Hot Rods & Custom Stuff is a part of the Southern ... - Parts & People

Hunter’s HawkEye Elite alignment system has been
selected as a Top 20 Tool for 2011 by Motor
Magazine.
Continued from page 38
chairman of the board, Auto-Wares.
Beck/Arnley promoted Matt Lundh
to director of program groups and
strategic markets. Lundh calls on and
facilitates sales
growth with
program groups.
He reports to Heath
Breedlove, vice
president of sales
for Beck/Arnley. In
addition to his new
position, Lundh
Beck/Arnley
promoted Matt
Lundh to director
of program groups
and strategic
markets.
will continue to
serve as
Beck/Arnley’s
North and Midwest
regional manager.
AP Exhaust
Technologies, Inc. (AP Exhaust) of
Goldsboro, N.C has acquired the assets of
ANSA Automotive Parts
Distributors, Inc. (ANSA), of Macon,
Ga. The sale was finalized on Dec. 23 and
was brokered by Marx Group Advisors
(MGA). Terms of the
transaction were not
disclosed. All assets of
ANSA, including
inventory, were sold to
AP Exhaust and have
been relocated from
Macon to Goldsboro.
To commemorate the
15th anniversary of
SmartLift, Rotary
Lift conducted a
campaign to give away
its 50,000th SmartLift.
Keith Pastorius,
service manager of
Precision Auto Repair,
in Mayville, Wis., has
been selected the
winner. The 50,000th
SmartLift in-ground
lift is a 10,000-lbs. capacity
model that features Rotary’s
new Trio superstructure. The
new design increases technician
productivity by providing
greater drive-through clearance,
improved lift-to-vehicle
clearance, and extended arm
reach. A plaque affixed to the
lift’s superstructure features the
“Proven 15/50” campaign logo
and marks the significance of
the 50,000th SmartLift.
Pastorius also received a framed
certificate recognizing Precision
Auto Repair as the giveaway
winner. It was presented by the
shop’s local distributor, Oil Equipment
Co., of Madison, Wis.
Vancouver-based exotic and classic car
restorer Rudi Koniczek, owner of Rudi
& Co., unearthed one of the rarest cars in
the world from decades of dusty storage
in a rat-infested garage at a home in Santa
Monica, Calif. In the 1950s, the factory
turned out 29 special lightweight
alloy-body Mercedes Benz
gullwing coupes with plexiglass
windows. The models are among the
world’s most valued collector cars, worth
about $2.5 million each. Only 28 of the
alloy-bodied cars were accounted for. The
whereabouts of the remaining car was
one of the great mysteries in the classic
car world. Koniczek knew where all the
other alloy-bodied cars were except for
No. 21. Twenty years ago, he heard about
a gull-wing that had been stored in a
garage in Santa Monica, Calif., for
decades. Koniczek found the car and was
able to make a deal with the owner of the
car. The widower owner was in his late
80s, and his garage was full of old
mainframe computers. When the car
Precision Auto Repair of Mayville, Wis., won Rotary Lift’s
50,000th SmartLift inground lift as part of a celebration to
commemorate the SmartLift’s 15th anniversary. Pictured are
Jeff Henning, owner of Precision Auto Repair (r.) and Keith
Pastorius, service manager, who had the winning entry.
began to emerge from the clutter, it
became apparent that the search for No.
21 was over. “I took a magnet out of my
wallet and ran it over the car and it didn’t
stick,” Koniczek said. The owner of the
car, Tom Wellmer, had received the new
1955 special alloy Mercedes Benz
gullwing coupe in New York as a
graduation gift from his parents. He drove
it into the 1970s until the transmission
broke. The car sat for more than 40 years.
Koniczek will start the restoration of the
“missing” alloy-bodied 300SL with the
only stipulation made by the original
owner, which was for the rare car to be
given a full restoration to look as it did
when he took delivery in 1955. n
PHOTO BY RUDI KONICZEK
This 1955 Mercedes Benz alloy-bodied gullwing coupe was discovered in Santa
Monica, Calif.
Advertisers’ Index
1-800-Every Rim.............................................12
1-800-Radiator................................................29
ACDelco ..........................................................15
APW ..........................................................13, 34
Armstrong & Associates Insurance..................6
Automotive Service Councils of CA...............36
BMW of San Diego .........................................36
Bob Smith BMW.............................................16
Capital Wheels ................................................24
Chrysler LLC ...................................................31
Drew Hyundai..................................................18
Drew Volkswagen ...........................................18
Elite Worldwide ...............................................32
Energy Suspension.........................................12
Engine & Performance Warehouse Inc. .........11
Exedy Globalparts Corp. ..................................5
Ford Powertrain Dealers.................................33
Galpin Wholesale Parts Division ....................35
Glenn E. Thomas Dodge Co. .........................37
Identifix ..............................................................2
Jasper Engines & Transmissions......................8
Kia Motors America ........................................23
Lake Chevrolet ................................................21
LKQ Corp. .......................................................17
Mercedes-Benz of San Diego ........................27
Mercedes-Benz USA LLC ..............................40
Moss Bros. Chrysler Jeep Dodge ..................25
Mossy Nissan of National City .......................21
NAPA .................................................................4
Phoenix Systems ............................................14
PPG .................................................................19
Professional Courier Logistics, Inc.................22
Service Tech Tool & Equipment......................10
SoCal Mercedes Parts....................................16
Southbay Volkswagen ....................................16
SPX Service Solutions ......................................7
Subaru of America dealerships ......................26
Timmons of Long Beach Subaru ...................20
Timmons of Long Beach Volkswagen ...........20
Total Lubricants USA Inc. .................................9
VW Porsche Audi of Downtown LA ...............30
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Parts & People February 2012 Page 39