Four years ago, we chose a derelict Quonset hut as our home. Now, it’s a proud and restored shiny tin can. We are almost done with this massive restoration, and we’re getting pretty excited.
The goal was to create a bright, fun place to work that would communicate our passion for blending old and new. I wanted our building to express our commitment to the fabrication of solutions, because every auto restoration is exactly that. The building also needed to communicate that we take what we do very seriously and leave no detail to chance.
Along the way, we were often tested. There were many problems to solve to deliver a building that matched the vision. Like an old British car, our hut occasionally put up a fight.
This week, we completed the glass dividing wall between the old and new building. The wall allows the separation of ground level lifts and upper level showroom and office space. We wanted our workshop in the new building to feel of a gourmet kitchen, with proud chefs behind the glass. And the glass wall allows the light from the bright skylit addition into the main hall.
Glass wall is my favorite part of the whole project. Everyone worked so hard to build all the pieces of this renovation. For example, Mike and Kenny must have cut, chamfered and stained 500 pine boards for the addition ceiling as shown in the photo below. Only when the glass was put in place did the details really shine through the entire space. You can now see both the 60 year old steel ceiling and the new pine ceiling from every vantage point in the combined structure. When you turn the corner to see this wall of glass and everything in front and behind it, you know you have arrived someplace very special. We strive to make our cars and our parts very special too.
This week, we also erected a new four post lift that will replace the I-beam ramps we’ve used for the past four years.
It’s hard to believe the image below is of the same building wall. Just two years prior, there was no addition, and we moved cars into the building on this gravel path up two discarded steel I-beams. These ramps saw a lot of Bugeye tire prints over the years and served us well.
Construction was just starting on the addition in the photo below. You might not know that the same guy who sewed the quilted custom leather seats for Gumby also built this addition, almost single-handedly.
Thank you Kenny!
Below is a short drive video in our Bugeye Goldie. Near the end of the video at about 2:35, you can see me drive through the addition while it was very much under construction. I enjoyed seeing how far our building project has come, and I hope you will too!
Thank you for your support of all of our endeavors, that support has helped us to grow. We want to be your primary Sprite parts supplier, and your go-to source for restoration and sales as well. Now that our facility is almost done, we can really shine.
