I fully get it. It's a hard road and I struggle with this too after 4 years. The thing I try to remember most is that it's about the journey as much as it is the finished product. Because once it's done, it's done. Can't go back unless you buy another. Even though it's tough, try and enjoy the process of rebuilding and enjoy the romantasized dreams of driving her down the road and the big grin on your face when you light them tires up for the first time. If you keep at it, it will eventually happen.
I love what you're saying, but I really have to wonder if it's a bit too romanticized? I drove my Roadrunner to the store on Saturday, and was approached by a guy about my age with a 72 Challenger. I told him what I had done with my car, and he asked for some suggestions for his. He only lived a couple of miles away, so I followed him home.
He had a 72 Challenger in a separate garage behind his house, but it quit being a car a long time ago. He said he bought the car in 2002 for $23,500, and it had been in pieces then. It was a 440 car, but the original motor was gone and the replacement he had looked like a mid-70s truck or RV unit. Trim and interior were out, and he said they were in boxes, but I counted two mid-sized U-Haul boxes of parts, which means he has a lot of stuff missing. I didn't see any bumpers and he told me they were sitting outside behind the garage, and I didn't even need to see them to tell they were roached.
He started telling me how he had thought about selling his "project" over the years, but no one would give him his price... yeah, no kidding! Then he started talking about how he had decided to start getting it back on the road, but everything was covered in dust. All I could think about was "I'll come back when you're dead and give your heir $750 for the works".
I really get the romanticized view of things, but I think realism has to kick in somewhere. I see cars all the time that I would love to buy, get back on the road, and enjoy the heck out of... but I know there's a 95% chance that car would just sit around collecting dust because I don't have the time or money to work on it and getting a great deal on it won't change those facts. So what I've done to resist those impulsive temptations is I have to develop a project plan for any car I want to buy. I have to have a purpose, schedule, budget, and a need or I can't buy the car no matter how good a deal it is.
