Issue 31

Rick Dale, Part 2

Collection of Garages

magazine

Winter 2015 Spring 2015

On stands until February 2016

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Garage Style Magazine Winter 2015

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contents

features 36

24

Five Garage Ranch

28

Estate Garage

36

Maximum Capacity

A Collection of Garages

Eight-Door Garage with Attached Home

Making the Most of Small

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special sections 24 4

www.GarageStyleMagazine.com

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The 5th Annual Garage Style Magazine Garage Tour

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Monterey Car Week

2016 Auction Dates E January

9th

E April

24th

E July

23rd

For more information on bidding or consigning for any of the above dates, please contact Dan Morphy: dan@MorphyAuctions.com | 877-968-8880 Garage Style Magazine Winter 2015

2000 N. Reading Road • Denver, PA | MorphyAuctions.com

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46

departments 8

Publisher’s Note

10

Lance’s Column

12

Phil’s Column

14

Garage News

32

Tales from the Garage

42

Garages in History

46

Personality Profile

50

Auction House Journal

52

Product Review

25 of 30

The Clubhouse

What’s your favorite garage?

Reigning Queen, The Frankenheimer Rolls-Royce

A True Motorhome

Rick Dale

Vectis and Morphy Sales

Flatstoppers by Race Ramps

56 6

www.GarageStyleMagazine.com

32 54

Book Reviews

56

Business Profile

60

Buyer’s Guide

63

Matt’s Column

65

Garage Bazaar

66

Garage Meanings

Reedyville Signs

Last Minute Holiday Ideas

A Bit about Barnfinds

Beth Jehle

Garage Style Magazine Winter 2015

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Publisher’s

note

25 of the first 30

N

ot too long ago, we were informed that two of our issues had sold out. As exciting as that was to hear, it was also a little saddening – it meant they were gone, largely without notice. The blow was compounded a few weeks later with the news that two more issues had sold out. It felt like Garage Style Magazine was going extinct, and yet, in reality, these sold out magazines truly represented the growth and popularity of the magazine. I was still a little shocked, a little sad. But then magic happened, as it so often does around the Garage Style Magazine International Headquarters.

Cleaning the office and moving things around, four boxes grabbed my attention because they were old printers’ boxes, completely out of place. Opening them, I discovered that each box contained 25 issues of the sold out editions. With this, we had at least 25 of every issue we had ever published, from issue 1 to issue 30. This one in your hands is issue 31.

So, working feverishly for several days, I organized 25 of each issue into 30 stacks and created 25 of the first 30.

Five sets have already been spoken for, and it’s the last chance to acquire an entire set of Garage Style Magazine.

To commemorate the occasion, I’ve been working with a company to produce custom slip covers to create a true collector’s set. If you don’t have a complete back issue set, this is your last chance to get one, and be able to continue collecting them as we publish them. We’ll start taking orders December 9, 2015 – call 888-881-5861.

The Holidays are in the air, and as I write this Halloween is around the corner, Thanksgiving is on its heels, with Christmas… you know the schedule. But it amazes me because it feels like just two days ago we were hammering away on the February issue for 2015, and now 2015 is saying goodbye. I hope you’ll spend some time in the garage with friends and family this season, share some stories, drink some cheer, maybe help put some cars on winter life support, but above all, have fun.

This issue is full of some great garages and fascinating stories, one being the tale of the Frankenheimer Rolls-Royce.

The late director of films like “Ronin,” “Grand Prix,” “French Connection II” and numerous other astonishing movies bought this car for his wife, Evans, while on location in Europe. Rodney Kemerer illustrates the story well on page 32.

This issue also features a great selection of garages, a little of something for everyone. Of special interest might be the Auction House Journal on page 50 and 51 where we take a look at Mecum Auctions’ upcoming event in Kissimmee, Florida. They’re offering 3,000 cars and a hailstorm of Automobilia and Petroliana for sale, much of it original and in great condition. Also in the Journal are some of the results from Morphy Auctions’ Automobilia-Petroliana sale this past October. Realizing a total of about $4.4 million in sales it’s was a remarkable event.

Thank you for stopping by – I’ll look forward to seeing you in 2016!

Happy New Year, - Don Weberg

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Garage style

magazine

Editor-Publisher Don Weberg

PERSONALIZED SIGNS

Art Director Web Designer – Coordinator Kari McDaniel Business Development Manager Michele Weberg Columinists Lance Lambert Phil Berg Matt Stone Rodney Kemerer Arts Editor Jeremiah McDaniel Contributors Robin DePry Bob Estrada John Gunnell Dr. Rick Rader Bill Nakasone Ron Lampley Specialized Photographer Dale Quinio

Advertising – Public Relations Cindy Meitle 480.277.1864 | cindy@GarageStyleMagazine.com Advertising Doug Holland 910.398.8307 | douglas@hhpr.biz Carmen Price 714.276.5285 | carmen.price1@aol.com

Subscriptions – Address Changes Garage Style Magazine PO Box 92198 Long Beach, CA 90809 GSM@pfsmag.com 888.881.5861

Not responsible for undelivered issues due to late change of address.

Not responsible for issues delivered damaged.

All rights reserved by Garage Style Magazine, Inc. Garage Style Magazine is Published Quarterly by Weberg Media Group, Inc. 271 W. Imperial Hwy. Suite B La Habra, CA 90631 www.garagestylemagazine.com

Printed in the United States by American Web Printers

ORDER ONLINE AT WWW.GARAGEART.COM

Toll Free: 800.708.5051

Lance’s

column

The Clubhouse

I

’ve always loved clubhouses.

For some of us it starts in our childhood with friends sharing a surplus cardboard refrigerator box or a blanket draped over a table. Then it may progress to gathering in the corner of a friend’s basement or a parent’s garage.

As we progress well into adulthood, it may evolve into a solid structure filled with cars, car stuff and car lovers. When I was very young, the rosters of the Back Alley Boys, Junior Firemen, and The Oddballs listed my name. These short lived clubs met in neighborhood alleys, the nearby firehouse and my basement.

In 1962 the Steeds Car Club held the first meeting in my parents’ garage. This rotting and broken-down single car garage was adequate for a few 15 and 16 year old boys to join ranks and create a car club that is still going strong today, over 50 years later.

The mid 1960’s found the Steeds membership meeting in the basement of a small grocery store, then a couple of garages and, most permanently, the basement of a duplex that my father owned.

These examples of club houses likely reflect the history of many readers’ personal clubhouse experiences. What happens when a few decades after our youth pass but the desire for a clubhouse still persists? I suspect this is an easy question to answer for anyone reading this magazine.

Our garages are our clubhouses, and our car buddies are the members of our “club.” The “meetings” are anytime a friend stops by to see what is new, be it a new two or four wheeled arrival parked inside, or some new-old thing hanging on the wall or displayed on a shelf. The meeting officially begins when beverages are offered and a few good natured insults are exchanged between the members. Perhaps the most important business during the meeting is sharing the details of a recent automotive event, or working on the logistics of an upcoming automotive adventure.

During the meeting someone may show leadership by suggesting that a pizza be ordered, and another attendee, showing great potential to be the club’s secretary, pulls out a cell phone and places the order. The treasurer’s report consists of the members chipping in to pay the pizza delivery driver. The minutes from a previous meeting consist of sharing stories of the places you’ve been and the garages you’ve visited since the last meeting. New business may be planning an outing that, of course, includes close inspection of the various ancient automotive artifacts displayed in another current or potential member’s stable. Voting on important issues is not done by the raising of hands but, rather, by the level of laughter raised by a retold story or an activity shared during the gathering. The meeting is officially adjourned when all of the pizza is gone, the laughter has subsided, and the last beer can is tossed in the recycling bin.

Slowly the members amble out to their cars. Some chose to attend via a daily driver, others used the meeting as a reason to drive a collector car. The members climb into these cars, shout

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Cedar Garage.

Old Club Meeting.

Outside Steeds Meeting.

out a few more humorous comments, and then drive off into the evening.

The host, pleased at again being able to provide the perfect place for the other “members” to meet, returns to the garage, glances at the memorabilia, turns out the lights, and wonders how soon the next meeting can be held.

- Lance Lambert

Restored Original Gas Pumps Garage Style Magazine Winter 2015

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Dealers in signs, neons and everything gas & oil

Phil Berg’s Dispatches from the Ultimate Garage Tour

What’s your favorite garage?

E

very time I hang around the book signing tables at March’s Amelia Island Concours, most of the showgoers ask me which of the 250 special garages I’ve visited is my favorite. The question sounds a lot like when someone asks you which of your cars or kids is your favorite. I don’t expect to ever have an answer, but if I did one of my most favorite garages belongs to Tom and Vicky Hekkers in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

The number one reason I like it is because you can live in it. The Hekkers found an unused Studebaker dealership near downtown, and built their retirement home on top of it. Downstairs, the showroom is mostly intact, and a parts counter serves as the back wall of Tom’s man cave bar. The service area is huge, enough for Tom’s collection of 10 cars, hot rods and classics, with enough space for parts storage.

Built in 1936 as the Henry Israel Motors dealership, it took a couple years for the couple to rebuild everything, which now totals 10,000 square feet. I really like the way that the Hekkers designed the whole complex themselves, with large glass walls and patios above the garage, which gives them a lot of privacy in the Milwaukee suburb. They actually sought out three different architects to help them, but none shared their visions, which mix prairie style with mission style and contemporary design. Probably that’s a no-no in the architecture industry, but I like the mix. All of the surfaces upstairs are polished and raw stone, glass, and open areas separated by half-walls.

Having the house on the second floor required a small elevator, but being in a small city with lots of street-level traffic, it keeps the Hekkers’ home private. Often people walking by see Tom’s cars in the showroom windows and wander in to offer to buy them, although none are for sale. Hekkers doesn’t mind the passers-by, either, so often the doors aren’t locked. When we visited the garage, there was a meeting of car guys for coffee that morning, a regularly scheduled gathering.

For me the Hekkers’ place is not just about stunning architecture, or preserving the history of a town where Richard Sears (yeah, those are his stores in all the malls) spent his retirement, and where industrial engines and generators have been built for the past 100 years. The coolest thing about the Hekkers’ garage is its location within walking distance of town, unhidden from the world, where anyone can look in and see Tom and his car guy buddies doing car stuff. These folks really like people as much as cars.

- Phil Berg

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Garage Style Magazine Winter 2015

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Garage

news

2015 Porsche RennSport Reunion V a major success

By Ron Lampley Porsche’s Rennsport Reunion V, a three-day festival of speed offering some of the greatest Porsche racing cars, took place September 25-27, 2015 at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California. A special event indeed, the last one was held in 2011, also at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway. Ferdinand Porsche had dreams of his cars becoming a success, but did he ever think it would become this large? The Rennsport Reunions are testament to Porsche racing history.

Mazda Raceway’s Staff provided an excellent weekend for all.

There were seven different race car groups which provide great vintages races. Porsches were sectioned into groups for easy viewing, plus an arcade offering all types of Porsche merchandise.

At the 1998 Monterey Historics, Porsche was the featured marque during Monterey Week in honor of Porsche’s 50th anniversary. Then came Brian Redman’s Porsche event at Watkins Glen called the 50/50, celebrating Porsche’s 50 years and the 50 Year Anniversary of Watkins Glen first race.

Porsche’s PR man, the late Bob Carlson and Brian Redman, conjured up the event now called Porsche’s Rennsport Reunion.

Since Rennsport in German is racing, what a perfect name for the future events. Many people thought this type of event would be a waste of time and money, but they were proved wrong.

In Connecticut at Lime Rock Park, on July 27 – 29, 2001 there were 18,000 Porsche enthusiasts who showed up to see some the finest race cars Porsche produced. After the success of this event the planning started on Rennsport Reunion II in 2004 at Daytona International Speedway. Daytona International Speedway didn’t let anyone down with hundreds of race drivers and over 600 Porsche vintage race cars. This event was so successful they came back in November 2007.

After the success on the east coast with these events Porsche Cars North America looked west since the west coast was their largest buying market for Porsches.

Madza Raceway was picked for the next Rennsport Reunion IV. This event was held on October 14, 15, 16, 2011. It attracted over 50 Porsche Legends and countless vintage Porsche race cars.

Porsche Rennsport Reunion V was the biggest event for Motorsport fans so far.

The racing legends list is countless, there were Jurgen Barth, Derek Bell, Vic Elford, Jim Busby, Hurley Haywood, Jacky Ickx, Brian Redman, Hans-Joachim Stuck, Jeff Zwart and countless more famous Porsche drivers. Porsche AG in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen sent some of their greatest accomplishments in racing history from the museum normally only seen there on display; 1958 Type 718 RSK, 1969 910-6 Coupe, 1970 917 Le Mans Movie car, 1970 908-2 Spyder, 1979 Le Mans Type 935 K3 and more.

Porsche Cars of North America provide Mark Webber and

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Brendo Hartley for the press core to interview. Mark Webber and Brendo Hartley were very professional in their answers and you could see the sport of motor car racing has taken another step into big business.

Porsche Clubs North America had a tent set up for its members and any Porsche owners who wishes to listen to the many speakers they had provided for event. One speaker of importance was Andrease Preuninger Head of GT Car Development. Mr Preuninger started off with “I can not discuss anything in development at this time”. The questions ran all over the field of Porsche’s future including the turbo charging of the new 911’s.

One question was the break period on the new engine. He stated its best to follow the owners manual because engines need time to seat in. Another was why the cars are getting bigger. He advised due to the safety features, new regulations and customer wants has cause the new cars to become larger.

Porsche Cars of North America, Porsche Clubs North America and Mazda Raceway put on a spectacular event this year, leaving many waiting for Rennsport Renuim VI.

Chalome celebrates the 60th anniversary of James Dean’s death September 30, 1955 was etched into history as the day famous teen idol and heartthrob James Dean was killed in a car accident on California Highway 46 in Chalome. Most have heard the story about Dean’s 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder hitting Donald Turnupseed’s Ford Coupe close to head on at an intersection, leaving Dean dead with a broken neck and his mechanic, Rolf Wutherlich, injured on the side of the road, and situation has become world famous.

On September 30, 2015, a small group of James Dean fans and Porsche aficionados gathered at the wreckage site to pay homage to the actor and his death, and enjoy some camaraderie. Interestingly the 550 Spyder disappeared while on tour with the Safety Commission and has been missing since, although recently, thanks largely to a $1-million purse offered by the Volo Auto Museum, a man from Washington has stepped up, claiming to know where the car is, stashed behind a wall. Photos courtesy of Joe Andreau

Porsche 356 Registry meet

By Ron Lampley This year during Porsche’s Rennsport V event the Porsche 356 Registry held a meeting at the Carmel Valley Community Park in Carmel Valley, California, hosting 250 Porsche 356s. There were plenty of different models and colors to view and enjoy. Felix Macaluso largely organized the meeting, and stated the attendees were from far and wide, but George Dunn set the record this year for the most miles traveled in a 356, travelling all the way from Florida. Dunn decided he was going to show everyone a 356 Porsche is still useful and full of enjoyment crossing America, not only one way but both ways. There were many other 356 owners who came thousands of miles for this event without any major incidents. Maybe they saw a TV show called “Route 66” in the past.

This year’s meeting was a real family event for nearly 200 couples.

The event kicked off in the mid afternoon, and capped off with dinner and visiting.

For the event location this year the Porsche club worked with Carmel Valley Parks and Recreations, and they were put in touch with Larry Barber who handles most of the car events at the park.

Larry was also able to arrange the Kiwanis Club of Carmel Valley to handle the 420 dinners and a wet bar. The weather was just right for this weekend plus a short hop from the 5th Porsche Rennsport Reunion at Mazda raceway.

Garage Style Magazine Winter 2015

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Woodies of Carmel up for grabs Locally car guy famous Woodies of Carmel in Carmel, California has quietly been placed on the market by owners Chris and Becky DeMet-Sollecito. A hot spot for car enthusiasts, Woodies has long been a popular retail location offering a number of products from waxes and polishes to die cast and clothing to various collectibles and motorsports-themed furniture.

“It’s time for us to move on,” said Chris. “We’ve had a lot of fun serving our clients, and we’ve really loved doing this, but we feel it’s time maybe somebody with some fresh ideas to take over and take it to the next level.”

Established roughly eight years ago, Woodies has been a destination for car enthusiasts looking for unique, rare and interesting products. The clientele is repetitive and steady, according to Chris, and has not gone anywhere near its full potential.

“A lot of people know this store, and do business here,” he said.

“It would be easy to set up Saturday morning cruise ins or monthly activities centered around the store, and that type of personal, directed PR work would likely increase interest in the store, and thus increase business.”

Beyond the brick and mortar, Woodies of Carmel has long held a healthy internet store, selling products around the world. But there’s nothing like going to a destination.

“It’s a fun business, and very conducive to good conversations,” said Chris. “It’s kind of like “Cheers” in here sometimes, everybody knows your name.”

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The 5th Annual Garage Style Magazine Garage Tour Text by Bill Nakasone Photos by Blaze and Don Weberg

T

he first Monday that opens the Classic Car Week in Monterey is the designated day for the annual Garage Style Magazine Monterey Peninsula Garage Tour. This event is the embodiment of the Garage Style Magazine ethos: being able to create, enjoy, display and share in our garage space. The 2015 Tour was our 5th consecutive year of celebrating the magazine spirit by visiting select garages in and around the Monterey Peninsula. The

day started out with a great breakfast spread at Flanagan’s Irish Pub. Located in the Barnyard Shopping area of Carmel, Flanagan’s Irish Pub is the chosen spot for both locals and visitors seeking great spirits and great food. All of the participants of the event were lucky enough to enjoy coffee, juice, fresh fruit, granola and pastry to energize our active day. Many thanks to Joe at Flanagan’s Irish Pub.

Garage Style Magazine Winter 2015

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The Monterey Classic Car Week Text by Bill Nakasone Images by Bill Nakasone, Blaze, and GSM Staff

T

he Monterey Classic Car Week is a culmination of events that both set and define the pulse of the classic sports car world.

The size, scope and variety of events include seven auctions, three days of vintage car racing at the Rolex Motorsports Reunion, the world class Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Automotive Fine Arts Society Exhibition, Concorso Italiano, Automobilia Monterey, Pebble Beach RetroAuto, Porsche Renn Werks Reunion, Legends of the Autobahn, Carmel-by-the-Sea Concours on the Avenue, Carmel Mission Classic, Motorworks Revival - Monterey Jet Center, the Little Car Show in Pacific Grove, The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering, etc. It is self-evident from this long list of events compressed primarily into a five day time span that attending all of them would be a virtual impossibility: It is for this reason that multiple “Garage Style Magazine” staff is needed to provide coverage. More than the sheer quantity of automotive entertainment, it is the highest level of quality of each event that makes The Monterey Classic Car Week the gold standard of the collector car world. “Garage Style Magazine” staff compiled their individual impressions of the week and selected the most memorable moments.

Carmel-by-the-Sea Concours on the Avenue GSM staff voted this one of the best events of the entire Monterey

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week. Scheduled early in the week on Tuesday, the streets of downtown Carmel are closed off to accommodate a free car show.

The entrant roster has been closely screened by a review committee to insure quality and authenticity of each of the vehicles. With rare exception, the focus of the show is primarily classic cars and sports cars dating from 1950 – 1970. It is the variety of the show that makes it enjoyable with Shelby Mustangs, Porsches (356, 911 and race cars), Corvette (mostly C2), Ford Thunderbird (55, 56, 57), Hot Rods (even a Steve Moal creation), Ferrari (lots of Enzo era), Volkswagen (some cool buses), a “barn find” assortment and a whole host of other marques to extensive to list here. This is an “all day” show that is hosted by three great commentators; Ed Justice Jr, Donald Osborne, and Alan De Cadenet. GSM staff rates this as the best free car show in the world (yeah, it’s that good).

Rolex Motorsports Reunion The format for the vintage racing at Laguna Seca is comprised of 15 classes of classic race cars all of which qualify for position on Friday, August 14. Saturday racing is groups 1-8 and Sunday racing is groups is the remaining 7 classes. The honored marque at the 2015 Rolex Motorsports Reunion was the Shelby Mustang GT350. All of us remembered with reverence driving by the Shelby factory back in the mid-1960’s (located in a large hanger at the LAX

garage

features

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Five Garage Ranch A collection of garages houses an eclectic collection Text and Images by Don Weberg

T

he rare collector is the person who buys what turns them on at the moment. The collector whose collection can’t be defined as sports cars or muscle cars, European cars or American cars, but rather, just cars. John Burkland’s collection in Central Texas is just that – a cacophony of cars. From convertibles to station wagons, trucks to sedan deliveries, old cars, new cars, John has just about every genre of four-wheeled transportation ever devised.

“I like all kinds of cars, Corvettes are one of my all time favorites, but there are so many interesting and fun cars out there, I figure why limit myself to only a few types of cars,” said John.

What’s maybe more unique than his varied collection is that all of them are stored in a collection of five garages upon his ranch. A place of solitude indeed, John’s multi-acre spread is the perfect spot for five aluminum pole buildings filled with cars.

“Out here we don’t worry about noisy cars waking up the neighbors,” he laughed.

The buildings, often referred to as sheds or metal barns, are a fabulously economical way to put a garage where once there was none. With pre-fab steel skeletal frames, aluminum or steel shells, and a bevy of plans to choose from, they’re easy to assemble, reasonably priced, and allow owners to enjoy the benefits of a garage. Very often, the only thing the owner has to provide is the foundation and the manpower to assemble the buildings. John hasn’t done a lot with his sheds other than to put up a few signs and allow the cars to be the stars, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

One of the sheds features a full work station complete with four lifts and a system of work benches, cabinets and drawers, and in here all the work is done from basic oil changes to more intensive

Left, in one garage is a selection of rare gems, and a few signs; Above, various signs and more interesting cars. Flourescent lights, concrete floors, and a basic steel building make great garages.

Garage Style Magazine Winter 2015

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Estate Garage Garage features attached estate Text and Images by Don Weberg

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Left, various Packards call these garages home; Above, lots of space to work and wall space for display.

T

hrough a lot of hard work and intelligent perseverance, a person can achieve just about anything. For Laurence Miller, known to all as Larry, his work was in heavy construction equipment. He established his own company, obtained his first patent for problem-solving extendable hydraulic dipperstick that advanced the industry several fold. His passion was Packards.

Having amassed a collection of 13 examples, some original and unrestored, others Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance winners.

“My Dad loved cars, he loved being around people and sharing what he had and exchanging ideas and information,” Larry’s son, Eric Miller, said. “He always wanted a big garage at his home where he could keep all of his cars and tools readily accessible for use. Living here provided that for him” A large home was the last of Larry’s interests, according to Eric, but living in this particular gated community required a home to be a minimum of 9,000 square feet, which is basically what the house measured upon completion.

“It is one of the smallest homes, if not the smallest, in the community, yet it is still very generously proportioned,” Eric said.

“It is interesting, we have a number of celebrities and well-known personalities living around us, and so many of the house are just enormous, but Dad wasn’t interested in that, he just wanted a nice home with dream garage on site.”

The house is styled in the English Tudor manner, and the garages straddle the driveway along the edge of the property.

Four are attached to the home and eight more are connected to the home by a bridge over the driveway. Each garage space is behind its own door, flanked outside by lighting sconces that add to the English Tudor appeal. The smaller four car garage attached

to the home is heavily occupied by personal and familial bits and pieces, as well as a number of elements from Larry’s business. A large selection of pictures are hung illustrating the home, their previous home, family and professional engagements. Basic concrete floors with linoleum tiles, plenty of space for storage, it is a fabulous connected garage. The eight car garage across the driveway, however, is more suited for the car enthusiast. Inside this set of garages you will find a twin post in-ground air/hydraulic lift along with a bevy of storage and work spaces. Again the concrete floor is basic and provides easy maintenance since it is a flat, clean, non-confrontational surface. Overhead, an army of fluorescent lights illuminate the space, and the back wall has some neon and porcelain signs, one of which is a rare Packard neon once owned by a dealer in downtown Los Angeles. Another wall is heavily covered with framed posters spanning 35 years from the annual Auburn events, many Pebble Beach events, as well as some original factory photos and old pictures of cars in their elements from times gone by. A cacophony of vintage tools and metering equipment litter the garages, all items any collector of vintage cars needs and appreciates. At the end of the garage is a room currently being used to showcase collectibles, trophies, gas pumps and other unique items. It could easily be used as an office.

“My Dad always liked going to swap meets, antique stores or auctions and finding things to bring home,” said Eric. “Sometimes it was a sign or some parts, or maybe a gas pump, but he always found something he liked.”

The car bug brushed off on Eric too, having enjoyed many shows and events with his Dad. “I think I’m in love with the Packards just as much as Dad was,”

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Tales from the garage

The Reigning Queen The Frankenheimer Rolls-Royce Text and Images By Rodney Kemerer

T

ales From The Garage sometimes goes international to find the car stories that inspire and delight us. This tales is told over many continents and has the happy ending that every car guy (and girl) dreams about. Got a passport? Good. Let’s begin…

Once the longest reigning queen on the throne of England, Queen Victoria, was often described as “ample and stately.” This applied not only to her physical appearance but also her deportment.

“Victoria,” a 1963 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III, named also for her ample and stately nature, was the longest reigning queen of film director John Frankenheimer and his wife Evans many garages.

Over a lifetime of automobile ownership that included some of the rarest and most refined vehicles on the planet, only one remained in their possession through fad, fashion and gas crises.

After fifty years of continuous ownership, loving care and mutual

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respect the end of this queen’s reign came on a beautiful sunny Southern California morning in November. The sun gleamed off the bright work as “Victoria” rolled on to the flatbed truck, headed for The Petersen Automobile Museum in Los Angeles and a new chapter in her storied life.

Some people do not understand having a personal relationship with an automobile. If this is you, stop reading now. This story is for those who care about and cherish cars as members of the family. When it is time to say goodbye it can be bittersweet; the memories of the life lived with the car can be overwhelming. As Evans Frankenheimer stood watching her old friend roll out of the garage for the last time she described the moment as “wistful.”

Few of us have ever purchased a Rolls Royce, fewer of us have done so with cash and even fewer have done so on a rainy

Maximum Capacity

Planning makes it possible Text and Images by Don Weberg

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Left, 1934 Ford sets the tone well in this space; Left, above the ‘34 is a ‘56 Ford truck; Right, notice the “T” at far right.

S

omewhere along the coast towards San Francisco is a two-car garage dedicated to hot rods and the lifestyle surrounding the genre. Within the slightly stretched and gently expanded structure is an absolute museum of rodding memorabilia, tools, painting equipment, vintage model toys, posters and pin ups, car show awards, and, of course, a few rods. How it all fits is an absolute mystery, except to Tom, who created the space over many decades of planning and thinking things through.

“When you’re dealing with limited space, it doesn’t mean you can’t do it, it just means you need to figure out how to do it,” said Tom. “Sometimes you can add onto the garage a little bit, and that helps, sometimes not. But a little thought can go a long way.”

Tom has also enjoyed creating his space over a number of years, slowly bringing it all together. Enter Tom’s garage, and there’s a lift on the right holding a 1956 Ford Pickup. Under it is a 1934 Ford Hot Rod. No big deal – until you realize that neither have access to a door. Both are backed by and facing a wall.

“With a little back and forth, you can get the Coupe out, then lower the Pickup, and roll the lift over to the door, and it can get out,” Tom said. “It takes a little effort, but it’s not so bad.”

The garage is complete with a number of cabinets that look like they’ve been salvaged from a home kitchen or bathroom, but thanks to all the art and imagery Tom’s hung up, they’re hard pressed to be noticed. It’s a great example of how a fabulous

garage can be created without breaking the bank and reusing various products. Somehow too, it fits so well with the Hot Rod motif, it’s a timeless, homemade style that always has appeal.

In one corner, seemingly hidden in plane site is a 1915 Ford Hot Rod in beautiful condition. Parked sideways, against the back wall, it allows space for Tom’s custom 1952 Chevrolet Fleetline Coupe, or whatever else he might want to park there. Opposite the Ford are three beautiful engines, each looking like they’re ready to drop into a car and roll down the road. Again, just like the car in the corner, you don’t really see them until you’re standing right above them. He’s devised a little working area with some tool boxes, and created storage areas in storage areas.

“I know where everything is,” he laughs.

It’s a fun place to test the observation skills – look carefully, and you’ll see steering wheels everywhere, along with vintage tools and equipment that Tom likely still uses in his craft.

A side door leads to an office-storage room with more wall décor dizzying the brain, filing cabinets, a desk, papers, and so on, and outside is an open car port under which Tom creates his latest rides.

“I’ve always loved Hot Rods and Customs, and have been fortunate enough to have created a number of them over the years,” he said. “I like the garage, it’s been a great place to work and hang out, and it does what I need it to.” GSM

Garage Style Magazine Winter 2015

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Find Automotive Books for your favorite car enthusiast! by author, photographer, broadcaster

Matt Stone McQueen’s Machines, the Cars and Bikes of a Hollywood Icon from Motorbooks Publishing or at Amazon.com

Winning!

The Racing Life of Paul Newman also with Preston Lerner, with Foreword by Mario Andretti from Motorbooks Publishing or at Amazon.com

James Garner's Motoring Life, from Baja to Daytona, the movie Grand Prix and The Rockford Files.

CarTechBooks.com or Amazon.com

Histories Greatest Automotive Mysteries, Myths, and rumors coauthored with Preston Lerner Now available from Motorbooks Publishing

Please visit www.MattStoneCars.com

The Ferrari Phenomenon co-authored with Luca dal Monte BullPublishing.com or Amazon.com

Garages in history

Finally, a True Motorhome Text by Rick Rader Images/Permission Courtesy of The Medcalf Collection/Gerard Brown

A

t the start of the 20th century, the “motorcar age” began to capture both the imagination and possibilities of a newly aroused following. As cars were purchased and used the need to “store” them became obvious. There was a gap in the lexicon for a word for a “place to store cars.” The English filled it in 1902 by borrowing the French word “garage.” The French word garage itself is derived from the verb garer, which originally meant “dock ships.” It comes from the Old French garer, to “protect, defend.” In essence the “garage” is the place to protect, store, repair, refuel and, as it has been chronicled in the pages of Garage Style Magazine, to “revere and venerate” them. Over the years we have found some novel places that serve as the place where cars have been stored (and forgotten). The emergence of the fabled “barn find” has become a significant milestone in car collecting.

Cars have also been stored in factories, sheds, underground tombs, airplane hangars, “lockups,” pig pens, repair shops, caves, fields, abandoned bomb shelters, driveways, carports, behind brick walls and virtually every conceivable place that could accommodate them (either assembled or in pieces). Recently, a largely overlooked

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and obvious place to store cars has been discovered. While it’s not unusual for home restorers to bring parts, accessories and related components into their homes for “clean work” and detailing (painting instrument knobs and handles), rebuilding carbs, recovering seats or polishing chrome bits while watching TV, not every “home” has been tapped to store an entire car. It’s not only a safe place to store finished components awaiting reassembly, but it’s also therapeutic to see small completed jobs ready to be “bolted back in place.”

But the concept of a true “motor-home” has recently come to light in London; thus redefining the term, “motor-home,” as a “home” for your motorcar.

Back in 1962, Stuart Wallace, a British car enthusiast, found what he thought was the perfect “out of the ordinary” motorcar, a 1928 Bentley 4.5 litre with rare drophead coachwork by Victor Broom. The Bentley was rare being one of only eight built in this body configuration and being the only survivor. Wallace loved the car but never realistically considered the cost of running and maintaining the beast, especially with the meager resources of a

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personality

profile

Rick Dale, Part 2 Trying to get the skinny Text by Ron Lampley Images by Dale Quinio

L

ast quarter we met with Rick Dale, owner of Rick’s Restoration in Las Vegas, Nevada and host of the popular TV show “American Restoration.” The visit was a blast, and we discovered so much, we wanted to take two issues to cover the story – and even then, we know we’ve only got a small slice of a huge pie.

After some success at restoring various elements, Rick left the construction industry, and dove full-force into the restoration business, which was taking off. Then another change in Rick’s life came with a divorce. In order to cut expenses, he ditched the shop and moved his entire operation to his home. The job would be a major undertaking, and to get the job done he visited an area were guys convened looking for work. As he drove around he saw a gentleman who didn’t fit the neighborhood but, looked tuff

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enough to be there and the type who would work. He was known as Cowboy.

“I hired Cowboy, and he busted his butt,” Rick said. “I mean, he will tell you to this day exactly what we had to do to get everything from that end the city to this end”.

Rick offered Cowboy a job as his prep guy, but Cowboy had no idea what type of work that was. Rick showed him how to sand blast and polish and Cowboy has stayed with him all these years.

“He is one of the most loyal people I’ve got,” he said.

One thing Rick has found is that people who need a job, if you give them a chance to work, they generally work harder.

Another case in point is Kyle. He worked at his dad’s chrome plating shop, but due to EPA regulations, it was shut down for over a year leaving him without work. Rick hired Kyle to put machines

Think of us as a road trip with 30,000 friends.

If you love, lease or own a Mercedes-Benz, you belong here.

Call, click or log-on today to begin your membership adventure.

Learn more: mbca.org | 800.637.2360 FREE mobile app at Apple Store or Google Play

More Than a Car Club. We’re a Community.sm

outlook AUCTION HOUSE JOURNAL

automobilia

Mecum Auctions to present the Kokles collection January 15-24, 2016 Preparing for their massive nine-day sale in Kissimmee, Florida, Mecum Auctions has been consigning a number of very important collections from well-known, lifelong collectors from around the country. Many one-of-one items from both the vehicle and Road Art segment will be on hand – it’s shaping up to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Of particular interest will be the Kokles collection comprised of over 40 years worth of oil related signs and elements, many of which are in mint condition, all of which are original and untouched. Also on offer will be original dealership signs from the Torino collection and various original pedal cars.

Lot X179 – Texlite Enamel single sided porcelain sign – 21”x34” circa 1940. Illustrating the Texlite factory from above with the Dallas skyline in the background the highly detailed sign is likely a one of a kind produced to promote the Texlite company at shows and events. The Texaco building is represented in the Dallas skyline with a tiny Pegasus atop a skyscraper.

Lot X518 – Lincoln-Mercury 14’ vertical double sided porcelain neon sign. Presented in excellent to mint condition, the sign emulates an Art Deco influence.

Vintage Lincoln shield and cross accompany the Lincoln lettering.

The Mercury lettering is presented in contrasting red in a different font style, subtly indicating a fine level of detail.

Lot X63, X64 and X65 – Texaco signs each about 18”x23” double sided porcelain. Unhung, new old stock these rare signs are presented in mint condition even retaining the original paper sticker stating, “The Texas Company.”

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Product

review

In good form FlatStoppers help eliminate flat spots Text and Images by Don Weberg

A

ll too often tires are lost to flat spots. Cars sit too long, especially on concrete or asphalt surfaces, and the section of tire in contact with the ground becomes flattened under the constant weight of the car. It’s a shame and a waste. Race Ramps has a solution, the FlatStoppers.

The idea is terrific – drive the car up onto the FlatStoppers and your tires will better keep their shape in long-term storage, usually defined as 30 days or more. Measuring 22.37-inches long by 3.5-inches high and 14-inches wide, it will accommodate tires as wide as 12-inches, and lift the car about 2-inches off the ground.

Interestingly they weigh close to nothing, lifting and moving them as like moving whipped cream. They won’t transmit ground temperatures into the tires, but rather offer a relatively constant temperature, and they protect the rubber from losing moisture to the ground. Made of the same lightweight 100-percent textured solid construction material as all Race Ramps products, they’ll hold a 6,000 pound vehicle. The textured coating helps the FlatStoppers from sliding while the car attempts to ascend the ramp, and provides grip when you handle them.

We loaded a 1960s Batmobile onto Race Ramps’ Portable Pit Stop

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in the previous issue, and were impressed. We were interested in finding out if the FlatStoppers would be as easy to work with.

Using a Poppy Red 1965 Ford Mustang Coupe as our test mule, we found out that the FlatStoppers required a little more finesse than the Portable Pit Stop, likely because they’re so light.

One thing that we discovered in this process is that it’s important to determine the type of surface your FlatStoppers will be used on. All of Race Ramps’ products are finished with a coating which typically prevents scooting or sliding on most surfaces. For our scenario, we were on a snap-together plastic tile floor. On our first attempt at ascending the ramp, one of the Mustang’s front tires first pushed a FlatStopper a little before grabbing hold and rolling up. This meant that the ramp for the left front tire was further forward than the right front ramp, resulting in an uneven ascent.

On the second attempt, the tires eased up all four ramps at once, but then stopped due to lack of acceleration. Applying a little more gas, the tires spun on the ramp and the car hopped over the FlatStoppers completely, sending the FlatStoppers behind the car.

Since the tires were already ascended part way on the ramp, we can conclude that the sensitivity to applying gas on a continued

ascent heightens in this situation.

We decided to move to a garage with a bare concrete floor, thinking the plastic on plastic was just a little too slippery for what we were doing. The concrete proved friendlier. Ascending the ramp this time we used a little more acceleration and resulted in some tire spin where the ramps and concrete meet. A couple of practice runs, and we were able to get the car up onto the FlatStoppers, but we definitely did encounter a few unforeseen

challenges. We discovered backing the car off the FlatStoppers required a lot of patience as well; actually, rocking the car a little back and forth helped a lot to just sort of nudge it off the ramp. In the end, we wondered if it was a simple matter of getting used to it, learning ‘The Touch’ to get the car up and on the ramp, and off and down the ramp. One solution is to jack the car up, and place the tires onto the FlatStoppers, but then that can be cumbersome.

So, given our multiple attempts at ascending the FlatStoppers, we decided to contact Race Ramps to share our experience. We were impressed at how they responded. Race Ramps decided to create a new rendition of a FlatStopper that would lower the approach angle while elongating the ramp portion. Within a day, they had a new design created and tested at their facility the following day. It has been put into production.

In the end, FlatStoppers is a product we believe in because they will help save tires that sit for long periods of time. But this experience has given us a lot of reason to believe in Race Ramps as a company interested in providing the best it can. GSM

Book

reviews

Cool Cars, Cooler Guys, Great Stories KING OF THE KUSTOMIZERS The Art of George Barris “King of the Kustomizers” is the sobriquet given to George Barris, the most phenomenal kustom car builder ever. His contributions to American car culture include creating some of the best known cars of the 20th Century, like the original TV Batmobile and Munsters Koach, as well as made-toorder vehicles for movies, TV, corporate sponsors and the private use of the rich and famous. A multimedia artist in his own right whose designs have embraced toys, model kits, mini-bikes, motor homes and motorized surfboards, Barris has also enjoyed success as a photographic chronicler of celebrity and pop culture over decades, capturing the carcrazed zeitgeist of his times as it carried him to the crest of fame itself. The definitive work on a legend, King of the Kustomizers: The Art of George Barris features nearly 500 pages jam-packed with never-before-seen photos, concept drawings and blueprints covering the full spectrum of Barris’ design genius and celebrity lifestyle. Written by an

all-star line-up of contributors, the book contains many untold stories and rare images from both the famous and not so famous works of George Barris that helped define American pop culture as we know it. A generous selection of Barris tribute art —some created especially for this volume —by a legion of artistic admirers is also included to showcase his enduring influence and legacy. This is one ride you don’t want to miss!

WINNING: THE RACING LIFE OF PAUL NEWMAN The movie The world knows Paul Newman as an Academy Award winning actor with a fiftyplus year career as one of the most prolific and revered actors in American Cinema. He was also well known for his philanthropy; Newman’s Own has given more than four hundred and thirty million dollars to charities around the world. Yet few know the gasolinefueled passion that became so important in this complex, multifaceted man’s makeup.

Newman’s deep seeded passion for racing was so intense it nearly sidelined his acting career.

His racing career spanned thirty-five years; Newman won four national championships as a driver and eight championships as an owner. Not bad for a guy who didn’t even start racing until he was forty-seven years old.

Special Features: Adam Carolla interviews with Mario Andretti, Patrick Dempsey, Jay Leno, Graham Rahal, and Bob Sharp / Adam Carolla restores Paul Newman’s 1985 GT-1 Championship Car / Trailer

All these and many more are available at: Autobooks-Aerobooks 2900 W. Magnolia Blvd.

Burbank, CA 91505

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818-845-0707 www.autobooks-aerobooks.com

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Garage Style Magazine Winter 2015

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business

profile

Reedyville Signs The art of the business Text and Images by Don Weberg

Steve and Robin Reedy have made a career out of having fun.

Lots of hard work, intelligent planning, and taking a few chances have allowed them to enjoy a business creating many of the signs we all know and love.

“We have a lot of fun, mostly we enjoy working with our customers,” Steve said. “The collectors and the companies that sell these signs are some of the most fun characters you’ll ever meet.”

Founders of Reedyville Goods, the company designs and manufactures signs made out of metal with a variety of brands adhered to them. The company is set up to make signs in varying sizes and shapes, lending them a unique place among manufacturers.

“We can do just about anything here in house,” Steve said. “We have clients who bring us their designs and we can help them improve on them if they want us to, or we can make the sign exactly as they envision.”

Situated in Northern California, the Reedy’s built a beautiful home and sizeable garage and shops on their property and it’s from here that they run their empire. Downstairs is the production area, where graphic designing, stamping, cutting, printing and pressing take place, not necessarily in that order. It all begins with a design laid out on the computer, printed on high-tech printers as a reverse on special paper designed to fuse and adhere to metal under pressure and heat. Once the printer produces the image, it’s placed on a metal blank on a heat press, and the operator carefully closes the lid, and awaits the fusion. Pending a good product is produced, it’s trimmed and cut, should the sign require those details, and the eyelets are popped into place providing a finished nail hole.

“It’s a nice touch to add a brass eyelet for the nail hole,” said Steve. “I think it gives a sign a finish look.”

Reedyville is heavy on details, and it’s a belief Steve holds that in this business you have to be.

“It’s too easy to crank these things out in a hurry, and not notice that maybe the print didn’t adhere properly to the blank, or it’s crooked, or there’s a bubble,” he said. “Bubbles especially can hide in the art, so you’ve really got to pay attention to the sign as it comes out.”

Steve and his team are always on the lookout for new designs,looking through old catalogues, magazines, or product manuals to see what companies were doing decades ago. But, they’ve also acquired licenses to produce popular styles and designs like the Shell emblem and vintage advertising.

“We have thousands of signs on the market,” he said. “But it’s

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Left, Reedyville produces a dazzling array of colorful signs; Top, mush is done is a smallish office; Center, a number of machines and printers on site make the signs; Below, a set of “Beacon” signs ready to go.

also fun to work with private individuals or companies to make specialized, one-off signs just for them. Customers really love that we can do that for them.”

Interestingly, Reedyville got its start in the railroad trade, making signs and bells and products for railroad enthusiasts. The Reedy’s still own and operate the railroad products company, dividing their time between the two.

“I’ve long been a railroad fanatic, and manufacturing products for the industry has been fantastic,” said Steve. “Expanding the business to accommodate automotive, motorcycle, and other interests just seemed the natural next step, and it’s been a lot of fun.”

Reedyville Goods supplies a number of well-known retail companies with their signs, and is able to sell direct to the public as well through their website.

Garage Style Magazine Winter 2015

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Reverse is printed.

Placed on a metal blank on the heat press.

The art fuses to the metal.

“We do a lot of direct business, and send a lot of packages all over the world every day,” he said. “Like most companies, we had a catalogue, but the advent of the internet has really allowed us to focus on a web presence, and that’s been great.”

When the Reedy’s aren’t working on their businesses, they’re enjoying their home, complete with an english pub, movie theater, and more. After a few decades of building businesses and brands, a few diversions are necessary. GSM

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Buyer’s

guide

The Last Minute Holiday Shoppers Guide

The holidays are upon us! Here are a few ideas for the garage enthusiast in your life, most of which are from companies offering expedited shipping plans.

Moduline

Vacuums are a necessity, especially in the garage where things can easily get messy. It’s nice to pull your car in after a long run and be able to quickly just give it a once over, but it’s not always convenient. But Moduline has a slick vacuum that mounts to the wall, providing instant access, power and ease of use. Featuring a HEPA filtration system, it captures 99.8-percent of dust and allergens down to .3 microns. Made of polycarbonate ABS, the design is modern and sleek, complementary to any environment. The dustbag holds eight pounds, and the stretch hose stores at 8-feet, but expands to 40-feet. www.ModulineCabinets.com

Reedyville Signs

Purveoyers of a multitudinous amount of unique signs ranging from automobiles to petrol to trains to food – the list goes on and on. This particular Tucker sign gives the impression of being vintage, but is brand new and made in California. Reedyville actually has a number of Tucker signs, which lends the idea that if they serve Tucker interests, they may well have lots of other vehicles on the roster. One of our favorites is a 6-inch by 18-inch Gulf Supreme Motor Oil sign with brilliant blue overtone and the famous orange logo. www.GarageArtSigns.com

Gears, Grins & Gasoline

Lance Lambert has long been the gifted story teller. An original contributor to “Garage Style Magazine,” Lance has written a number of books car guys everywhere will not only enjoy, but relate to. “Gears, Grins & Gasoline” is no exception, and may well be his best yet. A collection of new stories that discuss a lifetime of automotive adventures, there’s something for everyone within from comical situations to adventurous circumstances that might make you wonder, “How is this guy still alive?” www.Amazon.com 60

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Garage Art

Long in the business of providing fabulous adornments for garages, Garage Art has steadily grown their inventory to include a number of products from furniture to signs to gas pumps to clocks and more. One of their more popular items is the dome topped rubbish receptacle.

Available in a number of styles and colors with corresponding brands, they stand 36-inches tall and are 15-inches diameter. www.GarageArt.com

BLT

Give the gift of a parking pad. Designed to put a visual spotlight on a special car in the garage while providing a durabile layer of protection on the floor, the G-Floor Mat is available in a myriad of patterns and colors. Checkered tiles, granite, wood, water – almost anything can be printed onto the floor, giving a very unique, custom look to any garage or room. The robust nature of the BLT G-Floor comes from years of development to produce a remarkably high-quality product that will stand up to a number of garage incidents like fluid leaks, tires and weather.

The granite in the picture is also printed vinyl. www.BLTLLC.com

Ultimate Garages III

Phil Berg has spent many years discovering and exposing seriously fabulous collections and garages in his Ultimate Garages series of books. His most recent, Ultimate Garages III, gives readers an inside look at 20 great garages with over 200 photographs on 176 pages. A great thing about these books is they also contain various technical aspects to the buildings, giving readers pertinent and useful ideas for their own garages. Another long time contributor to Garage Style Magazine, Phil Berg has inspired countless car guys and home owners with ideas on how to spruce up what’s usually the largest room in the house. www.Bookmasters.com Garage Style Magazine Winter 2015

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Wheel Unique

Wheel Unique designs, manufactures and sells hand-made table lamps and wall sconces based on classic American cars from the 1950s and 1960s. Made in the U.S.A. in Southern California, the lamps and wall sconces are finished in a deep gel coat over hand-laid fiberglass, and are available in a variety of colors, and makes and models. The lenses and bezels are brand new reproductions, and the electrical components are UL-listed. A fabulous gift, and the perfect addition to any car aficionados office, den, garage or other personalized space. www.WheelUnique.com

Exotic Barn Finds

Matt Stone has long been at the automotive journalism game, and has extensive knowledge of the whereabouts of a lot of skeletons. Most of them made of metal, usually hosting a considerable amount of dust, cobwebs and who knows what else.

His latest book, “Exotic Barn Finds,” unearths the locations of some of these lost and forgotten treasures with imagery and stories aplenty. The cars aren’t your usual board of barn find fair either – they’re the rarest and most expensive of their day such as Maserati, Lamborghini, Aston Martin and many more. It’s a unique journey around the country to heart-stopping situations we all dream about. www.Autobooks-Aerobooks.com

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Car Art Inc.

Art is an often overlooked idea for a gift, which is a shame. After all, it doesn’t get more personal than commissioning a work of art for a loved ones favorite car. Car Art Inc can help you find an artist that will produce a custom piece for you, or help you find a work of art that is ready for shipping at a moment’s notice. Representing over 80 artists, Car Art Inc will guide you on the process of selecting an artist and artwork professionally and courteously. www.carart.us

Matt’s

column

Great Cars, bad garages

W

hile assembling my new book, Exotic Barn Finds (which I spoke about in my last column, and is now in print and available publisher direct through CarTech Books, or on Amazon.com, or from my friends at Autobooks-Aerobooks in Burbank, CA) I discovered many examples of fabulous cars imprisoned in horrible barns. While GSM celebrates great garages, I thought you might be morbidly curious about the opposite side of the spectrum. I was blown away by how many embalmed cars I discovered that were in pretty nice condition and mechanical fettle when parked, but were being quietly and ravinously destroyed by their surroundings.

I’ve asked myself time and time again why this happens, conclusing that the reasons are many. Some people just end up the custodians of an old car by circumstance; maybe grandpa died, and last parked his old car in the barn so they just left it there. Others don’t fully understand what the elements can do to a car – cars are often left parked outside for years and decades, and are still OK, right? Thinking perhaps that if it’s inside under the cover of even a rickety barn roof, it must be better off – having no clue that a moist dirt floor will damage the car. And that there’s no harm in stacking a few boxes on top, “just until we decide what to do with the car.”

Never mind rats and other demon animals are attracted to moist enclosures and piles of trash and bales of hay, and that vermin eat electrical wiring insulation, and seat foam to survive. Then they give birth to dozens more little rats that eat more of the car, then die inside it. Yuk. Or the custodians of said car just don’t care. To them it may be just one more non-running, difficult to move piece of grandpa’s estate that isn’t quickly convertible to cash. And they don’t know where the keys or the paperwork are anyway, and the tires are flat and the battery is dead. So it’s a hassle. Never mind that it’s a Maserati and not a used up Toyota.

In putting this book together, I was taken aback by at last three egregious examples of “Barnfind done Bad.” Perhaps the most cringeworthy was the case of a dark blue DB4, salted away in the worst-for-car storage barn I could imagine: damp dirt floors, missing portions of wall large enough for rain, snow, and any size rat to climb through. Junk, spare parts and trash strewn everywhere. And of course the innocent Aston had begun to rust and mildew. It was then sold for big bucks at auction and can be saved, but the process won’t be easy, quick, or cheap.

The next was the hapless Jaguar XK120 SE Drophead left parked axle deep in Georgia clay, which of course by the time the car was extracted had oxidized it to parts car status. Another was a poor looking Citroen SM with a faulty or missing rear hatch seal, allowing the rear deck area to fill up with rain water that during

evaporation, turned the once elegant and well finished cabin into a rusty steamy mouldy Petri dish. And what water did escape pooled behind several body panels, rusting them through as well.

Another parts car.

There have been countless magazine articles written about how to best preserve a car in long term storage, so I won’t repeat the checklist here. The mysterious interwebs must be full of similar information. And I’m further guessing that by you being an enthusiast reader of this magazine, you wouldn’t park your Aston, Jag or SM on a muddy dirt floor in a drafty damp ramshackle barn in order to hasten its return to the oxide makeup of the Earth’s crust either.

- Matt Stone

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Garage

bazaar

Art/Automobilia/ Collectibles/Media

Festivals of Speed, Page 49 www.festivalsofspeed.com

Reedyville Goods, Page 64 916.652.5584 www.reedyvillegoods.com

Mecum Auctions, Back Cover 262.275.5050 www.mecum.com

Route 32 Restorations, Page 11 765.307.7119 www.Route32Restorations.com

Morphy Auctions, Page 5 1.717.335.3435 www.morphyauctions.com

Matt Stone, Page 39 www.MattStoneCars.com

Clubs

Flooring

Travel/Leisure/Dining

BLT, Page 2 and 3 913.894.0403 ext. 21 www.bltllc.com

Talbott Vineyards www.talbottvineyards.com

Furniture/Electronics

Flanagans Restaurant-Pub, Page 36 831.625.5500 www.flanaganscarmel.com

GarageArt.com, Page 9 800.708.5051 www.garageart.com

Packards International www.PackardsInternational.com

Wheel Unique, Page 65 714.602.6435 www.wheelunique.com

Vintage Vehicle Show, Page 53 www.vintagevehicletv.com

Mercedes-Benz Club of America, Page 33 www.MBCA.org

PitStop Furniture, Page 25 866.319.8500 www.intro-techautomotive.com

Autobooks-Aerobooks, Page 33 818.845.0707 www.autobooks-aerobooks.com

National Corvette Restorers Society www.NCRS.org

Custom Auto Sound, Page 9 1.800.88.TUNES www.custom-autosound.com

Ultimate Garages, Page 64 ultimategarages.net

Automobile Restoration/ Maintanence/Sales

Auctions/Events

Wheelsmith, Page 41 800.854.8937 951.898.4563 www.thewheelsmith.net

Carmel Mission Classic www.carmelmissionclassic.org

Carmel Boutique Inns www.carmelboutiqueinns.com

Tires Continental Tire www.continentaltire.com

Tools/Equipment Save-A-Battery, Page 13 888.819.2190 510.471.6442 www.saveabattery.com

Museums Petersen Automotive Museum, Page 59 323.930.CARS www.petersen.org

Port-A-Cool, Page 64 800.695.2942 www.port-a-cool.com

San Marino Motor Classic www.sanmarinomotorclassic.com

401k Restorations, Page 45 714.993.401k www.the401kclub.com

Security

Moduline, Page 45 888.343.4463 www.modulinecabinets.com

Run to the Sun Car Show 831.421.3900 www.cvkclub.org

Checker Motor Cars, Page 35 978.423.3770 www.checkmotorcars.com

Secure It 562.677.3777 secureit@ngcia.com

Race Ramps, Page 59 866.464.2788 raceramps.com

ADVERTISE in

GARAGE STYLE MAGAZINE CINDY MEITLE 480.277.1864 | cindy@carprusa.com DOUG HOLLAND 910.398.8307 | douglas@hhpr.biz CARMEN PRICE 714.276.5285 | carmen.price1@aol.com

Classic Lighting www.wheelunique.com Our quality, handmade table lamps and wall sconces are based on classic cars from the 1950's and 1960's. Available in red, black, turquoise and white.

Please visit our website for additional information.

Wheel Unique Orange, CA 92866 714.602.6435

Garage Style Magazine Winter 2015

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Garage

meanings

In the Garage with Cindy Meitle

Beth Jehle, Automotive hobbyist Beth Jehle lives in Millbrook, Alabama. She works for the State of Alabama Revenue Department where she handles various tax law issues. She graduated from law school in 1993 and has been car-obsessed since age 4. She has no children, but counts her cars as her babies. In 2014 she built her dream garage which took on a very special meaning for her just months later. On September 03, she added her fourth Porsche to the garage, a 2016 Cayman.

What is your favorite item in the garage and why?

Easy! The Porsches! I try to pack as much stuff in my garage as possible, but it must be neat and organized. However, coming in at runner up favorite item(s) would have to be all of the trophies from racing and hundreds of car shows. The last time I counted, or tried to count all of them, it was well over 150! I have all of the 4’ to 7’ trophies lined up against the walls throughout my garage. I designed my six car “Porsche Garage Mahal” with a house attached, with that in mind. You can actually drive through my house. I have 4 insulated garage doors and the one on the far right hand side of the house runs all the way down the length of the house and comes out the backside of the house, where a concrete ramp was built for easy entry.

What is the strangest item in your garage?

It would have to be a Mercedes-Benz hood badge that came off of one of the SUV’s from the movie Jurassic Park. It has the camouflaged paint splattered on part of the badge. A friend of mine that worked for Mercedes just gave it to me. I have it displayed in a model car case with a monogrammed badge with the description.

What are you doing most of the time when in your garage?

The fact that my garage is really a part of my house, a good deal of my time is spent inside my garage. I have two separate den areas, with flat screen TV’s, and multiple seating areas and Automobilia-type tables. I love to tinker around my garage, detailing my cars and dusting off my trophies. I am constantly adding new items. I have several “theme” areas within my Porsche Garage Mahal.”

Did you grow up around the garage?

Not at all. In fact, my mother told me that when I was four years old, I saw my very first Hot Wheels diecast car, and she said that I was never the same after that!

I became obsessed with all kinds of cars. My love of all-things-automobilia is vast never ending to this very day.

How does the garage make you feel?

In order to properly explain that, I must reveal my own personal struggle with breast cancer throughout most of 2014. I am happy to say that everything is all well and good now. I moved into my “Porsche Garage Mahal” in March of 2015 and was diagnosed two months later in May. I was pretty ticked off about it because I knew that meant little or no garage time for me, but I have to say, after family and friends, that’s exactly what got me through it all! I could not wait to get well in order to have my garage time. I literally live and breathe my car hobby and all I could focus on while going through treatment was the fact that when I was well, I could do all of my projects and all of my tinkering in my garage that that made me happy. It made me get through every day so I could once again play in my garage. My garage time is a necessity and it’s what makes me feel alive!

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The 21st Annual

Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance March 11-13 2016

The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island The Golf Club of Amelia Island

Celebrating Cord and Pegaso Automobiles & The 100th Anniversary of BMW

Honoring

Hans-Joachim Stuck Benefitting

The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance Foundation For Advance Tickets & Event Information, visit

www.ameliaconcours.org Photo Courtesy Bill Warner

Garage Style Magazine Winter 2015

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THE WORLD’S LARGEST COLLECTOR CAR AUCTION

KISSIMMEE

OSCEOLA HERITAGE PARK - KISSIMMEE, FL JANUARY 15-24, 2016 3,000 VEHICLES // 1,200 ROAD ART LOTS

M A I N AT T R A C T I O N - Kim and Mary’s Collection The Lifelong Petroliana Collection of Kim and Mary Kokles Over 400 items that are unrestored and have never been touched up

R OA D A R T M O N DAY – January 18th – m ore th a n 40 0 signs TU E S DAY - WED N E SDAY - TH U RS DAY - 1 50 lot s of Roa d A r t F E AT U R E F R I DAY – January 22n d - m ore th a n 50 deale r sh ip signs SIGN SATURDAY – January 23rd - 50 neon signs to be offered SUPER SUNDAY – January 24th - Kim & Mary’s 400 original signs & globes

A collection of more than 50 dealership signs offered

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FL License #AB1919

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For Complete Auction Consignment or Bidding Information go to Mecum.com or call 262-275-5050