Mark's Monster Garage....3800 sq ft
- Thread starter IGO2XS
- Start date
Dakota00
Well-known member
Homebody
Well-known member
www.flikr.com is pretty popular now also. Good to see you back!
I have had a little time to go back and read some of my posts near the end of my thread. Its hard to believe the last few days of 2017 were the final days of GodSpeed Rides. The guy who purchased it didnt last more than 16 months in the hot rod business. He contacted all of the customers and gave them 30 days to move their vehicles out of the facility. I really felt bad as some of them were guys that had brought theirs cars in when I owned the business.
I know there at the end of the hot rod shop I was posting pictures of Jeeps. The Jeeps side of the business was much more predictable than building the hotrods. I talked my wife into letting me go from the GodSpeed Rides to GodSpeed Offroad. I moved in a building a few miles down the street and build trucks and Jeeps. We remodeled the building and it was a really nice facilty. I took with me one of my most talented mechanics because he could do just about anything. I thought to boost the business I would start a Jeep event and I founded Suncoast Jeep Festival. I got the sponsorship of the local Jeep dealer and our goal was to raise money for charity. I rented the fairgrounds here in Sarasota as the event was growing and we didnt room. Through volunteers we built and obstacle course that was pretty challenging. The opening day of the event was very exciting. I was up at the main gate talking to one of the volunteers and a trailer ran over my left leg. As it was dragging me down I could hear the bones breaking between my knee and ankle. I didnt see it but there were bones sticking out of my leg. An ambulance came and took me to the hospital as they were unsure if I was going to be able to keep all of my leg. They were thinking of sending me up to Tampa but by the grace of God and my wife they kept me in Sarasota and I got the best surgeon I could possibly have. I was in the hospital 3 weeks and the next 6 months I was in a wheel chair. I had to put a ramp in my garage so I could get in the house. My first day after I got out of the hospital I was back at GodSpeed Offroad in my office doing business. About 4 months after the accident my wife and I went to Las Vegas. I had an electric 3 week cart to get around. In the middle of the night when I had to go to the bathroom I would get on my electric cart next to the bed and ride to the bathroom..................do my business and then ride back to the bed. I just found that part hilarious. Although I have a huge scar on my leg I was able to go to rehab when they cleared me to put pressure on my leg. Only thing I can say is that I used my ambition to recover and was able to resume my normal working routine. I was very blessed that i was able to come back like I did. Long story short 9 months ago my wife asked me to sell GodSpeed Offroad and I agreed.
I know there at the end of the hot rod shop I was posting pictures of Jeeps. The Jeeps side of the business was much more predictable than building the hotrods. I talked my wife into letting me go from the GodSpeed Rides to GodSpeed Offroad. I moved in a building a few miles down the street and build trucks and Jeeps. We remodeled the building and it was a really nice facilty. I took with me one of my most talented mechanics because he could do just about anything. I thought to boost the business I would start a Jeep event and I founded Suncoast Jeep Festival. I got the sponsorship of the local Jeep dealer and our goal was to raise money for charity. I rented the fairgrounds here in Sarasota as the event was growing and we didnt room. Through volunteers we built and obstacle course that was pretty challenging. The opening day of the event was very exciting. I was up at the main gate talking to one of the volunteers and a trailer ran over my left leg. As it was dragging me down I could hear the bones breaking between my knee and ankle. I didnt see it but there were bones sticking out of my leg. An ambulance came and took me to the hospital as they were unsure if I was going to be able to keep all of my leg. They were thinking of sending me up to Tampa but by the grace of God and my wife they kept me in Sarasota and I got the best surgeon I could possibly have. I was in the hospital 3 weeks and the next 6 months I was in a wheel chair. I had to put a ramp in my garage so I could get in the house. My first day after I got out of the hospital I was back at GodSpeed Offroad in my office doing business. About 4 months after the accident my wife and I went to Las Vegas. I had an electric 3 week cart to get around. In the middle of the night when I had to go to the bathroom I would get on my electric cart next to the bed and ride to the bathroom..................do my business and then ride back to the bed. I just found that part hilarious. Although I have a huge scar on my leg I was able to go to rehab when they cleared me to put pressure on my leg. Only thing I can say is that I used my ambition to recover and was able to resume my normal working routine. I was very blessed that i was able to come back like I did. Long story short 9 months ago my wife asked me to sell GodSpeed Offroad and I agreed.
383
Well-known member
Wow!! Good to hear that you were able to get through it as well as you did.
HOTFR8
Banned
WOW all you have been through you sure are true to the name IGO2XS.
Bob Heine
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Mark, is your wife like mine and wondering if we're trying to escape a piece at a time? So good to hear you saved the leg and I look forward to your early warnings on weather changes.
jbmatth
Well-known member
Very unfortunate to hear about the accident and the closing of GodSpeed Rides. I'm glad you were able to recover to where you are with the leg, hopefully you don't have many lasting effects from it and can make a full recovery. I wish you the best,
JB
JB
Toolfool
Well-known member
Glad you came through the injury. Did you get your cabin built ?
Thank you!!
You are right in more ways than one!! LOL.
Well, I am 16 years sober, 13 years since I had my kidney transplant, the recent accident.........yes, I think she has been a little concerned!!
Other than the bad scar I can do about everything I could before the accident. Thank you for your comments.
Unfortunately we have not. i still own the property but my wife put the brakes on the project. I had a pretty sizable down payment with the builder and he would not refund any of the money.
Swanny1953
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Mark, glad to see you're back and that you've recovered from what have been a very scary ordeal - Holy Cow!! Looking forward to seeing your new projects.
36truck
Well-known member
Welcome back Mark. Glad you healed up good. Now it's picture time of what you have been up to.
WarrenJ
Well-known member
Mark
Glad to see you back.
Glad to see you back.
I will show you guys one of my favorite toys. Although I loved building the cars deep down I am a truck guy. I have always loved to drive a truck so 7 months ago I started looking around at different models. I still have my dually so I wanted something a little fancier. . I started looking at the Mercedes G-Wagons because they were coming out with a new body style in 2020. I ran across what they call a Mercedes G-Squared 4x4 while I was doing my research. I didnt know this thing existed. Its a G Wagon on steroids. It has portal axles raising it 12" over a standard G Wagon allowing the 36" tall tires. Its about 5 inches wider with the addition of 8" wide carbon fiber flares. There is twin coilovers on each corner. Its a 4.0 liter motor with twin turbos. The factory paint is gloss black but I had the whole truck wrapped in satin black vinyl and painted all the emblems gloss black. I must say I am in love with this truck. I just have one picture right now but I will take a few more tomorrow.
Boosted1
Well-known member
Looks good.
That is a lot of ground clearance
I like anything with Twin Turbos!
That is a lot of ground clearance
I like anything with Twin Turbos!
Were any of you guys in the custom van scene in the early/late 70's? When I was 16 I saw this picture of a chevy van on the cover of Hotrod Magazine. I believe the first picture I have here was the van that gave me inspiration. Also as a drummer it made sense that I have something to carry the drums around with. The two old photos were of the van I had back in 1973...........yes that is a dog in my lap. If you notice I used the same slotted aluminum wheels and the Thrush side pipes just like the Hotrod van. I had an orange **** carpeting and and pretty wild interior. Last year I picked up a 1979 Chevy van from a buddy of mine. Its the picture of the van with the two tone paint. It has a 350 cu in motor with A/C. Right now it is at the paint shop getting repainting. My mom asked me to paint the color of my 41 Willys I used to have. The color on my old van was called Burnt Orange. i am going with a brighter Orange and its going to be more of a metallic paint. Once I get it back I plan on working on the interior.
Toolfool
Well-known member
I'm so jealous.
kald
Well-known member
Nice Shaggin' Wagon!
Toolfool
Well-known member
I like the way it sits now. I'd like it more if it was a third gen Ford, but I'd be even more jealous.
Homebody
Well-known member
Ugh! Jealous here also! I need a Shaggin Wagon!
Bummer on the leg incident, but glad to hear you recovered pretty well from it.
Can't wait to see the progress on the van.
Bummer on the leg incident, but glad to hear you recovered pretty well from it.
Can't wait to see the progress on the van.
Bob Heine
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Mark, that's going to be a great project. I'm along for the ride (without the tire tracks in my man cave).
I guess it needs some **** carpet!!
Sorry but I have been a Chevy guy all my life!
Ugh! Jealous here also! I need a Shaggin Wagon!
Bummer on the leg incident, but glad to hear you recovered pretty well from it.
Can't wait to see the progress on the van.
thanks I am pretty excited too.
I am really looking forward to it. Right now my wife has decided to remodel the house and the apartment in my garage so I have been busy doing improvement projects so its OK the van isnt here yet. I know the roof of the van was painted yesterday and the rest of the van is getting painted tomorrow. One of my best body guys who worked at GodSpeed Rides is painting it. He works at the body shop I have doing the work. He was suppose to paint the body today but he found a few small dents and he knows how I am so he took care of them and will be painting it tomorrow for sure.
One thing I wanted to tell you guys is that I am officially retired as of 10 months ago. We sold all of our real estate investments and the Jeep shop around the same time. Quite frankly coming from a farm family I figured I would work until I died. I really wondered how I would handle it and for the first 7 months I was a mess. I lost my direction and didnt really know what to do. Finally one day I went out in the garage and just started organizing. Then the next day I went to the garage and so I made a habit of it. See, after I started GodSpeed Rides I had no time to do anything so I had plenty of organizing to do. Between working on my garage and taking care of my honey do's I start about 8:30 each morning, come in for my 15 minute lunch, then come back in for dinner at 6:00 7 days a week. All this activity brought me out of my slump and I am doing great. I just need to have a purpose every day and I cannot lay around the house if you know what I mean. Thank God for my garage or I would be in a mental institution!!
BORING HOP YARD
Well-known member
Hey Mark, I'm working on my second year of retirement.
My wife talked a lot about when we retire and what each of us needs to do.
It was agreed I was going to get 6 months to finish my 56 ford pickup but other things came up and my truck is close but not yet done. Our house then had other plans for my time, so I worked on the house for 8 months full time out of the shop.
I still needed my shop time, when I was working I used my shop time to decompress from the stress of being a QA Manager in aircraft manufacturing. After working 7 days a week on the house both of us were complaining we don't get any days off, so we made a rule in our house. Sunday will be our day off and we will not make plans to do anything. We typically go out for a pint or two of beer from our favorite local brewer after 3:00 on Sunday's. Gives me a day in the shop and her a day in her sewing room.
I'm typically in the shop at 8:00 and in the house around 2:30 - 3:00 each day.
Congratulations on your retirement!
My wife talked a lot about when we retire and what each of us needs to do.
It was agreed I was going to get 6 months to finish my 56 ford pickup but other things came up and my truck is close but not yet done. Our house then had other plans for my time, so I worked on the house for 8 months full time out of the shop.
I still needed my shop time, when I was working I used my shop time to decompress from the stress of being a QA Manager in aircraft manufacturing. After working 7 days a week on the house both of us were complaining we don't get any days off, so we made a rule in our house. Sunday will be our day off and we will not make plans to do anything. We typically go out for a pint or two of beer from our favorite local brewer after 3:00 on Sunday's. Gives me a day in the shop and her a day in her sewing room.
I'm typically in the shop at 8:00 and in the house around 2:30 - 3:00 each day.
Congratulations on your retirement!
Toolfool
Well-known member
I've been in that slump since moving to Florida. A few weeks ago I decided to start a new shop/garage build so I didn't fade away. Have guys pushing dirt around as I type. Congrats on your retirement !
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Bob Heine
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Mark, I'm a professional retiree. My goal at 24 was to retire before I turned 55, the age my father was when he died, a month after he retired (without ever collecting a penny of the pension he contributed to for 30 years). I beat my schedule by 5 years and took IBM's buyout offer. I did end up working another five years self-employed and renting myself out to AOL (America Online - - something about 3-letter acronyms attracts me). My 20 years of practice not working for a paycheck has taught me that working in or on the garage or workshop is the best cure for boredom, depression and an early trip to the hole in the ground.
Now I just need to convince my one and only customer that I know what I'm doing. Seems like you have a similar problem but I know Mary is gentle when she gives you a hint as to what you should do.
Now I just need to convince my one and only customer that I know what I'm doing. Seems like you have a similar problem but I know Mary is gentle when she gives you a hint as to what you should do.
MrScott99
Well-known member
It is so awesome to see this thread come back to life, and to get the updates on what you have been up to!
Thank you for your words of inspiration!!
That sounds great......at least we know what we have to do to come back. My return to sanity was just shy of a miracle. Over a 3 week period I came back to my "get the heck out of my way I have work to do"! I am not stopable! Today I decided to trim my moms bougainvillea. I bought this lift last year so she is all worried about me working up it the air trimming this huge bush. If she had seen some of the work situations I have conquered she would have a heart attach!!
Bob, you always have great intuition and foresight. My wife has certainly kept me alive though the years. She gives me all the rope I need and lets me be the man of the house. She had followed and supported me 100% through some of the crazy stuff that I have done. She always knows when to come in and give me a little nudge. The last few weeks I have really loved living. I am having so much fun doing all these projects and working in the garage. Sometimes I might bounce around a little bit but I am having a blast. Today for example I came in for lunch for 20 minutes then I was back at it again outside. I was so dirty from trimming the big bush I came in and took a quick shower and put on clean clothes and went right back to another project. I come back in at 6:15 so I can eat at 6:30 then leave at 7:00 to go to church band practice. Its like the days go too quick.
Thank you so much I am loving being a part of GJ.
Got picture of the van today......what do you think of the color I picked?
Toolfool
Well-known member
Boosted1
Well-known member
Great to see you posting again.
that van is going to be awesome.
We had a custom van in the 80s. It was Green with Orange graphics, keystones, bucket seats and orange carpet inside.
that van is going to be awesome.
We had a custom van in the 80s. It was Green with Orange graphics, keystones, bucket seats and orange carpet inside.
Great to see you back. I am always very impressed with every project you attack. I get emails from Chevrolet Performance. Last month a section was Corvettes. One in particular was a 1966 coupe. Built by Godspeed Rides. Was this after you sold the business or did you build the car? Funny thing is, after I saw the article, you showed up on GJ again!
https://www.theblock.com/article/20...?evar36=MRM_eml_CP_MarchFuel_0320_16307622782
https://www.theblock.com/article/20...?evar36=MRM_eml_CP_MarchFuel_0320_16307622782
JCQuick
Well-known member
Burn't orange was one of my favorite colors back in the late 60's I was also a van fan in my early motocross days. can't wait to see it finished can you even buy **** carpet these days?
Homebody
Well-known member
MrScott99
Well-known member
I love the color. Trying to talk Mrs. MrScott into doing my 240z in a similar color.
It might be a Dodge color......I picked the color from a color wheel and didnt even look at the manufacturer. I will have to check out the color code when I pick up the van.
I have an original piece of the **** carpet I put in my 1973 Chevy van when I was 16! Check it out.
That is our build!! Wow that is cool Chevrolet picked it up. I looked back and see I didnt post any finished pictures of the car so I will post a bunch of them in the next few days.
I dont know but my nephew is in the carpet business. I will have to find out.
PERFECT!!
Thank you!
I will be getting the paint code so let me know if you need it.
When I was 18 (mid 1990s) my first car was just like the Chevy van in your picture with the dog. Burnt orange, mag wheels with a 350. That thing was a beast. Thank you for bringing the memories back to life. I'm absolutely looking forward to seeing this van be built!
taumac
Well-known member
I’m glad to see you back. That was a horrible accident and happy to see you fully recovered. Congratulations on retirement. My neighbor lived to 94 and his key was to always keep moving. He was always outside working in garage or riding his scooter somewhere.