Norcam's GM Garage Themes

[NorCam]

I've been posting random pics of my garage in the common thread for the past couple years and figured I have enough of my renovations finished to start a thread showing the work completed over the past while. Being an oil and gas collector and a bit of GM nut I have spent the past couple years retrofitting my home garage and the back work shop into automotive themed work spaces.

This main garage area is designed to showcase my cars and a collection of vintage oil, gas and automobilia. It's the clean area and was recently finished off with new flooring, some vintage GM porcelain signs and a collection of vintage gas pumps. This stuff is fun to collect and really compliments the cars in a cool way. Hope you enjoy the mini tour of my small spaces.

http://image.ibb.co/nHDYe7/IMG_2255.jpg
(Main triple garage that's attached to my home with private drive)

http://image.ibb.co/kWqoe7/IMG_2041_1.jpg
(Just a few of the gas pumps I have restored over the years. Another addiction of mine)

http://image.ibb.co/fC7n6n/IMG_9096_1.jpg
(A couple of early GM and AC Delco signs that were recently acquired and hung between the bays)

http://image.ibb.co/jzi5sS/IMG_5432_1.jpg
(The walls are draped with high resolution images I had blown up and applied to adhesive vinyl wall panels)

http://image.ibb.co/iXxWXS/IMG_9196_1.jpg
(I just finished off the wall to the right side of the man door and hung this third GM shield earlier today)

http://image.ibb.co/b5NqsS/New_Garage.jpg
(This side of the garage shows my growing collection of GM and other automotive themed signs and collectibles. I just finished the Race Deck flooring off yesterday)

http://image.ibb.co/na8oCS/IMG_9042_1.jpg
(Various collectibles were added to the window area complete with a handful of GM cans and small signs)

http://image.ibb.co/mADVsS/GM_Wall.jpg
(This is my main feature wall. We built the pump island from wood and finished it to look like concrete. It's powered with 110V plugs on a wireless remote)

http://image.ibb.co/c5Pgz7/BW_Pumps.jpg
(Revere lights cap of the island and bring the whole 1940's theme to life. Looks great in black and white here as well)

[NorCam]

Here is the back shop. A 24'x30' stand-alone triple garage used as my work shop space with a 4 post lift, fully plumbed compressor, mig welder and just about everything needed for working on and/or building cars. Most of the vintage signs hanging around this shop are tire related and it gives off a nice clean look within this back shop. It’s still gets dirty in here from time to time, but most of the time it’s just a tripping hazard with parts all over the place.

http://image.ibb.co/nfVqRn/Back_Shop.jpg
(The back shop which is set back behind our home. The reverse footprint to our attached triple garage in the first post)

http://image.ibb.co/nz3rz7/IMG_4698_1.jpg
(Great little shop for working on cars, installing new drive lines or doing a total frame off restoration)

http://image.ibb.co/iCah6n/IMG_4937_1.jpg
Great friendships are built in this shop while working on various projects or drinking beers. Here we were installing a rollerized small block)

http://image.ibb.co/fBhbz7/IMG_4801_1.jpg
(The easy-run engine stand I use to break in camshafts and run the engines in while checking for leaks)

http://image.ibb.co/jtDS6n/IMG_4766_1.png
(Occasionally it’s known for flaming a few eye brows and creating some excitement while starting motors)

http://image.ibb.co/idTfsS/IMG_4863_1.jpg
(A great place to start teaching my kids how to turn wrenches, and how to tear down an engine)

http://image.ibb.co/bMb3e7/IMG_4926_1.jpg
(Every once in a while it turns into Muncieville as I’m swapping around a few freshly built transmissions)

http://image.ibb.co/ffXLRn/IMG_7871_1.jpg
(A shot of the 69 Z/28 sitting on the lift with freshly painted parts curing on the ramps)

http://image.ibb.co/nJdGz7/IMG_7983_1.jpg
(The other side of the shop where I have recently added a couple more signs. I still have a few more to hang out here before it’s done)

http://image.ibb.co/cwn1z7/Dash.jpg
(A rare occasion where I finally got started on some firewall work before hitting a snag. Forgot to order a couple parts that were needed)

[Salvatore]

man they are great shops Graeme. Glad to see your son turning some wrenches.

[L78M22Rag]

Great looking shop Graeme! Thanks for posting a thread. Looks like you have a lot on the go...

[x77-69z28]

Amazing Graeme! Very motivational. I'm gonna go put another coat of spackle on my 20 year old Sheetrock!
Buddy

[Crush]

Awesome! Lots of questions as I’m finalizing my garage build
How do you like race deck so far?
The vinyl wall coverings, did you find a local co to blow up a photo from internet and did they install?
You are giving me lots of ideas. Love gas pumps too!

[67 Nova Boy]

I must say...very impressive shop! Love the battery station Graeme ...

The work shop is a must...wish I had that much room!

Dave
67 Nova Boy

[Xplantdad]

Very nice!:beers:

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

Love every bit of this!!

Be proud!!

Ryan W.

[Burd]

That is sweet. I've been buying black covers myself, look,the best.

[NorCam]

How do you like race deck so far?
The vinyl wall coverings, did you find a local co to blow up a photo from internet and did they install?


I've always been into cool old photographs of things like vintage gas stations and such. The trick is to find an image you like in high resolution that makes a great wall print. You can then upload the pictures to EazyWallz.com (https://www.eazywallz.com/) and position/crop it according to the size you need. Once you submit it they take the image, clean it up if needed and send you a proof before they apply it to the vinyl. It's then rolled up on peel away transfer sheets and shipped via Fedex using a shipping tube. These guys are based in Montreal Canada (I'm sure there are suitable companies Stateside) and I have used them numerous times as the service is great.

In terms of applying it, you start on the top left side and hang it like wall paper. Starting at the top edge you then peel away the backing paper as you work down the vinyl from top to bottom in 6-10" increments. You take your time to keep things straight with no air pockets or wrinkles and smooth it onto the wall with your hands while working down from side to side in a sweeping motion. It's pretty easy if you take your time, and anyone who can align wall paper patterns can do this with their eyes closed. It's a really well suited task for most women as they do have that special attention to detail when it comes to designing. Important thing is to have a clean surface to apply it to. It's not very hard to hang and is re-positional if you need adjust it at the top when getting started. The trick is to get the first sheet bang on as the rest will always follow the first panel. The more intricate the design or picture, the more work required to align each panel perfectly at the seams. Trick is never pull or stretch the panels out of shape or you can distort the sheet and then aligning the images can become a pain. Each panels varies between 24"-28" inches wide and are all uniform cuts depending on total wall size. Biggest one I have done was 22' wide x 9' and that had about 10 or 11 panels.

As for the Race Deck flooring, in my opinion it's the best stuff out there. I've used it many times and prefer the Free Flow panels as they let water or spills drop through to the floor to dry up. Easy to add a design while locking the tiles in place and you can tear a couple seams and pull it out in spring/fall to sweep the floor and spray things down if needed. The stuff rocks and the cheapest place to buy it is from Amazon at $2.69 a square. Measure your floor space then go to the Race Deck's website (http://racedeck.com/garage-floor-designer/) to create your own design before ordering tiles. It will tell you how many tiles are needed in each color before you order it. Don't forget to figure in the edges you'll need around the outside. They come in male/female ramp style edges and there are corner pieces to consider also. If you need help they have sales assistants that can help you over the phone. Lots of styles to choose from, but my go to tile is the Free Flow.

[olredalert]

----Looking at your great garages I'm wondering where you do your paint work? It must be elsewhere or you would get paint dust everywhere! Just a guess......Bill S

[NorCam]

I have a small tack barn setup as a paint room with fresh air intake & exhaust that I use to paint my gas pumps and any small projects but that's as far as I go for painting Bill. It's also seasonal as I only paint in the summer out there. For my cars I use a Pro who's been doing my stuff for the past 15 years or so and does great work. In the future I am hoping to build a large shop and will be including a professional booth, but that's still a year or two down the roads with my plans. :)

http://image.ibb.co/iGijMn/IMG_1924.jpg

http://image.ibb.co/mwCN7S/IMG_1927.jpg

http://image.ibb.co/cL9PMn/IMG_1965.jpg

http://image.ibb.co/g0Otgn/IMG_7265.jpg

[dykstra]

Way cool!!!!

[bilede]

Looks good Norcam! I have a place for one of those pumps.. :)

[NorCam]

Looks good Norcam! I have a place for one of those pumps.. :)

I have a couple more pumps to restore yet and one more pump I'm going to cut loose. I'll likely part with the Red Indian pump which is a rare SSE 176 Sales Master and a one year only pump. It's available for sale or a possible trade on something really special? (Like an April 69 DZ 302)

[Keith Seymore]

Awesome, awesome, awesome.

I hope you don't mind if I steal a few ideas.

K

[Keith Seymore]

(Occasionally it’s known for flaming a few eye brows and creating some excitement while starting motors)

I've been known to singe a few eyebrows (my own, and/or other persons) myself. In fact, my family has a "clock" drawn on the chalkboard in the kitchen labeled "Days since Dad has caught himself on fire".

I flamed my engine builder at the racetrack in Atlanta one year. He proudly showed me his new helmet at the next event:

[SMS]

Really sweet garage, decor and cars.