I don’t think there is a car enthusiast on the planet that isn’t familiar with the standardized formula for these articles about guys and their cars. Predictably they entail a guy, or group of guys, that have dumped a mountain of cash and time into their labor of love, and have realized, for their efforts, the culmination of their automotive vision. When started to write this article, it was with a very different kind of collector in mind, my friend Rick Jaquez, the “Average Joe” of car collectors. I considered Rick and his father John to be “Average Joe” car guys due to the fact that their process is very slow and steady.

I first met Rick as a result of having my house burn. I know that sounds strange, but to clarify, I was living in Mancos, Colorado, when my daughters and I had our home burn beyond repair in a house fire. In the aftermath of the fire was that we did a little research, and decided to move to Canon City, Colorado.

It was only after we arrived, that we were able to determine that certain information we had about the availability of jobs in Canon City had been grossly misrepresented. Thankfully, I had developed considerable skills in restaurant kitchens in my youth, and had those skills to fall back on whenever there were no other available jobs. Thus, I was met Rick at the restaurant where I became employed. A professional wrestler looking guy, is fairly wary, because he has had life bite him in his nether regions once too often, and so a friendship only happened over some time. It was only then that I discovered the depth of Rick’s near obsession with just about anything with wheels, muscle cars in particular.

Rick lives in the former mayor’s house of the now defunct town of Prospect Heights. During prohibition, when Colorado decided to allow individual municipalities determine whether or not they would prohibit the sale and consumption of alcohol, Canon City came down on the temperance side of the issue. A few men with vision decided to incorporate the separate town of Prospect Heights, on the very edge of Canon City, and financially clean up by providing booze to the areas less temperate citizenry. When Rick and his wife decided to purchase a home, what they found in Prospect Heights was a property with three small homes and a long defunct tavern. The tavern, formerly called The Cub, is now Rick’s garage, home bar, and repository for Rick’s assorted collectibles.

A visit to Rick’s bar/garage, is never without new discoveries. The walls display an endless array of all that Rick enjoys in life. Photos and pages taken from his vast collection of car magazines, hundreds of Hot Wheels, many still in their original packages, vinyl disc album covers, movie posters, wrestling memorabilia, beer advertisements, a veritable arsenal of medieval weaponry, and an entire wall devoted to Rick’s personal hero, Ozzy Osbourne, are just a few of the wonders one can expect to encounter in Rick’s private sanctuary. More than anything else, however, Rick’s fascination and dedication to old school muscle cars can be construed by the contents of his bar.

Rick’s collection starts with his ‘55 Chevy four door Belair. His ‘55 is all original except for the engine and clutch assembly, right down to the turquoise and white paint. This was Rick’s first personal journey into the world of restoration, and he only takes it out to enter it in the occasional parade.

Behind Rick’s bar await the vehicles he hopes to one day restore, as well as some of his babies that he just can’t bring himself to part with. There is a ‘57 Chevy two door Coupe, that has been gutted and stripped, a ‘55 Chevy pickup, which Rick bought for his wife, a ‘32 Ford Model T, also gutted and stripped, sits quietly waiting for its turn at restoration.

The fully functional cars in Rick’s collection include some of America’s favorite muscle cars. There’s a ‘67 Pontiac Firebird, all original, a ‘77 Trans Am modified with a 455ci engine, a ‘67 Ford Falcon, all original, and present project a ‘75 Corvette Stingray, which is all original, except for the rebuilt engine and transmission. The Stingray has undergone some modification, as some unknown person, probably by backing into it, shattered the nose cone. Rick modified it with fiberglass to make the nose cone and front end one piece. Rick has been sanding off the old silver paint, and is in a bit of a quandary as to what color he will paint it when finished.

Among their completed projects, Rick and John converted a ‘55 Chevy two door station wagon into a hearse. The hearse was a screamer, with a 454 with an automatic transmission in it. The hearse is long gone as Rick’s wife was concerned about what the neighbors would think about a hearse sitting in their driveway.

Rick and John are far from wealthy, and as such it takes them years to complete one project. But regardless of the time, and the slow but methodical investment of money as they are able to afford it, Rick and John truly epitomize the spirit of the American car lover. No matter how long it takes, and no matter how many setbacks they may suffer in the process, Rick and John share that bond that inspires all creative men to chase and produce their dreams.

By Duncan Northrop

Duncan is a freelance writer.