Hot Rods Do you folks crave shop time??

I don't have a builders shop. I have a 40x60 cold storage building that I use for my business. No heat or A/C. No insulation and a dirt floor.
All the junk I drag home to resell goes in there to be redistributed. It's set up with tools,air compressor welder,torch,tire machine,work bench and pallet racking. A 14'x25' area set aside for vehicle and any other tearing down needed and the rest is storage. No signs or automobilia decorations. I sell all of that. There is no beer fridge or stereo and only 1 chair. The roll up doors and service doors are only open to get something in or out otherwise hot or cold the doors are closed. If I am in it it's for work. People stopping by are either buying something or selling something. I meet my friends at their fancy artsy shops to BS.

 

Hello,

I wish there was time during the big home purchase we had 20+ years ago. I was much younger then and had the perfect home/garage situation ready to go. Our son was supposed to live with us until he was situated for his future, my wife’s dad was by himself and needed a place to stay not called a “senior living facility.”

So, we had just sold our house that we had lived in for 24 years and it was time to move on in our family history. Since there were three needs to be serviced, we got a 3000 s.q. ft. house with a three car garage. There was so much space that we felt like ping pong balls being tossed around every day. But, we did use all of the rooms in the house and yes even the three car garage.

As it came to be after our plans to include our son and my wife’s old dad, they both had plans of their own. Her dad wanted to stay in their house of 20 years despite being by himself, now. Our son was going to move into an apartment with several friends because he got a new job to pay for it.

Our huge house was a nicely done home and had plenty of space for the two of us. Including the space in the garage, to not worry about hitting the door of the station wagon sitting in the next stall. A full garage space + enough room for a nice long workbench + cabinets and drawers. And two cars sitting next to the empty stall just waiting for us to get to our next hot rod build project.

Jnaki

Sitting around thinking of going out to the garage to start a project was a nice vision. No qualms about spending money on any phase of a new project for the both of us. So, we looked and saw plenty of starter projects + semi-finished hot rods, but, nothing sparkled for the both of us. So, we decided to spread our wings and move in a different direction for us, doing some activity together. The activity was sailing. We could do the same thing together and have fun in the process.

We have always loved the ocean and what it brought to the table in the form of relaxing and serenity. Then surfing always brought a smile across when riding the wave was as challenging as they usually were. But, to have something that the both of us could do together was going to be the “thing.” So, for the next three straight weeks, we sailed together in a variety of classes from beginner to advanced racing classes and got enough skills to move in our own direction.

The hot rod project still had a home waiting, but this was going to be an intervention of being together, like we were in college. Then, it was a long line of sailboats from 25 feet to 33 feet. It gave us a new direction of an activity that we both enjoyed, being together and learning as a coordinated effort to get us where we wanted to go in nature’s vast blue waters. The sailing adventures lasted 17 years until a knee injury prevented a 100% ability to continue.

Note:

Despite the empty stall as a three car garage provided, there was a lot of work going on in that vast space for home construction and improvements. But, at the end of the day, the whole garage space was for two cars and a insulated walled room with white wall to wall and as high as some portions would allow, tall cabinets. Still calling for a hot rod project of sorts… The huge house, as nice as it was, sold after the two year minimum requirement and we moved to a much nicer, smaller final house… YRMV

 

I bought a new house last year, one of the draws to this home for me was the 30x40 insulated stick built garage. Also has its own well and bathroom out there. For the first time in 59 years I have room for my cars and tools.
My wife has mentioned to me how much happier and involved in the hobby now. No kidding, hard for me to work on things at this age laying on a cold driveway in bad weather! I joined this site in 08’ and I think I had about 50 posts before last year. Why? Because now I’m wrenching more than I ever have in my life!

 

I escaped from NYS 5-years ago. It was almost a year before I got my new shop built and moved my cars & equipment in and it was useable. Worst time in my life in the last 50-years, including my fight with cancer. I NEED my shop!

 

As a car guy it’s natural that your shop is your happy place, it’s where you work on the thing that makes you happy. I have tools and a welder at home in my little two car garage with one electrical outlet, and it is my sanctuary. I have more tools and a bigger welder and three bays at work, and it is a place where I get stressed, tired, and worn down. That’s because I’d rather work on a Ford Model A at home than a Tesla Model S at work.

I have a situation that prevents me from doing much of anything at my home shop lately. After having a baby, my wife’s writing career started to get some traction. She still works a full time job, so that means whenever I’m at home she has to work on writing or editing and I have to take care of our son. So I’ve had to hit pause on the work I would be doing at night or on weekends.

Unfortunately, I did not adjust easily to my new reality. Without my shop time I became a real asshole. I felt like a caged animal. It took me while to accept it an just roll with it. After all, her books are bringing in extra money and my hobby just costs me money. Plus I need to concentrate on trying to be a good dad, and spending time with my son needs to take priority.

For about a year and a half, the garage was like a time capsule from a week before he was born. The tools just sat exactly where I had left them. The garage became less of a happy place and more of a place to remind me of how little I’ve accomplished. But as he gets older things are changing. He is 2yrs old now and loves going out to the garage with me. Every weekend we usually just go out there and hang out. He loves sweeping, so I hand him a broom and just show him stuff. I still haven’t gotten to a point where I can work because I have to keep a constant eye on him the whole time.

So I may not be out there fabricating or turning a wrench, but it’s back to being a happy place.

 

As soon as my wife sends me to the store . HAHAHAHahahah!!!!

 

I was 63 when I moved in with my better half, told her I needed to build a garage for my tools etc., Spent the next year building a 24 by 30 garage with a walk up attic for additional storage, did it all myself except the concrete. It is my
escape space, makes me get up and keep buzy, good for my physical and mental health.

 

I've got the time. I crave the shop!

 

The older I get the more I enjoy fabrication and garage time. Once a car is finished I miss the work. Right now I'm into a project for sure. Bought a complete 32 five window (my fifth one) last September and going from a stock full fendered car to an old school hiboy. I have been working on it almost some part of everyday. It sure helped me get through the winter. Hope I am around long enough to finish it. Car was a trunk car that was converted to a rumble car and now I converted it back to a trunk car. And that was just the beginning. Love my Garage.