Ontario mechanic made Jay Leno statue out of car parts. This week he gifted it to the comedian

A Windsor, Ont., auto shop owner who uses car parts to build statues of celebrities delivered his sculpture of Jay Leno to the comedian himself on Thursday.

The former Tonight Show host was in Windsor to perform at Caesar's Windsor.

"It was just so incredible to be able to do this," said Peter Solly, who owns MacDonald's Auto Repair and Maintenance Shop.

"It was just over the top. I'm on cloud nine for sure."

Solly began building the life-sized statues around 20 years ago and estimates he's built between 400 and 500. 

His subjects include real people like Taylor Swift and Gordie Howe and fictional characters like SpongeBob SquarePants and the Incredible Hulk. 

Meet the Windsor artist making these life-size figures out of old car parts

8 months ago

Duration 2:31

Peter Solly, owner of MacDonald's Auto Repair and Maintenance Shop in Windsor, Ont., talks to CBC's Jennifer La Grassa about the hundreds of figures he's made out of old car parts. His latest piece, celebrating the new Gordie Howe bridge being built in Windsor, is on display at a local art gallery. Executive director of Art Windsor-Essex, Jennifer Matotek, talks about how people can use the materials around them to create art.

Artist Glenn Hawkes paints the faces on the statues.

Solly built the Leno sculpture more than a year ago but had had little success in getting it to him until now, he said. 

"I tried and tried and tried to get a hold of him through the media and through his business," Solly said.

"But lo and behold, I knew someone who knew someone who knew … him, and they got me in."

The intermediary was a friend of Solly's who knew a Michigan car museum owner who was friends with Leno, he said. 

"So they called Jay Leno. We sent the pictures to him, and he said, 'Hey look, I love it. This is great.' So then she let him call me on my cell."

The statue will reside at the museum for a period of time before the owners forward it to Leno in California, Solly said.

The sculpture of Leno sports the blue jeans and jean shirt Leno typically wears on his automotive-themed TV show Jay Leno's Garage.

Leno was wearing the same outfit when he met Solly on Thursday night. 

"He walked in the room, said 'Hey Pete! How ya' doin,'" Solly said of Leno.

"So I shook his hand, and then we walked up to the sculpture, and he couldn't believe he finally got to see it. And we took a bunch of pictures, and it was great."

It wasn't the first time Solly had met the comedian, he sad; he previously encountered him around 30 years ago in Las Vegas when Leno's limo pulled up outside Caesars Palace.

Leno shook hands with Solly and his friends and spoke with them briefly, he recalled.

"And then 30 years later, I finally get to meet him," he said. 

"It's awesome. It was just fantastic."