There were 63 club members participating with 36 cars from the 3 clubs!
We enjoyed a swift leisurely direct caravan route so that we had time to have a presentation and tour of Manns Restoration by the 4th Generation owner Jason Manns accompanied by several Manns team members including a surprise visit by Mike Manns.
Manns Restoration is capable of many different restoration or repairs as needed by our groups. The full restorations are their specialty but all forms of our hobby can be accommodated. The group saw restorations in process, including:
- CLASSICS – Auburn Boattail, Bentley, Cadillac V-16, Columbia Electric, Cord, Delage, Duesenberg, Jaguar, Packard’s, SS Cars, Stutz;
- ANTIQUE – Amphicar, Buick race car, Chevrolet, Norton motorcycle with Swallow sidecar;
- CUSTOM – Spohn;
- MUSCLE CARS – Camaro, Corvette, Mustang; and
- SPORTS CARS – Alfa Romeo, Allard, Jaguar XK120 LT3 Works Lightweight race car, E Type all in process of restoration.
- Recent REPAIRS – Mercer fender, Jaguar E Type conservation of original car still owned by original purchaser, and others……………
The Tour included visiting each of their 4 buildings! Their staff consists of 25 dedicated team members that work in all aspects of the restoration process. We started in the Assembly Building that also includes finishing mechanical work. From there we went to the Body Shop highlighting their preparation area as well as the paint booth. Next was the Disassembly and Heavy Mechanical Building that also houses their offices up front, their lunchroom and Research computers where they solve some incredible challenges. Finally, we ended up in the Interior Building with several cars in process. All facilities were impeccably clean and well prepared for our Tour and in this weather it was nice that they are air conditioned.
The Award Winning work has earned Manns Restoration many honors and respect across the USA and world. We are lucky to have them in our back yard!
At about 12:20 the group headed to lunch at Syberg’s - Arnold. They had a crescent shaped private room set-up for us where we ordered off the menu with quick service and good food. Jason joined us and was able to answer any questions that came up. By 2:30 we were on our way back to St. Louis.
Thank you to Manns Restoration for hosting us and to those that participated in this opportunity to see the Manns Restoration operations.
Submitted by your hosts: Jim & Lisa Hendrix - JAGSL, Mark & Glenda Linder - AACA and Todd Tobiasz - CCCA
