Black Mountain Body Shop sits in the foothills of its namesake Black Mountain in Cave Creek, Arizona. In 1982 when this shop opened for business in a one-room building, the gold mines of Black Mountain had been closed for less than a decade. 

The southwestern style of Black Mountain Body Shop blends perfectly into the ambiance of rural Cave Creek, Arizona.

This successful team has worked together since Black Mountain Body Shop was established. From left to right, painter, Dave Dias; owner Howard Blackburn and collision technicians, Lee Miracle and Charles Dunn.

In 1999, Howard Blackburn was managing a dealership body shop in Phoenix and heard through the grapevine that there was a shop for sale - up north. Blackburn drove north, about 30 miles to Cave Creek. "I sat across the street from this shop for hours," remembers Blackburn. The day of his initial visit, he bought the shop.

By the time he had taken ownership, the shop had grown from its one-room humble beginnings to a full-blown collision repair facility - 8,000 sq. ft. under roof. Collision repair and and collision refinish are housed in separate buildings.

Two collision technicians and one refinish technician move a lot of work through this shop. The collision techs have back-to-back stalls with a permanent lift for each technician on one side. They use Kar Grabber and Hook frame and measuring equipment. Air-conditioning and four-wheel alignments are sublet to a neighboring mechanical shop a few miles away.

The refinish technician has his own building for prep work and sprays in a Binx cross draft booth. Black Mountain is spraying Sherwin-Williams and owner Blackburn and painter Dave Dias are pleased with the product.

Years of experience adds up

Collision technicians, Charles Dunn and Lee Miracle and painter Dias have been with Blackburn since he opened Black Mountain Body Shop. Miracle has been fixing cars at Black Mountain Body Shop for 18 years - it is his home. Including Blackburn and the three journeyman technicians, there is over 110 years of solid collision repair experience in this shop.

Blackburn feels he has an advantage with his crew. "These guys produce the work of five people." He would know that, having been in this industry since 1965. After service in the Air Force, Blackburn went to work as a painter's helper for a friend in Detroit. The rest - as they say - is history. He touched many aspects of this trade, including working for Allstate Insurance. Around 1970 as an Allstate adjuster he helped the company set up their first Field Inspection Station (FIS) in Detroit, which was the genesis of Allstate's direct repair program.

Blackburn's automotive career continued in Arizona. He managed body shops, both independent and dealer. He has also been a licensed Arizona insurance adjuster until recently.

When he moved to Arizona in 1980, Blackburn met wife, Patricia, a Phoenix native, on a blind date. Patricia Blackburn is the Medical Records Librarian at the Adobe Mountain Juvenile Detention Center in Deer Valley, Arizona. Though not in the business, she shares Howard's passion for hot rods and Harleys, both of which can be found in their garage at home.

Big city education

The office of Black Mountain Body Shop looks like you are walking into an office in downtown Chicago. Blackburn has all the I-CAR plaques and a multitude of industry educational awards. All estimates at Black Mountain Body Shop are written on Mitchell. Work orders are organized on a revolving rack on his desk. One small portion of one side of the rack is for the 'limbo' files - Purgatory - as Blackburn puts it.