After the cleanup

[RangerSVT]

I like the Blazer!

 

[tornadocaster]

Thank you
Me too! I miss driving it. I can't wait for spring!

my skating has improved though!
Cheers
Gio

 

[tornadocaster]

Finished cutting the top so the metal cover can fit.
I also found some great rubber bumpers to put under the brake so it doesn't slide around as I use it.
Cheers
Gio

 

[jeffmoss26]

Looking great!

 

[Mat Mobile]

I really like what you're doing with your garage. I can't wait for a photo with an overview (like from outside the door). But I certainly understand that winter isn't great for those kinds of pictures...

The only thing that is really bugging me (and I'm surprised you can stand it yourself), is those puke beige tool holders in front of your window. It breaks up the whole thing! I don't want to be the picky matchy-matchy colour guy but they kill the look of your workspace.

I might have said it before, but I love your blazer. My parents had one when I was young. It was a "Desert sand" colour GMC Jimmy. Everybody who had one of those remembers the side pouches on the wheel wells for toys.

I'm actually considering buying one as my fun car. They're small, can carry a load, look good and must handle great once lowered a wee bit. I like big cars but squeezing around in the garage for any kind of work gets really annoying. So a Blazer for me and a supercharged Mini for my wife... plenty of elbow room!

Ok, enough about me... Keep up the goodwork!

 

[randomtwinkie]

Thank you
Me too! I miss driving it. I can't wait for spring!

Nice blazer! Mines 4x4 so i get to drive year round.

 

[tornadocaster]

I just missed out on a complete vortech supercharger and forced induction carb on kijiji. I've been on the fence on what my next project is. I would like to put a full roll cage in it and autocross it but then I have to change the rear suspension to a 4 link or something like that. Once thats done it handles like an sonofabitch. Google "butch king blazer" and watch the short 10 second video of his blazer coming around a corner. It lifts the front wheel like a tuned vw golf.
One thought I had is getting into ice racing but the main club here doesn't accept trucks so I'm keeping an eye out for a good deal on a car.
Cheers
Gio

 

[tornadocaster]

Hey Mat Mobile,
You know the saying about "missing the forest for the trees" or something like that...
I just noticed how ugly that color is on those window bars.
I'm on it!
Cheers!
Gio

 

[tornadocaster]

Finished all my electrical!
I added outlets to the opposite wall and two four-footer fluorescent fixtures on individual switches. I needed a bit more light when I'm on the power tools and the metal brake.
Now i have no excuse to get started on the blazer's suspension. It's almost racing season.
Cheers
Gio

 

[tornadocaster]

Finally got one of the long term projects done.
I finally added the little supercharger to the Blazer.
Only problem is I didn't think of charging the battery so I couldn't hear it start!
Sure was nice to have all the tools I needed close by and organized.
Trust me it takes a lot of work for me to put stuff away. I actually put everything away before coming in.
I will try to get a video of the start up as I won't be driving it any time soon.
Snow is melting away finally .
Cheers
Gio

 

[tornadocaster]

I finally learned how to stab a distributor as there is a clearance issue with these blowers and HEI distributors so you have to index the distributor so the vacuum thingy sticking out of the distributor doesn't touch the rear housing of the supercharger and impede the usable timing range.
Then I realized I need a bigger hood or better snips so I started cutting away a hole in the hood for the air cleaner. Now mind you its a work in progress so I'm going to live with it for a bit ( I do have two more hood to wreck if I have to)
I also put in a set of ebay hood latches and what a sh*t show that was as I did everything backwards and ended up having to move the pins and one of the latches (anyone catch I lost one of the screws).
I couldnt remember how many times to cut before measuring...
I'm planning a stainless ring around the cut hole which will match my exhaust cutouts in my mind coming out of the rear fenders.

Cheers
Gio

 

[tornadocaster]

Finished it.
Now it's time to wash it and drive it.
Cheers.
Gio

 

[R'Addiction]

Nice work. Wheres the video of i running? Burnout video?

 

[tornadocaster]

How about a video of it stalling in a major intersection in one of two turning lanes?
How about a video of my buddy Gerald parking on the meridian fiddling with the carb?
How about a video of us racing to my house for an extra set of plugs and tools?

Not gonna happen. While I had it running it was a bit underwhelming. I didn't feel the extra hp from the blower. I have to admit I was impatient and took it out for a long spin without tuning it. In the end it worked out. It's in the garage sleeping now.

The highlight of the evening is while Gerald and I were in the intersection over a hundred cars went thru and the only one that stopped was a Focus driven by Zack who asked if we needed any help and after we tow-roped the blazer into a parking lot this high school senior was more exited to talk about small blocks, and fast cars he put a smile on our face. He was so happy he thanked us for all the info.

I wish I had a video of that part of the night as he reminded me of me at that age...
This is why now I drive a 500 hp beast that stalls at major intersections and makes me smell like gas and exhaust...
Good night
Gio

 

[taumac]

nice work, that bin storage thing was awesome.

 

[tornadocaster]

Thank you. It's still organized so it works. I should have rolled the outside edge because the raw edge is kind of sharp and because most of the metal we use in our industry comes off a coil, some of the shelves curve up. This makes putting away a bin a bit harder.
Cheers!
Gio

 

[ARCTIC_RAGTOP]

Nice Work!

 

[tornadocaster]

I'm back.
Busy season is over at work since the cold and snow came back. I finished my house reno and I went on holidays
Got back into cleaning my garage and after weatherstripping the main door I labelled all my bins.
I also filled my 3rd cabinet with all my drills and chargers. Before that I finished lining the insides with the same brushed aluminum.
For the pegs I used long 3" screws with 1" of thread and slipped a piece of clear vinyl tube for protecting the rubber grips on the drills and also as a spacer.

I have a new project coming to the shop for the winter so I'm purging again.
Cheers
Gio

 

[tornadocaster]

My new addition to the garage. This is a small cabinet about 18"x18", double doors and little hangers on the left side.
Thanks to my neighbor John.

Cheers
Gio

 

[tornadocaster]

Made this I rack to hold my jack stands out of some scrap steel and leftover #60 chain

 

[sunsation288]

You can be proud of your work place , it turn awesome !!!! , keep the picture coming please , you have great idea

 

[tornadocaster]

Thank you very much.
What I'm liking most about the garage is I'm starting to appreciate all the work it took to get it to this point. As I said earlier in the thread, I am naturally messy until I have a system. Now I have a rough idea where everything is so when I have to do a little project it doesnt take twice as long hunting for tools or supplies.
Have a great weekend!
Gio

 

[Autorotica]

Made this I rack to hold my jack stands out of some scrap steel and leftover #60 chain

Hey... Nice Rack!

Love the chains...

Chris

 

[Flounder_Pounder]

Nice work! I seem to have a never ending job of trying to get the garage straightened out....


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[GregsRetroGarage]

Really nice work! Keep the pics coming!!!!

 

[Burgerkong]

I got a few more of those Stanley Sortmaster organizers from HD, pricematched WalMart for $9/2 pack. Good deal, now if only the handles didn't take up so much space...

 

[Responder]

Thank you very much.
What I'm liking most about the garage is I'm starting to appreciate all the work it took to get it to this point. As I said earlier in the thread, I am naturally messy until I have a system. Now I have a rough idea where everything is so when I have to do a little project it doesnt take twice as long hunting for tools or supplies.
Have a great weekend!
Gio

Been watching this for a while now. I like it! Any more updates to the garage?

 

[tornadocaster]

My wife keeps parking in there so I can't get anything done.
I'm just waiting for some suspension parts for the blazer so I can thrash it in the snow and park it in another garage .... Then I can get back to the neverending story..
I'm looking at putting in a vent system for welding and maybe dust removal.
Keep you posted
Cheers
Gio

 

[metalhead140]

Love this, really great work and done yourself. I can definitely relate to the being messy unless there is a system/place for everything too. It's why I'm here actually, I want to lay everything out right with my new place when I get it, so the garage can stay a nice place to work instead of a messy disaster zone... Great work.

 

[taumac]

Just reading through your thread again and awesome work. I had same idea with those filing cabinets once. I couldn't find them at least for what I wanted to pay. So did all those cabinets fall off a truck or did you just steal the whole truck? LOL I want to take some of your ideas but I would have to redo the garage. Think the wife would have issues being it took me 8 plus years to get to to where it is. LOL Keep up the great work.

The 5 Stitches Garage part 1 http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142100

The 5 Stitches Garage part2 http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899

 

[tornadocaster]

Hey guys thanks for the kind words.
Better yet than falling off a truck...
the four big cabinets and the four matching ones under the counter came from some local big (accident chasers) lawyer firm going out of business.
I paid $20 each and two weeks after I bought them they dropped the price to $10 each.
Whatever... I got the dent-free ones anyway.
the middle cabinet with the 8 drawers was from someone just wanting to get rid of it for $60-80 bucks. I was by myself so I just popped out all the drawers and tipped the cabinet in the back of the truck.
A few hours later I had it cleaned and filled.
Cheers!
Gio

 

[irregardless]

I need to stay out of this part of GJ...

I'm starting to doubt I'll ever make my own thread and humiliate myself. lol


That jackstand rack is awesome, as is the rest of the shop.

 

[taumac]

Hey guys thanks for the kind words.
Better yet than falling off a truck...
the four big cabinets and the four matching ones under the counter came from some local big (accident chasers) lawyer firm going out of business.
I paid $20 each and two weeks after I bought them they dropped the price to $10 each.
Whatever... I got the dent-free ones anyway.
the middle cabinet with the 8 drawers was from someone just wanting to get rid of it for $60-80 bucks. I was by myself so I just popped out all the drawers and tipped the cabinet in the back of the truck.
A few hours later I had it cleaned and filled.
Cheers!
Gio

OH YOU **** LOL.... Great score. Wow I wish I deal like that came my way.

The 5 Stitches Garage part 1 http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142100

The 5 Stitches Garage part2 http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899

 

[andersen24]

Just got done reading through your build and had to tell you - VERY impressed, great job and love how you pretty much repurposed, scavaged or built everything. Wish I had your metal skills, clean and industrial!

 

[sean Buick 76]

Very nice job on all the projects! Nice to see another young Edmonton guy on here.... Keep up the good work!

 

[tornadocaster]

Thank you Sean. I was reading your build last night. Impressive!
I thought I recognized that skylark off kijiji. As sad as it is to get rid of old friends the new projects sometimes refocus you. I started another thread showing the build of my Alfa spider after getting rid of my dream project, the blazer. I just added a couple of Vespas to the mix for this summer.

If you're in the north side at all send me a pm and stop by for a beer. I'm piecing together a street/track car based around another spider and would love to pick your brain about the engine.
Keep up the good work
Cheers
Giovanni

 

[mountainman72]

Great sheet metal work. I love the jack stand rack. Nice use of the chains - it makes me think of other use for chain...

Thanks for posting, Brett

 

[tornadocaster]

Thanks Brett.
Word of advice... If you ever weld old chain soak it and wash it in degreaser.
Even the tiniest spot weld would start a mini grease fire and smoke show.
Cheers
Giovanni