Mark's Monster Garage....3800 sq ft

[IGO2XS]

I was taking a picture with my iPhone today and realized it had a panorama function. I looked at all we were doing in the garage so I decided to capture most of it with one shot. To the left you see Bob climbing in the hood area of the Dart. He was fitting the aluminum radiator. The core support was trimmed and radiator is now ready to go in. The transmission you see is for the Dart and it has been fully serviced. To the left of the transmission and covered up is the 383 big block and this should be put in the Dart tomorrow...

Right in front is the C10 bed and we are waiting for the last two inner sheet metal panels to be delivered tonight. They will get welded in tomorrow morning and the bed will be ready for some very minor bondo work. All the seams are continuously welded and will be ground down.

In the background is my red Chevrolet dually. We have all the tires and wheels off of it. I have been waiting for the original tires to wear out so I could put on some 285/75-17 Nitto Dura Grapplers.

The Suburban is partially backed in the garage and it is getting a second air pump installed for the air ride system.

To the far right in the corner you will notice a little blimp of red. This is the 1966 Corvette. I will show some pictures later but I ordered a complete new interior for it. Today the carpet and seats were removed.

The Malibu is sitting on the lift waiting for me to order a new custom radiator...........

Yes, the monster garage is bustling with activity and I am sure most of you noticing the garage doors up and the sun shinning.

 

[Bluegiller_killer]

Do you do 100% of those car builds in house? If not what do you job out? And how many guys work for you? And is there anything you wish'd you done on the shop that you didn't in the initial build..

PS- I'm sure you know but the place is amazing.. Good job man looks like you have a lot to be proud of keep up the hard work and hopefully I can get to that level some day..

 

[shopnut]

Yesterday the 70 Chevelle project made it from Milwaukee, WI to Danville, IN. A nice young man picked it up for me and it took him 15 hours round trip. It was a long day for him. It was on an open trailer and getting in a 10 pm last night they left it out. Well, it decided to snow in Danville last night to the tune of 6 inches. These make some really good BEFORE pictures of the project.

It ended up in a heated barn to thaw out until we can pick it up next month.

Excellent “BEFORE” picture.

Coming from Milwaukee, you say. It seems like only yesterday when I drove my '70 down from Milwaukee - I was smiling all the way to Florida! When does yours arrive at the Monster shop? And what project has to finish up before you start working on it?

You and E.rodz with your ’70 Chevelle projects are really giving me the bug to tear into mine. I’ve got an evil little Shopnut sitting on one shoulder saying “Screw the rest of the shop build and go have some fun”. On the other shoulder is good Shopnut saying “Don’t give in now, you are sooooo close to wrapping up the Asylum. Stick to the plan!”

Good will win out this time. But at least I can live vicariously through you guys for a while, and that will help. It should be fun to watch the Chevelle project (and maybe steal a few ideas).

And good luck with the Willy’s auction. I’m sure you’re sad to see it go, but it’s just the end of another chapter with many more to come we hope.

 

[IGO2XS]

Do you do 100% of those car builds in house? If not what do you job out? And how many guys work for you? And is there anything you wish'd you done on the shop that you didn't in the initial build.

For the most part we do most of our work in the shop. If you saw the Camaro project the only part we subbed out was the convertible top installation. Everything else on the car was done right here. We try to do as much of the work as possible but I am a firm believer of sending out work if there is a better qualified person. My desire to do the work myself is less important that it being done right.

Overall I am pretty happy with the way the garage turned out. I built a pretty good sized garage about 10 years ago so I had some good experience under my belt.

Excellent “BEFORE” picture.

Coming from Milwaukee, you say. It seems like only yesterday when I drove my '70 down from Milwaukee - I was smiling all the way to Florida! When does yours arrive at the Monster shop? And what project has to finish up before you start working on it?

You and E.rodz with your ’70 Chevelle projects are really giving me the bug to tear into mine.

Good will win out this time. But at least I can live vicariously through you guys for a while, and that will help. It should be fun to watch the Chevelle project (and maybe steal a few ideas).

Hey Shopnut!! Maybe you should start an evil Shopnut thread!!.............really the only project we need to close up is the Dart. It is coming down to the final stages of completion so we can jump right on the Chevelle. Right now I am scheduled to leave one week from today to head to Indiana to pick the Chevelle up. I will definitely be posting some pictures of the trip if we head out. Its a little over 1000 miles one way but we will be traveling in the Freightliner so it should be a comfortable trip. I will be hoping for good weather.

Yes, I promise to share some tips on the project as I will document the heck out of the work performed on it.

 

[Fastphil]

I came to a sad moment in my life the other night... I had finished reading through this thread and was now faced with the fact that I would have to wait (wait!) for live updates from the Monster Garage.

Of course there's nothing new to say about your garage and the work you do in it. It's all simply jaw-dropping. I've bookmarked and intend to read your thread on your home theater and 69 C10 builds.

I would like to know, what kind of AV/computer/internet setup do you have within the shop area? Surely you don't go to the apartment or the house when you want to look something up online? Surely you don't resort to the tiny screen on your iPhone?

I'm in the final stages of purchasing a house with an attached single-car garage, it certainly won't be as impressive as yours but I'm sure I'll feel the same within my garage as you do within yours! Keep up the great work and more importantly, keep up the fantastic job of sharing it all with us!

Phil

 

[IGO2XS]

I would like to know, what kind of AV/computer/internet setup do you have within the shop area? Surely you don't go to the apartment or the house when you want to look something up online? Surely you don't resort to the tiny screen on your iPhone?

I'm in the final stages of purchasing a house with an attached single-car garage, it certainly won't be as impressive as yours but I'm sure I'll feel the same within my garage as you do within yours! Keep up the great work and more importantly, keep up the fantastic job of sharing it all with us!

Phil

Phil, The garage has a few nice automation gadgets in it. Most were probably not necessary but we built the garage first and it was a testing ground for the house we would build later. I have a Lutron lighting control system. I am a little bit of a lighting geek and I wanted integration with the house lighting. I have quite a bit of exterior lighting and specialty lighting and they are all automated by computer. Heck, I can open any garage door or turn on any light in the garage with my phone anywhere. I have a IP camera system with interior and exterior camera's.........the video is recorded and can also be viewed on my phone. Security system is also in place and I would highly recommend the Elk M1 Gold. I do have a desktop computer in the garage area of late. Yes, I must admit I was going over to the house to use the computer. I also have wifi in the garage and a few exterior access points. Oh, and the most important part is the Sonos music system. We are a garage run by Pandora!! Primarily 70's music but also some ********* rock and roll at times.

Some people say I just to take things apart. I have had my 66 vette for a short period of time and have really enjoyed it. One thing that has bothered me about it is the interior. The seats were worn and the carpet was fair. The guys we order our Camaro and Chevelle parts from are Corvette specialists and sell parts all over the U.S. I was in picking up the last parts for the Camaro and decided to order a new interior for the vette.......carpet, leather seats, new seat foam, new seat backs, and mats.


Here is a picture of the interior of the vette. As you can see the seats looked bad. The guy I bought it from left the top down all the time so the seats were beat.

Bob got the seats apart and the first thing we noticed was the springs had cut right through the seat foam so there was little cushion left.

Here is the interior stripped pretty clean. The center console is getting a makeover and we'll tighten up a few other things while its apart.

Bob and a helper inspecting the seat frames. A few of the frames had cracked welds so they were all repaired, welded, sanded, and then repainted.

The old seat cover is on the left and the new one is on the right. It should look pretty awesome when we are done and I would hope be more comfortable to ride in.

 

[IGO2XS]

Great day today as the 383 big block was installed in the Dart. ****** is also bolted in and within a few days we will be able to roll it out of the build room. The big block is a tight tight fit in this car. Looking at the motor you would not think one would be able to install headers. I was able to order some headers today they claim will fit the Mopar A body with a big block. They are jet hot coated and they were $800.......customer approved them so we got them coming. Man these Mopars are expensive!!

 

[IGO2XS]

Rolled the Dart out of the build room. I think she looks a little old school which is just what we wanted. Waiting for the headers and some other key parts so we'll take a temporary break on the Dart. Right now we need the build room as Bob needs to install the "6-Pack" hood scoop on the Dart hood and we are going to finish welding on the C-10 pickup bed.

Tomorrow I leave for Indiana to pickup the Chevelle. I might snap a few photos once we get the car loaded up. I am not really looking forward to the cold weather we will be facing. My mom said there might be a snow storm going through Tennessee tomorrow so I am hoping we miss any bad weather.

 

[scab]

That Dart looks totally bad ***! Great work.

 

[Tylerb43]

Mark, Amazing work and shop! Thank you so much for sharing your projects, I get a daily update on this thread and really enjoy it. (and I sometimes get caught up in a daydream that this is MY life, )

Best of luck and have fun on the road trip today. Road trips to pick up new toys/projects is one of my favorite things to do believe it or not, just something really enjoyable about them - good luck Sir!

 

[tskills10]

Good luck on the road trip, keep it between the navigational beacons. The Dart looks badass. Not a MOPAR guy but I do like the look of the Dart. Maybe a chevy engine would make it better for me, haha.

 

[TitanTn]

Well, the weather is awful today. If you need to stop somewhere near Chattanooga, give me a shout.

 

[IGO2XS]

Thanks guys, glad you like the Dart. This update is brought to you from the road as we are heading north on interstate 75 and approaching Valdosta Georgia. It is definitely getting colder and we are hoping to miss the bad weather cutting across the north part of the state.

Pictured with me on the left is "Terry The Plumber". He has about 25 plumbing trucks on the road so he doesn't work much these days. He loves road trips so he is making the journey with me. He doesn't stop talking much so the trip should go fast!!!

 

[cad70]

Nice garage and nice toter!
Clark

 

[cad70]

Mark,
One item that I know you'd love, unless you have them already, are a set of Go Jaks to move your cars around.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mds-utg6200pr/overview/

 

[babyblueoval]

Mark,

I came over here from your link on 67-72ChevyTrucks. WOW, all I can say is ........ well ....... WOW!
I had to become a member on here just to tell you that.

 

[ugly kustom]

Mark,

I came over here from your link on 67-72ChevyTrucks. WOW, all I can say is ........ well ....... WOW!
I had to become a member on here just to tell you that.

LOL. do you got the link??

 

[babyblueoval]

Geez, the amount of work I have to do for a fellow VW nut. I guess you now know what babyblueoval means, if you didn't already. '57 beetle - Oct. '06 Hot VWs.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?p=5840579#post5840579

 

[clarke212]

Interested in link to Mark's profile on 67-72Chevytrucks.com

I want to see truck details!!

 

[babyblueoval]

Well, I posted the link but it hasn't been approved yet I guess. It said an admin had to approve it before it would post.
I guess it's cause I'm a poor little noob. lol

I'll try it on here: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=512373&goto=newpost

BTW ugly kustom, babyblueoval is for my '57 beetle.

 

[babyblueoval]

There we go, that worked.

 

[IGO2XS]

Interested in link to Mark's profile on 67-72Chevytrucks.com

I want to see truck details!!

Here you go! Hopefully they allow it since we have brought a few more members over here

CHECK OUT MY 69 SLAMMED C10 BUILD 22/24's
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[FRENCHBLUE72]

Had not checked in in awhile I see you have completed a few nice builds since I was lat here..

 

[IGO2XS]

Had not checked in in awhile I see you have completed a few nice builds since I was lat here..

Thanks for checking in!!

I am starting to like these panoramic pictures using my iPhone. I can take one photo and capture everything that is going on in the garage. The Dart is waiting for some additional parts. We have it situated on the lift so the brakes, driveshaft, and fuel line can be completed. You'll notice the Camaro is back in the shop for a brief visit. We were waiting for the new dash cover and a few small pieces of interior trim to arrive. The Ivy Gold is not a color they keep in stock so we had a little extra wait. A friend of mine who drove to Indiana with me left his 51 Chevy with us so we could replace a header gasket. Its a pretty cool car.........we are trying to talk him into us letting us paint it. On the far right you see the 70 Chevelle. Bob is salivating over getting started on this car. Tomorrow I am going to roll it out and take a bunch of photos of it. I want to show you guys what it looks like before we take it apart.

 

[don long]

Well Mark
You are ready to start on the Chevelle and you have the hook inbedded deep in my lip I'm on board

Don

 

[softailgarage]

I'm not much of a Mopar guy(kinda like the old Dusters) but that Dart is wicked. I dont know, but I think if you and Don Long partnered up you guys could turn out some really badass stuff!

 

[JCQuick]

Geez, the amount of work I have to do for a fellow VW nut. I guess you now know what babyblueoval means, if you didn't already. '57 beetle - Oct. '06 Hot VWs.
[

Oh come on don't make me dig through my back issues show me a pic

 

[Kevin54]

Well, it took me a couple of hours, but I finally got caught up with whats going on down South. And I am very much impressed by it all. I'm loving the Mopar. It's got to be a blast doing what you're doing. I just have to make sure to stay caught up now

 

[staging]

I was in Sarasota this past weekend and I love it over there! I would move in a heartbeat. If I can find a job there, the wife said yes. Oh yeah great garage and projects!

 

[shinertx]

what is that sitting on top of the frig, it has a purple frame!

 

[IGO2XS]

Well Mark
You are ready to start on the Chevelle and you have the hook inbedded deep in my lip I'm on board
Don

Dang Don, I have some pretty big shoes to fill if you are watching!! I am just an amateur compared to you but we will do our best!

I'm not much of a Mopar guy(kinda like the old Dusters) but that Dart is wicked. I dont know, but I think if you and Don Long partnered up you guys could turn out some really badass stuff!

I think the Dart is going to be wicked too! It should be done in a few weeks and I am hoping it runs as good as it looks. Yes I agree it would be alot of fun to do something with Don Long. Man, he has so many cars and a huge shop. He knows how to get the work done.

Well, it took me a couple of hours, but I finally got caught up with whats going on down South. And I am very much impressed by it all. I'm loving the Mopar. It's got to be a blast doing what you're doing. I just have to make sure to stay caught up now

Where have you been?? Glad you are back and just in time for us to start another project. I have seen you on some other forums but I visit so many I cant remember which one.

I was in Sarasota this past weekend and I love it over there! I would move in a heartbeat. If I can find a job there, the wife said yes. Oh yeah great garage and projects!

It can be a tough place to get a job but it is a beautiful place to live. Our business is only 1 mile from Siesta Key Beach but we never make it out there anymore.

 

[IGO2XS]

Here are the first shots of the Chevelle. The first fact I want to pass on is this is not a true SS car. Any of you guys who have looked for an SS car know you do pay quite a premium for one and quite frankly we did not see it as a necessity. I was more interested in finding the right car for the build and this car is destined to be a weekend driver. The Camaro was my first frame off in the shop and what I learned in the foundation of a car is very important. We did spend quite a bit of time with the metal repair and I took this into consideration while looking for the Chevelle. By luck I found a car who someone else with experience had started restoring. As you can see the car is barely in primer so there were no surprises as to what we were buying or how the work was performed......the guy did a really nice job. The Chevelle has a new floor pan, trunk pan, fenders, hood, and rear quarters. The doors are from an Arizona car. This car was appealing to the alternative......buying a unrestored car and then going through the process of discovery to find out what is hidden under all the paint. At least this is my theory........we are ready to take the car apart right now!

We are not trying to build a numbers matching historical restoration. Our intent is to build an SS clone which when done will virtually be a new car. We will be updating the suspension, installing some big brakes on all 4 corners, freshening up the 454 under the hood, and adding a killer set of wheels and tires. It should be a very cool car when we are done.

 

[cletus66]

You have built an awesome spread. Looks like LOTS of hard work.

 

[don long]

The chevelle looks like a solid unit to start with.

I think you and Old Softtail are are over rating me just a bit LOL

 

[JCQuick]

is that trunk floor seam sealed yet? doesn't look like it. My #2 son has some unique ways of duplicating factory seam seals

 

[IGO2XS]

is that trunk floor seam sealed yet? doesn't look like it. My #2 son has some unique ways of duplicating factory seam seals

No it has not been seam sealed yet. Glad to listen to any tricks if you want to share them. Thank you!!

The chevelle looks like a solid unit to start with.

I think you and Old Softtail are are over rating me just a bit LOL

Aww Don, we just like you a lot!!

You have built an awesome spread. Looks like LOTS of hard work.

Every day my friend......every day!!! I love working though and it keeps me out of trouble!!

 

[IGO2XS]

Guys, what we have here is some serious metal!! While in temporary limbo we are working on my 69 c10 pickup and trying to get the bed completed. Bob has been welding and grinding his **** off. This is some serious work you are looking at. Down and dirty heat, metal shavings, burnt fingers, and socks full of metal shavings!! All the new inside bed panels are installed and welded in. I did have the bed primed by others about 1 year ago but Bob ended up stripping the entire body of primer. I just love these pictures of the bare metal. We flipped the bed over today to work on the under side and then will get the whole bed primed here in the next few days.

 

[MHORTON79]

Hey Mark, a set of Rushforth wheels would be really sick on the Chevelle.

 

[Tylerb43]

Good Lord! That thing is beautiful! I don't know what it is about bare metal that's so ****, but there it is, damn. That's not a truck bed - it's art! Tell Bob we said great job, and I think you should just clearcoat it!

 

[cdrewferd]

Took me a few days to get through this, but this is an amazing garage. It's awesome to see all the cars that you've built, and the builds you take on for customers. Have you sold the Willy's yet?