Above 1200 Sq/FT Restored 1930's Auto Shop

[Vernmotor]

That was a fun ride !

 

[BB767]

....

P.S. I noticed that where the down spout would be on the carport at your current house you have a lengh of chain hanging down to what appears to be a pile of rocks. I have never seen this done and was quite curious about it. I imagine the rain flows down the chain but what then? Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks
-Craig

Side note....I had new gutters installed on my home, and went with the "rain chains"....had a few neighbors ask whats up with the chains, I told them all they were chaining my house down for the next hurricane!

I love this tread, check it almost daily!

Thanks for the info on the rain chains. I really like the way they look and am thinking of using them to replace my failing downspouts.

Keep up the good work.

Here's a little more insight into my rain chains. Here are a couple better views of one end of the gutter on the garage...





The rain chain is hard to see but it's there at the end of the gutter. Notice with the round support column installed there is no good way to attach a downspout in this location and not have it look just awful.

Here's a look at the other end of the garage...







...as you can see again, there is nothing of substance to attach a downspout to in an elegant way so...



...a rain chain was the solution. It's decorative (many different styles), made of brass so it's non-corrosive and certainly entertaining to watch when it's raining. As Chris had mentioned we first saw them in Europe where they are widely used and thought it a very clever and practical idea. So when the time came I knew how I was going to handle this little detail. I hope this is of some help.



There a few more details about this garage that you might find interesting such as this step transition used for different grade elevations. If there's some interest I'll try to post some details of this garage that I haven't already posted.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

I heard you weren't allowed to make the big round bales like that anymore! Something about a concern that cows would never get a square meal or something.

OK back to lurking...

Mark, I see you don't post very often..........and now I can see why! Thanks for the day brightener......of sorts.

Did I hear a rim shot in the background?

Thomas

Miss Chris,

I was looking at the link to the outfit that makes the Ford V8 conversion kits for old MGB's. (discussed on page 342 of this thread):

http://mantellmotorsport.com/

and on mantell's home page, there is a video for a turboencapsulator. My thought process went: what would be better than a V8 in an MGB? Of course, a turbo charged V8!

I clicked on the video; and found Tom's older brother discussing a turboencapsulator that transcended the well known muffler bearings.

Let me know what you think.

Bill, I have been waiting patiently for someone to discover that little hidden video gem. You win the prize on this one! What a hoot eh?...and so well done too. I just wonder how many takes they had to do it in because they were laughing so hard making it! Never noticed the resemblance to my brother but you're closer to the truth than you know. I'll have to show him now and see if he notices. Are we still having fun here?

Thomas

 

[HOTFR8]

All the talk about rain chains. Why no tanks ? Rain water is the best to wash the cars with.
OK, I have a drier climate here and have a tank just for that purpose in the summer months but why do you not do the same Thomas ?

 

[BB767]

All the talk about rain chains. Why no tanks ? Rain water is the best to wash the cars with.
OK, I have a drier climate here and have a tank just for that purpose in the summer months but why do you not do the same Thomas ?

One word:

Mosquitos

They love to lay eggs in still water. As humid as our summers can be those tanks would be breeding grounds. We don't get them in the pond because the water is always moving and the Koi would eat them anyway. Good thought though.

Thomas

 

[charlief1]

The original use of the rain chain (kusari-toi or kusari-doi) was by Japanese temples Thomas. It's an interesting idea but would you mind trying to get a pic of how they attach? I think it just might be the ticket for our shop even though we don't get that much rain as a rule.

One other thing, you can do a cistern style storage tank and not have the issues with bugs. You do need to set up a filtration system of some sort but that's easy. The drain lines to the tank are a bit of a pain but 2 or 3 large septic tanks would give you more than enough storage. The filter is 2 part. Simple charcoal filter first and then sand to trap the smaller particles.

I learned about this from my Uncle when I lived on his farm. As a child his father made a cistern for water at the house, digging a hole near the house and using plaster to seal it. The gutters were 1/2 round style with a cut off so once it started raining he could divert the water through the filters and into the tank. It survived from the late 1800's into the 1950's and neighbors would come to the house in the middle of summer to get a cool drink from it. A simple pump above could be used to get the water up for drinking or watering the lawn.

 

[HOTFR8]

One word:

Mosquitos

They love to lay eggs in still water. As humid as our summers can be those tanks would be breeding grounds. We don't get them in the pond because the water is always moving and the Koi would eat them anyway. Good thought though.

Thomas

Many ways to fix that or I would have the same issue here. Wire mesh inlet filters will stop that or a table spoon of kerosene (if the water is not for drinking) allowed to film on top of the water will also stop the same problem.

 

[Buss]

Thank you for posting more pictures of the chains.
A few questions come to mind after viewing them though. Do you notice much erosion of the soil under them or do the rocks keep it to a minimum? And are they anchored to the ground or just hanging?

 

[frikkie]

Thank you frikkie, for a moment I thought my old brain was remembering wrong. I only sort of remembered about that car. None were ever sold in the USA, so we missed out. All we got was the Mercury Merkur XR4TI - a 2 door Ford Sierra with the turbocharged 4 cylinder out of the Mustang (NOT the intercooled engine out of the Mustang SVO). They only sold here from 1985 to 1989. A lot of them succumbed to the tin worm (rust). Hard to find one now and finding parts even harder (a guy I used to work with had one).

Even here, where the Sierras (and their notchback/sedan sister, the Sapphire) were quite popular and sold by the 1000s, you battle to find good ones these days.

Factory variants here were a 1600 and 2l carb, a 2.3l injected V6 (Cologne motor IIRC), and the very popular XR6 fitted with a 3l Essex V6 (with carb...). The very last iterations were 3.0iRS, which was the Essex, but now finally fitted with EFI. The XR8 was a homologation special, to get them legalised for the then SA Modified Saloon racing series.

There are also a few Sapphire Cosworths around here, but I think they were all UK imports.

Sorry for the thread hijack Thomas!

 

[NAGARI51]

Hello Thomas and Chris, Hi from Thailand! What a fantastic thread and the workshop restoration is amazing. When I grew up in Australia in the 50's my granddad was a blacksmith and farmer, my Dad a master welder and all my uncles are car fiends so the sights and smells of old workshops and welding shops brings back memories. I too believe a guy's shed has to be several times bigger than the house and the more cars the better. Still trying to get through the thread so far just enjoyable to participate as a reader. Col

 

[klaus]

klaus, any chance you can post a picture or two of your Nike?

Bill, I didn't know you had those. What model are your Walkers and Blackhawk? Get a neighborhood kid to help you post pictures. They can be pretty young and I bet they'll know how. Yeah I know, it stinks they know all they computer stuff and us old geezers are pretty clueless.

Thomas

I will find some photos on the weekend.

 

[porschedude996TT]

The think I like about them is they are quiet.

 

[BB767]

The original use of the rain chain (kusari-toi or kusari-doi) was by Japanese temples Thomas. It's an interesting idea but would you mind trying to get a pic of how they attach? I think it just might be the ticket for our shop even though we don't get that much rain as a rule........

Thank you for posting more pictures of the chains.
A few questions come to mind after viewing them though. Do you notice much erosion of the soil under them or do the rocks keep it to a minimum? And are they anchored to the ground or just hanging?

charlief1 you are a vast storehouse of knowledge, thanks for sharing it with us. Here are pictures showing how the chain is attached...







The chain is hung from a brass rod that is just placed in the conventional downspout section. I put a bed of clear silicon in the gutter area where the rod sits to secure it.



The chain just hangs free, it's not anchored to anything. It's a little heavy so it tends to just hang straight down and not sway much in the wind. A pile of rocks at the bottom breaks the stream of water coming down and I haven't seen any significant signs of erosion. This system has been in place 10 years now. The downspouts never get plugged!

Thomas

 

[BB767]

The think I like about them is they are quiet.

The muffler bearings or the turboencapsulator or the rain chains?

Thomas the Comedian.........

 

[BB767]

Even here, where the Sierras (and their notchback/sedan sister, the Sapphire) were quite popular and sold by the 1000s, you battle to find good ones these days......


.......Sorry for the thread hijack Thomas!

Never a worry about that frikkie. I'm pretty certain we're all enthusiasts here. I personally find it fascinating to see other high performance offerings in various countries. Especially if they are from a USA manufacturer and not offered here!

Thomas

Hello Thomas and Chris, Hi from Thailand! What a fantastic thread and the workshop restoration is amazing. When I grew up in Australia in the 50's my granddad was a blacksmith and farmer, my Dad a master welder and all my uncles are car fiends so the sights and smells of old workshops and welding shops brings back memories. I too believe a guy's shed has to be several times bigger than the house and the more cars the better. Still trying to get through the thread so far just enjoyable to participate as a reader. Col

A long distance hello to you NAGARI51 and thank you for checking in with us. Thailand is a good distance from our little corner of the universe here in the Mid-West but it's nice you can still relate. Those memories of past sights, smells and sounds never seem to go away do they? Especially when they occur at a very impressionable time of our lives. They just lurk in our subconscious waiting for something to trigger them.

When you get a chance, I'm curious about the car in your avatar. Hard to tell what it is exactly. Welcome to our growing circle of friends here.

Thomas

 

[markviii]

Page 340 (post #6792) has the updated state/country listing. We've reached 40 countries encompassing all 7 continents.

Chris

 

[charlief1]

Thank you Thomas, and I will point out that there is such as a thing as muffler bearings. The application is for inboard engine boats and Vipers. There are also other vehicles that use them.

 

[NAGARI51]

Never a worry about that frikkie. I'm pretty certain we're all enthusiasts here. I personally find it fascinating to see other high performance offerings in various countries. Especially if they are from a USA manufacturer and not offered here!

Thomas



A long distance hello to you NAGARI51 and thank you for checking in with us. Thailand is a good distance from our little corner of the universe here in the Mid-West but it's nice you can still relate. Those memories of past sights, smells and sounds never seem to go away do they? Especially when they occur at a very impressionable time of our lives. They just lurk in our subconscious waiting for something to trigger them.

When you get a chance, I'm curious about the car in your avatar. Hard to tell what it is exactly. Welcome to our growing circle of friends here.

Thomas

Hi Thomas, the car is a Bolwell Mark 7, an Aussie kit car from the 60's although that one was first registered in 1973. Mostly they were powered by GM Holden 6 cylinders of the era but avatar car was running a 363 Windsor (11.6 1/4 mile through the mufflers in street trim on street tyres over 2 decades ago) Bolwell Corporation out of Melbourne produced some 700 cars of all types. Bolwell perhaps best know car wise for their factory built Nagari (Mark 8) series of coupes and roadsters in the early 70's. Bollyblog forum (wwwbollyblog.blogspot.com) caters for people who have the Bolwell fixation. Imagine the running gear from your Chevy 2 in a car weighing 1900lbs or less. Col

 

[NAGARI51]

You'd think so, but you'd be wrong. Such a place never existed to my knowledge.......ever. And yet the shop enjoyed a great reputation for good work. You just never know.

Thomas

Referring to the quote about dirt and the Pontiac engine rebuild - As a teenager our cars were painted by an old guy who worked from a dirt floored shed. Used to wet the floor prior to shooting paint and the results were quite acceptable for the era. The smithing shop on the farm always had a dirt floor as did the garage and I cannot number the engines rebuilt on old carpet on dirt. The road outside my folk's place (5 mile from GPO in Adelaide South Australia) was dirt until the mid 1960's when a neighbor was elected to the town council and shazam - we got bitumen. I had to wait until married and built a new shed to get some of that newfangled ceement flooring. Col

 

[hobbitss]

One word:

Mosquitos

They love to lay eggs in still water. As humid as our summers can be those tanks would be breeding grounds. We don't get them in the pond because the water is always moving and the Koi would eat them anyway. Good thought though.

Thomas

We have local Ordinances against any man made standing water because of the Mosquito's and the various Illnesses that they transmit...

Used to visit someone up in Maine that had a rain barrel and he kept Gold Fish in it.. Said the Gold Fish would eat any Mosquito Eggs and Larva..

 

[BB767]

Please take plenty of pics of the wedge Chris. You don't have to post them but I'd love to have a really good 1 for my screen saver.

charlief1 I've taken several of it for you today and it's only day 1 of 4 so when I get home I'll be be able to send you a wide selection. The Can Am cars are thunderous as ever, just awesome hearing them pounding around the course. The weather Sat and Sun look especially nice, dry with temps in the mid 70's for highs and low 60's at night with low humidity. Great for generating max horsepower.

Thomas

 

[charlief1]

charlief1 I've taken several of it for you today and it's only day 1 of 4 so when I get home I'll be be able to send you a wide selection. The Can Am cars are thunderous as ever, just awesome hearing them pounding around the course. The weather Sat and Sun look especially nice, dry with temps in the mid 70's for highs and low 60's at night with low humidity. Great for generating max horsepower.

Thomas

Thank you Thomas. If there was a way I could be there I would be. Still miss running the FF1600 cars as well as the GT1 class but that was a long time ago now.

 

[magnusk750]

Thomas, I'd really appreciate a close pic of the water pump seen in the background on the rain chain pictures. It's looks very similar to the swedish variety on the same theme, culd be fun to see if they are exactly the same, or just close enough.

 

[BB767]

Thomas, I'd really appreciate a close pic of the water pump seen in the background on the rain chain pictures. It's looks very similar to the swedish variety on the same theme, culd be fun to see if they are exactly the same, or just close enough.

Here you are Magnus...








It's a Deming pump, manufactured by The Deming Co, Salem, Ohio, USA. Here's a link to the history of John Deming:

http://www.salemohiohistory.com/HistoryMakers/John-Deming.aspx



This pump is located next door to the house I grew up in. The older gentleman living there never had running water in his house and in the 1950's and 60's I well remember seeing him in all kinds of weather coming to this pump and pumping a bucket of water for his house. With no indoor plumbing, he used a privy (outhouse) which can be seen in the background to the right of the doorway of his coal shed.



Here's a look at the coal shed from the rear. The privy is the small lean-to structure.

Our family bought this property in the early 1970's after he passed away and we've preserved his old coal shed and privy ever since. Perhaps that's another reason I've always been interested in older object preservation. It's definitely a conversation piece.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Please take plenty of pics of the wedge Chris. You don't have to post them but I'd love to have a really good 1 for my screen saver.

charlief1 I've got a bunch of pictures of the McKee for you from Road America. Here are just a couple pictures that others might find of interest. It was hard finding a time when there wasn't a crowd around it.





I'll PM you and we'll figure out the best way to get all of them to you. There's probably over 50 pictures of it in all. Norm had a cylinder go bad on him in the final and he was never in contention. He couldn't get over 7,000 RPM out of it. Son Dan...



... in the Lola T 70 was awarded the Road and Track award as "The Car We Most Would Like To Race".



You can see why, it is a fabulous, beautiful machine. Dan finished 8th as I recall, in the final. A fun week of racing with no severe failures or accidents.

Thomas

 

[markviii]

Dan would have finished better, but spun out on one of the turns in the last lap; he recouped, but fell back a couple spots. Look for the R & T mag with the photo shoot sometime in the near future.

Norm mentioned to me that Gus Grissom had a hand in the aerodynamics of the McKee. The shape makes it hug the ground, but that also makes it harder to drive.

We had so much fun being around the team and their families this weekend, even though we didn't get to help as much as in the past. The car shows and the venue/events were fantastic. We got to meet some nice people as well as friends from home with their Aston Martin. The weather generally cooperated. Looking forward to next year!

Chris

 

[timbitca]

My girlfriend's mother and stepfather bought a cottage last week and this was our first weekend enjoying it. While snooping around in the backyard I found what looks like a meat grinder/mincer of some sort "growing" out of a tree. My first tought when I found it was "hey, not as cool as a Terraplane, but it'll do the job". Then the stepfather suggested we remove it from there but I found a bunch of excuses why he shouldn't. Besides it's pretty well stuck there.


I think it's a meat grinder anyways, it's not made like any I've seen thus far though with a handle and blades inside. It's made like most log splitters are, with a flat "bed" and a handle that would push the meat (I assume) towards the grate at the end of it. The handle is broken now but still there. Of course I forgot to grab pictures and manufacturer info on it, though I do remember it was a model no 29. But I did grab a picture of the cottage and also of the woodshop the previous owner had built for himself, a nice little 2-story shed. Not bad at all for a cottage heh.

View media item 31867View media item 31868

 

[charlief1]

Replied to you Thomas and thank you and Chris for having the time to take some pics. I'm a big fan of the old Can Am racers as well as the old GTP cars. Still wish that SCCA had decided to go more public like NASCAR did.

 

[shopnut]

charlief1

... in the Lola T 70 was awarded the Road and Track award as "The Car We Most Would Like To Race".



You can see why, it is a fabulous, beautiful machine. Dan finished 8th as I recall, in the final. A fun week of racing with no severe failures or accidents.

Thomas

Thomas/Chris,

That Lola is sweet! I had to pass on R.A. this year. I have a class reunion in fall so I decided to wait until then to visit WI.

It was funny - I was on the phone with my brother that Friday afternoon wishing him a happy birthday and catching up on things in general and all of a sudden he says "OMG, its 5:00!!!" in a panic. He was on his way to the Elkhart Lake parade and lost track of time. Of course, I understood his hasty hang-up. Never did find out if he made it on time, but I guess it will be a good topic to start off with on the next call.

I heard they had some heat up there again this year (that I didn't miss! ). But you kind of forget about all that when the cars fire up their engine, don't you.

 

[markviii]

Yep, heat is secondary - the real "heat" is on the track. anyway. Thursday and Friday were hot, but manageable compared to last year. Saturday and Sunday were downright cool at times, especially in the shade. But the cool temps were better for racing. Last year the heat created quite a few problems for the race cars; not so much this year.

Friday and Saturday night traffic was fairly heavy getting into Elkhart Lake, but there was plenty of parking a few blocks away. We didn't get there until after 5pm either. The parade was over before dark; good for the race cars with no headlights. By then the street parties were in full swing - everybody had their beverage of choice and seemed to be having a good time. We left soon after the parade at the end and got out of E.L. to find a place to eat.

I think Danny won with the Lola at Laguna Seca last year. He'll be back there next month. He also won in Australia this past winter. A very cool car.

Maybe we'll be able to do a GJ get-together next year.

Chris

 

[NAGARI51]

Hi Thomas and Chris. Whew I finally caught up with the current posts - fabulous thread and your stories and photos are an inspiration to all garage lovers and car lovers. The T70 would rate highly on anyone's bucket list. In 2008 and 2009 I did a garage makeover on my weekender in Australia however the floods of Jan 2011 took the whole place out. Now looking for a small farm here to build a man's shed all over again and will post a thread in Garage Journal when I do. Boy, you have set the bar high! Regards Col

 

[Lotusnut]

I'm curious p_mori7 for a Canadian perspective on the book. If you are of that era are the times and activities described something you could identify with or is it too uniquely American? For those of us in the States and who grew up in the late 1950's and 1960's and were car geeks it was extremely familiar. Just wondering?

Thomas

Thomas,

I just received the Beltsville Shell book on Monday and could not put it down. It brought back so many memories of my years with muscle cars in Toronto. Just down the street from my high school was a burger joint that was known as "Harvey's Home of the Hot Ones" meaning cars. In the late 60's on a Friday night if you pulled on to the Harvey's lot you were likely to be challenged to race for ownerships. Needless to say I parked across the street in the lumber yard parking lot. Yes it was the same up here in Canada at that time. My wife, who did not know me back then, has heard us talk and is amazed we survived. Come to think of it so am I.

By the way the book is ready for the next reader. It is a great read. Please PM me if you want to be the next to read Beltsville Shell

Rob

 

[magnusk750]

Thanks for pictures Thomas. The swedish ones are close but not copies.

 

[BB767]

My girlfriend's mother and stepfather bought a cottage last week and this was our first weekend enjoying it. While snooping around in the backyard I found what looks like a meat grinder/mincer of some sort "growing" out of a tree. My first tought when I found it was "hey, not as cool as a Terraplane, but it'll do the job". Then the stepfather suggested we remove it from there but I found a bunch of excuses why he shouldn't. Besides it's pretty well stuck there.


I think it's a meat grinder anyways, it's not made like any I've seen thus far though with a handle and blades inside. It's made like most log splitters are, with a flat "bed" and a handle that would push the meat (I assume) towards the grate at the end of it. The handle is broken now but still there. Of course I forgot to grab pictures and manufacturer info on it, though I do remember it was a model no 29. But I did grab a picture of the cottage and also of the woodshop the previous owner had built for himself, a nice little 2-story shed. Not bad at all for a cottage heh.

Well, yes that's a very nice "cottage" indeed timbitca. Looks like your girlfriend could very well be a keeper! You know of course we need a picture of your tree bound meat grinder. Words alone are not the same.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Hi Thomas and Chris. Whew I finally caught up with the current posts - fabulous thread and your stories and photos are an inspiration to all garage lovers and car lovers. The T70 would rate highly on anyone's bucket list. In 2008 and 2009 I did a garage makeover on my weekender in Australia however the floods of Jan 2011 took the whole place out. Now looking for a small farm here to build a man's shed all over again and will post a thread in Garage Journal when I do. Boy, you have set the bar high! Regards Col

NAGARI51, losing a garage to a flood would take the stuffings right out of me. To start all over seems daunting. Good luck with that and please keep us informed.

Thomas

Thomas,

I just received the Beltsville Shell book on Monday and could not put it down. It brought back so many memories of my years with muscle cars in Toronto. Just down the street from my high school was a burger joint that was known as "Harvey's Home of the Hot Ones" meaning cars. In the late 60's on a Friday night if you pulled on to the Harvey's lot you were likely to be challenged to race for ownerships. Needless to say I parked across the street in the lumber yard parking lot. Yes it was the same up here in Canada at that time. My wife, who did not know me back then, has heard us talk and is amazed we survived. Come to think of it so am I.

By the way the book is ready for the next reader. It is a great read. Please PM me if you want to be the next to read Beltsville Shell

Rob

Thanks Rob for your perspective on Beltsville Shell. As I suspected it was no different in Canada back then. I appreciate your telling us about "Harvey's Home of the Hot Ones", I can only imagine what that must have been like. Good times indeed! For those waiting on the sidelines wondering if they should read the book all I can say is, try it, you'll like it.

Please post who gets it next so we can keep track of it. I'm starting to formulate a visit to Southern California early next year and if I can coordinate that with board member Wayne and author Cary Thomas, I'll take "our" copy and get Cary to personalize it and then send it along on its merry way once again.

Thomas

BTW - I've got some picture posts to get on here but my time lately seems to just evaporate. Please bare with me.

 

[NAGARI51]

Hi Thomas, yes the flood was a hit as we lost the house and contents too plus all the infrastructure on our 25 acres, fences, dams and irrigation. We had insurance but so much little stuff and cool memory stuff gets lost. But in a way was cathartic. A new start as my weekender had become 14 hours from my new home. Next! what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Given the posts of the T70 and the McKee I attach another Bolwell pic - the sole MK6 from when I owned it. Col

 

[NAGARI51]

oops. Don't know what I did to get the supersize. Sorry to hijack the thread. Col

 

[PureSilver]

Next year with the Alfalfa established should really be a good one for us. You wouldn't believe all the rabbits we have in that field. They were flying out of there when we were cutting!

Having had pet rabbits for a decade or two I can confirm that they just can't get enough of alfalfa - it's like catnip to cats or tools to hobbitss! I was a little alarmed by the suggestion of turning them into dinner, so Chris I'm backing you on this one...

charlief1 - I'll veto that rabbit shoot/fry [...] Those bunnies are soooo cute

(Our rabbits are backing you on this one too, I think.)

 

[charlief1]

Having had pet rabbits for a decade or two I can confirm that they just can't get enough of alfalfa - it's like catnip to cats or tools to hobbitss! I was a little alarmed by the suggestion of turning them into dinner, so Chris I'm backing you on this one...



(Our rabbits are backing you on this one too, I think.)

Hey now, we've got goats here, and while there are a few special ones that will never be sold or slaughtered, the rest we can barbecue at any time. Besides, a properly fried rabbit is really tasty. I'll see if I can take a few pics of the brats that we've raised. One is a pygmy that you can carry around in your arms like a puppy dog.

 

[BB767]

Hey now, we've got goats here, and while there are a few special ones that will never be sold or slaughtered, the rest we can barbecue at any time. Besides, a properly fried rabbit is really tasty. I'll see if I can take a few pics of the brats that we've raised. One is a pygmy that you can carry around in your arms like a puppy dog.

Don't rabbits taste like chicken?

Thomas