Oh boy, how’d you like to wrench in that garage? I found the pic at garage supplier Garage Living, and I assure you, if that clinically-clean, impeccably-styled garage could be where I twirl Harbor Freight’s finest, I would be exactly as pumped as that stock-photo guy I dropped in there. I think I searched “Man losing his mind with happiness” to find him over at Adobe Stock, and gash-dang if he isn’t just about perfect.
Sadly, the odds of me acquiring such a space are even slimmer than the chances of me owning a 911 Carrera S like the one parked therein. But hey, I’m happy to have any garage, even if being in there is currently like walking into an air fryer (I’m in Texas, so … yeah). Just walking across the garage-oven to switch on the sprinklers is enough to make me want to run in those sprinklers, so actually working on a car in there–especially one that’s been running–is not the greatest. Indeed, working outside would probably be cooler (less hot, anyway), and the great outdoors has long been host to many automotive projects. See our pal on Twit–uh, “X”– Willie D Jenkins, master mobile mechanic, for many examples of doing whatcha gotta do:
Intake liberated. And more pic.twitter.com/QzTsHuxU2R
— Willie D Jenkins (@WillieDJenkins1) August 6, 2023
Wrenching Wednesday goes wherever you want to take it, but to kick off this edition let’s talk wrenching spaces–where you work on your rides now, where you’d like to in the future, the tips and tricks you use to make your space more pleasant and productive … all that stuff. As for me, I still smile every time I flip the light switch in the garage and every shop light comes on instantly and silently. I swapped fluorescent tube jobs for LED units each time one of those buzzy bastards died off, and man, getting rid of the last one was a treat.
To the comments!
I work on my rides in the street in front of my second floor apartment. This is one of the reasons I’ve held onto my ’13 4Runner despite the (still) stupid high value, I don’t have to wrench on it other than oil changes. Anything I’d replace it with will be needier.
I dream of being able to afford a small (1k-ish sq/ft) Ranch with a 2 car garage, but in my area I’d have to increase my salary at least 2X to do so. I just checked Zillow yesterday, the cheapest single family house in the town I work in (which did not have a garage) would be almost 90% of my take home, IF I had 20% to put down. FML.
I’m currently trying to figure out where to relocate to.
We were one of the weird cases of people moving sight unseen during covid, relocating from Denver to Appalachia. I grew up in the latter so I knew what I was in for.
The main reason I agreed was work space. We have a drive-in garage under the house that will fit ~3 cars in tandem. Currently filled with leftover moving detritus. There’s a separate workshop that would probably fit 3 cars tetris’d in, but my motorcycles and whatever project live in there now. It is plumbed and powered, but I have no HVAC. When it gets cold I use a diesel heater and it is fine. The ‘deep’ storage is a 40×60 barn. Since our land is mostly wooded I need no farm implements and it is mostly car space.
I miss our people and the proximity to good skiing (and the occasional event or restaurant), but ZERO regrets leaving Denver.
A 40*60 barn?! That’s bigger than my house by a fair margin. Perks of living in the sticks, I guess.
It is a total bonus, and great for firewood and cars I need to work on.
My mind read that ‘great for firewood’ comment wrong first time through
Sounds great! I’m in the MA/RI area, I need to get out. SO expensive here, salary does not even come close to keeping up with the insane real estate price hike over the last few years. I’m sure it’s not Denver expensive, but still crazy for the area. Median income here is like 60K, I just looked and the cheapest single-family home in the town I work in is 399k for 800 sq ft.
I have a friend that moved from here to WV, he seems like he’s living his best life down there, riding horses and dirt bikes all the time.
It’s almost heaven, man. I have a ‘West By God’ tattoo for a reason. But now I live in almost-almost heaven.
I have a two car garage but with my wood and bike hoarding theres not much room in there. Luckily I have a big ol driveway/apron so I typically pull the rig I am going to be working on – park it on the far side of the drive way so I can still get cars into both stalls of the garage and break out the jack stands and jack.
Unfortunately my driveway is an asphalt jobber that is not to smooth so a creeper is out of the question. My savior comes in the form of a a three by three foot piece of 2 inch thick closed cell foam. I drag that around to save my knees when yoinking tires or climbing underneath for engine/transmission fluid changes.
Other key team players are a couple of five gallon buckets and of course a bunch of magnetic flashlights. One bucket gets all the tools I need pulled from the respective drawers and one functions exclusively as a stool extra height if I need to reach into the back of the engine bay on the jeep.
The number one most important part of wrenching in my opinion is to have a second or third useable shitbox. That allows you to walk away from any potential issues before they become full on disasters and gives you a bit of time to re calibrate and get you wits about you before you snap or strip that bolt.
Living in Minnesota I try to get my 4×4 jeep issues dialed in before October so it’s good for the winter because aint nobody want to be turning ice cold wrenches while sitting on the wet frozen concrete.
If you do have to bust out the winter wrenching fire up the mr. heater propane cannon a few minutes before – throw down a wool blanket and remember most importantly – crack that garage door open before you start to get the wahwahs from lack of oxygen.
Do people not cut small holes in the wall and run a hose from exhaust to outdoors anymore?
I had my 4Runner down for a few days right before Thanksgiving due to needing a warrantied tire replacement, my 233k ’07 Volvo wagon beater came in clutch as a replacement till the tire came in.
This. The spare car is crucial for most of us to tackle our own wrenching. If you need ‘n’ cars on a daily basis, you need ‘n+1’ driveable cars so you can take one down for a significant project and not worry about exactly what the timeline is going to be. Without that, it doesn’t matter how nice your work area is. It’s too risky to really use it 😛
My “garage” is a 124 year old carriage house. Originally had room for one horse and two buggies with the upper level used for hay storage. Chute for passing hay down to the horse below still exists. Part was sectioned off for a chicken coop & an ice house with wood shavings in the walls for insulation. You can still see the horse chewing and teeth marks in the sills of the windows. One window has a little shrine with a valve from an Alfa, piston from a Fiat 850, a fake Abarth steering wheel, a distributor cap I don’t recognize and a box of special spark plugs that cost way more than I will ever admit.
At my age I don’t do any wrenching any more, but 40-50 years ago at the height of my Italian car addiction, it held Alfa-Romeos, FIATs and FIAT Abarth cars that as you can imagine required lots of wrenching to keep them running and racing. I like to think that the ghosts of those 4cyl engines will still echo in there long after I’m gone.
I’ve got just a standard 2 car garage and I actually park 2 cars in it, as UnAmerican as that is, so whenever I want to work in the garage I always have to play musical cars and shuffle things around. It’s kind of a pain but at least I have a garage to work in at all unlike some of my friends.
I’ve got a single car garage that’s probably 1.25x the width of normal and 1.5x the length. It’s great for storing one car but due to the workbenches and toolboxes on the sides the isn’t much room in there with a car inside. I tend to work on car stuff in my driveway and smaller projects in the garage.
My dream is an oversized triple garage all to myself with a double attached to the house for my wife’s car and all the kids stuff. Realistically I’ll settle for an oversized double at my next house haha
My house criteria was a garage with some kind of living area attached. With UK house prices it was a struggle.
But because I’ve got a motorcycle in the garage all my car work had to be done outside, on the gravel drive. I’d carpeted the garage, it makes sitting on the floor taking fairings off much nicer, plus screws and 10mm sockets don’t roll so far.
I used to drift, so lots of tyre changes and clutches. Getting the gearbox out of an MX5 by yourself on gravel is no joke. I also moulded my own replacement carbon fibre front fenders out there on the drive (much easier to trim back for clearance when you’re running increased steering angle).
Probably the biggest job I did out on the gravel was a front end rebuild on my S1 Elise. Front clamshell off (nightmare) then replace everything rusty or perished underneath.
I rented a spot in a barn to do the turbo installation on the MX5, and to do the rear end rebuild on the Elise. Way less stressful.
The barn was also where I fixed up the V8 RX7 (which took so long I bought a standard one to drive instead) and helped a friend with his roof-chopped, Lexus V8 engined ‘66 Volvo Amazon.
My new house has a slightly bigger garage (the old carpet came with me and has about a foot wide gap all round) and a brick drive, so jacking things up is no longer terrifying.
I searched very hard for my current home. It has a 3 car garage for the ready-to-go cars (currently Miata, BMW 2002, and wife’s G37). Drive around back and into the basement for a 6 car space with workshop for maintenance and restoration jobs (currently Corvair, Fiat, Austin Healey, 1956 Lotus, and an antique touring car). Being mostly underground, I added a dehumidifier that keeps the moisture down and the climate is quite nice all year round. A high-flow ventilation system keeps the gear oil and paint smells from rising into the house. The back half of the basement is finished with heat/ac and a full bathroom for my work-from-home office. I am so spoiled that I find it difficult to work anywhere else.
By some quirk, I actually found a house with a 3-car garage (detached) that I could afford and it’s been great. I did a few ceiling mods and added a hand-me-down 4-post lift a few years ago and love it. It’s all unfinished without HVAC so it’s very hot in summer and freezing cold in winter but I can make due. Thanks to the lift, I manage to store 4 cars inside (for better or worse).
It’s a mess, though. I have way too much stuff and it’s not organized. I inherited my Dad’s and my grandfather’s tools and assorted gizmos when they passed so I basically have 3 generations of tools and “stuff” jammed in there and haven’t been good about cleaning it up.
I have a 1.75 Car garage, so I can either fit 2 triumph spitfires in there, or one regular car and one triumph spitfire. That is until i filled the 0.75 part of the garage with machine tools ( cnc mill, manual lathe, air compressor, etc). I also have a 4 ft 2 post lift (due to ceiling height) which is very useful but can be irritating due to crouching under the vehicles. Just got a sufficiently sized AC unit so I am not sweating to death anymore. Still scheming to build a 40′ x 60′ shop in the behing the house for more space and machine tools. My ceiling height is also not sufficient to work on my shortbus inside which is a major bummer.
I have a two car garage, but it has an extra three feet of depth over a standard garage. This allows workbenches to go along the back wall, have room to stand at them, and still fit cars in. It’s about the best two car garage layout you can have. And while it would be smaller in area, I think it’s just as usable as a standard three car garage.
What helps make for a productive garage is way more tool storage than you think you need. Digging through a drawer because you had to cram 20 tools in there stinks. It’s nice to have everything well laid out in your storage.
That’s why mine is getting some love right now. I thought I had storage before. Nope, not when it’s crammed full of crap.
My garage is about 500 square feet and fits two cars. Right now it’s getting some love with a floating floor over the concrete, cabinets in place of freestanding shelves, a wall mounted tire rack for winter tires and wall mounted shelves to store less used stuff. The goal was to reclaim precious floor space and declutter. It’s been a lot of work. The fiddly bits such as cutting floor tiles and mounting wall mounted cabinets are still ahead. It’ll be awesome once it’s done. But wow, it’s a lot to DIY.
The local shop my wrenching days are behind me.
3 bay garage with a lift and robust tool setup, on a cul de sac in an HOA neighborhood. Garage is frequently filled with non operational projects so work on the daily drivers gets done in the driveway. Also last night the garage and driveway were BOTH full so we worked on an 80 year old farm tractor in the street. Neighbors brought chairs and beers to watch.
I only have a (fairly large) 1 car garage and yet my W123 Coupe is currently finding ways to make it tiny. Several things I’d love to do like add more lights, and long term I’d kill for a lift, but given I’m only renting, that’s all out of the question. Yesterday I got stuck swapping the shifter out in my Miata in the driveway since it decided to unseat itself while parking, which is far from ideal, but hey! 75 and Sunny aint the worst it could’ve been. My condolences to Texas wrenchers…
I have a 3 car garage with a driveway that fits 6 more vehicles. I use the right spot of the garage, that’s where I have my tools and shelves. There is a door that allows air to move around so its not that hot. I just did 4 oil changes and a transmission fluid replacement. Honda and Ford, easy to work. GM, why did you put the oil filter in the worst place ever?
A quick oil change transformed to going to autozone twice to try to get a damn tool that will do the trick. This is for a GMC Envoy with the Inline-6 engine
When we were finally able to go house hunting I told my wife the new house must have a large garage or barn. I was done with doing car repairs in the snow. Now I have a nice barn with LED lights, large bench, and a set of Quick Jacks. Makes all the difference having a sheltered well lit place to work. Now if it just helped with the rusty bolts……
Wow so much driveway work love. I no longer feel so alone. When my wife and I bought this house back in 2002 I was a piddly peon working for Staples so we couldn’t afford much. A garage was not in the cards then. So I do all my work in the driveway which also has a moderate incline. Makes my wife nervous as all hell… She’s afraid something will fail and AP will get crushed. I use ramps whenever possible instead of jacks for obvious reasons.
Fun fact though: My ’88 Mazda Rx7 (I sold that it’s long gone) came with foldable wheel chocks. I found them to be so handy I kept in my garage arsenal. Whenever I work on my car or my wife’s I use those chocks and all the sweet Rx7 memories fill me with joy and brace me for wrenching. Best way to start in my opinion.
I have the same folding chicks from my ‘86 RX7! Mine are also my go-to chocks. I miss that car so much.
The FC also came with an aluminium scissor jack that I only used once. The gear teeth mangled enough that one time that I replaced it with a steel one. Cool thing to do to save weight, but not really up to the job.
On the ground on a gravel driveway. Winter work, you pray nothing breaks.
I’ve had my eyes on a nice shop build for about 5 years, but keep finding things that need the money more. Now that the era of super cheap rates are over, that garage is getting further and further.
Probably get built when I am 50 or 60 and have no interest in doing my own work anymore. *shakes head sadly*
I’m 56 and still do oil changes, brakes, whatever I can manage on my own, for three cars. Keep in decent shape and you can wrench into your 70s.
I will probably do my tractor and mower changes still, but I figure by then any car I might buy even semi-new will be more hassle than it is worth.
I do agree staying in shape is the way to go! Hopefully you are changing em’ in your 90’s!
I think by my 80s I’ll be limiting my wrenching to restoring my old Hot Wheels. Don’t know how old you are, but I bet there will still be quite a few ICE project cars available for those who want them.
I feel this. I live this.
My most prized “tools” are a 4’X4′ piece of heave cardboard and 1″ thick foam insulation board so the gravel is a bit less rough.
I have had the garage add-on as a to-do for 20 years. Always something that is needed more.
I hope to maybe build a 2 car coverd parking/wrenching area so at least I will have a mostly dry spot when needed. Maybe build so it can easily be closed in later.
Wrenching on gravel is tough.
I do my work in a shared space I am on the board for called Gearhead Workspace. It’s basically a professional shop but instead of having mechanics we rent out lifts by the hour/day and have all the tools required to do most jobs.
Outside that I have a nice concrete pad and a lousy garage at my building.
I have thought about opening something like that, I see it as a way to finance my own shop ha! We used to have one years ago around here, but now there aren’t any.
Is it busy usually?
Like Greg, I too want to hear more. When I went to night school to learn auto repair, I loved being able to use their facilities, and I’ve missed that ever since. Access to to a lift makes things so much more pleasant.
Despite my relentless lobbying, no family member has yet installed a lift in their garage for me to selectively borrow. Which is to say that spring and fall are my peak wrenching seasons, because good times are not had laying on unshaded blacktop in midsummer trying to replace brake boosters and drain transmissions.
I finally got a house with a proper 60m2 (600sq.ft) garage, complete with a mezzanine to store all the Datsun parts. It’s awesome.
LED lights, 2 doors, 2 workbenches and I just bought myself a rolling tool chest that is a godsend. I even used floorboards leftovers ok the working area and having a good looking and enjoyable to walk on floor is a nice plus.
Now my plan is to find an old farm with an honest to God farm and turn in into wrenchland.
After years of driveway and alleyway wrenching, a garage was a must-have when we shopped for the house we’re in now. Unfortunately, we have a two-car garage – and five vehicles, if you count the trailer. I end up having to shuffle cars around to make room to work on something, but it’s still a damn sight better than working outside. The garage had one big workbench when we moved in, and we added another even bigger one. No room for a lift or anything, but I do have a QuickJack. Handy way to pick up a car, but my god is it heavy…
Love my Quick Jack but I agree very very heavy.
I share my gravel driveway with my landlord next door.
Here in the PNW there’s only so much wrenching that can be done before you’re donning clothing you don’t care about to do a simple oil change in the mud.
Thankfully I have the keys to the building I work in and enough clout with management at my job that they don’t blink an eye when I pull into the warehouse on a Saturday to work on my car.
Having the use of two fork lifts to help you rotate your tires sure is a time saver.
My garage is a parking garage. So at least it’s warmish in the winter and coolish in the summer, but the lack of a breeze can be annoying. A handy towel is a must.
I’m really proud of my rolling tool box that doesn’t look like a tool box; it’s perfect for hauling all my stuff down in the elevator/not arousing the suspicions of building management, given their silly “no car repairs on the premise” rule. Given all the crossovers and Prii, I’m not sure there’s that many people who’d be working on their cars, but…
I second the led lights.
For me, it depends on the job. If it is big, I’ll clean the garage and set up in there. I otherwise like to work outside. The downside to this is nearly 75% of all my work happens in the cold, cause that’s when my stuff breaks. Reactive, not proactive, unfortunately.
Oh, also, pads. If you sit on concrete too long you’ll get hemorrhoids.
Pads are key. I have those jigsaw puzzle looking pads that you can put together in different configurations. Really like ’em and because of their size, they all fit easily in the trunk of my daily (aka my workshop).
My wife had decorative anti-fatigue mats in her kitchen when we met. By the time we bought a house together, they’d had enough cat scratches that they were no longer decorative and she got rid of them. Meaning she told me to get rid of them. Meaning they now live in my garage and I lay on them instead of the concrete. They are awesome.