* * * * * * I am putting this here because some people either do not read or do not understand what I've said the Mexico Blue car is NOT the targa! It is a friends car that is for sale soon * * * * * * * *
Well after a 4 day drive home I needed a little break. So right about the end of September I brought the car to my buddies shop Euro Sport here in San Diego. They do excellent work and have been around for many years, specializing in European cars from collision to full tilt Pebble Beach concours restorations. I had them do some work on my last Kingston Grey hot rod.
Anyway I think I mentioned earlier that this would be a seriously high spec build, full tilt wide body Singeresque ( is that a word) type car with no stone left unturned in attaining perfection. The end result will be stunning, working with my client has been a very real opportunity for me and being able to translate his desires for an incredible car and turn it into a reality is so satisfying. Watching the Little Panzer transform from a relatively pedestrian mode of transportation into a world class stunner is just a fascinating process, so lets get to it.
Started by just getting the car up in the air and have a good look around, lots of light and poking and prodding to assess what we have to start with. Here is where driving 2,500 miles across the country through different types of weather and roads is really paying dividends. I know what systems were working and how well they were working, just as importantly what needed to be addressed. As this car will eventually be stripped down to nothing and rebuilt using all new parts and of course refurbished factory parts as well it is more a peace of mind thing.
First off was removing the front and rear bumpers head lights and oiling system and mounting a borrowed set of Braid 15" wheels size 9 and 11" wide with Pirelli P7 Corsa tires so that we can start getting flare placement where we want them. Next was cutting the fenders away and tacking the flares on which eventually were completely butt welded and hammer, pick and dolly metal finished so as to use absolutely as little filler as possible. It is a time consuming process and noisy! We have ordered lots of parts and unfortunately some are having delays the front bumper as a glaring example. I decided to use a bumper that has a more "reimagined" look than my own as that is what we are going after in this build. We used Turbo flares, I really like them and prefer the profile as compared with the RSR style flare.
Well I am little disappointed now as I tried loading pictures of the car up in the air on the lift before we started but I have been using my real camera and the images are to large and I don't know how to resize them. So I am having to skip to what I have on my iPhone with the flares already welded in place
By the way the wheels and tires are from my old car that I sold to a friend, he has done a full backdate rotisserie restoration on a 1975 non sunroof coupe with 3.8 EFI engine and G50 transmission in Mexico Blue. That car will be available for sale when it is finished in a couple months, just in case anyone is looking for a new toy. I consulted with him the whole way along and have helped with getting it to this point and will continue helping him and will be offering it for sale. Contact me if you have interest in it!
