From June 24th until July 3rd, 2003,
I and my father
embarked on a mammoth and adorable quest.
We wanted to make my black Suzuki X-90 into the Kittenbus.
First I had to drive 14 hours to stay with my Dad (the great show car champ Mike Estlack)
in Oklahoma. We worked mostly in his garage, which he converted to a custom paint
studio. However, some of the initial painting was done at his
previous place of employment (automotive technology teacher at CVVT). But before
painting could begin, a sizeable dent had to be removed from the driver's door where
someone hit it in the thrift store parking lot.
The paints used were Dupont single stage chromabase. These have a glossy finish on
their own without needing a clearcoat. This paint is also easier for me to use if I
have to touch up future dings. The black lines are around 160 feet of 3M pinstriping
tape. The inside of the car (totoro and nekobus stuff) was furnished by my friends
Chelsea and Cody as well as yahoo Japan. The inside sunroof covers feature soot
sprites, and the antenna ball is also a soot sprite (which recently
disapopeared during a trip to Minnesota). I plan on keeping this car for
always. He is fun to drive and makes a great excuse for introducing people to the
works of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli! On the back window I have
a sign proclaiming "Totoro is my Copilot."
Although the methods are simple, my kittenbus looks great and is a tribute to my Dad's
work, my love of all things nekobus, and most of all my relationship with my father.
I am proud to have something both he and I created! Hooray for cool dads!
To Contact Mike Estlack
about custom work:
(405)324-7124
The following photos are in order of
start to finish. Behold the Birth of Kittenbus! |
