This project actually started with a need for gold electroplating for the 1956 Imperial restoration. I couldn't find anyone locally who could replate the gold hood emblem on the car so I bought the tool and learned to do it myself. Well now that I have the tool I should offer the service to others. I needed a Gold Plating shop truck. Why not have a vehicle with a little performance enhancements as well while I was at it? A turbo PT Cruiser sounded like a great choice. I found this beat up Platinum Edition on the Facebook Market Place. A "turbo light" version with an automatic transmission. "Fixer upper" ripe for customization.
The first thing on the agenda was to repair all the body and mechanical damage. A trip to the Conley GA Pull A Part sourced replacement a replacement door, fender, and bumper. I found a GT model and pulled the rear axle with disc brakes, a NP 500 five speed manual transmission, clutch slave, master, and peddle. Looks like we're in for some fun. The damaged body parts were replaced and a fresh base coat of PPG black followed by a glossy clear topcoat. Custom side skirts, front air dam and air ride were fabricated.
The drivetrain enhancements included upgrading to a slightly larger turbo, a tuneable wastegate, Cowler HP turbo cams, HP valve springs, larger fuel injectors, 4 BAR pressure sensor, new hP timing belt, water pump, five speed manual transmission, stage 4 clutch, Hurst pistol grip shifter, poly shifter bushings.
Of course a gold plating business shop truck needs some gold plating examples. I 24K gold plated the chrome grill, front exterior door handles, front and rear Chrysler Emblems, and the custom fabricated Hurst pistol grip shifter. I cut and applied black flat black JUI logo decals to complete the blacked out look.
Performance tuning is completed with a Syked Tunning Pro suite tunner and a Diablosport for data logging. Additional gauges have been added to monitor the vital signs.