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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. |  |
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.
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The photo above was taken the night Jared bought his own Camaro. Yep, he bought his just like his daddy did with hard work and a savings account. The photo at right is as it sits now. Wheels, tires, seats, and DVD not to mention a bass that will lift the back wheels off the ground. "Not yo Granny's car", Jared, now 16, is the next generation as is his car. Jared's younger brother, Colton, gladly catches a ride to school and refers to this car as a "Babe Magnet". |
On
the left - Jimmy looks on as
the next generation, his son Jared Shreve - age 15, tries on his
"NEW" 1997 RS Camaro. Jared has already caught the Camaro bug,
if you call during the summer or after school he will probably answer the
phone. In addition to the phone and counter sales, he also does much
of the "hands on" work of preparing and shipping the salvage
parts. He and side kick Wesley are becoming proficient in the fine touches
of preparing a customer's car for a show.
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