chaingang
Well-known member
Mortar mixer, I guess you could possibly mix concrete in it but I have never seen anyone do it.
Above 1200 Sq/FT Restored 1930's Auto Shop
- Thread starter BB767
- Start date
Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.
dykstra
Well-known member
Way cool!!
stewart
Well-known member
It was perfect the way it was. All it needed was to be made weather tight, basic maintenance and some paint. Ya tore the soul out of it and made it look like a Subway sandwich shop instead of a classic beautiful garage!
eborcim
Well-known member
I do not agree with your opinion. Just making it weather tight was a major undertaking. If the man had the money and time and desire, it's his choice to do with as he pleases. He could have lit a match to it and swept the remains into a hole! Would that have been better? The place was cool to see with all that stuff in it, but it would be dangerous to work in and totally unfunctional like that. I imagine when it was first built it was pretty **** and span with fresh paint.
Diesel_Crawler
Well-known member
Wow, Just wow.
JOYO
Well-known member
Wow, that is awesome. I like the pitch on the underside of the carport roof.
Vernmotor
Well-known member
I agree 100% He made it very nice..
"....It was perfect the way it was. All it needed was to be made weather tight, basic maintenance and some paint. Ya tore the soul out of it and made it look like a Subway sandwich shop instead of a classic beautiful garage! "
While I can appreciate the amount of work it took and I do think its a way cool undertaking, I kind of feel the same way. Too much was changed and seems a lot was lost. The checker board floor is a huge blunder IMO and the carport just doesn't seem to "fit"
but again I would love such an opportunity. I think what makes this project ( not a restoration to me) so interesting is the history. When I look at the before pics, I can see through the clutter and can imagine all the work and repairs being done in the old shop over its lifespan. It just doesn't seem like a shop anymore.
Thank you for sharing and please keep the old pics and any history coming, I'm hooked.
While I can appreciate the amount of work it took and I do think its a way cool undertaking, I kind of feel the same way. Too much was changed and seems a lot was lost. The checker board floor is a huge blunder IMO and the carport just doesn't seem to "fit"
but again I would love such an opportunity. I think what makes this project ( not a restoration to me) so interesting is the history. When I look at the before pics, I can see through the clutter and can imagine all the work and repairs being done in the old shop over its lifespan. It just doesn't seem like a shop anymore.
Thank you for sharing and please keep the old pics and any history coming, I'm hooked.
Good grief. It may have been "classic," but ... perfect the way it was? It was damaged, broken, non-functional, and forgotten. You couldn't even call it a shop. Certainly it's not the "same" shop anymore; it couldn't possibly be. Shops like that don't exist anymore. When they did, they relied on a team of skilled manpower to operate, not to mention a steadily incoming procession of the kind of machinery that you'd find on the type of family farms that went by the wayside 40 years ago. What good would that kind of shop -- a stiff, non-functional, musty homage to the past -- have done anyone?
Personally, I can't imagine striking a better balance between modern function and reverence for what the building was (and for the men that worked there). What would be involved with "keeping the soul" of the building besides having an overgrown, rotted, leaky work environment where you had to sort through 40 tons of steel to find what you need on a daily basis? And who wants to work in a museum? The guy did a fantastic job preserving as much of the building and equipment as was possible. I'm appreciative that he went to great pains to keep what he could (as most folks would have called in the dozers), and it's my deep appreciation for his act of preservation that leads me to bother to respond to these posts.
SSCustoms
Well-known member
Steve from Socal
Well-known member
This is my first post on this thread; Thomas you did a fantastic job and, for you guys that like the "rat rod" look go do a building up yourselves!!!
Saving an old building or any thing old and in neglect is a struggle between restoration and renovation to make the object most useful and practical for the current use. How many people save their old dish washer or fix rotted window frames? The place was once a black smiths shop, I don't know if many of you realize how dirty these places were in the "good old days". That said the owner has the prerogative to do what he wishes and restoring a dump was not the object. I don't have tile floors in my garage but I would like them, I think tiles are far more practical than a number of the coatings seen on these pages. I like the clean fresh look of the place with tinges of nostalgia to remind you of the past. Is it exactly what I would do? No but, that is exactly or close to what Thomas wanted and it is a magnificent endeavor. I personally like to new additions and think they add some dimension to the building.
I envy you guys who have access to these old shops, around here few old building exist and the value is in the property not the building.
Steve
Saving an old building or any thing old and in neglect is a struggle between restoration and renovation to make the object most useful and practical for the current use. How many people save their old dish washer or fix rotted window frames? The place was once a black smiths shop, I don't know if many of you realize how dirty these places were in the "good old days". That said the owner has the prerogative to do what he wishes and restoring a dump was not the object. I don't have tile floors in my garage but I would like them, I think tiles are far more practical than a number of the coatings seen on these pages. I like the clean fresh look of the place with tinges of nostalgia to remind you of the past. Is it exactly what I would do? No but, that is exactly or close to what Thomas wanted and it is a magnificent endeavor. I personally like to new additions and think they add some dimension to the building.
I envy you guys who have access to these old shops, around here few old building exist and the value is in the property not the building.
Steve
Alaskossie
Active member
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2009
- Messages
- 27
Quote from your 12/28/09 post:
Reverse angle. Room from the other end. The blue line on the wall is my powder coated aluminum airline. Made in Germany, uses compression fittings so there is no air loss past them. The air line drops take air from the top of the horizontal line. That way any moisture in the line doesn't travel down it to your air tool. There's a drain at the end of each branch of line. Really a neat product.
++++++++++++
Who is the German maker of your air line system? I'm getting ready to install an air system, and need some ideas. Thanks!
Reverse angle. Room from the other end. The blue line on the wall is my powder coated aluminum airline. Made in Germany, uses compression fittings so there is no air loss past them. The air line drops take air from the top of the horizontal line. That way any moisture in the line doesn't travel down it to your air tool. There's a drain at the end of each branch of line. Really a neat product.
++++++++++++
Who is the German maker of your air line system? I'm getting ready to install an air system, and need some ideas. Thanks!
Chip, I do indeed have another garage that I built the year before I accquired this one and a `barn` I built this last fall. At some point when I´m done with this thread I can start another post with pictures and information on them if you like. As for calling my cars toys please be careful. I´ve got my wife convinced they are nessary for my mental well being to relieve the stress of flying!
I can post the links to the F.A.S.T. site once I get home, as well and the PureStockMuscleCarDragRace (PSMCDR) site or you should be able to Google them I think. You get me going on that and I´ll bore you to tears!
Thomas
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
Well thank you for taking the time to reply. It´s nice to know this post has been of some help to you, as I too have that same`soft spot´. For my son and I it was very much like a kid in a candy store, cleaning the shop out. Every day we never knew what we would run across. It was like a time capsule, the deeper we got into a room the older the items we found. Layer by layer we uncovered the history of what went on in there. There were many. many items we uncovered, tools, machines or auto parts, that we just had no idea what they were or used for. For the most part I saved them if they were in good or restorable condition and have slowly been identifing them. A member of our local car club is an old, former mechanic. He´s 90 years old now ( still driving I might add!!) and has come out to the shop on several occations to help figure out just what it is I´ve found. I´ve still got a bunch to ID. I might use this forum to post pictures and ask for everyone´s help for items I´m truly stuck on.
Thomas
There is a pump located directly under the electric motor. I have a series of pictures showing the restoration of the lift control cabinet and inner workings that I´ll post which should clear that up. I did send out the pump to have it serviced while all the other work was being done on the lift. All that was needed was replacement of the various seals, everything else was in great working order. Made in the USA and built to last a life time and in this case two or three life times! As I mentioned earlier Rotary Lift´s records only went back to about 1935 and this lift was made before then. I´ll try to get a good close up picture of the brass data plate.
Thomas
I think my past history with the family had a lot to do with them selling it to me. In addition their mother still lived in the family home next door at that time, age 94 and very independent. I readily agreed to a lifetime estate for her to live there as long as she wished. Also my intention of restoring and preserving the shop no doubt had something to do with it. They´ve known me and my family, my whole life. In the end it was truly a win - win situation for all concerned including the town. Yes I am aware I did them a favor cleaning it up but they did one to me as well by giving me the chance to own it.
BTW, she passed quietly in 2008, age 97 and a wonderful grand gal who is still missed.
Thomas
Yes. Please!
I like it so much I used it in my new `barn`. I will have that information for you in a couple of days. I am flying my last leg back to the US tonight and will be able to post new pictures and answer questions once I´m home.
Thomas
Shocker
Well-known member
Alaskossie - I am not sure if this is what the OP used for his, but here is something just like it - http://www.transairaluminumpipe.com/
ARTEMIS1759
Active member
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2010
- Messages
- 34
Lol, my dad said he remembers coming home from Vietnam and buying an *** load of bags of concrete and using a non power hand mixer to pour my grandpas drive way of about 7 feet wide by about 150 feet long...
Rich1028
Well-known member
great project,I some how missed this thread.
I like the '66 chevy II,do you have any more pics of it?
I have one myself.
I like the '66 chevy II,do you have any more pics of it?
I have one myself.
Furious D
Well-known member
The only thing I see missing in your garage is a bed, Why would anyone want to go in the house with a garage like that?
After being in Vietnam, that concrete work was probably easy. Of course, probably would have broke most of us.
BB767- This has been an absolute inspiration to follow! The detail and determination is impressive to say the least-
e-tek
Well-known member
Once again from me - absolutely GEORGEOUS. What a great undertaking. Your ability to preserve history, while doing this restoration and modernization has been incredible to see. Some of us would like to have ONE of the vintage pieces of equipment of the MANY you saved.
From the posts herein, I guess you could consider yourself "KNIGHTED" by the GJ senate!!
More please!
From the posts herein, I guess you could consider yourself "KNIGHTED" by the GJ senate!!
More please!
Last edited:
Wow, I'm wondering how many man hours you have into this building because for the amount of work done, you would almost of had to be retired to get the time in to do this in two years. You obviously had a vision for the building because without it I think most of us would have leveled it and started fresh. Well executed from start to finish. I almost don't recognize the building. Well done.
HiHoSilver
Well-known member
simply awesome!
keep the pic coming.
Thanks for Sharing
keep the pic coming.
Thanks for Sharing
Steve, I not exactly sure that much "value" was given to this particular building or really to the others on the property for that matter by the bank at the time of purchase. It is interesting to note that when I first purchased the property of course I needed to insure it. When my insurance agent came out to take pictures he was polite enough but you could see by the look in his eyes that he was wondering just what the heck I had gotten him into! He had known me for several years and followed all my car restoration projects so he cut me some slack. I received a polite letter in the mail a few days later from the main insurance office that outlined all the items I needed to "repair" in the next 30 days or they would revoke my policy. My agent interceded and calm prevailed and they stood by me. When the company underwriter viewed the property about 9 months later they then wrote the policy and rated the building as if it were a new one with no deductions for age at all.Pretty good for a 65 + year old building!!
Thomas
Shocker good eye. Yes that's the pipe right there on your link. It's a little pricey but it has a lot going for it. Good Stuff. Thank you.
Thomas
great project,I some how missed this thread.
I like the '66 chevy II,do you have any more pics of it?
I have one myself.
Oh sure I've got a few more pictures of it!!
I haven't posted a view of the lift room from this angle once the room was complete. I'll come back to it in another post.
The '62 in the background on the right you've already seen, on the left is one of my '64 Impala SS cars. The black line on the ground in front of the rear wheels is an air line that rings the driveway bell over the entrance door to the shop
.
It's a '66 2 door post car, series 100, 4 speed with an L79 engine for those who are curious. I drag race it in PureStockMuscleCarDragRaces ( PSMCDR ) and as a factory stock ( F/S ) car within the F.A.S.T. drag racing group. Current licence plate reads " 4 DRAGS " as seen in the top picture. It does scoot right on down the track.
This was the first car to be completed in the shop.Thomas
Thank you for the remarks. Read earlier posts and you'll see we will be building our retirement home there soon. As of right now I have no floor plans but this thread still has a ways to go.
Thomas
e-tek, do you ever go to the Canadian Street Car Nationals in Toronto?
I was there last year for the first time and plan on taking the little Chevy II back again next. If you do, stop by and introduce yourself please!
Thomas
Alaskossie
Active member
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2009
- Messages
- 27
Shocker and BB767, thanks for the link to the aluminum air line system supplier. I'll look into it.
Alaskossie
Alaskossie
As the immigration and customs people saw fit to let me re enter the country I am home once more and we may now proceed.
These will be some photos of the "office and parts" room as the building was originally built.
Here is the head gasket department obviously.
First to orient you, go back to post #122. In the second picture with the trip hammer in side view, look to the upper right of the picture and you will see some of the head gaskets hanging there in the background. This was a small room about 5' X 5' located in the fab room and it contained the oldest NOS parts. Besides car parts there were several Ag (Agriculture) tractor and equipment parts, again NOS. The shop, when first built catered primarily to the needs of the Ag community. As I now recall most of the Ag parts were IH ( International Harvester ) with one of the neatest ones being a magneto for a 4 cylinder engine, new in the box with installation instructions. Price tags were still on the head gaskets, most around $1.25 or less.
I afraid much was lost to water damage as you can see here.There were several product displays like the Fram Filter display in the background. I don't know the make of the steering wheel but I believe it's a Cadillac. Once I post the saved items pictures we'll get a better view of it.
You can see a new armature in a crushed box on the shelf. No identifying information at all I'm afraid. When looking at the parts in all these pictures they look old, used and rusted but most of them were new, just all rusted up from holes in the roof and high humidity, the boxes just crumbling away. This room did contain a lot of flat head V8 parts, many of which survived. A lot of the chaotic look is from animals, primarily raccoons, running around in there through the years.
While we're on the subject of animals that brings up one of the nastiest aspects to this restoration. Many of the structures on the property had holes in the various roofs so there was a lot of moisture inside which lead to decay, rot and mildew. That coupled with animal droppings from mice and raccoons mostly, created a rather unhealthy environment in which to breath. I bet you see it coming don't you? Well jeez, I didn't know, I'm just a pilot remember, and I was soooo anxious to get going that I neglected to wear any breathing filter. Safety glasses, hearing protection my kids will tell you I'm a stickler about, but who knew?? Well ya, I developed a lung infection, pretty good one at that. I'll spare the details but it took the medical community 5 weeks to figure it out after I don't know how many tests and blood workups etc. The short story was I missed 3 months of work and was a lot sicker than I realized. Hindsight is such a wonderful thing. So the lesson we all leaned from this is?......... around nasty, breathable stuff wear a Good Quality Respirator.
To be continued........
Thomas
These will be some photos of the "office and parts" room as the building was originally built.
Here is the head gasket department obviously.
First to orient you, go back to post #122. In the second picture with the trip hammer in side view, look to the upper right of the picture and you will see some of the head gaskets hanging there in the background. This was a small room about 5' X 5' located in the fab room and it contained the oldest NOS parts. Besides car parts there were several Ag (Agriculture) tractor and equipment parts, again NOS. The shop, when first built catered primarily to the needs of the Ag community. As I now recall most of the Ag parts were IH ( International Harvester ) with one of the neatest ones being a magneto for a 4 cylinder engine, new in the box with installation instructions. Price tags were still on the head gaskets, most around $1.25 or less.
I afraid much was lost to water damage as you can see here.There were several product displays like the Fram Filter display in the background. I don't know the make of the steering wheel but I believe it's a Cadillac. Once I post the saved items pictures we'll get a better view of it.
You can see a new armature in a crushed box on the shelf. No identifying information at all I'm afraid. When looking at the parts in all these pictures they look old, used and rusted but most of them were new, just all rusted up from holes in the roof and high humidity, the boxes just crumbling away. This room did contain a lot of flat head V8 parts, many of which survived. A lot of the chaotic look is from animals, primarily raccoons, running around in there through the years.
While we're on the subject of animals that brings up one of the nastiest aspects to this restoration. Many of the structures on the property had holes in the various roofs so there was a lot of moisture inside which lead to decay, rot and mildew. That coupled with animal droppings from mice and raccoons mostly, created a rather unhealthy environment in which to breath. I bet you see it coming don't you? Well jeez, I didn't know, I'm just a pilot remember, and I was soooo anxious to get going that I neglected to wear any breathing filter. Safety glasses, hearing protection my kids will tell you I'm a stickler about, but who knew?? Well ya, I developed a lung infection, pretty good one at that. I'll spare the details but it took the medical community 5 weeks to figure it out after I don't know how many tests and blood workups etc. The short story was I missed 3 months of work and was a lot sicker than I realized. Hindsight is such a wonderful thing. So the lesson we all leaned from this is?......... around nasty, breathable stuff wear a Good Quality Respirator.
To be continued........
Thomas
Steve from Socal
Well-known member
Hi Thomas,
In my musing about old buildings here, first there are very few buildings that old that have survived earth quakes and fires. The other thing is with few exceptions the property is so highly valued most were demoed years ago. An example; there was an old gas station a couple miles from me that was for sale and I called about it, 60x100 with a tin building circa 1960. They were asking 1.2 million and it finally sold just before the bottom fell out at 975. Within a 50 mile radius there are few shops I could buy for less than several hundred thousand and these would be in bad areas.
As a retirement house I would like to find an old building; a bank, fire house or, small factory? The big question is where? It would have to be in a town or city with enough amenities to satisfy a couple city dwellers, and be safe to walk at night.
Steve
In my musing about old buildings here, first there are very few buildings that old that have survived earth quakes and fires. The other thing is with few exceptions the property is so highly valued most were demoed years ago. An example; there was an old gas station a couple miles from me that was for sale and I called about it, 60x100 with a tin building circa 1960. They were asking 1.2 million and it finally sold just before the bottom fell out at 975. Within a 50 mile radius there are few shops I could buy for less than several hundred thousand and these would be in bad areas.
As a retirement house I would like to find an old building; a bank, fire house or, small factory? The big question is where? It would have to be in a town or city with enough amenities to satisfy a couple city dwellers, and be safe to walk at night.
Steve
Oh sure I've got a few more pictures of it!!
I haven't posted a view of the lift room from this angle once the room was complete. I'll come back to it in another post.
The '62 in the background on the right you've already seen, on the left is one of my '64 Impala SS cars. The black line on the ground in front of the rear wheels is an air line that rings the driveway bell over the entrance door to the shop
.
It's a '66 2 door post car, series 100, 4 speed with an L79 engine for those who are curious. I drag race it in PureStockMuscleCarDragRaces ( PSMCDR ) and as a factory stock ( F/S ) car within the F.A.S.T. drag racing group. Current licence plate reads " 4 DRAGS " as seen in the top picture. It does scoot right on down the track.
Thomas
I thought that car looked familar. I race at Stanton every fall.
Mickey O
Well-known member
Hopefully I didn't miss it but how about a little more info on the Impala SS, 409? 4 speed? My girlfriend's father collects cars and has quite a few Impala's (my favorite is his '61 SS convertible, 409, 4 Speed), looks like you a few as well.
Awesome, I worked at a gas station when I was a kid a remember those bells, I'd like one in my driveway.
Awesome, I worked at a gas station when I was a kid a remember those bells, I'd like one in my driveway.
Moose10
Member
Thomas,
Absolutely incredible work! You've got an amazing piece of history there!
Absolutely incredible work! You've got an amazing piece of history there!
cat06
Well-known member
not a good idea to mix concrete in a motor mixer, unless it is a sand only concrete mix.
the reason, a motor mixer the paddles have rubber flaps on them that contact the sides of the mixing drum, the aggriate (spelling, sorry), or rock / stone in the the concrete mix cause the paddles to bind up with the drum. if someone wants to go to the trouble of taking the rubber scrappers off the paddles it is possible as long as the "rocks " are smaller enough, but it is still recommended and better to use a concrete mixer
jwh
Well-known member
Found this on the front page and couldn't stop reading all 16 pages..
Great job, BB767!!!!
John in Rochester NY
Great job, BB767!!!!
John in Rochester NY