Ron was born in 1942 in Des Plaines, IL. When he was 11, his step dad asked him to work at his Shell gas station and that started Ron’s introduction into cars. He always has a talent to fix anything. So he used his skills and became an ace mechanic.

He married his high school sweetheart in 1962. They had two children, Gary & Karen.

BIOGRAPHY

Ron’s first Pontiac was a 1957 Pontiac Blue Chieftain. Of course it was “Panzerized” under the hood—a Tri-power ! He also owned a 1962 Catalina – 3 speed manual trans. But the gem in his car ownership history was a 1965 2 + 2 HO Tri-power 4 on the floor… Of course he raced it at local dragstrips. The car had bucket seats but no console, so our son Gary would sit between these seats and shift while Ron was using the clutch. Ron had a beautiful 1965 Bonneville and a 1962 Catalina (restored & a Tri-Power of course) which he and his family trailered to the Florida convention. The Bonneville pulled the Catalina.

Every car he owned was unique and always “Panzerized”. He loved to build Tri-Powers and he was outstanding at that..!

Ron worked for the POCI’s magazine called Smoke Signals for a while. He loved to write and could write stories about cars and explain how to repair engines. He worked at that service station repairing cars until 2004 when he retired. His repair shop at home had several hoists so he could work on the older cars brought to him by young and older customers. His passion was for the 50’s & 60’s everyday runners and show cars. He had an assortment of parts cars which supplied parts no longer available.

Ron also had a passion for Lionel trains and had several layouts in his basement. He also had a large collection of model cars displayed in one of his rooms in his shops.

Unfortunately he passed away in 2014 at the age of 71.

ADDITIONAL MEDIA