Re: Do it yourself garages.

[c a l i b a n <caliban@sharon.net>]

On Fri, 29 Jan 1999, Andrew Pawlisz wrote:

]Does anybody know whether such things as Do-it-yourself garages exist in the U.S.? When I lived in Ottawa (Canada), there was this one garage where you could rent a garage bay (with or without a lift) for $10CAD/hr. The owner would run the show and super
vise your work. He or his helper would give you a hand, give hints, or for more difficult tasks, do it himself for free. Needless to say, the system was great for the tree-shade mechanics. First, you were doing the work away from elements (winters in Cana
da are a tad cold), second you had help of an experienced mechanic (however patronizing-"ex-military man"), and most importantly, if you screwed something up, something broke, the owner could call parts stores to have them send what you need at good price
s. Not to mention a full access (for a fee) to tools you did not have, nuts and bolts, press, air tools, etc, etc, etc. In the worst case scenario, he would drive you home (he says he never had to as all the cars left his place!
] under their own power).

	there is one of these here in my wonderful hippy
	town, i *think* it's called the san francisco auto
	center.  way cool, you can take classes, and grab
	a mechanic for help and get charged by the minute
	rather than bythe hour.  cool place, though i have
	only ever read their newsletter, never having visited.
	i think that would be a great place to go to get the
	beast on a lift and do my fuel lines, though...

]Perhaps, a few guys in the Boston area would like to get together, pitch-in to rent a heated garage, and start something similar (but strictly as a hobby group not as a business).  Maybe not as elaborate, but certainly as helpful in terms of helping each
 other out with a helpful hand, expertise, tools, and doing the work under a roof. 

	this sound slike a great idea too.  i have a background
	in collectively-run businesses, as well as co-op living
	and i can testify that it works.  definately but 100x
	more effort into "process" than you think you need.
	co-op/collectivity is like gaining a bunch of spouses,
	interpersonal relationships need to be healthily
	maintained.

	anyway i have a big garage (rare in sf) and mike and i
	wind up doing car junk there at least one night a week.
	sometimes the other mike drops by, and even edrick 
	was there last week and i *actually fixed an electrical
	problem on his urq*  <--- very proud of myself for this
	one!!

	really great idea, though!

--
 rocky mullin
 http://caliban.sf.ca.us/
 two strokes are faster than four!
 this message was composed using the vi editor.
 '83 ur-q - yamaha rz350 - suzuki ts250 -  chaotic good