Hot Rods What Do Guys Use for Long Term Overhead Car Storage Structure?

Hey guys,

I have Googled this a mul***ude of times. I have some ideas but am looking for what others use in my situation. Here's the story.

I have a bone stock 1926 Chevy Touring. The car was bought new by my great-grandfather in 1926. From there, it went to my grandpa, then my dad (@Tri5Ron). In November of 2019, my dad p***ed away very suddenly and unexpectedly.

The car is in excellent shape. In fact, I had it on display at Retro Rewind in Dubuque, IA in January 2020. After that and a couple more shows, my plan is to "put it on the shelf", quite literally.

I have a 24x40 detached shop with 12 foot ceilings, 16 foot at the peak. Space is an issue between my cars, projects, tools, and life. I am thinking of building a mezzanine ("shelf") to house this car. Once put away, it will probably never (or at least a really long time) come down. I have no plans of moving; driving it isn't my thing for fear of an accident. Needless to say, replacement value is no where near sentimental value on this one. I have no interest in selling it.

I have a 4 post hoist. There is no way I am going to put the car on that and tie up a hoist for simple storage. The hoist, however, would be great to use for loading and unloading the mezzanine.

The mezzanine I have planned would have the car on top and my lathe, mill, etc below. I don't need a bunch of headroom for those items so it is like doubling my space.

Specs on the car: Roughly 1,800#, 158" long, 68" wide, 76" tall.

What are your thoughts? Is a mezzanine a good idea? I am thinking wooden construction. I would consider steel. What do you guys use or does no one do this? I would love to see photos and/or just get a feel of how others have responded to a similar challenge.

Thanks

Vern

 

How high is the ceiling in your shop? Either wood or steel would work if built properly. Use what you are more comfortable with!








Bones

 

I have done similar with this old ‘keeper’. Although my ceiling height is a bit taller than you mention for your shop, you are on the right track. I would suggest you check into pallet racking to ***emble a elevated structure for your Chevy.

In another part of my shop I have used pallet racking to capitalize on unused overhead area and have done exactly as you mention. The lowest shelf is seven feet above the floor and the space below is where I have power tools. Drill press, band saw, disc/belt sander, etc. I added LED light fixtures on the underside of the shelf to adequately light the area for good visibility. I’ll have to look further for pics of that, but it is consistent with your idea.

Ray

 

Great. Its refreshing to hear that Im not totally crazy.

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You could always buy Sheila's She Shed and expand it.

 

If you put the roof down, folded the windscreen down and put smaller wheels on it, you would only need about 4’ of space...........
I would use steel, welded, but could be bolted. With timber you generally need deeper beams than for the same loading and span, than you would with steel, hence the reason for steel use in most large open span buildings.
There are calculations needed for what you propose, but at the least, I would use a steel beam where the wheels (weight) run and sit on . Timber could be spanning between where there is no direct load.

In the picture you show of it , it seems to be sitting comfortably on a combination of steel and wood.
The real issue is bracing the supporting structure. (So it doesn’t fall on your head in an earthquake type of thing.....)

 

Putting the top and the windshield down would give you more room, but I'm thinking you'd like to display it normally.

No reason not to use wood. Enough 4in by 4in uprights from the floor would support it well.
Of course, you can make your own beams and heavy duty headers by sandwiching 2-bys.

As far as loading or unloading...
Do you own a tractor or can you borrow one with a front-end loader? That's the easiest and safest and most maneuverable way I can think of.

Show us pictures when you get it done.

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I have a vintage 1953 CJ3B Willys Jeep. One of the websites I frequent, will occasionally show a picture of a Willys guy not too far from you up in Madison, Wi. I think his name is Joe DeYoung. In the background, you can see readily available commercial steel pallet racking with TWO levels of vintage Willys Jeeps on them. I think they would be in the same ballpark weight-wise as your Chev.
Your Welter Supply outlet in Dubuque does not keep any in stock at that location, but a short road trip to Monticello would get you a great sales lady (Sauser last name). She can show you samples and specs of everything they can supply. I just used them for some used pallet racking for our old warehouse building. Good people to work with.
Also, we already have kinda what you are talking about in a corner of our building. I was constructed in the seventies by a John Deere dealer. It has 4x4 wooden uprights and beams, 2x12 joists with 3/4" flooring. We have lots of machine stuff.....welder, drill press, lathe etc. underneath it with lights under the upper level. We are actually going to duplicate it in another corner of the building. I will be putting lighter stuff, but also engines on pallets up there.
To get your car up on whatever you build, you would probably need a good friend with a telehandler of some sort and some simple wooden rigging under the car. Have fun.

 

I built my shelves in the garage like this, so they didn't have any supports from the floor taking up room.

I'm thinking that if you really wanted to have a platform up there with nearly no supports to obstruct the view of the car, a good strong platform attached to the wall studs and a heavy-duty chain at each front corner of the platform and to beams spanning the roof joists to spread the load would support it just fine. And look good too. Stain and urethane the wood platform. Make it fancy.

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Got the picture of my shelves.



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Don’t forget lightning rods

 

why not join the local chevy club and drive it! if you are afraid of accidents just stay in bed, keep one eye open for meteors and plane crashes

 

This will easily hold 2x the weight of that car probably 4x since the pallet rack shelves are rated for 3000 or 6000 each shelf. Plus it’s not exactly permanent and there’s minimal loss in framing members.
These are cut to 8’ , almost went 7-6 but it cut my shelf height. I didn’t loose **** in framing/structure height.


Here’s what my buddy did for his Depot Hack
He burned up 24 with micro lambs and joist. Job leftovers and he’s got 21” ceilings and a forklift so he didn’t care about things like headroom, over all height and accessibility.

 

Since your garage pictured I ***ume is 24 feet wide Check with your local contractor supply lumber yard about LVL microlam support beams. They can give load spec's . I think three 8 foot apart spanning the 24 foot back wall ,supported by shoulder studs in your outer walls. decking over them front to back with 2x12's I would think would more than support that load . I work full time as a carpenter and we use these all the time in load bearing situations. I am planning to do something similar in my horse barns back storage area were some of my projects and parts are stored . Because that area spans 48 feet I will be using steel, but I am an experienced structural welder. All I have to do is buy the 4 post lift, But since I am converting that part of the barn to also store and service my work trucks its a perfect combination! good luck and a great idea. It would be nice to have room for stairs to show that beauty off to people. Larry

 

Steel I Beam and posts for the mezzanine/machine shop, tool room underneath. I'd try like hell to situate your 4 post hoist so you can drive the Chevy on it, raise the hoist up to mezzanine level, then drive the Chevy straight onto the mezzanine and park it. I'd keep the car in running condition as it would be real easy to bring it down and take it for a quick spin.
It's a beautiful car. I vote for getting that car out once in awhile; cruise night, parades, retirement homes, etc.
Betcha all of your forefathers would like that...

 

I'm with Mark, it won't be 6 months until it is covered in dust and dirt. It would be easy enough to get some 4x8 sheets of plexigl*** and build an enclosure so you could still see it and keep it clean at the same time. And even doing that, dust will find a way to get in, look at the Corvette that was sealed up behind a brick wall at a grocery store with only a small window to look in, when it was removed it was filthy and the paint was destroyed.

 

Dust and debris considerations aside, some of the recommendations here for wood structures would support an Army tank!

This shelving unit is promoted as supporting 5000 lbs. Now, I might trust it for about 10% of that load, but it takes a lot less structure than you might at first think to support a 3000 lb vehicle. Ordinarily, I am a ‘Hell ‘fer stout’ fabricator. Things I make do not break.

I recommended pallet racking, as have other posters, because it is very strong, designed to support huge loads, is relatively inexpensive, especially in the used market, readily available in a variety of dimensions and is very easy to erect. I have a bunch of it in my building. And the shelving sections are wire mesh with support brackets spanning to the side beams. I use 1/2” plywood sheets to spread the ‘footprint’ of items on the shelves. Check it out, you’ll see the possibilities.

Ray

 

Everybody needs a car trailer. Enclosed of course. Roll it under the new car port on the side of the garage. Plug in a dehumidifier and a small heater it'll be snug as a bug in a rug. Easy to drop the door and take it for a spin when spring gets here.

 

I agree with redo32 - enclosed trailer

 

What Tractor guy and Miss Vicky posted....those pallet racks are the now.....build a shop around them like I'll do....

 

I ***ume you are going to put it along the wall. Twelve foot is not going to leave you much to work under if you leave the roof/windshield up. Depending on the type of support it still might not be enough with everything down if your above average height.

 

Then again another hoist might not be much more than building the mezzanine.

 

There isn't a local Chevy club near me. I drive the **** out of everything I have. This one is the only exception. It's lived, abuse free, for 94 years. I don't want to be the guy to ruin it. Plus, it isn't smart to drive in my opinion. 2 wheel mechanical brakes, wooden wheels, etc. Parades are fine. Traffic would be a nightmare. John and Jane Public are too distracted to take that chance.

 

Yes, that is how I plan to load and unload the car, via the hoist. I do plan on displaying the car in tact adn having the option to "get it down" without too much h***le.

 

Pallet racking is a great idea. Truthfully, I never thought of that until it was mentioned.

We use pallet racking at work so I am familiar with the local dealers and the weight it can hold.

I also like the "plexigl*** box" idea.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. Keep them coming.

When I get to building it, I will add to this thread.

Thanks again. HAMB to the rescue.

 

I think your question could be better answered in this forum

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/

.

 

Well of course you would! You know that is good advice for you young single guys. Go ahead and park a car or two inside your house, a la Moriarity, so that when you meet the gal who will become your wife you have established an important house rule for the future. Your chances of parking a car in your Rec Room after getting married are otherwise nil.

 

two wheel brakes are better than one drum brake in the drive shaft on a model T and i drive the hell out of them. will it stop on a dime? hell no. ever drive a loaded dump truck or semi? will it stop? hell no. you learn to drive accordingly. the other guy? well what the hell can you do about that? its no more likely to get hit than a modern car, and even more visible than a motorcycle, yet many of us still ride motorcycles. keep it on the ground and drive it, thats what your dad intended when he gave it to you. its not a hugely valuable car, and most likely worth more now in nice shape than it will be after sitting in iowa humidity and rotting for ten or twenty years. i live in minnesota, i know what the swamp does to cars even stored inside. me personally, the only thing i would store is a future project, or some show car like an ed roth mobil, and then it would go in the living room. anything i dont use enough to justify owning, i sell it and use the money to buy something that excites me enough to justify having it. just my thoughts on the matter, best wishes