7 DIY Garage Projects to Keep You Motivated This Winter

As a gearhead, some winters are worse than others. One year, you’ll be just fine with the snow-induced extra downtime. Others will have you feeling stir crazy for nearly every second of every day that you aren’t getting good and greasy. If dealing with the latter, you may be seeking some ways to stay preoccupied. The Engine Block can help. Whether you’re taking a break from the project car, or your warm-season cruiser is already tucked underneath a cover waiting for the next upcoming car show, below are seven DIY garage projects that can keep you moving until spring rears its lovely head again.

Off-Season Spring Cleaning

Keeping one’s work area clean can be easier said than done. Speaking from personal experience, if I have the choice between rewarding projects like fabrication and welding or tedious cleaning, you can bet your bottom I’ll pick the former. Surprise, surprise then by the time the first snowfall drifts across the ground, I have a major mess on my hands.

Sure, “spring cleaning” is a thing, but who wants to be cooped in the garage when the weather is nice? Move that project to the Winter To-Do List. Plus, it’ll be several months yet until the earth cozies back up to the sun. That means there’s no pressure to hurry! Gut the place section-by-section and organize every last inch. See how fast you start beating those winter blues when your garage looks worthy of a TV show.

Where to start?

First things first: clean out the junk. You can’t work on anything in a cluttered environment. Besides being a distraction, it’s a safety hazard. Have a yard sale or put some listings on Craigslist, but get Grandma’s furniture and the broken Christmas lights out. They’re taking up valuable space anyway. Once you can see the floor and the surface of your work table or bench, you can start acquiring (or updating) your hand tools.

Clean & Repair Tools

Every weekend warrior and die-hard enthusiast has a plethora of broken or rusty tools sitting in their collection. During a good shop clean-up, take inventory of everything that’s busted, broken, or rotted. Once all of these tools are accumulated, get to work.

Tools with lifetime warranties, like those pesky ratchets that skip teeth, can be replaced. Rusted-up pliers and adjustable wrenches can get a good cleaning to get them working again. And of course, the power tools with worn brushes can be serviced too. Just remember, when it comes to tool repair, it’s wise to follow the 50% rule.

This principle basically states that if the repairs of an object exceed 50% of what it would cost you to just replace it, then just replace it. For example, if it’s going to cost you $75 to replace a $100 tool, just buy a new one. It’s important to consider how technologically old your tool is as well. If what you’re using isn’t even offered in stores anymore, it could be a sign that it’s time to upgrade.

Cleaning and repairing tools may not be the same as actually working on your car, but these quick DIY garage projects will surely give you a motivating boost to get through the winter. And truthfully, the maintenance-type recommendations on this list are not exactly top-of-mind when the sun is shining and the Porsche 911 comes out to play. Do yourself a favor and plow through the grunt work now when there’s really nothing better to do.

Is your toolbox of the mobile variety? Now is a great time to address the mess that is your truck bed. Check out DECKED’s wild new truck toolbox. Heavy-duty and waterproof, it even comes with optional ladder access!

Build Your Tool Collection

If you just finished working out the math on that 50% tool rule and realized a shopping trip is in order… again, what better time than the present??  If you’re trapped inside this winter with less to see and do (or quarantining), it’s safe to say you’ll be saving some dough. So guess what you can do with all that extra cash?

While cleaning, organizing, and repairing, consider any upcoming projects and take note of what tools are missing from your collection. You might find that you need some specialty tools to get certain jobs done. If you’re working within a strict budget, there’s no shame in checking out sites where you can possibly snag a gently-used version at a fraction of the cost. Tools are a big investment, and a lot of guys dig themselves a hole right out of the gate by throwing thousands of dollars at items they don’t really need or don’t do what they thought.

Some sage advice we’ve heard over the years? Start with cheap tools — whether new or second-hand. When one breaks, upgrade to a higher-quality replacement. The fact it broke is a good sign you use it enough to warrant that better version.

We know, shopping doesn’t beat wrenching, but it’s certainly a proven morale-booster. (There’s a reason they call it retail therapy.)

Practice Makes Perfect

Everyone has something they’ve wanted to learn, but never had the confidence to approach. For example, how many people would like to know how to port and polish a cylinder head, but the risk of screwing things up has them sending the work to a pro?

Well, why not give it a crack?

In this case, used cylinder heads can be very cheap. And if you’re practicing, you don’t even need to source a useable set — just something you can play with. (You might already even have some of the necessary tools to do it.)

Porting heads is just an example. The point is, there’s something you want to practice but simply haven’t. There’s no better time to put your energy into learning a new craft than when the wind chill is in negative digits and it’s dark by 3pm.

Tie Up Those Loose Threads

If tidying up the garage and setting up the shop aren’t enough work for you, you’re not alone. A lot of us will need to actually get our hands dirty this winter. But I’m willing to bet that somewhere in your garage right now is a project sitting around 98% to your liking, with one or two minor issues keeping it from feeling complete. It might be pitted chrome on the underside of a bumper, a missing piece of trim, or a portion of the suspension that needs a little more work. The list goes on and on.

During the summer, we tend to let these things go. (Wheeling, camp fires, brews… priorities, right?) The winter is a great time to take advantage and tie up all those little loose ends. Besides, what better way to gear yourself up for a big New Year’s resolution project than by clearing the deck of busy work? Sometimes even the smallest of DIY garage projects can keep you motivated.

Build That Engine or Drivetrain

Small victories can be immensely satisfying, but checking a big, messy job off your list? Priceless.

Many of us have dreams for our prized rides — and most of those dreams come back to the engine and drivetrain. Maybe the power plant isn’t as powerful or efficient as you’d like. Or perhaps the transmission behind it desperately needs some beefing up. And that dinky differential that’s keeping you from putting power to the ground is definitely holding you back. Again, the winter is the perfect time to build up a combination that will take your dream car up a notch. While maybe not the “quickest” of DIY garage projects, it’ll surely keep you busy throughout the season.

Get A Jump on the Next Big Thing in Little Ways

If you’ve got big plans in store for the coming seasons, why not start hashing out the odds and ends now? What hardware will you need to bolt everything down? What trim pieces are you missing? Do you have the right tools to get the job done? These are all questions that you’re better to ask now rather than when things are in motion.

Speaking from experience, you do need to strike a balance here. Don’t assume you’ll need everything, and don’t get in the habit of thinking you have it all figured out. Spend some time reading through forums to see what other gearheads needed when they attempted to do whatever it is you’re doing. Take the time to really learn your car and discover exactly what the little things are that it needs. Then, get out and hit those winter swap meets to hunt down the things you might not find when traffic is high.

In the upper United States and Canada, many of us are facing between five and six long months of soul-crushing winter. While these DIY garage projects may not seem like much at first glance, they’re enough to get the ball rolling. And we can guarantee once you start rooting around in that garage, you’ll uncover several other ways to keep those tools busy this season.