Finishing my garage

[dladcock]

Like I said before, if I spent as much time in my shop as I have yours, I'd be finished a long time ago.

It was maybe a year ago when I started to ramble these pages. Looking for ideas and tips to apply in some fashion to my space. When I saw your shop, well, I just looked past it because it was at first glance way over my head and budget.

For some reason it kept gettin' up in my face, so what the heck I'll look.

How could this get past me? Basically it was the simplest application of paint and lights I've ever seen............. but it's got to be the absolute most refined use of space with tons of texture and function.

I can now visualize my own project as well as "TASTE" the finished project. Thanks for sharing your process and insight, it has been inspiring.

Lynn

 

[Mikea57]

Scott,
INCREDIBLE!!! When I looked at the first picture my immediate thought was that I was looking at mine. The electrical panel is in that same position, the air compressor is right below it and the hose reel is right next to the panel! The biggest difference is that I've got a mandoor just to the left of the panel.

So, what did you do with your compressor? I guess I missed it but I didn't see it in any of the later pix. Did you run any dedicated air lines and drop points?

Great job man!!

Mike

 

[67ford]

WOW! What a great car and garage! Giving me plenty of ideas!

I live up by Elk River, MN.. I should cruise down and check it all out!

Here are some pics of my Scarelane. Just got her done right before it started snowing in November.

 

[XcYZ]

Thanks guys!

Love it all!

What wheels do you got on? Like em allot...

Mathias

They are HRE 547's. Not your traditional muscle car wheel.

Like I said before, if I spent as much time in my shop as I have yours, I'd be finished a long time ago.

It was maybe a year ago when I started to ramble these pages. Looking for ideas and tips to apply in some fashion to my space. When I saw your shop, well, I just looked past it because it was at first glance way over my head and budget.

For some reason it kept gettin' up in my face, so what the heck I'll look.

How could this get past me? Basically it was the simplest application of paint and lights I've ever seen............. but it's got to be the absolute most refined use of space with tons of texture and function.

I can now visualize my own project as well as "TASTE" the finished project. Thanks for sharing your process and insight, it has been inspiring.

Lynn

Thanks Lynn. It really is quite simple and basic. I think the colors make it look more 'refined' than it really is.

Scott,
INCREDIBLE!!! When I looked at the first picture my immediate thought was that I was looking at mine. The electrical panel is in that same position, the air compressor is right below it and the hose reel is right next to the panel! The biggest difference is that I've got a mandoor just to the left of the panel.

So, what did you do with your compressor? I guess I missed it but I didn't see it in any of the later pix. Did you run any dedicated air lines and drop points?

Great job man!!

Mike

Thanks Mike. I have the compressor, welder, drill press, engine hoist, etc, all stored along the right wall as you look in the garage. Everything is on wheels, including the drill press (I made a roller base for it).

WOW! What a great car and garage! Giving me plenty of ideas!

I live up by Elk River, MN.. I should cruise down and check it all out!

Here are some pics of my Scarelane. Just got her done right before it started snowing in November.

Great car. You should stop by and post pics at www.Lateral-g.net/forums Will you have it at Car Craft this summer?

 

[67ford]

Great car. You should stop by and post pics at www.Lateral-g.net/forums Will you have it at Car Craft this summer?

For sure. I'm at Car Craft every year. I actually bought my Fairlane there 10 years ago!

 

[dwork56]

that is a sweet car and a sweeter man cave

 

[woody2136]

SBC's seem to love to leak oil...I chased a leak from my oil pan for quite a while before I found out it was the timing cover lip. I replaced the pan gasket, crank seal, and the balancer before I found it.

Another look at your shop is another reminder I need shelving & pain in my garage and to get the 18s on my Camaro!

 

[ocejo]

did you wire up your outlets all to one breaker or split them up?

 

[jocool1585]

Love the color of that Fairlane, what kind of paint is it? Do you happen to have a paint code?

 

[XcYZ]

did you wire up your outlets all to one breaker or split them up?

I wired the garage so each wall is on it's own circuit.

 

[KevDawg]

Looks like someone is trying to Hi-Jack this thread.
What the hell man?
Sure doesn't make me want to check out that site.

 

[KevDawg]

Perhaps a moderator could delete the Member?

 

[KevDawg]

Awesome! This being one of the most popular threads it didn't need that garbage.

 

[ballast]

I just found this forum and thread. Great work. I was wondering what kind of heater I see mounted. If you mentioned it already I apologize, I'm too lazy tonight to read 15 pages of replys.


But I did just go looking throught the forum and found a whole section on heating and AC.

 

[isptech]

You have inspired me to clean my garage and get it painted. I need a nice home for my "Bird"

That does not look like the factory wiper motor on the firewall of that Camaro, what did you replace the original with ?

Totally AWESOME GARAGE! Oh and the Camaro is AWESOME too, well if you like Chevys.

My toy

 

[XcYZ]

I just found this forum and thread. Great work. I was wondering what kind of heater I see mounted. If you mentioned it already I apologize, I'm too lazy tonight to read 15 pages of replys.

It's a 45k BTU heater. Works good, but is relatively noisy. A friend has a 65k and it's much quieter.

You have inspired me to clean my garage and get it painted. I need a nice home for my "Bird"

That does not look like the factory wiper motor on the firewall of that Camaro, what did you replace the original with ?

Totally AWESOME GARAGE! Oh and the Camaro is AWESOME too, well if you like Chevys.

Thanks.

The wiper motor is a 4th Gen F-body setup. It's really nice having modern wiper controls with several different delays instead of just Low and Hi.

 

[Motown 454]

I wired the garage so each wall is on it's own circuit.

Scott thanks, I never thought of that. Good idea I think I'll use it.

 

[XcYZ]

Scott thanks, I never thought of that. Good idea I think I'll use it.

I felt it was a good idea as its simple knowing exactly which outlets were on which circuit. Easy is good.

 

[GrabberOrange69]

I'm not worthy.

I'm not worthy.

 

[Deeznuts]

Very nice car and shop! I notice a magazine cover with your car in a few of the shots. Who blew that up for you? I have one that ive wanted blown up like that for a while but dont know who can do it.

 

[XcYZ]

Very nice car and shop! I notice a magazine cover with your car in a few of the shots. Who blew that up for you? I have one that ive wanted blown up like that for a while but dont know who can do it.

Thanks.

That's a 24x36 metal sign which was a gift from Source Interlink (the publishers of Camaro Performers, Hot Rod, Car Craft, etc) in return for some help that I had given them on their Project American Heroes build that was auctioned at Barrett-Jackson to raise money for the Armed Forces Foundation.

The magazine cover is blown up and printed onto metal. Some place in Florida did it, but I don't recall the name of the business. If you're interested, I can look up them up - although it would be easier and cheaper to have what you want printed as a poster. There's quite a few poster printing services online.

 

[xrdad]

Like everyone else here, you did some excellent work!

Couple 'more' questions if you don't mind?

The pot lights used - any concerns with heat? did you need to get special boxes or vent the soffit?

As I'm getting ready to start my own restoration project, would you advise to complete that before finishing the garage or after? From your story, it sounds as though the majority of your restoration Camaro was done in the original garage. From your experience, do you suggest the repairs to the car or to the shop first?

Thanks

 

[XcYZ]

Like everyone else here, you did some excellent work!

Couple 'more' questions if you don't mind?

The pot lights used - any concerns with heat? did you need to get special boxes or vent the soffit?

As I'm getting ready to start my own restoration project, would you advise to complete that before finishing the garage or after? From your story, it sounds as though the majority of your restoration Camaro was done in the original garage. From your experience, do you suggest the repairs to the car or to the shop first?

Thanks

There's plenty of clearance for the lights inside the soffit. I can't remember off the top of my head what the non-IC cans called for, but I believe it was around 1". I have a couple of inches between the top of the can and the bottom of the shelving, so no concern there.

In hindsight, it would be been way nicer to do my car project in the garage with it totally finished. It's just so much brighter, more storage, more workspace, cleaner, and more conducive to progress. When I make a mess now, I can just sweep off the countertops and floor and be done. Before, with all my storage exposed, everything got covered with dust, metal from grinding and cutting, etc.

 

[Scuderia-F1]

I really like how neat & tidy your shop is, I like your 1:st gen too.
VERY well done on both your projects.

 

[metalhead212121]

Just a quick question to XcYZ or anyone else who has been watching over this thread..... I know with a build like this you're not really supposed to ask the question "how much $$ do you have into that car?" Sorry just had to ask.. There REALLY aren't words to describe how AMAZING it came out. In my mind it represents a prefect mixture of new school and old school blended together. I can't tell you guys how many times I've been to car shows where a guy is showing off his first gen F-body and is so proud that everything is period correct.. matching #'s bla bla bla. It's nice to have something like that and if the car is in prestine condition I know it will be worth a good chunk of change.... BUT DAMNIT I WANNA SEE SOMETHING NEW!! (LIKE XcYZ's car)

Dan

 

[Gareth]

I have read through this several times now, and it has lead to me making several changes to the plans for the inside of mine.

Excellent outcome - I will be delighted if mine is approaching half as good!

 

[EKjimmy]

That looks fantastic and so clean - just the way i like them!
Beautiful Camaro too.

How does the epoxy floor coating compare to VCT/Racedeck?
Hardwearing, enough grip, cost etc?

Nothing worse than the stained old slab in my garage
Also, as far as DIY, is the epoxy a difficult thing to do, do you need special equipment etc?

Jimmy

 

[cdecker]

Scott,

Beautiful transformation. This garage inspires me everyday as I finish off mine. Quick question with regards to your lighting.. I noticed you installed 2 rows of 3, 4', 4-Bulb T8 light fixtures, however, you installed them so that they stopped before your overhead door. Was there a reason? How is the lighting with the door down? Does the front of the garage seem darker at all, like its missing something, or is it really un-noticable?

I'm asking because I am in the process of roughing in my electric, and I would like to install lighting very similar to yours. My garage is the same width, 24', and about the same height as yours. My door is an 8' opposed to 7, and in figuring out my lighting, it might be tight to get any recessed lights above the door itself (3" clearance currently with the door up, and thats before drywall). Just curious your thoughts on yours, now that you've been in it for a while. Would you have done it the same way, or added perhaps another light section to each row?

Thanks, and great job!
-Chris

 

[XcYZ]

Thanks guys, I appreciate it.

That looks fantastic and so clean - just the way i like them!
Beautiful Camaro too.

How does the epoxy floor coating compare to VCT/Racedeck?
Hardwearing, enough grip, cost etc?

Nothing worse than the stained old slab in my garage
Also, as far as DIY, is the epoxy a difficult thing to do, do you need special equipment etc?

Jimmy

I love the epoxy. I don't know how race deck would hold up under welding, grinding, weight on jackstands, etc.

I used no special tools when installing it. Well, I did make my own spike shoe platforms for walking on top of the wet epoxy out of 1/2" plywood and a bunch of 3/4" drywall screws that I shrink wrapped to my shoes. lol I didn't grind (I had never sealed the floor), I just etched the concrete, tested, and it was good to go.

Scott,

Beautiful transformation. This garage inspires me everyday as I finish off mine. Quick question with regards to your lighting.. I noticed you installed 2 rows of 3, 4', 4-Bulb T8 light fixtures, however, you installed them so that they stopped before your overhead door. Was there a reason? How is the lighting with the door down? Does the front of the garage seem darker at all, like its missing something, or is it really un-noticable?

I'm asking because I am in the process of roughing in my electric, and I would like to install lighting very similar to yours. My garage is the same width, 24', and about the same height as yours. My door is an 8' opposed to 7, and in figuring out my lighting, it might be tight to get any recessed lights above the door itself (3" clearance currently with the door up, and thats before drywall). Just curious your thoughts on yours, now that you've been in it for a while. Would you have done it the same way, or added perhaps another light section to each row?

Thanks, and great job!
-Chris

That's a good question, Chris. It is a bit darker in the front of the garage, it's somewhat noticeable when the garage door is down. However, the garage is very bright, so I guess it's all relative. I (or you in your case) could always add another set of lights as they are made to be strung together in a modular respect, but I've never felt the need.

I spent quite a bit of time in the shop this weekend installing, wiring, and programming a standalone wideband O2 controller and then getting it to serially communicate with my EFI logging and tuning software. Never once did I think I needed more light under or inside the car.

 

[Fishy]

Awesome garage and great looking car.

I am encouraged at what you did with the space, looks much larger than 24x24. It gives me some optimism as the house we have a pending offer on didn't have the 3+ car garage I was hoping for but it does have a nice 27x27 to work with....... a whole lot better that this useless 18x18 on our current home that I can't even fit my truck in.

 

[6 Grrrs]

I'm no Ford guy, but that Fairlane is beautiful. I am also not a fan of Green, but it looks perfect.

 

[King David]

Wow! I just joined this forum today, but I think I found my dream garage. Hmm . . . wonder how upset the wife would be if I sold her car and pulled my daughter out of dance to deck out the garage? LOL Ok, that wouldn't be wise.

Seriously though . . . this is awesome! Very nicely executed. It's functional art even.

 

[FltEngCPO]

Absolutely beautiful! I will be borrowing from your pics for ideas on my shop.

 

[walker450]

In hindsight, it would be been way nicer to do my car project in the garage with it totally finished. It's just so much brighter, more storage, more workspace, cleaner, and more conducive to progress. When I make a mess now, I can just sweep off the countertops and floor and be done. Before, with all my storage exposed, everything got covered with dust, metal from grinding and cutting, etc.

I only see one solution to this problem: Start another project! That boy of yours would probably love a nice LS powered Chevelle to drive.

Great job on the shop and car.

Sorry if you have already mentioned it, but what is the inside height of your walls? (original height before soffits)

 

[XcYZ]

Thanks for the kind words, guys.

I only see one solution to this problem: Start another project! That boy of yours would probably love a nice LS powered Chevelle to drive.

Great job on the shop and car.

Sorry if you have already mentioned it, but what is the inside height of your walls? (original height before soffits)

I'll probably do another project as some point, but it will be another 69 Camaro.

The ceiling height is 9'2".

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Hi Scott,
I just noticed a detail in one of your photos I hadn't noticed before. If you've already answered questions about it, I apologize for the repeat. On the base cabinet at the rear of the garage it looks like they're spaced away from the wall maybe 4-6", is that right? If so, why was that necessary? Seems like it makes a handy sort of shelf along the back of the countertops.

 

[XcYZ]

Hi Scott,
I just noticed a detail in one of your photos I hadn't noticed before. If you've already answered questions about it, I apologize for the repeat. On the base cabinet at the rear of the garage it looks like they're spaced away from the wall maybe 4-6", is that right? If so, why was that necessary? Seems like it makes a handy sort of shelf along the back of the countertops.

Because of how my lot lays and with how the drainage flows, I chose to lay 1 course of block on the south and east walls. It was my first and only time laying block, it hasn't failed yet, so I guess I did it right. lol Although it's kinda hard to screw up one course.

Anyways, that's why the cabinets along the back wall are 4" away from the wall. I wasn't wild about it at first, but that space behind the cabinets has actually proved to be handy. I store a lot of my steel and pipe behind there.

 

[joeydawrench]

Dammmmmm nice!!!!!

 

[keepup]

Scott,

Your garage has been a huge inspiration for me. Take a look:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=95555

 

[dalepres]

When I first started reading this thread, looking at the "before" pictures, I was thinking I was going to have to sue for foster care of that beautiful car for failure to provide it a worthy home. I see you've rectified the situation. Great job on both projects.