Taking the leap to self-employment.....Eventually

[spasm3]

Looking good!

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted by spasm3
Looking good!

Thanks man!


The building is finally skinned!!!!! I just need to do the Rake & Corner trim.

Got the Roll Up doors yesterday, They are a little more bulky & heavy than I imagined! I would have used the 2500HD if I would have known!!

The red Dodge Ram 1500 in the previous photos was going to be my "Shop Truck", But an acquaintance of mine needed a truck after he burnt the 3-4 Clutch out of the 4L60E in his '96 Chevy 1500, And the Intake Gaskets were leaking along with the A/C not working.
...Traded him the Ram for the Chevy plus a $1000, The grand bought all the parts (4L60E rebuild kit, Forward Sprag, Vette Servo, Sonnax Line Booster, ATF, TransGo SK kit, Accumulator pistons......Mahle intake gaskets, Coolant, 7.4L HD Radiator, A/C Compressor, Low Pressure switch, And some Delco spark plugs.
Has 150K on it, Decently maintained, The Cap, Rotor, & Ignition wires are still original.....I'll tackle that when the business is up & running.
Kinda feel like I took advantage of the guys situation as I only had $800 in the Ram, It had 230,000 on it's original 4.7L & rattles BAD upon cold start.....But, The A/C works good (After I broke & removed the recirculation door that was blocking blower motor inlet), Serviced the 545RFE, And put a couple Ignition Coils on it. I did tell him how weak the 4.7L is & how they have a tendency to use/burn oil! Hopefully it will serve him well!!!

 

[OVERKILL]

Looks fantastic!!!

 

[DoubleWasp]

Heck of a thing when it all takes shape. I like what I see!

 

[JTK]

Looks beautiful!

That'll last a lifetime and then some.

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Looks fantastic!!!

Originally Posted by DoubleWasp
Heck of a thing when it all takes shape. I like what I see!

Originally Posted by JTK
Looks beautiful!

That'll last a lifetime and then some.


Thanks guys.....I appreciate it!!!!

Got a (USA made) 10,000# Rotary Lift installed, Decided to install in Symmetrically....It can be installed Asymmetrically as well, But I also bought a Asymmetrical Ammco 7,000# 2-post Lift.

The game/floor plan has changed a bit, Lifts make me the more money than Mills & Lathes! I'll build a small Machine Shop building later if needed.

 

[4WD]

Howdy, Chris … trust there will be new pictures soon !

 

[Mr Nice]

Very nice.

 

[P10crew]

Looking good👊

 

[snarl]

 

[spasm3]

Are you going to do any floor treatment, like epoxy coating or a stain?

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted by spasm3
Are you going to do any floor treatment, like epoxy coating or a stain?



I REALLY want to!!!!!! But I have yet to see any of them hold-up long term in a working shop environment.


Got the 2 overhead/roll-up doors hung, adjusted, & tensioned. The first one took @5 hours.....The second one was much easier! Trim installed. Ready for final structure inspection!

 

[clinebarger]

Got my Final Structural inspection & pulled a Electrical Permit last week with some help from a master electrician friend. Doing it all myself though.....I'm a far better electrician than I am a building erector!!!!!

I really wanted to run all rigid conduit.....But I have several spools of 12 gauge MC Flex. I did make one conduit run to a 50 amp 220 plug at the back wall (6 gauge) & bought some 6 gauge MC Flex to run to the 50 amp 220 plug on the lift post & the Air Compressor disconnect.

Waiting for Amazon Prime day to order all the 20 amp GFI outlets that I'm running in every 120 wall Quad Box!! I have all the standard 15 amp outlets for the lights to plug into.
Yes....All my light fixtures have cords on them. Took some time & money to install cords, Buy & wire boxes/outlets in the ceiling VS just hard wiring them with wire nuts. BUT.....I've always hated working on a fixture off a ladder! This way I just unplug it, Zip the screws off the chains & repair it on the bench.
Though there is not much repair to do on a LED fixture? Probably cheaper/easier to replace?

Never worked in a shop with LED lighting......Always Fluorescent with 1/3rd the bulbs/ballasts burnt out & another 1/3rd dim & flickering

Another thing I've noticed about most repair garages......The fixtures are placed right above the car, Which would be great if I was repairing the roof of the vehicle. I placed mine a little differently.....Around the perimeter of the 2 bays.
Bought 2 extra fixtures just in case I decide I need some lighting in the middle of the bays, I'll let you all know.

RED......120V 20amp Quad Boxes.
Yellow.....220V 50amp (Welder) & Compressor disconnect outside.
Blue......120V 15amp Outlets mounted to the Perlin's (Switched)
Black rectangles.....Light Fixtures

 

[MolaKule]

With your expertise and detailed knowledge of transmissions, you will have more customers than you may be able to accommodate.

Find a good attorney you can work with, and set your own rules and schedules.

Best wishes for a successful business.

 

[Nick1994]

You're doing great, looks like a really usable shop.

My question is, how are you going to stay cool in the summer? Probably too humid for an evaporative cooler. Big fans?

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted by MolaKule
With your expertise and detailed knowledge of transmissions, you will have more customers than you may be able to accommodate.

Find a good attorney you can work with, and set your own rules and schedules.

Best wishes for a successful business.

Thanks man....I do appreciate all the business advice given so far. It's unfortunate that specialized transmission building/repair is a dying business, Our local drag strips closing didn't help. But the general motoring public rather have car payments than spend a few thousand on a trans build.
Definitely not stooping to cheap "Banner Kit" rebuilds that you find on craigslist!!!!

I'll probably do a couple high end trans builds a month & concentrate more on Diagnostics/Electrical/AC repair as that's the future of auto repair if not already the reality.
Sure.....I'd love nothing more than to build transmissions & hot rods all day, From what I learned/witnessed at my last employment.....Year over year volume & revenue have been in a steady decline! You know who has hot rods built & drag races every weekend.....Baby Boomers, By a wide margin! They are either dying off or growing out of spending their money so frivolously. (That gravy train don't run twice a day anymore )

I'm pretty good at avoiding "Litigious" types.....I would go into detail but would be offensive to some.


Originally Posted by Nick1994
You're doing great, looks like a really usable shop.

My question is, how are you going to stay cool in the summer? Probably too humid for an evaporative cooler. Big fans?


I have never worked in a climate controlled shop, So I'm acclimated to the heat & work in it everyday. The building I work in now is Red Brick & Haydite Block.....The brick makes it feel like your in a giant oven.
The Galvalume R-Panel skin I used on my building reflects the sun rays.....It's 10-15 degrees cooler than the oven I work in now.

But to answer your question.....Evaporative cooler do not work here most of the time, RH has to fall below 35% for them to be effective, Late July & August during the hottest parts of the day the RH can be low enough. I have 2 Honeywell portable evap coolers that I use as fans this time of year.

I am having the building spray insulated for the winter months & I have a Natural Gas fired furnace (Ceiling hung). I can deal with heat better than cold!!

 

[Exhaustgases]

I would have liked to have a business doing what I like to do. And since I've been looking for a place with a shop, I'd like to add some insight. I seem to see many places with small buildings like the one your building. One thing that is true with anyone that has projects or does anything with cars, you can never have a shop that is too big. And especially for a business, I wouldn't want anything smaller than 60 x 80, space is important, you will see once you get going.

 

[clinebarger]

You'll get no argument from me.....I'd like a 100'x100' shop

1. A 30'x40' is the biggest the city would allow me to build, Once I tear down the house & get the property rezoned, I can easily add-on.

2. I'm doing this without borrowing money or dipping into my retirement accounts, To be honest.....I don't have the cash to build any bigger at the moment.

3. Pouring a 30x40 slab on the side of the building with an Awning covering it which will double my working area....And I can do this without pulling a permit.
I have a 40' shipping container for storage of parts, Trans cores & rarely used equipment, Also have a 25'x25' garage on the homestead next door that's basically empty besides my Camaro & a large tool box that's getting moved to the main shop.

4. I HATE clutter & don't hoard useless crap.....The reason my garage has remained usable for 20+ years!

 

[P10crew]

Lookin good CLine lookin good! Same measurements as the work area of my new shop.

 

[clinebarger]