Delicate Touch Builds
Unique "Striping" Fame

    As any proud owner can attest, Excalibur automobiles have some unique "quality characteristics." Among them are the handcrafted quarter-inch steel frame and the stainless steel exhaust system.
    Another unique area, and one which sometimes is overlooked, is the "hand pinstriping" that is an intensely personal part of the automobile's design.
    Most classic car reproducers substitute by using tape stripes or spray-on techniques. Not Excalibur! For the past seven years that painstaking task has been handled by Sid Weickhardt.
    Pinstriping for Sid began as a hobby. After attending various car shows and watching others "stripe," Sid was in- spired to try to develop his own ability. His art soon provided income to pay tuition and living expenses at Marquette University. Upon graduation in 1974, he decided to pursue pinstriping as a full time career.
    Ray Basasie, an Excalibur Vice President, spotted some of Sid's work on a locally owned Series II Excalibur and approached Sid with a job offer. That was 1,000 Excaliburs ago.
    Pinstriping is usually one of the last parts of productions Every car is hand- striped in a color to each owner's specifications. The striping is done with a special enamel paint that has the essential characteristics of flowing and covering. Automotive enamel would be too thin and would not "cover." The brushes used are a special dagger-style, with a short wooden handle, some wrapping string and hairs from squirrel tails. Sid cuts each brush to his own specifications. The majority of brushes are discarded until just the right brush is found.
    Besides striping Excaliburs, Sid has traveled the country and striped some other classic cars. They include Duesenbergs, Auburns and Packards which were hand-striped at the factory when originally produced. The owners must then restore the hand-painted stripes to show a car in its original state. The last two Duesenbergs  he  striped  were both

100 point show winners. One of the two was the 1979 national champion.
    One of Sid's most fascinating experiences came when a collector from Maine contacted him to stripe a 1936 Packard Boattail Speedster. This historic automobile turned out to be the car that former screen lovely Carole Lombard had bought as a surprise birthday present for Clark Gable.
    Sid also striped the 193l Cadillac that was custom built for the King of Denmark. Besides Excaliburs and classic cars, he has also striped Mer- cedes, BMW's, Porsches and other cars for local automobile dealers. This is beneficial because of

the need to constantly maintain high quality.
    Pinstriping can be hard on the nerves, and Sid appreciates a vacation from time to time. But he says that when he returns from, say, a 10 day break, he feels he just started again.
    "I really enjoy my work," says the man with the delicate touch, "and that's why I am one of the best in this business." But he laments the fact of not being able to meet the happy owners of cars that he helps decorate, and rarely seeing his work after it leaves the factory.
    I guess, philosophically , Sid, "that's a stripe of another color."