West Buford Street Garage


Here's what it is all about...a driveway full of cool stuff. Impala fenders inside, the Model A, my Dodge, Ed's 60 VW Van that will be getting wired this weekend. Behind the camera is Josh's '55 Dodge PU. Utopic.

The most important thing...COLD drinks. Set at 38 degrees, so the Pepsi won't freeze when opened.	Basic Craftsman 15" drill press.	Standard bench grinder.


Lowbucktools plate brake...REAL handy.	Milwaukee cold cut saw.	Sun model 1409 engine analyzer. For old skool work. I have a Snap On computer scanner for modern stuff.


Grizzly 48" box and pan brake.	Generic solvent tank.	Old carbon pile. Works great.


The trusty Miller mig welder, complete with auto darkening helmet.	Of course the oxy-acetylene.	20 ton press. I added 13" to the legs so a tall guy (me) can work with it.


37" Pexto shear. Wish I had room for a 50".	My messy bench. That is the front gearbox from the Coot in rebuild mode. In the back, you can see a bunch of red Milwaukee tool cases with more stuff in them.	Tuneage, plus DVD and cable TeeVee, to watch the Sunday morning car shows, and the Nascar race.


My "coolest" addition, a 24,000 btu air conditioner. The old 18,000 wasn't keeping up the other day, when it was 106 degrees. And it's remote controlled!	I forget about one of my favorite tools, until it's cold like the past few weeks...This one keeps me nice and warm.	The air compressor. I built a 10 x 12 (2 story) shed to hold all non-garage stuff. When I poured the concrete, I installed an underground conduit for power and air. I don't have to listen to it run. I also have air plumbed underground into the house.


A brand new tool! I bought this shrinker / stretcher at The Yard Store in Wichita recently.	Here's what it can do to some formed metal! Can't wait to form some body panels...	You've seen the new tool box on the '45 Dodge page. Plenty of space for now, but as I am a tool junkie, it will soon be full.


A new, homebuilt tool. For adjusting the steering linkage on the '45.	My homemade chainsaw.	It happened...the old box got full... I couldn't help myself!

The West Buford Street Garage (Motto: "Anyone can restore an antique vehicle, but it takes a real man to cut one up!") has been around in one form or another since the '30's. My grandfather, Harold "Squire" Dean was a mechanic, and owned his own shop (Dean Motor Service) in Newton, KS. Grandpa was a hotrodder, and had a number of dirt track Model A's over the years. I was out there a lot as a kid, and wrenching got into my blood. I was a professional mechanic for a few years, and now it is just a hobby. The name is a concoction between my son and myself.

Grandpa in May, '72 with his purple '65 Impala. We miss you.

A few years ago, I was in the market to buy a garage. I found one, and, lo and behold, there was a good house in the front yard! So I bought it. Now, I do hotrod work. Click on "More cars" for past projects, or one of the following links for what I am working on now..

Jim Lauer's Fairlane is done,	My ongoing project, the '45 Dodge WC pickup.	The Coot ATV	'55 Dodge pickup
Shaun Stauffers 68 Dodge Coronet R/T	Tim Jr.'s '63 Impala wagon	Aron Wendt's 31 A
Here's an abbreviated tour of my shop, showing the major equipment. Not enough room to show everything. Much of my equipment was payment for work, or gifts (kids are great). The air compressor is out in the shed, plumbed underground to the shop.