BUSINESS FEATURE
BY DARCY SPRAGUE
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Derrick Stasica owns Steel Auto with his wife, Jennifer.
PHOTOS BY DARCY SPRAGUE COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
WHAT’S IN THE GARAGE? Owner Derrick Stasica highlights some of the vehicles that recently came through his shop for work. 1 1955 Mercury Montclair 2 1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom Replica 3 1967 Austin-Healey 3000 4 1992 Honda Beat
Steel Auto Local shop mechanically restores vintage, American and British cars J ust over a year ago, Derrick Stasica and his wife, Jennifer, opened Steel Auto. Nearby, was a lighter green Triumph and a baby blue Austin-Healey 3000, another British car. The connection between all of
Shimek Auto Service Center, and opened Steel Auto on July 20, 2021. To better de ne what the business does and help customers nd them, they will soon change the name to Steel Classic Garage. Stasica said the shop is the only British classic car shop in Central Texas that is registered with the British Motor Trade Association. Stasica said roughly half of his business is American-made cars. During a week in late August, a red Honda Beat imported from Japan—with a right-hand steering wheel—sat in front of the shop. Inside the shop a yellow Triumph TR6—a British car produced between 1968 and 1976—sat above another Triumph TR6 in green.
Steel Auto specializes in servicing vintage cars from any manufacturer and restorations for British and American vehicles. ”We do unique cars such as ’80s Rolls Royces, ’60s and ’70s Jaguars,” Stasica said. “A lot of places won’t touch those cars because they’re hard to get parts for and stu like that. Or they are also just built so di erently that it’s kind of a whole other ballgame.” Stasica worked in marketing prior to purchasing the shop, but he said he was not nervous to jump into the new business. He and his wife bought the garage, once the Ron
Steel Auto 824 Romeria Drive, Austin 512-454-2047 www.steelautomotivetx.com Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Sat.-Sun.
these cars is their age. Stasica said most cars the shop works on were built before 1999 or anything with a carburetor—a device that mixes air and fuel for internal combustion engines and was phased out by the end of the ’90s. Stasica said Austin has an active car scene and points to car meetups everywhere from P ugerville to the Circuit of The Americas and other events that highlight the depth of local interest in unique cars. “Austin’s [classic car] scene is a lot bigger than what people think,” Stasica said.
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