I’ll let the pictures speak (mostly…) it’s good to finally see the designing phase finished other than a few details. Next, it’s off the media blasting, then for final fittment, roll cage, structural bracing, then bodywork, priming, followed by many sessions of blocking, and finllay off to paint… before April of 2014. 
I wish I could make the words of a RUSH song come to life….. “Time stand still” more of a plea than a request… September?… really? I’ll actually go to the shop today, so this post will be a two-parter… this one being the anticipation of the work session on the Mustang… the second a perspective on what I actually got accomplished. At any rate, it’s come a long way… but it sure seems to be dragging out…. Gotta love the thrill of the chase….
This is the Superstang as I was loading it up onto the trailer... it ran!
My job is complicated… that’s probably easy for somebody to accept. the reasons it’s complicated are diverse. The people I cross paths with ARE the automotive aftermarket, and I’ve always looked at that interaction as a privilege. I often find myself thinking ” how exactly did I get here? “ and things like…” who am I to be in the position to be making these type decisions?” I don’t take it for granted and I will look on this time in my life as a very special chapter. I cross paths with amazing people and interact with my hero’s…. Im so fortunate to be able to say that Todd Gartshore was my friend… I will miss him. Todd was one of the founding partners for BAER Brakes… the premier aftermarket performance brake company in the world. Baer is synonymous with quality, and part of that perception was due to Todd’s integrity, and seemingly endless energy. Todd and Baer have worked with me for a long time on the Mustang, and I’ll always appreciate their attention to detail and support, but I’ve known Todd much longer. Many TV projects, meetings at trade shows, and phonecalls with me asking him advice, and him generously giving me his opinions, sage advice, and honest thoughts. It selfishly makes me sad to think my friend is no longer there…. but It gives me joy to know how he has touched this industry and amazing group of people. I’ve always said that the automotive aftermarket is a “small world” but the other truth is that there are many giants among us, and Todd Gartshore stood with the tallest. To see tributes, kind postings online, hallway mentions, tears well up in friends eyes, and shaky voices talk about (our) loss shows me that I’m not alone in expressing my love and sadness, and I’m not alone in how i feel; the entire industry feels the vacuum left behind from such a presence suddenly departing. Our best legacy is the imprint we leave on the souls of our friends and family… Todd has left us with great memories, lasting memories, and a lifetime’s worth of reminders of how he lived. Wherever we pass on to after this life, I’m sure Todd will now know how we all feel…. For those of us left behind, his life and how he lived it set the bar high indeed, and give me a tangible goal as to how I want to be remembered…. the best and final lesson I learn from Todd is that this goal is easily achievable with a life lived with integrity…. thank you for this.
Farewell my friend.
Blah Blah Blah blah…. I’m sick of new…. I’m tired of new…. what was wrong with “old”? I knew old… I was used to “old”… oh wait… old is outdated, square, uncool… why then do we constantly go retro on everything? Why is the 80’s cool again… isnt that music OLD? I think that improvements are definitly made but there comes a point to where we need a mix of something constant and satisfying and familiar along with the excitement of “new”… why am I whining about this…. probably because Im tired…. there could be worse things to cry about… I need to step back and gain perspective…. I think I’ll do just that.
Here
Who am I to assume that I can improve on the design of a classic iconic vehicle? not to mention meld in current styling ques from existing platforms and make style-salad while still retaining a dash of “Stang in it all… If a hammer is the only tool in the toolbox, then we become VERY proficient at hammering.
Hello old friend….. It’s been entirely too long between postings, but it ;s har dto keep up with the world sometimes. :) The Crustang has had some progress made, and life in general has moved along at a pace that rivals a bolt of lightning. the TV show is a grind, but in a wierdly great way… everyone assomes it’s a dream job, but with every dream comes the wake-up. Conclusion…. life is hard and a tad random. No surprises there right? On to other things. the Mustang is turning out as I had hoped… now to figure out how to upload more images to the new blog home and server…. it’s never easy is it… LOL!
Interesting phenomenon that the more you do to try and stay busy, the more protracted each procedure gets, thereby exaccerbating the actualy time investment… this makes things take longer, inspiring me to DO MORE to get someting accomplished. Does anybody know a cure for this malady?
KT.
Pics and video to come…. but suffice to say that SEMA was huge, both in general and for me peersonally. I had some incredibly productive meetings that will help pave the way to a new business outlook and much higher visibility with Paintucation in general. Im VERY excited!!!!!!
More soon!
KT.
I got a tip from a friend that new I was looking for a first-gen Mustang. I had really wanted a fastback, but at the time Fastbacks, especially GT’s were through the roof and certainly out of my league in September of 2003. Paintucation was just beginning to start moving, and I was writing for a new magazine! (new to me anyhow…) Modified Mustangs & Fords. The car had been masked up with newspaper and crappy masking tape for about three years, and the paper had separated from the adhesive, making it all but impossible to remove the tape and paper… the interior was in, along with rotted carpet overtop of very poorly installed floor patches. it was a 6 cylinder, three speed standard shift car, so it had some redeeming attributes. ( well, not really… but it did have the all important clutch pedal) Rust was in odd places… the quarters and fenders were California solid… but the floors were crap. The cowl vents were shot, and had formed their own eco-system. The cool thing was that I actually drove it up onto the trailer to get it home, and drove it around for about 10 minutes before parking it and starting the dismantling process, just to have that impression of smelly, underpowered classic beauty! I’ll never forget it! LOL! This is the first installment on the progress of LPGT to the point where it sits now…. I’ll drag up some cool photos to show as well.
Isn’t this fun? cars become family, I don’t know how that works.
KT.