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Save the Date - 2015 Fall PPG MVP Business Solutions Conference

6/16/2015

2015 Fall MVP Business Solutions Conference
September 20-22 - Boca Raton, FL
Join us at the Boca Raton Resort & Club for the 2015 Fall MVP Business Solutions Conference. Nestled in a Mediterranean inspired historic village and just a few steps from the stunning south Florida coastline, Boca Raton Resort and Club, A Waldorf Astoria Resort is your luxurious home away from home.

Many of our charming and sophisticated guest rooms come with a view of the Atlantic Ocean, Intercostal Waterway, or the marina and all guest rooms offer the latest amenities for your comfort.dolas touring the meandering waterways.

Why attend the MVP Business Solutions Conference?
Attendance at the MVP Business Solutions Conference is an investment in your shop and your people. Take time out of your busy schedule to re-energize, refocus, and gain valuable insight from industry experts, and network with a unique mix of collision professionals. Don’t miss your opportunity to have a rewarding experience and gain effective strategies to apply when you return to your business.Read more from PPG >

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3rd Annual Freedom Fest Car Show at Patton Village

6/15/2015

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Tasco Auto Color is proud to be a Sponsor for the 3rd Annual Freedom Fest Car Show brought to you by The City of Patton Village.

There will be trophies for each class including: Pre '72 Car, Pre '72 Truck, Post '72 Car, Post '72 Truck, Best Rat Rod, Best Motorcycle, Best 4x4, Best Under Construction, Peoples Choice (Overall), Ladies Choice (Overall), Best of Show (Overall) and Mayor's Choice (Overall).

Event Details
Saturday June 27, 2015
9AM - 1PM
(City Hall) 16940 Main Street, Patton Village, TX 77372
$20 entry fee per vehicle
Questions, Contact Derek Dugger at (936) 333-2486

Patton Village Facebook >
Patton Village Car Show Facebook >

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Tasco Auto Color puts its Stamp on the 2015 Hot Rod Power Tour with the School of Automotive Machinists and their 57 Chevy Bel Air

6/10/2015

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Tour Dates and Cities
June 6 – Alliant Energy Center, Madison, Wisconsin
June 7 – Parkland College, Champaign, Illinois
June 8 – Gateway Motorsports Park, Madison, Illinois (St. Louis)
June 9 – Memphis International Raceway, Memphis, Tennessee
June 10 – Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, Hoover / Birmingham, Alabama
June 11 - Centennial Plaza, Gulfport, MS
June 12 – Lamar Dixon Expo Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
more info from Hot Rod Network >

The 57 Chevy Story

Houston, Texas - Tasco Auto Color is proud to be a sponsor of the The 57 Chevy Hot Rod Power Tour 2015 car built by a team from Houston's own School of Automotive Machinists. The School of Automotive Machinists (SAM) is an accredited career college with Block, Head, & CNC Machining and Associates Degree Programs. The graduates work for the racing industry's best.

The SAM '57 Chevy Build Team has worked for 2 months to build a resto-mod '57 Chevy Bel Air for the 2015 Hot Rod Power Tour. Check the tour dates above as the team left Texas to begin their tour nearly 3,000 mile journey in Wisconsin on June 7th and will conclude their journey on June 12th in Louisiana. More information, media and updates can be found at their SAM Racing facebook page.

This 1957 Chevy Bel Air, owned by Judson Massingill (who is the owner of The School of Automotive Machinists right here in Houston), has been sitting for 15 years. A previous school team had attempted to build this car and did not pull through. This year, with a strong team and not a lot of time (two months to be exact), this car has been completely transformed.

Tasco Auto Color/Landmark Marketing Company's own Jackie Perry was a key contributor in the 57 Chevy Build. Jackie (JAX Art & Design) helped with everything but the main things she did in her spare time was the production photography, designing the paint/color scheme, laying out the flames, designing vinyl layouts, setting up files for Redline and installing the vinyl.

The 57 Build Team Members

Michael Wilson from VA, John Gwinn from Michigan, Matt Petz from California, Oscar Zabek from New Jersey

Sponsors

Holley , Mahle and Clevite , MSD ignition , Muscle Rods , Tasco Auto Color , SPC Rods and Classics , LizardSkin , Bad Company Inc, JAX Art & Design

Stages of Production

Stage 1: First Steps

The chassis and rear end housing along with a number of other parts have been powdercoated by SPC Rods and Classics. SPC Rods and Classics let the team use their facilities for all the bodywork.

Going with an old school hot rod look, the team decided to leave the car in primer and lay flat black flames over it.

Tasco Auto Color donated high end products including PPG Hot Rod Black, PPG JP285 Urethane Surfacer (primer), PPG DCC9300 Acrylic Urethane, PPG DCX61 High Solids Hardener, Evercoat Rage Extreme lightweight body filler, 3M 1/8” vinyl fine line tape, 1 1/2” and 3/4” 3M masking tape, roll of masking paper, a SATA spray gun rebuild kit, 34 oz DeVilbiss spray gun cup liners, pack of 1/8” and 1/2” spot weld drill bits.

Stage 2: Sanding and Prepping for Paint

Steps include taping and masking the trim off so it doesn’t get damaged, sanding the clear off to get to the underlying layer of paint unless there’s rust underneath that. In that case, it has to be sanded down to bare metal in order to remove the rust. Upon some sanding, the team found a huge crack in the rear quarter panel and turns out it was about a pound of body filler! We sanded it all out and reapplied Overcoat Rage Extreme lightweight body filler.

Plenty of hours went into bodywork and sanding. Much of the 19-20 hour days went into this car, all the way til the end. The team had a strict deadline to make — the morning of June 4th.

Stage 3: Painting

The team painted the inside of front fenders and inner fender wells separately since they were already off the car. They gave the car three coats of primer and then wet sanded it so it would appear smooth and has a sheen when viewed at an angle, yet remains flat when looking directly at it.

Stage 4: Taping Flames

Jackie did a quick rendering of the car and then hand drew flames on it to be sure they looked exactly how she wanted them to. Starting these flames was semi-challenging, she had to get used to the 3M 1/8” blue vinyl fine line tape as she says "I’d never used it plus I’ve never done anything like this before. But the whole process was super smooth, it came very naturally to me." She started on the driver’s side, then traced it on paper, flipped the paper to the passenger side, and transferred the flames to the passenger side then taped them off. It took her a good 8 hours to do this entire flame layout process. Then they used the paper she traced to cut two stencils out of the paper to mask the body off for painting the flames.

Stage 5: Paint Flames and the Big Reveal

There are Real Flames!

Jackie put down the first coat of PPG Hot Rod Black but passed the gun on because it was a first time painting through a spray gun and she admits to not moving quick enough. Three coats of black and 45 minutes of drying time later, they removed all the tape and masking and —VOILA! There are flames! They were ecstatic with the PPG Hot Rod Black paint and the way the flames turned out. FANTASTIC paint! Jackie says, "We also love the Dusty Rose color of the primer with the black. It really reminds us of a hot wheels car."

Stage 6: New Floorboards, Lizardskin Prep and Application

LizardSkin is a water-based spray-on insulation. The crew used Sound Control on the interior and Ceramic Insulation on the undercarriage. They installed new floorboards, primed them and seam sealed them with 3M Seam Sealer prior to LizardSkin application.

Stage 7: Engine Assembly and Install

The engine going in is an LS3 (came in Corvettes and 5th Generation Camaros), with cam swap and new heads, and a custom intake manifold built by the school. The only thing we kept stock was the bottom end (crankshaft and pistons). This car needed everything from the engine to the exhaust. New brake master cylinder, brake lines, transmission, driveshaft, rear end, fuel tank, etc. EVERYTHING is new. This lucky 57 is getting a new lease on life after sitting unloved for years.

Stage 8: Wiring and Final Installations

Start Your Engines!

Along with new engines assembly, also has to come with wiring. The team got an entire wiring harness along with the new Holley EFI Dominator ECU (computer). When that was all done, they reinstalled the front fenders, hood, put all necessary fluids in, put the interior back in, installed the bumper and headlights.

Stage 9: Finishing Touches

The team had a few final adjustments to make but overall she’s looking great and ready to go! The new custom wheels finally came in and mounted them the same day. Then she was taken to get an alignment.

Stage 10: Vinyl Install

Vinyls were cut/printed by Redline Graphics in Houston. The team had agreed they couldn’t spare three hours for it to be at Redline for an install, so Jackie installed all of the vinyl graphics at the school. The gold vinyl is perfect and ties the entire color scheme together. Successful build? I’d say absolutely.

Photography by Ric Vega

Photography by Ric Vega

Articles

Meet the Students of the School of Automotive Machinists - The ’57 Bel Air that Wouldn’t Have Been - theblock.com

Welcome to Power Tour 2015 - Hot Rod Network

The SAM 1957 Long Hauler - MSN, Hot Rod Magazine

SAM Racing Students Took This '57 From Heap to Pro Tourer in 8 Weeks - LSXtv

Gallery
Check out the latest photos, brought to you by Ric Vega.

Cars of the Hot Rod Power Tour
Sam Racing Day 0
Hot Rod Power Tour Day 1
Hot Rod Power Tour Day 2
Hot Rod Power Tour Day 3
Hot Rod Power Tour Day 4

#PowerTour2015

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Save the Date - 2015 Fall PPG MVP Business Solutions Conference

3rd Annual Freedom Fest Car Show at Patton Village

Tasco Auto Color puts its Stamp on the 2015 Hot Rod Power Tour with the School of Automotive Machinists and their 57 Chevy Bel Air

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