First of the Texas Twins, First Build Options

[Puebloswatcop]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/piratenanner.gif) So I finally got the first of the two Texas Twins down from Colorado down here to Texas and cant wait to get started on the build. I first obtained this 914 as a parts car back in 2010. After getting it home, I realized it was actually in better shape than the one I already owned. The first one is a 1973, 2.0. This one was a 1974 1.8 in Ravenna Green. Unfortunately I never was able to make allot of time to play with the car, so it sat in my overcrowded garage in Colorado.

Since I retired and moved to Texas, the wife said I had better find something to do and stay out from under her feet, so last week I made the treck to Colorado and brought the first of 3 914s back. (the 3rd really is a parts chassis).

The car was on a rolling frame so was easy to get onto the trailer, problem is it had to be lowered enough to fit inside a four foot cover to be added onto the trailer, so first we had to raise it high enough to get it off the rolling frame.



Then it had to be carefully lowered to where the car was sitting on 4 X 4 blocks so it would be lower than 4 feet high and secured to the trailer. It came in at around 3'8" when done.



Then the shipping crate was built over and around the car. The trip was long and went well till I got about 10 miles from home and disaster struck.



A catastrphic loss of one tire on the trailer. Thanks to a good samaritan who flagged me down, because I never heard or felt a thing. Also a testament to Top Hat Trailer Company, the trailer was slightly damaged but did not roll, in fact it rode so smooth that I never new the tire had gone away. Of course...no spare for the trailer, so I limped the last 10 miles at 15 miles per hour.



So 16 hours of driving and now one of my babies is here in Texas and the work shall begin.

[bkrantz]

Welcome back. Good to see the garage progress.

And wire harness work can be fun, in the right state of mind. At least for a while.

[Puebloswatcop]

Wow, feeling kinda bad that I haven't been able to share much car progress, but an old guy like me just cant do a lot of car work and build a new shop all at once. Shop is finally progressing. All of the frame is done and now the metal is going on, there is water and sewer put in and the electric is run to the building. Hope I don't run out of steam, should have done this when I was 30, not 62.

[Puebloswatcop]

Shop is finally ready for the roof. At the end of the year the shop should be done, and I will be going back into retirement.....that means back full time to my 914...I cant wait.
I am getting too old to be working as an electrician on construction sites in the brutal Texas heat.

[Puebloswatcop]

Getting closer to getting into the shop. My goal is for it to be completed and move in by the end of December.

[bkrantz]

Is that gonna be insulated? At least the roof?

[wonkipop]

Wow, feeling kinda bad that I haven't been able to share much car progress, but an old guy like me just cant do a lot of car work and build a new shop all at once. Shop is finally progressing. All of the frame is done and now the metal is going on, there is water and sewer put in and the electric is run to the building. Hope I don't run out of steam, should have done this when I was 30, not 62.

know what you mean.
am 64 and moving the office/(and associated primitive dwelling) at the moment.
and feeling it. think i might have walked past a threshold at about age 60. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

love ya shed.
tin sheds and cowboy hats.
and hot sun.
texas is a lot like australia. cept for the humidity. dry as a dead dogs d$%k down here.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Puebloswatcop]

Is that gonna be insulated? At least the roof?

Yep, 1 inch of closed cell foam to the entire structure. Then I am putting in a three zone mini split heat / AC Unit for temp control. I am also having the floor epoxy coated and putting in the 4 post lift.

Cant wait to start moving in.

[Puebloswatcop]

Shop is finally in the finishing stages. At this point I am framing the office space while I wait for the spray foam insulation to be done. The holidays have everyone backed up, but hopefully within the next week or two. Then its a matter of getting the garage doors installed and finishing the electrical. Then I will start moving the cars into the shop, along with all of the hundreds of parts and tools I have accumulated over the last year or so....

[Puebloswatcop]

Well I am getting closer to moving the 914's into their new home. Last week the insulation guys arrived and got to work early in the morning.

[Puebloswatcop]

These guys did a great job, They had to work around my scaffolding and large tool chest, and made sure they took care not to get spray foam all over them. It took all day, but they got it done.

[Puebloswatcop]

I had planned on doing the floors in epoxy at this point, however they will have to wait, since the temps will not be consistant enough to get them done. But I did get the storage deck completed above the office space. Also, I have now gone back into retirement, So will be spending more time working on the first of the two twin 914's as well as moving everything from my garage into the shop.

[bkrantz]

Looking good. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cheer.gif)

[Puebloswatcop]

Well its been a busy couple of weeks. Unfortunately not on the car, but the new shop.
Finally got the doors installed, well insulated and commercial grade doors.

[Puebloswatcop]

And of course the day the doors arrive, so does the car lift. I picked it up and spent the next few days doing the layout and positioning. Got the posts in in a day.

[Puebloswatcop]

And today I spent the day lifting one of the runways into its position and bolted it in. Next couple of days will be getting the other runway in. It is the heavier of the two, but that why I practiced with the lighter one first. Thank goodness I bought the new tractor.

[Cairo94507]

Congratulations of retiring again- hopefully this time it sticks. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
The shop is looking very nice. The doors and the lift are great. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Root_Werks]

Dang, that is a nice shop! Makes me miss mine, was 3 vehicle bays and one shop bay.

[Puebloswatcop]

So today I finally was able to move the second of the twin 914's into its nice comfortable place. It took about 2 hours to get it moved from the front of the house, where it has been acting as yard art, to the shop. then it took about another hour to get it inside and onto the lift, but finally its there. Now I can get back to work on the first twin.