Garage
meanings
In the Garage with Cindy Meitle
Chris Runge Publisher - The MotoringJournal.com Chris Runge is the publisher of the popular car blog TheMotoringJournal.com. His blog was something spawned from a love of vintage Porsche cars and needing somewhere to document his work and processes for living with old cars. Not too long ago, Chris decided out of the blue that he would like to craft his first handmade automobile, having never done so before. From buck to finished product, the result is nothing short of incredible. In fact, Bill Warner has invited the car to be displayed at the prestigious 2013 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in Florida. Chris resides in rural Western Minnesota and enjoys his garage and his shop, which is the same place he sat in his first Porsche at 7 years old. Cindy Meitle: What is your favorite item in your garage and why? Chris Runge: I love my English Wheel. Squeezing flat metal to make it look like a car is something I’ll never get over. CM: What is one item you have always wanted in your garage that you hope to one day acquire, and why do you want it so much? CR: I would like to get a Pullmax. It’s a large tool used for shaping metal. Although I think some of the charm of my shop right now is that I basically have a homemade English Wheel, some hammers, and a welder. I think people stop by expecting to see more tools. When I show them random pieces of pipe, logs, and hammers for shaping metal, they can’t believe I made a car out of it. CM: What’s the strangest item in your garage? How did you acquire it, and why does it remain in the garage? CR: It has to be this 1959 Volkswagen 36HP Engine. Now why would that be strange or unusual? I took it on a horse trade from a guy who claimed it ran Pikes Peak in the early ‘60s. The story (which is so farfetched I couldn’t help but take it) goes that while a Mr. Mori-Kubo was dashing up Pikes Peak, there was a spectator who fell in love with the little Bug. This spectator supposedly wrote movie scripts for Walt Disney. They went back and pitched the story of this little bug, “Herbie,”
80
Garage Style Magazine Winter 2012
and you know the rest of the story... Everything in my shop, even the junk, has a story behind. It’s a lot of fun to share it with people. CM: What are you doing most of the time when in your garage? CR: Well, it might look like I’m working, wheeling alloy for bodies, fixing on my cars... But behind all of it, I’m thinking nonstop and my brain goes a mile a minute. It’s sort of my therapy to be working with my hands, but my brain is always going. It’s the place where I can disappear. A good friend told me once, “If it can’t be figured out in the garage, it’s probably not worth worrying about.” That’s the feeling you get in my shop. CM: Did you spend much time in the garage growing up? What are your memories? CR: Yes, most of my garage time was at my uncle’s shop just down the road from our house. I loved being around cars. Since I was born, anything with wheels fascinated me. My uncle always had old Chevy’s, Mustangs, and neat juke boxes and automobilia that he was restoring. He fostered my interest in cars and to this day helps me with my projects. He is a hobbyist, but probably one of the best DIY’ers I’ve ever known. CM: Can you give us a quote about what the garage means to you? CR: “Spending a couple hours in the garage... It’s like a vacation. It’s a place that makes you feel good. It stimulates creativity and inspires new ideas. “ Thank you Chris for a peek into your garage life.