Steve Fernandes demonstrates airbrushing techniques with his nephew, Kristopher Fernandes, recently at his graphics shop in Lodi. The back end of this car has detailed paintings of rock superstars Janis Joplin, right, and Jimi Hendrix, left. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

Machine masters

For some locals, custom cars, bikes are a passion

One step into Steve Fernandes' body shop will take you back into musical history.

He has painted on the hood of a car an exquisite copy of the album cover to The Beatles' classic "Abbey Road." The four Beatles look identical to the actual group as they appeared on the 1970 album cover, but it has a twist — a lemon-yellow Volkswagen and hot rods are in the background.

In addition to "Abbey Road" on the hood, the car will also have detailed drawings of Ray Charles, Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.

Fernandes, 51, who has owned his paint shop in Lodi for half his life, has a specialty that is growing in popularity — customizing cars and motorcycles so the vehicle matches the personality of its owner. He's won "best of show" at the Easyrider show last month in Sacramento, been featured in automotive magazines and had a low rider with brilliant rainbow colors on display at the Detroit Institute of Art.

Fernandes is hardly the only person in the Lodi area who does this kind of work. There is too much demand to limit the business to him.

Customers' desires for vehicle decorations range from flames, skulls and dragons to women in skimpy clothing.

"I've always liked skulls," said Jeff Nickell, who owns a custom motorcycle shop on South Stockton Street. "It's a machismo thing, a manly thing, something that's not soft."

Nickell's dark-red bike has a red skull, a gun pointed at the driver and some cut-up fingers with dripping blood.

"I think it represents that you're not a pushover, but I'm not stuck up to be better than anyone else," Nickell said.

People who customize cars and motorcycles have a passion for their jobs. In fact, it's simply not a job to them. It's how they express their artistry and love for machines.

"It's something I've had a passion to do all my life," said Todd Meadows, 44, who owns a shop in Lodi's industrial area. "I've enjoyed muscle cars since I was a little kid."

Fernandes said when his father took a vacation, he painted a mural of a musical band rolling down a highway on his dad's new van.

Watch a slideshow of local customizers.

Dad didn't know about it, and he was angry when young Fernandes told him about it on the phone.

When Fernandes' father returned home from the trip, he found his van with a mural of a band rolling down the highway.

"He knew I was nuts," Fernandes said of his father. "He liked it."

Richard Stellmacher, who builds custom homes, has four trucks, two cars, two sport utility vehicles and two motorcycles. He has had Fernandes paint all of them.

His black 2003 Mercedes has a colorful dragon on his hood. The dragon's eyes sparkle with "gold flake" — right on the hood.

Nickell has a different specialty. He builds Harley Davidson motorcycles from scratch, a project that takes three or four months to build.

Jeff Nickell sits on one of his custom bikes recently at Nickell's Custom Bike Designs in Lodi. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

Nickell builds the frames, gas tanks, exhaust pipes and other parts. And these are no ordinary motorcycles. They cost $40,000 to $60,000, so he needs only five or 10 customers a year to remain in business.

Nickell recently built a motorcycle for Paul Pagay, who lives in Hawaii. Fernandes is painting the bike with two women and two waterfalls on it. The paint job alone will cost $4,000.

Meanwhile, Rick Valdez at Creative Images focuses more on older cars, like the 1939 Coast-to-Coast outside his garage door in Lodi's industrial area east of Highway 99. And down the street, Todd Meadows is putting together a 1967 Super Sport Chevrolet Chevelle convertible that a friend bought for $16,000 — and that was just the shell.

Meadows, who owns California Classic Auto Body and Paint, recently put a fresh coat of maroon paint on the Chevelle, but it still doesn't have any upholstery or locks. But once his friend, Stockton resident Chuck Spurlock, invests about $30,000 more, he will have a car that's worth about $125,000, Meadows said.

Todd Meadows, Owner of Californian Classic, explains the work he has to the engine section of his current car project last week. (Whitney Ramirez/News-Sentinel)

The Chevelle isn't the first classic car Spurlock has had restored. He's had several Corvettes and a couple of old Buicks brought back to life.

Spurlock recalls having an identical Chevelle when he was in high school in Riverside during the 1970s, but his father made him sell it.

"I kept getting tickets in that thing," he said.

Now Spurlock can afford the Chevelle he's coveted for years, and Meadows is in the process of making it look like new.

"There's guys like Todd who cater to guys like me," Spurlock said.

"I think a lot of people are getting into it because it brings back childhood memories, teenage memories," Meadows said. "If they find one thing they want, they will pay top dollar for it."

Down the street on Industrial Way, Valdez is restoring several older cars, including the 1939 Coast to Coast. His employees will rack up 500 to 800 hours before that car is done.

Customers can buy old cars by mail order, Valdez said. They can come completely done, or you can buy parts.

"A big model is basically what it is," Valdez said. "We usually get four to five custom jobs we're doing at a time."

Valdez recently completed restoring a 1933 Ford Roadster for Michael Anthony from the rock group Van Halen.

Nickell said it takes a person with a certain interest and talent to get into the custom bike business.

"I've always been into motorcycles, hot rods, dirt bikes," he said. "I've always been skilled enough to make things myself. When I was a kid, my dad was into hot rods. I learned to weld and fabricate metals."

Nickell recalls his first vehicle — a 1955 Chevrolet pick-up truck that he got at a junk yard when he was 14.

"I made it into a hot rod truck," he said.

Meadows and Valdez also do paint jobs for people who have been involved in auto accidents.

"I do a lot of insurance work," Meadows said. "That's the bread and butter. This (custom car) work is more of a hobby for me."

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.

First published: Wednesday, February 21, 2007