*See the car show hosted by Clyne’s Classic Cars and shop images in the photo gallery below
Before he put together the Imperial Palace Auto Collection, and before he started a restoration shop in a prison, and before he founded Classic Express and The Auction, and before he conceived and built Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Richie Clyne was a wrench-turning, old-car hobbyist restoring Model A Fords with his dad in Long Island, New York.
Clyne’s first car—a 1929 Model A he bought when he was 12 years old—resides in his new shop in Las Vegas. The new shop is called Clyne’s Classic Cars and is managed by Clyne and his race car-driving son, Chris.
Inside the gray and red building, observers will find such treats as three Duesenbergs, an L29 Cord cabriolet, several dinosaur-like Turn-of-the-Century Ahrens-Fox fire engines, and a bright red Model T Ford clown car.
Car sales, however, are just one part of Clyne’s Classic Cars. The shop in North Las Vegas also features custom auto painting services, auto bodywork, powder coating, mechanical repairs on vintage cars and a chassis dynometer for tuning up engines. An unusual part of the business (but very necessary in Vegas) is a full sign shop that can do posters and other graphics.
The front of the building houses offices, restrooms and a 1900s-era barber shop that Richie Clyne bought lock, stock and barrel from a small town.
The shop area stretches over three massive rooms and includes large areas dedicated to all phases of classic car restoration. Several cars and fire trucks were being worked on when THE SHOP visited Clyne’s shop during the SEMA Show. The only area that’s relatively small is the woodshop, due to Las Vegas Fire Dept.’s restrictions.
Clyne’s future plans call for buying a building directly across the street (now a tune-up shop) to use for “dirty” jobs like blasting and grinding.
On Nov. 6, Clyne’s Classic Cars hosted members of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Club attending the organization’s Western Meet. About 17 ACD cars showed up, along with members driving a 1954 Corvette, a 1970 Chrysler 300 Horst coupe and several modern cars (see the images below).
Barry and Karen Meguiar of the well-known auto wax company and “Car Crazy” TV also came to the lunchtime gathering. All in all, about 65 people were in attendance.
Clyne’s Classic Cars is located at 4225 Production Court in Las Vegas.
Clyne is seen in the above photo (left to right) with Karen Meguiar and Barry Meguiar.
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Before he conceived and built Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Richie Clyne was a wrench-turning, old-car hobbyist restoring Model A Fords with his dad in Long Island, New York...
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