Typical UK garage

B

butchdave

New member
Always amused by you guys chatting about your typical two car garages and how difficult it is to fit in the lawn tractor, I thought I would show a photo of my typical UK garage.



Don't really have much chance to make it any bigger, but there will be some work done to improve it - painted walls, racking etc. One day I would like to change and raise the roof to give some storage space.



But for the time being nothing is happening - and its why the toolboxes are in the front - the Traction is dead in its tracks at the moment (waiting for space to free up at my specialists garage) so we can swop the engine.



When its out the way I will get in there and do some work, but for now it will have to wait.:( . Needless to say I don't do any detailing in there. The only way to get to the right hand side of the car is to roll it forward so that the nose it out of the garage (making sure the wheels don't go beyond the door otherwise it will roll down into a brick wall) and then edge sideways down the left side and squeeze behind the trunk.



10069garage.jpg
 
What kind of car and what year is that?



If the UK is like Denmark, I bet lots of homes don't even have a garage.
 
Taxlady said:
What kind of car and what year is that?



If the UK is like Denmark, I bet lots of homes don't even have a garage.
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Its a 1956 Citroen 11 Normale - more commonly known as a Traction Avant. This one is Paris built, the UK built ones were known as Light or Big 15's



Yes - a lot of houses don't have garages. This is very common with older houses in towns and cities. Newer houses (1970's on) tend to have garages - but like this one. My garage was built with the house in 1960, but of the four houses built, mine was the only one with a garage.



This car does not get a lot of detailing - its got some serious paintwork issues - if I'm lucky the paint will soon stop reacting and peeling and I can try touching it up (it was resprayed in France sometime in the last 5 - 10 years). One day it will get a bare metal respray and then it will become a garage queen.
 
Just saw a couple of those as well as about 30 other Citroens at Carlisle this weekend. Never seen one on the road though.



JS
 
Gonzo0903 said:
Damn...the storage shed I just ordered looks bigger than that!
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LOL :D



Thanks guys - lucky we don't get extremes of weather. Just wish it would make up its mind at the moment and either rain or not. I spent ages on the Acadiane last weekend trying to apply Autoglym Extra Gloss - it needs several hours drying for best effect, but every time I put it on it rained just as I finished. Even if I had something like a PB, you just couldn't use it on the van because of the panel ribbing, so its all by hand and EG can be hard work to get off by hand once its been wet.
 
Beautiful car... When I was a kid, an uncle owned one and kept it parked on the street outside our house for a couple of years. If I remember right, it was front-wheel drive and had a 3-speed gearbox with the gear lever sticking out of the dash. It was right hand drive though.
 
Footy said:
If I remember right, it was front-wheel drive and had a 3-speed gearbox with the gear lever sticking out of the dash. It was right hand drive though.
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Well there's nothing wrong with your memory :)



Right hand drive could be French built (they did do some) or British built. Now if your memory is very good... French cars have a metal dash with cloth seats while British ones have a wooden dash and leather seats
 
butchdave said:
Now if your memory is very good... French cars have a metal dash with cloth seats while British ones have a wooden dash and leather seats
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In that case, the car was definitely Paris built. I distinctly remember the metal dash, painted dull gray with specks of rust. This car had slighlty more serious paint issues than your car :)
 
My wife's Mother and Father live in a house built in 1902 and it has a garage just like that. It must have originally been built for a horse carriage.



BOB
 
That has always been one of my favorite cars, very gangster looking! How about some more pics of it, interior and exterior!



And by the way, everything in your garage is on the wrong side! :)
 
Gonzo0903 said:
Damn...the storage shed I just ordered looks bigger than that!
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The shed I just built is. 12x24 baby! Now if I only had a garage:(



Although, in comparison to your situation, butchdave, I'd almost rather not have a garage. Nice car though, I'll have to post some pics of my old Benz.
 
IndigoGTI said:
in comparison to your situation, butchdave, I'd almost rather not have a garage. Nice car though, I'll have to post some pics of my old Benz.
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Look forward to the pics of the Benz! I did suggest extending the garage but the idea was firmly squashed by my wife as it would narrow the already small garden :( Now I'm trying to negotiate a small shelter in the front garden to put the Lomax in when I can shift it from my Mothers garden :)



DFTowel said:
That has always been one of my favorite cars, very gangster looking! How about some more pics of it, interior and exterior!



And by the way, everything in your garage is on the wrong side!
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Of course I'm biased but I just love the looks! I will do more pics when I can get it out of the garage (for its engine swop) - how about an engine about 47 years overdue for a good detail?

10069engine.jpg


Wrong side? Hmmm maybe, actually the car is parked in at an angle as the garage is offset compared to the house - you can just make out in this photo that the garage is actually partly behind the house



10069trac2.jpg




Footy said:
This car had slighlty more serious paint issues than your car
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Don't be too sure... :D worse bodywork I can beleive but not paintwork. This is the only photo I have to hand and its a bit small but this is one door.

10069door.jpg


The top coat of paint has reacted with the undercoat and its all splitting and peeling off.
 
The shed I ordered is 12'X10' with plywood flooring in the rafters for additional storage. I plan on using it for the lawn and garden stuff, which will mean more room in my garage (24'X24') for detailing stuff!!! :D
 
When I built mine it was intended as a one car garage, but it is going to be my storage for lawn equipment and my woodshop. Instead of buying the floor kit, I had a concrete slab poured for it. Sadly, there is no room for a car. I may end up building a carport in my driveway just so I can detail and work on cars in the shade.
 
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