KIRK!
11-25-2003, 03:06 PM
Well, I just had one of the coolest weekends of my life. Two full days and more at Gene Winfield's shop in Mojave, CA. This will be a huge post so be patient for the pics.
Anyway, after a six hour drive and getting lost in the middle of the desert while very nearly running out of gas, my friend Gil and I made it to Mojave. I'm not sure why they even gave this "town" a name. It's not really anything more than a gas stop on the highway with few hotels. Once in "town" we grabbed some chow and tried to hit the hay. But I was like some little kid before christmas and couldn't fall asleep with all those visions of metal fabrication dancing in my head. I eventually did crash out around 2am. Saturday morning began around 6am. An hour and a half before the 7:30 wakeup call. We excitedly killed time wondering what was in store and how we'd apply this soon-to-be-acquired knowledge to our current and future projects, grabbed breakfast and headed into the nothingness of the desert. Well, it was only six miles from "town" but it felt like the moon. We arrived about 30 minutes early for the 9am class, cameras in hand and huge smiles plastered on our mugs. I would have felt like a dork but everyone else looked as dumb as we did, smiling at piles of Merc, shoebox and various other parts strewn around the desert lair that is Winfield's. The "classroom" was just in one of his garage shop spaces where he had obviously been working the day before since it looked like most of our shops, a mess. Definitely nothing fancy. Perfect. The first day was like a metal fabrication information waterfall. I was the only guy taking notes and I couldn't do it fast enough. Basic shop setup, tool and work station creation, hammer welding, leading and english wheel were the topics of the first day. Very little hands-on but very thorough and obviously insightful information. Lunch was Subway as paid for with Gene's wad of cash and picked up by a couple of his cronies. He spent lunch just hanging out with everyone and showing us around the whole compound. We saw amazing customs in progress and a couple of old show cars in a container out back. Then, at the end of the day, the best part. Open forum for questions. Class was supposed to end at six but the whole class hung out asking questions until nearly nine. He answered questions about everything from exhaust megaphone creation to top chopping details on nearly everyones specific project to sectioning to pancaking my '47 hood. I think he was as happy to be there as we all were. Of course Gil and I talked about nothing but customizing and Gene from the second we left, all through dinner and until we both crashed back at the Motel 6.
Sunday morning found us awake way before our wakeup call once again. We hit the same greasy spoon for breakfast and headed to Gene's early. Day two was another flood of knowledge. Hammer dies, more english wheel, patch paneling, plastic body filler techniques and louvering. Every guy there got to make a louvered panel and then Gene signed each one as a souvenir. Class ened at 6pm with the grand finale being a demostration on embossing. He created flames in an aluminum panel for his race car "The Thing". After another question and answer session the pupils began to slowly file out over about a two and a half hour period. I think everyone else was like me and wanted to move in. Before we left, Gil and I got to dig through Gene's private stash of customizing parts in one of the houses on the property. This house has no power and is filled waist deep with Desoto grilles, hubcaps, skirts and piles of every "most desireable" shiny part anyone could want. We were looking for a '47 Olds grille for my '47 Ford. In the near pitch black we only found one and it was a little too hammered. He said he knew he had another better one and would dig it up later. He asked about Billetproof then wrote it on his calendar for next year. He said he'd heard great things and wanted to come out this year but couldn't make it. Then, as if all that wasn't cool enough, he asked me to design his new catalog and all his product packaging. Holy crap!!! Plus I ordered a floorboard elimination kit for my '47. He was out of them so he told me he'd whip one up and bring it to me the second week of December when he's in town to paint John DiAugustiono's latest. WOW!!!
So, Gil and I grabbed a quick bite and got on the road just after nine. With two Red Bulls in me and a head swimming with a billion customizing memories and ideas I hauled ass for home. I debated turning around and ditching everything to live in Mojave and offer to be the janitor just to be able to hang out there eveyday.
Here are just a fraction of the shots I took this weekend. Enjoy. I know I did.
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutsidesign.jpg
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutside9.jpg
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutside.jpg
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutside3.jpg
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutside1.jpg
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutside2.jpg
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutside4.jpg
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutside5.jpg
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutside7.jpg
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutside4_1.jpg
Gene hammer forming a Merc window opening.
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genehammerjig.jpg
Window channel bending jig/tool
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genestrimjig.jpg
One of their shop made work stations with interchangeable pipe anvils. I took a ton of notes and pics. I'm building this first.
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesstation.jpg
Winfield 101 classroom.
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesclassroom.jpg
Jig for one of Gene'e floating grilles.
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesgrilljig.jpg
Gene on the sandbag. Check out the homemade hammer!! Can you see what he used? Cool!
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/geneshammer.jpg
Gene leading.
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/geneslead.jpg
His new flattie that's going in The Thing
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesflattie.jpg
The Thing. One of my alltime favorite cars and it was just sitting there outside. Awesome!
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutsidething.jpg
Gene, happy give us a few revs.
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutsidething1.jpg
What's inside you ask?
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutsidething2.jpg
Anyway, after a six hour drive and getting lost in the middle of the desert while very nearly running out of gas, my friend Gil and I made it to Mojave. I'm not sure why they even gave this "town" a name. It's not really anything more than a gas stop on the highway with few hotels. Once in "town" we grabbed some chow and tried to hit the hay. But I was like some little kid before christmas and couldn't fall asleep with all those visions of metal fabrication dancing in my head. I eventually did crash out around 2am. Saturday morning began around 6am. An hour and a half before the 7:30 wakeup call. We excitedly killed time wondering what was in store and how we'd apply this soon-to-be-acquired knowledge to our current and future projects, grabbed breakfast and headed into the nothingness of the desert. Well, it was only six miles from "town" but it felt like the moon. We arrived about 30 minutes early for the 9am class, cameras in hand and huge smiles plastered on our mugs. I would have felt like a dork but everyone else looked as dumb as we did, smiling at piles of Merc, shoebox and various other parts strewn around the desert lair that is Winfield's. The "classroom" was just in one of his garage shop spaces where he had obviously been working the day before since it looked like most of our shops, a mess. Definitely nothing fancy. Perfect. The first day was like a metal fabrication information waterfall. I was the only guy taking notes and I couldn't do it fast enough. Basic shop setup, tool and work station creation, hammer welding, leading and english wheel were the topics of the first day. Very little hands-on but very thorough and obviously insightful information. Lunch was Subway as paid for with Gene's wad of cash and picked up by a couple of his cronies. He spent lunch just hanging out with everyone and showing us around the whole compound. We saw amazing customs in progress and a couple of old show cars in a container out back. Then, at the end of the day, the best part. Open forum for questions. Class was supposed to end at six but the whole class hung out asking questions until nearly nine. He answered questions about everything from exhaust megaphone creation to top chopping details on nearly everyones specific project to sectioning to pancaking my '47 hood. I think he was as happy to be there as we all were. Of course Gil and I talked about nothing but customizing and Gene from the second we left, all through dinner and until we both crashed back at the Motel 6.
Sunday morning found us awake way before our wakeup call once again. We hit the same greasy spoon for breakfast and headed to Gene's early. Day two was another flood of knowledge. Hammer dies, more english wheel, patch paneling, plastic body filler techniques and louvering. Every guy there got to make a louvered panel and then Gene signed each one as a souvenir. Class ened at 6pm with the grand finale being a demostration on embossing. He created flames in an aluminum panel for his race car "The Thing". After another question and answer session the pupils began to slowly file out over about a two and a half hour period. I think everyone else was like me and wanted to move in. Before we left, Gil and I got to dig through Gene's private stash of customizing parts in one of the houses on the property. This house has no power and is filled waist deep with Desoto grilles, hubcaps, skirts and piles of every "most desireable" shiny part anyone could want. We were looking for a '47 Olds grille for my '47 Ford. In the near pitch black we only found one and it was a little too hammered. He said he knew he had another better one and would dig it up later. He asked about Billetproof then wrote it on his calendar for next year. He said he'd heard great things and wanted to come out this year but couldn't make it. Then, as if all that wasn't cool enough, he asked me to design his new catalog and all his product packaging. Holy crap!!! Plus I ordered a floorboard elimination kit for my '47. He was out of them so he told me he'd whip one up and bring it to me the second week of December when he's in town to paint John DiAugustiono's latest. WOW!!!
So, Gil and I grabbed a quick bite and got on the road just after nine. With two Red Bulls in me and a head swimming with a billion customizing memories and ideas I hauled ass for home. I debated turning around and ditching everything to live in Mojave and offer to be the janitor just to be able to hang out there eveyday.
Here are just a fraction of the shots I took this weekend. Enjoy. I know I did.
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutsidesign.jpg
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutside9.jpg
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutside.jpg
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutside3.jpg
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutside1.jpg
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutside2.jpg
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutside4.jpg
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutside5.jpg
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutside7.jpg
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutside4_1.jpg
Gene hammer forming a Merc window opening.
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genehammerjig.jpg
Window channel bending jig/tool
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genestrimjig.jpg
One of their shop made work stations with interchangeable pipe anvils. I took a ton of notes and pics. I'm building this first.
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesstation.jpg
Winfield 101 classroom.
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesclassroom.jpg
Jig for one of Gene'e floating grilles.
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesgrilljig.jpg
Gene on the sandbag. Check out the homemade hammer!! Can you see what he used? Cool!
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/geneshammer.jpg
Gene leading.
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/geneslead.jpg
His new flattie that's going in The Thing
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesflattie.jpg
The Thing. One of my alltime favorite cars and it was just sitting there outside. Awesome!
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutsidething.jpg
Gene, happy give us a few revs.
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutsidething1.jpg
What's inside you ask?
http://imagehost.vendio.com/preview/sp/speedgeeks/genesoutsidething2.jpg