My garage, albeit small—mostly due to the large commercial shelving units I have—was too tight for me to comfortably wrench on my '76 Corvette. And since there are several back-burner projects I'd like to tackle sooner rather than later, this was one of the many reasons for me to list my house.
Real estate market conditions seem to be favorable for selling homes, and only time will tell the story if a sale takes place.
But being the optimistic type, I am well into the process of packing all my belongings and, consequently, my garage nowadays looks more like a disaster area than the tidy and well-organized shop it used to be a few weeks ago. And it's driving me crazy!
First, I disassembled all the shelving. These shelves have been with me through four moves in the last eight years and are commercial-grade, so they're expensive to replace and I was not going to leave them behind.
Try as you may, some things are just impossible to store in boxes, and there's a big contingent of such items scattered all over the place. Frankly, they are a bit of a pain, but I've managed before and this time will be no different.
Believe it or not, all of the shelving has been reduced to the very small bunch of metal pieces and the stack of wood shelves in the photo above. Everything is properly bundled, grouped, and numbered to make reassembly easier.
My tool assortment has been reduced to just a few indispensable handtools. My rolling toolbox is still somewhat accessible should I need more specialized wrenches.
So, with that in mind, I tend to hang on to a few old parts "just in case."
My plan is to find a good place for all these parts and have them categorized properly. There also are lots of small bags of brand new C3 Corvette hardware that I have accumulated over the years that need to be sorted, organized, and easily accessible.
Part of my "master plan" if you would, is to build drawers and integrate them into the metal shelving. Shelves by themselves are only marginally useful as you still waste a lot of the vertical space. Custom-built drawers and cabinets solve that issue.
Not to mention that by doing so I would have the perfect excuse to purchase a few woodworking tools I've always wanted. Actually, I've owned many in the past but sold them due to space constraints. Yeah, the story tends to repeat itself.
Needless to say—if I'm able to sell my home—my plan calls for a 2-car garage (at least) as well as some land. Ideally, an acre that would allow me to maybe build a metal building for a wood and metal shop. Hey, a guy can dream, right?
And if you are curious as to why am I moving?
Well, after almost four decades in the Sunshine State, the time for a change is overdue. I've lived through too many hurricanes, countless tropical storms, and I've had my fill. Besides, Central Florida has grown quite a lot since I moved here in 1990 and that's gotten old. Too many people, too many cars, too much of everything.
Don't get me wrong. I still love Florida and I may end up living just over the state line in Southern Georgia if everything goes according to plan.
But you know what they say about the best-laid plans.
Thank you for following my '76 Vette Blog!
Product Links... (#sponsored)
• How to Restore Your C3 Corvette: 1968-1982
• 1968-1982 Corvette Restoration Guide, 2nd Edition
• Corvette Black Book | 1953-2019
• 1976 Corvette Service & Overhaul Manual
• 1976 Corvette Service & Overhaul Manual CD-ROM
• 1976 Corvette Dealer Sales Brochure | GM-Licensed Reprint
• 1976 Corvette Stingray Owner's Manual | GM-Licensed Reprint
• 1976 Corvette Assembly Manual
