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Wilcox man is one man classic car factory

Kermit Wilke is an example of what happens when a hobby gets out of hand.

Growing up on a farm, Wilke always had old cars and machinery around to tinker with. When he was about 14, he says he started playing with the Model Ts still around his folks’ farm, taking them apart to see how they worked.

When he got older, he worked on bringing a few old cars back to life, but he considers his first real restoration project to be his 1920 Essex, which he did in about 1970.

“My thought was just to do the one, just to have,” Wilke said. “This was going to be my one and only.”

But restoring classic cars was something that got into Kermit’s blood, and one project led to another...and another...and another, until now, Kermit estimates he’s done ground-up restorations on about 20 different cars. And those are just part of his overall collection, which also includes cars in beautiful original condition as well as a long row of future projects in various states of disrepair.

A one-man factory

One of the most astounding things about Kermit Wilke’s classic car collection is that he does virtually all of the work himself. Over the years, he’s taught himself the ins and outs of auto mechanics, body work and upholstery and become highly accomplished at metal fabrication, woodwork, wiring, welding, painting and other skills.

If a car lacks a fender or a door, Wilke can and does fabricate a new one from scratch. If it needs a fabric top, Kermit can cut and sew one. If the interior’s shot, Kermit can upholster the seats, re-carpet the floor and replace the headliner. He rebuilds the engine on most of his projects and finishes them off with a professional paint job.

Is there anything you can’t do?

“Well, I can’t do the plating,” he says ruefully. “I have to send out for that.”

One section of his shop looks almost like a factory floor, filled with a variety of specialized machines he’s collected since he started.

“This is a bender,” he says, pointing to one. “This is how you make compound curves in a piece of metal.” Then he goes around the room, pointing out the others — the rotary metal shear, brake press, roller, sandblaster (“This is just for small parts,” he confides. “I’ve got a big one for doing chassis out in an old grain bin.”).

No two alike

The other thing that makes Kermit Wilke’s collection remarkable is the variety of projects he’s undertaken.

While he’s done many that fit the definition of a classic car according to the Classic Car Club of America — a “fine or distinctive” automobile produced between 1925 and 1948 — he’s also done many that don’t. Wilke has a number of pre-classic “horseless carriages” in his collection, including a 1912 Buick Model 35, a 1916 Maxwell and his 1920 Essex Model A.

The post-war era is also well represented with interesting examples such as the unique 1963 Studebaker Avanti, a 1955 Packard Patrician and a 1959 Edsel Ranger.

Kermit also has a few things in his collection that might be considered downright quirky, including the 3-wheeled, one-cylinder 1957 Messerschmidt, a unique German minicar with a canopy top that Wilke says gets 65 miles to the gallon. His Harley-Davidson Topper is an example of the only motor scooter Harley ever made. And his 1911 Metz two-cylinder is unique because it was originally a “plan” car.

“The Metz company would ship the car to buyers in 14 ‘installments’,” Wilke said. “Then you had to put it together yourself.”

Kermit’s current project is also a little quirky — it’s a small 3-wheeled British delivery van called a Reliant. Believe me, you’ve probably never seen another one like it.

The sales problem

After Wilke retired from farming and started to get serious about restoration, his accountant suggested it might be wise to approach his hobby as a business. So Kermit formed a limited liability partnership with his wife, and began documenting each of his projects, from pile of rusted parts to restored classic.

As a business, Wilke is obviously great at developing inventory and fabulous at creating demand. Where he falls down is sales — he just can’t bear to part with his product.

He did sell the 1924 Star Special Model F that he restored back to the family from whom he’d gotten the original “basket case” – but he had second thoughts about it, and probably wouldn’t if he had it to do over again. He occasionally does a little work for friends he’s met in the classic car business, but basically, he works on his own cars and he does it because he likes it.

Wilke frequently takes his cars to “meets” and “tours”, the former being mere gatherings and that latter being trips he takes with other classic car enthusiasts. For example, he took his Stanley Steamer to Estes Park, Colorado, home of the Stanley Hotel, built by the marque’s founder and was one of only three vehicles to make it to the top of Rocky Mountain National Park. In 1990, Wilke and his wife took a 4,400 mile trip across the country in their 1932 Franklin Airman Model 63A. Next summer, he’s thinking about taking his 1919 Buick Roadster Model H-44 on a jaunt through the California redwoods.

“I like to drive them,” he said. “That’s one of the benefits.”

Who To Contact...

You can see samples of Kermit’s cars on his Website at http://kermitcars.myfoolmoon.com/index.html.

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