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20 NEW Product Innovations at the 2023 NSRA “Nats”

September 20, 2023

After working long shifts and weekends, it’s payday and the time has come to enjoy your hard-earned cash. You stroll into the tuner shop and lay down some money on that turbocharger you have been dreaming about buying. Gotcha! Now your system is complete.

Celebrating the Life of Marla Moore

The automotive aftermarket community mourns the recent passing of Marla Moore, a true pioneer, mentor, and friend. With a career spanning more than 35 years, Marla’s professional achievements were matched only by the love she had for her daughter Madison—and the deep faith that guided her every step.

POWER WINDOW HOW-TO

Adding power windows is a popular aftermarket option for classic vehicles these days. Worn-out window regulators have given people problems for years, and as replacement parts have become increasingly more expensive and harder to find, it’s simply easier and often cheaper to replace the old regulators with new electric ones. In the past we had to raid wrecking yards for parts that would adapt into our vehicles, and as expected there were generally a few problems associated with doing this. First, you don’t always know the condition of the parts being used, even though they look good; and second, you would need some background in window geometry to get the job done correctly. Finally, you need a certain level of basic fabrication skill and tools, which would be more than basic hand tools. With today’s technology and the availability of well-engineered aftermarket power window kits this has all changed, as it’s commonplace for most people to go straight to a kit designed for their vehicle.

COVER YOUR BOTTOM

A Simple Approach To a Difficult Task

There are many ways to finish the bottom of any car. Whether you are building new, from the ground up or even detailing a rebuild that is not the off-the-frame type, you have options. And regardless of the extent of the refurbishing, you could even leave the underside in some shade of primer as it is easy to touch up, and the fenderwells and underside often become marked with use.

Author

Christopher Sondles

Story & Photography

Simple Bottom-Side Finishing Methods

Other methods of bottom-side finishing are simple approaches, like painting the surfaces rattle-can black or using store-bought, spray can undercoating. Some home builders like painting their undercarriages black while others paint theirs body color. There’s also a selection of undercoating treatments, or you can use any combination of these methods on particular areas. Most high-end, highly detailed cars that are built nowadays have fully sanded and primered under panels that are fully painted in the same color as the exterior, including the clear.

Challenges with Fully Painted Undersides

While this is the best-looking finish, it is the most time-consuming and expensive to do, and it is not the most practical due to damage from road chips and debris. Also, if you’ve ever had to clean one of these fully painted undersides or—even worse—had to touch up the undercarriage after a season of even minimal driving, even though you enjoy looking at these highly detailed cars on the show floor, you know this approach is not for you. If that’s the case, you may enjoy the product we are about to discuss.

The Show Car Buildoff ’55 Underside Coating

The Show Car Buildoff ’55, one of three cars being built by Woody’s Hot Rodz for an eventual shootout, was conceived with several thoughts in mind, not the least of which was the fact that these cars are being built to drive. Taking this into account, Woody’s thought it best to go a different route and coated the undersides of the three cars. Shown here is the ’55, which was the first of the trio to receive this unique bottom coating known as SEM Pro-Tex Tintable Truck Bed Liner.

Chassis Protection and Detailing

While the Art Morrison chassis was double-powdercoated to protect the chassis inside and out and to highlight this high-gloss finish, Woody’s incorporated Totally Stainless fasteners throughout, which are now available in kit form for the AME chassis. To go along with the polished stainless fasteners, stainless brake lines and aluminum brakes from Wilwood provide a great-looking contrast, and the chassis should not only stay rust-free but will also be durable and easy to clean.

Application of SEM Pro-Tex Tintable Truck Bed Liner

To finish the underside project, the SEM Pro-Tex Tintable Truck Bed Liner was purchased from a local parts store (Smyth Parts Plus) in Cincinnati, Ohio. This product is actually designed for truck beds, and because it is tintable (the bed liner is clear to start with), when tinted it will provide a custom look for the underside of this ’55. Another advantage is the fact that the liner material will add another noise barrier in addition to the Dynamat because of its absorptive properties.

Benefits and Installation of the Liner

The installation is simple and straightforward, so follow along as it is applied to the underside of the Show Car Buildoff ’55. This tri-5 will see lots of road miles this summer, but with SEM liner material applied, it will only need to be rinsed off, virtually eliminating any maintenance on the bottom-side finish. For more information on this product or to find a dealer near you, contact SEM Products.