Garages/Shops: Let's See Where You Work on Your VWs

[John P]

Your garage looks too clean to me.  Do you really work in there?  Mine is usually pretty organized, but I store most of my VW parts in it not to mention all of my tools so it looks like 10lbs of sh#t in a 5lb bag.

All the time. I've done several engine and tranny pulls, brake jobs, etc in there. I put wood boards down on the floor for really dirty work. And I focus on keeping it clean.

I do better work if my environment is really clean. It's my Zen thing.

Grinding, sanding, painting and major cleaning are done in my basement.

JP

[John P]

Walls? We don't need no stinkin' walls!



Nice compact space, nice compact car. Small is beautiful.



Honey, I bought another project; I had to, as it was such a deal!



Once again, my dream hoist



Suitably rustic

[John P]

Maybe my garage isn't that small...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BiLxeienT0

[John P]

I love this space - wooden floors, exposed beams, etc.

[baked beetle]

Here are a few pics of our shop.

Customers notch I build a stock motor for. Customers Red 59 getting dual carbs and new interior. Our blue 63' and pink race car and our oval up top there.

[John P]

Here are a few pics of our shop.

Nice space (and lift).

American Excess



And on the Inside



More

[QuickKafer]

John,
      Who the hell do you think you are to break into my compound, photograph my stable and then post it on the internet for every tom, dick and harry hater to see?

Scott Faivre

(Yeah! I WISH!!!  Eh, gimme a few more years, lets see what I come up with...  )

[Donny B.]

This one is kinda cool. 

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2011/06/20/jacks-12-gauge-garage/?refer=news

[John P]

This one is kinda cool.  

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2011/06/20/jacks-12-gauge-garage/?refer=news

Yep, that's Jack's garage. What I like is that he has done all of the work himself, on a budget, and it's well set-up for working on his car.

"I first posted a thread about my garage back in March of 2009. I called it the ‘Poor Man’s Retro Retreat’ back then because my budget for it had been low ($500) and I’d used a kind of old-fashioned color scheme when I painted it. It’s a garage I’ve liked a lot. It’s had everything I’ve needed. I’ve gotten a lot of work done in it.

So naturally, I had to go through and re-do pretty much every component in the place.

Why? Blame this board. It gets you thinking about different ideas and projects for the garage every time you visit. I know a lot of you out there know what I’m talking about.

Since so much has changed, I’m going to start a new thread about it. If that bugs you, I apologize. Click the close button on the window and move on. If the moderators don’t like it, they can merge this with the old thread. I don’t want to clutter up the board unnecessarily.

The garage can’t really be called the ‘Poor Man’s Retro Retreat’ anymore because I’ve spent too much money on it. It’s still pretty modest, by the standards of many of the garages on this board. It’s pretty humble, still -- a suburban two-car garage tucked around behind the house on my tiny 1/8-acre lot.

But by my own personal standards (I’m very cheap), it’s now a pretty expensive operation. I would guess that I’ve now put another $2,000 into the place. (It kind of blows my mind that the cost of a place like ‘The Bunker” -- which is awesome, don’t get me wrong -- would pay for my re-do and 399 other garages just like mine. But you do what you can with whatever you’ve got -- and this is what I did.)"









Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=obUW6irQYJ4

[John P]

Sweet bike in front of a clean, industrial design-type garage.

\

Beautiful lines on the bike:

[John P]

Okay, soon it will be my turn! This garage project has been in the works for a long time, and finally, we broke ground and started to make headway on my new shop. Photos show as we begin to cut the "pad" and compact the dirt. With all the county inspectors, soil engineers, and permits, it has been a long haul. And yes, they even let me dig some holes!

Dean,

Any progress/updates?

[John P]

Let's look at uber clean, well laid-out race shops this time...

(They are almost as clean as Jake's.  )









And another...

[John P]

While the race shops above are obviously completely over the top, intended to impress owners and sponsors, it does imply a state of mental discipline and pride of ownership by the mechanics.

Or mental instability; "A clean desk is a sure sign of a sick mind." Perhaps.

When I managed a VW shop 20 years ago, it was your average looking, old brick building with 3 large bays. Nothing special, and certainly not spotless. But we swept the floors every night. And you always wiped the tools clean before you put them back in the tool box. We worked hard to keep the benches organized (so that they didn't become storage places) and wiped clean before each new project. And you always had a rag handy to keep your hands wiped from time to time.

Every great mechanic I've ever met has had an organized layout. Every mechanic that I've met that has nothing but chaos around them makes errors. There is a frenetic rush about the place, where quality tends to suffer.

But then I may be projecting.

I remember the first time I saw Art Thraen's old shop. He was (among other things) in the middle of a 48 IDA rebuild. The workbench was spotless, carburetors neatly disassembled on a shop towel, and the necessary tools for the project were neatly laid out. The rest of the workspace was suitably well organized.

That's the type of person I want working on my stuff; they should care about the process and result at least as much as I do.

Off my soapbox.

My 1.5 cents.

JP

[John P]

Pre-recession garage pics (dude, I think you need more crap).





Post-recessions garage pics

[Dave Conklin (Cornpanzers)]

While the race shops above are obviously completely over the top, intended to impress owners and sponsors, it does imply a state of mental discipline and pride of ownership by the mechanics.

Or mental instability; "A clean desk is a sure sign of a sick mind." Perhaps.

When I managed a VW shop 20 years ago, it was your average looking, old brick building with 3 large bays. Nothing special, and certainly not spotless. But we swept the floors every night. And you always wiped the tools clean before you put them back in the tool box. We worked hard to keep the benches organized (so that they didn't become storage places) and wiped clean before each new project. And you always had a rag handy to keep your hands wiped from time to time.

Every great mechanic I've ever met has had an organized layout. Every mechanic that I've met that has nothing but chaos around them makes errors. There is a frenetic rush about the place, where quality tends to suffer.

But then I may be projecting.

That's the type of person I want working on my stuff; they should care about the process and result at least as much as I do.

Off my soapbox.

I think you are just trying to justify your work ethic. =)

[Bricelyn]

[John P]

Nice Mustang above.

Some more stuff:

Cool Old Workbenches





Ceiling Revision

This is what I plan to eventually do to the inside of my garage when I remove the ceiling in order to gain height for a lift.



Old Gerstner Journeyman's Chest

A hell of a lot cooler than a new, red tool box.

[John P]

Cool Old Building Converted Into a Custom Bicycle Shop

Before



During



After





With Cool Vintage Machines













And the Product

[John P]

Cool Art-Deco Craftsman Garage

[John P]

I love old tools/machines. It reminds me of working with my grandfather in his wood shop as a kid.

More...

[CORPSEGRINDER]

my hovel, compared to you guys spaces...

[John P]

I wish I was so lucky as to have a two-bay "hovel" like that.