In 2007 when his friend Michael Lightbourn made, “the greatest barn find ever,” the planets aligned for Shuten. Much critical acclaim followed and all three of these builds landed on the cover of Rod & Custom Magazine. Some personal milestones were his re-creation of Ed “Big Daddy” Roths nonexistent “Mysterion,” scratch built Roth inspired “Astrosled” and the restoration of Dan Woods’ “Ice Truck.” These builds earned him recognition as a builder to be reckoned with. His accuracy and attention to detail was refined which is key for a first-rate restoration. This experience strengthened and fine tuned his skill set.
By the early 1990s a young twenty something Shuten was working for GM as a full time journeyman die maker. Thats when he began to realize how strong the ideas and visions of creative minds like Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, Robert Williams, Dan Woods and others had influenced him. He is a stellar example of a true “glue sniffer” kid who graduated from the school of “plastic model kit building” with a major in “customizing.” Once in his teens he quickly progressed from model builds to completing full size customized cars. He thrived on creating/building cars and as his skill set increased his memories of 1970s show rods slowly slipped back into his brain.
The 1970s were Shutens formative years during which he was introduced to the automotive world through his dads daily duties as an auto mechanic. The local presence and influence of the “Big Three” automakers couldn’t help but infiltrate his brain by osmosis. It makes perfect sense that Dave Shuten, one of today’s top car builders/restorers, hails from Detroit “Motor City,” Michigan.
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