The phone rings in the office frequently. When the phone rings with a TV celebrity the call can lead to a ROAD Trip to West Coat Customs. Rory called asking if Pedders would be able to be of assistance with their latest project car which is a XXXXXXX XXXX XXX. We said we had a bit of experience with that chassis and would be willing to jump right in. How soon will the project start? We are already behind and need your support immediately. How soon is immediately? This week. Hmmm, let us check flights and schedules and we'll get back to you. We are restricted on the pictures we can post and the information we can release. We can tell you that the project went well and the crew at West Coast is BETTER than you can see on TV. These guys are GOOD! The shop is a work of art in form and function. There is rolling art every where you look. There are murals on almost every wall. There is art in progress in upholstery, fabrication, paint, wiring and assembly. Every car is an original. While you could break it down as a custom body goes on each car so the function is the same, the steps required to execute a custom body are different vehicle to vehicle. Keeping a shop moving as a well oiled machine with this eXtreme level of customisation is a huge challenge. Ryan makes it look easy. [ We think our bits are works of art too. We hope the owner of the vehicle we worked on will be in 100% agreement when he takes delivery of his West Coast Customs rolling work of art. We really wish we could say more... Working with Sean, Joe Rory and RYAN was a West Coast Customs Experience. Rory was AWESOME. If he did not handle himself so well on the phone Pedders would never have become involved with West Coast Customs.. Sean is a Master Craftsman. Joe has learned so much so fast at West Coast Customs is is amazing. The entire WCC Crew made us feel welcome and treated us like family. It felt like a Pedders shop in the USA or AU in that respect. We will post more pictures and information when the producers of the show allow us to do so. The show will air tonight or next week. We'll get back to you on the date as well. No WCC eXperience would be complete without a trip to Chronic Tacos. Rory said it would be good and it was. Pedders USA, LLC would like to extend our thanks to Ryan, Rory, Sean and Joe for their hospitality while we were at West Coast Customs. BTW, the clothes fit the girls perfectly!!!
When Pete arrived at WCC the 69 GTO was about 30%% mated to the 06 GTO. The bracing filled the interior. What you don't see on the TV show is the work that really goes into a project like this. For every minute of air time, there are literally hours of work that are left on the cutting room floor. I could have spent a week just watching Sean and Joe work. They are masters of their craft. The interior was stacked on a rolling rack. It is a bit shocking to see just how many pieces are required to complete a GTO interior. They spend more air time on the conflict and personalities than they do on the craftsmanship. Reality TV requires this. If it was a show dedicated to the fine art of building custom cars it would not be the successful show it is today. You can believe much of what you see on the show. It is not scripted, but over the top behavior is encouraged by the editing process. If you do nothing unusual you won't get much air time. Take a normal disagreement up a couple of notches, break some glass, disagree with Ryan and you get air time. So while it is not scripted it is encouraged. I would have liked them to discuss the challenges of mating a body on frame to a monocoque belly pan. I am still not sure what the technical term would be for a 2006 belly pan with sub-frames and a firewall -- how about a half-coque :angel2 Regardless of the name there are serious structural challenges. A monocoque is designed to be structurally stronger than the individual bits that comprise the unit. It is why I use the term monocoque as opposed to unibody. Early unibody vehicles were rattle traps. No one would ever confuse a Formula 1 race car with a unibody, but they are both monocoque structures. The challenge for Joe and Sean was to make certain that the custom GTO would be at least as strong if not stronger than either original vehicle. While I was there I spoke at length with Sean about the strengths and weaknesses of the VZ series GTO. Unlike and F-body that required every conceivable brace, the GTO was reasonably robust. A GTO with a full cage tied to sub-frame connectors is a very solid platform well suited to racing. but heavy. Sean and Joe listened and increased some of the structure that was already planned to address structural strength. You can see in these pictures that the mating process is robust. What I would call the A Pillar where the does attach to the body structure is tank like. The mating at the base of the windshield to the fire wall it not only strong, it is a work of art. The rockers are like the old school convertibles. They become chassis rails with sheetmetal to cover the structural steel. Installing the suspension with Ryan, Sean and Joe was a lot of fun. I never worked on a GTO without a front section. That is why we thought we could take the sway bar out without loosening the sub-frame or anything else. I looked WIDE OPEN. The bar would not come out. It was so close to coming out we took turns because we all thought it would work. Appearances can be deceiving. The we all though cutting it would be fast and easy. We were all wrong again. Finally we got the sucker cut in half and it does come out really easy that way. Putting things back in are also interesting with so many people around. I'll go to my grave swearing I handed the sway bar to Ryan the right way, but it is his show so I am 100% certain I handed it to Ryan incorrectly. Ryan was very interested in the suspension process. He is a master of the hot rod air bag style suspension. Changing out rubber OEM bushes for Pedders red urethane was a bit different for WCC. When we removed the rear sub-frame bushes in less than one minute per side Ryan was impressed. We agreed to exchange trade secrets on suspension when I return for another WCC build. Rory is the person at WCC that searched out Pedders as it became clear the build would need eXtreme suspension work. He is a lot like most of of us. Rory went to the Internet and forums to find the best solution for this high profile build. I would like to thank all of our customers for their support on the forums. I'll even thank those that are not our supporters, because good bad or indifferent Pedders is on the forums. It is easy to be on the forums when things are perfect. When we make a mistake or get involved with a difficult customer it is even more important we stay on the forums. We owe it to the clients and online communities. In the end, our participation in the online communities brought us to Rory and WCC. Thank you all. Pedders did not pay for the exposure on WCC. We were asked to help them deliver a great car to Tanner. We were asked to help them resolve suspension issues the same way our customers ask us to assist them with suspension solutions. When you see Pedders in a magazine review you should know that Pedders does not pay for advertorial press. We do not advertise in magazines. The magazines see value in our suspension solution approach and write stories about the solution because it is a good story. This is a very awkward situation as the magazines need advertising to pay the bills. Pedders has taken the philosophical and business approach that in this stage of our business it is mission critical we AERN the press we receive based on the performance of our product. We will not buy advertising space, employ media consultants of press agents. Everything you read about Pedders in the press or see on TV is not influenced by a single dime of advertising. I am a car guy. Because I am an owner I get to meet and interact with many people in the industry. I am no different than any of you. I was having an absolute blast hanging around the shop at WCC. It is no different when I go to the Milford Proving Grounds -- I am a kid in the candy store. In my office I have trade show badges on lanyards from every trade show I have attended. The one that is my favorite is my first Visitors Pass to GM and SPO. This episode of WCC is the first national TV exposure for Pedders USA. That is very cool. What I'll remember five years from now is not that it was Pedders first national TV exposure. I'll remember it was my first trip to a legendary place in the automotive world. I'll remember that it was my first trip to WCC. As my Aussie mates say -- Life is Good. Rory -- When am I coming out for another taco? Dave -- We have much work to do before the year is over. Sean -- Dane was spot on. You are WCC. Joe -- You are learning from the best. That means you should be better than the best before your career is over. Ryan -- Thank you for your hospitality. U tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwrq8MZtp0w
