Stinger Hood Gold
Greg's Spring 2015 Project with pictures below his writeup.
When Greg purchased a Stinger hood for his 2001 C5, "the Beater", a few years ago he included painting the stinger gold when he asked Jerry Burke of Collision, Inc. in Plainfield to paint and install the hood to match his Navy Blue Metallic paint. During the process Greg changed his mind and decided maybe to see about getting vinyl installed on the stinger to match the side stripes on the car. He found a source, got a price but never did the deed largely because he was not comfortable with the people he would have had do the work.
Later Chris White paid Greg the ultimate compliment by copying his project and getting a Stinger hood for his own C5. Chris had Jerry do the work and he went all the way and had Jerry paint the stinger silver to accent his black paint. Chris's Vette looks terrific and it motivated Greg to complete the original project. Greg asked Jerry to repaint the hood, paint the stinger gold and repaint the entire front bumper and license plate insert. Years of driving the car had inflicted the usual damage of stone chips and swirl marks so freshening up the front paint was due.
Greg has had several items worked on by Jerry and has sent several club friends to Jerry for their work because Jerry is very conscientious, does good work and is a Corvette owner and understands how we feel about our babies and what repairs and work the Vettes should receive.
Greg's hood projects never seem easy though as the original install was difficult. The fiberglass hood was hand laid up by Vanacor on their original wood molds and was only the 7th such hood the maker had made. Thus there was a lot of prep work to get the irregularities out the hood and they even installed the wrong nuts for anchoring the hood and that had to be dealt with. Chris's project was probably much easier by comparison as by the time he purchased his hood, Vanacor wasn't the only stinger hood available and Chris purchased a hood from Ecklers that was of improved quality and design.
One can only assume that Jerry let out a big groan when Greg drove "the hood" onto his lot and got out carrying a Notre Dame football helmet and explained to Jerry that he wanted the gold on the hood to sparkle in the sun like the ND helmet and look good with the existing side stripes. Jerry had to work with his painter and make several extra paint samples as what Greg asked for doesn't exactly come in an OEM color but perhaps could have been found in a 1960's custom metal flake hotrod paint job. Jerry persevered though and when he finally called Greg and told him to come get his junker, Greg was wowed! Jerry had created the exact look that Greg had seen in his vision and even Donna was pleased when she saw the final result. Donna had feared that Greg might get carried away and come home with something over the top. Yeah, right! Like when has that ever happened?
Jerry did such a fine job that Greg is already dreaming of follow-up projects. He has already asked Jerry for a price to respray the Aztec Gold under hood engine dressing pieces to better match the Stinger Gold. Down the road he's thinking it might make sense to remove the vinyl side stripes and have them replaced with Jerry's Stinger Gold formulation. Then again, if he removes the side stripes would it make more sense to give the Vette a new look and just leave the side stripes off the Vette but continue the Stinger Gold all the way down the center of the car and down the rear in more of a traditional racing stripe look? So much to think about! So little time, so few dollars....
Jerry not only did a fantastic job but he also got his creative juices rolling and asked Greg since he was going for the Notre Dame helmet look had he ever thought about replacing his soft top with a big fiberglass Notre Dame helmet? Jerry said now that he had the paint formula worked out he would start working on a helmet design. Greg can't wait! Just imagine how cool he's going to look in the Carmel and Fishers 4th of July parades with the sun glistening off that shiny gold helmet atop his Navy Blue Metallic "Go Irish!" Vette with Donna proudly sitting by his side under the Golden Dome of his helmet! Jerry Burke, you rock!
When Greg purchased a Stinger hood for his 2001 C5, "the Beater", a few years ago he included painting the stinger gold when he asked Jerry Burke of Collision, Inc. in Plainfield to paint and install the hood to match his Navy Blue Metallic paint. During the process Greg changed his mind and decided maybe to see about getting vinyl installed on the stinger to match the side stripes on the car. He found a source, got a price but never did the deed largely because he was not comfortable with the people he would have had do the work.
Later Chris White paid Greg the ultimate compliment by copying his project and getting a Stinger hood for his own C5. Chris had Jerry do the work and he went all the way and had Jerry paint the stinger silver to accent his black paint. Chris's Vette looks terrific and it motivated Greg to complete the original project. Greg asked Jerry to repaint the hood, paint the stinger gold and repaint the entire front bumper and license plate insert. Years of driving the car had inflicted the usual damage of stone chips and swirl marks so freshening up the front paint was due.
Greg has had several items worked on by Jerry and has sent several club friends to Jerry for their work because Jerry is very conscientious, does good work and is a Corvette owner and understands how we feel about our babies and what repairs and work the Vettes should receive.
Greg's hood projects never seem easy though as the original install was difficult. The fiberglass hood was hand laid up by Vanacor on their original wood molds and was only the 7th such hood the maker had made. Thus there was a lot of prep work to get the irregularities out the hood and they even installed the wrong nuts for anchoring the hood and that had to be dealt with. Chris's project was probably much easier by comparison as by the time he purchased his hood, Vanacor wasn't the only stinger hood available and Chris purchased a hood from Ecklers that was of improved quality and design.
One can only assume that Jerry let out a big groan when Greg drove "the hood" onto his lot and got out carrying a Notre Dame football helmet and explained to Jerry that he wanted the gold on the hood to sparkle in the sun like the ND helmet and look good with the existing side stripes. Jerry had to work with his painter and make several extra paint samples as what Greg asked for doesn't exactly come in an OEM color but perhaps could have been found in a 1960's custom metal flake hotrod paint job. Jerry persevered though and when he finally called Greg and told him to come get his junker, Greg was wowed! Jerry had created the exact look that Greg had seen in his vision and even Donna was pleased when she saw the final result. Donna had feared that Greg might get carried away and come home with something over the top. Yeah, right! Like when has that ever happened?
Jerry did such a fine job that Greg is already dreaming of follow-up projects. He has already asked Jerry for a price to respray the Aztec Gold under hood engine dressing pieces to better match the Stinger Gold. Down the road he's thinking it might make sense to remove the vinyl side stripes and have them replaced with Jerry's Stinger Gold formulation. Then again, if he removes the side stripes would it make more sense to give the Vette a new look and just leave the side stripes off the Vette but continue the Stinger Gold all the way down the center of the car and down the rear in more of a traditional racing stripe look? So much to think about! So little time, so few dollars....
Jerry not only did a fantastic job but he also got his creative juices rolling and asked Greg since he was going for the Notre Dame helmet look had he ever thought about replacing his soft top with a big fiberglass Notre Dame helmet? Jerry said now that he had the paint formula worked out he would start working on a helmet design. Greg can't wait! Just imagine how cool he's going to look in the Carmel and Fishers 4th of July parades with the sun glistening off that shiny gold helmet atop his Navy Blue Metallic "Go Irish!" Vette with Donna proudly sitting by his side under the Golden Dome of his helmet! Jerry Burke, you rock!
