SCI Performance

12/06/2025

Not many customers have left such a mark on my life as Chrissy Barnes. Many in the Twin Cities VW community will know her as the super-friendly, always-baking, blue-Jetta-driving, dog-loving tour de force that she was.

My first memories of Chrissy are of the two and sometimes three page letters she would leave us when dropping off her first Jetta, a ‘85 or ’86. It was always giving her trouble, and she seemed to be in the shop monthly. The first page of the letter was always a couple of problems she was having with the car and the rest of it was whatever she had been up to for the last month since we’d seen her last!

I still remember the day she came in with her new bright blue MK4 Jetta, excited to show it to us. The timing of that years Volksport fall tour worked out perfectly for her as she won H&R lowering springs from Virtual world parts. It would be her first mod!
Over the next 20+ years, we swapped in an R32 engine and GLI VR6 6 spd trans. She imported Recaro leather GLI seats, HID headlights, euro Audi S3 wheels, R32 front and rear brakes and a custom full-color gauge cluster. She truly loved modifying that little car.

Paul Brooker, my brother Ben in the office and I enjoyed countless cheesecakes and treats she baked for us whenever she picked up her car after work had been done. A side note to you all… Always bring treats for your mechanics when they finish your car!

I closed the shop over four years ago now and I’m often asked “what do I miss about the shop?” my response is my customers that had become friends like Chrissy.

This past summer was incredible. The local VW/Audi community got together like the old days, something we hadn’t done for a long time and that’s what was great about Chrissy. She could bring everyone together.

Chrissy’s passing at far too early an age leaves a hole in our hearts. She wasn’t just a customer of SCI — she was a friend to Paul, Ben and I. a bright light, and a constant source of kindness. Her generosity, her incredible baking, and her love for the people around her will never be forgotten.

04/10/2025

Hey all.

I’ll be working in the Newgate School booth this weekend.

Come by the GSTA car show at Canterbury downs and say hello.

THIS WEEKEND is the 67th Annual GSTA Rod & Custom Spectacular Car Show!

We are grateful to the team at GSTA and participating vendors that make it possible for Newgate School to receive a donation from this event.

Join us this Saturday and Sunday at Canterbury Park in Shakopee among hundreds of amazing car owners and vendors for a jam packed weekend full of all things CARS.

Be sure to stop by our Newgate booth- we'll have a pretty big activity for folks to see + some goodies up for grabs!

Details and pre-sale tickets: https://www.gstarod-custom.com/

08/06/2024

Introducing Chad, one of our Mechanical Instructors here at Newgate!
Chad prepares students as both skilled technicians and well-rounded professionals by offering career guidance, interview preparation, and problem-solving strategies.
His automotive journey began with his dad, an auto repair instructor, which led him to formal education at Minneapolis Tech and hands-on experience at a VW dealership. In 1996, Chad bought a repair shop in Minneapolis, which he ran for 26 years, mentoring many technicians. Now, as a Newgate instructor, Chad is driven by his passion for mentoring and sharing his experience with the next generation of automotive professionals.
Chad says how incredibly fulfilling it is to watch students conquer challenges, acquire new skills, and develop into confident professionals ready to make their mark in the automotive industry.

08/07/2023

Very sad to hear a long time friend and automotive enthusiast has passed away. We worked with Enrique Ramirez at the shop on his first Tire Rack One Lap of America car. I believe it was 1997-98. He was great to have in the shop and always had a smile. If you follow this link you will see that he had many friends in the Automotive world and they are all hurting from the loss of this great friend and father.

Chad

The One Lap family suffered another loss yesterday. Eric Ramirez called to share that Enrique finally succumbed to his long, valiant battle with cancer. For those that knew him, we were lucky to have him as a friend. He was gracious to all, helpful always, a great supporter of the event and the embodiment of a person we should all achieve to be.
Over the last few years he came to One Lap, we all feared that each would be his last but his tenacity, and friends, belied his suffering so he could be with us.
There will be a Celebration of Life at Road America this Wednesday, August 9th at Noon. For information, please call Eric (Grosper Ar on Facebook) at 608-477-0771.
The attached picture is courtesy of Jason Stormowski of Enrique preparing for his last run on the Dry Skid Pad, showing Randy Pobst and I how its done.

07/10/2023

The shops office chairs have moved on to a friends place in Wisconsin. My personal Favorite was the blue and black Pascha seat.

09/29/2022

Not sure if I have any Minnesota technician friends looking for a change of scenery but this would be a hell of a opportunity!

Many of you may know my friend Paul from the shop over the years. He started at SCI over 20 years ago. After his last stint at the shop he moved to Atlanta to work for APR Motorsport for 5-6 years. He now is general manager of this amazing shop in south Atlanta! It’s all new everything! Custom low Hoists, floors, lights and a full custom detail bay with PP vinyl and vehicle wrapping!!!

GMP Performance South Atlanta and the parent company were the first importers of Zender products in the US in the seventies! I remember seeing their catalogs and ads in VW&Porsche magazine back in the day!! It’s a family run company and they’ve been in business since 1975!

If you want to work on the latest Audi, BMW, Porsche and VWs this is the place. Get a hold of Paul and he can give you the run down.

Did I mention they don’t have rust? No seized bolts and you won’t be grabbing the heat wrench every time you take apart an older car!

GMP Performance (German Motoring Products) was established in 1975 specializing in European automotive enhancements tailoring wheel and tire packages, sport tuned suspensions, engine performance upgrades, exhaust systems and big brake kits.

07/19/2022

Final auction time! Lots of Snap-on tools and tool boxes, Killer carpet extractor and a bunch more. https://www.k-bid.com/auction/44292

03/05/2022

The auction for some more shop equipment is up. It all can’t fit into the new space, so this stuff must go.

The lathe is in nice working order and come with all my tooling.

The mini bikes are nice too just need some work. The one runs and needs fine tuning. The other needs some motor work.

The sandblaster is basically new. Maybe five hours of run time. Works great.

https://www.k-bid.com/auction/42044?fbclid=IwAR3XHxsZNSnKnluwQD9oWb0LPFteqE5CPYQHv0c-3QuDQXkSyuTAMrSDxpA

Minneapolis Man Toys and Tools Sale | K-BID

11/05/2021

So glad to have been able to be a small part of this build. We installed a differential into a euro imported 02S six speed. This Super clean little swallowtail Rabbit was built by congratulations on the best euro award!

11/02/2021

Hey all,

Here is a link to the shops auction. Like I have said before the stuff being sold is doubles or triples of items and not needed. The engraving stuff is actually very cool but I don’t have time to use it like I wanted(think engraved BMX parts).

The kiddie ride is going though!

Minneapolis Engraving and Shop Equipment Liquidation | K-BID

10/27/2021

So sorry to hear about the break in and theft at Minnesota German Auto in Montrose, Mn.

Be on the look out for tools and scan tools being sold cheap.