Above 1200 Sq/FT Restored 1930's Auto Shop

[BB767]

Remember my friend who sent me the shop pictures he took from 2000? Well be did even better than that. While he was looking at his old files he found 6 taken of the shop in January, 1995 (again winter so you can see through the brush with the leaves gone for the year) a full 10 years before I bought the shop. So here goes..........

He tells me his main focus of this series of photographs was the Studebaker Commander seen in front of the shop. I don't know what the objects are in the background. They were not there when I bought the property nor do I remember ever seeing them. That car was the family car and I remember it well having had Mrs Johnson take my buddy and me in it a time or two over the years when it was still road worthy. Not real sure but I think it's a '56 or '57. You can see how close it came to the road in front when it was placed there. BTW I think the two rear doors for that car as well as the radio are in the lean-to.

From 2008......

From 2008........

Through the bushes you can see the lettering on the shop sign, the red on the JOHNSON'S is still slightly visible but all letters clearly legible in 1995.

Note the spiral stair jig in the background in front of the tree. Those jigs didn't move for more than a decade or two. You can also just make out the chain around the tree limb in the back on the right.

Not sure what that is back there, an old fuel tanker body perhaps?

I include this to show how thick the brush was beyond the car. The property was slowly getting overgrown by this point. Mr Johnson having stopped using the shop about 10 years previous to this.

The next post will be a series of pictures taken in January, 2000.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Now if you have calves on the farm, that little dohicky to the left of the old stillson wrench, should keep junior from suckling on momma till he's weaned. LOL

Nuts aka Doug

Doug I learned sometime today. Had no idea what the " dohicky" was for.......but now I do thanks to you.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Thomas,

Great as usual. Did you ever post what your fave room was and why?

Well no I haven't.......yet but I expect I'll get around to it. Thanks for the reminder though.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

About the GSX I worked at Diamond Star Motors and then Mitsubishi from 1989 to 1999. I don't believe any Eclipses were made in Japan. Some of our Galants were imported but not the Eclipse. Double checked with 2 buddies that started there before me and stayed after and they thought the same thing. The Eclipse(and its Chrylser counterparts Laser and Talon) was the one exclusive made in Normal car. Only thing we came up with is that some parts were Japan manufactured and only went in certain models...GSX I believe had both the performance Mitusbishi Motor and Transmission where as some of the lower models had chrysler engines and or transmissons manufactured in Mexico. Been a long time so I can't rememeber all the variations and unique parts for what cars so but I do remember having a GSX hardmark off of a scrap bumper on my hardhat so I know we made the bumper cover, painted them, mounted them on the cars,and put the decals on!

Now I've learned something else new today. Thank you for taking a moment to share that information. I never got a tour of the plant, but really wanted to.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

This post is one of the main reasons this is on my top 3 sites on the web I go to. I believe I am addicted to it now. Anyway I know how you feel in a way. My parents had about 15 acres. Before my dad died I told my wife when he did I would be the one to clean it up. My BIL is of no use to humanity to put it nicely. Anyway after he did it was exactly as I had thought. My mom sold all but 6 acres to a neighbor. I was laid off at the time so I started cleaning it up. He had a 100x100 foot barn. He did a lot of lumber cutting in it. One area I had to clean out by hand and it was 4-6 feet thick of scrap wood. It had ot be done by hand. My mom said she wanted it all cleaned up and thrown away. She said get whatever I wanted that was junk. I sold what I could.

I did get a saw,few drills, tools and lots of metal. I worked a good three months and had to look for work since I ran out of money. I was glad too because I found out the money I was making for her she handed over to my sister who wouldn't lift a finger for anyone. Then a few years ago my FIL got sick and couldn't keep the place up. We live next to them. He passed away and now the state is going to get moost of the buildings they had. So now I am cleaning up another place for free. But thats fine I have been finding some interesting stuff. And I like to clean. I have worked the last year around the place and I have cleaned probably about 2 acres of vines,brush and junk hidden in that. Most of that was by hand using brush trimmer and chainsaw. I have it to where I can drive around the place now. I have moved on to cleaning up the stuff stacked up outside.

I have moved a few loads of metal to behind my shop. Nothing like what you have but I have filled up a old truck bed I use for small scrap. But its all worth it. I have got a lot of old stuff and a lot of metal to make stuff. So my point of this for everyone is this. Look over the pictures and stuff and get an idea of all the hard work required to do such an undertaking. Now ask yourself if something happens to you do you want to leave this stuff everywhere for you family or someone else to worry about what to do with it? I got to thinking about that a lot after my dad died. I use to save everything but due to that wake up call so to speak I now actually throw stuff away. I am trying ot get my stuff in a better order too. So that way if something happens to me it would be easier for my wife and child to get rid of stuff. I really have enjoyed the posts here. I love looking at old stuff like this. I hope to be done with the inlaws place in the next year and when that happens I can finally clean my workshop good. Might as well I have been doing it for others. I hope I can get mine nice like yours, I doubt I will get close but its a goal . Thanks for the interesting story.

Willy, you might have saved someone a lot of "hassle" with those recommendations, thanks. As you said it's a lot of hand and hard work but well worth it in the end. I have never liked "clutter" and after cleaning the old shop out I dislike it even less! Keep after that goal, you never know. Welcome to the thread.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

When I was a kid, we had a Dark Green 66 Impala Wagon w/327 & 4 Barrel Carb, Auto Trans purchased new in late 65... That car would get up and go, I called it the rocket ship...
Somewhere in the Carolinas On a trip to Florida from New England my father moved into the suicide lane on old RT 1 to pass a slow moving car... At the far end of the straight a car coming the other way did the same thing so dad floored it and with a muted roar the Rocket Ship took off... From the front seat we heard "It has a Passing Gear!" I managed to get a peek at the speedo and we were already doing 85...After that anytime Dad took Mom's car for a ride we went along, he used to clear out the carbon about once a month...
While living in Connecticut the Rocket Ship had registration plates that started with a "PL"... It was not uncommon to have a car pull over when we approach during Carbon Cleaning mode and occasionally even when Mom was driving... The car was magic...

I miss the Rocket Ship....

That use to almost be a ritual after the car had been setting a while. Time to go and blow out the carbon. At least that's the excuse I used.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Absolutely, totally awesome...one of the coolest garages on GJ. Nice job on the restoration!

Welcome to the thread leenco12 and many thanks for the kind words. There are more posts coming, just check in from time to time. I think you'll find it still interesting.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Beautiful.....

Just beautiful...

Thank you.....

very much...

Thomas

 

[rlkillion]

Now I've learned something else new today. Thank you for taking a moment to share that information. I never got a tour of the plant, but really wanted to.

Thomas

No problem. At the time we made more cars off less line space than any other plant. It was really something to see. Since I left I know they have added engine assembly and some other lengths to the line so it is actually longer now. If you can see inside your bumper covers you can see the associates initials and date that cover was manufactured. I made them, door panels, and the rockers from 1989 to 1994/1995 when I became a supervisor in Process control. So yours can't have a part made by me but unless it was manufactured after March 1999 my guys certianly delivered the parts to the line and I may very well of handled or delivered some myself as I spent a lot of time crawling around in trailers and running hot parts to the line.

Bob

 

[willy3486]

Willy, you might have saved someone a lot of "hassle" with those recommendations, thanks. As you said it's a lot of hand and hard work but well worth it in the end. I have never liked "clutter" and after cleaning the old shop out I dislike it even less! Keep after that goal, you never know. Welcome to the thread.

Thomas

Man if I lived close to you I might trade some labor for some of the stuff you don't want. Mind you I am not saving "junk" like I use to but I am needing some metal. I am trying to "fine tune" my shop so I could use some metal to make some custom shelves. As far as hassle goes sometimmes that stuff can be stressful as well. In the case of my inlaws as I mentioned the state is taking part of their land. They are going to widen the road and we will have to clean out at least 5 buildings. The stressful part is you only get 90 days to get moved. It will all be put on myself and my wife as the BIL is loosing his house a well. The good thing is my 80 year old MIL will be able to have a new modular put on the place to replace the one she has now that is old and in bad shape. So in the long run it means less stuff to have to constanly fix. We built our house far enough back that its not getting it. As far as the old radio repair shop goes did you save any of that stuff. I use to work on old radios restoring them and that stuff even if junk can be of value. You could put that on ebay if you do. I had an old man I knew call me up one day. He was quitting working on old radios and gave me a truckload of old radio parts. I had my truck full and one radio,a fada caught my eye. He was pulling parts off it to fix radios he was selling for five to ten bucks. I fixed that radio up and at one time they were bringing over a thousand fixed. Imagine pulling parts off a radio to fix a radio worth less.

 

[BB767]

And to finally finish the pictures taken in January, 2000..........

Note the shop upright sign by the road, far right. It looks much the same today. The white paint on the lower sign is all gone now though.

Taken Sept,2010- almost 10 years after the first picture......

Jan,2000......

Jan, 2000......The fascia on the lift room siding is half gone.

Taken Sept, 2010. The black line is the airline for the drive up bell. The stains on the driveway are from acorns dropping from the oak tree to the right. They wash away after a few days.

Jan,2000...

Note the small stone retaining wall to the right of the shop. The ground cover is now fully established. It "browns up" in winter.

I needed that stone wall to make the grade transition. The tree is "at grade" but it is about two feet above the grade of the driveway in front of the shop. Also note the stone curb I used by the concrete sidewalk. That raised stone curb was to prevent dirt from washing on the sidewalk/driveway. I used stepping stones to create a walkway to the upper driveway.

Jan, 2000....

This was what the shop looked like after I bought it in Nov, 2005. The JOHNSON'S sign is pretty well faded to nothing by now. More windows are now broken. The broken ones on the lift room overhead door let in rain water which rusted the counter weights on the lift and left them inoperable until I fixed them.

The "JOHNSON'S Welding and Repair" sign is getting very faded but still mostly legible in 2000.

After the sign was restored I moved it inside to preserve it.

Thomas

 

[Not All There]

its awesome that there are still places out there like that waiting to be found, restored etc.

 

[dodge610]

That is my dream shop wish i could find a place like that and do what you did fantastic job great looking.

 

[Kevin54]

Hey THomas....what did you ever do with the spiral staircase? I would imagined you would have kept it due to the fact that it was around for so long. Kind of an icon. Or did it hit the scrapyard?

And as always...I love this thread and the pics that go with it.

 

[BB767]

its awesome that there are still places out there like that waiting to be found, restored etc.

You might say my "barn find" was a shop.........so to speak. I'm quite sure there are other shops/garages to be found. The real trick is finding one in an accessible place, convenient to where you live. I'd rather be lucky than good and I consider myself an extremely lucky guy.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Hey THomas....what did you ever do with the spiral staircase? I would imagined you would have kept it due to the fact that it was around for so long. Kind of an icon. Or did it hit the scrapyard?

And as always...I love this thread and the pics that go with it.

Kevin, those weren't stairs but rather jigs to hold the various stair pieces in place while the actual stairs were being welded to make the stairs. One of the son's wanted those jigs so I loaded them on a trailer and took them to him.

As far as an icon, our village mayor was thrilled to see them removed. He considered them an eyesore as well as the whole property for that matter. Years ago it was out in the country but over time the village grew to the shop. The road out front is now one of the main entrances to town.

Nice to hear you still find this interesting. I've many more pictures to post. Racing season is just about over and so is the nice weather which keeps me from doing inside work.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

That is my dream shop wish i could find a place like that and do what you did fantastic job great looking.

As I mentioned before it was my dream to own that shop and turn it into a great place to work in. I'm a big believer in the power of positive thinking. You can make it happen at some level. I truly believe that all things are possible with effort.

Thank you taking the time to comment. I appreciate it.

Thomas

 

[Woffski]

Wow, what a freakin sweet transformation!! That is one bad *** garage!!!!

 

[BB767]

Wow, what a freakin sweet transformation!! That is one bad *** garage!!!!

Well that's not exactly how I would put it but, OK, yea it's one bad *** garage.

Thanks.......

Thomas

 

[naki kid]

You have done a fantastic job on that shop KOOOOL.I notice in one photo there were some black marks on the road outside of your garage,were you having some problems with your left foot slipping of the clutch pedalRay.

 

[BB767]

You have done a fantastic job on that shop KOOOOL.I notice in one photo there were some black marks on the road outside of your garage,were you having some problems with your left foot slipping of the clutch pedalRay.

Ray, how could you possibly think such a thing?? Shocking, simply shocking! Honestly I have never done that...........right outside the shop. If such a thing were to occur, and that's a big IF, I certainly would do so at discrete distance from the shop. Good observation though.

Over the years and especially when the Johnson boys were doing a bit of high performance driving, there would be black marks allllllll over the road out front. They weren't necessarily the only ones putting them down mind you. Sometimes that was a way of communicating a bit of a challenge from a third party, so to speak. It took years for the word to filter out that the shop wasn't being used anymore, but every so often I'll still see evidence of communicating still going on out there, but I'm not going to encourage it. Keep it on the track these days.

When we take delivery of our Boeing 787's we're going to start service to Auckland next year. Might get a chance to check out the local scene down there. Thanks for writing.

Thomas

 

[daltonultra]

Bendix Aviation Corp.

I believe I have an ID on the monster 2BBL carb from Bendix. It looks like the carb for a Ford GAA V8, the motor they used in the Sherman tank, along with a few other things. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_GAA_engine


EDIT: It's a Bendix-produced Stromberg NA-Y-5G. Although, looking at it again, the GAA used in the Sherman didn't appear to have the fitting coming out from the intake throat. It may be from a different application of the GAA.

 

[markviii]

naki kid - haven't seen you around for a while on you thread (nice build). I digress! As for what appears to be rubber laid on the road in front of the shop, it's the perfect place for it. The road takes a rise just past there and kids like to hit the gas and see if they can go airborne. They like to test the limits once they see that "Dangerous Hill" sign on the road. It's one of those rites of passage in this small town that's been going on for more than 60 years. Of course, back in the day and up until about 10 years ago, this road was "in the country", with the closest house being 1/2 mile away. Now the town has grown south to us, but this hasn't stopped kids from testing their driving skills. It's really comical to watch sometimes!

Chris

 

[daltonultra]

heh. Around my home town, the local test of will was "The Bump", a hill with a vicious crest. The approaches swept up to it in a nice curve, steeper on one side, and crested sharply, making either direction a guaranteed airborne if you hit doing more than 45mph. The thing is, they were great approaches, but horrible landings. On either side of the hill, they are dozen of deep gouges from frames and bumpers hitting pavement. Every few years, some idiot even manages to hit that hill fast enough to either dig in and flip forward, or in the case of the kid who killed himself about 17 years ago, manages to land it flat on the roof after a half somersault in midair after launching off the steeper approach.

 

[markviii]

Oh, but you have to understand what we consider a "hill" here in the flat corn country. It's one of 7 hills - really (part of the remnants the glaciers left behind eons ago). But most people from other areas wouldn't even notice that there's a rise in the road. We don't have the kind of accidents you have on your road, daltonultra. It's just a good place to have an excuse to burn some rubber.

Chris

 

[BB767]

I believe I have an ID on the monster 2BBL carb from Bendix. It looks like the carb for a Ford GAA V8, the motor they used in the Sherman tank, along with a few other things. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_GAA_engine


EDIT: It's a Bendix-produced Stromberg NA-Y-5G. Although, looking at it again, the GAA used in the Sherman didn't appear to have the fitting coming out from the intake throat. It may be from a different application of the GAA.

Thanks daltonultra for the information. I did match that carb up to the mystery intake manifold a couple of weeks back, a perfect fit. I thought it was an updraft carb, but looking at your picture in wikipedia the manifold could also be part of the air cleaner . I also found out one of the older sons was a tank mechanic during his two years of service in the late 50's/early60's. Just wondering if there's any connection there.

At some point this will probably get sorted out. Just don't know how they came to be in the building. Rather odd is all.

Thomas

 

[ZRX61]

Every few years, some idiot even manages to hit that hill fast enough to either dig in and flip forward, or in the case of the kid who killed himself about 17 years ago, manages to land it flat on the roof after a half somersault in midair after launching off the steeper approach.

There's a curve a 1/2 mile from me that is on the side of a hill. Went past there one day a couple of years back & about 80ft from the road was a full size car of some sort perfectly balanced/parked on it's nose. Both front door wides open.

Thought about going to grab a camera, but there was a cop car, tow truck & ambulance in attandance.

...& when I say full size, I mean Caprice/Buick Roadmaster size. They couldn't have parked this thing any more upright if they'd used a crane & a spirit level.
Point of impact was about 20ft below the road level.

Was a passenger in a car going round that corner just this past week & noticed there is a cross at the point of impact so I guess it was a kamaikaze attack.

 

[ZRX61]

I also found out one of the older sons was a tank mechanic during his two years of service in the late 50's/early60's. Just wondering if there's any connection there.

It looks to be painted green....

 

[Dutch 1960]

Hello Dutch 1960. Many aspects of that sound really familiar don't they? The thing about documenting everything is you think you'll remember but you just won't. Some of the most ordinary items, tools or parts of the structure need to be photographed which is now easily done with digital equipment. I don't think you can take too many pictures. Now remember us here on this thread and when you start to post your story. Check back here and tell where we can find all those pictures.

Others have inspired me through the years and I guess it's my turn to pass that passion along. Congratulations and best of luck.

Thomas

I've gotten started, but need to do the house and the grounds at the same time (the neighbors are living with a eyesore down the road). Mine is a much more modest project, yet the amount of planning and work is unbelievable! Will start a thread later (may be a while), but I am taking a lot of pictures and things are already changing/evolving fast. Not as dramatic as yours (not as run down or as charming). And the family did me a "favor" by cleaning out a lot of the loose stuff in the garage. But maybe this project is a little closer to what I am actually capable of getting done over the next year or two. The amount of work and effort (and $$$?) put into your place must be absolutely staggering!

 

[strombecker]

Do you have a manual for the champion spark plug cleaner and tester? Was wondering if you could email it to me.

Thanks Terry
[email protected]

 

[BB767]

I've gotten started, but need to do the house and the grounds at the same time (the neighbors are living with a eyesore down the road). Mine is a much more modest project, yet the amount of planning and work is unbelievable! Will start a thread later (may be a while), but I am taking a lot of pictures and things are already changing/evolving fast. Not as dramatic as yours (not as run down or as charming). And the family did me a "favor" by cleaning out a lot of the loose stuff in the garage. But maybe this project is a little closer to what I am actually capable of getting done over the next year or two. The amount of work and effort (and $$$?) put into your place must be absolutely staggering!

You're off to a great start, lots of pictures. After a while, change will not be as quick or as dramatic and that's when it's easy to get bogged down. It does take effort but in a couple of years it will all pay off, really.

I'm often asked what the cost of doing my shop restoration turned out to be. I have a file with all receipts from day one and I've never added them up. I never intend to either because it just doesn't matter. I suspect if such a figure were known it could become bothersome. Cost of enjoying the shop and being out at the property...........priceless.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Do you have a manual for the champion spark plug cleaner and tester? Was wondering if you could email it to me.

Thanks Terry
[email protected]

Terry I sure do. I'd be happy to scan and email it. Just a guess that's it's a 1950's something vintage. Biggest race of the year this weekend in Stanton, MI. It's the PureStockMuscleCarDragRace (PSMCDR), and then several flight trips before I'll have time so if you don't mind the wait it'll be on it's way. I'll keep you posted.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

It looks to be painted green....

Ya know I never noticed that before but you're right, it is painted green under all the dust. How about that?

Thomas

 

[lirgus]

Thomas,
I just found this site a few weeks ago and have been spending the last few nights reading this tale of transformation. You sir have done a wonderful job! It is great to see so much history not only saved but given a new life and purpose. What else can I say that hasn't been said already? Your work is an inspiration to me. Keep up the good work and I look forward to your future posts.
-Craig

 

[daltonultra]

Ya know I never noticed that before but you're right, it is painted green under all the dust. How about that?

Thomas

I didn't notice that either until just now when I looked at it on my new computer. On the old screen, it just looked like Army filing-cabinet black.

I vaguely remember seeing the mystery manifold, but have no clue what page it was on...guess I'll have to do a search....

 

[daltonultra]

While I was cleaning out more "material " from the lean to I came across this item. Disregard the green paper shredder it's sitting on.

I have no clue.

It appears to be a manifold for something. A tank perhaps?

No data plate or manufactures markings.

Seems to have two carburetors which would hang from either end.

I almost scrapped it with the other steel scrap but thought I'd float it by here first in case someone can use it........ yea right! Otherwise in a couple of weeks it will join all the other priceless relics from here in that great recycling pile in the sky.

Thomas

Bendix Aviation Corp.

If that manifold goes with that carb, I'd be really surprised. The mani actually looks like a waterpump manifold, what with the plugs and the circular port in the center, which looks very much like it is designed to mount to the intake side of a centrifugal pump.
At the very least, that manifold is nothing that was ever used on a GAA engine. The GAA intake is pretty odd. I can't quite picture how it works, myself, but the pictures I can find don't show anything like that piece. It may be that the whole thing actually is off some different aviation engine.

 

[esmith2039]

Wow simply amazing who'd thought all that stuff was in there? Makes me wonder what my grandpa had when they sold the farm to move into the city. I lived 600 miles away when they were cleaning up the place unfortunately.

 

[Sick Puppy]

When we take delivery of our Boeing 787's we're going to start service to Auckland next year. Might get a chance to check out the local scene down there. Thanks for writing.

Thomas

If you find yourself down here for any length of time, let us know, I daresay there are a fair few people who'd love to meet up.

[goes off to look up flights from Christchurch to Auckland] lol

 

[BB767]

Do you have a manual for the champion spark plug cleaner and tester? Was wondering if you could email it to me.

Thanks Terry
[email protected]

Here's what Terry was referring to.....

It's a machine designed to service spark plugs back when they did such things rather than replace them as we now do.

Not sure when this was made but I'm guessing sometime in the 40's to 50's.

The plug was inserted in a hole that used a rubber skirt to seal the threaded part of the plug. It's covered here by a protective arm that swings out of the way seen at the top center. The dark round object at the right center is a rubber skirt with a different size hole in the center for smaller or larger plugs depending on the one in use.

Once the plug was inserted if you wanted to clean it you'd depress the tab marked "abrasive blast" and very fine powdered grit would be blown on the electrode end which would clean off all the old carbon and other deposits. Once done with that pressing the "air blast" key would blow pure air that would remove all the abrasive just blown on it.

After the plug was cleaned you could insert the plug in either of the fittings (depending on plug size) seen in the center, swing up the black arm to connect it to the top of the plug and then rotate the black knob on the left to send voltage through the plug to test it and see if there were any cracks in the porcelain. This machine, though dirty still performs the cleaning function remarkable well. I have not tried to send any voltage through a plug yet. When I get a little more time I'll post pictures of everything with a plug being serviced. Just wanted to get this posted.

And there's more ........... on the way if you can stand it.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Thomas,
I just found this site a few weeks ago and have been spending the last few nights reading this tale of transformation. You sir have done a wonderful job! It is great to see so much history not only saved but given a new life and purpose. What else can I say that hasn't been said already? Your work is an inspiration to me. Keep up the good work and I look forward to your future posts.
-Craig

Craig thank you for that and welcome to Garage Journal and this thread. I've only been here for a few months myself but most everyone has made me feel very much at home here and I'm confident you will too.

As I finish various equipment restorations, setting up the barn and finish cleaning out the last of the buildings there should be many more posts of interest.......I suspect. Check back here.

Thomas