Come work with me!

You interested in auto restoration? I need a mechanic.  

Vintage Underground in Eugene Oregon needs a restoration tech.  

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I'm looking for a good all round mechanic. These cars get a full tear down and rebuild. Can you bend and install brake lines? Set lash and depth and preload on a differential? Rebuild suspension? Rebuild motors or transmissions? I want to talk to you.

Interested in high end electric conversions? We are doing that too. 

Have CAD design/drafting skills? Let's chat. Can you fabricate? 

We specialize in classic Italian,  British and German European cars. Lots of Jags, Ferraris, , Porsches and Alfas at all times. The occasional classic American iron comes through as well as Japanese. Everything is welcome. From restoration to vintage race prep to wild v12 swaps. We are doing it.

It is a very laid back atmosphere.  We offer medical,  dental and vision insurance and are working on offering a 401k. Vacation and sick time included. 

We are also looking for skilled body and paint techs  and another upholstery tech.

Mods, if this isn't ok let me know or just delete. I just want cool GRM type gear heads to come work with me.

Would you be interested in someone who can do CAD remotely?

How about I just become the shop hanger arounder?  I can bring donuts in the morning and just hang with you guys and the cool cars.

In reply to Stampie :

Seems like a heck of a commute, but come on in!

Ooooo, this sounds really fun. I've always enjoyed glimpses of what you do.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

You're not allowed to leave your current position. JG, that goes for you as well. 

If you ever open a branch around Lake Minnetonka. I'm your man. 

I assure you, if this could be your bag, you want to be there. If it weren't for living very permanently 120 miles away I'd be trying to convince Trent to hire me.

You get to work with Trent, and the stuff that goes through that shop is a nonstop cavalcade of awesomeness. Every time I manage a visit I come away inspired.

This does sound like an awesome opportunity.  I hope it goes to someone here, but I'm 2000 miles away and not sufficiently talented.  

Curious about the work environment and the schedule/hours in a shop like this.

(Definitely not for myself... I lack the requisite talent despite being awestruck by that kind of skills) but just in general and for others.

I've just seen too many restoration shop TV shows with one impossible deadline after another and a toxic "work all night every night" schedule seeming to be normalized. The TV guys seem to live a horrible existence even if the cars are awesome. 

In reply to OHSCrifle :

That isn't real. It is a construct for entertainment purposes. No shop can pay that much overtime, especially at the end of a project when money is tightest.  My shop is quiet (except for the noise of metal shaping). There is zero drama. It is a place for craftsmen to do their best quality work in a relaxed, professional atmosphere. 

We work monday through friday. Some of my guys start early (like 5 AM) due to child care complications. Some start closer to 10 and stay later. I don't care when they work, as long as they are able to bill out their 40 hours a week. 

No one needs their classic E type ready by the morning to take their kids to school. That isn't a thing. We don't do auction cars so we don't have to rush to slam them together the night before. 

We only work on customers cars. Cars can be in the shop for up to two years depending on what they want/need.

I will admit that just before Monterey car week I can have a few long nights. That is only when an owner is really excited and can't wait to show off their stuff and we are close enough we think we can do it. I do not expect my guys to do the same.

Visitors can get kinda freaked out by how quiet this shop is. No radios blaring, We bought the quietest scroll compressor we could get. Most of the techs wear headphones. They are conscientious enough to tell everyone if they are about to use an air hammer if they would like to don hearing protection. 

It is a very good place to work

Oddly enough it is flat rate techs who have the most difficult time transitioning. They are so used to the fast paced turn and burn that the thought of having a single car in their bay for months at a time just doesn't sit well. 

We've had the same problem with flat rate techs. They're about the turnaround, where we used to emphasize doing it right even if it takes a bit longer. Some people can't adjust, some love it. 

I'd be interested if you would like to move your company to Ohio..........

In reply to Trent :

Thank you. Sounds like an amazing opportunity. 

This is actually exactly what I did (but with American lead sleds) for years in L.A.  (the fab and rebuild stuff, not the paint and body.... me and body work are like the devil and holy water.)

Tempting.  Not sure I'm at a point in my life when I can move to Eugene, but we should talk.  What's your timeline?

I'm 100% in, I can wrench on old and new stuff, weld, CAD, FAB.  When are you moving the shop to west michigan?

You'd also be getting Curtis' encyclopedic knowledge.

If I were 20 years younger I would re-locate across the whole country for any job in Trent's shop. It is very tempting even now, but I was born in 1952.....

I long to move back to the PNW and Eugene is a cool city. This is a dream job for me. Too bad a custody battle with my children is witholding me from doing diddly squat at the moment. Good luck with finding a great tech!

In reply to Trent :

If only this was 20 years ago.

Who is good at convincing wives and children they want to move to another planet?  I'm in Alabama and Oregon may as well be.

Justjim75 said:

Who is good at convincing wives and children they want to move to another planet?  I'm in Alabama and Oregon may as well be.

Quite similar actually.

1) Both have lots of trees

2) Both have coastline

3) Both have populations around the 4 Million mark

4) Both have large swaths of nothingness

5) Both have National Forests 

6) Both have only two major highway arteries 

7) Alabama has a better defense, manufacturing, and shipping industry 

8) Oregon has better weather, better forests, better mountains, better hiking, better coastline, and a better tech industry (I.e. Silicon Forest). 

9) Barber is a better track than PIR. 

10) Alabama has Talledega and a bunch of SEC and National Championships. Oregon has 0 like their logo implies. 

DirtyBird222 said:

10) Alabama has Talledega and a bunch of SEC and National Championships. Oregon has 0 like their logo implies. 

That was a very well executed shot at Oregon. Nicely done.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

A rare photo of Bear Byrant and the Oregon duck circa 1952, colorized. 

Is the Taqueria next door any good?

I'm in the wrong trade and country but I have spent some time in Eugene with work and could definitely live there. I hope you find the right person!