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Restoring a 'Vette? He's got you covered
Crescent shop specializes in repairing hardtops on vintage Corvettes
Thursday, October 18, 2007
By David Guo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
No one could accuse Matt Kokolis of spreading himself too thin or of trying to run a one-size-fits-all operation.
The owner of Glassworks The Hardtop Shop has taken the opposite tack. His business flies under the radar on McGovern Boulevard [Route 51] in Crescent, in a workshop with no front-door sign, no two-fer coupons and, if the 70 beat-up hardtops out back are any measure, no shortage of customers.
Mr. Kokolis caters to a narrow band of clientele -- folks who want work done on vintage Corvettes.
And not just any work, mind you. Mr. Kokolis doesn't do engine rebuilds, flame-throwing exhausts or high-gloss chrome fenders.
Mr. Kokolis and his crew -- foreman Larry Haas, painter Craig Baranowsky and sales director Joe Chernay -- work on Corvette windshields and custom hardtops. Period.
Since incorporating in 1999, Mr. Kokolis figures he's done about 1,000 jobs. He tries to get through 10 a month, a pace that keeps the place filled with the distinctive brew consisting of fiberglass glue whiffs, enamel spray mist and Mr. Kokolis' specialty, the tap tap of stainless-steel molding being straightened.
Now 33, Mr. Kokolis got started when he was 13, helping his father work on Corvettes in the family garage in Moon. It didn't take long before he realized that there were plenty of Corvette enthusiasts out there to keep him busy.
Mr. Kokolis went to school and kept his day job for awhile before realizing that he had reached a crossroads.
"I was going to school and juggling everything, coming home to paint and all of the sudden it's 1 or 2 in the morning ... and it's up again to go to work," he said.
Mr. Kokolis' bread and butter are Corvette owners who want to use their removable hardtops after decades of neglect.
That's when the owner discovers that what came off in a snap in 1957 won't go back on that way.
"It's been 40 or 50 years and the rubber's all crusty," he explained. "All the old paint is spidered and chipped off. It's been sanded, polished, washed, sanded, washed and polished ... it is a mess.
"To change the rubber piece, the whole roof has to literally come apart, and the windows, the old-style acrylics, are not made like they are today."
Enter stage right, Mr. Kokolis and his crew, an entrance they perfected in Hollywood this summer.
Glassworks got the call just before the Fourth of July weekend, Mr. Kokolis said. It was an SOS from a producer of The Learning Channel's "American Hot Rod" show, which had run into problems getting the hardtop back on a 1959 Corvette.
"Well, the hardtop looked great, but we can't get it to go on," was how Mr. Kokolis recalled the message.
Three minutes is all it took, Mr. Kokolis said, for his crew to get the retainer into the molding and the molding into the top header. Or something like that.
Customers come from all over. Mr. Kokolis is just about finished with the Roman Red top redo ordered by Jaime Garcia Pelayo, which came to Glassworks via eBay and a town in Mexico whose name he cannot pronounce.
Jobs like this cost anywhere from $3,600 to $5,500, with shipping to a border port in Laredo, Texas, an extra $250 or so.
It may seem like a small fortune to spend on a car unless you're the one with the 'Vette in the garage and the memorabilia on the mantel.
"The really neat thing is meeting all these people and the stories they tell you," Mr. Kokolis said. "Good lord, they have pictures of their cars in their wallets; they kind of treat them like they're their kids.
"And if we bring these [cars] in," he said, "that's what we've got to do -- treat them like their kids."
First published on October 18, 2007 at 5:53 am
David Guo can be reached at dguo@post-gazette.com or 724-375-6815.
Crescent shop specializes in repairing hardtops on vintage Corvettes
Thursday, October 18, 2007
By David Guo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
No one could accuse Matt Kokolis of spreading himself too thin or of trying to run a one-size-fits-all operation.
The owner of Glassworks The Hardtop Shop has taken the opposite tack. His business flies under the radar on McGovern Boulevard [Route 51] in Crescent, in a workshop with no front-door sign, no two-fer coupons and, if the 70 beat-up hardtops out back are any measure, no shortage of customers.
Mr. Kokolis caters to a narrow band of clientele -- folks who want work done on vintage Corvettes.
And not just any work, mind you. Mr. Kokolis doesn't do engine rebuilds, flame-throwing exhausts or high-gloss chrome fenders.
Mr. Kokolis and his crew -- foreman Larry Haas, painter Craig Baranowsky and sales director Joe Chernay -- work on Corvette windshields and custom hardtops. Period.
Since incorporating in 1999, Mr. Kokolis figures he's done about 1,000 jobs. He tries to get through 10 a month, a pace that keeps the place filled with the distinctive brew consisting of fiberglass glue whiffs, enamel spray mist and Mr. Kokolis' specialty, the tap tap of stainless-steel molding being straightened.
Now 33, Mr. Kokolis got started when he was 13, helping his father work on Corvettes in the family garage in Moon. It didn't take long before he realized that there were plenty of Corvette enthusiasts out there to keep him busy.
Mr. Kokolis went to school and kept his day job for awhile before realizing that he had reached a crossroads.
"I was going to school and juggling everything, coming home to paint and all of the sudden it's 1 or 2 in the morning ... and it's up again to go to work," he said.
Mr. Kokolis' bread and butter are Corvette owners who want to use their removable hardtops after decades of neglect.
That's when the owner discovers that what came off in a snap in 1957 won't go back on that way.
"It's been 40 or 50 years and the rubber's all crusty," he explained. "All the old paint is spidered and chipped off. It's been sanded, polished, washed, sanded, washed and polished ... it is a mess.
"To change the rubber piece, the whole roof has to literally come apart, and the windows, the old-style acrylics, are not made like they are today."
Enter stage right, Mr. Kokolis and his crew, an entrance they perfected in Hollywood this summer.
Glassworks got the call just before the Fourth of July weekend, Mr. Kokolis said. It was an SOS from a producer of The Learning Channel's "American Hot Rod" show, which had run into problems getting the hardtop back on a 1959 Corvette.
"Well, the hardtop looked great, but we can't get it to go on," was how Mr. Kokolis recalled the message.
Three minutes is all it took, Mr. Kokolis said, for his crew to get the retainer into the molding and the molding into the top header. Or something like that.
Customers come from all over. Mr. Kokolis is just about finished with the Roman Red top redo ordered by Jaime Garcia Pelayo, which came to Glassworks via eBay and a town in Mexico whose name he cannot pronounce.
Jobs like this cost anywhere from $3,600 to $5,500, with shipping to a border port in Laredo, Texas, an extra $250 or so.
It may seem like a small fortune to spend on a car unless you're the one with the 'Vette in the garage and the memorabilia on the mantel.
"The really neat thing is meeting all these people and the stories they tell you," Mr. Kokolis said. "Good lord, they have pictures of their cars in their wallets; they kind of treat them like they're their kids.
"And if we bring these [cars] in," he said, "that's what we've got to do -- treat them like their kids."
First published on October 18, 2007 at 5:53 am
David Guo can be reached at dguo@post-gazette.com or 724-375-6815.
