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Steve Bell, the founder, and owner of Classic Investments, brings a lifetime fascination with speed and passion for excellence to his work. He blends his creative instincts with an eye for color and design to bring you some of the finest, restored classic European cars you’ll find in Colorado and across the country.
In 1990 Steve founded Classic Investments. The business originally started when he would locate, repair and restore “barn finds” in his one-car, dirt floor garage. Soon enough, the opportunity came to move to a building that served as his first warehouse / shop. From there, the business continued to grow. For the past 10 years Classic Investments has been housed in a roomy 8,000 square foot, climate controlled building. There is ample space for engine and bodywork, as well as a beautifully lit showroom where you can see some of Steve’s finest inventory.
His fine restoration work has received numerous commendations — far too many to mention here. A few of the restoration awards Steve has won include:
After many years and prizes, Classic Investments remains committed to providing discerning car enthusiasts from the world over, a trusted and valued organization on which they can count to find and restore the car of their dreams. If your desire is to return an aging classic to its former glory – please contact us to learn what we can do for you and your car. All the employees at Classic Investments bring passion to their craft; from mechanical restoration to bodywork. Our mission is to provide every client with service that surpasses their expectations. Our passion for excellence is our standard.
You can find Steve at world-class concours and other well-known car events. He happily and knowledgeably engages in conversation about his passion: the fine world of classic European sports cars.
At the young age of 8, Stephen Bell became fascinated with speed and fast moving cars.
The year was 1970 and the setting is New Zealand where he was born and raised. His father planned a day off from the farm to take young Steve and his brother to the local Levin Grand Prix. Together they watched Chris Amon, the only New Zealander to drive for the Ferrari factory in a Formula 1 competition. As Steve watched Chris Amon fly around the track in a fluorescent red open wheel Ferrari, he became hooked on anything that moved fast on four wheels. After this, young Steve spent many early 5 AM mornings watching World Rally cars drive through his back yard as they raced the winding gravel roads. What a thrill for a youngster!
Fast forward to age 18 when Steve made the big move of his life. He moved to Aspen, Colorado to pursue another dream. This was also a dream of speed, but this time it was speed on skis rather than wheels. Steve would spend the next eight winters as a ski racer in the early days of mogul ski racing. During the off-season he would earn his keep by painting and decorating million-dollar homes in Aspen. He brought his visual art talent to these fine homes. His passion for excellence, combined with his fine eye for color and design, was well adapted to the fine finishes those home owners expected.
Those early days of being fascinated with fast moving cars was not lost on Steve, however. By age 27 the burning thirst to be around sports cars was embedded in his psyche. The opportunity came in 1989 when he was asked to locate classic European cars in forgotten places. He not only found great cars, but got them running again. With only $10,000 to his name, he quickly learned how to fix these cars and sell them for a profit as he worked out of his dirt floor, one-car garage in Denver. His ability to locate rare barn finds has been elevated to an art form today – he is now a widely recognized barn find authority.
In those early years, Steve found and restored Austin Healeys, Bugeye Sprites, Fiat 2000 Spyders, Alfa Romeos, Triumph TR-3, 4 and 6’s as well as Jaguar XKEs. He crisscrossed the United States in search of the ideal barn find. With a car dolly attached to his 1985 Toyota 4-Runner, he drove without AC during the hot summer months to rescue rusty old basket cases. But Steve was determined and he never became discouraged – he was following his passion.
Now, 33 years later, he still keeps up the chase. The ’85 Toyota is long gone, but the passion remains and in the early 1990’s Steve founded Classic Investments. There have been many moves since those early days in his home garage. Each move has been to a larger shop as his business and reputation grew. His love for fast moving cars has not diminished, nor has his commitment to serve his customers well. He is as driven by a standard for excellence today as he was decorating homes in Aspen those many years ago.
Ron is a factory trained Ferrari Master technician and Maserati specialist of 30+ years
Born and raised in Palo Alto, California, Ron quickly became fascinated by exotic cars at a young age. Spending time with his father, an avid Ferrari aficionado, Ron soon began to discover what many people might possibly never realize in their entire lives—a passion for driving automobiles that are designed to ignite that passion within the driver. This relationship between man and machine has kept Ron’s keen attention throughout his years and many areas of expertise.
Around the age of 15, Ron began tinkering with all types of vehicles. While he recognized this interest and allowed it to flourish, Ron felt that it was to be a passion of personal pursuit and went about college seeking a degree in architecture. In a twist of fate akin to a well-crafted plot line, a Ferrari dealership opened its doors across the street from where Ron was studying and he soon found himself working there. A spark ignited in Ron and by his mid-20’s he was performing service work on Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Lotus’ while making new acquaintances which would eventually lead to a successful racing career lasting over 25 years. Ron has worked for several Ferrari dealers and service facilities since 1980, holding technical and managerial positions before moving on to open his own business in Florida.
Over the last 11 years, Ron has been in design, prototyping, engineering, managing and presidential positions for some of the biggest names in automotive racing, custom and replica manufacturers. July of 2013 saw Ron, his wife and adopted child return to Colorado. Ron heard about Classic Investments through a mutual friend of Stephen Bell and he quickly found himself touring the shop and meeting the other employees. The entire Classic Investments team is excited to have Ron among them. Ron is excited as well to get back to working on the classic Ferraris that ignited his passion many years ago.
In his spare time, Ron follows yet another passion—writing. Currently working on his first novel, he has already been given the green light on publishing. He has attended numerous workshops with notable authors such as Tom Robbins and Kate Sullivan and finds an intense drive to keep writing which he aptly describes with a familiar metaphor: “When I read what the other writers around me have written, I feel a fire start. That fire encourages me to go home immediately and just write. Later when I go back and hear the others respond to my work with accolades, that pours the fuel that keeps the fire growing stronger.”
Chuck is a native Coloradoan, born and raised near Ft. Morgan. He attended and graduated from Morgan High School before earning his college degree in Automotive Technology from Ft. Morgan Community College. Chuck is proud to be a member of the two-man team that won the state level trouble shooting contest on a 1972 Plymouth.
Chuck brings over 40-years’ experience to the automotive repair industry. His experience dates back to his high school years when he was tuning his 1957 Chevrolet Corvette with dual four barrel carbs – he has been tuning multiple carburetor set-ups ever since. Chuck has experience with a vast variety of automobiles, having worked in independent shops that specialize in Peugeots and BMW’s. He is certified as an ASE L1 Master Tech. His last position was as head technician at Lee and Tyler’s — a well-known shop in southeast Denver. Chuck held that position for over twenty years.
Outside of the shop, you can find Chuck engaged with his diverse passions which include an ongoing study of music. He plays electric guitar and has performed with several bands in the Denver area. He lives in southeast Denver with his wife of 35 years, Lisa. Chuck and Lisa are proud parents to an adult son and daughter and have three grandchildren.
Stan Beach grew up in a small town in southeast South Dakota called Lennox. It is just south of Sioux Falls. At a very young age, Stan became very fascinated with cars and automobiles. In his free time, he could be found at the local body shop in town. The owner eventually taught him how to wet-sand car paint. This was of course after he learned how to sweep the floors! His love for cars only grew once the father of one of his life long friends exposed him to car racing. Specifically to SCCA Road Racing with his MG and Formula Vee Race Cars. Stan took several auto mechanic classes during high school. After graduation, he enrolled in Denver Automotive College and graduated in 1972. He started his professional career in 1973 at a Jaguar, MG, and Fiat Dealership. Over the next 23 years, Stan worked in various dealerships and independent repair facilities in South Dakota and Wisconsin. In the 1990’s he added domestic cars to his expertise.
In 2003, Stan started his own repair shop in Tea, South Dakota called Specialty Cars. He offered service and repairs on all makes and models of imported and domestic vehicles. A high percentage of the vehicles were classic and special interest vehicles. He also took care of a number of large and small private car collections local to the area.
Stan, along with his wife Vicki, have two adult daughters. By 2014, both daughters had settled in the Denver Metro area, only about 15 minutes away from each other. There were also 5 grandkids living in Colorado. On average, Stan figured that he and Vicki were in Colorado visiting about every 6-8 weeks to spend time with their growing family. The drive from South Dakota to Colorado became very familiar to them.
After many years of talking about it, in 2018 Stan and Vicki finally made the decision that it was time to move to Colorado. In the Fall of 2019, Stan’s shop closed for good as he and Vicki were readying to move to Colorado to be with their kids and grandkids. He began looking around the Denver Metro for a potential new employer that matched his skill set. During that time, he sent out a few e-mails to different specialty shops inquiring about a potential position. During Thanksgiving Weekend 2019, he received a reply from Stephen Bell at Classic Investments. A meeting was arranged and soon Stephen was offering Stan a tour of the facilities. Fast forward to January 2020 and Stan officially joined the team at Classic Investments.
Over the years, Stan has achieved ASE Master Mechanic with L1 Certification, Robert Bosch Factory Trained and Certified Technician, and AC Delco Drivability Technician Certification. A passion for racing has led to over a 30 year involvement in SCCA Club Racing and Vintage Car Racing.
In his spare time, Stan enjoys doing projects around the house, chasing after his grandkids (there are 8 now), being a member of Classic Car Clubs, and tinkering with his own cars. This year (2023) he and Vicki will have been married for 40 years.