INSIDE THIS
YEAR’S SECTION
FALL
ICE, ICE, MAYBE? | C2
2017
TAX CREDITS | C3
ROOF REPAIR | C4
&
CAR CARE
IN THE DETAILS | C5
‘SECRET LOCATION’
USED AS A POSITIVE
Helix couple restores, rebuilds classic cars
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
EO Media Group
T
he black 1928 Dodge Coupe with a
louvered hood sits innocently the outside
Holton Secret Lab shop.
But given the chance, it’ll blow your
doors off.
“I made the whole car around the engine,” said Bill
Holton. “It has a dual 4-barrel carburetor, tunnel ram,
nitrous injected V-12.”
The car is ready to go fast, but Bill has more work to
do. He’ll paint the engine red, polish the valve covers,
get the manifolds chromed, and make it look as smooth
as it drives.
But all that may have to wait.
Bill and Marcy Holton rarely work on their own
cars — they’re too busy restoring them for other people.
Holton Secret Lab, located on the couple’s property
outside Helix, offers full frame-off restorations for
classic cars, street rods and muscle cars. They do engine
and body work, and assist people with partially done
projects.
The couple started the shop in 1992, but they have a
long history with cars. Bill’s father, Herb, started a body
shop in Vale in 1945. Bill grew up working on cars, and
he and Marcy met when they were both driving 1960s
Corvettes.
Employees often put more than 1,000 combined
hours of labor into the cars, which range from 1930s
classics to sports cars from the last few years.
The team of six employees — not including Bill and
Marcy — fall into two basic categories.
“They make ’em look good, we make ’em go,”
said Kevin Rolstad who, along with John Riddle, is a
mechanic.
See SECRET LAB, Page C6
Bill Holton,
owner of
Holton Secret
Lab outside of
Helix, stands
in front of a
wall of tools
for doing body
work. Some of
the tools date
back to a shop
Holton’s father
opened in
1945.
STAFF PHOTO BY
E.J. HARRIS