Category Archives: “Art that Works” not “Works of Art!”

a lifelong commitment to advertising and marketing as an evolving career path for over six decades…is described and documented in the “adman’s chronicle”

Red Calipers: after all these years…

As many of you may know I have always been interested in cars. Maybe you read one of my articles or saw pictures posted. Since early 2007 I have owned a brand new 2007 Pontiac Solstice. I have kept this car bone stock; aside from a dealer installed front end stiffener. The car is with me when in New York or Florida and to date has covered 80,000 mostly top down pleasurable miles. The car is pampered from detail to mechanics and driven as it was meant to be. It took about 50,000 miles for it to develop a well muffled throaty sound ripping through the gears of its 5 speed automatic transmission. This car still has a bumper to bumper GM service contract kept in force and renewed every 3 years. From all I have said you would believe that I totally love this car just the way it is not exactly.

I have always paid attention to small details that set any car apart from others. This car gets scheduled cleaning inside-outside-under the hood, seals rubber gaskets are treated twice a year with paste silicone, the original top is treated once a year, nicks and scratches are meticulously attended to, all plastic lenses are polished twice a year, the optional 18″ wheels and 245 directional tires are polished and prepped monthly, alignment camber/caster/ toe-in-out checked annually, all black trim is treated as needed, and because it only has the Pontiac chevrons I am often asked “is that a—-?” My reply is usually no it’s not a “this or that” it’s a 12 year old Pontiac; and they reply “they made that” and I smile. Because of its short 3 year run this car never evolved like many of our iconic brands however a vast after market of products does exist. I have always admired a minor detail on many high end sport imports; colored coated calipers. This was a detail I wanted for my car. The following is an account of how I did it.

I have a fairly well equipped garage and workshop however I did need a few things that I made or sourced new and used. I needed a breaker bar, torque wrench, electric impact wrench, jacking pads for my car that I made, wheel lug impact socket, and of course a red caliper ceramic paint kit. I had my Cowrc TurboJet blaster, low profile hydraulic jack, work lights, creeper, 3/4″ ply wood strips to raise the car 1 1/2″ inches to clear the jack and jacking pads, buffer for the wheels, polishes, cleaners, etc. I did one side at a time over 1 1/2 days. You could save time if you lift the whole car at one time. I started by breaking the lug nuts on the ground, then inserting the jacking pad in the front position and lifting one complete side, then positioning the jack stands as pictured and lowered the car onto them, I then removed the wheels with my impact wrench, I marked the tire position and put the wheels aside. Cleaning the calipers was easy with a small wire brush and emery cloth, using my air blaster to blast away all the dust, then I drenched the area to be painted with cleaner and again blew it dry. Using a 1/2 inch lettering brush I applied the caliper paint waiting 20 to 30 minutes between coats, 3 coats were more than adequate, because of my art and graphic skills I did not need to mask anything. Between coats I used my pressure washer to clean up my wheels back side first then front, I then polished and buffed them put tire dressing on and put them aside, I also cleaned and dressed the wheel tubs. After 24 hours of drying I replaced the wheels using the impact wrench and once on the ground set torques for each wheel in a star pattern in three stages 55 lbs-80 lbs-100 lbs. I also checked the tire pressures and adjusted as required. I hope this was helpful and simplified your preparation to do this project. I am very pleased with the results and sure you will be too!.

Conversational Literature

about my motivation & style…

Since the beginning of my career like it or not I have written creative or information based copy. In my quest to create art that works I have sat through meeting after meeting where creative ideas were volleyed back and forth and left with the task of,  meshing art and copy that followed.

speaking at a newspaper in education presentation

Sometimes it was a meeting on how to catalog items and specs, sometimes annual report cover letters, sometimes product copy or sales material, sometimes company direction or position that had to be formulated. The fact was if I wanted to serve a client’s needs I had to listen carefully, sculpt their thoughts into copy that was satisfactory, and delivered a believable message. Continue reading Conversational Literature

200 yards in 12 Seconds or Greyhounds, Whippets, and Jaguars

In the early days of the American Automobile Industry many strange things happened that shaped the industry into the brands we know today. Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company were not immediate successes, Henry Ford presented

Our  Whippet Zara and CJ our sons…

his plans for the Ford Quadricycle to Thomas Edison, Cadillac was an outgrowth of Henry Ford’s second Bankruptcy, Lincoln became part of Ford as revenge for the actions of Henry Leyland and, Edsel Ford did far greater things than the car named for him. Woven in this amazing evolution were some pretty spectacular works of art, and machinery. 

Recently we became the owners of a champion bred Whippet watching her run with her brother is an example of the beauty and grace that inspired the radiator and hood ornaments of iconic brands from years gone by, and the catalyst for this article. Continue reading 200 yards in 12 Seconds or Greyhounds, Whippets, and Jaguars

NEED & WANT…

The only reason you buy anything!water-picture-mergedNeed…It all begins the moment you realize you need something; it’s the process of acquisition. Where will I get it? Where will I look for it, where will it be, do I know the path of ownership, do I know who has what I need, am I sure I need it, can it wait; what if all you need is Continue reading NEED & WANT…

GETTING STARTED II…

admans-chronicle-logo-merged-extra-large

 

Chapter 2

Getting to know me…have you read Chapter 1

Bends in the Road

When you are tall it’s hard to hide, When you’re tall you sit in the back of the class, when you’re tall your good at basketball, when you’re tall you usually have to grow into yourself, and when you’re tall you see things from a different angle. By the time I was 13 I was six feet tall. I was still sitting in the back of the class and never had to look back at anyone. I saw everything the entire class was doing no one watched me. I learned how to watch, listen, observe Continue reading GETTING STARTED II…

Two Brothers named “Crosley” One who thought it…one who asked “how much are you willing to invest?”

Crosley Factory Circa 1945

Crosley Factory Circa 1945

Inspiration…It was a Monday morning and I was off to play golf with a group of my friends. Car talk turned to me mentioning an obscure brand of cars the Crosley and my friend Joe replying with fond memories of he and his brother both iron workers traveling to work in his brothers Crosley and its horrible fate, being crushed by a truck while parked. This conversation led me to doing some research and finding out the story of the two Crosley Brothers. 

The story starts… before the French and Indian war when the west was an area colonized by settlers in what are now Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. The Crosley Clan Continue reading Two Brothers named “Crosley” One who thought it…one who asked “how much are you willing to invest?”