Above 1200 Sq/FT Restored 1930's Auto Shop
- Thread starter BB767
- Start date
Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.
Mickey O
Well-known member
If you go to the public profile link on the members ID section you'll see that I'm a............
Thomas
Window washer?
Do those windows just pop out?
And finally, what's with pilots and cool stuff, I know a few and they all have cool stuff (cars and tools)?
.
Warg
Well-known member
Actually, that has happened... During flight.
This was caused by a mechanic using the wrong screws when changing out a window. He didn't look up the part number for the screws, he just took some that looked like the ones he tossed in the bin. Another reason to pay attention to detail, and to RTFM!
mybuick6
Well-known member
i wish i can find a place like this.
Az Scooter
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2009
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- 1,500
I am not sure, but losing a window like that, at altitude, could be indicative of a problem.
ZRX61
Well-known member
ihredo4
Well-known member
Thank You for posting this thread. It brings back a lot of memories for me when I worked at my uncles shop in Mississippi. It is amazing what someone can do when they set their mind to it. Thanks for all the pictures and descriptions. 
BuickFarmer
Well-known member
Me too!!! I'd have just loved to help you haul stuff off. Is there anything you truly regret having hauled off. I know how it is when you make a find, you go for the gold and sometimes say to yourself later 'man I can't believe I didn't save that'
Was the parts washer too far gone to save? Great job on the Pepsi Machine!!!
It´s possible it was seen on a web site for F.A.S.T. some time ago as mentioned in an earlier thread and thank you very much for the compliment.
Thomas
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That is really a Renzor furnace hanging from the ceiling in the background. It´s one of three as each room has it´s own heater and thermostat. I have no A/C in the shop. There are loads of shade trees around, plus all the concrete in the floor, and walls keeps it naturally quite comfortable in summer and I put heavy tinting on all the windows to cut down on heat transmission and block UV rays to prevent fading. I also use two dehumidifiers to keep the humidity at less than 45%. Almost everyone who comes in there in summer remarks how nice the A/C works before they find out differently!
Thomas
Warg
Well-known member
At least you knew what thingy I was referring to...
Cool thing you don't need AC, and my guess is that the dehumidifiers are very much to thank for that. It's about the same story on my place, no need for AC but a couple of good furnaces come in handy at winter. Yesterday we were at -10C here and it's not very comfy.
Paul
Thomas, thank you - please keep posting, so far this has been a wonderful flight.
Kind of off thread here, but do you like the 767 better than the 757? I always thought the 757 was a sleeker, sexier looking bird, but driving - can you tell any difference when you get to that size of a/c? I'm a stick and rudder, seat of the pants guy myself, but I thought it'd be a rush driving a 757.
I'd love to stop in for a visit some time - any powerlines in the way that would prevent dropping the Stearman in on Roosevelt Rd? Appears to be some on the south side of the road there. OK, just kidding about the road, can I land in that field south of you there?
I'm with you on the radials, but you have to admit, ZRX61 has a point about the Rolls - that is a magical sound! (BTW ZRX61 - nice TigerCat! Very few of those flying!! Maybe 6?)
Visually the 757 is hands down one of the best there ever was IMO. As for flying it´s not even close though. While I can fly both the 757-200 ,-300 and 767-200 and -400 I only fly the 767-200 series. It´s got a terriffic power to weight ratio, among the best, if not the best, in the industry I think for this size equipment. Very nice flight handling qualities also.
The local airport is just 7 miles away and you can use the sod there, Johnny might get a little testy if you use his field!
Thomas
That´s our emergency egress in case we can´t exit through the cabin. The windows are on tracks and we have a hand crank that we open them with, but only on the ground. It is a handy place to wash the front windshield from however.
Thomas
When I started this post I had no idea of the interest I´ve seen here!! A very heart felt thank you for the positive response and for all who have taken the time to follow along. I have the `save for later´ stuff still stored away but will have to get some current pictures and post them. They take up two buildings worth of space.
Yes there are a couple of items I wish I still had. One was the old homemade garden tractor with two transmissions. That was a real piece of ´make do ´ Americana I think. I just had no time or place for it nor did I believe anyone else would have an interest in it. It was pretty rough and rusty. There was also some old shop equipment that was really worn out and I now know could have been restored or a new home found for. At the time I was unaware of all the interest in old shop equipment. I thought it was just me who had a soft spot for preserving it. One of the son´s asked for the old parts washer and it is still in use.
As I am gainfully empolyed...............still............. there are times when I can´t be home to scan and post pictures to continue this post and this is one of those times. I do have many, many other images that it seems those who are following this saga will find interesting and entertaining. Please be understanding. Much more to follow if the TSA lets me back in the country!
Thomas
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bazzateer
Well-known member
Don't know how I missed this pic but please tell me you're leaving it where it is? That is so cool it just has to stay there.
Don't know how I missed this pic but please tell me you're leaving it where it is? That is so cool it just has to stay there.
That is my pride and joy. You are correct, it just has to stay! Yard art at its finest I´d say.
Thomas
Vernmotor
Well-known member
Yes he said he was going to leave it.. garage yard art ! LOL..most wonderful !
ZRX61
Well-known member
Yup, currently 6 altho 1 of those isn't flown (the one at Palm Springs). We had 3 at Reno in '08...
& 2 of those plus a different one made it 3 at Chino airshow in May of '09.
Hoping we manage 4 someplace/time this year.
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IMCA38
Well-known member
Wow, two days + without a post. I'm having withdrawls!
Thomas, excellent work! It reminds me of the gas station in my hometown (pop 120). They had a concrete block shop area with the old in-ground hoist. Only difference was that theirs had an I-beam structure that lifted on the frame of the car instead of the drive on ramps. Not sure how well that would work on the newer cars.
I echo the comments of others, I believe it would be impossible for you to bore us with too many photos. This place is definately a treasure!
Thomas, excellent work! It reminds me of the gas station in my hometown (pop 120). They had a concrete block shop area with the old in-ground hoist. Only difference was that theirs had an I-beam structure that lifted on the frame of the car instead of the drive on ramps. Not sure how well that would work on the newer cars.
I echo the comments of others, I believe it would be impossible for you to bore us with too many photos. This place is definately a treasure!
No, my flight background is strickly civilian. All my flight training was done at the University of Illinios, Institute of Aviation. That´s about 7 miles from where the shop is presently located and where I grew up.
As for this being a great flying gig, I´m presently in Brazil where it´s summer and being paid to fly here. State of the art aircraft, and truly wonderful, professional people to work with. I don´t see how it gets much better frankly.
Thomas
SharkD
Well-known member
What??? When did they start allowing pilots to play with tools?? LOL!
This is my week so far...
Back on this next week...
SNJ and an F7F?
I didn't know that there were any Tigercats still flying.
wagonmaster
Well-known member
Nor did I! Nice bird!
cyclopsblown34
Well-known member
Thomas, am I remembering correctly? Don't you have another barn or garage you are storing other toys in? Maybe a thread dedicated to each of them at a later date would be nearly as appreciated as this one. You've done a great job with the work on the restoration and posting all these pictures. Any pictures of the F.A.S.T. car(s)? If so, please post them or links to find them on other sites
Thanks so much for sharing with us,
Chip.
Thanks so much for sharing with us,
Chip.
truckdriver
Well-known member
Very cool. There is an old service station that has 2 bays that I've always wanted to buy to turn into a personal shop. Maybe when my kids are grown I can do that. Have to say it again- very cool, looks like lots of your hard work has been rewarded.
ZRX61
Well-known member
crewchief888
Well-known member
this is possibly the best thing ive seen in a long time.
last year has been really crappy 'round here, wife's been laid off for over a year, my company has cut back severely, i work too much, dont sleep very much, and generally have a ****** attitude most of the time.
but seeing this thread, brought a smile to my face, i have a "soft spot" for all things old. i remember checking out old farmhouses with my dad's family when i was a little kid
they called it "haunted housin'" finding old stuff in an abandoned farmhouse was the highlight of my summer vacation.
i'd be like a kid in a candy store in that place, wondering what the story was behind everything that i saw....
thanks you brightened my day
last year has been really crappy 'round here, wife's been laid off for over a year, my company has cut back severely, i work too much, dont sleep very much, and generally have a ****** attitude most of the time.
but seeing this thread, brought a smile to my face, i have a "soft spot" for all things old. i remember checking out old farmhouses with my dad's family when i was a little kid
they called it "haunted housin'" finding old stuff in an abandoned farmhouse was the highlight of my summer vacation.
i'd be like a kid in a candy store in that place, wondering what the story was behind everything that i saw....
thanks you brightened my day
Sheepdogmarine
Active member
I love your garage and looking at all of the old pictures.
Truly amazing!
Truly amazing!
SharkD
Well-known member
I've always had a soft-spot for Bethpage products.
Here's a close-up of the driver's side mirror on my SpecE30:
Attachments
Well I have just burned up 40 minutes of quota time here at work today going through this thread. All I can say is kudos on acquiring this property and actually getting it done. I'm guessing the family agreed to sell it to you because of your connection to the property. You actually did them a favor cleaning up this place. In 17 years of walking all sorts of property condcuting environmental assessments, this beats anything I've ever seen. Some close, but they were about to be bought by somebody else for big bucks.
krooser
Well-known member
Very nice... you saved a piece of history. I'd venture to say that most of the folks here on this board would have torn down that old place, junked the lift and everything in it and started with "new"...
I spent a lot of time under old Rotary and Globe "hoists" like yours but they were all air over hydraulic... I assume there is a pump that does the lifting?
I spent a lot of time under old Rotary and Globe "hoists" like yours but they were all air over hydraulic... I assume there is a pump that does the lifting?
To fill out what was done on the wood wall replacement, here are some pictures to show how it was done. As you have seen the the wall across the front of the original shop was wood as was part of the west side. It was concrete block the rest of the way around the building. I decided since the wood wall was in such poor condition to replace it.The block also made the shop more secure and was better to prevent wind infiltration and keep heating costs down.
To start, temporary braces had to be fabricated to prop up the roof once the wood wall studs were removed. I had plenty of material on hand to make the bracing with! Seen here is that fabrication and note the old Lincoln welder in the background as well as the welding bench. None of the old welding rod left was suitable for the Lincoln welder so I used a modern one. I have since purchased good rod and the old Lincoln still works perfectly. For heavy metal it's hard to beat an old arc welder for good penetration.
This is the fab room mostly cleared out ready to remove the wall. See the grinder build into the wall on the right driven by a belt and old electric motor? I had plastic over the man door to prevent wind from coming in . This work was done in January and it was freezing most days!
The exterior clapboard has been removed leaving the wall studs. In the shadows you can see the cast iron welders bench and the trip hammer. They were just too heavy to move so they were left and we worked around them. It turned out to be a pretty neat picture with the old tools silhouetted like that I think. One of my favorites from the hundreds I took.
Here a clear picture showing the two walls that were replaced. The lean to that steel was stored in has been removed from the side of the building. New roof is in place, dry inside for the first time in years!!
Where the block juts out was a small 8' X 8' room that was where he stored his coal for the forge. Extending beyond that was the 1958 room addition. Also seen are the Terraplane with the tree growing through the steering wheel and beyond that the blue '57 Chevy and an early '60's red Ford pickup. Foreground left is part of the steel storage rack.
Here's the steel storage rack. Weighed several hundred pounds and we used a backhoe to move. Took a torch and cut it up for scrap.
Here the west wall clapboard is gone. We dug down to check how deep the footings on the original building were. They were good so block was laid on them. The brick mason was friend of mine for the last 30 years and really knows his stuff.
I eliminated the three windows on the west side and put one in on the south side. The shop sits on a small hill with a terrific view to the south. Those trees by the steel rack are hedge apple. They were planted all over the Midwest in the 1930's during the dust bowl to prevent wind erosion. Mine are are old but healthy. You don't don't see hedge rows much anymore. Period trees for a period building I think.
One of the reasons I thought the building could be saved was the concrete block on it was all solid. No cracks anywhere and straight as a string. I later found out that the fellow who laid them in both 1958 and 1962 ( same guy ) was old school. He'd soak each block in water before he laid it so the the block wouldn't soak up moisture from the joint too fast. Made for a better joint. It took time but it paid off. If the walls were all cracked and the joints in bad condition I'm not so sure I would have restored it. The roof was pretty bad but we only needed to replace a few deck boards. I caught it right at the turning point. Much longer and it would have been too expensive to repair. I do have more so stay tuned!
Thomas
what is that machine in the second to last picture? is that the hood in the open position?
autoist
MEMBER EMERITUS
Concrete mixer.
Any photos of what happened between the last 2?
Any photos of what happened between the last 2?