Garage Queens

[renmure]

No huge AM shrine for me, but the Vantage does get its own flag

[montecristo]

renmure said:

No huge AM shrine for me, but the Vantage does get its own flag

Blimey, the treasures that are hidden in the far reaches of our kingdom.

[Speculatore]

renmure said:

No huge AM shrine for me, but the Vantage does get its own flag

I wish I had done better at school......

[steveatesh]

renmure said:

No huge AM shrine for me, but the Vantage does get its own flag

Doesn't the Vax or Kirby or whatever it is get it's own flag too? :}

[RichB]

Not up to the standard of some on here but it’s amazing what a good clear out can achieve. Went from this…



To this, over the course of a few weekends. TVR lives this side…



Aston lives over here…

[Y100]

RichB said:

Not up to the standard of some on here but it’s amazing what a good clear out can achieve. Went from this…



To this, over the course of a few weekends. TVR lives this side…



Aston lives over here…

Commitment, absolute passion, written all over those images Rich, put a smile on my face I can tell you.

[David W.]

Y100 said:

Commitment, absolute passion, written all over those images Rich, put a smile on my face I can tell you.

And the floor looked oil free! a good achievement.

[renmure]

Speculatore said:

I wish I had done better at school......

Speculatore: PH Profile Occupation: Super Yacht Manager

I think you did pretty well

[V8V Pete]

I wonder if anyone can help?

|http://thumbsnap.com/p5sfDKBi[/url]

Having damaged my bumper on my hostile steep drive (had only just had protection film fitted too) I'm reconsidering my garage options. Having failed to find a nearby garage to buy I am wondering if an underground option is feasible under my existing drive into the stone wall below.



Does anybody have any experience of such a project and if so can you recommend builders (preferably in Midlands area)? I realise moving house may be easier but I quite like my house as well as my car.

Edited by V8V Pete on Sunday 8th December 20:20

[RichB]

David W. said:

Y100 said:

Commitment, absolute passion, written all over those images Rich, put a smile on my face I can tell you.

And the floor looked oil free! a good achievement.

Thank you Bob but I do look at your motor room with envy sometimes! David, the pictures were taken shortly after the tidy-up. I'm afraid they've both dropped a few spots now

[Y100]

V8V Pete said:

I wonder if anyone can help?

|http://thumbsnap.com/p5sfDKBi[/url]

Having damaged my bumper on my hostile steep drive (had only just had protection film fitted too) I'm reconsidering my garage options. Having failed to find a nearby garage to buy I am wondering if an underground option is feasible under my existing drive into the stone wall below.



Does anybody have any experience of such a project and if so can you recommend builders (preferably in Midlands area)? I realise moving house may be easier but I quite like my house as well as my car.

Edited by V8V Pete on Sunday 8th December 20:20

Peter, an underground garage, the first port of call for me would be the local council planning office amd see what in principal their opinion is. They do provide FOC pre-application advice. If they see no problem, thats when your real problems start, a massive undertaking and massively expensive I'll be bound.

[mjk1]

All prepared for when I need to replace the clutch or undertake any other work on the underside of the car. Bought a 1m scissor lift from Strongman Tools and then built some cribbing supports made from 4x2 for additional safety. Not much I can't do myself now, not that it's needed much in the 3 years I've owned it.

[Bravo73]

mjk1 said:

...then built some cribbing supports made from 4x2 for additional safety.

Wow. That is the mother of all Jenga games.

Impressive.

[triple5]

mjk1 said:

All prepared for when I need to replace the clutch or undertake any other work on the underside of the car. Bought a 1m scissor lift from Strongman Tools and then built some cribbing supports made from 4x2 for additional safety. Not much I can't do myself now, not that it's needed much in the 3 years I've owned it.

So are you leaving it there until the clutch does need replacing or was this a trial run

Great ingenuity

[mjk1]

Thanks Bravo73 and triple5, the Astons SORNed over winter so up there it'll stay until spring. It's done about 35k miles and still on the original clutch so I guess it'll need one before too long. I built the "Jenga" supports as I don't like getting under a car supported only by a mechanical jack/lift. The 4 cribbing blocks are glued, screwed or dowelled together and split into 3 sections so I can support cars at different heights (the X5 won't go too high due to the garage ceiling). They'll support over 100 tonnes so the 1 and half tonnes of Aston won't be a problem (each one comprises of 7 4"x4" columns). They measure 24"x18" so they are also very stable.

[RichB]

Would you not feel comfortable under the supported by axle stands? They are available with a extended height of 24" plus.

[mjk1]

Rich, I considered high axle stands but the scissor lift uses the sill jacking points so where would you locate the axle stands? These cribbing blocks leave the whole underside of the car free once the lift is lowered out of the way.

Also 24" high axle stands wouldn't have the same stability as my cribbing blocks which have a base of 24"x18". There is absolutely no chance I'll be pulling the car off those when I come across a seized bolt.

Edited by mjk1 on Tuesday 10th December 20:47

[RichB]

Got you.

[Jon39]

mjk1 said:

... the Astons SORNed over winter, so up there it'll stay until spring. It's done about 35k miles and still
on the original clutch, so I guess it'll need one before too long.

In the past, I have learnt the hard way about leaving cars untouched for too long. My Vantage is off-road for the first time
this winter, but I will be running the engine, moving the car and operating brakes, running the air conditioning etc. about
once a month.

'avinalarf' might suggest you should put rollers on the top of your cribbing blocks.

If you do not have clutch slip, I am not sure why you feel the clutch will soon need changing.
Several people here have mentioned far higher mileages than 35k.

[mjk1]

Jon, the garage is kept at a constant 50% relative humidity so corrosion won't be a problem and the batteries kept connected to a conditioner. I've kept it off the road over winter for the 3 years I've owned it without any ill effects when I come to use it in the spring. It's my daily driver over summer so at least laying it up over winter allows me to keep the annual mileage to about 5k and of course keeps it off the salted roads.

I hope the clutch does last 100k miles but I have to admit being able to do the job myself did come into my man maths equations when justifying the purchase of the lift. I've always worked on my own cars rebuilding engines, gearboxes etc but always struggling in the limited ground clearance afforded by normal axle stands. It's now a dream to work on my cars with the aid of this lift.