Been spending the last few weeks determining how to proceed. Part of my frustration with the thrash last summer was disorganization on my part. I can rationalize some of it as being too little space with parts and tools scattered hither and yawn. I couldn’t keep everything in the garage, because it has to function as, well, a garage.
At this point, the car is essentially complete, so questions like where I have to put the fenders, a transmission, brackets, doors, etc., are no longer an issue - they’re all bolted together on the car, and with a few exceptions, they can stay that way.
But last spring, I had Rubbermaid tote boxes filled with mountains of take-off parts, bolts, electrical components – essentially enough extras to build another car.
I asked myself, “Why does this happen here, when you wouldn’t let it get nearly this out of hand at work?”
There was no excuse.
Two weeks ago, I started in the attic, where I had stowed away about ½ of my parts car, and asked myself these questions regarding each part – “Will this make the Midget go faster?” – “Is it a part that’s hard to find?” – “Is it worth the time and effort to throw it up on E-Bay?”
Lucas dash switches, windshield wipers, bezels, seat belts, rearview mirrors, chrome trim, door latches, dried out old rubber seals (?!?!?) – “Why is this still here?”
And when I couldn’t come up with good answers, it went into one of the now-empty Rubbermaid totes and out to the trash.
This weekend, I did the same thing in the garage – convertible top frames, SR145-13 tires, heater cores, scissor jacks – and how many unsalvageable Spridget drum brake plates does one man really need?
To the dump.
And while going through all this crap, I found my good set of channel locks, my missing 12 point sockets, a body grinder that I forgot I had and replaced, a set of brushes for same – just maddening.
So after everything was found, sorted, categorized, and/or pitched, I made up my mind to organize it.
I found a decent, cheap roll-around and top chest at the Sears Outlet store - $130.00, replacing 6 smaller tool boxes and a pair of empty drywall buckets. And then I added a few more shelves, trying to maximize the newly constituted “shop corner”.
It’s not perfect, but neither is the situation. It’s tight in a 2 ½ car garage that contains a Dodge wagon, a snow blower, a lawn mower, miscellaneous garden tools, an MGB and a race car.
It still needs some tweaking, and after the trash gets picked up this week, I’ll probably comb through it once more. I just don’t want to find myself tearing the house apart looking for something that isn’t there, or digging through cardboard boxes, or having to clean a screwdriver that’s been soaking in gear lube at the bottom of a pickle bucket.
