Wright Automotive Inc

Ted Wright has been in a number of Edmonton bands over the years, most notably Les Tabernacles and The James T. Kirks. He also happens to be handy under the hood of a car, earning him the title of Rock ’n’ Roll Mechanic in some circles.

He worked out of Central Tire in downtown Edmonton for 13 years, but he’s recently opened his own shop, Wright Automotive. It’s been a long road for him, starting in childhood.

“My dad was always taking us to car shows. We had kind of old cars a lot of the time and a lot of them were junkers, so they needed to be fixed,” he says.

That sparked an interest in hot rods, and he found his calling in auto shop class in high school. He began fixing up old cars under the watchful eye of his teacher and an older guy named Mike, who worked on hot rods in Stony Plain, where Ted grew up. Ted’s first project: a 1956 Pontiac two-door hardtop. His shop teacher was skeptical.

“One day he comes over to my car and he says, “As sure as God made little green apples, that car will never run again.” He had this sour old guy demeanour about him, but we got the car running and drove it home,” says Ted.