Hi all,

I'm thinking about putting an offer down on a house with a tuck under garage (subterranian). The single door entry measured 7 feet (84'') wide. This is of concern as it is my intent to put my Cutlass in there.

Question: Does anyone have the exact measurement, from miror to mirror (1970 bullet style mirrors, btw) for their car? A response from a 70-72 Cutlass or 442 owner would be great.

The spec from a book has me leading to believe the width should be 76.8 inches. But, I'm not sure if the type of mirror was taken into consideration. Thanks.

 

With an under ground garage you should also consider pontoons!!! A '68 442 is 74" wide and the mirrors do not exceed the width of the car... Although the car will fit through the door, everytime you pass through it will be tight!! so I would consider widening the door if possible, to eight feet or better yet nine feet to keep your paint intact...

 

Pontoons?? Not familar with that term other than how they apply in the nautical sense.

Yeah, widening the door is something I'd consider, but I'm not sure there is any room to go out to 8'. And, I don't think doors come in sizes such as 7' 6''. Or do they?

 

I got around 77" and it looks as if the rear fender lips are the widest point I measured but I did it by myself but think I got it pretty close. So it looks like you will have 3 to 3.5" on each side of the car if you center it.

 

Man O man O man!!! You may have to slather grease down both sides of the car to get it in and out!!! A few inches on each side, I couldn't do that every day. Eventually I'd be distracted at the wrong moment and that would be it

 

Yeah, this is a bummer. The garage can easily hold 2 cars (tandem alignment) in addition to some work benches and/or machines. The current owner even has sub fuse box in there for his metal lathe and saws. The house is almost perfect for me, as well. Some how I've got to make this work :P Of course, it will be moot if my offer(s) is rejected.

Thanks for the responses. And if anyone knows anything about expanding a garage door entrance please ping me.

 

Garage doors do come in standard sizes but custom door sizes are not uncommon...my friend with a '61 Bonneville widend his door by six inches so his wife could get in and out more easily without fear of damaging her car...and pontoons is nautical for float your Olds if it gets flooded in your underground car pool..it does hold water doesn't it?

 

Garage doors are standard widths but you can get them in two inch increments so 7'6" would work, expensive exact custom sizes too but an inch to play with usually handles it.

You need measurements to the walls on each side and type of foundation wall or footer to get a better idea if it can be done. Pics are always good.
If you have the width it's not a major job to make the opening wider.
It will be a little more involved if it's a bearing wall but no big deal, just need to build a temporary supporting wall.
The door will be what costs if you do it, otherwise some lumber and a little masonry and concrete patching work.

Good luck on the house procurement.

 

Just ask the real estate agent if you can try to park your Cutlass in the garage. If he isn't willing to let you try it out then you can find a different house.

 

Haha. Well, there is a circular storm drain in front of the door and the owner installed a sump pump inside the garage (near the front) for any overflow. I didn't see any evidence of water damage and the current owner has expensive equipment in there. So, while flooding was a concern at first I'm fairly confident in the existing setup.


Great to hear this has been done.


Thanks for info. I intend to go back to the house this morning and I'll take some pics.

 

The door measured exactly 7' 2" (86") from the rubber seals on each side. The frame of the door (wood) is 3.5" on both sides. You can see from one of the pics there is a water faucet afixed to the left side frame. I couldn't get inside the garage to take picures and ascertain load bearing support position.

IMG_0028.JPG IMG_0030.jpg IMG_0031.jpg

The concrete drive is torn to hell and will be replaced by either the owner or myself.

 

IMHO the faucet [hose bib] needs to go

 

That is narrow.

 

I think you are going to have one hell of a time getting your car around that corner and then positioning it straight enough to get into the garage. Personally, I'd back it in, but you're still going to have a tough time not scraping paint on that concrete wall, or the garage.

--Ryan

 

The quote is correct, the car is 76.8 inches wide at the widest point. That includes mirror clearance. Source: 1972 GM ordering guide - all Cutlass 442 models. The dimensions of the 1970 will be the same as the 1972 that I have, and I also have the sport mirrors on my car. I'm somewhat luckier though, my door is 16 feet wide.

Looking at the pics you show, its hard to say, but what are the chances of changing the door frame? You'd have to see from inside whether the outside trim could be cut back a couple more inches. I definitely wouldn't want to be driving in and out of tight clearances like that all the time. You'd need someone to help guide you in, cause theres no way you'll be able to open the door on either side once it starts down that ramp. 5 inches on each side is do-able though as long as the garage inside is wider. Do you know what the inside dimensions of the garage are? I would want to especially if I haven't been inside it yet.

If that's not an option what are the chances of building a garage somewhere in the yard?

 

The more I look, the more I think the bottom is going to hit driving down the steep drive.

 

was thinking the same thing myself. once you drive the car into the garage is it wide enough to open the door and get out of the car? or are you going to be going in and out the window and climbing over the roof or trunk of the car to get in?

Is the house THAT perfect that you are willing to sacrifice in the garage area? It's still a buyers market so your choices of houses on the market with std size garages or larger should be pretty good.

 

Just add on to the the front of the garage from the edge of the house to the side of the garage and come out about 20 feet and put a wider door on it, problem solved! Then the rest of the garage can be a game room, work area, dog house, etc. for when the wife is pissed about you working on your car too much!

 

If you remove the complete frame and replace it with pressure treated lumber against the masonry, you should get about five inches more and if you are doing heavy duty work on the driveway then hows about removing the retainer wall and moving it to the right about even with the deck pillar to give you a less restrictive access out the door when you launch...

 

looks tight but I am used to it, easier for me to pull in and back out, very tight door and driveway too, have smacked the corner once or twice but very slowly, at the corner of the bumper, no damage. my storage unit is even tighter