| 51 Cadillac Desk |
| 57 Chevy Couch |
| 56 Chevy Couch |
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| Original furniture made from original cars and equipment (not reproductions) |
http://www.sweetsofas.com / (815) 684-5310
Classic Couches
Are Sweet Sofas
Auto Restoration Artist
*by Halary Matheson*
Scratched rusted and dented husks of what once were working cars are parked all
over Josh Kreuder's antique auto restoration shop. They are blank canvasses to car
collectors and restorers alike. They have visions to once again drive in the cars they
rode in as children, or drove on first dates, to high school or college.
An auto restorer, such as 25 yr old Kreuder, has been the key to restarting the
ignition of many of these cars- bringing back the old school charm and sleek quality
of antique automobiles.
Kreuder is the owner of Classic Couches and Antique Auto Restoration in Chadwick.
His work can be seen in living rooms and on roads across the country. Not only does
Kreuder restore antique cars, but he also transforms pieces of cars into furniture
with flair.
Previous owner and founder of the shop, Eric Smith, is interested not only in auto
restoration, but also art. His creative sensibilities led him one Christmas season in
1982 to take an old Buick and create the first of many car couches he would make
and sell.
Smith said he knew there was a market for memorabilia like coke machines, gas
pumps and juke boxes, yet nobody had anything to sit on besides '50s diner booths.
He said in his recollection he hadn't ever seen anything like the car couch before.
"There was a salvage yard between Chadwick and Mount Carroll at that time. I went
out there and got a car and one Christmas Eve I decided I was gonna whack the
back end off and see what I can do and the first I sold was to a Burger King up in
Ohio and I realized maybe someone would want this stuff." Smith said.
And another part of the restoration business took off.
"I have never had any documentation that there were any couches done before."
Kreuder said.
Recently a front and back of a 1965 cherry red Ford Mustang with working
headlights was recently featured on an episode of "Extreme Makeovers, Home
Edition" in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The show was episode 512 and Aired
Jan.13, 2008. It took three 24 hour days to finish and was placed inside the
basement of the finished home as seating for an in-door drive-in movie theater.
During taping of the show Kreuder met designer Ed Sanders and was there for the
first and second days of shooting.
Kreuder became a celebrity to his family and friends who were always asking when
the episode would air. Keeping it all in perspective, Kreuder said although it wasn't
the biggest accomplishment of his life it might have been his 15 minutes of fame.
Before becoming owner of Classic Couches four years ago, Kreuder had known
Smith for quite some time, working with him in a body shop for 3 years. He worked at
a body shop in Sterling painting cars insured for more than a million dollars.
"I was making 11 bucks an hour. He said if I worked the rest of my life I could never
afford the car (he was working on) so I quit days after that." he said
Smith remembers first meeting Kreuder when he was very young.
"When Josh was about 5 years old he walked in the door with his grandfather from
Savanna to get a Model T restored and I remember this little red haired boy. I
restored the grandfathers car and probably 15 years passed. Josh had gone to
college and came in applying for a job." Smith said.
Smith said he is happy with the continuing progress Kreuder is making with the
business and sometimes misses it.
"I had withdrawals for a while- not going to work." he said.
Smith is now a curator at a private auto museum in the Chicago loop. Smith began
working for himself in high school and began creating the foundation for the
business in 1972. He got into buying antiques for his grandfather, who owned
antique shops in the same buildings as the current auto shop, at the young age of
12.
Rather than see the business shut down, Smith sold the business to Kreuder.
"I think that more than anything he didn't want to see something he worked so hard
for so long disappear. It took awhile to get it back to where it was." Kreuder said.
With very little mainstream advertising, Classic Couches and Antique Auto
Restoration has built a client base with customers all over the world.
"In the antique car business most people don't want to tell you the whole truth is
when you're driving down the street in an antique car it's 'look at me' and thats what
its all about." Smith said.
Kreuder can restore cars to different levels of presentation to satify his clients
wishes. Some clients want the automobile to look brand new and some just want it in
running condition to drive around town.
A 1919 unrestored brush painted, yellow Paige sits on its original tires in the corner
of his shop, and the surface of the body is covered with a patina. This auto is
basically kept in its original form. Kreuder will get it in running condition, replace the
gas tank and have the interior and upholstery repaired. He said it is worth more
money in this condition than repainted.
"I've seen cars that sell for millions of dollars that were in this condition." Kreuder
said.
Kreuder leans inside the Paige and runs his hand along the curved wooden frames,
the skeleton of the interior, where the upholstery will attach to admiring the skill it
takes to do interior upholstery. With a bad first experience with upholstery, Kreuder
leaves interior restoration up to an upholstery business in Lanark.
"It's very hard - a lot of compound curves....one of those things that looks easier
than it is." Kreuder said.
"I took a couple upholstery classes in college. We had a club that all the guys were
in and I sewed my car club jacket to a seat cover that I was doing." he said. "I had to
have the instructor unstitch me I could have my arm back. I decided it was the last
upholstery thing I needed to do."
Interiors are the only part of the price of restoring a car and the cost can reach in
upwards of $12,000 to $14,000 for the experience and craftsmanship of a good
upholsterer. Kreuder said it's hard to convince clients to spend that kind of money
on interior.
"Some people just don't understand what it takes very few of these cars will ever get
worked on and have less invested than their worth. That's always the goal, but
never works." Kreuder said.
Working with clients can be very easy or it can be very difficult. Projects can have a
touch-and-go response depending on how much the client wants to be involved with
the process and their expectations. Very much is based on the initial interaction
when Kreuder discusses jobs with possible clients.
"If a person gives you a bad vibe or you know is gonna be a pain, walk away from
them because you'll cause more heartache than you'll ever do good." Kreuder said.
Al Carradus is one of Kreuder's clients. Carradus is very much a part of the process,
making trips from his home in Wheaton to Chadwick to look on the progress of his
cars Kreuder is working on. Kreuder said he welcomes input in order to a stop a
problem before it goes too far. Carradus and Kreuder sometimes just like to talk
shop. Carradus has multiple automobiles Kreuder is working on.
"He a lot of fun, it gets to a point when some days I think we're dating. You talk to
him so many times and you're involved with so much of his collection. You're really
tied to the person." Kreuder said.
Carradus said he owns varied and eclectric mix of more than 57 restored
automobiles, most of which are Packards and Lincolns. He said he enjoys the big old
luxury cars.
Collecting cars to Carradus ia fun hobby he and his wife, Mary, enjoy.
"If I want to pick my parents to take them to supper it's kind of fun to pick them up in
an old car. If I'm going to meet someone it's just kind of fun to take an old car."
Carradus said.
Some of the cars Carradus has restored are gifts. For his wife he bought her a 1962
Ford convertible, the first car he drove when he first met her. For their 30th
anniversary he bought her a 1973 Mustang, the same model car he bought her
when they got married.
Josh does all our body and beautification work. Ever since I saw Josh's first work I've
thought he's done only the highest quality work." Al Carradus said.
Al Carradus has different uses for each car, some are for work, some are for play
and some are to drive the family around at yearly picnics.
"We usually have a big family picnic every year. This past year we had a 1920 Essex
Touring car that everybody was just getting rides in up and around the block and
the neighborhood and town just driving along and singing. I had aunts and uncles in
their late 70s that came in from Iowa and they were just having a ball." he said.
Al Carradus said he just enjoys sharing his car collection with his family and letting
his four children drive them.
"I hate to get the word out that Josh does such an excellent job because I don't want
him to get tied up with everybody else's stuff that he can't work on mine." Al
Carradus said.
Setting a price for different jobs can also pose difficulties.
"I had a couple come in here with a GTO convertible. The wife wants to know how
much it will cost and their car was rusted like Fred Flintstone,
feet-on-the-ground-to-stop-it and I said 'Go find the car in the condition you like and
double it.' he said.
Most prices of the couches and memorabilia depends on where they are being sold
in the market.
"I'm getting better at the whole negotiation part. It's so easy to get overwhelmed. I
mean one guy is an executive for Exxon mobile and calls me very occasionally
because he's always out of the country doing this and doing that. It's intimidating."
he said.
"it's like Eric always said, they put their pants on the same way in the morning."
Kreuder said.
*by Halary Matheson*
Scratched rusted and dented husks of what once were working cars are parked all
over Josh Kreuder's antique auto restoration shop. They are blank canvasses to car
collectors and restorers alike. They have visions to once again drive in the cars they
rode in as children, or drove on first dates, to high school or college.
An auto restorer, such as 25 yr old Kreuder, has been the key to restarting the
ignition of many of these cars- bringing back the old school charm and sleek quality
of antique automobiles.
Kreuder is the owner of Classic Couches and Antique Auto Restoration in Chadwick.
His work can be seen in living rooms and on roads across the country. Not only does
Kreuder restore antique cars, but he also transforms pieces of cars into furniture
with flair.
Previous owner and founder of the shop, Eric Smith, is interested not only in auto
restoration, but also art. His creative sensibilities led him one Christmas season in
1982 to take an old Buick and create the first of many car couches he would make
and sell.
Smith said he knew there was a market for memorabilia like coke machines, gas
pumps and juke boxes, yet nobody had anything to sit on besides '50s diner booths.
He said in his recollection he hadn't ever seen anything like the car couch before.
"There was a salvage yard between Chadwick and Mount Carroll at that time. I went
out there and got a car and one Christmas Eve I decided I was gonna whack the
back end off and see what I can do and the first I sold was to a Burger King up in
Ohio and I realized maybe someone would want this stuff." Smith said.
And another part of the restoration business took off.
"I have never had any documentation that there were any couches done before."
Kreuder said.
Recently a front and back of a 1965 cherry red Ford Mustang with working
headlights was recently featured on an episode of "Extreme Makeovers, Home
Edition" in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The show was episode 512 and Aired
Jan.13, 2008. It took three 24 hour days to finish and was placed inside the
basement of the finished home as seating for an in-door drive-in movie theater.
During taping of the show Kreuder met designer Ed Sanders and was there for the
first and second days of shooting.
Kreuder became a celebrity to his family and friends who were always asking when
the episode would air. Keeping it all in perspective, Kreuder said although it wasn't
the biggest accomplishment of his life it might have been his 15 minutes of fame.
Before becoming owner of Classic Couches four years ago, Kreuder had known
Smith for quite some time, working with him in a body shop for 3 years. He worked at
a body shop in Sterling painting cars insured for more than a million dollars.
"I was making 11 bucks an hour. He said if I worked the rest of my life I could never
afford the car (he was working on) so I quit days after that." he said
Smith remembers first meeting Kreuder when he was very young.
"When Josh was about 5 years old he walked in the door with his grandfather from
Savanna to get a Model T restored and I remember this little red haired boy. I
restored the grandfathers car and probably 15 years passed. Josh had gone to
college and came in applying for a job." Smith said.
Smith said he is happy with the continuing progress Kreuder is making with the
business and sometimes misses it.
"I had withdrawals for a while- not going to work." he said.
Smith is now a curator at a private auto museum in the Chicago loop. Smith began
working for himself in high school and began creating the foundation for the
business in 1972. He got into buying antiques for his grandfather, who owned
antique shops in the same buildings as the current auto shop, at the young age of
12.
Rather than see the business shut down, Smith sold the business to Kreuder.
"I think that more than anything he didn't want to see something he worked so hard
for so long disappear. It took awhile to get it back to where it was." Kreuder said.
With very little mainstream advertising, Classic Couches and Antique Auto
Restoration has built a client base with customers all over the world.
"In the antique car business most people don't want to tell you the whole truth is
when you're driving down the street in an antique car it's 'look at me' and thats what
its all about." Smith said.
Kreuder can restore cars to different levels of presentation to satify his clients
wishes. Some clients want the automobile to look brand new and some just want it in
running condition to drive around town.
A 1919 unrestored brush painted, yellow Paige sits on its original tires in the corner
of his shop, and the surface of the body is covered with a patina. This auto is
basically kept in its original form. Kreuder will get it in running condition, replace the
gas tank and have the interior and upholstery repaired. He said it is worth more
money in this condition than repainted.
"I've seen cars that sell for millions of dollars that were in this condition." Kreuder
said.
Kreuder leans inside the Paige and runs his hand along the curved wooden frames,
the skeleton of the interior, where the upholstery will attach to admiring the skill it
takes to do interior upholstery. With a bad first experience with upholstery, Kreuder
leaves interior restoration up to an upholstery business in Lanark.
"It's very hard - a lot of compound curves....one of those things that looks easier
than it is." Kreuder said.
"I took a couple upholstery classes in college. We had a club that all the guys were
in and I sewed my car club jacket to a seat cover that I was doing." he said. "I had to
have the instructor unstitch me I could have my arm back. I decided it was the last
upholstery thing I needed to do."
Interiors are the only part of the price of restoring a car and the cost can reach in
upwards of $12,000 to $14,000 for the experience and craftsmanship of a good
upholsterer. Kreuder said it's hard to convince clients to spend that kind of money
on interior.
"Some people just don't understand what it takes very few of these cars will ever get
worked on and have less invested than their worth. That's always the goal, but
never works." Kreuder said.
Working with clients can be very easy or it can be very difficult. Projects can have a
touch-and-go response depending on how much the client wants to be involved with
the process and their expectations. Very much is based on the initial interaction
when Kreuder discusses jobs with possible clients.
"If a person gives you a bad vibe or you know is gonna be a pain, walk away from
them because you'll cause more heartache than you'll ever do good." Kreuder said.
Al Carradus is one of Kreuder's clients. Carradus is very much a part of the process,
making trips from his home in Wheaton to Chadwick to look on the progress of his
cars Kreuder is working on. Kreuder said he welcomes input in order to a stop a
problem before it goes too far. Carradus and Kreuder sometimes just like to talk
shop. Carradus has multiple automobiles Kreuder is working on.
"He a lot of fun, it gets to a point when some days I think we're dating. You talk to
him so many times and you're involved with so much of his collection. You're really
tied to the person." Kreuder said.
Carradus said he owns varied and eclectric mix of more than 57 restored
automobiles, most of which are Packards and Lincolns. He said he enjoys the big old
luxury cars.
Collecting cars to Carradus ia fun hobby he and his wife, Mary, enjoy.
"If I want to pick my parents to take them to supper it's kind of fun to pick them up in
an old car. If I'm going to meet someone it's just kind of fun to take an old car."
Carradus said.
Some of the cars Carradus has restored are gifts. For his wife he bought her a 1962
Ford convertible, the first car he drove when he first met her. For their 30th
anniversary he bought her a 1973 Mustang, the same model car he bought her
when they got married.
Josh does all our body and beautification work. Ever since I saw Josh's first work I've
thought he's done only the highest quality work." Al Carradus said.
Al Carradus has different uses for each car, some are for work, some are for play
and some are to drive the family around at yearly picnics.
"We usually have a big family picnic every year. This past year we had a 1920 Essex
Touring car that everybody was just getting rides in up and around the block and
the neighborhood and town just driving along and singing. I had aunts and uncles in
their late 70s that came in from Iowa and they were just having a ball." he said.
Al Carradus said he just enjoys sharing his car collection with his family and letting
his four children drive them.
"I hate to get the word out that Josh does such an excellent job because I don't want
him to get tied up with everybody else's stuff that he can't work on mine." Al
Carradus said.
Setting a price for different jobs can also pose difficulties.
"I had a couple come in here with a GTO convertible. The wife wants to know how
much it will cost and their car was rusted like Fred Flintstone,
feet-on-the-ground-to-stop-it and I said 'Go find the car in the condition you like and
double it.' he said.
Most prices of the couches and memorabilia depends on where they are being sold
in the market.
"I'm getting better at the whole negotiation part. It's so easy to get overwhelmed. I
mean one guy is an executive for Exxon mobile and calls me very occasionally
because he's always out of the country doing this and doing that. It's intimidating."
he said.
"it's like Eric always said, they put their pants on the same way in the morning."
Kreuder said.
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