Above 1200 Sq/FT My new garage build! 30x50 !

[Xti04]

Thanks @zanyad ! Had a short video meeting with my new boss yesterday. Looking like the end of next month to start. I asked if I could start working on my off days to try and grt a few things figured out. He said no initially and then replied later last night with they are going to meet with HR Monday and give me an answer on if I can get going sooner. Sounds good to me!

My mom text me yesterday from the car auction my parents are at and said my dad bought a....... BMW. I was really disappointed to hear that. He bought a 2005 645ci convertible and paid like 8500 for it. All I can think is he bought a German nightmare. A 20 year German nightmare. And mist definitely overpaid for it in my opinion. He couldnt have gotten further from buying what he went to get if you asked me. Im sure the cobras were going for more than he wanted to pay because he is cheap as hell, but I didnt see that coming. Hopefully they dont ask me to work on it.

 

[Swanny1953]

Congrats on the new gig!! Perseverance pays off!!

 

[Xti04]

Thanks Gary! I really appreciate all the support from this crew. My mom called earlier today and my dad caught a last minute deal and picked this up.
66 mustang 289 auto. He said he wanted just a clean daily driver and grabbed this towards the end of the auction. Said one of the cobras he was after went over 90k, the other got pulled from auction around 60k, and this was one of the last mustangs to go across the block. Hes having it shipped back home and hes going to drive the BMW back.

 

[Xti04]

I made a bit of progress on the topper yesterday and got my first window reinstalled. The drivers side got all the old seal pulled and I used butyl tape instead of the foam seal they had used originally. I went ahead and rescreened the window as well

With the new screen and tape on I went ahead and popped the window in place and got it all screwed in. I have a bit of butyl to trim up and I need to hit my repairs with a bit of primer and paint before I install the rear and passenger side windows. I have a bad habit of opening my garage door just enough to walk under, no idea why I do this. Well yesterday I walked right into the door while trying to check a message from my sons school. I walk like Im in a race and knocked my *** right to the ground. Got a nice lump on the head from the bottom of the door. Maybe one day I will quit doing dumb stuff, but I doubt it.

 

[Cdubu52]

Congrats on the new Job!

 

[Xti04]

Congrats on the new Job!

Thank you! Anxiously awaiting an answer today on whether I can start sooner than the end of next month.

 

[fouckhest]

Congrats on the new job!

 

[Xti04]

Thanks Mike!

 

[Jayman17]

Yes congrats on the new job! I hope it is a good fit for you.

 

[Xti04]

Yes congrats on the new job! I hope it is a good fit for you.

Thanks Jayman17! I swear, this forum is one of the best communities online. Cant think of many places you could post in your build thread about life outside your shop and get the kind of support you get here. So many other places would complain you were off topic when in reality my shop is such a tiny piece of what I do. So thank you all for the support !

 

[JJC]

Congrats on the new Job

 

[Xti04]

Thanks @JJC !

Last night I got some primer sprayed on the spots before having to jump on my bicycle and take a ride to pick up a rover for my buddy. Needs a wheel bearing judging by the sound of things as well as pressure testing the cooling system to try and track down a leak. I also have another of his rovers here with broken wiring to the parking brake motor and fried rear pads. Should have it completed tonight, and then a del sol with an Integra type R swap I did several years ago is stopping by for some brakes. Lots of good work. Enough to keep me and my buddy busy.

 

[dmittz]

Congrats on the new job!

 

[Xti04]

Congrats on the new job!

Thanks Dmittz!

This morning I was up before the sun to knock out a quickie pad slap for this old del sol. He didnt want rotors so it got new pads front and rear. Honestly didnt really need rotors, but my gripe was I had to do it on the ground because this rover has a bad wire going to the parking brake motor. It isnt allowing me to take it out of service mode. Rover dealer and Jag dealer both cant find the correct terminals to rewire the connectors. There is a sub harness available but dealer wanted 250 per side and cant get it till October. Guess the copper for the wire is still in the mines.

With today being my wife's birthday I test drove the del sol to our favorite breaksfast place grabbed donuts, apple fritters( haer fave) and some breakfast eggrolls they make and stopped on way back home to grab her card. I bought her a nice waterfall orchid last night and brought it all in. Breakfast, cards and gifts were all a huge hit so I did good.

Wife went to get her nails done, so I cleaned up the second window and got the butyl tape on it. This time I pulled starters and placed the window where I wanted it before removing the backing. That went great except on piece tore and it took a bit to fish the protective strip off the butyl.
I also got the back glass on and everything is secured. With is all weatherproofed , I went ahead and brought the boxes to the truck to be installed. small box in place. this guy is a bit harder to handle by myself. got him in and good to go. Both are comong back out for carpet on small box and power wiring in big box. I needed them in there to accurately measure for the puece that bridges the two boxes. Closer to being used, if this heat ever lets up. Looking forward to finishing this up so I can get back onto the Jeep.

 

[DeeDubz]

I know im a little late to the party but congrats on the new job Holmes.

 

[cccoltsicehockey]

Congrats on the new job. Has to be some good stress off finding something new you like. Hope it treats you well.

 

[Xti04]

I know im a little late to the party but congrats on the new job Holmes.

Thanks bro! Im looking forward to it. Ems is probably one of the few things I really enjoyed about emergency medicine, so getting to continue on working with EMS will be great.

Congrats on the new job. Has to be some good stress off finding something new you like. Hope it treats you well.

Will be quite a load off my back once I can get started. The waiting to get going is now killing me, the week I start there will be several events I have to attend and I will be hitting the ground running with no real idea of what Im doing
. Just another day for me though

 

[Xti04]

So heres a question for the crew. As part of my nww job I am going to be driving a lot. I cant work this job out of my Acty, and I hate to drive my F250 for work. I am planning on buying a car, but my question is how do you all buy cars? I have a set budget, and I have it narrowed down to 4 different cars based on practicality. Toyota prius, Lexus CTh , Honda Accord , and Honda Civic. The mechanic side of my brain has always bought whatever was cheapest and just rolled with that knowing I can fix anything. I have to haul hospital CEOs with me in my car though so I am trying to find something nice without blowing the budget so how do you do it? Nicest looking, features, or lowest miles and best service history? Typically when I buy my wife a car we spend a weekend in Atlanta where the car volume is so much higher and I am looking at just one model. I buy her the nicest lowest mileage car I can get at the top of my budget typically. Since its for me I just cant come to grips with spending any kind of real money on myself. Need a voice of reason here to help me think through it, of course the typical GJ answer would be screw it and get something with muscle

 

[fouckhest]

My vote is Honda Accord, nice enough that its not a civic, aka, kids car, will be reliable and scream practicality!

 

[zmotorsports]

Of those choices, I would lean towards the Honda/Acura. Although I like the Honda line I'm not as crazy about the Civic's, just a bit too cheap for my liking, commuter or not. The Lexus could be a contender, but I've found some can have a bit higher overall cost of ownership. I don't even want to comment on the Prius.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

If a CEO is too good to ride in what you bought, that tells me all I need to know about them as a human.

Buy the best maintained and clean version of what you want.

 

[Swanny1953]

Of those listed, I'd probably lean to the Accord. Have a Corvette buddy who has had one for many years, trouble free and it's a ball to drive he says!!

 

[Mr.zippy]

I'm in the Accord camp too. For the love of God, no Prius though...save your soul man

 

[Xti04]

If a CEO is too good to ride in what you bought, that tells me all I need to know about them as a human.

Buy the best maintained and clean version of what you want.

Guess I should clarify that. Many of my cars I have had are absolute ****. They have gotten better as I have gotten older but there were several that should have been classified as " off road use only" like Flintstones floorboards, open header 4 bangers etc. Im fine driving any thing and my daily driver Kei truck certainly shows that I give zero Fs about maintaining an image. What I do want is a clean car thats comfortable. I drove 2 different Accords today. I know those cars inside and out and could fix anything on them. Prius is intriguing from 2 angles. First is 50 mpg is pretty sweet. Many of the ones I have serviced have had little to no problems. The second is as the automotive industry shifts towards hybrid and electric vehicles I want to spend some more time getting to know them better and theres no better way to do that than to own one. I know one thing is for sure, I am definitely having sticker shock at what used cars are going for currently. I jave a couple of private party cars that will be coming available soon, so I am waiting on them to decide on prices for those. They are both one owner cars and lower mileage which may be my best bet.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Hybrid will always be a political game. I'll leave it that. My tuner has a diesel VW that gets close to 60mpg running on french fry oil for free.

My dad's 1992 Buick LeSabre with the 3800 V6 would get a hand calculated 37mpg and run over 100mph when called upon(made if from Chadron, NE to Gering, NE in a big hurry to set water one Summer, 95mi in less than an hour...don't ask).

I too, have driven what many would call junk, over the years(most stuff was sub $2500), but it kept my wife and kids in a later model reliable vehicle. I'm a big proponent of driving stuff you know how to work on.

You are more than capable, buy what fits you and your budget.

I've given up on mpg...the only thing on my farm without a V8 is Mrs. OutlawDrifter's Tacoma. At this point in my life, I buy what makes my daily commute enjoyable.

 

[Xti04]

After sweating my *** off at the dealership last left empty handed, I just cant turn loose of my cash for what they wanted for either of the Accords I drove. One was even a manual which is my personal preference. Something happened, and after getting home and making dinner I went back out side and the opressive humidity was gone. It was an amazing evening to be outside so I got back on my truck project while it was less than miserable to be out there.

With both truck boxes in the bed I could measure for the plywood to bridge the 2 platforms. track saw had them cut down in minutes and ready to carpet. A dose of super 77 adhesive for the wood and a good spray on the carpet as well. Once tacked up, the two were married and pressed together tightly and stapled. I got one done last night before shutting the shop down. I also painted the support piece that will attach to each box.
Got out bright and early to enjoy some coffee and walk the pup. He saw a new friend on our walk and was dying to go play
This morning was another wonderful low humidity morning so I got back after it. Prepped the second panel for carpet. Another spray of adhesive for both these go together pretty quick. The speaker box carpet is pretty forgiving and easy to work. With the two panels covered, all that remains is to attach the final support pieces to the smaller box and to figure out how I want to wire my lights. I am also adding a shore power setup to the truck so I let my son help out with that yesterday. I added these ferrule ends to the stranded wire to make a solid connection inside the housing.
The inside the truck portion is done, just need to get the matching plug to attach next to my trailer wiring plug and run the wire along the frame.

 

[Xti04]

Today has been pretty productive, I got the support pieces in for my panels, did a bit of car shopping, and started on my wiring for the lighting.

I also finally replaced the mirror on my drivers side. My wife accidentally tossed my mirror backing, and with that I couldnt find a glass with a backing plate on it. I found a Dorman complete mirror assembly on the Jungle site it was 16 dollar plus shipping. Not sure how it got to be that cheap, but I jumped on it. I pulled the door panel after I dropped a nut 3 bolts and the door panel is off and I was able to swap the mirror, and got it all back on.

 

[Xti04]

My shore power for the truck is roughed in. I had a couple items that didnt show up as promised which included the Adel clamps to hold my wiring and a quick and dirty male plug end until I find or fabricate a mount to hold a proper plug. I started with this truck bed grommet. I added a grommet to the grommet for the wire to pass thru.
After getting that situated I grabbed a hole saw and punched a hole through the back of the box. I actually decided against using the flush mount cord setup I bought originally and just brought the whole cord into the box. Checked to make sure that everythind was in the right place and then fed the cord thru the grommet. I added some heat shrink to make a bit of a strain relief for the cord end excess cord fed thru to run down frame. all popped in place and ready to push box back flush where the wire comes out between the box and the cab I plan to slide some heater hose up there to protect from any chafing. Wiring is roughly routed to the rear or the truck and will get finalized once I get my Adel clamps. We got hit with a heavy shower today and my drivers side window is leaking pretty bad. I am going to pull it and reseal it. Pretty bummed about the leaks. Its a pain to redo it but I want a dry place to sleep so it has to be done. Wiring is made up for the light and inside of some braided nylon wire wrap. Used the heat shrink trick for the ends I got from @zmotorsports to keep it from unraveling. I havent decided how I want to route the wiring which is my main holdup. Hopefully I decide on that tonight and get it handled.

My buddy came by to knock out the wheel bearing on the LR2 rover I sold, he got it all apart and I knocked out the hub with a brass drift. Once he pressed the bearing out he was aaking me about how to install the new one. Hes such a dealer guy. Hes used to having a special press fixture to remove and another to install. I showed him to use the original bearing on the press plate, sit new bearing on top of it and then use a flat bar across the back of the knuckle to push it down onto the bearing. His mind was blown when I showed him that. He said he had never even considered doing it like that and was trying to determine how he would flip the knuckle and keep it flat to install bearing.

 

[cccoltsicehockey]

Depending on how much driving you have to do the CTh would be my vote. I can't stand the look of a Prius but have always had a spot for the CTh for some reason. I used to get them a bunch as loaners when I would have the ISF serviced while it was still under CPO warranty and I actually enjoyed them over getting like an IS250 at the time.

 

[Xti04]

Car search has been way to stressful so I have put it on the back burner for the moment. I ended up going from looking at sub 10 year old cars into a rabbit hole of just importing a low mileage Toyota Chaser or Soarer or a GtST Skyline for similar money. Not productive so I just backed off. I did have my first unofficial meeting in my new position, got to listen to survey results for our hospital from EMS which were mostly pretty positive.

I have been trying to get my truck ready for camping and I am so close, minus the setbacks I have found so far. This morning I pulled the rear roof rack bar I installed and resealed it. I had taped all around the bases to prevent squeeze out sealant all over the topper.
I also put a heavy amount over each carriage bolt. I dont want any leaks at all and I dont want to have to climb back up there and redo it. The rear is easy because I can stand on the tailgate and access it. The front will require me on a ladder on one side and standing in my kei truck bed on the other. Hopefully I can get the front done this evening. I moved on and tried to decide light placement for the bed. I used this small switch setup as it allows me usbs for phone charging and a 12 v plug to power the lights or other chargers. here its sitting in a temp location plugged into the Jackery under the bed and powering a light. I kept the wire length generous so I could mount the lights wherever I wanted. Im thinking 3 lights will be plenty. One forward, middle and at the back. I also have the rgb led strip which is set to red for night vision preservation. It can plug into the usb port or into a 12v adapter/ charging block. I thought that would give the wife enough light to see by since shes always getting up at night.

Clamps have shown up but still waiting on my plug so I can finish my shore power setup. Once the plug is here I will put my truck on the lift and that bit. I pulled the window trim off the driver side window too and found what I believe to be my leak. window appears to have slid down and didnt make a solid seal against the fiberglass. Gonna pull it out reseal and reinstall with the hopes its all good to go. I really dont want any water intrusion andhoping this will get me good to go.

 

[zmotorsports]

Roof penetrations look good. I hate roof penetrations in general but they're a necessary evil in the RV world.

I use a butyl sealant that comes in a caulking tube under whatever I am mounting and then follow up like you did over the fasteners using Dicor Lap Sealant as it flows out nicely, does a great job of sealing and actually lasts quite a long time if prepped and applied correctly.

In previous years on all our RV's I would use the butyl putty tape which worked well but didn't get much squeeze out when securing items and always felt like it was too thin and not as flexible as it should be. Then a few years ago when I replaced my skylight I used the liquid butyl sealant, which really isn't liquid it's just in a caulking tube form rather than tape and is bit more pliable and "squeezable" than the tape and I really like it.

I am in the planning process now to install a Starlink on the roof of our coach and ready to ditch the DirecTV satellite dish and the thought of more penetrations into my roof gives me anxiety.

 

[Xti04]

I used a loctite variant that is a marine sealant. Made for thru hull fittimgs and such. Probably similar to 3m 5200. If it is I may be screwed because that will rip the fiberglass off the roof before it lets go. I sealed the windows with butyl tape, the were originally a foam tape, I have a new un opened tube of windshield urethane and was considering usimg it for this window but since the passenger side doesn't leak I was hoping I can just redo this drivers side with butyl as well and be good to go.

 

[zmotorsports]

I haven't used Loctite's/ Henkel's variant, but I have used 3M's 5200 and you're right, if it's anything like the 5200 you may disbond the fiberglass. That stuff is permanent to say the least.

 

[Xti04]

I didnt get the front bar resealed today but I did pull the drivers window to attempt to reseal it. My buddy was over here doing a landrover job and he gave me an awesome idea. He said to use my drill and a drill bit to pull the butyl off the window frame. It worked awesome!
The drill just picks it up and then a bit of back and forth and it pulled it off the surface. Worked even better on the topper. Theres still a few spots to clean up but the majority is all off of it. I can hopefully reseal it Friday morning and get it along with the front roof bar done before the weekend.

 

[zmotorsports]

The drill bit on the butyl tape is an awesome idea. Thank you for sharing it.

 

[Xti04]

My buddy said when they do EV batteries in the Audis the cases are sealed with butyl and this is how they remove it. It came off the fiberglass great, the metal frame was a bit more difficult but still came off pretty well. My plan with reinstalling the window will be to leave the protective tape on it and peel once its in place. I did that on the passenger window and it did perfect and didnt leak.

 

[zmotorsports]

I will have to try that. In the past on RV's when trying to remove butyl or even some urethane sealants, I have removed as much by a plastic scraper as possible, then the last remaining film or layer I have used one of those 3M wheels that look like an eraser used for removing emblem tape and decals. That has seemed to work well, but time consuming, especially trying not to mar or damage painted surfaces.

 

[Xti04]

I will have to try that. In the past on RV's when trying to remove butyl or even some urethane sealants, I have removed as much by a plastic scraper as possible, then the last remaining film or layer I have used one of those 3M wheels that look like an eraser used for removing emblem tape and decals. That has seemed to work well, but time consuming, especially trying not to mar or damage painted surfaces.

The scraper was where I was headed. I thought maybe putting ice on it would make it harden and be easier to scrape. He told me to try this and it worked great. Little bits that remain can be picked up by taking a ball of the butyl and pushing it into the the pieces and pulling it off.

 

[loganb]

For the car situation.....Tesla Model 3 leases are really attractive right now at least up here....get FSD for 100 a month....lower the stress in that traffic! Tax credit expires next month so the pricing right now is better

 

[Xti04]

For the car situation.....Tesla Model 3 leases are really attractive right now at least up here....get FSD for 100 a month....lower the stress in that traffic! Tax credit expires next month so the pricing right now is better

Funny you mention that, I have never leased or even bought a brand new car. I did look at leasing one of those after you mentioned it and even with the first responder discount its not as bad as I imagined it would be. Changing the car color is a 1000 dollar upcharge, FSD is an 8k add on, but otherwise its like 199 a month plus 5900 up front. I would have to add a charger to my shop too. Not sure I am ready for the electric jump yet. The fact I cant service a lot of it makes me very uneasy and seeing all the issues my buddy has had with his model Xs and the costs associated with the repairs makes me wary of them. Might be ok for a lease, as warranty would cover all costs.