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The Hot Rod Handbook Shop

Posted by 141drew Posted onApr 11, 2012 at 10:36 AM and filed under Featured Spaces


If I weren’t such a greedy *******, I’d have only one hot rod at a time. And as a result, I would only need a simple shop to house it… And this is the kind of layout I’d want. A simpler time, no? I found this layout in a 1955 issue of “Hot Rod Handbook” and am absolutely infatuated by the pureness of it.

Full sized image after the break.






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HotRodChef

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What? Wheres the fridge, flat screen TV, 8 extra tool chests. Where are all the 'great' things that I have collected... it seems so empty. Do you think they could really be happy in 1955 with just enough to enjoy doing the job? Haven't we proven that more is... well more?

I stand guilty of the crimes for what I am accused. I'm not sure this will send me on the road to redemption but I've heard that admitting you have a problem is the first step.
 
F

Falcon67

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HotRodChef said:
What? Wheres the fridge, flat screen TV, 8 extra tool chests. Where are all the 'great' things that I have collected... it seems so empty. Do you think they could really be happy in 1955 with just enough to enjoy doing the job? Haven't we proven that more is... well more?

I stand guilty of the crimes for what I am accused. I'm not sure this will send me on the road to redemption but I've heard that admitting you have a problem is the first step.
Click to expand...

My daughter was looking over the shop, said "Dad, what is this big blue thing in the corner?" "That's the air compressor." "For THE SPACE SHUTTLE???".:rocker:

I'm going to print the picture and stick it on the wall as a reminder that simple is just fine and working on your stuff inside is a great gift.
 
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S

shopnut

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I think a different book from about the same era influenced my shop. Maybe I was just reading the WRONG book! ;)

46-Home-Workshops-02.jpg 47-Home-Workshops-03.jpg

Sorry - not sure why the pictures came in so big! (Edit- there, pictures are not so big now)

I know I have a real problem with making things too complicated, but I'm not entirely to blame for my actions. :)
 
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J

Jack Olsen

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It's funny. I wonder if I saw that image at some point in my childhood?

A couple of years back, the same artwork showed up in a GJ thread (by way of The HAMB) about a 1954 Popular Mechanics guide to setting up a hot rod shop.

Here's the old thread.

PM2.jpg


pm1.jpg


I never made the connection that the same layout (sort of) showed up in Popular Mechanics again 57 years later.

pmcover.jpg


pm100lr.jpg


And shopnut, it doesn't surprise me at all that you had a better book as a formative influence. I wish I'd been exposed to that one -- and had enough land to make it happen. :)
 
R

rduz

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Nope. The tools are too far away. I'm restoring a tractor and I have two benches for cleanup on the south wall, and two disassembly/repair benches on the north wall. The fifth bench near the rollup door has the vise and the welding gear.
 
S

shopnut

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Jack Olsen said:
/snip/

And shopnut, it doesn't surprise me at all that you had a better book as a formative influence. I wish I'd been exposed to that one -- and had enough land to make it happen. :)
Click to expand...
Jack,
You don't need extra land. With your prior concrete experience and a some future tips from the "Concrete Underground" thread, a second story capable of supporting heavy machine tools is certainly feasible. :)
 
J

Jack Olsen

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Frank The Plumber said:
Jack's garage is only a hot rod garage east of France.

Vedy inturestung.
Click to expand...
It's true. You've got to REALLY squint your eyes for my squashed bug to look anything like a 32 Ford. :beer:

shopnut said:
Jack,
You don't need extra land. With your prior concrete experience and a some future tips from the "Concrete Underground" thread, a second story capable of supporting heavy machine tools is certainly feasible. :)
Click to expand...
Well, then there's the money part of it. And the 5' setback I'd have to create on any new construction. So my footprint would go from 20x22 to 15x17, which means the second (and third?, and fourth?) floors would be pretty tiny. But probably kind of cool, if it was anything like the Concrete Underground. :)
 
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marty_p

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What he said!

Jack and Ryan, you two must sleep well at night, as you both subconsciously remind us all of the value of simplicity. And sirs, for that I must thank you! :thumbup:
 
C

coljar

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It's a great work space, but that air compressor would have to go to another room or shack. Can't stand to listen to 'em run.
 
R

Rich H.

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The valve grinder makes alot of sense, but what is in the tool box?
Pliers and screwdriver?

Where is the welding equipment, or at least a set of torches? How did the body and frame get built? It couldn't have happened there.

It's a good hot rod shop for a hot rod somebody else already built, that you're just maintaining and changing to your taste....but there aren't enough tools to actually build one.

I do appreciate the spirit and simplicity of the place, but it seems kinda unrealistic...
 
T

Tman

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Rich H. said:
The valve grinder makes alot of sense, but what is in the tool box?
Pliers and screwdriver?

Where is the welding equipment, or at least a set of torches? How did the body and frame get built? It couldn't have happened there.

It's a good hot rod shop for a hot rod somebody else already built, that you're just maintaining and changing to your taste....but there aren't enough tools to actually build one.

I do appreciate the spirit and simplicity of the place, but it seems kinda unrealistic...
Click to expand...

Even a stick welder was out of reach for many folks back then. Hell, power tools were fairly uncommon!
 
A

AndreGT6

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Built a cage for the race car in my 10x20.

Only issue was when I was doing the main loop we had to unbolt the bender, walk outside, rotate and setup for the 2nd bend.

IMG_1647.JPG
 
K

KPSquared

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You can always tell a good Canadian shop by the mess of Mastercraft boxes sitting everywhere! Love me some CrappyTire! Just think of how much easier that cage build would have been without the Hoarders-esqe explosion in the background. . .:D

I love the simplicity of the "Hot Rod Shop" as well, but like was stated earlier, there just isn't enough sitting in there for full on hot rod fab. Although, I have seen some pretty ridiculous stuff come out of some small spaces. A member on a diesel performance forum I frequent managed to turn a regular cab, long box F250 into a super sweet short box street truck (with a big diesel) in a pretty tiny single car garage in town.

From this:

ff826cef.jpg


To This:

ntx11008-1.jpg


In This:

2010-09-27182913.jpg
 
O

OccupantRJ

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shopnut said:
I think a different book from about the same era influenced my shop. Maybe I was just reading the WRONG book! ;)

46-Home-Workshops-02.jpg 47-Home-Workshops-03.jpg

Sorry - not sure why the pictures came in so big! (Edit- there, pictures are not so big now)

I know I have a real problem with making things too complicated, but I'm not entirely to blame for my actions. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the pics. Those pics were a big inspiration to me as a younger guy trying to design a shop to work in. :thumbup:
 
C

Concrete B

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Jack.do those lights hang off of your garage door? They look like it in those pics. Also, where'd you get such cool lights? sorry for the hijack
 
J

Jack Olsen

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Thanks. The lights are home-made. They're supported from the sides on arms that extend out. That way the door can go up and down. My original plan was to also hinge the bar so that it could fold back against the wall, but I realized I'm never going to be parking a car on the work side of the garage so vehicle clearance underneath these lights isn't an issue.

This picture shows the long arm coming out. The only trick was measuring how much the arm would sag under the weight of the lights so I could pre-stress it in the other direction.

img0303yz.jpg


The lights are made from inexpensive cake pans. I drilled a hole in each of them, and screwed in a light fixture and bulb.

There are pictures of how I put it all together in this thread:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=873394
 
B

Brad54

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Rich H. said:
The valve grinder makes alot of sense, but what is in the tool box?
Pliers and screwdriver?

Where is the welding equipment, or at least a set of torches? How did the body and frame get built? It couldn't have happened there.

It's a good hot rod shop for a hot rod somebody else already built, that you're just maintaining and changing to your taste....but there aren't enough tools to actually build one.

I do appreciate the spirit and simplicity of the place, but it seems kinda unrealistic...
Click to expand...

You make a good point.
In '55, a '32 Ford was only a 22 year old car... that'd be like hot-rodding an '80 Mustang today.

You could build a hot-rod '80 Mustang today with a simple set of hand tools.

-Brad
 
N

NUTTSGT

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Brad54 said:
You make a good point.
In '55, a '32 Ford was only a 22 year old car... that'd be like hot-rodding an '80 Mustang today.

You could build a hot-rod '80 Mustang today with a simple set of hand tools.

-Brad
Click to expand...

You mean a 1990 Mustang. That 1980 Mustang would 30 plus years old today. :lol_hitti
 
D

Deuce3wcpe

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Jack Olsen said:
It's funny. I wonder if I saw that image at some point in my childhood?

A couple of years back, the same artwork showed up in a GJ thread (by way of The HAMB) about a 1954 Popular Mechanics guide to setting up a hot rod shop.

Here's the old thread.

PM2.jpg


pm1.jpg
Click to expand...

Haven't been around much, but thanks for remembering that I posted that thread..... :thumbup:

Wow, doesn't seem like 2 years ago.
 
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D

Dan in Pasadena

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Jack Olsen said:
img0303yz.jpg
Click to expand...

I just recerntly had a new sectional garage door installed and I've never had one before so I didn't anticipate it blocking my fluorescents. I wanted to do something like Jack's lights below but hadn't considered how heavy a 4 ft fluorescent fixture would be hanging on an arm.

Jack, I like your fix but how low it hangs MIGHT be an issue for me since my boat will be on that side of the garage. Can you tell me how many inches your setup hangs below the interior surface of the door?
 
F

Falcon67

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coljar said:
It's a great work space, but that air compressor would have to go to another room or shack. Can't stand to listen to 'em run.
Click to expand...

Those old compressors are surprisingly quiet. Even my portable is not that loud, you can talk on the phone about 10' from it.

QUOTE=NUTTSGT;2258436]You mean a 1990 Mustang. That 1980 Mustang would 30 plus years old today. :lol_hitti[/QUOTE]

LOL - and you can hotrod that with a simple set of $$$$ programming tools and maybe a $$$$ code reader/o-scope. ;) I've fixed point trigger ignitions with a matchbook - which is not much good up against mass air/EEC system.
 
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B17E1943

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I'd like to know why when I want to read the rest of this blog entry, I click on "Read the rest of this entry »" and it takes me nowhere?

Tried it a few times, and nada. :dunno: Thanks.
 
L

L84ARACE

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The 1955 garage reminds me of Walt Kawalski's garage in the movie Gran Torino. :rocker:
 
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