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Riverside Auto Body

Riverside Auto Body owner, Tim Steiner, remembers how he happened upon his 1969 Chevelle, “I was looking for a project car. I had sold a numbers matching 1969 GTO Judge to this gentleman in Armour, and I wanted to buy it back. Of course, he was smart enough not to sell it back to me, but he had this pretty solid Chevelle, so I jumped on it.” That was twelve years ago, and he’s been enjoying this project ever since. “At first I wanted to keep it as original as possible, but then I realized that I was going to be the one driving it, and enjoying it, so I wanted to make it my own. I swapped the engine for a 427 with aluminum heads this spring, and there have been times the power scares even me. It’s a whole different car.” Apart from being powerful, this ‘69 Chevelle is very easy on the eyes. Doing a complete frame off restoration, Steiner ensured the durability of the vehicle along with using quality products that make it eye catching to fellow drivers. Steiner used PPG powder coating on both the frame and suspension, and noticed how solid the car actually was. “I still had to weld a little metal into it, but it was pretty nice to start with.” This allowed Steiner to complete this restoration in eighteen months during his free time. He even had a little help with the project with his daughters joining him in the shop.

Steiner has had a long history of working with vehicles and with using PPG paints. Doing body work out of his home for many years part time, he jumped at the chance of being able to purchase Riverside Auto Body in 2009. “I used to bring items of projects here when I couldn’t do the work myself. I stopped in to pay a frame bill one Friday and the owner at the time offered to sell me the business, and I couldn’t turn him down.” August 1, 2015, is the sixth anniversary for Steiner to own the business, even though the location has been Riverside Auto Body for the past thirty years. “We offer a dedicated team of professional technicians with over 100 years combined auto body repair experience. We do a few restorations, along with the usual collision repair, glass repair and paintless dent repair.”

Riverside Auto Body is fully equipped with the latest in collision repair technology, including high-tech frame systems that align your vehicle to the original manufacturer specifications, environmentally friendly precision painting systems and the most modern in down-draft heat and bake paint booths. “I recently updated the second paint booth in our shop so we can meet customer needs faster, and that’s where Auto Body Specialties has always been great to work with. We use both water and solvent mixing banks to better fit vehicle requirements.” ABS has provided quality PPG paints to Riverside Auto Body even before Steiner had the opportunity to purchase it, and Steiner used PPG paints even when he worked out of his home. This relationship was something that Steiner didn’t want to change. “I had previously worked with Gordy and his team in Mitchell, but at Riverside Auto Body we work with the Sioux Falls location. Gordy was great. He met with myself and the representative I would be working with out of Sioux Falls to make the transition less stressful. ABS goes above and beyond to meet the needs of our shop and their product speaks for itself.

Knowing that the quality of products would be unprecedented from ABS, Steiner was confident in using PPG products on his Chevelle. “We used PPG from start to finish, and it turned out as I had imagined the end result would be.”

August 2015

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Riverside Auto Body

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