A sign hanging above the door to Bob Olson’s garage reads, “Bob’s Toys.” Sitting inside are two fully restored, classic cars. One is a sporty, fun car — a 1932 Ford Roadster — that is perfect for cruising around on warm, sunny summer days. The second, a two-tone 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air two-door hardtop, is close to Olson’s heart.

At 19 years old, the first new car he purchased was a 1956 Chevy Bel Air.

Olson has owned the restored version for five years. While the body was in pretty good shape when he bought it, Olson had to completely assemble the engine and transmission. Finally, the car was complete last fall when the body was painted red and white.

He has worked on and restored cars since he was a teenager. Olson said he got into the hobby when he bought his first used car.

“I learned by doing, keeping my own car running,” he said. “I guess I just fell in love with it ever since.”

Olson said he has bought, fixed up and sold 150 cars since he was 16.

The most recent is the Ford Roadster. He purchased the body on eBay and took three years to collect all the parts and assemble the finished product, he said. The Roadster was finally up and running last fall.

The first car he worked on was a 1940 Ford Coup, he said. It’s hard for Olson to describe why he loves working on cars.

“These things, I can tear them apart just about blindfolded and put them back together,” he said.

But the 1956 Chevy Bel Air is special. When Olson bought the first version — the brand new one — he said he ordered it special with a Corvette engine. With that car he said he won a few trophies — first place in the stock class — drag racing in the Twin Cities.

Newer cars are more difficult for Olson to work on, he said, because manufacturers install computers and electrical parts. But the classic cars never change.

“These two are not the last two, that’s for sure,” he said.

Waiting in his garage is a 327-cubic-inch, 350-horsepower engine from 1965 just waiting to be put in a car. Olson said he doesn’t know what car it will go in because he hasn’t bought it yet.

He usually buys what’s available or what “strikes my fancy,” he said. Usually they are Coups from the 1930s or ’40s. One car Olson would love to get his hands on, he said, is a 1948 Lincoln Continental because “they were kind of a classic car for their day.”

Olson’s advice for people looking to start this hobby? Work with someone who knows what they’re doing.

“Get a car that you love, and do it at your leisure,” he said.

“Pick a car. Fix it up. Maybe sell it, and get another one. Projects are never done.”

People will see him driving around town this weekend showing off his work — in the Roadster if the weather is nice or the Bel Air if it’s raining.

Eddie Cochran Weekend is special to Olson, he said, because he knew Cochran when he went to Ramsey School with Olson’s brother. Olson said he used to spend time with the singer “before he got his guitar.”

Olson has been attending Eddie Cochran Weekend since its inception.

He and his wife, Regis, are members of the Low Bucks Car Club.

Bob Olson’s cars

1932 Ford Roadster

283-cubic-inch, 1967 Chevrolet engine

Turbo Hydromatic 350 transmission

Rear end from a 1994 Chevy S10 pickup truck

Bench seat from a 1993 Dodge Caravan

Most equipment bought after market

Standard gauges

Lo Kar shifter

Body is a fiberglass replica

1956 Chevrolet Bel Air hardtop two-tone, two-door

265-cubic-inch Chevy engine original with the car

Two-speed powerglide transmission

All parts are completely stock straight from the factory and reconditioned