Is a garage necessary?

I have a question for all you rodders. I know that most of you probably do your custom thing in less then ideal conditions. My question is this, how necessary do YOU think a garage is?

I'm in the military and it'll be quite a long time until I have a garage of my own. The downside is I won't have a place to do my work in and store my cars. The upside to the military deal is that there is almost always a public garage on base that has more then enough equipment (lifts, power tools, etc. etc. etc.) to do the work.

This is fine for small projects. But I'm looking to take on something a little bit more radical. Do you think the weekend trips to a really nice public garage would be enough?

Thoughts and ideas........

 

I dont have a garage, work outside in Arizona. Usually nice out, except summer gets hot (start early, 5 hour lunch, work some more).

I got a small 10x20 shop to store tools in. Was working out of a 67 GMC bread truck before that.

How necessary depends on your environment more than anything.

 

Yeah, I mean whats the stipulations? Has to be in and out type thing in the public garage? Im assuming you cant just steal some space for a few months right? Have any space to put a tent up? Those things arent actually all that bad, and will probably be the first thing I do when we move for the interem month or two until I get a garage up. Ive done like most of us on here, driveway driveline swaps in the snow etc, so...

More than anything you need shelter from the environment Id say. Snow etc..if you ahve the space, check out a tent.

 

The thing that cripples me is lack of space. but I live in the Northeast where bad weather means you MUST have a garage. I'm currently doubling the size of my 30X24 garage and I already think I didn't go large enough!.

 

It is possible to do most small jobs in your situation while still driving the car. You didn't say what you have but where you get into problems is when you make the car immoveable for a period of days. Try jamming a front suspension back together with the old parts, some of which you discarded while waiting for new parts, and getting orders to leave your duty station for BFE the next hour, day or even week!! And this so you can trailer a dead car someplace which doesn't have a garage like you've used to working in every week. YEOW!
Make strict plans and keep to them. Keep the car alive as much as possible.
I feel for you, I had no such great facilities while I was in the Coast Guard and got orders with about 6 cars sitting around, one trailer, and only the 65 Ford pickup and the 54 Chevy pickup running. I won't go into what I had to do but it wasn't pretty or ecologically correct either.

 

i'm not sure what a "public garage" is

what you need is a place you can work on your stuff ,and you can do as you see fit without having to move it for someone ..and no one can steal your stuff or tools

public garage doesn't sound like it..just my 2 cents

 

Most GIs I knew referred to the public garage as the auto hobby shop. There were always all kinds of neat old cars at the base shops I visited on Army, Navy, and Air Force bases when growing up as a military dependent. I don't know about the Marine bases but must assume they had the amenities. As I mentioned the USCG had none.

 

for me I did not have a garage till I bought this house. My last house I had a large cement pad that I worked on. I would work in the morning and take the day off and work once the sun set. And in the winter I worked when it was dry.

Now I can work whenever and could not live without it. I went 30x25 and wish I could have gone bigger. The wife shot down the idea of filling in the pool which would have meant I would have a 70x30 shop and 30x25 cement pad. basically she got the pool restored and I got a shop.

as far as the public shop goes my brother was in the navy and would use the public shop sometimes but could not take on anything big because he either could not leave stuff there for extended periods or did not trust leaving anything there for extended periods.

I have another friend that rents a bay out of a shop where he keeps his projects. But if your military pay is like my brothers was renting a bay might not be an option.

 

Whats a garage?...............OLDBEET

 

Sorry for the confusion, they are as said above "auto hobby shops". The only problem I see with that is the whole overnight deal in case its more then a day's work.

I'm not planning on doing a frame-off project where it'll be months and months before she comes alive. But there will be some things that I know will take more then the alotted time

 

Here only some 200 miles south from Arctic circle the insulated warm garage is essential. Ten years ago I swapped an engine outside to my Triumph in a -27 degree (Celsius) and I'll newer do that again. Every time you touch a bolt you leave the layer of skin from your fingertips to it. Eventually you ran out of skin and later in the evening, when your fingers get warm and sence, the pain arrives.

 

I live on post right now with no garage. the problem is the hours of the craft shop 10-5pm, and the fact that as soon as I pop the hood of my truck to change spark plugs or anything the mp's show up and tell me I'm supposed to work in the craft shop. You are not going to do anything major like build a hot rod without a garage of your own to tear it down all the way. plus the fact of we don't get paid alot so it takes a while to save up to buy or accumulate the parts to build it. we move every 3 or less years unless you are deployed. so when you start making progress on your project its time to move (usually the other side of the planet) and you end up haveing to sell your hot rod. Its hard... make a plan and stick to it if you are serious. oh and buy a car hauling trailer so can take your project with you.

if you are not at least an E-5, i wouldn't even start trying, you just don't have the money. (unless your wife has a good job).

Good luck, just talking from experience, not saying it can't be done.

John

 

I'd start feeling out your friends who own homes and only use their garages for their daily for an arrangement. $50-100 goes a long way toward paying off a mortgage early and if the Honda sitting in the driveway is their only trade-off, it'd prolly be worthwhile. Especially while you're out there covering the rest of our asses serving in the military. Make the deal that any improvements you make (220v, lighting, etc) stay and you might find yourself in an ideal situation. Once you're there, though, remember that you're the car guy and ANYTIME their daily needs something that'd require a trip to any kind of shop, do it. Also, bringing home a case of oil twice a year and changing all the oil will help make it a win-win...

 

It's possible...I went from having a nice garage (living with parents ) to nothing and a gravel driveway. I couldn't imagine doing detailed work outside...I'd get dirt and grass and shit all in the wheel bearings for example

 

This weekend I rewired the lighting circuit on my truck in the street. Whenever I am under the truck I get a bit nervous that my leg will stick out a bit to far a get run over or me as I roll out from underneath. People tend to drive a bit fast down my street.
I've done topends in the street as well too. But, damn... I do wish I had a garage.

 

No....a garage isnt necessary. Neither is oxygen.

Me loves the garage.....

 

Ive almost built my whole truck without a garage, but id really say a garage is a must. I know id be alot closer to done if i had one...

 

In my younger days I thought nothing of laying in the dirt changing a transmission with my dog licking my ankles, but a garage is Mo Betta for sure, especially if you are prepping a car for paint.

 

Fortunately for me, our base housing had garages.

 

In my younger pre-garage days, I spent many a cold winter day/night, working outside with nothing for warmth but the trouble light bulb. I guess that if you want to do something badly enough, you'll do it. Be sure not to leave leftover cast iron parts in the grass, though.....it plays hell with the lawnmower blade.

 

For me it is a requirement. I'm looking to move now and the new place must have a workshop or room to build one. Once you have a shop, you'll accumulate so much that from then on, you'll always need a shop just to house your stuff.

 

Depends on how you are! and how cold it gets in your neighborhood. I couldn't live without mine!

 

Jesus mate if you were in England they would steal the car the garage and you in it.I can.t even imagine!!!

 

A garage is great, but probably not necessary for driver projects. IF the car is going to be completely down for a while, it would be hard to pull off in a public garage.

When I was in high school, my folks wouldn't even let me work on my old Jeep ('73 CJ5) in the driveway. I did everything from, brake jobs, exhaust installation, u-joint replacements and so-in in the street. My only worry was getting my legs run over!

 

I agree with all the input. Like I said above, I'm not going for a nothing-is-stock rod. Here's my plan........

'55 - '57 Chevy, exagerated gasser stance, removed bumpers, modified 350 sbc mated to a 4-speed and new rear axle, custom exhaust, traditional gasser wheels/tires, custom paint

Off the top of my head that's what my vision is. Everything I should be able to do myself. The exhaust might be a little tricky but hopefully there won't need to be too much fab. I'm trying to pick up the engine sooner then later and rebuild it here when the colder months come and then with the warmer months I'd like to have the car in my possession. I don't want to do extensive body work, and I would like rust to be at a minimum. Drivetrain and mechanical condition isn't my highest priority, I"m expecting to replace all of that

 

If you don't live somewhere the car can be on stands for 3 days, the answer is yes a garage is necessary. Even on common late model cars the simplest job like a bad wheel bearing, can turn into 3 days in a hurry when you suddenly need a junkyard-only part like a spindle.

But if you can leave it on a concrete pad, and have a fairly weathertight shed for parts storage, and have enough dedication to brave the weather, it can be done. Will I ever again? NO! I will go without a food budget before doing that twice.

 

You can rebuild the motor/trans/rear in the house, as long as you have an understanding spouse. Someone in our club rebuilt a sbf in a 3rd floor apartment once, just needed 3 stout friends to help carry it out. The straight-axle's gonna be a trick, as MIG welding outside on chassis components is asking for trouble, due to wind blowing away your shielding gas. If you were here, I'd let you use my garage for a week to do the straight axle swap for FREE just to be able to watch and learn...

 

I've done mechanical stuff like brakes and ignition, even a wheel hub, in the street in front of my apartment on two cars. Would work during the day when everyone's at work, and was very careful about any fluids or parts in the street. With the car up on a jack, I got out from under it whenever a car drove by, one little bump and I'd have been done. Finally after two years, a new neighbor complained, THREE cop cars showed up, and now I have to watch my back just checking the oil.

While I miss the guerilla aspect of it, it was kind of stressful and distracting from the work. If you can manage one of the alternatives mentioned in this post, I think you'll enjoy the work more, which to me is the most important thing. And if you're having fun with it, you'll be able to pay more attention to detail and be happier with the end result.

 

I built, and painted this car without a shop, oh yea, in alaska.I was 16. I installed the motor in the winter. It sucked.

 

Is a garage necessary...no, but it makes it more enjoyable. Are boots necessary...no, but they make 10 mile hikes more enjoyable. I've done the same as others, working in the apartment complex parking lot, street, gravel lot, driveway, and garage. If you can swing it, there is no substitute for a roof and four walls where you can work at your pace, and secure your stuff. My .02