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a real honest question with a short story

H

hawkins

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May 15, 2008
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Location
kendallville Indiana
Im curious as to how many are in my boat. Married with three kids. Now does this slow any one else down on building their rig? Now dont get me wrong I would sell my rig if thats what it took to feed my family but doesnt it get frustrating to have to go so slow at getting it built?
I have a 88 K5 with a 350 holley carb 400 trans with a 208. I have a spare 14 bolt a dana 44 with the flat knuckle and a 6 in lift from my 71 truck and the eight lug rims with only two 35 in thonbirds. I only need two tires four shocks and spring bushings. I work as a auto tech and only have billed out 4 hours so far this week. For those that dont know we get paid billible hours not for how long we are there. UGHHHHHHH. I have almost all the parts. UGHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Ok im better now sorry.
 
Dayum, We are slow here too, I am an auto tech, But I still get an Hourly pay. Sounds like it's time for some side jobs.
 
I could do some side jobs but the only thing Ive got right now is a trans rebuild on a th350 elky and king pins on a e350. Uh I think Ill do the trans and pass on the kingpins. I mean I make 20 an hour but if I cant get over 20-25 hours a week it isnt jack. The problem is every shop in town is like this right now.
 
Well, my rig was pretty much built before i got married. However since i bought a house anything i do now to my rig has to come after my mortgage payment and all household bills are paid.

Just in case you didn't know, you said you have a lift from your 71 truck, the front springs won't work on your 88. I'm not sure about the rears but i do know that you can use the 2nd gen rear springs on a 1st gen so you might be ok there.
 
I was/am in your boat. Mine sat in the garage for 2 years soon after I bought it while I was building it. And it's sitting in the garage now and haven't moved in 6 months and I've been working on it for 8 years now...
 
No kids, no woman :D I can work on my rig anytime I have off but $$ is short because I'm school and only work part time(at $12 an hour though with full benefits + career related experience so it's worth it). By August of next year I should be making many times what I am now, and have a nice schedule of 4 on/4 off :D

I thought about selling my K5.. but I'd regret it too fast and I really only have to wait a year or two till I can build it my way. I figure I'll build it once and do it right; for now I'll just fix the little stuff and run it stock(which is IMHO more than good enough for about 75% of the trails around here).

Right now I am lifting my Suburban up, 2" front, 3.5" rear.
 
Well heres another kick my blazer is currently my daily driver! So its not like I can forget about it by sticking in the back of the garage.
 
hawkins said:
Well heres another kick my blazer is currently my daily driver! So its not like I can forget about it by sticking in the back of the garage.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that could be a problem. But, been there done that and I hate the pressure of having to get it fixed before morning to get to work. It's a good thing your a mechanic and can work on your own rig!
 
Yes being a tech makes the labor cheap and the fact that I worked in a metal fab shop for a while makes the rest easy. Just wish the money fairy would show up. But the wife is calling me to bed and believe me THAT makes it all worth while!!!!
 
no wife or kids here either. after rent and bills paid all else goes into my many projects. wel somtimes bills are paid a month late if i find a deal on some parts :D
 
Man it sucks, construction is slow. I have my doubler and t400 apart, wanted to rebuild and upgrade parts. Now im getting only 20hrs a week (i.e. not enough), could put it back but i would be wasting time and effort.:(
 
yep been there, bought the jimmy in about 1996 for $1000.00. So broke I took out a signature loan for a year to buy it at like 88 bucks a month.:o

held it together with bailing wire and duct tape for about 8 years then the older kids were out of the house and more money rolling in. The jimmy was off the road for 3 years and occasionally still is but finally very trail worthy.

Keep chugging away. I wouldn't have changed a thing.
 
Word, my rig was my DD for a while, and moving to another vehicle was the best thing for the blazer. I can start a project that takes weeks if I want to. If you can do that, you can save a lot of money on projects.

But then again, this is also only my hobby. I don't know if I'd get as excited about my blazer if I was a mechanic for a day job as well. Now all I need is a house with a decent garage. Then I can start getting the real tools. :weld:
 
Dang, mine hasn't moved since January last year when the rear main seal let loose. Right now, my paycheck is spent before I even get it just paying bills. I go to the bloodbank once a week to get $20 for food. My poor old Jimmy...:o someday, my friend, someday...:crazy:
 
Wish I had kids , but I don't yet .

I do know what its like to get by payday to payday . And do things slowly . Still takes two of us working to make it .

Its so much more enjoyable if you don't take the rig apart to build it , but rather wheel it as you go , adding as you can , and always leaving it in a state of running . The rigs taken apart never seem to get back together in a timely fashion . My Blazer served me seven years in different incarnations until I finally retired it for the caged K5 I bought ( already done and just waiting for my complete Blazer drivetrain ). If I took it apart to do the typical CK5 build , its would be sitting on jackstands and I wouldn't of wheeled at all :D
 
I have three kids, and the Blazer is pretty low on the priority list. Now I do have steady income, not billable hours stuff, but I usually try to stash a little bit in an account, or even in my wallet, so that I can pick up something once in a while. I am not really "building" as much as restoring and making capable of doing what I want, but it takes a lot of time. If I had started this project when I was younger and without kids, I probably still wouldn't be getting anything done. But, that is because of all my fun partying days would have overriden the ability to build.

Edit: As pauly said, I don't dismantle the Blazer, I collect everything I need to do a certain task, then do it all in a weekend or week. I try to never let the Blazer be down because it is the backup vehicle for major issues with the Astro.
 
I dont have a wife or kids but I do go to college and currently I am working two jobs. the payment for one job is specifically designated for my college bill and my other job pays for all of my other bills and mods to my truck. despite having a family I have rent, insurance, and my taxes to pay for so my low paying jobs still put me on a budget.

I wish I could have a decent dd and a offroad only rig but my money situation only allows for a multi purpose rig. my stubborn head will only allow me to drive my gas hawg but my work is close to where I live so most of the time I walk. in fact I havent driven my truck in nearly a week. It sucks cause I take a great deal of pride in the progress I have made improving it only to be left walking because of high gas prices.

right now paying bills is my primary concern, next on the list is my girlfriend and then my truck falls next in line. keeping things on a budget allows me to spend a fair amount of my check on my truck but time and money still keeps things pretty slow so I feel your pains.
 
It doesn't really get better when you're older. My kids are all grown and three are married - one of them lives at home with her husband. Labor isn't a problem, my son-in-law is a mechanic/fabricator and my son is a mechanic. It's hard to get them to work on the Jimmy since they've wrenched all day. I still need $ for parts. I've had it for 2 years and it runs, but I need tires, a lift, etc.. Sounds like we're all in the same boat. I guess the guys with $$ buy new sh**.
 
I for sure feel your pain. Two kids, and putting my wife through school. And, last month my work took our overtime away. Which by the way, was what was paying for the projects. So... As of right now its on the side burner. Its still in running condition and very usable, but the axles lying in my back yard and dreams of lockers and gears are for sure on the back burner now...
 
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