Phoenix Brake Bleeders Help Frank's Show Car Reach Top Conditions

Consumer Experience Stories are an interview with a (customer) representative of Phoenix Systems about their experience with Phoenix Systems products. To submit your own personal experience, please send an email to the editors contact info at the bottom of the page.



St. George, UT: August 22, 2016 - This month’s Consumer Experience Story comes out of the Midwest. Frank G., blue-collar worker, family man and car showman from South Bend, Indiana. Frank grew up going to the race track, building hot rods, and admiring pristine classic cars. He is your average car enthusiast who has a passion for speed, aesthetics, and perfection when it comes to his vehicles.



Frank said he always had dreams of being able to hold up a “Best of Show” trophy at a national-level auto show, but would settle for his state competition. “The dream started when I would watch my father get multiple classic 30’s and 40’s vehicles ready for our State Fair. On more than one occasion I saw him win multiple awards, and I’ve always wanted to have the same feeling of accomplishment on such a recognizable stage.”



Frank said as he has come up on retirement age, he has been able to dedicate a lot of time to perfecting his vehicles from the inside out. His pride and joy as he reaches into his late 60’s is in his 1972 Pontiac LeMans. “This vehicle means more to me than most, not because it’s an amazing vehicle or it is the best selection out of all my cars, but this is the car that sat in the backyard of my father’s house gathering rust and debris for close to 30 years. The Pontiac LeMans became my first project that I would restore from beginning to end, and has been a project 10 years in the making.”



Frank claimed his excitement for the project by saying, “Turning what was once a pile of rust and old car parts into the most pristine vehicle out of a selection of 200 well-prepared entries would be my greatest accomplishment.”  



If you’ve ever decided to enter your car into a show, it doesn’t matter if you’re going to a national-level concours or the neighborhood fair; you want your vehicle to be in its most top condition possible. When your car is up against so many perfected vehicles, the difference between a top prize and walking away empty handed lies in the details.



One year before Frank’s most previous car show he thought the 72’ Pontiac was finally ready for its first showing. “The aesthetics and appearance of the vehicle could not have looked any better, from bumper to bumper it was the picturesque image of your classic muscle car,” said Frank.  



About a week before the show Frank had to replace the entire brake system on the car. As he was bleeding the new lines on the car, using the old ‘pump and hold’ method, pressure built up at the bleed screw and sprayed brake fluid all over the rear passenger wheel well. He cleaned up the mess, so he thought, and continued to proceed with the brakes.



Frank said that he should have paid more attention to the brake fluid on the paint of the car, because over the next week he noticed a rather large stain on the outer portion of the rear-passenger wheel well. Once he was able to notice the stain and the flakes of paint that were coming off his Pontiac, the show was now a few days later and it was way too late to perform a paint job.



What was once excitement and adrenaline for the show turned into disappointment and frustration after many years of hard work. The day proceeded just as it had many years ago with his father. Many people came up to admire the beautiful classic nature of the vehicle, but Frank knew that the stained paint at the bottom of the car was going to hold him back against the competition.



At the end of the day Frank ended up not placing for any awards and was frustrated that something as simple as a ‘brake job gone wrong,’ could ruin his chances for something he’s wanted for years.



As Frank departed home after the car show, the brakes captured so much of his attention that he even began to notice how spongy they were. There was so much frustration built-up, that he felt like he had to figure this problem out before any more time passed.



Frank went to work on his car the very next day and said that he was determined to figure his brakes out before he fixed the faulty paint outside the wheel well. “Since I always work in my garage by myself, I realized that there was no way I was going to effectively finish this job,” said Frank.



“I remembered seeing an advertisement on RFD TV a little while back for the Phoenix Reverse Brake Bleeder. The commercial emphasized that this tool could accomplish a brake job with just one man. I thought, well what could I lose. I was wasting too much time with the old method and this tool claimed to cleanly finish the job in just 15 minutes,” said Frank.



“I ordered the tool, read through the instructions for just a few minutes and I was reverse bleeding the brakes on my LeMans,” said Frank. “After the first caliper I was shocked how fast the tool was able to push all the air through the master cylinder. Going through the rest of the vehicle took only another 15 to 20 minutes. Taking the tires off the car was a longer process.”



Frank said in regards to his brakes, “Obviously I loved how clean the whole process was but overall the tool was awesome. I had been working on cars with my father and by myself for over 50 years, and it changed the way I view brake bleeding because one man is able to complete the job.”



After a disappointing first showing, Frank was pretty nervous to get my long-time project back on the stage. But after a clean paint and brake job for the car, he had some confidence that she was going to do pretty well.



Francis said his usual excitement and adrenaline was replaced with an anxious and nervous attitude. He was hoping that the brakes and a few other details were enough to put him on top for this year. “I saw all the familiar vehicles from the year before, and wondered if there were any cars that were going to surpass me this year.”



As the judges got up on stage to announce the winners for the car show that year, they announced Frank as the winner of “Best in Class,” “Best of Show,” and a private corporate sponsor award. “This was only my second show that I had ever participated in. Of course I was shooting for first place, but I did not expect such a large outpouring of awards.”



“I remember standing up on the stage with my father many years ago, feeling a sense of accomplishment for the hard work he had put into the cars. Thankfully I was able to gather the same feelings as I accepted the awards with my wife,” said Frank. “My father said accomplishment requires perfection, and I’m glad our hard work for many years on our vehicles was able to help me accomplish my goals.”



For further information contact:

Phoenix Systems, LLC

1076 East Commerce Drive, Suite 400

St. George, UT 84790

Telephone: (888) 760-5842 Email: JT@brakebleeder.com

Editors’ Contact: teejay@brakebleeder.com

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