The History of Larry McGray
Larry McGray’s love of cars goes back to 1956, when his parents bought him his first car – a 1950 Ford Custom convertible. A year later, he graduated from high school and began working at a Sheboygan body shop. Sixty plus years later he’s still at it, along with his wife Janice, rebuilding and restoring classic cars, trucks and other beloved antique pieces.
"After all these years, I still enjoy going to work every morning," says Larry. Larry opened his own restoration shop at age 19, though he continued to working at the Sheboygan body shop for 3 more years. In 1962, he went into business for himself full-time, doing street rod and modified car work with some collision repair work "to pay the bills," says Larry.
In 1973 he and Janice moved the business to Stiles Junction and called it Larry McGray's Antique Automotive, specializing in restoring vintage cars and trucks - "everything from the horseless carriage of the early 1900's to muscle cars," says Larry. “We enjoy 50's-style customizing and we also enjoy fabricating.”
Larry McGray's Antique Automotive is located at the junction of Highway 141 and Highway 22, just south of Lena at Stiles Junction. Visiting the showroom is a thrill for any vintage car lover, but it's a world that Larry McGray has happily occupied for over half a century!
Larry takes a great deal of pride in his craft and does a great deal of the restorations himself. He also has a long-time employee to assist him in the restoration process. While other restoration shops sub-contract a lot of their work out; “Larry says, “At Antique Automotive we like to keep as much of the work as we can under our own control. We take a personal approach and we invite people to tour our shop, see our state-of-the-art- facility and showroom and discuss their dreams.”
