According To You: Things That Make You “Call It a Day” on a Project
Last week we asked the Hagerty Community about when they decide its time to take a break from working on a project. Not necessarily quitting, just merely quitting for the day.
Your answers were insightful, and are likely to give everyone reading some personal validation in their own circumstances. One particular response was aimed directly at my comment about throwing in the towel when a hydraulic lift fails. Hagerty Community member JW suggested a better alternative:
Lifts are a frustration that I don’t want to deal with if I don’t have to. Which is why when I design my dream garage it’s going to have an inspection pit so general maintenance things are free from the stress of worrying about 4000 lbs falling on my head.
Not going to lie, my dream garage would have enough space for both an inspection pit and enough vehicle lifts to store all the cars I wanted as a child. If only dreams could come true … in the meantime, let’s get back to the things that make you “call it a day” on your project:
Don’t Try To Get It Right
Jeepcj5: Dread. I never understood “running when parked” until I did just that because I dreaded a complete front end rebuild on a car. I was afraid of it snowballing into more, so I kept putting it off. Time, life, kids, etc. and before I knew it 10 years had passed and the car hadn’t moved.
My 12 year old son had no memories of the car ever running. One day last year I decided it was time to do the repair and either drive it or sell it. I think it took a Saturday and a few evenings and it was done. We’ve been enjoying it and aren’t going to sell it. I try to take Freiburger’s motto to combat my dread now—don’t get it right, just get it running.
Take a Break and Tough It Out?
(Several interesting points came out of this particular thread, so we are publishing them in series, unedited.)
hyperv6: My limits are general: Lack of parts at 1 AM and no one open, or the major loss of blood or related major loss of flesh.
Otherwise just keep on trucking. You can’t let things rattle you or you will never get it fixed. If frustrated, just stop get a drink of cold water, look for advice on Youtube and get back at it. If I had things going wrong rattle me too much I would never get much done. All 15 min jobs take an hour.
Joe King: Agreed with parts availability and tending to a wound, but I don’t know that I fully agree with that last point. There is little glory (or sense of accomplishment) to me in toughing it out when something just won’t go my way, unless that means I need to hitch a ride to work the next day. I can’t tell you how many times not calling it a night has resulted in something even more broken than when I started.
hyperv6: Well, my mind set comes from making a living working on cars. You just can’t walk away from a customer’s car. It takes a degree of emotional intelligence or maturity to keep things in check and you just have to learn it when working on cars for a living. Walking away is not an option.
Joe King: I honestly didn’t get the impression that was the mindset from the “lack of parts at 1 AM piece”. I know few mechanics who are that dedicated or hate their families that much to stay at work that late.
Anyways, I think 99% of the readers here come from a hobbyist background and the professional mechanic mindset doesn’t need to apply and the “some people can and some people can’t” comment somewhat gives me the impression that your view is that if you can’t tough it out, then you shouldn’t be in the shop.
Either way, I get your view, but I am just not sure it is applicable to most of the people in this space. If you have the luxury to walk away, regroup and hit it again fresh in an hour or two or even the next day, then there is a lot of honor in that.
Know your limitations
hyperv6: The greatest key to success here is also know your limitations. Be it knowledge or even the lack of correct tools to do the job. Know the job before you take off the first part. Today Youtube is a great help, as are forums and other sites that hold info. Like taking a trip read the map before you go not after you get lost same here on working on the vehicle.
“Frustration is what you make of it”
BMD4800: When I used air tools it was time. Now with electrics, it is mostly dictated by what is happening the next day. Frustration is what you make of it. Laugh it off, take a moment and re-examine the scenario.
I keep a box of pawn shop tools that can be cut, welded, bent, or modified for specialty purposes. Fabricating a solution makes it enjoyable too.
Frequency of Cuss Words?
DUB6: There are so many examples and variables that I can’t just cite a “general rule—” but for the most part, I will just know that the limit is reached, and it’s time to stop “for now”. Often, my level of cuss words is an indicator.
Maybe Do Something Else To It Instead?
DUB6: Just this past weekend, I was struggling with removing a buggered key-lock hood pin mechanism. After breaking a drill bit and nearly scratching a shiny hood, I put the tools away, wiped off my fingerprints, and just took the car for a drive. I don’t really need under that hood for awhile, unless I get an engine fire!
Yesterday, a calmed-down me successfully drilled out the offending hood pin and installed a new one. It was obviously the correct thing for me to stop wrestling with it for a few days and go back to it when my frustration level had subsided. I was so happy that I decided that an under hood detailing session was in order!
Well, What Time Is It?
TG: 7:00 PM is my general cutoff point for wrapping up a project for the day. I have enough toys to drive that there is never an extreme need to finish a project today.
When I Feel Like a Kid Again?
Craig: I know it’s time to stop when I start to feel like I’m an inexperienced angry teenager again. Back then I had to fix it to get to work and there was no YouTube for help. I used brute force and stupidity when anger took intelligence out of the equation. Ha.
Now I have so many luxuries. Time, experience, the internet, alternative transportation. When I start to feel like I did as a kid and this fun hobby isn’t anymore I realize how silly I’m being and take a break. I call a buddy, watch a YouTube video, finally feed myself. I like to channel my inner Stacey David from the show “Trucks!” back in the 90’s. That guy was so prepared, patient, happy, and dedicated to doing a good job. He is always my ideal when I lose my crap.
When The Instructions Become Contradictory
Not old not grumpy: If I am diligently following directions and turn the page on said directions to find they directly contradict what I was told to do on the previous page, I take a break.
When Something Intervenes
John: Actually it’s quitting time when I need a part and can drive another old car to the auto parts store, or when it’s too cold to keep going or when lunch or dinner is prepared by family and continuing would jeopardize that situation.
Cars are fun, getting old cars going is fantastic but rushing to the finish line more often than not results in time wasted, pointless arguments with loved ones and less focus on better fixes, which come from enough time to plan and mentally rehearse an operation.
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I don’t really like trouble-shooting electrical problems, but I’ve found out, over the years, that if an electrical system acts like it’s haunted, it’s usually a grounding problem.
As others have said, walking away is a good thing. I have done that many times and after a good night’s sleep, the next day it all comes together.
The other helpful advice is that car gods do seem to appreciate a blood sacrifice now and then. Somehow, that also makes the project go smoother.
I don’t get to a point of frustration where I have to walk away. I know it’s time to stop when my wife calls out from the back porch: “How much longer are you going to be?” (It’s usually about 1/2 an hour after I start.)
Wife always comes first. Much as we love our cars, we didn’t marry them.
Ending on a good note. It’s the end of the day, things have gone well and you’re at a stopping point and you’re tired. Should you go on and risk screwing something up and adding time or just stop and start the next day when everything’s fresh.
When you throw a wrench and it sticks in the back wall of the garage, it’s time for a break.
I like this metric.
What if it’s SAE? Would you still like it? 😁
It might be too difficult to quickly scan and appreciate that way!
In my garage, it will bounce back and hit me in the head.
when i launch one, the tool breaks and every piece ricochets and hits the car. but then i feel redemption when i admit responsibility and not blame it on the car, the tool, etc. kinda like after confession : D
I have a TR3A that was given to me by my neighbor because it was beyond his capability to restore. Easy six month project that only took me four years to finish. Once the paint was off I had more patch panels in it than original metal. I like to tell people at the cruise-in that it is not a big job, just half a million little jobs. I have the luxury of being retired, so when I get frustrated or tired I can walk away and come back to it when I feel more like working. When I do that, the problem is not near as bad as I originally thought.
I generally know my limitations, many are tools related as I only have so many. Having said that sometimes a limitation you didn’t know is revealed to you in the middle of the”repair”.
Kyle, don’t let that Rochester H carburetor win…
Calling it a day can be the smartest thing when you need to find a better solution or a safer and easier way. The problem solving power of the subconscious mind churning away at it while you get some sleep works wonders for me.
I’m too busy trying to keep the daily drivers going to worry about the “fun” cars in the garage that I can’t even take the time or money to register God forbid I ever drive one of them
first comment: i wrenched 15 years for a living, then changed careers. that was 26 years ago. i retired 3+ years ago. the difference in my mindset when wrenching then, wrenching on my stuff after changing careers, and then after retiring, has been quite different. when wrenching during that 15, i didn’t have the luxury of walking away from a job if i was frustrated. regardless, i was blessed it happened only on great occasion.
second comment: i bought a ground-up restored ’68 vette from a retired dentist that did a majority of the work himself (“no bolt unturned” as he put it). a real nice mellow gentleman. he said there were a few times when working on this car he had the most foul language (remember, he used to be a dentist). i told him when i spoke that way, it was me coming up with a new vocabulary. odd, i don’t remember swearing much when wrenching professionally and having to meet deadlines. and yet i have somewhat more of a colorful mouth now, being retired and with much longer deadlines. sigh
Been there done that, all of the above. 77 yrs old hands don’t work , drop things & bleed a lot, Most of it is therapy for me, taking my mind off of the so called golden ages. My friends say we go to more celebrations of life ( funerals) than weddings & Birthday parties now days. Restoring a Model A. Is rewarding for me since I’ve never worked on one before. I have worked on everting else though since I was13 yrs old, actually making a good living at it. I’m somewhat old school , doing a ring & Valve job on the 28 model A & after getting it running, was told an intake valve was leeking by a hot rod performance engine guy after it backfired a couple of times. Today I proved him wrong by doing a compression test. He did Cause some stress for awhile , I shouldn’t have let it go so long before proving to myself he’s wrong, however there were lots of other things to do that keep my mind busy. I don’t want to think he intentionally wanted to discourage me from working on my project, however he has a timeline on his restoration project & is looking for the owner of the shop to drop mine & start on his.
I have discovered that “The Golden Years” means that one needs a lot of gold to pay the medical bills:-(
Mine is when the sweat is burning the eyes, the knuckles just got scraped again, and I walk back, stand there looking very frustrated and then take a picture of the car grab a Gatorade and look at the picture while taking the break. Sometime I just go inside and vent to the wife and then go back
Arthritis everywhere! I’m 80 and want to do the work on my hot rod, but more frequently than not, the pain won’t let me.
When I start dropping tools or stumbling while walking over to the tool box, I know I’m too tired to get anything done well. Time for a beer.