Every car guy eventually reaches a point where he has to ask himself a difficult question:
How did I end up with all this crap?
Not because any one project was a bad idea.
Individually, they all made perfect sense.
That truck was cheap.
That car was too clean to pass up.
That engine was practically free.
Those wheels will fit something eventually.
And that pile of parts in the corner?
Those are important.
Probably.
It Started With One Project Car
Nobody sets out to have six unfinished projects.
You start with one.
Maybe it’s an old truck you’ve always wanted.
Maybe it’s a car that needs “a little work.”
Maybe it’s something you bought because the previous owner said:
“It ran when I parked it.”
Which, as everyone knows, is legally meaningless.
Still, you bring it home.
You clean it up, order a few parts, and tell yourself this is the one.
You’re going to finish it before buying anything else.
And for a little while, you actually believe that.
GARAGE TRUTH:
“I’m not buying anything else until this one is finished” has never survived contact with Facebook Marketplace.
Then You Find a Deal on Another Project Vehicle
This is where things begin to fall apart.
You’re scrolling Marketplace with absolutely no intention of buying anything.
You’re just looking.
Then you see it.
Too cheap.
Close enough to go look at.
Needs work, but nothing you can’t handle.
You send the seller a message just to see if it’s still available.
It is.
That feels significant.
Next thing you know, you’re driving home with another vehicle behind you and trying to figure out how to explain that this was actually a responsible financial decision.
Because technically, you saved money.
You know.
By spending it.
The Parts Car Problem: How DIY Vehicle Restorations Multiply
Sometimes the new project isn’t even supposed to be a project.
It’s a parts car.
That’s different.
You bought it for the transmission.
Maybe the rear end.
Maybe a couple of trim pieces.
The plan is simple:
Take what you need, sell the rest, and come out ahead.
Then you start looking at it.
The body isn’t that bad.
The frame is actually pretty solid.
You already have half the parts it needs.
And it would be a shame to tear apart a complete car.
Congratulations.
You now have another project.
“I Already Have Most of the Parts”
This sentence is responsible for an enormous percentage of unfinished vehicles.
Most of the parts sounds good.
Most of the parts sounds cheap.
Most of the parts sounds like you’re practically done.
What it usually means is you have twelve boxes of parts, three of which are correct, four of which fit a different year, and one that you don’t remember buying.
The remaining parts cost approximately the same as a small kitchen remodel.
But you’re already committed now.
If this section feels less like an article and more like an inventory report, there’s a reason we made the I Collect Projects Tee.
The Project Car Hierarchy
Eventually, the projects develop a ranking system.
There’s the one you’re actively working on.
The one you’re going to start after that.
The one waiting on parts.
The one waiting on money.
The one you’re definitely not selling.
The one you should probably sell.
And the one that has been sitting so long that moving it would require an archaeological permit.
Every garage has its own version of this system.
None of it is written down.
Everyone involved understands it perfectly.
GARAGE TRUTH:
Every project has a status. “Waiting on me to get motivated” is technically a status.
“I’ll Finish It This Winter”
Winter is an incredibly productive season in theory.
During summer, you’re too busy.
Fall gets away from you.
But winter?
Winter is when you’re finally going to get serious.
You’ll clean the garage.
Organize the parts.
Pull the engine.
Finish the wiring.
Maybe even paint something.
Then winter arrives.
It’s 28 degrees in the garage.
You stand there, look at the project for about thirty seconds, and go back inside.
There’s always next winter.
There’s Always Room for One More Project Car
This is simply a matter of perspective.
Normal people look at a full garage and say:
“There’s no room.”
Project people look at the same garage and start doing geometry.
If the mower moves over six inches...
If the shelves go vertical...
If the engine stand gets pushed behind the truck...
If we park one outside temporarily...
There.
Plenty of room.
You’re not out of space.
You’re just using it inefficiently.
Why Car Guys Keep Starting New Projects
Because every project is possibility.
It’s the truck you’ll finally get running.
The car you’ve wanted since high school.
The engine you’re going to build someday.
The pile of parts that will eventually become something worth keeping.
Sure, some of them may sit longer than planned.
Some may cost twice what you expected.
And at least one will probably become somebody else’s problem eventually.
But that isn’t really the point.
The point is that every time you walk past one, there’s still a little part of you thinking:
Man, that thing is going to be cool when I get around to it.
And that’s how you end up with too many projects.
Or, as we prefer to call it:
A healthy inventory of future bad decisions.
From the Garage
I Collect Projects Tee
For anyone whose “one project at a time” policy lasted approximately three weeks.
Shop the I Collect Projects Tee →
Join the Garage
One good garage story a week, new drops, giveaways, and the occasional poor financial decision.
Want in? Use the Join the Garage button in the bottom-left corner of the page.
0 comments