Sometimes, dreams of a lifetime take almost a lifetime to fulfill.

Fifty years ago, Don Bentz, co-owner of Bentz's Town Pump in Casper, heard a story about a car wash in Canada built inside a giant oil field tank.

The idea of an indoor car wash fascinated Bentz. Now, after 50 years of thinking about it and 10 years of actually working on it, Bentz's Self Serve Auto Center, including an indoor car wash, is tentatively scheduled to open on Feb. 18 next to Bentz's Town Pump, 701 W. Collins Dr.

"This is something I've always wanted to do," Bentz said. "Who wants to wash their car in the hot sun? Who wants to wash their car in the wind and cold?"

Of course, this car wash isn't inside an oil storage tank. It's a hot water operation from presoaks to final rinse, heated in winter and cooled in summer, complete with sophisticated air exchange and oil recycling systems.

The auto center actually is comprised of two service areas. The first is what Bentz describes as a "one door in, one door out, Canadian style, self-serve car wash."

There are five wash bays. Four are for cars or trucks, and one is for four-wheelers, motorcycles and bicycles.

When waiting customers get a green light to enter the center, they will pull a ticket from a dispenser, which in turn opens the center's door.

Once inside, customers will drive into bays displaying green lights. On the car wash side, choose from hot presoaks, a hot high-pressure wash, a cold water rinse, a hot rinse, hot wax treatment and hot spot-free rinse. No fumbling with quarters or looking between seat cushions for spare change.

"It's a timed situation," Bentz said. There's a $4 minimum for up to 10 minutes, and 40 cents per minute thereafter.

After a wash, customers will present their tickets to a cashier to make payment.

Bentz said most people spend about 15 minutes for a wash, which translates into $6.

All the wash chemicals are water soluble and biodegradable, Bentz noted.

Three hoist bays at the other end of the center will allow people to service their own vehicles. No engine repairs or body work, of course, but all the tools needed for an oil change, lube job and new filter, along with work benches and sinks for cleaning up, are provided.

"I don't know of any place you can go and do your own servicing," Bentz said.

The charge for using a hoist bay is $12 for 30 minutes if you furnish your own oil and filter, $9 if you buy the items at the center. Time over 30 minutes is 30 cents a minute.

The hoist is controlled by an attendant. Customers must sign a waiver and attest that they are capable of doing their own service work.

There's more "green" about the center than the traffic lights. Hot water for the car wash and building heat is provided by two boilers fired by used oil from the service center.

Oil, dirt and sand is separated from the waste water. "We don't put any crud into the sewer system," Bentz said.

Outside, tubes circulate hot anti-freeze through pavement to keep it snow- and ice-free. "So that as the people go out with wet cars and wet pickups and the water is running off them, it won't create a skating rink," Bentz said.

Bentz said there were plenty of "angels" along the way who helped him build the auto center, not to mention the efforts he and his family made over the years.

"Fifty years later, I'm finally doing it," he said.

Business Editor Tom Mast can be reached at tom.mast@trib.com, or call 307-266-0574.