REACHING THE SUMMIT
In 2018 I purchased a rusted out 1974 BMW CS coupe. My goal was to restore the car to its former glory, but more importantly convert it to an incredibly powerful Tesla-powered long-range EV. (There is a full history of this project here)
With the help of a couple of friends we rebuilt every inch of that car, built an aluminum battery box, mounted a motor between the rear wheels, coded up several computers and much, much more. By 2020 I was driving the car every day. Taking my kids to school, going to the office, etc. It was still in a testing stage at this point, and looked more like a hot rod in green primer. I was constantly adding functions, making adjustments and reengineering things. Once I was mechanically satisfied with the car I would strip it back down, paint it, then finish the restoration.
I loved every phase of that project. The metal restoration, the 340 volt high amperage wiring, reengineered steering and brakes. The list was endless and it was all very gratifying. Once on the road, it was pure joy to drive that car every day. And if you are wondering if it was fast, don’t worry. I went through two sets of rear tires that year striping the roads of Newport Beach. I literally beat a Koenigsegg megacar one day off the line (like all the other losers, he went on to blast by me at 100MPH after I settled in at the speed limit).
LIKE CLIMBING MOUNT EVEREST…
After a year of this - and before those final pretty finishing steps - I was forced to sell the car to put the sizable cash into something critical at that time. It was a business decision that I needed to handle as a matter of fact. My friends all asked me how hard that must have been. I would always tell them in full honesty that it was like climbing Mount Everest: Once you climb it, you leave it there and return home. You don’t take it home with you and put it in your garage. The gratification is in the massive accomplishment itself. I really felt that way about this project. I had accomplished something that nobody had before, and I got to drive it every day for a year.
So selling the car wasn’t my issue. My issue was in not completing the project. I sold the car when it was primer green and the inside looked like a race car. I sold it to a fellow enthusiast who had become a good friend. He’d restored a number of classic cars and has deep skill and patience for the work. It took nearly two more years for him to complete the project, but the results are stunning.
…BUT I NEVER SUMMITED
Completing any goal is satisfying, and the greater the goal the greater the satisfaction. Everyone knows that. As I was driving around my primer-green electric BMW that year I was so proud of myself for completing this amazing goal. When I sold it I told myself that it was okay - that I had accomplished the challenge. But after two more years were spent finishing this car, and after seeing the result, I realize that I didn’t climb Mount Everest at all. I made it well beyond base camp. I even made it past some really difficult and tactical climbing. But I turned around well before the peak, and can only look at the photos of my friends who made it all the way to the summit.
THE BEST GOALS DON’T MATTER
I’ve conquered many goals in my life. Most of them far more important and consequential than this car project. Goals that actually matter. But that’s the problem: Completing a goal that matters is admirable, but it’s expected. When our life, our family, our livelihood depends on it - it’s important that we can complete those goals. But I believe that it speaks far more about our fortitude when we can pick something at random that means nothing in the grand scheme, and conquer it for the sake of conquering it. I haven’t proven that I can do that. Maybe with smaller goals, but nothing at this scale.
Perhaps this gives me a new opportunity. Perhaps there is a dilapidated 1969 911S out there that really needs me. Perhaps my wife is questioning my fortitude and needs to see me complete something very meaningless.
We’ll see.
