Most people ask Rick when he became interested in cars and the general answer is the ever-commonly used, "I was born with a wrench in my hand." In this case, it is all but true. His father was a master sergeant in the US Air Force and was an Airframe and/or Powerplant (A&P) mechanic. rick's older brother also grew up loving cars and was a radar technician in the US Air Force as well. His brother raced cars, so Rick was exposed to wrenching at a very early age when his brother would bring his car buddies home. Rick was often exposed to these cars in his driveway and taken for many rides.

By the time Rick was 18, he had already owned several muscle cars, some of which included an SS427 Impala and a 1969 Chevelle SS396 with a transplanted 450-hp 427. His Chevelle was one of the fastest cars in town, and it became a car to watch out for at Friday and Saturday street races. Shortly after that, Rick started bracket racing in earnest, and by 1971 he was wrenching on a Pro Stock team running a 1981 Camaro. After graduating from high school, Rick went to Dunwoody Industrial Institute with hopes of becoming a mechanic, but he realized shortly after joining the working ranks that wrenching was more of a hobby and not a career, as least from a repair standpoint. He did finally land a job with Corvette Specialties in Minnesota, and within a short period of time, Rick was restoring Bloomington Gold Corvettes for many customers. This was more in line with what he was looking for, and the future had been set.

Not being happy working for someone else and not making enough as a restorer, Rick set his sights on a corporate job. He continued doing restorations on the side for customers. By the time he was in his mid-20s, he had restored several cars for friends and customers and was making a name for himself. In 1984, one of his cars was featured in three different car magazines, and that exposure started the blood flowing in earnest as well as the pay. Rick continued to restore many cars on the side.

In 2001, one of his customer restorations, a 1970 LS6 Chevelle scored as the second-highest scoring Chevelle in the country under the Diamond Certification process. From then on, the cars came to him with high demands and with enough requests that it was time to make change. Rick started Musclecar Restorations and Design and worked out of his home shop. Then in 2008, rick moved to a small town in central Illinois and opened a large shop where he was able to restore several cars at a time. Business boomed, and within a few short years Rick was over-whelmed with work. He hired on a full-time restorer to help.

Though not a journalist by any stretch, Rick helped write several magazine feature articles and also provided several authors with information to write their books. This gave Rick an opportunity to see how things were done in automotive publications. Rick's business is booming, and his restorations are some of the best in the country. It is not a job, it is an obsession.

In addition to restorations and writing, Rick also travels the country inspecting LS6 Chevelles. He was instrumental in helping Lane Collectibles build and design its first die cast LS6 Chevelle with Rick Providing more than 600 photographs and technical information to make it one of the highest detailed die casts available.

Update - 2024:
Rick has since retired from the physical restoration work and now devotes his time to doing inspections on LS6 Chevelles and possible LS6 Chevelles for customers all over the Untied States. Rick now leads a 'normal' life in the same town in eastern Illinois with his long-time companion, Annie and his ever-present English Mastiffs.