The Mercedes Single

[madmanmerc]

.Hello all. I have been on the Journal for a while now, mostly drooling over some crazy garages (jack olsen, the asylum, party garage ect). also I have been gathering ideas for my single 10x20.
I will start by introducing myself. I am a car nut. My toys include a 1970 Mercedes 250c ( being restored at the moment) 1966 Chevy Nova, and 1984 Corvette. The Corvette is in the driveway(weekend driver), the Nova is on hold waiting to be restored, and the Mercedes is at the shop getting a complete sheetmetal overhaul. She will be coming home in about a month so I decided to fastrack the garage with a mini makeover.
My main concer with the garage is that being so small, I have to make sure there is nothing on the floor, absolutely nothing. So cabinets will be put up. Also I have to shorten my workbench by 5 inches because when my Mercedes is in the garage, I cant walk between the bench and the car, so at least with 5 inches I can somewhat move around. Lighting will also be addressed with t8s.
This makeover will be done very quick, because as I said my Mercedes will be coming home soon. Thankfully my wife is on board and is giving me all the time I need.
this is my garage in its current state.
Input from everyone is appreciated. I know that this will not be a crazy makeover, but it will hopefully fulfill my longing to have a pretty nice garage

 

[madmanmerc]

The first thing I will attack are the lights. Will be buying 5 t8 fixtures 2 bulb 48 inch tomorrow.

 

[madmanmerc]

Pic of the Vette

 

[madmanmerc]

 

[madmanmerc]

just remembered photobucket lol

 

[madmanmerc]

 

[dubber]

Good luck with your project. Singles can be a challenge. Key is to simplify, get everything on the end wall and up high on the sides.

 

[nuklbstr83]

nice man! stay motivated for your vision.

 

[s.gaspar]

Good luck, wanting to see what you do with it for inspiration for my 3rd car garage


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[madmanmerc]

Thanks guys. Dubber the plan is that, high and out of the way.

 

[madmanmerc]

Starting with the lights today. I went to home depot and bought a 2x48 inch t8 shoplight for above the bench and 2x48 t8 fixtures for the ceiling. Now I know I could probably use more according to calculations, but I don't want to call an electrician to add breaker and pass wires in walls. With the 4 fixtures and shoplight I will not be passing the amps on my breaker.
the lights are Lithonia brand and the bulbs are 5000 lumens. I figured I wouldn't like the soft white and was staying away from the bluish hue of daylight. Hoping the 5000s will do the job

 

[madmanmerc]

 

[madmanmerc]

In case you guys are wondering how I pass the rest of my day lol.
New rocker panel on the merc
35 Ford with chopped top getting ready for a shot of color

 

[madmanmerc]

the lights are coming along

 

[madmanmerc]

more pics

Cant wait to turn them on. should be a big improvement from my old 60 watts screw on eh? lol

 

[I PLAY FOR KEEPS]

We have similar sized garages and I'm looking forward to seeing yours come together

 

[madmanmerc]

It should come together quickly. have to bring my Mercedes home by end of November. Shop is getting full with other project cars, so I cant keep it there

 

[madmanmerc]

no room lol

 

[madmanmerc]

Let there be light!! Wow im freaking out at how much light there is. What a difference. I cant believe I was living with such little light before

 

[markviii]

Let there be light! Haven't seen a picture of the 66 Nova yet. Good luck with the rest of your garage rearranging.

Chris

 

[madmanmerc]

markviii the nova is under a tarp. in my buddies garage. wont be ready for a couple of years what with my Mercedes getting done, mortgage, 2 kids, car payments........ lol

 

[madmanmerc]

So I went to Canadian Tire, reno depot, rona.... In need of some cupboards. found some half decent ones at Canadian tire, They where on sale. so I picked up 5. Cant say they are the greatest but I am not looking to spend big bucks. Like I said before, the Mercedes needs the big bucks lol.
This is what I started with

Not very exciting as you can see. I took it down and started with the new shelves.
First one up

I know... nothing great, but for 44 dollars they will do the job

 

[madmanmerc]

This is the interior. Not to crazy about it so I painted it black


Couldn't help adding some stuff inside to see how it will turn out. Not to bad actually

 

[madmanmerc]

Then there was two

And three

 

[madmanmerc]

These are actually not to easy to put up. they are cheaply made so they bend just by holding them up so you have to be carefull screwing them on to make sure they are straight. Pretty hard to do by yourself. luckily I made a straight line on the wall with the laser. but still hard

 

[madmanmerc]

Got the fourth up. Thinking that 5 is not enough. might go buy 2 more tomorrow

 

[madmanmerc]

 

[markviii]

Excuses, excuses (just kidding!). The cabinets look good and will definitely free up some floor space. I don't necessarily agree with your choice of the first car to restore, but...what do I know.

Chris

 

[madmanmerc]

The reason that the nova is under a tarp is because I have only had it for 2 years. The Mercedes however has been with me since 2001. Me and her have been through a lot so I owe it to her.

 

[madmanmerc]

Got the fifth cupboard up. Might go by a few more this week. I think I need at least 2 more

 

[madmanmerc]

Did all the white paint today. Will be painting the top half white, silver lower (the silver is to pay homage to Mercedes lol) and I will add a white stripe between the 2.
Here is the white all done. sorry for the quality of the pics. For some weird reason my camera is not that clear anymore. its like 7 megapixel, which is not bad. Maybe its the settings. Anyways here is the white top.

 

[dubber]

Thanks guys. Dubber the plan is that, high and out of the way.

Good man!

Down the line you may want to also chop off that near one foot of excess garage rail. Another little item i addressed in my single to squeeze out some extra space.

 

[madmanmerc]

its really tough with a single dubber. I was so stupid when I built my house, I was coming from no garage so a single was sounding good, but for a few bucks more could of had the double

 

[madmanmerc]

splashed a little grey paint on the lower half. starting to come together now.

 

[madmanmerc]

 

[madmanmerc]

I wish I had a better camera because the pic do not do it justice. It is actually looking pretty good.

 

[dubber]

I wish I had a better camera because the pic do not do it justice. It is actually looking pretty good.

hahaha, you don't need to convince us. Your making great progress and its really coming together well.

 

[Mpower5266]

Great job so far, I love a good single build. Between dubber and the Ford single in Indiana(I cant remember his screen name) I have picked up some great storage tips, I sure I will pick something up from your thread as well.

 

[wagzilla]

Very nice, so how do you like your new lights?

James

 

[madmanmerc]

Wagzilla, I love the lights. I am sure many of the guyz here have lots more lighting in there garage, but compared to what it used to be (60 watt screw type) its amazing. I have a total of 10 4 foot t8s. Thanks for the kind words Dubber, coming from the single garage god that you are, it means alot