’68 Firebird 400 — The Car That Got Away

February 10, 2012 in Experience, Uncategorized

I’ve gone through many cars in my lifetime and had many favorites.  But the one I miss the most was my 1968 Pontiac Firebird 400 convertible, regimental red with white interiors.  It was just the right size, sporty, and plenty of power.  It had attitude with its snooty hood scoops. It was the one car that I wish I had not let a friend talk me out of keeping.

This was a long time ago.  My wife and I had just bought a house, we had a 3 year-old daughter, and times were tough.  When the weather was right, I would take our family to church in it.  Church was a half-hour drive one way so it made for a nice cruise through the country roads.  Well that’s when it all started.  Jim, a fellow parishioner, saw my car and fell in love with it.  I think he made it his mission to have me part with that car.  He took every opportunity to ask me if I would sell it to the point where it annoyed me.

Being a young family guy with a lot of financial obligations, there came a time when something had to give.  Since the wife and kid weren’t going, I had to sell the car.  Jim got his wish.  Being a friend, I sold it to him cheap.  I knew he would take good care of her.  I asked Jim for just one consideration; that if he was ever to sell the car, I would get first crack at it. He agreed.

Things went well for the next couple of years.  In retrospect, we could have gotten by without selling the Firebird.  But I knew the car was in a good home, or so I thought.

One nice summer day, I was cutting my front lawn when I saw a 1968 Firebird just like mine drive past the house and turn into my neighbor’s driveway.  It was driven by a 17-year-old kid who was dating my neighbor’s daughter.   I went over there to check it out and let him know that I thought he had a cool car and I had one just like his.  As I got closer I saw all the imperfections mine had.  I knew that this used to be my car.  I asked him how he got it and found out that it was sitting in the front yard of my buddy’s house with a “for sale” sign on it.  God was I PO’d.

The next time I saw Jim, I asked him about the car and why he didn’t call me.  Well, I found out that he was going through his own little hell with his marriage breaking up.  He apologized for not remembering.  I understood that he didn’t do it on purpose.  What hurt the most was that the car was destroyed two months later by the 17-year-old’s reckless driving.

I’m sure there’s a lesson to be learned here.  I know that I can’t seem to let go of any of my cars easily since then.  I can only say if you find one you really love; don’t let a friend talk you out of it.

And if you know of a ’68 Firebird 400 convertible, regimental red, going for sale, let me know.

 

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Matt Agosta is the President of Steele Rubber Products. He is an avid car-enthusiast. When he is not working or restoring one of his classic cars, he enjoys traveling with his wife, local author Carolyn Steele Agosta. 

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SRP January Builder: Barry Penfound

January 19, 2012 in Talk

Barry Penfound is the owner of Penfound Design and our January Builder. Barry started customizing cars in 2002. His debut car was the 1959 Buick LoSabre. We asked him a few questions about his start in the customization business and  projects we can expect from Penfound Design in the future.

 Here is what he had to say:

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Q: How long have you been in the car customization industry?

Penfound Design has been in the customization industry since 2002 when the 1959 Buick LoSabre made its debut.

 Q:What got you started in this business?

The LoSabre project grew out of the feeling that customs were having a rebirth after being nearly ignored in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. Increased notice for events like the Detroit Autorama and the SEMA show was joined by outdoor events like Goodguys, the Hot Rod Power Tour, Super Chevy, the National Street Rod Association Nats, and the Hot Rod & Restoration Show. While I had an automotive background with interest in survivor cars and restored vehicles, which I owned and wrote about for various magazines, there seemed to be a buzz about custom cars which I felt was very cool! I got the notion that I might be able to design and coordinate the build for a ‘new age’ custom and LoSabre was born.

 Q. What is the best part about being in the auto customization industry?

The best part of the auto customization industry is its vitality. There is room for Old School traditional customs, new age, or new millenium customs like Penfound Design cars, plus hot rods, tuners, imports, trucks exotics and more. There are new products being introduced constantly, from hard-to-find trim pieces to entire car bodies, and many companies, like PPG Industries, Flaming River, Toyo, GM Performance Parts, Air Ride Technologies and Classic Industries are enthusiastically supporting the idea that custom cars can help represent their products.

 Q.     How would you describe your style of customization?

Descriptions of my cars range from New Millenium Customs to Pro Mod to LoRod to new age customs. I just call them ‘Smooth and Clean’. My basic plan is to have the cars look like what the company might build today with current wheel, tire, paint, engine and suspension and body skills. Our latest project, the 1964 Pontiac ‘Sabertooth’ GTO for example, uses some familiar Pontiac styling cues from the past, along with one-off 20-inch wheels and an aggressive stance that makes the most of its heritage.

 Q.     What was the first car you ever restored?

The first restoration PD coordinated was for a 1966 427/390 HP Corvette coupe in 1996 which later earned a National Corvette Restoration Society Top Flight award. Shops which contributed were Classic Revivals (body and paint), Weber Racing (engine/transmission), and Chuck’s Custom Design (interior), all Ohio companies.

 Q. Do you have a favorite car that you restored?

The favorite car is always the next one, although LoSabre has a special place because it was the first custom!

Q. How would you describe your success?

If a person who is just starting to enjoy customs looks at the ‘Sabertooth’ GTO and says “Nice car!” and walks away, while a hardcore experienced custom fan can spend 45 minutes looking at the GTO and says, “Nice car!” to me that is a successful project.

Q.     What’s next for Penfound Design?

There are three cars underway at the moment at Penfound Design…one uses an LS7 427 motor, the second uses an original 1969 427 engine and the third uses a flathead… and they are all ‘smooth and clean’.

LoSabre Designed by Penfound.

Visit www.PenfoundDesign.com for more information and images of Barry’s work.

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Winter Beach Cruise

January 16, 2012 in Experience

 

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One of the great things about living in the Carolinas is the winter weather.  We enjoy many sunny, mild days.  This past week was one of them, sunny with temps in the mid 60s.  So we packed up and headed for the beach.  Saturday we had lunch at Burky’s Grill, North Myrtle Beach, SC where they had a local cruise-in. Quite a mix of cars from street rods to a 1947 Cadillac Sedanette, 1963 Chevy Belair, 1972 Pontiac Grand Prix, and a couple of Mustangs, Z06 Corvettes and mid 50s Ford pickups to name a few.

Here cruising season is never over.  It reminded me of the work I need to do to my cars to get them ready for spring shows.  I’m also reminded that we are in January already.  Spring is not too far away.  Cruising time will be here before you know it.

Now is the time to get our cars ready for the next mild, sunny day.  If you are like me, you will start with good intentions.  My ’57 Caddy needs a fuel pump, the ’56 Packard has a transmission leak at the lower pan seal, and my favorite cruise, the ’61 Vette looks good at 20 feet but is a restoration in progress.  It seem the more they sit, the more issues they have.  I keep thinking I’ll get to it.  And when I do, then I don’t have the parts I need on hand.

I need to get more organized.

I forget how long it takes sometimes to just find the parts needed, and the sometimes long lead time for ordering and delivery.  Next thing you know, it’s spring and I’m rushing to make my cars drivable.  This year I pledge to get the job done early and I challenge you to do the same.

Here at Steele, we pride ourselves on being able to ship parts in a timely manner.  However, a package going cross country could take 5 to 8 business days.  If it has to be built or back-ordered, it could take 2 to 3 weeks or more.  Other part suppliers are going to have similar issues.  Save yourself the anxiety of time pressure or the additional cost of express shipping by starting early on your project.

Do yourself a favor, beat the rush.

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Matt Agosta is the President of Steele Rubber Products. He is an avid car-enthusiast. When he is not working or restoring one of his classic cars, he enjoys traveling with his wife, local author Carolyn Steele Agosta. 

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Happy New Year!

January 3, 2012 in Uncategorized

I laughed to myself when I read the e-mail asking me to write about all the wonderful things we did here at Steele Rubber Products during the recent Holidays.

My first thought was, “she hasn’t been here long enough to know”.  And others laughed too when they found out she asked “me” that question.  You see, through the years I have been perceived as being the company Scrooge.

As Production  Manager in the past and now Plant Operations Manager, it is my responsibility to see that work flows smoothly and we get parts out in a timely manner. Here at Steele Rubber Products, as I am sure at many places, production slowed down during the Holidays. People were out taking vacation days to finish up their shopping or visit friends and family.  The Marketing Department treated employees to games and activities all week. We had tons of Holiday goodies on the break tables, and a wonderful catered holiday meal, which of course extended everyone’s lunch time. So who was the one who had to gracefully say, “Okay guys, let’s get back to work, Santa wants us to get those rubber parts finished by Christmas Eve”?

Yes, that would be me, the Steele Scrooge.

But honestly, I am not the Scrooge I appear to be. I am very proud of our employees and how hard they worked (at least the other 51 weeks out of 2011). They stepped up to give back during the Holidays instead of just receiving.  The employees donated a truck load of food to the local food bank. We also participated in two local Christmas Parades featuring the Steele Rubber/Comp-Cal Relay For Life show car. And I personally know of a few cases of employees helping other employees who were struggling.

After all was said and done we still managed to get quality rubber parts out to our customers.

As we begin 2012, we want to take the time to be thankful for the many blessing we have and embrace the New Year with optimism, hard work and even more giving than last year. We look forward to bringing you quality parts made carefully by local people.

Happy New Year!

-Steele Scrooge

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John Dancoff is the Plant Operations Manager for Steele Rubber Products. He has been with the company for over 20 years. He and his wife Cindy, who also works for Steele Rubber Products, have four children. John is a volunteer with The American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life and is a member of their North Carolina State Task Force.

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How to Splice Sponge & Dense Weatherstripping

November 27, 2011 in How To

 

When you need an extrusion made into a ring or one piece unit, it is best to have the splice molded. This will give the best seal and have maximum strength at the splice.  However, when molding is not an option you can splice instead.  There are a few general rules to follow.

1.       It’s simple, your cut ends need to be straight. 

If you put the ends together, all edges should match. The ends need to be clean of all debris.  If needed, clean with an alcohol pad.  I found that for the best results, use Loctite Super Bonder 495.  It is formulated for rubber-to-rubber bonding.  You should be able to find this at any hardware store that carries Loctite products or from the Steele Rubber Products site.

 2.  Have a flat surface to work on. 

After cutting your weatherstrip, remember to test it for a profile match before proceeding. Like all other adhesives, the less adhesive you use the better hold it has, especially with this Super Bonder.  It works just like a “Super Glue”.  It is clear in color and will stick your fingers together, just like “Super Glue”.  However, it will clean up using nail polish remover. Working on a flat surface makes the process of cutting and gluing easier.

 3. Put a small amount of glue on just one side of the splice joint.

With a paper clip wire, spread the adhesive evenly over the surface, making sure it is covering the edges.  If there is too much adhesive, it will not hold well.  Carefully match the edges from one side to the other.  Apply pressure from both ends to the splice.  For dense rubber, apply greater force.  Hold for about 90 seconds.  At this point you should have a good strong bond.  If there are any parts not adhered, apply a light amount with the paper clip to the void and apply pressure again.  If the joint was done properly, you should be able to pull on it without it failing.  To ensure that the rubber will make a water tight seal when used as glass channel, apply a clear sealer between the glass and the rubber at the joint.  The clear auto sealer is available at any auto parts store or at steelerubber.com.

Just remember, straight clean cuts that match and use the right adhesive for the job.  Take your time and you should be happy with the outcome.

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Deciding What Parts to Make

November 18, 2011 in How To, Uncategorized

It’s that time of the year again.  The weather forces us to put up our cruisers for the winter.  This is also the best time to get at those projects that have been put off because they would have taken our cars off the road for a while.  I don’t know about you, but I seem to accumulate a list of “got to do’s” and “would like to do’s” throughout the summer.  Now the obstacle is getting through the holidays.  By the time I get around to finally getting to the job, it’s spring and I’m rushing to finish.

How many of you are on the same cycle as me?

Subframe bushings sent in by a customer

Now this is not a big problem unless you need something that is not already available and you have to find someone to make it for you.  I get asked a lot about how we decide what to make.  That’s a tough question to answer since there are so many variables that go into making that decision.  I’ll try to answer it in general terms.

There are three categories for new part projects.

  1. A car that we target for making replacement parts.
  2. The contract job where we are making the tooling and production for someone else and they have ownership of that part.
  3. A part that you send in and need for your car.  That’s the one I’d like to address.

Customer Requests 

Many of the parts we make are started from customer requests.

The first step is to contact us, send a photo, drawing or sample and an explanation of what the part fits and does.  Let us know if you have an original.  We will only work with good originals or authentic build drawings.

Next, we inspect it for tooling features, Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) number, usage and whether we would like to add it to our catalog.  The more information you can give us on your car (year, make, model, style, what other models it fits, photos of where it’s used, etc.), the quicker we can make a decision and the better chance of it being favorable to you.

If we go ahead with tooling, we will absorb all of the tooling cost and send you the first part made for you to install at no charge and ask for your feedback. We will keep your original in case any issues arise from future parts made.

Parts in the research stage

A selection of parts we are researching currently.

One key factor to keep in mind is the length of time it takes from the time you contact us to when a part is finished.  It takes an incredible amount of time, usually 6 to 18 months average, depending on complexity, information availability, and tool room load.

So, if you just parked your car and need a part not currently available made, don’t delay.  Hopefully, you’ll have it ready for the next cruising season.

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Matt Agosta is the President of Steele Rubber Products. He is an avid car-enthusiast. When he is not working or restoring one of his classic cars, he enjoys traveling with his wife, local author Carolyn Steele Agosta. 

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ARMO Business of the Year

November 8, 2011 in Events, Experience, Uncategorized

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ARMO Business of the Year 2011
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ARMO Business of the Year 2011
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Once again, the SEMA Show was a busy week for Steele Rubber  Products.

ARMO Business of the Year 2011

There were several highlights,  but the biggest may have been the annual ARMO Reception.  ARMO is the council of SEMA that represents the automotive restoration portion of our industry.  This year ARMO awarded  “Business of the Year” to Steele Rubber Products.

Our staff was completely taken by surprise by this award, and very honored to be recognized for our commitment to the restoration industry.  This award helps confirm to us that we are doing something right by still manufacturing our parts by hand and giving every customer the best service we can provide.

It was hard to not see Steele Rubber Products at the SEMA show.  We counted sixteen vehicles at the show that featured the Steele logo on the vehicle or show boards.  A 1960 Cadillac Coupe Deville, built by Justin Carrillo, sat at the front of the show sporting Steele license plates.  Justin is a great young builder that we have known for several years, and we were happy to bring him to the show to feature his incredible ride. In fact, General Motors agreed with us and awarded the car “Best GM in the Show”.  Other great cars at the show that were supported by Steele included a 1960 Cadillac convertible built for Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno and a fantastic 1958 Chevy Nomad built by our friend Mike Cooper from Spanky’s Hot Rods.

This year’s SEMA Show was the busiest in years for all of the vendors on display.  We hope this is a sign that the economy is starting to rebound.  More importantly, the show gave us a chance to see old friends in the industry and meet new customers.  Many of the icons of the classic car and hot rodding hobby stopped by our booth to chat and talk about upcoming vehicles that they will be using Steele parts for.  Dennis Gage of the television show “My Classic Car” stopped by to sign autographs, Rich Evans of the “Car Warriors” show spent some time discussing his next big projects, and even legendary hot rod builder Gene Winfield came by to talk with the staff.

Overall, SEMA gives us a chance to talk with the most important people in our industry — our customers.  We may not have the biggest or flashiest booth at SEMA, and we definitely do not have the sexiest parts at the show, but from the conversations we had at SEMA we do know we manufacture a very important automotive part.

We’ve brought back a lot of great ideas from SEMA, including new products, better ways to communicate with our customers and improvements to our parts.  And, of course, we brought home the “Business of the Year” trophy!

 

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Steele Talk — Shaved Handles

October 31, 2011 in Talk

Embedly Powered

via YouTube

Walter thinks shaved handles are not functional. Tracy says it’s  about the look and showing off some restoration skills. What do you think?

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The Blonde with the Chevy Nova SS

October 24, 2011 in Experience, Uncategorized

This past June, I happened to be in the Detroit area during the Gratiot Cruise. Next to Woodward Avenue, Gratiot was where I spent a good part of my “misspent” youth.

1969 Chevy Nova SS

1969 Chevy Nova SS | Photo contributed by Martin Lang.

I had a couple of free hours in the morning, so I spent it driving the show from 9 Mile Rd. to 11 Mile Rd. — stopping intermittently to see some of the clubs gatherings of cars. There was a great selection of Mopar (Road Runners, Chargers, Challengers and GTX).  There was a red Plymouth wagon with a Hemi in it.  That would have been a beautiful sleeper to have for a race.  There also was a good mix of GM muscle cars, Fords and rods.  I saw this beautifully restored 1969 Chevy Nova that brought back a memory of some of the stupid insensitive things teenagers would do.

 

Back then I cruised with my buddies in a 1968 GTX 440 six pack with a Hurst four-speed.  It was a better chic magnet than my 1967 Fiat 850 Coupe.  We spent most of our evenings at the Big Boy’s, on the corner of Gratiot and 9 Mile Rd.,  just socializing with our friends and driving up and down Gratiot Avenue trying to look cool.  Occasionally, we’d pull a hole shot to try to impress somebody.

One night I saw this brand new black 1969 396 Nova.  That car caught my attention.  I just had to drive that car. Over the next couple of weeks, I would see the car at Big Boy’s several times.  It was driven by this nice-looking blonde.  I mustered up some nerve and asked her out,  just to cruise with me.  Surprisingly, she said yes.  She even suggested that we take her car and I drive.  I thought I had won the lottery.

The car was great, plenty of power, it handled well.  I liked it.  Can’t say as much for my date, that didn’t go so well.  There must be something wrong with me.  I can’t remember her name or what she looked like (other than the blonde hair).  But I do remember that car as if it was yesterday.

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Matt Agosta is the President of Steele Rubber Products. He is an avid car-enthusiast. When he is not working or restoring one of his classic cars, he enjoys traveling with his wife, local author Carolyn Steele Agosta. 

 

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Stumptown Antique Tractor Show

October 18, 2011 in Experience

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Every October, the Stumptown Antique Tractor Show is hosted in Denver, NC.  Just like an antique car show, there were rows and rows of restored old tractors of all sizes and shapes.  They also had a swap meet area, working displays showing equipment in action, and various tractor skill and pull competitions.  What I like is the sound of hit-n-miss motors firing and missing all around the grounds doing various chores and the smell of Carolina BBQ in the air.

I watched corn kernels stripped from its husk.  Then ground to corn meal.  Hay being baled in a belt driven baler hooked to a tractor’s side belt wheel, a working blacksmith shop.  My favorite was a sawmill run on an old steamer tractor.  Farming was surely hard work.  Today’s technologically advanced farm equipment makes farming a dream compared to what it was.

They had hayrides for both young and old. Each day they would start the show with a parade of tractors on a course through the grounds.  This year it was on a beautiful backdrop of sunshine and fall colors.

If you happen to find yourself in the Denver, NC area in October 2012, you’ll want to make time to see the show.  It’s fun and interesting.  And be sure to get a freshly made bag of kettle corn to snack on as I did.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  Matt Agosta is the President of Steele Rubber Products. He is an avid car-enthusiast. When he is not working or restoring one of his classic cars, he enjoys traveling with his wife, local author Carolyn Steele Agosta. 

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