I came across this post on the Lotus Europa forum, and the reply “Your car isn’t something you drive, it’s something you do” struck me as quite an insight. You need an account to view the whole thread so I copied the reply here.
rdrcjr wrote:
>I need therapy…
> Ok, so the majority of the work on the Lotus is finished. Wife comes
> out to the garage the other night and I am standing there, cleaning
> tools, going through the parts bins and just generally
> straightening. The Lotus is covered. She smiles and says "Ok so
> what's next?". I knew exactly what she was referring to. The same
> thing happened with our Triumph. It was finished after about an 18
> month restore and we bought the Lotus. 14 months later, here we
> stand again. Now do't get me wrong, I love the Lotus and the
> handling, drivability, POWER and all that. And I always will have
> the British warm-spot in my heart. So, is it time? The fall /
> winter is almost here and ..... one of the ladies in the office just
> bought a 79 Corvette. Arg!!! I went out to see it and it was in
> desperate need of a complete teardown and rebuild. I couldn't help
> my hands from instintively reaching for the nearest rachet and
> socket! I was litterally shaking from the anticipation of taking it
> apart, cleaning or replacing everything and putting it back together!
> I would have the interior gutted in about 2 hours. She was asking
> all the right questions.."How can I get rid of this smell?", "Can
> this rust be removed?"... ARGGGGGGGGGG... Her husband is not really
> a restorer and, so I now have the itch. The years of a Corvette to
> buy are.. 1971 - last year for dual chrome bumpers, 1972 - only year
> with chrome back and rubber front bumper, and 1979 - last year of
> the "shark" look. Nevermind that I am also a last-year built kind of
> guy. 1980 Spitfire, and 1974 TCS.
>
> Is it too early to drink? And the wife doesn't help because she says
> she will support "what ever dicision I want to make". <
>
> Someone pass me the eBay listings!
>
> Rick
> 74_4576R TCS
>
>
Rick,
I'd have to say that you don't need therapy. Restoring the cars IS your
therapy. With you, a car is not something you drive or look at, it is
something you do. My garden is the same thing for me. It is not
something to look at and enjoy, a garden is something you do.
I wish my Lotus was something I could look at and drive, but
unfortuneately it is something I need to do. And I lack the money or
skill to do it, so for me it is a fustration.
Go get the vet and make your self happy for a while and do your
thing...life is short.
Gary
Yahoo! Groups
rdrcjr wrote:
>I need therapy…
> Ok, so the majority of the work on the Lotus is finished. Wife comes
> out to the garage the other night and I am standing there, cleaning
> tools, going through the parts bins and just generally
> straightening. The Lotus is covered. She smiles and says "Ok so
> what's next?". I knew exactly what she was referring to. The same
> thing happened with our Triumph. It was finished after about an 18
> month restore and we bought the Lotus. 14 months later, here we
> stand again. Now do't get me wrong, I love the Lotus and the
> handling, drivability, POWER and all that. And I always will have
> the British warm-spot in my heart. So, is it time? The fall /
> winter is almost here and ..... one of the ladies in the office just
> bought a 79 Corvette. Arg!!! I went out to see it and it was in
> desperate need of a complete teardown and rebuild. I couldn't help
> my hands from instintively reaching for the nearest rachet and
> socket! I was litterally shaking from the anticipation of taking it
> apart, cleaning or replacing everything and putting it back together!
> I would have the interior gutted in about 2 hours. She was asking
> all the right questions.."How can I get rid of this smell?", "Can
> this rust be removed?"... ARGGGGGGGGGG... Her husband is not really
> a restorer and, so I now have the itch. The years of a Corvette to
> buy are.. 1971 - last year for dual chrome bumpers, 1972 - only year
> with chrome back and rubber front bumper, and 1979 - last year of
> the "shark" look. Nevermind that I am also a last-year built kind of
> guy. 1980 Spitfire, and 1974 TCS.
>
> Is it too early to drink? And the wife doesn't help because she says
> she will support "what ever dicision I want to make". <
>> Someone pass me the eBay listings!
>
> Rick
> 74_4576R TCS
>
>
Rick,
I'd have to say that you don't need therapy. Restoring the cars IS your
therapy. With you, a car is not something you drive or look at, it is
something you do. My garden is the same thing for me. It is not
something to look at and enjoy, a garden is something you do.
I wish my Lotus was something I could look at and drive, but
unfortuneately it is something I need to do. And I lack the money or
skill to do it, so for me it is a fustration.
Go get the vet and make your self happy for a while and do your
thing...life is short.
Gary
Yahoo! Groups
