Legendary custom car creator Chuck Miller poses with the Red Baron Roadster Aug. 14 during the Chuck Miller Styline Customs Tribute Exhibition at the Lincoln Park Historical Museum.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
LINCOLN PARK – Native son and car connoisseur Chuck Miller and his mobile masterpieces were on display Aug. 14 as part of a Styline Customs Tribute Exhibition at the Lincoln Park Historical Museum.
As a teen growing up Downriver in the ’50s, Miller was obsessed with cars, building models before moving on to create his own hot rods.
He worked at a collision shop after high school, buying it from the owners at age 20, and renaming it Styline Customs. Fixing fenders and bumping out dents paid the bills, but creating custom cars fueled his passion, and started earning him awards and clients.
The names of the cars are as unique as the vehicles themselves, with names like Bugs Buggy, the Crater Raider, the Sonic Cuda and the Woodburner.
The Red Baron Roadster, one of his favorites, began as a model kit before it became an award-winning, life-sized vehicle.
Miller said it was overwhelming to see so many people turn out Aug. 14 to see the cars he customized.
“I feel very blessed, and I am just so happy about it,” he said.
Musical artist Margaret Doll Rod performs on the Hallmark Red Baron guitar Aug. 14 during the Chuck Miller Styline Customs Tribute Exhibition at the Lincoln Park Historical Museum.
Miller said he has been a car guy his entire life.
“I started out, like a lot of kids, building model cars, when I was 12, 13 years old,” he said. “And it just elevated and got farther and farther.”
Miller said his first car was a 1950 Ford, which he got when he was 16, and he was 18 when he finished it, in time for his 1961 graduation from Lincoln Park High School.
The Red Baron, however, is his all-time favorite custom car.
“I built it, then I sold it to a gentleman from New Jersey,” he said.
He said he drives a custom car as much as he can, but that didn’t happen much last year, during the pandemic.
“I try to get them out when I can,” he said. “Toys cost money, and a lot of them are toys, but you need toys, and growing up is an option, but getting old is mandatory.”
Museum Curator Jeff Day said that while he was pleased with the turnout, he was even more pleased with the sunny weather.
While electrical power was out immediately around them from the recent storms, the museum had power, allowing the music system to work at full volume.
Mayor Thomas Karnes presented Miller with a key to the city, and musical artist Margaret Doll Rod performed on the Red Baron electric guitar.
Karnes also was pleased with the turnout.
“It’s probably the best day of summer,” he said. “It’s an eclectic group here. You have kids coming in, for the first time, and the old timers, who have been working on cars. It’s a great event.”
Karnes said the outdoor event allowed people to social distance, as well as to choose whether to wear a mask.
“I think everybody’s just having a good time,” he said. “It’s nice to be out in the sun. You’re still worried in the back of your mind what’s going on and the potential, but at some point, you have to start living again.”
Former city councilman and community volunteer Chris Dardzinski said considering Lincoln Park has a population of under 50,000, it is remarkable for its historical museum to host an exhibit of this caliber.
“It took 18 months to put this together,” he said. “This is unique; other museums are not going to get this. This is exceptional.”
Attendees enjoy viewing mobile masterpieces Aug. 14 during the Chuck Miller Styline Customs Tribute Exhibition at the Lincoln Park Historical Museum.