stereo in my younger days, my daily truck has a am/fm only radio with one working speaker. I'll get to it someday.

anyway, TLDR: set the project goals and stick to them only, dont extend the amount of work as you go, dont add budget because you can afford it. work like you are paying yourself, because really you are. for the third party work, I have no advice. I have paid up front, paid when completed, partial paid for materials, paid based on milestones, nothing has worked. tradesmen can be terrible people, no lie. haha.

[Driver_WT]

Some great wisdom there Joedoh. I don't have much third party work so I can't blame it on someone else. LOL.

I am guilty of "I am in this section, so I might as well do this and this too".

I am also guilty of adding to the budget because I have the money or it is not that much for one thing (that all eventually adds another 5 to 10 thousand to the total project cost).

We will keep plugging away. Progress is being made and the truck will definitely be on the road this summer.

[vintovka]

I think there's some very serious additional reasons for things taking so long (or even finishing) today. I call it "national induced depression". While its nice (for a while) to have a reason to stay home, a year is way too long. Add in no carshows, swap meets, parades or any public related events of any kind (including just lunch somewhere) and interest in projects seems to fade away. A small vehicle related meet with lunch was held at a local restaurant recently. Yesterday we hear some "mask nazi" took pics and turned the restaurant in to the state gestapo as some of the guys had noses sticking out of masks. Result $18,000 fine for restaurant which may cause them to close. Welcome to hell.

[MARTINSR]

I'm looking at mine in the garage after 29 years apart....................

I will never forget seeing an article back in the 70's in a Street Rodder magazine talking about this. It said something very profound.

It said if you want to calculate how long your project was going to last:

"Just add up all the time from the different parts of the project. When you have that time calculated, double it, then triple that. You will still be wrong but at least not as bad as if you went with your original number.

You can do that with the money too, same math will work."

I have been doing this stuff for years professionally and as a hobby. That article was as spot on as you can get. LOL

Brian

[LEEVON]

I built my last project in what seemed like 30 minutes at a time. I rarely have time to spend hours or a half or full day. But...even with 5 minutes or 30 minutes if you just do one thing per day you feel accomplished and keep moving. Don't make your next task too big. Even if you go to the garage and unpack parts and organize for the install and that's it, you've gotten somewhere and feel good. You will also move a lot quicker than you think. Instead of waiting two weeks to find a full day installing something you got it done in a week one hour at a time.

[gigamanx]

In my journey I separated the idea of "finished" with "driveable." Most of the decisions made were to get to driveable as soon as possible. It was far easier to enjoy the project when I could say take the truck out of commission for two weeks to add new gauges or a proper bed or wheel spacers or something then be back on the road until the next project. My current one is a bit harder to do that since I want to finish and paint it. There is a lot to do before laying down that first coat of paint and the car will probably be 90% there before that happens. Interior work, seats, all are going to wait until driveable though.

[1project2many]

Originally Posted by joedoh

how many times have you said "while I am doing this thing, I should really do this other thing too"? Its the "while I am in there" clause, and its why projects take longer. part of it is your budget estimate gets flexible in the middle, meaning you might say at the project start ONLY $XXXX. but you spend most of it up front and then have income in the interim, so its easier to spend more and more percentages on while I am in there stuff, because you dont feel the budget slipping like you would if you were building for someone else.

if you are counting on other people to do work, I can understand how the schedule "moves right", which is a MS Project term for extending the end day. they call it paint prison for a reason, painters SAY they love doing custom work but it always seems to be their lowest priority.

one more reason the schedule stretches is because frequently you dont work on your own stuff the way you would if you were getting paid to do it. I have heard guys say "I worked on X and X multiple tens of thousand dollar builds" and their truck hangs around for 10 years, 20 years. when you get paid to do it, usually you are working with a team and a project manager that will stick a hot poker up your rear when you are late. doing it for yourself, being that project manager, frequently you let yourself off the hook. I did high end custom car stereo in my younger days, my daily truck has a am/fm only radio with one working speaker. I'll get to it someday.

anyway, TLDR: set the project goals and stick to them only, dont extend the amount of work as you go, dont add budget because you can afford it. work like you are paying yourself, because really you are. for the third party work, I have no advice. I have paid up front, paid when completed, partial paid for materials, paid based on milestones, nothing has worked. tradesmen can be terrible people, no lie. haha.

Brought my '57 into the shop in May '96 to change the clutch. The disc was ordered but shipping was going to delay arrival for a few days. Ok, so I'll bring my tie rod ends to the machine shop and have them build the 1" tie rod I want. "Hmm... gonna be a "few days" (week minimum) before I can get to that." Ok, so I'll replace the driver's side step. Panel wasn't formed correctly so had to order another. Might as well do the RH side at the same time. I didn't know it at the time but that was the start of the avalanche. When I drove the truck again it was December '98.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by gigamanx

In my journey I separated the idea of "finished" with "driveable." Most of the decisions made were to get to driveable as soon as possible. It was far easier to enjoy the project when I could say take the truck out of commission for two weeks to add new gauges or a proper bed or wheel spacers or something then be back on the road until the next project.

I have heard this somewhere.... you did great on the follow-through though. 9 of 10 projects in the project section never get completed, yours did!

Originally Posted by 1project2many

Brought my '57 into the shop in May '96 to change the clutch. The disc was ordered but shipping was going to delay arrival for a few days. Ok, so I'll bring my tie rod ends to the machine shop and have them build the 1" tie rod I want. "Hmm... gonna be a "few days" (week minimum) before I can get to that." Ok, so I'll replace the driver's side step. Panel wasn't formed correctly so had to order another. Might as well do the RH side at the same time. I didn't know it at the time but that was the start of the avalanche. When I drove the truck again it was December '98.

oh man. I used to do that too. now I write down everything i want and dont deviate from it. part of my work-a-day job is requirements development and how requirements say what something is, not what it isnt and not what it could be. I slip on time, but only because of other demands, like this week I did a timing belt, valve adjustment, motor mount, VCM solenoid, and power steering pump on the wifes hounda. and also looked at several potential projects. gotta keep that hopper full, getting to under 6 months on a truck now.

[mick53]

I make my money in chunks. I'm usually out of state for 6-7 months at a time on my projects. I primarily build dry ice manufacturing plants around the country. I didn't do any projects last year due to Covid so money is getting tight. There is plenty to do that doesn't cost much in the lean times like polishing. When I'm away I buy parts or try to have them made. When I get back things usually don't go as planned or I change my mind. I have extra parts galore. I have extra engine parts like billet cam, 4-71 blower and manifold. trip deuces and race head. I guess I'll have to build another one. I try to have several things going at once so I can bounce around while waiting for parts and break up the monotonous things like polishing. Don't get discouraged. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. The last bites are always the hardest. Thank you for your time.

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by Driver_WT

I am getting a little discouraged with my 53 Chevy truck project after 3 years.

Wade

Looking good for 3years. Truk took me 8 years, I probably have over 2 years just on the interior. Life gets in the way

[Driver_WT]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

Looking good for 3years. Truk took me 8 years, I probably have over 2 years just on the interior. Life gets in the way

Thank you. I am working on interior now - I will not be investing two years LOL. My truck will be cruising on the road by May 2021. Getting her done!