COVERING THE POWER WINDOW ACTUATORS…
Covering the air actuator was a good suggestion (thanks larry_g), not only from a functional standpoint, but also from an aesthetic one. Unlike the window jambs, I found something that made my job much easier in this case. Some vinyl eave trough (gutters) worked perfectly and matching end caps were available. I sliced the trough right down the centerline to create a half cover for the actuator.
In these pictures, the “as-purchased” trough (with end cap sitting on top) is shown on the left along with the finished 28.5” long cover on the right. One 10’ section and 8 end caps are enough to cover the 8 actuators so it was a pretty economical solution. And they have a nice glossy appearance.
And this is what it looks like installed. Unfortunately, they are visible when standing on the ground since they needed to be tall enough to clear the slide block on the actuator. Oh well, you can’t have everything.
With this wall finished, it was time to move the Chevelle back to the south bay so work could now focus on the north side again. But before I did that, I decided to measure the exact room available with the Avalanche parked there. It’s a bit longer than a standard Avy with its front push bar and matching rear tubular step. There is a surplus of 41” total, and with a little clearance to the rollup door, there is still adequate room to open the apartment man door. The Avalanche is staying with me for a while since it only has 40K miles on it, but I doubt I will ever own anything longer that needs to park here.
A LITTLE DREAMING ABOUT VEHICLE PLACEMENT...
I’m getting close to being able to work IN the shop instead of just ON the shop, and I'm thinking the following may work out the best for my needs.
MAIN BAY (SOUTH): This is the spot closest to the apartment. In the recent juggling of vehicles, it became clear to me that the south bay is the “safe” spot, and vehicles parked there are out of the way with little risk of being bumped when carrying things around or things falling on them (unless I drop my beer can out of the office bay window
). This makes me think the first
BendPak HD-9XW parking lift will be placed in the south bay with a classic car stored above and the spot below reserved for the “visiting vehicle” (daily driver).
MAIN BAY (NORTH): The project car will occupy the entire middle bay of the shop and a 2-post lift may go there where I have 6” thick concrete. I would like to stay with BendPak on this purchase so I don’t have to research the safety and engineering aspects of another mfgr, but I really like the idea of a
MAX-JAX style portable version because it can be moved out of the way if needed. I could even have alternate positions for it (fore/aft in the bay) depending on what is being worked on at the time. The crane also sweeps across a good portion of this bay and will come in handy for pulling engines and such. The car will be located fairly close to the roll-up door leaving plenty of room near the main and island workbenches in the back of this 36’ deep bay.
SIDE BAY (Lean-To): The side bay has that narrow 8’ door which isn’t the easiest to drive in and out of with a full size vehicle. But for bikes, it’s no problem. My two classic bikes will be moved from the yard equipment shed to join the other ones for a line-up in the side bay. Working in conjunction with the rear door, it could almost be like a cycle drive-thru (nobody likes backing bikes up, do they?). A cycle restoration could also be conducted in the rear of this bay near the main work area where a majority of the tools will be. A second
HD-9 may be purchased for the side bay depending on storage needs in the future. Height is adequate for sports car storage on the top lift position with ample headroom below.
Boy, it sure is fun to dream, isn’t it? Hopefully I can make some of it reality soon when I get this main bay finished!
SHOP TIP: TAKING LONG MEASUREMENTS W/O A MEASURING TAPE…
I believe I mentioned this before on GJ (maybe even in this thread), but this one is worth mentioning again. I was reminded of it with all the overhead work being done on the ceiling.
For long measurements, especially overhead ones with nothing for a measuring tape to hook onto and pull taunt, a locking telescopic pole works absolutely fantastic. Just extend it out to touch the two items you are trying to span between and lock it down. Transfer the length of the pole to the piece requiring the cut and you’ll have a perfectly trimmed part. And there’s no need to remember or write down measurements either.
The long one in the picture is a pool cleaning pole that would normally have a clip-on brush or screen on the end. It’s sitting next to a 12’ section of J-channel about to be cut to length. These poles cost less than $20 and can take measurements from 8’ to 14’. I bought other ones intended as long reach paint roller or duster handles that collapse down even smaller because they are 3-section designs.
. Then the next decision, if you could have everything, what color would it be?
