Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT The Vintage Garage - Bucharest, Romania.

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

I haven't done anything worth sharing about the garage, but I want to show you all a nice kit I have installed recently on a car.
The install process is fairly simple, but the car and kit are both special:

M performance Brake kit for BMW F32 428i:

Photo gallery

 

[G20-Budo]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Nice looking brake upgrade (good looking car too).

 

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Update:

I plan on renovating, but I still don't have time.
Meanwhile I cleaned up the attic. Took about two days and had some help.
The previours renters had a mild hoarding problem.
I will throw out most of the stuff and for the rest I will add some shelving.
It's a shame to waste so much storage space.
If I have learned something from Garage Journal, the essential thing is not the garage size but finding the most efficient way to use space.

 

[rixtrix1]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Wow! Just skimmed through your thread and I must say your work ethic and and renovation work are very admirable. Does your landlord repay you for any of your repairs to the structure, or is it reflected by your reasonable monthly rent? I hope you are making enough income to have a life away from work, too. I have to subscribe to keep up with you.

Best wishes!

 

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Thanks!
All that I invest in the building is from one point of view a loss. But from another is a good investment because having a nice workshop makes customers believe in your business and makes you a reliable person.
It's hard to trust someone who seems ok, but works in a falling apart building and in a lot of clutter.
For now the business is working fine so I plan on reinvesting a portion of the profit in the building.

 

[Rodney Schultz]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Very well worded, and I must say very well done. All I have seen speaks to your integrity and your work ethic. Thank you for continuing to share with us!
Rodney

 

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Thank you!
I hope I will be renovating soon. Really can't wait.

 

[Okietools1]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Bogdan M.; Very nice shop you got there, looks like you Will get a lot of work done in there, and for a small auto shop it's perfect.

 

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Thanks!

I did some cleaning today and arranged a bunch of stuff I had laying around.
After I renovate I plan to change the layout of the garage. I have seen a lot of better layouts here on GJ and I have also understood that my layout is mediocre at best.
It's not intelligent to have workbenches on the two sides of the car you work on. It's like your planning on ruining someone's paintjob.
I bought a lot of boxes and shelving, but I don't use them because I want to renovate first. That means less stuff that has to be moved.
I plan to move the workbenches on the corner wall where now the couch stands. It will be a lot better and functional.
I will remove some lighting and add other types.
Fluorescent is ok, but I plan to have suspended light fixtures. I lose a lot of light because the workshop is relatively tall. I also plan to have lights above the workbenches. It's all about making the place better so I can be more efficient.
The yellow boxes will be great for storing miscellaneous stuff, nuts and bolts etc.
I have a lot of work ahead of me, but I am sure I will not give up until everything is done.

 

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

I had a small side project in the last month.

A friend gave me a very nice gift: an old road bike frame and wheels.
I bought a Shimano 600 Arabesque groupset and after a little elbow grease and some parts bought of eBay, here's the result:

The handlebar is made by 3ttt, the seat post is made by Campagnolo, same as the wheel hubs and the bottom bracket. The seat is SanMarco Rolls.
I sometimes commute on it to work. It's really nice now in the summer.

 

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

I haven't posted any updates in a lot of time...

In november I made a temporary firewood shelter. Not very good looking but it does the job.

I bought two metal racks in the summer, but I kept avoided installing them.
In december I convinced myself it had to be done, so I did. I will use them to store auto parts.

Now we are fighting with the snow and cold. It's nice to have a big yard, but not in the winter time.

The garage look horribly, but at least is tidy.

I hope I will be able to improve it.

 

[G20-Budo]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Good to see your updates. The firewood shelter looks like it does what you need it for, so good job. And those metal shelves should be nice and sturdy for storage. Good job!

 

[Bears Fan]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Nice transformation on your garage! You got some great tools too

 

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Thank you both!

 

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Hello,

One week ago I had the incredible luck of finding two used metal cabinets.
Yesterday I went and bought them.
I am very happy. Things like that are very hard to find.
They need some work, but that's ok. I will probably paint them.

 

[kansei]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Excellent score on the cabinets! I have never heard of the manufacturer, but they are a spot-on clone of a Lista, or perhaps Lista ones are really clones of HI... who knows.

After owning Stanley-Vidmar and Lista cabinets, I personally will never again buy anything but those brands or similar. There is truly no comparison to a well built cabinet and the typical homeowner CMan style chests, or even the high priced MAC/S-O/etc.

 

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

I also never heard of the manufacturer and I searched them online and it appears that it's a Lista subsidiary.

http://www.lista.com/uk-en/business/lista-group/

So I guess it's the same product but I'm not sure.

Anyway, they are industrial grade. They weigh more than 100 kg each. Extremely well made. Roller bearing drawers and they still work great after beeing used for a lot of years. I found a document from '92 in one of them, so it's top notch quality.

 

[kansei]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Interesting on the connection... I thought they looked a bit too much like a Lista!

You'll have those cabinets forever, and almost can not overstuff them- IIRC, they have a load rating of 400# per drawer.

 

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

I think I don't have enough tools to fill them anyway.

 

[Bib Overalls]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

I think I don't have enough tools to fill them anyway.

You will. It just takes a little time. When I am doing a job and I need a special tool I buy it. If I drive by a yard or garage sale and I see tools on display I stop. Occasionally, when I have time to kill, I look at the tools on sale at pawn shops. I should tell you that I have ESP. I can look at a need old tool and my ESP tells me "Someday you will need that."

And, of course there are those great deals you stumble across on eBay. Something so cheap it would be a crime not to buy it even if you have no use for it at all.

JUNK EXPANDS TO FILL THE SPACE AVAILABLE.

 

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

You will. It just takes a little time. When I am doing a job and I need a special tool I buy it. If I drive by a yard or garage sale and I see tools on display I stop. Occasionally, when I have time to kill, I look at the tools on sale at pawn shops. I should tell you that I have ESP. I can look at a need old tool and my ESP tells me "Someday you will need that."

And, of course there are those great deals you stumble across on eBay. Something so cheap it would be a crime not to buy it even if you have no use for it at all.

JUNK EXPANDS TO FILL THE SPACE AVAILABLE.

That was just my irrational me telling me to buy more tools.
I am a tool hoarder. I have a lot of tools I don't need and have never used. But it's ok. Someday I will use them, so it can't be in vane.
I buy from eBay, from a local craigslist type site and from a flea market.
I love tools.

 

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Small update:

I have a lot of hardware, but until now I didn't have a proper place for it.
I used cardboard boxes and plastic bottles.
I bought some metal boxes for hardware storage and I began organizing everything.
I am half way done, but already there's a big difference.

 

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

I started the renovation (Vol. II).
Very slow progress because I don't have time for it, but any progress is a good thing.
Removed the old lights in the inspection pit and removed some concrete from the walls in order to have the electrical cable buried inside the wall.
Before I had some plastic conduit on the wall and it was a bad ideea. This way it will be cleaner and more practical.
I also bought a custom privacy fence and I began treating it with something against fire. I will paint it afterwards and then I will install it.
Also bought and planted a silver birch, but no pictures until I see new leaves.

http://imageshack.com/a/img921/1120/Xhcgzs.jpg[img]
[img]http://imageshack.com/a/img924/7349/p6uNvQ.jpg

 

[bulletpruf]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Greetings from southern Italy! I'm headed to Romania at the end of the month and thought I would check with a fellow GJ member on what to do while I am there. Would like to check out your shop if you will be around. I will be staying in Old Town (Sector 1) and traveling to Sector 5 and 6 for work, I think.

Are there any good deals to be found on vises or anvils? I would have to ship something back to Italy, so I suppose I should check in shipping, too.

Anything you need from Italy?

Ciao,

Scott

 

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Hello,
That would be great. My shop is in Sector 1, so please come by!

What anvil size are you looking for?

The typical vise that you can find is the 150 mm Romanian made vise. Cast iron and a lot better than the chinese vises that have invaded the market. Price is about 80 or 90 euros.
I can help you in finding things like that. Here we have a website similar to craigslist where you can find a lot of cool things.

 

[rene.merrild.7]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Hi Bogdan.

Very nice shop. What a conversion you have made. Great job!

One thing im just thinking about.
You say it is a rental. How can you be sure that the owner dosent just set the rental price higher after a couple of years when he see the garage looks much better?

Maybe you have a contract that covers this. ?

 

[bulletpruf]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Hello,
That would be great. My shop is in Sector 1, so please come by!

What anvil size are you looking for?

The typical vise that you can find is the 150 mm Romanian made vise. Cast iron and a lot better than the chinese vises that have invaded the market. Price is about 80 or 90 euros.
I can help you in finding things like that. Here we have a website similar to craigslist where you can find a lot of cool things.

Sounds good. I will send you a PM.

Scott

 

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Sounds good. I will send you a PM.

Scott

I received your PM and replied.

Hi Bogdan.

Very nice shop. What a conversion you have made. Great job!

One thing im just thinking about.
You say it is a rental. How can you be sure that the owner dosent just set the rental price higher after a couple of years when he see the garage looks much better?

Maybe you have a contract that covers this. ?

Thanks!
I do have a contract, but the most important thing is that the owner kept her word and I did too.
The shop looked awful, the roof was shot, the doors were a joke and so on.
I believe the owner is satisfied by having the building well kept by investing nothing and also by the fact that I pay the rent on time.

The shop doesn't look now as good as it looked after I renovated, but it will improve in some time.
I have a lot of ideas for improving the shop and I wish to do a lot of things, but all I manage to do are baby steps. Anyway I am a very patient man, so I will not stop.

 

[bulletpruf]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Bogdan -


Thanks for taking the time to give me the shop tour today -- it's a great size and layout for what you are doing. I'm envious.

Anyway, enjoyed chatting with you and hope you don't mind me posting a pic -- I'm the taller guy, no beard.



Ciao,

Scott

 

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Thank you very much for your visit! It was great meeting you and I hope to see you again. It's very nice to meet someone that has the same love for cars and tools.
Also thank you for the pic!
I am very honored that you liked the shop.

 

[Lee Celtic]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Just read the whole story.. Firstly well done on doing something right. You should be proud of yourself. Secondly I guess your working word of mouth as I see no sign on your building.. I found out a long time ago that a good sign brings in business and also your right that people who like the look of a place spend more money.. Keep up the good work and I wish you luck.

 

[bulletpruf]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Thank you very much for your visit! It was great meeting you and I hope to see you again. It's very nice to meet someone that has the same love for cars and tools.
Also thank you for the pic!
I am very honored that you liked the shop.

I enjoyed meeting you as well. I'll definitely be back. Not sure when, but I'll make sure that I'm there for the weekend so we can hit the local flea markets.

Ciao,

Scott

 

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

That would be great,

Bogdan

Just read the whole story.. Firstly well done on doing something right. You should be proud of yourself. Secondly I guess your working word of mouth as I see no sign on your building.. I found out a long time ago that a good sign brings in business and also your right that people who like the look of a place spend more money.. Keep up the good work and I wish you luck.

Thank you!
Yes, I work by recommendation. I was lucky enough to have built a client base.
I also have a website where I focus on presenting complex repairs and that also brings clients.
It's a good idea, but I hope to be able to do that in a bigger shop.
Here there are a lot of times that I can't fix more cars so if I would promote my shop better, I would work sloppy.
I am buying tools and equipment to be able to move in a bigger shop, but that's not enough. You must be able to rely on other mechanics. Now I only have one employee, but others are very hard to find. There are a lot of people that work in this field, but 90% don't know what they are doing or they don't care about the results of their work.
You can lose clients very fast if you work with someone like that.

 

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Update:

I almost finished organizing my nuts and bolts. I still have some work to do, but 80% is done. It took a lot, but it will save time in the long run.
I also finished painting the rose trellis I bought. Haven't bought the roses yet. Now it's way to hot for planting roses.

The post it notes are temporary. I will have to buy a label maker.

 

[bulletpruf]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Well done on the nut and bolt sorting. I tacked the same job a few months ago, but didn't quite finish. Just got the big stuff done.

How are your grapes doing? I forgot whether these were for eating or for wine. Considered doing something similar here to give us some shade over the driveway, but we're in a rental house and by the time the vines had grown sufficiently, we'll be back in the U.S.

Ciao,

Scott

 

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Thanks! Yeah, it gets frustrating at some point. But it was more frustrating seeing the bolts on the shop floor waiting to be organised.

For wine. I will harvest them in September.
Grape vines grow a bit slow. When I rented the place, the vines were neglected. I have been pruning them yearly and it takes a lot of time to get back in shape.
Maybe is also because I don't really know what I am doing.

 

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

This is the shop layout now.

I bought lamps for the inspection pit that I plan to install and another set of lamps to hang in the garage.
When I first started working, I didn't plan the shop layout. I just put everything as I saw in other shops.
Now I realise that it's not at all practical and I have a very bad shop layout.
The most important thing is to have your most used tools at hand most of the times. Also it's very important to have the workbench
close to the engine bay. Otherwise, because of the shape of my shop, you have to walk a lot by the car you are working on,
a lot of times carrying car parts or tools, which can mean scraping the car and also time wasted.
I plan to renovate and have a new shop layout.

I need to:

• repaint the gray workbench (is has seen a lot of work in it's day)
• paint the old cast iron hanging walls I bought
• repaint the blue workbench and eliminate the angle iron that was meant for drawers
• remove the mechanical press and the wooden desk - that press is horrible and I plan to buy a hydraulic press and the desk doesn't fit in the garage. It will be replaced by the gray desk
• refurbish the drill press
• install lamps in the inspection pit
• make a new ladder for the inspection pit (the one that I have is not attached to the wall, which means is not really safe)
• Replace the sink with a stainless commercial sink
• paint the fridge with plasti dip (having a white fridge in a garage is not a good ideea and it stands out too much)
• change the tiles behind the sink(I made a mess of the job because I was in a big hurry, just days before opening for business)
• repair the floor

I will also eliminate the couch and that wooden table and buy some nice chairs.


This will be the new shop layout:

 

[Koje]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Serious amount of work you have done. Great transformation so far. Good stuff.

 

[Bogdan M.]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Thank you!

 

[Bob Heine]

Re: The Blue Garage - Bucharest, Romania

Shop is looking great. It shows that a skilled and careful craftsman runs the business.