The Spyder's web

[type550]

G'day from downunder

I have been watching this forum for a long time which has inspired me to clean up the little space I have and make it a home for my Spyder. Builds like Milou's 3 Porsche garage show me what is possible, but unfortunately my space doesn't allow for it. I am in the creative industry, so I am big on presentation and impact. I love the historic racing images and all the Porsche memorabilia which I have collected over the years. My car is a big passion of mine and I have grand plans for my space, but unfortunately time and money is against me, so It will be a slow and well thought out process.

It is amazing how many hours I can just sit there thinking of the small details to make it work - slowly they all come together. Here is the start of my 'renovation'...

My Spyder was in for a full restoration which was at a friends shed where he worked on restoring other Porsches. I did as much as I could myself but he helped out on more the mechanical side which isn't one of my strengths.

This gave me time to clean out the garage at home. It is a single car garage but with a bit of extra length which allows me to set up a basic workshop area. Out came the bikes and a lot of stuff went to the tip!

I have a great collection of 1950s spyder racing images and one of my favourite ones is the line up of the Porsche 'werks' spyders getting ready for the 1955 LeMans race

So I got is scanned and printed out as a poster and made it into a sliding panel to divide the workshop from the garage areas

So now with my car in place, it takes pole position in the line up!

I ultimately want the whole space to look clean and organised which is going to be a challenge with little storage elsewhere

To get rid of a few tubs of tools, I invested in a tool chest

The garage was quite dark and dingy and one day I just started painting a wall - boy those bricks just **** it in, but it really started to make the space bigger

To make use of the tilt garage door, I found another one of my favourite images - the pits at Sebring in 1955. I will shortly get this also blown up to cover the whole inside garage door

I have got some retro style helmets which are period to my car too

This weekend I plan to start painting a couple of murals on the side walls, the first being the Michelin man running - the original one

A good friend of mine sells the rubber tile flooring, so I am just working out what I need and what colours will work - I like this combination...

Here are some more shots of my pride and joy!

Still a lot to do to the car and the garage - stay tuned!

 

[TONE]

Great collection, great space.

Got to admit, I was a bit sad you painted the brick

 

[e-tek]

That car (not that it should even be thrown into the same category as is so much junk..) is incredible!!!!!

Nice to see you doing something - anything - with the space you have. But - can I ask the question on everyones mind? Why do you have such a SMALL garage?

 

[type550]

I have a double garage in front of it for my daily drivers

 

[dykstra]

Way cool!!!!!!!!

 

[Ocho]

Very clever use of the poster on the room divider and i like the idea to cover the door as well.

To help keep your garage looking uncluttered, use cabinets or covers on your shelves wherever possible. It doesn't actually make the garage more organized, but once the doors are shut you can't see the clutter.

I love the car. I work with 356's a lot and it's very refreshing to see a Spyder in race livery. Most of the ones I get to see are the same old silver. Does your car have history or did you choose the colors?

 

[Steve from Socal]

What a wonderful little space to house an amazing little car, I too would have cleaned the brick but,

Steve

 

[aqr81]

You are big into presentation and impact...very creative use of the sliding panel to divide the workshop area. The Spyder is awesome.

 

[Mr Long Hood]

very creative poster placement...and again welcome. luv the Spyder. Tell us about it please.

 

[type550]

It was a tough decision whether to paint the walls or not. I decided on a clean canvas which lets me add the murals to the walls. The Spyder is schemed the same as the 1955 LeMans Spyder. I still need to source the single screen plexi, get a half tonneau made up and some more body modifications

 

[type550]

Saturday arvo spent being a bit creative on one of the walls...

 

[type550]

One of my other collections is model cars - this would be my ultimate garage full (currently my board room table)

 

[MusicMan]

Nice Michelin Man! I will have to deal with same techniqe (projector) in few weeks, but bigger scale, all shop entrance. Hope I'm gonna make it.

And i love your model car collection - as i can see, they're under glass, right? Good idea!

 

[type550]

I have collected 1:18 Porsches from a very early age which got to a point where I didn't even take them out of the boxes - like many things it became an obsession of collecting. Since the 550 I have only collected spyders which has lent itself more to the 1:43 scale. I reached a point where I only chose my favs out of the collection and offloaded the other 70 on ebay. They are all under glass - I got the table custom make to house them - I should have gone for a 12 seater to fit the full collection. There are not many cars that appreciate well over time, but scale models are definitely one of them! The funds have helped collecting other Porsche memorabilia.

The Michelin man was finished in about 2 hours. on the other wall I am doing the pegasus sign...

Once they set, I will sand them both back a bit to give them the vintage feel

What are you looking at doing for your front entrance??

 

[MusicMan]

Then it seems like you are a real Collector. Few friends of mine are collecting scale cars as well, but with no order, non-brand specifc, and layed somwhere on shelves witch dust coat on them... That's not what it's about.

I'd love to see more photos of your table.

Good idea with adding this vintage touch, can't wait to see it finished!
My entrance (270cm x 270cm gate) will be propably painted with my logo, which you can see in my avatar as well.

 

[type550]

This is one shot when it was just full of 1:18 Porsches - I couldn't squeeze any more in! The whole thing started when my girlfriend - now wife - gave me a the white 911 speedster (in the middle) as a birthday present - 20 years later I think she still regrets encouraging me!

 

[speedracer]

Thanks for sharing and cool website too!

 

[type550]

I've just finished this painting this week too - gotta find a space for it somewhere...

 

[abstamaria]

Very nice car. I was able to see the Matsuda Porsche Museum before they closed it and sold the collection. They had 550s there. Tight space, but interesting. With the brick, it looked very period.

 

[AndrewBigA]

awsome thread! keep the pics comming!

 

[344chief]

Supercool Spyder and nice artwork in the garage!

One day I hope to get/build either a spyder or a splitwindow 356 outlaw
Keep the pictures coming!

 

[type550]

My mate who helped me out with the spyder resto is doing a bare metal on a 356 speedster. He found a lot of history on the car are had a couple of photos of it in its racing days. I scanned one of them and printed a panel out for him for an area to display his cars in his workshop

 

[type550]

Very nice car. I was able to see the Matsuda Porsche Museum before they closed it and sold the collection. They had 550s there. Tight space, but interesting. With the brick, it looked very period.

I'm very lucky I have access to 550-0056 in Melbourne which is part of the Fox collection. He has an amazing selection of cars from Enzos to jags and Rollers - and it is housed in the most magnificent building on the outskirts of the city

 

[abstamaria]

I'm very lucky I have access to 550-0056 in Melbourne which is part of the Fox collection. He has an amazing selection of cars from Enzos to jags and Rollers - and it is housed in the most magnificent building on the outskirts of the city.

Very nice. That photo also shows how good a wood floor will be for a garage. I must visit one day. No 550s in Manila, unfortunately, just a few replicas.

 

[type550]

Everyone says Porsche owners are a breed of their own when it comes to garages. Here is a club member I know and his collection. About 30 cars in total and a lot of good stuff amongst it all...

This place is just around the corner from my work, still operating as a mechanic's workshop. This is my ultimate garage - just waiting for the right time

 

[abstamaria]

Type 550, those are fantastic cars.

Unfortunately, tight import and currency controls and a poor economy conspired to keep interesting cars away from here, so we are envious of the depth of your collections. Here are 3 pictures though that might interest you. A 550 shell being manufactured here, unfortunately a replica, so my apologies, and the finished product at the local sports car climb hillclimb. We do enjoy them. The 3rd photo is of a real car (a 904 or a 906 - I can't recall now) in France, driven by the club member in the photo at the 2005 Le Mans Classic.

 

[Ripped]

Love the car. Tight space that you have there. Any chance you'd consider changing the garage door to one that slides up on a track, or an industrial type roll/shutter steel door.

This should give you the ability to have some small shelves on the side walls, up high, and get rid of the springs and pivot from the old door.

 

[Greg-nwo]

Can you give any details on where/how you get those photos done up as large panels? That is a really cool idea.

Beautiful car... any more pics of it's restoration?

 

[type550]

Type 550, those are fantastic cars.

Unfortunately, tight import and currency controls and a poor economy conspired to keep interesting cars away from here, so we are envious of the depth of your collections. Here are 3 pictures though that might interest you. A 550 shell being manufactured here, unfortunately a replica, so my apologies, and the finished product at the local sports car climb hillclimb. We do enjoy them. The 3rd photo is of a real car (a 904 or a 906 - I can't recall now) in France, driven by the club member in the photo at the 2005 Le Mans Classic.

We are fortunate that we can pretty much import anything over 25 years old. There are lots of duties to pay on the car, but many cars are either a lot cheaper from OS or not available here. Depending on if it is compliant, you can get it street registered or on club plates if you are a member of a classic car club.

The replicas are good value as you get them out a heap more and drive them as they should be. I'm not big on the 'garage queens' where no one else can see or appreciate them. The amount of times I have had mine out and it has started to rain without a roof, I have lost count. I now have it down to a fine art of removing the seats to dry them

 

[type550]

Love the car. Tight space that you have there. Any chance you'd consider changing the garage door to one that slides up on a track, or an industrial type roll/shutter steel door.

This should give you the ability to have some small shelves on the side walls, up high, and get rid of the springs and pivot from the old door.

The springs are a real pain and have been debating what to do for a long time. I put some grey tubing over the springs to hide the rust but it didn't really achieve anything. I love the solid steel door which is period to my 1940s period English clinker brick house, but it does weigh a tonne and it looks like the springs are the only way to balance it. Can you just get counter weights to drop down?? When I have time over summer, I might make some hinged timber style doors which just open out - still looking for inspiration The roller door won't get past the aesthetic committee (my wife), a remote tilt door might be the easiest way to go

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

 

[914forme]

3rd photo is of a 906, the 904 is up in the post earlier by type550, love the 904. Its on the lift above the 928GTS. With the model plane in the background.

Love the garage and really love the 550, nice job. And I really like the table full of 1/18 Porsches, that gave me an idea for all of mine.

 

[type550]

Can you give any details on where/how you get those photos done up as large panels? That is a really cool idea.

Beautiful car... any more pics of it's restoration?

I have a great collection of original race photos which I get scanned. They end up being around a 200MB file to get a half decent print out. One of my suppliers does display jet prints which he outputs, puts a santax laminate over the top to protect it and then mounts it to 3-4mm forex board (which is like a white plastic sheet - fairly rigid)

Here are some pics of my car resto on my website...

http://type550.com/on-show/gotowo550/

 

[HOTFR8]

The Lindsay Fox collection is fantastic. I just love that old building.

I have a Hot Rodder friend who works on Lindsay Fox's car collection.

As for that Garage,

in what part of Melbourne is it as I am sure I have been past it before.

 

[type550]

it's in Hawthorn

 

[HOTFR8]

A photo on the outside of Lindsay Fox's Museum.
You can see more here
http://www.foxcollection.org.au/index.html .

 

[HOTFR8]

it's in Hawthorn

OK I have been past it.

 

[type550]

I was a bit slow on ebay yesterday. In my search for the best storage solution in my small garage, I reckon a wardrobe is the best bet as it has the depth to take clothes, so I get around 600mm to fit tubs in. This is the perfect solution with sliding doors and already a lot built in - just add a few shelves on the hanging side. Only $110 bucks too - a bargain. It was my first search for it, so more will have to come up, but I should have grabbed it when I could have

Add a race chequered pattern to it and bolt on some license and it would do the trick!

 

[e-tek]

This thread is killing me. So much class and great ideas! Love the table for collectibles - I'm thinking of doing the same, but as part of my work bench....

Thanks for all the inspiration, now I'm gonna go through your restoration!

 

[type550]

Thanks e-tek

the whole build is based on an invisible budget - one that can't be traced by my wife By selling things on ebay such as additional model cars that I am bored of (or have no room for) and things like copies of original 550 blueprints and pegasus/castrol racing stickers which I sell occasionally through my website, I have been able to amass a nice little slush fund in paypal which doesn't affect our personal financial situation. So now when my wife walks into the garage she just asks if 'it' is new, or says 'it is looking good' etc etc and turns around and walks out - everyone is happy! Some of it is also bought and hidden through my business too which helps. So I have to spend my money wisely but get quality and practical results at the same time.

As they say - I have a lot of time and not much money! Planning is everything, that is why you need a nice comfy seat in your garage to sit and contemplate life and the next move

 

[shrapnel]

I'm very lucky I have access to 550-0056 in Melbourne which is part of the Fox collection. He has an amazing selection of cars from Enzos to jags and Rollers - and it is housed in the most magnificent building on the outskirts of the city

I really like the paintings your doing on you shed walls, and the large prints , , , NEAT I've got a mate in Wellington who is a master of Black and White Airbrushed Paints , I swear you'd think they've been printed off , he even throw's a hint of "Yellow" on them to make ya think they've discoloured over the years.

This particular photo , is the look I'm going for when I build my workshop/shed. Point of differences will be , No Brickwork , And a Stained Plywood (about 35mm thick) floor. We're doing a poleshed , so the poles will get a coat of Dark Stain.

Cheers for the pic's

Shrapnel