What's the most challenging part when building your car? Money? Time? Motivation?

I find this "do it yourself" concept incredible, like that of companies such as Factory Five. The opportunity to buy a kit of a car you dream of and participate in all stages of its design makes it, in the end, a work of art on wheels. In your opinion, what is the most difficult part of undertaking a project like this? Money? Time? Motivation? Here are some project drawings I made for clients who were building their car. Besides helping to visualize how the car will look when finished, they serve as a piece of inspiration.

www.jcarcustom.com/comissions

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For me it was paint and working with the state DMV. I have good tools, space, time, money, 2 post lift and mechanical knowledge, so for me those were not issues but maybe for others. In the end I had a friend of a friend paint it, in his spare time, frustrating. DMV was a pain but do-able, just a lot of hurry up and wait.

Time. It's always time. Especially for me because I get caught up in "the shoemaker's shoes syndrome" so mine end up sitting untouched while I work on ones belonging to others.

Jeff

Yes, time is the issue! We're a young family and trying to do this build together, but the kids have so many other interests and activities it's difficult to find moments to move the car project forward.

Other than that, it's committing to design elements like paint, or interior finishes. I think we all change our minds constantly regarding the color or style of a particular element until it's finally built.

I am finding the most challenging part is when I go off script and do something unusual, like putting in a Godzilla engine. There are no instructions. For me, that is part of the challenge. These cars are not Lego kits, but if you do weird stuff figure it will take a lot longer.

Time. Absolutely, time. I worked mostly alone. I was able to put together a running coupe in about 18 months. It took me another 6 months to get it titled in CA. Another 12-14 months body work and paint (Yes, I painted it. 'bout killed me). Add another 6 months of fallow time sprinkled in there for life, family, etc. Four years from delivery to complete. And I'm still putting on last touches.

Work/life balance. I have younger kids and activities get in the way. Many nights spent after everyone was in bed. Covid quarantine probably shaved 6 mo off my build back in spring of 2020.

Money,

Never enough to do what I really want. It's a first world problem all the way.

Patience. It's easy to get caught up in the mode of "I have to get this going and be done by x..." where you should really take the time up front to thoroughly plan everything out. I could have reduced the total time had I spent a bit more time up front.

Time and money often escaped me so much so that it took me 5 years to complete.

For most people, money is a central concern or challenge and has to be realistically planned out.
I remember starting flying lessons in the early eighties but just didn't budget well and stopped after 15 hours of dual training.

Builders need to be fully comfortable that this isn't "pure assembly". You will be fitting and refitting and doing some unexpected fabrication -- so be really comfortable with the journey of your first-time build.

Expect to be pleased upon completion, as this will be a lifetime brag. (I'm only halfway through, but I'm "sure" that will be the case)

Well I have a couple of reasons that keep delaying me even now. Back when I took delivery of my kit I barely had room enough to store the chassis and numerous boxes and donor parts, never mind getting any meaningful work done. So we took down our delapitated garage and replaced it with a larger one, fresh concrete, etc. But by the time we started tearing down the old garage I was hit with a disabling condition that prevented me from doing anything at all
Fast forward a couple years to now, I had corrective surgery but the recovery has been very slow. Even now I have to limit how fast I can work, plus my stamina is lousy. I can only do about an hour’s worth of work (taking several breaks) before I have to stop. At this rate it’s going to take a few more years to finish. But I’d be willing to bet that mine will be the very last 818 to be completed. Is there any award for that? ��

Jbs, hang in there, man. I recently had to take time out for a cerebra spinal fluid leak and then a hip replacement. Just take your time and pick away at the project as you can. Mentally if gives you something else to think about.

TIME even when retired I find myself not having enough time as Jeff said working on everyone else's project seems to be the theme. Just keep going even if it's just a couple hours a week.

Thanks. You’re exactly right. The 818 and holding on to the unlikely Hope of riding my motorcycles again are helping to keep me motivated, though on the really bad days it’s really hard to not get very discouraged
But I’ll keep on pushing on

I am retired and this was a retirement project so time was not an issue. My wife kept giving me a hard time about not having to complete it in a month, it was 22 months from start to being registered.

I had been planning this for a long time and had a budget so the money was planned and available. I did go over budget but I had the money.

There was never a lack of motivation some days I worked all day on it, some days I just looked to accomplish a specific task and some days I did not work on it to do other things.

My frustration came from fitting body panels.

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Originally Posted by Blitzboy54

Money,

Never enough to do what I really want. It's a first world problem all the way.

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Jesse, I've seen your car! It's fantastic! Can't imagine what the one "you really want" would be! :D

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Originally Posted by Namrups

Jesse, I've seen your car! It's fantastic! Can't imagine what the one "you really want" would be! :D

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Me neither, I just know it would be expensive

Time and making changes that deviate from what would be a standard build. Standard being, no mods. I tilted the nose and although I don't regret doing it, it added 3 months to the build. What's strange is very few recognize this feature when it's closed. Time is certainly the biggest challenge, life gets in the way.

Good luck,
Mick

Not sure if mine falls into time or patience but it was when I'd go off script a little and the parts I'd get wouldn't work as planned or I'd not have everything I'd need so it would delay progress. Thankfully summit is good about returns.

It's the damn OCD and perfectionism that I have to get over. I'll get into a modification and before you know it, I'm looking at a mill or lathe so I can make the perfect part.

Partly motivation as I hate doing fiberglass work, and did not expect to get a body and hood which would require adding fiberglass to so many areas missing fiberglass. Where the glass is missing, the resin/gel coat is between 0.023" and 0.032" thick. Then when I think about how I m going to have to repaint the car in 4 or 5 years due to the missing long strand roving layer, it really depresses me. Quite frankly, had I known I would get something like this, I would have never bought the kit.
When members of the Texas Cobra Club come by to take a look at it, I tell them that the fiberglass work from Factory Five is, at best, inconsistent. If they want to order a kit to be careful to check the fiberglass before it off-loaded from the truck. I wish I had done that. I would have rejected the shipment.

I am also doing a considerable amount of customization to the car. The few things I am using supplied by Factory Five are all being heavily modified. I could not afford a good FEA (Finite Element Analysis) software package, so I wrote my own. That way I could do "what if's" on the frame changes I wanted to make. Spent a good six months on that project.

All the down time has been dangerous as I keep thinking of things I can do while I try to find a welder to do the work I need done. I cannot weld any longer due to getting older and having my eyes take too long to adjust to quick changing light conditions.

Custom dash panel, custom tail lights, custom A/C system, custom interior panels, custom hood to fit over engine, custom wiring harness and so on.

Time! Wife, two kids in elementary and middle school, and being mid-career - time was definitively the challenge. Money was a challenge at first, but I mitigated it with some planning, budgeting, patience, and a few blessed years at work during the build.

Motivation… yeah at times. GGunter seemed to always pull his Cobra into my driveway at just the right time to keep me motivated.

The patience and perseverance were well rewarded last summer when I attached the official license plate.

Time and work-life balance. I always put the kids and family first... then there's my real job... so whatever's left goes to the Cobra. Right now, I'm fixing my wife's Jeep's cylinder head, then a baseball game later today... maybe hit the Cobra tonight. Probably not.

I'm actually really glad to see many others are in the same predicament... oddly comforting ;0)

Jay

For me it was gremlins and never-ending frustration. I was a beginner, and did the 5.0 donor build - at least at first. One problem after another, some my fault, some were not.

I'm amazed at how much the kit, the instructions, and components have improved over the past 20+ years and you newer guys have it easy! Or at least, much easier than me.

complete kit + turnkey crate motor + a bunch of Breeze accessories = the way I'd go if I built another, and someday I will!

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Originally Posted by Wizbangdoodle

It's the damn OCD and perfectionism that I have to get over. I'll get into a modification and before you know it, I'm looking at a mill or lathe so I can make the perfect part.

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100% on board with this. So much so, my wife got me a greeting card that said. How many husbands does it take to change a lightbulb? One, but he needs to buy more tools to do it. This is her vision of my Factory Five. LOL Seriously, that creative bug can bite any time day or night. The pieces go together in your head and then you start to make it, fab it, change it and before you know it, you have a machine shop in your garage.

Money, Time, Motivation.... I had the money or I wouldn't have started it..I set aside Friday and Saturday and an occasional Sunday for three months and that got me to go kart stage. (Luckily, I had the best boss in the world because he would tell me to take off every Friday, because he was as excited as me to get it done) I waited another six months for a paint booth I could use, so I did all the body work in that time slot. I was really motivated from the get go, because I had waited for 60 years to get this car. I wanted one since I was 12 years old. It took me one year exactly to finish it and to this day, every time I walk into my garage, I can't believe this car is sitting there. I also have to say this forum was a huge help and wealth of knowledge, with so many cool ideas and ways of doing things. What a great experience.

Finding that tool that I just had in my hand was my biggest challenge.

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Originally Posted by OSU Cowboy

Finding that tool that I just had in my hand was my biggest challenge.

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Too true!

For me that tool is usually my back pocket with my wife standing nearby with that look that says "Really?" Are you really looking for that tool that's in your back pocket?

For me thus far it’s been over analyzing everything. Some of that is because instructions are often vague and I don’t want to screw anything up, but mostly because I’ve gone off the custom reservation and I’m having to research and fabricate a lot. I’m ok with it though, I waited over 10 years to be able to get my coupe, I’m just enjoying the build no matter how slow or fast things go.

My biggest challenge, which I guess would fall under the time category was health. As many of us, I'm getting older and my body just won't do what my mind says it can. But I enjoyed every minute of the journey!

This is actually super interesting to read.
I was expecting people to say money, but it seems like time and especially motivation are the real challenges.
One thing I've noticed working with car owners is that a lot of projects lose momentum right in the middle when the excitement fades and the finish line still feels far away.
I do custom automotive artwork, and something I didn’t expect at first is how much it helps people reconnect with their project. Seeing a finished vision of the car even before it’s done seems to bring that motivation back.
Sometimes having a clear visual of the end result makes a bigger difference than people expect.

I have no idea how you guys do this with younger kids. I would not have had the time or the money for this. They're grown and gone so what else is there to do now :)

Sounds to me like someone is fishing for business.

100%

Yep, and a whole bunch of bites.

What I struggle with most in my personal projects is time; I think that's life's biggest challenge. Having time to work on your business, build a car, and have time for family. I always end up falling short in one of those areas. It's like this: we can buy a lot of things, but we can't seem to increase our time.

Honestly just enjoying the discussion. I've been around cars and projects for a while and this topic hit home, especially the motivation side of things.
It's interesting how many builds slow down not because of money, but just life getting in the way.

For me it was a dead heat between the time (the honey do list took priority most of the time) and the willingness to spend the money for good parts.
SPEND THE MONEY ON GOOD PARTS.

Norm

This is my first build, so one of the top most challenging things is being overwhelmed, especially at the beginning.

Next would be second guessing myself on things. I don't wrench for a living, although, have done the maintenance and upgrades on my "toys" in the past, much of the things involved in a build I haven't done in decades.

Another challenge is becoming hyper focused on certain areas. For an example, I'm running my brake lines, something I've never done before, and I've noticed that the first ones I did (rear of the car) are not as good as the last ones I bent up, for the front brakes. So, I'm torn on going back and redoing the rear ones to make them "look better"....at some point, I do have to realize, none of this will ever really be seen.

And another challenge is having to jump around the build. Normally, on projects I have to work linear...that is just the way my brain is wired. I had to over come that on this build due to not having parts, or parts being backordered. That, is actually becoming a huge frustration now...especially since I'm getting to the point where missing items are going to hold me up.

Lastly, money does come into play. First the hurdle of buying the kit. Then tools , powder coating, other things. Then drivetrain, and lastly body and paint. It's a good thing, these builds take some time.