We have got some good shows comming up. Check out rocket industries top fueler at the Western Sydney Dragstrip.

Two full strip downs and two runs. Good stuff and probably something you have never seen before.

Mustang roundup, Sandown Historics and plenty of tech segments for the tech heads.

Just tune your set to Channel 44 digital (or channel 31 analogue)

Love to hear your feedback :-)

Thank you sponsors

I have three new sponsors that have joined the Gasolene team. In no particular order they are:

1. Penrite Oil - their quality oils outperform cheaper products.

2. DW Customs - A feature I shot for them about a mercury build will soon air. It will highlight the importance of good engineering and the methods employed in their shop to build legitimate customs.

3. Dukes Bodyworks - a state of the art collision repair centre that is also committed to quality repairs for their clients with minimum disruption to the owners schedule. They specialize in insurance smash repairs.

I would like to give a big thank you to all our sponsors who have demonstrated their support of a TV show that has grown over the past few years. Their support has sent a buzz through the Gasolene team and we look forward to filming another great season!

Tech Tip 2 - Hand Tools Only

Here is my second tech tip. Thanks for the feedback from the first video that we put up on YouTube, especially those from the United States and France.

I did some of the video work at the start and Brice included some clips from our popular collection that we have made from their workshops on our TV show.



So if you want to learn the right way to work metal from the best metal-shapers in the world, have a look at the extended tutorial on the DVD collection and get the right tools for your craft.

Brisbane Seminar

Due to popular demand, we are going to run another seminar in Brisbane! This will be held in November 2009.

Stay tuned for details when I post them here or give me a call. I love to hear from my readers. :-)

If you want to know what people think about our seminars, check out this YouTube video clip with some testimonials.

New series sponsors

Gasolene is starting a new season and to help us along, we have the gracious support of four fantastic sponsors! Without their help, our show would never get off the ground. We believe that this season of Gasolene will be the best that you have ever seen.

Fulcrum Suspensions
http://www.fulcrumsuspensions.com.au/
Leaders in Steering and Suspension, offering solutions from 4x4 to performance and commercial vehicles.

Kustom Bitz
http://www.kustombitz.com.au
Supplies polished stainless steel bolts for a wide variety of Hot Rods, Kustoms, Street Machines, Dragsters, Race Cars, Restored Cars, Motor Cycles, bikes and much more.

Yarra Valley Steel
(03) 9739 6339
Supply and manufacture metal products and detail structural steel.

Defilipo Exhaust
http://www.darrendifilippo.com.au
Supply Di Filippo headers, mufflers, exhaust systems and accessories and installing Di Filippo performance products for your car or truck .

Car shows and Swap Meets

I have been to several great car shows and swap meets around Australia over the past few weeks. It is funny thing wearing the Gasolene T-Shirt when you get asked by your viewers where did I get it. I must get around to printing some for sale or give away to my loyal supporters. What do you think?

These shows are a great place to meet new people and see some of the great things that are happening in the world of metal working and shaping. I will be traveling around for the remainder of the year so keep your eyes out and give me some feedback on the show.

Perhaps one of your ideas could be included in a segment of my show!

Perth Seminar

Here is a video that I quickly put together from the testimonials at the Perth Metal Shaping seminar. This year it was hosted by Tom Peach and Peter Tommasini and held at The Hammerworks, Rockingham WA. A special thanks to Clive Ross (the hammer from the West) who let us use his factory as a seminar location.

Enjoy the video crew!

Ron Covell

Guess what, we had a visit from Ron Covell! It was great to meet in person and we had a good time showing off our metal work and most importantly, Australian hospitality.

You can view a slideshow of photographs from this visit here.

Regards Mick



Love to read your feedback. :-)

G and D performance

Gasolene has another sponsor.

G and D performance are based in Dandenong and they are the premier performance specialist for late model vehicles. As you know from my television show, you can have the performance figures of the big dollar cars without the expense.

Give them a call, drop in for a chat or view their online catalog on their website at this location.
http://gdperformance.com.au

Brisbane Seminars

We are also running two metal working seminars in Brisbane on the 9th and 10 th of May 2009.

These will be held at our friends at Oz Rods & Restorations
78 Moss St, Slacks Creek, QLD 4127 www.oz-rods.com

Again, the first session will be the beginners session and the second will be the advanced session.

The last session we ran in Brisbane was a success and sold out quick. If you want to see the best meatal-shaper in the world, give me a call and get yourself booked in to reserve a spot.

We are planning a seminar in Adelaide so give me a call and I will register your interest.

Sydney Seminars

We are running metal working seminars on the 18th and 19th April 2009. The Saturday is a beginners course and the Sunday is the Advanced.

We are running the seminars at Andy's Restorations,

9 Erskine Rd, Caringbah, NSW 2229.

Come to both and learn a lot. :-)

Perth Seminar

We have a location for the Perth Seminar. It is at a place called the Hammerworks in Rockingham. There will be 2 x one day seminars on the 14th and 15th March 2009.

It would be a pity if you missed out on seeing for yourself, some of the tricks in the trade taught the best metal shaper in the world.

The 14th March is nearly sold out so if you want to secure a place, be quick and book your spot.

Publish Post

Also, advanced seminars are being held in Brisbane and Sydney in April. To register your interest please phone me on 0404 026 286. They sell out quick and first come, best dressed.

Feedback from the Adelaide seminar

I would like to thank all the participants for supporting our Adelaide seminar, Jarrod from Marque restorations for their hospitality and support. We really appreciated that they let us use their workshop for our metal working seminar.




Here is some feedback from a few of the people that came along.

"Day include techniques that were easily understood. Tom and Peter made all aspects look easy to understand and practice. Great day"
Glenn Halliday


"Great day, I liked the way they made complex shapes with simple skills and inexpensive equipment. Easy to understand and looking forward to the next seminar."
Rick Saberton


From Adelaide Seminar
"Great information day. Would recommend it to anybody in the automotive hobby"
Bob Sudich


"Very informative. Friendly atmosphere. I own a HK Monaro, so related well to the HK quarter panel of the front guard example they made on the day. Tom and Peter were very relaxed and approchable, answering many questions. Craftsmen at their best!"
Colin Stevens


"Showed us all that injenuity and practice conquers all problems. You don't need a million dollar shop to do any of this. Very good value day. Very informative. Thanks guys!"
Gordon Grieve

New Zeeland

Kia Ora folks, I notice that Gasolene is now screening in New Zeeland.

You can check it out on Stratos, Sundays at 9.30pm, TTV Auckland and Wellington Fridays at 8.30 pm.

What do the viewers think? We are producing series 3. It will again host the greatest metal worker in the world, Tom Peach. You can view some of his work here on my blog and this website.

We are planning for series 4. I would love to cross the Tasman with the team. I bet there are some great auto stories we could film and share. :-)

Series 3 and Number 6

We are gearing up for a new series on Television. Number 3 will hit the screens around December 2008. Thank you for your patience with all the repeats that you must be seeing.

If you have been watching the Gasolene series, you will notice that each episode briefly showcases some of the work by Peach and Tommasini. Their DVD collection has expanded to hours of commentary, instructional video and detailed advice from the masters of metal working.

Number 6 is now available for purchase and covers how to make a door skin and steel welding. It is a great follow up to number 5 that covered edge wiring, weheel arch return and basic mud guards.

Pay Pal

Did you know that you can buy the Peach and Tommasini metal working DVD's with PayPal.

It is easy to do. Just drop me a line or call for details.

More seminars

Well folks, we have held the seminars in Melbourne and Brisbane. Now it is your turn Adelaide!

The next seminar will be held on the 8th November 2008 at Marque Restorations in Kilkenny, South Australia (View Map). Please contact me for more information 0404 026 286.

Places are strictly limited and will fill fast so put in an early booking if you wish to come.

There will be an advanced seminar in Melbourne at Classic Car Restorations in Bayswater on the 22 November 2008. We are taking expressions of interest for anybody interested in us to hold a Perth Seminar. Contact me for further details.

Brisbane metal forming seminars a hit with the locals

I would like to thank all the people at OzRods for their help hosting the metal forming seminar with Peach and Tommassini. They were a huge success and very well recieved.

Check out this slideshow of pictures from the seminar that I took on the day. We got lots of positive comments from the participants including the following. Well done team :-)

"The Tom Peach and Peter Tommasini seminar was the best practical demonstration of hand forming of panels I have ever seen. I have already the DVD set but meeting the guys in person and seeing Tom work his magic up close is even bettter. He was very helpful and stopped to answer any questions. A fantastic day, I would recommend it to anyone, well worth the cost."
- Terry Sullivan (who we call our number one fan!)

"Great day, lots of fun, very interactive. Highly recommend it to anyone. Everyone that's interested in forming metal, this is the lecture for you."
- Kenny Rivers

"Best Practical info that I could relate to and use in my trade"
- Justin Dunglison (Panel Beater)

"Great day, pleasure to see Tom and Peter in person, working their magic on metal."
- Ed Hudson

"Thank you to everyone involved in the seminar recently held in Brisbane. I was amazed with how Tom and Peter explained and demonstrated simple ways to shape and form metal with the simplest of low cost tools and the fact the I was able to test what I had just learnt after the show. Meeting Tom and Peter was a great experience and knowledge of metal work was an inspiration to me."
- Adam Doyle

Rebuilding to the Max

I would like to give a huge thank you to Crankshaft Rebuilders in Blackburn (view on map) for working on my 202 engine for my Torana. If they do the machining for Ian Tate then they are good enough for me. :-)

Here is a slideshow of photographs that illustrate their craft and attention to detail.

View Album

Get your own

Peach and Tommasini

Here is a bio from one of the world's best metal workers

My career in the automotive industry ranged from an apprenticeship as a crash repair “Panel Beater / Panel Worker”, through various trade and administrative positions in several trades in Australia and England. Equally extensive was my teaching career.
I started as a student teacher and progressed through several trade and technical teaching positions in TAFE – Technical and Further Education. After thirty years of teaching, I worked as an assistant director at Batman Automotive College of TAFE, Coburg, Victoria Australia.

One of my most memorable experiences was an overseas scholarship. This Victorian Overseas Foundation award enabled me to work and study in England for about two years in specialist prototype and experimental vehicle body design, development, building and modification at Airflow Streamlines, Northampton, England.

Amongst the numerous projects I worked upon included the 1965 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, and the DB9 Aston Martin. These vehicle bodies were completely hand built using techniques and equipment that is very similar to what we use today.
Whether restoring, building, repairing or modifying external body panels, internal framing or chassis, all work can be carried out using hand working techniques, minimal equipment and basic hand tools.

For further information tune into our TV program Gasolene, view our various DVD’s or attend one of our seminars. Happy practicing,

Tom Peach


My passion has always been cars, particularly body work.

After migrating from Italy in 1970, I completed an apprenticeship at Leo Squires Motors, Dandenong in Panel Beating and Metal Fabrication. As a teenager, I had a part time job in a company which made some panels for Ferrari and this sparked my interest in panel making. During my apprenticeship I had a taste for using the wheeling machine but was not able to find a panel shop to advance my career.

After several years of working with smash repairs and small restorations, I decided to open up my own business “Peter Tommasini Classic Car Restoration” In the process of seeking out and purchasing appropriate restoration equipment, I met a range of different tradesmen in this field. Tom Peach generously shared his vast knowledge and experience and helped me to further hone my metal working skills.

After 28 years, the business evolved into one specialising in the restoration and panel fabrication of all classic, vintage, veteran and prestige cars, including Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Austin Healey, GTHO, Monaro and many more.
As each shape of a panel is unique to a particular car there is a great deal of patience and practice required to achieve the desired result. I still maintain my passion for panel fabrication and my greatest reward is creating a unique panel from a sheet of metal.

Regards Peter Tommasini