I've got a small 1 car garage. The teener is kept in there. I'd like to do some winter project stuff to it. How do those of you with small garages work in your teeny tiny garages? Would it help if the car was up in the air on jackstands?

That depends, how tiny is tiny. Do you have to walk side ways to get in the car or do you have to get in from the top.

I'm just doing body work right now (just finished welding up the side markers) and rust prevention. That stuff is more dusty than space consuming. When the body is done the engine bay is next That's where I'm gonna run into space problems. Gotta drop the engine to repair the trunk hinges, replace metal in the battery area and repair the engine oil leaks...at least, that's what I currently see...hopefully there won't be other surprises... hahahaha, I crack myself up...

I have to fold the mirrors in and walk sideways. Around back I have stuff, so I have to walk around the front. I need to get rid of the stuff behind it badly. It's a big video rack that needs to go to storage.
I have a nice big workbench that goes from wall to wall on the back of the garage. Tool box is a big roller off to the side. There is a bit more room off to one side, but it is filled with lawn mower, air compressor, tires, toolbox, crap, and a couple footlockers full of shit from high school/college days.

I had a model "A" garage at my first house when I was 19 years old. I hated that thing. I had a dirt floor, no insulation, and one swinging light bulb hanging in the middle. I tried to work in there a few times in the winter. I even scrounged a home made wood stove made out of an old water heater. I managed to fill the garage with smoke but never got any heat out of the stove. I tore that damn thing down the next spring and called one of those speciality garage building places and had them come out and build me a new one. It was 26' X 28'.

Twice and much as I could afford and half as much as I needed. (just right )

I can't help with how to work in the tiny garage. But I do have space in a big garage that may be available to support local teener work. If you think that the logistics would work out give me a call.

Maybe a little work on your 914 maybe a little work on my 914??? OK...mine needs a lot of work.

thanks for the offer Doug, but I think after the weather tonite, we're gonna have salted roads for a while. Mine'll have to stay in it's lil garage til spring.
I'm game for the drive down to work on yours. We could probably get a small group together and have some fun. I bet Dan would be interested. Maybe Indydad (he's trying to get his son into our funny little cars).

Wow Doug, what a wonderful offer. Too bad there isnt some more people like you out here in California that would make that offer. I would go for that.

Doug has an awesome shop! It's huge, and then there is another that is pretty good sized, too. The big one has a pit built into it so you can work from below-VERY NICE!

Hell Ive got a nice 2 car garage to work in. But It is full of 2 couches, a chair, a fridge 2 freezers and a tv! And now I thnk they got a microwave out there now! I can barley get a 914 in there. And I get yelled at for using carb cleaner or tearing a motor down! It really Blows, especially in Oregon. I am going to make my own little paint booth out there so I can prep my car and not get yelled at some more.
Andy Rattley

Doug my car needs work...how far is cali from indiana...

At least you have a garage!

Okay.

I've got a stink'n single car garage but I've been turning an idea around in my head. If we had a few locals interested we could rent a multi-bay for wrench'n the cars. We don't have find teener owners only, we just need car geeks that can share. It would sure as hell be nice to have a little room to work around the car.

Yaddaya think?

KDF,

we were seriously considering that when I was in LA. Split among 3, 4 or 5 guys it wouldn't be too bad.
Just make sure you trust those that you go in with. It'd suck to lose some tools or a car, etc...

Im in if we can get enough guys to do it. I priced a place not too long ago in Huntington Beach and it was about $1200.00 a month. It was a 2 bay garage with a lift and air. There was actually enough room to put 3 cars inside and an office in front. Makes you go Hmmmm.......

seanery.
I rebuilt my car in a garage similar to yours....

Ger wheel dollies from home depot and put the car on dollies on all four wheels...I jacked mine up after I took out the engine and put the jack stands on the dollies.

Hang a blanket over the side you are not working on/from and push the car tight to the wall....that helped me alot...

Once you get the engine out, you have plenty of room to sit inside/under the engine bay....thats where you will spend alot of time....so once you get under there you are fine...

I got it up high enough to sit upright, all my tools where under the car (sved roon in the garage...

Good luck.

now I have a 36*130 barn.....

oh, I'm not taking the engine out. It's all good. It does need some paint under there, but that will have to wait until the weather gets warmer. I don't feel like painting in the cold.

I like the wheel dolly idea, may have to do that one.

if you put it on really high dollies like I did,,,and 24" jack stands, then engine fits under the front while you work on the engine bay.

Dollies are great for moving the car while in storage!!

Home Depot sells a nice heavy duty one that the tire fits in nicely.

I don't know how anybody could get any work done on a car in a one car garage. Good luck with that.



Wheel dollies? Home Depot? Tell me more please. Got pics?

A regular wooden dolly, about 16*16 with four pieces of wood...a box shape. good for alot of weight, check the wheel rating...in the isle with the tools,,,or ask.

Works fine, hold alot of weight, move the car with one hand...

I park some cars here and use them to sardine pack the cars.

Gotcha. Commonly known as furniture moving dollies. I thought that's what you meant. I had a scheme last winter to make some smaller dollies to put under jackstands.

Thanks.

They sell the small ones......

Thats what I did with the jack stands....

I've since moved beyond that . This winter's scheme may entail building a rotisserie.

Didn't mean to kipe your thread Sean.

Wheel dollies are great! I picked a two sets at menards
for $36 per set.

Menards has the wood furniture dollys on sale this week for $8.99. 770 lbs capacity.

I have a 22' X 24' garage. 1/2 is wood stove,wood storage, beer fridge, tool box and junk storage. The other 1/2 has a 68 Impalla SS convertable in it. Front clip is off of it and I'll be finished putting the new floor pans in this week. Next is new rear quarters, interior and then paint. Till then (or it warms up outside) no teener work is planned. Unless I can find another garage to rent.

Our previous house had a nominal 1-car enclosed carport (basically a tiny garage with no door) and no driveway to speak of. The house was basically built out to the sidewalk/street and this thing held one smallish car pretty well but working on anything was -tight-. The ONLY thing that saved my sanity is that the house had gobs of storage space inside plus also a large storage shed in the tiny back yard. I had the shed completely packed with all of my p-car stuff. The key is keeping things organized into well-labeled bins by "function" or regularity of access; i.e., make sure the stuff you need frequently is right at hand but the other stuff can be "buried" if need be due to space issues.

I think at one point we had 5 cars at that crackerbox house. That really sucked -- there were city street cleaning (ticketing) days twice a week and at least 3 cars were parked on the street. Oversleep by 5 minutes and the tickets are $40 a pop.

You want to see that garage get cleaned fast? tell who ever owned that furniture that you saw a family of mice living in it. Offer to bring the stuff to the land fill. After all, you can't bring that mice infested stuff in the house...... Problem solved

how about this ->

benno

Did the low rise this year, but here's a pic of one of my "dollys" on it's side.

While I'm here.................. a pic of my inner ear getting milled away by a plastic bushing.

Looks like your floor peeled up nicely.. mine just scratches in 2 seconds flat.


B

Outch... Benno, thats a small. But JP´s is huge.

And, I mean the size of the garage ....

At least you have access to your car on site. I have to drive north about 3 hours to get to mine....Stupid neighborhood covenants wield WAY too much power.


You bet. If I'm not already planning a trip up north to work on mine, I'd love to head on down. You're ahead of me on my orange one so whatever I watch/do at your place would be good practice for me.

Had a small garage when I spent a few years in NortDakota. Had a dirt floor too! Tried changing the oil when it was 10 F just for sumpin to do....

won't ever do that again.
Come to think of it, I'm sure it won't ever happen again cuz I'll never live there again

..........b