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Jan. 23, 2010 12:43 a.m. Nis14 New Reader

So I'm been having an internal conflict about the project I'm about to embark on. I'm taking a $800 RX7 and turning it into a weekend/autoX car. I've been looking into this for a very long time and decided to pay a shop to do the swap.

I live in Sunnyside Queens NY, where garages do not exist. So I have no place to work on the damn thing. I really would like to do it myself, I've always been a hands on guy. I would much rather try to find a place where I can rent out for an extended period of time and work on it at my own pace, learning and doing the swap myself.

So for you NY GRMers I'm wondering if I missed something. What would you guys do in my position? Will the other GRMers laugh at me for paying for labor?
Jan. 23, 2010 2:47 a.m. grafmiata Dork

Nis14 wrote:

So I'm been having an internal conflict about the project I'm about to embark on. I'm taking a $800 RX7 and turning it into a weekend/autoX car. I've been looking into this for a very long time and decided to pay a shop to do the swap.

I live in Sunnyside Queens NY, where garages do not exist. So I have no place to work on the damn thing. I really would like to do it myself, I've always been a hands on guy. I would much rather try to find a place where I can rent out for an extended period of time and work on it at my own pace, learning and doing the swap myself.

So for you NY GRMers I'm wondering if I missed something. What would you guys do in my position? Will the other GRMers laugh at me for paying for labor?

Depends on what you mean by "swap"... Also, what year rx7 are we talking about?

If you have an fb and want to drop a 13b in to replace the 12a, you can do that in a driveway. Not the best circumstances this time of year in NY, but it can be done. Same goes for switching to a gsl-se rear- end...

If you're talking about swapping a Bugatti Veyron drivetrain into an fc, then yeah, you might want to hire that out...
Jan. 23, 2010 4:09 a.m. mad_machine PowerDork

have you thought about renting a garage outside of your area? has to somebody on the Island with an empty garage they can rent you for a month or so
Jan. 23, 2010 7:05 a.m. Toyman01 Dork

The are a few storage units around here that will let you work on a car you have stored there. Some of them even have power available. Around here it is usually older facilities. Don't feel bad about paying for labor. If I had the money I would probably pay someone to do the transmission swap on the RX-7. Not because I can't do it, just because I lazy and fat and hate working under cars. Unfortunately I'm also cheap.
Jan. 23, 2010 7:56 a.m. Supercoupe Reader

Check out CL for a garage to rent in western Nassau or the outer edge of Queens. I've seen some on there for 150 a month sometimes, just let the person no you will be working on the car. I live further out on the Island and do all my work in the driveway, although it's against local ordinances, I have a 100' driveway and you can't see what I'm doing from the street, something I'm know you don't have in Sunnyside. The regular store-n-go places frown on working on vehicles in there places, so I don't think you'll have much luck looking there. I'm having a problem at one now because a hydraulic hose popped on my C10 while I was running it and now the floor looks like the Exxon Valdez was in dry dock.
Jan. 23, 2010 12:30 p.m. amg_rx7 Reader

Generally speaking, anyone you are renting from will also frown on having you work on the car on their property.

I went through that when I lived in Astoria.
Jan. 23, 2010 6:14 p.m. captain_napalm Reader

amg_rx7 wrote:

Generally speaking, anyone you are renting from will also frown on having you work on the car on their property.

I went through that when I lived in Astoria.

Same here. Having said that, there were a few places in the area that had garages to rent, so the OP could look into that/
Jan. 24, 2010 12:45 a.m. Nis14 New Reader

Crap
Jan. 24, 2010 4:21 a.m. captain_napalm Reader

I know of a place in the Bx that rents garage space where people work on their cars. I don't remember the exact location, but it's on Jerome Ave, a couple of stops up from Yankee Stadium.

At this time of year, I wouldn't recommend doing anything other than basic repairs/maintenance on the street. Between shorter days (for now), and alternate side, you want the car to be running at least.

Hopefully the car is inspected? NYPD Traffic division walks around every so often handing out tickets.