The American Garage Blog

This is one of the more interesting things I have done lately, and I thought is would be way more difficult to get good results. Casting metal really opened up a whole new level of diffrent things that can be done, and removes the barrier to when you want some special little thing that you cannot seem to find anywhere. So make it! I casted in aluminum, which has one of the lowest melting points of  all metals. Watch the video and see what you think!

Well, 2019 went by in a flash, and Steve has been working on the Truck Project. Season 2- The Ranger Truck Project, is well underway, and we will be putting out episodes on the truck very soon. Come join us as we take on a new year and some new projects!

The American Garage rings in 2019 with some new shows! Steve has been working on some new projects, and doing some how to's on cars repairs. Currently, there are two videos on maintaining an Audi A8, with the featured repair being the replacement of the timing belt. This is a common item on most Audis, as Steve has done the A6 at an earlier time. There are a lot of similarities, but each car being unique,  this will be a good guide to someone working on this car.

The first video is how to prepare the A8 for service. This involves all the steps to tear the front of the car down, so that it can be worked on. You can find it here.

The second video replaces the timing belt, water pump and thermostat, and can be found here.

All car repair videos are kept on the Car Repairs page, so check it out!

We are gearing up for new projects this fall. What kinds of projects interest you? Give us a comment and let us know.

As most of you know, Hurricane Harvey blew through Texas, and Houston got its fair share in the form of a year's worth of rain in just 4 days. We are using our skills and abilities to help family, friends and neighbors recover from this event. Here at TAG, we will also be doing our part to blow out the internet lines with some new shows, new projects, and a revisit of some old ones too. Stay tuned as we get things up and going again!

Hello Projecteers!

As you have no doubt just enjoyed the first episode of TAG, I thought I would give you a little more info about the project we have acquired. There are a few little details that we did not make evident in the show. First of all, here is a picture of our project when we purchased it.As you can see, it is not just one David Bradley, but two. They came with old Briggs & Stratton engines, and was received in a basket case condition. What is a basket case? Go take something apart, throw all the parts in a big basket, and all the nuts an bolts in a box, give them a big shake, hand to someone else and voila! Here is a funny side note about the purchase. I called the guy and asked him how much to purchase the DB’s. He said $150. I said ok. He said, “Well now you don’t have to be so hard nosed about it. Ok, $125.” I said ok. He said,” You really drive a hard bargain! Okay, $100, and that is my final offer!” I said ok, but you better stop before I get it for free. Ha! I never knew I had such fantastic negotiating skills. I did try to work this little story into the script but it just didn’t work. So, here it is. Now, we will get into detail on the different aspects of the restoration, so if you have any questions, drop me a note and I will answer your questions on the website as best I can.

Stephen

In episode 2 we start the tear-down process on the David Bradley Garden Tractor project.

First of all, MERRY CHRISTMAS from The American Garage! I can’t believe we are already here! We have just released Episode 2, which focuses on tear-down and project organization. So let me let you in on a secret- folks have taken machines apart and did not stay organized and the project rarely succeeds. At the onset of this project, the garage was not all that organized. Look carefully in the background- the shelves are full of scrap wood, there is a junk car in the other bay, and I am talking about organization! Not to worry, I put my money where my mouth is and got rid of the car, and cleaned up 3 of the shelves. Keep a watchful eye on the surroundings as the episodes are released, you will see the garage become more functional and organized. So, don’t be thinking that because we have this show we are perfect or have sponsors that come in and magically clean things up- no sirree. This is a process for me as well as for you. So the message here is this: it can be done! If you get the shop organized before you take your project apart, you will be better off. Even if you use the bag process, if you are constantly moving parts around the garage and moving and combining boxes, you are not yet organized, and stuff gets lost. For this project, I am going to make a special area where all the parts will be kept, and nothing else. Don’t turn your garage into a giant parts tumbler, moving things and re-stacking things all the time. You will lose more then you gain half the time, even with 110% effort. (How’s that for garage math?!) Tear-down is fun. It is the part of the project that goes the fastest, but also where you will set the course of the project success or failure. Once things start coming apart, you want to just keep going for the fun of it. Don’t forget to document. Another thing- be careful! You may inadvertently tear up a piece that is irreplaceable- then what? Treat every piece as if it were one of a kind, because some of them may be. Email me your questions and comments, or post them at the bottom of the page. I look forward to hearing from all of you and what ideas that have been sparked. Stephen

In Episode 3, we will remove rust from all the pieces, now that we are organized and disassembled. Follow along as we cover some different techniques for handling rust.