Keeping Inspired, whats your secret?

Most people who have a 'long termer' also have another car that chops and changes, or that they can work on when they get pee'd off.

Andy thats exactly what I love about this thing! The parts interchangeabilty and thus the possibilities are endless...........

I think there's two types of owners. Those that go through lots of cars quickly and those that hang on to the same thing for ages. Guess which I am

I think some of my attitude to these things comes from getting jobs done on the cars and then not seeing the point in taking on another unknown quantity and doing it all again when I could be out there driving. Probably got into this way of thinking by having lack of storage/workspace/time and using the old heaps on a daily basis. You can only buy a cheap non-runner project car if you've got somewhere to put it while you mess about getting it going.

Trouble is by using them all the time and keeping them for a while you then end up doing stuff with them that brings along sentimental value and it makes it more difficult to part with them eg. getting engaged, trips home from hospital etc.

Never have enough spare money to buy a whole car, your forced to just buy bits for your current one instead then.

I have one long termer (17 years) and another new long-termer (almost 1 year). Seth is right, sentimentality is one biggie... however spending more than the car is worth on it does the trick, as does not needing it all the time and having a place to store it. You can walk away from it and make sure you only enjoy the time you spend on it (rather than having to fix it in the dark on a Sunday night)

Rupert

I've had my Kadett for 12 years now and I think the thing is that it's never really seemed finished. There's always been something else, another evolutionary step if you will.
It does help that it has been on the road for most of that, so plenty of mileage to keep the enthusiasm up (and find out what needs sorting next ) and I have other projects on the go, if I get cheesed off I can leave it in a corner and forget about it.
As for sentimental reasons, I hadn't thought about that until the other week. It's gonna have to come off the road next year for a proper going over as I've found some nasty rust in the chassis that needs doing and some general tattiness creeping in.
Got to thinking about all the shows, cruises, runs out with mates etc over the years, it delivered JS to the church on time and sadly one funeral run as well (found a piece of the black ribbon under the seat a few months back - shows how often I clean under there!).
I think it would be a bit of a wrench if I had to get rid

I quite often have to buy 5 or 6 cars to collect up the bits for my long term car, if your lucky you can buy a car, take what you want off it and sell it on without a loss.

self determination
resolution
enthusiasm for the particular car

all combine.
for my example, i wrote off my favorit estate. it was a wonderful car and i refused to let it die. now i've put a grands worth of new panels and new bits on it and it's nearing fixed state, after which it will be finished in terms of modifying and ready, i hope, for next summer.
sentimentality and determination on that one!

and i've had my first proper estelle maybe 5(!) years now. aim ridiculously high, and don't give up till you acheive it. nobody else has touched it either - it will be entirely my work. also hopefully done in less than a year from now!

but if you don't have a deep-rooted passion for a particular car, you probably wont keep it so long.

as SOC has said - you've bought a cortina

step one sorted

the rest will fall into place, when you fancy a change, buy another car, but keep the cortina

I tend not to have an overall plan, but slowly and systematically try to improve my car / cars, as time and funds allow and parts and ideas appear.

If you keep hold of the budget, its almost always possible to get you money back, and often make a small profit on re-sale. Keep this in mind - as a ponsy respray or outragous engine swap doesnt always mean an increase in value. Think about regular maintenance and servicing and keep on top of the small niggles that occur.

and last but not least, keep driving your car - the best way to ensure continued inspiration