Hi everyone, I've been following along and toying with the idea of building a roadster for years and I'm close to ready to take the plunge.
An elementary question: I don't have a very large garage. It's really a one car garage with about 20' of length, 15' width, and a 10' ceiling. The garage door tracks are 7' high. I'll have to store the parts elsewhere on site, likely in a shed.
Is this impossible to work with, or possible but really unpleasant to try this with that kind of limited space availability?
Sorry if this is a dumb question and thanks for the input. Just want to make sure I don't have a lift and kit arrive at my house and it quickly becomes apparent that there's no way we'll be able to build it!
If you look at some of these build threads I'm amazed at how small some of these garages are. Obviously more space is nice but motivation will keep you going in the right direction. Once you get a rolling chassis things get much easier because you can move it around.
I stored my roadsters body outside on a buck all the time I was assembling the rest of it. It survived with no issues through the summer sun, and winter snows. 15' is plenty wide if you park it in the middle. The roadster even with the body on is only 14' long, so lots of room lengthwise too.
I think you have plenty of room in 20x15x10, especially if you build storage shelving and use a 4 post lift. You can use the lift to access high shelving.
The lift make life a lot easier, but is not required to build in a space that size.
I've built one in a 20x20x8 space. I'd love that extra 2' height:
FFR 5369 Pin Drive, IRS, Trigos, Torsen, Wilwoods, FMS BOSS 302 "B" cam , Mass-flo. CA SB100 (SPCN) Registered
Delivered 4/23/06. "Finished" 4/2012 (still not done!)
It will be a bit aggravating but absolutely doable. I would work out a rope and pulley system to hang the body from the ceiling. A separate setup for the front and the rear. Put it right in the middle of the space so you can then use it to install and uninstall the body to the frame. The body goes onto the frame at the front first and then the rear is lowered so that is why I say two separate systems.
FFR MkII, 408W, Tremec TKO 500, 2015 IRS, DA QA1s, Forte front bar, APE hardtop.
I've always had the luxury of space but many others have done it in small 1 and 1 1/2 car garages. Heck, twenty plus years ago Ariel Ayubo built what became known as "the man in the box" car outside his apartment in the wooden shipping container it came in! Unless a tree falls on it the body can stay outside without ill effect.
I have been working in half of a two car. Not to far off from what you are describing. I have made is work. I keep the body on a off site storage as my HOA wouldn't allow the body to sit outside. The only issue is banging my head once and awhile on the bicycles that are hanging over head. Quckjack 5000 have also made it quite easy. I didn't realize how many times I would go up and down with the car.
Body outside on the ground as long as there is no snow load in your area. Tight space will make you tidy. I have big space = STUFF SPREAD "FROM HERE TO KINGDOM COME".... (betcha haven't heard that one in a while)...da Bat
I ordered the complete kit and blue print engine at the same time. I put the engine crate on two furniture dollies so I could move around the garage. I found it to be the perfect work bench. I am 6’2” and it put the top of the box slightly at lwr chest height when I am standing. I prefer to worm standing up and it is easy to move around on the furniture dollies.
I also have the luxury of tall ceilings so I suspended my body from the ceiling using two kayak hoist purchased off of Amazon
Ran across this thread. I too was curious on some of the smaller spaces people have done a build in. I spent the last week organizing and getting rid of stuff. This is the best i can do. I've got 16' side to side to work with. The body will be stored offsite, and the Syclone will be stored, hopefully offsite in the winter, at least until the build is a roller. It's going to be tight.
I'll bite on this older thread as well....I opted for a stacked chassis/body buck solution so I can still park my other sled in the garage for the time being. I can easily move either the body or the chassis out single handedly.
*first attempt at adding a photo. garage.JPG
My two cents. I have a tight space too. Store the body on a buck outside; I covered mine with a tarp. I also had it on stilts with casters when in a storage unit (until I got kicked out ). Build a chassis dolly with caster that can support a bit of weight. You’ll want to move the car as you work on it to give you room to do what you need. Store boxes you won’t need until later in your house. Consider when your engine and tranny will arrive. They will take up a bit of space. Don’t want them too early. IMG_1880.jpg
consider storing your body in the ceiling or make an elevated body buck on casters.
That's what I did. I have a 2-car garage divided off with a temporary partition. The body sits outside for the summer and gets rolled in for the winter over top of garage "stuff". Parts boxes share the same bay and are stored in order by box # so I know where to look. That frees up space to work on the car in the other bay which is also partially heated w/ a 2Kw ceiling heater w/fan.
Pics of my set-up are on my build page. Works for me.
Earl
1st Speedstar in Canada 31 March 2023.
Built by me 302 engine, AOD trans, 3.55 IRS.
If you can find a good place to stash the body you can certainly build this in a good sized one car garage. More space is always better...but you can do it with less. Just keep your shipping boxes organized and label them well. I used sharpie and wrote all the major items contained in the boxes on their side where I could see them at a glance. Has saved me a ton of time vs. searching the inventory sheet or digging through them. Do that when you take initial inventory, keep the boxes accessible and you'll be fine.
A two car garage would certainly be preferable though...
Small two-car garage here. Wife’s car goes out when I work on it. I built a wooden buck and have the body outside under a tarp. I built both the buck and chassis dolly from plans found on these forums. Rolling it off to the side has been great and it can stay on the dolly until you are ready for the engine install. Now that I have the engine in, I have the car on skates from Harbor Freight (locking wheels), it’s still fairly mobile. My Blueprint engine crate was on harbor freight furniture dollys as well. I keep most parts in the basement.
It’s useful to keep a binder of all your inventory—you may end up looking for parts later (its inventoried by box number so it’s a good reference).
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Originally Posted by stuchman1
