AREA MAN RESTORES CARS FOR RICH, FAMOUS

KELSO -- Roger Gibson is good enough at his craft to command the attention of a billionaire, a pro football player and many others who can afford to pay him from $35,000 to $100,000 to restore their old cars.

Yet, in the snug town of Kelso, population 526, he is something of an unassuming and undiscovered automobile artist.

"A woman in town heard that I did some work as a painter," Gibson said with a wry smile. "She said the way times were, maybe I could use some extra money painting her refrigerator. I guess there are more people outside of this town that know what I really do than those who live here."

Gibson, 42, who has been in the business of restoring old cars since 1970, doesn't go out of his way to attract attention. His business sign, which reads "Roger Gibson, Auto Restoration since 1980," stands out against the front of a white garage with the blue-collar sameness of a mechanic's name on a company-issued uniform.

His passion for restoring cars with painstaking exactness, however, separates him from those who claim to have profound knowledge about an engine and the body that protects it.

"I don't just fix cars; I restore them to their original make and model," Gibson said. "There's an art to that. I've spent 2,000 hours restoring a heap of rust into something that looks like the original."

Gibson doesn't hesitate to point out his favorite engine: the Hemi 426-cubic-inch engine. "They stopped making them in 1970 because of emission standards, but I think it's one of the best ever built as far as performance goes."

He said he plans to write a book titled "Hemi Fact" and he wants it to be "the definitive book on those type of engines."

It is the very drive to lose himself in his art and attain perfection that led him to a meeting with Los Angeles Times owner and billionaire Otis Chandler.

"I told Chandler a long time ago that I'm not after making something pretty," said Gibson. "I want a car to look just like it did when it was made. If it had a sloppy paint job under the hood, I want it to have that same look again; if the engine had '87 painted on it, I'll paint it back on."

Chandler "seemed to respect me for holding to my principles," Gibson said. "He's bagged more bears and wasted more money than I'll see in a lifetime, but we seem to get along fine because we both have one thing in common: restoring and owning old cars."

Chandler has been doing business with Gibson since 1987. Gibson has been rubbing elbows with the likes of Jay Leno, Reggie Jackson and countless other luminaries ever since.

The first time Chandler flew Gibson to Los Angeles to discuss business, he didn't really know what he was getting into. "I said I was pretty busy. He just said he would make it worth my while," Gibson said.

Gibson began to see just who he was dealing with when he overheard Chandler talking to George Bush over the phone. "They were talking about a dinner party they planned to attend together," Gibson said. "The Chandlers made the Bush's and Reagan's what they are today," Gibson said.

Gibson, a 1971 graduate of Cape Girardeau Central High School, considered moving to Los Angeles to tap the mother lode of what has become a business that seems to know no recession.

"Once I saw how much property went for, and met some of the people in Los Angeles who would rather rob you than look at you, I decided I didn't need that kind of a sewer," Gibson said. "I enjoy meeting the people I work for because they're all fascinating in their own way. But I also like to get back to Kelso and keep in touch with the simple life, too."

Chandler heard about Gibson's ability to make a 1958 Corvette look as if it just rolled off the assembly line. "I'm very picky about my work," Gibson said. "That makes me very demanding and a hard person to work for."

He learned his work ethic from his father, who worked for Superior Electric in Cape Girardeau. "He got up every day and worked hard," Gibson said. "He taught me to never settle for anything but my best effort."

Gibson has paid for his high standards. He has managed to keep just one worker for any length of time.

"Alan Dee, who has worked for me 13 years, has been with me longer than anybody," Gibson said.

John Justice has been working for Gibson for six months. Most of the mechanics and bodymen who work for Gibson see how much he wants to stick to the smallest detail and realize they don't want any part of it.

Dee and Justice were busy Tuesday working on a rush job for Pittsburgh Steeler linebacker Kevin Greene. Gibson said most of the cars his company works on take about a year and a half to finish. "We're busting it to get this car ready for Kevin Greene by the summer," he said.

Gibson is restoring a 1969 Charger for Greene. "I have a special appreciation for Kevin," Gibson said. "He's a little different from most of the people I deal with. He wants me to put different tires on the car than the original, and I want to keep it just like it was when it was first made. I feel like I'm the coach here and he's the player. But when you've got millions of dollars, you can pretty much have what you want. And after all, he did make the All-Madden team."

One of the reasons Gibson strives to become the best at his trade is the knowledge that his clients are rich enough to go elsewhere. But there was a bonus he didn't anticipate.

"One of the things about this business I didn't expect was all the friendships," he said. "I still go hunting with clients who no longer have work done here."

He has come a long way from the time he managed to tow a 1957 Ford into the backyard at the tender age of 14. "I never got that car started," Gibson mused. "Ever since then I've been fascinated with how everything worked and how the original model was meant to look. I guess my profession is also my hobby."

Judging from the list of clients who continue to bring him work, that fascination for a profession that has the look and feel of a hobby isn't likely to diminish any time in the near future.

"I've got to keep doing this," reasoned Gibson. "I don't know anything else."