2 Sluggo's Garage

[sean Buick 76]

I find myself most interested in these kind of garages, ones that get dirty, get used, and are a constantly evolving...

The mega barn builds are super cool, but I learn the most from smaller garage builds where we have to find ways to make things work!

A question:

What was your method for the rust repair on the rear end? I have been wire wheeling and using POR 15 on my rusty parts but yours look great too!

The TV setup looks great, nothing better than freeing up work space on the bench!

Keep up the great work and I will check back to see often!!!

 

[taumac]

Nice work there. I wold beware of the tv. LOL.... If I have tv on I seen to get nothing accomplished but then again I do need to sit down and grab a cold one... All in all it is FL and need to stay hydrated.

5 Stitches Garage
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899
Florida GJ Group
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=117

 

[rmalkow2]

A question:

What was your method for the rust repair on the rear end? I have been wire wheeling and using POR 15 on my rusty parts but yours look great too!

Keep up the great work and I will check back to see often!!!

sean, Thanks for the comments and I agree with you. As I look through GJ I am amazed at the big builds but really come back to others on here that are smaller and using very creative ways to function in a smaller space. I'm learning lots of tricks from all the others here on GJ.

For cleaning up the rear diff I ended up using multiple methods. There's is no easy one way for this dirty job except time and dirty work. Some areas I scraped off bigger chunks, I used my cut off wheel to remove all brackets I would not need in the future, then the angle grinder to smooth those cut areas. Some of the axle tube area was cleaned with the grinder as well and I used up a brand new cup shape wire brush mounted to an angle grinder to really scrub off loose rust. There were no bristles left on that wire brush when I got done. All grease and grime was washed first with Simple Green and a stiff brush. Small areas I used a little brake cleaner on. After all the grinding and wire brushing I sprayed the entire diff with Permatex spray rust converter. When that dried I used up a partial can of automotive spray paint I had laying around.
The whole thing will probably need touch up and re-painting someday but the goal was to clean up the tubes and center section just so I was not always handling a grimy, dirty, rusty part back in the garage during suspension mock up.

 

[rmalkow2]

Nice work there. I wold beware of the tv. LOL.... If I have tv on I seen to get nothing accomplished but then again I do need to sit down and grab a cold one... All in all it is FL and need to stay hydrated.

5 Stitches Garage
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899
Florida GJ Group
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=117

Hydration is very important in garage work! Even in MI it's hot enough that a good Frankenmuth Pilsner is many times an important tool on the bench. Hmmmm, now you got me thinking a proper garage inspired beverage holder is required.

 

[sean Buick 76]

Thanks for the info about the rust removal, the rust converter is a great idea! If you ever get a chance try out the POR 15, it sticks like glue to rust and is really durable...

 

[Alexbn921]

Nice mount for the TV. Its nice to have some entertainment in the garage. I know I would get more done if I could watch a game and still do odds and ends in the shop. What's the box under the TV? I Googled antic recording device, and it said VHS.

 

[rmalkow2]

Nice mount for the TV. Its nice to have some entertainment in the garage. I know I would get more done if I could watch a game and still do odds and ends in the shop. What's the box under the TV? I Googled antic recording device, and it said VHS.

HaHa
Actually I think the PC term these days is "Vintage"!
I know VHS is old school but I had the player and I had some old tapes and I find that VHS tapes are super cheap at sales so I'm building up my existing collection of car related or rock-n-roll videos. I do plan to add in that modern technology they call DVD someday.

 

[rmalkow2]

Thanks for the info about the rust removal, the rust converter is a great idea! If you ever get a chance try out the POR 15, it sticks like glue to rust and is really durable...

Thanks for the tip. I've read about POR 15 before but have never tried it. I'm always open to a new way to stop rust progress so I'll have to give that a try.

 

[Bob Heine]

HaHa
Actually I think the PC term these days is "Vintage"!
I know VHS is old school but I had the player and I had some old tapes and I find that VHS tapes are super cheap at sales so I'm building up my existing collection of car related or rock-n-roll videos. I do plan to add in that modern technology they call DVD someday.

rmalkow2,

Glad to see you are ready to modernize your entertainment system and migrate to DVDs. Maybe I should transfer my 8-Track stuff over to Cassette.

 

[rmalkow2]

rmalkow2,

Glad to see you are ready to modernize your entertainment system and migrate to DVDs. Maybe I should transfer my 8-Track stuff over to Cassette.

I don't know. That is a pretty snazzy looking 8-track player. I still have an in-car under dash mount version someplace that I could not bear to throw away.

 

[rmalkow2]

Not too much going on lately to the actual garage layout as I've been busy with other chores around the house and work in general. I also took last Saturday to set up a vendor table at a local car show and sell a bunch of stuff. Prep for that always involves a lot of boxes and bins coming and going from inside the garage.

I did finally unwrap the Model A body from its winter hibernation place outside on my flat bed trailer. Cleaned out the dirt and mouse nests and started bringing parts back in the garage for trial fitting and some rust clean up.

One piece that I can work on slowly inside the garage is this rusty package tray. It's still usable with some minor repair.

The first task is to remove 4 80+ year old carriage bolts that hold a wood stiffener piece to the metal package tray. I'll save the wood piece as a template to cut a new one from good wood and then clean up the package tray for priming and eventual paint. Just one of the many small, dirty and non-glamorous jobs that will be required before this project is finished.
First bolt cut through with my abrasive cut off tool. HF cheapo special but if you don't push it too hard it works on small stuff like this.

 

[rmalkow2]

Advanced Technology Garage Upgrade!!!

Well I warned that I might have to upgrade the garage entertainment system someday and thanks to a neighbor having a GS this weekend I have now added the advanced capability of playing DVD movies while I work in addition to the previous VHS only system.
Bob Heine better get those 8-Tracks converted now!

 

[taumac]

I don't know there Bob. How does those 8tracks hold up in your garage in this Fl heat?

I know myself if I have tv on I end up in my chair with a cold one watching tv looking at all the projects needing to get done. LOL.

5 Stitches Garage
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899
Florida GJ Group
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=117

 

[rmalkow2]

It's been a while since I've taken time to post here partly because life outside the garage has been very busy this summer and I have not done any "significant" changes to it lately. At least I didn't think so, and then I stepped back and took a serious look and realized changes were creeping in just not in a very planned way. Things are getting cluttered again as I acquire a few more irresistible tools and tool boxes (some deals are too good to pass) and, bring in additional projects. Like the tall box of brake lines for my F-150 which finally rusted through its original lines on 3 of 4 wheels.
So its definitely time for a major clean up and proper de-cluttering.

But first I have to fix the Sportster electrical problem so I can get a few rides in yet before the weather turns too cold.

 

[Bob Heine]

Advanced Technology Garage Upgrade!!!

Well I warned that I might have to upgrade the garage entertainment system someday and thanks to a neighbor having a GS this weekend I have now added the advanced capability of playing DVD movies while I work in addition to the previous VHS only system.
Bob Heine better get those 8-Tracks converted now!

I don't know there Bob. How does those 8tracks hold up in your garage in this Fl heat?

I know myself if I have tv on I end up in my chair with a cold one watching tv looking at all the projects needing to get done. LOL.

5 Stitches Garage
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899
Florida GJ Group
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=117

Be careful with those Advanced Technology Garage Upgrades. It’s easy to get carried away. First you put a freezer, microwave and ice maker in the garage. Then you make a shelf over the ice maker to set an old TV on.

But wait, there's room to add a shelf to put a 400 CD changer under the TV.

An upper corner cabinet turns out to be just the right size for some entertainment equipment. In goes a surround sound receiver, a cassette deck and a vcr/dvd player. A few months in the attic and the garage is wired for surround sound, along with connections to the intercom as well as the inside and outside stereo speakers. The cabinet gets wired for a switched outlet so the whole system (and a muffin fan at the back of the cabinet) can be turned on and off at once.

All this technology uses electricity so I looked for ways to lower the bill. The 22-year old electric water heater becomes a candidate for another Advanced Technology Garage Upgrade. GE’s GeoSpring hybrid water heater should cut around $30 a month from the bill. It also cuts into the overhead cabinet space. No problem – just rip out the cabinet and find a place for the electronics.

When I bought the GE hybrid water heater the installation was going to cost around $300 but I’ve been sweating copper pipes for more than 50 years so the $300 went for one more Technology Upgrade! A 32-inch flat screen TV mounted a little higher replaced the CRT television.

The water heater worked fine for 11 months after I installed it. When it broke down the stack of electronics had to be disconnected and moved. After the second repair I mounted the whole stack on a wheeled platform so I'd be able to move it without disconnecting anything.

When Comcast inexplicably raised my bill without expanding or improving my service, AT&T Uverse became my new provider. It meant my garage TV had all the premium channels and access to the central recorder in another room. As long as I was adding another box, a cheap Blu Ray player got added (hey, the two HDMI ports on the TV had to be connected to something). I had recently discovered there were cheap (~$60 ) 30 gigabyte iPods on eBay. Adapters for the PT Cruiser and Corvette were available and once installed there were 1,200 oldies playing in random order in the cars. When my wife asked why the same thing didn’t work in the house, another box got added to the stack. Looks like it’s time to build a cabinet. Might keep me from adding to the stack and I don't want to have to use a ladder....

 

[taumac]

HOLY **** BOB. I thought I was good at packing a lot into a small area. Hell, I only got a tv, stero, tv box and iPad and 2 speakers. Only thing your missing is a bed and a coffee pot. LOL

5 Stitches Garage
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899
Florida GJ Group
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[taumac]

It's been a while since I've taken time to post here partly because life outside the garage has been very busy this summer and I have not done any "significant" changes to it lately. At least I didn't think so, and then I stepped back and took a serious look and realized changes were creeping in just not in a very planned way. Things are getting cluttered again as I acquire a few more irresistible tools and tool boxes (some deals are too good to pass) and, bring in additional projects. Like the tall box of brake lines for my F-150 which finally rusted through its original lines on 3 of 4 wheels.
So its definitely time for a major clean up and proper de-cluttering.

But first I have to fix the Sportster electrical problem so I can get a few rides in yet before the weather turns too cold.

I wouldn't beat yourself up there. Life happens, garages happen, projects happen. I went through this also and I give this advice. Sit out there and take stock of what do overall. Take notes of want you need and want. Sure garage sales, flea markets and etc have tons of good stuff but do you really need them? Sure there are tons of great deals too good to pass up but I don't need them so I pass deals onto friends who might like them. If I didn't do that I couldn't fit one car let alone. I only buy what I REALLY need or WANT and I already have a spot in garage set aside for it.

On funny note pass 2 times I purge or made room in garage I found the 7 drawer bottom and 10 drawer chest been looking for. I think your on to something..... LOL tool gods looking down giving gifts LOL.

5 Stitches Garage
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899
Florida GJ Group
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=117

 

[rmalkow2]

HOLY **** BOB. I thought I was good at packing a lot into a small area. Hell, I only got a tv, stero, tv box and iPad and 2 speakers. Only thing your missing is a bed and a coffee pot. LOL

5 Stitches Garage
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899
Florida GJ Group
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=117

So I'm reading down Bob's technology description and all I can keep repeating to myself is "Holy ****"! then I get to taumac's comment so I guess I was on the right track.
Holy ****!!! You definitely got me beat on the technology front and I won't even try to compete with all that. I know stuff on the TV can be a distraction sometimes but usually for me its just background entertainment. But I think I'll stop short of ice makers and water heaters. At least until I get a much bigger shop.

 

[Bob Heine]

HOLY **** BOB. I thought I was good at packing a lot into a small area. Hell, I only got a tv, stero, tv box and iPad and 2 speakers. Only thing your missing is a bed and a coffee pot. LOL

5 Stitches Garage
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899
Florida GJ Group
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=117

So I'm reading down Bob's technology description and all I can keep repeating to myself is "Holy ****"! then I get to taumac's comment so I guess I was on the right track.
Holy ****!!! You definitely got me beat on the technology front and I won't even try to compete with all that. I know stuff on the TV can be a distraction sometimes but usually for me its just background entertainment. But I think I'll stop short of ice makers and water heaters. At least until I get a much bigger shop.

You're right about the bed but my tradeoff for all the baskets in the garage is access to the master bedroom (that's where the 70-inch flat screen is).

Not sure if this qualifies as a "coffee pot" but there is a coffee bar on the other side of the door to the kitchen. It's also "switch central," with the garage lights, driveway lights, ceiling fan and air conditioner. I'm probably overdoing it by having two coffee pots, two coffee grinders, sweetener, creamer and vanilla? I drink mine black so it could be just one pot and a grinder but I've managed to keep my wife relatively happy for more than 52 years. It isn't very attractive but that's why it's in the garage.

Most of the time I spend in the garage involves noisy tools so the TV and sound systems aren't on. I do sometimes turn on a race and have it on in the background. When something exciting happens I can rewind the show and have an instant replay.

 

[taumac]

70 in the bedroom? What's in the living room then? I usually use the stero for the music channels on the brighthouse box. I havnt got a dvr in garage but I do enjoy listening to the race or a bucs games while working.

5 Stitches Garage
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899
Florida GJ Group
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=117

 

[rmalkow2]

I'm so confused now. I thought all those appliances were supposed to be in the house. I guess I need to re-think my garage layout.

 

[rmalkow2]

I won't bore you with a lot of pics of motorcycle batteries and cables being cleaned. That's all available on You Tube if desired. But I did finally finish one nagging project in the garage today. The Sportster is once again up and running thanks to a new HD battery and a new Super Smart battery tender/charger.
After cleaning grounds and battery cables because I had convinced myself the old battery was still ok I finally broke down and took it for load testing and then replaced it. It was toast with only 7 cold cranking amps available and would no longer take a full charge. But it did fool me for awhile because while on my old regular charger it appeared to be taking a full charge ok. But in reality it only showed a surface charge not sufficient to start the engine.
It was 5 years old and I admit I have not kept it running or charged properly this summer so I'm sure I helped kill the old one.
I learned my lesson the hard way and bought the new HD charger along with the new battery to get at least 5 more years out of this one.



Now, out for an evening ride while there is still some sun shining.

Knees in the Breeze!

 

[taumac]

Saw the chest you got off the garage sale thread. That should fit nice on the bottom roller you got.

Gerard
5 Stitches Garage
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Florida GJ Group
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[rmalkow2]

I have not made too many changes in the garage for awhile now so I've been lacking in posts lately. But I am still re-thinking my layout constantly and trying to acquire more useful cabinetry. I've been picking up the odd smaller steel cabinet here and there and need to clean and repaint them all before figuring out where to hang them on the walls.
I did come to the general conclusion that I still need to downsize more and keep trimming the big bulky items in favor of more efficient storage that is useful and fits the eventual decor I have in mind.
So the west wall got some things changed over the past couple weeks. In the last round of changes it was the place where I had moved both of my long time lateral file cabinets.

Then a while back I realized I really did not need them both and they were just collecting junk so I thinned the herd down to one cabinet and made room for one roller cabinet and a metal shelf unit. This has been the general layout in this space for a few months now

A couple weeks ago I pick up a vintage tall but narrow cabinet that will be the subject of a special project and future posts. But it made me realize that I really did not need that big and wider lateral file cabinet. I could still sort out unnecessary items in there and get rid of it. Those big drawers just tend to collect more stuff. So the contents got temporarily emptied into plastic bins and that big cabinet was a quick sell on CL. $10 to some lady who needed storage for her kids sports equipment. GONE!
This left me room to position my new (to me) roller cabinet and recent matching top box purchase. They had been taking up space at the front of my garage door opening. Now they have a new home on the back wall.
Much Better!

And then by doing the usual winter task of packing some items in and around my project car space I now have room to park my daily driver in the garage for the winter and keep the snow blower at the front of the garage for easy access when needed. There is still more sorting and positioning of things to happen but I can at least get a car in and out to park overnight or make repairs inside. And I can still work on the hot rod project when time permits by moving tools around during a given work day.
Less is still more!

 

[taumac]

Well done my friend.

Have a good one, Gerard

 

[rmalkow2]

For some reason I had enough energy after the drive home from work today to start on clean up of my new (to me) Craftsman 12 drawer top box. One of those worse than usual traffic days coming home so I actually got off for some therapy at Gander Mountain and re-stocked the shot shell supply.
But after getting home and putting on some garage clothes I decided to tackle vacuuming out each drawer and then wiping out really good with some all purpose cleaner. The box has small spots of surface rust that will someday need attention but nothing serious and it won't prevent me from using it in the mean while. The previous owner did not abuse it but just basically all the drawers were dusty and dirty from years of use and storage in a dirty garage.
Inside top lid dirty:

Inside top lid clean:

Top of box clean:

Drawers Clean:

 

[rmalkow2]

Then I remembered a couple guys on the Garage Sale Thread bought some old Yoga Mats to cut up as drawer liner and the big light bulb went on in my head. I actually have a couple of those.
I bought a couple of these a year ago at a company charity fund raiser expecting that some of the women in the family would go nuts for them. Well there were no takers so they have been in storage waiting for a proper use. Thanks again GJ for yet another good re-use idea.

Took some drawer measurements and laid out my straight edge of masking tape to cut the first large drawer piece. This stuff is perfect corrugated foam and easy to cut with scissors and use the corrugated features as a cutting guide. My masking tape was re-used for each succeeding piece. And once one was cut it became the pattern for all the rest. The top smaller drawers just started out as one large piece same as the full width drawers and then just simply cut in sections to fit the smaller drawers.

All drawers now with nice clean non-slip liners.

So now I can't stop there. I have to at least start laying out tools in a few drawers so I started with some easy items for today. I don't want to rush this process so more drawers will get filled in time as I work through what I want in this particular box.

Some of the Craftsman screwdrivers that get use regularly.

Some Torx and other specialty drivers:

My set of small Anti-Stat drivers from Moody:

My pick tool set and a couple other useful items:

It's going to be fun organizing all these new tool drawers. Gee, maybe there will be room for some new tools! What a concept.

 

[metalhead140]

Nice progress, and nice work on the toolbox! I need to start looking at liners for the drawers in my bench and start planning some tool layouts myself. You've made very impressive progress from your starting point to now!

 

[Strouty]

More is less is my motto, wait, scratch that, it doesn't work that way. I like the progress, were you able to use the other lateral cabinet somewhere else or did it go away completely? I like a working man's garage, I do like to look at the show piece ones, but I wouldn't even want to walk into one for fear of messing up the floor.

 

[taumac]

That box came out like brand new. [emoji106]

Have a good one, Gerard

 

[rmalkow2]

More is less is my motto, wait, scratch that, it doesn't work that way. I like the progress, were you able to use the other lateral cabinet somewhere else or did it go away completely? I like a working man's garage, I do like to look at the show piece ones, but I wouldn't even want to walk into one for fear of messing up the floor.

No the lateral cabinet went bye, bye for good. It's now storing kids sports equipment in someone else's garage. Just no room for it any more. Funny thing is after fussing over drawers that never quite worked right all these years of course before selling it to the next person I finally took time to fix them. Oh well.
Thanks for commenting. I too like to look at the show places but prefer a place that can get dirty when needed.

 

[Strouty]

That is how it always is, I never fix 100% of anything until I am going to sell it. I need to work on my attitude, because less really is more.

 

[rmalkow2]

That box came out like brand new. [emoji106]

Have a good one, Gerard

Thanks Gerard. I would not call it new but it's at least clean and back in use as intended. It's nice to actually have drawer space to organize tools rather than just cram them into not enough space.

 

[rmalkow2]

Garage Art

This came up on CL the other day and I couldn't resist. Solid old tailgates don't come up for sale around me very often and I've been on the outlook for some time. A little rust on the bottom edge but repairable some day if needed. 68-72 Ford F-Series which is one of my favorite models and hopefully someday I will find one to hot rod. Until then this will be some wall art in the garage. The Ford embossed lettering needs paint and maybe some pin striping.
Now, which wall to hang it on………….

 

[taumac]

Awesome, thats one of my favorite years also. I had a chance on a 69 short bed years back.

Have a good one, Gerard

 

[rmalkow2]

Trailer Project

I've had this trailer re-purpose project in stand by for many months now so I finally decided to make serious progress towards getting it on the road. The frame is from an old pop up camper that had been stripped to its bare bones when I bought it and decided to make a light duty flat bed trailer. To date I had cleaned and re-painted it, ripped out old wiring and attached some extra fenders I had in storage left over from another older yard trailer. I also got 90% of the decking in place by using 5/4 pressure treated lumber. So it now lacked new wiring and lights, a storage/tool box and wheel chock for motorcycle duty.

Today started out with running the new wiring along the frame and securing it as needed.

Once the wiring was run to each light I covered the exposed wiring along the frame with some plastic flex wire loom. I had picked up this black wire loom at an estate sale earlier in the year and saved it just for this purpose.

Now all that is visible is the black on black covering inside the frame rail.

I cleaned off a section of frame to bare metal and attached the ground terminal, then hit the exposed area with a coat of black spray paint to seal it back up.

Then it was time to hook up to the van and test the result.

 

[rmalkow2]

Trailer Project - Continued

WooHoo
The trailer now has working lights!!!

The next task was drilling holes and bolting a plastic tool box to the front for some extra storage space. This TuffBox truck tool box was a cheap CL find sized for small pickups so it fits the trailer width good. And I like that it has two separate lids that open from each side and not one big lid that only opens from the front. There was lots of tongue area space to mount this and it provides very light weight storage out of the weather for tie downs, rope, a winch or other tools I may need to take along. Six bolts through the frame rails and it's secure.

Next piece to install was this Harbor Freight front wheel chock for motorcycles. This was another piece bought long ago and saved for this very project. This will now give me the ability to haul my Sportster home in an emergency if it ever breaks down somewhere. And I'm on the hunt for a dirt/trail bike that could easily fit on here as well. I added a piece of stainless steel angle plate as a lateral support and bolted the whole thing down to the deck with 10 bolts. It should be pretty secure.

The almost finished project as it now stands. I just need to add three more deck boards to finish up the total trailer width and then add some additional tie down points. Almost ready to get this weighed and then get it registered for the road.

It feels good to have this progress done and take advantage of some un-seasonable warm weather we've had here lately.

 

[rmalkow2]

Trailer Trend

When it rains it pours I guess. I no sooner finished getting my flat bed trailer up and running and the next day I look in CL and up pops something I've been watching for a long time. A smokin deal on a used 6 x 12 enclosed trailer. So I jumped on it right away and after a 20 minute drive the deal was struck. So now the little flat bed has a big brother for those times when you just need to keep your stuff closed up.

It will need new tires and some TLC but has new lights and is otherwise solid.

 

[rmalkow2]

Same day another item comes up for sale 5 miles from home that I've been wanting to add to the garage collection for a long time. A dirt/trail bike to compliment the Sportster for the street. This was an all original, one owner 1980 Yamaha 175cc. I was totally impressed this thing had been so well cared for and preserved for all these years. The original owner got it as a present from mom and dad when he was 12 years old. Rode it in the dirt a lot over the years but always kept it well maintained. Original seat with no cracks and even the original rear of seat storage bag. Originally a California bike it will now get good care in Michigan and lead a pretty mild trail riding life.
The garage is now in need of some serious expansion!

 

[taumac]

Great finds. That enclosed trailer is nice. I wish I had one myself. Is that a harbor freight tool cart? How's its holding up? I pondering building some or run down the street to buy something. I had modification I want to do but wondering to build from nothing or have something premade and go from there.