Newburg, WI – Sitting at the kitchen table in the Newburg, Frank Heimerl was shown a photo of a unique vehicle recently purchased by Stellar Motors and he recognized his work right away. Heimerl also vividly remembered the marching orders from 2012 given by Rev. Riesch at Cedar Community. “He tore a check out of his checkbook and said, ‘Go buy one.’ I said it wasn’t that easy.”
Heimerl, dressed in a grey sweatshirt, paged through a photo album and talked easily about the creation he dubbed a ‘people mover.’
Dinosaur Game: Use up-and-down arrows to play.
“We had all the nice trails at Cedar Community campus and people would get pushed outside and go to the dandelion patch,” he said about residents who were limited in travel because of their wheelchairs. “I said we should have a vehicle to take them around.”
Heimerl instantly received management support but now had to make the dream come to fruition.
Born on a farm, Heimerl was one of 13 kids: nine boys and four girls. His dad encouraged life skills which included working in the barn and welding. “When we got done with the chores we went around the house and my pop would say, “Boys here’s where you’ll learn something.”
A self-taught mechanic, Heimerl honed his knowledge of mechanics while racing cars at Slinger Speedway for 25 years.
Although he received a wide-open check from Rev. Reisch, Heimerl went shopping by his buddy at the salvage yard.
“I found my first vehicle at Kenny Wegner’s junkyard on CTH A,” said Heimerl, who got a little colorful about how he wheeled and dealed.
“You gotta spread a little bullshit…,” he said. “The next day Kenny dropped off a vehicle.”
Chopping the car in half was the easy part. Heimerl said challenges came with the rear brake system. “I had to disconnect that because different people drove it and some really hit the brakes and there was a loud screech that scared the customer,” he said.
The other piece that took more thought was the 16-foot trailer. “I didn’t want any flex in the bed,” he said.
Heimerl had the entire construction process documented in a narrow photo album. “You can see me there welding and there’s a picture where I took mom and the kids for a ride,” he said.
About seven wheelchairs could be comfortably secured to the ‘Surrey.’ Questioned how the residents liked it Heimerl said, “They loved it. They were all so happy. They would drive by and wave.”
Shortly after building his first people mover, which Cedar Community dubbed ‘Surrey’ the management wanted another. That one Heimerl built in his shop at home out of a 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass.
It was late 2024 when the ‘surrey’ went up for sale and Lucas Serwe made an investment. That story and accompanying video is below.
Note to Mrs. Serwe…. you may want to get ahead of your husband’s checkbook as I believe he’s already aware a second investment is ‘for sale.’
West Bend, WI – The owners of Stellar Motors in West Bend, WI, recently picked up a unique vehicle that has quite the backstory. The best explanation is it’s a well-crafted, handmade people mover. According to owner Lucas Serwe, it was specifically designed to move people in wheelchairs.
“I always get the same question,” said Serwe. “What are you going to do with it?”
“We really don’t have an answer… it’s just, whatever…”
The vehicle has the front end of a 1983 Chrysler Le Baron. The rest of the red car with vintage wood paneling was cut off at the front door leaving the dashboard, steering wheel, foot pedals, and a handmade silver plate on the dash that reads ‘Maximum load capacity 10 persons.’
The rest of the vehicle is a 16-foot grey flatbed trailer with welded safety railings and a loading ramp in back.
“You sit and stare because there is a lot to take in,” said Serwe. “The ingenuity is interesting… and then you look some more and see something else. It took work, for sure. But, now it’s here.”
Questioned what his understanding wife’s response was when he told her about his latest investment. “She said, huh,” said Serwe.
Some of the more unique aspects of the vehicle: it has front-wheel drive, there is no seatbelt on the driver’s seat, there are two key slots by the ignition, the vehicle runs well, the radio works, and the gas tank is behind the front bumper.
The gas cap is tucked behind the grill, and you have to push in the lower right corner to access. (see video)
How did the vehicle make its way from Cedar Community to Stellar Motors, 5064 County Road P? You’ll have to stop and ask Serwe or Bryan at the front desk; he’s still picking the bugs out of his teeth because there’s no windshield on the vehicle either.
On a history note: This is not Serwe’s first collectible at Stellar Motors. When he initially moved into the former Gehl Company/Horlamus Industries building, they found some treasures during the remodel.
One more update: The mystery of the vehicle has been solved as the builder of the people mover was identified and found living in the Town of Trenton. Stay tuned for the rest of the story.
