Hot Rods My Garage is like a Human Bug Light!

My neighbors are scared of my dog...

 

First off - Am I the only one that read the title of this thread as "My garage is like a human BUD light"??? It's 7:00 AM, and I already have beer on the brain...

I just converted an old garage (24x40) I used for storage into a dedicated shop for my cars. Problem is, the garage is located next to a busy convenience store that I own. I can't work with the doors open without several of my customers sticking their heads in to say "hi" or to find out what I'm working on. I also get a bunch of looky-loos and story tellers. Usually I don't mind unless the guy is a total pinhead.

I DO always make a point to causually mention the centrally monitored alarm system and the video security system protecting all of my goodies.

It's not an ideal siuation, but it's the first dedicated shop I have had and I am loving it.

 

I live in a 90 home development. From the outside it looks like a one car garage under the house. Inside it's a 5 car hot rod shop. Been here for 25 years and I think either nobody knows what's going on here or they don't care.

I had one kid that wanted to make it his new hangout. As much as I wanted to share the world of hotrods with him, I had to chase him away cause I like working alone. Company breaks my focus on what I'm doing.

Once a year we throw a little get together that ties in with a local show. Usually, 8 or so hotrods will line the street in front of my house. No outside visitors drop in. I guess they don't care. It works for me.

 

I don't mind people stopping by in the daylight hours to chat(after all, I am the only mechanic in town!)
But once the sun goes down, that's time to work on my stuff, and I prefer to be alone, but I won't chase anyone away.
The only people that really bother me is the ones without that built in "clock". You know, that one that tells you that you have chatted long enough, and it's time to move on? Some people were just born "clock-delete".

 

I have a 1000' driveway and you can't see anything from the road, I don't usually get random people but often get visitors. if I need to get something done, I close the iron gate ( galvanized sch 40 Pipe salvaged from work). I don't mind company usually....especially if they bring a 30 pack...

cheers!

 

We called our old shop the "Mens' Crisis Center" because every time the door was open the neighbors stopped. Lots of questions--not much work done.

 

The neighbors always stop in to see what's going on or get stuff fixed- which is fine because usually once you fix their car a few times they tend not to complain about the late nights of beating and banging or starting cars up with open headers after midnight. We do try to keep the noise to a minimum. Occasionally someone will stop in to ask if a car is for sale, but since the garage sits back behind the house and off the road a ways and there's a 100 lb doberman in the backyard they don't go all the way back unless they now us.

The biggest thing to be leery of as was said before is people checking your place out to see what they can steal. That happened to my dad years ago when he listed his '67 Nova for sale- a couple of guys came over to look at the car but took an interest in all the tools that were neatly hanging on the walls of the garage. 2 days later someone drove through up to the garage through the field behind it and took just about everything they could grab. The guys were never caught, but he was always sure it was the men who looked at the car.

 

Constantly an issue. I do more talking than working it seems sometimes. Mostly the older guys in town want to stand and remember the old days. Met a few cool guys and some are a real pain. Comes with the cars I suppose.

 

I get the guys who are trying to get their lives together since getting off of crack and would like to sell me magazines.......They never have good car magazines.

 

I live in the sticks no one walks up to the shop around here at night.

 

I'd keep a close eye on'em....

 

I'm in the process of building a garage, and my wife wants to know why it will be turned at a 45 degree angle with the door opening to the rear. I tell her it will be easier to turn my car around, but you have hit on the actual reason.

 

My shop is in the backyard of an empty townhouse, downtown Frankfurt. If I leave the gate open (cause I expect someone) then occasionally people come in to see if the house is for sale.
The most annoying thing is that I have the radio on, my welder's fan is going, I have the mask on and maybe I am even grinding something but they don't bother to come one foot behind my back not saying a word.

Them: "So, you're working on old cars, do you?"
Me (standing there, dirty, tools in hand, amidst three 40 to 80 year old automobiles in pieces): "Wow, how did you realize?!"

Basically I don't like too many people to know that there's something precious on that property but the entertaining encounters outrun those I find fishy, so I leave the gate open purposely from time to time. I've had a curious elder lady with down syndrome walking in lately. She was obviously coming from some sheltered workshop, carrying a lunchbox. She pointed at my 2CV laughing, singing "Yeah, seventies!!" and giving me thumbs up, leaving highly entertained by herself (and the view of my Citroen).

..that was at the same degree surreal and exhilarant.

 

Or idiots that have to tell me they had a Chevelle just like that back when. Only thing is, my car is a Nova. Ugh!

 

It usually just friends and neighbors who stop by when the garage door is open.

 

The same with me - my garage is behind my house and is a "side loader" so no open doors face the street - so that tends to minimize folks just popping in save for my neighbors. I always try to help them out when I can and try not to make too much noise beyond 8PM. I just do the heavy stuff before and the lighter stuff after hours. The wife loves to call the garage our "summer cottage" and loves planting around it, making it look nice and such. Not too bad a deal, really ....

 

I attract everything but the local HAMBers. I've even had the local constabulary stop by on occaision to see how the next lumpy rumbly masterpiece is comming along.

 

I get the curious ones that tend to pop in from time to time but I have found more deals with these old timers then I ever did in my old neighborhood.. one guy asked me to come check out a motor he had for sale.. turns out his late 60s t bucket was sitting there and for sale!. the tags read 1978 last car show sticker on window was 1977,spindle mount wires on front,x intake and all chrome suspension and axles..He said he parked it in 78 and it has not moved then said " i will sell it to ya cheap as I see you always building something in your garage".. I live in pretty much a retirement neighborhood .haha.. these old timers all have hidden treasures and come hang out from time to time...

 

My house is on a corner lot, next to a creek/greenbelt where people exercise, walk dogs, etc. I get a few regulars. Some I like. Some...not so much.

I like to have brief company sometimes. At least they're all friendly. And nobody seems to be casing the joint. Yet.

dka

 

I took last week off to finish putting the '38 together. I pulled it out of the garage to work on it. I had the Fed Ex man stop and visit, the postman, a City cop, a neighbor who wanted me to buff his Suburban out, several joggers, and one gal who wanted to know if I'd restore their '50 Ford. That was in about 8 hours. The truck has taken 6 years to get to this point and many of the visitors comment that they've watched it ever since I first put it in the garage. I'm flattered folks feel at ease enough to come up to talk cars.

 

Making glass is a lot of fun & keeps the garage HOT even in an Illinois winter I could work in short & a T-shirt ! The VH tape job was for laying out measurements for making a roof for an other coupe .

 

The last guy that stopped by and said "I used to have one of those" ended up STILL having a hell of a stash of parts in his garage. I ended up buying some stuff and he gave me even more parts for free! We are now buddys and Im still getting parts from the guy... That makes up for all the others that want to know if your selling your "old cars"..

 

I get the same thing, people walk up my driveway and right into my garage. I don't mind when it's someone who's actually curious. I do mind when I'm obviously getting a bit annoyed with something I'm working on, maybe cussing under my breath and throwing a wrench, but they still venture on in and start asking questions when it's clear that "now is not the time".

I also don't like when someone walks on over, starts talking to me and isn't looking at me at all. . . instead their eyeballing my garage, scanning everything in it. Makes me think that they're planning on coming back to help themselves to something while I'm not around.

 

I just made a mistake , I am restoring 1949 Crosley coolerator now I will never get people to leave my garage, they will fill it with beer & stay until its gone ! I got to get thrashing on my Willys !

 

When I was building stock cars, I'd be working in the evening and once in a while I'd look up and there would be a kid or two on bikes in the driveway watching. We'd let them check the car out and give them small jobs to do like holding something that needed to be cut, which they thought was cool.

Bob

 

my driveway's like that, folks just come on 'em. A cop drove up in his cop casr and said, "There's a report that some of these cars might be stolen." I said, "no, they're not, they're all owned by me." He said, "aw man, I'm just kidding, I have a '64 Ford Galaxie, I just wanted to check 'em out!"

 

I live 400 ft off the highway and don't get too many people down the driveway now but when I lived in Texas I met two of my best friends when they stopped to visit while I was working in the carport and then garage at one time or another.

I have more people stopping to try to buy what I have sitting out in the yard than stopping to see what I'm doing in the garage. Living on one of the main North/South highways in the state I get a lot of guy who are traveling by and want to see if the old truck by the old farm house is for sale.

 

My garage is behind my carport. The carport is 30 ft from the street and full of neat old stuff that lights up. I used to live on a dead end street but a few years ago it was opened up for a new subdivision of upscale houses.



Most of my "looky-loo's" are from the new houses and out for an evening walk. People love to talk about the old stuff but when I've had enough, I'll grab the grinder or torch and say "well, time for me to get back to work" insert *GRINDING NOISES AND SPARKS* here.

One Saturday at dusk I'm running the drill press (and tunes) in the garage but hear noises in the carport. I look out and there's a whole family looking up at the old bikes hanging from the rafters. The gold chainers had driven their '59 Cad convert 150 miles to visit his brother and take in a car show. They were going to leave on Sunday but now waiting until Monday to get the Caddy towed to a repair shop because it won't start.

I tell him I'll look at it. 5 minutes later it's running after I unjam the Bendix off the flywheel. Gold Chainer Dad hands me 200 bucks. I tell him "You don't need to do that, I just like old cars"... He insists paying me, saying I saved him over double that and next time he wants another tour of the carport.

 

I live on a dead end in a yuppie neighborhood.... Only time anyone comes by is to say that I'm making too much noise.... Blah.