Can I get some vague advice?

So what do you do when an amazing opportunity comes into your life and you aren't in a great place to act on it?

So a fairly famous low-volume car builder happens to be a friend. My company has fabricated parts for all of his cars, but usually fairly mundane things like rocker panels, seat frames and such.   At this point, he's a one-man show in his 70s with health issues, and he's consolidating projects. He comes into my office yesterday and says that he's got a new car - custom metal body on S2000 drivetrain and suspension that's 90 percent done. Meanwhile he's had a dream project drop into his lap, and he doesn't have the resources to do both. So........

He's offering me his 90 percent project to finish. I told him that I can't afford to pay him what it's worth (including details like the front end sheet-metal fabricated in Italy. I'm not sure by who, but I know that he's used Intermeccanica in the past).  He says, "look, you've repeatedly bailed me out in the past. I'll make it affordable".

Problem is, my life is kind of a mess. Work is going a hundred miles per hour. My family life is complicated, and I've got 2 stalled projects in the garage. If I am to consider taking this new thing on, I'll have to jettison one project outright, and talk the co-owner of my other project into waiting another year or two before we can get going on that one....

Argh! I'm a healthy middle-aged guy, so the stress shouldn't kill me, but there's a distinct internal battle between "OMG, this car would be beyond amazing to complete!", and "You're too damn strung out as it is".  

For me, it would depend on what the remaining 10% to finish it is. If it's work that you can do fairly easily, and have a completed project sooner than later I'd say go for it. If the remaining 10% is bodywork, wiring and paint then I'd probably skip it. That would take tons of time and money to finish and it would likely just languish in your garage for years.

Possibly.

That’s the vaguest advice I can offer. :)

If the car is beautiful and something you’d like to own long term, and the jettison project is something you could buy another of a few years down the road without issue, that seems like a fair trade to me. 

The last 10% takes at least 50% of the time, so keep that in mind.

It would be a new experience for me in that I've never gone about a project in the knowledge that what I'm working with is truly unique and I'm honor bound to do it justice. That said, I saw it in a less completed form a year ago and it's pretty stunning. It MAY be pedigreed enough  to get me into some classic car situations that heretofore have been above my pay grade. 10 years ago that wouldn't be very important to me, but as I grow older, that's more of a draw. Then again, I've always avoided owning things that were too precious. So if I built it, it would be as a driver, not a queen.

My friend's on a plane to Italy right now, I'll be able to see the car after the 14th.  

Perhaps a certain magazine might want in on some of this project action?

I have a son due in one month.  I am also recently back on my feet from a surgery.  I have 5 cars right now, 2 non-running projects (hopefully soon down to one).

New deals keep falling in my lap...   Trade my miata for a square body sprite to build into a vintage racer.  Buy a(nother) cheap bugeye that used to be a racer to build.  Cheap camaro, cheap this and cheap that...

have to basically say, no new projects for at least a year.   Not in a financial place to take it on right now (wife on unpaid maternity leave) and I need to let my life settle out with becoming a parent. 

The answer is always up to you and needs to be right for your situation.  I can commiserate. I am daydreaming about going vintage racing.  I already have parts for a massive auto-x/HPDE build (moto powered spitfire) as soon as I get my resto bugeye to a happy running condition.  Reality must be preserved.  I am, personally, already pushing enough with the motospit.  How much push can you sustain?

How does the potential regret of taking the project on weigh against the definite regret of not taking the project?  

What bad things happen if you buy it and find you're over-committed?  How can you mitigate those bad things?

szeis4cookie said:

Perhaps a certain magazine might want in on some of this project action?

Said certain magazine likes to keep the project cars in-house.

Keith Tanner said:

szeis4cookie said:

Perhaps a certain magazine might want in on some of this project action?

Said certain magazine likes to keep the project cars in-house.

I learned long ago not to overplay your hand on these things. Do a good build thread, and if the project is cool enough, it'll get plenty of play. I saw Keith's old Locost at a C&C in Berkeley a couple of weeks ago and thought "That's the most famous Locost in this hemisphere!" 

So are you looking to finish it, and then what- keep it or sell it?

If you are looking to sell it, and this builder is that famous, then you should be able to make some good money on the project car.  Of course, you need to ask him to keep his name on the project that you finish.

If you want to keep it, that's a different equation set that has to be factored in.

Kreb said:

Keith Tanner said:

szeis4cookie said:

Perhaps a certain magazine might want in on some of this project action?

Said certain magazine likes to keep the project cars in-house.

I learned long ago not to overplay your hand on these things. Do a good build thread, and if the project is cool enough, it'll get plenty of play. I saw Keith's old Locost at a C&C in Berkeley a couple of weeks ago and thought "That's the most famous Locost in this hemisphere!" 

I heard about that I approached GRM with a proposal for one of my builds to be covered as a project, and at the time they weren't keen. I'm not sure if that's because they're afraid that outside builders will stall on the build, or because they want to build relationships with their advertisers.

After it's done, there could very well be interest in a feature. That's a different beast.

You have two stalled projects, why is that?  Is it genuinely because you're flat out at work and home?  If so another / new project will probably suffer the same fate.  If it's because you've lost the passion for them and are using work and home life as an excuse then punting them down the road for this new project could be the answer after all.  Also is there an implied or agreed to time line to finish it?  If not and it's a way cool dream project then why not go for it either alongside your existing projects or as a replacement for one of both of them

Will it be a car that you'll kick your own ass for not building in 5-10 years? 

Kreb said:

Keith Tanner said:

szeis4cookie said:

Perhaps a certain magazine might want in on some of this project action?

Said certain magazine likes to keep the project cars in-house.

I learned long ago not to overplay your hand on these things. Do a good build thread, and if the project is cool enough, it'll get plenty of play. I saw Keith's old Locost at a C&C in Berkeley a couple of weeks ago and thought "That's the most famous Locost in this hemisphere!" 

Hey, me too! In fact, I'm pretty sure you told me about C&C in the first place. Say hi next time, I have the crappy yellow Miata with a baby seat in it that I park away from the nice cars haha.

It depends

Have you considered a partner?

Either someone with money interested in being part of a cool project, or someone with the time and/or talent that you may not have. 

Follow your heart...What is it telling you? Which of the 3 projects you've mentioned would you be the most passionate about and enamored with, both as a project and as a car?

On the one hand, there will always be more 'deal of a lifetime' projects.  On the other, there will not always be more 'project of a lifetime' deals...The one for which you would be willing to forsake all other projects to keep in your life.

Story of my life: "Oooo... that is an awesome project at a great price - no way I can pass on it!"   Completely ignoring the number of stagnated projects I already have.

Now I've reached the peak of "project paralyzation"; I have so much to do, I can't decide which task is most important and to tackle first. So I do nothing.

Flynlow said:

Possibly.

That’s the vaguest advice I can offer. :)

Came in here to say that.......

Make payments to him.  

Maybe.

Keith Tanner said:

The last 10% takes at least 50% of the time, so keep that in mind.

This x 1000