Chip Styer’s business, Performance Mustangs, specializes in buying and restoring classic cars.[/caption]

After spending much of his life working boring jobs he had no interest in, Chip Styer said he found a way to turn a lifelong passion into a business he loves.

Styer opened Performance Mustangs in 1991, a shop specializing in buying, selling and restoring classic Mustangs.

“[Mustangs] have so much heritage and performance,” Styer said. “They’re neat cars, and I love to drive them and work on them.”

Styer originally worked on kit cars and then owned a used car dealership before gravitating to working on only classic Mustangs.

While the business occasionally works on other classic cars or newer models of Mustangs, Styer said they prefer older Mustangs.

“The classic cars are neater and easier to work on,” Styer said. “The new cars are so complicated. It’s almost like you’re not a mechanic, but instead you’re an electrician or technology expert.”

The owner and founder is a former Navy pilot and has also worked as a stockbroker, certified public accountant and spent more than 20 years in the oil business.

While these jobs earned him a living, Styer said they left him unfulfilled.

“Working on cars is something that I like and have a lot of interest in,” he said. “With the other jobs it was that I tried to be good at it, but it was always just a job to make a living.”

The shop manager, Pedro Ramirez, has worked with Styer for more than 20 years and shares the owner’s passion for Mustangs.

Ramirez oversees the two other mechanics working in the shop and makes sure the cars are in the best condition they have ever been in, he said.

“Mustangs are easy to work on, and Chip is easy to get along with,” Ramirez said. “I love it here.”

While Styer enjoys this line of work more than any other job he has had, he said it also requires much more effort.

He spends much of the week and weekends at the shop, which leaves him with less time with his wife and family, but it is a sacrifice he has made to keep his business alive, he said. Although he is well past the average retirement age, Styer said he does not have plans to give up the business anytime soon.

“Very few people are still working for a company when they’re 73,” he said. “This way I can keep working and keep busy and make money until I decide it’s time. The company or the employer aren’t deciding when I quit, I am.”

Performance Mustangs 15918 Cypress N. Houston Road, Cypress 713-864-FAST Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. www.classicperformancemustangs2.com