Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Old bodies buffed and renewed



A 1954 Custom Delivery Chevrolet sedan stands in Moy’s
Body Shop.

The paint has the sheen and rich look of a piece of expensive
satin.

Chuck Moy and his son, Lance, are understandably proud
of their work.

The father-son team recently moved their collision and
custom auto body business to Waverly from Montrose, where it was known as
Chuck’s Auto Body for the past 19 years.

“We needed more space and this building fit our needs,”
said Chuck.

Chuck, who lives in Waverly, found the large building on
the south side of Highway 12 standing empty.

The building hadn’t been well maintained, so a group of
family and friends helped them refurbish it, Lance explained.

Although they purchased the building June 1, the business
was not ready to open until August.

Chuck began doing body work in the fall of 1968. He had
always liked that sort of thing, he said.

Lance started working with his dad about six years ago,
although he was using (or losing) his dad’s tools when he was only about
three years old.

In high school, Lance cleaned the shop for awhile and then
started working with his dad.

“I worked on my own cars with a lot of guidance,”
he said.

Lance went to school for aviation mechanics and worked
in the field for a year. He had also worked part-time for his dad, and he
decided he liked the body shop better..

Since the old building was becoming too small, they decided
a larger space was necessary.

“If we wanted to go for the new shop,” he said,
“I had to make the commitment.”

So the move was made, and the business is in full swing
with several antique cars lined up inside next to the regular vehicles that
need attention.

A 1984 Corvette, owned by Bruce Anderson of Belle Plain,
is in the works right now.

How do you restore the exterior of a car? First you take
it apart . . . piece by piece.

The body comes off the frame and all the rust spots are
repaired, Lance explained.

New metal is welded in, and sometimes the panels have to
be reshaped.

Then it is primed, sanded, painted, sanded, and buffed.
The new Devilbiss paint booth is required for this part. This paint booth
is environmentally controlled.

Lance said, “It is a cross air-flow booth with lights
behind explosion-proof glass. There is nothing in the booth to cause sparks.
All the switches are on the exterior.”

The intake filters take care of dust, and the exhaust filters
remove the paint particles before the air goes outside.

“I wear a disposable respirator,” said Lance,
although the exhaust system keeps the mist to a minimum.

Sometimes the owners of the vehicles take part in the restoration,
taking apart and putting together what they can. The Moys then do whatever
else the owners want done on the vehicle.

For instance, the delivery sedan body was installed on
a Corvette frame and has a 540 horsepower engine in it. The owners did that
themselves.

As far as the exterior work on this and all the other cars,
the Moys take obvious pride in what they do well.

Chuck and Lance are passing on their expertise in the repair
and restoration of motor vehicles. Nephew Tim Moy works after school for
them.

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