Personality Bio

 

Personality Bio

958

Wallace

Tailor Made Cars; A Unique Side of Reggie Bass

Photo courtesy of Reggie Bass

Born the son of a tobacco farmer in Roxboro, North Carolina, Reggie Bass learned the value of having a vision, hard word and bringing that vision into fruition. “Moonshine and cars were big where I grew up,” he jokingly said. He didn’t get into the moonshine business; however he developed a fondness for cars. At the age of 16, his father gave him an acre of land on their tobacco farm. He harvested his crop of tobacco, and used the money to purchase his first car, a 1966 Chevy Chevelle.  Throughout the years, he noticed older cars that piqued his interest.  He decided to restore a vehicle. That venture grew into a passion for cars that are tailor made.

Bass,  former Chief of Juvenile Probation for DeKalb County, and current Student Affairs counselor at Georgia Perimeter College’s Clarkston campus  not only has desire to bring out the best in people, he also brings out the best in the vehicles that he restores.                                                             

His passion for cars evolved into a hobby of restoring older cars, and leaving them looking better than they did originally. Bass says “When I see a car that I would like to restore, I already know exactly how I want it to look.” It seems as if he begins each project with an end in mind. Each vehicle is truly a labor of love, taking up to four years to complete. “This is not something that you do all at once, little by little, you work on a certain part, and then come back later and do a little more.” he said.

According to Ralph Sikes of American Resto Mods, restorations are all about conscientious research and meticulous craftsmanship, the work on your car may take  anywhere from a few months to over a year.  A restomod means that they restore the old body of your classic car to better-than-original condition and use the latest technology to enhance performance, beauty, comfort and safety.

Bass’s tailor made vehicles are unique and beautiful, inside and out. He has received numerous accolades and trophies for his cars.  To date he has restored a 1963 Corvette Stingray, 1967 Corvette Stingray, 1965 Mustang, and a 1972 Chevy Nova.  He has albums that depict the step by step process of the restoration of his vehicles

  Bass says his next project, which is still in the ‘vision’ stage is restoring a 1948 Chevy truck. “It’s going to be my final project. “ Not because he has lost interest, but he will have completed the projects that he chosen to undertake.  The Chevy truck will be his first venture with trucks. Bass says “I have never done a truck before but I already know how I want to do it; blacked out, with no chrome.”

Keith Maney of YEARONE Muscle Car Parts in Braselton, Ga. says that the car restoration business is big business everywhere.  It is especially popular with baby boomers “Baby Boomers want to own the cars that they grew up with.” Maney states.  YEARONE has been in business for 32 years. They have catalogs for car and truck parts dating from 1955 to present day. He also says that General Motors still offers a number of mechanical parts for their vehicles. For more information visit YEARONE.COM.

          Reggie Bass is also the president of the South DeKalb Street Rodders, a social club for classic car enthusiasts. Founded in 1988, he has presided over the club for the past eight years saying that some of the people in the car club don’t even own a classic car, but are just very interested in talking cars.

Bass explains that “Street Rodders is a non-profit organization with a twofold purpose; it allows all car, truck, and bike enthusiasts the opportunity to participate, fellowship and show off their prized collectibles in a structured family oriented environment. And equally as important we have the opportunity to help the less fortunate. We give back to the community, the proceeds of the cars shows are donated to needy families in the metro Atlanta area.”  They have cruise- ins where the members cruise to various destinations showing off their beautiful collectables, most recently in Helen Georgia this past October. The organization also gives back to the community by participating in civic activities, such as the Village of Stone Mountain Annual Christmas Parade held November 23, 2012 .

 

Bass has been with GPC for 24 years, 19 as a part time academic counselor while working full time at the DeKalb County Juvenile Court and five years as a full time academic counselor after retiring as the Chief Probation Officer for the Juvenile Court.  Bass worked there for over 30 years and impacted many kids and their families  

He is a husband and proud father of three girls, whom support his hobby. In addition to counseling and restoring cars, Bass is also an active player in a  35 years and older men's church basketball league.



Photo courtesy of Reggie Bass
 

 

“This is my ministry, I used to say that I should be paying them for letting me do this job.” Bass has always found working at GPC rewarding. “After working primarily with young people on the wrong side of the law, it is wonderful to make a difference in students’ lives that are trying to do the right thing.” He calls it his therapy.
As diligently as Bass restores cars, he helps refocus, and direct the academic lives of the
students at GPC .

Bass drives a 1991 Nissan Sentra, which has 475 thousand miles on it. He says that the
key to the longevity of his cars is “having regularly scheduled maintenance, and frequent oil
changes.”

Out of all of his re-creations, the only one that he has sold is the Chevy Nova. His mention of the 1948 Chevy truck being his last project didn’t sound very convincing given his passion and success with such remarkable projects.