SODA BLASTING
March 25, 2024
THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
34 Expert Restoration Tips for Classic Car Enthusiasts
Every detail matters when it comes to restoring or customizing a vehicle. Whether you’re smoothing out seams, fine-tuning trim, or upgrading outdated systems, the right techniques can make the difference between a show-stopping build and a project that falls flat. We’ve compiled 34 expert tips to help you refine your restoration skills, sourced directly from the pros at Jeff Lilly Restorations. Dive in and discover actionable advice that will streamline your workflow, enhance your results, and help you achieve the classic car of your dreams.
HOW WE BUILT A SHOW-STOPPER
(and Why We Built it the Way We Did)
THE QUESTION THAT we always seem to get asked at shows, at work and even when we are at a restaurant or just chilling at a bookstore is this: Everyone wants to know why Neil and Mei Tjin spend big money on their cars.
If you must know, it’s the love of the game and wanting to have the best of the best. Everyone always talks about JDM-this and JDM-that. Well, how about just getting the best parts from anywhere— Japan, Australia, America, wherever—and putting them on the car?
TIMELESS WORK OF ART
We aren’t exactly sure what draws people toward these cars. Maybe it’s their clean body lines, or maybe it’s the fact that there have been so many built over the past decade or so that you just can’t escape their presence.
Spotlighter
Product Spotlight: Pyramid Optimized Design Sequential Aurora Taillight for 1964½–1966 Mustang
Update Your First Gen Mustang's Taillights to the 21st Century
If you’ve ever followed a classic Mustang at night, you know the taillights were never its strong suit. Pyramid Optimized Design decided to fix that—with style. The Sequential Aurora Taillight is a modern LED retrofit that finally gives your early Mustang the bright, even illumination it always deserved—no hot spots, no dim corners, no burned-out bulbs.
Author
The Auto Builder Staff
Photos Courtesy of Pyramid Optimized Design
Each Aurora setup comes as a complete, ready-to-install system. Inside the box, you’ll find two precision-engineered LED taillight units, a solid-state LED flasher relay designed for smooth, consistent sequencing, and a pair of low-profile chrome bezels with hidden hardware—a subtle but brilliant design move that eliminates visible screws for a cleaner, more refined finish.
These bezels strike the perfect balance between factory-correct styling and modern refinement, maintaining that unmistakable Mustang rear profile while sharpening it just enough to catch the eye. When those sequential turn signals sweep across the lenses, the effect is pure automotive theater—subtle, sophisticated, and unmistakably modern.
Prefer to keep your Mustang’s exterior completely original? Pyramid thought of that, too. The Aurora housings are fully compatible with your stock bezels and lenses, allowing you to retain a 100% factory appearance while enjoying the benefits of today’s lighting technology hidden beneath the surface.
Key Features:
- Direct retrofit for 1964½–1966 Mustangs—no permanent mods
- Ultra-bright, even LED output with sequential signal pattern
- Hidden hardware, low-profile bezels for a clean factory aesthetic
- Includes reproduction lenses and a solid-state flasher relay
Installation couldn’t be easier—it’s a true plug-and-play retrofit that requires no cutting, no drilling, and no irreversible modifications. Everything bolts right into the factory mounting points, transforming your taillights in an afternoon. The result is a factory look that glows with confidence and clarity far beyond what Ford ever offered in the mid-’60s.
Classic looks. Modern lighting. Zero compromise.
👉 Bring your Mustang into the modern era—upgrade to the Sequential Aurora Taillights today!
ARTICLE SOURCES
Pyramid Optimized Design
Bellingham, Washington.
