Dude, I will NOT be getting a DELL…

 

A LETTER TO dell (SMALL LETTERS INTENDED):

I AM SICK OF dell TRANSFERING ME ALL OVER THE WORLD FOR ‘CUSTOMER SERVICE’. WHAT A FALSE TERM, IN THEIR CASE.

WE HAVE BOUGHT dell COMPUTERS EXCLUSIVELY FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW, AND SEEN/FELT THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE/PRODUCT QUALITY SHRINK EXPONENTIALLY AS TIME HAS GONE BY.

OVER THE COURSE OF MY TIME WITH dell, I HAVE HAD TWO MACHINES SHOW UP ‘DOA’, I HAVE HAD TO REINSTALL THE OPERATING SYSTEM ON TWO OTHER BRAND NEW MACHINES, RIGHT AT THE START. THIS TIME,  I AM CURRENLY AWAITING A THIRD REPLACMENT FOR A FAILED HARD DRIVE (BOUGHT INITIALLY FROM dell AS WELL) THAT LASTED ALL OF 3 WEEKS IN THE MACHINE I INSTALLED IT IN.

WHAT THEY DO NOT WANT TO ACCOUNT FOR IS THE FACT THAT I, AND I AM SURE MANY OTHERS, SPEND LITERALLY HOURS CHASING DOWN HELP FROM A COMPANY THAT FARMS ITS LABOR FORCE OVERSEAS AND WILL NOT PUBLISH A NUMBER THAT RINGS ANYWHERE IN AMERICA TO ALLOW FOR A COMPLAINT TO BE REGISTERED. THEY DO ALLOW FOR AMERICAN-BASED SUPPORT, ON THEIR MORE EXPENSIVE MACHINES, IF I WANT TO PAY FOR THAT PRIVELIGE.

IN MY CASE, I HAVE SPENT OVER 6 HOURS ON THIS PARTICULAR HARD DRIVE ISSUE, AND, AT MY CURRENT LABOR RATE OF $75.00 PER HOUR, THAT ADDS UP TO OVER $450.00 CHASING A SOLUTION TO A $100 PART FAILURE. DO THE MATH, dell. HOW SUCCESSFUL DO YOU THINK I WOULD BE IN ASKING FOR COMPENSATION FOR MY TIME? ARE YOU STILL LAUGHING?

IF I RAN MY BUSINESS IN ANY FASHION SIMILAR TO dell, I WOULD BE OUT OF BUSINESS IN SHORT ORDER. CUSTOMER SERVICE IS THE KEY TO LONGEVITY IN BUSINESS. IT IS JUST THE RIGHT THING TO DO.

dell, YOU ARE A SAD EXAMPLE OF AN AMERICAN COMPANY. YOU HAVE NO WAY TO CONTACT AN AMERICAN OFFICE OR PERSON, UNLESS I WANT TO PAY FOR THAT PRIVELIGE VIA AN EXTRA COST WARRANTY. IT IS NOT EVEN THE ‘AMERICAN’ ISSUE SO MUCH AS IT IT JUST BAD BUSINESS.

I AM NOT A HUGE PURCHASER. I MAY BUY ONE OR TWO MACHINES YEARLY, BETWEEN BUSINESS AND PERSONAL USE; SO MAYBE I JUST DON’T RATE ON YOUR ‘RADAR’. BUT, IF ENOUGH OF US ANGRY, DISATISFIED CUSTOMERS START SHOPPING ELSEWHERE, YOU WILL TAKE NOTICE. MONEY TALKS, APPARENTYLY LOUDER THAN ANY ‘CORPORATE CONSCIENCE’ THAT SHOULD BE GUIDING A BUSINESS TO DO THE RIGHT THINGS.

APOLOGIZING DOES NOT SEEM TO BE A PROBLEM: YOU DO IT ALL THE TIME AND PROFUSELY; BUT, IF CHANGE IS NOT A RESULT OF THE APPARENT REMORSE, THEN WHAT THE HELL GOOD IS IT? AT THAT POINT IT IS JUST EMPTY WORDS.

I TEACH MY KIDS TO NOT ONLY APOLOGIZE, BUT TO CHANGE THE BEHAVIOR THAT LED TO THE APOLOGY BEING NECESSARY. I SEE NO EVIDENCE OF THAT IN dell, OR ANY OF THESE LARGE, ‘GLOBAL’ CORPORATIONS. IT SEEMS THAT ALL THEY CARE ABOUT IS TO ‘MAKE THE SALE’, AT THE EXPENSE OF US, THE CUSTOMER.

WE TRULY ARE JUST A NUMBER TO THEM, ON THIER BOTTOM LINE. WE AS CUSTOMERS ARE SACRIFICED ON THE ALTER OF SHAREHOLDER PROFITS AND QUARTERLY GOALS. MAKE THE SALE, DEAL WITH THE FALLOUT LATER. AMERICA WAS NOT BUILT ON THAT FOUNDATION. I FEAR SHE WILL FAIL UNDER PHOILOSOPHIES SUCH AS THAT, THOUGH.

IF WE AS A COUNTYRY (PEOPLE, POLITICIANS, CORPORATIONS) ARE NOT WILLING TO BE THE BEST WE CAN BE, THEN WE WILL SURELY BE THE LEAST THAT WE CAN ATTAIN. WE WERE NOT FOUNDED ON MINIMALISM, BUT THE CURRENT PREVAILING ATTITUDE SEEMS TO BE TO DO WHAT YOU ‘HAVE’ TO DO AND NOTHING MORE; IN MANY  CASES, LESS. ALOT LESS.

IN SUMMARY, dell, I’M OUTTA HERE. I WILL SHOP ELSEWHERE WITH MY DOLLARS, AND TIME. DO YOU CARE ENOUGH TO MAKE ME CHANGE MY MIND?

 

RANDY BORCHERDING

Powerblock: Red Hot Meltdown

Make sure you tune in to Spike TV this Saturday and Sunday (October 17 and 18, 2009) as Mac and Shelley Bernd’s ‘32 Ford "Red Hot Meltdown" will make it’s TV debut on Powerblock. She’s a ‘looker’, so dont miss out!

Randy / Painthouse

We were Powerblocked!

 

The trip we took to Franklin, Tennessee to visit the RTM Studios for our Powerblock TV filming was finalized this last Saturday and Sunday, August 29/30th. The show featuring our ‘62 Vette project “$umday” aired on the Spike Network to much acclaim. The car looked phenomenal, and Courtney wasn’t bad either!

Other than the obvious humbling honor of having the work of Painthouse seen across the nation, and world, I suppose, something else has surfaced. I did not expect such a positive amount of feedback over the color on the car. 

Don’t misunderstand me, I love the color; heck, I made the color myself. And, it does what I wanted it to do: be classy, look like a candy finish without the hassle, be repairable, and be unique. When viewed in person, by far, the MOST asked question of the $umday is, “What is that color?” or some form of that question. I guess I didn’t expect that to carry through the airwaves and still be perceivable on television.

This (Dark Maroondy Pearl) is the fourth in a string of five custom colors we have created for our customers and their projects over the last couple of years. I think it is a great way to individualize the cars for their owners. We have two more on the way for our next two newest projects: a 1972 LeMans convertible and a1967 GTO.

I never intended to become a custom ‘paint mixer’, but I find it challenging and fulfilling at the same time. If you are looking for a unique interpretation of an original color, or a completely original shade for your ride, feel free to give us a call (281.477.7781), or email us on the interweb (randy@painthousetx.com) . We’ll be happy to try and help you get that extra “something” that your project deserves.

Take care all,

Randy / Painthouse

www.painthousetx.com

2009 Goodguys/Columbus is a Success…

We came, we saw… we drove the crap out of our cars.

The trip to this year’s Goodguys Columbus Nationals was out of this world. It was the first ‘vacation’ (albeit working) that my better (much) half, Jenn, and I had taken in a very long time. It is a good thing she is into cars, because we saw a seemingly endless supply of them.

The first leg of the trip was a convoy consisting of myself and Jenn towing the ‘70 Chevelle “Heavy Metal”  and Steve and Jenn Keffeler hauling their prize, the ‘62 Vette called “$umday”. We first headed to Nashville, Tennessee to have the car filmed on the popular Saturday cable automotive show, Powerblock TV. Along the way, we found all the rain that had managed to avoid visiting the Houston area.

Once in Nashville, we went to the secretive RTM Studios, in Franklin, Tennessee. There the ‘62 Vette was filmed for Powerblock TV. Courtney Hanson lent her charm, and looks, to the car as it spent about 4 hours in their studio. The show is scheduled to air August 29th/30th on the Spike network, so be sure to tune in.

The 4 shows RTM films there: Trucks TV, Extreme 4X4, Horsepower TV and Musclecar, each have their own fully equipped ‘shops’ within which each show is filmed. The host(s) actually do the work on the vehicles, which is impressive to me, as they are not just talent for the cameras.

While we were there, we met the executives from Royal Purple, a Houston-based high performance oil company. It is a small world! They found out we had used their power steering fluid in the ‘Vette, and the ‘70 Chevelle, and asked Steve if they could use the ‘Vette in a testimonial commercial. We finally relented and said ”Yes” (like we were going to say no!). They filmed the car, and ‘His Purpleness’, Steve, the next morning in the outer parking lot. All in all, a great trip with doors opened again.

While in Nashville, we did dinner with Kevin Tetz and his lovely wife Judy. He writes and hosts the ‘”Trucks TV” show and is how the doors have been opened for us at RTM. Thanks again, Kevin. We also did some cheesy, tourist stuff and spent an evening on Music Row. What a very cool, and nostalgic, place. We had good company, cold beer and great music. I’d do it again.

The next day, it was on to Ohio, but not before a  couple stops along the way. We first stopped at the National Corvette Museum (who knew we had one?), which was to me, quite a disappointment. We wanted to tour the Corvette plant, but GM was in the midst of their bankruptcy and had it shut down for the summer. After that, it was off the beaten path to Mammoth Cave, in Kentucky. I have always been fascinated by caverns, and this one was no let down. I have to wonder what it must have been like to be the first person to venture down in and explore these natural wonders. I think I’d be brave enough, but who knows? Would you?

After a night in Louisville, KY, we were off to Columbus, finally! We met up with our third couple, Mac and Shelly Bernd, at the hotel. They had arrived a few days earlier, and set up their trailer at the hotel. They are one of only two trailers that are allowed to open up and host people. It is always interesting to see who shows up to hang out and share in food and drinks in the afternoons. The parking lot is the scene of a ‘cruise’ every evening and the view at their trailer is second to none. All the cars cruise right past as we relax and enjoy the view.

The actual Goodguys event, held at the Fairgrounds, about 5 miles away, is just awesome. I have never seen such a collection of unbelievable cars/trucks/whatever in my life. The ‘Pro Pick’ area, as well as where the “Street Machine of the Year” and “Street Rod of the Year” are gathered, must be seen to be appreciated. The amount, and caliber, of cars is phenomenal.

All of the “Street Machine of the Year” candidates must complete 3 sessions on an autocross course. We had entered the Chevelle, and the ‘Vette, and both ready to run. Steve bested the Chevelle, by about 4 seconds, but either way, driving the Chevelle to its fullest was just a blast. It had never been driven to this extent, so it was quite a test.

Each session consisted of two laps around the course. By the third session, I had pushed the Chevelle pretty hard. It never blinked and did a great job. Steve, in the Vette, was really able to straighten out the curves and have a blast doing it. He even, unknown to himself at the time, took an extra lap on his second session! He went around 3 laps instead of two, lost in the fun! We had a great time teasing him, but I can’t say that i blame him.

Despite the cars, people, fun,  filming and travelling, I think the most memorable time for me will be watching Richard and Jean Tapia get in their Chevelle, “Heavy Metal”, and drive around the show. They have never driven the car, especially as a pair, so this was a special moment for me, at least. They have allowed us to use this car to open many doors for my company, and family, that would probably not have been opened otherwise. They didn’t drive it far, or fast , or for very long, but, to see them leave in it for a 30 minute cruise was the ‘cherry’ on the top of our ‘ice cream sundae’ trip.

I’ve rambled on enough, so take care all. Stay tuned for an update on the airing of the the ‘62 Vette’s film debut on Powerblock TV.

 

Randy / Painthouse

wwww.painthousetx.com

Off we go… again

Okay, so shoot me. I promised to blog more regularly, not knowing how ‘irregular’ my ‘regular’ actually is. It has been Easter since my last post, so I guess once every two months is about my speed.

My better half and I are currently prepping for our trip North to the Goodguys Nationals in Columbus, Ohio (July 10-12th). We are showing the ‘32 Ford “Red Hot Meltdown”, the ‘62 Vette “$umday” as well as our firstborn, the ‘70 Chevelle “Heavy Metal”. Our Interior God Extraordinaire, Ron Mangus, and his voluptuous wife Terry, are also flying out to take in the festivities.

On the way to Ohio, we will be taking a slight detour to the RTM Television Studios in Franklin, Tennesee. They are the creators/producers of the popular PowerBlock series of shows (Trucks, Muscle Car, Hot Rod TV and Xtreme 4×4). They will be filming the ‘62 Vette, along with Courtney Hanson, on July 7th. The air date is yet to be announced. We also have a date, August 17th, for the ‘32 to be filmed. The Chevelle was honored to be in their studios a couple years back. It continues to be an honor and another feather in our hat (who wears those hats anyway?) that we are proud of. Thanks again to my friend Keven Tetz, host of Trucks TV, for getting our foot in the door with Powerblock and believing in what we do. Kudos to you, Kevin.

The cool part of the Goodguys show is the driving, not to mention the host hotel parking lot event, which occurs in the late afternoons and well into the evenings. I have to wonder if people don’t come for that as much as the actual show itself.  It is an outdoor show, and it is required that you drive into the event.

Although the ‘32, and especially the Vette, have street miles on them, it has been awhile for the Chevelle. It debuted in California at the Super Chevy show in Pomona, taking home top honors of Best in Show and  Meguiar’s Gold Class award. Since that event, in 2005, we have done only indoor events. It’s time to get some sun on that black/candy orange skin!

We have upgraded the Chevelle’s Air Ride System to their most current products: Ride Pro and Level Pro. (Thanks to Jon at Air Ride for helping us out with some nagging ‘plungers’ in the solenoids.) We also replaced the two Optima batteries that I seem to keep having problems with this time trying Odyssey’s version of a ‘no-spill’ battery. Hey Optima rep, any clue to why these things keep losing their ability to hold a charge, even with a trickle charger on them at all times? I would love to know and welcome any help that can be given. We remounted them in the trunk using a pair of in house custom-made battery trays, along with cleaning up the wiring in the rear as well. Additionally, we made ‘hard’ radiator lines out of stainless tubing, and painted them gloss black. Finally, we connected and cranked up the stereo system, which we had never used to date! What a fantastic system. “Stereo” Bob Staudinger, you should be proud.

I have been putting some mild road time (okay, maybe ‘semi-mild’ might be more appropriate) on the car as well, and so far, so good. The Air Ride System is doing it’s job, the fluids are staying where they belong (in their respective areas of the car, no leaks to date), the sound system makes more noise than any human should be subject to and the engine is running to it’s potential.

No promises, I will blog as soon as I can again. We have shown at a couple local events lately and I need to update you, our loyal fans, how things went.

Tennessee and Ohio, here we come!

Take care all,

Randy / Painthouse

Giving credit where it is due…

Okay everyone, its Easter. We had, thanks to my favorite in-laws, a fantastic party out at their property west of Houston. The unofficial count was over 200 people. Every year this event gets bigger, and better, thanks to my wife, the planner of said party. She really knows how to make an event come alive.

I am posting this somewhat  unorthodox blog just to make sure it is known that I “get it”. By that, I mean I know from where my “blessings” flow. I may not be able to quote the Bible by chapter and verse, but I do believe it. I, and unfortunately, my family may not be regular church goers, but we do believe in God, Jesus and especially the ‘reason for the season’. I do have a prayer life, even if it is a relatively private one.

Our business is successful because God has chosen it to be. He has given me some talent, as well as surrounding me with very talented people. Most importantly, He allowed me to find my wife, Jennifer, without whom this would not be possible. She is my Secret Weapon in all this. (I guess it’s not a secret anymore, huh?) She keeps the family running when I work late, or for 7 days a week, or even overnight when needed. I get to travel to great shows out of our area and show off our works. All the while she is running my business, and my family, and seems to still like me! Other than the gift of Easter and the Resurrection, she is the greatest gift I could have ever been given. Oh yeah, the kids are in there somewhere, too!

I not trying to be ‘preachy’ or ‘religious’. I have been around people in our past experiences that constantly speak what we call Christianese. If they are moved to use a certain vocabulary, so be it. I guess it doesn’t flow naturally out of me. I don’t want my lack of ‘Christianese’  to be confused with the fact that I do believe I am Saved because I believe in  what happened a couple thousand years ago on a rugged old cross on a stormy morning in a land thousands of miles away. And I know that I do not deserve , nor can I earn, the gift that was given that fateful day.

Having said all these things, I want to wish everyone out there a Happy Easter. I hope in some small, or large, way, it is obvious to you and yours what this is all about. There has got to be something bigger out there for us; I refuse to believe it ends when we are put in a  box and buried six feet under. I have had too many unexplainable things happen to me to not believe in miracles. Nothing happens without a reason of some kind, whether we understand it at the time or not. But that is a subject for another blog!

Take care all,

Randy / Painthouse

The Long and Short of it…

Well, we have finally gotten paint on the ‘55 T-bird we are building for Penny and Richard Weiss as well as Jeff Lanier’s 54 Studebaker. As I reflect on the amount of time we have in these, and other, projects, it never ceases to amaze me the contrast between the time spent prepping the car for the paint process and the actual act of spraying the paint.

The prep process begins way back in bare metal. We spent a lot of hours, after the paint has been stripped off, getting the metal clean enough to seal it up in the initial coats of epoxy primer. Within this process are any combination of grinding, sand blasting or sanding via d/a or by hand. Bear in mind, this is all done after the initial stripping of the previous finish. Once the metal is as clean as it can be gotten, two coats of high-quality epoxy primer are applied as a sealer/moisture barrier and adhesion promoter. This step is critical and not optional in my humble opinion. Ultimately, this will be the foundation upon which we build our monument to reflectivity: the Paint Job.

After the metal is cleaned, we move on to metal replacement or repair. It is decided whether to repair the panel involved, or replace it, depending on our available options. Sometimes, with a popular car such as a Camaro or Mustang, decent (not good, but tolerable) replacement panels are available for, at least, the most problem prone areas; but, lately this includes just about every area of these common cars. These panels are not perfect. They ALWAYS need work to make them fit well, but if your car has has severe damage, or rust, it may be the best option. By “needing work” I mean that it could be necessary to cut and weld edges, tweak  the panel to remove twists in them, add or subtract metal, shrink or stretch panel flaws or maybe more. These parts should be viewed as starting points and nothing else. To be fair, the original cars did not have our current “Lexus” level of fit and finish anyway, so forgive me if I seem like a ‘hater’. I’m just talking the realities of it here. I do appreciate the availability of these parts over having to constantly hand fabricate patch pieces or cut up an original part that has long ago seen better days.

Once the metal is brought back into shape, and epoxy primer is re-coated over any part of the car where our work had  damaged or removed the coating, we can get into one of the most challenging and misunderstood parts of the process: Bodywork. There has long been a stigma of what proper bodywork technique is. Is it okay to coat a project in body filler (‘Bondo’, ‘pink metal’, ‘bodyman in a can’) and use that to refine the surfaces prior to block sanding? In a word: yes. But only if all the precautions are heeded and you don’t abuse the product. I have re-repaired more poor work from other “builders” than I care to remember because of body filler abuse. The next obvious question is, “What is ‘Bondo Abuse’?” Hey, thanks for asking. In my experience it means to keep the filler thickness to 1/4” or less. We, and most shops, use body filler as a ‘skim coat’ to even out the inconsistencies from panel to panel, as well as fine-tune the size of panel gaps, etc. It is not for hole filling, or the ‘artistic’ sculpting of missing features or shapes. I have seen the stuff over 4” thick at times. It is amazing how people abuse it, yet it actually holds up, at least temporarily. You should be able to get your panel fit and metal repairs to the point where 1/4” or less of filler will level out all the issues Will one ‘coat’ take care of it? Not usually. No matter how well you wipe in on, there will almost always be a low area, or some issue that needs repetitive applications. Just accept it and have fun. At this point you are taking what the original part gave you and making it better.

At the end of the filler work you may have small areas that need attention, or pinholes (air pockets the resulted  improper mixing) that need filling. There is another filler product that will help you refine your work to the point where primer can be applied. It is called ‘Poly Putty’ or “Body glaze” among others industry names. Basically, it is a body filler, just much more refined. It is smoother, and much more ‘runny’. It tends to level out on flat surfaces where regular body filler does not move once you have spread it. It also tends to sand easier as well. Once the putty/glaze has done it’s work, we reseal the repair panels with another coat of epoxy primer, give it enough time to dry, or flash off, and then apply the initial layers of the primer-surfacer that will be used via block sanding to further level the surfaces.

At the risk of boring you, I will bring this little session to a close. I will return soon with another chapter in our little book about priming, block sanding  and the things that move us closer to the goal here: the Paint Job.

C ya.

Randy

2009 Grand National Roadster Show is a success!

Another year is here. Another president is here. Another economy(or the lack thereof) is here . Another good showing for Painthouse is here.

We are freshly back from our trip to the Grand National Roadster Show in the legendary Pomona, California (say it like the Governator). We had two cars in this year’s event: the “32 Cabriolet (fancy schmancy for ‘convertible’) Red Hot Melt Down and $umday, a 1962 Corvette Roadster. This was the debut showing of the Corvette. Each car won first place in it’s respective class, and the Vette also took home a display trophy (way to go Steve and Jennifer Keffeler, the owners of $umday and builders of its display!).

This show is probably the most intense concentration of high quality vehicles you will find anywhere. It makes our local Autorama feel like a used car lot by comparison. It is also the home of the prestigious America’s Most Beautiful Roadster award, known as AMBR (amber).  We had hoped the ‘32 would be eligible for AMBR, but, alas, a textbook roadster has no side (door) windows, not even an opening for them. We would have had to make an additional custom set of doors (which one contender this year actually did) and that was just too costly considering the car is finished. We were content to compete in the ‘normal’ ranks, and took home a First Place as a result. Mac did an outstanding job of getting the car detailed and show ready, as I was buried in the prep of the ’62 Corvette, $umday. He trailered the car out solo, and his better half, Shelly, flew in Friday evening to join us at the show. Thanks for believing in us.

Our little Corvette project, $umday, was out in Rialto, California for the upholstery when we decided to debut it at the Grand National Roadster Show as well. Steve and Jenn drove the trailer out empty, except for his personally hand-made display, in expectation of bringing their first custom car home after the show. Little did they know that they would need to make sure there was room for not only the first place trophy but the award Steve won for his beautiful display. It was so classy and impressive that offers were made to purchase it on the spot as well as design and construct for others. I consider that the ultimate compliment. Their first show car, their first show, and First Place. Kudos to the Keffelers! Thanks for letting us help make your“$umday” into a “Here and Now”.

Despite the obvious thrill of flying in ‘under the radar’ and beating the best of the best, the real treat is getting to hang out with our friends and watch people enjoy the fruits of our labor. It was an honor to see Phil and Mary Leatherman, of Extreme Automotive, recognized as ‘Builder of the Year’. They deserved that a long time ago as they are truly salt of the earth as well as fun. Thanks for letting us into your world.

Well, that’s all for now. Stay tuned, as I promise to keep this bloggy thing updated this time! C ya. Randy

Busy last few months…

So here we are. Our new shop is built, despite all the intended efforts of Murphy and his laws, Ike the hurricane, weeks of power outages as a result of Ike’s whirlwind tour of our area, and the recent trip to Vegas to see the infamous SEMA show.

In our lives/business we have managed to accumulate alot of  ’stuff’. Moving it  and keeping it organized, as well as undamaged, is quite an undertaking. We managed to do so, as well as a task that I hope to never have to do again, de/reconstructing our heated paint booth. I propose that if I ever move or build again, I will just factor another booth into my plans. I have moved this on at least 3 previous times, so the fact that the booth is still in good shape and perfectly operational is a testament to it’s sturdiness and my abundance of good help (friends).

The hardest part of all is being out of business. I love what I do, and not being able to do it is frustrating. But it is a means to an end. Take the bad with the good and all that.

I will write again soon. Sorry for such a short ‘blog’. More to come soon…

Temporarily MIA…

Hey all,

Sorry I haven’t been around this ‘blogosphere’ lately. It has been really hectic here at Painthouse.

The weekend of August 1-3 found our upholsterer extraordinare, Ron Mangus, visiting the shop to work on our ‘62 Vette project named “$umday”. Ronnie came in to install the headliner in the hardtop and install the dash pad that he had previously covered in a beautiful dark brown leather at his shop in Rialto, California. After covering the replacement dash pad in leather, he shipped it to us in anticipation of his arrival on August 1. It was truly a pleasure to watch a professional at the top of his industry work his magic. Like all leaders, he makes it look so easy, and he it is obvious he still loves doing his work. We, along with the car owners, Steve and Jen Keffeler, took Ronnie out for some real Tex-Mex cooking Firday evening and then a local car show on Saturday night after some dinner and swimming at the Keffeler’s beautiful home. As a side note: the Keffeler’s have a salt water pool, versus a traditional chlorinated style, and it was fantastic. If I ever get to build a pool, I will follow their lead. Ronnie and his extremely talented crew will be doing at least the next 3 interiors on our upcoming projects ($umday/1962 Vette; Candy Apple Blonde/1957 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible and a 1955 Thunderbird yet to be named). Even though his shop is over 1500 miles away, his work ethic, integrity, quality results and reputation make the trip well worth the effort. You can check out his work at www.customautointeriors.com .

I have covered the ‘freinds’ portion of the title, now on to ‘dreams come true’. We have begun construction of our new shop…finally! It has been years of struggle, hard work, prayer and a little luck that have finally led up to us being able to build, and own, our own facility. We are building on property located behind our home, which is something we have wanted to do for a very long time. I have been a workaholic for so many years that I want the freedom to participate in my kids lives as they grow up. My oldest son unfortunately had to tolerate me working ALOT of hours, and holidays, as we built our business up from scratch. He understands and appreciates what it takes to be self-employed and I love him for that. I hope to be able to be more available to him and our two younger kids once this building is operational, while they still like me (at least I think they do!). If all remains on schedule, in about 4-5 weeks, we should have a brand new, 4000 foot facility to continue our life’s work in. Stay tuned for a more detailed update with some pictures.

Take care, world.

Randy