Philanthropy
Miracles of Mitch Race Car Day at the Children’s Hospital
May 13th
If you’ve been actively reading our blog, you already know that Morrie’s Minnetonka Mazda and Twin Cities Luxury Auto have been working together to help build a Mazda2 B-Spec Racecar for one of our loyal clients, John McCarthy.
The Mazda2 racecar build is complete and TCLA Service Manager, Michael Ashby has been working closely with McCarthy and the Miracles of Mitch Foundation to raise money for children in need. Ashby and McCarthy became aware of the Miracles of Mitch Foundation when they participated in an event sponsored by our Mazda and TCLA stores. The event allowed us, as well as our customers to donate a bike to the Miracles of Mitch Foundation for each car that was sold in April. McCarthy and Ashby felt inspired to continue a partnership with the Miracles of Mitch Foundation. To them, the foundation carries a message that everyone needs to hear and they decided to embrace the idea of helping the foundation to raise funds.
Charger Restoration – Update #7 – The Final Parts Hunt
May 6th
Spring has finally arrived, and much like we’ve been eagerly waiting to get outdoors, the Charger is anxiously waiting for its return to streets. That return, however, is going to be a bit delayed.
Up until recently visible progress on the Charger could be seen on a daily basis, but recently our team has been working diligently on the details you cannot see. We’ve reached the stage where the hunt for small and seldom noticed trim pieces slows down the restoration process. Despite a healthy aftermarket for vintage muscle car parts, we’ve run into a couple of “needle in the haystack” situations.
The good news is that we’ve been able to track down all the outstanding parts. The not so good news is that some of these parts aren’t scheduled to arrive until the middle of June. Needless to say we won’t hit our May completion target and it’s looking like late-June is a more reasonable completion target. Fortunately, like the aging of a fine wine, the extra time will give us time to get everything dialed in perfectly for when Matthew takes the wheel this summer.
Check out the update photos below and be sure to check back often for updates.
Morrie’s attends the Children’s Star Gala
May 2nd
On April 27th 2013 the Children’s Star Gala, 22nd annual Thank God for Kids event was help at the Depot in downtown Minneapolis. Thanks to generous sponsors, donors, attendees and volunteers a total of $2.2 million was raised for the development of The Mother Baby Center at the Children’s Clinic in Abbott Northwestern Hospital.
The Mother Baby Center opened earlier this year and was designed to care for all deliveries and bring patients the best mother and baby care possible. Abbott Northwestern delivers more babies than any other hospital in Minnesota, making this the perfect place for this birthing center. The center is equipped with state of the art technology and highly trained staff. One of the goals of the Mother Baby Center is to keep the mother and her child together as much as possible, even post-birth. They have created a space that caters to all different types of birthing situations making it one of the most versatile birthing centers today.
We were happy to be able to provide a 2013 Crystal Red Cadillac SRX and $1,000 worth of gas that helped raise over $13,000 for this event. We were so thankful to be able to support such a wonderful cause. Check out some of our photos from the event below.
Drive one 4UR School This Saturday!
Apr 22nd
This Saturday, April 27th from 9am-3pm Morrie’s Buffalo Ford will be at Delano Elementary School with a great lineup of Ford cars and trucks for you to test drive!
Take one of our new Ford vehicles for a spin and Ford Motor Company will donate $20 for every test drive up to $6,000 to Delano Elementary School! We will be bringing a range of different vehicles from our lineup including an F-150, Mustang, Fusion, Focus, Taurus, Escape, Fiesta, Edge, C-MAX and more! Get there early because the first 300 drivers will receive a free pair of Ford sunglasses!
Here at Morrie’s we look for opportunities to give back to the community and this weekend, you can help. We look forward to a great turnout to help raise money for this local school!
Delano Elementary School is located at 678 Tiger Drive, Delano, MN 55328. If you have any questions please call us at 763-682-1622.
Morrie’s Partners With Miracles of Mitch and United Health Care Children’s Foundation
Apr 17th
Here at Morrie’s we actively search for opportunities to get involved and offer support within our community. Last month our Minnetonka Mazda store partnered with the Miracles of Mitch Foundation and the United Health Care Children’s Foundation to help children in need.
The Miracles of Mitch Foundation was formed by Steve and Becky Chepokas in memory of their son Mitch. Since his passing in 2003, the MOMF has provided financial and quality-of-life support to the families of children being treated for cancer in Minnesota.
The United Health Care Foundation helps children who have medical needs that may not be fully covered by insurance. The UHCCF is a place for families to turn to for funding and services for these children.
Throughout this partnership, Morrie’s customers were given a Strider Bike with the purchase of any new Mazda. They could choose to keep the bike, benefiting the UHCCF, or they could help a second child by donating the bicycle to the Miracles of Mitch Foundation.
We are so proud to be able to give back to two wonderful organizations and enjoyed seeing our Morrie’s customers give back to these organizations as well. Check out the pictures below of some of our customers that donated their bikes with their new car purchase.
Matthew’s Charger Restoration – Update #6 – Putting it Back Together
Mar 25th
We’ve had Matthew’s 1968 Dodge Charger for a little over three months now and things are really coming together. Since our last update, the Charger has made it back to Morrie’s Minnetonka Ford for assembly. Upon arrival the first order business was to remove all the suspension components for refinishing. After stripping and a fresh coat of paint the suspension was put back in the car, complemented by new shocks and other goodies. The brakes were also tackled and rebuilt to as new condition, although it is hard to notice them hidden behind the shiny new American Racing Torque thrust wheels. Under the hood the refreshed engine and transmission has been put back in the car and the generous folks at A&T Upholstery have started tackling the interior.
The car has really started to take shape and with spring around the corner the timing couldn’t be better. We still have a lot of work ahead, but with a little luck, and a lot of elbow grease, the car should be ready before June rolls around.
Mazda2 B-Spec Racecar Build
Mar 6th
Phase 3: The Roll Cage and Wrap
With spring closing in, the Mazda 2 is making speedy progress to its completion. With all the performance modifications done and the interior completely removed we are ready to move onto phase three, the wrap and cage.
Designing and installing a roll cage is not a very simple task. To save us time and one massive headache we left it to the experts at S-Box Engineering to design the Mazda 2′s roll cage.
S-Box Engineering’s parent company (Miata Cage) has been building roll cages for spec Miata’s for over 10 years. With their expertise and knowledge of roll cages and Mazda’s it made for a smooth process with the ordering and installation. After spending a few days at AutoEdge Racing in Mahtomedi for installation and assembly of the cage, it was ready for paint. Our own Michael Ashby spent some time after hours sprucing it up.
Matthew’s 1968 Charger Restoration – Update #5 Fresh Coat Of Paint
Mar 6th
We’ve been hard at work restoring Matthew’s 1968 Dodge Charger and we’re excited to share the latest updates with you. The charger is currently at our body shop in Brooklyn Park where it just received a fresh coat of paint! Per Matthew’s request, we painted the vehicle Mopar Silver, and we think it was a great choice. The vehicle is slowly but surely starting to look as good as it did the day it rolled off the showroom floor. We are very excited to see Matthew’s reaction once the Charger has been fully restored.
The vehicle is currently getting upholstered and once that is finished we will begin the assembly process. Make sure to stay tuned for more coverage! Until then, take a look back on all of our restoration updates to see the progress we’ve made so far.
Hemmings Features Matthew’s 1968 Dodge Charger Restoration
Mar 1st
Here at Morrie’s we are proud to be able to give back to our local community and help others. When we found out about the opportunity to team up with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to grant Matthew’s wish of having his 1968 Dodge Charger restored, we were thrilled. Earlier this year we traveled North to Canyon, Minnesota to surprise Matthew at his home and pick up the Charger. Throughout the restoration we have documented the different phases of the project through a series of posts here on our blog. Just recently, Hemmings.com, a notable online car enthusiast community featured Matthew’s story and the process of the restoration on their blog. Check out what they had to say at blog.hemmings.com.
To see the progression of the restoration process from the beginning, check out our series of blog updates here. Make sure to check back soon for update #5 where Matthew’s Dodge Charger receives a fresh coat of paint!
Mazda2 B-Spec Racecar Build
Feb 26th
Phase 2: The Diet
If you’ve been following our blog, you know that Morrie’s Minnetonka Mazda and Twin Cities Luxury Auto have teamed up to build a Mazda2 B-Spec racecar for one of our loyal clients. To read about the racecar build from the beginning, check out our phase 1 blog post.
Since its mechanical makeover, our project B-Spec Mazda 2 has since been on a weight loss regimen. With the last encounter, the Mazda 2 had a full mechanical makeover to fulfill SCCA requirements in the performance aspect of things. The next part of this adventure takes us to the diet.
Weight plays a key factor with any vehicles performance. When designing new vehicles, many manufactures and engineers struggle with finding new ways to make cars lighter. It plagues engine performance, efficiency, and handling. In racing, it also has the same negative effects. Since we are working on a production vehicle and need to comply with SCCA guidelines for showroom stock, the only way to lose weight is to pitch things we don’t need (which is pretty much everything inside the 2).
