need motivation

[F-100Ranger]

It's been so long since I logged in that I forgot my user name. And it's been even longer since I touched my project truck. I have all the usual excuses why my truck isn't done - over commitment, rebuilding a house or two, war and so on. So now the relative where I have the truck stored is losing patience and wants the truck finished or out.

Here's where the truck is at. The rebuilt engine is sitting on the refinished frame. Disc brakes are mounted and brake lines run up to the master cyl. Cab is on it's back side waiting me to clean up any surface rust on the bottom and the bed is sitting nearby waiting some floor work. I start a new job 1 August and may have a couple hours a week soon, so I thought I'd dedicate Sunday afternoons for truck time.

What I need though is motivation. When I finally get home my butt gets stuck to the couch. I also could use some advice on what to tackle next. (money will be even tighter since the new job is a big cut in pay from my army pay so throwing money at it is not an answer).

I'd like to have the truck ready for next spring because that's the 100th anniversary of the opening of the old Lincoln Highway that passed nearby.

Help!

[sargentrs]

Motivation? Get off your A-- and get to work! LOL. Just kidding. But seriously, you sound like you're about where I am on mine. I started April 2011 and try to work on her just a couple of hours a week. I take a week's vacation from work 4 times a year just to tackle big stuff on her but the rest of the time I just nickel/dime it. I figure it'll take about 3 years to finish mostly due to funding. I have $50 a paycheck direct deposited in my "bump fund" and have for the past 3 years. Unfortunately, life intervenes on a regular basis and consumes some of my funding. Check out my project thread and maybe that'll give you a little encouragement, hopefully not DIScouragement When I get discouraged, I surf the web for parts, check the Project Updates here, go to a cruise in (we have 'em 4th saturday of every month in town and 3rd saturday of every month in a town about 20 miles away. I also live on the forum, checking out other people's problems and mods for education and inspiration. I'm always looking for deals on parts and spent 2 years, before starting my project, accumulating parts for little or nothing as they came up on Ebay, Craigslist, or here. I think about driving her again all the time, ALL the time. Plus, having a truck, then NOT having a truck motivates me. Seems like every month I'm needing to borrow my stepson's truck for one reason or another. In addition, my other stepson has a '89 5.0 mustang and I can't wait to wax his A$$! It's easy to lose interest or get discouraged. Sometimes, I just go out in the garage and pick door gasket glue off the cab or wipe a little dust off the frame, or go in the "man cave" and blast and paint a part. One part at a time and piece by piece she's coming together. Also, if you go over to your buddy's house and tinker every now and then, maybe he'll chip in or not think you're going to just leave it there forever.

[Montana71-F100]

A few ideas:
Decide that your truck is a part time job. Set hours and do your best to stick to them.
Set a time limit for the couch and keep the TV off.
As Nike says, "Just do it!"
Don't think about the project as a whole. It's overwhelming. Decide on one small goal and finish it. Then pick another one.

Good luck!

[Ranchero50]

Motivation? Make plans and follow them. Pack some tools and clothes the night before you plan on working on it, don't go home after work, just get changed and get into the truck for a couple hours.

Keep a sharpie next to the cab and write stuff down on the windshield, parts lists, 2-do's, notes etc. Spend the last ten minutes of your trip planning the next trip, making a list of what you need and making a pile of the parts you are going to use next time there.

[jimmy828]

i would think having the truck right where you live would be some motivation. I don't have a shop so i have to keep it covered with 2 tarps. I will only uncover the section i am working on. I know that some guys or gals are not to have a project such as ours on the premises , but my landlord is kind enough to let me have a non usable truck there. I'm saying all this because i was offered a shop to do my work in but i refused just for these reasons, 1 don't know how long it will take, 2 if the truck is away somewhere else i know once i get home from work i will not be motivated enough to gather my tools and go miles up the road to work on project. It is so much easier having things right there at me . I work on mine an average of 10 hours a week. Slowly but surly things are getting done. Well must go, got to do some sandblasting on bump parts.

[TNIceWolf]

Fall back on your military training. Discipline is first and foremost. When things get tough on the truck moneywise fall back and regroup. Find those cheaper ways to get to close to the same thing you wanted. If the truck needs moved....make it move. So its not perfect.....big deal....you saved it to fight it out another day. I have been fighting with mine for 8 years now and it doesnt LOOK much different than the day I bought it. The big gain is that I can drive it every single day quite reliably if I choose to.....and often do..... Big improvement over what I bought.Talk the project up at home and online......best support and sometimes criticism you can get comes from those sources and will define your course of action. Now one more thing I am going to say....and I really dont mean it harshly.......Are you gonna fight for it?........or let it go?

[sargentrs]

I also could use some advice on what to tackle next.

I forgot to even comment on this. If all your cab needs is to clean off the bottom and shoot some paint/primer on it, I'd do that next and get the cab ready to sit on the frame. That's my plan anyway. Frame's pretty much done except brake lines and I'm prepping the cab for primer. Once that's ready, I'll get the radiator support and inner fenders ready. That way, when I get my engine finished, I can set it, mount the cab, radiator support and inner fenders and set the battery, radiator, brake booster, m/c, etc, so I can go out and start her every now and then to keep the engine lubed up and broke in. Either that or I'll have to build a test stand. It'll still be a while before I can get her painted, finish the interior, etc, and it'd be a shame for a rebuilt engine to lock down on me before it's even installed.

[Whateverman]

once you get the cab back onto the frame,working on your truck will be alot more inspiring (and you'll likely get less grief from whoever is lucky enough to have your truck stored at their place)

the last time i ripped my truck down (new cab ,motor ,trans,etc,etc.) i had it stored in an unused bay in an equipment shed at work and hadn't even looked at it twice for over a year ,just didn't even want to bother with it until i started getting hassled about it by the bossman

- i had to force myself to work on it for the 1st week or so and would spend about an hour or 2 max on it but after that suddenly the task at hand didn't seem as daunting and was almost as much fun as it had been when i was younger and used to tear the truck apart just because i could...

no money for shiny new stuff?
-if you've got a small stock pile of parts like most of us end up with use the best of what you have right now and keep telliing yourself that you'll replace them with good stuff later on when you can
during my last rehack of my truck i made it a challenge to get the thing thrown back together for less than $250 ,which - eliminated a really good excuse to sit around watching tv or otherwise avoiding things
I ended up using about 99% used stuff right down to fanbelts and hose clamps... its kinda funny to me