parts hoarding 101: how to organize it

[ArsenicPants]

To everyone out there with an affinity for collecting as many spare and rare mk1 parts as you possibly can, and also happen to be stuck with a small garage, i'd like to see how well you're able to store and organize it all

I'm having trouble with keeping my garage clean. i'm even losing tools all the time. My parts, while originally started out organized, have become less and less organized due to lack of space. it's at the point now where I can no longer work on my project cars because I don't have anywhere to put the parts I need to remove from the cars
and i'm not talking about 11 bags of broken CIS injectors and 53 intake manifolds, it's all stuff I'm using to build my cars

has anyone gotten creative with storage in their garage? getting it out of the way but still accessible?

[psychobandito]

Cheap shelving.

[-teknien-]

Id start by tossing/scraping the junk. Get plastic bins. Build shelves. Get creative.

[SouthernRoads]

sell the rare stuff to me

[chickenfriend]

Large plastic tote bins.

For small parts, use zip lock bags of various sizes, and put them in the totes, too.

[EntropicByDesign]

Plastic stackable bins from wal-mart or the like. They work WONDERS and don't cost much. I've used them in I don't how many situations. Just label them lol.

If you have large body panels I've used wire mesh (chicken wire) hung from the ceiling and allowed to droop a little to hold hoods and other large
But not overly heavy parts. If your worried about scratching the parts up just put a sheet around them. It's not like super great looking but it does work and clears up a ton of floor space. Body panels and parts are always the trickiest to store.

If you have several engine blocks and / or transmissions get a shipping pallet and put some cheap casters on it do you can roll it around. Stack your heavy crap on it as efficiently as poossible and just roll it out of the garage when your working and back in again when your not.

[antichristonwheels]

I built shelves up 2 walls in the garage with 2x12s. Holds a lot but still I have more shelves and stuff in basement.

[etta gli]

Shelving with bins on the top shelf. Pretty much your best bet for economy ratios.


or get a ship container and fill it with shelving

[the mad conductor]

sell the rare stuff to me

This.. I need some cool stuff

Rent a storage locker. You can rent them for cheap nowadays


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[eurojettanut]

get banana boxes
cheap
durable
stackable



then...go crazy....

[SGLoki]

sell the rare stuff to me

I keep trying to sell this junk but you swine don't buy anything, you just look at it and ask for a price.. then complement how great the price is... then you all vanish.

[VWsEatRice]

I keep trying to sell this junk but you swine don't buy anything, you just look at it and ask for a price.. then complement how great the price is... then you all vanish.

do you have something rare to sell?

[Chrom0sexual]

I see that you have cut back on your parts collection

[chickenfriend]

Boxes full of triangular vent rubber seals, running rabbit logo shift knobs and mudflaps.

Worth millions.

[gtifly]

If your looking for shelving ideas, I built shelves across the entire back of my garage using 2X4's for framing and 1/2" 4'X8' sheets of plywood. If you're tight on space make the higher shelf/shelves the full 48" depth. This way you'll have room below for more storage or to put the nose of a car partially under the extra deep shelves above.

Quick run down of construction if it helps:
Whatever size (width X length) you decide to use or need for the plywood shelves, build a frame out of the 2x4's to the same dimensions....This will support the plywood shelfs perimeter, and add a middle 2X4 brace to support the center of the shelf. I anchored the back of the 2X4 frame to the studs of the back wall of the garage with 3 1/2" wood screws @ 16" o.c.. To hold up the front of the shelf frame I used vertical 2X4's (top was anchored to the bottom chord of the trusses, and bottom just sits on 2X4X6 blocks to displace some of the load a little better on the concrete), and used a lag bolt, washers and nut to secure the vertical member to the front 2X4 of the shelf frame. If you need more of a span between the vertical supports to make room for say the width of a VW, use a 2X6 instead on the front of the shelf frame.

All of this depends on how heavy the stuff is you need to support, but what I described above can support a LOT of weight. Just be smart about the construction if you think you need more.

[rabbitnothopper]

i have lots of parts in boxes on shelves and its overflowing......

[Phil0]

I need parts and time to install... damn you time!!!!

What sort of rare parts do you have? Post photos so we can ogle ?

[Cushy]

garagejournal.com

[SkootySkoo]

Milk Crates FTW. Stackable and see through

[robw_z]

Don't underestimate the utility of the crawl space above your garage if it has one... Mine went unused for years, one day I grabbed a ladder, pushed open the square sheet rock "hatch", and before you know it I floored 80% of it with cheap plywood and my garage became something my friends come over and use all the time. It was so full of crap for years it wasn't good for much of anything. I put shelves up there and leave a light that I can plug in easy whenever I go up.













-Rob

[benjaminobscene]

I use plastic totes on cheap metal shelving.

[Phil0]

I use plastic totes on cheap metal shelving.

Now that's just showing off! Any rare parts in that "mess" ?

[IronTrap]

Ikea Glass Cases/Display cases work nicely to integrate items into your home. Go into the "parts" section of your local Ikea and buy odds and ends to make stacks of wheels into coffee tables. Be the envy of your friends and the nemesis of your wife/significant other

[rabbit_rot]

I know a guy who has three two story houses full of Volkswagen parts. He has one garage, full attics and all is completely organized, homes are on the water and not lived in. Parts on walls, couches, nothing stacked.

This seems like the best storage solution to me.

[wilm13]

Kind of funny to hoard parts you know you will never use. Is it the mindset that "one day this will be worth something"? I love these cars as much as anyone, but at the end of the day they are small loud economy cars. If you use the parts or display them that is one thing, but having them packed away in the garage is another. Chances are in 40 years you'll be dead and a Drake valve cover will be worthless. <---- (says the guy with a garage full of parts).

Could also be the "one day I will find the perfect A1 and use all of these parts." mentality. Recenlty bought a diesel that I am trying to use all of the left over parts on. Springs, k-bar, zender side skirts, NOS kamei rear wing, 13 inch RA's etc... ok all that said, anyone want to buy the diesel or a never used Peter Tong supercharger complete kit?

[.:RDUBBIN]

Now that's just showing off! Any rare parts in that "mess" ?

Rare parts next to the Arc of the Covenant in Warehouse 13? ....seems fishy...