Motor Market - April 2024

DETAILS

By: Natalie Frazier

Photos By: Corey Gross Photography

Ennis Lund’s professional career began in the insurance industry.

Ennis sold insurance for over 40 years and the insurance business was good to him fnancially, but alongside his professional career, his passion for working on and restoring classic cars as also grew. A taskmaster with an eye for precise detail, Ennis’s reputation as a perfectionist has set him apart as a success in the car restoration world as well.

“I have been a car nut since I went to high school in Brookings, SD over 50 years ago,” says Ennis Lund, owner of Cliff Avenue Upholstery & Restoration. “We didn’t have very much growing up. It seemed like everybody else was driving nice cars and I walked to school. I said to myself that someday I would have a ’57 Chevy.” An admirable goal for any car enthusiast, but Ennis didn’t just achieve that goal, he exceeded it.

Throughout his time working in restoration, Ennis discovered just how much time and labor goes into a car restoration project. He learned the value of putting all of the details back into classic cars at a standard he found acceptable.

In 1989, Ennis purchased the old fre station building at 26th and Cliff Avenue from the City of Sioux Falls. This location served as home to his insurance business offce, but now he had room to restore his own cars in the fre truck area. The new venue allowed plenty of room for Ennis to simultaneously work on growing his hobby as well as run his successful insurance business.

As the years passed, Ennis could not do all of restoration work by himself, so he hired other contractors to complete different aspects of his restorations. Never satisfed with the quality of work he received outside of his own shop, Ennis taught himself to do most everything he could learn about restoring cars.

As his passion for cars and precise restorations continued to grow and evolve, Ennis built another storage building behind the fre station to house more of his restoration projects. Always mindful of his growing hobby, Ennis also owned the vacant water tower lot south located to the south of the fre station where his collection of cars and parts continued to expand.

Ennis collects NOS (new old stock) parts, and they have accumulated over a lifetime of restoration, so much that his need for more space grew as well. According to Ennis, “These parts come in mighty handy when restoring a car. Reproduction parts never ft the same as NOS parts, so we only use reproduction when there are no NOS parts to be found.”

In November of 2000, Ennis took his passion and skill to the next level, creating a business out of car restoration. The focus of his new venture concentrated on upholstery, bodywork and painting. Shortly after, Ennis quickly learned that a fnding a new location was key as painting and body work were not allowed within the city limits of their current location and that they would need to relocate to continue. Fortunately, the perfect shop in Tea, SD came up for sale at just the right time. Ennis purchased it from Bob and Barb Schriever, and with a new building came the need for more employees.

“It has taken us a number of years to fnd the employees that we have right now,” says Ennis proudly. “Building a highly successful team has been a slow but sure effort, but it has worked well for us.”

Success has followed Ennis and his team at Cliff Avenue Upholstery and Restoration, and they expanded again in 2008 building a second shop at the Tea, SD location. The new facility is located at 27096 Kerslake Place and they are extremely proud of how business has continued to grow and evolve with the space and skill to expertly handle complex restoration jobs that come their way.

Cliff Avenue Upholstery & Restoration has everything it takes to build and restore the best car available. With ample workspace combined with a passionate and detail-oriented staff, the sky is the limit.

“There are times when we need extra specialty work done on our restorations and we only go to people that we can trust,” says Ennis. “There are many other businesses out there that have helped us through the years, taking care of our parts and supplies needs, and we thank each and every one of them. Most importantly we owe a great deal of gratitude to our past, present and future customers, for without them we would not be here.”

“There is so much more than meets the eye when it comes to restoring a car,” says Ennis. “It is labor intensive and takes months, or even years in some cases to do a complete frame-off restoration. You have to have the stamina it takes to keep going on these cars month after month and not get burned out.”

electric windows

It was one of the frst mass-produced cars to offer electric windows as an option. This feature was considered a luxury at the time and added to the appeal of the vehicle among affuent buyers.

air conditioning

Packard offered an optional air conditioning system for the 1948 Special Super 8, making it one of the earliest production cars to offer this feature. This was a rare luxury at the time and further solidifed the Packard’s reputation for comfort and innovation.

limited production

Packard offered an optional air conditioning system for the 1948 Special Super 8, making it one of the earliest production cars to offer this feature. This was a rare luxury at the time and further solidifed the Packard’s reputation for comfort and innovation.

innovative design

The 1948 Packard Special Super 8 featured a sleek, streamlined design that was ahead of its time. It incorporated aerodynamic principles to reduce drag and improve fuel effciency, making it one of the more effcient cars of its era.

celEbrity appeal

The Packard Special Super 8 was favored by celebrities and dignitaries of the time. Its combination of luxury, style, and performance made it a status symbol, with notable owners including Hollywood stars and political fgures.

end of an era

The Packard Special Super 8 was favored by celebrities and dignitaries of the time. Its combination of luxury, style, and performance made it a status symbol, with notable owners including Hollywood stars and political fgures.

hidden gas cap

To maintain the car’s smooth lines, engineers incorporated a hidden gas cap. The gas cap was cleverly concealed behind the left rear taillight, a design feature that added to the car’s mystique.

prestigious awards

The 1948 Packard Special Super 8 received numerous awards and accolades for its design and engineering. It won the prestigious Fashion Academy Gold Medal for distinguished achievement in design, further cementing its status as a design icon of the era.

surviving examples

The 1948 Packard Special Super 8 received numerous awards and accolades for its design and engineering. It won the prestigious Fashion Academy Gold Medal for distinguished achievement in design, further cementing its status as a design icon of the era.

cars. That redirection isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because your kids are young only once, and you don’t want to miss any of what makes them become who they will be as adults. As we get older, life feels really short when you start paying attention sometimes with where you are at and your age questioning if you missed something along the way. Dennis never had any regrets nor would he have done anything any different with his time with his boys.

when he bought it, but the body, paint and interior looked perfect as it still appears today.

I think Dennis may have expected more of the car’s performance based on his past experience, but I am sure he realized he wasn’t comparing apples to apples when it came to comparing a 350 cubic inch Pontiac engine to a 396 cubic inch Chevy engine. So, he laid out a plan with the help of others to build the drivetrain of the car to perform as he thought it should. First on the agenda was to rebuild the Pontiac 350 cubic inch engine into a 412 cubic inch stroker engine.

Stroked engines usually wind up with way more torque than anyone expects, and torque is what moves a car easier. Next came a beefed-up 200R4 AOD transmission so he could cruise at highway speeds. Then, a 12 bolt posi Moser rear end with 3.73 gears and disc brakes were added. Since the car had a soft single leaf rear suspension, Dennis added Cal-Trak traction bars to control the rear spring wrap under acceleration and also coil-over shocks to give it a better ride in the back. The front suspension was treated with new tubular control arms, power disc brakes as well as coil-over shocks.

Bob Schmeichel

With the addition of the coil-over shocks on all four corners, Dennis was able, to lower the car down to his desired ride height. He mentioned because of doing the coil-overs, it rides a bit solid, but that is the way a performance ride usually feels to keep control of the power while feeling the road under you. Dennis also installed a newer Holly Sniper EFI setup on the engine, so now it starts and drives with all the performance he expected. He said he doesn’t want to check the gas mileage, but drives it every chance he gets in which both he and his wife, Linda, really enjoy. He said he couldn’t be happier with the way the car looks and works, and won’t change a thing.

Dennis did mention he wouldn’t mind having another project to work on in the future, but that surely could be another story down the road, maybe yet to be determined!

A farm boy from Salem, Bob’s family moved to Sioux Falls when he was 12 years old. After graduation from Washington High School, he attended USD where he majored in Commercial Art. A lifelong auto and art enthusiast, Bob wanted to combine his passions into a career. A self-taught mechanic, bodywork, welder and painter, he worked in the industry for seven years. He later went to work for Horner Waldorf Box Company, where he worked for the next 33 years, retiring as Package Design Manager for Smurft Stone Container. Bob has built dozens of street rods over the years, doing everything except the upholstery work. Bob started the Great Plains Street Rodders Car Club in 1985 and today the club has over 340 members. You can see more of Bob’s paintings and car features on the club’s website: www.greatplainsstreetrodders.com.

SPEED SHOP

SPEED SHOP

chassis building, suspension upgrade

custom headers and exhaust

engine swaps and building efi swaps

complete car wiring

hot rod MAINTENANCE

differential/axle building

cooling system

mig and tig welding

back halves, ladder bars, 4-link, roll cages

performance parts and accessories

auto restoration

Ford unveils the Mustang at the New York World’s Fair. This iconic automobile has been produced by the millions and remains very popular to this day.

TRANSMISSION TIP: AVOID HARD SHIFTING!

Your own driving habits can impact the health of your transmission. If you like to accelerate aggressively or shift/grind gears violently in a manual transmission vehicle, you are making the transmission work harder and you are going to wear out all the components quicker. It’s always a good idea to come to a complete stop before shifting between reverse and forward gears, as well. This can help protect your transmission system.

CALENDAR D L Events C R

may/JUNE

Sound of Silence Tesla Rally

May 17-19, 2024 - Custer, SD facebook.com/BHTeslaRally

Shades of the Past Car Show and Cruise

May 31-June 1, 2024 - Marshall, MN shadesofthepastmarshallmn.com

Wheel Jam Truck Show

June 6-9, 2024 - Huron, SD wheeljamtruckshow.com

Great Plains Classic Car Auction

June 8, 2024 - Rapid City, SD greatplainsclassiccarauction.com

31st Annual Brookings Car Show

June 8-9, 2024 - Brookings, SD brookingscarshow.org

13th Annual Sturgis Camaro Rally

June 19-23, 2024 - Sturgis, SD sturgiscamarorally.com

World of Outlaws

Sprint Car Series

June 20-21, 2024 - Brandon, SD husetsspeedway.com

AutoMania

Historic Automotive Event

June 29, 2024 - Valley Springs, SD automaniaatvalley com

JULY/august

The Woonsocket Car Show

July 4, 2024 - Woonsocket, SD

Black Hills Corvette Classic

July 17-20, 2024 - Spearfish, SD Tour the Black Hills

blackhillscorvetteclassic.com

Waubay FunFest

Car & Motorcycle Show

July 20, 2024 - Waubay, SD Main Street (Hosted by Sinner Auto, 12-4PM, Registration Fee: $15, Trophies Awarded, Contact Derek at 605-530-2753)

Canton Car Show

For Generations

July 27-28, 2024 - Canton, SD

84th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

August 1-11, 2024 - Sturgis, SD sturgis.com

30th Annual Kool Deadwood Nites

August 21-25, 2024 - Deadwood, SD deadwood.com/event/kool-deadwood-nites

SEPTEMBER & Beyond

Studebaker and Packard Car & Truck Show

September 1, 2024 - CUSTER, SD dakotastudebaker.com

45th Annual Vintiques Rod Run & Car Show

September 6-8, 2024 - Watertown, SD vintiquescarclub.com

2024 Midwest Regional Hot Rod Rally

September 13-15, 2024 - Moville, IA midwesthotrodrally.com

Midwest Invasion Custom Car Show

September 14, 2024 - Urbandale, IA midwestinvasion.com

Truck Accessories: - SPONSORED BY -

CAR MAINTENANCE TIPS to

CAR MAINTENANCE TIPS to take you fro winter to spring

take you fro winter to spring

Courtesy of www.Articlebiz.com

by Steve Helwig

Midwest winters are tough. While most people take the time to prepare their vehicle for the harsh winter months ahead, few consider the importance of making preparations for spring. The moment the temperature gauge starts to creep up, start thinking about booking a visit with your local car repair shop to give your trusty vehicle a little TLC.

Following a regular car maintenance schedule through the seasons will ensure your vehicle is ready to face the conditions ahead whether you’ll be negotiating icy roads or driving in humid or arid conditions.

Car repair shops offer a comprehensive range of seasonal checks that will prepare your car, truck or any other vehicle you drive for the months of driving ahead. Truck maintenance is especially vital as these vehicles must be ft to transport their load safely.

CAR MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE FOR THE SPRING AND SUMMER

Springtime is a time of reawakening and renewal following the cold winter months. Attending to the maintenance guidelines below will ensure your vehicle emerges from the winter in roadworthy condition. A well-maintained vehicle will give you years of more reliable service and will be less prone to major faults.

•Swap out tires – If you’ve been using winter tires, it’s time to swap these out for all-season tires. Check to see that each tire is infated and balanced and also ensure you have a wellmaintained spare tire available. Any car repair shop should be able to help you with checking your tire pressure and ensuring your tire tread is suffcient and most importantly, legal.

•Check your brakes – Icy roads mean heavy braking and that can put your brake pads under a lot of pressure. If you’ve noticed brake squeal or any grinding noises when hitting the brakes, you need to get them checked as soon as possible.

•Top up your fuids – A well-lubricated vehicle is a happy vehicle. So many engine parts rely on liquids to keep them cool, oiled and working at optimum levels. Again, booking a seasonal check at your local car repair shop will identify any problems with fuid levels. Engine oil, coolant, transmission fuid, and windshield washer fuid are all essential to the performance of your vehicle and levels need to be checked and topped off at regular intervals. Over the winter, freezing temperatures can cause these fuids to become dull and ineffective, so a complete drain out and top off with fresh fuids is recommended.

•Automatic transmission – Vehicles with automatic transmissions need special consideration when refreshing fuids. Overheating is a real problem with these vehicles and it’s important to keep vehicle fuids at the right level.

•Air-conditioning and ventilation – You probably haven’t had your air-conditioning on during the winter months, so it’s a good idea to have a complete service of the system to ensure it works perfectly on those upcoming hot days.

•General component checks

warning lights, wiper blades, spark plugs and hoses should be checked for general wear and tear and replaced or repaired if faults are found.

Keeping your vehicle in top condition throughout the year is important. By scheduling your vehicle for some spring care, you can ensure your car maintenance schedule is taken care of.

Excellent customer service, nationwide warranties, and everyday low prices.

Matthew Hagebock Manager

4515 N. Cliff Ave. Sioux Falls

720 N. Main St. Mitchell, SD 57301 (605) 996-7709

115 S. Minnesota Ave. Sioux Falls, SD 57104 (605) 336-2575

4515 N. Cliff Ave. Sioux Falls, SD 57104 (605) 336-0800

2101 W. 41st St. Sioux Falls, SD 57105 (605) 339-3334

2320 6th Ave. SE Aberdeen, SD 57401 (605) 225-2352

2704 Fox Run Pky. Yankton, SD 57078 (605) 665-4406

421 W. Sioux Ave. Pierre, SD 57501 (605) 224-8643

2017-2024

Ford Boxes

2014-2018

GMC & Chevy Boxes

Long & Short

Building a high horsepower engine is easier today than ever with the advancements in camshafts, cylinder head design, intake and exhaust, and the many various available popular power adders like turbo charging, super charging and NOS. Everyone loves to open the hood and see the fancy polished up additions that help the engine make all kinds of power and torque, but there are areas in those engines that experience high stress and those points are often overlooked.

Not that anyone purposely ignores those stress points, but it’s been found that the customers that build the engine themselves don’t always know about the components that are experiencing more stress than what they are originally engineered for. It seems that if the engine build is on the World Wide Web or the information is found in a famous chat room, that it will work for everybody. This is very false. Many of these engines fail after a few solid hits, but that fact is never revealed. Every engine and vehicle combination is different and it must be treated as such. In all of my years of building custom engines none of them that I can recall have ever been the same. Each engine must be treated as its own combination that is produced for its very own purpose. So, lets discuss some of the most common overlooked stress points in a high horsepower engine.

The frst area to mention is the pistons and the connecting rods. Many operators will install aftermarket components, but most will not understand the importance of the correct product for the use of the engine. The pistons must be made of the correct material to handle the high pressures in the combustion chamber, and the wrist pin must be able to handle those pressures and engine RPM as well. Wrist pin fex can cause power loss and engine failure.

In addition, the material of the connecting rods must also be adequate for the power and engine RPM. The material and size of the rod fasteners must be up to the job as well. Another area that is not closely observed is the engine bearings. The loads that are put on the bearings from the spinning and fexing crankshaft can be up to three times greater than what the factory style bearings are engineered for, so why try to get by with the cheaper factory bearings in an engine with high horsepower output?

The valve train is another high stress area. With advancements in camshaft design it is a requirement to have high pressure valve springs to control the valve timing so the engine can create the power that it is intended to. This puts a high load on the engine valves, pushrods, and rocker arms. Engine RPM only compounds the stress on the valve train and can cause engine failure and low power output if these areas are not correctly engineered.

Trying to build an inexpensive, high horsepower engine is a recipe for disappointment and catastrophic disaster. We have many years of research and experience to help our customers get the engine right. Here at Sehr Performance, we will get it right for you. It might not be the cheapest up front, but it will be the best option for you to get the Extra Mile out of your engine.

SHOW US YOUR

DOES YOUR CAR HAVE A NAME?

“El Jeffe”

TE US A LITTLE ABOUT E CAR/WHY YOU CHOSE IS CAR. WHAT’S YOUR CAR’S STORY?

I used to ride Harleys, but then I wanted a project for my son and I, so I sold the bike and found this car after a four-month search. He wanted a Mustang Fastback. The car was 100% original when purchased, but not running. ‘67 Fastbacks have the sexiest body lines of any Mustang, in my opinion.

PLANS FOR E CAR?

We plan to drive the heck out of it and enjoy it, and we average about 2,500 miles per year with it. It gets a lot of looks and thumbs ups! I would like to pass it down to my son one day.

WHAT’S AN INTERESTING FACT OR SOME ING PEOPLE MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT IS RIDE?

The car was accidentally lit on fre three times while under construction.

FAVORITE PART OF E CAR?

My favorite part is the classic look with all modern components underneath. It’s kind of a sleeper. The only thing I would change would be to add some form of boost for more power, but that likely won’t happen.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS?

This car was 100% built by me, my son and four of my good friends. I couldn’t have done it without them. Also, my wife is a saint!

BIRTHDAY PARTY packages STARTING AT $179.00

ALL PACKAGES INCLUDE:

» 10 GAME TICKETS

» 5 PUNCH DAY PASS TO FRONTIER CLIMBING FOR GUEST OF HONOR

» GIFT CERTIFICATE TO BUFFALO WILD WINGS

» ON-FIELD PHOTO OP

» 10 PEPSI COLA BEVERAGES

» 2 SINGLE-TOPPING PIZZAS

» 10 FREE SINGLE-DAY ADMISSIONS TO THE 2024 SIOUX EMPIRE FAIR

FAITH AND FAMILY NIGHT UNITY AMONGST PEOPLE

3:05 pm on sunday, april 14 th

EXPERIENCE THE SCAN THE CODE TO SEE THE 40+ ZOOPERSTARS IN ACTION!

The Sioux Falls Storm is celebrating its annual Faith and Family Night with the mission of Unity Amongst People. This year Faith and Family Night will be held on Sunday, April 14th. The highlight of the day will be the ZOOperstars! brought to you by First Premier Bank.

MISSION FOOTBALL GIVEAWAY!

We are also excited to host the mission ball, who will be on-site and giving away mission ball footballs! what is the mission ball? the mission ball is simply a football covered with biblical text, meant to be used as a bridge to share the gospel!

KEVIN DURANTEATER

WHALE GRETZKY

LEBRONCO JAMES

ROGER CLAMENS

DONOVAN MCCRABB

ASK THE MOTOR MEDICS ®

TUNE-IN AND TUNE-UP!®

Dear Motor Medics,

We have a 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe and when it was just a year old, we got a new puppy. The frst time we left her alone while we went inside a restaurant to eat, she decided to eat the Tahoe. She chewed the back of the rear seat and the corner of the plastic trim, too. The vehicle is in great shape with 70,000 miles and we want to sell it, but with a large hole in the seat and the damage to the plastic side trim it’s making the sale very difcult. We checked with the dealer, and they are telling us they can repair it at a cost of over $3,500 parts and labor and our insurance will not cover repairs. Can you suggest anything that we can do in the way of a repair to save some money?

David Watertown, SD

Dear Motor Medics,

We have a 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe that has been having the check brake light come on periodically. The fuid tank slowly drains, so we fll the brake fuid and it works fne for a while then comes on again. We had a mechanic look at it and told us we would have to replace the HCU in the brake system and that the part alone is about $1,600. Is this a common problem, and does this sound reasonable? Is there anything else we can do? I’m a little hesitant to spend so much on a repair on a 10-year-old vehicle, when the value is maybe a little more than twice the cost to repair the problem.

Kay in Nebraska

Dear David,

New interior parts can be very expensive, so many people leave their vehicles unrepaired. What’s wrong with a seat and trim from another Tahoe of the same year that has no damage? Look into certifed used parts. Ask your dealer if they can fnd these parts so you can get a repair that makes more fnancial sense. With the hundreds of reliable used parts sources in the country they should be able to fnd a match for a late model vehicle like yours and make the repair afordable. There is always a way.

Take care, The Motor Medics

Under the Hood

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Dear Kay,

The HCU is the Hydraulic Control Unit and it’s the main component of the antilock brake system. The units don’t tend to leak fuid, but rather fail electrically so I would take a very close look at the lines going to the unit, which are more common to fail. Shop around for brakes. A second opinion never hurts if you have any questions and by asking us, we assume that you do. When you have an older vehicle or any vehicle for that matter, it is important to keep repairs economical, but it’s also important to be safe. Brakes are not an area to cut corners in, but there are always ways to save money when repairing them.

Take care, The Motor Medics

Join us on facebook.com/underthehoodshow for a chance to win a Hoodie every show!

with The Motor Medics ® Shannon Nordstrom, Russ “The Super Tech” Evans, and Chris Carter

From the Hosts of the Under The Hood radio show.

Our skilled technicians restored the vehicles you see here in the last few years. Some are restored to “as manufactured” specifcations; others have a variety of modifcations. Now is the time to get your vehicle scheduled into our shop for restoration. Whether you are considering factory stock, custom, “resto-mod” or total performance, our team is up to the task. To enhance your build, we are dealers for a wide variety of performance accessories and crate engines. And, don’t forget, we also now have our own upholstery shop! Call Zach at 605-214-1193, or stop in, to discuss your ideas and learn what we can do for you!