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The
Legacy
of
Jimmy's Bowtie Supply
| The seed for
Jimmy's Bowtie Supply was planted in November of 1979 when Jimmy
Shreve's parents helped him buy his first Camaro for his 17th birthday.
Nicknamed the "pinto bean" because of the brown primer spots, a BMW
wouldn't have thrilled him more. Jimmy washed, sanded, primed and got a
friend to paint "The Car" for $50.00. |
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Although this was his
"first love", there were other Camaros in his future. With the exception of one
badly worn 260 Z Datsun, Jimmy would own nothing but Camaros and Firebirds. His
budget was limited, so Jimmy had to learn to do all his own repair work. After
completing the Machinist course at the local Tennessee Vocational Technical
school, Jimmy started work as a maintenance machinist with the Calsonic Plant in
Shelbyville, a supplier of exhaust systems for the nearby Nissan plant. With a
better salary Jimmy was eventually able to buy a rough 1969 Camaro convertible.
Jimmy began a complete restoration of this car the old fashioned way, one part
at a time. This intimate contact with the disassembly and reassembly of the car
as well as the researching of correct parts was the genesis of the technical
knowledge that is now recognized by many Camaro enthusiast.
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This 1969
Camaro was gradually improved until there were a room full of trophies
and Jimmy was competing in the Senior Division. The work load of
starting Bowtie Supply while continuing his job at Calsonic began to
reduce the time available for competing in car shows. Jimmy also found
he was competing against many of his customers so the 1969 Pace Car
convertible was retired and is now stored in a bubble in the showroom at
the Flat Creek location. |
The business grew and
Jimmy hired employees to work his business while he continued to work at
Calsonic. Realizing the strength of his business was what he knew about Camaros
and his not being available to answer questions was hindering the growth of his
business, Jimmy left Calsonic in April 2000 to work full time building Bowtie
Supply.
Below are Jimmy and
his oldest son Jared showing off their latest toys at a local Cruise In.
     
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2006-2007, All Rights Reserved
