Making Moves?

My dad’s been visiting the past few days, and the other day we stood in the garage and discussed my desire to park two Corvairs in the garage and still have enough room to work on both. My mindset was I needed to empty the space of spare parts and little-used tools, but I hadn’t decided where to put these items. The easy answer is haul all the parts to the Corvair Ranch and sell the little-used tools on Craigslist, but that would mean someday having to buy back a head or a sunvisor or a rust-free piece of engine shrouding to deal with a dropped seat or busted stitching or a cancerous piece of sheetmetal respectively. So, getting rid of ALL the parts is not an option, nor is getting rid of the tools I’ve amassed over the years. So, additional options needed to be explored.

My solution to the problem? A grand plan that deserves a flowchart of course (see above). Since both Glinda and Luna are at risk of leaving the fleet, I’ve considered multiple permutations. A little background here since I don’t think I’ve ever gone into detail on the lean-to rear stall I built behind the garage fairly soon after we bought the house. The previous owner had sunk some 6X6 posts into the ground along the back fence, so I finished the project he started by bolting a header along the tops of the posts, nailing up 2X4 rafters and sheathing, followed by underlayment and shingles. Currently, the walls are old Harbor Freight tarps. The following photo was taken before we moved into the house over ten years ago. The red chunk in the photo represents the end view. The enclosure is just large enough to accommodate a ’65 LeMans (17’ by 6’).

In order to execute my grand plan, beyond moving the cars around, I’ll get to cut a doorway in the solid brick wall of the garage; install a decent door and doorframe in the opening; screw plywood to the six-by-sixes to create three solid walls on the rear stall; lay down some flooring (perhaps recycled pavers or gravel); put in a couple light fixtures; and then move the shelves, workbenches, and parts, and nearly all the tools out to the revamped space. The result of all this will be as follows:

My dad attempted to talk me out of my plan with his main concern being my cutting a thirty inch wide by eighty inch tall hole through the foot thick all brick wall. I think he had visions of the roof falling in. His recommendation was to build a platform in one corner of the existing garage and move the parts and any possible tools up on to that. That would, he felt allow me to gain floor space for the two cars with less time and money expended than my grand plan. I wasn’t sold on that idea since I felt the support posts and framing would interfere with the floor space and I wasn’t getting any new area to accommodate a workbench. Also, there’d be a lot of work and hardware to create the platform he had in mind.

So when will I get to this grand project? I have no idea. Even though the new kitchen is basically done, I still have projects in the laundry room and half-bath, not to mention the rowhouse basement. No rest for the weary.