A couple years after my passion for cars was reignited, an employee and I found two beat up abandoned Isetta’s in a barn in Carver, Minnesota. I brought them home and intended to bring them back to their former glory. At this point I hired Jeff Oates as a part-time body tech mechanic and my hobby became more serious. I couldn’t just leave them in their terrible state, so Jeff and I started working on the car restorations. I was semi-retired and loved working on the cars as I eased out of my business. I was good at taking things apart, but needed help putting them back together.
Click here to view the Wall of Fame and BMW Isettas Video
By 2001, my collection grew to six cars and I stored them in my company’s warehouse. I had moved my shop to my residence and by the time I sold my business in July 2007, Jeff and I were in the shop almost full-time. Not only did I need somewhere to store my growing collection, but I was frustrated that there was no place to display and show off the beautiful restored classics. Then in late 2008, my dream came true when I found what turned out to be the perfect place – the AutoMotorPlex in Chanhassen, Minnesota – a 40-acre complex where you can purchase your own private car showroom condo! Not only did I now have a community of other car crazy fanatics to talk shop with, but also the opportunity to participate in regular events and car shows held at the AutoMotorPlex.
In total I have had 33 cars in my collection. Five of my restored cars, I have donated to K-State over the years and three of the cars I bought, I ended up reselling unrestored. Of the 25 still in my collection, my body shop team and I have restored all but five of them. Most of the cars were in pretty terrible condition when I got them and needed complete body off the frame rebuilds. They all finished as high quality restorations. I bought the two 1956 Ford Thunderbirds, the 1979 Volkswagon and the 1972 Reliant Bond Bug already restored in mint condition. The 1952 Henry J is 100% original and in beautiful condition with only 27,000 miles. I have restored seven BMW Isetta’s and six BMW 600’s. Two of the 600’s are rare sunroof models which makes them more valuable.
Here’s a look at all of the cars I’ve had in my collection.
A couple of my cars on on display at the BMW dealership in Minnetonka – check out the video.
Just Showing Off
I guess this is the page where I show off my growing trophy collection that I’ve won at the various car shows I attend. To date, I’ve won 58 trophies! I love seeing what other restorations people are creating from beautiful classic cars that thankfully have not been forgotten. Plus it gets me out of the workshop and I don’t mind the attention!
I’ll be adding more photos here of some of the shows I’ve exhibited at, so keep checking back!
