Back to business. . .

 Airbags in, air lines in, shockers in, just waiting for the air tanks and compressors. . .

New full length tail shaft tunnel in and welded up. Rear seat has to be slightly modified to allow for extra height of tunnel and then new dynamat and carpet to finish the job. But, there is always a but, BUT, then we have to start on the front end and the customer is picking up the finished unit next Thursday! Here's hoping?

Today's Big Open day. . .

 Huge open day at Hodgey's shed today saw plenty of classics and quite a few cycles parked in the yard, not to mention the beautiful young ladies in all their 'finery' looking the part. . .

 How can you walk past a ride like this and not get excited?

Just a couple of the bikes that dropped their stands for the afternoon. . .click on the photo gallery link to get a full run down over at our Flickr site.

'54 Chev

 Not all fun and games at the moment either. New shocker mounts for the 54 Chev going through a serious 'arse-dumping' session. . .

Near completed rear end. Bags are in place, 2 link arms and new shocker mounts leaves only the sheet metal to weld into place for completion.
Then it's up to the front end and a bit more grief with the new bags supplied being waaay too big for the openings in the front control arms. . .

Where to start?

 Nearly finished product. At left is Arthur who commissioned the tiki and Marcus Thorn, artist, at right. . .

 Local tradesman, who just happens to be Dylan's dad doing the all important rendering work. . .color started out as blacker than black but Mark assured everyone that the color would 'lighten' when dried . . .and as usual he was right.
Finished rendering gives the Tiki that classic made in stone appearance. . .

Here he is folks, 2.4meters tall and mean as a junk yard dog. Bottom half of monument still has to be completed and Marcus will return in two weeks to carry out final carving. . .how cool is this guy?

Family of Artisans. . .

 Introducing Hodgey's younger sister Karen. Her own style of art work and her craftmanship is sooo damn cool, you just have to see this stuff to believe it. . . Hand crafted echidna.

 One of Karen's dragonflies. . .Karen has a beautiful soul and creative mind and these two influences are obvious in her work. . .

When two dragonflies get together, funny things happen. When Karen gets hold of a hunk of metal and a blow torch even funnier things happen! It is bizarre the talent that some people possess and this young lady has it all. . .in spades!

For Sale. . .

Madness. . .tow truck pulls up and drops of this old three window and the driver promptly says it's for sale, know anyone who's in the market ??

Nearing completion. . .

 New sheetmetal in and looking great. . .

 Solid mounts and the shockers sitting in a more appropriate upright position. . .

Final fitment and all is looking good. A good coat of rust inhibitor and then a piant job and all is done. . .

Full steam ahead. . .

 Poor old Marcus is pushing shit up a big hill trying to get this Tiki finished by the weekend.
Ballarat's cold weather and having to stop every half an hour to clean up a huge pile of styrofoam shavings is killing his time frame. That, and the fact that this Tiki stands a mile high. . . .

Close-up of the new airbag mount. Once the boot space has been given new sheetmetal it will be impossible to know what's riding under this old girl without putting her up on a hoist. . .

Full frame shot of the 54 Chev's boot show's that work is progressing nicely, one side is already mounted up and Hodgey is nearly finished the top mount on the passenger side. . .

White-wall Fever. . .

 As the name says folks, introducing Mr Leo Lysaght. . .who the hell is Leo Lysaght you ask?
This is the bloke that turns your old worn out tyres into show-stopping white walls. Not only white walls, with the current trend being red, but I also saw a very special Kermit green whilst snooping around in the back of his car.
We don't usually hand out free advertising, but this bloke is the 'Ducks Guts' when it comes to dressing up your tyres, give him a call and tell him you want Hodgeys special price. . .

 Leo rolling the wheel and cutting the white-line groove. . .

Not a bad job when you get to sit on your 'clacker' all day and paint people's tyres?

Dylan's bike with twin white lines looking real nice. . .

What a mess. . .

 These are the Easter Island statues that Marcus is working from. .

 This guy will be the closest to the final result. . .

Styrene foam lines the floor of the whole workshop, what a bloody mess, but have a look at the phenominal figure taking shape.
When finished the statue will be fully rendered and then sanded down again. . .

Something Special. . .

 Introducing Marcus Thorn, world famous Tiki carver and painter from Tiki Beat in Qld. Marcus will be with us all week working on a special project for one of the regular guys. We just needed enough space for Marcus to carve a full size Easter Island statue before the weekend!
That's not a bad looking car in the background either?

Marcus making the first cut on the Easter island monument. . .
Keep an eye on this site for a daily update on the workmanship of this guy. . .




BTW, Marcus is right handed!

Strange Delivery. . .

WTF. . .styrofoam blocks big enough to build a house out of have been delivered to the shop floor. Again I repeat, WTF ???

Control Arms. . .

 Custom 2 link control arm mounted and fitted into place. All bracketry is hand made 'in house' for particular requirements. Nice new Nolathane bushes to keep this Lady's bum in place. Just like a nice new pair of stillettos these mods will firm the thighs and tighten the ride. . .

Custom 2 link set-up is all that's required, and allowed, with the fully enclosed tailshaft now riding right up inside the tunnel. . .next step is making up the mounts for the air bags.

Moving along . . .

 Diff sitting at new ride height. . .

Just click on the pics for full view and also click on the 'pencil' below to leave a comment.

 Holden style front end lower control arms hanging free and awaiting new planetry. . .

 Main chassis rails have been scalloped and strengthened, machining and finish is sublime. . .
metalwork is even more incredible due to the fact that Hodgey is a left-hander. . .yes that's right folks, he stands on the wrong side of the tools!!!

Original Chev gear awaiting the 'chop'. Chassis rails can be seen in place before 'scalloping' was carried out. . .can you imagine how daunting a task this build will be when you have to use the left hand side of your brain???

New arrival. . .

Look what's sneaking in the back door. This '54 Chevy two door is coming in to be slammed on its arse with a new suspension system. This classic still has the original six mounted up front and easily cruises the country back roads at 100. . . . miles per hour that is! Follow along as this car is given an astounding chassis modification and new handling characteristics that brings it into modern day motoring.
Welcome aboard folks and enjoy the ride. . . .

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