TireSmoke.org

Here is my lot and I think the side by side will require the least amount of tree removal.

So Gwen got me a gartage door opener for the lift-bay door for Christmas and I finally got it installed today. Because of the high-lift door, a conventional door-opener couldn't be used, so I needed a shaft-mount style LiftMaster 8500. To be honest, I was sort of dreading the install, figuring I was going to need help or even pay to have it installed. But, I decided to give it a try today, and it was really pretty simple. The worst part was just working 9ft up on the very top of my ladder. So now both front doors have openers, although the other one is a Craftsman. I need to figure out how to program each other's remote, so the Liftmaster remote will open the Craftsman door and vice-versa.

-Dave

That's a pretty sweet set up. Looks easier than a normal chain deal.

-BP

It is pretty sweet. Very quiet too. But they cost more than the regular ones.

-Dave

Liftmaster: the official garage door opener of the GMJohnny garages.
They are quieter than my old Craftsman door opener was. I don't have the
cool shaft style that Smoker does, but standard chain drives lift doors
easier than my back does!!

GM

Made another minor addition to Tiresmoke Central recently. You'd figure that since I have almost as many computer parts as Chevy parts, I would've had a computer out there from the start. After all, when it was built, I specially ran ethernet cable so that I'd have internet access. I put up a wireless access point a while ago so I was able to use my laptop out there. But the laptop is pretty nice, and I never liked using it with dirty hands.

There was a cast-off Dell desktop PC that I was able to buy from Penske for $25, with a Windows 7 Pro license. I had a very similar HP a few years ago that quit on me (bad system board) which I had upgraded to a 3.2 GHz quad-core CPU. The Dell had the same CPU socket as the HP, so it'd be an instant upgrade. (and free) After some initial struggle with some bent CPU pins, I was able to get it in the socket. I bought an additional 8GB of ram from Amazon for $55, so I now had a quad-core machine with 12GB total for $80. Tony had donated an old flat-panel a while ago that his wife had gotten for free from her work. And for Christmas, I got a cool little monitor arm so that it wouldn't take up workbench space. A wireless keyboard and mouse (also from inventory) completed my cheap/hotrodded PC. With the sound wired into the big stereo, I have a proper place to watch Chumpcar footage and lookup parts without having to go inside..

-Dave

PERFECT!

-BP

A scant 5 years after Tiresmoke Central was completed, I finally added the cherry on top -- a gas furnace! No more noisy/stinky torpedo heater. Just in time for winter wrenching season.

-Dave

NICE!!!!

The original designed capacity has now been exceeded! And just as I got them all inside, it started raining. Some re-shuffling will occur before snow flies, but it took a little bit of work to get here. This is what happens when you're good at buying stuff, but not selling stuff.

-Dave

Shoot! You still have room for one more under the Cobalt. And there's even room to open the doors and get in all of them. You're good to go!

-BP

keeping car count in check: the struggle is real

Over the past year-plus, I've been losing lights in my ceiling. I have (4) 6 bulb fixtures -- one fixture was completely out, another was 50% out, the third one was 50% or 100%, depending on its mood. The last one, over my workbench, always worked, so even while the others were failing, I always had decent light by my bench. I tried replacing a couple ballasts with partial success.

Earlier this week, I called up Chesterland Electric and they came out, removed all the ballasts and re-wired the fixtures for LED lighting. It's like daytime in there again! And no warm-up like with the fluorescents. Nick Baar w/ Chesterland Electric was very good to deal with, would definitely recommend.

-Dave

Its new concrete day! There's been an awful bump from the transition of the driveway to the street, end of the driveway got cracked up from the concrete trucks when Tiresmoke Central was first built, and they're widening the apron a little to make trailer backing easier. Live posting, work is happening as I type..

We have concrete this morning!