Nigelw Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 The last couple of weeks we have been getting busier and busier at work as the the breeding season picks up after the long winter but I seem to be now suffering the "rebuild blues" I don't know what it is or how I seem to have come to feel like this but I really am struggling to carry on with the rebuild of Rusty. Started out great, made enormous progress over the first couple of months then winter came and froze/flooded me out and although I have done so much I really am struggling to gather motivation to keep going, my initial goal was to have it ready for the Belgian National rally in June but looking sketchy now as I lack motivation to go out and carry on. What have you lot done to pick yourselves up out of the blues and get it done? Any advice on a new plan of attack, the national is only a month away and I want to drive it further than the test station before we go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Early90 Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 Start, then you will feel better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 As Orgasmic Farmer on here says in his signature 'The job that takes the longest is the one you never start' (or something like that). I always took this to mean go out and start a job or you'll never finish it! I've suffered the same sort of blues as you although related to work on my house as opposed to Land Rover and all I can say is if you stop looking at the big picture and just concentrate on a single small job you'll get on and finish that job, then go and choose another and finish that etc .... If you keep thinking about all the jobs you will feel overwhelmed and depressed and not complete any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 We get it to a certain extent at work with some of the projects, Getting in there and doing something that shows some progress is always motivational. Work stuff is complicated by having to be motivated to get suited up for some of the work due to the contamination risks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studmuffin Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 As Orgasmic Farmer on here says in his signature 'The job that takes the longest is the one you never start' (or something like that). I always took this to mean go out and start a job or you'll never finish it!I've suffered the same sort of blues as you although related to work on my house as opposed to Land Rover and all I can say is if you stop looking at the big picture and just concentrate on a single small job you'll get on and finish that job, then go and choose another and finish that etc .... If you keep thinking about all the jobs you will feel overwhelmed and depressed and not complete any. I couldnt agree more DD. Concentrate on the bite size chunks of jobs and each time you get a bit of job satisfaction to tackle the next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffR Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 Motivation, or lack of, is an absolute bugger. I keep finding new bits to do (or at least bits I can do when the car is in pieces - pro active rather than reactive) all the time, MOT was cancelled Friday cos tester has dropped a car on his foot (glad I'm nit the only one....) so was lower than a snakes testicles most of this weekend. My motivation is that I need a functional vehicle by the end of the month as I have a pond survey to do. Pick a wee bit and do it, then you get back into the swing of things, as it were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Twig Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 My project has sat in my parents garden for two years, so to get myself to crack on I'm selling my daily drive, so I'll have to finish my project if I want a vehicle! Public transport/having to cycle in the rain is always good motivation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 If you can find a job that you can complete and tick off the list... that used to keep me going? but also I think if you can afford it for (time reasons) having a break from a re-build is good, allows you to clear your head a bit, start putting together your to do list again in your head and allows you to build up that hunger again to get it running. I've presently got 3 projects on the go now, luckily I have 2 now running which allows me to have my cake and eat it... but thats not from being idle... I like to make a task list and cross stuff of it, can be a bit over powering sometimes when you see how many jobs there is to do, but helps you focus on the hit list pre MOT... once you get your boiler suit on and get out and about it will fire you up... i used to spend hours just looking at the 90 working out the steps in my head, balancing my time with how much money I had left in the bank account that month... its tough going, but sooooooo awesome when you actually get to drive it... keep the end in sight, get back on it and make your taget!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtydiesel Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 I break a job down into sections, I also write lists, these help because you can order parts before our stuck without them, you can pick another job offthe list if something is no going right, and best of all you can cross things out when there done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GW8IZR Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 I did a task list a couple of months ago - to be honest it didn't encourage me! I'm almost twelve months into this chassis up rebuild and I can +just+ see the end now. The last few months have been very hard to justify to myself as its cost an absolute fortune and eaten so many hours. At the end it will be a truck that I'll keep for as long as I'm driving but its still going to be an '84 90 worth next to nothing. When I was 20 it would have been 6 months from start to finish........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffR Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 Also remember that the light at the end of the tunnel is not a train, it's a repaired Disco 1 (all be it with upgraded headlamps)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelw Posted May 12, 2013 Author Share Posted May 12, 2013 I did a task list a couple of months ago - to be honest it didn't encourage me! I'm almost twelve months into this chassis up rebuild and I can +just+ see the end now. The last few months have been very hard to justify to myself as its cost an absolute fortune and eaten so many hours. At the end it will be a truck that I'll keep for as long as I'm driving but its still going to be an '84 90 worth next to nothing. When I was 20 it would have been 6 months from start to finish........ I tried making a list and then at the end of reading it I was even more depressed!!! Then my eye was caught by the bottle of Famous Grouse and although I felt a little more cheerful it didn't help the project progress!! You are right there, when I was in my early twenties I took on a series 3 which needed a lot of work and had it nailed in two months including complete tear down and new 1/2 chassis, although back then I had a very expendable income which I just don't have now, it took me a months saving between me and my girlfriend to buy the new tyres and even then it was a struggle to afford them, and the hardest part here is that everything has to come from the UK or I get raped financially which means I can end up spending big time on small stuff buying here or waiting around for bigger items to be shipped over!! I suppose three weeks being flooded out in the yard with 10" of standing water inside the barn didn't help and a winter that has dragged snow on into late March was no big motivator either!! Also remember that the light at the end of the tunnel is not a train, it's a repaired Disco 1 (all be it with upgraded headlamps)! Sorry Jeff, mine is a 200Tdi same as your's and I have the sherpa style lamps amd bulky black grille. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 My build took 4 years in the end, where I expected it to be done in 1 year. There have been periods were I didn't touch it for a month or so. A make or break point did happen after about the 3 year mark where progress seemed at an all time low. I did release that If I didn't give myself a good kick up the arse, it would never run, and end up being another ebay bargain. Having little progress, also meant I had spend little money, so I had a bit of cash available. This meant I could draft in some professional help. I got a local bodywork guy (farmshed type operation) to pick up all the bodywork and have it sprayed, I send the box and diffs to ashcroft and send the axles and all the little brackets to a local zinc plater. The chassis and a few more bits were galvanized. the bulkhead was welded by a bloke at work, then zincsprayed. Quite a few things I could have done myself, and I had planned to paint them, instead of zinc plated, but just the fact that you can let someone else get on with it while you do other things yourself, make it look you double up your speed. I just had to resign myself that you cannot possibly do everything yourself, because that was exactly the reason why it took so long. All this happened in the space of a week.When it got back I had the major bits together pretty quickly. I then moved to a house with a garage. (it was actually a bedsit, shared with 4 others, but there was a major garage). Shortly after I negotiated the exclusive use of this garage. This made a massive difference, being able to work at home. I no longer had to motivate myself to drive for half an hour to go and do some work and then drive back half an hour. 6 months later it ran. I dont know you exact situation, but it can be a drag. I wouldn't be drawn too much in a deadline, it ain't work! Daan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill van snorkle Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 The last couple of weeks we have been getting busier and busier at work as the the breeding season picks up after the long winter . What, you got the ladies lined up outside your door or summatt? Ther's your problem right there. You're always too knackered to think about mundane stuff like working on LandRovers. Tell em you are taking breeding season off this year to recharge your batteries. Then get stuck in. Er, stuck into the LandRover that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill van snorkle Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 Sorry, double dip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelw Posted May 12, 2013 Author Share Posted May 12, 2013 What, you got the ladies lined up outside your door or summatt? Ther's your problem right there. You're always too knackered to think about mundane stuff like working on LandRovers. Tell em you are taking breeding season off this year to recharge your batteries. Then get stuck in. Er, stuck into the LandRover that is. That brought a real smile to my face Bill, but sadly I am not Stavross the Italian stallion I am more stavross the kebab man LOL I am a horse wrangler at a veterinary practice/breeding farm, and now it is breeding time, we are coming into the busiest time and like now I am just in after breeding a mare to Diamant De Semily, and at 1000 euro for 2.5ml of semen it is done with the endoscope, lots of preparation and stress when you are breeding that sort of money and with no guarantees either!! I read some earlier comments and then tootled off outside and removed the old metalastic bushes and fitted new poly bushes in the trailing arms of Rusty, and I have a plan for tomorrow night, welding can wait until Wednesday but bit of spannering to get me going again, I kind of slumped a little when the high of fitting my newly renovated interior was drop kicked when I tested the floor and door pillar for integrity and found it was masquerading as a salad sieve!!! Since then it has been hard to get going again, but I really must!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 Baby steps are all thats needed at first till you get your momentum up again!, like I said, just get in their and around it will get your brain planning ans schemeing again liek your weeks plan is already coming on by the sounds of it. Something I always fell back on was this "its a been a waste of time if it don't get finished" - when you've invested so much money and so much time you reach a point (I did) where it just had to get finished, no other option! i wasn't prepared to waste all my investment! Man up! get out their and get it fixed up! we're all rooting for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 There's always low moments, be it an apparent lack of progress, financial, or an existential crisis of wondering why you're doing it at all. Deciding exactly why you ARE doing it is a big help. I had several moments like that - should I fit a nice sensible diesel, should I scrap it an just buy a C303, should I fit coils, etc. etc. and each time I had to think about what I was actually trying to end up with. Lists can be good, but only if you put stuff in useful orders and enough detail that there's always something you can pick up. Having only a few hours of an evening doesn't help, you get a LOT more done in one long day in the shed than a week of evenings. Some periods it seems like nothing is happening just because all the work you're doing isn't really visible (EG changing bushes, welding up chassis) whereas things like fitting bits of bodywork or applying a coat of paint suddenly look like a HUGE change has happened. Don't beat yourself up over a deadline that's not achievable, but I find setting yourself a deadline (an event to attend, your birthday, whatever) does help to prevent the project seeming like a never-ending story. If the Belgium National is too soon, book for Seven Sisters instead and use that as a deadline (plug, plug...) If money / availability parts is tight maybe a cross-channel forum courier could be found? We could appeal here for parts, accumulate them somewhere near the coast, and then either you could nip over the channel to collect, or someone heading over the other way could haul them? What do you need? I can imagine there's a lot of stuff that just hangs round over here which would be a right pain to try and buy + ship across the channel individually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
task Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 I think most people reach a low point in a build, for me it's during the slog-fest of welding and I normally start to gain motivation when bits start going back. Focus on a part of the rebuild you're excited about or enjoy, if mechanical parts are your thing then clean up the axles/engine/gearbox. I find a great motivation from bolting nice shiny parts back on. If it helps I'm going over from the UK to Germany via Dunkirk/Belgium in July, I'd have some space in the car for parts on the way out but I'm not actually stopping till I get to Nuremberg (other than for some food and fuel stops). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Brock Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 It happens.....I've had several Still cant see the end of mine TBH, but I found having an idea of what's todays/tonight task is has helped and then go do it, no more getting into the garage and then spending a hour thinking what to do Chin up chap......it will get finished - well that's what I keep telling myself anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 I found having an idea of what's todays/tonight task is has helped and then go do it,no more getting into the garage and then spending a hour thinking what to do Yes, indeed, and more so plan the entire weekend. Shame is that the time you think it takes tends to get doubled up. One more tip, if you think of taking time off to spend on the truck: when I got to my 3 year make or break point, I also had 5 days of holiday left. I did think of having a week off, however, you tend to run out of bits after a day or 3 when you do this. Instead, I took off 5 fridays in a row. This allowed me to source bits during the week, which you then can throw at the car on fridays. This was very effective, and my employer did like that idea also. Daan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soren Frimodt Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 I spend half an hour to a full hour looking at various build threads on the web, youtube some cool offroading, and best of all watch some episodes of Powerblock: http://www.powerblocknetwork.com/ I then almost feel like I can't carry on my life until I get some spannering done! So all fired up I go to the garage and work at a high pace and with my mind fully focused. Now sometimes this feeling won't last that long, then I just stop, no point in forcing yourself. Then the next day you'll be all fired up again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GW8IZR Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 To accurately estimate time to do a task, work out how long you think it will take. Then increase the units by one order and reduce the number by half. So if you think it will take: 10 minutes - that's 5 hours 1 hour - that is 1/2 a day 3 hours - 1.5 days 1 day - 1/2 a week 2 days - 1 week Etc..... I expected my rebuild to take 2 months, wheel the axles out from under it, stick the axles on the new chassis move the body over job done = 1 year (so far) :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spearos Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 My two bobs worth : Think back to what inspired you to start the project in the first price, what was it that made you want to do it in the first place, what did you want to achieve? Are you going to give up and let it beat you??! C'mon!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedLineMike Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 ask will warne.....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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