Hi, I’m Jon. I run this little getup you might know as Hard Luck Garage. I would like to answer a couple questions with this first post. Who am I, and why should you care?

Who am I?

Let’s get into it! Some of these bits and pieces are a little open-ended, but that’s intentional. I’ve got to have something to talk about later!

Who am I? Well, I’m a guy in his 30’s with a passion for traditional hot rodding and custom cars. I enjoy long walks on the beach… ok, ok. Let’s not go there. I was brought up with a hopelessly automotive background. My Dad owned and operated a small used car sales and service lot, and the end result was inevitable for me. I was his firstborn and only son, so I spent a lot of time around him and around cars in general, and eventually ended up turning wrenches in the family business.

Growing up, Dad always kept two old cars around: a ‘28 Model A sedan, and a ‘71 Olds 442 W-30. As some of you may know, the Model A is still with me today, which means, unfortunately, my dad is no longer with us. That’s a story for another day. These cars always had my attention. I would always bug him about getting them running and driving again, which we would eventually go on to do. More on this if you stick around!

Let’s circle back to another crucial developmental point in my life that steered me toward the traditional. I was a magazine kid. I had every car magazine subscription I could get from the school magazine sale, but they were all modern day, new car magazines. In my early teenage years, my uncle gave me a stack of old Rod & Custom mags he had lying around, and I would read them cover to cover. I was hooked! I have a tendency to be a purist when it comes to period correctness, and the traditional hot rod scene satisfied a lot of things that were growing inside me.

As life went on, I found myself in my twenties with several friends older than I was who were involved in traditional hot rodding in one way or another. They pushed me over the edge. I was able to get my hands dirty on some really cool builds, and build some lasting friendships and memories over the years. Believe me, I can get into these in more detail down the road here, too!

Why should you care?

I started Hard Luck Garage for a few different reasons:

1. There’s a huge local scene in West Michigan, and I want to showcase the locals. I want to put the West Michigan traditional car scene on a pedestal and show off what’s going on in this part of the world through video, photos, and writing.

2. I want to strengthen the existing community by putting out quality media that can be shared around, deepening personal connections with real people through cool old cars.

3. I want to produce accessible content that (I hope) inspires some younger people to pick up the torch of this hobby. 

My current fleet of vehicles:

I plan to dive deep and update as I go on each of these, so without further ado, here are my three current relevant project cars:

1928 Model A Sedan

1941 Chevrolet Business Coupe

1930’s Jalopy

That’s all folks!

This got a little long, but I had to start somewhere! Thanks for reading, and keep your eyeballs on your inbox for more!

Jon Van Oyen

Hard Luck Garage