My new detail wagon, Deloris the Detailasaurus

[Apollo_Auto]

Hi all! Well I have to say that I'm happier than a pig in poo right now because I bought myself a new detail wagon this week! No more lugging that stupid trailer around!! I'd considered buying a new car before I saw this one and decided against taking up another loan. Besides, I don't think anyone will be that much more impressed if I'm driving a new car or not... like I said before, I was using a ratty-looking primered trailer until now. Anyway, she's a 1997 Skoda Felicia and she's got 181,000 km on her (that's 112,468 miles for the metric impaired ), some body damage on both sides (not too much), the transmission slips out of 5th gear (I can easily fix that) and there's a little rust in the back, but she runs like a chicken with its head cut off and I'm stoked about her! And for the grand total of $1,100 I can't complain. It's a car from E.on and my best friend who's an engineer there says they take very good care of their company cars. It's a nice project car, too. I gave her a light polishing today and gutted the inside because it smelled like a penicillin factory inside. Here's some pics:



Generally dirty...

Gutted all the crap that was stuck under the dash, then fixed the pin switches on the door so the interior light would work... then ran some speaker wires for my tunes .

Some mold... at least I can say, "I have culture"! :geez

The cause of the mold... I still can't figure out why they put this plug in there. Did they expect me to have to deal with a flood in the car or what? :think:

Hmm, walnuts... that's just nuts

Painting the plug thingy

All cleaned up and repainted on the inside

The front carpet pressure washed and scrubbed, now drying on my shed.

Seats and back carpet drying on the porch.

Swirly monster...

All painted and silicon caulk applied to seal it up for good.

Some reflections after polishing the box

All finished with a coat of Collinite 885, followed by a coat of Migliore Primo 1 hour later.

I wasn't too concerned with a full correction; I just wanted to breathe a little life back into the old girl. She's going to be repainted soon anyway

Rust on the seats that was irking me. I cleaned them up with a wire brush and then resprayed them with matt black paint.

Side view and my mischievous little son

Everything put back in and treated with an odor killer.

The back: The shelves came with the truck... score! Everything fits just perfectly and I can close the little gates on the shelves so nothing bounces about!

There's a bit of rust on the back wheel wells that needs to be taken care of soon.

If all goes well, Deloris the Detailasaurus should look something like this before the summer's over:

Thanks for looking, and for the Playboy subscribers thanks for "looking"!



- Jesse

 

[Barry Theal]

dude now that **** is cool! i was laughing at deloris the detailasaurus thats a great car nic! then when i seen that carpet on your shed roof i thought omg! im not the only one who does gung ho ****! jesse cool wagon! good luck with her! nice job on the detail!!

 

[imported_Sludge1]

Really enjoyed reading your post. The little truck looks like a great asset for your business. Nice purchase, nice job fixing it. :up

 

[Frito Bandito]

That's a pretty cool little detail wagon! I also like the paint job you are considering.

 

[Greg Nichols]

Very Nice there Jesse! You had mold in your car because you're a fun-guy.........bad I know



Cheers,

GREG

 

[Apollo_Auto]

Very Nice there Jesse! You had mold in your car because you're a fun-guy.........bad I know



Cheers,

GREG

That was painful Greg, get your coat please ! Thanks buddy!

 

[imported_Jakerooni]

man that thing is awesome. It would be the perfect set up for guys in cities and such. did it have a rodent problem with the walnuts in there? Damn mice love to eat on the wires.

 

[BIOLINK]

Sweet ride man. I love the message on the windshield.:chuckle:

 

[steelwind101]

WoW! Thats look good and i love that bought it up to scratch!



I had a few points which might be out of place on your other details. Im from the UK and its not hard to find the Hungarian or Pol about, i get the impression from them that Hungary is suffering alot right now. Things for you seem good, that is a good thing. Many suggest that Hungary had so much promise to kick start after its independance but never seemed to get going but certantly in your neck of the woods its progressing!



I appreciate seeing your work and what your doing, your house there looks good and obvisously business is growing and going on.



I enjoy your work and write ups!



Geoff:bigups

 

[dmw2692004]

looks awesome! Great score!

 

[socalv-dub]

dude, if i saw that message in my rear view mirror. holy bajeebus that would rock. thats a pretty awesome idea.

 

[autoconcierge]

Funny as hell Jesse"your car is dirty" lovin it. Looks nice there where you are in Hungary, just curious what made you an expat? also how is the quality of life there here in the USA it is going downhill and the economy part to me is not the worst of it the libs are on a rampage but I will get of the soap box now.



Good luck with the new rig!!.

 

[imported_mopar]

I like the wagon, nice job on yanking the carpet and going all the way.

May I suggest you rake care of the rust on the fender well in back, that can rust through in no time, a little rust oleum and wire brush goes a long way.

 

[Apollo_Auto]

Thanks all for the comments!

WoW! Thats look good and i love that bought it up to scratch!



I had a few points which might be out of place on your other details. Im from the UK and its not hard to find the Hungarian or Pol about, i get the impression from them that Hungary is suffering alot right now. Things for you seem good, that is a good thing. Many suggest that Hungary had so much promise to kick start after its independance but never seemed to get going but certantly in your neck of the woods its progressing!



I appreciate seeing your work and what your doing, your house there looks good and obvisously business is growing and going on.



I enjoy your work and write ups!



Geoff:bigups

Thanks Geoff! Well I can't say everything's peaches and cream here (especially the winter, but I'm pulling out of that now), but I've managed to grab hold of a few good clients and impress them enough to "spread the word". The only other "real" detailer other than me in this small country is Bence, but he doesn't do it for a living so I'm pretty much in my own category here. I'm not striving to be the best in the world or even the bet in the country, but if it happens it happens :heelclick. The "detailers here have no idea about the kind of "Autopian" details we do here so again I'm thankful for that and I'm also thankful for the plethora of knowledge I absorb from all the other fine detailers here. Thanks to you all, as you've all been an inspiration!

Funny as hell Jesse"your car is dirty" lovin it. Looks nice there where you are in Hungary, just curious what made you an expat? also how is the quality of life there here in the USA it is going downhill and the economy part to me is not the worst of it the libs are on a rampage but I will get of the soap box now.



Good luck with the new rig!!.

Thanks Bob! I'll do a re-post on my ex-pat thing as I'm sure you didn't get to read it:



"I was made in the USA, and after the Army I lived in CO for a few years. That's where I met a beautiful Hungarian chick with big.. eherm, eyes . Long story short, she came back to HU and convinced me to come out and be with her. She canned me for another guy 6 months after my arrival so I was left jobless, moneyless, friendless (I did have my little kitty though ) and homeless. Anyhoo, I toughed it out for a couple of drunken days on the streets then one of her friends contacted me somehow and offered me a place to stay. I only stayed for a week, as I didn't want to wear out my welcome and word got around of what had happened to me and I met some great people that were willing to help. So after a month or so of vagabonding from one house to the next, I finally managed to save enough money to split rent with another American guy who was living here. The next few months sucked but I eventually got enough English students to make pretty decent money. I don't regret coming here one bit either. I've traveled all over the world since my arrival, I have a hot wife now that loves me (well most of the time anyway LOL), a lady-killer to-be son, nice house and my long-time dream of operating a mobile detailing business has finally become a reality. Another long-time dream of mine also came true here in HU (referring to my avatar) so I love being here."



The quality of life here was great when I arrived. I could go out and get hammered with my buddies and then take a cab home (with a female companion of course ) and still have enough money for a pack of smokes all for $10. Now, I'm lucky to get 2 beers for that money in a pub . Things are going downhill here too, but head up high soldier! I shant be taken down with the rest of the sheep.

I like the wagon, nice job on yanking the carpet and going all the way.

May I suggest you rake care of the rust on the fender well in back, that can rust through in no time, a little rust oleum and wire brush goes a long way.

Cheers Mopar! That's the 3rd thing on my "to fix" list! I need to replace the servo pump now, then replace the 5th gear (or adjust the linkage dunno yet) and then I'm going to cut out the rust and weld a new plate there. The shocks will also be replaced at that time .

 

[autoconcierge]

Yes jesse I did notice the avatar, and a year to get a black belt in Ninjitsu is really impressive!! my fighting days are over(cannot afford to get injured now,and of course oldness) started with kenpo then to thai boxing, bjj and arnis and knife work.



I would do a correction THEN go train(ahh youth)sometimes do my roadwork before the detail and work and train(cardio sucks for heavyweights)conditioning was always my weak point..... . I have seen some guys video's of ninjitsu and the balance plus the weapon work when done right is awesome.

 

[Thomas Dekany]

also how is the quality of life there

I know Jesse replied already but man, I can't see how an American can live in a country like Hungary.(no disrespect Jesse)



No matter how bad you think things are here, it is a million times better here.