BRANDON WRIGHT
Written by Emily Uhland
REPRESENTATIVES FROM HIESTER AUTOMOTIVE GROUP PRESENT MILITARY MISSIONS IN ACTION WITH A DONATION FROM THE SALE OF A ’69 PLYMOUTH ROADRUNNER, WINNING CAR IN A 14-VEHICLE RESTORATION CHALLENGE.
Classic Cars Restored for Charity John Hiester has always loved old cars.
With car dealerships in Fuquay-Varina, Lillington and Sanford, selling cars and trucks to area residents for 35 years, he likely loves all cars. But old cars generate a special, unique kind of excitement. So last Spring, when the pandemic shutdown forced people to stay home and businesses to close, Hiester decided to purchase 14 classic cars for the mechanics and technicians at his dealerships to restore while business was slow. “We were wondering what to do when the work runs out, and I didn’t have a good answer. We don’t want to lay anybody off. We don’t want to harm anybody’s family,” recalls Hiester. So the idea for a contest took root. The mechanics throughout Hiester Automotive 18 APRIL/MAY 2021
dealerships would form fourteen teams, each with one car to restore. A fan vote would determine the winning vehicle — which car or truck had undergone the most impressive transformation — and that car would be auctioned off with proceeds going to charity. The winning team would get to select which charity to support. Vehicles in the mix included a ’74 Dodge Dart, ’88 Dodge Ramcharger, ’78 Jeep CJ, ’75 Chevy Camaro and many more, each with its own set of challenges and needs. “It was the most frustrating, yet rewarding experience,” says Reilly O’Meara, a technician in Fuquay-Varina. “It was a huge learning experience.” O’Meara, who worked on a ’72 Chevy Monte Carlo — “the best one” — says he learned a lot working with the “old-timers” in the service department.
“It was a great opportunity for the young guys to get to have a newfound respect for the older guys in the shop,” says Hiester. “They didn’t realize how much they knew. It was good from a team-building perspective.” Along the way, one of Hiester’s colleagues at Ally Bank heard about the challenge and connected Hiester with celebrity mechanic Danny “Count” Koker for a 21-episode YouTube series highlighting the undertaking. Koker owns a customization and restoration mechanic shop in Las Vegas and stars in the History Channel series “Counting Cars.” His YouTube channel, Count’s Kustoms Network, has over 110,000 subscribers and is widely known among classic car enthusiasts. In the new series, called Count’s Kulture, presented by Ally, the local mechanic continued on page 20
