E-Bodyless.

[CHL2T]

Don't get me wrong, I am still madly in love with my cars and I still enjoy wrenching on them. It's just that as others have said, I just don't drive them enough. When I do drive them, there is no real enjoyment as I am looking out for the idiot who is going to run into me trying to get a better look.

[anlauto]

I'm kind of chuckling when I read this....
We're all in this hobby for different reasons, and we're all on here for our love of Mopars, or Cudas/Challengers more specfically...

For me....I can't wait to sell mine....

When I was around five years old I, like many of us, started building model cars. I would get a new kit, blaze through it as fast as I can, sometimes finishing them in a couple of hours ...I remember one Christmas when all I wanted was model kits....there's a picture of me, maybe ten years old standing next to a stack of kits twice my height...maybe a dozen plus kits....I think most of them were done before I had to go back to school....
When each one was finished, I would stick them on a shelf and couldn't wait to start the next one....

Well fast forward fourty years......

I pour my heart and soul into restoring these cars back to as close as original as possible....but as soon as they're done, I can't wait to start the next one...The sad part is I don't have a shelf big enough or a bank account deep enough to keep them.
I have to sell the last one in order to strat the next....

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy driving them, I've been through the "show phase", won my share of awards, but got tired of cleaning them, insuring them, storing them....now I just want to restore them for other people to enjoy...

Maybe I shouldn't laugh when people say they are "attached" to their cars, but somehow I just can't relate...

I do get a kick out of those guys with real cool or rare projects that they will NEVER get around to restoring....They need to sell them....TO ME !

[MEK-Dangerfield]

I appreciate all the comments guys.   

It makes me feel better knowing others out there let their cars go, or at least aren't enjoying them as much as they used to.

[Chryco Psycho]

I did model kits to for a while , never burned through them fast though tried to do a better job with each one , the last one took months , fuel line brake lines , all wiring  every detail possible , I entered a show & was disappointed when my class was judged & never got 1-2-3 place  oh well another time maybe ....... then the last trophy was announced best of show the #1 overall & I won a 3' trophy for an 18" car LOL never built another model just could not justify the time to do a better job again , It was a B5 Blue 70 GTX btw , even hinged the air grabber door in the hood .
 Then I got into slot cars & real cars , the slots I had to modify make them lighter faster & lower , to the point where I could run 35% faster than the best off the shelf cars ! Once I got into building the real cars the same principles I had learned along the way applied better detail with each one & as much performance /$ spent as possible . 
 Way off the original topic but .....

[anlauto]

I continued building model cars into my mid-20's...Won some trophies there too. I still buy the kits to this day, have an unbuilt collection of about 50+ kits (all Mopars)....I've been, and still am, a subcriber to Scale Auto Magazine for the last 30+ years..I have every issue.

Just no time...I thought my son would be interested...but not a chance...

[blown motor]

This is an interesting discussion and I think it speaks of life itself. We have a keen interest in something when it's new to us but time erodes the excitement. I've been in this car hobby for 2 years and as much as I love my car, driving it and going to shows I've wondered if I'll still feel the same way in 5 or 10 years. I guess time will tell.

[brads70]

After reading all the comments  I guess it comes down to how long one has owned it for I guess? Me I've wanted this car since I was 9, so for me some 30 plus years later I finally get one. I can't see me ever parting with it willingly .  I guess to some these cars become a 1:1 scale diecast and get bored with the upkeep and maintenance .  Me.... it's never "finished" the challenge of trying to make it handle/brake as best as possible
 ( with in my own parameters)  keeps my mind and interest in the car.
To me the fellowship/friendships and social encounters I've enjoyed because of the car have proven more valuable then the car itself !
There is no shortage of poker runs, local cruise nights, major car shows, parts hunting, learning about the car
or simply driving the family or even by myself to get a slushy / ice-cream cone/coffee on a hot summer day/night. I'm always meeting new people because of the car. I like that! (Except for the occasional police officer! )
My car is no show car by any stretch of the imagination. It needs a paint job but I purposely am leaving that till "the end" ( if there is one?) because I'm afraid at that point I won't want to drive it for fear of chipping the paint , or getting water spots on it , etc.....  I do not spend lots of time cleaning it, I spend much more time driving it, getting it dusty, covered in bug guts and wiping brake dust off the rims!

Get out there and drive the wheels off it, wear it out, blow it up, grenade that transmission and rear end. Make sure that when they plant you in the hole someone else will have to fully restore it to be able to get it road worthy again. IMO last thing you want to do is spend your life and investment in both time and money for some strangers enjoyment down the road when your dead? I don't imagine when I'm in my last moments on this earth I'm going to think about  is there a chip in the paint or is it safe and in pristine condition? Heck no! I'd like to grin ,recall the wind in my face, smells of fuel and rubber all the fun and trouble I got in with the car and all the friends I've made because of the car.
I say get them out of the garage , drive them and live life! Whether it be in an old or new Mopar! 
Mike you better stick around or else!! Your one of the good guys!

[moparstyle]

Brad, you nailed it!

[Imchallenged]

Brad;  I agree that the length of time of ownership of a car is a big factor in today's enjoyment of it.  I have been in the hobby since '73 and owned my Challenger since '88.  The first five years or so I drove it everywhere, but as time went on, not so much.  I think that as you age your priorities and interests change.  At  my stage of life I get most of my enjoyment fishing and canoeing, with just an occasional rip down the highway.  Rob

[brads70]

Brad;  I agree that the length of time of ownership of a car is a big factor in today's enjoyment of it.  I have been in the hobby since '73 and owned my Challenger since '88.  The first five years or so I drove it everywhere, but as time went on, not so much.  I think that as you age your priorities and interests change.  At  my stage of life I get most of my enjoyment fishing and canoeing, with just an occasional rip down the highway.  Rob

I totally understand that! 

[anlauto]

There's no right or wrong in this hobby....we all have different reasons for doing it.....and that's okay...

[brads70]

There's no right or wrong in this hobby....we all have different reasons for doing it.....and that's okay...

 

[torredcuda]

I think many of us older guys are contemplating this, I know I did just last year, mainly due to financial reasons. I`ve had my Barracuda since `82 and "restored" and driving it since `96 and I like to think I`ll be buried in it but the day may come when I do sell. I won`t be driving mine much this year as after 18 years of abuse it`s starting to need some things mechanically and cosmetically and I don`t have the funds to do much right now.

[4Cruizn]

Ok not to talk to much about ebodies in a thread named e-bodyless . . . . But it totally appears that everyone has their own reasons! Think I will start a thread asking that very question!   Good topic!   

[Chryco Psycho]

I am more like Brad time has not eroded the passion , but the frustration of not having the funds all my life is killing me & other choices have once again separated me & my car , I want to drive the wheels off it again so bad ,or build something even more powerful & better handling