Making do with what I have!

[madoc1]

neat! great imagination! but we need a bunch of pics!

jim

 

[sean Buick 76]

I need to clear some brush, remove the top soil and hopefully before snowfall there will be a 32 foot wide by 26 foot deep concrete pad!





Some random pics of the little house!

We are sizing things up to fix it up right now and then find a new renter.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Sean, looking forward to your carport build..

Regards

 

[rixtrix1]

Sure is nice and green there. We have only had 1/2" of rain all summer while other parts of the city have had 4"! Trudi is complaining about the lawn watering bill.

Watched your vids, too! Thanks.

My cousin had a Daytona similar to yours. Threw about as much money as possible on it until he needed solid motor mounts to keep the engine in the car. Got smart and bought a supercharged Mustang Mach 1. Had both solid and independent rear axle suspensions for it. Fast( not stock) and comfortable, especially compared to the Daytona.

 

[Bigdukaaa]

your real good inspiration. Good work

 

[sean Buick 76]

So things are getting started with the planning of the 32 foot wide by 26 foot deep shop! It will start out as a carport and then it will eventually become an insulated, heated, powered shop but it will be a multi-phase project. Step 1 is getting the structure up. It will be located right beside my little house, so I have power accessible for now.

Here are some ROUGH sketches of what I am planning and I am hoping for some input from you guys so chime in! I am waiting for my architect friend to get back from holidays and he will help me finalize the design and then we can setup permits and break ground.

Some info about the design. This is basically a pole barn style carport with open ends to start with. The uprights will be 6x6 wood, and the roof truss will be 12 foot wide with a fairly steep pitch to ensure snow does not stay put. The outside bays are basically lean too structures off the main part. The reason for this strange design is that I only need a 12 foot ceiling height in the center bay where I plan to put a 4 post lift once it is all done.

Once the design is finalized I am borrowing a skid steer to remove the top soil, getting 1.5 inch crushed rock, compaction, and then hiring a guy to do the forming, then of course the pad will go down.

I started another thread about ideas for the build but this thread will show the actual progress:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5924456#post5924456




..

 

[metalhead140]

Should be good! Looking forward to it.

 

[CDNflatlander]

Right on Sean! A cool thread here on "making do", looking forward to seeing the carport, phase one...a great concept, I have done a few projects that way...keeps my banker Lady happy
When we get together, we will need to talk about turbos... I am a clean slate, and will need schooling.
Cheers,
Greg

 

[1/2 Cup]

That is a nice sized shed Sean.

Regards

 

[sean Buick 76]

Great news, I hired a super smart guy to help me with the carport design. He is a mechanical, civil and structural engineer and he is designing the structure as well as the concrete and providing blueprints for both at a very fair price.

The reno on the little house has been going okay so far, and I am hoping to get it done soon so that I can get a new renter in there before winter. I will keep the wood fireplace it works well however there was no way to keep it heated when no one was there so I am adding a 450 pound propane tank and a propane heater so that the temperature can be regulated without relying on the wood fire. I was planning to hook up the natural gas instead and run a furnace off of that however the hookup fees and delays make it better to just do propane for now and in the future I can compete the natural gas to both the house and carport once it is finished, and insulated later on.

A car I picked up today for a few bucks it is a 1977 Buick Skylark and I will swap in a Buick 350 and 200R4 overdrive transmission that I have kicking around. It may not look like much but to me it is a clean slate!

 

[rixtrix1]

Nice acquisition. I loved my '76 Nova/Police option ( wish I still had it with the knowledge I have now; I could make it even more fun to drive than it was then.)
Are you going to leave it in drag race style?

Is that a "real" '69 TransAm in the background of the last pic? If so, it's a rare bird!

 

[sean Buick 76]

Hi there yes I am going to leave it drag style with a beater theme and paint it flat black myself and have fun with it. We do not have too many corners around here so I am only interested in two types of cars:

1. Highway haulers like my 75 Regal that can do 120 MPH all day
2. Drag cars that are BARELY street legal LOL

Using a spare engine and trans and doing it low budget just for fun. The 70 Skylark is just so nice now that it is painted it will be fun to have a fast beater. Selling the turbo Daytona, 3/4 ton truck and a Honda Oddysey that I bought to flip.

I remember seeing this car pull a wheelie a few years back and it was a real sleeper in half blue and half black LoL!

I bought the car from this place who specializes in Camaro and firebirds:

http://www.davidt.com

 

[jbmatth]

Great news, I hired a super smart guy to help me with the carport design. He is a mechanical, civil and structural engineer and he is designing the structure as well as the concrete and providing blueprints for both at a very fair price.

...

A car I picked up today for a few bucks it is a 1977 Buick Skylark and I will swap in a Buick 350 and 200R4 overdrive transmission that I have kicking around. It may not look like much but to me it is a clean slate!

Talk about multi-talented, that is very impressive, good find for you to get what you need. As for the car, that will be a fun little sleeper. How about that 4th gen on the truck frame? That looks like a great place to spend entirely too much money on fun cars.
JB

 

[dubber]

Always entertaining with your vehicle flipping and projects. The hauler will be sweet.

 

[Terrick down Under]

Talent....Hmmm. .....It looks to me that he know how to have lots of fun, especially from what we have posted here.

 

[jbmatth]

I should have clarified my multi-talented comment, I was referring to the mechanical, civil and structural engineer Sean hired for his shop build. Although you could say Sean is multi-talented as well, he builds turbo Buicks, flips all kinds of automotive stuff, built a model train set, and I believe he is a safety manager.
Tipping my hat,
JB

 

[sean Buick 76]

Thanks JB I appreciate the kind words...

I really hope that this carport project helps me develop my skills and involve my young family with the build as we will do a lot of the work. We will hire out a lot of the work too, as I know my limits and time is not easy to come by.

 

[sean Buick 76]

The renovation has started, I have a smart old guy doing most of the work and he is teaching me a lot. He is removing rotten wood, replacing it, and we are doing new roof and new hardwood that I got for really low cost as it was someone's extra. Got two propane heaters and a 400 pound tank to be used when no one is home to stoke the fireplace. Nothing special of a house but we will get it fixed up nicely and rented out:

 

[rixtrix1]

Looks like a bit of work ahead, with only a positive outcome. Wheeling-dealing again, I see, haha.

 

[madoc1]

that's a nice floor you have going in. amazed at all the good deals you get. this should turn out great. how far is it from your primary home?

jim

 

[1/2 Cup]

Sean, unreal, you never cease to amaze me with your wheeling and dealing.

PS a load like that in the back of a truck would invite a ticket from the police out this way..

Regards

 

[sean Buick 76]

Thanks guys, yes I work hard to find the good deals.

The little house is 1 hour drive away from our primary residence but it is a really nice relaxing highway drive... 30 minutes in the Buick LOL!

The guy who is doing the reno for me wrote down a list of wood he wanted me to get so I just took the list and put it in my wallet without looking at it... The next day once I was loading up the wood I realized I should have brought a trailer!!! Oh well, made it safely but I did add 3 more straps after I took the pics and before I hit the highway. I know it looks bad but it was all stable and secure:

 

[1/2 Cup]

Sean, and a little light in the steering as well..

 

[rixtrix1]

Sean, and a little light in the steering as well..

Undoubtedly!

 

[sean Buick 76]

Hi there fellow Garage Forum Followers!

Things have been super busy but in a good way!



Put my $200 Warn winch to good use! Used a few shackles to secure it to the trailer and then pulled in a car:



Used a ratchet strap to pull it in the rest of the way. Will mount a new anchor point further into the trailer ASAP so I can do a straight pull





Found a cool car, anyone know what it is?



Found a sled too:

 

[awdblazer]

subscribed this is awesome!!!

 

[polexican23]

Daytona?

 

[Brett K]

Mercury Capri?

 

[sean Buick 76]

Daytona?

Good eye it's a 1986 Chrysler Daytona Carol Shelby edition with turbocharged 2.2, 5 speed manual, and T tops. Rare car

 

[polexican23]

Good eye it's a 1986 Chrysler Daytona Carol Shelby edition with turbocharged 2.2, 5 speed manual, and T tops. Rare car

you gonna bring it back to look like McCalls Daytona in the tv show Hunter? I think she had a red two tone one. and also a white one.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Congratulations Sean and Leanne for your new arrival.

Regards

 

[tennesseewj]

I had to do a double take on that photo because my American eyes thought you were driving 120mph with that load [emoji79]

Looks like the truck has a few unhappy lights on...

 

[sean Buick 76]

I had to do a double take on that photo because my American eyes thought you were driving 120mph with that load [emoji79]

Looks like the truck has a few unhappy lights on...

Yes 120 km is about 75 mph and that is plenty fast for towing.

Yes I pulled the fuse for the ABS as I like to control the brakes with my foot especially in the snow. If I put the fuse back in the lights go out. The truck runs perfectly and the engine does not throw any codes on my code reader. Blackbear tuning has programmed the truck and it is way better than stock.

 

[Vieux]

Yes 120 km is about 75 mph and that is plenty fast for towing.

Yes I pulled the fuse for the ABS as I like to control the brakes with my foot especially in the snow. If I put the fuse back in the lights go out. The truck runs perfectly and the engine does not throw any codes on my code reader. Blackbear tuning has programmed the truck and it is way better than stock.

The correct approach for controlling the brakes in the snow. I also sometimes take out the fuse for the ABS

 

[Bigdukaaa]

Found a Gantry and an old engine crane yesterday, total cost $250! Both will be going out to the other house and eventually into the shop we are building.









And Shane is wrenching on his cars as always!



And he has a new buddy to teach his wrenching skills to:

congratulations

 

[jon72vega]

Congrats on your new family member Sean!

 

[AP2TUDE]

Congratulations on the new additions. Hope the baby gives you a few moments to work on your projects.

 

[Joe-R]

Look how nice my new engine crane rolls in and out of the little shop door! This was always a hassle getting engines in and out before with my old crane and now I can leave the fold up one at one house and this larger one here at the other house.

Nice!!! That's too easy!!!

 

[sean Buick 76]

Well today I scored a free good running saw and non-working compressor as well as a metal chop saw with a broken blade. A 83 year old man was moving into a condo and advertised the stuff for free to a good home! Good home it is!

I will spare the pics of the non-working compressor and chop saw but stay tuned for the resurrection of them.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Sean, that's unreal.

Great score..