Gray Man, Inc.

[wayno]

I had to change one of them out a decade ago, I put the new one in and tightened the old one a half turn or a turn tighter, I don't remember now, it was hard to find them even back then, only Parkrose Hardware had them, I suspect the powers that be don't want home owners doing that kind of stuff.
Before I changed it out I talked to an over head door guy about it(fellow hangglider pilot), he told me what to do and how to do it as that was his job, it has worked great since except for a couple things I did when the wood door started falling apart, I recently fixed all that stuff I did wrong and now it works great, it has not went thru a roller since and it sounds different/quieter.
My wood door is very heavy, the doors they sell now are a lot lighter, stuff don't wear out as fast.

[DRIVEN]

Yeah, it'll probably be fine. I'm actually a little disappointed in the quality compared to the door I had at The Compound. It's insulated but just feels less substantial. Opens easily with one hand though.

I'm really anxious to move in and start working but I know if I do it'll never get finished inside. I've been going back and forth with the hoist company (they actually seem a little scetchy) and will probably pay a deposit Monday but it won't be here until the middle of the month sometime. Still trying to solve my electrician dilemma too.

I did a little more dirt work down there with the tractor yesterday afternoon then moved all the trailers down and tucked them in. At least it looks less Idaho at the top of my driveway now. Still have a long list to tackle and this virus bullshit is really messing with my ability to get things done.

[jtinluvr]

My shop is so full of shit and cars right now it’s almost impossible to work in. I dont have power out there yet so I’m not really doing anything substantial. Are you open to sharing your situation on the lift your considering? (brand, model, install cost) The first lift I had was a Dannmar 2 post and I was happy with it. Probably get another as the cost is reasonable and it’s certified. I got a quote for installation from a outfit in Medford and it was like $700 + travel time (3 hours round trip) and I had to provide a forklift and did NOT include the electricaI. So close to 1k. I installed the Dannmar lift myself and it was not terribly difficult so I was surprised at the cost. When I get a little closer to pulling the trigger on my lift I may try Portland Service Station Supply for a quote but I get the feeling I may just install it myself again if I have to rent a forklift anyways. I thought about Greg Smith Equipment but they have quite a few not so good reviews and would probably only install their lifts, which I don’t care for personally.

[DRIVEN]

Kind of long winded so hopefully you won't lose interest...
There really aren't too many local options. One, really. Almost ALL lifts are made in China now and many are very similar or identical but marketed under different brand names. Kind of like how all the engine stands and jacks look eerily similar at all the different auto parts stores.
I had decided on the Tuxedo TP11KC-DX https://tuxedodistributors.com/automoti ... llery.html because it was a good fit for my situation. The day before I made my initial phone call I saw a post on another forum by a guy in my area saying he just ordered the same one but from a differently named company. We messaged back and forth to compare notes. The next day I called my company and left a message. No returned call. Tried again a couple days later and talked to a lady about it. She said they had it but then tried to upsell me a Forward. I asked if she had a showroom and she said that they were just a distributor. I asked about installation and she said that's done by a "sister company". Just so happens that the sister company share the same address but different name as the place my forum buddy had ordered from. Very interesting.
Going by their published pricing the lift was $2735, installation was $650 -- plus $150 fuel surcharge that is magically applied once they cross the bridge I can see from my house. $75 for hydraulic oil. Now get this...$400 labor warranty. That's right, after charging $650 to install, they don't even warranty it unless you pay extra.
I waited a day for the email quote that never came then got a call from the installer (2nd shell company) saying they were out of stock and I'd maybe get one around the 15th. At that point I pulled back to regroup. I had initially planned to have them deliver and install because I don't have a forklift to unload a freight truck. Now, I may pick it up on my car trailer and figure out a way to unload it with my engine hoist and the tractor. I figure I can probably install it as well as they can for $1000.

[jtinluvr]

Hmmmm, sounds kinda familiar. So when I got my 1st lift about 5 or 6 years ago I kind of got a similar runaround with different places. What I ended up doing was buying the lift thru Summit Racing ( no sales tax ) and have it “delivered” (they don’t actually stock them, it drop ships from the mfgr) to the closest freight terminal and took my car trailer down there to pick it up. They obviously had a forklift to load it. When I got it to the place I was installing it, I went and rented a forklift for a day to unload it and upright the columns. I’ve seen video where a couple guys stand them up manually, but since I already had the forklift why not use it? An engine hoist should easily lift the columns off a trailer. Hardest part was making sure the columns were located correctly before nailing them down. Equalizer cables were a little tricky but that was mostly due to poor instructions. Wire it in, fill it with fluid, check the adjustments and Bob’s your uncle! It took me most of the day working at a slow pace but if I did another right after it, the time would be easily cut in half, provided the electric was already roughed in.

[BLUE]

Not really sure what stage of the process you are in for the lift. My brother went and bought one from a local distributor. We trailered it out From the distributor , pulled it out , used dollys , engine hoist , etc and makeshift welded random pieces of metal to get it where we needed.

I wasn’t there for the final touches (had to work) , but I remember us both turning towards each other and saying “ that’s it ? “ When it was being tested out. 2-post lift and I don’t remember the brand. My first time with helping set up a lift.

[DRIVEN]

Well, as I said earlier, these guys are clowns. I've tried to call to make the payment that "reserves" it but nobody wants to answer the phone or return my calls. There's supposed to be 4 on the truck and I know one is spoken for. Whatevah.
I don't have an electrician yet anyway. Looks like I'm doing that myself but need to talk to the inspector and pull a permit. My buddy's dad was a Washington county electrical inspector and I'm sure he'd talk me through it. I'll probably call him tomorrow. Spent a couple hours online Saturday pricing materials.

[jtinluvr]

I know these are unusual times, but it’s not that hard to still have some form of customer service. If something like this was happening with me, with a decent sized purchase, I would look for other options. I mean if this outfit won’t even take your hard earned money, what’s going to happen if there is a warranty issue?

[DRIVEN]

There basically isn't a warranty. I year parts only.
Don't have a lot of options. A guy I know is getting one of the other ones from the shipment and paid 2 weeks ago. I guess I won't be alone.

[DRIVEN]

[jtinluvr]

Little jelly.

So what was the end game?

[DRIVEN]

I actually had decided to let the cosmos handle it. Guy called me yesterday out of the blue and said the container had just shown up. I picked it up today and got some help tipping it off the trailer. Not sure when I'll get it put together.

[DRIVEN]

Finally (mostly) finished the install this week. No power so I haven't done final cable adjustments yet.




The last week was pretty rainy and it looks like french drains are going to be added to the list. Still actively killing rodents too.

[DRIVEN]

I went down today and finally did something constructive. I bought some flashing and 2x4s and made an attempt to seal the place up better. As I mentioned earlier, the mud sills are bowed out to varying degrees and allowing pests in. Apparently albino weeds too.




The one in the pic is the widest gap. Flashing went down first, followed by a bead of caulking, then a 2x4 sandwiched between the insulation and 6x6s.





The 2x4 got dropped to the concrete and screwed to the posts. Then I followed that up with a heavy bead of caulking.



The other thing I did was cut some vertical blocking to slip into the corners and cover any gaps.



I may do the same vertical blocking on all the posts between the corners too for extra security. But at this point the shop is about as vermin proof as possible until the sheetrock goes up. I killed about a dozen hobo spiders and a few small black ones. But mainly I just don't want mice in there. I'm going to let all the caulking dry and shrink back for a week or two then pick up a few more tubes and go over the base again.


The place was an absolute disaster when I started but only kind of filthy when I finished.

[DRIVEN]

Well, enough screwing around. I got a couple ridiculous bids to wire this place so I'm just going to do it myself. My buddy's dad is a recently retired electrical inspector so I'm sure he'll keep me from doing anything stupid or dangerous.
I know I said I wasn't going to move in until it was done but...2020 sucks...so change of plans. I'm going to roughly stage it so I know exactly where I want all my outlets. I got pretty much all my tools and equipment there with the exception of my main tool boxes, tire machine and balancer, and the compressor. It was kind of a pain doing it alone but the engine hoist helped a lot.







I took a little time to sift through my BBO stuff. The three are all separated now and it looks like there is enough to build the 455 on the left, which has parts from at least 3 different engines plus the aftermarket cam, intake, and roller rockers. It'll need to be bored though. Unfortunately, I discovered that whoever disassembled it didn't number the rods or caps and they were in separate boxes. Should be fun straightening that out. The upside is that it appears that the crank is drilled for a pilot bushing.

[wayno]

I wish I had a shop that big, but I likely would have 10 times the stuff also and that would be bad.

[DRIVEN]

it's not as big as it it looks. I used the wide angle setting to get more in the shot. I'm already feeling a bit cramped looking at the space knowing how much random crap is still coming, and imagining trying to work in there. I need to get some warehouse racking for the corner where the engines are -- At least 2 sections. That should keep almost all my junk off the floor.

[wayno]

Yep racks are good, an overhead trolley type setup that you can move all four ways would be really nice also, especially where the racks are, or a small forklift.

[DRIVEN]

Hopefully I won't need to get that serious. Once my pickup is done I don't foresee any projects of that magnitude. A drivetrain swap in the Cutlass, then maybe the cabover 4X4 I'd like to build. Nothing beyond that, just puttering on little things.

[DRIVEN]