Photography by Kenny Kroeker.
The traditional—that is 1935 – 1959 American automobile—custom car community has an incredibly rich history. As one of the longest-standing forms of vehicle modification, the genre has had unbelievable staying power. While some contemporary styles have aged rather poorly there’s truly never been a time where an elegant custom hasn’t been in fashion.
The genre’s best builders often go on to become incredibly successful at whatever they do because their eyes are honed to pick up on details others overlook. The forethought and work ethic required to build a thorough and well-put-together custom can often be transferred to anything that allows for artistic creativity.
Ontario Canada’s John St Germain is considered by many to be one of the best custom car builders in all of Canada. However, don’t ask him to verify that consideration, St Germain humbly refers to himself as an individual who loves to build great cars alongside equally great people. St Germain, currently in his late 60s, found himself steered into the world of automobiles by his brother. The elder St Germain owned a 427-powered Model T coupe done in proper 1970s Toronto Street Rod style.
Influenced by his senior sibling St Germain purchased a Model T of his own. From that moment he became a lifelong fan of the Ford Motor Company and the vehicles they manufactured. Through the winding road of life, St Germain took a brief five-year detour from building cars. During that period he met his wife and started his business.
Unionville Heating was founded by St Germain in 1985. St Germain is mostly retired these days, enjoying the fruits of his labour. When he was at the helm business focus was quality work and exceptional customer service. Through its years of operation, St Germain has never used an answering service. “You call and you get a human, it was often myself” St Germain states proudly. This extra effort was not lost on his customers. Unionville Heating has won an astonishing twenty-two consecutive awards for the best heating and air conditioning business in Durham Ontario. This unique accomplishment was punctuated with a thank you letter from his local Member of Parliament. St Germain’s dedication has been passed on to his current employees and the business still thrives on his ideals today.
When the time was right to get back into the hobby St Germain started with a two-tone red over white 1956 Mercury. This car was purchased for his wife directly from another note-worthy car Ontario car builder, Noel Hamer.
St Germain eventually built a ‘his’ to his wife’s ‘hers’ and has been custom building vehicles ever since. Every car (9 and counting) built since rejoining the community has been featured in a magazine. This is an incredibly impressive track record in any genre.
“I look at what other people [who modify cars] are doing and don’t do it”, St Germain says describing his modification style. This simply put statement makes a lot of sense; one can’t expect to stand out by repeating the work of others.
Of his previous build names like Raevon (a 1956 Merc) ShoeZe (1950 Ford Business Coupe) and a 1936 Ford Roadster named Timebomb are legendary. Raevon got its name from the popular Buddy Holly tune, ShoeZe, despite being called a Pink car was a Coral hue over Dupont black. Timebomb was an 8-year effort to demonstrate just how creative he could get. For example, the exhaust tips are from 1957 Oldsmobile clock bezels.
Most recently he completed another 1956 Mercury called The Tri-Five Merc. The car was very heavily modified but looked factory-refined. It’s a build where the small details added up quickly; door corners were rounded, and bumpers were shaved and bathed in gleaming chrome. Slightly more overtly a front hood scoop from a 1954 Mercury was added along with the dash from a 1956 Oldsmobile. In total, the car has components from vehicles 54 through 56. The car sits low thanks to air ride suspension and the colour pallet showcased a deep candy rootbeer over a rich champagne. This is an abbreviated list of modifications mind you because the car has since been sold across the pond to a very happy owner in England.
The car you see featured predominantly adjacent to these words is that vehicle’s successor; The Mint Merc. While negotiating the purchase of a 1936 Ford three window he happened to spot a 56 Merc headlight obscured by miscellaneous garage items. When he asked if the car was for sale the seller said yes and the rest was history. The car is the most solid example St Germain has ever come across. He states that after having the vehicle acid dipped the body could have been chrome plated and showed as is. Thus the Mint Merc earned its appropriate moniker.
For St Germain’s purposes, however, it wouldn’t remain factory. The hood has been shaved, peaked and had a 1954 hood scoop added. The front fenders are a blend of 1956 Mercury and 1956 Lincoln. The side trim is from a 1955 Mercury while the front fender flares are from a 1954 Mercury. Like The Tri-Five Merc, the doors have had their edges rounded and the bumpers have been shaved and tucked. For The Mint Merc St Germain got his color inspiration from mother nature, or more precisely the American Blue Throated Mcaw. The beautiful calfskin and Italian corduroy leather interior mirrors the South American bird’s plumage. St Germain personally sought out long-time friend, Stephen Manchee for the leather, and located the material himself to develop the unique gold piping that separates the two colours inside the car.
Truly ‘Mint’ the frame has been painstakingly smoothed and painted along with the floors. St Germain’s sweat may have well been mixed into the paint as he filled all the unnecessary frame holes and indentations himself. The floors have also been pinstriped and the car’s name brushed on the fuel tank. This is only visible when the car is in the air, but speaks volumes to St Germain’s dedication to building a proper custom vehicle.
Under the hood is the original 312 Y block has been rebuilt by Carl Kearnan from Burketon Ont. Kearnan bored the motor out .030 over and utilized Ross racing Pistons and a custom ground cam. Atop a custom Mummert aluminum intake manifold is a 4-barrel Eldebrock carburetor. Attached to rare G-code 1957 Ford Thunderbird heads are custom headers built by Eric Jackson. The headers have been coated gold along with the entire dual exhaust setup. The engine has been dressed up to match the rest of the car with Brandywine paint and polished components.
Airbag suspension has been used in the rear, and the rear axle narrowed ever so slightly so the car can be better serviced on the road. Removing the wheels from The Tri-Five Merc proved a little difficult with the fender covers in place. St Germain even went so far as to convert the door handles to very rare gold-plated push buttons. The buttons themselves have been borrowed from a 1947 Lincoln trunk. St Germain’s mind is always at work and it’s brimming with ideas for his next build.
His extreme, yet creative, attention to detail has not gone unnoticed among his International peers. St Germain is one of few Canadian car builders invited to compete for the AMBR (America’s Most Beautiful Roadster) award at the acclaimed Grand National Roadster show. That same year, he was also invited to compete for America’s most beautiful custom. He is thus far the only Canadian to compete for both in the same calendar year. His work has also been rewarded by world-renowned builder Chip Foose. St Germain has never competed for Detroit Autorama’s Ridler award simply because he drives his cars too much.
Not one to keep more than he can enjoy many of his most his builds have been sold. As mentioned some stay in North America whereas others travel as far as England. St Germain would rather see someone else enjoy the cars than have them sit in his shop. Rolling the money from the sale into the next build certainly doesn’t hurt.
Despite having won several, St Germain has never built a car explicitly to win an award. They’re all built because he’s passionate about doing so. His approach always starts with a simple idea, “remove the ugly”. His ethos is more to do with the right modifications, not the number of modifications. It’s almost as if St Germain had copies of the original concept drawings before too many spoons found their way into the pot.
To St Germain, the best era for elegant cars was in the 50s. Recently, his son Jazz, who is naturally also into well-built automobiles has introduced him to the beauty that lies in modern exotics. Both are blown away by the craftsmanship and performance of anything wearing a Koenigsegg badge.
Modest, despite his accomplishments, St Germain is quick to thank the people around him. The usual suspects in anything he builds are Mark Henry, Sheldon Smith, Terry Riste, John Connery, Nick Metauro, Erick Jackson, Vic Lefebvre and nephew Mike. Plating, upholstery, 3D printing and engineering St Germain can count on this group of people to help him with anything he can’t tackle directly.
Though any hitch in his step is unnoticeable St Germain isn’t sure how many complete builds he has left in him. If the one he is working on currently turns out to be his last it would be a poetic end to an incredible run.
Fifteen years ago St Germain owned a 1949 Ford (‘Fordor’) four-door sedan. Not a huge four-door fan at the time –“two doors are cooler”– he sold the car to a gentleman named George. In 1956 George was married in a 1949 Fordor and wanted another because it evoked memories of one of the best days of his life. When selling the car George asked St Germain for a business card in the event he had any questions down the line. George tucked the card in his wallet before the two shook hands and parted ways.
St Germain thought little of the transaction from that point on until nearly two decades later when he received a phone call and George was on the other end. George, now in long-term care, was in the middle of modifying the car St Germain had sold him and things were not going smoothly. The car ended up in what’s known in the custom world as ‘body shop jail’. This state of limbo has spelled the end to many project car builds over the years. St Germain personally helped spring the car from the pogey and move it to his home shop.
As escappees go the car wasn’t in too bad of shape. Lots of parts were missing and it was covered in a heavy layer of dust, but the body and paint work that had been performed was done well. St Germain himself knew many of the people who had worked on the car from his previous projects. With the bones solid, and his connection with the car St Germain agreed to take the reins of the build for George.
The hope is to complete the car for March of 2024 so George can enjoy a trip to the show to see the completed car he hasn’t seen in 7 years. While it would have been easy enough for St Germain to simply sell George a few parts, or worse yet not answer the phone, that is simply not his style when it comes to someone in need.
Building this car fulfills St Germain’s goal to make every car he touches better while helping George achieve the goal of riding in a 1949 Ford once again. Should all go well the car should debut at Toronto’s 2024 Motorama Mayhem show.
“I have a vision and I use great people to bring that vision to life,” St Germain says about his process. Ever humble St Germain will never once mention he’s one of those great people himself.