After Gonzo worked his magic on the art car we began to worry that the paint would fade.  Because of our lovely Texas Heat the paint applied would eventually disappear.  This would be a tragedy so we began looking for a solution. 

First we tried to just spray a simple enamel on the paint.  Unfortunately the paint (in a very small area) started to peak away.  After a good scolding form my wife we turned to an expert.  I contacted Al at Jammers and he started to look for a possible solution.  It wasn't easy since the paint was unstable and you could just clear coat the car.  But the guys at Jammers figured something out and the Intergalactic Lone Star Wagon had a shiny new protective coat.  The paint is all slick and shines like no other!

If you are ever looking for someone to mod your whip or fix a fender bender, you gotta go to Jammers. 

Jammers Auto Body

3740 Jeanetta
Houston, TX 77063
713-789-3450

http://www.jammersautobody.com/

Posted by danny at 01:46 PM | Permalink

Last week I took the wagon in to River Oaks Car Stereo to have a few things done to the Intergalactic Wagon.  The guys over there have been working on my cars since i was in high School. (That was back when Eddie ran his shop behind Randall's).

This time Doc and Eddie Jr. went nuts on the wagon.  Most of the old speakers were blown out so we had them updated. 

When I stopped by to see the car it was shocking to see my baby all undone like that.  It was like surgery. 

Now that the car has some better sounds we added a few other details like an alarm.  To set the car off like no other we also added a set of LED lights to give the intergalactic wagon that hover look at night. 

These lights are the baddest.  They can change to 7 different colors and about 200 different types of blinking patterns.  My kids just about wet themselves when they saw me rollin up with the undercarriage a glow.

 The guys over at River Oaks Car Stereo did a great job as usual. 

I don't think I would trust this fine piece of American automotive with any other group of guys.  Be sure and check them out at www.installer.com  They have plenty of toys you want and some you probably didn't know existed. 

Posted by danny at 10:43 PM | Permalink

Last week I decided that the wagon needed a little Texas style bling.  So I started to look for someone that could build us a custom hood ornament.  With a quick search, I came across Kent and Holly of Lucky Devil Metal Works.  

I sent them an email asking if they were able to build a hood ornament for our car.  Holly shot me back an email and was excited to hear about our project.  I could tell these guys were going to be great!  They wanted to build the ornament for us in memory of Tom Jones who was tragically killed by a drunk driver on May 11th of 2008.  Tom was an icon to the Art Car community and loved by many throughout Houston. 

Sunday afternoon my little man, James, and I headed out to the Lucky Devil Metal Works shop to work on the wagon.  When we arrived there was a photo shoot going on for one of the Houston Roller Derby teams.   There were a bunch of beautiful bikes, rough looking women in roller skates and lots of metal!  James and I were thoroughly impressed.

Once the shoot ended we pulled the wagon in and Kent started working on the car. 

Kent and I discussed the ornament we wanted and the size.  James wanted the ornament to be really big, but I convinced both James and Kent that a smaller size would be just fine. 

Since the wagon is officially the Intergalactic Lone Star Wagon, we presented the hood with an image of our great state of Texas.

Once that was decided on, Kent went to town on the metal.  It was really fun watching him work.  Personally, I had more fun watching my son James see this for the first time.  Kent was really patient with James (and myself) in answering all our questions and providing plenty of safety gear.

We watched the artist work his magic with grinders, torches and saws.

Kent was a master at his craft.  James and I were amazed to see how he could change the metals shape. 

Every step of the way Kent would go over what he was going to do.  You could tell he really loves what he does by the way he would take the time to show James how all the parts and tools worked.   Kent was showing James how he was going to bend the metal for the base of the hood ornament.  

James was mesmerized by the whole process and had the biggest smile on his face the whole afternoon.

He explained to James that the machine was really loud and you had to wear ear protection.  That was an entirely too complicated thing for James but he listened to Mr. Kent's direction and put on the ear protection.

While we were hanging out in the shop, James and I talked about all the different types of flames that were on the bikes, walls and cars at the shop.  James showed Mr. Kent the flames on the wagon and Kent decided to flame up the Texas Plate for us. 

After the plate was grinded down, he etched in flames on the raw metal. We decided to go with raw metal because it seemed to have a nice little Art Car feel.

This piece of art was beginning to get us all real excited about the new ornament!

After the etching was done, Kent finished it off with a burnished look.  It was just the thing to set this car off.  Nothing better than hot metal on the front of our crazy intergalactic wagon!

We installed the ornament and shut it down for the night.  Holly and Kent were the nicest people.  James poured on the charm with Mrs. Holly too.  She was so sweet to play kick ball with him, set him up with a movie, made him a sandwich and even let him hold their new little chickens.  It was a priceless afternoon that I am forever grateful.  

Kent and Holly of Lucky Devil Metal works are two top notch people.  They treated us like family and their love of Texas, art and friends shined through.   Thanks for doing this for us guys!  We are honored to carry a piece of art on the wagon in memory of Tom. 

God Bless Texas and God Bless your local Lucky Devil!

Posted by danny at 10:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Recently I joined The Station Wagon Forum in order to stay up-to-date on the latest trends of those cutting edge wagon drivers like myself.  I found myself spending time late at night reading up on the history of the wagon and perusing the thousands of photos of other member's wagon whips.   Some of these cars have been taken care of very well.  Others are on the brink of becoming a rat rod. 

In one of the many galleries I came across this gem of an image.  It is an article from a magazine about Wagon Life and ways to make it more comfortable for the "kiddies."

At first glance I thought, WOW!  this is nuts!  Who in their right mind would just stand a kid up in the front seat like that.  Then I flashed back to the Caprice my dad owned and being excited when I could stand up to see out the window.  It was best in the summer because I didn't have to sit on the vinyl seats that stuck to my legs.  I also cannot remember EVER sitting in the back seat of the car.  I guess that was for styrofoam coolers form the U-To Tum and Big Boy Burger wrappers. 

Its amazing how we have grown into such a "safe" society these days.  Looking back at the things we used to do makes me wonder how we ever survived in the first place.  If it wasn't the asbestos in the tiles or the lead paint on the baby crib it was the "Safer-Seat" by Hughes Specialties. 

What really makes me think though is about the things we are doing right now that are kids will look back in thirty years and say, "Man!  remember when our parents actually DRANK Soda!?"  or something along those lines.  Who know,  I don't know what makes a good parent but I am sure we are all screwing something up right now!

Posted by danny at 09:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I know, you thought it was a "real" baby but it is just one of the coolest cars ever built in America!  That's right, the all American family wagon! 

The same year National Lampoons Vacation came out is the same year that this psycho family ride was built.  Our new 1983 Buick LeSabre Estate Wagon is our craziest little family project yet. 

The best thing about this new fun ride is that everyone can cruise in it.  It has a strong V8 engine that smokes a little less than George Burns.  It has a state of the art push button stereo that plays BOTH kinds of music (AM & FM).  Of course the speakers are buzzing more than a freshman at a frat house.  And best of all the third row seat faces backwards so you can catch everyone checking out your dog dish hubcaps! 

We are going to have some real fun with this wagon.  I know most would think, "Hey, how could you make a car like this cooler?"  Well let me tell you, we are going to make this bad ride a real head turning in the community.  The kids are ready to splash a little color to it so Gonzo is going to help me black it out.  After that I am going to lay down some flames and possibly give it that Destruction Derby Look!.  So keep an eye out for the Wagon and give us a shout if you spot it on the road! 

Oh and one last thing, if you see us stranded on the side of the road we will happily give anyone that helps a gift certificate to the studio!

God Bless Texas and God Bless The American Family Truckster!

Posted by danny at 10:30 AM | Permalink