Leland Dahill finally has room for all of his cars.
Dahill is the owner of one of the oldest auto body shops in Scotts Valley, Leland’s Automotive — and after waiting 15 years for his neighbor to move out, he recently doubled the size of his shop.
“We’ve been here for 23 years, and with all the equipment we’ve been getting, we had to have a place to put it,” Dahill, 50, said. “You can’t just up and move a body shop.”
Instead of moving from his well-known address at 5274 Scotts Valley Drive and dealing with all the permits an auto shop needs, he knocked down the wall of longtime neighbor Valley Tiger Machine Shop, after its owner called it quits last year. The remodel doubled the size of the auto body shop to about 4,000 square feet.
Work is slow, but even so, he and son Ricky Dahill spent valuable time moving the various machines in and out of the shop to make room for cars they were working on. Now, they have space for each piece of equipment, which will save them time and energy.
“We can just work more efficiently now,” Leland said.
Father and son specialize in spicing up classic hotrods, but the tough economy has made them broaden their horizons.
“We’re really trying to get back into collision work, because the hotrod (business) is slow,” Leland said. “People just don’t have the money.”
However, Ricky still works on his 1963 Cadillac, and Leland has a 1938 Chevy parked in the garage, while a sparkling blue 1973 Corvette Stingray with a skull on the hood sits in the shop as an example of their handiwork.
They’ve completed award-winning hotrods and sponsor the annual Cops ’N’ Rodders show put on by the Scotts Valley Police Department, and they participate in other car shows in Santa Cruz and Capitola.
The father-son team enjoys working together, and Ricky, 23, is becoming as skilled as his father.
“He’s been hanging out here since he could walk,” Leland said. “We both really like it.”
Ricky said his relationship with his dad in the shop is good.
“We both pretty much do the same thing,” Ricky said. “I gotta ask him for pointers sometimes.”
Leland said the duo’s work is guaranteed, and he works with every insurance carrier if there is an accident.
“In this economy, customer satisfaction is really important,” he said. “We really try to do really good work, and we try to do a little extra.”
