From Left To Right: Unrestored, Dan Palatnik Rending and Finished Car

Hi Gang…

Our thoughts and the use of imagery for our Undiscovered Classic cars has evolved over the years, and during this time we’ve walked step by step with our friend Dan Palatnik.

Dan and I first started out with 2D line art images around 2007, but quickly moved to 3D rendered images of our Undiscovered Classic cars.  And over the years, Dan’s expanded to projects that involve many of our Undiscovered Classic friends out there (this means many of you).  I think all of us appreciate his talents more and more with each passing year.  Thanks Dan for your inspired help 🙂

Click Here To View Recent Story On Dan Palatnik’s Artistry For Undiscovered Classics

And while imagery is good for appreciation as artwork – it’s much more to us.  Here at Undiscovered Classics, Dan’s renderings guide us during each and every restoration – for ourselves and customers alike.  We’ve used this process on 15 different cars – and the number of cars is increasing with each passing year.

Let’s discuss by using an example – the first car that entered this process with our team – our 1962 Shark Roadster.

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1962 Shark Roadster
Completed Restoration: Guided With Dan Palatnik’s Renderings

Although Dan had created 3D renderings for some of our cars between 2008 and 2011, this all changed in 2012 when we moved forward with the restoration of our 1962 Shark convertible.  Dan and our restoration team put our heads together and started to imagine some of the following variables:

• What the final paint job should look like
• Changes needed to the interior such as the creation of a center console (and the design of it)
• The stance of the Shark
• Wheel treatments – and we finally settled on 3-lug Renault Cosmics – a seemingly impossible choice
• New windscreen treatment – how it would look with a cut down windshield rather than full wrap-around glass
• And quite a few additional considerations

Dan put a number of variables into play in the renderings with each iteration.  We felt like we were artists sculpting a car (but of course Dan was doing all the heavy lifting).

We tried all of possible changes that we were considering out and more – color combinations, wheel changes, interior changes, interior color changes and arrived at the final choices – all before the restoration began.  Then I kept my fingers crossed because this was our first time doing this.  Would the finished Shark restoration be as nice as the renderings – or did we set the bar too high?

Below are photos of the Shark before restoration, some of Dan’s renderings (there were many more) that guided us, and the final result – the restored Shark – which debuted at the 2013 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.  I also included an video by Graham Kozak of Autoweek who featured this Shark video on Autoweek TV for their audience.  Let’s check out the photos and more:

Starting Point For the Shark:

Renderings – How We Envisioned The Final Result:

Finished Photos – The Debut at the 2013 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance

Autoweek TV

Graham Kozak of Autoweek TV visited us at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance and posted this video to Autoweek subscribers and beyond.  This was the debut of our freshly restored 1962 Shark Convertible – a car we’ve held onto in our collection for nearly 40 years.

1962 El Tiburon Shark Roadster –
Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance 2013
Viewing Time: 3 Minutes
Graham Kozak – Autoweek TV:  April 3, 2013

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Summary:

At this time, we have a total of 15 cars that have either gone thru this process, are going thru this process or are waiting to begin the restoration – all with the artistic work of Dan and his renderings guiding our team step by step.  And while I always tend to include too much detail to be read in one sitting, today was almost this case once again.  My good friend Rollie Langston convinced me to share just the Shark here and then put all 15 cars, renderings, photos on another page so that you can choose to view more examples – 14 additional examples of this process with 14 different cars – here at Undiscovered Classics.

Click Here To See All 15 Cars That Have Been or Are Being Guided By
Dan Palatnik’s Renderings

And for those of you wanting to learn more concerning Dan Palatnik and his artwork with automobiles and beyond, click on the following link:

Click Here to Learn More About the Artistry of Dan Palatnik

Hope you enjoyed the story, and remember…

The adventure continues here at Undiscovered Classics.

Geoff