Palmetto's Slicks Garage stars in new Discovery Channel show

PALMETTO -- It's part "American Pickers." It's part "Counting Cars." It's part "American Restoration." In fact, it has elements of lots of other popular shows about buying, selling and restoring.

And that, Slick says, is why he's so excited about his new show, "Highway to Sell."

"What I like about it," he said, "is that it has part of all the other shows. And then there's a twist at the end that nobody's ever done before."

Slick -- who goes by just the single name -- and his wife, Jane Hunter, are the owners of Slicks Garage in Palmetto. Slick is also the star of the new show that premieres at 10 p.m. Sept. 1 on the Discovery Channel.

In "Highway to Sell," Slick and his cohort, a renowned automotive expert named Dennis Pittsenbarger, comb the country looking for neglected classic cars. They're all kinds of cars, from the 1960s and further back, and they're in sad shape. They may have been sitting in someone's garage for many years because the owners ran out of energy or money to bring them back to their former glory.

Slick and Pittsenbarger buy the cars, and then Slick and his crew meticulously restore them.

"These are not simple restorations," Slick said. "There's hardly one part of the car that isn't redone."

Probably about half the show revolves around the restoration work. Then comes that "twist" that Slick likes so much.

The cars are taken to an auction. The original owner can let the car be sold and take part of the profits -- Slick and Pittsenbarger bargain with the owner to determine how much -- or the owner can buy it back for a reduced price.

Each hour-long episode features two cars. So far, Slick and his team have filmed six episodes.

The first episode will air at 10 p.m. Sept. 1 - which is the show's regular time slot.

For the premiere, Slick is hosting a party at the Riverhouse Reef & Grill at 995 Riverside Drive in Palmetto. The show will be on several TVs, and there's free food and a cash bar. There's no cover charge.

Slick's work has been featured on a couple of other Discovery Channel shows -- "Monster Garage" and "Deadliest Catch." He has been approached about starring in a few other reality shows, but they all had scripted elements that he didn't care for.

But everything about "Highway to Sell" feels right, he said.

"I couldn't ask for a better team," Slick said. "And we're able to classic cars back on the road, that's the main thing. These cars are history. You see one of these cars and you can't help but go back in time and think about what life was like back then."

Marty Clear, features writer/columnist, can be reached at 941-708-7919. Follow twitter.com/martinclear.

This story was originally published August 23, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Palmetto's Slicks Garage stars in new Discovery Channel show ."