Buffest 2011- The NEWEST Buffeast- Lamborghini/DeTomaso/SL300 Gullwing/Ghia and more.

Prologue

A few, few days ago...
In an area far, far away (from the equator)...

Dr. X, once called Mr. X, had recently returned from a holy voyage deep into the land of Automobili. He spoke of his adventures in his infamous monotone, sharing tails of custom pistons, old men with radiators, and women dressed in logos. I didn`t believe him. He spoke of a fine old sage, named Sir Enzo Tajerhiro Bristol Vagnale III who honored him with the title "Doctor". The only difference I noticed was Dr.X often wore a paper bag on his head and mimicked the mechanical breathing sounds of Darth Vader.

When I asked about the above breathing sounds his response was terse, "I am not breaking, I am a large displacement piston creating a vacuum during the down stroke, filling my cylidner with a glorious mixture of fuel and air, primed for a glorious explosion." Mr....errrr Dr.X`s `holy voyage` must of have been more like a peyote trip in the New Mexico desert I thought.


Day One: A New Hope.

In the twelve months that had passed since my last trip to Area 51, Dr. X`s collection had grown. Additionally Dr.X has purchased an additional storage area to house the ever growing collection and had requested his crew hand neon lights about the place. More proof of peyote influence.

The frigid atmosphere filled my lungs as I exited my transport to the secret location. Round 4.

The first step was to unpack all of the supplies needed to tend to the collection.

Any empty table (how clever)

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Mikey and I started by unpacking the polishing pads.. A mixture of 4, 5, and 6 inch Lake Country pads in every color of the rainbow as well as Lake Country H20 pads and Lake Country`s 1Pad polishing system.

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We also unpacked our cleaning chemicals and abrasive papers. The line up included products from Meguiar`s, Optimum, Pinnacle, PS21s and Blackfire.

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Polishing and compounds used were from Meguiar`s, Menzerna, or Blackfire.

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The Ford RS 200 "Evolution"- The fastest accelerating car built until the McLaren F1.

Ford decided to rally race in the mid 1980s. In 1987 Ford built 24 RS Evolutions for road use in Europe. Featuring a wild 550-615 horsepower engine and a curb weight less than 2400 lbs, magazine tests had the car hitting 60 from a stop in under 2.5 seconds running 10 second 1/4 miles. This built in the day when Porsche was king with their 450 horsepower 959...
The Guiness Book of World Records listed the RS 200 Evolution as the fastest accelerating production vehicle in the world for 12 years.

Since it was never sold in the US and since only 24 were built you may have never heard of it, but it makes WRX owners shake at night.

The RS 200 was washed with Optimum No-Rinse and clayed by Mikey using Pinnacle Clay.

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A fair amount of contamination had gathered in the 25 years since it was built.

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The defects where impossible to capture in the lighting and Dr.X had ordered only a minor clean up since this car will be used on the road. Meguiar`s M105 on a Flex PE 14-2-150 rotary and a LC tangerine pad cleaned up 95 percent of the defects and Blackfire Finishing Polish via a gray pad on the same machine gave the white a nice glow. 2 coats of Blackfire Wet Diamond sealed in the shine.

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Day one came to a swift and easy ending. I felt refreshed and ready for the challenges that lay ahead. I stayed at Mikey`s place, an old paint and body shop turned into a house, named The Lair. Next to my bed sleep and old Abarth Double Bubble. I tucked myself into bed and drifted off, thinking of the Buddy "The Rocky Mountain Legend" and the beautiful, warm Carolinas.


Day Two: Let`s ghia rocked...

I arrived at Area 54 and was anxious to see what was next in the studio. I was hoping for something small, tiny, and dark in color. Instead I met the Ghia 450 SS Convertible.

The Ghia 450 SS Convertible.

Ghia is a famous coach builder from Italy and was noted for building some beautiful automobiles for Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and even Volkswagen. The Ghia 450 SS is the only automobile that was ever labeled as a Ghia, making it the only production Ghia built. Only 52 of these hand built Italian exotics, this example featuring an optional hard top. The powertrain is actually a Mopar Commando V8.

History aside, this car was in rough condition, with deeper scratching all over the paint. After a bath in the new Blackfire shampoo and a thorough application of the clay bar I got to work. Meguiar`s M105 and a wool pad made quick work of most of the deeper marks, wielded on the venerable FLEX PE 14-2-150 rotary polisher.

This was followed with Meguiar`s M105 and a Orange Light Cutting pad on the FLEX rotary, and finally Menzerna P085rd on a crimson pad via the Porter Cable. This was topped with two coats of Blackfire Wet Diamond All Paint Protection.

The begging condition: the best I could capture on red.

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And after three rounds of paint correction.

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Working the hood of the Ghia SS with the FLEX rotary and a Lake Country 1Pad Wool pad.

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The FLEX PE 14-2-150 offered perfect control during the second stage of polishing, here using a 5.5 inch pad on the tiny lip of the trunk.

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Working across the trunk while Mikey (far right and barely visible) handles the hand polishing duties around the tail lights.

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50/50 of the door, before/after...

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The large surface area of the Ghia SS took nearly a full day to complete the first two stages of polishing. At 10:00 PM we packed it up and called it a night. The temperature had dropped considerably since the first day and it spent of most of the night covered in 4 blankets, dreaming of the Florida beach and direct sun.

Day Three: Finish the GHIA already.

Day three started promisingly enough. Dr. X was in a grand mood, enjoying his new paper bag mask. The Ghia was near complete. Life was good.... Until we removed the hard top from the Ghia and reveled a mess of paint work underneath.

First the rear decklid hand a lot of shrinkage and texture.

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And the line the hard top rested on had become so chaffed it was dull and non-reflective. (notice the pebble like texture of the paint to the left and the line of dull paint to the right).

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The problem areas where sanded with Meguiar`s 1500 uniGrit by hand. Then the deck lid was dampsanded with a Meguiar`s 3000 uniGrit finishing disk via DA. The rear stripe was handed sanded with Meguiar`s 3000 uniGrit hand paper.

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Several passes with Meguiar`s M105 and a wool pad removed the sanding marks and cut the paint restoring its gloss. Dr.X hissed over my shoulder (through his paper bag) that he was pleased.

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The resulting finish on the decklid was much better and now matched the relatively flat texture on the rest of the Ghia.

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After finishing the rear strip I final polished the Ghia with Menzerna`s excellent PO85rd and a crimson pad via Porter Cable.

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After two coats of Blackfire Wet Diamond, Rory and Geoff reinstalled the trim pieces. The wheels were cleaned with P21s gel and the tires received Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Dressing. Final pictures...

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In the new storage unit.

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Dr. X was so pleased with the results that he snort laughed, blowing a hole in his paper bag mask, then offered a ride in the De Tomaso Prototype Sport 2000. It was freezing out; As Dr. X donned his familiar blue mask I put on a black cap with an angry face. It was really cold for my Florida blood.

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Geoff made a last minute check, then handed my a fire extinguisher, and wished me luck, "If it catches on fire, get out, aim and squeeze the trigger."

It was at this point Dr. X announced the De Tomaso`s breaks `went to the floor` but it was okay because he had driven with out breaks before. He through his evil head back in in laughter when I asked if we would be going slow.

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After blasting down a stripe of concrete at nearly 80 mph, then skidding through a couple of turns, my angry face flipped inside out to reveal a big smile. We make it back safely, thanks to careful application of the emergency brake.

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Dr.X was reinvigorated and found the motivation to create a new paper bag. He is driving up the new project, the De Tomaso Sport 1000.

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After thoroughly washing the body and claying the car with Pinnacle Clay, we called it a cold night and headed home. Dr. X was later reported on the news as frolicking through the country side, signing the praises of De Tomaso.

Day Four: From Argentina to Italy to the Great White North

Alejandro De Tomaso was an import to Italy from his native Argentina. In the mid 1960`s Alejandro began working on sport prototypes that he hoped would spawn a new racing series. Each of these prototypes featured coach built Italian bodies, powerful motors, and light weight. Dr. X owns both of them.

1963 De Tomaso Fantuzzi Sport 1000 BRM

The De Tomaso Sport 1000 is the prototype that toured Europe in an attempt to create interest in De Tomaso`s idea for a racing series. The bodied was designed and built by the famous Italian coach builder Fantuzzi, but the Sport 1000 proves that beauty is more than skin deep. This is the only Sport 1000 left with the original BRM 998cc I4 racing engine. It develops more than 120 horsepower at 9800 RPM and has more in common with modern sport bikes then engines of its era. Weighing less then 1000 pounds, the Sport 1000 accelerates like a race car as well.

Dale and Geoff started by removing the lights and trim work.

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The Sport 1000 was then carefully washed with Optimum No-Rinse and lightly clayed with Blackfire PolyClay II. Numerous deep scratches and swirl marks were polished away with Meguiar`s M105 on a Lake Country Wool Pad. This is was followed with Meguiar`s M105 on a Lake Country Cyan H20 pad with the Flex rotary. Final polishing was done with Blackfire Finishing Polish on a Lake Country Gray Finishing Pad, also done on the Flex Rotary.

The before condition of the paint.

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After three stages of machine polishing.

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The front cover had to be wetsanded to even the texture of the paint to other panels. The polishing process took all of day four, and eager to escape Dr.X`s increasingly bad breath we retreated home for the night.


Day Five: More De Tomaso!


The sound of the waves gently rolling to the beach... A palm tree blowing in the gentle breeze... Sea gulls gliding across the sky, avoiding teenagers armed with Alka-Seltzer... Beautiful women, clad in well fitting bikini`s ignoring the comments of twisted old men. It was good to be home in Florida. I smiled, then was rustled awake to the sound of my alarm clock.

It took several minutes for the dream of Florida to evaporate from my mind, and only two seconds of observing the fresh snow through the window to remind myself I was far away from home: In the land of Buddy.

Polishing the Sport 1000 had taken most of day four, listening to Dr.X`s tales of grandeur had taken the rest.

I arrived at the hanger, applied two coats of Blackfire Wet Diamond and proceeded to take pictures of this amazing little vehicle.

The original decal, placed by Alejandro De Tomaso had been preserved even though the automobile had been repainted. It now lays safely under several coats of clear and the original paint underneath is blended flawlessly into the new paint that surrounds it.

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Beautifully sculpted vents cool the powerful BRM engine.

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Dr.X likes his paint shiny and everything else dull. I enlisted Mikey to hand polish the brake lines and master cylinder. Dr. X almost fainted (seriously).

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The low slung body comes almost to my thigh in height. By Canadian standards it`s tall.

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As Mikey got to work prepping the next automobile I caught a quick nap (mouth open, drool removed in photoshop) a Ford GT-40.

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1964 De Tomaso Sport 2000

The Sport 2000 was the evolution of the Sport 1000 from a year previous. a new body, designed by Ghia was fitted to a titanium frame. A powerful 1998 cc Flat 8 developing 208 horsepower was fitted to the chassis (these engines were later replaced by Cosworth 4 cylinders after reliability problems).

The single stage red paint on the De Tomaso Sport 2000 had numerous deep scares and marks requiring upwards of 3-4 passes with Meguiar`s M105 Ultra Cut Compound and a wool pad.

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Melanie, now on her 3rd buffeast and Mikey both pitched in with polishing duties, helping to keep us on schedule. Melanie followed me by using Menzerna Super Intensive Polish via a Porter Cable and a Lake Country Tangerine H20 pad. Mikey followed behind her using Blackfire Finishing Polish on a Porter Cable using a Lake Country Crimson H20 pad.

With the De Tomaso Sport 2000 nearly completed we packed up our bags and called it a night. I drove home in the snow, almost wrecked Mikey`s truck doing donuts in the snow, and skidded to a stop outside his house.


Day Six: More of the same.

The temprature continued to drop outside Area 54 while the red paint continued to bleed from the De Tomaso. The paint was hard and the marks were deep, but my the middle of day six we were finished polishing the paint. Two coats of Blackfire Wet Diamond finished were applied to highly reflective paint.

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A lot of Italian red in this picture. The De Tomaso and Ghia (below) have been down. The extremely rare Lambroghini Countach Low Body loomed ahead on the list.

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Original Paint 1963 AC `Ace` Bristol Pebble Beach Survivor Class Best in Class.

The AC Ace is the car that is most famous in the States for becoming the AC/Shelby Cobra and Shelby 427 Cobra. Dr.X already owns the finest original paint 427 Cobra in the world and decided he would like to own the finest orignial paint ACE in the world. The fact that this car was powered by a Bristol 6 cylinder, was a Pebble Beach winner, and was the same exact color as his Cobra sealed the deal.

Jeff, Dale, and Rory removed all of the trim including the bumpers, windshield frame, and emblems.

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Dave, a norther person with a thick German accent, and expert coach builder lent a hand removing numerous pings and dents.

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The paint was meticulously cleaned using the Blackfire Wet Diamond Waterless Wash (to be released early 2012). With an original car of this vintage I prefer to avoid any saturation as rust becomes a big concern. That and Dr. X would slap me (twice).

Pinnacle Clay and Lube was used to remove nearly 50 years of contamination while remaining safe for the paint due to its mild nature.

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The British Racing Green color (colour), despite it`s age was near identical to the paint on the 427 Cobra I polished two trips previous. It cleaned up extremely easily with a minimal amount of material removed. Minus numerous deep scars and several blisters from rocks impacting the thin aluminium body, the Ace glowed when completed.

Menzerna Super Intensive Polish on an Orange Lake Country Pad remove the overwhelming majority of paint defects and restored gloss while maintaining a maximum amount of the original lacquer on the car.

Menzerna PO85rd on a Lake Country Crimson Pad applied by a Porter Cable amped the gloss slightly and left the paint looking dripping yet.

The before condition of the paint under a metal halide light.

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After polishing with Menzerna Super Intensive Polish.

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A 5.5 inch pad and creative thinking allowed for even the most isolated spots to be restored.

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The before condition of the paint.

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After SIP.

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After final polishing with PO85rd.

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Another, more flattering view of the paint after being polished. Not too bad for 50 years!

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Day Seven: Out with the old, in with the older.

Day seven started early enough. Dr.X had gone back to wearing his blue mask and rambling indiscriminately among the different units in Area 54. Mikey and I got to work finishing the AC "Bristol" Ace.

Two coats of Blackfire Wet Diamond and Opti-Bond on the tires finished the work. Geoff and Dale reinstalled the trim.

Note: All final pictures where taken on the last day, note how much glossier the Lambroghini Countach looks.

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Geoff was so impressed with the finish on this 50 year old beauty that he decided to slam Mikey`s head in the door for good measure.

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With the work complete on the AC "Bristol" Ace we turned back time.


The 1954 Tojerio-Bristol Sports Racer

John Tojerio was the gentleman who designed the original AC Ace in 1953. AC stole the idea from him, so he returned with a vengence with the Bristol Sports Racer in 1954. It would take AC years to install the powerful Bristol motor in the ACE; Mr. Tojerio did it the next year. This gorgeous Tojerio-Bristol Sports Racer is one of 3 ever built.

Mikey, Dale, and I started by taping off much of the trim and openings.

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We also covered the glorious Bristol engine.

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Mikey and Dale got work giving the Tojeiro a gentle ONR bath.

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Mikey and Dale clayed the paint with Blackfire PolyClay II using Meguiar`s M34 Final Inspection.

Polishing duties where handled between Mikey, Mel, and myself. The hard paint required several applications of Meguiar`s M105 and a wool pad, handled by a Flex Rotary. Intermidate polishing was handled with a Menzerna Power Finish and a cyan cutting pad on a Porter Cable, and final polishing was done with a Crimson pad on a Porter Cable.

Several pictures of the before condition of the paint.

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After.

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Melanie working Menzerna PO85RD...

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The hard paint meant took the remainder of day seven to nearly complete.


Day Eight: Every trip has one.

Day eight started by finishing a couple of areas of the Tojerio, washing it with ONR, and applying two coats of Blackfire Wet Diamond.

Mikey started by removing the plastic covering.

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The detailed Bristol engine was kept in pristine condition.

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As was the access portal to the fuel tank and differential.

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Wiping off the Blackfire...

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Final Pictures.

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Every trip has it`s challenges. With day eight fading into a memory I met my challenge.

The 1978 Lamborghini Countach LP-400S Series One `Low Body`

Dr. X was emphatic about this car. It is among the favorite in his collection, and to date proved to be one of the most unique car`s I have ever detailed.

Prior to the mid 1980s, Lambroghini`s were built in small numbers. Only 237 LP-400S Countaches where built. Of those only 105 where Series One Low Bodies. This Lambroghini features any extremely rare "magnesium" option, fitted to only 14 Countaches, ever. The wheels and suspension are made of the light weight metal, shaving 400 lbs off a regular Countach. The Low Body design means it sits nearly 1.5 inches lower that other series of Countach. And perhaps most striking of all, this Countach still wears 100 percent original paint in really good condition.

Countaches are almost famous for the poor quality of paint they had (particularly in the 1970`s). Many have been repainted, fixed, and molested. In Dr.X`s words, "Treat this car like a forensic crime scene."

Typical (ie shoddy) body work was visible under the enamel paint. I was under strict orders to keep this patina and return this to the factory standard. "Do not remove any sanding marks, do not flatten the texture, do not ruin this car in anyway, shape, or form. With only 1000 miles, this is the Countach that others will seek when doing a full restoration. This is a time capsule," warned Dr. X.


To attack the numerous small panel lines I had Rory custom fabricate a 3 inch backing plate and cut some pads down to 3.25 inches in diameter. Having a world class fabricator helps out!

He started with an old Softbuff Meguiar`s buffing pad with an integral backing plate.

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And with his wizardry ended with this...

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The Coutach was carefully washed using Blackfire Wet Diamond Waterless Wash and clayed using only the mildest clay: Pinnacle.

Some before photos.

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Removing surface defects with out altering the surface texture requires a slightly different technique. Wool was used with low speed during the cutting and polishing phase to prevent leveling the paint.

The first step was Meguiar`s M105 on a Lake Country 1Pad Wool pad at 800-1000 rpm using firm pressure.

The second step was Menzerna Power Finish on a Lake Country Purple foamed wool pad at 800-1000 rpm using firm pressure.

The final step was Menzerna PO85rd on a Lake Country Gray Pad using 800-600 rpm, a long work time, and low pressure. All polishing was done on this Lambroghini using the FLEX PE 14-2-150 rotary.

Near the headlight bucket. The right side is the before, the left side is the after.

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50/50 photo with the before on the right and the after on the left.

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Close up photo of the same area.

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Progress on the Lamborghini was painstakingly slow due to the caution required. I was able to finish most of the front by then end of day eight.

Days Nine and Ten: Rosso A`more

The ninth and tenth day were filled with single stage paint, caution, and numerous naps in the GT-40. The numerous `tight` areas of the Countach required as much time as larger panels, extending the polishing and restoration into a two and a half long days. The total time invested was over 30 hours.

The back of the LP-400S Low Body.

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After polishing and restoration.

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Every square inch of the exotic was restored.

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The red (Rosso) paint made capturing the condition of the paint difficult. Before...

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/124.jpg


After...

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/125.jpg


The door before....

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/126.jpg


And after...

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/127.jpg


The fender before...

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/128.jpg


And after...

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/129.jpg


I am convinced that Bertone Desigino went out of their way (and continues to do so today) to create engine covers that are near impossible to restore or polish. It is amazing to me how something so small in side can be so difficult to and time consuming to work on. Each face of the complex panel had to be separately. It required removal and over 5 hours of work to get correct.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/130.jpg


Five painstaking hours later.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/131.jpg


A different view showing how complex the engine cover really is...

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/132.jpg


Finally the polishing and restoration was complete. With engine cover carefully installed the Lamborghini was carefully washed with Optimum No Rinse and dried using Meguiar`s M34 Final Inspection. The second coat of Blackfire Wet Diamond has just started to be removed (driver`s side fender) in the picture below.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/133.jpg


After pictures.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/134.jpg


The "low body" design.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/135.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/136.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/137.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/138.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/139.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/140.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/141.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/142.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/143.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/144.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/145.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/146.jpg


Day Eleven: Dr.X`s mysterious friends.

Apparently Dr.X has friends who have really cool cars. One of these gentleman, Rob, has several cars that are not only really cool, but could use a fine polishing. Upon hearing of his friendship with Dr.X, I poiletly refused, but after seeing the automobiles, I knew I couldn`t resist.

"I don`t care if you ruin these," Dr.X snickered.

The 1955 Mercedes Benz SL300 Gull-Wing.

Honestly this is a car that needs no introduction. Gorgeous body lines... check. First fuel injected (direct injection) car ever built... check. Cool gullwing doors built around the first mono-cock chassis... check.

This Gullwing was painted a rare mint gray/green and features a delicious red interior. Rare options include the valuable Rudge (57k!) wheels and Sport Camshaft.

Mikey prepped the paint by washing the Gullwing with Optimum ONR and taping all of the trim.

I handled the light polishing duties with Menzerna SIP and an Orange Light Cutting pad on a FLEX rotary. Melanie handled the final polishing with Menzerna PO85rd. Mikey hand polished the paint on the wheels with Meguiar`s M105 and Menzerna PO85rd. After polishing the paint we washed the Gullwing with ONR and applied two coats of Blackfire.

We worked late and finished at 2:00 AM.

Polishing with Super Intensive Polish.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/147.jpg


The trim fully taped thanks to Mikey.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/148.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/149.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/150.jpg


The best I could capture the condition of the paint. Yellow halogens and light silver/green metallic make it difficult.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/151.jpg


After.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/152.jpg


After pictures, taken at 2 AM, day eleven.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/153.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/154.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/155.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/156.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/157.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/158.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/159.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/160.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/161.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/162.jpg


Using the flash added something "magical" to this picture, or at least I think so. This is perhaps my favorite picture I have ever taken of any automobile I have ever worked on.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/163.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/164.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/165.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/166.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/167.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/168.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/169.jpg


Day Twelve: Dr.X`s friend Redux


With the Gullwing complete and my time in Area 54 running down we started work on another cool car belonging to Dr.X`s `so-called` friend.

The Austin Healey 100M

The black Austin Healey 100-4M is considered one of the pinnacles in British road car design. Featuring a powerful, 115 horsepower 4 cylinder, and unique features like a fold down windshield and an automated overdrive these cars are as fun to ride in as they are to look at. The black paint on this one had serious issues (probably related to their funny English accent).

Rob, the owner washed the car, and Geoff removed some trim (including the windshield) and taped the rest.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/170.jpg


The Halogen lights revealed the true nature of the finish.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/171.jpg


I started the cutting by making 3-4 applications of Meguiar`s M105 on a wool pad with the FLEX PE rotary.

Prior to cutting.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/172.jpg

The resulting finish.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/173.jpg


Melanie followed behind me using Meguiar`s M105 on a Tangerine polishing pad, also using a FLEX PE rotary. The resulting finish.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/174.jpg


Finally we split final polishing duites with Blackfire Finishing Polish and a Crimson H20 pad applied with a Porter Cable.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/175.jpg


By 11 PM most of the crew had left. It took me until almost 3:30 AM to finish polishing. Then the Healey was washed with Blackfire Gloss Shampoo, the tires were scrubbed with Meguiar`s APC, and two coats of Blackfire Wet Diamond. The resulting pictures (the next day after Geoff re-installed the trim).

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/176.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/177.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/178.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/179.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/180.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/181.jpg


The hood and small areas were handle polished by Rob and Mikey the day previous. The louvered hood required a LOT of time but looked amazing when done.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/182.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/183.jpg


Some photo`s with Dr.X`s new disco inspired neon lights.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/184.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/185.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/186.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/187.jpg


Day Thirteen: This is the end

I feel asleep for a couple of hours at the end of day twelve. I dreamed of Jim Morrison`s baritone voice singing The End, of Bell attack helicopters spraying napalm, and of Marlon Brando controlling a group of Cambodian guerrillas.

I awoke tired but ready for the final day. I arrived at Area 54, snapped some pictures of the Tojerio, the Bristol, the Ford, and the GHIA. Let`s back it up and call it a trip.

"Not so fast," Dr.X snickered.

"What?!"

"I want you to clean the paint on the Bizzarrini."

"That weird looking car with the bad paint?" I asked.

Dr.X`s yellow eyes grew distant, "No homer, it`s BE-UUUUT-IF-FUL."

1966 Bizzarrini 5300 GT America

Giatto Bizzarrini was an engineer for Alfa, Ferrari, and ISO before starting his own company in the 1960`s. He produced several advanced cars, including the gorgeous 5300 GT America. Powered by a 327 Corvette motor, the GT America was good to about 180 mph. This particular 5300 GT was featured in the introduction of the famous car movie Bullet. It used to be painted green.

The paint condition was rough, to say the least.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/188.jpg


Meguiar`s M105 on a wool pad, followed by Meguiar`s M105 on a Cyan H20 pad and a porter cable restored a considerable amount of gloss to the paint. Menzerna PO85 on a tangerine pad completed the restoration.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/189.jpg


In action. Melanie handled the compound duties with Meguiar`s M105 and a Flex PE rotary. Dale (near the very front) handle polishing duties with M105 and a Porter Cable. Mikey handled the final polishing duties with PO85rd and a Porter Cable.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/190.jpg


Mikey, Dale, and Melanie stopped to pose for a quick picture.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/191.jpg


The green paint, once worn on the Bizzarrini (during the movie Bullet), was still visible in the tail light recess.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/192.jpg


Time didn`t allow for any trim to be reinstalled, but the after pictures of the paint (after receiving a quick bath and 1 coat of Blackfire Wet Diamond).

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/193.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/194.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/195.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/196.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/197.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/198.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uf2011/199.jpg

The last picture was taken shortly before clicking off the lights and leaving Area 54 for the last time on this trip. Thanks for reading!

Simply Amazing!!!!!! A very interesting collection of vehicles under one roof!!!!!!
Incredible job......Awesome pictures.....

"I don`t care if you ruin these," Dr.X snickered.............That`s a true collector looking out for his friends...........Thank you Todd and hope Dr X aka Mr X is doing fine.:bigups

Reading this thread makes me jealous of all those beautiful cars you got to work on. Good thing you had some extra hands to help out. :yourrock

Man that must of been one hell of a workout. Great write up and great work.

Fantastic!!!!