Dear Fellow Auto Enthusiast,
Welcome to the December newsletter of Blue Collar Muscle Rods & Custom and Happy New Year. Last month I shared with you progress on the lighting installation, office flooring and cabinets, break area cabinets, overhead doors, HVAC ducting, interior doors, finishing of the stairs, and more concrete. December was another good month with significant progress. At this point, the construction is nearly complete with only a few things remaining. This month the photos below present the interior of the shop void of any construction equipment to provide you good viewpoints as best as photos can convey. In the coming weeks, the fabrication area concrete floors will be painted and various pieces of equipment will be installed. Customer cars have started flowing in also. Join us on our Facebook page as we transition from construction work to hotrod work.
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This is the assembly side of the shop, or clean side as I like to call it. I also like to call it the eye candy side. Dust is banned on this side of the shop and it will be used for assembly of cars that come out of the paint shop and for mechanical work such as engine swaps or disk brake upgrades. Under the mezzanine is the shop’s break area and on the mezzanine is the shops office.
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The first photo shows the double doors that lead to the storage area. If you visit the shop, the “shop cars and trucks” will be in this area along with longer term customer projects. This area will allow us to showcase more of our work beyond the current projects in the shop. The second photo shows the track lighting in the customer entrance area. The third photo shows the cool handrail made from pipe – suitable for a shop – and the fourth photo shows the break area cabinets. On the left of the cabinets I will locate a 1950’s Coke machine and on the right will be the refrigerator. A 12′ table will be in front of the cabinets.
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Moving up to the mezzanine you see the bathroom with a shower. I wanted a shower so my team members could get cleaned up before going home since sometimes when you’re blowing a car apart, you end up wearing most of the dirt from 50, 60, or 70 years ago. The second photo shows the cabinets and countertop. Missing is the refrigerator on the right. I will also locate a couch and TV up here. The third photo shows the handrail on top of the half wall which matches the handrail on the wall. The purpose on this handrail not only dresses up the wall but also keeps people from sitting on top of the wall. The 4th photo is the stairs leading to the second floor storage in the 5th photo – now with lights installed. The storage area will have shelves along both walls and also down the middle with a 48″ aisle between the shelves.
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This is the fabrication side of the shop. The three sets of doors on the second photo are on 20’x27′ rooms where we will take vehicles that are going to create a significant amount of dirt such as when you are replacing floor pans, adding mini tubs, or sanding body work. All of these rooms have a variable speed exhaust fan to pull the dust out of the shop so it doesn’t settle on everything. Out on the main floor we will locate fabrication tables and various metal working equipment. The last photo shows the numerous panels for electrical, back up generator, security, fire, internet, and cell phone booster equipment. In front of this area is where the 2 post lift will be located.
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Here’s the fabrication and paint room. I wanted to highlight something here. The lights are on in each of the rooms but notice how the light from the paint room is significantly brighter. These lights are explosion proof paint room lights and they cost a small fortune. But the lighting will promote the highest quality paint jobs and worth the expense. I am anxious to squirt some paint on something! As a side note, there are 16 steel doors throughout the shop. On several of the doors we will paint them with special effects to show our capabilities on custom paint work. We will paint metallics, flames, scallops, fades, heavy flake, lace, panels, correct factory stripes, etc etc.
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Lastly, don’t let anyone tell you that you cannot pour concrete in December. The concrete contractor saved the day. In these photos you can see the base of the radio tower (96′ tall). This tower was advertised as shipping in 3-5 days. Instead, it was delivered in 10 weeks and that is the reason for pouring concrete in December. In my rural area, fast and unlimited internet options are not available from the satellite providers. The answer is the fiber optic option from Climax Telephone Company. Unfortunately, the cable is not near the shop so I will use equipment to beam a signal to their tower and into the fiber optic system. I’ll share photos of the tower assembly next month. I didn’t climb the tower, who are you kidding? Also on the concrete slab with the tower will be the propane tank and a 22KW back up generator. This area will be fenced in. The sidewalk will allow visitors to park and enter the shop through the main customer entrance. (the tower foundation is 7′ deep and formidable!)
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Please like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BlueCollarMuscleRods/ and check our webpage for the gallery of construction photos and videos by clicking on the ‘TAKE A SHOP TOUR” button, https://bluecollarmusclerods.com
Thank you to all of the suppliers and vendors for your support and hard work in completing this project. We will be sending out newsletters and updates from time to time to keep you posted. In the meantime, please feel free to offer any feedback and let us know how we can make your Muscle Car, Rod, or Custom build dreams a reality.
Let us show you what we can do!
Sincerely,
Eric Meyer
Blue Collar Muscle Rods & Custom
269-209-9276
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