Our Team - The Talented Craftspeople Behind the Scene
David Michele
David is co-owner of the shop and has been working on old cars since 1988 when he and his father rebuilt a Fiat X-19. His educational background is in automotive design, and his love of beautiful old cars and all things mechanical led to the creation of European Auto Restoration in 2003.
Juliet Michele
Juliet is co-owner of the shop. She supported the shop in its early years by working as a pastry chef. Her educational background is in graphic design, and now she manages the office, website, and marketing.
Steve Robertson
Steve is a master metal craftsman and painter. He spends long hours sanding, refinishing and painting each vehicle. He was trained by his father, Vern and they co-owned and operated Robertson Auto Body in West Olive, Michigan for decades. He has been with us from the beginning and we are fortunate to have him as part of our team.
Dean Lanham
Dean is a factory trained Porsche mechanic with many certifications and a wealth of knowledge.
Gildardo Quiroz
Gil is the parts manager and end of the line restoration specialist. He can be found carefully restoring and installing many of the mechanical systems after a vehicle chassis has been painted. He has the patience needed to follow through on a long and complicated rebuild.
Ben Hebel
Ben works in our machine shop and service studio. He can be found disassembling and rebuilding engines or working on other mechanical projects.
Uvaldo Avilez
Uvaldo is a welder and undercarriage restoration specialist. He is skilled in many areas, and he provides a much needed bridge between the mechanical work and the chassis restoration.
Cesar Castilleja
Cesar is an excellent welder, metalworker and all around craftsperson. He is careful, meticulous and has very high standards.
Caden Hippie
Caden is part of our refinishing team. He has the patience to spend many hours applying and sanding down primer to get every surface of a vehicle ready for paint. As a part of the refinishing team he is also becoming an excellent painter.
Rodrigo Salazar
Rodrigo is an apprentice mechanic who is also a natural with a paint gun. He supports many projects at once by degreasing, stripping, sandblasting, priming, and reassembling parts.
Silas Vanderpol
Silas is a lover of old Saabs. He excels at carefully dismantling and documenting the first stage of a restoration project. He also provides support for many projects by cleaning, stripping, sandblasting and priming parts.
Christian Meija
Christian is passionate about cars and he shows great promise as an apprentice mechanic.
Vera James
Vera James is a talented sewist with a lifetime of experience tailoring and upholstering. She can be found in our interiors studio custom crafting seats, door panels, headliner and anything that requires a steady hand.
Gerardo Michele
Gerardo Michele is a master wood craftsman and he handles all of our wood restoration projects. Gerardo apprenticed under his father in Italy until he moved to Connecticut, where he has worked as a cabinet maker for nearly 40 years. A true perfectionist, his work is as beautiful as it is rare.
Sadie
Sadie & Louis are the current shop dogs. Sadie is our lovely older dog, she is a friendly girl but she has to bark out a hello to everyone!
Louis
Lou is our younger shop dog. He likes to sniff out a greeting but he really just wants to play.
In Memory of
Vern Robertson
Vern Robertson brought us over 40 years of professional experience. He owned and operated Robertson Auto Body, on the north side of Holland, with his 2 sons for nearly 30 years. He was a gifted craftsman and we were fortunate to have him with us during our first few years in business. Vern worked on the Fiat 2100 and the Alfa Romeo Alfetta before he passed away in 2006.
The Dude
The Dude or Doodie was the best old shop dog we ever had. He passed away on a lovely afternoon in September 2018.
