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What a wonderful event at the Philadelphia Art
Museum. We were honored to show the 1930 Duesenberg Hibbard & Darrin
Transformable Cabriolet we finished for the Gateway Colorado Auto Museum,
look at this beautiful and rare Lalique Victoire Car Mascot presented
by Alan Lewenthal on this rare vehicle !
August 4, 2005:
J.K.'S AUTO BODY and
KEEGAN'S KLASSIC RESTORATIONS
ANNOUNCE THE OPENING
OF MARQUIS AUTO
RESTORATIONS
James Klotz,
J.K.'s Auto Body and James Keegan, Keegan's Klassic Restorations
and their expert staff have
joined Marquis Auto Restorations and they are ready to assist you
with the
challenges
of restoring and repairing everything from your daily driver to the
finest antique and classic automobiles. Marquis Auto
Restorations is conveniently located in a modern industrial park, in Northeast
Philadelphia,
off of Red Lion Road. The facility has been equipped with
products that are of the highest quality
available in the refinishing industry
today. We are committed to extremely high standards of professionalism,
and cleanliness. Our thoroughness and attention to detail, along with our
staff's extensive knowledge
of antique and collectible vehicle restorations will
allow Marquis Auto Restorations
to provide the highest quality and most
authentic restoration services possible.
Recognized as
"The Exclusive Restorer for the Gateway Colorado Auto Museum",
which will be the
home of The Hendricks Collection and the recently acquired
one-of-a-kind 1954
Oldsmobile F-88 Concept Car designed by Harley Earl.
Marquis Auto
Restorations is currently preparing other classics such as a 1906 Cadillac Model
H Coupe, 1939 Packard "Hollywood" Darrin Series 180 Convertible, plus many
classics from the 40's, 50's,
as well as stunning muscle cars such as a 1970
Plymouth Hemi Cuda Coupe and 1967 Mustang GT500 Fastback.
From all of us
at Marquis Auto Restorations, we look forward to hearing from you and welcome
you to our new facility !
ABOUT OUR STAFF:
James R. Klotz, Shop
Manager:
James R. Klotz, prior to joining
Marquis Auto Restorations, was the owner of J.K.'S Auto Body. With more
than 30 years experience in the automobile repair and restoration business, Mr.
Klotz and his experienced staff, provided expert design consultation for the
building, so that the new facility is both a great working environment for
employees and a welcoming experience for our clients. We are very fortunate and proud
to have Mr. Klotz as Shop Manager. Mr. Klotz and his team looks forward to
exciting new projects.
James R. Keegan,
Restoration Manager:
James R. Keegan, prior to joining
Marquis Auto Restorations, was the owner of Keegan's Klassic Restorations. Prior to Keegan's Klassic, Mr. Keegan was with Richard Robinson Restorations. Mr. Keegan joins us as
Restoration Manager with more than 20 years experience providing Concours and
museum quality restorations. Mr. Keegan will be the liaison with each
client, and will ensure that their project is properly handled to their desired
level of detail. Now, with Mr. Keegan's expertise
in the restoration of fine classic vehicles,
we all look forward to future
Concours winning vehicles being restored under his watchful eyes.
September 22, 2005:
What’s Old
is New Again
By William Kenny, Times Staff Writer
Northeast Philadelphia businessman
Alan F. Lewenthal has about as much experience in the television industry as
Martha Stewart probably has in an auto body shop. Yet Lewenthal is fairly
confident, and perhaps rightly so, in a concept he’s developing for the boob
tube’s next great hit program. It’s mostly a cross between American
Chopper and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. And you might even
throw in a bit of Stewart’s Living, if for no other reason than both
entrepreneurs thoroughly enjoy life’s finer things.
In Lewenthal’s world, those things
include a 1906 Cadillac Model H, a 1914 Ford Model T, a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda
Hemi, a 1939 Packard Hollywood Darrin V-12 and a 1913 Pierce Arrow — all fully
restored to concourse show specifications. In effect, it’s like Lewenthal
has been producing his program every working day since May, only without the
cameras. That’s when he opened his classic auto restoration business in
Somerton. The Northeast may be overflowing with auto garages and body
shops, but Lewenthal’s Marquis Auto Restorations, at 10085 Sandmeyer Lane, is
clearly several cuts above.
Whereas motorists who take their
vehicles to most shops do so only under duress and with the humble objectives of
getting their cars merely functioning and street-legal, Lewenthal’s clients
bring their vehicles to him by choice. And when he’s through, the car
owner can expect to pay anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 — that’s on average.
Some jobs can cost several hundred thousand dollars and take a year or more to
complete.
The niche market is so rare that only a handful of shops of its caliber exist on
the East Coast. Yet, in the tri-state region alone, there are countless high-end
car collectors in need of his services, Lewenthal states confidently. To
them, money is little or no object. "Some people do this for the passion,"
Lewenthal said. "They want the finest vehicle for (a certain) era, and that’s
what we provide. It’s not about return on investment." By contrast, the
restoration shop is very much a for-profit venture. Lewenthal, a
41-year-old Wynnewood resident, got his feet wet in the industry as a collector.
After following his father into the family’s 30-year-old kitchen and bath
wholesale business, the father and son tandem began amassing their own
impressive roster of rare autos. They stored the show cars locally.
A couple of years ago, they placed a couple of them up for sale, prompting media
magnate and fellow collector John S. Hendricks to come calling. Colorado-based
Hendricks has founded a stable of popular cable-based television networks,
including Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet and Travel Channel. "John
Hendricks bought two cars from us. His business manager, she called me and asked
if I had any storage space," Lewenthal recalled. Lewenthal then developed
a rapport directly with Hendricks and began assisting him with other vehicle
acquisitions and restoration projects. Soon, they made their business
arrangement permanent. "John and I spoke and decided that if we were going
to keep working on cars, we were going to do it ourselves," Lewenthal said.
Plus, Hendricks had his own special project in the works. He was looking to open
his own museum, the Gateway Colorado Auto Museum. He hired Lewenthal as
the museum’s head of acquisitions.
In January 2005, Lewenthal was the museum’s agent at the heralded annual
Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction in Scottsdale, Ariz. He bid successfully on six
cars, including a one-of-a-kind 1954 Oldsmobile F-88 prototype sports car that
never made it into production. The gold-colored vehicle, which resembles
an early Corvette but is distinctly beautiful in its own right, sold for an
auction-record $3 million.
Meanwhile, with Hendricks’ backing, Lewenthal began putting his elite shop
together. He scouted for the most skilled restorers he could find in the area,
bought two existing shops and merged them, keeping the top craftsmen from each.
"I needed the best body man, the best paint man, the best engine and electrical
man," he said. So far, they’ve invested about a half-million dollars into
building a state-of-the-art shop. A computerized paint system designed by DuPont
cost $20,000 alone. Seven restorers make up the current staff, including
restoration manager Jim Keegan — the resident Corvette guru. The shop is the
lone official restorer for the Gateway Museum and contracts non-museum clients
as well.
The exposure generated by the record
auction purchase, along with a feature article about the shop in the current
issue of Philadelphia magazine, has kept public interest high. The shop
already has 15 outside projects lined up, in addition to the museum work.
The emphasis is on giving the client exactly what he or she wants. "Unlike
many restoration facilities, we’re in contact with all of our clients. We give
them choices along the way on how they want to do things," Lewenthal said.
It’s a process that he thinks would work great as the basis of a TV program. And
with Hendricks’ backing, it’s easy to see him getting a shot at it.
American Chopper, featuring the renown Orange County Chopper customization
shop, is a big hit for Discovery Channel, as is Jesse James’ Monster Garage,
in which the host leads teams in building hot rod cars. Even MTV has a
popular car-customizing show, Pimp My Ride. However, Lewenthal
noted, "Nobody out there right now has a show on authentically restored
vehicles." That might not be the case for too long. ••
For more information about Marquis Auto Restorations, visit
www.marquisautorestorations.com or call 215-969-2770.
Reporter William Kenny
can be reached at 215-354-3031 or
bkenny@phillynews.com
For More Information Contact:
Marquis Auto Restorations
10085 Sandmeyer Lane
Tel: 215-969-2770
FAX: 215-969-4033
Internet:
info@marquisautorestorations.com
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