Hahaha-just as guilty as you are!
I earnestly set out to build a beater a few years ago, but then reasoned, "
I don't want to be that guy with dozens of bikes, so I might as well get one I really want..."
After four years of scanning Ebay, Craigslist & my local swapmeet,
then stocking up on Dura Ace 7800 components,
THEN building a bulletproof wheelset for it... voila: my beater...
...which I now relish almost as much as my '84 Masi Gran Criterium. Funny, I'd completely forgotten that this was supposed to be a beater until reading your post.
[Edit: I don't even think I could bring myself to ride it in the rain. And I've got two
beater motorcycles like this too.
]