Customs & Restorations

Champ Car Ford F150 Lightning Pace Truck - 2003-2004 season

I did this truck at Indy Custom Shops as well.  The design and layout was done by Josh Wells, All paintwork and most buff work done by me. But As always , alot of hands went into the finished product as far as tear-down, build-up, wet sanding, body work , etc. This truck came out really nice. It was done it tri-coat white pearl, House-Of-Kolor's Galaxy Gray, Ultra-Orange, and a special mix orange that I made up using three HOK colors for the contrasting colors on the checkered flag. Then, The whole truck received a coat of PPG's Prizmatique Flakes, and then clear coated and buffed. It was really stunning to see in person, despite how simple it looks in the picture. The prizmatique over the galaxy gray was awesome, and inspired alot of different projects I have been involved with since. First picture shows the doors and hood hanging in booth after being cleared. 

 1996 Tahoe

I worked on this Tahoe off and on from November of 2002 to April 2003 at Indy Custom Shops (317 852 CARS). The camera date is inverted, and appears to say 10/04, but it is actually 4/10. The truck was in mid-completion when I hired in to finish the job. The graphics were already done, but the pearls in the main body were all off. So we re-painted the entire truck. It is House of Kolors Sunrise pearl yellow faded into Sunset Pearl Orange. The pictures don't show the fade well, but the picture of the speaker box shows how different the two colors actually were. The custom painted graphics (done by Mikey Menchoeffer) extend through all the door jambs, front and rear. The speaker box was painted to match the truck, as was the air-ride tanks, the dash, and the dust covers for the rim, as well as other components.  It wasn't my cup of tea while we were working on it, but the day it was delivered, it was my pride and joy. These pictures were taken as the vehicle sat awaiting it's owner to pick up.

1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air

A classic American peice. I took these 'step-by-step pics to show it in process. The first shows it in its final fill prime stage, all blocked down, masked, pre-cleaned, and ready to spray. I then coated it with one coat of House of Kolor KS10 black urethane Primer Sealer, followed by three coats of a purple basecoat picked by the customer, and then four coats of UC35 House of Kolors clear. The car also received an airbrushed emblem on the fenders, and was water sanded and buffed all over.

1937 Cord Convertible

This was a full frame-on restoration. What else can I say , but that this car had to be just as amazing to see in '37 as it was to see today. Proud to have it in my portfolio. This car was also done at Indy Custom Shops, and although alot of hands were involved in it's restoration, the paint and buff was 100% mine, including interior, exterior, and rims and jambs. 

2003 Dodge Hemi Truck

We added the fender flares to this truck, painted them, and added the custom colors to the sides. Artwork done by Michael 'Mikey' Menchhoeffer.  Done at Indy Custom Shops.

1966 Chevy Biscayne

This was already  a super clean original car when it came in. Someone had repainted the car all one color during its life, but I repainted it back to it's original blue body with white top. A true beauty. Done at Indy Custom Shops.

Matt Cress's S-10

What else can I say besides Full Custom!  This was how it was when it left us. Alot happened to it after it left us, and last I saw it, someone had tried to repaint half the truck after damaging it and did a poor job of it. It was kind of sad to see it falling from grace before it was even finished.  I did the primary silver overall color, and then the rest went on to Josh Wells for airbrushing. I cleared it and did the buff out, with a a little help from a couple co-workers to finish the buff-out. The trucks color and theme went across the entire dash, under the hood, speaker box, air tanks, door panels, and headliner. As seen in these pictures done at Indy Custom Shops.

Pace Truck

This pace truck was done in about 2 days. It wasn't perfect, but they didn't want it to be. Flame lay-out & shadowing by Josh Wells. Done at Indy Custom Shops.

Mazda RX-7

All body side mouldings and handles shaved, lots of custom work done to this car. But on the paint end, I painted the whole car red, and sent it over to Michael 'Mikey' Menchoeffer for flame out. I then re-did the white fade-in to brighten it up, and did all clear and buff work. Done at Indy Custom Shops. Even an -in motion- shot of me painting the red base onto the white primer/sealer.

PT Cruiser

I dont recall the year of this, since all PT cruisers are the same to me. This is another Mike Menchoeffer art layout. This was the first car I did at Indy Custom Shops. The artwork went through all the jambs. I did everything to this car but the body fit/repair and the art graphic. All door jambs, including the tailgate,  were painted at the same time as the outside. That is a pain to do, open door, close door, and not have it latch etc. As crappy as it was to do, it came out awesomely. 

1961 Ford Truck

This was the last thing I painted before I left Indy Custom Shops. It was a worn out, tired old ford truck when it rolled in. But a heap of  bondo, some floorboards, rhino lining, flat black paint, wide whites and moon discs and suddenly we have a pretty cool looking truck! I never got to see it finished as it was at the rhino linings when I left, but I found this pic on their website.

The following cars were older cars that I did paint work on in a repair sense. Although I am proud to have them in my portfolio, I did not paint them all-over complete.