TAC Tech => Garages & Shops => Topic started by: TATurbo on October 26, 2021, 10:40:16 PM
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Hello TAC,
When I bought my house back in the day I was stoked to have a 10X20 garage in which to store my TA. I wasn't thinking of using the space to actually restore the car. Turns out it is possible!
Here's my garage's story including some of the things required in order to make it possible to completely disassemble and reassemble my TA in what I believe is the minimum space required for such a project.
For several years the garage acted as a catch-all storage space, and my TA served as a shelf for all the junk that had no other place to live. I took these pics the day I decided to dig out my old friend to try to get 'em back on the road...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/7906/46568037915_aa46b3d321_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2dX4ngr)P8090096 (https://flic.kr/p/2dX4ngr) by Tom Sherer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152255092@N02/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/7870/32541368847_889282a8f3_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Rzz2ez)P8090094 (https://flic.kr/p/Rzz2ez) by Tom Sherer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152255092@N02/), on Flickr
With junk cleared we used bins as shelves and tried working out of my Good-Housekeeping plastic red toolbox...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/7834/32541459037_3c982e038d_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Rzzu3z)P8100188 (https://flic.kr/p/Rzzu3z) by Tom Sherer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152255092@N02/), on Flickr
First lesson: Tools need a proper home and they need to be organized. I got a proper toolbox and my wife suggested organizing the frequently used stuff on peg-board.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51632085031_5333cb7e52_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mExW3B)055 (https://flic.kr/p/2mExW3B) by Tom Sherer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152255092@N02/), on Flickr
In the pic above you can also see shelves that we installed high on the wall so they don't protrude into the space where we were working. Oh...And an undercabinet Radio/CD/TV combo I had lying around.
I learned quickly that some sort of bench/workspace is absolutely necessary. I took some measurements to build something that had enough space to be usable but still allowed us to move around the car. 2' x 4' was about all I could fit. I built a 2' x 4' 'bench' out of wood, then covered it with sheet metal from the hardward store:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51632085071_85b9e7b147_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mExW4i)P1180099 (https://flic.kr/p/2mExW4i) by Tom Sherer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152255092@N02/), on Flickr
It was still a little tight moving around, so I built the bench with hinged legs so I could fold it up against the wall to free up space when necessary:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51631259332_82241f46ae_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mEtGAq)P1180098 (https://flic.kr/p/2mEtGAq) by Tom Sherer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152255092@N02/), on Flickr
With the front end sheetmetal off the car we found there was plenty of space to move around...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51632310158_d825113689_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mEz5Y7)P4180031 (https://flic.kr/p/2mEz5Y7) by Tom Sherer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152255092@N02/), on Flickr
We soon found storage was an issue. I gained 32 sq. ft. of space for storing parts by taking 4x8 sheet of 1/2" plywood, adding a perimeter of 2x4's to it, and hanging it from the ceiling from chains. You can it at the top right of this pic:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51631259432_3ae480d67a_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mEtGC9)P4070083 (https://flic.kr/p/2mEtGC9) by Tom Sherer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152255092@N02/), on Flickr
10' is not wide enough to fully open things up to work on the doors or inside. A set of dollies allowed us to push the car all the way over to one side or the other when we needed to work on the doors or interior:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51632084926_07085fff9c_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mExW1N)P4210084 (https://flic.kr/p/2mExW1N) by Tom Sherer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152255092@N02/), on Flickr
Or, if we just needed more floor space to work on smaller projects:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51632935070_f186b7bd55_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mEChJs)IMG_1932 (https://flic.kr/p/2mEChJs) by Tom Sherer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152255092@N02/), on Flickr
Over the course of the project we added pegboard as new tools and supplies required accumulated:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51632935060_abf20665aa_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mEChJh)IMG_2117 (https://flic.kr/p/2mEChJh) by Tom Sherer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152255092@N02/), on Flickr
A 10x20 one-car garage is not the ideal space for rebuilding a car. But, with some organization and patience, we found it is possible and we had a great time doing it!
Thanks for checking it out.
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Nice garage transformation! How long did it take? I don’t know if it’s an option or not but a small shed might help for storing parts of the car you are not working on.
When I was in high school we did several engine swaps out doors in the dead of winter, sometimes even during a snowstorm. Obviously that’s nothing compared to what you are doing to your car. Does your car need sheet metal work?
It looks like you are making this a family job, good for you and looking forward to hearing more.
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That looks like my garage and my story :lol: I'm envious of multi car garages or barns but can't do much about expanding if you live in the city. Nice job and thanks for posting.
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Great post Tom. Its amazing what one can do when they set their mind to it.
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I need you to help me organize my stuff. That is an amazing job! I love the innovation.
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BTW - my single car garage is slightly larger than 10" x 20" :lol:
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Sounds like an idea for a new show Tom. Instead of tiny house living, it's tiny garage restorations!
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Thanks guys.
Funny you mention a show 'cause at one point, while Julie, Tyler, and myself were arranging the choreography of maneuvering the new drive train into the car, I thought "This could be hysterical to watch!".
I can't take all the credit for the organizing...Julie actually pushed for the pegboard.
For those who aren't familiar...My wife, my son, and myself spent 4 years disassembling, restoring and rebuilding our '81 TA in this space. There's not a nut or bolt we didn't touch during the process which included an LS1/4L60E swap. We did all the mechanical, drive-train in this space. Then road-tripped the car to Nashville TN, where my Brother owns a proper shop and has the appropriate skills to do the body and paint. After he was done we trailered it home and installed the interior in our driveway
Here's a pic of the car on the trip down to Classic Auto Painting, Mt. Juliet TN:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/40674078453_4707e90336_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/24YehsH)IMG_4044 (https://flic.kr/p/24YehsH) by Tom Sherer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152255092@N02/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/46916516184_9092f96b40_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2etRpHs)IMG_4046 (https://flic.kr/p/2etRpHs) by Tom Sherer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152255092@N02/), on Flickr
That was a fun drive 'cause the car looked like crap but was all new underneath.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/4896/46459230165_c97943d1a0_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2dMrGvK)2019-004 (https://flic.kr/p/2dMrGvK) by Tom Sherer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152255092@N02/), on Flickr
And not to get too far off track...but since I shared that...Here's how it looked when we picked up from Classic Auto Painting about a year later:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49641678583_3f085924be_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2iCEzy4)2-IMG_1412(1) (https://flic.kr/p/2iCEzy4) by Tom Sherer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152255092@N02/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49642483017_f3ab75fbe1_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2iCJGFB)IMG_2193 (https://flic.kr/p/2iCJGFB) by
Tom Sherer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152255092@N02/), on Flickr
My original build thread is gone but there's some more info in a retread of that thread linked in my sig. below.
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You did a great job Tom, I'm bummed we couldn't meet up this year... Let's get something on the schedule for next year. I don't plan on any big projects this winter so first nice day we get here I'm going to take her out to stretch her legs.