Narmacil
Veteran Member
Hi everyone!
I don't reckon anybody remembers me on here anymore, as the last decade++ I've hardly been on here.
I got in on this forum back in -03 after I bought a -70 that clearly had been rode hard and put away wet.
I considered it a great deal, and I still do.
Trying to fix it was an uphill struggle, not having anywhere to put it was the biggest obstacle the first few years.
Scouring the forums here, plus searching online as much as I could I slowly built up some idea about what I had
gotten myself into, and how to handle my "new" car.
Long story short, life happened.
I moved across the country (after safely storing the -70 with family approx halfway across the country), got a new job
that ended up literally taking all my time.
I had no spare time and was slowly working myself into isolation from friends, family and hobbies.
After a few years I got a place with a garage, and got my -70 home.
Still, too much work, too much stress, you all know the drill by now.
Combined with toxic inlaws that ragged on my project, I almost came to the point of selling it.
Last year, my work situation changed drastically. I got a new boss. (I worked for my toxic FIL until that point)
Now, I have normal working hours, no more constant verbal and mental abuse, and finally have the time to
both take care of myself and to engage in social activities and hobbies.
And yes, there was even a showdown where I kicked my aforementioned former boss/FIL out of my home. (That
went down REALLY well with the wife, but we're still together so I guess she was sick of him too, lol)
This last year after my work situation changed I've been slowly putting myself back together and regaining my energy and happiness that I
was completely sure had been lost while working for an narcissistic a-hole.
Always been into philosophy, so I took up that interest again as putting a car back together is one thing, putting yourself back together when you can't remember
who you used to be is a lot more difficult. Philosophy helped.
No mental issues mind you, just chronically overworked for 14 years.
Finally I felt I couldn't stand looking at my project anymore as it reminded me of myself, so I decided to start putting it back together too.
My garage is small, basically a tiny two-car garage from the 60's, and crammed to the rafters with stuff.
I had no idea where my parts were anymore, or even what I had. Everything was chaos.
Over the last years I've managed to do things in fits and starts, usually centered around holidays or vacations.
To do anything I had to empty half my garage, do the work, and carry everything back in when done for the day.
The next time I wanted to work on the car, I would have to start over, trying to remember what I did last time and what
next step I was supposed to do next.
Working in a much too small space is a pain.
I've gutted my old "storage" racks (an old wardrobe the previous owner put in the garage) and built big, sturdier racks to hold my parts.
I hanged new LED lighting everywhere. Threw out loads and loads of old garbage both me and the wife forgot we had stored there.
Finding parts I haven't seen in many years was fun and gave me even more interest in renewing this project.
I also gathered up the nerve to throw out parts that were clearly unsalvageble, this also freed up a LOT of space. New seats, here we come!
Making room to work in was giving me an itch to start working even though I'm not done with the garage.
I needed to get going, redoing the garage was fun but it was essentially a sideshow.
I wanted to work on the car!
So, today after work I pulled out my intake manifold and started cleaning it up.
It's an old Holley Street Dominator, covered in flaky, patchy red paint.
Removing the old paint was a task I've put off many times.
It's boring, takes time, elbow grease etc.
But today I listened to an audiobook and just put in the work.
Listening to Leonard Susskind's "The Black Hole War" while just working away with my hands was great.
And, for the first time in a long time, I felt contentment.
A deep satisfaction with doing something that was all mine.
I'm not even doing it to just "git'er done" anymore, finally I felt happy just spending time working on it.
I don't care if it takes a year of five, I'm just happy spending time on my project again.
If you're still reading, thanks for your time
Glad to be back.
-Hans
I don't reckon anybody remembers me on here anymore, as the last decade++ I've hardly been on here.
I got in on this forum back in -03 after I bought a -70 that clearly had been rode hard and put away wet.
I considered it a great deal, and I still do.
Trying to fix it was an uphill struggle, not having anywhere to put it was the biggest obstacle the first few years.
Scouring the forums here, plus searching online as much as I could I slowly built up some idea about what I had
gotten myself into, and how to handle my "new" car.
Long story short, life happened.
I moved across the country (after safely storing the -70 with family approx halfway across the country), got a new job
that ended up literally taking all my time.
I had no spare time and was slowly working myself into isolation from friends, family and hobbies.
After a few years I got a place with a garage, and got my -70 home.
Still, too much work, too much stress, you all know the drill by now.
Combined with toxic inlaws that ragged on my project, I almost came to the point of selling it.
Last year, my work situation changed drastically. I got a new boss. (I worked for my toxic FIL until that point)
Now, I have normal working hours, no more constant verbal and mental abuse, and finally have the time to
both take care of myself and to engage in social activities and hobbies.
And yes, there was even a showdown where I kicked my aforementioned former boss/FIL out of my home. (That
went down REALLY well with the wife, but we're still together so I guess she was sick of him too, lol)
This last year after my work situation changed I've been slowly putting myself back together and regaining my energy and happiness that I
was completely sure had been lost while working for an narcissistic a-hole.
Always been into philosophy, so I took up that interest again as putting a car back together is one thing, putting yourself back together when you can't remember
who you used to be is a lot more difficult. Philosophy helped.
No mental issues mind you, just chronically overworked for 14 years.
Finally I felt I couldn't stand looking at my project anymore as it reminded me of myself, so I decided to start putting it back together too.
My garage is small, basically a tiny two-car garage from the 60's, and crammed to the rafters with stuff.
I had no idea where my parts were anymore, or even what I had. Everything was chaos.
Over the last years I've managed to do things in fits and starts, usually centered around holidays or vacations.
To do anything I had to empty half my garage, do the work, and carry everything back in when done for the day.
The next time I wanted to work on the car, I would have to start over, trying to remember what I did last time and what
next step I was supposed to do next.
Working in a much too small space is a pain.
I've gutted my old "storage" racks (an old wardrobe the previous owner put in the garage) and built big, sturdier racks to hold my parts.
I hanged new LED lighting everywhere. Threw out loads and loads of old garbage both me and the wife forgot we had stored there.
Finding parts I haven't seen in many years was fun and gave me even more interest in renewing this project.
I also gathered up the nerve to throw out parts that were clearly unsalvageble, this also freed up a LOT of space. New seats, here we come!
Making room to work in was giving me an itch to start working even though I'm not done with the garage.
I needed to get going, redoing the garage was fun but it was essentially a sideshow.
I wanted to work on the car!
So, today after work I pulled out my intake manifold and started cleaning it up.
It's an old Holley Street Dominator, covered in flaky, patchy red paint.
Removing the old paint was a task I've put off many times.
It's boring, takes time, elbow grease etc.
But today I listened to an audiobook and just put in the work.
Listening to Leonard Susskind's "The Black Hole War" while just working away with my hands was great.
And, for the first time in a long time, I felt contentment.
A deep satisfaction with doing something that was all mine.
I'm not even doing it to just "git'er done" anymore, finally I felt happy just spending time working on it.
I don't care if it takes a year of five, I'm just happy spending time on my project again.
If you're still reading, thanks for your time
Glad to be back.
-Hans
