HAVE A PROJECT?

A common theme we have noticed over the years in the body shop industry is something we call "feast or famine." In other words, there are very busy times and then there's nothing. To cope with this phenomenon, most body shops usually have a "project car" or two lurking in a corner somewhere to keep everyone busy during those slow times. We're a little different. Since we often fix cars that require fiberglass repairs (ie. Corvette, Saturn, etc.), it was only reasonable to ask if we'd repair their boat or jet ski, etc. At least that's what our customers thought. So over the years, more and more of these jobs showed up at our door and quickly became normal activity. To add fuel to that fire, those jobs turned into fixing other problems with their boat, maybe adding something, or modifying this, and painting that. That led to all types of marine services being done, including makeovers, installation of parts or accessories, fabrication work, modifications, and repairs. Now it has become part of our business model.

ALUMINUM

Aluminum is a common staple of the marine industry due to its inherent ability to fight corrosion. So as more marine projects were acquired, aluminum fabrication quickly spawned into a huge part of our additional services. Aluminum welding is similar to steel but yet so different. Welding aluminum requires special welders, tools, accessories, and a mulitude of knowledge. It is within itself, an art form. That being said, we've had years of experience working with aluminum and we stock several sizes of angle, bar, pipe, extrusions, and sheet goods, including anodized aluminum. If we don't have it, we can get next day.

So if you have a project involving aluminum and need something fabricated, check us out. Another reason we often get asked to do fabrication work is our ability to paint or refinish the project when completed saving them the trouble of having to take it somewhere else to be painted. If we can be of service, please feel free to call.

Z-BEAST

A friend of a friend bought this cart for his friend. It was delivered to our shop for a makeover since the friend lived in a retirement village where golf carts are considered the normal mode of tranportation. This project grew exponentially to become a Z-Beast.

PREDATOR

This cart was spawned from working on the Z-Beast but this owner wanted a more camouflage look and blacked out trim instead of the polished look. We started out with a high speed motor but ended up installing a low torque motor.

CORBINS CAT

After watching the two previous projects, the Z-Beast and Predator, we got the green light to build what we later named Corbin's Cat. When asked about how he wanted it painted, he said "surprise me."

DOLPHIN'S TRIKE TRAILER

Miami Dolphin's publicity guy, Dolfan Denny, was referred to us to see if we could build him a custom trailer for his trike after trying unsucessfully to find one like he wanted from numerous trailer companies.

P-51 MUSTANG PROJECT

After an landing accident involving a strong crosswind in New Jersey, this plane was disassembled and trucked to Florida for repairs. The owner decided now was a good time to overhaul and completely repaint the plane while repairing the damage.

T-28 WARBIRD RESTORATION

This old warbird was discovered in a military graveyard and bought by an Fed-Ex commercial pilot who had previously rebuilt 11 other planes. This became his last and final project. We were hired by the company completing the project to refinish the plane.

EXPERIMENTAL PLANE

A Boca Grande charter captain had taken on a project of building himself an experimental float plane and needed someone to paint it for him. Word of mouth advertisement got us the job of painting and striping this plane. 

FORD TRACTOR PROJECT

Several years ago, we came across this old Ford 3000 tractor. It was in decent shape but needed a little cleaning up and a paint job. So we bought it, cleaned it up, ordered a few parts it needed, and gave it a paint job.

J0HN DEERE GATOR

This was one of the first Gators that John Deere made using a single front wheel and motorcycle handlebars. These gators would go just about anywhere since all four rear tires were drive axles. In case you're wondering, customer who bought it needed multiple seats to haul the family.

LAWN MOWER CONVERSION

We took an old Walker ZTR mower frame, a portable pressure washer cart handlebar, and converted it to a three wheel electric cart. It's powered by three 12 volt batteries producing 36 volts and uses a golf cart rear axle assy and electric motor primarly used to pull a drag for a baseball field.

SMITHCO REFAB

This was a $20K golf course spray rig we found at a huge yard sale of all types of equipment, golf carts, tractors, etc. We bought it, cleaned it up, and painted it. Although we managed to get the engine running again, we eventually had to install a new engine and another transmission. Working good now!

ELECTRIC GO CART

Trying to use up some old golf cart parts and stuff we had lying around, we started concocting an electric go cart. I think the term for this type of build is called a "rat rod," since the object is to not really buy anything, but use up all those extra parts sitting around in the way. BTW, it is still a work in progress.

SOUND STAGE PROJECT

In our younger days, when we had loads of energy, we use to help out around the community providing lights and sound for events like fairs or festivals. Seeing the need for a portable stage we decided to build one. Although we do not have any photos of the actual build since digital cameras were not even around, we do have a few photos of the finished product in use. We sold it years ago but it is still being used today at all types of events in southwest Florida.