Make it reflect your interests!

If you like cars and motorsports you probably have a collection of ticket stubs, posters, and automobilia you've picked up over the years. Is it tucked away in a drawer, a box, or under the clutter on your work bench? Maybe it's time to turn that stuff into 'garage art' by framing it, tacking it, or some other way of attaching it to your walls. Got decals? Put them on your tool box or on the garage fridge. Mount a bulletin board and pin your latest ticket stub to it. Maybe you have a few items from garage sales or flea markets like an old sign or thermometer that could fill a bare spot on your wall. The point is to personalize your garage. Let your garage walls tell visitors what you like and where you've been. It won't be long before you'll find yourself standing in the middle of your garage and reflecting on fun you had as you collected each piece of memorabilia.

The 'BONE' Creeper

Can you say a creeper is revolutionary? Spend a little time on the BONE creeper and you'll want one. Yeah, it looks cool, but its also comfortable. The large diameter wheels allow you to roll over the stones and pebbles that bring a standard creeper to a halt.

And now there is a revolutionary mechanics seat to go with the BONE called the TAILBONE. The seat is extra large for comfort and it uses the same large diameter wheels as the BONE.

What makes a garage cabinet...

What makes a cabinet a GARAGE cabinet? How about a 400 lb. shelf capacity? Or materials that withstand temperature and humidity extremes? The UltiMATE Garage cabinets are assembled using a thermofused melamine laminate over MDF for maximum strength and stability. Cabinet doors are polyurethane coated with radius edges. Door pulls and handles are oversized 20mm diameter brushed zinc that are not only easy to grab, but make great tool and towel holders. Base and tall cabinets have 4" stainless steel adjustable feet making it easy to clean under your cabinets and adjust each cabinet on uneven ground. If you prefer to do it yourself, the cabinets come ready to assemble. For more on UltiMATE Garage cabinets and other ideas and products to make your dream garage a reality, check out our website at http://LegendaryGarage.com.

Become a blog follower...win car care products!

So here's how it works...become a follower and comment on a post...at the end of each month someone will win a Surf City Garage car care package. At the end of August, the Legendary Garage team will choose the winner of a 24oz. spray bottle of Speed Demon, 8oz. bottle of VooDoo Leather rejuvenator, and an 8oz. bottle of Beyond Black tire dressing.

Sign up now and follow the Legendary Garage.

What's in your garage...Diecast vehicles collection?

I've always been fascinated with toy cars and trucks. It probably started with Tonka trucks and evolved to plastic model cars before my 10th birthday. As an adult, my toy car obsession was reignited when I bought a few diecast vehicles from Hemmings and Eastwood. When I first put my hands on a GMP diecast GTO I could not believe the quality and detail put into that small vehicle. And I don't exactly know how it started, but I became interested in the trucks produced by First Gear. So now my growing diecast collection has a selection of GMP cars, First Gear tow trucks, and an assortment of vehicles from Hemmings, Eastwood, Mac and Snap On tools, AUTOart, and Hot Wheels. I'm in the process of evaluating display products for this growing collection. Got a diecast collection? Tell me what's in your collection and how you display them.

Keeping your cool...

This has been one HOT Summer. The thought of going into a hot garage to wrench on something just isn't exciting. You can crank up a fan or two, but you're just moving hot air around. There was a time when air conditioning meant blowing air across a block of ice. Last week I saw something not too far removed from this concept while attending the Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky. Vendors set up indoors at the exposition center where we spent a good bit of our time because of the outside temperatures. It was inside where NAPA had a huge display and in that display was something called a PORT-A-COOL. This is a portable evaporative cooling unit. These units force air over water-soaked media and cool temperatures by 15 to 25 degrees F. It actually cools instead of recirculating hot air. The Port-A-Cool has a water reservoir that uses tap water and runs on 115 volt electricity. They had units capable of cooling 4,000sf, but the smaller, 900sf capacity unit would work in a garage or small shop and it sold for $899. The Port-A-Cool is self-contained and sits on four casters allowing you to move it around as needed. If you need more information go to http://www.port-a-cool.com/ to learn more.

CARPE NOCTEM...if you can see!

Most garages are equipped with inadequate overhead lighting in the form of bare bulbs or cheap fluorescents. If you work in the garage after sunset, either wrenching on your car or applying stain to your latest woodworking project, you need to upgrade the lighting. I prefer fluorescent lighting. For most garages, the main concern with fluorescents is the temperatures that are typical in your garage. Cheap fluorescent lighting will provide light, but will be slow to light or not at all, if the temperature drops below 55 degrees. If your garage temperatures dip below 55 degrees for extended periods of time you want fixtures with electronic ballasts. Electronic ballasts will give you good service down to 0 degrees. But if your garage gets down to 0 degrees it might be time to move! Fluorescent fixtures use either a T12 or T8 tube. Your cheaper fixtures will use the T12 tube and have an electromagnetic ballast. My preference is a fixture that uses two T8 tubes, usually more expensive, but works better in cooler temperatures because it has an electronc ballast. I've seen these in home improvement stores under $20.

After choosing the T8 fixture you have to choose the T8 tube to provide the lighting effect. You can find the tubes in two-packs with various ratings on the packaging. The Color Rendering Index(CRI) is vital for seeing colors clearly. Look for a CRI of 85 or more. Brightness, which is measured in LUMENS, is your next consideration. A 40-watt cool white fluorescent tube has 3,050 LUMENS compared to a 60-watt incandescent bulb that puts out 850 LUMENS. That's over 6,000 LUMENS for each two-tube T8 fixture! Another rating you might see on the tube packaging is color temperature. The unit of measure for color temperature is called KELVIN. A lower color temperature makes the light appear warmer. Where a common light bulb has a color temperature of 2,800 Kelvin, a cool white fluorescent has a color temperature of 4,100 Kelvin. You may have to experiment to find the color temperature you like. So how many fixtures does your garage need? This also may take some experimenting due to different ceiling heights. In general, the average garage should have fixtures 3 to 4 feet apart.

Garage Clutter...who's got it...everyone!

Your neighbor has it, you have it, and I have it. Even the neat freak and organizational fanatic has it. Garage clutter is in every garage. Some have it all the time and some have it occassionally. Nothing will help more with garage clutter, even if it's just to hide it, than cabinets. Base cabinets, wall cabinets, and wardrobe cabinets are available from a number of manufacturers. You can get steel, aluminum, or wood-based cabinets in an array of finishes and colors. Want a powder coated steel cabinet? You can get it. Or maybe a bare aluminum finish? It's pricey so open up your checkbook and get your pen. Alright, you prefer wood and you want it to look like metal so you get black melamine cabinets with a silver color powder coated MDF door. The availability of materials and finishes can satisy any taste and budget. So forget the recycled kitchen cabinets. They won't look as good and they aren't strong enough to hold tools and car parts. Besides, do you want your garage to look like a kitchen? Are you baking cupcakes or doing brake jobs?

When you plan to hide, I mean organize, the clutter are you adding a workbench? You can certainly build one yourself, but if you can't, check out the Gen

eva Garage Gear workbench. Butcher block top and steel legs tell you this workbench is built for work. It's stable thanks to bracing and adjustable feet. Add a couple of their roll-a-round base cabinets and youre ready to work on your latest home or car project.