The Temporary Storage Shop
Part of my incentive in leaving the shop partnership was an up-coming opening
at the same self-storage facility where I had restored
Joe's Mercedes several years ago. This was a 20 x 30 foot unit with
overhead doors at either end. The rent was almost exactly the same as my share
of the shared shop and I would be able to work and leave any messes without
interference. As a "storage unit" it had only two overhead light bulbs.
I managed to change the fixtures to provide outlets then rigged a couple of shop
lights and semi-permanent drop cords to provide more light and auxiliary electricity.
The manger approved of my working in the space as long as I didn't spill oil or
otherwise damage the facility. Of course, not having adequate electrical service,
I would not be able to use the arc welder. The first photo is my front (north) door.
The second is the office and front gate seen from my front door.
Another reason for making this move was to move the Prefect from the garage to the
new location. With three cars, the Prefect, the Volkswagen and the Sprite, along with
my storage units, there would not be room for the old Mercedes 450. I also realized
that I would never get to restore it anyway so I gave it to my son to make some money
by parting it out. Here we have all the stuff stacked against the east wall. The only
car so far is the Sprite just visible along the west wall. That is the back (south)
door. I removed the handle and lock from the outside and moved it to the inside for my
security.
As it turned out, I actually accomplished very little at the Storage facility. I guess it was just not that conducive to working alone there. Security was fine as my unit was just across the drive from the office but I just didn't seem to have the necessary incentive. After being there almost two years, an opportunity for a better working environment developed. An old friend offered to rent space in his shop for my projects. This is the only photo I have been able to locate of the space. As you can see, there is ample working room even with all three cars and both my storage shelf units in place.
Here I finally have everything up off the floor and onto the shelves. Everything but
the Sprite fenders that are hanging from the rafters, that is. The other photo is a
shelf unit that I intended to use as a makeshift work bench. I had prepaid a year's
rent and had 4 months left which was refunded. I paid a month's rent at the new place
and gave myself a month of double rent to complete the move. Moving the shelves and
all their contents, the Sprite and the Beetle took the first three weeks. That left
a week to get the Prefect running. I really wanted to drive it those 5 miles under its
own power as it is too narrow to properly fit the tow dolly. Besides, it hadn't been
driven since the All British Car Show in
1998.
I had changed the oil and filter before moving it to storage so the first step for getting it running was to remove the spark plugs and crank it by its starter until I could see oil pressure. I energized the electric, priming fuel pump and waited for it to stop pumping when it filled the float bowl which never happened. So I removed and dismantled the pump only to discover that its diaphram had essentially disintegrated internally so it never pumped any fuel and, therefore, never stopped trying. So I bought another pump and modified the mount to accommodate it. This cost me a day.
After installing the new pump, I tried again. This time I decided to watch the carb as it filled. Instead, the new pump filled the engine's mechanical pump as expected which promptly began dumping it on the floor rather than passing it on to the carb. Its diaphram apparently had also failed. Well, no real problem, I would just bypass the mechanical pump and run from the electric one. Having rearranged the plumbing, I tried again. This time the carburetor float bowl filled rather quickly but it didn't stop there. It continued to pump fuel right out the breather tube which is right in the middle of the venturi. Fortunately, a slight float adjustment solved this latest problem but by then I had lost another day.
The next day, I tried again, this time hoping to actually get it started. Luck was
not to be my friend that day. I did all the usual electrical testing and found no
problems. The only thing left seemed to be the points which, although not perfect,
at least looked workable. Not having the tools at the shop, I removed them to work
on at home. There was a small pit and some slight glazing which I filed down. This
was yet another lost day.
The next day, with the freshly polished points, she fired right up and ran a few seconds then died. I forgot that the fuel pump and the starter are on opposite sides of the same two-way toggle switch. Taking that into account, it started and ran long enough to restore my confidence. The next step was to add water and let it run for a while but that was for the next day.
With the radiator filled, I started it and brought it up to temperature. Upon seeing 180 degrees, it continued to rise. This was not a big surprise as it has always had an occasional tendency to do that. It would slowly rise to 195 or so then suddenly drop right back to 180. After a while, it would then repeat the process. This time it went right to 200 and showed no signs of dropping back so I shut it down. I waited a while then tried again, thinking a stuck thermostat might open but it did not. By this time I only had one day left before I would have to pay another month's rent. I reluctantly decided to borrow Harold's tow dolly and take it to its new home.
This last photo is how we looked from the open front door with everything in place. Not too bad really. It's a shame I didn't get more accomplished there but the next shop will prove to be a different story entirely.