Chapter 9
Beating a Dead Horse
by Ryan King
5/09
Philosophically speaking, in a project as long and drawn out as building a car, the process can seem like beating a dead horse.
The car isn’t running and continuing to work on it isn’t making it run any better.
In the words of Dr. McCoy “it’s dead, Jim.”
As any of us who’ve ever taken on an extensive car project can attest to, all the drama in the world – you know what I mean, the cussing, the throwing of objects, the rants, the ultimatums and the hopeless pleas – will not get it back together any faster.
The only thing that gets the project done and done well are long hours of painstaking disassembly, restoration, rebuilding, repairing and reassembly. And each of those hours can seem all too much like the proverbial “darkest hour just before dawn.” Except the darkest hours aren’t just before it’s finished, but rather somewhere halfway in between – usually some point when the results of all the work show up sporadically and slowly and you get the feeling like you will be spending the rest of your days hunting down parts, painting, de-rusting, assembling little pieces or any number of other tedious tasks that take place in an extensive project – when you see that the amount of time it is going to take to do any one item on your to do list was well beyond what you expected and you realize that there’s a lot of those items between you and final completion.
Essentially, for those automotive adventurers who go all the way, the darkest hours are the ones when you thought you could see the light at the end of the tunnel – a bright, steady light, a beacon of sorts – then you see it move around and finally one day, it just winks out and you realize that all it was, was a firefly that someone let into the dark expanse that is your project…your own personal hell. And the ultimate insult to injury is that you were the one that chose to go there. You were the one who thought it was a good idea and you have only yourself to blame.
For the weak – the un-dedicated – this is the point when they give up. They look above for a light and find it. Then they see a rope dangling from it and all they have to do is reach out and grab it. They do and they are hauled out of the despair – their foolish decision. The bad part of taking that dangling rope is giving up, living the rest of their days accepting defeat and saying that their dream was a foolish thought.
For the strong – the dedicated – they see the rope (because, we all know we’ve looked above for the light) and brush it aside. They pick themselves up by the bootstraps and march forward, knowing that the reward for all the effort is worth it. That the feeling of accomplishment is within their reach if they put one foot in front of the other and like the ancient Buddhist saying states “the journey of 1000 miles begins with a step,” and they step.
It seems an awful lot like that when those results are coming slowly. Finished results that is – because you’ve put in the hours of work, they just aren’t blossoming into the finished car yet.
That’s where I’m at now with the Project Commuter Mustang.
I’ve been doing a lot of work – sometimes re-doing a lot of work – and not seeing many results.
I’ve wanted to give up – to throw in the towel one way or another. But I haven’t and I won’t. No matter how enticing that rope looks.
I’ve gotten a few things completed since Chapter 8, but I haven’t gotten as far as I’d hoped – the powertrain isn’t in the car like I wanted.
What I have gotten done is a few powder coated items and a painted MAF bracket.
All I can do is hope that all of the work I’ve been doing the last four-plus months sprouts into a beautiful garden of fun behind the wheel of the Commuter at some point.
There’s another proverb that comes to mind “you reap what you sow,” and I’ve been sowing a lot of work for this car. It’s just a matter of time.
Maybe, just maybe, when Chapter 10 comes around in September, I’ll be able to share some good news about the installation of a new powertrain. Until then, I hope your dark hours give way to the Nirvana that the light at the end of the tunnel promises!