Parking lot scuffle

This Maxima was all most all alone in a parking lot while the owners had a late dinner one night. Luckily, they wrapped up just in time to see someone knock the front end off of their new car. We started by removing the busted up bumper an headlight. The fender was also bent up a bit but luckily nothing else was damaged. We prepped the new bumper and fender early this afternoon and we had enough time to get it painted today. A coat of sealer on the bumper and damaged area on the bumper started off the paint process. After that dried, we applied several coats of base coat color. The 2 coats of clear provided the high gloss. If all goes well we hope to get this one back together tomorrow and back to its owner.

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Working the Pony

We were able to get back on the Mustang yesterday and today. The hood has been repaired and primed. The doors and fenders have been trimmed out and installed. We were able to get some of the sanding done on it as well. The plan for tomorrow is to finish the sanding, wash it and prep it for paint. Hopefully that will happen on Friday. Like most cars we do, they have to look worse before they look better.

Bruised up Mustang

 This Mustang was brought into the shop to get a few bent panels fixed and replaced. This car needs a new front bumper, both fenders and a right door. Quit a bit of work. Since all the parts were on order, we went ahead and started the disassembly and repairing the parts that were repairable. The left door took a pretty good hit as you can see. We also had a smaller repair to do on the right quarter panel. The hood is an aftermarket fiberglass one that has sustained a few bad gouges so we started the repair on that as well. We did get the repair on the door and quarter completed but not the repair on the hood. Next week, the parts should be so we can keep this project moving along.

Look closely, you might miss it.

 This is a few parts off of the ’71 Chevelle we have been working on. The color is quite unique. It is Carolina blue. The car is called a Carolina Girl. Chevrolet painted a few cars each year and sent them to North Carolina as a special edition. This one has lived its entire life in Burlington. In fact, It grew up, only about a mile from the shop. The new owner wanted to keep it the original color but wanted to add his personal touch to it. Well, we figured out what that touch was going to be this week. He likes racing stripes, but didnt know for sure if he wanted them on this car. When we described how we can ghost stripes, he got curious. So Wednesday we ghosted the stripes in for him to see and luck was on our side. We nailed it. If you look closely, you can see the stripes just barely visible. The owner and his family were very pleased with the way they turned out. We also wet sanded and buffed the fenders today. This process is part of our “High Performance Finish” paint jobs. We did get the doors buffed out last week, so all thats left is to buff the body and paint the stripes on the hood, then reassemble.

D-Day

Today was finally D-day for the el Camino.  If you remember, this car should have been wrapped up last year but a few mechanical difficulties caused us to miss our scheduled date for interior. We had to get a new spot in line with the interior guy (Phil’s Upholstery) and that took a few month along with a few months of actually installing the interior. Once that was done we had to remove the locker that was in the rear end. So it was over to Automotive Service Shop to get that done. Once we had it back from them, the only thing left was to get the cruise control working. We did have a few hours invested in that but we did get it all working just in time for the show. As you can see, it turned out really nice. It will be at the Shriners Hot Rod Expo this Friday and Saturday. Come on out and see us.

Striping the Chevelle

 This is the trunk off of the 1971 Chevelle. We got a late start laying down the stripes today, but we did get them ready for paint before we left. We carefully measured out the stripes and made sure we put them where they were  supposed to go. Tomorrow we will get the paint on the stripes and get it cleared. These stripes will really look great on this car.

Sorento, pick up aisle 3

 The Sorento was wrapped up today. Its all washed up and ready to ride. The deer caused this SUV to have a new front bumper, left fender a new door and a repair on the left rear door. It turned out really nice, I think the owners should be very pleased.

Shriner’s Hot Rod Expo

http://shrinershotrodexpo.com/Home.html

Dont forget about the Hot Rod Expo this coming Friday and Saturday.  From 5-9 on Friday the 18th and from 9-4 on Saturday the 19th. We will have several cars there that we have built, as well as about two hundred others. Come on out and support the Children’s Hospital and enjoy lots of cool cars.

Clark, this here is an RV

 This RV came in the other day to get a busted up roof and side panel repaired. The previous owner obviously hit something but no one really knows what or how it happened. The side of this RV are made of a thin wood, with a layer of fiberglass over it. I chose to use a very strong, two part epoxy that must be heat set to dry. This means that after the product has been mixed and applied, you must heat the product up before it will cure.  That is the yellowish filler in the first picture. Once that was sanded down smooth, I did apply another layer for strength. Then a layer of body filler was applied to smooth it up a bit more. I did get primer on it today as well,  I just forgot the picture. Again, tomorrow  I hope to get it painted so the owner can cruise.

Hi! Remember me?

 This Equinox came in a couple of weeks ago because of and unfortunate incident in an intersection. We had to send this one over to out frame guy to get the A-post pulled out a little. When we put the door on, there was a gap at the top of the door frame. Since there is no adjustment in the door for that direction, it meant that something must be bent.  Unfortunately our frame guy was a little backed up so it took a few days to get it back. Well, today was that day. We got it back from him early this morning and got right to work getting it ready for paint. Once we had it back together enough for paint, Jordan and I sanded and washed it up. You can see him having a good tie with the hose. It was nice to have the shop doors open today and be able to sand a car with out freezing to death. Once it was dry enough, we put the Equinox in the booth and got it ready for paint. You can see a coat of sealer in the second picture. It wasn’t quite dry so that explains the light and dark areas. After the sealer dried, several coats of red were sprayed. After the red base coat, it was time for the clear coat. Tomorrow we hope to get this one back together and get an alignment and the damaged wheels switched out. Still several things left to do before its ready but it wont be long now.