from one ri guy to another, congrats on the awesome garage! i hope to do one for myself within the next few years.as my cars are dying outside but not finished enough to worry just yet.. you seem to be an olds guy who knows his stuff, so do you mind if i look you up for build advice when i am ready to build my mild street 455? btw i work for an auto body shop in johnston so if you ever need advice regarding that, feel free to look me up also brother! dave

 

Thx djcrook73, you give me more credit than I deserve. I attribute most of my knowledge about cars to my father and hands on experience. Dad was a jet engine mechanic who loved to do his own work on his cars. I just tagged along and picked things up as I went. I would have loved to have been a machinist but ended up with a degree in Geology (WTH?) Rocks for jocks I guess Never used that Geology degree, ended up blowing the Earth up instead in Marine Corps Artillery
I can offer advice on your build but there are many more qualified than I. I just read a lot and absorb knowledge, just makes me dangerous, haha.
I'll be sure to look you up when it comes time for my bodywork. That's probably my least favorite part of restoration and even less knowledge in it.
Thanks,George

 

Final update for me on this thread. Except for some minor stuff I'm going to consider the garage done for now. I moved a few things in and put up four foot walls to stop me from falling into the insulation or damaging it in any way. It also allows me to hang things on it. I also converted the compressor over to 240v, brought in the blast cabinet and of course the toolbox. As you can see it fills up quick.
I'll be starting a thread soon on putting my new engine together. Thanks for all the kind and helpful comments

 

Looks really good!
Have to ask. What brand is the sandblaster? I have one that looks identical only in blue.

 

I'm jealous but happy for you as well. It must be great to have the room to work on you project

 

Allan that's a Harbor Freight special. Nothing but the best Chinesium. I jest but after a few mods it works great. I haven't seen any with the light on top for awhile so I'm glad I got it when I did. The worst part of it was dragging it from down in the cellar out to the garage. I'm partially disabled so it was a bear. I had to disassemble it then move it up. I must have 60-80 pounds of grit in it, lol.

Citcapp thanks. I've dreamed of a garage for a long time and everything fell into place so I pulled the trigger. The 66 convertible is happy about it too But that project is after the engine.

 

George,

Congrats on finishing off the garage. I like the extra metal plate by the door, nobodies breaking that in!

 

That's the same as the Princess Auto unit, only they have their light inside instead of on top. I know what you mean about weight. Just the unit by itself weighs 90 lbs. Glad you're happy with it. I like the funnel drain at the bottom for changing out grits. Much easier than the old one I had.

 

Thanks Old Skl. I didn't like the cheap plates that were offered so I made my own. The hinges will come off the other side before that moves, haha. That's a 1/4 piece of plate steel welded to a plate steel angle. I was rather proud of that idea although I hope I never need it. Anyone could have kicked in that door jamb so I fixed the weak link.

 

Allan my only complaint was it didn't put out enough volume so I replaced the 1/2 inch hose inside with a 5/8 reinforced hose and the difference is dramatic as long as the cfm's are up. I try to keep it at 80 psi and above. I had to up the grit amount because it would drain it quick and just hang on the funnel sides. When I was young I worked in a shipyard doing painting and blasting. Subs, drydocks etc. You get spoiled with that heavy duty stuff.

 

I was wondering about that hose. I'll replace mine for better results too. No worries with the CFM, I can maintain over 100psi @18.5 CFM easily with my new 60 gallon compressor. I'm looking forward to being spoiled.

Did you have to use any metal tape on the joints of the unit where the panels bolt together? The instructions say to use silicone, but I think the metal tape works better.

 

I used nothing, just bolted it together. I can't remember my instruction but I don't think it used anything. It works fine but does spill a bit each time door is opened. Just have to give it a tap now and then. Shop vac is a must too to clear the air in the cabinet to see. Otherwise it's like looking through fog. I'm waiting for Adrian Barbeau to pop out of the mist.

 

Good luck with the waiting...she's aged somewhat since Cannonball Run; she'd be almost 68 now but still looks great!

Normal for any cabinet (even the big shop cabinet I used at work) to spill a bit of media opening the door. BTW, how big is the door on the side? Will it allow a 15" wheel to fit in?

I found using a shop vac to force air circulation was too much. I opted for a normal (old used electrolux) house vac to create the cross draft.

 

Allan how'd you get instructions with yours! When i left Princess Auto, the guys were laughing, and telling me "have fun putting it together"! I also use a shop vac, and it works fine for mine. I don't know what media you guys are using, but i switched from sand to glass, and i'll never use sand in the cabinet again. The glass give the parts a better finish, and there is less dust.

 

Shane, you're kidding me right? There's a manual inside the box just inside the plastic wrap. It's an 8 1/2 x 11 page booklet in English/French. Has the instructions and parts list too. If you didn't get one in your box you could always have downloaded it as a .pdf from their website. Under the blast cabinet there are tabs. Clik 'Manuals & Parts', then click the 'Manual' .pdf
Floor Model Sandblast Cabinet Instructions

I agree with your comment about using glass. For fine finishes I use the 120 grit. For coarse rough blasting I use the 80 grit glass.

I don't use my shop vac for the cabinet. It's one of those humongous 18L Kenmore jobs that can suck a golf ball through a garden hose.

 

I have aluminum oxide in mine but was wondering about other medias. I heard glass wasn't good to use on internal engine parts but who knows.
Last I saw Adrian Barbeau was on one episode of Babylon 5 in the late 90's
My cabinet has an inlet and outlet for the air so I just use the vac to suck out the dust to see better.
I doubt I could get a wheel in the cabinet but it fits an intake easily along with small children.

 

Congrats Trip, Looks great

 

Looks great!

 

AO is a common HD blasting media but leaves an aluminum finish on the parts being blasted. Glass is equally effective but doesn't leave any coating. 120 grit glass beads actually leave the metal with a satin smooth finish you can tack cloth and paint directly. That said, everyone has their own preference. Oh, I did note that AO and 80grit glass are the same price here.

LOL! Now that's funny right there! I was a little disappointed with the size of the side door and considered enlarging it, but that would void warranty. One thing I really like about this PA stuff is it has lifetime warranty and no questions asked return policy (at any time I'm not happy with it), even if it's Chinesium.

Jamesbo? Umm, it's Trip with the new setup here, not Shane....

 

Did a little more in the garage today to spiffy things up. The bench top was getting to full of stuff:



So I bought some shelves at Home Depot for $35 and transferred it all over. Also bought this nice Rubber Maid rack system. Going to get another 4 ft of that for the other side.

Back to the engine this week. Finishing the heads and then bolting it all together.

 

Yesterday I added added a new 240v plug in series with my original. The originaly plug was designed for my generator in case I had to back feed my house because of loss of power. Seems our state just can't figure out how to make **** work correctly.
I had thought I installed an outlet that would work with my buddies welder but when he came over to weld my door braces the plug was wrong. Quick trip to Home Depot fixed our problem but I knew that winter might pose a problem so I installed an additional outlet so I could back feed from the generator to the house. It's not up to code but the welder and generator will never be plugged in at the same time so I feel it's good to go. Honestly, the generator is up to the task of supplying the welder and half the house if needed so no worries there.
I'm no electrician but a test meter and some common sense goes a long way. 242v total and 121v on the half leg so I know it's good. Next step is to clean out the left side of the garage so I can roll the frame over to work on.
Happy Holidays!

 

nice place, I so badly want to do what you did there

 

Looking Good! I like how its came along.

A few words of caution when backfeeding your home.

Please tell us you are using a transfer switch for the safety of linesmen when working on outage problems, as the current can also travel down the line without one.

 

Yes the main line coming in is off when back feeding through the garage. Nothing can get out to the street. My safety and others is important to me.

 

Garage looks great man... congratulations. You should be able to do just about anything in there. When you get that frame in there post pics. Nothing like a garage full of car parts to make a gear head smile.