Looking back on their early days, most automotive enthusiasts can remember that one garage, the one where the first wrench was picked up, the first flashlight was held, the first exhaust installed, the first engine taken out. Maybe it wasn’t a neighbor, uncle or grandfather’s garage, but perhaps it was a friend’s garage. For me, it was my father’s best friend, Jerry, who owned and operated an everyday repair shop, but had a real passion for classics. It was because of his collection that I fell in love with cars. For me, looking back on my early days, that one garage was Jerry’s.
For Mike Kuchavik Jr., that one garage didn’t require much travel as it was right at his home… his father’s. Mr. Kuchavik was a mechanical engineer and brought a Viper home when Mike was fourteen. From then on, Mike and his dad would attend Viper Club of America events, and his passion for Mopar® vehicles ignited. It wasn’t difficult for Mike to recognize the special qualities of Viper owners, including their high expectations, but maybe even more, their kindness.
Throughout high school, Mike and his friends would hang out in his father’s garage and experiment on their own cars. They worked their way up from oil changes to the exhaust and eventually to engine swaps and performance modifications. Mike’s experience around American supercars groomed him to be meticulous and caring for all sorts of different automotive projects.
Recognizing his talent, a family friend began giving Mike small projects on high-end cars and was quickly amazed by his skills. By his junior year of college, Mike began caring for Mike Moyer’s Viper collection! In those early days, Moyer’s collection was small, with only six Vipers. Kuchavik helped create and maintain what Moyer’s collection looks like today.
Managing Mike Moyer’s auto collection is no small feat. If Mike performed an oil change a week, he still would not be able to cover all the cars in a year. Mike manages the collection with a strict, meticulous schedule, personalized for every car. At minimum, all of Moyer’s cars have their fluids changed every two years, whether they get driven or not. Once a month, every car gets started, with the fuel topped off and fuel additive added. Additionally, every car has its own battery tender and receives regular maintenance. The goal of this particular collection and maintenance system is to have every car ready to hit the road at any time and Moyer cycles through them often.
Mike attended Penn State Lehigh Valley and graduated in 2015 with a Business degree with a minor in Marketing. During his time there, he landed an internship at Johnson & Johnson, while also running his own small computer company that provided new software and installation security with virus protection and business management programming. Reflecting on those days, Mike recognizes how essential the tech experience proved to be as he now works on more contemporary automotive software and user interfaces.
But the dream of owning his own shop never faded. So, with the support of his father, family and friends, Mike searched long and hard for the perfect space to open up a shop. After months of research, he finally found a piece of land zoned industrial that had a home already built on it, including a four-bay garage. The space was perfect. It would give Mike not only the ability to open a shop, but also give him income from the rental home. It was after securing this perfect property that Havik Performance was born.
It didn’t take long for Mike’s business to grow. As the Moyer collection grew, Kuchavik’s reputation grew with it. Many took notice.
In 2021, Mike welcomed Collin to Havik Performance, who came armed with master tech experience and a passion for Vipers. Even through the difficulties of manufacturing during Covid, Mike’s operation grew. In fact, Mike’s determination to remain open in order to continue supporting his and his community’s passion during the pandemic offered the garage an advantage. They proved they were able to source parts and complete projects in harsh times.
In 2022, Zack became the shop’s manager. Zack manages inventory and handles the customers. And in 2023, Havik Performance welcomed their final missing piece with the addition of another technician, George.
One of the main goals of Havik Performance is to exceed customer expectations. Customer satisfaction is the minimum. They are able to do this through constant communication about progress and updates on projects. Mike and his team send snap shots of projects to customers throughout the process. They see their cars are safe and well maintained in the newest addition to the property, a pole barn with heated floors, state-of-the-art tools and four lifts.
Mike and the team at Havik Performance treat all the cars that come into the garage the same way they treat Vipers from Mike Moyer’s collection. Mike, Zack, Collin and George are each motivated by similar goals: to keep Vipers on the road for as long as possible. Mike has already been involved in many projects to recreate or refurbish discontinued parts; and from stock examples to 2000 horsepower racecars, Mike stays humble and ready to handle all Viper-related projects.
Reflecting on those earlier years, Havik Performance started in Mike’s dad’s two-car garage. Looking toward the future seems limitless. So far, the team plans to add another building for additional indoor storage, a dyno and a machine shop. One thing is for sure as we look to the future, Havik Performance will continue to exceed our expectations and set the example of a true Viper specialist and performance garage.
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