THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 22, 1995 TAG: 9501200212
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Close Up
SOURCE: Janelle LaBouve
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Michael Maddox spent nearly two decades restoring Corvettes at his Chesapeake body shop.
The secret to a successful restoration, Maddox said, is to know the car in great detail, to know what it looked like when it came off the assembly line.
``I learned by experience,'' he said.
The first step is to take the entire vehicle apart, piece by piece, and to label and inventory all the parts.
``Then you start from the bare frame up,'' Maddox said. ``As you rebuild the vehicle, you restore every part to like-new condition. All wear-related parts need to be replaced, but the non-wear parts have to be sandblasted or cleaned or refinished so they look like the original new parts.''
``I had a menu for my customers,'' he said. ``They marked what they wanted on the menu. What they wanted was what they got.''
It's a labor-intensive process.
Some took as much as 500 or 600 hours of labor to complete, he said. The shop rebuilt five or six Corvettes a year.
Full name: Michael E. Maddox
Grew up: In Norfolk
Fond childhood memories: ``Playing in the woods, fishing and crabbing in the Elizabeth River, watching Joe Weatherly working on his race car prior to his death.''
Spouse: Carolyn Maddox
Children: Mark, Megan, Brian, Danny and Melissa
Occupation: Body shop manager at Kline Chevrolet
Hobbies: ``Playing racquetball, working out at the YMCA, woodworking and working on cars.''
Last book read: `` `One-Minute Manager.' I'm in the process of reading `Think and Grow Rich.' ''
Favorite song: ``Time in a Bottle'' by the late Jim Croce
Favorite movie: ``Tombstone''
Can't resist: ``Chocolate and Carolyn''
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? ``I would lose 20 pounds.''
Greatest accomplishment: ``My family.''
Favorite TV program: ``I don't have one. Occasionally I watch TV, but only for a few minutes of relaxation. Then, I'm off to something else.''
Favorite Chesapeake restaurant: China Coast
Biggest problem facing Chesapeake: ``Growing pains.''
Favorite way to spend a day off: ``Just playing with the kids. I regress on the weekends.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
Michael Maddox says the secret to a successful restoration is to
know what the car looked like when it was new.
KEYWORDS: PROFILE by CNB