Auto mechanic and entrepreneur Steve Anderson described the driving force behind A OK Car Care, located at 5581 N. Keystone Avenue.

"I actually started working on cars when I was eight years old with my dad. He was a carpenter, but he worked on his car to save money. It was kind of a hobby, but then I moved into karate and then into the military. When I got out of the military, I opened A OK Car Care in 2002. This gives me something to do and somewhere to go. I tell my customers, 'It's not just about building and repairing cars, but building relationships with my customers too.' Working on cars has always been a hobby and a love of mine which grew into also creating and building street-legal vehicles like the flying saucer which I drove in the 500 Parade last year and the Frankenstein I co-designed and built this year with a customer who is a Herron Art professor. One of his students welded Frankenstein's framework and two of my body shop colleagues showed the team how to 'make' his body and A OK mechanic Walt wired Frankenstein so he had blue eyes, head and side lights and the red backlighting the driver," Anderson explained.

"We also have fun vehicles like the Munstermobile with the entire Munster family as passengers, as well as five Batmobiles and for a short time, the smiling Little Oil Drop (See Where in the Village? Volume 14 Number 9). Other 'road legal' vehicles include a stage coach, covered wagon and a casket ('just add dirt'). The '66 Batmobile, like the one featured in the 1960s TV series, is signed by Adam West and Burt Ward. We rent the Batmobile and other cars to the public," he said. If you want one of these fun vehicles to appear at a birthday party, picnic or special event, call (317) 809-2898 or access: http://bit.ly/2usW9mh .

Anderson explains, "We work on all cars at reasonable prices for our customers. Our diagnostic fee is free when we work on a customer's vehicle. As an independent shop, we do the same quality of work for less money than dealerships and chain repair services. At A OK, we do everything - from engines, tune-ups, transmissions to suspensions, alignments, brakes and bodywork. There's really nothing that we don't do," he mentioned. (Well, they don't do tires.)

"My passion for building, repairing and renovating cars also includes building relationships with my customers. I do this by being honest with them, by putting their safety first, by giving them the good news as well as the occasional bad news. When you invest your money getting your car repaired, you want to know what you're spending it for," he advised.

"We work on any kind of vehicle: imports and domestic cars; hot rods & vintage; cars built before and after 1996. It doesn't matter what you call them. To me, they are all just nuts and bolts. Everyone remembers their first car. My first car was a 1962 Corvair Station Wagon that I paid $35 for. I had to do quite a bit of work on it. I traded in it for a Studebaker."

"This is the only shop I've ever had is here. It used to be a Shell gas station in the 1950s.

In 2002, one of my tenants was working at this location and told me his boss decided to retire, so I talked to the owner about locating here. The retired folks moved out on Friday. I remodeled it on a Saturday and Sunday and opened A OK Car Care that Monday, so this location being an auto repair shop never skipped a beat. I've stayed here all this time."

A OK Car Care is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to Noon. You can call (317) 251-3034 or you can just come in. Your vehicle - car, van or truck - is almost always ready for pick up the same day it's brought in. Anderson provides fleet service for multi-vehicle businesses and also gives discounts for military, seniors, law enforcement, fire fighters & students.

Answering the call to serve his country, Steve joined the Army when he was 17. "I served during the Vietnam era in the 1970s and retired as staff sergeant after 24 years in the military. After I got out of the service, I returned to my passion of working on vehicles. It was always a hobby of mine along with martial arts." (Many of his customers were also his students at or neighbors of A OK Karate.) An 8th degree black belt, he studied and taught shorei go ju ryu, a Japanese Okinawan system, a universal style of martial arts. Based at 38th and Shadeland - (formerly Knobby's restaurant and drive in) A OK Karate grew to 8 dojos located throughout Greater Indianapolis. Anderson noted, "I tell my students that it is not to be used for violence, but to prepare mind, body and spirit to work as one. Mutual Respect between Teacher and Student provides for each to learn from the other. You always want to defuse a potential confrontation through verbal engagement, using the martial arts only to defend your own life, family and country."

Originally from Indianapolis, Steve attended Manual High School, later earning both a bachelors in human resource management and an MBA from Oakland City University, a Christian school located in northern Indiana.

Customer and friend Margaret Gross said, "I quickly came to recognize that many mechanics are also artists! My first realization was when Walt, who works with Steve and who has been working on cars since he was 16, re-constructed the heat shield located between the radiator and the engine on my '97 Subaru, because the cost of a new one was several hundred dollars. The webbing was, in fact, a piece of art worthy of hanging in an art gallery! A more recent realization was witnessing Steve and fellow customer Lowell Isaac, a professor at Herron School of Art, discover their shared enthusiasm for Frankenstein. By the time Lowell's car was done, he and Steve sketched a Frankenstein car, Lowell went back to his studio, returning with a clay prototype he'd sculpted and painted."

Anderson described the customized model. "We built the Frankenstein car in six weeks. When we got it running, the first thing I said, was 'it's alive!' I grew up with the comic book characters Superman, Batman and Cosmos. I surround myself here in our shop with items from my childhood. People are always welcome to see our 'museum' as well as recent acquisitions. Margaret and I like to think that when you have fun in your work, you never work a day in your life. You make it fun for the other people. When I drive these cars around town, I get miles of smiles."

To steer potential automotive buyers in the right direction, Anderson advises, "The best thing to do when purchasing a car is to take it to a shop and let them look at it before you spend a dollar. Check the oil, transmission fluid, headlights and taillights. We'll put it up on a lift to see if the front end is tight, if the service on the timing belt has been changed every 75,000 miles. Domestic vehicles have a timing chain that can be replaced. Check for a mechanic's lien. The key to minimizing costly repairs and prolong the life of your vehicle is staying current with its maintenance. At least change the oil - the life blood of your car - every 3 months, no matter how few miles you've driven, because oil, the life blood of your car, has a 'shelf life' of only about 90 days. Annually, check the fuel injection and change the other fluids (transmission, brake, coolant). Just read the manual, follow the scheduled maintenance standards and you can keep a car around for decades."

Finally, Steve wants you to know that when you come in on Monday, Wednesday or Friday, you may find him "channeling" Superman; Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, he's Batman!