Small town, big competition

HECTOR — For someone who does not like the limelight, Dane Macik recently returned from the renowned 2026 Chicago World of Wheels car show in Chicago March 6-8, where his work was recognized in a big way. Dane, whose family owns and operates Macik’s Paintin’ Place Inc. in Hector, spent over seven years giving a 1958 Rambler American a custom renovation.

“I don’t know how (a member of the show's board of directors) of the Chicago World of Wheels car show found me,” Dane said. “When I got the car (the Rambler) done in December (2025), he messaged me (because) he had been following the build on my site from early on. He said he knew the quality of the car and would love to have the car at the show.”

Blown away by the whole experience, Dane said he was unsure if the VIP invite was legitimate or a scam. Dane passed the information on to the car owner and told him to follow up if he wanted to. This led to a series of events that the Macik family will remember for a lifetime.

Dane’s largest renovation project to date, the 1958 Rambler American, did extremely well against strong competition among 800-900 cars from around the country at the Chicago World of Wheels Car Show. Besides winning the top 20 the first day of the show, the Rambler was awarded Select Six on Day 2 and earned an Outstanding Paint Award.

“We were among the top six, and that achievement (was) beyond any expectations we ever had,” Dane said. “We honestly were happy that (the Rambler) even got invited out to the show to participate.”

Dennis said that the emcee of the show asked the audience if they would have believed a Volkswagen Karmann Ghia and a Rambler would have been among the top contenders 10 years ago.

“It is usually Chevelles, Camaros and Mustangs with built-in interest that do well at these shows,” Dennis said.

“The Rambler got attention because it was so different,” Dane said. “Who in their right mind would build a Rambler, a no-frills, generic- type car? To have that vision, and the customer to take that risk, that’s what (the judges) liked.”

Macik’s Paintin’ Place began as a partnership in 1968 and has since become a well-known dot on the map for custom autobody work run by Dennis and Penny Macik, along with their youngest son, Dane.

“Dennis opened up the shop in November 1968, and we were married in August 1969,” Penny said. “Almost a year to date after he opened, it burned to the ground, so we were without income for quite a while.”

Rebuilding was without question, Penny said, and when they reopened, they were no longer in an outside partnership. The main focus for the shop at the time was collision repair because that was where the money was. Dennis’ fascination with old cars and restoration built interest and brought in customers looking for custom paint jobs and things of that nature. Dennis and Penny were actively involved in the Minnesota Street Rod Association community. After starting a family, attending campouts in their 1934 Ford Coupe with a pull-behind pop-up camper was something they enjoyed.

By the time Dane was 13, he was working independently in the shop, doing jobs for his dad and even building a 1923 Ford T-Bucket before he had a driver’s license.

“Dennis was an exceptional father,” Penny said. “He made sure all the kids knew how to handle tools.”

Dennis said in his day, everything you learned was out of a magazine or a catalog. Dane, on the other hand, from a young age had an interest in computers. Over the years, as his knowledge and skill developed within the shop walls, his computer interest became a tool to show customers his vision by doing photo renderings.

Dane prides himself on bringing his followers along on his builds by actively sharing on his social media pages. Coming from small town Hector, he said he needs that exposure to build interest. Dane said some customers want to be involved at every step, while other customers trust his judgement and just let him go.

“I’m always in contact with the customer, so I’ll say, ‘Hey what if we do this?’” Dane said. “I’ll do some design ideas and run them by them. We work together that way.”

Dane handles everything from bodywork, mechanical wiring, engine work, glass, paint, dashboards and door sills. He also works closely with upholstery shops for interior because placement needs to be taken into account for the design and function of the interior lighting and switches.

One of the challenges Dane faces, he said, is guiding customers with his vision while also involving his clients’ initial ideas. He wants them to feel in control, but he also must make sure the final product runs as well as it looks, which can be tricky at times.

With some of the builds at Macik’s Paintin’ Place taking years to complete, the Maciks usually also focus on other day-to-day restoration and paint projects. Even Dennis and Penny,
in their 80s, are still involved in daily routines at the shop. Penny does most of the bookwork, while Dennis enjoys every aspect that goes on at the shop, only going home to eat supper, sit in his recliner and sleep, Penny said.

Over the years, the Maciks have had employees, but with that comes training, which was always Dennis’ job since he had the patience for teaching. Dane said he did not have that patience, and living up to Dane’s expectations is a tall order as a perfectionist.

“We’ve each got our own ‘P’ word,” Dennis said. “Dane’s is ‘perfect,’ and mine is ‘pretty good.’”

Being a small-town, family-owned body shop has come with its share of pros and cons. Creative freedom is a pro for Dane.

“I like building cars for customers because I enjoy being creative and building something,” Dane said. “Building something from nothing, … and then, when it’s done, it’s like ‘Oh, that’s great; now I get to start on something else.’”

On the contrary, having to make tough decisions about the types of projects to take on, Dane said, can take a mental toll and be stressful. Choosing which projects take priority while balancing smaller projects where he can see the light at the end of the tunnel is important to maintain the urge to want to come to work every day, he said.

Dane said he has grown accustomed to doing more things on his own, but is so thankful his parents are still actively involved.

“At one time, we were the best there was and always tried to maintain that persona,” Dennis said. “We’ve always been known as a pretty good shop.”

Recently, Dennis earned an award for an old gravel truck rescued from a junkyard. He completed his custom renovation last summer and showed it in Watertown, South Dakota, winning top 10 out of the 450 cars that were at the show.

The nature of the Maciks’ business is not about quantity but rather quality and originality. Dane said that a lot of times, car shops specialize in certain models or eras, and they get really good at those builds. But for Dane, every new project is like learning from scratch because no two projects are the same. Most of the time, builders bring cars to shows to display and promote their own businesses, Dane said. In the case of the Rambler, Dane agreed to do the work and was honored to win, but ultimately, he went to the car show to support his client in winning.

“We’ve been lucky and have had really great people to work with, and through every car project we’ve finished, they’ve become lifelong friends and repeat clients,” Dane said. “We’re not just a shop to them.”