Anybody work without a garage?

What a PITA! I have a small shop that the car won't fit in. No hope of the situation changing. All my work, except for small jobs, must be done when the weather is nice. Don't want to be whining, but are there others who have to work the same way? I guess hot rod season is April through October for me in Wisconsin.
Tom

 

That's been my curse all of my life. Everything's twice as hard, dealing with Mother Nature! I feel your pain.

 

Not since I lived with my folks....but I did several engine rebuilds and one engine swap out in the Arizona dirt back then. As well as bodywork and priming, but I took my truck over to my friends house (with a carport) for paint.

It must really suck with the weather you get up there.

 

Worked that way all my life.

I now actually have a one car garage but it is full of car, parts and tools, and I am working on my daily in the driveway. The granddaughter and I actually fired the daily last winter for the first time on a 15 degree day, then took the float bowls off to clean them put them back on and fired it again. This is an engine that hadn't run since '81 or '82.

I have built entire vehicles with about 18" of snow on the ground. You don't get much body work done in that type of weather but you can do about anything mechanical.


All that said now that I am getting older it is becoming less and less appealing. I don't deal with the extreme cold or extreme heat as well as I used to.

 

Before you start feeling too put upon, search the past here. There was a guy in Canada last winter doing some major work on a driver early 50's Ford pick up. He was working out side laying on a piece of cardboard, and having to drive it some with no glass in the cab. This was in I think Jan or Feb?
I couldn't do it, but he's tough.

 

Yes, it does!
Tom

 

A lot of old timers I know have garages but there too full of junk to work inside 'em so they do their thing outside. Plus they say its easier to see things in the sun light.

 

Yup. For ten years I worked on my rides behind my boss's office building on weekends. He got a storage shed for me to keep my tools in and a good third of my time was spent draggin' tools into the sun and out of the rain.

 

Back when I was young I did it all the time. Never had the right tools for the job. I had to use my brain to come up with ways to do things.

You can bring somethings in side if you don't have a wife or have a very good one. I can remember building a motor in my bedroom floor. No stand, did it on the floor and rolled it out on a dolly.

 

brought the rearend from the truck inside the house to work on, when we blew it up at the drags, while folks were out of town for a week or two. gear oil + carpet = not good

 

I once rebuilt an AMC 390 in a spare bedroom. Had to modify a hand truck to get it outside. Those were the good old days! I once again find myself without a garage. At least in AZ the winter/spring is usually dry and moderate.

Mike

 

Yeah it sucks. I'll never do bodywork or primer outside again, made a week job last a month, constantly uncovering, recovering, cleaning, re-cleaning, waiting till the wind died down to spray. Pulling motors no big deal, I've even done those in the rain.

 

Well I do have a one car garage but right now I can only go through it sideways. the frame sits out in front in the area I usually work in.

Right now the spot where my shadow is is my normal work area for working on cars. The tent style garage thingie blew down in a wind storm last year.

 

There have been lots of engines trannys and rears built in the living room over the years. The wife doesn't seem to mind.

Actually several motor cycles completely built in the house as well. Its just too damned hard to get the car inside or I would have probably done that also.

 

Hey man, some of the best rods in history have been built outside.

The only problem is the neighbors see you and want to come over and drink all your beer.

Butch

 

That's awesome!

 

Motor bikes in the bedroom, thats a classic. I rebuilt a BSA in big bedroom when i lived in a shared house. Had to drop the swing arm and rear wheel of it as i wouldn't go past the top stairs and took 5 of us to get it out. Funny as hell but a great memory. Have to admit i've painted a few cars outside but always got good results as long as you damp the whole area down before. Oh the joys of playing with old tin!!!!

 

.....and then you drink beer and stop working and do the "lets stand and BS" for a few hours, pack up and realise you've got nothing done and have no beer left!

or.......

Have every old guy in the area pass your drive and tell you "I had one of those" and talk your ears off when actually they didn't have one, they are senile and would talk to a tree just as much as talk to you.

 

All I got is a car tarp tent deal. It stays slightly warmer and dryer inside than completely being outside.

 

I immediately thought of the guy from Ohio I think..in the snow unratrodding an old ford.
guess you gotta go with the hand you're delt.

 

My DADDY always said if you are going to be dumb you better be tough.

 

I moved out of my apartment with a two car garage ( feels like it took years to get there ) in NY and onto a boat in New Orleans. Back to the parking lot. I know snow is worse, but 95* with 95% humidity is brutal.

 

last winter was the first i spent indoors in the last 7 years. gettin real civilized now, wood stove and a 16x16 addition to the one car garage/barn. i worked under a tarp with no heat, 35 degrees was my cut off to cold below that. this only proves one thing "u gotta want it"

 

We have all been there. It shows the level of commitment, and separates the "car guys" from the....well anything else you can come up with.

 

I just finished spraying my truck in the driveway. Had to move the wife's car out to the street to do it. And the driveway has too much angle to put anything up on jack stands. My stuff mostly stays on the street and gets worked on in the street, although, sometimes my 9x12 shed can house the Lambretta. Gotta work with what I have!
Conor

 

Heck, if you had a garage it might end up like mine. Two garage doors covering a big space packed with parts and stuff and junk, my old T bucket chassis stacked with 4 rearends, three early Ford front ends, steering columns, the T body, etc. etc. 2 work benches stacked with parts, tools, drill press, a gigantic cash register my kids played with, shelving units and cubby holes packed with car magazines, parts, chemicals, a commercial sewing machine, a couple rolls of naugahyde, plywood, lumber, a 3-carbed inline 250 Chevy six, a ready to go rebuilt stock 59A flathead V8, a to-be-built 283 V8, HA, the list goes on. And what work gets done gets done in the drive just like always before I even had a garage BUT the closets and spare room don't have all the stuff mentioned above in them so I do still have a wife.

 

Yep.......do it all the time. It ain't easy when it's cold......but it ain't gonna get done any other way. At least I have a carport..... but damn it gets breezy at times.

 

X2- Who you calling a Old Timer? I'm not gray, it's primer and I haven't decided what color yet!

 

I had to do it, out of necessity mostly.
trans swap laying on ice, ( it helped slide the old one out and slide the new one back under) but cold as hell to lay on and set wrenches on,
than i moved up to a shed, where i could at least get out of the weather to do small tasks.

had one for 5 to 6 years, than moved and didnt have for over 9 years..really glad i have a place to work now

 

Always wanted a garage. Now I have a real nice 25X25 with a 25' apron.
Gray Baskerville said it best," If you only have a carport, ya just dont collect so much crap". Shoulda heard that first. Pasadenahotrod, I thought I posted that till ya said 59A. I have 3 motorcycles and a kit car in mine. Its also where the KEG lives so I do spend quality time out there.