Private collection in Huntington Beach merges business and fun
In Huntington Beach, California, Tim Miller founded Surf City Garage to produce what the company calls “Enthusiast Grade” car care products. A car enthusiast to the core, he fed his passion by working in the construction field, developing various properties for over 30 years.
“We don’t buy cars to flip them, we hold onto them,” said Tim. “We’ve had a lot of these cars for better than 20 years, and we have a line of cars awaiting restoration.”
Surf City Garage waxes, polishes, and cleaners can be found in a variety of places including Pep Boys and Walmart, and while some balk a bit at their slightly higher prices, Tim reminds that SCG products are produced to much higher standards than many other cleaners.
“These products were custom blended for us to care for our cars,” he said. “In creating them, we used higher-quality ingredients and higher levels of them. The result was a more expensive formula, but one that protected better, provided deeper shine, and was easier to use, but truth be told, we were having fun making the cleaning products.”
Established in 2007 with the help of Matt Rigdon, business development manager, Surf City Garage made a splash with their unique and proprietary labels and product names, each very reminiscent of the beach and motoring lifestyle. Products like Barrier Reef Wash and Wax, Pacific Blue Wash and Wax, Wipe-Out Scratch Eliminator, Road Trip Grime Destroyer, and many more combined with colorful, graphically interesting labels to entice car enthusiasts to try a bottle out.
“A little goes a long way, that’s part of the quality,” he said.
Not exactly the mantra Tim lived by when collecting, though – in that case, a lot goes a long way. Centered on American muscle cars and classics from the 1950s, Tim amassed an astonishing collection of cars and automobilia over the years. Simply put, the Surf City Garage is sensory overload, and it’s magnificent. The floor in the showroom and café are large black and white tile. The café has seating for several people among a few cars and motorcycles, with a display gas station on one side and a room filled to the brim with old oil cans and lubricant products on the other. Brightly lit neons and blinking bulbs join static porcelain signs and dealership promotionals in the showroom to create a visual like no other. Murals are here and there giving glimpses of Huntington Beach lifestyles.
Largely steering the SCG boat is Tim’s daughter, Carrie Piscotty, who became an architect but joined Tim to run the wax company. A car gal in her own right, she owns a 1967 Camaro and loves to play with cars.
“I grew up around cars, and they are in the blood,” said Carrie. “The cars are a lot of fun, but we all really enjoy interacting with the car clubs and owners and enthusiasts. It is a really big, tightly knit community, and it’s fun to be part of it.”
Uniquely bringing it all full circle is a 1958 Chevrolet Pickup truck in the diner that Tim learned to drive on. Bought new by his Dad, the truck was sold years ago out of the family and bringing it back into the family was a dream of Tim’s which came to fruition about 20-years ago. It was found in two pieces, but all the pieces were there and Tim had it entirely restored in honor of his Dad. In good company, the Chevy resides among other beautiful GM vehicles like Corvettes, GTOs, Camaros, and Bel Airs, but the population is split with some Plymouth GTXs, Dodge Chargers, Ford Thunderbirds and Crown Victorias and just a general mishmash of greatness.
“When you love what you do, you usually do it well,” said Tim. “We have a lot of fun here, a lot of the team has been with me since the beginning and some before that. We love cars and the community that goes with it, we love collecting and the hunt, and we love producing fine products to help our friends keep their cars looking sharp.”
If their car care line is as good as their collection, it’s well worth trying out.
