As with most people I know my garage is not spacious and it’s filled with Stuff so getting a car inside it was a bit of a challenge at first. Here is my garage after the car went in, it is in there……

So the first task was to reduce the stuff I had in my garage by using various storage solutions. Camping gear went in the shed with the kids toys, my bike got locked in the garden and my tools were sorted out and put in stackable boxes I found in a skip. That left me enough room to get both motorbike and beetle in the garage (also car seats went in the attic)

To work on the car I still had to drag it out so I could get around it which wasn’t ideal and it got me thinking about security as well as privacy, anybody walking by could see what I had left in my garage but also any noise I made would be heard by every house around my garage. I started parking my other car as a shield to my garage when I was working inside and I also started to make a screen to hang off the open door but in the end I just got on with it and hopped for the best.

STRIP DOWN

The fun bit..

First thing first, I made sure what my plan of action was due to my time constraints. I had about an hour an evening for three evenings, over a week so time was a limiting factor. Light was another limiting factor so my next purchase was a battery operated LED inspection lamp off eBay for about £10.

To make sure I had a plan of action I got myself a note book and took lots of photos of the car in its current condition so I had inspiration for my list of tasks.

My list:

1st hour (evening 2000-2100)

1. Get the car out of the garage
2. Remove everything not bolted down, passenger seat, bonnet, rubbish
3. remove drivers door
4. If time remove drivers seat
5. put car back in garage and clear up

In the end of the first night I got as far as filling three bins with rubbish and realising I need so WD40 before attempting any bolts.

2nd hour (2000-2100)

1. Get car out of garage
2. remove drivers door
3. remove drivers seat
4. put car away and clear up

Managed to get the door off but only by drilling off the bolt heads (impact driver didn’t touch them). Drivers seat didn’t move at all so plan to unbolt and maybe cut out of car.

3 rd hour

1. Make space in garage
2. Remove drivers seat
3. tidy up

Got the seat out! What a task. Took the seat back off and then had to cut through the seat runners to remove the base but there still is a piece of the seat slider still rusted in place so will have to remove it later and as a bonus, I found the car keys under the seat…….