View the Photo Album at our Facebook Page

We recently had an opportunity to visit our friends at Blast From the Past, a full-service shop in Pottstown, PA specializing in all types of collector cars including street rods, muscle cars, antiques and trucks. Inside this award-winning facility you’ll find various restoration projects ranging from vintage Fords, Camaros, and Mustangs on the lifts to a rare 1969 Torino in the paint room. It’s easy to see the quality craftsmanship that goes into every job, and their re-creation of the 69’er street rod is no exception.

The 69’er is a modified 1934 Ford Roadster made to resemble the original 69’er built in the early 1960’s by Mike & Larry Alexander, two brothers who specialized in custom modifications and builders of many trend-setting cars. Using the grill shell from the original car, the 69’er was completely reconstructed by hand and recently the winner of the 2012 Alexander Brothers Award of Excellence at the Detroit Autorama. Based on concept and detail, the 2012 Alexander Brothers Award was the last of its kind since the company’s recent acquisition by Classic Instruments.

When we asked Bill, the owner of Blast From the Past how they were inspired to build this car, he said, “We couldn’t have done this without the support of the owner, Chip Hoynitsky, who wanted to build the car in memory of his father, Big Stan Hoynitsky – the second original owner. This car was built as a tribute to Stan, Don Vargo (the original owner) and the Alexander Brothers”.

Winning this prestigious award was a complete surprise after hearing how the recipient was selected. “We knew the project had to resemble something that Mike and Larry would have built”, said Bill, “Since the 69’er was re-created we didn’t think we’d be considered. At the banquet, when Mike Alexander said “I know what these guys went through to build the car that’s getting the award this year” and announced us as the winners, I was so shocked I could barely get out of my chair”.

With quality in mind, this car was built with many WURTH products including Stone Guard, SKS, tracer wire, electrical connectors and an extensive amount of stainless steel hardware. The under floor is painted white and upholstered in white leather, and boasts a glove box signed by the Alexander Brothers, a grill constructed with stainless steel cabinet knobs and a gas tank underneath the antenna.

“What was so ironic was that Mike Alexander asked if he could sit in the car at the Awards Show – and he sat in there for 15 minutes, “Bill said, “When he got out, he said that that we got every detail from the original – even down to the paint. The car owner, Don Vargo, lost everything in a fire (only the original scrapbook remains) so the paint color was really a guess.”

Bill has had a passion for building custom street rods for over 35 years. Now 65, he started out of high school at 15 years old. After going into the military and doing restorations on Army vehicles during the Vietnam War, he later worked in body shops, Chevy dealerships, and finally bought his own service station in 1979. “I always loved restoring cars. I did it as a hobby working on projects for my buddies out of my garage at home until I finally opened Blast From the Past in 2000. Business kept growing and we kept moving. We moved to our third location 6 years ago and we continue to grow”.

Almost everyone on the team has been in the auto restoration business for 20+ years. “It’s hard to find qualified people to do this kind of work – it definitely requires a certain level of experience. But we still want to hire skilled young people to bring in new ideas,” Bill stated, “One of our newer techs, Steve came to us when we saw a VW he worked on that won several awards at the Autorama in Harrisburg”.

With the level of custom work required, customers get invoiced weekly for pay-as-you-go projects to keep them affordable. Since everyone is constantly getting ideas from other jobs they see at the shop, projects are always evolving.

Look for the 69’er in the Builders Showcase at the National Street Rod Association show in Louisville, KY or at the Blast From The Past Annual Open House and Car Show this summer. Visit their website at www.blastfromthepaststrods.com for more information. You can view the complete photo album of the 69’er on our Facebook page at facebook.com/wurthusa.

Well, not really…but you will see them on Discovery’s Velocity Channel on Monday nights at 9 PM starting on March 26th.

At WURTH USA, we have the privilege of knowing many customers who use their talents to give back to their communities. The group at K&L Chrome, a truck fabrication and repair shop in Florence, SC, is no exception. As the designers on Outcast Kustoms, a new show on Discovery’s Velocity Channel, they use their skills and experience to accomplish remarkable results for many different types of clients.

Their roots in the trucking industry and their sense of community help them understand what their customers are looking for on a human level, giving them the power to bring jobs to life through their creativity and expertise. As self-proclaimed “critics of their own work,” the group at K&L always sees room for improvement  – their only limits are their deadlines. “We have a lot of great craftsmen,” Kelvin Locklear, Lead Designer at Outcast Kustoms and Owner of K&L Chrome told us, “we never look at our projects as being complete – everything has room for improvement.”

Oustcast Kustoms, which debuts on March 26, showcases the various re-fab projects the group at K&L works on. Ranging from annual local charity to big-name gigs, none of them lack creativity. We had an opportunity to talk with Kelvin and hear first-hand what it’s been like so far. “It’s been an awesome process. We started on Trick My Truck on CMT and ended up with a one-show deal with American Trucker on Speed TV, where we got noticed by the Discovery Velocity Channel. It helped our business because it gave us an opportunity to show what we could do for our customers, and as a small shop we wouldn’t be able to afford that type of advertising. Now we’ve got another show and recently opened a second shop.”

As a fan of WURTH products, you’ll see Kelvin using them on the show throughout the season, his favorite being the shrink/solder/seal electrical connectors. “We also have several WURTH Tool Trolleys – they’re convenient and they definitely pack a lot of stuff.”

So what’s been the coolest project they’ve gotten to work on so far? Kelvin told us that we’ll see a lot of really great things on the show, but some of the best projects are the ones that bring him and his wife April back to their own childhoods with parents in the trucking industry. “At Speed TV, we got to work with a 28 year-old soldier stationed in Fort Bragg who remembered riding in his Dad’s Fed-Ex truck as a kid. That old truck was still in their backyard. So we worked on it and when he came home from his third tour overseas, they got to ride in it again, but this time he took his Dad for a ride.”

Stay tuned for more updates on Outcast Kustoms here at Garage Buzz. We’ll also be posting Kelvin’s tips and post-show guidelines throughout the season.

For more information on Outcast Kustoms, visit their website at www.outcastkustoms.com.

The UBM Toy Run of 2011 produced OVER 10,000 toy donations for less fortunate kids during the holidays this year!

It’s estimated that between 9,000-10,000 bikes made the trip to the Windsor Fairgrounds, making this run the largest in 30 years. The parade of bikes stretched almost 15 miles from the Civic Center to the Fairgrounds.

Darling’s in Augusta made an abundant contribution as well, asking all registrants at the 2011 All Mopar Car Show to donate one unopened toy in lieu of a registration fee for the Annual Toy Run.

Here’s a video of St. Nick himself leading nearly 650 bikes from the LA Harley Davidson dealership in Lewiston, ME to the Toy Run:

A satisfied customer with his restored 1954 Mercedes

We just had a chance to talk with Jeremy Goodspeed over at Goodspeed Motoring, the latest customer WURTH USA would like to shed the spotlight on.

Jeremy has been working on cars since he was just 16 years old. It was in those early years that he was first exposed to Wurth. “I’ve been using Wurth products for over 25 years. I started when I worked as a detailing assistant over at Showpiece Detailing”.  Showpiece specialized in prepping cars for Concour shows, as well as providing high-quality restoration and detailing services.

When providing these types of services, Jeremy made it clear that Wurth was his go-to vendor: “When the customers want quality, we go to Wurth.”

Jeremy worked his way up to Detailing Manager, went back to school, and took a smaller role with Showpiece in 1991.  Following school, Jeremy came back to the detailing profession in 1995 as a Concours judge with the Sports Car Club of America. During this time he also began his own business, Goodspeed Motoring. In late 1995, Jeremy bought Showpiece Detailing and merged it with Goodspeed Motoring.

Their mission in 1995 that still holds true today is simple: If you’re restoring an Old Time Classic, Goodspeed will be there for you along the way. From the products you need to the quality craftsmanship that’s required, you’ll need to look no further than Goodspeed.

When we asked about the relationship between Wurth and Goodspeed Motoring, Jeremy summed it up like this: “I’ve been impressed with every Wurth representative that has ever walked in my shop. They are quality people for a quality product. Gary Snead takes care of business. The relationship with Wurth USA works extremely well, in both directions.”

It was this partnerships that enabled Jeremy to further expand Goodspeed Motoring. In early 2001, Goodspeed began providing the tools and products needed for the hobbyist and do-it-your-self types looking for professional quality products.

When it comes to the local community, Goodspeed is very involved with children’s charities. As an active member of the North Modesto Kiwanis Club, he has volunteered his time, products, and services towards multiple programs geared to serve children in the local community and beyond. He also is involved in the annual American Graffiti Car Show as a co-judge. This is the only approved car show by creator George Lucas to raise money for childrens charities and to pay homage to an all-time American Film Classic. The 2-day venue showcases over 1000 cars and 100% of the proceeds go to local childrens charities.

Goodspeed Motoring offers quality work, products, and a positive footprint in the community. Wurth USA is proud to be in business with them.