zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
The devil is in the details Tim and you and your team nailed the details. Well done. 
Olsen Spec Projects
- Thread starter olsenmotorsports
- Start date
OP
olsenmotorsports
Well-known member
Thank you and that is a great story! LOL you are not old at 51 i am just a couple years behind you!
I had sort of the same experience. We were at a race about a decade ago and the blue angels team was in our garage for the weekend hanging out. Just built different those guys are. They were awesome, humble, fun to be around, but at the end of the day you knew they were top dogs.
OP
olsenmotorsports
Well-known member
The devil is in the details Tim and you and your team nailed the details. Well done.
Coming from you that means a lot! I can only imagine what one of these cars would look like if you built it!
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Thanks Tim, but I think you've got me beat. You run an impressive business and turn out an even more impressive product.
WoodsTruck
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2013
- Messages
- 1,024
Tim,
You play a high-stakes game of "Calvin Ball" where no two cars are the same in design or color.
For a lot of builders they kind of get into a rut on building their signature look and that ends up trapping them.
To continue on the creative scale to your level is very impressive without veering too far from the original intent of the driving experience.
Carry on.
You play a high-stakes game of "Calvin Ball" where no two cars are the same in design or color.
For a lot of builders they kind of get into a rut on building their signature look and that ends up trapping them.
To continue on the creative scale to your level is very impressive without veering too far from the original intent of the driving experience.
Carry on.
OP
olsenmotorsports
Well-known member
You guys are incredibly kind!
I’m grateful for the shout outs I truly am!
Not sure how to respond tbh other than thank you!
I’ve never been a fan of cookie cutter, while I appreciate the scale ability of those models, there are too many of them and not enough coach builders IMHO.
So we found our niche, stumbled along the way and somehow still here!
I’m grateful for the shout outs I truly am!
Not sure how to respond tbh other than thank you!
I’ve never been a fan of cookie cutter, while I appreciate the scale ability of those models, there are too many of them and not enough coach builders IMHO.
So we found our niche, stumbled along the way and somehow still here!
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Tim, I'm not one to throw out compliments or praise willy nilly, so please accept my deepest admiration in the manner in which it was intended and just take accept it.
OP
olsenmotorsports
Well-known member
I have to tell myself that otherwise there is no justification for the current purchase
Humility is an absolute requirement to be chosen to join the team. There is no place for (outward facing) hubris when flying fighters on the Blue Angel team or otherwise despite what popular movies might portray. There is a great documentary about 20 years old that profiled the entire selection process and it did not pull any punches, the team allowed full access to the filming crew. As always, I guarantee that the USN had final approval for the final cut, but the final version was very legit.
OP
olsenmotorsports
Well-known member
Stepped away from the car stuff for the weekend. How many of you are foodies? I think being from the CHI has turned me into one, and one of my hobbies is cooking. Im not recipe guy, just straight off the dome to the pan.
Yesterday morning I decided to make Bfast for the house. Customer of mine owns a local grocery store chain called Pete’s and it has some of the best most fresh ingredients. Went there at the crack of dawn to get some stuff for the day. Started off by boiling some crab legs
Little spinach and olive oil in another pan with some garlic
Made spinach/crab/feta omelette for the house ready when they woke up.
For lunch I didn’t feel like cooking a ton as it was super hot outside, so just some simple steak nachos
Nothing over the top here, just chopped basil/white onion/cilantro/green onions as toppers
Grilled up two filet’s MR seared them and the switched to the infrared grill to char the outside
While the steaks were grilling I spread out some guac on each chip - I like to use a bit of dried chili flake in my guac for some heat
Filet’s rested, cut and placed on each chip
Hit the tray under the broiler for 2 minutes just to char the cheese and crisp the edges of the chips to give that variance in texture
Plated and ready to serve!
I also took the opportunity to do up some turkey for smash burgers for Monday!
The funny thing about the kitchen is it is just like my toolbox at work. I get into all the little utensils and gadgets etc and I just cant stop
Yesterday morning I decided to make Bfast for the house. Customer of mine owns a local grocery store chain called Pete’s and it has some of the best most fresh ingredients. Went there at the crack of dawn to get some stuff for the day. Started off by boiling some crab legs
Little spinach and olive oil in another pan with some garlic
Made spinach/crab/feta omelette for the house ready when they woke up.
For lunch I didn’t feel like cooking a ton as it was super hot outside, so just some simple steak nachos
Nothing over the top here, just chopped basil/white onion/cilantro/green onions as toppers
Grilled up two filet’s MR seared them and the switched to the infrared grill to char the outside
While the steaks were grilling I spread out some guac on each chip - I like to use a bit of dried chili flake in my guac for some heat
Filet’s rested, cut and placed on each chip
Hit the tray under the broiler for 2 minutes just to char the cheese and crisp the edges of the chips to give that variance in texture
Plated and ready to serve!
I also took the opportunity to do up some turkey for smash burgers for Monday!
The funny thing about the kitchen is it is just like my toolbox at work. I get into all the little utensils and gadgets etc and I just cant stop
richfinn
Well-known member
Even the grub is premium, love it
I am a bit of a foodie and have shared some pasta recipes on GJ somewhere in the recent past
I am a bit of a foodie and have shared some pasta recipes on GJ somewhere in the recent past
@olsenmotorsports and @richfinn, for your consideration: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/what-did-you-cook-in-the-kitchen-today.482883/
richfinn
Well-known member
yhprum
Well-known member
Nice, I think I’m going to try making nachos like this!
OP
olsenmotorsports
Well-known member
Even the grub is premium, love it
HAHA idk about that!
I am a bit of a foodie and have shared some pasta recipes on GJ somewhere in the recent past
I have to admit food is my weakness - literally my favorite thing in the world is to Sit down with my wife with a meal I made and have a chat and enjoy each other
Love to try the pasta!
Great thank you!
OP
olsenmotorsports
Well-known member
Here is a fun one from this morning!
A M505 Slant Nose came in (real one) from out east. Had been at a shop there but they were struggling to sort it out. I do not know the whole story but it has some drivability issues.
Love these cars and as rare as they are I am not sure whey they never took off - This one being a Cab is SUPER rare….
First thing check fuel leaking down - Plug up the return line with some hose pinch off pliers and let it sit for a couple minutes - I think service data says 10 minutes but you know right away if there is an issue or not. This one for sure has an issue and looks like the injectors are leaking down. Let’s prove that - we should have cylinder misfires if the mechanical injectors are not firing perfectly. Right?
Grab a quick handheld scope as we didn’t have a free rack at the moment and I just wanted to give this guy a quick accurate diag. The parts cannon had been thrown at it with new plugs, wires, accumulator etc.
Easiest cylinder to get at is #5 so threw an inductive on that one just so we could identify cylinders
Next we threw a pressure transducer in the exhaust and ran it for 20 seconds.
Here is the screen capture. Cylinder 5 has the obvious misfire car needs injectors as we concluded. It is just nice to have the data to back it up for the customer so he knows we aren’t guessing at it.
Here is a better look at it. Cylinder five has channel 2 inductive pickup on the plug wire. That identifies where the cylinders are in the patter. That just so happens to have the least amount of air on the compressions stroke of any of the cylinders. This is at idle mind you imagine what that looks like under load!
It has a good healthy spark at 12kv which tells me plug gaps are set ok and there is no issue with the wires etc. Higher voltage is tell tale of more resistance and thus a rich condition - this one looks perfect
Injectors I think is the right call. It is old mechanical injected CIS stuff. Interested in what you guys think! Did we get it right?
I wish we had scope data and tooling like this when I was coming up in the ranks!
A M505 Slant Nose came in (real one) from out east. Had been at a shop there but they were struggling to sort it out. I do not know the whole story but it has some drivability issues.
Love these cars and as rare as they are I am not sure whey they never took off - This one being a Cab is SUPER rare….
First thing check fuel leaking down - Plug up the return line with some hose pinch off pliers and let it sit for a couple minutes - I think service data says 10 minutes but you know right away if there is an issue or not. This one for sure has an issue and looks like the injectors are leaking down. Let’s prove that - we should have cylinder misfires if the mechanical injectors are not firing perfectly. Right?
Grab a quick handheld scope as we didn’t have a free rack at the moment and I just wanted to give this guy a quick accurate diag. The parts cannon had been thrown at it with new plugs, wires, accumulator etc.
Easiest cylinder to get at is #5 so threw an inductive on that one just so we could identify cylinders
Next we threw a pressure transducer in the exhaust and ran it for 20 seconds.
Here is the screen capture. Cylinder 5 has the obvious misfire car needs injectors as we concluded. It is just nice to have the data to back it up for the customer so he knows we aren’t guessing at it.
Here is a better look at it. Cylinder five has channel 2 inductive pickup on the plug wire. That identifies where the cylinders are in the patter. That just so happens to have the least amount of air on the compressions stroke of any of the cylinders. This is at idle mind you imagine what that looks like under load!
It has a good healthy spark at 12kv which tells me plug gaps are set ok and there is no issue with the wires etc. Higher voltage is tell tale of more resistance and thus a rich condition - this one looks perfect
Injectors I think is the right call. It is old mechanical injected CIS stuff. Interested in what you guys think! Did we get it right?
I wish we had scope data and tooling like this when I was coming up in the ranks!
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You still need the knowledge to use them. Which you certainly have!
richfinn
Well-known member
Here is a fun one from this morning!
A M505 Slant Nose came in (real one) from out east. Had been at a shop there but they were struggling to sort it out. I do not know the whole story but it has some drivability issues.
Love these cars and as rare as they are I am not sure whey they never took off - This one being a Cab is SUPER rare….
First thing check fuel leaking down - Plug up the return line with some hose pinch off pliers and let it sit for a couple minutes - I think service data says 10 minutes but you know right away if there is an issue or not. This one for sure has an issue and looks like the injectors are leaking down. Let’s prove that - we should have cylinder misfires if the mechanical injectors are not firing perfectly. Right?
Grab a quick handheld scope as we didn’t have a free rack at the moment and I just wanted to give this guy a quick accurate diag. The parts cannon had been thrown at it with new plugs, wires, accumulator etc.
Easiest cylinder to get at is #5 so threw an inductive on that one just so we could identify cylinders
Next we threw a pressure transducer in the exhaust and ran it for 20 seconds.
Here is the screen capture. Cylinder 5 has the obvious misfire car needs injectors as we concluded. It is just nice to have the data to back it up for the customer so he knows we aren’t guessing at it.
Here is a better look at it. Cylinder five has channel 2 inductive pickup on the plug wire. That identifies where the cylinders are in the patter. That just so happens to have the least amount of air on the compressions stroke of any of the cylinders. This is at idle mind you imagine what that looks like under load!
It has a good healthy spark at 12kv which tells me plug gaps are set ok and there is no issue with the wires etc. Higher voltage is tell tale of more resistance and thus a rich condition - this one looks perfect
Injectors I think is the right call. It is old mechanical injected CIS stuff. Interested in what you guys think! Did we get it right?
I wish we had scope data and tooling like this when I was coming up in the ranks!
Non intrusive testing and joined up thinking
OP
olsenmotorsports
Well-known member
Non intrusive testing and joined up thinking
Appreciate that!
Quite sad that people have to transport their cars across 5 dates to get a simple diag.
What is wrong with this industry!
Thank you! I gotta admit we don’t always get it right. See above where I misdiagnosed a fuse issue
OP
olsenmotorsports
Well-known member
Tuesday we started on a new project being a 2001 996. It is in for a full repaint - new interior - and some mechanicals (typical engine leaking etc)
Cool color too in speed yellow. I havre been saying it for a couple of years now and that is that the 996-997 market is poised to explode. We are getting a lot of enquirers the last few months on giving these cars some love. We recently completed a 996 Turbo S as well (although I cannot show that publicly. That is the hard part is the internet never gets to see the really cool stuff we actually do at the shop as we are under NDA’s for the higher net worth/celebrity etc.
We got the engine pulled out and starting on the interior
This car has a common issue on the early 2000’s cars and that is the blend door foam. It just comes apart. The key to this foam is you MUST use a polyether foam as it does much better job of staying together in moisture/humid environments. Well the Germans didn’t lol. Time to get this AC Box out
First up seats, center console, steering wheel and cluster get removed. We are sending the clusters out for refurbishing and we are re doing the entire interior as well so this job works perfect around that
Once the airbag is out and the defrost you have access to all the little screws that retain the dash. Also the A’s and B’s have to come off
That gains you access to the box itself which comes out passenger side. Harness stays with the box so it is relatively easy to remove it and finish the job on the bench…
We are launching a full YouTube series on this car so stay tuned for that!
What a mess this foam stuff makes!
Cool color too in speed yellow. I havre been saying it for a couple of years now and that is that the 996-997 market is poised to explode. We are getting a lot of enquirers the last few months on giving these cars some love. We recently completed a 996 Turbo S as well (although I cannot show that publicly. That is the hard part is the internet never gets to see the really cool stuff we actually do at the shop as we are under NDA’s for the higher net worth/celebrity etc.
We got the engine pulled out and starting on the interior
This car has a common issue on the early 2000’s cars and that is the blend door foam. It just comes apart. The key to this foam is you MUST use a polyether foam as it does much better job of staying together in moisture/humid environments. Well the Germans didn’t lol. Time to get this AC Box out
First up seats, center console, steering wheel and cluster get removed. We are sending the clusters out for refurbishing and we are re doing the entire interior as well so this job works perfect around that
Once the airbag is out and the defrost you have access to all the little screws that retain the dash. Also the A’s and B’s have to come off
That gains you access to the box itself which comes out passenger side. Harness stays with the box so it is relatively easy to remove it and finish the job on the bench…
We are launching a full YouTube series on this car so stay tuned for that!
What a mess this foam stuff makes!
OP
olsenmotorsports
Well-known member
Once we got the box out it was time to split it, clean it and re foam it.
Here is those pesky doors - there are three of them and all three must get re done - pretty straight forward but there are some prep things that you must do in order to make sure that this lasts another 20 years (or longer). I spent a lot of time researching and talking to the people who make and manufacture the different foams and kind of cobbled together my own recipe
First obviously you must clean lol. Nothing to talk about here just scrape it all up! Total failure on this foam - not only did the foam fail but the adhesive to the metal plate as well as you can see. It just flakes off without leaving any residue. This is from improper surface preparation
Once you are clean de grease the surface with SF 7070 - You can use whatever you want but this is an amazing degreaser and we stock it by the case
Next up is surface prep - need to soft bristle the surface of the door to give the adhesive something to bite into - this is KEY Step #1 of 2
KEY step 2 is prime the surface. Once again use whatever you want but the Wurth tape primer is AMAZING. It’s about $50 a bottle but it stretches out a long way - use this on anything tape with plastic and metal and the tape WILL not come off lol. We use this as a prep for VHB, dual lock, etc. Anything that you do not want to come off
Doors are re foamed - nothing fancy here just proper prep and peel and stick.
Moving on to the vents - same thing here hit it with 7070, then clean with isopropyl, then prime and peel and stick. I forgot to mention that we wait 3 minutes between priming and tape application.
Vents all done up! To clean all this stuff we use our magido HP 30 high pressure washer and then hit with P&S Black Magic Interior Cleaner - Cannot say enough about that stuff it really works well and does not leave any residue. Great cleaner
Stuff it back in the car and you are all set and ready to go!
If someone has a better process/product please I would love to know so we can improve!
kppolich
Well-known member
1996-1997 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Aerokit in White is my grail car. Someday..... me in the drivers seat and our golden retriever sticking her head out of the passengers side window.
Love the attention to detail in all of your posts!
Love the attention to detail in all of your posts!
OP
olsenmotorsports
Well-known member
I’m kind of done with with internet this week… just read the comments.
www.instagram.com
Olsen Motorsports on Instagram: "Build in process* The owner of this Blue Angel commission is in for a look! 👀 #porscherestoration #porsche911 #olsenmotorsports #oneofone #builtbyhand #porscheengine"
6,503 likes, 0 comments - olsenmotorsport on July 28, 2025: "Build in process* The owner of this Blue Angel commission is in for a look! 👀 #porscherestoration #porsche911 #olsenmotorsports #oneofone #builtbyhand #porscheengine".
www.instagram.com
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zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
There were a lot of supportive and positive comments Tim. Unfortunately, the keyboard warriors also all have to chime in as they know everything and most have never done anything to speak of yet they feel they are the experts. Social media is a mixed bag for sure. I despise it at times, much of the time actually. Glad I don't have a lot of followers. Hell, I have a hard enough time with some of the negativity or off-handed comments I get here and find myself having to take a break every once in a while, and I love this forum.
Hell, I have a hard enough time with some of the negativity or off-handed comments I get here and find myself having to take a break every once in a while, and I love this forum.BORING HOP YARD
Well-known member
Such nice work! thank you for sharing.
danski0224
Well-known member
Was able to see the "short". Sounds good. Looks good.
No Instagram account, so can't read the comments.
Why give a flying **** about the comments anyway? How many of them have the 7 figures to throw down for a project like that?
As long as you and your customer is good with it, that's all that matters.
Can comments be turned off?
No Instagram account, so can't read the comments.
Why give a flying **** about the comments anyway? How many of them have the 7 figures to throw down for a project like that?
As long as you and your customer is good with it, that's all that matters.
Can comments be turned off?
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OP
olsenmotorsports
Well-known member
That’s a great car! When you are ready I will introduce you to a broker that I use!
OP
olsenmotorsports
Well-known member
You are welcome! That’s how we all learn what to do (or what NOT to do lol) right? I agree with you 100% of all the things in the car the AC box’s are probably the worst to deal with!
Thanks for commenting!
OP
olsenmotorsports
Well-known member
Yeah I asked marketing to turn them off. Personally I do not care, but my customer who is on IG I felt terrible for.
Normally I am numb to it, but that RWB guy can caulk his terrible gaps and ends up on GOAT mountain - but my guys leave a door ajar and all of a sudden our gaps look like Helen Keller built it
It takes a MASSIVE amount of manpower and incredible costs to run a social media channel properly, seeing those people rise to the occasion with their mouths makes me feel terrible for my staff who work tirelessly to post content daily.,,,
It isn’t about me, it is 100% about my staff…..
OP
olsenmotorsports
Well-known member
There were a lot of supportive and positive comments Tim. Unfortunately, the keyboard warriors also all have to chime in as they know everything and most have never done anything to speak of yet they feel they are the experts. Social media is a mixed bag for sure. I despise it at times, much of the time actually. Glad I don't have a lot of followers.
Yeah people on the internet are a special breed. Takes a special person to write hateful stuff and sit there and enjoy reading it.
It comes with the territory. I have said it before and I will say it again I personally do not give a F*** but I feel bad for the people who put the hours in at the shop to make the content and they have to read the stuff.
The stuff you do is so perfect I highly doubt that a guy like you gets negativity!
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Yeah, I don't understand people most days Tim. It's almost like they are miserable and want to be sure to spread that misery, hate and discontent anywhere they can. Too bad these negative Nelly's can't focus that energy on learning a skill of their own or better yet, help others to at least build upon and grow theirs and offer something positive to the planet rather than being a waste of air.
And while I appreciate your kind words, my stuff is far from perfect and yes, I get plenty of negative comments. Fortunately though, I don't have many subscribers so my reach is quite small.
Boosted1
Well-known member
The speed yellow car should make for an interesting project for all of us watchers to follow and admire.
Looking forward to the updates.
Looking forward to the updates.
plain2car
Well-known member
I always love to read what is going on with you in and around the shop and family!. THANK YOU!! for the time and effort to include us. I have a simple question hopefully it is not too "simple" curious... why did you get the call on the white slant nose as oppose to a dealer to find the issue? granted I understand that you are the porsche guy... just curious as indicated that other shop(s) were not able to fix issue ,just through parts at it... thanks again for your time and effort!
OP
olsenmotorsports
Well-known member
Thank you for the support! I wish I had that answer for you as I really don’t know. We see it all the time, people send in from hundreds of miles away for service. Just this past week we got a 993 turbo from Ohio for maintenance - and a 997 turbo from NJ for a stiff clutch.
These are all B skill level jobs so I really have no explanation for it - why people send from so far away, adding 2-3g on to the bill for transport on simple jobs.
I think most of it is brand awareness from our marketing outreach, on the big ticket stuff I get it (engines etc) but the maintenance stuff blows my mind.
Having said that I am super grateful for the work! Just do not understand the logic. There is a TON of bad work out there. Wish I could show it online but I am not that kind of guy.
richfinn
Well-known member
I can explain that for you, we all live in a very cost conscious World nowadays.
However, when it comes down to emotional purchases and cherished items "trust" in service providers far outweighs the cost, even for fairly simple repairs and upgrades people would just rather pay extra and remove any nagging doubts from the equation, simply for peace of mind.
Back when I was "Management" at the company I still work at as a technician after 20 years (I was a terrible manager BTW
) we used to study other "Trusted Brands" who had built this level of trust across multiple industries to see what we could learn.A big part of it is "keeping your promises to customers" and the other is "good presentation" , if you can do those two things whilst standing behind your products and services the customers will find you.
Honesty, Integrity, Quality are what really matter to people.
Obviously you are already doing all this stuff at a high level
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plain2car
Well-known member
well the response is the reason for it! you are a true lover of what you do & that is why . I can relate to the responses as well. I had a similar situation with my '86 C10 build, in relation to the ECM tuning for drivability. I think someone who cares & treats the work as a prideful situation ends up with the word getting out. ... as always I very much enjoy your time and commentment to here & always look forward to the updates! 
you are a true lover of what you do & that is why . I can relate to the responses as well. I had a similar situation with my '86 C10 build, in relation to the ECM tuning for drivability. I think someone who cares & treats the work as a prideful situation ends up with the word getting out. ... as always I very much enjoy your time and commentment to here & always look forward to the updates! Also, way back when I worked at a couple of dealerships for maybe 6 months apiece, the overall quality of their techs couldn't touch those at the better independents in town. They got by at having seen the same pattern failure over and over, but most couldn't diagnose an unfamiliar problem worth a bucket of warm spit. Just drag out the parts cannon. They mostly just did the same routine jobs over and over and over and got fast at them.
To be fair, that was just two dealers back in the early 80s, and may not have been generally representative. I know that some dealers have some really talented and expert techs. But those two dealer didn't.
To be fair, that was just two dealers back in the early 80s, and may not have been generally representative. I know that some dealers have some really talented and expert techs. But those two dealer didn't.
I don't have an instagram account so I can't read the comments, I can only imagine and there are obviously some negative sentiments which stinks. As much as anyone can say "just ignore it," I understand that it is difficult to read regardless, especially for something that your shop took so much pride in constructing and the owner who paid a lot of money to get exactly what he wanted. I can understand with taking a break, but I think you guys did a superb job on that car. In the end, as long as the customer is happy you knocked it out of the park.I’m kind of done with with internet this week… just read the comments.
Olsen Motorsports on Instagram: "Build in process* The owner of this Blue Angel commission is in for a look! 👀 #porscherestoration #porsche911 #olsenmotorsports #oneofone #builtbyhand #porscheengine"
6,503 likes, 0 comments - olsenmotorsport on July 28, 2025: "Build in process* The owner of this Blue Angel commission is in for a look! 👀 #porscherestoration #porsche911 #olsenmotorsports #oneofone #builtbyhand #porscheengine".
I don't have a full picture of the C8 that I mentioned a while ago that is in the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, FL (home of the Blue Angels), but you get the idea from the picture that my buddy took last week at my retirement. It is certainly nice, your rendition is better executed.
