By Juan Torres
 Mark Turner and his employees at Daystar Products built a ’58 Jeep FC170 during their free time that was selected as a SEMA Battle of the Builders Top 10 finalist. |
As CEO of Daystar Products—an injection and cast polyurethane company in Phoenix founded in 1977—Mark Turner is a very busy person, and to balance his life, he builds cars in his garage with the help of his employees. “Every build that we do is done with our employees,” he said. “After working on the plant, they hang out with us at nights and on weekends.”
The group put together a ’58 Jeep FC170 that they entered into the 2016 SEMA Battle of the Builders competition. The project took six months to complete and features many modifications, including a hidden A/C system, hand-made bed, custom MagnaFlow exhaust, Baer brakes, KC LED headlights, Warn winch, power steering, and ballast tanks in the rear to aid with off-roading. Lamborghini leather covers all of the stock interior parts, and custom step cogs were added to the wheels to allow easy entry.
Turner could not believe that his build made it into the Top 10. “It's astounding that we were recognized for the hard work to make an amazing vehicle without having access to specialized tools,” he said. “This is what we do for fun. This is done in our garage, so we’re not professional builders.”
Behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and stories of the 2016 Battle of the Builders competition will be showcased in an hour-long TV special that will air February 6, 2017, on the Velocity Network, so mark your calendars, set your DVR and tell your friends not to miss the show.
For more information, visit www.SEMAShow.com/botb.