Sometimes we get some cool stuff in the shop. '79 1/2 ton shorty is a 39k original truck, just in for some small stuff like the fuel tank switch and a heater hose leak. The '69 Firebird is a 10 year father/daughter project car that we are finishing up. The dad has terminal cancer and we're trying to get it done so they can drive it together. Nothing too special, has a 350 Pontiac swapped in, but a good clean car. We've got it running after sitting all these years, but they've got a Powerglide shifter in it and have swapped to a TH350, so we're in that process now.....
Sweet rides! That was probably the coolest part of working in a garage in my teens. Seeing all the cool rides come in and then taking them for test rides after the work.
I see a 93 Sales tag on the front, does that mean the square body is available for sale? I used to have a 79 but it was a short bed step side. Really like the Fleetside better...
Hey, thanks guys. The main shop that those two cars are in is approximately 160x100. In that shop, we've got 44 regular stalls with 21 above ground lifts. There's also two alignment racks, a tire bay, and two in ground hoist stalls for heavy duty work. We've got our own parts department just for the shop with 3 parts guys, a tool room with a guy in there, and another separate 4 stalls for details and a full drive through wash bay. There's another 60x80 shop that houses our VW business and 3 more stalls with pits for our quick lube (that's the gray building with the small garage door and 3 glass garage door stalls off to the left). We go through approximately 120 vehicles in the main shop per day, and that includes engines/trans/head jobs on diesels, yadayada. All the cars in the parking lot pics are here for work (so if anyone wants to tell me how reliable gm vehicles are, well......). I'm the service controller/dispatcher for the main shop and quick lube, so I have 6 service writers and 26 techs. The VW shop has 5 techs and 2 service writers, but I really don't have to mess with that part of the business. Truck was just sold from 93 sales, and we're fixing a few things for the new owner.
Lucas- do you guys get any of the new performance stuff? CTS-V , ZL1, Z06, ZR1 etc. Had my first ride in a 2016 CTS-V a few weeks ago. I’ve never been in a car like that. The guy who owns it is a former sprint car racer and can drive. The way that car planted at 80mph in an s turn was insane.
Yessir, we are a Caddy dealer and get all the hi-po variants, but not so many on those because Cadillacs just don't sell here very well. We are a major 'Vette and Camaro dealer, and we've got our last C7 ZR1 in the detail delivery shop right now. I'm lucky in that I get to drive most the new models when they come in, and on a lot of the special or hi performance versions I'm the guy they get to test drive them. The new cars are amazing, especially the way they keep pulling. My Mach 1 would dust a ZR1 or Z06 through the quarter, but I'm done at 130 mph, and they've still got 4 gears to go and are still rolling like a freight train......
Couple other cool things we worked on the last few months....Roadrunner is a really nice car, really weird factory color combo (green bench seat interior). '87 (EFI) square body was a super clean truck that got traded in, and the general manager took it and had our body shop paint it, and is giving it to his daughter for her graduation. I would've left it in it's natural state as it was a really nice truck to begin with, but hey, I'm not the guy with the big bucks. 1969 Camaro is a regular customer of our's, is in the shop right now, and is a real small block Pace Car his dad bought new. It's been flogged down logging roads, loaded up with wood in the trunk, loaded with hay, jumped, etc. all back in the day. Was very amateurishly restored in the 80s (the pic on the rack is the "before" and even the lettering was hand painted on when it should've been vinyl). Original engine is long gone, so we're doing a "frame off" (yes, I know) with parts he's buying and going to be doing some mild mods along the way, not anywhere near correct. Not the thing I'd do with it, but hey, it's his car and we're just doing it for him.....still will be a nice piece when finished. If anyone remembers that twin turbo sleeper Suburban we were doing, we've got a 1/2 ton getting the same treatment. I'll post pics when it comes in if I remember.
So GM vehicles aren't reliable? Actually, lately I'd almost have to agree but how about VW? I've been looking for a station wagon. Most of those that are still built are BMW, Volvo, Mercedes, etc. They sound expensive to fix if need be. But VW still has a Jetta Sportwagon that would serve the purpose nicely. I'd like something with a little more room in the back than our current Buick Century sedan and my wife is in a wheelchair and it's difficult for her to get in and out of anything other than a standard height car. There is an endless supply of SUVs but the seats are too high in them. So, tell me VW builds a good car and what engine would I be looking for. I don't particularly want a diesel so I'd be inclinded to shy away from the TDI.
Honestly, Bill, I don't deal with the VWs very much, but they stay busy over there. From what I know, they've got more electrical type issues than anything. Engine and powertrain seems to be good...... I think if you look back historically (say, since the 80s), the same brands that have been super reliable in the past are still what is super reliable today. Except for Hyundai and Kia...those two have come leaps and bounds since then. Every one of those we get traded in is in fantastic shape underneath and otherwise with no issues to speak of. If I was looking to spend money on a new car and wasn't brand loyal, I'd seriously consider those.
We did, sorry I didn't take pics but it looked basically the same as the first pics but with things like the marker lamps and center caps installed. The "rebuilt" trans they had bought let loose on our test drive after finishing what we were doing so it went back to the shop that had done it. But, they did get to drive and enjoy it together after that. I'm not aware of how his health is currently, but it was fading fast at that time.
Is this a body shop, new car dealer service department, independent shop?? Whatever it is it looks nice, and the variety of vehicles is cool. I like the orange GMC
Mark, we are a Chevy/Caddy dealer here in "my" shop, and we also have a separate VW dealership on the same property, literally 30 yards away from where I sit (see attached pic, that's the view of the VW building from my desk). It is what you would build in your dreams (at least for me): heated floors, central air, the works. Also a gym, sauna, hot tub room, ice bath, and 2 full kitchens. We are the biggest shop in town by far, and in this area you just get a reputation for being the go to place for whatever. I've got a couple really good fab guys, and I also have a degree in metal fab, so we get a bit of that kind of stuff, too. We've got myself and 2 other kind of old school guys, so hot rods and classics come in occasionaly. We have our own separate body shop 1/2 block away and 3 quick lubes scattered throughout town. It's a big place with 180 employees but if I need to talk to the owner he's just a short walk down the hall to his office and everyone knows everyone. Big "small business"....
