A Bit of Plastic Surgery

(Tommy)>> You're watching Powernation!

(Tommy)>> They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We're making our '90s Mustang a sight to behold today on Detroit Muscle.

(James)>> Yeah baby! [ Music ] [ engines revving ] [ Music ]

(Tommy)>> Hey guys, welcome to Detroit Muscle. Today on the chopping block is our Fox body. This thing was destined to make a statement and what we're gonna be doing next is what's gonna separate it from the crowd.

(Peyton)>> And guys this is a day I have been looking forward to. As you can see, we've got our wide body kit laid out and this kit is from JBA, and the man beside me is the man that came up with it. James from what I understand there's quite a bit of history about the car. Would you mind sharing a little bit of that with us?

(James)>> I'm so excited you guys at Detroit Muscle are doing this with our Dominator GTC kit. The A-car came out with the 25th anniversary of the Mustang. Ford asked us to build a super car in three weeks. Be at road and track, top speed shootout. So we took a 1989 Mustang for a dollar from Ford Motor Company and converted it in three weeks and went 175 miles an hour with it. Now this updated kit is a GTC package. It's all hand laid composite fiberglass, and it's designed to bolt on to either convertibles or LXs. You guys have a GT. That's gonna be exciting to see us do that on a GT.

(Peyton)>> So this will be the only convertible GT car with this body kit right?

(James)>> That's right! As of right now you guys are leading the pack. Basically some body shop work, and the parts are premium quality and need some paint prep and then you go.

(Peyton)>> You're saying we've got to tear some stuff up before we get to make it pretty again.

(James)>> Oh yeah, we like body shop work.

(Tommy)>> You ready to slice on that Fox body?

(Peyton)>> Only thing is I know it's gonna get better in the end.

(James)>> We're gonna learn because it's a GT. He's actually gonna take a GT valence front and rear and cut them. I've done them on LXs and I always say if it works great on an LX. Peyton here says we're gonna do a GT that'll be one of one.

(Peyton)>> One of one.

(Tommy)>> You got both fingers crossed?

(Peyton)>> You can't see it because I've got my boots on but my toes are crossed too.

(James)>> I think it'll be fine. What makes a Dominator a Dominator is the fitment on the big wheels and big tires. Obviously the front fenders, it's all custom. The rear we have to modify the quarter panels to allow for the 11, 12, 13 inch wide wheel depending on what size whether you have a 315, or 325.

(Peyton)>> 335!

(James)>> So we're gonna trim that. First we've got to remove the extensions here and the rear valence, and we have to match up the door. This will have to come off also because the GTs have a different trim from the LXs.

(Peyton)>> I'll pop a couple of screws out. I'll hand you the screwdriver and you can pop a couple out. [ Music ]

(James)>> Yeah baby! [ Music ]

(Peyton)>> Sparks are flying as we open up the wheel well with some careful cutting. [ saw buzzing ] [ Music ]

(James)>> Looks like you've got the perfect butterfly pattern. Let's see you glue it.

(Peyton)>> This is my favorite part!

(James)>> I can tell! [ Music ] [ welder crackling ]

(Peyton)>> Working our way from one side to the other we are getting it sewed up with some carefully placed tack welds. [ Music ]

(James)>> Let's begin with this left front fender.

(Peyton)>> So we've just got a couple of holes to drill in this for the badges and then the body mounts?

(James)>> Yep, and there's scribe marks in the composite fiberglass that you'll be able to mark and cut away. We've got them on both sides.

(Peyton)>> I see them, little divets. Mark with a paint pen. [ drill humming ] [ Music ]

(James)>> Oh yeah baby, Dominator GTC!

(Peyton)>> That's one of my favorite parts of the whole kit.

(James)>> That's like the decals on a model. [ Music ]

With the GTC car we decided we would improve the car. We took all the components of that and we redesigned every corner of it, and we made it very concentric to the chassis so that every fender is identical to the opposite side fender, and every joint, and every component really matches up on a higher scale or level than we had with the original. We basically knew that we had a perfect LX hatchback kit. We knew that the LX body from 1987 to 1993 was a very simple installation. We didn't realize he had a convertible. So he and I are having a great time today adapting this to a convertible, which is actually very doable based on the fact that these fabricators who build cars like this have a wonderful tool in the product and the kit that we offer. It's very adaptable. With fiberglass, this high quality composite fiberglass package that we offer, you can make it whichever you want it to be. The serts are in. We've got a couple more pieces of hardware but in general terms you got it on!

(Peyton)>> We put in a pretty good day.

(James)>> I would say that you deserve the badge of life.

(Peyton)>> The Dominator badge!

(James)>> I think you can wrap this up without any trouble. Let's see? Oh yeah, Dominator GTC baby!

(Peyton)>> Appreciate you coming out Jay and giving us a hand. Pleasure to have you in the shop with us.

(James)>> Love working with you guys.

(Peyton)>> We'll get out to sunny California and see you.

(James)>> That would be great!

(Peyton)>> Maybe bring the old Mustang along.

(James)>> Maybe we'll make some laps together somewhere. When you're off work you can wear that.

(Peyton)>> How'd you know I was a hat guy? I've got probably 60 hats.

(James)>> We'll have to compare hat collections when you come out.

(Peyton)>> This will be my knew going out hat! Up next, we give this car some flex as we take this LX kit and make it a GT kit.

(Peyton)>> Welcome back to the shop for part two of the wide body kit install. While y'all were gone I took the front bumper off and shot it with a little paint. Now I'm gonna show you how to take an LX kit and make it fit on a GT car. [ Music ] I'm measuring down to trim off the lower section of the front bumper so the new piece fits flush. Then I'll lay down a tape line for reference, and using the body saw slice it away. [ Music ] [ saw buzzing ] [ Music ]

(Peyton)>> Well I've got to do a little bit of fiberglass work because the outside bolt on our new bumper will actually fall right in the fog light hole. While I'm doing that I might as well fix a couple of these cracks in this old bumper. [ grinder humming ]

(Peyton)>> A lot of people don't really like fiberglass work. Myself I don't really mind it. Take a little time, prep your surface, pre-cut your matting, and make sure you mix your resin to hardener properly. [ Music ]

[ Music ] [ drill humming ] [ Music ]

[ drill humming ] [ Music ]

(Peyton)>> One of my favorite parts of this kit is actually the rear bumper. Now these old Fox bodies don't have a lot of exhaust exit options that are visually appealing to me. With this kit it uses a rectangular tip that passes through the rear bumper, and I find this a lot cleaner and a more finished look. [ Music ] The rear bumper attaches a lot like the front and uses these bolts encased in fiberglass to bolt through the factory bumper. Again like the front I'll have to cut off the lower section. So I'll start by laying down a tape line. [ Music ]

[ air saw buzzing ]

(Peyton)>> A little help from the body saw and a little pressure from my boot and quick work is made out of this surgery. [ Music ] [ drill humming ] [ Music ]

(Peyton)>> This kit is more than just appearance. Besides looking bitchin' it also has some performance benefits, like these vents to keep the brakes cool.

(Tommy)>> Coming up, if Project Streetfighter was one of your favorite builds we've got a treat for you.

(Tommy)>> One of my most favorite cars ever to work on would have to bee that thing right there. Project Streetfighter, a 1971 Plymouth Barracuda. We went through that car entirely adding a whole lot of performance and grit. When it comes to the styling of that make and model ride I know it's quite a favorite, and it's not just me that says so. Go catch a Cuda if you can. That was the old Plymouth slogan from back in the day, and this '71 Cuda is quite the catch sporting one of the most aggressive and bold designs of all Barracudas, and a massive, big block under the hood. You can tell this fish is ready to bite.

(Peyton)>> Armed with her four speed pistol grip shifter owner Janie Cecil loves showing off her ride.

(Jamie)>> This car has always been driven, never trailered. We've been to Indy, we've been to Columbus. We go everywhere in it.

(Tommy)>> Now Cuda is not just a nickname. It's the beefed up high performance version of the standard Barracuda. Cuda came with heavy duty suspension and brakes, hood scoops, a blacked out rear deck panel, and rally gauges. Plus you got a 383 four-barrel pumping out 300 horses with 410-pound feet of torque. You also got the choice of upgrading to a 340, 440, or a Hemi, but this 383 has plenty of power and torque to take on the pony cars of its day. Zero to 60 times were 7.8 seconds, and it could do the quarter mile in the mid-14s. [ Music ]

(Peyton)>> The 383 made its debut in the Barracuda in 1967. The small engine bay of the A-bodies could barely contain the B-block motor. There was no room leftover for a/c or power steering. By 1969 the fish car was starting to look dated and sales were falling. So the Mopar guys decided to completely redesign it. [ Music ] The success of the B-body Satellite allowed them to invest in the brand new E-body, which was unveiled in 1970. The new body kept the same 108-inch wheelbase of the A-body, but the front end was larger and wider like the B-bodies. This allowed them to drop in big engines with plenty of room to spare.

(Tommy)>> Plymouth continued to refine the looks of the E-body style, coming up with several standout features that you'll only find on a '71. First up is the grille, known as the cheese grater. Instead of the simple vertically divided grille of the '70 models this one has six teeth that look like fangs of the real life Barracuda. This was also the first and only model to feature quad headlights. [ Music ]

(Peyton)>> Now every fish needs gills right? So why not this one? The louvres didn't really serve any function but making it look cooler. The fenders had to be specially stamped to install them, which may be why they didn't make it into the '72 model.

(Tommy)>> Probably the most outrageous styling change was the billboards on the rear fenders. These monster stripes announced to the whole world what was lurking under the hood and were practically the size of a billboard. They were so big and so hard to put on the car that the designers at Plymouth were told to never design any stripes that large again.

(Peyton)>> Despite all the changes sales fell dramatically from almost 18 thousand in 1970 to less than six thousand in 1971. Part of the reason they sold so well in 1970 was that labor strikes had virtually shut down GM and Ford, but the market for muscle cars was also drying up as insurance rates skyrocketed and EPA regulations took their toll. This was the last year that you could order a Cuda in 383, 440, or Hemi. In '72 the only engine you could get was a 340 rated at only 240 horsepower.

(Tommy)>> Records show that in '71 only 501 Cuda hardtops were built with a 383 four-speed transmission. Plus this is one of the few with a/c, making it even more rare. Before Janie bought it it was about to be cut up and turned into a race car. This is one fish we're glad it didn't get away. Hopefully one day I'll catch me one of those. Having a '71 Plymouth with that cheese grater grille is definitely on my bucket list. Now that I think about I think I need to get me a bigger bucket.

(Peyton)>> Feel like your car is missing that special touch? Coming up next we give you some tips on how to personalize your ride.

(Tommy)>> Hey guys, welcome back to the shop. Our Mustang is about mid-way through its transformation and it's definitely doing just that. We're gonna take things even further. Peyton's got some big ideas to spice things up with some retro graphics.

(Peyton)>> Today we're talking about wrap versus paint and showing you how to prepare for vinyl. Now over the last few years the question of stick on or spray has become more prevalent. There's a few deciding factors like time, longevity, appearance, and price that may affect your decision.

(Tommy)>> With paint you can expect a better finish that will more closely resemble what came from the factory depending on your paint guy of course. A well done paint job can last decades if properly maintained and cared for. Which brings us to the initial cost of painting a car. This is one of those things that you really get what you pay for. A show quality paint job can cost you tens of thousands of dollars. $30, $40, $50 grand isn't unheard of. Then you combine that with a lot of body work you're gonna be spending some money.

(Peyton)>> Wraps can be a cheaper, faster way to change the look of your ride as long as the surface underneath is in good condition. Vinyl also gives you the ability to add custom graphics and imagery that's not achievable with paint. The nice thing about going this route is you are changing the appearance without damaging the underlying paint. If you get bored or don't like you can just peel it off.

(Tommy)>> At the end of the day there's really no right or wrong choice. It all depends on your preference.

(Peyton)>> Since the Mustang's not quite ready for her wrap yet I'm gonna use this piece of old body molding to show you a few tips and tricks on how to prep and install a wrap. To start this whole process off I'm gonna need a few cleaners. Got a glass cleaner, a wax and grease remover, and a little isopropyl alcohol. If I was doing a full car I would take it outside and wash it down with a hose pipe and some soap and that would remove the heavier particulates on this, but since this piece is already kinda scratched and got some bad paint spots I'm gonna use a glass cleaner that's a heavy foaming glass cleaner to lift the dirt and just wipe it off with a paper towel. [ Music ] The next step in this process is gonna be wax and grease remover. At some point in this car's life it's had some wax or polish, plus all kinds of grease and grime from the road. This is gonna lift any of those contaminants off. This step is one of the most important because it ensures that the vinyl has a good surface to cling to. There's one more step that you may or may not need to do, and that's clay baring. Some surfaces may have embedded debris or minerals caught in them. You would clay bar this surface and that's gonna pull up any of those materials. Since this piece is just a scrap piece I'm just gonna finish it off with a 50/50 mixture of alcohol to distilled water. A good little tip I've learned is instead of taking your rag and putting it on top of your bottle of solvent and tipping it to the rag just squirt it from a distance because any kind of contaminants on the rag can backwash into the bottle and that can really mess up a latter job, whether a paint job or a wrap. [ Music ] The great thing about a wrap is the options are limitless. From the different color vinyls you can get almost any of you can think of to what you can print on them. You're trying to advertise for a commercial business, say the side of a van, you can do it or if you're just trying to make your hot rod stand out from the crowd the magic starts here. Now that we've got our part all cleaned I don't want to get any oils from my skin on the part or on the sticky side of the vinyl. So a good rule of thumb is to wear a set of gloves that are powder free. I've got a piece of vinyl here that's roughly the same size as the part I'll be wrapping. A good rule of thumb with this is to always make sure you have a little bit of excess. It's a lot easier to cut it off afterwards than to add back to it. Depending on your vinyl material some is stiffer than others. Using a little hot air softens the material and helps it stick by warming the adhesive. Then just work the air bubbles out with a paddle. [ Music ] [ heat gun humming ] [ Music ]

(Peyton)>> You can see we've got a little bit of two-tone color on our panel, and all it took was a little bit of heat and a little bit of pressure and we got this baby wrapped up.

(Tommy)>> Looks like you got some pretty good practice in for the rest of the car.

(Peyton)>> I know, and that seemed like a heck of a chore.

(Tommy)>> I'm proud it's gonna be you instead of me since you're a big fan of this stuff.

(Peyton)>> Same could be said. I'd rather it be you than me too.

(Tommy)>> Well we made some pretty good progress on our Mustang today. We've still got a long way to go. I guess you're pretty excited about this thing?

(Peyton)>> I can't wait to see it finished.