Lowered Values

All is fair in love and low.

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Another teaser from the shoot.. Full write-up coming this friday, including some of what's taking place with the build this winter. #loweredvalues #openroadtuning #vw #mk3 #bagged #stance #dropdragdestroy #churchofthelowered #cotl #chadtrussphotography #low

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Looks like I have about 1/16" of clearance on the pan and none on the control arms. #loweredvalues #openroadtuning #baggeddaily #ridelowparklower #gladichecked

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Couldn't help myself. Thanks for the shot and that polish @majend008 ! #loweredvalues #stance #tuckthursdays #openroadtuning #vw #bagged #baggeddaily #jetta #mk3 #shineaddict #corvette #saladshooters #cotl #churchlife #illovemycar

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Now that's better. #loweredvalues #fptuned #openroadtuning #baggeddaily #rollallthefenders #wheelwednesday #vw #jetta #mk3

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Dropped off at @cleanschnitt to have some fender magic done this morning. 😬 #wheelwednesday #jaredlavinephotography #openroadtuning #loweredvalues #mk3 #jetta #baggeddaily #corvette #saladshooters #datpolish

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Teamed up with Long Ball Rally on these. Are you registered for Mad Further yet?!

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Lowered Values x Further Performance @ Soundset 2013

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WE ARE LOWERED VALUES

We are a clothing company, of sorts, based out of the midwest. We are a little old school, and believe in doing things the right way from the beginning. We value spending free time helping friends with their builds, not because it is what we should do, but because it is what we want to do. We are passionate about our work as individuals, in builds, and as a company. We do these things not because they are easy, but because we will always live low. All is fair in love and low.

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The Lowered Values Mission Statement is simple. It's a code we live by as car builders, and as members of our community. We're straight out of the midwest, and proud of it. The goal for Lowered Values is to take this lifestyle that we live and breathe, and create a line of clothing that communicates this sincerely through language and form. Our products are built like the cars in our garage, from the ground up with an intense attention to detail. For this summer we are proud to bring you a lineup of vinyl, tees, sweatshirts, and accessories with logos that play on the semantic structure within the industry. Our products are printed right here in the Twin Cities, in limited batches and colorways. We aim for our goods to get better with age, and with a bit of oil on them. 

Here's a peak at what our designer has been up to. We hope to see everyone this summer, and make sure you swing by the pop-up shop to say hello and give Ami the shop cat a high five. 

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Getting rid of the seam sealer and seams in the caddy.

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Friday nights at The Church of the Lowered

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We Are Lowered Values

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The Caddy getting moved to the Church of the Lowered

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Chase getting some work done Monday night on his Merc W108

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An Introduction : Chase Kieke of Lowered Values

Since before I can even remember, cars have been my greatest passion in life. It all began a long, long time ago (sorry Dad I had to find some way to give you shit) back in 1973 when my dad purchased his first car, a Cardinal Red 1970 Pontiac GTO. He owned it for 2 years, and then sold it for a Ford Econoline van. You’re probably thinking from a muscle car to a van? It was the 70’s, and the back seat of a GTO isn’t exactly very spacious... Fast forward 11 years, and he found himself with the opportunity to buy it back. At the time my mom was 5 months pregnant with me, so he was reluctant to go look at it, seeing he already had plenty on his plate as a soon to be father. But this wasn’t just “some car” to him, so there was no way he wasn’t going to at least talk to the guy selling it.  Over a 6 pack of Heineken and some bullshitting, a deal was made that he could not pass up. It was his again.

Before I took my first steps you could find me standing on the driver’s seat, wishing I was laying rubber like Dad. The gurgle of the exhaust would literally put me to sleep, or so my dad tells me. My parents had gotten me one of those little Fischer Price cars that was red with the yellow top as a present.  My dad got some OEM stickers like the ones on the side of the GTO, and made me my own GTO. I was instantly attached at the hip to it. Although his decision to buy the car at that time probably caused some commotion in our house, if he hadn’t made that decision, I would not be writing this right now.

Over the past 25 years he has made it look like it just rolled straight off the showroom floor. He would tell you otherwise because he’s modest, but anyone that knows the car would be on my side. He has won countless shows and races, a couple of the most notable being from up at BIR; Best Pontiac 3 yrs in a row, and the Showroom Showdown, which is essentially is the fastest pure stock car at the track. All of his buddies refer to it as “The Fastest GTO in the World”. He can drive the absolute piss out of that car, and trust me it is NOT an easy car to drive. The travel of the clutch pedal would be close to that of a Mack truck, and you literally have to throw your body weight at the shifter to hit third gear when you’re stretching its legs. There are drum brakes all around that probably didn’t perform well when it came off the assembly line in 1970. There is no power steering so it’s all by arm strong. The goofiest thing to me is how much play is the steering wheel, you can wiggle it back and forth and the car will continue straight as an arrow. All of those things make it challenging to drive, but nothing will ever scratch my car itch like the GTO does.

I have been heavy into the euro car scene for about the last 5 years. The last two cars I built were of the new age generation.  Although both displayed my personality and imagination they were merely just a stepping stone to what was soon to come. The most recent car I did, was a BMW E90 335i. Last year it took Best Stance at Eurowerks 6. People either loved it or hated it. Generally the hardcore–BMW–go–fast guys would say “Your car is way too low, I think it’s stupid” and “why in the hell would you ever put colored wheels with stretched tires on a BMW?” I like what I like, and that’s my only concern. I don’t post my projects because I’m looking for a stamp of approval… I post in hopes that maybe someone will hop off the bandwagon and truly express their creativity, and not just follow what they see on the mainstream forums. A lot of people do what others want and not what they want to do.

A little over two months ago, I picked up a 1973 Mercedes Benz 280se 4.5L. I had wanted a project car for quite some time now. It had to be old, and it had to have character. One thing I’ve learned after owning this car is that those two things, more often than not, go hand in hand. I’ve always had a soft spot for a classic Benz, and after doing some research I knew a W108 was the car for me. The amount of styling and sophistication these cars ooze is comparable to that of a Rolls Royce. Morning after morning I would find myself typing in every random keyword or phrase possible on Craigslist, hoping I would stumble across “the one”. For about three months this went on until finally I found what I was looking for.

I found the car locally in St Paul, I must admit I had completely different expectations based on the “for sale” ad when I went to look at it. The ad stated that the car was rust free and in good running condition. I soon found out neither of those things had been completely truthful. The car idled sporadically, almost as if someone was tromping on the gas pedal repeatedly all the way to redline and then letting off. Two of the side windows and the rear glass had been smashed out. There was noteworthy rust on the fenders behind the headlights, and very bad on one of the rockers. The condition of the paint was poor at best, being either cracked or non-existent in spots, exposing some nasty surface rust. I remember calling my dad, and he could immediately hear the disappointment in my voice. He proceeded to slap me in the face with the reality of the situation, and made me realize how lucky I was to find the car so close to home. I hung up the phone and soon after I found myself excited again. Before I knew it the previous owner was handing over the title to me and it was time to see if it would successfully make the trip home, which was a 40 mile drive.

Driving down the highway in that car I experienced what I would describe as similar emotions to most people’s first intimate encounter with the opposite sex. I was smiling from ear to ear in pure and utter excitement as I bopped down the highway, gripping that beautiful steering wheel Mercedes created. But at the same time I was nervous about running out of gas due to the fuel gauge reading inaccurately, and every time I brought the engine down to idle it felt like it was going to either die or explode. But after a short time of driving I noticed something that made those worries disappear. Just about every person I drove past about ran off the road trying to figure out exactly what the hell they were looking at. I don’t know if it was the obnoxiously loud exhaust that was chopped off right behind the front tires, the inch of dust layered over the rusty body, or the fact the rear glass was MIA along with a duct taped in windshield, but it was definitely causing a scene... Amazingly the car made it home, it was by no means a graceful trip, but it made it. Prior to making the purchase my plans were far less extensive. I was planning to spot sand the body and do a re-spray or possibly even a wrap without completely dismantling the body, put it on bags, throw some wheels on it, and call it a day. Now I look back on those plans and chuckle a bit. No more than two weeks later I had the entire interior pulled out, the body was completely torn down, and I had started completely stripping the body of its paint. Reason being, the more I looked the car over and time I spent with it the more I saw potential it bared. I felt that I owed it to the car, and to myself to really do things right and make sure it would be preserved for many, many years. Let me point out that prior to this I had next to no experience in restoration, but that is the exciting part for me. I am the kind of person that just likes to dive in head first and work the kinks out as they present themselves. This car has turned into a blank canvas for me, to paint whatever I damn well please. And paint I will. Up to this point I knew the people in my local car community were helpful but never would have imagined the support and knowledge I would be receiving from them. Some close friends and others complete strangers, but all with the same mentality, and willingness to lend a hand. You all know who you are, and I just want to extend my thanks to you for taking time away from your lives to help me with my project. Especially to my buddy Justin Voss who has come down to help me with the body work, and pass along the skills and knowledge he has acquired in his builds for the last 5 weekends straight. Stemming from some of the ideas he’s presented to me, we’ve been able to come up  with some distinct yet subtle differences that will be different from anything that was been to a W108 before.  He comes from a completely different mindset and background in cars than me and that has been a key factor to my build. 

FOR MORE W108 PHOTO'S HEAD ON OVER TO OUR FLICKR!

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Alex Henderson Minneapolis, MN  26 Information Architect   Previous Mentions Daily 1997 BMW 328is (ThatWheelGuy demo car)  Project   1973 Opel GT Project Plans Full engine rebuild (done), custom wiring harness, hoonage 

Hobbies Being a nerd, snowboarding, custom wheel refinishing, wearing silly masks 

Favorite Build SENZA PARI's 280z   

Biggest inspiration within the community? Mike Olsen, Kris Clewell, FABEL, Drew Svilar

Dream car 1973 Opel GT Living the dream 

What got you into the euro community? And what made you stick around?

My buddies Colin, Drew, and Omar when I was living in AZ they got me out of the DSM scene and hooked on euros. Drew's 337 was one of the first really "stanced" cars in the area and opened me up to a totally different way of building a vehicle. Then when I moved back up to MN the local euro community was so wonderful I realized that I had found where I belong.

Parting words When you do things right, people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all.