Tomlinson said his Auburn shop created countless memories because it wasn’t the typical body shop.

“We weren’t aligned with any insurance companies because we weren’t willing to cut the quality of what we did,” Tomlinson said. “Lots of good memories. It was a really cool experience. We made a lot of good, close friends from all over the country as a result of it.”

With so much extra time on his hands now, Tomlinson plans to catch up on some passion projects that previously took a backseat.

“I’ve got lots of old cars and wooden boats and rental property, so I’m still working 14 hours a day,” he said. “We’ve got a bunch of early American stuff that I’m gonna make street rods out of. … Just fun stuff I’ve been wanting to do for a while.”

We thank Gold Country Media for reprint permission.