Stocking a Garage to Minimize Work Stoppages

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Some years back I posted that I live an inconvenient distance from a parts store. Combine that with a hatred of stopping in the middle of a repair or upgrade for something stupid and you end up with quite a list of stuff. That list was posted years back but I have found I have added several items to that list.

For your general reading pleasure (and hopefully a reduction in future work stoppage:

For the GARAGE]
Beer
Fire Extinguisher(s)
First Aid Kit(s)
“Mouse-Proof” rodent killing pelletsBag of kitty litter for spills
Metal sheet on top of the work bench

FLUIDS for the car
Oil (Oil Filters)
Fuel Filter(s)
Gear Lube
Jaguar Differential Additive
ATF (for tranny or carb dash pots)
Castrol GT LMA brake fluid
Anti-Freeze
Distilled Water
Power Steering Fluid
Marvel Mystery OilStarting FluidGrease for ball joints/tie rod ends etc

SPARES for the Car
Spark Plugs
Plug Wires
Rotor / Condenser
Distributor Cap
Set of O-Rings
Fuel Line of various diameter
Vacuum Line of various diameters

CLEANING yourself
GoJo hand cleaner (NAPA brand, Mac’s, part Number 5005)
Hand Cream on your Hands
Latex (or Nitrile) Gloves
Shop Towels

CLEANING Car/Engine/Garage/Floor
Castrol Concentrated Cleaner
Battery Cleaner / Protector
Engine Cleaner
Brake Cleaner
Carb Cleaner
Rust Remover
Brushable Rustoleum
Degreaser
Acetone
Mineral Spirits
Lacquer Thinner
Vinegar (nature’s rust remover)
Goof Off (removes decals and adhesives)

BEAUTY PRODUCTS
Polish
Wax
Glass Cleaner
RainEx
Touch-up paint
Wire wheel cleaners (Eagle 1)
Hide Food and/or Leatherique and / or Gliptone conditioner
Blue Away Chrome Cleaner
Leather Cleaner – Meguairs “Gold Class” with Aloe. Clear plastic bottle – is translucent pale blue.; it cleans and softens
Kirk’s Castile Soap leather cleaner
EFFAX Leather Balsam. It contains Lanolin, Avocodo Oil and Beeswax.
Vinylex, the Lexol brand protectant. It’s non-silicone, I believe, and has UV protection too. Good for vinyl interior parts, too.
Chrome Kleener (Autosol)

OTHER
PB Blaster
Liquid Wrench
Silicon Spray
Di-Electric Grease
JB Weld
Belt Conditioner / Dressing

I am sure I missed some items . . .

I have quite a few duplicates primarily from military changes of station when various fluids were not allowed to be shipped (inherented from departing friends), buying items at auction that came with shelves of stuff and (sadly) purchases made only days / weeks apart forgetting I had purchased that stuff in the first place.

So – when you finally get around to organizing all your “stuff” into 1 new storage container, this is what you get (if I attached the photos correctly):

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Nice!! is the new building up yet?

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Wiggie

Met with the contractor on Saturday, walked the ground with him as a refresher and am on his calendar as the first build of 2019 (prolly starting March or April). Money is burning a hole in my pocket. My 48x36 hobby shop should be up and running mid-summer: that’s when the Jag comes out of a you-store-it lot and i save $2,000 a year in storage fees.

Been planning this garage for 15-17 years. Concepts closer to becoming reality(ies)!

Craig

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Invite me down, and we’ll bust a bottle o’bubbly, on the frame rail of the Jag!

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Way too organized for for a healthy body and mind. I leave stuff where I last used it. This helps work the mind in trying to remember where I left it or used it last. Walking around the shop and home looking for it helps keep the body fit. And the “work stoppages” are what I call beer breaks. Building a garage could lead to the George Carlin syndrome…more stuff.

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Kind of unbelievable all the stuff we accumulate just to keep our buggies on the road.

That’s pretty much everything I’ve got tucked away n the garage and basement.

I also have ( and you probably do to):

The Right Stuff,
Permatex #2
Super Glue
Contact cement, spray and tube.
Ultra Disc Brake Caliper Lube
Copper Anti seize Lube
Regular silver anti seize lube
Dielectric tune up grease
black super weatherstrip adhesive
Ultra Black gasket maker
various thread lockers
Cans or R134a
antifreeze, already premixed to 50/50
Ammonia
hydrogen peroxide
windscreen washer fluid.
Hydraulic oil for the jacks
MB hydraulic fluid for the convertible top hydraulics.
stop leak.
exterior detailer (clay bar lubricant)
Interior detailer

I used to keep a lot of oil around for changes. Then I thought, "Why, the store is 2-3 miles away, buy fresh when I need it so now I keep a quart or two for additions and just buy the big jugs at oil change time. Being far from a parts store I can understand your stocking a supply.

Periodically I order a selection of oil filters from Rock Auto, enough for two changes per vehicle.

I also label various things like gear oil. I have one type of for the truck diff, another for the Jag diff another for the truck transmission and yet another for the Jag transmission. Same for brake fluid.

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Craig, Great concept and well laid out. My only complaint is that you didn’t post this all last week, I could have answered the annual question from my wife "what would you like for Fathers Day?

Your list would fill the bill nicely. best regards and enjoy the new shop!!, Brian / Mytype.

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You left out;
Compressor
Air tools various;
Rattle gun
Air chisel
Air grinder
Air cut off tools
Air and power disc grinders
Power polishing mops
Dremel (type) grinders
Die grinders,for the bigger stuff
Battery drills
Lathe
Pedestal drill
Welder
Gas torch (of some description)
Axle stands
4000kg jack
Car ramps

  • storage for all the parts that have come off previous cars that have reached end of life and ‘that’ll come in handy sometime’

Now I know why SWMBO hates coming into the garage :slight_smile:

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Do ya check the use-by dates?

:joy::joy::joy::joy:

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I would if they had them. Manufacturers don’t put a use by date on oil. Probably because shelf life depends on storage conditions. Typically , if you ask them, I did when I worked at Oilco they’ll tell you 2-5 years. Storage in a hot garage probably yields the low end of the shelf life. and consider you have no idea how long it sat in a warehouse jobber’s storage or store. I buy at Wal-Mart because they have a high turnover rate for stock and the price is right.

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I’ll go on the record to say…it really won’t matter.

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Probably not but why not buy the freshest product. Two other considerations. The MB, as an example takes 8 quarts so I’d need to have 2 - 5 quart jugs on the shelf (cost wise as cheap as buying 1 jug and 3 1 quart bottles). If the thing blows up or gets stolen or totaled what am I going to do with that oil? Nothing else I own uses that weight. Secondly, manufacturers constantly improve their products. Newer stock will have the latest improvements.

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Then there is also the custom made stuff, tools-wise…ugh…I have been storing and tripping/reaching over a lot for a long time but I have to say, in contradiction to the popular (not well thought out) notion that this is all just “stuff”, there is not only a worthwhile functionality to it all (my equipment usually works when many others’ doesn’t) there is a certain sense and pride and dare I say comfort from, what I like to call being “energetically lazy” by hitting a problem so hard that it stays down for the count.

But, I have to admit that if one stands back from it all it can just look like a daunting array

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I have been meaning to post to help some other lister on lift points for the E and this is the perfect forum for why I collect “stuff”, too. We had purchased some many years ago some really nice patio furniture at a closeout that was welded tube aluminum, solid as all get out and comfy. Made in some Asian land by laudable craftsmen. The chairs had armrests made of some tropical hardwood (I don’t know the species but it is probably illegal to even look at one of these trees, these days and maybe even then) that I salvaged when I had to get rid of the set (webbing could not be re-strung, and I tried) but saved the trim wood caps. Some years later I needed (and I save a lot of scrap wood) some pieces for making a spacer to go on top of the cups on a two-poster lift and rough cut (4) pieces to length, drilled a hole to go around the “teats” on the bottom of the car at the factory jack points and they worked so well I was amazed (I used for some months with much lifting, too).

FWIW (storage fees not included).

Huff

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In my POV, it’s a mindf**k. Oil off the sheld, irrespective of how long it’s been there, is going to provide plenty good lube.

As to your point of not storing it, that’s perfectly logical.

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Mine uses and loses so much oil I opted for a small barrel of oil sitting in the garage :flushed:

Martin

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Coppa-Slip/Nevr-Seize in a spray can.

I never fit a shaft or a threaded fastener dry. For electrical stuff I use silicone or Vaseline.