Jim Stein never imagined that he would one day see his three collector cars cruising down a road, as part of a 4th of July parade.  He says that never really envisioned himself owning three collector vehicles, period…  But, it just so happens that he became immersed in the hobby, a little over 10 years ago, and now owns not only three, but a handful of specialty vehicles. And, after some time involved in this addictive pastime, three of his collectible vehicles –fittingly painted red, white and blue— were in fact driven in parade this past summer!

Jim says that his interest in collector cars started when he purchased a 1923 Chevrolet Superior Touring Car, over a decade ago.  He says that the car ran for a while, but Jim admits to not being “so mechanically inclined,” and says that the car decided that it no longer wanted to work.  But, shortly after that dream fizzled out a bit, Jim found himself purchasing a 1934 Chevy Half-Ton Pick-Up that was in pieces.

“I bought it apart,” he says.  “And, I didn’t know what order to put the parts back together.  I was asking, ‘Where do you think that goes?’”

But, Jim put a lot of work into restoring that vehicle, finding all the necessary parts through networking and piecing the vehicle together after some time.

“That’s when I finally found a passion in the hobby,” he says.  “I never planned on becoming this involved.  It just kind of snowballed.”

After working on the Pick-Up, Jim acquired the photographed 1972 Chevelle SS, 1979 Camaro Berlinetta and 1987 Corvette— all stock vehicles.

He says he purchased the Chevelle through a collector car dealer, but adds that he was taken for a bit of a ride, mentioning that the vehicle had many hidden structural problems that took some work to fix.  But, on the other hand, he says that he made out with some great deals on the Camaro and Corvette.  The one-owner Camaro was purchased on EBay with only 31,000 miles, and the Corvette, a two-owner car, only had 41,000 miles when purchased.

“My wife’s eyes just lit up when she saw that Corvette,” he says.  “And, we were the first to show interest in purchasing the car.”

Jim’s wife, Debi, has also found herself involved in this hobby.  The couple participates as members of the Wisconsin Region of the Vintage Chevy Club of America (VCCA), and works together to host one of the region’s three annual car shows.

Jim says that, in addition to attending the VCCA shows, he and Debi try to get to as many local car shows and swap meets that time will permit.  And, in addition to enjoying time spent at collector car events, Jim adds that his favorite part of the hobby is getting the “thumbs up,” when driving around town.

“It’s just way cool,” he says.

Story edited by: Becky McLaughlin