Shop rehab

[Lynn]

As some of you know, we moved to a new place last month.
Long story here: http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/592415/1

The workshop is going to be rehabbed to look like an old Sinclair station. Sherri wanted it to look like an old gas station. Most of the trim on our place is dark green, as is most of the trim on the other historic buildings in the area.

First pic is of the shop building as it is now.

Second pic is similar to what it will be. We will expand the foot print by about 450 feet and raise the ceiling in the shop area to 12 foot.

Third pic is the old Alemite cabinet we just made a deal on. Have to drive to Springfield MO to pick it up in a couple weeks, about 3/5 hours each way. It came out of an old Sinclair station. I am hoping to get pics of the original station. I want to do a tribute to that station as much as possible.

It will be a while before I post any progress pics, as we are still updating some of the main living area before we start on the shop.

Have I told you I am married to an angel?

[68l30]

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/drool.gif LOVE THE CABINET!!!!

Looking fwd to following this build, love the old service stations!


BIG

[Xplantdad]

That's great Lynn...looking forward to the progress reports!

[mockingbird812]

Outstanding Lynn! Love your idea. Can't wait to see your progress.

Can the monitors move this to the &quot;Garages/Shops&quot; forum (with its own thread) so we can find this down the road?

[Lynn]

I didn't even know we had a &quot;garage / shops&quot; forum.

DOH!

[SS427]

That is going to be very nice when done. Look forward to following along.

[Verne_Frantz]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SS427</div><div class="ubbcode-body">That is going to be very nice when done. Look forward to following along. </div></div>

Yep, Same here. The needle on my envy meter is already starting to rise....

Verne <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/drool.gif

[SS427]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Verne_Frantz</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The needle on my <span style="font-weight: bold">envy meter</span> is already starting to <span style="font-weight: bold">rise</span>....

</div></div>

So that is what you call it when you are over 60. Very interesting Vern..... <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/wink.gif

[Plowman]

This old garage is going to show you how to build an old service station into a &quot;Toy Box&quot;.

[mockingbird812]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Lynn</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I didn't even know we had a &quot;garage / shops&quot; forum.

DOH! </div></div>

The new forum was just started recently. Thanks for taking us along on your rehab! And yes, you merried an angel!!!! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif

[ORIGLS6]

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/cool.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/cool.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/cool.gif

[Lynn]

Picked up the cabinets this weekend. We were able to disassemble them, which took a good hour. Lots of screws.
Here they are in pieces (upper center section is upside down in this pic), along with pics of the grease guns, light fixture from the old station (one pictured, but we got two) old Alemite grease guns, and a small 1940's stand alone cabinet.
I was hoping the band around the top (about 10 inches from the to) was chrome, and it is. It has been painted over, but I peeled some of the paint with my fingernail to reveal very nice chrome with no pits.

[Lynn]

Although not directly related to the gas station workshop, we got a lot done in our main garage over the last two weekends.

The three bays at the very East end of the garage were odd shaped because of some support pillars. The center bay was 14+ foot wide, but the two outer bays were about 8 foot wide. Possible to get cars in there, but not easy. Also not quite possible to get two four post lifts where we wanted. So, I built giant headers out of LVL lumber and plywood, and we relocated the pillars about 18 inches inward (maybe a little more) giving us three 10 foot wide bays. We also got the two four post lifts installed.

You can see the headers installed in the pic below. You can also see we still have plenty of room in the center bay. Sherri gets my vote for wife of the year, heck wife of the century. After we finished relocating the final post this evening, she gets out the shop vac and starts vacuuming the garage!! I keep saying it, but I really am the luckiest man alive.

[SS427]

Looks great Lynn and I know what you mean about these wives. Ann recently sold her car and a couple of days later offered to re-roof and side our garage as well as finish off the inside so we can add 3-4 more bays to the shop space and turn it into a finish shop. Hell of a woman!

[mockingbird812]

Nice Lynn! How high is your ceiling where your Bimmer Roadster is?

[Lynn]

About 10 foot 8 inches.

[Lynn]

I need to move a couple of lights that are in the way. I have already double stacked the black bimmer and the Passat, so I know they will go.

I can't double stack trucks, but that is OK with me. The cars I have planned for the lifts will stack easily.

[Lynn]

I have a thread going over on the garage journal on the kitchen and game room remodel.

Just in case anyone is interested.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=4715814#post4715814

[mockingbird812]

We need updates Lynn! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/laugh.gif

[Lynn]

Wow. Haven't posted on this thread since March 15. Hmmmm. In my defense, we have gotten two of the kids married (both receptions at our home) and been busy with other projects. I am almost done converting the driveline on my 49 Studebaker Truck to Chevy Truck status. Put a 350 low rpm high torque roller cam motor (thanks Eric for the cam recommendation)and 4L60E electronic OD trans in the 68 El Camino, and Sherri's CL600 keeps me busy because of all the gizmos that came on it. No way I would drive that car if I had to actually pay someone to work on it. BTW, I replaced her little red MRoadster (I sold it to a friend when we got the MB) with another one, so will be selling the CL600, which is a magnificent machine, assuming you can work on it.... 543 HP (same TTV12 as the Maybach) and all the comfort you can imagine.

We have changed directions. I said we were rehabbing part of the inside of the house. We did re-do the kitchen and add a bar area to the upstairs game room. We also ended up doing a lot of work to the outside. Mostly done now. I don't have pics here at the office, but I will try and post some pics and a good update over the weekend.

Also, that little 21 x 22 building in the first post is NOT going to be my shop after all. We have divided it into 4 sections, two for general storage, one for auto parts and one fourth for Sherri's garden shed. Do I have a great wife or what?

The building next door to us is the County Red Cross headquarters. About 1600 feet of space, cinder block construction from the 50's with an addition and updating about 12 years ago. It is all handicap accessible (more on that later). When we heard they were selling the building, I put an offer in right away. I didn't want a tattoo parlor (or worse) going in next door. THEN, I did some research to find who owned the two vacant lots on the other side of the Red Cross building. We ended up purchasing the building and the two vacant lots. We offered, and the Red Cross accepted, to let them stay for a year rent free. Those empty lots used to be the Sinclair Station (Dewberry Sinclair). I found evidence of old monitoring wells for in ground tanks. I was able to finagle a RELEASE from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (the governing body for in ground tank issues) which means I cannot be held liable privately or publicly for any old leakage. They were small tanks, and have been removed.

Not sure what we are going to do with the Red Cross building when they move out. One reason we bought it is because it is handicap accessible. My Mom is 87 and may need some help in the next few years. She can't move in with us because all our living is upstairs and she has a hard time negotiating the stairs. So, the Red Cross is a possibility. Just have to wait and see.

So... we get to build a shop from scratch, which means I need to raise some scratch. I refuse to borrow money at this point in my life. We are very close to being able to break ground on a brand new shop that will look like a Sinclair station. My preliminary drawings are for 32 x 40. I have room to go bigger, but I REALLY want the shop to be only a shop and not storage. I have been blessed with plenty of storage space for spare engines, trannies etc. I am afraid if I make the shop too big, I will be tempted to drag home the &quot;find of the day&quot; every time I see another POS that can be saved. The only thing that MIGHT change that is if I decide I want a paint booth area. I don't think I do, even for priming and prep. Even though the Z/28 came out 10x better than I ever thought I could make a black car look, I really don't enjoy paint work that much. Plan to farm it out.
I will post some pics of my preliminary floor plans. I already have a good used Aamco two post 12,000 lb. lift, so can plan accordingly.

I have zero lot line requirements (one advantage to living in the central business historic district) but will have to jump through additional hoops to get everything approved (one disadvantage to living in the historic district). I am however, now serving on the Historic Preservation Commission, but will have to abstain from voting on my own application. I have met informally on the site with the current building inspector, and he didn't see any issues with what I am wanting to do

We have tried to find old pics of Dewberry Sinclair, but no luck yet. I believe it was built in the 30's or 40's and know it was still standing early 70's. I have an aerial pic from the 70's, but it had already been converted from a service station to something else by then.

[Xplantdad]

Cool stuff Lynn!

[mockingbird812]

Thanks for checking in. For the record, we WILL need photos of your new escapades before too long!! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/naughty.gif <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif