Last Chance Garage in Unionville, PA

[trulyvintage]

When was the last time you heard of a full service garage that handles
everything from wood body and metal restoration work along with
complete mechanical services done ' old school ' style by real mechanics ...


Model A and Model T and all early Fords ....


Turn back the clock and enter a bygone era


Meet a 93 year old enthusiastic car lover and hear him recount
his memories dating back to 1935 with the car he still owns and drives


" She had been backed into the garage while I was at church
on Christmas Eve of 1935.

Her odometer read 00007 miles when I opened her door and
met that wonderful smell of a new car.

How could Dad have given me such a beautiful Christmas present?

I didn’t even have a driver’s license and wouldn’t until I turned
sixteen two weeks later. "



Daybreak at the Vince Lombardi Service Plaza in New Jersey.
I had arrived late the night before and fueled after picking up in rural Connecticut.
I don't like driving at night, but crossing the GW Bridge on I-95 is best done when
most drivers have retired for the day.
Dropping a 1969 Chevelle SS at the Jersey Port, I slowly made my way towards Unionville, Pennsylvania.



" Dad had already given me new Indian Sport Scout last spring
to drive around the place” and it now had 4100 miles on it,
so he knew it was doing a good deal more than just driving around the place.

Now I must really behave myself with this beautiful Oldsmobile F-36 touring coupe
(two door sedan with trunk), black with two red pinstripes that extended
along the body bead from the headlights to the trailing end of the rear windows.

I lifted the hood and found the engine was just like the F-36
four door touring sedan that served as a family car since October. "



Waiting for me there was a 1931 Model A Roadster destined for California.
I was ahead of schedule so I called Lou at The Last Chance Garage to see
if I could pick up that afternoon.
I made my way thru the twisting Pennsylvania late afternoon countryside.


" My birthday, January 8th, fell on a Sunday so I had to wait another
whole day to go to the Motor Vehicle Department to apply for my Driver’s license.

Cap Walsh was going to drive me there after school, but instead,
he met me before school and handed me my driver’s license - - just like that.

No trip to the Department, No test, there it was.

I later found out that Cap and the Secretary of State of Delaware
were both 32nd degree masons, so voi la, - - a driver’s license. "



I saw the 31' from the road, it was tucked back on Cemetery Lane.
Following Lou's advice, I parked at the Fire Station and walked over.
Lou was at the door to his garage.
I had no idea what awaited me inside.


" 1953 transferred me back to the home office In Wilmington, DE.

F-36 continued as a go-to-work car, but living only two miles from the office,
I rode the bus or walked on most workdays.

She was an ideal car to leave at the airport, being almost immune to theft,
but she was not appropriate for picking up customers or driving with a boss.

Alas, in 1956 she was put in the back of the garage and replaced by
a 1956 Volkswagen Convertible.

Six years later she was reactivated by my daughter and later continued
as a fun car until her 1969 registration ran out.

By then my job got such that there wasn’t any time to do maintenance
needed to pass state inspection and my enthusiasm flagged.

I drove her illegally (unregistered vehicle) to 1997 “One Hundred Years of Oldsmobile”
at Hagley Museum.

After that, she just sat in the garage with 155195 miles on her odometer.

A borrowed battery allowed her to go around the farm once in a while,
but there was no fire in my belly to fix her up ... "


Lou drove the 31' with me as passenger across the road to the back of the trailer.
He was going to be around for awhile longer so I headed back after loading up to visit.



" Eleven years later, An amazing thing happened.

I took my 1918 Cadillac to the Last Chance Garage to have the clutch
worked on and one thing lead to another.

In June of 2008 the garage proprietor, Lou Mandich, was making
the F-36 Oldsmobile touring Coupe into a roadworthy vehicle.

Brakes, shock absorbers, fuel pump, exhaust system and a
hopeless spring shackle mount were all good as new.

Four new tires replaced the flat-spotty nylons of fifty years ago.

Even her amateurishly touched up original finish was polished
to give an actual shine in some places.

It took a day and seventy miles of driving to visit all the locations
that the Delaware Department of Motor Vehicles could dream up
to assure themselves that I had a clear title to the car
I have owned since it was new.

I even had to go to a detective’s office to have his signature
verifying the VIN which anybody could see on the frame
beside the steering box.

By the end of the day the F-36 was insured and registered
with a proper license plate.

Now at age 88 I get more of a thrill out driving that car
than I got on Christmas Eve, 1935.

Back then, it made me feel older.

Today, it makes me feel younger!


Ir'en'ee du Pont, Jr "


How many folks do you know that have owned the same car since 1935 ?

How many of those are still driving that very car today ?

I had never heard of Lou or The Last Chance Garage.


I had never heard of Ir'en'ee du Pont, Jr.

The passages above recount one mans' love of his 1936 Oldsmobile
from Christmas Eve 1935 until 2008 (when his story was put to paper).


Today, at 93 Ir'en'ee still visits Lou.


Two of his cars were at The Last Chance Garage on this day.

One was that very same 1936 Oldsmobile.

If you live in the area, you owe it to yourself to visit Lou.

Housed in a building dating back to the 1800's is The Last Chance Garage.

Lou is a retired teacher of English.

Lou is a lover of old cars.

Last Chance Garage
13 Cemetery Lane
Unionville, PA 19375

Phone: (610) 347-2394

I hope you enjoy the pictures of The Last Chance Garage !


Freighter Jim

[trulyvintage]

More pictures .....

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by trulyvintage

When was the last time you heard of a full service garage that handles everything from wood body and metal restoration work along with complete mechanical services done ' old school ' style by real mechanics ...


Model A and Model T and all early Fords ....

Ummm Jim, I'm not sure if that is a rhetorical question or not, but actually, there are quite a few shops out there (including mine) that offer all those very services in-house. Maybe it is the terms 'old school' or "real mechanics" where I am missing your point? For me personally, I have difficulty in associating the term 'old school' with the words 'craftsmanship' or 'quality' ...but maybe it is just me.

I did enjoy looking at your pictures though (even if there weren't any pictures of T's, A's, -or early V8's in there! ), so thanks for sharing!

.

[Mike]

I agree with Brent, and the place is a mess. Not very professional to me

Mike

[1931 flamingo]

That is what is so neat about it, that is reality of what shops were like, NOT pristine, eat off the floor garages of today (no offense to anyone who has one). It's like stepping back in time. JMO
Paul in CT

[trulyvintage]

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Thank you Paul ...






Here is a shot out the second floor window into the back yard where
Lou had pulled an early private Cadillac Limo out to make room for
a day ....

Lou works on Model T and Model A and early Ford cars ....

As in all garages, what is in the bay at any given time does
not necessarily reflect what the shop might have worked on
last week or will be working on next week ....

Regarding the scarcity of old school mechanics ?

I travel all lower 48 states, this is the first full service garage
specializing in all phases of classic car restoration and repair
done in the old school style by guys my age (50's) and older
who work on daily drivers every single day .....


I enjoyed my visit with Lou ...

I appreciate knowing that a 93 year old gentleman still
finds excitement and passion for a car he received on
his birthday back in 1935 - and that he still drives it around





Jim

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by 1931 flamingo

That is what is so neat about it, that is reality of what shops were like, NOT pristine, eat off the floor garages of today (no offense to anyone who has one). It's like stepping back in time. JMO
Paul in CT

Yeah but Paul, is that what people really want? Personally if I was a shop owner (back then or now), I would be embarrassed if I owned a shop that looked like that inside!! Maybe the guy don't care?? I am the first to admit that my shop is sometimes found to be messy when we are under a time deadline but that shop did not get that way in a week or two of work.

To me, those type shops are generally associated with 'patch it up and send it out the door' type work. JMO, but to me a Craftsman can be a Mechanic, --but not all Mechanics can ever be a Craftsman.

[juke joint johnny]

Great story Jim Thanks for posting

John Cochran

[QGolden]

Cool Pictures Jim, thx for posting.

Brings me back to my childhood. My Grandfather kept the only repair station in a very small one horse town. It was a converted Sawmill from a bygone era and looked very much like the photos you posted. What one would consider "memorabilia" today were his tools of the trade.

I remember the stacks of tune up parts on high shelves, the multi-battery rack with about 20 red and black charging leads on it to keep batteries that were for sale charged. Belts hanging on hooks and the 8 foot pole with the nail on the end to take them down. The water can that sat, always full, between the pumps, that had a single post with two bulbs to illuminate them. The oil jar rack outside by the front door. He kept it out in the sun so the oil, being warmed, would "pour faster and it all would come out so the customer got all he paid for". I can remember the smell of the oil drain rack that held the empty oil bottles, always setting upside down and draining into.

I can picture him explaining to a customer that even though he sold "Silver Seal" to stop a radiator leak, he did not recommend it, as it could clog the heater core, and he should really should pull the radiator and re-core it, but if money were an issue, he could "pinch off and solder up" a tube or two and the customer would probably be OK for this year.

I can still hear the ring of the old cash register while my Grandmother "rang up a sale" and can still hear the metallic clunk of the "cash draw" being closed. And I can still feel the chill of reaching my hand down into the ice cold water of the Coke Cooler to pull out a "Wink" or a "Mountain Dew" as payment for cleaning out the oil rack, or floor drain or some other horrendously dirty job, that I did with great enthusiastic energy because my Grandfather always had some local kid working there, mostly in exchange for lift time to work on his rod or car at night and on Sundays. There was a small apartment attached to the Garage, so sometimes these "employees" were also temporary boarders, working for their rent I suppose. As a young teenager I got to hang out with the "Big Kids" who were driving...life was good.

Huh?Oh.... OK, I'm back now thanks for jogging my memory on this Saturday Morning. Hmm, 45 years ago, at this moment in time I was probably walking across the street to the Garage to get my list of chores for the day. It is warming up so we will probably put the Windshield Washing Supplies out beside the pumps, and move the Windshield Wiper Rack out too. Hmm, Look at that the new Delco Shock Absorber test stand and demonstrator came in yesterday, bet I get to assemble that and put it out in front today......

[jkeesey]

Hah Mike I had a feeling you'd weigh in on this. The man who founded my shop was the first real mechanic at Lous. The benefit of Lou is he doesn't work on the cars so he can sit and shoot the shit all day while his guys tinker away.

P.s. my shop is the same, as well as Mike Etlings.

[1931 flamingo]

Brent and others: This shop is reality and a step back in time, to the 40's and 50's when this type of shop was the norm. When is he last time you saw a 2 post lift?? How about a pit??
This is what it was like, not boyd coddington's or west coast customs, that's for sure. He probab;y still has a coke machine with price of a dime on it. Also, the knowledge found in a shop like this can't be duplicated. AND the stories. Again JMO and you have yours.. END
Paul in CT

[jkeesey]

Paul, the lifts in my shop were installed in the 1950s. My shop started life in 1922 as a buick dealership. We have all the same without the clutter.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by trulyvintage

I travel all lower 48 states, this is the first full service garage
specializing in all phases of classic car restoration and repair
done in the old school style by guys my age (50's) and older
who work on daily drivers every single day .....

Jim, while I understand you travel alot in your line of work, however I also think you have not had the opportunity to visit a full service restoration shop. Otherwise I think you would find that Lou's shop is not really the first, --nor considered a full-service restoration shop or garage based on the pictures I am seeing.

Using my shop as an example, we do sheetmetal fabrication using all kinds of specialty tools and machinery (P-5 Pullmax, Pneumatic Planishing Hammer, English Wheel, brakes, shears, punches, welders, etc.). We also do paintwork in our bodyshop equipped with a spray booth and specialty fixtures & rotisseries that allow us to consistantly perform quality work. In the mechanical area of my shop, you will find nearly all the specialty machines necessary to correctly perform all facits of engine rebuilding (Cleaning, Boring, Honing, Decking, Valves, Bearings, etc.), and we use our Southbend lathe & Bridgeport mill to "rebuild/restore" all the mechanical areas of the customer's vehicle. We also have brake lathes, wheel straighteners, presses, alignment machines, etc. that allow us to truly be full-service with the work we offer. The same applies for us doing upholstery and coach work (woodwork) in-house.

And all my employees with the exception of two are over the age of 50 too. I say all of this not to bring attention to me but to make the point that I am just one of many shops out there that all have these capabilties. I do think it is unfortunate your have not had the opportunity to experience other shops like this and maybe one day you will get to.

.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by 1931 flamingo

Brent and others: This shop is reality and a step back in time, to the 40's and 50's when this type of shop was the norm. When is he last time you saw a 2 post lift?? How about a pit??
This is what it was like, not boyd coddington's or west coast customs, that's for sure. He probab;y still has a coke machine with price of a dime on it. Also, the knowledge found in a shop like this can't be duplicated. AND the stories. Again JMO and you have yours.. END
Paul in CT

Oh I think it can, ...and probably be surpassed. As I stated above, it takes much more knowledge and ability to be a craftsman!!

As for mentioning a two post (in ground) lift, I have indeed seen them and even used them. The same for a pit. I have crawled in & out of one many times doing alignments. There is a reason why I, --and many other shops no longer have them!!

While I cannot speak for WCC, I did know Boyd personally and I was at his shop several times when it was behind his house in Anaheim. I can tell you assuredly that what you saw on TV is NOT what actually went on in that shop as a normal course of business!! The reason any shop ( or business) grows is because it caters to the needs & wishes of their customers. While Lou's shop may be exactly what his client is seeking, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't work for me.

[zzlegend]

I always liked hearing about old mechanics like Lou. Great story Jim. Sorry that another is trying to steal your thunder.

[jkeesey]

Lou is not a mechanic. I sell him parts when "he doesn't feel like ordering them" (his own words). Lou is a great guy and knows what different cars are but he is not a mechanic.

[zzlegend]

What ever you want to call him is good. Just not to many people left like this any more. Still a good story.

[jkeesey]

He has had several different newspaper articles about him. He is a great guy, and a friend.

[zzlegend]

Originally Posted by jkeesey

He has had several different newspaper articles about him. He is a great guy, and a friend.

Good to have friends like that. Good luck to both of you.

[Rock Hornbuckle]

Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C

Oh I think it can, ...and probably be surpassed. As I stated above, it takes much more knowledge and ability to be a craftsman!!

As for mentioning a two post (in ground) lift, I have indeed seen them and even used them. The same for a pit. I have crawled in & out of one many times doing alignments. There is a reason why I, --and many other shops no longer have them!!

While I cannot speak for WCC, I did know Boyd personally and I was at his shop several times when it was behind his house in Anaheim. I can tell you assuredly that what you saw on TV is NOT what actually went on in that shop as a normal course of business!! The reason any shop ( or business) grows is because it caters to the needs & wishes of their customers. While Lou's shop may be exactly what his client is seeking, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't work for me.

If and when I find myself in 10-uh-C, I would love to see your shop. I'm always up for learning something more about the restoration of vintage autos.