Wilson Classic Car Restoration and Repair
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Wilson Classic Car Restoration and Repair
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Family History My
father, Bill Wilson, was born in 1906, and he grew up during the very
beginning of the automotive industry. Working as a mechanic from
age twelve, he was the sole support of his family during the depression of
the 1920's. Recognized for his skill as a mechanic, he opened his
own garage, Wilson Auto Service, during the 1940's. He took on the
Packard and Wyllies dealership until Packard went out of business in the
1950's. Then, he finished his career as the service manager for a
local garage. Wilson
Classic Car has grown out of this rich legacy. As a young man, I would stop on my way home from
kindergarten to watch the mechanics in my dad's
garage. At age twelve, I began building go-carts out of old bed
frames and lawn mower engines. My pals and I made our own steering
mechanisms using pulleys, cables and old car steering wheels. We
used tires from old coaster wagons, dolly's and whatever else we could
find. We built our own clutches and brake mechanism. We would race these contraptions down the
streets of Burlington, seeing who could go the fastest. Of course
the police did not appreciate this practice and warned us to stop many
times. Once our go-carts ended up in jail over night. After
we could no longer drive in the city, we started driving in the country.
Our favorite drive was to Lyons and Lake Geneva. The
next step was building mini-bikes. Again we started with lawn
mower engines, bed frames and used whatever other materials we
could find. We mounted the engines in various places, but the best
spot turned out to be on a platform off to the side using a third drive
wheel. The nice part about this was that we could shut the engine
off, raise the wheel with a lever and drive the bicycle in the city
normally, then when we wanted engine power, we could just lower the
wheel, the engine would start, and away we’d go. My
father gave me my first car, a 1953 Packard, just before I turned
sixteen. He said I could have the car if I repaired the blown head
gasket. At age sixteen, changing the head gasket in a straight
eight turned out to be quite the project. That was my first car, a
little rusty and four doors, but I loved that it. When
I was sixteen, I had a 250 cc Yamaha motorcycle. When I
was 17, I bought a 1948 pan head 74 Harley Davidson for 50 dollars.
I had some great experiences on that cycle. Straight pipes, saddle
bags, kick start, suicide clutch, side shifting, saddle seat; it was
quite the bike. In high school, I took every shop class offered
and completed several hot rod projects. After
high school, I spent a year in college and then ended up in the
Army and eventually, Viet Nam. When I came back, it was time for
marriage and a real job. I
began working as a technician for National Cash Register (NCR) repairing
business equipment. I worked there ten years and then began my own
business in East Troy, Wisconsin. It was a great place to raise my
five children. To shorten a long story, I went back to college and
graduated from the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater in 1994. I began teaching
students with learning disabilities at Burlington High School where I
have been teaching for the past ten years. That
brings me to this last summer of 2004; my wife Deb and I, purchased the
building across from Dad’s old garage.
Wilson Classic Car became a reality. I know it will not
always be easy, but I am very excited about the future and proud to have
the Wilson name back in the car business
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email: wilsonclassiccar@hotmail.com Map/Location: Wilson Classic Car
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