Josh talked with us about his story, his city, his industry, and his art. He also generously shared some great photos. Enjoy the words and the spot-on welds, then get out in your garage and make something.

IMG: How did you get started? Was there an “Aha!” moment or an influential mentor?

JW: It just kind of happened. I was never the kid taking shop class or working in the garage, although my dad is an excellent mechanic and craftsman. I did well in high school, then went to college for 2+ years, but hated it. I met my wife at school, and through her dad landed a job at Mopar. In the time I was there, I had the opportunity to take the skilled trades test, and scored well. After our wedding, a move to California, and a move back to Michigan, I got the call that I’d be starting a millwright apprenticeship at Chrysler. That was late in the fall of 2002.

I struck my first arc sometime in November, and set myself on fire. I was hooked.

I knew as soon as I started welding that I had a talent and a desire to excel at it. At Chrysler there were several journeyman that had decades of experience and were always willing to let me pick their brains… Stan Krol, Steve Fedulchek, and especially Chris Bianco. Without those guys, and the guys at the UAW/Chrysler Training Center (Tom Soley, Fred Bernier, Larry Smith) I wouldn’t have been able to develop in the manner I did.

IMG: In a time where trades-style work seems to be marginalized, what advice would you give to someone inspired to learn welding?

JW: The path I took wasn’t conventional, it was definitely more along the lines of “fate”. To actively pursue a career in welding, look into local community colleges and check out their trades programs. If they’ve got a decent program you’ll not only get the hands on training, but they should have connections in their area’s industry. The best programs will provide you with skilled training and networking for future jobs.

IMG: Detroit is an evolving boom-bust story. How does where you live inform your art?

JW: I learned to weld in Detroit, in one of the few remaining Big 3 factories that operated inside the City Limits. Detroit as a city will ebb and flow, a little up and a lot down until something drastic changes… until the local government is ripped apart, until the economy diversifies, or until it completely implodes. Everyone knows that. But Detroiters are still proud of where they are from, because that type of environment breeds toughness. If you can make it here, you’ve overcome AND taken advantage of circumstances that are uniquely “Detroit”. Detroit is dirty, it’s fire, it’s metal. And so am I.

IMG: Your sculptures show a real appreciation for wheeled vehicles. What’s parked in your garage? What do you wish was parked there?

JW: I’m definitely a car guy. Over the years I’ve had a couple of Z-28s and a ’51 F1. Currently my driver is an ’09 Ram R/T (which we just took on a 6,929 mile road trip), and I have a ’70 Buick Electra 225 drop top. It was my gramps’ car, first car I ever drove! It’s currently at my buddy Keith’s shop (Ice Nine Customs), and I’m hoping to be cruising in it again next year. I dig motorized vehicles from every year and every genre… I’ll take one of each! Although, after taking my buddy’s twin turbo ’06 Viper for a spin earlier this year, that might be at the top of the list.

Brown Dog Welding | Watch a Build on YouTube
Photos of Josh welding are courtesy of Matt Trombley. Flickr | Twitter

Have fun in your garage!

Keep in mind that Lamborghini was a very young company in 1968 and still trying to figure out how to build cars as efficiently as possible. Much of the work was done by hand. Production and assembly lines did exist but moved slowly.

The Suspension

Place the car on a lift and begin removing large components. Break down those large components into progressively smaller and smaller piles of parts, until the entire car seems like it’s divided into thousands of zip-lock bags. This is the disassembly process. Throughout, everything is checked for wear. Pieces are inspected, refinished, and reassembled.

Left front suspension before disassembly.

Right rear a-arm before restoration.

A worn upper ball joint in need of restoration.

The 400GT series chassis was used for many different models in various forms. The basic suspension on the Islero was used on many different models from the 350GT in 1964 on to the Jarama, which ended its production run in 1976. Fortunately, there are many different aftermarket sources for these vital suspension parts so we were able to find new pieces such as control arm bushings and ball joints to restore the suspension to new condition.

Suspension cleaned and ready for refinishing.

Our research shows that the suspension arms were originally painted black. We used “Polane”, an industrial paint made by Sherwin Williams, to refinish these pieces. We found this to be a very durable finish for the application. This method is preferred over powder coating as it is very durable (and easier to remove in the areas where bushings are installed and threaded holes are chased). If a repair needs to be made in the future it’s also much easier to remove paint than powder coating.

Left rear suspension, restored in re-installed.

The Drivetrain

The transmission was disassembled and found to be in good condition. Some of the synchro rings were worn so they were replaced. The hubs and gears all looked good but were crack-tested to verify their condition. Replacement seals were sourced and the clutch was rebuilt using modern friction material. The case pieces were cleaned and repainted.

Clutch disc before restoration.

We had the driveline balance-checked using a modern computer-controlled measuring system. A very slight adjustment was made to insure vibration free operation. The driveline was cleaned and painted with a semi-gloss “Polane” finish.

The differential was also disassembled and inspected. The ring and pinion showed some unusual wear from being set incorrectly. Shims were fabricated to insure the pinion depth and backlash were set correctly. The case was cleaned, painted, and reassembled.

The axle shafts on early Isleros use u-joints. These were disassembled, cleaned, bead-blasted, crack-tested, and repainted before final assembly.

Islero driveline hub ready for restoration.

The word “restoration” has many different meanings to people. In the pursuit of perfection we go far beyond most peoples’ perception of a restoration. Thanks go to our friends at J&L Fabricating, who tackled most of the restoration work.

Stay tuned for the next installments as we tackle body and interior work! Read Part I

Have fun in your garage!

IMG:  What is it that attracts you to building these hyper-realistic R/C models?

HQ: I’ve always been into making things with my hands. Paintings, music, sculptures, etc. I’ve also always been attracted to off-road cars and bikes. Rubber treads in the dirt. I used to play a lot with toy trucks as a little kid, I loved to make roads and tracks in the back yard to play with them on. Never had any R/C cars in my youth but as I moved out into the country again at 34 years old, I found myself with a few acres of land. I made a few trails to walk on and thought to myself how it would be fun to have a remote control scale-looking truck to drive around. I started looking around at R/C stuff and found there wasn’t much available like what I imagined. But I found a good forum and learned about R/C crawlers, and found a few guys that were trying to make more scale-appearing trail trucks, too. I learned what I needed and started building my own. 41 years old now, and the obsession is still growing.

'70 Blazer navigates a trials course.

IMG: One of the coolest aspects of your machines is that they are scratch-built. Talk to us a little about your process. What kind of time do you put into your creations?

HQ: Well, there are other guys out there building some pretty nice scale rigs as well. Most of them use styrene plastic to do this, and I tried styrene at first but found that the bodies ended up kinda brittle and light for my liking. Everyone was used to having lexan bodies on their RC cars, so people built scale like trucks that, too, because it was light and strong. It made the center of gravity lower and helped the truck perform better. Its movements didn’t look real on the trail to me, so I decided the trucks needed less articulation in the suspension and more weight all over. So I made up a simple chassis and tried making my first body out of wood. I loved the way it drove and pushed into the dirt so I started making all my trucks this way.

The first couple of bodies took about a month each as I was figuring out the best way to do everything as I went. I’m learning more tricks and techniques now, so it’s getting faster. If I have the time to work on them 8 hours a day, I can finish one now in 5 or 6 days.

Headquake builds a 1/10 scale Ranger (click through for time-lapse video).

Trail-worn '98 4Runner out for a day in the dirt.

IMG: Where does your inspiration come from?

HQ: I love the look of so many cars and trucks from the 50′s and 60′s. I’m not biased to any one manufacturer, so there’s lots more I’d like to build. It just gives me so much pleasure making these, and is very meditative to drive them in the woods afterward and make little movies to document them. After a bunch of crazy years in a person’s life, its nice to have the chance to relax and play like a kid sometimes.

IMG: Do you have a favorite build?

I still really love the look of my ’67 Fargo build. It’s a great looking truck in real life and I’ve always wanted one. The Dodge version would be fine, too. I just made it a Fargo because it was more rare and Canadian, like myself.

'67 Fargo looking for some traction in the snow.

IMG: Your videos are fun to watch! It’s easy to get “transported” into that small-scale world you’ve created.

HQ: That’s almost the most fun part of building these trucks. They make good little actors. I like my videos to come across like a different world. No macho junk and no advertising. Just an innocent and calm little drive. I find the most interesting ones are the ones with no music or added sounds. Just the natural sound of nature and the squeaks and gearing of the truck. Besides fans of scale trucks liking my vids, I’ve heard that little kids really like them, too. I think that’s cool ’cause I just wanna spread the idea of creativity to people.

IMG: What’s parked in your full-size garage/driveway?

HQ: A ’98 Toyota 4runner, a ’69 Pontiac GTO, and a ’63 Mercury Monterey that needs some work.

'66 Bronco approaches a crossing. I'm sure that will hold.

Be sure to check out all of Headquake’s videos on his YouTube Channel, and…

Have fun in your garage!

The Islero (pronounced “eez-LEHR-oh”) was named after a Miura bull that killed famed matador Manuel Rodriguez “Manolete” in 1947. Having sat for ten or so years, our Lamborghini was a shadow of its fierce namesake. Somewhere along the line, a rotten fuel hose caused the filter and pump to fall off and drag on the ground, which is what filled the transporter with gas odor. It’s a good thing the truck driver put out his cigarette before unloading the car.

The Examination

This car had bubbles on all four fenders, the likely result of rust working up through the paint, or solvent pop from the re-spray over 20 years ago. The paintwork would need to be addressed.

The passenger door handle was inoperative from the outside but working from the inside. The interior was complete but the leather was very hard and dry. The seats were removed to allow better access. We also removed the rear window tray. Removing the door panels allow access to the door latches and provide an opportunity to inspect the sheet metal for signs of body work. The trunk carpet, inside side panels and spare tire were also removed to help vent the foul gas odor and expose the fuel tank.

The car was put on a lift to better examine the underside. No surprises here, other than the absence of rust! Old Italian cars used low quality steel with a high carbon content so they are prone to rust issues. The exhaust system had been modified with aftermarket mufflers and appeared to be rusting itself away. Repairing (or better yet replacing) the mufflers and tubing would be a given.

Using a paint thickness gauge, I found body filler buildup in the rear fender area, just behind the doors. The blemishes on the passenger side also showed heavy filler buildup. The rockers were pretty good as were the lower rear quarter panels. A curious seam around the left rear wheel arch suggested that a panel repair was performed at some time during the car’s life. All told, the body was better then expected.

The suspension and brakes looked good, but the right rear caliper was binding. Time takes its toll on brake parts, as brake fluid is hygroscopic, drawing moisture from the air, causing rust and corrosion to form. We intend to rebuild the brakes so we will examine all components once they come apart. Overall condition was fair.

The heart of a Lamborghini is its engine. Here we found a light coating of rust on all of the black oxide finishes. No surprise. The water pump had a slight leak from the weep hole. The compression test was encouraging on all but two cylinders. The leak-down test showed that all but a few cylinders had excessive leakage, mainly from the intake valves and piston rings. The results differed greatly from each cylinder. A valve clearance check was in order. We started by removing the intake cam covers and found all the cam followers spun easily inside their bores, indicating that that valve adjustment was not the cause of the excessive leak down. The cam timing was found to be out of spec (with one cam being off by 12 degrees), indicating an inexperienced mechanic probably had a hand in maintaining this engine.

The Question: Repair or Restore?

Executing a proper restoration, especially of an Italian exotic, takes commitment, varied resources, and patience. The examination often raises more questions than it answers. Our conclusions…

Repairing and repainting the body would improve the overall appearance, but ignoring the engine and underside wouldn’t realize its full potential. For this we would really need to remove the engine and put the car on a rotisserie, strip the paint, properly evaluate the metalwork, then recoat and refinish the car.

The engine issues led us to believe that we would need to pull the heads, inspect the crankshaft and perform a complete rebuild.

Having owned an Islero in the past the owner knew how the car would perform if it was properly sorted. The driving position is comfortable. The visibility is very good with a large amount of glass. The power of the V-12 engine along with the transmission gearing makes “spirited” driving a joy. These features along with a well balanced suspension puts the Islero among the owners’ favorite cars of all time. And sometimes it’s about that gut feeling.

Restore!

Stay tuned for the next installment, and…

Have fun in your garage!

We’re long-time supporters of LeMay, and with the construction of their new museum taking place only a few miles from our doorstep, they invited a group of us over for an early look around.

You’re greeted by the massive silver structure well before you pull up to what our tour guide (and Chief Marketing & Communications Officer), Scot Keller, fittingly refers to as their campus. Adjacent to the Tacoma Dome, the 9-acre property includes the 165,000 square foot museum and a 3.5-acre concours field, along with offices, event spaces, and a small cafe.

The attention to detail in the displays and layout of the space is some of the finest I’ve seen. No ropes keeping you back or cars parked too close together. You can get up close and personal and almost hear the stories the cars tell. And, if you know anything about LeMay, that’s what America’s Car Museum is all about; celebrating our love affair with the automobile.

As we walked through and Scot shared the vision LeMay had going into the project, I really started to forget about the building altogether. And that’s what makes it so great. It’s an architect’s dream, but it disappears as you walk from level to level, car to car. It connects you with the weird, irrational love we all have of automobiles in an indescribable way. And isn’t that what a museum should do?

America’s Car Museum isn’t just a place for car guys and gals… When it opens in June, I think it’ll be exactly what they were striving for; a playground for car enthusiasts everywhere, but also a place for everyone to share stories about how the automobile has impacted their lives.

At Griot’s Garage, we live by our “Strive for perfection” motto. And coming from that perspective, I say, “Well done, LeMay. See you in June!”

Learn more about the museum and see construction photos at: lemaymuseum.org

See more photos of our LeMay visit in our Flickr set!

Have fun in your garage!

Painting the floor is one of the best ways to improve your garage; for both aesthetics and usability. The smooth, uniform, glossy finish reflects light better, is easy to clean, and makes it easier to find dropped fasteners… all while taking the overall appearance of your garage to the next level. I’ll walk you through the process, share some lessons learned, and hopefully give you the confidence that you can do this… because you can!

It’s All in the Prep

As with almost any project, better prep means better results. When it came to the concrete floor in my dad’s garage, there was everything from stains and dried paint drips to chips and cracks. Spending the time to clean, smooth, and fill these will pay dividends once the floor is painted. All the small inconsistencies that don’t show up too much on an older floor become a lot more noticeable once coated with the uniform finish our Industrial Non-Lifting Floor Paint provides.¹

Clean it.

Give your floor a thorough cleaning. A pressure washer is a great place to start. From there, use a scraper to remove anything left stuck on the surface (renting a floor grinder is an even better option). Attack oil stains with a good cleaner. Lastly, fill in the cracks and chips. Use paintable caulk for small cracks and chips and body filler (like Bondo) for deeper ones (anything wider than 1/8″). What you’re aiming to do is smooth your floor as much as possible, while cleaning anything from the concrete that might inhibit the paint from bonding.

More Prep

Up to this point, all the prep work can occur days or weeks in advance of actually laying down your first coat of paint. The prep I’ll cover in this step takes place hours before you start painting and is not only removing dirt, but also etching the concrete to ensure the paint can bond directly to it.²

Start by pressure washing the floor to remove any dirt from the surface and to wet the floor for the etching process. Next, in a 5-gallon bucket, mix 3 parts water with 1 part muriatic acid and pour that mixture into a watering can. A standard 2-car garage can be done with about 5 gallons.

Pressure wash, mix etching solution, use with watering can.

Then, onto the wet floor, pour the mixture across a section of the garage and work it in with a stiff bristled brush (a push broom works great). Work briskly and scrub thoroughly. You don’t need to go nuts, just work it in like a good floor sweeping. The most important part here is to not allow the water/acid mixture to dry, so work in manageable sections depending on how much help you have and how hot it is outside (with two of us on a warm afternoon, we worked in about 6′ x 10′ sections). Once a section has been scrubbed, rinse thoroughly and repeat across the entire floor. When finished, thoroughly pressure wash the entire floor one more time.

Ready for the First Coat

Paint Power Mixer

Apply your first coat the same day as the acid etching occurs; this ensures the pores of the concrete are still clean and ready to accept the paint. So, the next thing you’ll need to do is mix the paint. Our Industrial Non-Lifting Floor Paint is a two-part epoxy made up of a 3 quart color (Part A) and a 1 quart hardener (Part B). Only mix as much as you’re going to use that day as the paint will harden overnight, making it unusable. Mix the two parts thoroughly in a 5 gallon bucket using a drill-operated power mixer.³

Once your two parts are thoroughly mixed, start by cutting in the edges using a 2″ disposable chip brush, working all the way around the garage. Then, grab your roller (you can get everything you need at the hardware store or in our Floor Paint Application Kit) and start rolling. Dip the roller directly into the bucket and paint just as you would paint a wall, work in back-and-forth strokes, overlapping each stroke. Cross back over the area in the opposite direction, and finish with one more pass in the original direction (use a cross-hatch pattern). Paint the entire floor this way, working section by section and starting in the back of the garage working toward the front (so you don’t step on the wet paint).

Add Part A, add Part B, mix thoroughly, cut-in edges.

Once the first coat is finished, you’re done for the day as the paint needs 24 hours of cure time before laying down the second coat. Clean up your tools and buckets (they all rinse clean with water) and take the rest of the day off. Another thing to note here is that since the paint is water-based, there is little-to-no odor, so it won’t stink up the house! For time reference, Joel and I completed the “More Prep” and “Ready for the First Coat” steps in 3 hours.

Time to Finish Up: Second Coat

After all his hard work on the first day (notice I was conveniently behind the camera for all the action shots), I gave Joel the second day off and decided to finish up on my own (you need to lay the second coat down within 48 hours of the first). The process for the second coat is pretty much the same as the first. Mix the paint, cut the edges, and roll the rest. The main thing you want to be mindful of here is getting complete coverage, since going back to “touch up” a missed spot could result in the that spot drying a slightly different shade. It only took me an hour or so to do this on my own. From there, clean up and give the floor 3 days to cure before walking on it, and a week before you start parking cars on it.

Roll the first coat, roll the second coat, have fun in your garage!

See, it wasn’t that hard! I would consider myself an average painter at best, so professional experience is definitely not required. Just take your time, do the necessary prep work, and have fun!

If you have any questions, drop them in the comments or call our Customer Service team at (800) 345-5789. Also, if you haven’t read them yet, here’s a quick PDF download of our instructions.

Have fun in your garage!

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Footnotes:

¹ If my dad could do it over again, he would have spent more time here. We put him in charge of this step, and he wishes he would have addressed the smaller cracks and smoothing out some of the rough areas he didn’t realize would show up so much. The floor looks great and he’s ecstatic with the finish, but we’re always striving for perfection!

² If you’re going to have a friend help you with any portion of the painting process, this is it (thanks for the help, Joel!). When it comes to etching, you need to work pretty quickly. This is also why you don’t see any pictures of this stage.

³ As we’re always testing new ideas and looking to improve our products, one thing we tried on this application is to cut the paint with water (we added 1 quart of water per gallon of paint), as our paint can be cut 15-25% with water without inhibiting the durability of the product.  We did this with both coats and found it to make spreading the paint easier. However, it seemed to have a bit more matte of a finish than usual. We’re going to continue testing this concept before including it with our instructions, but the results were nice. A little more subtle finish than our usual gloss.

I recently chatted with Lino about how he devises and executes these incredible models, and about what else in the automotive world drives him.

IMG: Thanks for sharing some of your Lego builds on our Flickr group. Your creations are amazing! Where do you draw your inspiration from?

LM: Thanks for the interview. It’s a pleasure to be a part of it. As for where I draw inspiration, I am a co-founder of a wildly successful LEGO automotive group called LUGNuts where I propose monthly challenges to all our members worldwide. Even though I run the group I enjoy building for each and every challenge, as I suppose I like to lead by example. Plus I just love building cars!

LUGNuts and the monthly challenges keeps me productive but inspiration comes from car shows, surfing the net, my subscription to Rod & Custom, and shows like Overhaulin’.

IMG: My favorite build of yours is the Octan VW Baja Racer. Using that as an example, how many hours typically go into one of your cars? How many pieces? Do you use only parts from LEGO, or do you improvise with other materials?

The hours put into a car seems to be equivalent to about a 40 hour work week…not all in a row, of course but it takes about that amount of time, give or take. If you asked that question a year ago I’d say it would take about three solid days, but nowadays my cars are far more detailed and more involved. If I get a weekend off I may work on a car all weekend from waking to sleep. Some of it is spent scratching my head wondering how the heck do I go about conveying this in LEGO. You’d think I’d have this down pat by now but every car is a new challenge with very difficult curves and shapes. Nothing comes easy to me. The VW Baja Racer didn’t take as long as some of the others because the difficult VW Beetle model was already figured out in a secret agent’s VW bug built previously. The old model was examined closely and replicated in the newer model with some Baja inspired modifications.

I never know how many pieces I use on any particular model until after I take it apart. When I finally dismantle a car, I count and sort all the pieces, absorb the parts back into my bins and record the results on my hard drive. Experience says that bikes seem to sit in the 400-ish piece count while an evil clown ice cream truck swelled at nearly 2600 pieces. The VW Baja Beetle is a smallish car so I’d guess it sits in the 600-800 piece range.

As LEGO builders go, I am mostly a purist. I may occasionally create my own stickers but I never paint or cut parts and I never use non-LEGO bricks. On a very rare occasion I may cut pieces of clear acetate as I did with my ’66 Batmobile to form the windshields. There are builders that will implement string, pen springs and other found materials to help bring more detail to their creations. I’m not opposed to such building techniques, but some are. The Baja Bug is 100% pure LEGO parts… even the stickers and the netting you see in the windows are all official pieces. Part of the challenge and appeal to building with LEGO is it’s a relatively limited art medium, but with the right know-how, virtually anything can be built, even given its limited piece selection and color palette.

IMG: What is your personal favorite build?

LM: If you ask everyone else what their fave creation of mine is they might say “Hidden Treasure”. Its a ’49 Buick Fastback that has seen better days, and as the world of customization and restoration goes, it will see better days again. It asks the question, can something so ugly and beat down be a beautiful work of art? And according to a record number of views, comments and faves it seems it can. But my personal faves I hold closest to my heart aren’t necessarily the most popular. There is just something stark and bad-ass about the 1960 Chevy Apache panel truck. Also high on my list of personal faves is a wild custom ’59 Ford Ranch Wagon called Blue Ruin.

IMG: Do you keep your models, or tear them down? If the latter, is it ever “hard to let them go”, as it often is with cars we love?

LM: I keep them for as long as possible but I live in a small apartment and space can be an issue. I keep them long enough to have been presented at at least one LEGO convention, if not more. Some are just too hard to let go and have been around for a few years now. If I need to dismantle a car for parts, it’s done after careful thought and consideration. It would be fun to just smash a car against a wall but I always wreck a vehicle with respect and care…particularly if it had been a highly revered and publicly acclaimed build. Maybe I’m a little superstitious but I sort of mentally wish the new vehicle I’m building the same amount of luck and fame the previous car brought me. I feel as if the old pieces are used and from them a new car is reincarnated. Circle of life, that sort of thing.

IMG: Have you won any awards or contests?

LM: Yes. BrickCon is a LEGO convention that always occurs the first weekend in October at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. Believe it or not, well over 11,000 people came to see us last year and the crowds just get bigger and bigger. In the model car category the trophies are for first, second, and third place and each year I usually take home two of three of those trophies. Also I occasionally get other trophies for my non-car related LEGO builds.

IMG: Are there other Lego car builders whose work you particularly admire?

LM: High on the list of builders I admire are the Arvo Brothers. These are two brothers from Spain who look like twins but are five years apart. It’s amazing to watch them work… they finish each others sentences and seem to share one brain when it comes to LEGO building. They keep a low profile online, but have the confidence of a couple of guys who know they’re among the tops in the world.

Another builder I admire lives all the way in Jordon and he’s a top notch car guy named Firas Abu-Jaber. What he achieves with complex shapes and curves with his LEGO cars seems nothing short of magic.

The list of builders I admire is long, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention a couple of guys that sort of nurtured me at my start of LEGO building. When I was new, they were already rising stars. Paul Hetherington keeps Internet silence for most of the year but nearly always manages to sweep Best In Show at BrickCon. Seemingly, he has moved on from building cars, but in the early days of my budding LEGO interest he showed me that building hot rods and customs can be really cool.

The other guy I should mention is my LUGNuts co-founder Nathan Proudlove. He’s been house sitting away from his LEGO bricks for several months now so he hasn’t been posting much recently but you should certainly dig through his archives. He has an innate knack for art and design and nurtured me along early on as a car builder. He likes underdog cars and has the ability to surprise everyone with something fresh and new every time. Even across separate countries and separate time zones, he and I seem to have an almost psychic connection. We have built very similar things for one challenge on too many occasions to count and when doing buddy challenges, (pairs of cars representing a similar theme) he is the one I always turn to to build my counterpart vehicle. Once our correlating pair of cars is united for the first time, usually at BrickCon, I know that anything he’d build would complement my style and vision and always looks great when posed together.

IMG: Would you consider yourself a “car guy”? What’s parked in your driveway? What are some other ways you have fun in your garage?

LM: Hah! Good question, and you might find the answer rather funny. Yes, I’m a car guy in the sense that I frequent car shows, subscribe to Rod & Custom, and look at nearly every fender, hood scoop or grille I see and try to figure out how it would be done in LEGO. In the LEGO world, I am known to most as THE Car Guy… but I have no car. I live in the heart of Seattle, and owning a vehicle in such confined quarters is expensive and impractical, considering I can get anywhere I need to go by foot or by bus. But I realize I must someday live up to my own reputation, and long to get a vehicle… actually two. This implies I’d have to move to a bigger place with a two car garage… one for the boring, yet fuel efficient daily driver and the other for something a little wilder. I’ve always had a place in my heart for a classic station wagon. I consider them under appreciated cars. My dream car is a ’56 Chevy Nomad Wagon. The ’56, to me, is like the middle Brady sister… not as cute as the ’55 and not as famous as the ’57. What can I say… I like to root for the underdog.

See more of Lino Martins’ LEGO creations on his Flickr page!

What makes the 911S so much fun to drive is the outstanding control from the suspension and brakes. The rear engine posed a unique design challenge, and the 911 suspension broke new ground for Porsche. In the front, MacPherson struts on single transverse A-arms connect to longitudinal torsion bars. Rear suspension comprised transverse torsion bars and semi-trailing arms. This was a big improvement from the suspension used on the 356. This 911S uses Koni sport front struts and rear shocks. Vented brake rotors help to keep the brakes cool for improved performance.

Take a look at the suspension and brakes before restoration:

Here you see suspension pieces disassembled and bead blasted in reparation for refinishing. Every fastener was cleaned and refinished (or replaced where needed):

Now, check out the finished, restored suspension:

For such a small car, the Porsche has a lot of wire. Every circuit needs to be documented during disassembly. Color-coded wire helps, but it’s best to mark the wiring and photograph the route and mounting location of the harness.

Here you see the front and backside of the fuse panel:

Here (left) you see the engine electrics, including the ignition amplifier unit and voltage regulator. Also pictured (right) is the back side of the oil pressure/temperature gauge, with color-coded wires:

And here is the restored dash with reconditioned gauges:

The stock, 2.4-liter flat-6 uses mechanical fuel injection, and is mated to a 4-speed transmission. As with all aspects of this restoration, the engine and transmission were completely revitalized down to the smallest detail, including correct markings and decals.

Here’s the engine during reassembly (left), and installed back in the car (right):

All told, months of preparation and exhaustive work have resulted in a stunning automobile. Thanks to the careful hands of knowledgeable craftsmen, the car has literally been given new life! If you have any questions about this restoration, feel free to drop them in the comments. We’d love to share the experiences and information we picked up along the way.

I recently had a chance to talk with Shaun about his life in cars, that special ’65, and the whirlwind restoration that would take it from barn to track in 30 days.

IMG: Tell us about yourself, Shaun. Always been a car guy?

Shaun Coleman

SC: I’ve been a car guy since I was very young. Some of my earliest memories are working under a car with my dad, handing him tools, at around age 4 or 5.

I began my racing career 9 years ago, running in NASA HPDE events at Sears Point and Laguna Seca, with my then-new 2001 BMW M3 street car. I gradually became more addicted to the sport, as we all do, and eventually built a dedicated race car to run with the BMW Car Club of America. For various reasons, including the cost of trying to turn a tired old 1997 M3 into a reliable race car, I decided to change racing venues and purchased a purpose-built vintage race car (the logic being, if I’m going to spend the money it might as well be on something which appreciates in value)!

I had always been interested in old Trans-Am cars from the 80s and 90s, and started a quest to find a vintage IMSA GTO or SCCA Trans-Am car to buy. The first vintage race car I purchased was a 1991 GT1 Oldsmobile Cutlass. To my surprise, it had quite a bit of history. I spent 2 years restoring that car (and other Kelly American Challenge race cars) to have fun with and help promote this amazing, almost forgotten racing series.

My very first restoration project (and second vintage race car I purchased) was a 1972 BMW 2002 B-Sedan race car that raced in the early 70s. I raced it only a few times and I ended up selling it to a guy in Japan who races it today in historic events throughout Asia.

IMG: As a guy with varied interests and taste in race cars, what was it about this particular ’65 Impala that spoke to you?

SC: In addition to my interest in old sports cars, I’ve always been into NASCAR stock cars. I restored (and raced for a few years) an early-90s Ford T-Bird NASCAR, which Derek Cope once drove. After restoring and driving this NASCAR, which was far from a “stock-car”, I longed for a true “stock-car” from the 1960s. Something which was close to what you could buy in a showroom at the time.

My quest lasted almost 2 years. I found a few potential restoration projects, but nothing which fit the bill. Randomly this summer I was searching Ebay, browsing old race cars, and came across a 1965 Impala Grand National Stock Car. It had been in a barn in Georgia for nearly 40 years, and still had the original paint on it! The first photo I saw was of its original number “46″ on the door and the driver’s name, “Roy Mayne” on the roof. I immediately began searching the web to see if I could find a photo of the car racing back in the day. I was quickly able to verify the cars authenticity.

The car’s unmolested condition and the fact that it was owned and driven by a privateer (something which is nearly impossible to do today in NASCAR) really spoke to me. Finding unrestored 1960s stock cars is extremely rare. But finding one which still has its original paint, hand-lettered numbers, and even the original electrical tape still clinging to the steering wheel is unheard of!

Roy Mayne's '65 Impala SS, as-found in a Georgia garage.

IMG: What an enormous undertaking! How did you research the project? Did Roy Mayne’s friends and family play a role? Did you discover anything interesting or surprising about the car’s history?

Roy Mayne with the Impala.

SC: I started my research on the web, looking for anything “Roy Mayne” related. That led me to two instrumental websites. Randy Ayer’s NASCAR Modeling Forum – a website devoted to folks who create incredibly accurate NASCAR models. This turned out to be a treasure trove of information, not only about Roy Mayne but about the car itself, as many NASCAR experts frequent the site. Folks there were critical to the restoration of the car. One of the members even created an amazing painting of my car which I have today.

Another site, which put me in direct contact with Veronica Mayne (Roy’s daughter), was Racers Reunion, a social networking site devoted to connecting fans and racers from yesteryear. Veronica was a huge help during the restoration, both in providing original photos of her Dad and the car, and also in giving me some the rich history of her father and his passion for racing.

Some of the most interesting things I found out were about Roy. He was a fighter pilot in the US Air force. After coming back from a tour in Vietnam, Roy decided to go racing with his good friend and fellow fighter pilot Wayne Smith, and his other friend Tom Hunter. The US Air force gave special permission for Roy to race at NASCAR events. Roy and the car were used in several Air force promotional photos and articles for recruitment.

Number 46 charges down the track in the 1965 Dixie 400.

IMG: The Impala was pulled from the garage of Wayne Smith, the friend of Roy Mayne’s you just mentioned. Did he have a hard time letting it go? What’s been his reaction to the restoration?

SC: I think Wayne did have a hard time letting the car go. He had intended to restore it for many years, but unfortunately never got around to it. When I purchased the car I assured him it was going to a good home and would be restored with the utmost care.

On-track at Daytona in 1967.

Wayne and I spoke almost daily during the restoration. He followed its progress as many people did on my website, and he would send me emails saying things like, “Wow! I can’t believe how quickly you are moving on the car. It would have taken me a month to do what you have done in a week”.

He is really happy about how the car turned out, and I know he lived vicariously through us as we restored her.

IMG: Stock cars in the 60′s were different from what you see today. They were often driven right off the lot and into a garage for race prep. What were some interesting modifications you encountered during the restoration?

SC: We found a lot of neat and interesting innovations… From the welding of extra strips of steel onto the frame, to welding rebar onto the upper a-arms. We also found an early form of a fuel cell… Basically putting an old ’57 Buick gas tank in a metal box in the trunk! We discovered that the rear end and spindles of the car came from Rex White’s 1963 Impala, right down to the 6-lug wheels and hubs. The rear end was an early 4link design, something my crew chief and I didn’t even know existed in those days.

We found some neat photos of Roy and Tom building the car in Roy’s driveway, bending the roll cage by hand using an exhaust tube bender (we were able to see this in the cage today).

We also found that the original 3M electrical tape, with which Roy spent 2 hours wrapping the steering wheel, was still intact! Veronica remembers her dad doing this to the car. We were able to preserve it and it’s on there to this day.

IMG: Some drivers back then were known to “stretch” the rules a bit. Richard Petty once said, “You’d cheat on 15 things and do two or three things that’s very obvious. NASCAR’d catch the obvious ones. You got through with what you wanted to get through with.” Any evidence of shenanigans on the Impala as you found it?

SC: The car was amazingly stock. It even had the original door panels still in it when it arrived. We didn’t find any evidence of cheating on the car. If anything, they could have removed some weight! It weighed over 4,800lbs with me in the car… well over the limit allowed by NASCAR. From what we could tell, Roy and Tom bought the car straight from the dealership and went home, put a cage in it, and went racing!

As the story goes Roy and Tom went to Tom’s relative’s Chevy dealership in early 1965 (Hunter Chevrolet in Hendersonville, North Carolina), and purchased the car right from the showroom floor. A 1965 Impala SS, 289, 4-speed in Evening Orchid. It also had the rare Radio and Heater delete options.

Tom and Roy took the car home that day and began stripping it down. They took out the motor, transmission, suspension and spindles sold them back to the dealership and used the money to purchase those components from Rex White off of his 1963 Impala.

IMG: What were the biggest challenges you faced? What gave you the most personal statisfaction?

SC: The biggest challenge we faced was time. We took a project which would normally take a year or more to do, and compressed it into 30 days! Getting parts in time was probably the hardest thing. Luckily we were able to restore most of the mechanical components, but trim pieces and other things which needed to be restored or bought new took the longest time. We literally worked 18-20 hour days leading up to the Monterey Historics. We worked all the way up until that Thursday, when we did the finishing touches on the car and corner-weighted it (with me sleeping in it) at 4am. We loaded the car up at 6am and drove it to the track. We had no testing on it and only a few hours on the motor before I went to Friday practice!

The most satisfying moment for me was pulling onto pregrid at Monterey for our Friday practice. I could almost feel Roy with me in the car. It was a very special thing to drive that car onto the track for the first time in over 40 years.

Restored chassis shows some of the strength modifications that were made.

Phil Manning restored the lettering by hand.

Doors, wearing Number 46 again.

427ci built true to Roy Mayne's original, and also to NASCAR specs.

The '65, back in its stock Evening Orchid, nears completion.

The payoff... Sitting proudly on the concrete at Monterey.

IMG: I enjoyed following the Impala restoration online. Thanks for sharing this cool build with the world! Any inside info on the next project we can look forward to from your garage?

SC: I’m currently restoring a 1972 Mercury Cougar which was driven by Harry Jefferson and David Pearson in NASCAR here on the west coast, as well as the 1983 Championship Kelly American Challenge Camaro driven by Craig Carter. Both should keep me busy for a while and will be documented on the web for folks to follow, like the Impala project. I’m always on the lookout for another project though. Call it an addiction but I’m a softy for old race cars.

The body prep and paint work was performed to meticulous, historically-accurate standards.

Here you see the suspension laid out during disassembly. It’s important to document every piece during this phase of the restoration to keep things in order.

Crack-checking the suspension ensures there are no structural defects. However, if you intend to drive the car at speed, it’s best to have brand new suspension that will withstand the rigors of race track duty. Here we have new suspension arms fabricated by the team at J&L Fabricating. The original pieces were used to make jigs from which the new pieces were built. Here are the new pieces after nickel plating.

Wheel hubs, drive axles, clevis bolts and lots of rod ends make up the suspension system.

It’s all about control. Here you see the pedals and steering rack assembly along with the rear sway bar, motor mounts and drive hubs for the axle shafts.

The newly rebuilt engine is in place.

A new rear cross member is fabricated to support the gearbox and back half of the motor.

New fuel cells were made using modern materials.

The master cylinders, coolant hoses and radiator are fitted.

New tires are mounted on restored wheels.

And here is the finished car on display at the Monterey Motorsports Reunion. We made it!

Do you have questions about this restoration or the history of the car? Ask me in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer!

Back in the 70′s, when high horsepower V-8 engine cars ruled the streets and race tracks, the 911 was the little car that “did”. These buzz-bombs from Stuttgart braked better, turned better and outperformed cars with twice the engine size. As a kid growing up in the 70′s, the 911S represented to me the best all-around performance car on the street. The “S” model was the sport version of the Porsche 911 line. The engine uses a mechanical fuel injection system and high performance cams to give more power then the standard 911. Improved handling from upgraded sports suspension provided greater road holding ability for fast cornering to blow by those heavy-metal muscle cars. When the road turns left or right the 911S is a kick in the pants to drive.

Our subject car lived life as many sports cars from the 70′s; driven hard and fast. This was a tool, a high performance ratchet in a world full of box end wrenches.

The Starting Point

The first place to start is the body. As you see the car lived a very hard life. The signs of neglect are very obvious. This car had a loose water drain tube from the sun roof that caused substantial water damage. As you can see, very large rust holes formed around the rear window, back tray and back seat areas.

The car was completely disassembled and the body was sent out for soda blasting. This process uses a low pressure, high volume stream of air with a fine abrasive added to remove paint and surface rust. The process is very gentle, removing very little of the base material plus it lets you see areas of rust and corrosion that may have been covered with body fillers. Now the metal work begins!

To properly correct rust spots you need to replace bad metal with good. Larger panels like fenders and door skins can be purchased, however smaller panels will need to be fabricated. A replacement piece is formed and welded in place for a proper repair. Patch work on this level requires the skill of a talented metal fabricator.

Here you see two rust holes in the rocker panel. The panel has been removed and the metal inside has been sealed to protect it against rust prior to the replacement panel being welded in place.

After all the replacement metalwork has been performed, the body will be taken to the paint shop for some fine-tuning and finishing work.

Part 2- The Paint Shop

The car was placed on a rotating stand. This is especially helpful when fine metal work is needed or paintwork is being performed. Rotating the car allows easy access to all parts of the body.

A sealer coat is applied to the body to help protect the metal.

Here you can see a dimpled area of the chassis that needs to be repaired. The underside of the chassis floor is marked with tape to show where imperfections need to be corrected.

Here you see a nail gun being used to pull dents. The process uses a special spot welding tool that attaches a small metal rod to a dent. A slide hammer is attached to the rod and the dent is pulled out. The stud is then cut and ground away for a clean surface.

As you see there is a lot of attention given to the underside of the car. This level of detail is what separates good restorations from great ones.

After the metal work is completed, the car is given a primer coat. From here a light coating of body filler may be added to fill any remaining low spots. A guide coat of black paint is added in speckles to help during the block sanding phase.

Block sanding is the process used to level the surface prior to paint. This operation is usually performed by hand. Block sanding can take days or weeks to achieve a perfect surface. During the process the car may need to have additional coats of a special primer/surfacer added to help fill small sanding scratches and other surface imperfections. Once the filling and blocking process is complete, a coat of sealer is applied prior to the color coat. Here the car receives a black sealer coat.

Here you see the car receiving its color coat. Porsche Royal Purple #341 (the original color of the car)! As you can see, applying the color coat is a small step in the entire process. A good paint job requires a lot of preparation, time, and the skill of an experienced craftsperson to do it right. Like many things, it’s all in the prep work. The result is a stunning paint job any car enthusiast can appreciate.

Read the next installment!

You’ve had projects in your garage, so you know… There comes a time in every build where the finished product is in sight. Idea has transformed to rendering has transformed to reality. Just over a month ago, we showed you the progress on our barn find build and asked you to use your imagination. Now, you won’t have to.

Exterior, Front

When you pull in to the Griot’s Garage building, you’ll be welcomed by a spacious parking lot, a dedicated ramp leading to the climate-controlled Car Care School, and a wide staircase to the Retail Store. Don’t worry, you won’t miss our building… just look for the 20×30-foot American Flag waving out front!

Posts were installed for a canopy. Landscaping retaining walls were formed.

Walls, steps, and sidewalks were poured. The sign framework was erected.

A nice retaining wall detail, formed with foam that was later removed.

Sidewalks are very broad. These bay doors lead to the Car Care School.

The Retail Store entrance. Picture yourself walking through these doors soon!

The "traffic circle" curbs at the main entrance were formed...

And a 70-foot flagpole was prepared for installation.

Before raising the pole, Richard and a few lucky employees signed the top.

Six smaller poles line the ring. Checkered and Griot's Garage flags will top these.

Old Glory will be visible from quite a distance!

Exterior, Back

In its former life as a Coca-Cola bottling plant, this part of the building served as loading docks for the big rigs. For Griot’s Garage, all but one of those bay doors were converted to large windows, and one was reserved as a cargo door for deliveries and shipments. This side of the bulding will play host to car shows and other special events.

The back of the building has been given new life with floor-to-ceiling windows.

Retaining walls will hold a wrap-around walkway and landscaping.

Exterior, Lawrence Street Side

Separate roll-up garage doors will provide restricted, drive-in access to the automotive display area and photo shoot areas from Lawrence Street. A large pillar will bisect this long wall, providing a visual break and a structure for one of three large, neon-lit Griot’s Garage signs. A new sidewalk and curb have also been poured here.

The new Lawrence Street sidewalk is almost complete.

These details (Richard calls them "cargoyles") are spaced around the exterior.

Exterior, 38th Street Side

Tacoma’s 38th Street is a well-travelled thoroughfare. Home to every kind of retail, food service, and specialty shop imaginable, Griot’s Garage will be another destination for the vital area. Our main parking lot entrance branches from 38th, and our building will be highly visible with neon signage (and the aformentioned awesome flag).

For the signage structure, a considerable footing was poured.

The steel beams were then moved into place, ready to accept the sign.

Interior, Retail Store

Sure, you’ll be able to restock all your favorite Car Care products and see the latest tools, accessories, and garage goodies here. But our flagship Retail Store and Car Care School will be more than just a shop. It will be a community gathering place, somewhere you’ll want to hang out… mission control for car-guys!

A view of the Retail Store during framing...

And the same view now, with drywall, paint, flooring, and lighting done. Wow!

Some unique and innovative details were framed out at ceiling-height.

Those details were finished nicely to add to the "50's gas station" feel.

Interior, Offices

From its days as a two-person shop run out of Richard Griot’s own garage, our business has enjoyed a very steady growth rate. That’s all thanks to you, our valued customers. Well, the new headquarters gives us room to stretch our legs and continue striving for the perfection you’ve come to expect!

With walls done and painted, it's hard to imagine this space as it once was.

These cubicles are large enough to house two desks each. Room to grow!

The same cubicle row a month later, carpet, lighting, and finish work done.

Offices are carpeted in Griot's Red (of course) and flooded with light.

The copy/print room painted, and carpeted. Only one thing missing...

There, that's better!

Interior, Restrooms

When sharing the progress of a construction project, many businesses would not choose to highlight the restrooms. You know by now, though, Richard Griot is overlooking no detail in this build. From floor-to-ceiling tilework, to Griot’s Red laminates, these normally “utilitarian” rooms are anything but!

Red, black, and stainless. Even on drinking fountains, this combo looks fast!

Is this a 5-star hotel wash room? Nope, it's Griot's Garage.

Tile work has been completed in the stall area. Floor to (nearly) ceiling.

The stall doors are engraved with "pit stop" numbers.

Interior, Customer Service Call Center

We pride ourselves on customer service that exceeds expectations, and our call center is the vital link between you and the automotive products you love. Whether placing an order or simply asking a question, a call to Griot’s Garage puts you through to the best in the business… our Customer Service Associates!

The cubicle walls were drywalled and taped. Clearstories provide great light.

Walls have been painted, carpet laid, and fixtures hung.

Cubicle walls are topped with these great red and black laminate details.

Interior, Indy Cafe/Employee Break Room

Richard’s vision for a 1950s-look building is finding its ultimate outlet here. Clearstory windows flood the room with light. A large kitchen area is trimmed in atomic-era laminates and “metal-flake” textiles. Retro light fixtures hang over diner-style booths. Yep, the Indy is shaping up to be one heckuva car-guy hangout.

A month ago, the space was just getting drywalled and painted.

Now, the flooring is installed, and the furniture is moving in!

This ceiling structure really defines the kitchen space.

Light fixtures were hung, then covered to protect them from paint spray.

Booths were installed and are awaiting tables.

Red and white glitter vinyl covers all the booths and stools.

Interior, Automotive Display Area

The display area will be a real showcase for all kinds of interesting and rare automotive machinery. Located just off the Retail Store, this big space will be clean, polished, and filled with natural light. Best of all, it will be open to the public… So plan your visit soon after the grand opening!

The walls were framed, insulated, and sheathed.

The area was then drywalled, taped, and painted.

Finish details like these black-painted pipes really bring it all together.

Thanks for following along with our barn find build! It’s truly amazing to look back through the older photos and see how this project has progressed. We look forward to moving in to our new garage very soon… and inviting you down for the party. Stay tuned!

Homes and storefronts glow while snow blankets the sidewalks. Classic American iron lines every street, preserved, as if never driven. In fact, the auto dealership has a full lineup of ’61 Chevy’s, right off the truck. There is a quiet calm. A rightness. You can almost smell the apple pie. This is Elgin Park, and you’d probably like living here… if only it was full-scale.

Elgin Park is the creation of Michael Paul Smith, artist and model maker. It’s a 1/24-scale world straight out of the Saturday Evening Post. Smith crafts and photographs idyllic scenes that inspire emotion, even in people who weren’t alive in the modeled time periods. You want to step into the photos, pull up a seat in the diner, and order a coffee while your Packard warms up outside.

In My Garage spoke with Smith recently, and asked him for some insight into his incredible craft.

IMG: When did you get started in model making, and what paths did you follow that led to where you’re at now?

MPS: I have always been fascinated with models and miniatures. Even in grade school I made buildings out of cigar boxes and put interiors in them. That was also true about cars and truck models. I’d put wheels on shoe boxes and cut out windows. When I discovered plastic kits in the late 50′s, it was a defining moment for me. Speed up to the 1980′s when diecast cars started to appear, and it was all downhill for me. These vehicles are my only vice.

300 diecasts sitting on a shelf might look impressive, but there was something sad about that. They needed to be put in context, and a scale building of some sort would help bring some life to them.

I found a G scale structure in the trash and decided to fix it up and add an interior. What was most important was it had to be as good as the diecast cars. So I put a huge effort into getting the details correct. When it was completed, I placed some cars around it then took some photographs.

It was an Ah-Ha! moment for me; and only a matter of time before I started to design and make my own structures. Ultimately I ended up with 15 buildings.

IMG: Can you describe how your process works for a typical scene?

MPS: When planning a scene, I look at the vehicles first. What era do I want to explore? I also look at old photographs to learn about how things looked back then. There are many little details that define an era that are now missing. Things like certain colors that were popular. How streets were set up and how cars were parked.

From all this information I start to think of what story I want to tell. What building or buildings can tell this story? Is it a night shot, snow scene or rainy day? I then mock up the scene and look at it from all angles. This becomes the frame work for the actual shoot.

The next step is to go out looking for a suitable background. Not an easy task with all the malls and housing developments around. The perfect setup is finding a field or parking lot with about a block’s worth of unobstructed view. This allows the background to be in scale with the model.

Once I’ve started to shoot though, an emotional level comes into play. That’s the magic time. I just listen to my gut feeling. If I try too hard, then more times than not, I lose my vision.

An average shoot lasts about an hour with about 20 to 30 photos taken. On average, about 2 good shots come from the whole batch.

IMG: Ever get strange reactions from people when you’re out shooting?

MPS: When I do an outside shoot, I always bring photos of my work because people have a difficult time understanding what I’m doing. Once they see the photos, a connection is made.

I always ask permission from the surrounding home owners if I can have their houses in the photograph, even if it’s only going to be a blur in the background. I had one guy who said it was alright, but then got upset for some reason. He started yelling and berating me for what I was doing.

Occasionally, a cop will show up and give me “the look”.

IMG: Tell us a little about the world you’re creating. Does it relate to a real place from your own past?

MPS: Elgin Park is the name I’ve given my town. I have no idea where it came from but it feels right. For me, it conjures up the turn of the last century. Small town. Stability. A bit isolated but not desolate. Family. Unlocked doors. Home.

My home town in Pennsylvania is Sewickley. It’s only one square mile and touches the Ohio River. Granted every town has it’s secrets and skeletons but when you walk down those tree lined streets, and hear the train whistles echoing off the hills along the river, everything seems OK. It’s that Ok-ness I try to capture.

IMG: You don’t do computer post-production? No Photoshop?

MPS: I gave myself the challenge to not use photoshop. I wanted to be able to frame everything in the camera. After I have the shot I like, though, I will sometimes adjust the color to give it a more “period” look.

Once, there was an insect on one of the diecasts and I didn’t notice it until I looked at the digital contact sheet. The shot was good, so I did use photoshop to remove it. But as a rule, photoshop is just a touch-up tool.

The camera that I use is only a 6 megapixel Sony. Anything above that takes in too much information. I had a 3 megapixel camera that took better “vintage” photos because the lens wasn’t that good.

Old film camera lenses caused a mild blur to the images, and it’s that blur that holds the key to the look of the past; at least for me. The blur ads emotional distance and mystery so you can fill in the details with your own memories. And that’s also the reason there are no people in my photos. I want the viewer to put themselves into these dreamscapes and not be distracted by other people.

IMG: How do you feel about the trend toward model rendering done exclusively on computers?

MPS: What I’ve found is people like a physical model. They can walk around it and touch it and it shares the room with them. Models play with our sense of scale. We know buildings are large, yet here is a building that’s only one foot tall and it still looks like a building. There’s also the “how did they do that” factor.

Computer generated drawings have a WOW factor, but to me they seem too perfect. This is not to say they aren’t visually powerful.

IMG: On to the cars! Do you have a favorite car you’ve used in a photo?

MPS: Some of my favorite models are the ’49 Oldsmobile, the ’51 Studebaker (I owned a real one!) the ’41 Chevy and the ’55 Ford. I really wish they would come out with a ’52 through ’54 Ford. And a Kaiser Manhattan. And a Nash. Ok, one more; A ’61 Plymouth Fury.

IMG: Deservedly, your work has received a fair amount of attention. What’s next? Any big plans you can share?

MPS: It’s so interesting about the coverage my work is getting. I really debated about putting my photos on Flickr over 2 years ago. Seriously, I didn’t think people would be interested in my hobby. This is not false modesty.

But clearly the photographs hit a nerve. I get incredibly touching comments that speak of longing and wanting to go HOME. One person wrote: “I am crying, I am crying….” This not about nostalgia. I believe the photographs let us somehow get in touch with the arc of our lives. About how much time has passed in such a short period of time.

I’ll continue with my photography and models because this is a real passion of mine, but I’ve set up a website, with the help of friends, that will be more than just a photo gallery. I’m working on a “show and tell” section plus a way to give people access to prints of my work.

Also, there are other creative interests I have that can be featured there. The site is called Visit Elgin Park.

Just recently, I’ve started to do volunteer teaching and that puts me on fire. Kids are starving to be creative. They want to build and draw and photograph without restrictions. They’re still close to the source and haven’t been blinded yet to what is possible.

Enjoy more of Michael Paul Smith’s model photography on his Flickr page.

Work on the new Griot’s Garage headquarters continues to buzz along, and a recent visit to the site saw Richard Griot beaming like a kid on Christmas. As he excitedly showed us around, stepping over chalk lines and dodging drywallers on stilts, we managed to snap a few photos of the action. Add these to the project scrapbook!

For context, a rough diagram of how the space is divided…

Outside the building…

The South wall shows all new windows and red flashing along the roof.

That wall (and 3 others) will be bisected by pillars like this.

On the West side, one new window was created and the others enlarged.

The Retail Store and Car Care School brickwork has been completed.

These forms will support posts for the covered outdoor entertaining area.

Former loading doors are ready for windows, and bricks are laid (North).

Moving inside…

Windows are installed in the Retail Store.

The view from the Store into the Museum gives a good sense of scale.

Huge, Griot's Red ceiling beams in the Automotive Museum.

You'll learn detailing secrets in the comfortable, dedicated Car Care School!

Call Center cubicles are defined, and skylights now flood the room with light.

Call Center ceiling. Your Customer Service Reps will enjoy a bright space.

This area will be used for shooting product and cover car photos.

A massive new beam was installed in the photo shoot area.

Cubicles to the right, offices to the left, all receiving natural light.

We begged our parents for these things as kids. And it still looks fun!

Many of the ceilings will have these coved areas for lighting. Nice detail!

Miles of data wire so Griot's Garage can grow along with technology.

The clearstories have been opened up in the Indy Cafe.

Lunch break for some workers in the future Creative Office.

Thanks for continuing to follow along with this barn-find build. We appreciate all the feedback and enthusiasm from our customers, and look forward to bringing you updates right through the Grand Opening. Check back soon!

If you receive the Griot’s Garage Handbook, you might remember this recent cover car, a 1966 Gurney Eagle Mk1. The very first of Dan Gurney’s legendary race cars, chassis 101 is an important piece of American motoring history. And In My Garage is fortunate enough to be able to peek over some shoulders as the Eagle undergoes a full restoration.

First, a brief history of the car:

For the 1966 racing season, Gurney had secured sponsorship from Goodyear to field Grand Prix and Indy cars. Though the Grand Prix cars were lighter by some 50 pounds over the Indy car chassis, they were otherwise similar. Gurney had commissioned Westlake to provide a purpose built 3-liter V-12 to compete with the likes of Ferrari, Lotus, BRM, Brabham and Cooper.

As the season began, Gurney still didn’t have the access to the V-12 so the decision was made to put a Coventry-Climax 2.7 liter four cylinder engine into Chassis 101. The car had great showings, but the highly-stressed engine did let Gurney down in a few races. The first points scored came from a 5th at the French GP. 7th at the Nurburgring, 7th Spa, and 5th at Mexico.

The Eagle as she was when acquired from Donington.

As Dan Gurney graduated to the V-12 when it was finally ready, 101 was driven by Phil Hill at Monza (though he didn’t start), and Bob Bondurant in the US GP at Watkins Glen. For the last race of the season in Mexico, the V-12 was having its share of teething problems and Dan gave Chassis 102 with the V-12 to Bob Bondurant while he hopped back in the trusted 101. 5th place for chassis 101 was a fitting end to the 1966 season as the new Eagles (Chassis 103 & 104) were prepared for the 1967 season. In 1967, 101 was sold to Canadian Al Pease and then to the Donington Collection in England in 1969 where it remained until recently.

After being on display at Donington for 40 years, the car was definitely in need of some TLC. It was showing signs of aging, and not necessarily in a good way. The car was completely disassembled. The chassis number was found, stamped under the left side roll bar mount. The steering and suspension pieces were crack-checked and re-plated in a polished nickel and cadmium finish. All castings including the hub carriers were also crack-checked and a fresh chromate coating applied.

Chassis 101 stripped of all mechanicals.

Serial number "101" was found under the left roll bar mount.

The chassis of the Eagle is formed out of sheet aluminum panels that are riveted together with steel bulkheads located at strategic points. The bulkheads serve and pick up points for the suspension, engine and gearbox mounts. Removing the paint from the top of the tub revealed a chassis panel made from light weight sheet magnesium. The tub is in excellent condition and will only requiring a simple clean up and repaint.

The bare chassis tub, stripped of paint.

Chassis tub detail.

The Coventry Climax 4-cylinder engine was in reasonably good condition. We’ll have more information to share after the teardown.

Coventry Climax engine with Weber side draft carburetors.

The now-bare engine bay.

The car used a common Hewland DG300 gearbox. Fortunately new gears, bearings, and seals are readily available. As for other components, well… 40 year old brake fluid has a way of destroying rubber lines and seals, so the hydraulic brake and clutch systems have been completely rebuilt. Instruments, wiring, oil and coolant plumbing will be serviced during the restoration. Again, more on that later!

Hewland DG300 gearbox.

And one for the nerds... and exploded diagram of the Helwand box.

Chassis as-found (inset), and stripped of componentry.

See more pictures of this car as-acquired from Donington on the Griot’s Garage Flickr page. It’s a pleasure to be able to share these kinds of projects with you. We hope you’ll follow along as this restoration progresses, and be sure to keep your eye out for more great builds in the future!