Valspar Automotive announced that Brand-X-Customs of Everett, Wash., is one of seven custom builds representing the company and its automotive coatings brands at this year’s SEMA Show. The shop’s 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback in Matrix Automotive Finishes is at this year’s SEMA Show taking place November 1-4 in Las Vegas.
Although Brand-X-Customs is known for its lowered and heavily modified trucks, the shop’s SEMA showcase this year is a “car” – lovingly referred to as “Josephine.” Built from the ground-up, said shop manager Phillip Skelton, “Josephine has been an incredible build, SEMA-worthy for sure. Our lead, Zac Thureson, made sure of that.”
This isn’t Brand-X-Customs’ first SEMA appearance, but it will be for Thureson.
“Our goal for any full custom build is to take it to SEMA,” Thureson said. “It’s the pinnacle of the industry and a real achievement. It’s an honor to be able to show something that we’ve been working on for years.”
“Josephine” started to take shape two years ago and was a complete rebuild, according to Thureson. The Mustang’s owner, Jason Warnick, approached Brand-X-Customs for the build and allowed Thureson to take the lead with almost no limitations, he said.
“A Mustang is just not the norm for us,” said Thureson. “Our passion lies in pre-1970s vehicles. There’s a nostalgia tied to older vehicles. People remember their parents and family members driving them. These older vehicles hold a special spot in their heart, as it does in ours.”
From start to finish, Brand-X-Customs used the Matrix line, including the primer and final color True Blue Pearl (formula 908317) utilizing MT-80 and MT-75 for the base and MPB-500 Blender for the topcoat – Candy Blue – and cleared with MS-42 and MH-008 hardener.
“The color of this car was chosen after a multitude of color renderings from Keg Media,” said Skelton. “It then took two or three sprayouts to come up with the perfect blue that had no purple flop to it using the Matrix FX Northern Lights Pearls, which gives the blue a flop to almost an aquamarine. It’s going to make all of the lines of the car truly pop.”
The Mustang features B-forged wheels and a 427 cubic inch small block powertrain engine built by DSS Motors and Trick Flow twisted wedge heads. The engine bay is dressed with custom-coated Ringbrothers stabilizers, and all the fasteners were custom designed and built by local hot rod shop Divers Street Rods.
“We use Valspar Automotive products because they’re easy to use, and we can create custom colors and get match pretty consistently to existing colors,” Thureson said. “If something unfortunate were to happen to a customer’s vehicle, Valspar Automotive products make it easier for us to repair.”
For more information about Valspar Automotive, visit www.valsparauto.com. Find Valspar Automotive at the SEMA Show at booth no. 10851 (North Hall).
