Motoring On Motoring On

Herbie and Julie Reynolds maintain the Herb’s Parts legacy with their custom shop Twisted Restorations

By Frank Adkins

Herb’s Parts was a long-standing pillar of the automotive community until recently. Founded in 1982 as Herb’s Mid-Atlantic Mopar Parts, in the early days Herb Reynolds dealt in good used parts. By the middle of that decade, Herb’s brother Ken joined him, and he brought the Mopar Performance line into their partnership. By the end of the decade, the pair had become regulars at the major Mopar shows. In time, Ken left to pursue other interests while Herb expanded the line of new restoration parts that the company offered.

Initially, the company was based in Smyrna, Del., but in 2000 Herb relocated to a new facility in Middletown, north of Odessa. His new building allowed him to expand his services to include anything from light maintenance to full restorations on his customers’ cars. He and his wife Ruth were married the previous year, and together they ran the business while continuing to attend all of the major Mopar shows. In addition to his friendly demeanor, Herb is perhaps best known for creating and offering correct restoration oil filters as well as a line of interior paints for older Chrysler vehicles.

Herb’s son, Herbie, grew up in the business. He, too, is an avid old car enthusiast who has worked on countless customers’ cars and worked the vendor booth with his parents since 1998 when he was just 5 years old. Furthermore, he has restored a number of cars of his own after hours, including the Challenger that he drove while in high school.

In 2018, Herb recruited Julie Watson to the family’s tight-knit team.

“I like Mopars, and I thought what the Herb’s Parts crew did was intriguing. I decided to try something new,” says Julie.

Coming from a strong background in both the auto parts business as well as management, she worked closely with Ruth, handling customers’ parts orders and managing inventory. She, too, accompanied Herb, Ruth, and Herbie to the major shows.

Soon she also began working in the shop. As Herbie explains, “She is very good at anything detail oriented — dash work, vinyl striping, etc. Her hands are very steady.”

While the business was thriving, tragedy struck the family when Ruth’s daughter, Roxanne, was diagnosed with cancer. As her condition worsened, Herb and Ruth knew family must take priority over the business. Instead of traveling during show season, they wanted to spend time with their daughter and granddaughter, making the most of the months they had left. Sadly, Roxanne passed away in October 2020.

That same year, Herb and Ruth sold the parts side of Herb’s Parts to AMS Obsolete. Under this new ownership, the Herb’s Parts name lives on, and folks can easily find the products that were available exclusively from Herb’s. Even the Herb’s Parts website remains, and it looks just as it did when Herb and Ruth were running the show.

The restoration side of the business, however, continues under Herbie and Julie’s ownership. The new name of their restoration/repair business is Twisted Restorations. Now located near Frederica, Del., their shop can handle all types of repairs from maintenance to ground-up restorations. They can perform disc brake retrofits, and they install vintage air kits, fuel injection, and electronic ignition. They also maintain an inventory of used parts. More important, their customers still receive the same knowledgeable and friendly service they have come to appreciate. Currently, the scope of their business is focused on Chrysler vehicles, but that might change in the future as the company grows.

“People might think that with the sale of Herb’s Parts we aren’t around anymore, but we are still here,” says Herbie.

For those who might not be familiar with Herb or Herbie, he continued, “We are trustworthy, and we pamper customers’ cars. We are enthusiasts ourselves.”

As time permits, Herbie and Julie are restoring a ’69 Plymouth Road Runner for her and a ’68 Plymouth GTX for him.

— See the Twisted Restorations ad in this issue of Cruising or call 302-4301020 with inquiries or to set up an appointment at the shop, located at 704 Robbins Rd., Frederica Del. 19946. You can also visit their Facebook page or email them at twistedrestos@gmail.com.