The Shop at Pop's Garage
The Garage
For what was originally planned as a "hobby" space, our shop is much more sophisticated and capable than
what most car hobbyists have available. A long time was spent planning the space to meet these goals:
- Meet the county's requirements for size and placement.
- Fit in with the architectural aesthetics of our somewhat rural location.
- Have a ceiling height tall enough to allow the installation of a two post lift.
- Have sufficient concrete strength to allow the installation of a two post lift.
- Have adequate electrical capacity with both 110 and 220 volt outlets conveniently placed.
- Be well lit both with natural and artificial light..
- Have a sequestration area that can be isolated from the rest of the shop area when needed.
- Have storage space for tools, parts, supplies, and documentation.
The final design is a 1290 square foot structure with 10 foot high walls, an open gambrel (barn) roof, and a
12 foot by 23 foot interior room with an overhead garage door to allow it to be closed off from the rest of the
shop. Lighting comes from six window in the side walls at ground level and four windows in the gables and
from strings of fluorescent lights along the walls and on the ceiling of the interior room. Four 220 volt outlets
provide power for the air compressor, lift, and portable tools. 110 volt outlets are located at six locations.
At the time we were building the shop in 2009 I kept a build diary to keep our family and friends updated on its
progress. If you're interested in seeing it go up you can click on the link below.
Shop Resources
We're lucky to have most of the equipment that we need for our projects. Some of it is common to any shop,
but some of it is more specialized or expensive. What we currently have includes:
- Toolboxes with hand tools for both SAE and metric fasteners
- Metal cutting, shaping, drilling, threading, grinding, and sanding tools
- Clamps, vises, and other holding tools and fixtures
- A MIG welder
- Oxy-acetylene torch for welding and cutting
- Plasma cutter
- Induction heating tool for fastener removal
- A variety of pneumatic tools
- Metal shaping and bodywork tools and supplies
- Paint preparation and application tools and supplies
- An engine assembly stand
- Lifting and hoisting tools
- Jack stands and supports in a variety of capacities and heights
- Drill presses
- Belt and disc sanders
- An extensive library of manuals and reference material
There are still a few things that would make the shop more capable and expand the scope of what
we're currently able to teach. Ideally we would like to acquire:
- A lathe at least 24 inches between centers with at least a 6 inch swing, 220 volt single phase
- A vertical Bridgeport type mill, 220 volt single phase
- Lathe and mill tooling
- A TIG welder, 220 volt single phase
- Powdercoating equipment and supplies
- A press brake
- A metal shear
- A slip roll
- A tubing bender with a capacity of at least 2 inch diameter, .120 DOM tubing
- Motor's or Chilton's repair and flat rate manuals from before 1980
- Domestic and foreign factory shop manuals
If you have any of these that you would like to donate to the shop please
let us know. In addition we would
be delighted to receive donations of trucks and cars manufactured before 1980 as well as useable parts for
vehicles of the same vintage. In certain cases we would be able to pay a token amount to purchase these
items and we would be happy to pay for shipping. Again, please let us know.
