Saturday 18 December 2010

New years freeze and rest of January

1952 ragtop beetle has been stripped and all the paint removed by soda blasting.

Split screen barn door camper has now had the top coats of paint applied.

Covers are off of the E Type jag and we've been busy tidying and fettling.

1972 bay window VW camper in for major refurbishment and respray - welding work progressing.

White 1970 bay window - all mechanical work complete and now a body refurb and respray required.

Jaguar XK8 in for minor repairs.

Morris Minor convertible - Remove the masonry paint accidentally oversprayed onto it.

1970 Beetle in for seized gearbox.

Daimler Sovereign 4.2 - head gasket replacement.

November November

1963 Daimler 2.5 V8 now fully refurbished and fitted up. Awaiting mechanical fine tuning and final testing.

1973 green bay window VW camper welding work being progressed.

E type Jaguar V12 in for light upgrades and minor refurbishment.

1976 Daimler Sovereign in top coat of paint and resting prior to fitting up.

1963 Split screen VW camper in for braking and mechanical work and completion of internal fittings.

1952 Split rear oval window Beetle in for extensive restoration and bare metal respray.


Octoberfest

Total cars in the workshop today.

1957 MG Magnette ZB completed and awaiting collection by new owner.

1966 Mercedes Benz 250S now fully refurbished.

1966 Daimler V8 250 in top coat of paint and 'resting', prior to fitting up.

1990 Daimler Sovereign XJ6 body refurbishment nearly completed and soon to be prepared for repainting.

1959 Bedford CA camper in for rectification of MOT failure items.

1972 Bay window camper van for MOT repairs, light welding, engine replacement and front axle beam replacement.

1976 Brazillian split screen camper for refurbishment and respray.

1978 Karmann cabriolet Beetle for mechanical repairs and correction of numerous faults.

1992 Land Rover Defender 90 for replacement of complete rear cross member.

2009 BMW 520D in for repairs to scrapes on side skirt and rear bumper.

1973 Bay window camper van in for full body restoration and complete respray.

Camper van assortment


A mix of VW camper vans in for an assortment of works from engine rebuilds to restoration.

Phot'os of the more interesting projects to be added to our photobucket site soon.


Porsche 993 911

Porsche 911 (993 model) in for refurbishment of front panels. Removal of minor stonechips and upgrade to higher standard of paint finish. Replacment of trim beading.

Slideshow of work available at:



Daimler V8 250

966 Daimler V8 250 in for complete Soda Blast strip of entire car exterior to bare metal. extensive rerstoration over entire body. Refurbishment of leather upholstery and door panels. light mechanical work. full respray to collection standard.



History of work also available in photo format at:

Mercedes Benz 250s

1966 Mercedes 250s in for refurbishment of lower panels and weld repairs to all corroded areas on lower panels. Bare metal respray to lower panels below waistline. Light refurbishment to interior woodwork and mechanical repairs.

Photo history of work available at:



VW bay window camper van

1972 VW camper (bay window) in for extensive restoration of the whole van to include reconstruction of corroded rear chassis sections, replacement of all exterior lower panels, entire front clip and both rear quarter panels to roof height. Further welded repairs to additional corroded areas. Full respray and various suspension work etc.







Photo history of works also available at:





Humber Super Snipe

1960 Humber Super Snipe series 3 estate in for mechanical overhaul following dry storage for the past 15 years, welding repairs to lower panel corrosion and repaint from waistline to lower edges. Waxoyl protection and bodyguard protection of affected areas.








Photo history of work also available at:

Porsche 356c

1963 Porsche 356c in for complete nut and bolt strip down, extensive structural, mechanical and interior restoration and bare metal respray. Completed to museum collection standard.












Porsche 356a

1958 Porsche 356a in for light restoration and weld repairs to exterior panels and respray to show standard.







Photo history of works also available at:

Tuesday 6 April 2010

Volksworld 2010


March 27th - 28th.

Sandown Park Racecourse.

The first Major Air cooled VW show of the year.

Volksworld 2010.


An hour before the doors open for this huge season opening event in the air cooled calender, the finishing touches have been put on the Sterling Automotive stand and it's time to take a stroll around to see what's on display. The expected array of jaw dropping beauty in the halls. Frantic activity from the event organisors, catching up on last minute detailing. A veritable chain gang, streaming box after box of rarity items up to the the swap meet area. A quick glance outside the front doors and it seems that the show's actually already in full flow.

Why wait for the doors to officially open to start looking around. You've got the camping area, the visitors car park, the (unofficial) car boot sale and most importantly, the cars for sale zone all to be perused.

Oh yes, Veedub enthusiasts don't waste precious time standing in line. they've got work to do!

The experienced show visitors at Volksworld know to arrive early. In fact the night before makes sense. Those that decide to lay in, take a relaxed breakfast, watch a few cartoons on telly and and hit the road mid morning however, (eg. my wife and 6 year old Son) were able to enjoy a two and a half hour queue to get into Esher.

It was a rather quiet day on Saturday morning. Not the Volksworld show, that was packed! No, I mean the Sterling Automotive stand. Why did so few people want to come onto the stand? Why was nobody asking questions, telling me about their projects and enquiring about our work loadings? Time to take a walk and look from a distance. Suddenly the issue became clear to see.
Flags!


 Keen to get the crucial words 'Sterling Automotive' as prominent as possible, I'd posted a pair of feather flags at the front of the stand and they had been acting as sentries, gently turning the visitors at the slightest of angles away and around the frontage, diverting the public gaze toward the show cars opposite.

Flags moved to more suitable 'subliminal message' locations further down the hall and the tide is turned on the Sterling stand. Suddenly, the type 2 splitty at the back of the stand is being noticed and admirers are having to push past the crush surrounding the 1952 floor pan and freshly painted body shell.

Moral of the story....   Less is more.