Garage Project - Nearing Completion

[vinnymac]

I moved into a new home a few months ago and was pretty excited to finally have enough space for my cars. I spend a decent amount of time in my garage so I wanted to add outlets, air, and light along with insulation to finish the garage before my winter projects got started.

Here are some pics of the progression:

This is right after I moved in...what a mess...and it was COLD!

I dropped in a few outlets on a new circuit and started on the insulation.

Drywall is pretty simple but somewhat of a hassle since I was working around a lot of boxes.

Test fitting one of the tire racks.

I cleaned up everything and cleared all the boxes out so the guy I hired to do the taping could move around easier.

Taping was the only thing I didn't want to do myself. I hired a guy that was a pro and finished everything in three days and did a great job.

Painting started with a couple coats of sealer/primer and then flat white ceiling paint and satin white for the walls.

This was my first attempt at painting and it turned out pretty well overall. I guess it's tough to screw up white. LOL.

Started to hang all the racks, panels, and cabinets a few days after the paint dried.

I decided to build my own workbench. I used 2x4s and 3/4 MDF. It was cheap and effective compared to the $500 price tag of most 8ft workbenches.

Just about everything is installed including some simple lighting in the work area.

...just in time for me to start one of my off-season winter projects.

I'm pretty pleased with how everything turned out. Now my garage stays at a steady 55F in the coldest of winter days. I can open the door from my house and it will heat up pretty quickly. I still have a few things to do to get organized but overall it's pretty functional. I'd love to do something with the flooring and add a utility sink, but that will have to wait until Spring.

 

[67pete300]

Great work! Very nice space you have there!

Show us more when you do the floor.

 

[michakaveli]

Looks good. So whats the project with the BMW???

 

[vinnymac]

Looks good. So whats the project with the BMW???

Thanks for the comments. My race car is getting a new upgraded oil pump and pan. The original oil pump and pan ran off a single pickup/sump and I was having issues with oil starvation in high speed left hand turns. The new pump and pan is dual pickup/sump and should solve all of my oiling issues during races.

 

[cruzn57]

can you post up a few pics and specs on your tire racks, how far from the wall, from the ceiling, did you lag them into the studs?
did you use 1in sq tube-060 wall?

I have drag car and extra slicks, and rims.

Thanks

 

[GSSFC]

Best remember to set the parking brake in that garage! Looks nice...gives me inspiration to rock my walls!

Tim

 

[vinnymac]

can you post up a few pics and specs on your tire racks, how far from the wall, from the ceiling, did you lag them into the studs?
did you use 1in sq tube-060 wall?

I have drag car and extra slicks, and rims.

Thanks

Here is the link to where I bought the tire racks from:
http://www.mygaragestore.com/detail.aspx?ID=949

I bought two of the 8ft racks. They are adjustable and come with locking center bars if you want to use them. They are very reasonably priced and pretty light for an 8ft rack.

The bottom of the rack is 30" from the ceiling. They came with mounting hardware but I used my own. I used a combination of lag screws and cabinet screws on 16" center studs. I think it was a bit of overkill...but I did use 36 fasteners on each rack to secure it to the studs.

 

[e-tek]

Great work! You're a handy guy - but smart - I hate mudding so much I left mine unmudded - just caulked the gaps and sealed it.

Nice Bimmer - where do you race?

 

[vinnymac]

Great work! You're a handy guy - but smart - I hate mudding so much I left mine unmudded - just caulked the gaps and sealed it.

Nice Bimmer - where do you race?

Mudding is the one thing I hate the most. I can do it but I'm not very good at it and I end up spending too much time sanding and redoing joints. The guy I hired had it done in 3 days and it only cost me $300 + $36 worth of drywall joint compound.

I race all around midwest road courses. Heartland Park, Road America, Autobahn Country Club, Putnam Park, Mid Ohio, Mid America Motorplex, Gateway International, Blackhawk Farms, etc. primarily with NASA GTS and BMWCCA Club Racing. It's a bunch of fun.

 

[George Hill]

Is that an S54 oil pan?

 

[vinnymac]

Is that an S54 oil pan?

Sure is! You a BMW guy as well?

 

[George Hill]

BMW motorcycles but i work on the cars professionally. Did you do the swap? Never seen one myself, bet she is a runner.

 

[vinnymac]

BMW motorcycles but i work on the cars professionally. Did you do the swap? Never seen one myself, bet she is a runner.

Oh very cool. I was suprised to see someone refer to the pan by the chassis number from just a picture.

It's a standard S54 pan along with the dual pick up pump. It's a direct bolt on to the S52 motor. There are a few minor plumbing issues I need to take care of but overall it's a pretty straight forward upgrade. The pan profile is very similar to the Euro E36 M3 setup. I'm waiting on a few fittings to arrive and then I'll tackle the install this weekend. I may also have the oil pump shaft upgraded to hopefully mitigate any risks of the oil pump nut coming off (or I'll just tack weld the nut)...which is very common with this motor and higher RPM redlines.

 

[ProGun3400]

Taping was the only thing I didn't want to do myself. I hired a guy that was a pro and finished everything in three days and did a great job.

It was money well spent for the professional tapers. Took less time and looks great. I've seen many a drywall projects buggered up by a poor mudding job. Everything looks great. A small suggestion, maybe a couple of pieces of paneling, formica, diamond plate? or the likes behind the tire rack to keep from knocking a hole in the wall, keep rubber marks off the white?

 

[vinnymac]

It was money well spent for the professional tapers. Took less time and looks great. I've seen many a drywall projects buggered up by a poor mudding job. Everything looks great. A small suggestion, maybe a couple of pieces of paneling, formica, diamond plate? or the likes behind the tire rack to keep from knocking a hole in the wall, keep rubber marks off the white?

That's a great suggestion. I thought about running to Lowes and picking up something for that very reason. I could get some cheap plexiglass sheets, cut them to size, and hang them to protect the walls.

One thing you cannot see from the pics is the amount of clearance I have to the wall. The racks are adjustable for varying tire sizes and I have it set so there is 4-5 inches of clearance from the wall. My wheels are pretty light so there's not much a chance I'll slam them into the wall when loading the rack. Regardless, something to protect the wall is still a great idea.

 

[mpire]

Oh very cool. I was suprised to see someone refer to the pan by the chassis number from just a picture.

It's a standard S54 pan along with the dual pick up pump. It's a direct bolt on to the S52 motor. There are a few minor plumbing issues I need to take care of but overall it's a pretty straight forward upgrade. The pan profile is very similar to the Euro E36 M3 setup. I'm waiting on a few fittings to arrive and then I'll tackle the install this weekend. I may also have the oil pump shaft upgraded to hopefully mitigate any risks of the oil pump nut coming off (or I'll just tack weld the nut)...which is very common with this motor and higher RPM redlines.

I didn't know that you could bolt an S54B32 pan to an S52USB32 block. Please post pictures when you get it done, because I am very curious. Seems odd that it would match up.

Is that a Euro S50B32 motor in there instead of the US version?

Do what I did, and put your oil temp pickup in that little round plate that bolts to the bottom of the pan. That way you get your oil temp without the lag.

 

[George Hill]

Oh very cool. I was suprised to see someone refer to the pan by the chassis number from just a picture.

It's a standard S54 pan along with the dual pick up pump. It's a direct bolt on to the S52 motor. There are a few minor plumbing issues I need to take care of but overall it's a pretty straight forward upgrade. The pan profile is very similar to the Euro E36 M3 setup. I'm waiting on a few fittings to arrive and then I'll tackle the install this weekend. I may also have the oil pump shaft upgraded to hopefully mitigate any risks of the oil pump nut coming off (or I'll just tack weld the nut)...which is very common with this motor and higher RPM redlines.

Haha ya those pans are very distinct with the strainer and oil return line in them. Are you going to be running an external return line to as well or just cap the fitting?

It's a very easy job (well at least with a lift). I have heard the horror stories of the oil pump nut, but never seen one. I would just tack weld the nut and call it good.

 

[vinnymac]

I didn't know that you could bolt an S54B32 pan to an S52USB32 block. Please post pictures when you get it done, because I am very curious. Seems odd that it would match up.

Is that a Euro S50B32 motor in there instead of the US version?

Do what I did, and put your oil temp pickup in that little round plate that bolts to the bottom of the pan. That way you get your oil temp without the lag.

I have a US S52 that came with my 99 M3. The S54 pan is a direct bolt on and the pump bolts on without modification if you use the S54 mounting brackets. All and all it should be a pretty straight forward install.

 

[vinnymac]

Haha ya those pans are very distinct with the strainer and oil return line in them. Are you going to be running an external return line to as well or just cap the fitting?

It's a very easy job (well at least with a lift). I have heard the horror stories of the oil pump nut, but never seen one. I would just tack weld the nut and call it good.

The return line fitting is a standard M12x1.5 to AN-6 fitting. I removed the fitting and will cap it with a drain plug.

I'm working on jackstands but it shouldn't be a big problem. I will most likely tack weld the oil pump nut. I thought about safety wiring it but the S54 oil pump sprocket doesn't have "spokes" so it would be difficult to attach the wire. There are aftermarket oil pump shaft options but I don't think it's worth the expense when a cheap tack weld is more than enough.

 

[DEV0]

Great work on the garage. Only thing I think you could benefit from would be epoxy or something on the floor.Very good to know about the S54 oil pan too. Doesn't look like it hangs any lower... might have to look into that.

So is the other E36 M3 the dd?