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CamaroLarry Wednesday, November 11, 2020
WHAT’S INSIDE Camaro Larry: pages 1-3 Winter weather warriors: pages 1, 4-5 Technology improves safety, comfort: pages 6-7 On the road again: pages 9-10
Restoring muscle cars is full-time for Lehn BY SARAH COLBURN | STAFF WRITER
OSAKIS – Larry Lehn has spent the better part of his 54 years restoring muscle cars and building show cars. Lehn, known in car circles as “Camaro Larry,” grew up around engines. His dad, Sylvester Lehn, restored cars in the garage after work, and Lehn and his five brothers would crowd around under the hood and the vehicle interior. In 2009 Lehn, who owns The Hot Rod Shop in Osakis, flipped his business to fulltime. Now, he works side-by-side with his son, Eric. They focus on vehicle interiors, handbuilding panels for hot rods, and doing custom fabrication, wrapping the aluminum in foam and leather. “It just kind of takes you back to a simpler time, when I was a kid watching them race,” Lehn said. Lehn knows the vehicles interiors and exteriors by memory. Years of studying vehicles hands-on has etched the details in his brain. He also reads a number of magazines including “Super Chevy,” “Hemmings Motor News” and “Car Craft,” and he owns a handful of assembly manuals and can access online research as a back-up.
Through the years, Lehn has done 100 to 200 restorations, ranging from some that take a few weeks or months to others that can take years to complete. The length of time depends on exactly what Lehn’s customers want. He’s been working on a ’69 AMC Javelin for two years. “A lot of it depends on finding the purest parts; sometimes it takes awhile to find this stuff,” Lehn said. While a complete stock interior on a muscle car only takes a few weeks, making everything from scratch including door panels, headliners, seats and custom arm rests, takes more time. “I listen to the customer,” Lehn said. “I ask them what they want for an end result, what their vision is everybody has something different.” Complete restorations take the longest. “Every nut and bolt has to come out of them,” Lehn said. When they create custom panels, they build them so there are no exposed screws and the panels just snap into the door.
Lehn page 2
PHOTOS SUBMITTED
Larry Lehn, owner of The Hot Rod Shop, poses with the pro-street car he built from the ground up.
Winter weather warriors
Snowplow upgrades keep Minnesota roads clear BY BEN SONNEK STAFF WRITER
MELROSE – Gary Middendorf has worked for the city of Melrose since 1983; as the supervisor of the streets/parks department, he is in charge of maintaining the city’s snow removal equipment and deciding when the plows should take to the streets. In his nearly 40 years working for the city, Middendorf has seen plenty of upgrades to the vehicles which keep the traffic moving during the worst Minnesota winter – or during the occasional October snowstorm. “The equipment is much more advanced than it was years ago,” Middendorf said. “With the technology, everything’s getting so much better.” The Melrose Streets/Parks Department has two snowplow trucks and two bucket loaders; the loaders can also be fitted with 12-foot-wide plows which can be angled left or right. Over the years, the trucks and loaders have gotten upgrades
PHOTO BY BEN SONNEK
Members of the Melrose Streets/Parks Department – (from left) Dill Rieland, Gary Middendorf and Keith Dobmeier – bring out a snowplow truck and loader Oct. 28 at their shop in Melrose. The Melrose Streets/Parks Department has two snowplow trucks and two loaders.
for operator comfort, including better heaters, air-cushioned seat suspension, power steering and more user-friendly controls, but still more advancements have been made for how the trucks function. New tires with treads meant for snow mean the trucks and loaders no longer need chains to drive on the snow. The
sand spreaders can calculate and regulate the amount of material being laid down, and the emissions from the diesel engines are filtered to meet environmental standards. One of the most significant changes, though, has been to the trucks’ transmissions. “Years ago, everything was
clutching and shifting with a manual transmission,” Middendorf said. “Now, our trucks are automatics. It’s a big improvement because the transmission will detect the load when you’re pushing snow; on a straight stick, you’re constantly shifting and clutching. There’s no more shifting or clutching with the auto-
matic.” Over time, the weight of snowplow trucks has not changed much – about nine tons when unloaded and about 1516 tons when loaded with sand and equipment. The materials to make the trucks has changed,
Snowplows page 4
2 • STAR Publications Mid-MN Wheels Edition • November 11, 2020
Lehn from front “We want it all hidden so it’s a nice, clean look,” Lehn said. If it’s a numbermatching car, meaning the motor and transmission are original, most often the customer wants the car to be restored to its original detail. Other times, they want a complete custom look. It’s then Lehn’s job to make sure he works with the right supplier that makes the most sense for each specific application. His company works with 20 different vendors across the country, including Minnesota vendors such as Auto City Classic out of Isanti for glass, as well as Chevelle and Impala parts, Bowtie Truck Stop Inc. in Springfield for complete truck restoration parts, as well as Fabric Supply Inc. out of Minneapolis for vinyl and leathers. It’s also Lehn’s job to document first-generation Camaros, verifying them to make sure buyers are getting exactly what they think they’re paying for. He’ll go through the cars and document all the pieces and numbers on the motors and the castings. He knows them by heart and he knows what to look for in a fake.
His knowledge wledge of original parts arts is so well ll “It’s about paying known that for years attention to detail. he’d have When you do something, p e o p l e calling his every detail matters.” house from across thee - Larry Lehn U.S. to ask sk him for tips and answers to their heir questions. “That’s how learned, ow I learned you have to ask questions,” he said. His customers come from across the country, hauling their cars on trailers, shipping them or transporting them for him to work on in his shop. His business is done mostly through word-of-mouth. “The car world is smaller than you think,” he said. Known for his work with Camaros, Chevelles, Soon, he’ll be working ald, Dennis, Dwayne and GTOs and Mustangs, Lehn has connections all on a ’67 Chevelle that’s Mark. His sister, Mary, over including Wisconsin, coming in from Prescott, also ventured into the garage and has a love of cars. California and Wyoming Arizona. “I like the challenge, “It’s about paying at– the west being where he gets most of the cars he it’s different,” Lehn said. tention to detail,” he said. “One day I’m working on “When you do something, buys personally. He makes connec- a ’64 GTO and one day a every detail matters.” He also watched the tions at car shows and ’34 Ford Coupe.” He learned to meet cars in action. His two uncar events throughout the year. He annually at- the challenge from his cles raced pro-stock back tends a show in St. Ig- years in the garage grownace, Michigan, and The ing up, from his uncles, Hot Rod Shop sponsors a Mike Lehn and Phillip show in the summer and Lehn, who had/have their invites customers they’ve own restoration shops, worked with through the and from his father and his brothers, Robert, Donyears as well as others.
PHOTOS SUBMITTED
Eric Lehn shapes foam for an interior door panel at The Hot Rod Shop in Osakis.
in the 1970s and he’d catch the races. As his brothers got older, he watched them with their own muscle cars and drag racers. “With my dad and my two older brothers, they would just make us do it until it was right, there was no doing it wrong,” he said. “I had some really
good teachers.” Though Lehn worked as an inventory controller in logistics until he opened his shop full-time, he said the drive to restore has always been within him.
Lehn page 3
p The Hot Rod Sho
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Eric Lehn creates custom-stitched door panels using an industrial sewing machine at The Hot Rod Shop in Osakis.
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6 • STAR Publications Mid-MN Wheels Edition • November 11, 2020
Technology improves Vehicles safety, comfort continually refined
BY KATELYN ASFELD STAFF WRITER
ALBANY – In today’s world, consumers have more options in their vehicles than ever before. With advances in technology, there are features designed to keep those on the road safe, but also to provide comfort and entertainment. “Vehicles are safer than they have ever been,” said Collin Power, sales manager at Albany Chrysler Center in Albany. “Most of the technology (in vehicles) doesn’t fail. It’s advanced, but simple technology.” One of the newest items that many people have often wondered about is self-driving vehicles. They exist, but, Power said, there are only a few, they are very expensive and still in the research and development phase. Tesla is one company that has been working on self-driving vehicles for
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Collin Power, sales manager at Albany Chrysler Center in Albany, talked Oct. 28 about the newest technology features available in vehicles. With more technology in vehicles, there is a lot more to know, both for a salesperson and a technician, to be successful at their job. To keep on top of technology trends, Power and his co-workers take advanced technology courses on a regular basis.
several years. According to their website, “all new Tesla cars come standard with advanced hardware capable of providing autopilot features today,
and full self-driving capabilities in the future – through software updates designed to improve functionality over time.” Auto manufacturers
must produce a product in large enough volumes to make it affordable to the customer, a process that could take several more years for the self-driving
cars. There is more work “Like any new tech- that needs to happen to nology that first comes improve functionality and out, they [self-driving safety before these vevehicles] are very expensive,” Power said.
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November 11, 2020 • STAR Publications Mid-MN Wheels Edition • 7
Car tech from page 6
hicles can become readily available to consumers. Although vehicles on the market today are not completely autonomous, many have technology that make the road a safer place, including lane sense, which is when the vehicle will autocorrect the steering if the vehicle is over road lines; rear cross detection, which detects if there is a vehicle or other object oncoming when a person is backing up and will automatically brake; a blind spot detector, where lights on either side of the vehicle turn on to notify the driver if there is a vehicle in the blind spot; and many more features. Some vehicles come with an auto parallel park feature, where the vehicle can parallel park on its own, with no assistance from the driver. The park feature, along with the blind spot detection and rear cross detection, are nice for those who have neck or back issues that make it difficult to turn their head, Power said. Some features, such as lane sense, will not work on unmarked roads, dirt roads or roads covered with snow. The camera and sensor unit will not detect where the vehicle should be if there are no visible road lines. Power explains that even though technology has made driving safer and easier, drivers still have to be responsible and cautious. “The driver still has to be behind the wheel and paying attention,” Power said. “They can’t be on their phone or doing other things while driving.” Improvements on headlights have also
been made in the last few years, including smart beam headlights that turn on when a vehicle turns, allowing the driver more visibility. “They’re nice on a curvy road at night,” Power said. “If there’s a vehicle parked on the side of the road and someone turns the corner, it might be too late to see them. These lights help with that.” Some vehicles come equipped with lights that auto level with the road, preventing glare for oncoming drivers. Another safety feature, advanced multistage airbags, senses how much an occupant weighs and how they are sitting, which then determines the amount of pressure the airbag should produce should it need to go off. Power explained everyone is different and an airbag that goes off may cause more harm than good for smaller occupants. In addition to making vehicles safer, manufacturers have been exploring ways to make vehicles “greener.” “Hybrid vehicles are becoming more prevalent,” Power said. “They have an electric generator to improve fuel efficiency.” Within the last two years, stop/start technology has become popular to reduce emissions. When a vehicle is in idle for a certain amount of time, the engine will shut off. Everything else in the vehicle, such as radio and climate controls, will continue to function. Electric cars are on the market, too, but their range is limited. A fully charged battery in most electric cars can go 40 miles before needing to be recharged. There is also the challenge of finding a charging station. Electric cars are not a vi-
PHOTOS SUBMITTED
Auto park technology (left) and drivers assistance settings are just a few of the newest technology available in vehicles.
able option for people living in both rural areas and cities where there are few to no charging stations. Also, making the batteries for the cars, Power said, is not as green as people think. “People don’t realize it takes a lot of fossil fuels to make the batteries,” he said. More research and development by manufacturers need to be done before electric cars can be a viable option for the majority of consumers. Because of advances made by manufacturers, many features come standard in today’s vehicles and with more technology in vehicles, there is a lot more to know for both salespersons and technicians to be successful at their job. “I like to say we have our careers, but we’re also still college students because we’re always taking advanced technology courses,” Power said. However, as vehicles get smarter, diagnosing issues gets easier, he said. Many vehicles allow a user to connect
their smartphone to the vehicle’s system. Once connected, a user can use voice commands to make calls, read or respond to text messages, start a GPS, control the radio/ music and control the vehicle’s interior climate. In some newer cars, a user can even lock, unlock or start their vehicle from their phone and check the vehicle’s diagnostics. Radio vulnerability
ing wheel are favorites, especially in the cold winter months. Whether for comfort, safety or to better the environment, new technology continues to be developed and released. There is a good chance more will be available in the near future and showcased at your local dealership.
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software installed in each vehicle’s program prevents users from having their phones hacked. Of the available features in a vehicle, the most popular safety feature for consumers is the blind spot monitoring feature. “It’s a feature that a lot of people want and actually use,” Power said. For comfort, heated seats and a heated steer-
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8 • STAR Publications Mid-MN Wheels Edition • November 11, 2020
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November 11, 2020 • STAR Publications Mid-MN Wheels Edition • 9
again
On the road Truckers Inn service shop helps truckers get back on the road BY KAYLA ALBERS | STAFF WRITER
SAUK CENTRE – According to the American Trucking Association, in 2018, 304.9 billion miles were traveled by 36.9 million registered trucks, and trucks account for moving 72.5% – or 11.84 billion tons – of the nation’s freight by weight. This makes keeping trucks in driving condition and truck drivers safe on the road even more important. The Truckers Inn truck stop in Sauk Centre makes sure their top priority is getting trucks back out on the road as quickly as possible. Shop manager Deri Nordsving has worked at the Truckers Inn for 20 years and strives to make it possible for truckers can come in, get their repairs done and get back out on the road without using the truckers valuable time. “We don’t want to keep these guys tied up any longer than they have to,” Nordsving said. “In the world of electronic logs, they are only allotted so much time in a day to drive so we try to get them in and out as fast as we can.” As the shop manager, Nordsving holds responsibilities like scheduling repairs, ordering parts and providing guidance to the younger mechanics. For Nordsving, the best part of his job is working with the people that come through.
PHOTOS OTOS BY KAYLA ALBERS
(above) A truck pulls into the Truckers Inn shop p for repairs Oct. 26 in Sauk auk Centre.
Shop manager Deri eri Nordsving (left) and nd general manager ger Lowell Helgeson are pictured in the shop hop at Truckers Inn in Sauk Centre. Helgeson has been at Truckers Inn nn for 37 years and Nordsving dsving for 20.
Truckers Inn page 10
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10 • STAR Publications Mid-MN Wheels Edition • November 11, 2020
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PHOTOS BY KAYLA ALBERS
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Shane Holen looks for an air leak in a truck at the Truckers Inn shop in Sauk Centre. James Smith performs a tire repair at the Truckers Inn shop in Sauk Centre.
Truckers Inn from page 9
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“I like talking to people and they really are great people,” Nordsving said. The general public may only see the convenience store, restaurant and fuel side of Truckers
Inn, but the truck stop provides much more to the truckers who stop through to keep them safely on the roads. The Truckers Inn shop can assist with truck inspections and making repairs so the big rigs are legal for the road. The shop does tire repairs, has a chrome shop and a store with anything a trucker could need while driving. “Here we focus on the driver,” Nordsving said. “If we don’t have something they might need, that is pretty rare. The truck stop was opened in 1969 on the interchange of U.S. Highway 71, State 28 and Interstate 94, a very important intersection for truckers moving between the Twin Cities and Fargo, or across the state from north and south or east and west. It brings a lot of business to town and it helps truck drivers to better plan their trips. “It is a busy location and there had to be something here,” Nordsving said. “This was a needed location.” However, with the installment of ELD’s (Electronic Logging Devices), schedules for truckers have become more difficult. Truckers can only drive for 14 hours at a time before they are required to take a 10-hour rest. This left more urgency for the drivers to finish large portions of their routes during their driving
time, which meant less time to stop for repairs. “It was always a rush; the drivers weren’t stopping to get fixed unless it was an emergency,” Nordsving said. Nordsving could see the times of day when the shop would get busy and truckers were coming off the road from their 14 hours of driving. However, for the last couple of months, Nordsving said the shop has been busy all the time and expects it to get busier come winter when other issues arise. The cold weather affects diesel fuel, causing it to gel up, and it is common for air systems to freeze up, resulting in more trucks needing repairs. The truck stop even has a service truck in order to provide repairs to trucks that might be stopped on the side of the road and to help them on site. Every service that the truck stop provides is with truckers’ best interest in mind. The Truckers Inn truck stop aims to keep their truck drivers safe, while getting them back on the road in ample time. “Without places like this, you would not have trucks running up and down the road,” Nordsving said. “You would have trucks sitting on the side of the interstate and that isn’t a safe environment for anybody.”
November 11, 2020 • STAR Publications Mid-MN Wheels Edition • 11
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Ramlers continue trucking tradition Ramler Trucking has been a reliable transporter of goods for three generations. Today, cousins Chris and Eric Ramler continue the tradition by managing Ramler Trucking and Ramler Truck and Trailer Repair in Albany. “We like to serve our customers the best we can and make sure we do everything they need done in a timely manner,” Chris Ramler said. The core company values of quality and timely service is the reputation the trucking service has built while traveling thousands of miles to deliver mostly food grade products across the Upper Midwest. In any given day, there are between 85-100 trucks on the road for Ramler. Ramler Trucking has 55 owner operators hauling for them, along with 1012 contractors driving for the company. Most routes take the drivers throughout the Midwest, Great Plains and beyond, including Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas and Minnesota. “We run out to Washington four times a week, down to Texas a couple times a week and also
out to Ohio a couple times a week,” Ramler said. The majority of cargo includes food products such as cheese, French fries, beef and chicken. Ramler Trucking has a flatbed division specifically for hauling precast cement wall panels and buildings for Wells Concrete, also located in Albany.
In addition, Ramler’s tanker division hauls animal byproducts. “We want to be loyal to our customers and serve all their needs,” Ramler said. “We do our best to keep our customers and drivers happy.” Ramler Trucking is based out of their office and shop facility located at 400 13th Street in Albany. The
Truck & Trailer Repair
shop serves as a parking area for trucks on the weekends and a full service shop during the week. Ramler Truck and Trailer Repair is the full service shop where repair work is completed on Ramler trucks. Twelve mechanics are employed working on both trucks and trailers. Two employees work in the parts area. “We can do anything from a light bulb to a full overhaul,” Ramler said. “It’s a full service shop.” Within the past year, Ramler Trucking developed a working relationship with Ramler Cold Storage. Ramler Cold Storage is a cold storage facility owned by Greg and Sue Ramler and Jack and Doris Ramler. “It’s been a beneficial move for both companies,” Ramler said. “Ramler Trucking has been hauling regularly for Ramler Cold Storage.” Hauling food products has kept Ramler Trucking busy this past year. For that, Ramler is always looking for good, qualified drivers. “I enjoy what I do every day,” Ramler said. “I like working with the people in the office. We have a great crew of people here.”
400 13th St., Albany, MN 56307 • 320-845-4500 • 1-800-732-8958 • Fax 320-845-7245
12 • STAR Publications Mid-MN Wheels Edition • November 11, 2020
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