Has anyone else noticed time is slipping away?

Jim Stabe · June 29, 2015, 11:00:44 AM

I have been that way making the hood for my car. I tried making the skin from a single piece but that was a dismal failure. I then accumulated some damaged aluminum hoods and cut the good rear pieces from one and the good front pieces from another and started fitting them to the frame then fabricated the piece in the middle. Then the welding roadblock reared its head because I wasn't able to the learn the gas welding process so I went back into the "stare at it" mode. I finally just picked up the TIG and started tacking. The tacking went well so I tried fully welding it up. Now I have a pretty decent hood skin. Could have had it done a year ago if I just dove in.

Moral is: you can amaze your self by what you can do if you just start doing it.

MGBV8 · June 29, 2015, 03:33:42 PM

My new motto, "Done is better than perfect".

roverman · June 29, 2015, 04:16:50 PM

Or as my dutch grandmother used to say, "Yes you maybe, No you never". Nothing conquers like persistance. Onward, roverman.

rficalora · June 29, 2015, 06:27:12 PM

Best way to get something done... start.

BlownMGB-V8 · June 29, 2015, 07:22:24 PM

I agree with Larry for sure. I was making pretty good progress up until I sat down and started to list some of what was left to do. It was just simply overwhelming to use one of the words my wife is fond of. My next immediate task is to tear up the list. It seemed like it would be a good idea to just pick an item and work on that? Not really. Instead it turned into a regimen of going down the list and, "nope, can't do that.." etc, etc. It works much better for me to be able to say that, hey, I found a bolt I needed. Or, I ordered those fittings. I need those kinds of positive reinforcements. Not, well this isn't done and that isn't done. Plus it's a whole lot more fun to say, I installed the end of one of the bonnet lift cylinders (even if it was a pita to do it) than to say, Only two gazillion more steps to go!

Jim

Jim Stabe · June 29, 2015, 07:23:15 PM

I like your motto Carl - have to get a sign made up for the shop. Not copyrighted I hope.

MGBV8 · June 29, 2015, 08:58:09 PM

Don't think so. I have it on an index card.

This one might work better for some of y'all.

Spitfire 350 · June 29, 2015, 10:12:47 PM

OK, I gotta jump in here. Carl's new motto is really good. I see things a little bit differently, but along the same lines. When it comes to project cars, get it working (safely) and drive the hell out of it. It may never be done and it will certainly never be perfect. This is my Spitfire's 19th year on the road. I try to improve it a little each year. It has come a long way since it hit the road, and there is a lot of room for more improvements, but I'm not willing to take it off the road to attempt "perfection". Just my 2 cents worth.

Jim Stabe · June 30, 2015, 02:15:33 AM

Get it perfect and you'll never drive it

MGBV8 · June 30, 2015, 10:12:39 AM

QuoteI try to improve it a little each year.

Excellent course of action, Phil.

I try not to do anything that can't be finished in a few days. Even if it sits there for a while, it it good to know that it is not far from being road worthy. I fear if I take it apart too far, it will be off the road for a very long time.

Charles · June 30, 2015, 08:21:55 PM

When I was racing, we always said, "To finish first you have to first finish". If we judge ourselves to much we will never finish.

MGBV8 · June 30, 2015, 09:09:27 PM

"To finish first, you must first finish."
- Rick Mears

"Nobody remembers who finished second but the guy who finished second."
- Bobby Unser

"Second place is just the first place loser."
- Dale Earnhardt Sr.

"The winner ain't the one with the fastest car, it's the one who refuses to lose."
- Dale Earnhardt Sr.

"You win some, lose some, and wreck some."
- Dale Earnhardt Sr.

"Two of my favorite things are my steering wheel and my Remington rifle."
- Dale Earnhardt Sr.

"I jumped out of the car to address this thing, knowing I had to address it right then or run from Cale [Yarborough] the rest of my life. And with that, Cale went to beating on my fist with his nose."
- Bobby Allison Speaking about the famous fight ending the 1979 Daytona 500

"When I started racing my father told me, 'Cristiano, nobody has three balls but some people have two very good ones."'
- Cristiano Da Matta

BlownMGB-V8 · July 01, 2015, 10:30:28 AM

"Done Beats Perfect"? Very good Carl, I like it a lot. And the bit about making Art as well, though it seems to ramble.
As for all the arrogant alpha male stuff I suspect it probably does at least as much harm as good and I guess I'm about as guilty as anybody else. It does feel good to finish first. But I'm not above letting someone else enjoy the feeling sometimes. We tend to take ourselves (and others) WAY too seriously and if we're not careful that can have some pretty bad consequences. I didn't used to see that, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now. ;-)

Jim

MGBV8 · July 01, 2015, 11:45:44 AM

BlownMGB-V8 · July 05, 2015, 12:07:01 AM

Here's something I doubt many of you have seen. Nothing to do with cars but still...:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xXQisMdz7A

Charles · July 05, 2015, 09:40:15 PM

Cool, Jm. I just killed about an hour crusing through some of the pieces. Thanks