My City September 2022

MYPASSION

military base where both of our fathers were stationed,” he shares. “Her family was from Flint and we decided to move to the area in 1991.They are classic car owners, as well – between all of us, we can have our own show! It definitely runs in our family.” His kids grew up to share his love including his son who has special needs, which led Stormer to an idea. “My son likes cars but doesn’t do well in heat or loud environments,” he explains. “So, I decided to take the show to him and his friends at his school, Marion D. Crouse, and to the kids at Elmer Knopf.” Stormer called up his friends and the group took their cars to the schools so the kids could see them, touch them, sit inside and take pictures. “We had about 15 cars and when the kids came out to see them, it was like Christmas morning,” he smiles. “My friends say it was the best show they ever did.” That pre-pandemic show led to the only award he got for his Catalina. “It was voted the ugliest car,” he laughs. Stormer has plans to do it again during this upcoming school year but the schools ask that the show be limited to six cars. With new enthusiasm, he hopes to hold more small car shows at other local locations such as care homes for the elderly. “Some people have limited mobility and difficulty traveling but love classic cars,” he states. “I thought, ‘why not bring the cars to them?’” And this time, he will be rolling in with his Cadillac. His 1949 Fleetwood is considered a “rat rod” (a custom car with a deliberately worn-down, unfinished appearance typically lacking paint, showing rust, ect.) and as such, is a different kind of car for Stormer. “Some consider a rat rod a poor man’s classic car,” he explains. “A traditional rat rod has been kept running with mix-and-match parts and has limited original pieces. Rat-rodding is a subculture within a culture. It’s the biker gang of the car world.” Stormer’s Caddy has most of its original parts with some exceptions; including the engine and transmission. “It has a Chevy 350 engine and a turbo transmission,” he states. Named the “Ratillac,” his car was said to embody the “spirit of rat-rodding” by one judge at the

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