Christmas came early for the crew at Sigg Tire and Repair in Iola.
The group of seven mechanics have been gifted a trip to the world-famous SEMA automotive trade show in Las Vegas. The gift serves as a “thank you” from local artists Max and Candice Grundy. The crew helped work on a vehicle the couple plans on showing at the event.
The annual show is organized by the Specialty Equipment Market Association, the trade organization representing the $44.6 billion automotive aftermarket industry. This year, it is being held Nov. 5-8 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
“We like to work with people locally when we can,” said Max. “I think it’s fun and the way it should be.”
The Grundys have designed a car for the show every year since 2013. They work on it as a couple, much like the rest of their projects, whether it be murals or paintings. Each year’s car is modified in the style of the 1950s, but with the Grundys’ own flare added to it. “I used to do the artwork for the SEMA event when I lived in California,” said Max. “I started doing that in 2013 and did it for three years. They took my artwork and put it on the side of buildings. It was overwhelming.”
The pair discovered that their style of building cars was very similar to their style of artwork, an aesthetic similar to artists like Virgil Exner or Charles and Ray Eames. “We just like to design a lot of things,” he said. “It hadn’t occurred to us that this was a part of our brand, to customize a classic car each year.”
The pair works with several craftsmen each year to complete the project. “I’ve kind of done the USA tour on this one,” Max joked. But it’s true. He first flew to Oregon where he worked with a metal fabricator for a week building a pair of aluminum wings. You read that right — wings. This year’s vehicle is a classic cabover truck, complete with an impressive set of wings.
“It’s an unusual build,” Max admitted. “I feel like I was designing a car that would be what a superhero would drive.” The truck gives a retro, yet futuristic, Buck Rogers meets Captain America vibe. “We just want to make things as good as they can be,” he added. “We want to design icons. Whatever thing we are currently working on, we’re always thinking of ways to make it iconic. This thing just so happened to be a truck with wings. It’s crazy, and it’s a complete engineering nightmare to figure out.”
This is the couple’s fifth cabover truck. “It’s kind of a stubby truck or primitive semi-truck,” Max said. He added that generations ago, cabover trucks were used to haul logs or function as a utilitarian work truck.
“The reason these types of trucks are shaped the way they are, with the cab over the engine, is because there were certain length restrictions when you were driving around town,” explained Candice. “They had to make a truck that was powerful enough to tow and deliver goods, but short enough they could navigate the roads.”
Max worked alongside renowned artist and metal fabricator Randy Grubb creating the wings. “He has built cars for Jay Leno in Los Angeles,” Max added. The completed wings are eight feet in length. “It’s outrageous,” he laughed.
From Oregon, Max then traveled to Nashville, Tenn., where the truck was painted. He also employed the help of a builder in Missouri. Additionally, Heigele’s Repair Shop of Iola has completed the upholstery on the truck.
“I talked with Chase and Mason (brothers and owners of Sigg Tire & Repair) and told them I’d love to work on this project with them,” said Max. He noted the quality produced by the Siggs. “They’re so helpful and have fair prices,” he said. “I told them if they did some work on it, in trade I would get them hotel accommodations and passes to come check out the show. Most of those guys haven’t been to Las Vegas.”
THE GRUNDYS put together a list of items the Sigg crew could help contribute. “Every old car needs to have functioning brakes, an engine that runs well, the correct wiring, and a good fuel system,” said Max. “We are artists — that’s not our thing.” Candice agreed, but noted that Max is great at the bodywork aspect of the build. “I love to weld, but that comes back to cosmetics,” he said. “I like the aesthetics. For me, it’s all about the design. It doesn’t matter who ends up doing each part because it’s the end product. Does it look nice? Does it inspire people? Are people’s jaws dropping? Because if your jaws aren’t dropping, it’s not good enough.”
The four-day SEMA event attracts more than 161,000 individuals, including 2,400 exhibiting companies. The show sprawls over 1.2 million square feet of exhibit space through the Las Vegas Convention Center. The Sigg crew will leave Kansas today and fly to Las Vegas for the trip of a lifetime.
