Equipping the Repair Shop
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The Main Items of Equipment Needed in a Repair Shop for Dealing with 40 to 50 Vehicles: Some Figures for Approximate Outlay Involved IT may be remembered that the inquirer who inspired this 'series of articles made requests as to the personnel required in his repair shop, the equipment necessary and its cost, and layout of the equipment within a building of a specified size—all in connection with the maintenance of 40 lorries and 10 cars.
I come now to the second requirement. Completely to equip a workshop with all the latest repair machinery would cost many thousands of pounds, and I find that my task is not so much in making a list of the items required as in deciding which tools I can leave out, having regard to the size of the establishment in question. I should recommend the interested reader to write to those concerns which factor garage equipment and obtain more detailed information. Quite a number of the makers as well as the factors actually advertise in this journal. Should the reader be at a loss in respect of any particular item, I shall be only too glad to give him such information as will assist in obtaining what he wants.
. Small Equipment Omitted I should add that this article does not enumerate all the equipment that is necessary in a workshop. I have taken for granted that the inquirer knows that them is need for such things as vices, hammers, files and tool; of that sort. I think it is best to start with general equipment. First, I would put, what might be termed, lifting gear. An establishment of the size under review should have two or three hydraulic jacks. Perhaps the best selection would be two of 5-ton capacity, of what I might term the long-handled type, and two of the smaller load capacity 'of the bottle type. The expenditure on such a set will run to £60 or £70.
To supplement these, and to free the mobile jacks for service elsewhere while a vehicle is off the ground, I should purchase not less than four axle stands of the adjustable type, designed to slip under the axle when it has been jacked up, the jack itself being taken away for other use. A set of four of these will cost from £8 to £10.
In the same category I would include a crane which can be wheeled about the floor. It has a triangular base and is mounted on runners. The jib, adjustable for height, projects inwardly into the triangle so that it is always well supported. Such a crane can be used for lifting engines out of chassis, and for similar purposes. The cost will be anything from £75 to £80.
6-in. Lathe and Drilling Machine
Also, for general use, I would suggest the purchase of a lathe, preferably about 64n. centres, with gap bed, and a small sensitive drilling machine. I suggest £250 to £300 will be necessary to cover the two. That figure is intended to cover the cost of the electric motor for driving.
A bench grinder, with wheels of a minimum of 8 ins. diameter, should be installed, the approximate cost being £20. I would recommend the purchase of not fewer than three portable electric drills at a cost of £30 to £40.
Now, although I have 'omitted tools for engine reconditioning, the inquirer taking advantage of the scheme referred to in the previous article, I think that an engine stand of the universal type is desirable. My point is that there are occasions when some repair has to be done at once so that the vehicle can return to service, rather than go to the expense of fitting a reconditioned unit. An engine stand of the type I have in mind will cost from £40 to £50.
Next I come to that department of repair which is mainly concerned with tyres. The first item is an air compressor. I recommend the stationary type with provision for pipes leading to a variety of points in the repair shop where air is likely to be needed, not only for tyre inflation, but for working small pneumatic tools, and so on. There is a wide choice of equipment of this kind both as to type and capacity at prices ranging from £150 to £180.. As an adjunct to the compressor; an air-line hose attachment fitted with a pressure gauge is recommended. Such a piece of equipment can be bought at a cost of from £5 to £10. Next I would recommend the acquisition of a. tyre changer of a kind suitable for dealing with giant pneumatics. Equipment of this kind not only facilitates the changing of tyres, but saves money, as it relieves the tyres of the damage so frequently caused when they are separated from the wheel rim by hammer and chisel. It will cost about £30. I would also recommend the acquisition of a small vulcanizing plant capable of dealing with tubes and repairing small cuts in covers. A vulcanizing plant of the type I have in mind would cost from £15 to £25.
Finally, in this list of items requisite in connection with tyres there is a wheel aligner. To-day, as with almost every other piece of equipment, there is a considerable variety of tyres on the market; some of the latest are most ingenious and the price paid can be anything from £4 to £12. High in the schedule of equipment required for this workshop I would place a battery charger. One of the size required in this instance can be purchased for from £80 to £140. Means for testing batteries is also necessary, and such components will cost from £5 to £10.
Equipment for dealing with brake testing, brake-shoe refacing, etc., is expensive, and I would hesitate to recommend its purchase in the case of premises as small as those under consideration. The cost of a really up-to-date and effective brake-testing machine would run into four figures, and brake-refacing equipment will cost upwards of £110. I doubt if a fleet of the size under consideration would justify such expenditure.
I am quite certain that the operator's budget for outlay on this garage will stop a long way short of £1,000 for testing the condition of the brakes oil each chassis. Apart from that, tools for brake adjustment and repair come under the heading of small tools, with which, as I have already stated, I am not dealing at length in this article.
For Engine Reconditioning The next department of vehicle repair is undoubtedly that connected with top overhauls. For that I think some expenditure on equipment is desirable. The operation is called for frequently, and the tools will be fairly well used, so that the expense in acquiring will be justified. First, I would stipulate an engine-service kit. This includes the essential tools for cleaning cylinder heads, piston tops, valve ports, valve guides, and so on. An electric motor of a size suitable for driving will also be required. The price runs from £35 to f40 per kit. In addition, the operator should purchase the necessary tools for valve-seat regrinding and ieseating. This will probably cost another £20 to £25. Allied with this is a valve refacer, which will cost another £45 to £60.
Now we come to the consideration of what is required for the major overhaul of a chassis, and the first problem that has to be solved in this .onnection is whether a lift— hydraulic or electric—be installed, or pits be used, or both. There are many establishments that have both, but, as a rule, the lift is employed only in conjunction with a lubrication battery. The pits are used when a real job of repair work is being done. Having in mind that the inquirer proposes to start in a small way, I should imagine that he intends his repair staff to take care of lubricating and greasing as well as the major work of overhaul and repair. In such a case a full-size lift, capable of lifting the complete vehicle, seems desirable. I will return to this matter later.
For convenience in the execution of repairs, apart from this question of lubrication, I prefer pits to be open-ended with a supplementary workshop on the same level as the floor of the pit, and that is what I should recommend this operator to have.
To facilitate major overhauls, he will. require a cleaning tank, which may be of the chemical or paraffin type, according to choice. Either will cost from £50 to £80. He should have a press, as no repair ..hop is complete without one. I am a little uncertain as to the size most desirable, but, personally, / should install a 50-ton hydraulic press, although it will cost as much as £80 or £90.
We must be careful in this enumeration of plant and equipment needed for a repair shop not to overlook the fact that a stores will be necessary. A modest provision for stores bins will cost from £50 to £80.
Finally, in this general, although somewhat limited, review of the plant necessary, I must refer to the possible need for a breakdown van. I must admit that ownership of such a vehicle is not common amongst operators, nevertheless, I think I should mention it and its probable cost. The equipment only, suitable for dealing with heavy lorries, will amount to approximately £150, and assuming the purchase of a good used chassis to carry it, I should say the total cost would not fall far short of £500.
Lubrication and Cleaning Facilities Now I come to the point I have already raised about lubrication, and I link it with another, that of washing. Washing and polishing, greasing and oiling, are parts of vehicle maintenance, but they are not classified as repairs. It is proposed to use the building, a description of which was given in the previous article, as a repair shop, and although the operator does not state this to be the case in his inquiry, I should imagine that the fleet would be greased, oiled and washed at the premises where they are garaged each night. That being so, the lubrication battery, which will cost about £300, the hydraulic or electric lift at £150 to £200, and the high-pressure washer at £150, should be installed elsewhere.
Finally, as indicating the manner in which money can be spent on garage equipment, the following items occur to mind. An engine analizer, a somewhat complicated mechanism for making a quick test of the condition of any engine, would cost £350, An electrical test bench, equipped to test and provide for the repairs of electrical equipment, including generators, starters, and so on, another £480. have ruled out the latter, because I have taken the view that repairs of the nature involved are better carried out by specialists, advantage being taken of the unit exchange scheme extended to cover the parts involved. A magnetic crack detector for discovering flaws in steering arms, axles, crankshafts, and so on, would run to another DM, and a cylinder boring-bar, fully equipped and having the latest type of bar capable of dealing with hard cylinder liners, a
further £400. S.T.R.