Project Management

I need to learn the basics of project management. I have well over 30 cars, most of which are projects. At the time of purchase most of these cars and trucks came with delusions of grandeur .

To Noun 1. delusions of grandeur - a delusion (common in paranoia) that you are much greater and more powerful and influential than you really are delusion, psychotic belief - (psychology) an erroneous belief that is held in the face of evidence to the contrary megalomania - a psychological state characterized by delusions of grandeur

These projects seem like a worth while investment.

I cant seem to break free of any of them because of what they 'could be'. I'm way upside down when you throw in the fact that I've got to pay to store these classic beasts.

Where did I go wrong? How can I prevent this from happening again? How do you finish all the projects you've started?

One feller told me, after I bought about 5 vechicles from him, that you can only have one project at a time. If you have more than one then none of them get completed because your always buying parts for x# of projects and you never have enough pieces to put a puzzle together.

Another feller told me irreguardless of how ever many projects you have. You must concentrate on keeping the running cars running. If it sits for more than a few days while you swap out the heads and exhaust, carb or whatever, it will get pushed to the side as something more interesting comes along.

Another said, just sell them all as you cant clearly think about one thing when your mind is cluttered thinking about too many things. Stay focused.

Wife says sell everything for what ever I can get for it and "buy something nice". While buying something newer may seem nice, anyone on this group will tell you that they want something with Character.

I need help. Where do I start?

guy 3 and wife are probably right. you have problems. you wont get to half of them before you die anyway, so may as well let the rest of us have a crack at it. i am the poster boy for "something more interesting came along" which is why i have my core of the stable that will never leave me and a revolving door of everything else. i make sure i delete something if i want to bring something else home.

one project at a time is key here.

The second dilemma is pricing. You know how much you have in it. You know how muh work needs to be put into it to get the price you could get for it because it's just like the car you saw go through Barrett Jackson, last week.

In all seriousness, everyone that calls from Craigslist wants to give you $100 for it, wants you to pay them to take it off, or wants to know if it still has catylatic converters or the radiator.

Seriously, should I just let it all go to scrap. $200 cars maybe, but $5000 cars?

Imagine where you want each project to go and hold on to the top 3,5,7 how ever many you want. Sell the remainder to finance said projects. Finish one at a time and enjoy your finished cars, and allow more crazy people to start new projects.

skunkman wrote: Another feller told me irreguardless of how ever many projects you have. You must concentrate on keeping the running cars running. If it sits for more than a few days while you swap out the heads and exhaust, carb or whatever, it will get pushed to the side as something more interesting comes along.

Words to live by

Now I feel guilty for being an enabler.

If you have an empty field you can keep it full of cars. If you have to pay for storage, the cheap deals get expensive fast.

Keep in mind "buy something nice" doesn't necessarily mean "buy something new". If you sell everything you have, could you afford a NICE old car? Could you maybe even afford a finished version of your favorite project? Just something to think about.

Granted! You see hot rodders selling cars for $50-30K less than what they invested. I believe you can find what you want cheaper than what it will cost you to make it (for the most part). For me though, it's a sense of 'look what I did, I turned nothing into something'.

I have to remind myself as I cruise through ebay, craigslist or wherever that this car/truck is not the 'only one' and I dont have to have it NOW.

As for the 142s: it starts, runs and I can drive it. I dont really consider it a project. Hense forward it's just upkeep and modification.

The thing that changed my approach forever was to list in Excel everything I'd have to do to 1. Get the car operating properly and 2. Get the car to track readiness. Listing actual prices quickly moves that $800 Miata into a $5,500 investment, and that junky $1,000 E30 becomes a $2,500 investment just to get it running properly.

I've probably passed on 10 cars over the last couple years using this approach. There's something demotivating about looking at 2-5x your initial investment just to have a decent starting point.

List the cars here and I am sure you will have takers.

Start by selling one, then go from there. Baby steps...you don't have to sell them all. Take your time and get top dollar so you can spend it on some bad arse tools or parts.

I manage projects as part of my job and with my other duties, I can only handle three projects at a time. One big one (full restoration or full race), one medium (modified street car) and one small (bolt-ons on a street car). I rotate through the projects and try not to have two things apart at once.

Of course, there are times when stuff just happens—I blew the engine in the Neon and the Saab within weeks of each other, and had the LeGrand project on the way....so that was one medium project w/ a blown engine and two big projects at once. Too much for this camper, especially with a new baby in the house. not sure if my wife has gotten over that yet.

About a year ago I realized that I had too many projects and set down certain criteria for my addiction.

My problem was that I included one exception.....it must be a screaming deal that was more insane to pass up.

With valiant and heartwrenching effort I have managed to trim my project count from 5 to 8 !!

Someone needs to head to East Texas with a trailer...I will hook you up! Miata, Turbo-coupe, Capri XR2, Mustang, etc.

Bruce P.S. I typed in and erased "Trades welcomed" 3 times...I am such a junkie:(

Pick your favorite. Write up the plan for the finished project with goals, realistic time & cost estimates. Once you know where it's going - set it aside.

Treat all the other hulks you have like investment capital to feed that one project. Start with the most easily flipped, and start flipping/parting until you are left with a big pile of space and a wad of cash. Be ruthless with yourself - no trades, no remorse - just get rid of it for as much as you can and move to the next one.

Get out your plan for the one you kept. Execute on it and try to stay on time and budget.

Good luck - I am going out to the garage to move a few projects out of the way so I can get to the one that is my favorite this week

Ok, few things here:

Besides what everyone has already said regarding thinning the herd so you can actually finish a project or two,

I don't think with over 30 cars you need to learn project management skills, I'd say you need to talk to someone about 'hoarding.'

I don't think project cars, 30 of them, and Barret Jackson should enter into the same sentence unless it's preceded by you having a full shop and bank account to restore worthwhile classics. No offense but Barret Jackson and Mecum are total crap and make people think they have cars worth more than they are so setting valuation of your cars based on a hit-or-miss auction isn't realistic.

You want to talk value, get a no-nuts appraisal from an expert on each car, research the market in your area, don't assume you can get $50,000 for a $25,000 car in KY when you saw a car just like it sell in Las Vegas with a huge crowd and a huge draw, set your price, and enjoy.

If you're using CL as your primary method for selling possibly valuable classics that's also a poor choice. List in respectable mags or classic car sites. I know everyone uses CL cause it's free, but you get what you pay for.

-Jeff

skunkman wrote: One feller told me, after I bought about 5 vechicles from him, that you can only have one project at a time. If you have more than one then none of them get completed because your always buying parts for x# of projects and you never have enough pieces to put a puzzle together.

Definitely words to live by. This concept hit me square in the face after buying my E30. While it seemed like a good idea at the time, it quickly turned into "one car too many" when added to the current fleet of 6 running cars I have to maintain and one long-term project.

I am a reformed you. I learned that overloading the boat guarantees that it will sink; no matter how valuable the stuff in it.

In order to feed the craving and see results from my $$$ and time, I cut back to 3 cars. A daily driver that I buy new every ten years; AKA "The Toaster". A finished MGB GT that I have had for 30 some years. One Bugeye project car that has no time-line other than I insist on clocking 4 hours on it as a minimum each week. The Bugeye is getting close to done and as soon as it is, it is already sold so I can acquire another project car.

I refuse to wash cars; too much time for zero return. Instead, I spend the time on the project car or fiddling with the GT.

I have been going over this myself.. and I only have three cars. A saab with 225,000 miles that needs some rust attention, interior intention, and a full upgrade from NA to Turbo Hybrid from the NG 900 I am breaking (wait, that's a 4th car)

I have the BMW that runs like a champ, but needs rust attention and paint.. but other than that.. needs nothing

And I have a rust free fiat shell and parts.

I have been considering getting the BMW up and looking great, selling off the Fiat, Fixing the Saab..

And then putting my attention towards a LoCost so I could eventually get rid of the BMW. Unfortunately, I live at the shore where salt air is not kind to old tin and even more unkind to old italian tin.. so I am really on the crux of selling off the fiat body and all the trim and just keeping the engine and trans for a LoCost

I have 5 cars, and that is too many, and all of mine run / drive. Daily driver for both the wife and I, the Jeep, the Civic racecar, and the 2500HD tow vehicle. The Civic has required a fair bit of attention this year, meaning that I've got built axles and lower gaskets waiting to go in the Jeep, that still haven't made it. I've got a nice suspension upgrade plus wheel bearings and new front axles for the WRX that are waiting in the que, and the 2500HD could really just use a proper cleaning after a year spent as a tow rig and all of the nastiness that comes with being a home base for a bunch of racers. Fortunately, the problems I was dealing with on the wife's DD are past, but it's only a matter of time before something crops up there.

Oh yeah - and I do have a Challenge project waiting in the wings.

So yeah - if I can't stay on top of my small fleet, 30 just seems like misery.

Wow...Hoarder, AKA automotive ADD, does come to my mind. As with the stupid hoarding shows on TV now, start small and work up from there. Choose one vehicle that is the easiest to part with period. Do NOT part out a car or you will have 5 more cars after parting out one.

Value is what someone will pay, not what you want to get for selling it off.

I have passed on many other deals because I don't need any more. I trimmed my fleet down from like 9, at one point, to 3, including selling off my "fun" car. I really need to sell off my Ranger in storage, but being the first and probably only, vehicle I purchased brand new, it isn't happening. I still have my diesel tow "toy", that needs various repairs. Then I have my DD Dakota that still rolls down the road decent enough to take me everywhere. Now I want to find another vehicle to put together either a 5.0/T5 E36 or another idea I have, Challenge priced.

Brian

In reply to skunkman:

I don't know about your situation besides what you told me, but having 30 cars seems like a lot of money to have tied up in... nothing. If you can't drive the car, it isn't a car, it is an exercise in entropy. My opinion is that it is alright to have one or two cars that are not roadworthy sitting around- one short term project and one long term project. The short term project should be something that runs that might just need a bit of TLC to get where you want it to be- maybe some light body damage, worn ball joints, etc. The long term one is something that you're going to put in a garage, take apart and spend several years working on.

Purge your collection. Keep two that meet the criteria above and sell the rest. You can't worry about how much it tied up into it or any of that. As someone else said, be ruthless. If you've already paid for it, it is a sunk cost and doesn't matter. What matters is how much you can get someone else to pay for it now.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Pick your favorite. Write up the plan for the finished project with goals, realistic time & cost estimates. Once you know where it's going - set it aside. Treat all the other hulks you have like investment capital to feed that one project. Start with the most easily flipped, and start flipping/parting until you are left with a big pile of space and a wad of cash. Be ruthless with yourself - no trades, no remorse - just get rid of it for as much as you can and move to the next one. Get out your plan for the one you kept. Execute on it and try to stay on time and budget. Good luck - I am going out to the garage to move a few projects out of the way so I can get to the one that is my favorite this week

+1 to this! one thing you might do to help you purge is list all of them all for sale and sell them as soon as they get a bite. no trades no barters. once you get to a managable number of potential projects left (maybe 10 of the 30) pick a favorite or two with a real project plan and allow trades for the remaining projects but only if the trade material directly feeds those selected projects.

the thing that got me out of a similar situation was the realization that, since i had taken on too many projects to finish any of them, i was just allowing cars i liked, and which still had some potential to rot away to nothing. maybe its the car version of if you love someone set them free.... HA!

Pick your top 3 projects and cash out the rest. I've run across plenty of folks with a field full of cars in the process of returning to the earth and a guy saying no to selling 'cause he is going to restore them one day. These cars usually show up in estate sales or sent to the scrapper by the surviving family members. I used to have too many. It feels better to focus. I still have a wandering eye but have really limited things to a big project (like a challenge car) and two smaller ones at a time.

30 cars? Seek professional help.. .. . No really!!!!! At one time I had something like 8 project cars and it was making me crazy!!! Ohya your DD and the wife's DD are not projects they should be toasters. After that one at a time. Kind of like the AA one day at a time bumper sticker.

Set a goal for each car, with a budget and a timeline with a deadline. Then prioritize all 30 into an order based on personal preference for the finished product, budget, ROI, whatever. Then chop off the bottom half of the list and sell them. With the remaining 15, as you reach deadlines with no action, sell them too. A few will rise to the surface and get regular work done on them. And remember, if you sold all 30 today, you could find 30 "great deals" tomorrow.

I'll help you start clearing out by buying the 142S

I think the best idea so far was to take everything you wanted to sell on craigslist and put them up for sale here instead in the $2011 classifieds. Just keep whatever you personally want to drive or own long term.