The Style You Need

In Southern California, car culture is a pastime entrenched in tradition and nostalgia. Here in Orange, we have three establishments with a passion for car care. Detail Garage provides products and education to keep your vehicles detailed, Shine Speedshop specializes in restoration and customization, and Wheel Warehouse ensures your ride has the tread and style you need.

In July 2020, Adriana and her husband, Hector, began their future specializing in car care, signing the lease for Detail Garage Orange. Since then, they have quickly established themselves as the go-to place for all things car detailing.

While Hector worked to get their new shop ready, Adriana and her friend Dareyli Pena attended the Chemical Guys’ masters course to learn about the product line and how to use the various chemicals.

“At Chemical Guys headquarters, we learned how to properly take care of all vehicles, including washing, claying, waxing, paint correction and protecting coatings like ceramic coat, as well as the correct use of degreasers and dilution to use on both interior and exterior,” says Adriana. “We also learned about wheel cleaners and which rim cleaners to use on specific rims.”

Putting into practice what they learned, they began detailing their own cars and those of friends and neighbors. When the shop opened, their foundation was doing demos on customers’ vehicles to help them better identify their needs.

“Part of our service is to teach our customer s,” says Hector. “The most common demos are clay wax for the exterior, and for the interior, leather cleaning and conditioning.”

Hector offers polishing classes twice a month to teach how to properly do paint correction. The four-hour class runs from 10 am to 2 pm.

“We break down how the surface of the paint looks and steps on how to polish, how the pads work, what type of compounds to use, depending on the vehicle, and then we finish the lesson with protective coating,” says Hector. The personalization is where Detail Garage is different.

Hector DeGante, Adriana DeGante (front) and Dareyli Peña have built a following on social media at #detailgarageorange, where they say the “before and after videos” are the most popular.

“We have four different kinds of leather products,” says Adriana. “Why? Not all cars are taken care of the same way. With a brand-new car versus someone who is an Uber driver, I’m going to recommend a different product and treatment.”

They also host a Rides and Coffee once a month on Sundays from 9 am to 11 am in their parking lot, where they provide live demos, highlight discounts throughout the store, hold raffles, and naturally, serve doughnuts and coffee.

John Silvestri from Orange is a car enthusiast who does The Friends of Steve McQueen Car & Motorcycle Show in Chino Hills. He met Hector and Adriana when he approached them about donating a raffle prize.

“They didn’t hesitate,” says Silvestri. “They’re not just a shop in Orange. They know their people and their product, and their customer service is outstanding. I recommend them all the time.”

“In California, because we have such beautiful weather, the car culture here is strong,” says Adriana. “A lot of our customers want to have the brand-new look of a car without the brand-new car payment—and that’s what we’re here for.”

Restoration and customization are the name of the game at Shine Speedshop. Owner Jimmy Falschlehner—known as Jimmy Shine—is a recognizable name in the world of classic car culture. His shop in Orange has 16 to 17 car projects going at any given time.

“We do everything from what we call a shave and a haircut, which is in and out and down the road,” says Shine. “And then we have projects that are long-term and more involved.”

Shine has been building hot rods and cars since he was a kid. He built his first car at the age of 14— a 1940 Willys All steel Gasser style truck. “It took me two years and two days,” he recalls.

Originally in a location off of Katella, Shine Speedshop moved to its current location five years ago for a larger space.

“We’re not an automotive repair shop. We’re kind of a glorified hobby shop,” says Shine. “Car people are very passionate. Our main product that we sell is fun.”

Shines’ clients include collectors, hot rodders, car enthusiasts and celebrities. It’s a family business. Shine and his wife, Nikki, met when they were 12. Their daughter Kayla has an office there, as does Nikki’s mom, Penny. The two are part of a nineemployee team.

Shine has been in this industry since the mid-1980s. He starts with a hulk, a body, a chassis and sources parts worldwide. “In year’s past, I was a 1920s, 1930s, 1940s Ford guy,” he says. “But times change, and now we do a lot more 1950s and 1960s cars.”

Shine grew up racing and for the last 25 years has been doing El Mirage landspeed racing. “I had a Model A roadster with an injected supercharged small block Chevy 301 cubic inch that I went 208 miles per hour in,” he says. “That got me into the 200 mile per hour club. More people have been to the top of Mount Everest or have been in outer space than are in the 200 mile per hour club.”

Shine has a lot of local Orange clients, as well as people from all over the world.

Dave Keister grew up in Orange and was raised around cars his whole life. He met Shine when he worked on his 1965 C10 Glasser, and they’ve been close friends ever since. “Jimmy is like a brother,” says Keister. “He’s a good listener when it comes to projects. He plays more of a team role with the customer, which makes him different from other builders.”

One of Shine’s good friends is Billy Gibbons from ZZ top, whose 1984 El Camino he customized.

“Our vehicles are very eclectic,” says Shine. “We’ve been approached by people all over the world. It’s a multistep process. We start with a phone call, photos and ideas, and see where that takes us.”

Chris Granger and Mike Yablonka know a thing or two about wheels and tires. Located at the corner of Katella and Batavia since 2016 is Wheel Warehouse / Orange Tire. Founded in 1979 in Anaheim, Wheel Warehouse has a long history in the wheel and tire industry. Being one of the original boutique wheel stores and creating one of the first websites in the wheel industry in 1996, they have built a loyal customer following.

Ted Bernez is a local car enthusiast who has known Granger for more than 20 years and only gets his tires from Wheel Warehouse.

“Chris is the most ethical businessman I’ve ever met,” says Bernez. “Customer and safety oriented, he is fair and has saved me a lot of money.”

Granger’s early knowledge came from working for a wheel importer, before moving on to manufacturing and installation. While serving as manager at Wheel Warehouse, he started a company that resold the factory wheels that are traded in. This has become a big part of Wheel Warehouse today.

“For many of our customers, we are their next stop after the dealer,” says Granger. “There are a lot of reasons why someone would come here. Generally, you want wheels, but you need tires.”

The staff at Wheel Warehouse pride themselves on educating their customers, whether catering to the seasoned automobile enthusiast or simplifying the technical aspect of wheels and tires to satisfy requests for different cosmetic looks.

Granger has been involved with the aftermarket wheel industry since 1986. He brought brotherin-law Mike into the business in 2005. With Granger’s technical experience and Yablonka’s busi- ness skills, combined with a long-time knowledgeable staff, this family business has evolved into a full-service shop that sells and installs wheels and tires, as well as lift kits, vehicle lowerings and alignments.

“What has kept us going is we know wheel s,” says Granger. “Everything associated with wheels and tires is actually engineered for performance, but 90 percent of what we sell and install is to enhance the cosmetic appeal of the vehicle. We know what fits cars, pickups, trucks or hot rods. Every car is different in size, bolt pattern, offset and brake clearance.”

As an independent dealer, Wheel Warehouse is there to match the proper brands with customer needs.

“The wheels you put on a car affect a lot of other things such as your ride, your look and how your steering wheel feels when you’re driving, says Granger. “Our goal is to provide the best wheel and tire options to match each customer’s needs. We stand behind all products and services we offer.” •