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new pics of the 1962 Impala

5K views 43 replies 8 participants last post by  tech69 
#1 ·
If you watch my silly you tube videos a while back I did all the rust repairs and quarter panel skin on this car. I didn't do the rust repairs how I really wanted to on this car and had I done those repairs in this time I would have stood my ground on how I really wanted them done. The quarter was done to my liking though and couldn't have asked for a smoother repair. Did most of the bodywork and blocking as well. Here the car is getting polished out for The Pomona Grand Nationals coming up, and to think about it, I haven't even seen the interior yet, but I know it looks awesome. I'll take more pics when it's all cleaned up and at Autorama, as I'm not attending The Pomona show.

btw, the fender gaps are off at this time if you have noticed due to the stupid billit hood hinges which came late. they never fit good so it was like starting over from scratch. The hinge to apron will later get shaved down a tad cause it's off, but that will be after the show. the hood will be propped up at the show so hope no one comes and closes the hood-lol





 
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#3 ·
there's a laundry list of things I can point out on this car but I'd rather not. Just happy to be doing work with the old yoda and the guys next door and to then finally see the end result. I can knick pick all day on most cars we do and am capable of doing better but it is what it is.
 
#4 ·
The cool part is Henry, YOU know there is a choice to stop or continue going with the level of detail. When you walk into a show like the Grand Nationals and can pick apart quality of the detail, it's a good feeling. (I'm not talking so much choice of mods or something like that, THAT is opinion)

Because I know you can, you can look at America's most beautiful Roadster and see where a few more minutes could have been spent on something to make it even closer to "perfect", there is NO stopping how far you can go with detail, when you have the ability to know that, knowing when to stop on each project is the hard part!

Brian
 
#6 ·
That's a good looking car. I would guess it to be a build cost of around 60k.

I like beautiful, perfect cars but I don't want to own one and I damn shore don't want to pay the bill to have one built. I like to drive them. This Chevy screams to me, Drive me hard! After watching B/J a bit, I appreciate the nice cars that are used for drivers. Nice job, Henry.
 
#26 ·
Thank You Brian...just my thoughts. These thoughts have come from a life time of dealing with both the grateful and the self absorbed. I've done work for both and have built life long relationships and friendships. The friendships that have been built are with the people that know what it takes to deliver what they want and respect and appreciate every effort, every detail that's gone gone into delivering what they envisioned. I prefer friendships over relationships.

Ray
 
#27 ·
First let me say I am not talking about anything or anyone in this thread, we have officially highjacked it for our own pleasure. :D

I remember being one of those bone heads who snubbed their noses at the cars that were built by a shop. First off, often those cars aren't built by a dozen guys, but by ONE guy or two at some small shop and they deserve credit. In other words SOMEONE built it, so it can get my appreciation. That being said, like the American Idol auditions I love to see the undiscovered, I love to see the car that was done by the non professional or the small shop where the car displays that one guys heart, that is car that I am drawn to.

Though like I said, a nice car is a nice car, SOMEONE built it, so I can dig it and don't ask questions. :D

But I remember doing this work and thinking how odd it was that I was doing a job that I couldn't afford to have done on my salary. I remember at 20 years old working in a full on resto shop thinking this. I couldn't afford to buy one of these cars, I couldn't afford (oh dear God, not even close) to have a car painted here, I remember how odd that was to me. I damn near hated those people! I didn't, as I had met them and they seemed nice enough, but I was so jealous of them I could have choked them. :D

I was doing it damn it, me and Chuck and Jim and Nick, WE were building that car, but he gets the trophy? That just didn't seem fair to me at all. I was going to about every rod run within a couple hundred miles at that time and I remember being at a run and there was a STUNNING 34 Ford sedan (the shop I worked at specialized in the Model 40, I knew them well) and the other guys I was with just about jumped me when I said I was voting for it for Peoples Choice, "That guy HAD that car built, you can't give it to him" and I didn't. I felt the same way but didn't ask, but when I was told about it this heck no I'm not going to give him that trophy, the guy who built it deserves it. (Insert smug smily face here). But at the NSRA Nats I was in a hotel and out parked next to my truck was this 34. And another T speedster that the guy "Had built" and both of these guys were such damn nice guys, I spent the weekend seeing them often and they were such nice guys. They had built cars over the years, now they had big bucks and no time and they had their cars built, they were still "car guys" and knowledgable ones at that. It totally changed how I looked at the guy who has his car built. Funny thing is I ran into that T later here locally and though the guy didn't claim building it, he certainly never said he didn't.:rolleyes:

I have a photo that I couldn't find right now of a friend of mine who passed away at 37 years old of cancer. This photo is of him getting his trophy up on the stage at the Grand Nationals. He literally didn't turn one single bolt, my brother and I built the car. I don't believe he even washed it for the show, I prepped it. I remember him hanging around in my shop watching what I was doing the day before the show! He was a wrench illiterate but that didn't make him less of a car nut, I think of him whenever I see someone make a big deal out of the guy who "Had his car built". He deserved to have that trophy as much as the guys who built it.

RIP Danny. :(

Brian
 
#28 · (Edited)
It's either the owner or the painter who gets all the credit but it's the body tech who REALLY did the most challenging work. Turning a body man into a painter is a whole lot easier than turning a painter into a body man. I don't really mind not getting the credit. I document my work as my resume.
 
#31 ·
This is so true, when delivering a late model repair as well, that is all the customer sees is the paint. The panel fit will be second, just a tiny misalignment to the door and they spot it. The tech replaced 5 weld on panels to absolute perfection but the customer notices a microscopic difference in the height of the belt molding. :rolleyes:

But the customer is ALWAYS right. If the person in the office who has worked with them has explained everything properly (referring to old damage and what not) the customer is ALWAYS right. They may be unreasonable as in expecting beyond what the factory did like poor fit that matches the other side for instance, hey, ours SHOULD be better in their eyes. But realistically they are always right. If they really are out of line it is most always the person who dealt with them in the office that didn't communicate properly.
That's just my opinion but that is how I see it.

Brian
 
#30 ·
I know those guys all to well and they are out there....I 'd love to find the rock that they crawled out from underneath and seal it up permanently...I was between restoration jobs a while back and this guy called me, (I'd done work for him in the past and he's the guy your talking about). He asked what I was doing and I told him I was getting organized for my next job. He asked id I could come over and take a look at a small job he needed done. I looked at the job and gave him a more than fair quote, (probably discounted the job by 30% because I had done work for him in the past and it wasn't that big a job) he thought it was way to high...he ranted, raved, screamed and told me I thought you where my friend, why are you trying to take advantage of me...on and on. I waited for him to take a breath, and I told him that if he felt we where friends, he wouldn't blow up like that and now the price was going up. He screamed and yelled again...so I walked away. When I got home he had left 2 messages on my phone saying he needed to talk to me. I phoned him and calmly asked "what's up". He said he would be happy to pay my original price and that he was sorry...I told him that the price had gone up and that in future if he wanted to be my friend to call me after 6PM.

I haven't heard from him in several years...and I'm so good with that because these guys never stop, they'll grind you until your out of business. As far as the friendship goes, No call after 6PM so I guess we weren't friends to start off with.LOL

When you work for yourself you can do it, you still need to manage your responses to these characters but it is possible.

Ray
 
#32 ·
I have mentioned this before about the "Friend" thing. A local shop owner and I were talking about a mutual customer who we had both worked on his 32 Ford. This customer had went to him wanting him to do something and he said "I thought you were my friend" and he told him the funniest thing that my brother and I still joke about. He said in his broken English Hawaiian accent, "You not my friend, we never go fishing, we never go to ball game, you never come to my house for ba-ba-Q, you never come to my boys birthday pa-tee, you not my friend". LOLOLOLOL

Brian
 
#41 ·
you seem to want that old man bodyman respect and that's cool. Most old guys know more than I do but the reality is, doesn't mean they are good and deserve that respect, but in person I always give it, even though at times it's clear my work is a lot better. You never know when an old Yoda will come in handy. Most times it's been my experience these old yodas will take your kindness for weakness and although you give them that respect they haven't really deserved it, and I always keep my mouth shut til my work puts it into perspective for them. Then I sit back and smile cause I have earned their respect, which is never given mutually at their old age but it's part of the game I signed up for, but with all the unfairness that goes along with that, don't expect for one minute that I'm gonna bow down to you cause only YOU know whether that knowledge translates to good work or not, and until I see that don't come around and expect that old man respect unless you're in the shop beside me showing me all that wonderful info you have or it's something I can clearly see and say, "you know, Martin is an awesome tech, not cause he says so but cause I can see it."

With all that said, there's a lot of old guys on here and don't mean to disrespect you, but a lot of you do a lot less talking then Martin does and are actually doing cars. I'd much rather listen to what you guys say than to listen to regurgitated I Car Info.
Wow, that kinda sucks, I was joking more than anything mostly about the fact that Yoda DIDN'T do **** but taught. And thought you were in on the joke. But wow, sorry I insinuated anything that made you believe I needed so much. All I expect is the respect given to any other human.

Brian
 
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