Owners Taj Davis, left, and Steve Davis, right, and family. (Credit: Randy Spaide)
North Penn graduate Steve Davis always had a dream of opening his own business.
Revving up his business engines, Steve Davis is an automotive wizard who can make a rusty old jalopy glisten like a showroom star — think of him as the Dr. Frankenstein of cars, but with far fewer lightning bolts and a lot more polished chrome.
Breathing new life into the golden age of automobiles, Davis’s new state-of-the-art automotive repair and restoration shop called D&N Automotive Group in Skippack Township seamlessly blends vintage craftsmanship with front-line technology, turning both classic and contemporary cars into timeless masterpieces.
For instance, in his laboratory now are a newer Subaru awaiting a timing belt, a 1956 F-100, and a 1966 AC Cobra, the latter of which is getting a rebuilt motor.
D&N Automotive Group – named after Davis’s surname and his wife and business manager Taj Niknam Davis’s maiden name – celebrated its grand opening at 1194 Collegeville Road on Jan. 11, after a month in business.
“I’ve been working for others for many years, and I do a ton of side work on the weekends. It then turned into classic cars and restoration-type stuff,” Davis, a former Hatfield Township resident and member of North Penn’s Class of 2002, said. “I decided to go out on my own. I pulled the trigger and here I am.”
D&N Automotive Group specializes in modern work and classic restorative work. Davis is certified in welding and all necessary ACE credentials.
“I’m known in this area for car work. Collegeville Road was perfect because it is eight minutes from my house, where before I was traveling 45 minutes to an hour each way. I got tired of doing that,” he said. “This has always been my dream. This is all I know, as my wife says.”
After his first month in business, Davis – also known as “Turbo Steve” – said things have been going very well.
“I can’t complain. We had a big grand opening party. There were so many cars out there,” he said. “It felt great, man. I wanted to do this for so long.”
Davis, 41, is raising two children, with a daughter in her second year of college.
“I thought it would be hard to do moneywise, but we were able to put everything together and pull through,” he said. “We jumped, and here we are.”
D&N is mostly a family business: His son, Michael, and his father, Rich Davis, are usually in the garage working on cars. Taj’s father, Ali Niknam, also helps out. Davis also employed a full-time service writer in Jason Barnes.
D&N Automotive Group is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Contact them for your next car repair or restoration work at 215-206-9450 or email info@dnautomotivegroup.com
