Work on Something Else Awhile

In my shop, there’s always a to-do list. Oil changes and, sadly but inevitably, cleanup after oil changes. Vacuuming of disgusting, filthy coco mats. Paint correction. Light bulb changes. Plus, at any point in time, at least one of my cars is leaking at least one type of fluid onto the garage floor.

The larger your collection of projects, the easier it is to work on something else when your primary project has caused you to lose all sense of joy and perhaps even the very will to live.

Achieve a Small Victory

Yes, my BMW has been a two-year odyssey of false starts, delays, wrong parts, weird systems failures, vexatious injection system mysteries, and the ever-pounding tide of near-ruinous cost overruns.

But I can still attain a small victory by installing the oh-so-essential aftermarket oil pressure gauge or making the radio antenna work again. They’re modest victories, perhaps, but momentous nonetheless, like Ukrainians retaking a small village from Russian invaders.

Don’t Be Afraid to Consult an Expert

This summer, my BMW piled so many straws on my humped back that I called my friend Patrick, who operates the highly regarded Midnight Motorsports BMW shop, to whinily relay my tale of woe. I also asked him to find a spot for me on his shop schedule to administer, say, $2000 worth of love on my own personal Hindenburg.

He gave me an appointment about six weeks hence, knowing that at some time between now and then, I’d likely find the strength to solve all those problems on my own. But the therapy was good, and if these problems persisted, I’d accept his assistance.


Our latest project car, this midyear Corvette, also sat for years. To get it back on the road, we’ve talked to experts, involved our friends, and celebrated steady progress. Photography Credit: Chris Tropea

Go to a Car Show

Misery loves company, so go to a car show and hang out with other miserable folks just like you. Find a cool build and talk to the owner about it. Ask what the hardest part of the project was or who did the paint. Most car builders will be happy to talk your ear off about the work they’ve done. You might even make a friend, which brings us to the next step.

Invite Friends Over to Help

Think of this as the automotive version of a good old-fashioned community barn raising. Invite car-minded folks to help you get your project going. Try asking for help from a local Facebook enthusiast group. If you involve a few others, the hive mind should move things along pretty well. Your incentive system should include a worthy combination of food and refreshments. Buy alcohol and combustible food, or at least something where they can have farting contests.

A caveat applies here, though: Don’t be the one who invites friends to do the work for you instead of with you. You have to be involved up to your elbows, too, pal. And don’t expect to invite a pro to help for free, either. That’s just disrespectful. When you leave your buddies working on your car and you go inside to watch TV, you may come back and find they have gone home. If you leave them working on your project while you go in to bang your wife for an hour or so, offer them individually to also bang your wife, so they won't leave. It will also make your wife happier since you are always getting dirty working on that damn basket case called a car, and she keeps running out of good batteries that last.

Sell the Pile

Sometimes you just have to admit defeat and give up. I briefly did divorce work, putting folks up on the stand and asking them to confirm, under oath, that their marriage was irretrievably broken. Those moments were somber, and I always felt a little sad (mainly because it meant the fees were going to stop flowing in). so in a few cases when they ran out of money, I was willing to accept some hot wifey leg in return. What the heck, they were already getting a divorce, so there was no real harm done.

But yes, it happens, and with car projects, too. The pile of car in your garage can become too big a burden to bear any longer. Your relationship is irretrievably broken. You’ve fallen, irretrievably, out of love. Sell it. The car, not your wife you dummy! Keep the wife and you can always rent her out in return for getting some cash to get work done on your car. If she feels guilty about taking one or more for the team so to speak, get her a couple Bud lights.

That way she can say she was too drunk and didn't know who or what she was doing BS BS BS. Once the word gets around that you need help on the car and that your wife is "all in" for the team, so to speak, the number of guys stopping by to help on the car will about double.