Apartment people where do you work on your rides?

My parents live a few towns over. Annoying to drive half an hour to work on my stuff, but don't have street space for two cars and a bike.

 

I live in Orange County and have a apartment. I am lucky to have a attach garage currently. Small as hell though. Running compressors is just about impossible. If you pop a breaker you better know where they are or be friends with the maintenance workers, last summer I was painting my car `55 Plymouth and pop the breaker. 6 garages with no working door openers all night. I couldn’t find the breaker box. Neighbors were pissed they couldn’t park in their garages. I’ve used 50 foot extension cords as well out to the street. You can do it most neighbors are cool with the noise just have plenty of cold beer.

 

I work in Santa Clarita and have a no no no way apartment til December. If I get picked up (contract) then its Santa Monica but a shop near work would be fine

 

apartments suck. had some dickhead security come by and hassle me for "working on my car" in my space... told him the battery was dead and I was giving it a jump. he then continued talking about how I can't work on my car in the complex....what was I supposed to do, push it out to the street to jump start it? told him screw you and continued with what I was doing.

same complex. my 61 Dodge has so much car behind the rear wheels the back 2 feet of my car was out in the rain when I parked in my covered spot, so I backed it in which caused management to flip out. no backing cars in to the spot.

moved to a 1600 sq ft shop. now I do whatever the fuck I want.

 

49ratfink, you couldnt back into a parking space? brother thats a new one on me.lol.i havent lived in a apartment in 45 yrs. and that was just for a few weeks until my parents house was done.my wife and i always have had our own place.i have never had this kinda problem but i do feel bad for you guys who do.i had a friend who lived in a apartment and went on vacation. had 2 cars,no asigned parking spots. when he came back his 50 ford was gone. the apt.manager had it towed away because it hadnt moved in a few weeks.said thwe car was abandoned and had in removed.he was gone for 4weeks.when he finally found his car it was about a 2ft sq.block of metal. so be very careful with what you do.

 

I just knew someone was going to post a picture of a motor being rebuilt in the living room or kitchen..... Im betting you were single when this pic was taken.

MrC.

 

I havent had a garage in 3 years. Just had to call in a few favors and beg my folks to let me do the engine swap in there garage

 

LOL. I used to keep my motorcycle in my apartment, 2nd floor. It was a pretty dodgey neighborhood so.. Id ride it up the step and right inside. Im actually rather amazed no one ever said anything to me about it. I painted the tank on the porch and all the sanding in the place.

Though i did paint a car in the drive. Outside of a neighbor that was positive that the fumes would kill him from 500 feet away.. It came out rather nice, he even admitted it after doing that fake coughing bull.

 

I had an idea 'til you said Santa Monica.
I'm afraid the West-side probably won't be easier than my (Hollywood) side of town but
my suggestion would be to start putting it out on Craigslist and see what comes back.
If the job sticks, you might be able to rent a house w' garage. Some people are looking to wait 'til the real estate market turns around by finding a tenant til they can sell.
Meantime if a situation in the Glendale/ Atwater area for your cars would help, PM me.
-Steve

 

I would try to find a house to rent, That seems like the best option for ya. good luck.

 

Know the area all to well. Moved away about 3 years back and had a condo with 2 car tandum garage with what seemed like 10amps of power only. Just enough for garage opener and lighting. The no work rule there and all of SC is unreal. Did all my heavy work at work. Still work out there, making 100 mile round trip M-F.

 

Changed the 351C and Toploader out of my old 38 coupe and swapped it with a built one from the XA Falcon I had parked next to it in the parking lot to my Barracks Block when I was at the Army Parachute School. We lived on the next door Navy Base. So a 38 Coupe with all the front off of it and spread around with half a Falcon parked next to it caused some interesting conversations with the Navy Coxswains and the Para School R.S.M!
I got yelled at a lot.
Bloody girls, should of heard them go on when I got the 28 A RPU project there. Anyone would think a half built, rusty, car in parts all over the manicured Navy Base was an eye saw!!

Do what you gotta do, where you gotta do it!!

Doc.

 

Not the final solution, but most of the miltary bases I worked on had an auto hobby shop. In some of them, you could even pay a small fee to securely store your project (outside, under a tarp or something but still locked at night behind the fence). I used them many, many times to install hop up parts, springs / shocks, to change a tranny, routine maintenance, etc. It was also a good place to network for welding, body and paint work, etc. Forgot to add, I took a class at junior college to learn body work and ended up getting my car painted on the cheap, too. Gary

 

that's why i live in the backwoods. land is cheep, people don't bitch and cities are for homos.

 

I got some of the most progress done in my life when I lived in an apartment and rented a shop = no yard work

 

Yeah it's amazing having a 15 minute commute - used to be an hour each way from home to sears point and no yard work to fight - all kinda time and some money but cars are at home ha ha
One guy at work suggested a small airport hangar. Craigslist for rental is a good idea thanks

 

Darnell's Do it Yourself Garage. He don't let no punk kids in though. And don't get smart with him.

 

Never been accused of being smart .

 

Sadly no Bases over here have facility's like that, the most we get is a Canteen (That also sells some electrical goods) and the 'Boozer', that is usually the center point of the unit, no matter if you drink or not!!

Doc.

 

My brother is in a quiet apartment complex and his neighbor took a 2 car garage space there and has a early 70s corvette stingray in there sideways with the body off the frame... its all re-done and not a grease bomb but pretty funny to see when hes out there putting his new parts on. Nobody cares as long as its quiet and not suspicious looking and shit everywhere.

 

I wasn't aware it was still legal to do much of anything in southern CA.

 

i would find a mom and pop body shop that would rent a stall to you. my friend used to do that all the time he would rent a stall to do custom and restoration work at a collision shop the owners would love it cause the collision customer would come and see something like a 57 continental getting restored and get all excited over it. and would give him the job. plus you get to use the booth

 

your so correct

 

And remember, No smoking

 

In the parking lot! (Unfortunately.) In my apartment complex, it's not allowed ... but if you don't disturb others or cause any obvious safety hazards, you can get away with a lot of repairs. Head gasket and exhaust replacement, suspension rebuild, minor bodywork, and so on. I would hesitate to spray paint because of overspray concerns.

It does make me really nervous, though. I never want to leave the car on jackstands without me there for even a minute, for fear that some child would wander under there.

So, as long as I can get the car down off the stands and with all body parts intact at the end of the weekend, I will do a lot of stuff. But some things, I can't do.

 

You asked for it, 3rd floor engine rebuild, it was funny to see people faces when me and my friend was getting this engine down stairs then a drive to a small garage with rebuild engine in the trunk and in it went where it suppose to be. If i need to work on the car i ask my friends who have a garage to let me use it or i go to a big mall parking lot as far from other cars/people as possible and do some work there (suspension, small engine repairs, i have even painted a car in a mall parking lot)

 

apartments suck. i moved to the sticks where i can do my own thing with out being hasseled. my shop and i cater to the apartment folk in doing so......

 

Get a small rent a shop with an office..... May not be fun but if you can afford it and a small apartment in the suburbs thats what i would do if i wasnt single.