After what can only be described as a 'sizable' intermission, I am back and excited to announce that I now live in a wonderful new home which boasts one of the best garages I could ever wish for;
Having come so far on this resto journey, I do not take this good fortune for granted. Buying a house is certainly an arduous process that I don't wish to endure again anytime soon, but I am ecstatic that Gretchen now has a permanent roof
over her.
My thanks to; Chris, George,
Gordon and Terje helping me with bringing the car over (no suspension bridge detour this time around). Special thanks to; Dangerman for tolerating
my encroaching garage mess for so many years!
Hello - thanks for your blog and sharing your resto' journey. You've come such a long way with this and I'm so impressed with your attention to detail. Your new garage looks great and I'll stay tuned for more posts.
ReplyDeleteI'm also restoring a 65 Beetle and have been learning panel work. We're sort of in a parallel universe but I'm about 8 years behind you. My Beetle doesn't have as much rust as yours but has plenty of body damage and poor repairs to keep me entertained.
I really like your comments on how the quest for perfection can lead to a sort of paralysis - endless procrastination. I have the same issue, and have to continually remind myself to take a 'reality check' when thing don't work out quite a well as I hoped :) I heard a good saying the other day that 'the master has failed more times than a beginner has even tried'. I try and keep that in mind.
Thanks for sharing both your struggles and many successes.
Best regards
Mike
Rocky Hall, Australia
Hi Mike
DeleteThanks for taking the time to comment, it's always great to connect with folk who are doing the same. I’ve never heard the quote you shared, but there is some real wisdom in that! Love it.
You may be a perceived 8 years behind when measuring progress against my timeline, but I guarantee that in real terms you will not be all that far behind! Perfectionism is a strange condition and recently I've been offsetting this crippling tendency by reminding myself that ‘finish is better than perfect’. Getting back into this project after a hiatus I do feel differently; I simply want to be able to get back behind the wheel and enjoy the car. I am not sure how this desire will translate to how I go about restoring the car, but I will be more forgiving to myself if aspects come up less than concourse.
All the best with the resto of your ‘65, keep in touch and let me know how you get on.
I don't know what made me think to check your page for the first time in a long time, but glad I checked in. My own project ('69 vert) started in 2015, and is also progressing slowly. Hope the knowledge that you have people checking in will help you move forward, one bolt extraction, tack weld, scrape, clean, or sand at a time!
ReplyDeleteIt definitely does help to know that other folk are out there doing the same, so I appreciate you taking the time to check in. It really is a question of slowly inching forward and remembering that each little step gets you closer to the end goal. Keep at it with that ‘69 - one day we will both exchange messages about how much fun we are having on our epic road trips out in our bugs...
DeleteLos Rhysos, so glad to see you back at it. I've put mine on hold now for a couple years. Excellent video and excellent progress of late. So happy for your house, too! There is no substitute for a comfortable spacious indoor space in which to work. Keep updating the blog and know there are people all over the world (at least 47 of us) pulling for you. - Raleigh, NC, USA
ReplyDeleteHi Michael! Great to hear from you as always. It feels grounding to be getting back into the swing of it and seeing that folk are still out there checking in on Gretchen's progress is uplifting.
DeleteAs you know, occassionally things to the side in order to focus on other priorities ...but these passion project never far from mind! I hope you find the time to restart progress on your bug again soon - you are still miles ahead of me!
Hi, I found your blog this morning and have spent a lot of today reading through it. Your attention to detail is great and, as I am working on my own '65, there is a lot of useful info. I have had this car a couple of years but struggled to get anything done in the winter because my garage was too small and too cold in a Scottish winter. So this summer I have doubled its size and fully insulated it and now its back to the car. - https://www.facebook.com/bugblanc from the Heart of Scotland
ReplyDeleteHi Alistair! Welcome and thanks for taking the time to read over the archive - not surprised that it took you the better part of a day to wade through it all (brave lad!). I always love to hear that my posts are of help my fellow Beetle restorers. I have just had a look on your thread and must say that your car is going to be stunning when its done. Loving the Cal look direction you have taken! How I long to be at the stage of the project that you are now - you will have that back on the road before you know it. Awesome upgrade to your workshop, literally the perfect environment for a winter rebuild. I shall be following along with interest
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