Folks Of Interest Building Cars in a two car garage

I hang around on a Morris Minor web page and those guys in the UK...they have really really tiny shops...I am thankful every time I see their shops... my current shop...for the next 2 years at least...built 5...4 cylinder race cars in it and probably at least 10 old rusty crusty heaps stuff since 2002...current rust bucket...

 

Started The Peter Beater 'in' an 8x8 shed. Tore that down and built a 10x16. Now I have a nice garage...but it's still too small and full of junk.

 

Not sure how guys complain about building in two car garages? I've built my last 4 cars in single car shops, and two of them in a 10'x20' soft cover canopy. If you really want to build, you can do so in any space that your car fits in. It's more about desire.
Sure a huge shop, with tons of room to stage things makes it all easier, but it isn't a show stopper if you don't have it!

This was about 7 years ago building my Falcon gasser in a Costco canopy.

 

A two car garage works for me. The engine and transmission are currently out so Im pushing them around on their stands each day I work on it.

All my other to be added parts hang on the wall.

I just put in a garage heater so I can get a lot more done over the winter while we are "at home".

 

I worked on my truck for 5 years in the driveway in front of my one stall garage. There was no room in the garage because of another project stored there. The truck probably could have been done sooner if it was inside because I had to take the winters off. Of course, with the tools inside the garage it would have been pretty cramped. You do what you have to do!

 

I can't imagine what I'd do with all the extra space if I had a two car garage.! Quit yr bitchin'

 

In 69 or 70 I was in my first house in Las Cruces NM, I had a car port and a little lockable storage area at one end. I built my first engine in that carport (a 289) for my 63 Fairlane. At the time I thought I was living I was really living when I built the 38 in a two car garage.
Life is even better now Can't remember who I borrowed the chain hoist or swing set.

 

I built 11 cars in 18 years out of my old 2 car.



-Abone.

 

Even with a two car garage, sometimes I still find myself working outside.

 

Years ago I rented a place that didn't even have a driveway, but at least it was on a dead end street. Built a couple of air cooled VW motors on the kitchen table, then lugged them out to the street and installed them. I did a lot of car projects out there; surprisingly, nobody ever complained about it.

My uncle used to rent the second story of an old house, and got the attached one stall barn in the deal. When he rebuilt the 327 that was in his '69 Z/28, there wasn't enough room to do it, but there was plenty of space in the loft, so he took a few measurements and cut a hole in the floor for a trap door. Then we got a good workout with a come along hoisting the motor out of the car and up to the second floor. It wasn't heated out there, but the kitchen was accessible through a door, so it was easy to get warm and cleaned up.

 

When my brother and I were young, our dad had a 4-car garage built. It was 24x60 feet, but was not finished until I started building dirt modifieds in 74. We hand poured the floor, hung 2 doors, and boarded up the outer 2 doors. I wired it for 220 v 100 amp. It was great...

But, it was unheatable in the winter. No insulation whatsoever and being that big, I didn't want to try to heat it with wood. So what to do???

Well we also had a 16x18 post and beam barn that I had also wired. That's where I actually built the cars over winters. Wood stove, 100 amp 220 service, oh and the first winter no big door to get the car in or out. Why I didn't burn it to theground is beyond me. All wood floor and cutting torches are probably not a good idea, however I was lucky and never burned anything up or down...

1st house my wife and I owned had a 12 x 22 attached garage, but the front 3 feet weren't much good as the entry to the garage from the house came up 5 steps from the lower level of the house. By the last year we lived there we had 3 cars...

Next house had a 2 car 24x24, which seemed HUGE after the 1st house. 3rd house had an attached 20x20, and by now the fleet was up to 4 cars. And tools kept multiplying since the little barn.

3 years ago for mobility issues we had a new house built, with an attached 24x30 garage. Finally! Enough room again, but then more stuff multiplied, so a 12x20 shed for storage was acquired. It full already.

I tell you guys, its a disease we have. And I'm not looking for a cure!

 

Just an aside, here's the 1st car built in the 16x18 barn with a stick welder, a 3/8 pistol drill, a 9-inch grinder, and a basic Craftsman (mostly) tool set. Iknow not a great picture, but its the only one I have from the car's first race, at Fonda ( the Valley was closed that night).

 

My dad built his second late model in this garage, off topic body

 

Started working on cars in my parents single car garage as a teenager. I did a lot of work in there. Later in life bought that house from them. Worked in that garage again for a few years.
Guys at work were all talking about building bigger garages. As they planned and plotted, so did I. I asked one of them what they planned on doing with their old garage. He said he was going to knock it down, and pay to have it hauled away. I told him not to knock it down, I would come get it. It was a modest 22x22 garage in decent shape. We disassembled the roof, separated the walls at the corners, and placed them on my car trailer. I ended up adding 8 feet to the depth of the garage. Turned out to be a great working space for me.
Cost me a slab, roofing materials, and siding.
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

 

Car guys are the ultimate recyclers. Nice save

 

Yellow (not Lime Green) 1951 Oldsmobile Sedan in the two car garage circa 1956 (The Olds Sedan was painted a Lime Green in late 1957)

Hello,

We had a recreation room, but it was for actual recreation, ping pong, couches, a small radio, our dad’s fishing poles, an outboard motor and a long redwood table and benches for parties.

When we started working on cars of all kinds, in our small two car garage at the tract house built in the late 40s, it was a hassle. But, that is what 90% of the people in the neighborhood did, although the yards were quite large(deep) people just used the yard or garage. Our mom would not allow a car to sit on the backyard grass and our dad needed the driveway to get out in the morning to go to work. So, we were stuck by time constraints and location.
1958... Check out the tucked in, 58 Impala (chromed roof vent) on the narrow left side of the two car garage.

First, in order for a second car on the left to be able to get out onto this concrete driveway with grass in the middle, one had to back the 51 Oldsmobile /58 Impala out while the big Buick Roadmaster sedan was still in the garage. So, constant backing out, going forward, turning the wheels, then backing out/turning the wheels (no power steering, either) a few more times, finally got us to the grassy area next to the concrete driveway pad. Now, it was just a question to back up into the actual driveway.


Then, in order to get the 51 Oldsmobile sedan into the left side of a two car garage, we had to cut down a closet door and side panels high enough to clear the front of the hood and bumpers. When the 58 Impala rolled in, we had to adjust the cut again to fit the Impala’s different dimensions. Access to the 51 Oldsmobile and the 58 Impala was difficult as there was a wooden cabinet/workbench on that side of the garage. Our dad had first priority and took up as much space as necessary to get in and out of his big Buick sedans. this house was built in 1946-47 and at the time, most families only had one car, so there was a side door to the garage and a built in concrete sink for clothes washing. Our mom used a washboard in one of the sinks and the rinse in the other, before taking them outside to dry on some clotheslines behind the garage.


To make matters worse, when both cars were in their spaces, and we had to do some work on our 51 Oldsmobile or 58 Impala, we had to crawl in the driver’s side window and gently back up either car straight back to make room in front for motor work. The time-consuming thing was having to move our dad’s Buick out in the street and then move the Oldsmobile or Impala over, centering it in the garage floor surface.


Jnaki


When we needed a chain pulley for lifting things, we had to secure an extra 4x6 beam from the ground to the cross members of 2x4s. That gave enough space and strength to lift a hood, manifold with carbs, a motor of any kind or just anything that needed lifting. All in the comforts of a two-car garage.

We did have a way to get our cars out. We tried several times to back the Oldsmobile and Impala back out without having to move our dad’s buicks out to street. It was successful and difficult because we did not have power steering,but we were able to back our cars out and leave. We tried to drive into the empty spot on the left side of the garage. But, we deemed it too narrow and shaky.

When we did motor work on the two teenage cars, we had to wait for our dad to go to work or else, we had to park his car on the street. He hated it when his car was parked on the street under those Jacaranda trees. But, there were times when we had to work inside of the two car garage. The actual work space inside the garage was nice. The concrete floor kept the garage cool during the hot summers and we actually needed a heater during the winter months.

Since the overhead support beams held the chain engine hoist, it was our primary “front of any car” work space. But as simple as we made it with the 4x6 support beam, we had to disassemble all of it prior to our dad coming home from work. In that section of the two car garage, there was no work when the big Buick sedan was in its right side space.

Finally, for a daily drive in and out situations, 4 people with 4 cars in a two-car garage had two cars always outside. The sedan delivery was one, and a VW van was the other. My mom and dad’s individual cars were in the garage. (A Chevy and big Buick. ) We taught our mom to back up and move her car over after our dad went to work. That way, she had access to the long driveway for errands and shopping. She never dinged her car in all of the time going back and forth to get her car over to the right side of the garage.

Thanks for the support…

We bought the house in 1953 and when we sold the house in 1998, the “newish-looking” 2x4 supports were still bolted to the original color, wooden, cross beams, high up in the rafters of the normal, 2 car garage. (the 4x6, floor to rafter, support beam, was cut up and used for beach firewood, many years earlier.)

 

I worked in the street in front of my house for years..

 

I once cried because I had no socks, until I met a man that had no feet...

All kidding aside, my shop got a lot bigger when I traded my Dodge for the T!

 

Here's my "one car garage".
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See, there's only one car in it (okay, a tractor too)!

Man, a lot of humble bragging going on in this thread (I built my car in a ditch on the side of a dirt road using only a screw driver and a rusty pair of ViseGrips )! Like most of us, I started messing with cars before I owned a house or a garage. I worked outside in the driveway and had a little two drawer workbox with minimal tools. I still remember the big deal of buying my first floor jack which I still have. Over the years with hard work I was able to buy my first house and then built a 25'x30' two car garage. Had a buddy come over with a backhoe to did the footing wall trenches and then poured a footing and laid a block frost wall. I made the mistake of buying 12" culls because they were cheaper than new 8" blocks. The problem is they weigh a lot more than 8" blocks. Man, that was a lot of work!

Most of my life I had regular two car garages and always dreamed of having a big shop. When I retired a few years ago I relocated to rural northern NV and got a 5 acre property specifically so I could build a shop. My thinking was small house with lots of shop space and out buildings. Found a property with a 1300 s/f house but no garage. Bought a couple shipping containers to store my crap and then built the shop and a quickie 12'x20' attached garage. Eventually built a bunch of other out buildings to store stuff and I'm not done yet. The shop was built with the last photo below in mind. I have cut outs in the container walls and the slab is level with the container floor so I can wheel stuff in and out.

The thing is, I can build a car in a one car garage if I had to but I worked my ass off all my life so I wouldn't have to. Now, I'm no "pro" car builder but I just want to spend the rest of my days playing around with cars and having fun. I made having a nice shop with a lift and all the tools and equipment I want a priority and now I get to enjoy it all. There are times when I just grab a lawn chair and sit in the shop enjoying a beverage and looking around enjoying the moment and appreciating what I have.

Kudos to anyone working in a small garage but don't disparage those of us who have bigger shops.

 

The benefits of a truck build in a two car garage is that you can always throw spare parts into the bed.

 

Keep going

 

NEVER had a garage growing up in Phx, AZ. in the 60's...built this '37 sedan and '40 Chevy in a one car
carport, including spraying the '37 canary yellow. When you're a true hot rodder, where there's a will
there's a way. And, I put a tilt front end on the '40..without a welder....