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Topic: Now that it is finished I've lost interest. (Read 1981 times) previous topic - next topic

Now that it is finished I've lost interest.

I haven't posted in a while.  I have still been lurking but to be honest once I finished all the work on my 20th Anniversary Cougar I haven't been as interested in it.

As some of you my remember I traveled roughly 1100 miles to get this 20th.  I had owned one back when I was in college and it was more than anything a nostalgia purchase.  I bought the car in August of 04' and spent every hour that I wasn't at my job working on it.

The car is now immaculate.  I found an absolutely mint interior from another 20th and replaced the front seats and had a very reputable shop use fabric from the original front seats to repair a spot in the backseat.  I took the entire interior apart and cleaned everything.  I also got perfect looking 20th anniversary floormats.  New headliner.  Basically the interior looks like the brochure for the 20th.

I replaced a bunch of stuff under the front end.  It was pretty loose and I wound up doing quite a bit under the front end.

The original paint was pretty dang good so I had it painted from the bottom of the molding down and then had it buffed out.  The car looks like sweetness.

Here is my problem.  Once the work was done I don't get excited by her anymore.  The fun was restoring and bring her back to her former glory.  Now it is just a car.  I drive it maybe once a month.  I have a company vehicle that I drive home.  So I drive the Cougar maybe once a month to church.  I feel kind of guilty.  I put a pretty good chunk of money in the car.  I'm fairly certain that our cars are never going to be worth a bunch of money as collector cars.

When I drive the car I appreciate what I have done to make it as good as it is but, I also don't feel the joy that I did when I first drove it home.

I know that it is just a car but I can't sell it for anything like what I've got in her but the thought does cross my mind.  Well I guess I'm through with my rant.  Thanks for letting me bend ears.

PeAcE

Re: Now that it is finished I've lost interest.

Reply #1 –
You need a 5.0L HO transplant and a few perfomance parts to really make the car fun to drive,otherwise it's like driving an old man car(sorry i had to say that but back in the late 80's only older people actually bought these cars as they were way pricey luxury sedans).
Trst me i always liked my previous 88 5.0L SO car and my now 87 TC but i had to convert them both to HO's,so much more fun.

Re: Now that it is finished I've lost interest.

Reply #2 –
i know how it feels

at one point, i was messing with my 3.8L car, and every opportunity, i was washing, waxing, tweaking, vacuming, fixing, whater to the car, i would wake up early in the morning to mess with it before i was working at all, and i would sit and get excited all day thinking about the stuff i want to do with it

for a while, i bought my dodge, had some work wrapped up into it, it was kinda fun to drive, and the car just lost the thrill, it looked good, didnt handle very good, was slow, but it looked good

i just lost the thrill, since the dodge needed work, i spent time cleaning it, getting it looking good, making progress on itm wanting to make it faster, and the red bird just sat, i kept it rather clean, but that was about it

so i end up tagging the red bird, since the turbo in the dodge started smoking, and i started liking it again, the looks i got, the compliments, the stares, the comments about how fast it looked, and it made me realize why i loved the car to begin with

it comes and goes, no car person can stay on a single project, and keep that same enthusiasm all of their lives, sometimes its there, sometimes it isn
It's Gumby's fault.

Re: Now that it is finished I've lost interest.

Reply #3 –
It sounds like you have put an awful lot of work in the car. I too get discouraged about mine and sometimes have no interest in it. I was in my third year of high school when I got it and it was the greatest thing in the world. I got all kinds of comments on it and the car stood out among everyone elses every day boring rides. It was the nicest of 3 fox cougars at the school and I would get flipped off about every day from the owner of one that was all beat up.

I continued to drive it everyday until about halfway through my second year of college. It started having problems, leaving me stranded, and it didn't go well in the snow at all. It's had numerous little problems that seemed to take forever to pinpoint and solve. It got to the point where I really hated it and if I didn't put so much into it, would have been gone. So I bought a new car and now the cougar sits. I don't have quite as much interest in it as I once did because I can't spend a lot of time with it. But now I've worked on it making it better and the comments I get on the car make me love it more and more. I seem to like it more when I don't drive it every day and that is great now that it is not my primary transportation. That is until I drive it and it starts giving me problems. I can't get rid of it because I love it so much. I won't get nearly what I've put into it and I know if I did get rid of it, I would be kicking myself later.

I wish I could get a 20th. Maybe one day...

Re: Now that it is finished I've lost interest.

Reply #4 –
You haven't lost interest in it.  The spark is just gone out of your relationship!  I'm sure they make pills for that sort of thing :giggle:
1987 Thunderbird 3.8. Sold :(

1982 Thunderbird - Goodbye 255, Hello 302!

Re: Now that it is finished I've lost interest.

Reply #5 –
Pills you say!!!  What corner do I need to pick up these magic "car love" pills?

I hope that I get over these feelings.  I searched for a decent 20th for several years.  It was my holy grail for a while.  I would find one that looked good in the picture but in the flesh it would be awful. 

It is kind of like a relationship.  When it first starts you have passion, lust, and love all mixed in together.  After a while it is just another boring relationship.  You have to find ways to make it interesting.  I just don't know how to rekindle that spark for a car.

PeAcE

Re: Now that it is finished I've lost interest.

Reply #6 –
I'm in the same boat really. Tens of thousands of dollars thrown at the convertible, and I've driven it exactly once this year (and that was to get appraised). Granted, the weather has a lot to do with that, as we're just seeing the high 70's here in Ohio. But I'm just not as excited to drive it as I was even a few years ago. It's like, you put all the work into it, then you're afraid to drive it. I've got some local shows coming up, and a trip to VA for the Cougar Nats, so those will be cool. But it's sitting at home for Carlisle this weekend. Makes me wonder if I'm getting old, lazy, or indifferent sometimes.

If you need cheered up, though...take it to a car show. Or just cruise. And pay attention to all the people that look at it. Hell, I've been known to spend 45 minutes at the gas station because people stop and ask questions or want to look closer. That's all you need, is a little confidence boost, and I guarantee you'll see the spark again.

Re: Now that it is finished I've lost interest.

Reply #7 –
Quote from: EricCoolCats
take it to a car show. Or just cruise. And pay attention to all the people that look at it.

I agree. Everyone who stops to look at the car apperciates the hard work and time you've put into it.
 
Try to arrange a local cruise night. Here we go to the local coffee shop every Thursday and Sunday night. There are only 4 or 5 of us in our group but it's a nice time to relax and enjoy the fruits of your labour. Some people cruise around to all the different lots and make a night of it.

Re: Now that it is finished I've lost interest.

Reply #8 –
something i did, id wash the car up, get it nice and shiny, and cruise for places that would be great for photography, and take a shiznit load of pictures, and get em up on the computer, and looking at the pics, seeing everyone elses replies made it seem worth the work
It's Gumby's fault.

Re: Now that it is finished I've lost interest.

Reply #9 –
Quote from: thundergrowl
I agree. Everyone who stops to look at the car apperciates the hard work and time you've put into it.
 
Try to arrange a local cruise night. Here we go to the local coffee shop every Thursday and Sunday night. There are only 4 or 5 of us in our group but it's a nice time to relax and enjoy the fruits of your labour. Some people cruise around to all the different lots and make a night of it.


That's the ticket! Cruising clubs. My TC was just my commuter, until I joined a few cruising clubs. Now it's my baby! :cheers:

Re: Now that it is finished I've lost interest.

Reply #10 –
Quote
I'm fairly certain that our cars are never going to be worth a bunch of money as collector cars.


I'm going to have to go ahead and sort of disagree with you there.

I think the 20ths will be worth some money in about 10 years.
-Jim
1987 Cougar LS 5.0

Re: Now that it is finished I've lost interest.

Reply #11 –
The 20th's are nice and while rare,i'd have to say that the TC's are probably the only ones going to be sought after by collectors,just due to the fact that they have the 2.3l turbo.
Dam i guess that counts my TC out sine it's a 5.0L HO car now,oh well.

Re: Now that it is finished I've lost interest.

Reply #12 –
Still... there are about eleventy billion times more TCs than 20th anny's. Try checking eBay Motors for thunderbirds and I bet most of the results will be 87-88 TCs.  Either they produced a lot of them or people are getting rid of a lot of them because of thier numerous quirks. People who collect cars would be more interested in the annies than they would TC's, I would think.  You know, the kind of people who have the car including the tool kit, manuals, books, orignial floormats.
 

Re: Now that it is finished I've lost interest.

Reply #13 –
I agree, for a true collector the 20th anniv would be more sought after. Hell a good condition 20th Anniv is still on my "cars I want to buy" list.