The International Harvester Metro food truck is coming along at a quick pace now. The interior walls are almost finished and the last of the exterior accents are being painted. Starting as a wrecked rusted mess this van has come a long way and is almost ready for service again.
The new suspension and brakes are fitted and adjusted. Now with disc brakes and a power brake booster this car is safer on the street and has the power to stop all of this iron and glass.
This Chevrolet chassis 1955 Grumman Olson step van arrived last night and is not allocated to a project. This van would make a great shop truck, food truck, or merch wagon for your business and if you are interested in building a unique marketing vehicle for your company send us a message. The Grumman Olson is made of aluminum so there are never the rust issues you will see with other vans and have a much larger interior and more head room making it a better usable space for those wanting to pack in a lot of equipment.
It has been a while since we had a Cobra in the shop. It was great to get our hands on this one for a corner balance and check of the suspension setups. Being the 68th car built by Shelby in Las Vegas it has all of the vintage parts you would want in your Cobra.
To clear the SN95 Mustang rear wheels attached to the new 9″ Ford rear end we added subtle flares and enlarged the rear wheel well. With four racing seats, a cage and harness bars for both rows the whole family can join in on the fun!
This Pontiac Trans Am came to us as a car that had hid a deer 30 years ago and then stored ever since. It has been a long rebuild but they could have never dreamed of a Trans Am like this back in 1971. Almost every part of the car has been vastly improved but the interior and exterior hide off the secret and maintain an original restored look.
Half of this truck was so rusty that we had to cut it off, throw it away and rebuild. Inside all of the floor and frame was rebuilt as were the insides of the doors. Sixty years of modifications and damage were removed during the process to bring it back to it’s original shape.
The Chevrolet Covair engine is air-cooled and used a flat design, with aluminum heads and crankcase, with individual iron cylinder barrels.
These high-revving Ford Racing Boss 302 444 hp 32-valve DOHC crate engines deliver a ground-pounding 444 hp and 380 ft.-lbs. Before it goes into the Mustang Boss 302S the bearings must be changed to the tri-metal type to withstand the rigors of a serious workout.
The first food truck was back for service while we were building the next. From two different manufactures these two vans, Grumman Olson on the left and International Metro on the right, might be the most iconic shapes of a the 1950s delivery vehicles.
This new Camaro Mustang Challenge build was just finished and is here for inspection and certification. The engine was making much more than the owner expected and the restrictor set wouldn’t bring it down to spec. After fashioning a custom restrictor this car is right on the mark and can be seen at NASA events very soon.
The guys are test fitting and measuring for the new rear axle to go with the four link we installed in the back of the Falcon race car project. With four racing seats this Falcon is ready for the ultimate family road trip.
Produced in Finland starting in 2011 the Fisker Karma has arguably been the best looking plug-in electric hybrid car for years. We had to drop the rear subframe on this one to fix a traction motor coolant leak. It will be getting several other upgrades in addition to needing one of the rear Nivomat, an automatic self contained load-leveling monotube damper, replaced.
Today we finished up both a 1952 Studebaker Champion and 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air. Among other things both cars are now benefitting from an electric fuel pump, an almost required addition with the poor qualities or todays fuels to prevent vapor lock.
The Metro van has been media blasted down to bare metal. The smashed in front fenders were pounded out before blasting and now the body work can begin in earnest.
Our next food truck project arrived this morning from Maryland. The old Metro is a little beaten up but a pretty solid truck with good mechanicals. Watch here for the transformation!
With the frame and suspension, drivetrain and body for this one ton truck restored just a few trim and electrical bits need installed and this truck can be put back in service around the farm.
No before pictures of this one were posted as it came to us as a pile of parts. A rat rod look that he doesn’t have to keep clean was the goal for the owner of this one. The new Studebaker 232 cu.in. V8 is so quiet and smooth you can hardly tell it is running.
With the snow melting it was time to get the old Buick out into the sunshine for some pictures. After the car’s slumber in a garage the engine is now seized and we have the task of getting it back on the road. Don’t worry a full restoration will not be happening, being a solid car everyone is in agreement that it looks just fine the way it is.
Another one back on the road. Although not as bad as most cars we see come through here this one needed some TLC to make it run and safe to drive again. The owner is anxious to get it out and do Corvair Club events.
