Home Road Trip Road Trip: Street Machinery

Road Trip: Street Machinery

by Scott Mason
written by Scott Mason

We spend a sunny Saturday on the mean streets of Euclid, Ohio

Picture this. It’s an incredible Saturday morning in June. Crystal blue sky, white fluffy clouds float about, early morning sunshine warms the back of my neck. The perfect day for a road trip to Cleveland, Ohio. We near the exit to East 222nd Street and easily spot the bright red Street Machinery sign from I-90, as well as what appears to be a C10 show going down in their parking lot. We roll into the sprawling acreage and jump out to take a look around. As we begin to stroll, there are trucks everywhere. On the lawn, in neighboring parking lots, inside the packed-to-the-rafters shop, in the alley. But this isn’t a show. We are looking at inventory and works in progress. ‘60-66’s, squarebodies, late 50’s models, early 50’s models, OBS. It’s all here. Is this heaven?
 
A showroom-fresh turquoise ‘63 shorty fleetside C10 quietly pulls up next to us and the driver tells us to hop in. Boris Maryanovsky, the proprietor of Street Machinery, introduces himself, throws the three-on-the-tree in gear, gives us a brief history lesson on the truck we are riding in, and begins to give us a tour of the property. “This truck has 11,000 original miles. It sucks. It’s too nice to drive.”
 
We pass a long line of trucks parked near the main workshop, just one of several buildings on the property. “These vehicles belong to customers. We are in the final shakedown process with a couple of them, those two are being picked up later today, and the rest are in different stages of completion.” We are talking complete, full ground-up builds here. We lay eyes on several Roadster Shop chassis, LS drivetrains of every flavor and configuration, and Billet Specialties wheels everywhere.
 
As we keep driving toward the back of the building, we enter a weedy lot surrounded by chain link fence and razor wire. It’s mostly filled with donor vehicles and stacks of weathered sheetmetal. A few drivable cars are sprinkled in the mix. “That’s one of my OBS Indy trucks over there. I stuck those Corvette wheels on it and made it my daily driver for a while.” He smiles and looks me in the eye, “It’s for sale. You interested?”
 
He drives us from the lot to an adjoining property with a large, unassuming warehouse. Boris jumps out and opens a large overhead door on the back side of the building. We follow him inside where our eyes are filled with dozens and dozens of trucks, cars, unfinished projects, wheels and tires, engines, transmissions, and on and on. “This is one of our storage facilities. Some of these are for sale, some are customer projects on hold, some are just my own personal cars and trucks.”
 

As we stand in this 100-year-old warehouse filled with vintage tin and the accompanying smell of mothballs, formaldehyde, old gasoline, and tires, he goes on to tell us the condensed history of the Street Machinery empire.

“I started a little shop in 1992 a couple streets over from here. I was doing things that people obviously wanted and my business grew like crazy. After a year, I had saved 75 grand and made the leap to invest in a bigger shop. As you can see, I did that a few more times over the years and ended up where I am now.” The shop adds color to Euclid’s otherwise industrial backdrop. In fact, he is just down the street from Lincoln Electric’s massive facility where they build TIG, MIG, and stick welders all day long.
 

“When I found out the building that currently houses our offices and indoor showroom was vacant and available, I got on the phone with the listing agent and took possession as soon as I could. With help from masonry, concrete, and electrical contractor friends, we knocked out walls, rebuilt, and remodeled the structure over the course of 18 months or so.”

We jump in the ‘63 and head back over to the main office. As we walk through the front door and into the reception area, I glance at an old PC sitting on a small desk. “This is where the Ebay magic happens!” We walk through the office and into a beautiful showroom filled with Ford woody’s, tri-five and bubbletop Chevy’s, a 356 Porsche, and a couple C10’s. The space is filled with the requisite neon automobilia and boomer bait. Walking into the storage area in the back of the building, his Ebay comment finally hits home. Stacks and racks full of random pieces and parts of all sizes. NOS items in their original GM wrappers, vintage signs, mini bikes, along with big- and small-block Chevy’s and LS engines of all varieties as far as the eye can see. “I buy stuff when it’s available. All of these NOS parts came from a dealer I cleaned out a couple years ago. I’ve been listing everything on Ebay. That pile over there is half the size it used to be.” It’s still enormous. “It never ends. I have a great source for clean, used LS6 intake manifolds. I’ve sold so many that I’m known as ‘the intake guy’. Literally hundreds of them.” His listings are vast and expansive and filled with some crazy stuff you would never expect.
 
And it’s not just vintage car and truck parts that Boris (aka just “B”, aka “Dad”) deals in day in and day out. In fact, he also typically buys and sells 150 cars a year. Last year he sold upwards of 250 cars thanks in part to his annual Street Machinery Intervention event. “I had the bright idea to have a no-reserve auction here at the shop. I sent 60 cars across the block and home with new owners in one day. It was crazy. The weather was beautiful and we had a killer turnout. Car guys loved the auction and it just proved that they will do nearly anything to get a good deal.” The thrill of the hunt is still a big part of his DNA. “A pair of cars in Arkansas came up for sale a couple days ago. A ‘62 Chevy and a ‘68 C10. I’ll probably head down there after you guys leave. It’s only a 13 hour trip one way. If I drive straight there and back, I will be home in time Sunday to have dinner with my wife.”
 

Customer cars are a massive part of the business, as well. “We have at least 20 vehicles in process at any given time.” Some of the quicker turns consist of their famous Stop, Drop, and Roll transformation.  In short, take a barn-fresh truck or car and re-up the driveline with big modern brakes, up-to-date suspension (air ride or coilovers), and a fresh set of appropriately-sized wheels and tires. SDR transformations often include fresh interior treatments, modern gauges, rust repair, and even patina touch-ups by the one and only Reverend Jerome Borris. Schlongbed conversions (long bed to short bed) are popular, too. Technician Jeff Jasik is a master grafter and his stainless exhaust systems are works of art.
If you find yourself in Cleveland, Ohio, for any of the obvious reasons (Browns Super Bowl and/or Indians World Series Championship parade, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame) stop in and see what these guys are working on

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