Over this past week, I've been involved in a few projects at home that have prompted some personal reflection. On the one hand, I pulled a motor from a 2005 Trailblazer that was involved in a rollover accident. Though I certainly didn't need the motor, it was one of those Craigslist finds that was too good to refuse. From 2002-2009, GM produced what would be the last in-line 6 cylinder engine they would use in consumer vehicles. As a modern engine, it produces plenty of power while maintaining surprising efficiency. I hauled it home, and over the past week, I've been stripping it down and running diagnostics. After removing the starter, alternator, wiring, and manifolds, it is to the point where I am ready to test the integrity of the seals and rotating assembly. This is how it currently sits in my garage, next to the T bucket.
If it passes all the tests that I'll throw at it over the next several weeks, I'll use it as-is until it grenades. As it sits, it has about 157k miles on it, but it ran before it was pulled, and it turns very freely. Needless to say, whatever I put this is is going to be an awesome ride.
The other project that I spent two weekend on was a request from my wife. She asked me to build some shelves in the garage to help manage the mountain of totes and storage that prevent us from using the second half of our garage. While I certainly could have built a standard set of shelves, I wanted to get the "stuff" up off the floor and out of the way to give the garage a more open feel. So I designed a storage system that suspends a standard set of totes from the ceiling. What is more, it is designed to be modular such that, as more stuff needs to be stored, I can build more off the side and below the existing set. It is currently only one shelf, but in the coming weeks, I will add more. Again, the beauty of this system is that It keeps the storage off of my garage floor and walls, maximizing my work-space below. The following images should provide a good idea of what I've done so far.
After seeing the pictures here,I admit, the whole thing looks rather unremarkable. But like I said, it is a work in progress, and it will soon span the length of the whole back wall.
To bring this post full circle and tie it into the title, during these projects, I've has some time to reflect on the skills that I've acquired over the past 31 years. All the time that I spent in my father's shop rebuilding engines and, literally, creating cars has enabled me to to confidently and comfortably pull and engine from some vehicle and re-purpose it for something WELL beyond its intended application. One of the greatest regrets of my youth was not spending more time with my father in his shop. It often pains me to realize what else I might have learned. In spite of the "what ifs," however, I am deeply indebted to my father for all that I did learn.
As it pertains to the shelves, my father has always been unconventional but nevertheless resourceful and robust. After I had laid out my plans on paper, I sat back looking at them and I could see the DNA of my fathers design language. They have a seemingly industrial look and feel, and with all of the over-sized fasteners that I used, it will probably outlive the rest of the house. At the end of the day, I can say "I built this." It was my father that taught me to use construction materials and tools (the memory of the Arcadia bathrooms haunts me still). I've seen him (and helped him) build at home, all the while learning and growing.
In closing, thank you dad, for the lessons you taught. I did not learn them all, but those I did will remain with me for a lifetime, and possibly another lifetime if my daughters choose to join me in my shop. I love you.
UPDATE:
I just finished the rest of the top row. Now it is starting to look more like shelving.
