Coeur d'Alene man turns derelict cars into works of art

COEUR  d’ALENE — Ken Murren is a retired home builder. Rarely watches TV. Not a sports fan.  

And he’s as busy as ever. 

"I’ve been a workaholic my whole life,” the Coeur d’Alene man said. “I like working in my shop. That’s what I do.” 

What he does and has been doing since he was 15 years old, is restore cars. He finds rusted, worn, weathered autos that have seen better days and gives them a second chance at life.  

It’s all him. From the body work to the engine, Murren does it. Rust is cut out. Holes patched. Dents smoothed over. Seats replaced. Engines and transmissions overhauled. 

“If you’re a car guy, you build the car,” he said. “A lot guys just write checks. Real car guys like to do the build.” 

Murren expects to have his prized 1972 Chevrolet Blazer in Car d’Lane, which begins tonight with a classic car parade, and continues Saturday with a show. Both are in downtown Coeur d’Alene. 

He came across the rare Blazer when it was sitting alone and neglected in Spokane. He couldn't let it remain in such disrepair. It deserved better.

“It was a total rust bucket,” Murren said. “It was a dead car in a field.” 

No more.  

Today, it’s a gleaming light green with glistening chrome. It looks perfect, which is Murren's goal. 

The Blazer has a 550-horsepower Corvette motor instead of the old 350 Chevrolet. It has interior from a Cadillac Escalade. Disc brakes. A modern transmission. 

“That’s how I start: Find a rust bucket in a field ready to die. You turn it into this," Murren said.

He estimates he has bought and restored between 50 and 75 vintage vehicles. He makes it clear it’s not about money.  

“I love working on cars,” Murren said from the spacious shop at his home. “I enjoy building them better than they were from the factory.” 

Details matter.

“I’m particular about those,” Murren said. 

Murren is self-taught. He watched, asked questions, learned and did. He recalled his first restoration job, a 1962 Volkswagen bug in California when he was a teenager with little money. He towed it home, went back the next day and brought the motor home.

It was a good start.

When he is about to begin a new project, he stands back and takes a look at the work ahead. When it's finished, he stands back and looks again.

He takes pride in his work.

"It's rewarding," he said.

Some vehicles take a year to put them back in the proper way. Others, like a 1937 Chevrolet truck he traded a boat for, take longer.

There was the 1964 Corvette convertible that he bought from a guy on the East Coast. It didn’t have a front end, and the engine block was in the trunk. 

“One of the hardest restorations I’ve ever done, but if you look closely at the details, you can appreciate what went into that car," he said. "That's how I like to do them.” 

He recently restored and sold a 1936 Packard and shipped it to a buyer in Germany.

Another 1972 Blazer is in the back of his shop, work underway. 

A 1933 Ford Coupe with a high-performance motor is ready for painting. 

Then there’s the shell of a coveted 1959 El Camino. 

“That’s one I’ve been looking for, for many, many years,” he said. 

Murren has an eye for more than cars. Sleighs and buggies have found their way back from the junkyard under his watch. He puts it simply.

"I like restoring things," he said. "It’s just a hobby."

But he has his limits.

“I don’t do Toyotas,” he said, laughing. 

Car d'Lane's cruise runs from 6 to 9 p.m. tonight. The show is from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

    Ken Murren pays attention to details when he restores classics, like this one on his 1972 Blazer.
  

    The glistening engine of one of Ken Murren's restored classics.
  

    The rearview mirror of a 1972 Blazer owned by Ken Murren.
  

    An emblem of a restored 1972 Blazer.