Taking auto lessons from a living legend
By Mo Cranker on April 30, 2018.
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com @MHNmocranker A group of local automotive customizers got lessons from a legend in the business this weekend, as Gene Winfield is spending three days in the Hat working on a 1950s Buick. “We’re calling this a chop party,” said Jim Sodero, who owns a private garage on Kingsway Ave. “We’ve called in Gene Winfield in, who is a world-famous car builder from California. “He travels around the world chopping cars, and he is well known in the movie industry.” Winfield spent the weekend bringing the roof down on a classic Buick, teaching a group mostly made up of Cypress Rod and Custom Car Club members. “We heard Winfield did these classes, so we wanted to bring him in,” said Sodero. “This weekend we’re bringing the roof down, and we might do some other things as well. “We might work on the belt line, we might work on the trunk — we’re just waiting to see how far we can get in three days.” The group took the roof completely off of the 1953 Buick Roadmaster took four inches off of it, then placed in back on the car. Sodero says working on cars is something a lot of people love to do. “This is a hobby for a lot of people,” he said. “All these guys here are car guys. “You can play around with cars a lot, and really customize them. This weekend we’re learning a lot of new ways to make those adjustments to your car — it’s a lot of fun for us.” The car that’s being worked on this weekend is part of a 10-year plan, says Sodero, with the finished product being donated to charity in about a decade. 12
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