Oceanside Kustoms has a new home in Errington.
Paul and Veronica Uren, the owners of the well-known automotive shop specializing in custom hot rods and restoration of classic vehicles, have uprooted their business from their shop along Island Highway East in Parksville and have moved it to 1010 Price Road, Errington.
The couple, along with their employees, have been busy getting the place ready for its official opening on Sept. 5. The new location will provide them the space they need and also improve their working environment.
Paul said they weren’t planning on moving, but in the back of their minds they always knew they needed more space in the other shop. Fate led them to this new location, he said.
“We found this place accidentally last year when we were looking for a boat,” said Paul. “We approached the owner this year to ask if it was still for sale and it wasn’t. But I convinced them that it should be. I bought the place from them and it gave us a chance to establish here.”
The Errington site is a 2.5-acre private property with a residential home where the Urens and their two daughters will live. And at the back of the property sits a 3,200 square ft. warehouse, which will be their new workplace.
Paul said it is bigger than their former shop by 1,200 square feet. This will allow all the vehicles they’re working on to stay under one roof. It will also provide more working space, lots of parking and more storage area.
“In the other shop, the last winter was terrible,” said Paul. “The two previous winters were dry and we were fortunate to put stuff outside in the day and have a place to work. Now we can work on six cars in the new shop and nothing has to go outside. That’s the biggest advantage.”
Veronica also pointed out now that they own the property, they won’t have to pay someone else’s mortgage.
The new shop, Paul noted, has room for expansion in the future. They are hoping to build a hoist as well.
Oceanside Kustoms restores and repairs classic vehicles. Depending what the clients want, and the state of the old vehicle that needs to be rejuvenated — once they’ve been stripped and blasted — the work can be challenging and time-consuming. But Paul said their love for restoring classic vehicles back to their original state or creating them according to a client’s specification, is enough motivation for them.
“Some people want to recreate their memories from when they were younger and that’s what’s fun about it,” said Paul. “It’s building stuff the way the guys want it. That’s pretty cool.”
Oceanside Kustoms has earned a good reputation in the hot road and classic car industry. It has received the endorsement of living legend, automotive customizer Gene Winfield, who was the Urens’ guest just a couple of weeks ago.
The Urens said they can’t wait for the shop to open. Paul said it will be a work in progress because not everything will be completely set up.
Story tips: michael.briones@pqbnews.com