CALEB NICKERSON
SHAWVILLE
With the ground thawing and spring in the air, many home and business owners will take the opportunity to start some projects or spruce up their storefront.
The owners of Classic Automotive Restoration Services (C.A.R.S) in Shawville, Robert and Cheryl St-Amour, can proudly say that most of their renovations are in the past.
At the 2018 Business Achievement Awards Gala put on by the Pontiac Chamber of Commerce in February, C.A.R.S was awarded the Business Beautification Award. When the couple purchased their location on Victoria Street in September 2015, the building was the definition of a fixer-upper.
“There was nothing, there was no pavement. Everything was falling apart,” Robert said, explaining that the shop had formerly been used for small engine repair and body work, but had fallen into disrepair.

He and Cheryl flipped through pictures from before the work began, detailing just how much the space has been transformed. An addition jutting off the main building had to be demolished and rebuilt before winter, giving the St-Amours a tight time frame to get everything closed in initially.
“It was a lot of work because we bought it in September and by December we had to have this section torn down and all the walls and the roof up, because we didn’t want the snow to get on the inside,” Cheryl explained, adding with a laugh that Robert and the men of the family were finishing off the last of the exterior while she was cooking dinner on Christmas Eve.
They completed the rest of the work the next year, replacing practically everything visible from floor to ceiling.
Now, the interior looks like something straight out of the muscle car era, complete with vintage gas pumps, neon signs and checkerboard flooring.
Robert explained that the business had started as more of a hobby, but evolved into something more.
“I had just retired actually, earlier [in 2015], and I had lots of personal cars,” he said. “It’s always been a hobby of mine, doing car restorations and buying classic cars, so we thought, ‘Why don’t we turn this into a business?’”
Though Robert’s background is in retail, his interest in vehicles dates back to the years that he grew up in and a youthful error that pains him to this day.
“As a kid, you grow up in the early 60s and those were the cars that were around,” he said. “I actually had the opportunity to buy a ’67 RS Camaro as my first car and I missed that opportunity. It always haunted me.”
“People all have their favorites, for me it’s the ’67, ’68 and ’69 Camaros,” he said. “That era of muscle car, to the early 70s, is what I really like.”
C.A.R.S specializes in North American muscle and Robert said that they prefer aspirated engines, in order to avoid computer technology.
“American muscle, I prefer GM but it doesn’t really matter as long as it’s an American made car,” he said. “I have a Mercedes and a Volkswagen here … but that’s not our specialty.”
The shop also offers a host of other services, from detailing, to tires and batteries.
With the vast majority of their building renovations out of the way, Robert said that this spring he’s looking to spend more time promoting the business, as well as in the shop spinning wrenches.
“It seemed like a natural progression to take something on like this,” he said. “We have a passion for these kinds of vehicles, the nostalgia, and also the antique part of it. We just like it.”