Field Trip

The owner of the 1958 Oldsmobile found a bitchin' set of  Rocket valve covers for his motor. He wanted them custom painted with the color of the car and the letters done in gold one shot (paint). I gave them to my friend Larry Fator to do the job, Larry has been a sign painter and pinstriper since 1973 and he's a very talented guy. Of course, he 's a hot rodder at heart and owns a 1947 Chevrolet Panel that's done in the gasser style of the 1960's, mostly because it was built as a gasser in 1966 and he's owned it since 1969. You can see a great story about Larry and the car in the Rodder's Journal #30.

At any rate, Larry's shop is an amazing place, here's some pics from my trip to pick up t he valve covers.

The Oldsmobile valve covers came out perfect. The lettering was done by hand with a brush using a sign painter's paint called One Shot. You got one shot to get it right.

This is Larry's '46 Chevy Sedan Delivery. He has owned it since 1969, that's 43 years. I can't keep a car for more than 43 days. When he bought it the words "Grateful Dead" were painted down one side.

Here's the man in action! This vintage Angila fuel altered is powered by an injected Hemi on nitromethane. The builders found a beautifully patina'd body and left it alone, with only a generous coat of clear to preserve it forever. Larry added all the lettering and distressed it to make it look as old as the body.

This is only a small ample of the vintage art that covers the walls of his shop. Those Ditzler paint calendars are super cool.

Here's more of his stash, not sure about the vintage of the Elvira cutout...

The stuff spills over into his office, there's tons of cools stuff everywhere you look. He's been here since 1973.

Larry made this decal by hand from water transfer paper and distressed it. It looks like it's been there since the car was built.