I still like garage time
 

I had not had a garage at home for 30 years .
I had my shop with all the tools and equipment one would ever need, but working on my car at work , felt like ......being at work .
I don't even have my home garage completely done yet, I just got electric ran this summer, but boy is this is going to be a game changer for tinkering .
I have been trying to spend 2 evenings out there a week . Its great therapy .
Sometimes, I dont even work on cars, I just listen to the radio and clean up or organize .
Any of you guys still enjoy tinkering with cars in your spare time ?
Oh, and working on the floor , without a lift , is not that bad . After being on my feet all day, laying on a creeper, or sitting on a milk crate or stool is kind of nice .

I am 70 years old and I still like garage time. Last winter I bought a motorcycle that did not run. I got it running, painted it and rode it a couple months, then sold it. Two weeks ago I bought a $500 van. Spent $500 fixing and should get $2500 for it. Not about the money. I enjoy taking something that does not run and making it road worthy again.

I miss garage time. I get a little here and there but not much and my garage is not that conducive.

Funny you should post this, Fred.

Just today I decided to put a small window shaker AC in one of my garage windows so I can do stuff in there for a change, instead of limiting my time to short periods while sweating profusely in this Florida summer climate.

I still intend to install a mini-split at some point - maybe this winter.

Once I get her climate controlled it will be a game changer.

I already have a stereo (two of them actually), a mini-fridge, and plenty of lighting. And it's a 2 car garage so plenty of room.

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I have an area next to the garage on part of my circular drive to work on my cycles. I have 3 oscillating fans set up plus a metal roof to work under. It serves it's purpose for now but certainly not ideal.

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The garage is my happy place. Very much therapy for me.

oh yes.
My garage is definitely my happy place.

had a garage fire back in July 2021. Took a year plus for the contractor to fix the house. rebuild the garage.
After moving back in, I was in the garage tinkering on the car and a neighbor who was walking by commented:

It good to see you back in your garage. The neighborhood just wasnt the same without you being there.

I'm with you - Garage time is therapy. I have a 911 and a bunch of bicycles just so I can have garage time...

If I don’t get my garage time, I’m not very pleasant. Today I mowed the lawn, replaced a sprinkler head then started replacing the water pump in my Boxster. All the while, I had classic R&B playing through my big Bluetooth speaker. That’s an afternoon well spent.

I am in my shop every day. Been doing this same basic shop routine for at least 25 years..... On week days I head out to my shop as soon as I get home from work then head in house at 6:00 for dinner then back to shop.... head into house at 9:00 pm for tv with wife then rinse repeat next day. On weekends I am out in shop by 7:30 - 8:00 am. I watch a bunch of Youtube lately out there. Getting harder to make myself tackle projects as I get older. Instead I waste time by watching others doing projects on tv. :D

Got heat, AC, restroom, fridge along with a couple smart tvs out there.

I’ve always enjoyed working in the garage, but the last year has been difficult to get motivated to work there. I’ve got all the tools I need, but no HVAC.

Turning 64 soon and it is definitely still a huge part of me. I use it for my work / hobby and sometimes it does feel like actual work as I also do medium duty vehicles in my day job fo the gob-mnt.

However, as said above, when there's multiple projects in various states of progression and there's a time crunch - it starts to feel absolutely like 'work' and I have to walk away to avoid burn-out. All-in-all it has always been and will continue to be my man-cave, my therapy, my creative outlet.

I was almost born in a garage, my earliest childhood 'play' was with my much older brother with his hot-rods and muscle cars in a farm make-shift garage. My first marriage reception was in a garage. Pretty certain that I'm going to die in a garage......................................and that's OK. I do what I love when I want.

Yesterday I took a 'health' day off from work as the temps and humidity last week are almost unbearable, I believe I had a form of heat exhaustion upon waking up @3:20am. I have been also working outside on the weekends restoring our deck last few months and now staining it. My wife texted me later in the morning with all caps "DO NOT WORK IN THE GARAGE TODAY - U NEED TO REST IN THE A/C!!!' Guess where I was by 1pm? installing new year decals on the license plates on the 911, cleaning out glovebox, wiping it down........

My garage is my go to place. All of my reloading gear is there, tools, lift and its air conditioned Wife knows just where to fine me. I do spend out in the back yard on the sail boat.

Exactly ^^^^ When other women ask my wife does she mind all the time (and money) I spend in there - she replies "At least I know where he is, what he's doing, and who / what he's doing it with!"

I enjoy garage time in my man cave . I have a 2 post lift and a mini split to heat/cool . I have a TV and a small laptop computer . It just is a peaceful place to tinker . I no longer do large projects but do lots of small projects .

I am always finding ways to spend some quality time in there . It can be as simple as oil and filter changes to restoring my Porsche headlights . Or working on my garden tractor . The projects don't really matter , it's just a quiet peaceful place to spend time .

My garage looks like a room in the house, I built most of it with a friend who is a contractor.

The ceilings are quite low for a garage, but it is all insulated and air conditioned, which is needed in Houston.

It's a bit crowded but a good working space. I don't mind working on my back if the job calls for it.

I've done lots of work in this space in the 15-ish years I've lived here. I really enjoy unwinding and spending time in there (almost every day).http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1692275067.JPG

My 4 stall garage is heated and with a dehumidifier is very comfortable for the summer also. I spend a lot of time in there...tv is always on. Fridge for the beer. The lift gives me room for 5 cars.

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My wife never complains about being a garage widow anymore. She knows just open the door, and there I am. Heated and air conditioned, with a bathroom in the garage.

Just on Monday I spent several hours out there. fixing and replacing worn out parts on the El Camino steering wheel. GM never intended for some crazy old man to drive it for all those years, and parts just wear out and need replacement.

With a 1985 911 with 191,000 miles and an 1986 El Camino with 380,000 miles there is always some project that needs attention.

The garage doors are insulated, all the walls are finished, and painted. Insulated walls, and my beloved work bench I have had for 40+ years.

This is 1/2 of the equipment shed/workshop. Minisplit for the winski.

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I spend a lot of time on equipment and zero time with the cars. Just the way it has worked out.

I enjoy the work.

I'm sure you will find one on the curb any day now...

I've always had a stereo in the garage but last week I purchased a set of Bose 901 speakers and a NAD amp/pre amp for the garage.
I might never leave now.

I'm sure there is Rap or Justin B. CD that could fix that :D!

Yasin, I've been in your garage and I think your love of garage time is boardering on mental!


Back when I was deciding to go back to school for engineering (it worked out much better the second time around) I was weighing school or becoming a Porsche mechanic. I decided being a full time mechanic would make it not enjoyable anymore. I think I was right because I really do enjoy my garage time (except when I screw up and want to throw something!)

I'll going out in the garage in the evening just to sweep it out, put some tools away or straighten up. A man's gotta have his space (and a cold beer). ;)

Back when I was about to graduate from high school I contemplated getting a job at the VW-Porsche-Audi dealership. Fortunately I already had a job at a local photography business, and he was happy for me to go full time after I graduated.

I really enjoy the moments of triumph and looking at, and enjoying my repair projects once done, but I am the worlds slowest mechanic. I would starve to death as a pro mechanic. It is not supposed to take all week to change the fuel filter on a 911. I had to stop and buy a Snap On line wrench to get a good enough bite on the adapter on the bottom of the filter to avoid stripping it. And it took every ounce of my hand strength to get it to pop free. When the new filer was in place, I was required to stop and enjoy a cold beer, and do a happy dance. My 911 was on the lift for 6 days for just an fuel filter change!

I think the speakers would puke!


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I envy you guys that still enjoy garage time.
Since my bypass I haven't done much out in mine. Oil changes are the most I've taken on and even those are becoming a chore. Crawling around on the concrete has gotten to be painful as I've lost a lot of the cushioning I used to have on my boney parts.
Most of my work is limited to airing up my bike tires or helping keep friends bikes on the road now days.

Warning to all that garage time can be detrimental to one's marriage. Especially if you are out there drinking beer and smoking pot with your buds. Moderation is the key I guess, or a new wife.
Ask me how I know! lol

On Monday I spent the day in my garage.

I attacked my steering column on the Elky again. The tilt function had stopped working, it did not always cancel when the right turn signal was activated, and the cruise control had stopped responding.

So tear into it, way into it, to get to a undersized pin that the tilt function uses to move up or down, drive the pin out, hammer it straight, get it back into place, then rebuild the mouse trap of parts. There is a bearing cage that hold the ball bearings in place that was simply shot from wear, and the balls fell out when I got to that part. I had bought a used bearing race and cage on Ebay and it had been on the shelf for a for years. So that is replaced and perfect.

A new turn signal switch, replace the cruise control-high beam-and wiper control stalk with a real GM part, and replace the OEM very worn out ignition lock. I had a new GM lock on my shelf for years as I knew the old one was worn out. I could pull the key out when the car was running.

I took the lock assembly to a local locksmith, and had him re-key it to work with my door lock key. So for the first time in 32 years of owning the Elky, I now only need the one key to unlock the door and start the car.

My key ring is now just the 911 key, and the Elky key, and my house key. Just three keys total.

The turn signal works like new (since it is) the cruise works again, and I have to tug a bit to get the key out of the ignition as it is really doing the job.

What a pain in the butt project, but done in a day.

And the advantage of owning a car for 30+ years, I own all the special tools needed to get the column apart, and all the parts in stock. I figure if they last 20 more years, they will outlast my driving days, so I am not going to bother to get replacement parts to have on hand.

Like my garage time too. Was out to clean up yesterday and found the tools that I used on a project almost a year ago on my welding/fab table. Since everything was there, I banged out another handle just like the previous one I made for a manual grease gun. Why I have two grease guns and why both of them didn't have a handle to pull back the rod is another story.
What started out as a clean up effort turned into a few hours of listening to music, fabricating a handle from materials on hand and cleaning old runny grease out of two old grease guns. Easily distracted!

Pushing 60, I still enjoy it. But it’s on and off a bit more now.

My garage was always a good “working garage.” Had everything I needed, and looked pretty good, but wasn’t the “showcase” type garage like some people have.

I’ll be building a showcase garage in the next year or so. Ironically, at a time in my life when the heavy working is mostly done (although that’s ok, it’ll stay cleaner).

I tinker in my garage. I also smoke cigars, drink whiskey, clean my golf clubs, and tinker some more. My wife knows where to find me.

I’ve been working on cars for 49 years and have never had a lift. I don’t mind working on my back, it’s the getting up and down 100 times to get tools, especially when you’re way under the car. That gets old.

I had a good friend and when we worked on cars together, our toolboxes were organized similar, so when one of us needed a tool, the other knew where it was and handed it off quickly.. It was a good system.

Thanks but I already bought it last July.

MINI

My plans to install in the garage over the Winter were interrupted when Mom had a fall on Labor Day last year. Then we had 2 hurricanes blow through and create all kinds of damage in the area, included flooding her home. So I replaced all her flooring. Then we had 2 hard freezes in December - much earlier than usual and lower temps which created additional damage and work to clean up. By the time things got back to some variation of normal it was Spring - and then more medical issues at the end of February with Mom I had to help with. She's in assisted living now (as of April 1) so maybe this winter I can finally do the mini-split I bought last July.

In the meantime I'll put a window unit in.....gotta do something!

Nice!

I have two right now including an old fashioned Magnavox console that has tubes! Takes a minute to warm up before coming on. Fantastic and very unique sound though.

On that one I only use it for radio broadcasts. My old standby on Saturday mornings was Casey Kasem's American Top 40 show. That show coming through this old stereo just feels so right!

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RftsTtpqivk" title="American Top 40 - 1976 Number Ones Montage - Casey Kasem" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I re-roofed my garage back in '08.

It's a flat roof. Went from tar and gravel to peel and stick. Then I coated it with white silicone which has really helped reduce temps inside as well as extend the life of the roof.

The peel and stick:

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I ran 220v down to it right after I bought it in '96 for my irrigation pump. The house sits up on a dune ridge 1 story higher than the garage.

Behind the pump in the photo, is plumbing set up for a toilet if I want. Was there when I bought the house. I never cared about having one there, but could if I wanted.

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It's a nice garage. Two windows facing East. Two man doors. And a fiberglass garage door facing North. This was taken after I re-painted it after replacing the roof.

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Wall art....

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That's a lot of blue! The Silver looks great in it.

I love hanging out in the garage. I fixed a pushbroom today, it had a weak spot and failed, I fixed it, then I reinforced it so it won't break again. Prepped the Gravel bike for a ride up at Mt Hood this weekend. Sorted some tools and hardware. Stared blankley out into the middle distance thinking random thoughts. Talked to a neighbor. Listened to the Dale Jr podcast.

Sunday/Monday/Tuesday I spent a few hours out in the garage working on drying out the footwell of my pickup because the AC condensation hose was not attached anymore. Gave me a chance to do some 'while you were in theres" with the passenger seat and console out and the carpet and pad lifted to get air circulating. I was in no hurry, and it was fun to work at my pace and tidy up some deferred maintenance. Podcasts included Fly on the Wall, Smartless, WTF, Conan Needs A Friend, Al Franken, This American Life. Thought about ways to organize my stuff differently.

Thanks David!
You need to come back and check out the latest additions to the family.

Like you, a wise sage friend said "if you love cars and want to continue to do so, don't become a mechanic"

The deed is done. Easy peasey and should have done it years ago!

1 hour job....and man is that baby ever cooling things off inside! :p

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I guess I'm not alone with the NAD garage sound system. It just wasn't getting used in the house.

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Sounds like heaven to me.

Shop time is precious to me. As with you, it's therapy. A favorite Sunday afternoon is to get out some workbench project that has no timeline, put on a good mix of music ( Gordon, Ian, Lavon, Lucinda, Townes, Bonnie etc) and drift off into the warm arms of “nothing important going on.”

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