I grew up with the family business owning a large repair and machine shop. Now that is long gone, I've since moved and bought a condo.
I'm curious if anyone here does not have a shop/shed/garage and still works on vehicles. I've been looking to get into auto crossing but the cars that are are running/street worthy are outside my hobby budget. The ones that are cheap need work, and trying to avoid mechanics (their costs are crazy now).
Any advice or insight? Thanks
Embrace the suck. Jack and jack stands on thick solid plywood if you are on dirt/sand. Cheap pop up cover for the sun/rain if you can. Bug spray for ticks etc.
Make sure the Association allows you to work on cars there first.
I used to. I bought a 10x20 canopy shelter for a couple hundred. Had sides and a zip door, it couldn't keep all the rain out, but was a covered area to work under.
If you're in a condo, probably a Walmart brand pop up shelter would be better, the canopy I had was semi permanent (not fast to take down). Probably wa t a big tarp too in case it rains in the middle of your repairs.
Just think, it's character building. It'll make the goal of having a garage even better, and you won't be afraid to fix something in a grass field or parking lot. You'll feel real accomplished being the guy who isnt afraid of some work in the autox parking lot...and you'll have a lot of friends there to watch you lol
Also, some sort of storage bin would be helpful to carry tools. It's worth it to get one with wheels.
We use the cheap black bin with the yellow top for rallycross and camping. They're weatherproof and sturdy for the price. I recently got a husky connect system and have been working out of that. It's super helpful to throw stuff in that and roll it to and from
Appreciate the insights, but they are not feasible for my current situation. Maybe I'll just have to find something with less work; and find a good shop locally.
With that being said, any recommendations around Charlotte NC for a knowledgeable and decent priced mechanic? Shops in Charlotte are asking ridiculous prices. Thanks
When I was in vet school I did a short block replacement in the parking lot of my apartment. I didn't have a canopy or anything like that, but what I did have was permission from the manager.
Everyone has a different situation, I hope you can find a way to get something to compete with. H Street is probably the cheapest option. Good luck.
You can look in your area to see if you have a hourly shop rental facility. There used to be a couple near me but both closed. Military bases usually have them too if thats an option. Otherwise most autocross communities are helpful and there is usually someone with some space willing to help out and possibly rent out or loan garage for quick jobs.
Yes. I spent many hours laying on the ground, using 2 jack stands. Rain, snow, etc. Being broke as a joke and needing to have an operational car for work is what made me start working on cars in the first place.
If you're working in an apartment, make sure they allow it and try to do it somewhere out of the way.
Definitely doable if motivated. Check on the condo's policy on working on vehicles. I entirely restored my first big project car in an apartment parking garage (apart from using a borrowed paint booth) and just carried down tools as needed. Working on cars was technically not allowed but I found the key to not getting reported to management was working during off hours, keeping the car covered and out of sight, and generally taking care to not disturb other people or their cars.
How about renting a storage unit large enough for the car and the tools? I'm pretty sure that most will not have power available inside the unit but I've done a lot of work on my stuff with nothing but hand tools. That would keep the car, tools and parts in a "secure" location and if you didn't get the repairs/upgrades finished, the car wouldn't have to be put back together before you quit for the day.
As a kid I did a lot of work in my folk's driveway, friends driveways, etc. None of us had garages. It's now several decades later and I mostly work in my garage. I recently acquired a four door Chevelle that is a tight squeeze the way my garage is currently "organized." It was kind of a nostalgia purchase so to complete the experience I'm doing all of the work outside. The kicker is that my driveway isn't flat. To complete the engine swap alone I had to use my Jeep winch to keep the engine/hoist from rolling downhill. :)
As others have said I think permission is your biggest hurdle. If your condo association allows it, go for it! I like the above storage unit suggestion - I had a friend do that for motorcycles several years ago.
When I was a teen, we had a very cool mom-and-pop storage facility let us rent a space to work on cars. It was essentially a big one car garage. Might be something there. Only thing that kinda sucks with that is you probably can't get air and water and electricity is probably gonna be iffy too. But you'll have space and a roof.
I used to do alot of work on my rabbit and foxbody in the apartment parking lot. It's really not too bad. Just keep your toolbox light, and have a daily to fall back on. Moving a welder in/out is less fun, but its how I got the original Bean build done.
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