68
HOTROD & RESTORATION
An Investment in Happiness:
Daryl and Laurie Chrispen and Dana Manier don’t
see hot rods, street rods or muscle cars as cars—
they see them as an investment. Customers are
treated with honesty and integrity and the team
strives to give the customer the “investment” they
have been dreaming of.
The Club
retailer/restorer
PROFILE
By Ashley Majeski
Photography by Yuda Chen
69
DECEMBER 2008
a hobby for most of their lives. However,
they found it difficult to find a reliable
shop that did what they said they were
going to do.
“We were tired of getting ripped off by
other shops, so we decided to start our
own,” said Daryl.
It took them about six months to get
the business up and running. The first
challenge was finding a building that
would fit the needs of a rod shop, with
enough office space for administrative
duties, as well as ample work space. For
the first year, part of the business space
was used to store vehicles for customers.
“The restoration side of the business
ended up taking off faster than the storage
side so we stopped that after one year,”
said Manier.
In the beginning, Manier and Daryl
were doing most of the restoration work
themselves, with only one employee to
help them on their earliest projects.
restorations, metal fabrication, paint and
body in-house (upholstery is the only
thing outsourced). However, its owners
view the business as much more than just
a rod shop.
“The 401K Club is called a club because
it is an environment for people who have
cars, want cars or have an enthusiasm
for cars,” said Manier. “We help people
build and drive their investments. We
believe that these investments are not just
monetary.”
The shop serves as a place for gearheads
to come and talk shop, view project cars
and discuss their current project with
other gearheads.
Getting Started
Daryl and Manier worked together as
real estate brokers and shared a passion
for cars. Each had a personal collection
of hot rods and had been building cars as
Insid