Category Archives: Auto Body Work

The End of a Decade – The Mustang Era

  By admin | April 20, 2013 - 8:29 PM | , , , , , ,
7 Comments

Well one thing we can count on  for sure, is that things will always change.

For nearly  10 years my 1970 Mustang has been a great joy.  I’ve taken it from a 6 cylinder lady’s car (I say that purely because it was first owned by a lady, who in turn, handed it down to her daughter and it had some dainty pin striping) to a proud muscle car.

We suffered a couple flat-bed trips, a problematic carb and leaking power steering, an AC unit that got less miles per oz of coolant then the engine did in miles per gallon and invented some new cuss words!

We survived a few charity drag races and won a bunch street light mini drags, took home a couple of car show trophies and placed a lot of smiles on passerby faces and kids when I let them sit behind the wheel.

But things change and I’ve enjoyed my Mustang thoroughly.  But it’s time to move on so my Mustang is going to a new home, where it will enjoy the company of four other Mustangs.

I will miss the old steed but so proud of where it started and where it is now.

So fare well old friend…on to new adventures.

1970 Mustang Mods for 300 HP

1970 Mustang
Mods for 300 HP

So what’s next for me?  Well there is my 1965 Bridgestone motorcycle and many more car shows and SCCA with the my C7 Vette and a surprise coming up….oh…no you are just going to have to wait to find out.

So stay tuned for some more mods, car shows, racing and classic/muscle car reading.

Thank you for reading.

Tim

 

‘67 Corvette Abandoned in a Field Gets a Chance at a Second Life – CorvetteOnline.com

  By admin | April 14, 2013 - 6:15 PM | , , , , , , ,
1 Comment

‘67 Corvette Abandoned in a Field Gets a Chance at a Second Life – CorvetteOnline.com.

The second-generation Corvette is widely regarded as one of, if not the best-looking Corvette, and they fetch a high premium on the auction circuit. But not every Corvette has benefited from a full restoration, and even fewer can claim to be true “survivor” cars.

Thankfully, it looks like one long-languishing 1967 Corvette coupe will get a second chance at life, reports Old Cars Weekly writer Al Rogers. The couple who owns this ‘Vette has vowed to restore it, citing their long history with the car.

Lee and Amanda Sloppy (not making that name up, by the way) have a long history with this ‘67, buying it from the original owner in 1973. Amanda used it as her daily driver to her two-mile commute until 1981, and then after the mufflers, brakes, and other bits needed replacing, the Corvette was eventually parked. Parked, but not forgotten.

Camaros and Firebirds

  By admin | April 7, 2013 - 7:39 PM | , , , , , , ,
3 Comments

Camaros and Firebirds.

They almost always went hand in hand with GM, at least during my formidable days.   Then came the Trans-Am.   Pontiac was over took the Camaro arguably in performance but uncontested in folklore, I offer up Burt Reynolds & “Smoky and the Bandit” for support (you can count the Rockford Files, the Camaro there was not much more than a prop –cool no doubt but mostly a prop.

Camaro’s back (in case you’ve been living under a discarded intake manifold) with the Z28 soon to return and the SS and LT1 already burning up the streets.  But the when the axe fell on Pontiac it took with it any chance to bring back the Firebird in any kind of configuration.  So we are forced to back in time and watch old super 8 movies of Firebird/Trans-Am in motion.   Or do we?

What if (and it’s a BIG IF) some where, someone started producing that iconic version of the Firebird – not a pre-made body – al-la Dynacores’ Mustang offering, but an up to date platform, like Mother Mopar did with the Challenger.

What if (BIG IF – again), they placed it on a new 2012 Camaro platform and soup-ed it up a bit?   Something like this:

 

Aweseome!

Awesome!

Yes , that is just what those innovative folks did at Lingenfelters.   This is the 455 TA “lightly” (snicker) Camaro.

It sports a the Tran-Am trade mark split grille and honey comb wheels and blue and white paint schema.  But under the hood is a power plant will make the hardest Camaro shake in it’s engine bay.

 

Oh...BTW...comes in drop top...love the wheels

Oh…BTW…comes in drop top…love the wheels

The engine is a custom  RHS Aluminum engine block at displaces 455 cubic inches.  It has a 4.155” bore Diamond 11.5:1 compression ratio pistons, 4.200” stroke, Lunati forged crankshaft, LPE CNC ported and polished LS7 heads. Pair this up with LSX Fast 102 intake and Lingenfelter’s 6 bolt LS9 twin disk fly whee/clutch assembly and you get a 655 horse powered monster that can lay down 610 ft-lbs of torque to the  20×11 rear tires (front are 20×10),

 

MONSTER!!!!

MONSTER!!!!

OK…you can exhale now, but when the 455 TA does it uses a custom Corsa stainless exhaust and it sounds AWESOME!!!!

I caught this version at the Barrett Jackson Auction this past January.

The LPE concept body mods include front air dam and rear Firebird like spoiler and taillights.

You want one, I know you do!!!

Here’s a little more:

Thanks for reading.

Tim

 

Common Upgrades For An LA318 In A 1971 Dodge Dart Swinger | Street Legal TV

  By admin | February 20, 2013 - 8:06 PM | , , , , , ,
Leave a comment

MOPAR fans you are going to love this article.

I use to own a 1970 Dodge Dart with a 318 between the fenders.  I did a lot of body work to the life long New York State car, but nothing to the engine.  There’s one I should have kept, right along with the ’66 Impala, ’70 Chevelle and a couple others!!!

Some great upgrade in this one.

 

Common Upgrades For An LA318 In A 1971 Dodge Dart Swinger | Street Legal TV.

Thanks for reading

Tim

Model Cars, or How I Spent My Winter.

  By admin | January 8, 2013 - 6:47 PM | , , , , , , , ,
3 Comments

I happen to live where the weather is nice nearly year round.  You could almost always work on your car.  But even here in Southern Arizona, we get a cold spells….HEY…36 degree (morning temperature) is cold!!!!

Ok…enough whining. There are many of you that live a bit North of here and driveing much less working on your project car  is more like Man vs. Wild in the Antarctic – I know I’ve lived in Nebraska and up-state (way up) New York.

So one cool way to spend the winter it collecting model cars (actually you can do that any time).  I wrote a piece about 3 years ago (Yikes I’ve been writing this blog for that long!!!) about collecting model cars.  Here  a link:  When You Just have to have that Classic/Muscle Car?…Think Small!!!!        http://wp.me/p2YxYx-1rV

As you can see (compared to 3 years ago) my collection has grown a bit.

The Mustangs

The Mustangs

The Vettes

The Vettes

Few others

Few others

More of the collection.

More of the collection.

These are only a few that I have room to display. Of course these were all purchased and unless you are big in to dusting, this isn’t really going to help those winter months speed by.

But building your own can be rewarding.  Here are a couple I have on deck for building.

This is a 1963 model kit of a Stutz Bearcat and a Model T

This is a 1963 model kit of a Stutz Bearcat and a Model T

IMAG1725 IMAG1726 IMAG1727 IMAG1728

The Stutz model pieces are not there, but yes I’m gong to but the Model T together.

After that I have this one coming up:

1930 Packard. This is a 1960's model - the original box is long gone

1930 Packard. This is a 1960′s model – the original box is long gone

IMAG1731 What am I working on now?

How about an Edsel?  Yup love those cars.

Here’s the body in the first stage of painting:

Edsel in paint

Edsel in paint

This is an experiment.  It’s the first model car I’ve painted by spraying on the paint.  This is the first coat and it will be sanded and re-sprayed.    I want this two toned with the rear quarter panel inserts will be black or white.  So I experimented with some liquid masking that my wife uses when she is doing her rendering.

 

Art Masking Liquid

Art Masking Liquid

This actually worked very well.  After it’s applied it rubberizes  and protects the area from paint spray.  It comes right off when you are done.  I used a pencil eraser (exactly what my wife uses on her hand rendered drawings and I used a tooth pick to get around the lettering.

So spend you winter building a classic, or a hot rod, or a muscle car!

Thanks for reading.

Tim

 

 

 

PartingOut.com – Cool Concept in Used Car Parts.

  By admin | January 2, 2013 - 8:14 PM | , , , , , , , , , ,
3 Comments

PartingOut.com is a very interesting concept in marketing and selling used car parts.

The video explains the concept.

Check out the site at www.partingout.com.

I thinks a great idea!!!

Tim

a href=”http://www.average-guys-car-restoration-mods-racing.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Parting_Out_Logo.jpg”img class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-5516″ alt=”Parting_Out_Logo” src=”http://www.average-guys-car-restoration-mods-racing.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Parting_Out_Logo.jpg” width=”298″ height=”277″ //a

Welding 101: Getting Started With MIG Welding Basics – CorvetteOnline

  By admin | December 30, 2012 - 8:16 AM | , , , ,
2 Comments

Welding 101: Getting Started With MIG Welding Basics – CorvetteOnline.

Follow the link above for a great run down on welding.

Welding is an essential skill for hardcore and even moderate enthusiasts. Nuts and bolts can only take you so far. Eventually, if you’re serious about customizing and fabrication, you’re going to have to learn to weld. This useful skill will open up new fabrication options for your projects that may have seemed impossible before.

While taking a class or going to a seminar is a good idea, the truth is – with practice, patience, and the proper equipment, you can learn to MIG weld in your garage, on your own. We got together with our friends at Lincoln Electric to find out what you should know to get started in the world of MIG welding.