Ok, I’ll start off by saying that takes a lot to get me all worked up over a car. I can’t help it sometimes though: I’m still a car guy at heart and this car gives me feelings about a car that I haven’t had in a while.
Granted, this isn’t a real Shelby Cobra 427, but this may be the closest I ever get to one. Robert recently finished this and I can say that the work that went into this is top notch and so well done.
A wash, polish, wax, and seal got rid of what few blemishes there were in the paint and made this blue pop! I also hand cut some paint protection film for the arches in front of the rear wheels to prevent more of the paint from chipping off due to the sticky bias ply tires.
So that’s it for today. Just a 1965 Cobra 427 replica in its glory on the day after Independence Day.
Volkswagen Alltrack
This week I swapped cars with my parents so that I could perform their 60,000 mile service and you know that I was going to clean it up for them.
A Basic Detail to remove four years of use, hard water spots, and oxidation definitely made the Tornado Red paint look so much better. The interior was fully vacuumed, cleaned, and conditioned to make it look and feel as close to new as it’s been since 2017.
Since they utilize their hatch space a lot, I made sure their rear bumper received an OEM Bumperdillo (weird name, I know) to help protect against scuffs and scrapes.
I also finished the exterior with the newest formula of Opti-Coat Hyper-Seal, which is now rated to last one year.
Mercedes-Benz S550
Next up in the “fleet” is Robert’s daily driver. We remembered that last year I had said that this year would be more than a Wash & Wax. The car had a lot of hard water spots and some oxidation that needed to be taken care of and thankfully a Basic Detail was the right selection for that. There were a few spot where bird crap etched to the point of no fix but otherwise, this land yacht has a much deeper shine now and was finished with Optimum Car Wax, which has UV blockers in it to help prevent etching from happening.
Volkswagen Golf R32
Eric has been a very good friend for quite some time, being a big supporter when I decided to start the business. He bought this low mileage Mk4 R32 and knew it needed some work, but his work schedule made things go onto the back burner. Wanting to get this car ready to take to Wookies in the Woods 2021 meant those items needed to be taken care of and I volunteered my time to make sure it would be ready to go.
I do not normally do parts installations but obviously for Eric, I will always make an exception. The passenger rear caliper was hanging up due to corrosion and needed a rebuild and a fluid flush. The front control arm rear bushings were cracked and were replaced with used but good control arms. One big reason the car sat was due to the dog bone mount bolts stripping and snapping. The forward bolt had to be drilled, tapped, and have a heli-coil inserted in order to install a new OEM bolt. The rearward bolt had to be extracted and a new bolt was easily installed.
Last of the mechanical work was replacing the front strut mounts, bearings, and both springs due to one being broken. I finished with a Basic Detail to knock off a lot of crud and a quick polish to back that blue pop more that it already was. Eric threw on new wheels and tires when it was home and other than the fuel pump taking a dump on the trip down (which we replaced in a parking lot), the car performed great and made the trip flawlessly.
Toyota Camry
As the Winter cold is shaken off, this Camry was brought in as the first of the Spring work load. It sadly had received a poor paint job at one point, likely a budget single stage paint typical of places like Maaco. The owner thought it had a film of crud that had accumulated on it but a physical inspection told me that was not the case. Explaining the situation, we acknowledged that perfection would never be achievable with this paint but removing the oxidation and making it look better, protecting it with a UV blocking wax (Optimum Car Wax), would definitely be an improvement and temporary solution.