Jermey Clarkson's GT40
When Rauch approached me to do a leather repair on a Ford GT40 I couldn't be more happier, as it is a beautiful car. Though I never got to see the car just the seat.
They were quite insistent in asking me over again, “will it be invisible, would you be able to see it, will it look like its a repair”. But it turns out, that their goading insistence to quality was more a case of overwhelming anxiety and dreaded fear. Once the challenge was excepted, (which for all intents and purposes is what it became). I was treated like Ghandi.
When Hideworks got the seat back to HQ we got to work. This by no means was a terrible scratch, but as learned by an informed friend who recommended me to Rauch that their client is none other than JC, and when a replacement seat is 4000 plus and you cant get one on to uk shores until 7 weeks time and Mr Clarkson is due back in 2 , and all the hopes of Rauch engineering and the guy who got into Mr Clarkson’s GT40 with a screwdriver in his back pocket (allegedly) depend on you. It made me as nervous as entering a lions enclosure in edible underpants at feeding time.
With leather repairs they can look a bit flat so there are grain copiers we use and sometimes we put a pebble effect on with a spray gun. But this is not an exact science. With the GT40 the leather is a full grain leather of the highest quality. The majority of the grain pattern is made up of the minute impressions where the hair follciles were. These are directional and will cast differences of light patterns depending on which way the light source is coming from. So once the basics of the repair was done we the continued with putting a thin hot needle into the repair area multiple times, in the right direction to recreate the grain. Once satisfied we took the seat back to Rauch. It was like being in a Del Monte advert I kid you not. To show you what I mean please click the link. https://youtu.be/nm6bKkG_Mrc
With that said they were happy and for that moment in time I was treated like a God by people who were at the top of their game.
As by way of there appreciation they showed me an original GT40. But my eyes were more drawn to the immaculate conditions of their workshop. It was insanely clean and neat. I have never been in such a more perfect working environment. You could eat your dinner off the floor and you would do by choice as no plate could be this clean.