I’ve been out of town for the past couple weeks. Rested and relaxed I’m back in town and raring to go on the projects at hand! But I must share with you the reason for my absence…
My father decided about 8 months ago that he wanted to ring in his 90th birthday in stellar fashion by taking his whole family on a vacation and cross off a “Bucket List” item by taking an Alaskan cruise!
Carolyn and I and our 2 children left Orange County on Saturday, July 27 to head to Seattle for a quick visit with friends and family before boarding the Carnival “Miracle” cruise ship in the port of Seattle on July 30 to meet up with my sister and brother and their families. Fate would have it that my phone was left on the Prime Time shuttle the morning we left, not to be returned until I got home — much to my wife’s great delight. But you know what? It made me focus on my family, relaxing, and most importantly my father!
I’ve got to give credit to my Dad for his encouragement, advise, and support all these years as I made my way in the world and built a career in the automotive industry. I’ve also got to give him a lot of credit for knowing how to ring in his 90th! Alaska defies description… as does turning 90 years old … and so does my Dad! Way to go Dad!!
If you haven’t been to Alaska — GO! It’s truly breathtaking and awe-inspiring!
We celebrated my father’s birthday every night while on the cruise but next to having his family around him, the most significant milestone for him was to sail past an Alaskan glacier. We did that on Day 3 of the cruise as we sailed up the Tracy Arm Fjord to see Sawyer Glacier firsthand. Notice the drink in his hand…. another Birthday Wish accomplished!
Happy 90th Dad!!
Now…. back to work!
Two years ago I hired a young man straight out of WyoTech Automotive Program to be my apprentice. I guess I felt that at nearly 60 years old I wanted to be sure to pass on my techniques, experience, and “trade secrets” to someone who really wanted to know the craftsmanship behind body surfacing and the art of paint restoration. Beau Van Nornam has proven to be more than a fine young man. His work ethic mirrors that of the artisans of old who so loved their work… in two years he has never been late or called in sick! That has something to say about his upbringing I’m sure but it also says a lot about the type of man he is.
He is a pleasure to work with and I couldn’t ask for a better right-hand man. At 21 years old, Beau has great potential to be a top-rate surfacer and custom automotive painter. Keep your eye on this fellow!
Congratulations Beau for two great years! … And hopefully many more to come!!
Beau Van Nornam prepping for paint.
Beau Van Nornam…one proud helper
Beau Van Nornam… very helpful in the booth.
Here’s a few shots of the Blue Dino “Barn Find” as we did its final detail and delivery to Jon G’s shop. On our way down to Escondido we pulled off at a vista point near Camp Pendleton Marine Corp Base where we caught a glimpse of some tank exercises. The Pacific Ocean along with the tanks proved to be a great back drop to the Blue Dino profile. The bumper mounts almost look like machine gun barrels from a 007 movie. I’m sure we scared them off.
Blue Dino “Barn Find” facing off a Marine Corp Tank
Blue Dino “Barn Find” getting his final shower before hitting the road.
Blue Dino “Barn Find” taking on a Marine Corp tank.
Blue Dino “Barn Find” next to his kissing cousin.
Blue Dino “Barn Find” delivered safely to Jon G’s garage for reassembly.
I promised photos a week ago but am just now getting around to posting them. I hope you enjoy this gorgeous color as much as I do. It is rich, deep and a real head-turner!
Sun Bathing Dino
The fine art of a fine automotive finish…
Blue Dino 246 GT Poster
Around the end of last year I had professional photos taken and a high resolution poster designed of one of my favorite projects for one of my favorite clients. This framable poster is of Jon Gunderson’s Dino 246 GT and is the result of a small but formidable group of people coming together to create a beautiful piece of Dino art. Much thanks to Alex Gorbenko for his design and eye for detail, Tony Bird, Jr. for his amazing photography, and my wife, Carolyn, for her project management and concept! We’ll be doing a small run of about 50 next month. If you’re interested in buying a print for $75 (+ shipping and handling), please contact me with your address, phone number, and email address and I’ll add you to the list of interested Dino lovers!
My apologies to those who follow my blog … I’ve been absent from making any post for some time. Mainly because I’ve been knee deep in Dino re-surfacing and the Miura we’ve got in the shop. I’ve tried to keep the threads on Ferrarichat up to date but even that is far from what I’d like. In any event, I’d like to update you on the “Barn Find” Dino that’s in for re-surfacing and a new-color paint job.
We finished the body and metal work early last week. After several days of pre-primer surfacing we were able to roll it into the spray booth for 3 hours of primer spraying (no body said it was easy… or quick!). Once a car gets ready for its first primer we consider it in the “paint stage”.
The first thing we do is spend about 2 hours blowing the car off and wiping it down before moving it into the spray booth.
Dino Final Wipe Down Before Primer
Dino Final Wipe Down Before 1st Primer
Then we move it into the spray booth, set it up to receive primer, and wipe it down again before we start the 3-hour long session of actually spraying primer.
Mike came in to help service this Dino. He’s an old time friend and we both worked together at Metalcrafters and my old shop – Auto Cosmetic, Inc.
Setting Dino Up To Receive 1st Primer
Once the primer spraying starts there’s nothing that interferes…. not phone calls, bathroom breaks, or visitors. Short of a natural disaster I can’t think of anything that would pull us out of the booth in the middle of spraying primer…. I’m not even really sure about natural disasters…
Beau spraying primer on decklid
Beau’s been with me for nearly two years and he’s really getting the technique of spraying primer down. He had a chance to show his craftsmanship on this job. Here he is spraying the parts for me and did an awesome job! It’s nice to know that all I’ve learned over three decades will be passed on!
Once the priming is done, it stays in the spray booth overnight to dry. The next day we roll it out into our bright California sun for some more “baking”. The priming turned out great! It’s a perfect foundation for the rest of the paint stage.
Sunbathing Dino
This stage is the time where you can read all the lines and fine-tune them. It’s always an accomplishment to get primer on your surface because you need the material to work with in order to build your surface up correctly to achieve a flat body. The car gets primed twice… maybe three times. After each primer the car gets block sanded (also not easy or quick) and it’s easier now to read the surface and to see and check all the shut gaps. We’ll easily put in another 200 hours just in the paint stage of the job. But it’s well worth it to get the finish I want on my jobs. I consider each of my paint jobs a calling card and a piece of art. I also consider each job a reflection of my artistry as well as the 30+ years of craftsmanship I’ve honed. I work to make every surface a reflection of my passion.
The metal work on the “Barn Find” Dino nose is now completed. It was a labor intensive process but one that turned out incredibly nice. After all the years of pulling up to curb stops and over speed bumps the lower valance of these Dinos sure take a beating. We all know that the rust takes its toll as well. We’re moving on to the rockers next.
My client came by the shop this past weekend to look at the progress on his Miura and to help make a template of the firewall using the old aluminum firewall. The Lizard Skin we installed will help reduce noise and, of course, protect against engine heat. He did a great job taping off the area as we prepared to install the firewall insulation and Lizard Skin.
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- Making New Templates with The Old Firewall
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- Fitting Firewall Template
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- Fitting Firewall Template
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- Inspecting Firewall
Bella Classics by Steve Kouracos 