March 2000

Volume 2 Number 3

Who would ever thought of all of the details and painstaking preparation that goes into the restoration of a car! But that is exactly what we all became better acquainted with Saturday morning at the Antique Auto Restoration.

Randy Reed, the owner, spent 3 hours with some 15 members of the club taking us through each step of the restoration and building of a car.

How do you get all the paint off? Can I use Bondo or some other type of filler to repair imperfections? How thick can it be? What is the best type of primer to use? How long does it take to restore a car, professionally? How much does it cost to professionally restore a car? Can you get parts for most cars, even horseless carriage cars?

Did you know some nuts and bolts are inferior and should not be used? How do you tell? What is the torque you should be able to put on a grade 8 3/8 inch bolt before it breaks or stretches?

Who in the area does car upholstery restoration? Can you reproduce leather seats to the last detail?

These are just some of the questions that Randy was asked, and he did a fantastic job in answering them. This is truly a one of a kind professional restoration shop so if you ever think about embarking on such an adventure or if you just need certain things done, this is a good place to go for a start.

After the tour of Randy’s shop and a question and answer period, about 8 of us went to lunch at the "Breakfast Club" and then headed for home.

Be sure your calendar is marked for Saturday, April 15, 2000. This is the date of the winery tour. If you missed this one last year, you won’t want to repeat that mistake. It is a great trip and some beautiful scenery. We will send a notice out, as we get closer to the time.