A question of size...
Discussion
Hi guys
I bought my first TVR this February an I have to say I'm never going back! It is a fantastic drive. My parents however are not so impressed because I still live at home!
Part of the deal was that if I bought it then I would buy a house and clear off. So I'm looking for garages possible with without a house attached. I jest.
Anyway, how big does a garage need to be to allow me to do some work on my chimaera? How large are your garages?
Also any other garage advice would be super :-)
Cheers, Dunc
I bought my first TVR this February an I have to say I'm never going back! It is a fantastic drive. My parents however are not so impressed because I still live at home!
Part of the deal was that if I bought it then I would buy a house and clear off. So I'm looking for garages possible with without a house attached. I jest.
Anyway, how big does a garage need to be to allow me to do some work on my chimaera? How large are your garages?
Also any other garage advice would be super :-)
Cheers, Dunc
Dunk, that's a great question sir, like it 
Oh and welcome to the fold.
I've got a massive garage,, it's called the driveway.
Today we were discussing garages and it's true to say the cars quite wide, small car but wide.
Anything with a roofs good,
Even a car port would allow you to keep the elements directly off it.
But if your talking garages,, just wait awhile,
You might just see a few on here that might take your fancy,,,
Being practical about it, even a single garage you can work in, car half in/half out sort of thing, I've known blokes build serious cars in single lockups with no lights!! Just takes being organised.
The single biggest advantage having a proper sized garage would then be a two post lift,, that allows you to do any job with ease of access.
Today I helped another piston header re fit the bottom bolts on the O/Side manifold, that on the ground on axle stands is a challenge,, with a two post lift and distorting my hand into something that might look like it's been crushed in a vice,, I was able to do the bolts up very easily and with the starter motor in place,,, that's impossible unless you can face in the opposite direction doing an impression of Stretch Armstrong and it wouldn't be possible on stands without starter removed.
I'd say any garage is better than no garage so go from there,, width is the thing I'd be thinking about.
Can't wait to see some of the boys men sheds on here,,,,
Oh and welcome to the fold.
I've got a massive garage,, it's called the driveway.
Today we were discussing garages and it's true to say the cars quite wide, small car but wide.
Anything with a roofs good,
Even a car port would allow you to keep the elements directly off it.
But if your talking garages,, just wait awhile,
You might just see a few on here that might take your fancy,,,
Being practical about it, even a single garage you can work in, car half in/half out sort of thing, I've known blokes build serious cars in single lockups with no lights!! Just takes being organised.
The single biggest advantage having a proper sized garage would then be a two post lift,, that allows you to do any job with ease of access.
Today I helped another piston header re fit the bottom bolts on the O/Side manifold, that on the ground on axle stands is a challenge,, with a two post lift and distorting my hand into something that might look like it's been crushed in a vice,, I was able to do the bolts up very easily and with the starter motor in place,,, that's impossible unless you can face in the opposite direction doing an impression of Stretch Armstrong and it wouldn't be possible on stands without starter removed.
I'd say any garage is better than no garage so go from there,, width is the thing I'd be thinking about.
Can't wait to see some of the boys men sheds on here,,,,
I should really be dunk430 but I'm not. The first classic car I worked on after school when I had a job in a classic car garage was a 911. Best to learn on something that doesn't matter eh? That's where I fell in love with TVRs. If you remember the octane magazine from a few years ago with the two Griffith's on the cover, the old 1960s off white Griffith belonged to the garage owner.
Anyway that's good advice, cheers.
I had already sort of identified that width is important because cars like these are wide. I had similar issues with my MX5. Just not really sure what the ideal width is.
A ramp would be great but I think for starters I'll just make something like this: http://corvettec3.ca/ramps.htm
I can't wait to get my own place and paint the garage floor and get to it.
Anyway that's good advice, cheers.
I had already sort of identified that width is important because cars like these are wide. I had similar issues with my MX5. Just not really sure what the ideal width is.
A ramp would be great but I think for starters I'll just make something like this: http://corvettec3.ca/ramps.htm
I can't wait to get my own place and paint the garage floor and get to it.
If we’re talking minimum width, I’d work on being able to open the doors fully - even if at that, they’re just touching the walls, though a patch of old carpet on the walls will save the paintwork. It’s surprising the number of jobs that require working in the footwells, battery, throttle cable, under dash electrics etc. and if you can’t at least get the doors fully open - which on a Chimaera is still not as much as would be helpful - you’ll be really struggling.
The simple answer is buy a house, however small, with a double garage, ideally with a full width door arrangement and a high roof. Then you can park in the middle of it, and have all your stuff, work benches etc around the sides, not the back wall, and not compromise the ability to work on the front of the car.
In time you might install a professional two post lift if the roof is a little higher than standard - they are not as expensive as you might think.
In time you might install a professional two post lift if the roof is a little higher than standard - they are not as expensive as you might think.
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