Mike Swan isn’t a drag-racing hero. He didn’t win Le Mans or race in NASCAR. We are putting him in the spotlight for the unique way he contributes to the hobby. His gig is proprietor of Mobile Mechanic Mike, an automotive electrical business he runs out of his truck with his dog, Stanley. There are nine SoCal hot rod shops that call on Swan to troubleshoot problems, rewire disasters, and create custom harnesses for pre-1970s hot rods. He will also make house calls for select customers through word of mouth.
His home is in Sydney, Nebraska: 1,100 miles and 18 hours away from his customer base. During the year, he drives to the Los Angeles area with a list of jobs and stays for several months, moving from shop to garage until the list is complete. At the same time, he schedules additional jobs for the return trip. The low cost of Nebraska living allows him to live in a home with a large garage and plenty of free time to work on his own hobbies while staying connected to the hot rod industry and its roots in Southern California. He’s no greenhorn, but still young enough to enjoy the autonomy and cash that comes with being your own boss. If big-city prices have you down, consider Mobile Mike’s clever path to freedom and prosperity in the industry he loves.
HRM] Do you need a ton of education to do this?
MS] I am from Sterling, Colorado, and went to a trade school in Denver after high school. It’s a gray area, because I learned most of what I know from working after that. It was important, because without that piece of paper, I would not have landed my first job.
HRM] And the first job was?
MS] The first job was working on a 1963 F-100 with my stepdad, Rod Zwirn. That got me hooked. He didn’t pay for anything; I had to earn the cash working at a body shop for 7 bucks an hour. That’s what got me interested in cars.”
HRM] How did you get your foot in the door at hot rod shops?
MS] In 2002, I came to California and starting asking for work. Only one person answered the call—his name is Kevin Henderson at D&D Classics. He taught me about how to build cars. I learned about engines, suspension, and the most important thing was wiring and plumbing. I worked there for seven years. After leaving D&D, I went to Gail’s Speedometer in Costa Mesa to learn how to build and calibrate speedometers. I knew at the time it was a big part of the hot rod world. After that, I went to Mesa Hose in Costa Mesa and learned how to make high-pressure hoses and brake lines. I worked there for a year and a half. I still have a relationship with Mesa Hose. I build hoses in the back for jobs, then make a list of what I used and pay them before I leave town.
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HRM] How did you pivot from employee to your own business?
MS] If you think you can leave and start your business, I don’t see how you can do that. I was doing sidework for 10 years before I decided to go out on my own. I already had a backlog of side work piling up because the word was getting out. I would work all day, then do side work at night—it was killing me. When I left Mesa Hose, I just started to schedule the side work during the day instead of at night.
HRM] You live in Nebraska, so how is the commute to Los Angeles?
MS] “I am in Nebraska two to three months at a time, then one month to six weeks in L.A., depending on how many jobs I have. I need to have at least three full wiring jobs to drive the 18 hours and spend the $1,200 in fuel I use to get there. But there has always been enough work for the next trip planned.
HRM] You work out of a Chevy Silverado wearing a camper shell. How do you make that work?
MS] I recently purchased a new truck with a Cummins 4BT 3.9L four-cylinder that gets 30 mpg. That is going to help. I have a shop at home, and I unload the truck when I get home and work in my own shop on my own projects. When it is time to go back to L.A., I load the truck up again. I am finding that I am unloading only what I need lately and leaving the rest on board.
HRM] What do you carry in the truck?
MS] I have two different sides to the pickup: wiring and plumbing. I have a large (like 30mm stuff) ammo can completely full of wire. It weighs about 80 pounds and holds 20 spools of wire. I have a 20-foot stick of tubing bent in a horseshoe that I use as tubing straightener to do the jobs. I also have a soldering gun, benders, cutters, flaring tools, and enough hardware to do any plumbing or electrical job remotely.
HRM] What is the hardest part of the job?
MS] The hardest part is the customer who stands over me and tells me how to do the job. I will sometimes agree and tell him that, if it doesn’t work, I am going to charge him again to fix it. That’s why I mostly work for hot rod shops instead of individuals.
HRM] Are you still learning, or do you have things down?
MS] Every car I do, I learn something new. You don’t want to get to the point where you aren’t learning. Recently, I agreed to rewire a car that had several different aftermarket systems on it, trying to get them to work together. It was a challenge.
HRM] How long does a wiring job take?
MS] The average wiring job takes a week. How clean, how presentable, how complicated will all be factors. For an absolute perfect show-quality wiring job where everything is hidden, it might take two weeks.
HRM] Do you have your own hot rods, and how much of that work do you do?
MS] I like doing engine work, brakes, and suspension. I have a ’26 Model T, a ’28 Chevy, a ’39 Ford coupe, some ’60s and ’70s trucks, and a late-model Bronco and Camaro.
HRM] How much of the year do you work?
MS] When I am at home, six months of the year, I work on my own stuff. That takes money, so I need to come back to California for work the other six months. I don’t take holidays off, so if there’s work to be had, I keep working.
HRM] Any advice for the guys coming up?
MS] I don’t really [laughs]. It’s a tough job, for sure. Hard work pays off, but it’s hard to see in the beginning.
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