Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT A Garage Rehabbed

[madison069]

I'm thrilled whenever I see someone purge and keep what's necessary. In four days you could absolutely change your shop/clutter/life.
I do have a small space in the attic dedicated to spare items for the hot rod. Mainly it is stuff that would be difficult to replace in a pinch should something happen. But, I'm pretty realistic about what goes in that space, too. If I were to put a percentage of the parts I had amassed and what I kept, it'd be like 1% (or less) now. Hahaha.

Workability, efficiency, and organization seemed unattainable when I was dealing with a space that was trying to be storage and a work space. A shed really helped. Tag me if you post up before and after progress pics somewhere. I'd love to see.

I here ya, as I was cleaning out one area I found 4 line snaps. I get maybe keeping 2 of them, but 4???? Also, I kept a lot of my dad's tool as he had the same stuff as I did. So, I got double of most power tools, but I don't need all of them. So, I might put duplicates in totes with proper labels on the side. This way I organize the tools better and when I burn the tool up, I can just grab the duplicate that's out of my way.

I currently post in my garage page but haven't really post the actual organizing part as mostly it's been throwing junk away. I got 3 contractor bags of **** out over the weekend as they were just scraps and trash that just had no point in keeping. Now that I got clear bench tops, I'll pull one drawer at a time and sort through them and organize and scrap them. I also loaded my little pull around trailer full of lawnmower junk that's no good for the scrap man. Might as well help someone else out in the process as he gets all of the aluminum blocks that are damaged from hitting the blade on something.

 

[madison069]

I was looking for oil, yesterday, and found everything except the oil. I was pulling bottles and cans that I forgot I had - half-used duplicates and A LOT of stuff I've had for ten years and never used. I can't even recall buying tire shine, haha. I do remember getting a big box of Turtle Wax products for Christmas one year. Which year? I'm not sure.



So, I did what any self-diagnosed ADHD guy would do on July 4th - I emptied the cabinet and reorganized.



I combined a couple bottles, like Sta-Bil. I stared at a few spray-paint cans wondering "what I used these colors for?". As well, I questioned my younger self on why in the hell I held onto some of this stuff.

I don't know about you guys but I'm much more of a chemical product snob, these days, especially with lubricants. I don't even own WD-40 and can't recall the last time I've had some. There are a few spray-wax bottles that will last forever because I only use them on the tool boxes and such, like twice a year.

This is one of the things I want to do also. I have lots of old paint so I'm planning to pour paint out on tarps to have them dry out before setting it out for trash night. Got a lot of paint to dispose of that's gone bad or no longer a color in the house. Then it's the spray **** turn.


I usually keep wd-40 on hand as I clean mowers with it since it's a good solvent and shines the deck up for photos! Plus, I pick it up for a quarter a can from estate sale because nobody wants it.

 

[madison069]

Same here... I never understood why Dad always saved random hardware and supplies until I was an adult and moved to an even more rural spot in South Dakota. This created my 'measure twice, cut once' learning moment.

Now I've got at least a dozen big box and hardware stores within a 5 mile radius of my house. It did take me a good 5 or so years of living here to break the habit of over-buying on supplies and keeping every nut, bolt, and washer I came across.

Same deal here, used to live in rural town and closet big city was 45 miles away. I'm a hardware hoarder for sure. For me, it's the buying auto related hardware that's costing a pretty penny these days. I need to get my stuff organized and cleaned so I can find it easier. But I try to only keep small quantity of common stuff for quick projects and emergency repairs.

 

[-Brent-]

I forgot you had a Sammi! I‘ve got 5 of them in various stages of repair and ability. I even still have the 1988 Tin-Top I bought new for my Mom for Christmas. My 86 has the most mods and has done the Rubicon 3 times, what fun these little Japanese Jeeps are!

I just miss the days when they were practically free! Please more details on your Sammi build.

Here are some terrible pics of a cool little project that's sat in the shop for a decade. In fact, I renovated the garage so I'd have a place to work on the Sammi.



I bought it in original condition from the first owner in Colorado. He drove it 8 miles a week and it was loaded with carbon and it needed a little TLC, so I towed it back home and got it roadworthy.

I started buying parts for a build and eventually @bryson did the axle swap and a bunch of fabrication. It's awesome quality work. He's meticulous and it shows.

There's a lot done to it. I sourced all the parts I thought were cool back when I was destroying $500 beater Samurais and Yota pickups but couldn't afford any of that stuff.

It's got Shrockworks bumpers, sliders and gas tank skid. Toyota axles, the front has Marlin high steer, a locker in a high pinion 3rd and the rear has a Frontrange full float kit with disks and an ARB. Both axles are trussed or reinforced. The transfer case is a 6.5:1 with a twin stick. The suspension is YJ springs and a trail tough kit. @bryson did a lot of fabrication on the suspension and such.

The cage is a Rock4xFab kit that another guy had welded and fitted to his Sammy buggy. When he was parting it out I got the cage and tube doors for a deal.

What's sad is that some of these great fab companies are no longer in business.

Under the hood I'm going to do Harley carb. I had a bunch of vacuum ports on the intake manifold tigged in. Of course, the battery and alt are upgraded. I have a TC pump running to a FZJ-80 steering box.

All in all, it's a clean little 1988. I have about a 3 page to-do list. My daughter would like to go to school in it when 5th grade starts and I agree. That would be fun.

It's been a storage bin for a long time. I cleaned it out just to take the pics. Hahaha.

There will be a few modern touches since these days there are some neat products that will solve a few problems.

 

[Bob Heine]

Brent, I've never owned a 4x4 but the Suzuki Vitara (Australia) has a warm spot in my heart. We made friends with a South African couple who settled in Sydney.
They were car people, bringing their Baja-style VW with them. After we returned to the US they took up off-roading in a Suzuki Vitara. Eugene made major modifications to it, with Toyota axles and a tray conversion. Celia did so well driving the car she became the first woman to be invited to compete in Australia's 4x4 Outback Challenge.

She had a tough time the first year, managing to pick up a rock in one of her tires....

They went on to compete with a beefier Nissan. They drove their 4x4s on the street as well, taking a 3-year road trip around Australia after retiring from work and competition.

 

[madison069]

I’ve seen those modified Samurai on the trail, afew was at the Canadian river off-road festival but then again there was all different types in that festival. Trackers were popular too. But with west Texas wild open fields, size wasn’t an issue so most of our rigs were full size trucks.

These days I’ve been dreaming of having a Subaru Baja to modify and go off-roading in.

 

[-Brent-]

Hello all,

Years back I put a shelf for project parts and since that day the area had been a nuisance. Recently, the LED shop light above that shelf has been slowly dying. I have a replacement and thought now would be a good time to address the shelf issue.

First, it's a mess. It was a combination of tossing stuff on each shelf and forgetting about it and there were parts that were no longer needed. It wasn't "horrible" - the shelf did it's intended job. However, as I've become more diligent about cleaning up and organization, I didn't like it. Secondly, it was an easy spot to put the shelf, originally, but it wasn't ever a good spot. But mostly, it blocked me from walking along (or working on) the wall-side of the car.


(This is an old pic. I purposely never took photographs of this area. It was a blight in the shop.)

Obviously, I don't have a ton of space but I walked around with the tape measure and considered what could move or how I could reconfigure the rack. I do have a couple pairs of long beams that I could swap and played around with that idea. But, this shelving was always a temporary solution. If it were to ever stay, I'd paint it to match the boxes. Maybe in some later iteration, who knows?

The best spot is where an unused compressor was sitting. I posted it for sale on Marketplace and moved it out.



Then I pushed the car out, took everything off the shelves, and slid the whole unit into its new spot. I used the jack to lift one end and I pulled from the other. This is your typical one-man-band operation, haha.



I had to pull a shelf so that I have access to my dryer and valves and such. However, because I downsized what I had stored for the projects (and even put some of the parts where they need to be!), three shelves are enough. I had to move the box with the bench grinders and it's a little more cumbersome (I lost my shop vac spot) but as we work, it'll get figured out.

The ABSOLUTE BENEFIT of this - the shop feels like it has a lot more space to work and move around.

 

[zmotorsports]

Dayum Brent. I knew you had a Samurai project that you had been working on for several years. But I don't think I ever saw the long laundry list of parts and mods that have been done to it. That sounds like an awesome project and build. I don't know how you've done it being able to delay gratification that long. I would want it finished so I could enjoy it with the kids while they're young. Especially after all that work has been done to it.



Oh, the shop looks great too. Sorry, the build details got me derailed a bit.

 

[-Brent-]

Dayum Brent. I knew you had a Samurai project that you had been working on for several years. But I don't think I ever saw the long laundry list of parts and mods that have been done to it. That sounds like an awesome project and build. I don't know how you've done it being able to delay gratification that long. I would want it finished so I could enjoy it with the kids while they're young. Especially after all that work has been done to it.



Oh, the shop looks great too. Sorry, the build details got me derailed a bit.

I know!

I have remodeled the kitchen twice, bathroom twice (the latest I just wrapped up), had ups and downs, businesses, and then these kids got good at sports, and the list goes on. Mostly though it comes in last place in project importance.

So, money got spent elsewhere, time elsewhere, etc.

Here's the latest bathroom renovation:



A lot of the time I just wasn't enthusiastic about working on the Samurai. But recently I have been chipping away at it. It is a cool rig. I'd certainly like to be able to drive it.

 

[SilverJimmy]

Where do you post all the Sami stuff? What am I missing?!

 

[Higgins]

I just read the entire thread so far.
I loved the one about your day labor. It really struck home. I've had the same thing happen here. You hire an enthusiastic guy and there's no one home, but the light is on. We have the same thing happen at work. Once in awhile I find a "helper" that's "trainable" as I put it and they work out until they find a regular job.

I like the rebuild of the shop.

Finding good help is all but impossible. Yrs ago I retired at 55 and was enjoying my retirement and projects. Had a friend that needed her bathroom redone it was a gut job. I got everything out of the bathroom and it was her responsibility to get rid of the debris… Worked out great and was a great student and a spare set of hands.
Bathroom was finished and painted to her delight .
I wasn’t going to do any more projects as it was just too hard working alone. Time passed and had a number of people that were layed off and willing to work. Turned out to be a wonderful experience. Several of the ladies were comfortable enough to hang shelves and cabinets by themselves. Two of the ladies tiled their bathroom floor and they were off and running.
A good time was had by all !!

 

[-Brent-]

Where do you post all the Sami stuff? What am I missing?!

I don't have it posted anywhere anymore. I had an old build thread, way back, on a regional off-roading website where I first knew Mike from.

It has a ton of awesome fab work and parts. It's a throwback build for sure. Although, now it has a few modern upgrades coming.

Maybe I should post up a thread again somewhere...

 

[-Brent-]

I assume this light's LED driver is bad or failing but I don't know enough to really say.



What I can say, without a doubt is that this replacement light is brighter than all the others. The led strips have the LEDs closer and the light output will take some getting used to. I have another that I picked up as a spare. I may put it up soon... it's so nice to have crazy-bright light.

 

[-Brent-]

I have been thinking about this specific shot since this guy on the HAMB did it like 20 years ago.

I want to mess around with this view at night to see what I can come up with.

 

[-Brent-]

Here's that photo that had been imprinted on my brain. Not only for the Model A, but the old garage scene was the feel I wanted in my shop.

 

[burger]

I was amazed at what Kevin Lee did out of that little garage. And now what you're doing out of your slightly bigger garage! A well done hot rods looks like magic. I'm looking at the windows on the Pie Cut and man that's just art how he cut those windows down. Usually a chop that severe has some awful angles coming together on the curvature.

 

[burger]

Look at the curves on the windows of KL’s coupe. All are chopped hard as hell and they still follow a graceful curve.

 

[gordyzx9r]

Took a few days but I enjoyed reading from start to finish...

Your name came up on FB regarding the Hazet cart and the Craftsman light you tweaked to mount on it. Tried to find that write up on your tools365 page but the link to the light build is a dead link now.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/vintage-hazet-tool-trolley-accessory-lamp.1134439/

I was able to get a Hazet cart locally (guy actually has a few in really nice shape for sale here that are in really nice condition and priced to sell compared to the prices I see them for on eBay). I also have one of those Craftsman lights and would like to have someone fab up that swivel mount you made...any chance you still have that write-up somewhere?

 

[sean Buick 76]

Took a few days but I enjoyed reading from start to finish...

Your name came up on FB regarding the Hazet cart and the Craftsman light you tweaked to mount on it. Tried to find that write up on your tools365 page but the link to the light build is a dead link now.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/vintage-hazet-tool-trolley-accessory-lamp.1134439/

I was able to get a Hazet cart locally (guy actually has a few in really nice shape for sale here that are in really nice condition and priced to sell compared to the prices I see them for on eBay). I also have one of those Craftsman lights and would like to have someone fab up that swivel mount you made...any chance you still have that write-up somewhere?

Hey! Start a thread about your turbo Buick?

 

[mbryson]

Hey! Start a thread about your turbo Buick?

oh, yes! Please do! Buicks can be kewl (especially little v6 buggers with hair dryers on them or big cube 455 based things)

 

[madison069]

Hola, just checking in.

 

[2001ZR2]

Just read (reread) parts of your journey with you garage and life afterwards. You have done some awesome things and I look forward to see what's next.