By KATHLEEN O’CONNOR/Lincoln Chronicle
An engine growling to life is the satisfying sound of success that David Shepard has been listening for throughout his adult life.
Shepard — Shep to everyone who knows him — has owned Shepard Performance Automotive in Waldport since 2007 but has been working on cars since he was 13.
It all started when he was hired to pump gas at a Texaco station in Portland but was laid off for six months when a new labor law required that kids had to be at least 14 years old to get a work permit. He was back at work once he turned 14, heading to the station right after school and usually working until at least 10 p.m.
His family moved to Bend in his junior year of high school, where another Texaco station owner was happy to hire him and began to teach him automotive repair basics, starting with oil and tire changes and flat repairs.
Shepard worked long hours because he needed money to support what had become his passion – racing on the motocross circuit. In junior high school he had participated in every sport he could, but once his uncle (a national dirt track champion) introduced him to motocross racing at 13 he was hooked, and all other sports fell by the wayside.
He began apprenticeship with a Toyota dealer in Bend right after high school instead of going through a two-year community college auto mechanics course. He became a Toyota master certified technician – a 10-year process — and worked for several Portland area dealers before moving to Waldport.
Question: How did you decide to settle in Waldport?
Answer: I came over from the valley several times with my racing buddies for the Beachcomber Days slow pitch softball tournament. I loved it here, and after one tournament my wife and I decided to sell our home in Oregon City and move – in 30 days we were on our way.
We were looking for a better place to raise our children and we found that here. Sadly, my wife died unexpectedly after we had been here for about nine years. In the years that followed, my son, Tyler, and daughter, Kaci, and I spent a lot of time together on racetracks. They both learned to ride motorcycles, and Tyler became a racer. I am still amazed by the community support we had back then, and I am lucky that both kids still live here in Waldport.
I worked for several years at the Toby Murray Toyota dealership in Newport. In mid-life I decided I wanted to try something new and became a building contractor. However, before long I realized that I wasn’t particularly comfortable up on ladders and I went back to being under the hood of a car. During my contractor years I still repaired cars for friends, so I decided to take a big risk and start my own business.
Q: How has your business changed in the time you’ve been here?
A: At first I operated out of my garage, first parking the front end of the car in the garage and then the back end. My business grew quickly by word of mouth, and before long I was able to lease enough space on Mill Street for one real bay. Over time that grew to four bays and there were four of us working here. My capacity is more limited now because I only have one employee, my age and health sometimes restrict me, and I haven’t invested in the complex diagnostic equipment needed for newer cars. We get at least 12 calls a day, and I schedule as many people as I can, especially trying to accommodate the people who have been coming to me for years. I refer people to one of the shops in Newport when I can’t help. We are usually scheduled out for at least two weeks, and Jeremy Hyatt, my employee, carries more than his share of the load. In 18 years, Jeremy hasn’t taken a single sick day.
Q: What would you tell people about car maintenance
A: It’s obvious to a mechanic when a car hasn’t been cared for – the oil change is long overdue, the transmission oil smells bad, the water level is low. Sometimes that’s due to a previous owner, but if it’s due to the present owner then I usually figure out a way to not continue with that person – I know that he/she will turn out to be a difficult customer. Most of my customers have been with me for many years — I consider them to be my friends, and hope they feel the same. Toyota is the best brand if you are looking for a high-mileage used car, but like all brands they must be taken care of, especially as they get older.
Q: What did you love most about motocross racing?
A: I absolutely loved the competition. There is nothing like being lined up with 25 other riders at the start line and finding yourself in front of everyone else by the time you’re at the first corner. The adrenaline rush is intoxicating. I raced as a pro from the time I was 17 until I was 25. Then I stopped for a bit when my children were young, but I raced again from 30 to 39, and then again from 40 to 60. I always had two bikes, one for practice and one for racing, and I purchased a new bike every year, racing all over the Pacific Northwest. It’s an expensive hobby, and very dangerous. I was lucky I never got badly hurt.
Q: What do you like to do when you’re not working on cars?
A: In the fall, my girlfriend, Vickey Duncan, and I fish for salmon at the mouth of Alsea River – “in the jaws” as the locals say. Although I have mostly outgrown it, I get some of the old racing adrenaline going when I am working to land one.
I also spend a lot of caring for my discus fish – I have three breeding pairs and I hope to one day successfully bring some eggs all the way to adulthood. It’s a tricky process – lots of steps must happen correctly – and so far I haven’t succeeded. Discus fish come in every color under the rainbow, and their color can change over time. They are native to the Amazon, but they can’t be exported any longer. All that are sold in the U.S. today have been born in captivity.
Tell us a secret.
Budweiser has created an advertising beer mug every year since 1980. I have every single one and I’ve never broken any.
- More Info: Address: 820 NE Mill St., Waldport; Phone: 541-563-8023
- Kathleen O’Connor is a Waldport freelance writer who can be reached via email at kmoc8916@gmail.com
Great feel-good article about a local business and its owner! Thank you!