November 23, 2015

1968-1970 B-body Mopar Heater Box with A/C Rebuild

Rebuilding a heater box is hopefully something you'll only have to do once. For that one time you choose to complete it, do it right.


Begin with the correct heater box for your make, model and year. This one will fit a 1968-1970 B-Body Mopar, in this case, a Dodge Charger WITH AIR CONDITIONING. 
There is a big difference between an A/C box and one without A/C. They are not interchangeable.
1970_b_body_mopar_heater_box
1970 B-Body heater box as purchased used from an online seller. The lip is typically folded over but the seller had already had this unit apart and didn't bother to re-fold the seam. It will need a little flattening to get it to seal up and fold over properly.










Mopar_heater_box_vacuum
Close-up of bottom of linkage system and vacuum actuator. Taking pictures before you begin the re-build will help you put it back together again...correctly.

1970_Dodge_charger_heater_box
1970 Charger Heater box, side view. Most of the hardware is 1/4".

November 12, 2015

Car Parts Art

 As a restoration shop, we end up with a lot of parts that no longer work for their intended purpose. It's become my favorite hobby to create and weld these used up parts into items that are functional, or just plain fun!

welder
Ready to weld!
car_parts_stool
Stool for our office counter

September 14, 2015

The Fully Restored 1951 Ford Custom Convertible Revealed!!!!!

THANK YOU TO OUR CUSTOMERS!!!!!
The frame-off restoration of the 1951 Ford Custom Convertible was an honor to complete for the family that has loved this car since it was bought from the dealer in 1951. Complete with eagle emblem, original black WI license plate, dealer purchase receipts and service stickers, this Ford is in a class all her own. 
More details about this car will follow in a future blog post.
Red_ford_convertible
1951 Ford Custom Convertible: BEFORE
1951_Ford_Convertible
1951 Ford Custom Convertible: AFTER complete frame off restoration


Click below to see the video of the complete restoration process


June 14, 2015

For the Love of Mopar

It's "Mopar or no car"

1969_dodge_Charger_Mopar
1969 Dodge Charger

This 1969 Dodge Charger can snap your head back as it launches down the quarter mile, drown out conversation with open headers, or quietly join the area car cruises. The owner of this car is a die hard Mopar man and has found ways to enjoy his car to fullest for the decades that he's owned it.

May 11, 2015

1965 Ford Galaxie 500 XL Fastback: SOLD!!!!

3/1/15 Update: SOLD

This car took a long time to finish. We'll admit to that. But we had a great reason for it. Our customers. Due to a very high volume of customer work in our shop, we pushed this shop owned builder to the "back of line" to make sure our customer work stayed on schedule. We kept in mind, that if the right buyer came along she could be ready to roll within a few weeks and could even be finished to buyer specifications upon request. Her future owner called us in March of 2015, saw the car online (we never listed it, just had it on our website) and wanted to know more about it. Well, one thing led to another and she found her new home with a Ford collector in the Virginia area. 

1965 Ford Galaxie 500 XL Fastback

The project started with 2, pretty rough cars owned by a collector in the Eastern WI area. He had left the Galaxies out in the weather to fend for themselves.

However, this story has a pretty happy ending....




 

April 18, 2015

The Valkyrie Project: 1969 AMX all Woman Build

 Every once in awhile an opportunity to do something new, different and a little bit scary presents itself. I took a leap and I said yes to my most recent opportunity: to be a part of the Valkyrie Project build team.


This leap of faith involved...

February 20, 2015

Family Tractor: A Different Type of Restoration

1959 International 460 Utility Tractor
221C Gas Engine

This International Tractor has been in the same family for the entirety of it's existence. Although there are some missing parts, and a few repairs that are anything but "original", it has served the family well and they hope to have it re-painted and restored to it's former glory in an effort to preserve the tractor for use around the family farm for many years to come. It was still in use when we first met  the owners. It's primarily used for mowing, and this International still runs like a top! The side panels were removed somewhere along the line and are hidden in the depths of the property. One of the control levers is sheared off and held together with a bolt and hose clamp, and the upholstery on the seat is almost completely gone, but this tractor is a staple of it's home farm. 

We are going to help make sure it stays that way.

Please enjoy these photos of this International tractor as we progress down the long, winding road of our shops first ever tractor restoration

international 460 utility tractor at home
The International 460 Utility tractor, ready for delivery to our shop

February 11, 2015

AACA Forums

This Link: http://forums.aaca.org/forum.php will take you the AACA Forums. 
What is there you might ask? 
A GOLD MINE of information and people who love their cars!

TAKE NOTE! Anyone(with or without registration) will have access to VIEW free information on the web. But what fun is being a spectator?! If you want to comment you will need to register with a user name and password. Categories range from "Technical", "Buy/Sell", "Judging", "our cars and restoration projects" to "Services offered". 

Some threads are for one type of car/ time frame specifically. This makes sorting through comments and photos of other people's questions much easier! Don't forget