The Fraser whānau are back in the factory after a lovely, albeit a bit wet, Christmas break and we’re looking forward to another year of automotive madness!
Ray’s 1971 Chev C10 has been cut to pieces removing rust from lots of nooks and crannies. So far it’s going really well and is actually turning out to be less infested with rot than we originally thought. We thought the roof skin was going to need to come off but after stripping back the sealant in the gutters, things are looking pretty good under there.
Bryan’s Valiant Charger is the opposite! Just when we thought we had found the last of the rust before we send it off to the painters, we discovered bogged over rust in the drivers rear wheel arch, and even a riveted panel covering rust holes in the rear panel that was then bogged over. So we will be cutting these out and repairing them properly. Fingers crossed we don’t find any more.
William’s 1992 batmobile RX7 has been in our shop for a while again. This time we are installing a Bosch Motorsport ABS system, along with a massive brake kit from Endless Brakes. While these have been designed for motorsport cars, we have gained approval to get this road legal. We haven’t driven a car with this system yet but from all accounts they are amazing. Fully controllable to adjust the amount of ABS you want and team this up with these new brakes, we’re expecting to be impressed!
Alun has his 1976 Chev Malibu back in the shop for its next round of modifications. This time we have fitted underglow LED lighting, glass (yes glass!) radiator pipes with blue backlit LEDs and some very fancy custom interior door panels which feature beaded inlay aluminum panels like we have made in the engine bay, 3D printed speaker grills with backlit LED dice to carry on the dice theme throughout the car, and dice window switches. It’s all at the painters and the trimmers currently, so we’re looking forward to getting it all back and assembled, hopefully in time for the Ellerslie Concours car show.
Stuart’s 1957 Jaguar XK140 is going through the final stages of getting road legal. We just have to get it through Compliance and Stuart can drive it for the first time in 20 years! We have loved being involved in bringing this beauty back to life and we are looking forward to handing over the keys soon.
DMOFSR is finally being put back together after a prang sustained while on hire late last year. With new front suspension, steering and a fresh lick of paint, she’ll live to drive another day…. again….
Thinking about a project? Found some rust hiding where it shouldn’t be? Get in touch – we’ve definitely seen worse.
