Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT My Mini Garagemahal

[jbrentd]

Looking great! I just realized we have the exact same Kobalt toolbox. Pretty soon, I'm gonna have to figure out a way to get mine down a step and moved over...hopefully without emptying it.

 

[fouckhest]

Looking great! I just realized we have the exact same Kobalt toolbox. Pretty soon, I'm gonna have to figure out a way to get mine down a step and moved over...hopefully without emptying it.

Thanks!

Oh wow, that could be a challenge, I was worried about moving mine down the little slope....its crazy how heavy they become

 

[fouckhest]

Spent the weekend doing all the trim in the garage, and I am delighted to say that it actually/finally feels done! I do have to say, that miter saw stand certainly paid for itself this weekend, that was money well spent.

Next up is to get the lift post stood up, painted, anchored and make it functional.

Window Trim
Trim by fouckhest, on Flickr

Trim by fouckhest, on Flickr

Trim around where new garage meets the existing house
Trim by fouckhest, on Flickr

Trim by fouckhest, on Flickr


Door trim and the shelf on top of the wainscot
Trim by fouckhest, on Flickr

Trim by fouckhest, on Flickr

 

[jbrentd]

The trim turned out great! I've been borrowing a friends miter saw/table, but would definitely look at getting one if his wasn't just around the corner.

 

[Trapps]

The finishing details really do make a project! Looks great!

 

[fouckhest]

The trim turned out great! I've been borrowing a friends miter saw/table, but would definitely look at getting one if his wasn't just around the corner.

The finishing details really do make a project! Looks great!

Thanks guys, appreciate the kind words!

 

[fouckhest]

While it wasn't a productive weekend in the garage, I was able to get some extra hands to help me stand up the lift posts. Hoping to get them cleaned up and painted soon. I will say I am excited about how much room there is around the lift still, I was afraid it was going to make the shop feel small.

Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

With my silver car parked to the side, all in all, it seems reasonable to think I could pack 5 cars in there if needed.
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

 

[fouckhest]

Been a couple weeks since an update, not much as been done, but a couple fun updates.

My last day at my company of ~13.5yrs was Feb 25th, had a busy weekend due to a close friends wedding, so that stopped any garage work, but, as many do I took the following week off to do some chores...not all garage related, but all in positive direction....

Monday I was on a plane at 530am to go pickup and drive home a new play car...more on that later...

Tuesday I was up early to get my lights hung, then head to the lowes depot to pick up insulation for the garage attic....spent the entire day up/down the attic stairs feeding that machine...my phone said 12k steps and 47flights of stairs later I was done, lol

Finished product...
Insulation by fouckhest, on Flickr

Insulation by fouckhest, on Flickr

Insulation by fouckhest, on Flickr

Insulation by fouckhest, on Flickr

Spent Wednesday cleaning out my spare bedroom, aka, parts storage room, unfortunately didn't get any photos of the before...but its all in the positive direction of starting the master bed/bath renovation project so my fiancé can move in and get her house ready to sell.

As for the new play toy, after parting out my boosted R32 to fun finishing the garage I've been on the hunt for a 987.2 Cayman S; the right car finally came up, no crazy inflated market pricing, it was the right car for the right money....Made the deal, booked a ticked and after an 18hr day I was back home and the new toy (penny as the misses calls her) was in the new garage.

Had to stop on my way home to pick up some good beers at one of my favorite breweries that is up/outside DC....
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Back home snuggled up with the 337 clone car
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

 

[M-technik-3]

I spy a MK1 sitting in the corner

Space came out awesome. Nicely organised and simple.

 

[jbrentd]

Congrats on the car! It looks like a nice one I bet it's a joy to drive.

 

[fouckhest]

I spy a MK1 sitting in the corner

Yes you do...I "inherited" it back when I started my MBA back in 2017ish, it was supposed to be a fun "tinker" project, then two other things fell into my lap which delayed looking at it for a while...once I finally got around to looking at it I realized the floors are gone, so the plan was to find a "$500" miata, and do a body swap, except now, there are no longer $500 miatas...I've got a berg cup flare kit sitting waiting to go on it...already need more space lol

Space came out awesome. Nicely organised and simple.

Thanks!

Congrats on the car! It looks like a nice one I bet it's a joy to drive.

Thank you, so far its amazing, can't wait to get some proper suspension and tires under it

 

[matt488]

I've been looking for a 987.2 Cayman (not the S) for years at this point. The rise of Porsches in general and then the current market climate have kind of crushed my hopes of that for now. Is yours PDK or manual? With the take rate being so high on the PDK on the 987.2s especially, finding a manual is more difficult than I would have expected. There are a couple I probably should have moved on, but I thought they were too high then, but look like great prices today.

 

[Metal-Marc]

Yes you do...I "inherited" it back when I started my MBA back in 2017ish, it was supposed to be a fun "tinker" project, then two other things fell into my lap which delayed looking at it for a while...once I finally got around to looking at it I realized the floors are gone, so the plan was to find a "$500" miata, and do a body swap, except now, there are no longer $500 miatas...I've got a berg cup flare kit sitting waiting to go on it...already need more space lol

You could always find a cheap Audi TT and do a body swap with the Rabbit.

1979 Scirocco 225Q

www.vwvortex.com

 

[fouckhest]

I've been looking for a 987.2 Cayman (not the S) for years at this point. The rise of Porsches in general and then the current market climate have kind of crushed my hopes of that for now. Is yours PDK or manual? With the take rate being so high on the PDK on the 987.2s especially, finding a manual is more difficult than I would have expected. There are a couple I probably should have moved on, but I thought they were too high then, but look like great prices today.

My car is a PDK, which is funny you comment that way. I specifically sought out a PDK and found they hard to find optioned the way i wanted, especially when I was searching for a Cayman R

 

[fouckhest]

You could always find a cheap Audi TT and do a body swap with the Rabbit.

LoL...I worked too closely with Mike Ngo (euro-wise) and Nash(car owner) back in the day when they were working on Nash's MK1 and putting it on the R32 chassis....total PITA!....not to mention, I have an AWD TT225 powered mk4, my 337 clone is an R32 shell with TT225 driveline....

I really want a Miata, that doesn't look like a Miata

 

[M-technik-3]

Yeah sad but late 80's and early 90's cars just have exploded during the pandemic. Heck I'd love another 73 Capri and add a modern drivetrain into it. I had three in highschool in the 80's. Had VW GTi Mk1 and Scirocco II's after while in the service before going back to RWD with BMW's.

 

[fouckhest]

Had a relatively productive weekend, got my lift wired up and got the system bled with fresh hydraulic fluid. Excited to report back that everything is fully operational, there will be no need for holes in the ceiling for lift cylinders!

Photo of during the system bleeding, video of it functioning! Car/Garage goals achieved!
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/2n9SL4X
Cayman up on the lift to do a test fit of her new shoes! Then we dug in yesterday on installing the new Bilstein coil-overs, much bigger job than what I've dealt with in the past on VW's, but got the rear buttoned up last night, front shouldn't be bad
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

 

[Metallitubby]

Nash(car owner)

Nash and I were good friends that went way back. I haven't talked to him in many moons, but if you ever get a chance, ask him about our good ol' days.

 

[fouckhest]

Nash and I were good friends that went way back. I haven't talked to him in many moons, but if you ever get a chance, ask him about our good ol' days.

Oh nice, I talked to him maybe last fall when I was starting the R32 part out. Seems like things are going well with his new shop, I'll certainly bring it up next time I see him!

 

[fouckhest]

Saturday we are having a "garage warming" party, basically just a reason to buy a keg beer for the first time in I couldn't remember how long, and have a bunch of car folks and good friends over...so once the suspension install was done on the Cayman it was time to get a little decorating done in the garage...

During covid/work from home, my escape at lunch was hot wheels hunting....it got a bit out of control, but worked out to be good garage wall art. While starting my new job, also work from home, while it was slow or I needed a break, I started organizing some select cars by color....this is the result!

Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

 

[iceman510]

What are those Hot Wheels cases? Look very nice.

Thanks.

 

[jbrentd]

I like those display cases...nice touch!

 

[fouckhest]

What are those Hot Wheels cases? Look very nice.

Thanks.

Thanks they are actually hot wheels brand cases, I searched for a while then my fiance bought me one for my b-day a year or so ago, which locked me into these. I'd like to make the strip red rather than orange..here is a link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y94WZ1M/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I like those display cases...nice touch!

Thanks, I figured its a universal car guy conversation point and there is something for just about everyone in them

 

[fouckhest]

Hosted the "Garage Warming Party" on Saturday, somehow managed to take almost no photos, which is unfortunate. We have ~50 people and 8 dogs that came to hang out, warm that garage and drink keg beer! I am more bummed about not taking photos of all the cars that were parked out front, it was borderline a VW/Audi Car show, LOL

We did damage on the keg, it was empty before dark!
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Anyway, Garage was cleaned up and well enjoyed by all, snapped this photo of the late crowd that all live super close, once it got chilly we pulled the door down, cranked up the mini-split and continued the festivities.

Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr


Sunday, got the cars rearranged, Cayman on the lift ready for an exhaust project this week before I head up to Tail of the Dragon next week for Wookies in the Woods.

Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

 

[fouckhest]

First project in the new shop!

The entre time I was shopping for Caymans, what to do with the exhaust was always on my mind. I definitely wanted a car with the sport exhaust, that is the Porsche factory valved setup, not a deal breaker, but I lucked out and found one. I found several videos of people running anywhere from catless headers, long tube catted header or there is a company in Belgium that will modify the OEM headers by cutting out the OEM cats and replacing them with a 200cell highflow unit. Knowing this, I knew I had to try, $190 in aftermarket cats, my time and tools beats the $1500 price tag from Belgium and $2k-$3500 for aftermarket headers....

Here we go:

OEM headers out, you can see the density of the OEM cat
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Made a crude jig in case my cuts weren't great, but they were pretty decent
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Case split
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

No more cats
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Aftermarket 200cell cat
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Much lower density
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Cut off the transitions (those will be going in the stainless bin!
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

I shimmed them to be as close to centered as possible, tacked one end, then did 4x rosette/fillet welds to ensure they dont break free and rattle
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

I marked the cases prior to cutting, then lined them back up, tacked them together and put it back in the car, it fit really well, so took it back out and burned it in.....all in all from putting the car up on the lift it was about a 2.5hr job, hopefully can tackle the other side tonight in slightly less time....
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

 

[Metallitubby]

Wow, that's a really cool idea. Nice work too!

 

[fouckhest]

Wow, that's a really cool idea. Nice work too!

Thank you sir! I like these little projects, and worst case they come back off and turn them into catless headers lol....although, I would like to try and build a set of headers for this car at some point, but thats a winter kinda project

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Holy ****!

I step away for a while and you get your tools moved in, bench set up, displays on the wall, trim work done, buy a Porsche...

Congrats on all of the above. That shop is looking classy and functional. It looks really bright in there too, which is a big plus. I love the look of that trim, the contrast looks awesome with the walls, the metal, and the painted brick. That's my kind of look. You've done a great job on the aesthetic while making it functional. Quite the feat.

Huge congrats on the Cayman. They're such great cars. Can't wait to see more of it.

 

[fouckhest]

Holy ****!

I step away for a while and you get your tools moved in, bench set up, displays on the wall, trim work done, buy a Porsche...

Congrats on all of the above. That shop is looking classy and functional. It looks really bright in there too, which is a big plus. I love the look of that trim, the contrast looks awesome with the walls, the metal, and the painted brick. That's my kind of look. You've done a great job on the aesthetic while making it functional. Quite the feat.

Huge congrats on the Cayman. They're such great cars. Can't wait to see more of it.

Thanks for the kind words!

Just did a quick browse through your thread, I know what I'm doing at lunch the next couple days, looking forwards to catching up on all your adventures!

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Thanks for the kind words!

Just did a quick browse through your thread, I know what I'm doing at lunch the next couple days, looking forwards to catching up on all your adventures!

Thank you sir! I wish there were more big adventures to report. I like road trips and with my Land Cruiser being worked on I haven't been able to. We're going to be setting up my wife's Crosstrek to be doing that sort of travel too as a backup. That way maybe I'll have more exciting adventures to write about this summer. We'll see.

 

[fouckhest]

Did a "little" work on the garage this weekend, my future mother-in-law loves gardening so she was in charge of picking shrubs/flowers or whatever for beside the garage....she picked out these "tea olive" shrubs so the misses and I planted them yesterday....excited to see how the grow and bloom, supposedly they have a nice aroma when the flowers bloom

Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Also decided to hang up a little more garage art, photographer buddy of mine had a small business and made these many years back, thought they looked decent on that wall

Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

 

[jbrentd]

Sounds like a good party when the keg is floating before sundown. Nice work on the high flow cat...I love DIY projects that save thousands of dollars.

 

[fouckhest]

Sounds like a good party when the keg is floating before sundown. Nice work on the high flow cat...I love DIY projects that save thousands of dollars.

Thanks Brett, and it sounds like this might turn into a side hustle

 

[fouckhest]

Well we have come to the portion of the garage build where it has been complete enough and the spare bedroom is cleaned out that it is now time to start the master suite project. Last week before I headed up to ToD I had the guys that did my drywall come in and demo the old bathroom, unfortunately I thought I had before photos, but neither the misses and I took any....But just imagine 1960 green tile in a very narrow "galley style" bathroom.

Here is some in process carnage, this is looking from the bedroom that was adjacent to the bathroom, this will be come the master bedroom that you will then walk into the master bath
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Here is an angle looking from the hallway into what was the originally only bathroom in the house. This doorway will be walled off and the shower will be at this end
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

I came back from ToD early b/c it was going to be rainy and cold starting Friday afternoon and turn into snow overnight (200 treadwear tires and snow aren't fun lol)...relaxed and spent time with the misses Saturday then yesterday set to finish the demo in the bed/bath....my goal was to save as much of the lumber as possible since it is all really nice close to true dimensional lumber (corners are legit 4x6), my hope/plan is to incorporate different pieces into other projects around the house

In process, all studs removed only corner posts
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Everything removed, clean slate!
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All of the recovered lumber
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

 

[fouckhest]

Mild garage work weekend....

Started working on "cleaning up" some of the old copper piping that needed to come out for the master remodel, which quickly escalated into a trip to Lowes Depot to replumb the main feed to/from the hot water tank, two new exterior spigots, AND, I finally hooked up my spigots on the exterior wall of the garage.

To start that project I had to dig my long term project car out of the back corner of the basement, which then let me get started on organizing the parts storage room.

Car out of its hiding spot for the first time in 3yrs
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Parts room coming together
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

The two cabinets on the left will be moved over beside the others on the left, I will then build out some faux walls and cover them in the metal roofing....once it comes together I think it will make the basement a nice little spot/addition to the house.
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Finally dug into a project I've been wanting to take on for years, rebuilding my dads old mini-bike. Dug it out yesterday and pondered over a parts list over a couple beers with a buddy.

Not sure the exact vintage, guessing early 60's, it still has a tag saying it was made/sold by General Appliance Co., guessing that was a division of General Electric, the engine came off a pressure washer, should be more than enough to make it borderline scary lol

Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Wowza that's an impressive parts room. Good to get stuff like that super organized and have everything "filed" away nicely.

That mini bike project looks like it'll be a blast in a scary sorta way. Little stuff like that is always a good time and sometimes helps to really break up those gigantic projects you have going on. Can't wait to see it come together!

 

[zc15]

Dumb question that I thought I remembered the answer to, but am not 100% sure - What is your interior ceiling height? For some reason I am thinking 12'

 

[fouckhest]

Dumb question that I thought I remembered the answer to, but am not 100% sure - What is your interior ceiling height? For some reason I am thinking 12'

I think it is ~10ft 9in, to the ceiling, then the lights hang down ~3-4"

 

[zanyad]

TV Stand
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

You may have touched on this later (still reading through), but how did you attach the shelf to the pipe frame?

 

[fouckhest]

You may have touched on this later (still reading through), but how did you attach the shelf to the pipe frame?

I welded some little tabs around the inside and then screwed it from below...nothing fancy, but its still holding!