So I have a 924 that I'd worked on quite a while back that I was daily driving, but it was miserable for that.
I eventually lunched a fuel pump and there were electrical issues leftover from my MegaSquirt conversion. Then we got pregnant and two kids later, its still sitting where I parked it. I've been trying to free up space in the garage to bring it in and work on it, but that just doesn't seem to be in the cards for the near future.
Was over at Dad's shop the other day and he offered me his NB Miata SE (Its a BRG SE with tan leather, NArdi wood, etc.) that I helped him tweak a bit for TNiA, etc (slotted rotors, decent pads, new tires, butterfly brace, roll hoop, engine reseal/clutch). He's getting too old to really enjoy it (arthritis is hitting his left knee, plus being 76) and since he promised the Miata to my daughter for her 16th Birthday, he figured it should be enjoyed a bit before then.
I need to talk it over with my wife, but I'm thinking of doing it and then parting the 924 out. It isn't worth much as a whole, honestly and I'd prefer to help a larger number of people (plus put a little more in my pocket in the process).
I'm struggling because I feel like I'm giving up on yet another project that I've gotten close to finishing but then had success pulled out from under myself and since its technically a 2+2, the entire family (or at least the kids and I) could enjoy it a bit more than the Miata. Anyone else feel this way? Or is it just me?
I'll start pulling parts together this weekend to start taking pictures and put some ads up on Fleabay, FBM, etc.
Aren't you close by me? Shouldn't you be trying to offload your Porsche in my driveway?
berkeley it. There's nothing wrong with bailing on a project that's been an albatross when something that is turn key fun falls in your lap
This seems a pretty simple choice. It's OK to walk away from something that just isn't going to happen, and this way you can go for special drives with just one kid. I don't have the kids, but I understand that when there are multiples they kinda like solo one-on-one time. The same may also apply to your wife :) Nobody will enjoy the 924 until you finish, and it sounds like it's a long way from there.
A car you can drive beats one that you haven't worked on in years and years.
Javelin said:
Aren't you close by me? Shouldn't you be trying to offload your Porsche in my driveway?
Yes and a deal could be made.
I'd love to see it go to someone to actually complete and enjoy.
Patrick said:
berkeley it. There's nothing wrong with bailing on a project that's been an albatross when something that is turn key fun falls in your lap
True. True.
I guess I just feel like I've done that with every hobby project I've tried throughout my life and eventually come to regret the reasons why I didn't finish it.
No brainer. Punt the Porsche and start driving the Miata!
Keith Tanner said:
This seems a pretty simple choice. It's OK to walk away from something that just isn't going to happen, and this way you can go for special drives with just one kid. I don't have the kids, but I understand that when there are multiples they kinda like solo one-on-one time. The same may also apply to your wife :) Nobody will enjoy the 924 until you finish, and it sounds like it's a long way from there.
A car you can drive beats one that you haven't worked on in years and years.
Fair point. Wife and I already get so little time together (that isn't just running errands) and we both remember renting an NC for a beach weekend before kids and how great that was.
I'll still have the FoRS for having fun with both littles.
Here's my daughter in Grandpa's car from a few years ago (she's 5 now).
+1 on the Miata. BRG is way cool.
Tom1200
UltraDork
1/10/22 2:01 p.m.
This one is a no brainer get Javelin to haul it away and be happy with your new Miata.
As for finishing................you made kids, what more do you need?
I have bailed on many projects, even some long term ones, and never regretted it for an instant. I've missed the rose colored idealized version of the car itself, but never the slog to get it to that point. If you're not in love with the 924 right now, dump it. There are always more 924s if you get the hankering in the future.
I still feel pangs of regret for moving out projects that stalled. Some of them were pretty cool, but they were still albatrosses and needed to go. I also rehash all sorts of crap in my brain that I really ought to let go, so it's a lesson.
Grandpa's Miata is a no brainer. I bought an NA new in 1989, drove it 150k miles, then it went to my Dad for another 15-20k, then to the kids when they were of driving age. They learned how much work a free car can be, and then had a pretty cool HS car that was safe enough.
Both are now out of the house and the car went away to a kid in PA who was thrilled to score a rustbucket Miata, pretty much perfect car lifecycle.
jh36
Dork
1/10/22 3:45 p.m.
I concur. It was a very weird feeling at first, but man oh man... it feels good in retrospect. I wanted to do that Audi heart transplant to my 944, but I just didn't have my heart in it enough.
The last Porsche project box I have is actually the Audi 5 bellhousing conversion stuff I bought from you. Maybe we make it a package deal.
Let it go. Enjoy.
Thanks everyone, it does help a bit to know that I'm not alone and that its ok to move on from a project.
If Jav ends up with it, hopefully he can do something fun and interesting with it. Otherwise, it will likely get parted and it will help a number of other folks.
trucke
SuperDork
1/10/22 4:20 p.m.
You will feel much better moving to the Miata. I had an FX16 I was going to restore someday. Then I got a notice from the county to remove my 'abandoned vehicle'. Since I wasn't going to get to it anytime soon, I sold it. What a load off! Now I have a clean driveway.
I had a 924, sold it, then wished I wouldn't have sold it, bought another 924, and now remember why I sold the first one.
From a Porsche Fanboy. .. . . Punt the Porsche and get the Miata. Don't underestimate the Dad connection with the car either. Dads don't last forever.
Light that 924 on fire and drive it into the river. Okay, too extreme!
Just drive it to Javelin's and leave the keys under the mat.
Get grandpapa's Miata!
Nobody has mentioned that, stock versus stock, the Miata even has more horsepower!!!
An NB BRG Miata has a lot of appeal. I've always liked them. I really like them and the 10th anniversary blue ones a lot.
It will offer many more driving miles per dollar. I've honestly toyed with the idea of getting another Miata and selling my Boxster S, but then I drive the Boxster S again and kind of want both. I've owned a 944, a 944S2 and a 944 turbo. I wouldn't waste effort on a 924 or a plain 944. A 944S2 or 944 turbo might be worth the hassle..... maybe. A Miata is fun and easy to live with. No early water cooled Porsche is easy to live with.
In reply to Stefan (Forum Supporter) :
Congrats on your good fortune, the BRG gift!
Accepting the gift is not a reflection on your Porsche ability.
NOHOME
MegaDork
1/11/22 12:20 a.m.
Stefan (Forum Supporter) said:
Patrick said:
berkeley it. There's nothing wrong with bailing on a project that's been an albatross when something that is turn key fun falls in your lap
True. True.
I guess I just feel like I've done that with every hobby project I've tried throughout my life and eventually come to regret the reasons why I didn't finish it.
It might just be that you are a car person and not so much a project person. No shame in that. I have the opposite situation.
Plus I am a sucker for generational hand-me-downs.
In reply to NOHOME :
Possibly. I think I'm a perfectionist and I'll mental block myself from doing something if I can't do it "right" The odd thing is that I'll hack things together all the time just to get them working.
