Posts Tagged ‘Eastwood’

Projects, Headaches, Love Affairs.

Mar 26th, 10 / 1 Comment

A lot of you know that while I’ve had hundreds of American cars over the years (and love our early numbers Mustang test vehicle – a shame it’s too far gone to bring back), I’ve always had a soft spot for English cars.  As I’m getting used to blogging, I thought it would be fun for me to share with you a few stories about the latest cars parked in the Strohacker garage.  My ’63 Austin Healey is right up there at the top as far as stories go.  My son and I have covered many miles in it and it loves to be driven.  None of the usual English car “gremlins” as long as it is exercised regularly (they need love and attention!).

We found the car in 1999 in northern California inside a warehouse where it had been sitting on jackstands for 15 years. It was a true California car (yes I know you hear it all the time, but this one actually is!) with its original black and yellow plates and it’s tags and inspection sticker dated from ’84.  Cosmetically, it was in pretty rough shape – torn seats and padded dash, the convertible top was in tatters and the paint was pretty far gone.  Structurally, the body and chassis were incredibly sound.  No rust, at all.  There was a bit of bondo at the bottom of the front shroud where someone had backed into the car, but other than that, no structural work to be done!

The odometer read 75k, and we felt this was accurate.  The car ran great, was fast as hell compared to the other Healeys I’ve driven and aside from a big puff of blue smoke at startup didn’t seem to have any other issues.  Once we got the car back to Pennsylvania, we sorted everything as best we could and drove it around “beater style” for a few months (I’ve always loved seeing time warp cars on the road even if they don’t look the best!) before fixing up the body and having it painted. (trust me our best friends were the welder, sandpaper, and a spray gun!) We also had a new interior put in.  Then we tackled installing new valve seals (blue smoke problem solved) and updated the wire wheels to 72 spoke for a bit more safety through the turns.  Not sure if you’ve ever experienced this but in the old days the sound of spokes breaking on wire wheels as you put the car through its paces on a twisty road isn’t exactly inspiring!

We’ve put about 25k miles on the car since and it continues to run well.  The six cylinder Healeys have such a great exhaust note, and the stainless exhaust we put on only makes it better, a real treat in tunnels and underpasses!   Even though my muscle car friends out there can absolutely blow the doors off of me at a red light, I can keep up in the turns and have a decent amount of torque – starting off in 3rd gear from a dead stop is never trouble. I often think it would be fun to get another one and drop in a narrow 289 V8 – lots of people have done it and the Healey rear end is robust enough to handle the extra power. (not to mention it’d be fun to surprise some traditional muscle cars with this setup!)

Next up for this car may be some engine mods for a bit more power – perhaps a rebuild, port/polish the head, bigger carbs and bit of tweaking with the header and exhaust.  I’m also inclined to put taller tires on, as the ground clearance is pretty terrible – any Healey owner who says they haven’t torn at least one exhaust system off of their ride are either lying or haven’t been driving their car enough!

Next time I’ll tell you about the 1967 Austin Mini Countryman I completely restored many years ago – a unique car that was ahead of its time and continues to impress me.  Stay tuned!

I hope you get to spend lots of time in the garage, and keep in touch – we want to know what you’re working on!

Best,

Curt

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Curt’s Corner

Testing 1-2 1-2

Mar 19th, 10 / 5 Comments

Repetition makes for the best final product. This is why our R&D department is always buzzing. From testing new products that are under development, to reviewing current products and seeing how we can make them even better. This at times can be a bit frustrating, but in the end we feel this what makes Eastwood products stand out from the rest of the industry. Here is a little insiders view on what we’ve been up to in R&D the past couple weeks.

One exciting new product we are very close to releasing is a product that is best described as an “inner frame coating”. Often times when restoring an old car or truck, you do extensive work to treat the exterior of you frame/chassis for rust. But, what about the inside of the frame? Many older vehicles actually rust from the “inside out”. This product is specially formulated to coat, neutralize, stop and treat the rust or corrosion found in those places you couldn’t reach with normal methods. This product is slated to be available in an easy-to-use aerosol can with a special “wand extension”. This “wand” has a machined brass tip on the end that has been designed to give a broad “fan-like” spray pattern (check the pictures below for a sample of what the spray pattern looks like). This is the key to fully covering the inside of the frame. You can even see in the pics below how there is a fine “green” mist of the frame coating coming out of the bottom holes of the frame as Mark is applying the product. Throw away everything your tech ed teacher taught you when painting something; with this product you WANT the coating to be dripping out of the frame. Seeing that will tell you that you are getting a nice thick coating inside the frame.

Keeping on the same wavelength of chassis and frame restoration, we have another product in the final testing stages. This product is being dubbed “After Blast” It is pretty easy to figure out when this product is to be used.. but to those that are unclear, it is a cleaning product sprayed on any part you have blasted. You simply spray  it on after blasting your metal clean and wipe down with a clean rag. I was amazed at how much contaminants it pulled out as Mark sprayed and wiped the chassis down numerous times! This is just another product that backs the belief that “prep is the most important step” when coating/spraying or restoring. Check out the pics below of Mark blasting the frame clean with our Eastwood exclusive Master Blaster Dual Blaster then testing the “After Blast” on the freshly blasted frame!

As many would guess, one of our best selling product lines is Powder Coating. Because of that, we are constantly testing and perfecting our powder coating products. The past couple weeks it has been the powders themselves being tested. First was our High Temp Silver powder. We were testing a couple different samples for 1.) how they sprayed out 2.)How they cured and flowed out 3.) How well they handled the high temperatures that we guarantee them to.

Also here are a few photos of some cool items being coated this past week at the Eastwood headquarters with some of our favorite powders! My personal favorite is J.R.’s vintage go-kart shot in our Starlight Blue Powder. Look at how all the “flake” shows up in the direct sunlight!

Hope you all enjoy this recent ”insiders look” at what we have going on here at Eastwood! Let us know if there are any products you would like to see as a DIY or blog entry.

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Eastwood Pro Restorers, R&D Corner, Tech Corner

Eastwood hits the “Big Time”.

Mar 17th, 10 / 1 Comment

Recently we were contacted by an automotive T.V. show by the name of “MotorWeek”. They asked if they could bring a project car in for some of our experts’ opinions on it. They also wanted to do some segments on Eastwood’s history and a bit of information on what we have going on with some of our products right now. We agreed on a date and waited patiently.

Well, yesterday was the big day and a big truck and a larger trailer showed up. Many of us gathered to see what this “project car” looked like. As they dropped the gate on the trailer, the first couple things we all noticed was 1.This thing is big! 2.Its a Cadillac, and 3.It doesn’t run.. (insert a group sigh knowing we have to push this thing around) After a group effort and a little bit of good old fashioned manpower, we had the car in place in our garage and we could climb all over it and assess the damage.

After climbing around the car a bit, we learned the car was inherited by one of the show affiliates and was owned by his family for many years before being parked indoors. The car had a 1988 PA inspection sticker on it, so you can just guess how long it has been out of commission! To our surprise, the car was fairly solid for the age. The majority of the damage was in the corners of the rear quarters and the bottom seams of the doors. With the use of many of our Rust Solution Products they could easily, stop, remove, and treat the major issues with the body.

Sadly, we couldn’t inspect this classic all day, and we had to get to work setting up the shots for the film crew and doing our best to be quiet during filming (a lot harder than you think!). First, the crew shot an interview with our fearless leader Curt Strohacker giving a quick history of the company and also some details on our current product line. This went off essentially without a hitch, Curt is a natural in front of the camera!

Next up was the shots MotorWeek had planned in our R&D department with the Caddy being the star of the shot. (if not anything, by default due to how huge it is!) Just to show how easy it is to spruce up this car, and also give the guys at MotorWeek a kick start, we went ahead and removed, blasted, and powder coated the left valve cover the original Cadillac Blue . They were so impressed with the ease of this process, they decided to film J.R. shooting the powder on! After the powder cleared and the camera lenses were dusted off (sorry Mr. Camera man!) They began shooting a segment in which our R&D and restoration guru Joe, explained some of the best ways to spruce this old Cadillac back up and which of our products would suit each job. After a few outtakes, Joe got the hang of it and they shot all of the angles they needed.

All in all, this was a great learning experience for everyone involved. After their time spent here, the MotorWeek crew was seen loading a few of our popular products into the trailer. Namely, our new Master Blaster Dual Tank Blaster. Here’s hoping those products are just what they need to get the Caddy back to its former cruising glory! Thanks again to the MotorWeek crew for being so patient with us, and we can’t wait to see the finished episodes!

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Curt’s Corner, Eastwood Pro Restorers, Matt's Motor head Talk, R&D Corner, Tech Corner

Year In Review.

Mar 10th, 10 / 2 Comments

2010 is well underway and we’re already off to a good start. While the world remains an uncertain place, I find I can still get away from it all by taking a “garage break.” Our projects are still there (in a variety of running and non-running forms!) and I am encouraged by the market in general. Classics of all shapes and sizes continue to trade well on Ebay, at swap meets, and in the local classifieds. It’s good to know that in a time of uncertainty our hobby exudes a sense of permanence. Old cars, trucks, and bikes aren’t going anywhere, and neither are the people that work on them.

That said, all the more reason to get on those projects so that they’re cruise night ready! We have a whole bunch of products I’m particularly excited about – for any skill level, and any budget. Last weekend I was in the garage getting organized and finishing up a brake master cylinder overhaul on my ’63 Austin Healey. It’s an older restoration and I was getting tired of less than adequate pedal performance, not to mention the safety issue!

 We used the master cylinder as a good test of our Eastwood Brake Gray, a tough coating that comes in the form of an epoxy ester resin combined with a pure stainless steel pigment. Best part is that it’s not just for metal – it can be used on ceramics, wood, and even leather. The stuff is tough as nails and refused to fail even after constant exposure to DOT 3 brake fluid. It also “looks” good too – it’s the same color as our Detail Gray. The fluid reservoir in the Healey is also a trouble spot – they originally painted them black in the factory and as you can imagine over the years, brake fluid does its best to eat the paint, especially when yours truly cheats and tries to top off without a funnel. I know, not smart. In this case I used our 2K Ceramic Chassis Black to ensure a durable finish that would stand up to DOT 3.

On another note, one of the kids who lives down the street recently got his first car, an ’81 Chevy Caprice Classic wagon. Hot ride! I think it belonged to a family member, so he got it for the “right price” and has been busy trying to trick it out on a pretty tight budget. The alternator gave up the ghost last week and I suggested that he replace it with one of our Maxx Power alternators –we have recently started carrying starters, alternators, and even distributors that are completely new (no refurbs here) and in every aspect better than OEM products. They’re perfect for both reliable daily drivers and performance engine builds. The job was a quick swap – it bolted right into place, and with a fresh belt, he was good to go. At $200 bucks, you can’t go wrong. What’s more, this unit puts out 105 amps, much higher than original equipment, and also has a higher output at idle, which will be important once this kid puts in the stereo system he told me has plans for.

Ancillary engine parts are just another way Eastwood can get you on the road quickly, deliver the performance you’ve always looked to us for, and do it without breaking the bank. I’m pretty excited about this new line of products. 

Before I sign off, I’ve got to mention how impressed I am with our team for combining two great products into one portable unit. I am of course, talking about our Master Blaster – The Eastwood Dual Blaster.Now you can effortlessly switch medias or even customize your own media mixture – sand, abrasive, whatever you want! It can be done on the fly with our exclusive mixing valve and can cut blasting times in half. Impressive stuff. I was cleaning up a grimy, painted, set of extra wire wheels I have for the Healey and used a relatively strong mixture of crushed glass. That same day, my son wanted to strip the bottom of a small fiberglass boat he has. We simply set the mixing valve to pure soda (which was in the other tank) and he went to work. The soda was strong enough to remove multiple layers of thick bottom paint (from what I understand that stuff is pretty brutal), but delicate enough not to etch the skin coat covering the fiberglass laminate. Best of all, when we were finished, we rolled the Master Blaster back into the shop!

I’m certain your experience with these new products will be as rewarding as mine.  Let us know, and remember, you can always read what the Eastwood Family (you!) has to say about the products here on the site and also in the forums.

Drop us a line!

 Best, Curt     

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Curt’s Corner

Brake parts need love too!

Mar 8th, 10 / 2 Comments

As I mentioned in my introductory post, I have a 1976 VW Rabbit project that I am building from the ground up. This car is going to be built with a heavy vintage motorsport “feel”, but still in the end, it will be a show car and most everything is going to be gone over and polished, cleaned, chromed and powder coated. One thing people often neglect to restore when building a car is brake parts and associated bits hidden behind the wheel. Since I will be buying new brake calipers, I decided I would clean and powder coat the carriers ahead of time. I figured I’d post some photos along the way of some steps I did for the tech geeks like myself, and also to prove to friends and family I actually do work on my 76 Rabbit more than once every 2 years! (I can hear your laughs from here Dad!)

First step when dealing with old parts that are so close to the road like this, is to clean all of that thick grease, dirt and road grime off of the part. This part had obviously been victim to a couple of ripped CV boots and thus had a few layers of hardened grease on them. You wanna scrape the part with a screwdriver or something similar to get the bigger “chunks” off first. Next I hit the carriers with some of our exclusive Eastwood Chassis Clean . Our chassis clean is a very aggressive cleaner that even removes heavy baked-on brake dust and grease. I just sprayed the part liberally with the handy aerosol can. As you can see in the pictures it just washes the grime off and leaves a “clean” (do not mistake for blasted “clean”) surface!

After getting these parts degreased pretty well. I next dropped them in our blasting cabinet. I decided to use some of our Aluminum Oxide Blast Media to clean the carriers. Since I cleaned the parts with our chassis clean before blasting, the carriers blasted clean quite easily.  After both brackets were blasted, I washed and cleaned them with our PRE Painting Prep to get any and all left over dirt or grease off of the part.

Since these parts were cast, I decided to pre-heat these items at 400 degrees to bake out any additional grease or chemicals that still may be lurking in the metal and could eventually cause “outgassing”. After 20 minutes I took the carriers out and immediately sprayed them Semi-Gloss Black with our increasingly popular Dual Voltage Hot Coat Gun . With the part being pre-heated it makes the powder seem to almost adhere a bit better. You may even begin to see a bit of “flow out” of the powder as the powder lays on the parts (the finish will begin to go from the dull “powder” to a “wet” type finish). After I got a nice even coat on both parts, I took them back to the oven and cured them at 400 degrees again until the powder flowed out nicely. After pulling them out and hanging them to cool, I got to relax and admire the nice glossy black brake parts ready to be mated to some new brake calipers!

I by no means am a professional at powder coating and found the dual voltage gun to be quite easy to use. In fact, I was able to manipulate the amount of powder coming out of the gun depending on the pressure I had on the trigger (vs. some other guns I’ve used where it is either “off” or “full blast”).  Hopefully some of my fellow hobbyists out there will be inclined to take up powder coating their own parts after seeing how fairly simple the process is!

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Matt's Motor head Talk
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