The business owner from Hunker, Penn., has always been a Buick man. The first time he encountered a Buick Grand National, it was love at first drive.

"I drove it and said, ‘Huh! This is unbelievable!' " Frick said.

The year was 1984, and Frick was working as the shop foreman at a Buick dealership. He'd been a Buick mechanic since 1962, and he'd never seen anything like a Grand National. He purchased his first Grand National in 1985.

Then he saw a 1986 model. It was even faster than the 1985.

"I said, ‘Uh, oh! I'm in trouble!' " Frick laughed. "I traded in my 1985 for a 1987."

By the way, Frick pointed out, the 1987 Grand National is the fastest production car ever built in this country.

"They're such fun cars to drive," he said. "You wouldn't believe a six-cylinder could run like this. This is a car that says, ‘Catch me if you can!' "

Frick's passion for the Grand National grew. While working at the Buick dealership, he began repairing Turbo Buick cars at his home after hours.

"Finally, I said, ‘Whoa, I'd better get legit with this,' " he said.

He left the dealership, and he and his wife, Marilyn, started Jay's GN Parts in 1993. Though they started with just a few hundred dollars and a small inventory, the business "mushroomed." Frick said he believes it is the only business in the country that specializes in used GN parts.

"It's a very limited market," he said, explaining that Grand National cars were only manufactured between 1984 and 1987. "It's not like a Chevy or a Ford market. At the same time, I get calls from all over the world looking for parts for these cars. We've been in business long enough to have a good client base."

Frick said he's watched this customer base evolve over the years.

"When we first started in 1993, a lot of customers were young kids," he said. "The business has changed; now, a lot of people with decent jobs think this is a highly collectible muscle car.

"A lot of Buick dealerships and body shops are calling us for parts," he added, "and we're starting to get a lot of insurance adjusters calling us for parts."

A back injury prevents Frick from working on the cars anymore, so he serves as the "technical adviser." The company remains small, employing just one mechanic, a body expert, a salesman and a web master for the company's site, JaysGN.com.

What is it like to run his own business after 30 years as a mechanic and shop foreman?

"Heaven!" Frick laughed. "When you're a shop foreman at a large dealership, the buck always stops with you. I think I cut my medication in half when I quit [working at] the dealership."

And Frick said that dealing with the same model day in and day out is still exciting to him, even after more than 20 years of working with the Grand National.

"When you deal with a muscle car like this," he said, "there's always something else to learn."