When is a Project Done?
 

What do you do when your enthusiast auto project is done? I'm getting close to finding out and it's making me a little antsy. I know some of the E53s on this board are (to me at least) "complete." What defines it? What keeps you going?

For most of my life I've had interesting cars that were DD and projects (e.g., my hearse). I've always had a mental laundry list of various things I wanted to do to them but frankly it was often a pipe-dream even I didn't really believe would happen. I took care of them and learned a lot and made improvements, but the "every box ticked" end-state was never really attainable due to time, money, skill, etc.

My E53 is getting close to that state though, and I'm kinda confused. I have a few things left but they're all either time-boxed (e.g., can't paint my calipers until it warms up), very minor (e.g., polish my headlights back to perfect) or large enough that I'm going to wait until they're must-dos (e.g., alternator gasket leak). I'm starting to find myself chasing totally unnecessary bragging rights (I need that Dinan badge on my kid-commuter, right?) or change for the sake of change upgades that don't really mean a lot of me (a kickass sub will totally make NPR sound more alive).

I know the maintenance needs of an E53 will give me something to do for as long as I can tolerate it, but I'm not quite ready to shift focus to my next project (and not just because the E38 community is less engaging).

I'm with you man - basically I weigh investment, remaining time with the vehicle, and satisfaction -

For my 5MT 3.0, I'm 5 years+ into ownership, fairly well caught up on maintenance but other things will pop up here and there - This year's maintenance will either be preventative on the cooling system, or the rear suspension, I haven't decided which.

Basically I am getting to the end of my modifications, only things I'd really like to do are find a good set of Sport seats to swap in, and get a Dynavin N6. I am slowly updating the speakers but we are talking $300 there.

For me at the age of the vehicle and the fact that it could be totaled tomorrow and I wouldn't get much at all for it, I'm not going to dump a few grand into "excessive" things (sure I'd love an ESS supercharger at $4k), but trying to find a balance between what is necessary in regards to maintenance, and what might not be necessary but keeps my interest in the vehicle and/or adds enjoyment to the driving experience (example being the sport seats, Dynavin head unit)

I call it mechanically done when I have all the suspension running gear and wear parts replaced, everything spinning and carrying fluid in front of the block changed out, all CV joints replaced, brakes, rotors, flex lines, battery and drive line fluids changed.

As well, the sound system gets some attention and when the mechanical and entertainment needs are fulfilled, I call it good to go.

Hopefully, I never have to do a wheel bearing but that is also a nagging worry on >100K vehicles.

I'm 8 years into my E46 ownership and just have the rear CV shafts to change out.

Update: Three years into my E53 ownership and I have the rear suspension components battery and CV joints remaining to replace and then I can call it good on that vehicle. I also like to LED and HID (front fog lights) the vehicles interior and exterior lighting where appropriate for lumen and whiteness upgrade.

Mike

This. My maintenance is more or less done for now, just some small mods to help with creature comforts and then time to let the bank account grow for a little while.

I get the idea of hitting the maintenance sweet spot. I think my challenge is I'm not quite ready to get out of mod/upgrade/repair mode, but I'm running out of things to do. I guess I need to come to terms with being as near as I'll ever be to complete.

You're done when you find yourself trying to do the impossible, such as trying to

Touché.

:rofl:

BTW, OP.. Once again.. one of the funnier posts I've read here.

For the answer... I'll say this..

• My first ever car, a 1975 2002 is now a restoration project. I've 'worked' on it for 30 years now.
• My SC'ed '00 E39 540 with ~60k miles still has some interior cosmetics I want done.
• We didn't touch the E46 for 15 years after I installed the optional OE alarm. And maybe some floor mats.
• I swore I wouldn't ever mess with my 1st 3.0 E53. Of course I did. It took 6 years of CPO to get through it, but I bolted on some stuff. And I promptly sold it. :dunno:
• And then there's the 4.8is. I knew I was gonna screw with it. Like I had running boards, the under ride protection, and an X-pipe for resonator delete waiting for it when I brought it home.

When will it be done? When the paint is back to where it was the 1st week I brought it home 6 years ago. Added rock chips and all.. I want the paint to feel like a static smooth metallic baby's ass. And I'm not doin THAT until I get it juuuust where I want it. :cool: Maybe even this year!

good luck with that! lol

I'm going to take all that as a considered and realistic version of "it's never done." I'm okay with that.

Also glad you enjoy my occasional moments of wit. ;)