1936 Chevy 1/2 Ton Truck - Tim Schmit - Anoka, MN

In 1998 I was looking for an old Chevy truck to restore. A friend told me about a 1936 Chevy truck that had been in a barn for 30 years and the owner was thinking about selling it because the barn was ready to fall down. I was able to get his phone number and called him that same day. An hour later I left for a three and a half hour road trip to look at the truck in the middle of North Dakota. The truck was well used and had a dead cat stuck in a spring of the seat but it was not very rusty and all of the parts were there. I paid the farmer $500.00 and picked it up the following weekend.

With the help of great friends and family members, we spent the next ten years as time and money would allow restoring the truck. In the fall of 2008, we took the truck on its maiden voyage down the street in our neighborhood. This was the first time the truck had run under its own power since the mid 50’s according to the plate that was on the truck when we bought it. This was our first project and our family has really enjoyed the many friends we have made and nice people we have met along the way.

1931 Ford Model A Custom Street Rod - Edward Brinker Sr. - Easton, PA

My 1931 Ford Coupe Model A took me 2.5 years to build it the way I wanted it! I had the coupe for 18 years. When I first got it back in 1991, it was a driver. From that point, I chopped the roof 3.5", shaved all the handles (hood, doors, & rumble seat). I added a sunroof, new rims (Boyd Cottington's), made custom tail lights, electric windows, etc. Every piece of the car was taken off and all the gaps were fitted to match a paint stick width. The car was then painted base coat/clear coat with I.C.I. Paint. Its drive train has a 3.8L Buick V6 with a 350 Buick Turbo tranny. Loved the coupe ever since I bought it, and have no intentions of selling it!

Here are some other odds n ends...
• Molded visor to roof & gas tank to body & rear pan to body • 1932 Grill shell w/ 3 piece hood • Frenched-in tail lights • Smoothed inner door jams • Smoothy running boards • Tinted glass windows • Tri-bar head lights • Dual S.S. exhaust tips • Ghost flames on sides of hood • Made all body lines match up

1939 Chevrolet Pick-Up - Tom King - Bradenton, FL

This vintage 1939 Chevrolet Pickup was purchased out of Clearwater, FL by Bill King. Bill then sold it to his brother Tom King, Owner of Kings Service Truck and Auto Repair.  This old timer is still equipped with the original Chevrolet 6 cylinder 216.5 cubic engine, pushing 29.4 horsepower. Tom and his 3 sons have renovated and restored this classic vehicle at Kings Service.  The only mechanical modifications for this vehicle include: replacing front wheel bearings, rebuilt differential, valve job, fuel pump, converted to 12V, and fabricated bracket for 12V alternator.  The cosmetic modifications include paint, and re-stain wood for bed, and new bed mounts.

1940 Ford Coupe - Charles Flood - Eolia, MO

I started out as a floor clean-up boy in a body shop for a Mr. Spillman in Pagedale, Missouri when I was 17 years old. I have been in the car restoration business for the past 38 years and I have always worked in the St. Louis, Missouri area. I have my own shop now and it is located in Eolia, Missouri. Many of the cars that I have restored have won awards at Car Shows in the St. Louis region.

Unfortunately, I have no before pictures of the 1940 Ford Coupe. The car was found in an old barn with 10,000 original miles on it. What find!!!!!!!!!!  The interior, glass, tires, brakes and the paint were replaced everything else is original.

My wife and I enjoy cruising the Missouri county side in this coupe.

1959 Corvette - Marc Osmun - Fulton, NY

Taken from the August 2009 cover story article in Corvette Fever Magazine

We call the home of this restored C1 “The Land of Oz” for three simple reasons. The first one is obvious—owner Marc Osmun’s home in Fulton, New York is located a short drive north of Chittenango, the hometown of Wizard of Oz creator L. Frank Baum.

The second is the story that Marc told us about the ’59’s history, one that even the imagination of L. Frank Baum never dreamed of when he wrote about yellow-brick roads. For openers, Marc says that much of the ‘59s ownership history is difficult to trace until the time that his friend, Larry Barnes, bought it from Ronald Ajemian, owner of the Liverpool Country Club at the time. Ron had owned it for 20 years and purchased it from David Niles Rosen in March of 1977. “I received a box full of receipts, registrations, and restoration photos with the car that took me a while to sort out and categorize,” Marc says. “I traced it back to the guy who he bought it from. My best guess is that there have been four to five owners, including myself.” Outside of the frame-off restoration that it received in 1982, its build date at St. Louis Assembly (November 21, 1958) and its original selling dealer (Marsh Hallman Chevrolet in Albany), little else was known about the car’s history.

The third reason is his license plate reads “OZS 59”. “Oz” being the nickname’s of Marc and his three sons. What was apparent, when Larry bought it, was that this car had been well-preserved, given Central New York’s harsh climate—and that Marc wanted it if Larry didn’t. “It wasn’t bad, but it needed a lot of cosmetic work,” Marc recalls and adds, “I was with Larry when he bought it, and I told him, ‘I’ll tell you this. If you’re not buying it, I’m buying it!’”

Click on the images below to read the full article…

1960 Rambler - Larry Morris - Westview, KY

We are very excited about being on the calendar. My wife and I own and operate a small body shop in Westview, KY.  We have been in the same location for over 30 years. I saw this Rambler about 3 years ago at a cruise -in in Louisville, Ky. It was under primer, with most of the body modifications already made. It was love at first sight. Started talking to the owner and turns out he went to high school with my wife and they had not seen each other for almost 40 years. We ended up buying the car the next week. We drove it under primer for a couple of years and then did an engine and tranny swap and body work and then painted the yellow and white with graphics. We removed the door handles, installed electric door openers, so we decided to paint on the door handles. I will send you some additional photos of the paint job in progress. Any questions just let me know. Our Keystone jobber is in New Albany, Ind.  We have always had great service and appreciate the honor of being on your Calendar.

1956 Thunderbird - Gerry Matthews - Guymon, OK

Gerry bought the T-Bird in 1968 from the original owner who resided in San Francisco.  Gerry lived in Portland, OR at the time.  It is a V8, automatic, with power windows and power seats.  Her father had the car painted and the mechanics gone through in 1986.

Gerry had been fighting breast cancer with chemotherapy and radiation since April, 2008. During the summer of 2009, we decided the T-Bird needed to be refreshed.  Hinchey Ford in Guymon, OK went through the mechanicals to verify they were road-worthy.  They had to replace the power brake booster.  It was then taken to K&K Auto Body and Paint in Guymon for a new paint job.  It was repainted the original color – black – and it turned out absolutely marvelous.

The car never had a soft top, only the hard top, so we ordered a reproduction soft top and K&K installed it.  The car came originally with standard wheels with full wheel covers.  She wanted chrome and spoke wheels se we ordered those and installed them with new radial tires.  When we got the car completed by K&K, Gerry was absolutely thrilled, as was Roz, James and the staff at K&K.  It turned out beautifully.

Gerry passed away on November 5, 2009 from complications of breast cancer, so this inclusion in your 2010 calendar will be a great tribute to her long time ownership and love of this 1956 T-Bird.  (Her birthday will be June 16, and it is fitting that the choice of June for the car’s calendar is a wonderful coincidence.)

1972 Oldsmobile 442 w29 Convertible - Troy Toffolo - Manlius, NY

It’s a 1972 Oldsmobile 442 W29 convertible with an M21 four speed transmission and 3.42:1 differential gears.  I’ve owned the car since 1981.  The car has been restored twice.  The first was a minor restoration in 1982 with some topside engine work and a tri coat lacquer candy apple paint job.  Ten years, 65K miles and a lot of paint cracks later, a second restoration was needed.

For the second restoration I had secured a full set of NOS body panels.  Unfortunately during the restoration “go or no go” inspection, I missed a rot spot on the frame (top of rear wheel well).  So the #2 weekend driver restoration turned into a complete frame off restoration.  It was a slow continuous 15 year process during which there was a 3 year period of panel painting trying to match the old candy apple red paint job color while the rest of the restoration continued.  Ultimately, this quest for the perfect red resulted in the selection of the “right” color, a stock Viking Blue.

My good friend Dean Miller and I went to VA to get a solid frame.  Everything except the dash was restored or replaced.  Classic Olds in NC was a big help.  The 455 cu engine was completely overhauled, including being bored out and ARP’ed.  The engine was rebuilt with Eldenbrock, heads, intake and carburetor (I still have all the stock parts) and dyno’ed at 425 hp and 510 ft lb of torque.  The show quality body and paint work was done by Bill the owner of Karus’s Auto Body in Manlius, NY.

1947 Ford F150 - Dave Cray - Mercerville, NJ - TR's Autobody & Restoration LLC

In 1947, Robert Sherman residing in Mercerville, NJ bought a 1947 Ford Pickup for everyday use and various chores.  After his passing, his son, Richard Sherman got the truck.  He also resided in Mercerville, NJ and occasionally used it before parking it in his barn next to his 1956 Corvette, 1929 Woody and Life Savers 1929 sedan delivery truck form Atlantic City.

Back in 1990 Richard called me about doing some work on his Corvette.  Since I was also from Mercerville, I knew the Sherman family and was more than willing to do the work.  When I went to the barn to look at the Corvette, I noticed the dusty 47.  I couldn’t believe it, after more than 40 years, it was all there!

A few years later, Richard sold it to another friend of ours, Dave Cray also from Mercerville.  Dave insisted on paying $4,700 for it, $200 over the asking price, since it was a 1947.  He had if for a few years and one day called me wanting to restore it.  I brought it to my house where I have a detached garage and started the project.

I was surprised to see what good shape it was in and that it only had 73,000 original miles.  Some one did replace the seat with a dodge car seat but other than that it was original (still looking for an original seat if anyone knows of one).  After striping the paint I found out the truck which was red should be Sherwood blue, the original color.  When I showed Dave the color, he said go with it. 

Half way through the restoration, I opened my own shop, TR’S Auto Body & Restorations, LLC located in Cream Ridge, NJ and brought it with me to finish.  It was one of the first restorations I completed there.  After painting it, I knew I had to add the bone white to accent the body lines and grill.  Three coats of clear were applied to finish it off.  BASF diamont paint was used with DC5300 clear.  After polishing it, the red pin-striping was applied freehand to give it the final touch.

New wiring and some new chrome were also added.  We left the wood alone as it was well preserved.  The truck now sits in a heated/air conditioned garage with the rest of Dave’s collection 15 miles away from it’s origin in Mercerville, NJ.  I occasionally use it for car shows and parades and it is always a big hit.  Everyone admires it!  I’d have to say that the hardest part of the job was giving it back to Dave!!

The 2nd owner, Richard Sherman has recently passed and Dave drove the truck with the flowers in the back to the funeral in his memory.  May he rest in peace.

1938 Cadillac LaSalle - Robert & Sylvia DeYoung - Calumet City, IL

Aside from my family, my whole life has been about cars.  I have been married to my wife, Sylvia, for over 50 years, have two sons who work with me, and one daughter.  I started out very young doing mechanical repairs.  But as I got older, I decided that I didn’t want all that grease under my nails any more.  So I switched to collision repair.  That’s when I became interested in the restoration of antique cars.  I found this type of work much more rewarding and was able to see the results of my hard work and have been doing it for the past 30 years.

Over those years, I collected several antiques and restored them.  The first being a 1929 Model A, a 1927 Chevrolet Touring car, then a 1941 Ford Super Deluxe Convertible.  Then one day, a friend of mine told me about a conversation he overheard in a tavern about a man wanting to sell this 1938 LaSalle convertible.  He also had parts from a 1938 Cadillac sedan.  Well, my friend found out where this car was and he and I went to see it.  Most of the parts were there and the engine ran.  I bought it then and there.  He and his wife were sad to see it go incomplete but knew it would be in good hands.

The body had been worked on by somebody else and it was very poor work.  The floor had been Frankenstein patched over the rust and had to be all torn out.  I had located a 1938 LaSalle in a museum and took pictures of the floor and trunk floor so that I could recreate the original grooves in the sheet metal.  The doors needed to be patched on the bottom and took about a week for each one.  Months were spent on the vent window frames to get them just right before being chromed because one of the previous owners made them out of steel.

The running boards were a mess.  They had to be stripped of the old rubber and repaired.  The biggest problem was finding the replacement rubber.  Unfortunately, there wasn’t anyone in the USA who made what I needed.  So I created my own mold and poured the rubber myself.  As long as I was making them myself, I added the LaSalle logo.

The day I brought it to the shop, my father happened to be visiting and said that he wanted to take a ride in it when it was finished.  He was in his early 90’s at the time.  Unfortunately, he passed at the age of 97 in June 2003, long before the restoration was completed.  So I took his sister, who is my aunt, and her husband, who were also in their 90’s, for a ride in his place.

It took at least 4 years on and off and, of course, thousands of hours and dollars to complete but it is a thing of beauty and a gem to drive.  My wife, Sylvia, is an artist and she took pictures we sent in for the calendar contest and now we enjoy riding in the LaSalle.

1938 Chevy 2-Door Sedan - Ben & Roxann Neu - Cold Spring, MN

We bought this car in spring of 2001 for a "family street rod" project.  This car was an original 1938 Chevy Master Deluxe with 48,000 actual miles and no rust.  That first winter Ben started some of the body work so that the next spring/summer (of 2002) we could enjoy driving it as an original.  Being original, the car couldn't go more than 50 mph - made it hard to cruise all the miles we put on in a summer.  Therefore, we decided to tear apart the car and create our own street rod.  Ben spent the next three years in the garage chopping the top, suiciding the doors, slanting the b-pillars, installing a Corvette LT1 engine, moving the headlights from the grille to the fenders, installing different front and rear suspension, customizing the interior, and all the other work that goes into making a street rod.  As Ben did this, Roxann spent lots of time looking for colors, wheels, trim and all the "extras" that go with building a street rod.  Roxann couldn't wait to go to Back to the 50's in Minnesota to shop.  The first summer we showed off our car, it was nominated for MSRA Street Rod of the Year in Ramsey MN. Our daughter Kali just loves to ride in the back where there is plenty of room for her and a friend.  We have driven many miles since the competition.  We now enjoy pulling a camper behind it and traveling to different car events.  The winning photo that was previously submitted was taken on our way home from a camping trip in Watertown SD.

1967 Camaro RS - Ron Reid - Hagerstown, MD

The first car that I owned was a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro. Since purchasing my first car, I have owned nearly forty 1967 through 1981 Camaros.  I spent much of my younger years finding old Camaros that needed work, restoring and then ultimately selling them, all so I could look for the next project car to start. My enthusiasm for antique car restoration inspired me to turn my passion into a career path. After working in the automotive collision and restoration industry for several years, I decided that it was time to turn my passion into a business, as I became a shop owner.

By the year my oldest son Ryan reached driving age, he was already learning how to do auto body and paint work. I thought that there would be no better learning opportunity than finding a 1967 Camaro to restore. Finding a 1967 Camaro proved to be difficult, but eventually the right car found us. We found this Camaro sitting in a barn, just a few miles away from our home. When we went to look at the vehicle, I could hardly believe that it had just about every option I could have asked for in a 1967 Camaro. When we saw the car, we knew the task ahead would be demanding.  We also knew, however, that all the hard work would be well worth it when the restoration was complete.

Once we acquired the car, we then started the tedious restoration. We disassembled the car, fixing and replacing everything that we could. We stripped the car down to bare metal, starting from scratch to restore a flawless shine.  As auto body repair shop owners, we were able to ensure a more seamless restoration process because of our easy access to essential tools and valuable knowledge from fellow employees. 

Restoring the car back to its original condition was important to us, keeping the numbers-matching drive train and original paint color scheme that the car would have had in 1967.  Since the photograph was taken, we have also reinstalled the original wheels. We have trusted PPG products from the start, both for customer cars and for our own restorations. We never expected or even dreamed that is Camaro would attract this much attention. We are extremely proud of the car and what we have accomplished.

1932 Ford Truck - Larry McCauley - Knox, PA - Born Again Auto Body, Inc.

We acquired the truck in 2000 when Larry’s father passed away.  Larry’s father had found and restored the pick-up back to its original condition in 1989.  We kept the truck in its originally restored condition for about 4 years until our son Kaleb – then 12 – talked us into building it into a hot rod.  The only conditions were we would not chop the roof or cut the bed.  In the 3 years since the truck’s first outing as a hot rot do, we have won many Best of Show, 1st Places and Top 10 awards.

In 2007, we were picked by Street Rodder Magazine as one of the Top 100 Street Rods of the Year.  We have been featured in a number of hot rod magazines.  We have driven it about 14,000 miles in those 3 years, including a lap around the Brick Yard Race Track in Indianapolis for the 75th anniversary of the 1932 Ford.  We also made a lap around the Pocono Race Track in Pennsylvania.  When Kaleb turned 16, he was able to drive the truck to his first prom.  How cool!

ENGINE: Builder: Jim Courson, Courson’s Racing Engines, Emlenton, PA / Manufacturer: Ford 8BA Flathead / Displacement: 260ci / Induction: Holley 390 cfm 4bbl / Ignition: Dual Point Mallory / Heads: Edelbrock / Headers: Sanderson / Exhaust:  Home-built / Smitty’s mufflers

DRIVETRAIN: Transmission: Borg-Warner 5-spd / Clutch/Flywheel: Stock / Shifter: Lokar / Differential: 9” Ford

CHASSIS: Frame: Cornhuskers / Front Suspension: Aldan coilovers Heidts super ride / Rear Suspension: Triangulated 4-bar with Aldan coilovers Steering: Flaming River rack-n-pinion / Brakes: Willwood front discs, drum rear / Wheels: Front: Coker Gennie 15x5 with ’42 caps  Rear: 15x7 with ’42 caps / Tires: Front: BF Goodrich 165/SR/15  Rear: 225/SR/15

BODY: Manufacturer: Ford / Body Style: Model B pick-up / Modifications: None / Paint: Dupont Chroma-base tricoat 2006 White Gold and Toreador Red / Painted By: Chuck Irwin, Born Again Auto Body, Knox, PA

INTERIOR: Dash: Stock / Steering Wheel: Banjo / Gauges: AutoMeter / Seats: Original / Upholstery: While Gold and Merlot / Truck Bed: Tiger Striped Maple