One thing we’re really proud of is that we’ve focused on important historic cars and showed people how to do them right and not half-ass. But it’s been cool to learn the process and see how things work behind the scenes. I would have never thought I’d end up on TV.
I hate seeing myself on TV and I hate how I sound. Shuten: Hell no! It still feels weird to me. Did you ever picture yourself as a reality TV star? GG: The first season of your reality show, ‘Car Kings,’ just finished airing.
I did a lot of cool tricks on that car that I had been saving up for years. I was allowed to do whatever I wanted with that one, and then we realized it would cost way too much money to ever do that again. My favorite car I ever built though was the Iron Orchid. When they found Orbitron, it was in Juarez, Mexico, being used as a dumpster in front of a sex shop! Another favorite is the Dan Woods Ice Truck. GG: You’ve restored some pretty incredible historical cars since then. Within a month, I had moved across the country, quit a job at GM most guys would kill for, and filed for divorce!
At the time, GM was a mess, and I was very unhappily married, so I just bailed. Six months later, he called and wanted me to work on a Mustang for SEMA, and after that, he suggested I just move there. I took a leave from GM for four months and restored it. We became friends, and when they found Roth’s Orbitron, Beau bought it and called me out to California to lead the restoration. Right around when I was finishing a replica of Roth’s Mysterion, I met Beau from Galpin. I worked for GM and would go home and build cars at night. What made you give up that job and move to Southern California and join Galpin?ĭave Shuten: That was the result of me making a series of crazy decisions in a very short period of time. Goodguys Gazette: You were a tool maker at GM in Michigan for almost 17 years. We talked to Shuten about his decision to leave GM (and Michigan) behind for life in Sunny California, as well as his unexpected career as a reality TV star. Galpin Speed Shop is known for pumping out unique creations and restoring well-known hot rods, including creations by George Barris and Ed Roth. “I’ve literally been building cars since I was 14,” said Shuten, who today does double duty as the star of Discovery Channel’s “Car Kings” reality show and the creative force behind Galpin Speed Shop. Thanks to the indoor car shows that took place near his hometown, not to mention growing up in the shadows of General Motors (a place he’d go on to work for 17 years), Shuten caught the car bug early and has dabbled in automotive pursuits ranging from making tools, to building automotive creations, to appearing on a car-themed reality show. Like many kids growing up in Michigan, Dave Shuten became fascinated with cars at a young age.
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