Oh my...

Kane painted the floor and firewall of my ‘55 Chev yesterday. Couldn’t be happier with the gunmetal grey. The body will go on the completed chassis next week ready for body work when we get time.

Cheers Leon

‘55 Chev update...

Well, it’s been a long time coming, but the first colour is scheduled to go on my ‘55 Chev 2-door hardtop tomorrow. Kane just sprayed the rear wheel wells with a protective texture coating (stoneguard). He will then seam seal the underside ready for colour to be applied. Once the underside is in colour, the body will be mounted on the completed chassis and body work can commence. How exciting!

Cheers Leon

Kane sprays the rear wheel wells with Stoneguard.

The completed chassis waiting for the body.

The chassis is pretty impressive...even if I say so myself.

A closeup of the front-end of the chassis.

Full, bare-metal restorations…

In my last post, I explained that Ol’ School Garage would now be focusing on full, bare-metal restorations. So, what is a full, bare-metal restoration?

I should begin by saying that I use the word ‘restoration’ rather loosely. Our restorations often involve considerable fabrication work to accommodate an upgraded drivetrain, larger diameter wheels, a lower stance, etc. At the very least, our customer’s want more power from the original engine and upgraded suspension and brakes for a better driving experience. The term ‘resto-mod’ has been coined to describe this process (i.e. a restoration incorporating modifications).

To qualify as a ‘bare-metal’ restoration, we believe the restoration process must start with the car being completely disassembled. Once stripped, a specialist automotive media blaster removes all old paint and surface rust from the body, panels and parts. Removing all old paint product and surface rust is the only way to guarantee the integrity of the new paint. In addition, it is only when the car is in bare metal that all accident and rust damage be identified.

We consider a ‘full’ restoration as one where all parts and systems are reconditioned or replaced. This includes accident and rust repairs, new paint, rebuilding or replacing the engine, transmission and balance of drivetrain, rewiring the car, reconditioning or replacing brakes, suspension and steering components, re-trimming the interior, reconditioning, re-chroming or replacing stainless trim and bumpers, etc, etc.

The objective of a full, bare-metal restoration is to restore and modify the car so that it looks like new and performs and functions better than it did when it first left the factory.

I have included some photos of some typical tasks we would undertake as part of a full, bare metal restoration.

Cheers Leon

The first thing we do is fully disassemble the car ready for sand-blasting. The subframe, diff and suspension components are yet to be removed.

Just back from the sand blaster. The blasting process doesn't remove the 'bog' in the old repairs and will be ground out be hand. Rust and accident damage is now clearly visible.

Just back from the sand blaster. The blasting process doesn't remove the 'bog' in the old repairs and will be ground out be hand. Rust and accident damage is now clearly visible.

Once the accident and rust repair is complete, Roland works his way around the car fine tuning panels and adjusting panel gaps. We pride ourselves on being great metal workers. This is important, as work done here limits the amount of filler required in the paint shop.

Here the reconditioned subframe and suspension and steering parts are re-assembled. The brakes are reconditioned using new or reconditioned parts. New brake and fuel lines are also fabricated and run at this stage.

The re-built engine and gearbox waiting to be installed.

Body work complete, the car is given its new paint livery. The preparation and painting process involves a number of stages and is often the single most labour intensive process in a restoration.

After the painted car is assembled, it will go through significant testing to make sure everything functions as it should and iron out any bugs found.

We're changing the way we do business...

Back in 2011, I purchased a small classic car restoration business. I renamed it Ol’ school Garage and quickly added mechanical upgrades and classic car sales to its service offering. Before I knew it, the business had 12 full-time staff and was spread over three separate building.

Over time, however, I realised that the more we grew, the less time we spent doing what I love. My passion has always been restoring cars from the ground-up. This is why I purchased the business in the first place! And I'm not alone - this passion is shared by the entire Ol’ School Garage team.

So, we've made a New Years resolution - to follow our dream! And that requires a few changes to the way we do business.

For those visiting our workshop, the most obvious change is that we now operate out of a single location – 18 Tradelink Road, Hillcrest (previously our paint shop). But the biggest change will be our service offering. In 2018, Ol’ School Garage will focus on bare-metal restorations. That is, all jobs will start with us completely disassembling a car before removing all existing paint.

We realise that this style of restoration is not for everyone, but there are two primary reasons behind this change. I touched on the first already. Simply, we like building and restoring cars from the ground up. We find the process challenging, satisfying and rewarding. So, that’s what we’re going to do…because work should be fun!

The second reason is all about business. Concentrating on bare-metal restorations allows us to work on less cars at any one time. These are big jobs with many tasks that are completed over a long period. Fewer jobs simplifies our business model. We need fewer staff and less space as we are able to focus our efforts on a smaller number of jobs. This is not only good for us, it is also good for our customers.

I must confess that there is some self-interest involved. It's coming up thirty years since I started my first business. So, these changes are also designed to help me to spend a little more time away from the business. Luckily, Tim is a great workshop manager and he is supported by a great team - so our customers remain in good hands. Truth be told, other than some bookkeeping, I haven't done anything useful in years!

Want to know more about the bare-metal restoration process? I will explain the process further in an upcoming post.

Cheers Leon

Happy New Year...

After a well-earned break over the Christmas/New Year period, the Ol’ School Garage team returned back to work today. Tim even made a start on assembling the painted chassis of my ‘55 Chev 2-door hardtop. Some of you will no doubt remember my outrageous New Year’s resolution this time last year to finish this project in 2017. However, given some good progress was achieved last year, I feel confident in adopting the same New Year’s resolution this year! I hope 2018 is kind to one and all.

Cheers Leon

Tim assembling the chassis this afternoon.

The state of the car in the background may give some cause for thinking my New Year’s resolution may still a little optimistic.

I arrived this morning to find Kane painting the chassis with a very small paintbrush. This may account for our failure to complete the project last year!

The painted chassis in the spray booth...maybe I jumped to conclusions re Kane and that paintbrush.

Auto One car show...

Took the '30 Model A Tudor and '60 Lincoln Premiere along to the Auto One Browns Plains car show tonight. Good turn out...a little bit of everything. Also found my '28 Model A Roadster on display in the store!

Cheers Leon

Tah-dah...

It's been a long time coming, but I'm happy to say that we've finished the upgrade on our '69 Dodge Car Carrier. And I must say, I'm very pleased with the end result. Despite all the negative feedback on the hornet scoop, I decided to keep it. If nothing else, it covers the big hole in the bonnet!

Cheers Leon

Corvettes galore...

The Ol' School Garage fab shop currently looks like a C3 Corvette dealership! As I've mentioned before, I'm going to downsize my collection. I don't need 30 cars! So my four Corvettes are being detailed ready for sale. Probably a few weeks away yet, but I will let you know when they go on sale just in case you are interested...or know someone who may be.

Cheers Leon

'55 Chevy update...

Ahhh, who keeps a New Year's Resolution anyway! Mine was to finish my '55 Chevy Hardtop by Christmas. Although progress has been steady, there are a couple of customer cars in the paint shop queue ahead of the Chevy. So I think we're going to struggle to make my Christmas deadline. I haven't given up...but I'm just preparing myself for disappointment.

Cheers Leon

The body sits in epoxy primer waiting for body work to commence on the exterior. But the underside and firewall are almost ready for paint.

Good progress has been made on smoothing the chassis...but it will require a few more days until it's ready for primer.

The diff has been rebuilt, painted and brake lines run ready to go back on the chassis as soon as it is painted.

The suspension and steering components have been painted and can also go back on the chassis when ready.

'60 Venturer...

I almost forgot I had this '60 Pontiac Venturer 'Flat Top' until Tim drove it down to the workshop a few days ago. I purchased the car in LA a few years back after being attracted to its retro flat top styling and patina finish. It's time to get it back on the road.

Cheers Leon