By Victoria Mullen and Mike DeWitt
WKTV
Dreamwheels and Metrocruise are all about the classic cars, but if you’re anything like most people, you absolutely love looking at them and have no idea what you would do if you had to fix one up. Fortunately, Steve’s Antique Auto Repair, at 1803 Farragut St SW in Wyoming, is here to help. Steve’s Antique Auto Repair is a licensed auto repair facility with full engine rebuilding capabilities. Its certified mechanics specialize in restoring vehicles 1972 and older.
“We bought [the garage] as just a hobby box for dad and I,” said Steve Sturim. “This is where we had kept our personal collection and we were working on our own vehicles and then nights and weekends on customers’ cars.”
For nearly 25 years, Steve and his father Rick have maintained and fully restored cars. Their business is thriving, fueled by classic car enthusiasts, automotive clubs and folks who simply appreciate a bygone era.
Car restoration isn’t for the faint of heart — or those short on patience. It requires meticulous attention to detail and an ability to ferret out parts that haven’t been on the market for decades. If you can’t find the parts, you must be able to improvise and craft them yourself.
And, it’s far more involved than simply making a vehicle’s exterior look pretty. A full-factory restoration involves replacing just about every part on the car with a newer, better working one — from dashboard gauges to the lining of the trunk walls.
Diehard restorers — like Steve and Rick — aim to be as historically accurate as they can to make the car look precisely the way it did the day it rolled off the assembly line.
Father and son enter their lovingly restored classics in several different auto shows throughout the country. Last year, their 16,000-mile, 1928 Ford Model A Business Coupe — judged in the original class at the Model A Restorers Club national meet in Perrysburg, Ohio — scored 490 of a possible 500 points.
The 1928 Ford Model A Phaeton, serial number A495, was the 495th Model A ever built. Somehow, Steve managed to acquire the original engine block — amazing, when you think about it — then rebuilt the complete engine and made several chassis component restorations.
From humble beginnings — working nights and weekends — to working full time, Steve’s and Rick’s business is now a full-fledged restoration garage that services cars from all over the Midwest. While the cars may be old, they’re each unique in what makes them tick.
“How many different engineers had different thoughts on how something should work?” Sturim mused. “As more automakers came out and more cars were designed and such like that, everyone had their own idea. They weren’t just cookie cutters. And that’s what I’ve learned and I’m relearning their engineering and them saying, ‘We’re going to design it this way and have it function this way.’ OK, well I have to learn why did they do that, why did they choose that, and then how am I going to repair it?”
That continued passion for learning has given Steve a reason to do what he loves.
“I don’t see these as antique cars, I see these as cars and machines and my passion,” said Sturim. “I see them as machines. If I wasn’t doing this, I’d be living under a bridge someplace.”
Make sure to check out the “DreamWheels” show which will be broadcasting live Saturday, Aug. 27 from 6 – 7:30 p.m. at Pal’s Diner, 6503 28th St. SE, and Rogers Plaza, 972 28th St. SW. The show will air Saturday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m. on WKTV Channel 25.
Listen to Shift & Steer’s interview with Steve on December 23, 2015 (start at 34:45).
“The idea for the Metro Cruise came from the Woodward Dream Cruise” said Charlie Steen, one of the main think tanks behind Metro Cruise. “We were looking for promotion for 28th Street and the businesses on the strip, and we felt it was an opportunity for merchants to benefit from the event.”
While the participation was better than expected, and getting the inaugural event to make it from concept to reality was a success in itself, the first year of Metro Cruise didn’t accomplish its primary task.
For the fifth year in a row, WKTV Community Media and the Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber of Commerce host the red carpet classic car event, “DreamWheels!” in conjunction with the 2016 28th Street Metro Cruise.
Because the tornados were wrapped in rain, they were not visible to viewers. There were no reported injuries.
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After chasing them down to put them in their harnesses — pink for Poppy, Blue for Archie — and hooking them up to their ingenious y-shaped lead which keeps them from getting tangled, we head down the driveway, stopping briefly to make sure Hector is in his little wooden tortoise house in the garden, or at least somewhere nearby. He has full run of a very large garden on a steeply sloping hill, and he sometimes goes walkabout, but all I have to do to find him is to go into the garden with Poppy and tell her to “go find Hector,” which she does, with her little black nose sniffing the ground.
We also pass the cat lounging in her usual spot on a cement fence post out front, ignoring the attentions of the two hyper little dogs leaping up to get a sniff of her.
The dogs are happily off lead again, sniffing at hoof prints of horses, and other things animals have left behind. We play a little more ball, I shoot a few more photos of bees busy pollinating the sunflowers, and then I hook the dogs up as I see the head of a man appear over the next rise. Everything is fine, until I see that he also has with him a big black dog, who is not on a leash. Uh oh, this doesn’t look good. Hopefully the man has control of his beast or he wouldn’t be out walking him loose.
We head across a tiny bridge over a small creek, and up a steep gravel hill surrounded by woods, filled with annoying little bugs, but worth the shortcut as it’s shady and cool. Most days heat up to the 90s by 10 am. We pass the elementary school, empty now as it’s summer vacation, and pass the little butcher shop, the only store in the whole village. I don’t eat much meat, so this doesn’t do me much good, but if you get there early enough, they do sell crusty baguettes and they have a little deli case with a few things like tabouli and potato salad.
This house offers many pleasant places to work, such as the sun porch, the bright, light-filled living room, the island in the kitchen, my bedroom or out by the pool. Sometimes it’s hard to decide where to sit.
This is one of my favorite times of the day, a treat, to lounge by a beautiful turquoise pool, listen to the birds chirp, and finally enjoy some of the few books I loaded on my Kindle that I haven’t had the chance to read.
Only about three times in three weeks, with two dog walks a day, did I hear the sound of parties on the other side of tall green hedges, voices chattering and laughing in French, along with the splash of swimmers in pools, the sound of music on outdoor speakers, and I smelled the smoky scent of meat on a grill. For a moment, I wished I was on the other side of that hedge joining in the fun. But overall, I did not feel lonely and thoroughly enjoyed my solitude. I have to say that three weeks with not talking to people here went by a lot faster than 10 days not talking at the meditation retreat I attended in Thailand, but that may have something to do with sleeping in a queen-sized bed in the South of France, versus on a cement bed in a small cell in the jungle. Both excellent experiences — just very, very different.
About Lynn Strough
For the 
Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato & Avocado Sandwiches
Students will learn construction and engineering techniques. Color, and the values of color, from light to dark, will be emphasized in all exercises so a great selection of fabrics must be brought to this workshop. Students will be working in solid colors the entire five days so there is no need to bring any printed or marbled fabrics, only solids whether commercial or hand-dyed.
Hotel de Ville is another place I’d never been, and I discovered that it’s not a hotel at all, but the City Hall. It’s a place where tons of tourists and locals alike congregate, and I happened by right at the golden hour when everything glowed.
Dame. I was wandering around, trying to find a restaurant I’d gone to seven years before. I didn’t remember the name, only that it was somewhere near Notre Dame and covered with wisteria. I thought about stopping at the famed cathedral, but I’d been inside once on a previous trip, the entry line was long, and I was starving. My head said go straight, but my heart nudged me to turn left, so I followed my heart, right to the wisteria-covered restaurant.
Frederico, the man in charge, said it was almost closing time, between lunch and dinner, but that I’d just made it. He reminded me that this was the oldest building in Paris. It was pricier than I’d remembered, but I had free accommodations and was eating mostly home-cooked meals, so this was my splurge. And it turned out to be the best splurge ever, as Frederico said, “What are you doing next?” He invited me and a couple of American guys to go on a private tour of nearby Notre Dame he’d organized for some of his friends. The two guys declined, but I gave an immediate yes. A few other couples joined us, and one was from my home state of Michigan. Later on Facebook, I learned a friend of mine in Atlanta knows Frederico as well. It truly is a small world.
About Lynn Strough
The Second preview shown was called Powerless, a show from DC Comics featuring Vanessa Hudgens. Vanessa Hudgens will play Emily who works in the insurance field runs into her fair share of superheros along the way. This will air on NBC network later this year.
With the salad gone, I was ready for my stir-fry and I was not disappointed when the hot skillet was set down in front of me. It was still sizzling, packed with food, and ready to be devoured. Quick word of advice, when something is sizzling, its contents are still very hot. My brain decided not to pass along this information onto my watering mouth. Thank goodness for the glass of water that was seemingly always filled to the brim.
Going on the waitress’s recommendation, I selected one of the Hibachi Lunch Specials, Beef Hibachi, $7.95. It came with a salad, white rice and stirred fried beef and vegetables with a homemade sauce. I selected the onion salad dressing and I could taste why someone would want to purchase a bottle for home. The dressing was sweet and favorable with no overbearing onion flavor.
The story centers around a young boy named Jake (voiced by Debbi Derrberry from “Castle in the Sky,” “Toy Story,” and “Peter Pan”), his twin sister Joanie (voiced by Katie Leigh from “My Little Pony” and “The Adventures of Gummi Bears”), and their dog Waldo. The threesome find they are the only ones left in the village of Shiloh after a vicious attack by gold-thirsty giants and their monkey henchmen. The captured inhabitants are carried away by boat and taken to a mountain top gold mine to work as slaves.