Hoffman Werkstatt

[hoffman912]

thanks! i have a few projects that are a priority: need to do tie rods and a front wheel bearing on the wifes subaru before she gets new tires in a few weeks. then i need to do a full suspension refresh on the BMW - tie rods, control arms, drop links, rear control arm bushings (upper and lower), rear wheel bearings. I really want to get the new bench installed before then.

 

[hoffman912]

today was tie-rod day, as i replaced the inner and outer tie rods on the wifes outback.

the bmw and porsche had to wait outside in the cold while i did surgery inside

thankfully this little guy helped keep it bearable inside

https://scontent-a-iad.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10675702_10155047435405510_473519225358882427_n.jpg?oh=9ffd4e57a734943e7561f0fa49101161&oe=552CB358

unfortunately living in ohio means dealing with a crusty salty mess when working underneath a car in winter

having the right tools makes a big difference

for example the harbor freight inner tie rod tool. makes inner tie rods a breeze.

all done and Ruby SoHo rides again! Tomorrow new tires and an alignment (thought i have to admit, i got it pretty darn close!).

and Fritz (the 912) is warm back in the garage.

https://scontent-b-iad.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/p180x540/10426260_10155048815910510_3036671068284917580_n.jpg?oh=9262f1816cd5aab8b09ee4665310fed6&oe=5566E331


oh.. and what is that my bulldog, Blue, is is drooling at?

https://scontent-b-iad.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/l/t1.0-9/1969402_10155048745425510_803326111969043260_n.jpg?oh=893b21da3981001b8b4260f4d8dfee3c&oe=556B3AC4

oh yeah.. i got the HF 44" cabinet this weekend! organizing it will be a project for next weekend.

 

[Kevin54]

Hoffman.....I don't know if I told you WELCOME, but glad to see another Buckeye on here. You have quite a few Members over your way. I make it over there ever month or so, so some day we'll have to meet up for a cold one. Congrats on your honeymoon and your trip to Rome.

Also some nice looking Porsche you have. We'll meet up some day and have Columbus garage Journal member get together for a few cold ones and a good meal somewhere. Woody73 is over your way plus quite a few others, but I am bad with remembering names unless I meet people a few times. We'll have to schedule a hookup though with some of the other members.

 

[hoffman912]

awesome! we should definitely have a meet up some time

 

[jim]

Hey Harry, is that a old Aztec toolbox behind the US General box? I bought one of those at a garage sale this fall and it did not come with a right side cover support. Only a left support. It looks like yours does not also have a right side cover support. Is that the way it came? Mine has holes drilled in the right side but did not come with the right side support. thanks Jim

 

[jim]

Hey Harry, can you post some more pictures of those old Aztec boxes in the background. Looks like a matching top, middle and bottom box. Way cool!!!! Jim

 

[hoffman912]

Thats my dad's old box. the middle is a stack on from the 80s or 90s? the top and bottom are the aztec set. the bottom drawers are a major PITA to open and shut. I am going to try to spray some lithium grease n there to get them moving better.

the other one to the right is my old cheapy tool box my dad got me when i moved out on my own. the caster no longer stays in place; when we lived in an appartment for 4 mos between houses, some drunk guy hit the garage with his car and knocked my tool chest over. some how miraculously the top box landed a foot from the porsche on its bottom and didnt touch the car at all. the bottom box was knocked over and the thing the caster locked into was bent enough that it wont stay in place. it is a super cheap box though and i was planning on going big anyways so i didnt make a deal of it.

decals on dad's old box

tools.. from the bottom up:

the bottom cabinet drawers are kind of the bane of my existence right now. the dividers in the middle make it touch to really make the most of the space in them. also as mentioned they are freaking nearly impossible to open

https://scontent-a-iad.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/v/t1.0-9/644073_10153273459010510_448149953_n.jpg?oh=c35390190a940401c5b6ab26163e49f0&oe=5524D6BC

https://scontent-a-iad.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/1374849_10153273459120510_1552225834_n.jpg?oh=592a3f9a6ca95e33f0596d43108abb61&oe=556C5C10

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https://scontent-a-iad.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/v/t1.0-9/1378374_10153273459550510_666192510_n.jpg?oh=f0839be671c4d2cf8358931f184af26d&oe=556871B6

https://scontent-a-iad.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/v/t1.0-9/554165_10153273459730510_781591912_n.jpg?oh=126ccbe746d1d73c1d8f0f1bff7ffa75&oe=55397627



not the old tool box, but here are more tools in the work bench in the side building

https://scontent-b-iad.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/282856_10153273460355510_324933306_n.jpg?oh=91793b1cc5355e074291e7869c5e9843&oe=556CA43C

my cheapy tool box is filled with odds ends and junk. i put all the good tools in dads box when we moved and figured i would sort the rest out later. Well, got my new box and the wife is going out of town to visit family this weekend so i know what im doing this weekend

PS, im not going to get rid of the aztec; while my dad replaced it with a roller bearing craftsman box, i have too many memories of this thing as a kid, and plan on keeping it and passing it down. if i cant get the bottom drawers to work any better i will keep the top at a minimum.

 

[jim]

Hey Harry, did it ever have a right hand cover support? To hard to tell from the pictures of the top box, are there holes in the right side? Jim

 

[hoffman912]

Not sure. I will look tonight. What did those look like installed?

 

[jim]

Harry, looks like the foldable bar on the left side in the first photo. Was there one on the right side at some time? Jim

 

[hoffman912]

Sorry for the delay, been way to cold to head out to the garage. There was only one foldable bar, on the left side. there are no signs that there was ever a support on the right side - no holes or anything.

 

[jim]

thanks for looking! jim

 

[jon72vega]

Harry,
I just went thru your build thread.
Nice work, and nice 912.

 

[hoffman912]

So the wife is out of town visiting her mom, which left me home alone with the dogs. This along with the 45* weather on Saturday (a nice change from the freezing cold of winter) gave me a great opportunity to move everything over and organize the new tool box.

I moved the old Aztec to go on top of the new HF 44" box.

https://scontent-a-iad.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10325126_10155069079490510_8279637535694185757_n.jpg?oh=8111fd66cdce7d5d0e8847d202a1963f&oe=552DB33D

I need to still go through the top but for the most part its coming together.

https://scontent-a-iad.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10917290_10155069078350510_4359362672975238849_n.jpg?oh=d88699e68529215f39365cebf769bb5b&oe=556F2388

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the bag has my tune up kit. i keep it in the bag and throw it in my trunk with another bag full of other tools i use for road trips in the 912.

 

[hoffman912]

the tune up kit and tool bag make up my 'tool kit for the apocalypse'. this is what i bring with me for cross country road trips


the tune up kit contains:

spectrometer, digital timing light (so i can set timing for 32* at 3000 RPM)

https://scontent-b-iad.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10924711_10155069034255510_3561244718552940075_n.jpg?oh=e1ae28f6463aaf653b54c7599c38fd09&oe=5564F5D7

https://scontent-b-iad.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10565255_10155068979240510_5940274072502547291_n.jpg?oh=cccc43e3406f8e6d7141271600686b95&oe=5565448A

back up distributor, spark plugs, fuel filter, back up electronic fuel pump (just in case when on the road), spare pully halves

spare generator brushes, front wheel bearing, electrical tape

the bag also contains (not shown) carb rebuild kit (solexes) spare exhaust gaskets, spare points, cap and rotor, coil, valve cover gaskets, sump plate gaskets, and other assorted stuff.



my road tool kit:

https://scontent-b-iad.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10929954_10155068978960510_2536887169448653575_n.jpg?oh=e6a540a9a726bfa3643055d248510b97&oe=552114A2

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https://scontent-a-iad.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/10403431_10155068977830510_9172911569140087467_n.jpg?oh=bbe97e7d2f197a03deeb8ef31ef44706&oe=55627D4D

https://scontent-a-iad.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/r180/1513654_10155068977950510_4454768596446121861_n.jpg?oh=6912479f078b66c8780f71eb5877ee01&oe=552D77D5

socket for minilites, socket for stock lug nuts and stock lug nuts for spare steel wheel (and torque wrench - goes in the trunk, not the tool bag of course)

https://scontent-a-iad.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10923311_10155068978020510_2955938646963661093_n.jpg?oh=40e4cf67b6ed5b77a3f24c9a32c8e7a0&oe=5525D1C0

headlamp for hands free light, and a pen light

https://scontent-a-iad.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/p417x417/14938_10155068976575510_5539966169726146339_n.jpg?oh=2b865058a09bb88a7e2d3c904d7b897d&oe=556F5A7C

anti seize, loctite BLUE (never use red), black sharpie, silver sharpie, ball point pen, and field book for notes.

https://scontent-b-iad.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10413383_10155068977630510_8799709791817525214_n.jpg?oh=616a1bebc20a18ba3923dbaba801e08a&oe=556F73EC

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[hoffman912]

feel so much better being a bit more organized.. still a lot more work to do.

https://scontent-b-iad.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10917101_10155069079215510_84397728364434868_n.jpg?oh=5c03eb28a59d79a08663277494006b0d&oe=5522FA27

 

[Jyzze]

Nice set of tools. Table looks old? Any story behind of that?

 

[hoffman912]

It came with the garage when we moved here in august 2013. The house was built in 1895, and the garage in the early 1900s. I'm going to say it's probably 80-100 years old

 

[RandoH]

Cool place Harry. Love restored places like that

 

[slidemx5]

Nice detail on your road "tune up" bag. The space looks so much better and more manageable than when you first moved in. Looking forward to more.

 

[horizontallyopposed]

Harry your apocalypse kit needs a clutch cable The only part that's let me down on my 912 (Ok, so I limped to Portland Ore for Porsche Parade with half a clutch cable still holding on, but not fun!)

-Keith

 

[kamlung]

after work today i played around in excel a bit, trying to find a floor plan that works.

View media item 39114

place looks great!!! im jealous of the additional space you have compared to my off the garage workshop...

btw can you share your excel file you used to create that? that is awesome and can really help with laying out the floor space..

 

[hoffman912]

place looks great!!! im jealous of the additional space you have compared to my off the garage workshop...

btw can you share your excel file you used to create that? that is awesome and can really help with laying out the floor space..

Thanks fro the kind words!

I dont have it saved anymore (my old laptop died and the original file is gone).

Thankfully it's nothing fancy. just go to excel, make the cells in a 1 to 1 dimension size and there you have a grid of squares, and you can have each square represent a square foot. then you start drawing walls using line colors or filling in cells with colors (paint bucket icon). you can add shapes by going to insert > shapes. and then choose a shape or symbol to fit what you need. Its really simple and basic.

 

[kamlung]

thanks... i will give it a go and maybe save a version for others if they want to use it in the future...

 

[hoffman912]

Started getting pricing and estimates for tearing out and replacing the pad. getting excited for this next step!

 

[hoffman912]

The good news is 3 contractors have said the walls are sitting on a footer, and it is not a monoslab!

i cannot wait to get a new floor. i cant remember if i showed pics of my floor yet or not, but it is old, porous, has moisture and efflorescence coming up through it, is full of pits, pocks, ruts, craters and holes. it is like trying to work around the craters of the moon. not very conductive to car storage, or working on cars with dollies, creepers, engine stands and anything else that rolls.

 

[classicJackets]

Awesome to see the progress so far, and congrats on getting moving on a new pad!! That'll be really nice! Love the Porsche and the grab bag to go with it. I used to keep a similar array in my '83 Civic daily driver, after I popped a cord on a belt on the road one time.
I need a similar bag o' parts for my truck now, but there isn't a whole lot of space to keep that and the tools to change anything! Lol.

Keep the updates and pictures coming!
Doug

 

[HSpencer]

It's just a beautiful home garage cars and shop. I like everything in your thread especially your older tool box and workbench. I will be checking in often to see what your doing.

Best Regards
Herb

 

[hoffman912]

Thanks guys! The work bench is a love/hate situation.

I love the age and patina, and you cant make em like that anymore.

I hate that its so big and heavy and i have no idea how I am going to move it. I also hate where it is located and I hate that i cant roll or hide a floor jack under it, and i hate where the wood vice is located (which side its on). I wish it was on the other side. I am also not a fan of the drawers in the bench - its not that they are not useful, they are just not the size i would prefer. I would ideally rather have a flat top that i can roll a tool cabinet with drawers under.

Will I get rid of it? no. I just need to figure out how to make it work, and maybe modify it a bit (like move the vintage wood vice to the other side so i can have the bench on the other side)

 

[hoffman912]

PS, i have gone back through the thread and added pics. a lot of my pics are hotlinked from my facebook page. for some reason a lot of times they change the URL's on me and the pics no longer work. I relooked up the new IRLs for the pics and reposted the images here.

that being said, feel free to revisit the old pages now the pics have been added back in

 

[hoffman912]

So, good news, 1st estimates are in!

lets just recap on the request:

Replacement of Existing Garage Floor

Floor - 17 x 25 = 425 sq ft

- Remove all existing materials and haul away
- Compacted base
- Rebar tied to perimeter foundation
- 4" pour
- Columbus class "S" with fiber reinforcement
- Trowel finish on floor
- Brush finish on frost wall
- Clean and seal
- Sawcut control joints


one guy came by, looked at it and gave me a quote of $4,000 on the spot (not going to lie he seemed a little less professional than the others, but i know that might not mean anything at the end of the day. thats not to say he is an amateur -owns his own concrete company and everything. when i asked him about a garuntee, he said garunteed to crack as a joke.... i know it was a joke but still).

2nd guy looked it it, measured it, and emailed me back a week later with a PDF written estimate and quoted me 3,000. seemed more polished and professional. but that is a big gap.

still waiting on quotes from 3 other places. so.. does 4 sound high? does 3 sound too low? thats a big gap.

 

[hoffman912]

Just got another quote for 5200

 

[EdT]

I'd put some wire mesh in it. My contractor convinced me that the fiberglass was a replacement for the wire reinforcement, but I'm pretty sure he's wrong based on the cracks that have developed. Not a disaster, but I'd be happier if it hadn't cracked. The incremental cost should be modest.

 

[hoffman912]

Yeah i was planning on going back and making sure they had vapor (told them it is mandatory, no option there), and i do want to ask them to have wire mesh.

 

[hoffman912]

Have one more guy who stopped by to look at it today and should have an estimate by monday. felt really good about this guy; he wanted to do straight wire mesh, no fiber, 4000 PSI pour, vapor barrier. hopefully the price is in my range

 

[hoffman912]

Been a while. i noticed a lot of pics went missing (hotlinked from my facebook page). so i have been trying to add them back to past posts.

this summer i picked up some new cabinets cheap off craigslist.

In the last few weeks caulked the gaps in the walls and painted the garage white with Behr white barn paint (half the cost of white exterior paint), to brighten up the ceiling and room. I also figured since i wont have dry wall for a few years, i would paint the walls white while in there too. my goal was to have everything finished before the new pad goes in.

we finished painting on tuesday. The new pad goes in tomorrow (thursday).

last pics for now!

 

[xtremek]

Looks so much brighter. It took a long time to get this pad poured. Did you go with the last guy?

 

[hoffman912]

I have been non stop busy since July. Meetings in chiago, business trips to Singapore for a week, Australia for a week, the last three weeks in Chicago and San Francisco, and I hosted a 3 day event for 56 people and 30 912s in Pennsylvania as a national event for the 912 registry. I've barely had time to breathe lol.

I went with the 4K quote due to budget.

 

[hoffman912]

So this is happening

 

[hoffman912]

Happy Concrete day!