Gasoline Alley

1969 Plymouth Satellite

John Ambrosi — Fri, 6 Jan 2012 13:13:15 +1000

Big rear shackles, cracked bodyfiller and flat black paint are bad enough, let alone a 2.5 tonne jalopy that doesnt work. This car presented pretty poorly. Joe , the owner like everyone had a budget to work to. But there was so much to do to get this old horse back.

We decided to first get the car rolling and running under its own power. A compression test told us that the engine was in good order. We chased a few electrical problems and after servicing and tuning the power train, the trusty old 383 burst into life. A quick sort out of the brakes and brake cables, then it was time to attack the body.

After some discussions with the client we decided to remove all the flat black. We repaired only what was necessary to stabilise the bodywork, then applied the 40% gloss acrylic Hemi orange. We decided to redo the hood in satin black.

The only real repairs were some floor pans which we did prior to the outside of the car.

Hardly the same car it was when it came in, Joe will tackle the suspension overhaul and other minor stuff himself. We'll see it back for a transmission overhaul and sign off for rego in early 2012

1966 Mustang Convertible

John Ambrosi — Fri, 6 Jan 2012 12:50:36 +1000

Hire cars always go faster. Ex hire cars always look tired. This girl was no exception. She came to our shop for an extreme makeover and left looking like the glamour she should be.

We replaced all the brightwork. The bodywork whilst in reasonable shape told a different story with a closer inspection. Replacing most of the front diecast panels and grille, the stance of the car took on a whole new aspect.

Some minor mechanical repairs restored the horsepower of the engine and eliminated all the suspension and body rattles.

Take a look at the photos and see the transformation.......

Falcon XY Utility

John Ambrosi — Fri, 6 Jan 2012 12:11:04 +1000

We carried out a very thorough sympathetic restoration on this vehicle a few years ago. At the time David said he would be back to do a full rotisserie restoration on this vehicle. The car displayed some rusty spots which we decided to watch over time. Sure enough the rusty seams were getting rustier. As a famous Canadian once said, "rust never sleeps".

Early last year after some discussion and planning, the xy was fully stripped out and hung on our body rotisserie. All the parts were carefully inspected and catalogued. Many parts have been reconditioned and packed away for fitting at the reassembly stage.

Most of the mechanical componentry will be recycled. Having said that, we will be rebuiling the engine to a performance specification. All will be revealed as the project moves forward.....

XK Falcon sedan

John Ambrosi — Fri, 6 Jan 2012 12:05:34 +1000

In the family since new. This vehicle was referred to us by a colleague who is carrying out the mechanical overhaul on this early Falcon. These old girls were the first Falcons in Australia. Being assembled as CKD kits direct out of the US, these were so American that our number plates were too large for the openings in the bumpers. A bigger problem was that the front ends were not designed or built to take the punishment that roads down under dish out. A redesign of the suspension strength several months into production remedied the fault and the rest as they say is history.

Our task was to restore the bodywork, interior and final reassembly.

Upon disassembly the usual rust, dents and smash damage was discovered. A body seal kit was sourced out of the US. All the panels on the car were found to be quite stable. Hence we were able to recycle all of the body panels repairing and realigning as required. Check out the photos.......

FJ Holden sedan

John Ambrosi — Fri, 6 Jan 2012 11:50:31 +1000

A very low mileage car, less than 30000. It presents all the features of exposure to the elements over many years. Light surface rust and pitting on all external panels, the interior and mechanicals are well preserved and show almost all the parts/components that this classic was born with.

Careful disassembly and removal of the interior revealed all the hessian underlay and soundproofing intact. The seats were found in exceptional condition as were the door trims.

The panel team has taken care of the very minor rust in the front floor. Sam took great care to replicate the original bead roll in the patch panel used to repair the driver floor pan.

At some point the FJ received a nasty but minor bump at the front end. We decided to repair this and regap all the panels prior to commencing the restoration work. Once completed we stripped the swing panels and sent them away for the acid dipping process.

Brendan carefully spot blasted the pitting in the roof. After many gruelling hours the body is quite stable and has been put into debeer primer/putty.

We will be continuing this project early in 2012 with a mechanical restoration and careful reassembly of this classic motor car.

John Ambrosi — Fri, 6 Jan 2012 11:30:38 +1000

Mazda RX5

John Ambrosi — Fri, 6 Jan 2012 11:22:16 +1000

Rusty doors were virtually the only fault with this rare factory automatic RX5. The body whilst extremely straight and unblemished, showed the regular '70's era sunburnt metallic paint. Door skin repairs, back to bare metal only where required and a quick board file of the vehicle resulted in a nice budget conscious result which will last for years. The vehicle has gone away for a mechanical fit up by the owner, but will be back for final fitup.