East Texas shop begins!

[egnorant]

Well I promised a few pictures of my impending life as it relates to my shop.
So, here is the building as seen today.

And

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/picture.php?pictureid=76566&albumid=6025&dl=1509990310&thumb=1
And a small part of the toolboxes...I have counted 3 roll arounds and 27 others.
All with tools in them!

Where we have been working on our projects.

Another picture to show more of the work ahead.

And as I am nearly half done with my toolroundup I should show some results.

A month ago I could find only 1 3/8 ratchet!1

More later with updates.
Bruce
East Texas

 

[fergus]

Awww, just give it a good once over!

Looks like you've got a lot to work with...one building or two? How about those cars? How many are going to stay?

 

[Zrexxer]

What part of East TX are you in?

 

[egnorant]

Well a total of 61 cars and trucks in various states of disrepair, 5 buildings and 2 houses.
Some cars remain on the project list as the purpose of the shop IS to facilitate my projects. But a lot of them are just waiting to go away.

As to where in East Texas, just off I20 near Longview.
Couple more pics of the mess...

This is stuff pulled out to make room to work.

I will give a heads up when I start selling stuff. Right now I am getting the trash, goodwill and burning stuff organized.

Bruce

 

[Mmfh]

You've got quite a project ahead of you, should be a really cool place when you get it organized!!

Mm

 

[RedAggie03]

I'm in Texas and I'm looking for a sub $500 car to race in the LeMons series with...

 

[Zrexxer]

As to where in East Texas, just off I20 near Longview.

Ahh, I know the area well. Got family in the Palestine area, and also some up a little south of Texarkana.

I spent a memorable night a few years ago in a little establishment in Longview called Streakers after the drag races in Shreveport were rained out... gotta love those homegrown east Texas girls...

 

[Falcon67]

I'll come haul off that black notch Mustang that's in your way...

 

[egnorant]

Really drive all that way for a 4 eyed notch?
Brothers car...and he has a couple more notches behind the fence if you need a drag car project. 4 Fox convertibles, a couple of hatches and a Capri too.
I will ask him!

Bruce

P.S. I now have 2 circuits run in the shop!!

 

[orange02ss]

How much for the bug eye?

 

[Red Leader]

I see lots of projects. What are you going to tackle first?

 

[lomonte]

Jeeeeez, that's a lotta stuff! Did you buy into this? Inheritance? Pretty cool either way. Good luck!

 

[egnorant]

Getting the shop to a working organized space is of course top priority.
I am going to knock out some of the smaller projects first. I have a lot of "Ran When Parked" cars that will be given a time frame from 1 day to 1 week to be on the road as driving cars, someone elses project or as a part/scrap car.

The first 5 cars planned as 1 day projects to get them back as driving cars.
91 Mustang, fuel pump.
91 Capri XR2, replace turbo.
87 T-Bird turbocoupe, starter.
93 Miata, leaks oil.
95 Aspire and its ugly twin that has been converted to a truck and has a B6T turbo motor from a Capri, sell as projects or scrapped.

I have all the parts to fix these on my shelves and the Aprires are on the list simply due to one of them being currently IN the shop and must be moved.

The shop is getting a bulldozer" cleaning as everything is coming out.
Nothing goes back unless shop related. The 4 generations of treasures are being moved to a different building. Other family members have been notified that if they want some of these treasures they best show up and get them as I am in a ruthless frame of mind!

My burning pile has reached critical mass (Monday burn) and my scrap trailer is ready for a run on Tuesday.

Here are the first few...the other is in an earlier pic inside the shop.
Last year at this time the brush was about 8 feet past the front of the shop!

As for it being a lot of stuff...YEAH! Combination of my 3 brothers and their families using this as convenient storage (Usually while I was away working for 25 years) and the shop is full of stuff that has been tracked as far back as being packed when ancestors loaded the wagon in the early 1800's to head off to the frontier town of Joplin Missouri!
I haven't even shown 20% yet.

Well got to go to work!

Bruce

 

[rktolds]

Bruce,
That place is way cool. We just moved from OKC to 4 acres outside of the city and I love it. I wish the previous owner had left some treasures to find like you have. It sounds like you have a great plan. One step atta time.

Matt

 

[ADaughen]

http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w514/egnorant/somedayisclose.jpg

What's the little blue thing in the 3-sided barn next to the Ford truck?

What year RX-7? Condition?


Projects for life there.


Grandma had a Capri like that back in the day. I didn't know they made them with turbos.

 

[robby5323]

I'm just down the road from you in Tyler...

Looks like a lot of fun. Gonna be HOT though...!

Good luck, let me know when you might be selling off some stuff or need some help.

Rob

 

[egnorant]

1959 Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite. It is actually number 2 on my brothers project list.
Got a 61 and a 63 behind the truck.

1984 Mazda RX-7 GSL-SE...Did a nosedive into a ditch and is really beat. Local towing yard guy dropped it off because he wanted off work early and didn't want to drive all the way to the scrapyard. FREE CAR!!! I am such a junkie.

I deliver pizza on Fri, Sat and Sun locally and get to stop at some of the local garage sales. Most of the time I get there late after all the tools have been picked and today was no exception...however. The last one I stopped at was only 2 blocks from work and had that drive by look of having "guy stuff". While checking through the buckets of rusted taiwan sockets, bent screwdrivers and notched sidecutters and such, we were chatting about his tools and shop and my tools and shop.

He had just closed out his Dad's estate and was having this sale to get rid of the unwanted stuff.
Guess he liked me or something as he steps back into his laundry/tool room and hands me a Columbian C 44 vice. Free, no charge,

Got a spot picked out on the floorplan already!

Bruce

 

[egnorant]

Today went well!
Finished running the conduit for circuit 3, 4 and half of 5 (lights).
Just slip fit for now and to the light switch only for the inside and outside lights.

One wall is nothing but 4x4 shelves...8 of them puppies loaded with "treasures".
finished my 2nd 4x4 shelf unit (4 shelves high) today and threw away enough for 3 big trash bags plus a lot of burning broken stuff.

Nearly have enough room to move around now!
Oddly, only 2 boxes of stuff made it to the house for keeping or dispersing to family. Got a BIG pile of "curb alert" stuff and only 2 item that will make it to Craigslist today if I can get them loaded.

Hopefully gonna pull some wires tommorrow!

Bruce

 

[andyaus]

very cool please keep updating

 

[bluebolt]

I can haul away that 1965 Ford F250 crewcab.....

 

[egnorant]

I can haul away that 1965 Ford F250 crewcab.....

What! I didn't post any pics of the 1965 Ford crewcab...it's behind the fence.
The one you can see is a Mercury.

Well, third real day of cleanup and I am actually making good progress.
Burn pile became a flat hot spot and is now piled up again.
Trash pickup was today and they got 6 large trash can.
Discovered that I make much more noticeable progress when processing stuff packed by ex-sister-in-laws or ex-girlfriends as compared to stuff my parents packed in 1970.

Hope to get a bit of mowing in and then some wires run tonight!

Bruce

 

[bluebolt]

What! I didn't post any pics of the 1965 Ford crewcab...it's behind the fence.
The one you can see is a Mercury.

Well, third real day of cleanup and I am actually making good progress.
Burn pile became a flat hot spot and is now piled up again.
Trash pickup was today and they got 6 large trash can.
Discovered that I make much more noticeable progress when processing stuff packed by ex-sister-in-laws or ex-girlfriends as compared to stuff my parents packed in 1970.

Hope to get a bit of mowing in and then some wires run tonight!

Bruce

I have been there, don't need any pics LOL!

 

[egnorant]

I have been there, don't need any pics LOL!

Then you know the scope of the job ahead. And our need for a proper workspace.

Bruce

 

[bluebolt]

Then you know the scope of the job ahead. And our need for a proper workspace.

Bruce

Only place I know of more cluttered than mine!

 

[egnorant]

Slow but sure!
Filled 2 trash cans and my burn pile is getting scary again.
Also got 2 trash bags of stuffed toys!
And my (s)**** pile nearly doubled in size.

Kinda noticed that I had some cool toolboxes.
This orange Kennedy.

This was a Kennedy that I found in a dumpster full of Xerox tools!

Powercraft!

And an old craftsman.

My old grinder that I used a lot to sharpen lawn mower blades as a kid.

I still turn around to see this! Can you spot the piano!

Got hot and hungry, but plan on a few more hours tonight.

Bruce

 

[fergus]

Ummm the piano is at 12 oclock under the rocking chair. Had to look three times to see it though!

Keep cracking. You'll have it sorted out in no time at all.

 

[egnorant]

Do you know how hard it is to clean up 4 boxes of Popular Mechanics, Mechanics, Illustrated and Popular Science magazines from the 60s thru 90s when it seems every one has articles like, 100 tips for the perfect shop, 7 tricks for the perfect butcher block workbench, 20 workbench wonders, 20 shop improvements for under $20!

Looking at 3 weeks from today to having a completely empty shop with electrical done and water, gas and sewer to the proper places in the shop.

I was afraid it would get too hot to work, but I was fine with 2 fans until about 3:00.

Bruce

 

[egnorant]

Well, a couple of weeks with interruptions have me behind schedule.
But I did get a full day cleaning out the shop.
Filled my trailer for a scrap metal run, only 4 bags of trash, broke down 6 sets of 4x4 metal shelves and survived a nearly 5 inch downpour!

Made some boxes for various family members to pick up and my nephew from Arkansas is showing up in early August to get this foisted off on him...

I got distracted from my shop cleaning to pull it out and got it so it runs down the road, stops properly.

Got a full day planned tomorrow in the shop!

Bruce

 

[Coyote Red]

Buddy of mine in high school had a '69 stang. Great lines on that model.

 

[JasonW]

More power to you friend, my brother and I are facing a job like that at my Dad's place one day. And for that matter, we are just finishing up his father's place some 6 years after getting started. Wish we could get burn permits around here. Cheers

 

[ZRX61]

What's the story on the '70/71 Ranchero?

 

[solar_eclipse2]

Bruce

Would you be interested in a kidney, or half a liver for that car? Not mine of course.

 

[egnorant]

Well another week of progress cleaning. Made it through the small stuff with the trash, burn, keep sifting. Most of the stuff left is heavy lifting such as pianos, couches, piles of degraded particleboard and such.

This is only half of the shop but the other half has only large stuff also!
Stove, car, toolboxes and some tables. all that stuff on the wooden shelves is the disassembled metal shelves.

Got the nephews Mustang ready as we are taking it to him this weekend.
Trailered it to a cruise night at the local Whataburger, got a lot of attention for a 30 year barn find. Actually drove it across the parking lot to a parking space and bragged that we had been working on it for over a week and spent nearly $80!
We get to see his new house and 3 car garage!!

Ranchero is currently in an undecided state, has good title and a Torino parts car.

More next week!

Bruce

 

[The Frisco Kid]

I'm in Longview for work about once a month. Family out in Hallsville too, so I know that area pretty well. Congrats on making some serious room in there, good luck with the projects and let me know when you decide to sell some stuff, there are a few guys in town that'll buy anything!

 

[fergus]

Great progress man. Deciding what to pitch is hard, but gets easier once you get going. I see you already "got going". All right!

 

[egnorant]

Not so hard if you follow my Dads 3 job rules.

Start, Do it, Finish.

Start was always the hardest part. Just the thought of piling in to do this was daunting and had me paralyzed for years. Had plenty of excuses too!

"This is my only day off, It's 101 degrees out, I don't know what to do with all that stuff, Ya'll know the drill.

Some weeks I only get about 2 hours of work in there before I get too hot or hungry or reach that goal or gotta mow or some other distraction hits, but that is why I check this site for some motivation.
This week I got about 10 hours in!
Goal is to have the cleanup pay for the shop build. Scrap metal has paid for the wiring, about 1/3 of the insulation is funded via more metal and hope to pick up the rest from a few Craigslist stuff.

Bruce

 

[GregsRetroGarage]

Nice work! I grew up in Mt. Pleasant and know that stomping ground well! Glad to see pictures of the area! I now live in Denton, Tx...traveled north to find work and it worked out for me. Keep posting updates!

 

[egnorant]

Time for spot the piano again!

Anyone want a cheap player piano? REAL CHEAP!

Other side!

How about from the doorway!

This is where I stopped today, was just too hot.
Should have it completely empty by wed 15th and push myself on the wiring and plumbing. Then on to workbenches, tool storage and large tools (compressor and lift).

More next week and thanks for watching!

Bruce

P.S. Nephew and his buddy fixed the lights, and tuned his Mustang. He drives it! Legally and enthusiastically. Still don't think he has washed it though.

 

[robby5323]

You're making a go of it for sure... Don't get too hot!

 

[CoconutPete]

Nice job!