Seeking advice regarding a custom Hot Rod build

Autogeek

Autogeek

New member
I have a friend up north who is looking to build a '40 Ford hot-rod from the ground up. He asked me for some advice since I'm a "car guy", but to be honest I don't have much experience in Hot Rods. I'm hoping some of you hot-rod savvy guys can give me some advice on some good builders. Location is not an issue.



Here are some names I came across poking around on the 'net...any feedback is welcome.



George Barris - seems like one of the "top dogs" in the industry. Built the original batmobile and many other movie cars.



Gene Winfield - More traditional, old-school hot-rod builder. Been in the business for over 60 years.



Rich Evans - More modern style hot-rods, painted the big Meguiar's trucks (if you were at Detail Fest last year, you'd know what I'm talking about ;))



Troy Trepanier - Seen some of his work and it looks outstanding. Lots of older cars and his jobs look very tastefully done and clean.





Thoughts? Suggestions? Opinions? Anything? :nervous2:
 
My father just started working for a shop in northern MN. While they will build anything older than early '70's cars, they specialize in Christine and Eleanor clones. I visited the shop last weekend and there must have been 8-9 Eleanor cars being built, the original Christine car was there being worked on, a '69 Camaro, custom'58 Impala convertible as well as a few other cars. Place is huge!



Memory Lane Classics - Classic Car Restoration, Muscle Cars and Custom Builds
 
Go to Lateral-G.net and see all the builders on that site. They are mostly Pro-Touring guys, but many of the shops build killer street rods, too.



Randy
 
Is he looking to build himself or have it built? How deep are his pockets? There are a lot of variables here, but if money is not an object his options are almost unlimited.



If he wants it built the best advice I can give is to attend the Goodguy's Nationals in Columbus, OH (July) and the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville (August). At these shows he will see a lot of cars and a lot of vendors. The key is to find a builder with a good rep who does the style he's looking for. There are a lot of good names in the business so he needs to look around and find someone he likes and trusts.



If he's doing the build, or a lot of it himself, then a lot of the same advice still applies. At those two shows he'll see a lot of vendors (especially Louisville) and have a chance to talk one-on-one.



He also needs a subscription to Street Rodder to get a lot of info and ideas. Two smaller names with good reps are Barry Lobeck in Cleveland and Street Rods by Michael in TN.
 
Matt@Autogeek said:
I have a friend up north who is looking to build a '40 Ford hot-rod from the ground up. He asked me for some advice since I'm a "car guy", but to be honest I don't have much experience in Hot Rods. I'm hoping some of you hot-rod savvy guys can give me some advice on some good builders. Location is not an issue.



Here are some names I came across poking around on the 'net...any feedback is welcome.



George Barris - seems like one of the "top dogs" in the industry. Built the original batmobile and many other movie cars.



Gene Winfield - More traditional, old-school hot-rod builder. Been in the business for over 60 years.



Rich Evans - More modern style hot-rods, painted the big Meguiar's trucks (if you were at Detail Fest last year, you'd know what I'm talking about ;))



Troy Trepanier - Seen some of his work and it looks outstanding. Lots of older cars and his jobs look very tastefully done and clean.





Thoughts? Suggestions? Opinions? Anything? :nervous2:
Click to expand...



George Barris: Look at one of his builds up close. A lot of rigging to achieve what he does. He might make cool movie cars but I don't car for his hot rods.



Gene Winfield: Sort of an old school builder with old school techniques. Can be a good or a bad thing.



Rich Evans: He seems to do too much bolt on stuff and newer cars. Unless it's a different Evans.



Troy Trepanier: Good builder but you'll rarely hear of anyone speak highly of the guy. He's very arrogant and sometimes hard to work with.



Some of my favorite builders are:



Mobsteel: I think they may only really do Lincolns and Cadillacs but not sure.



Terry Cook / Deco Rides: Very nice cars. I've seen his work at a few concours shows.



Year One: Always love what those guys produce.



Garrets Hot Rod Shop: Nice and simple looking rods with nice lines.



There are tons out there but these ones ring a bell right off the top of my head. I guess it also depends on what you are looking to have done. Also he might want to check some of his local hot rod forums. I know of guys doing this stuff in their garage that I'd have do work for me before anyone listed.
 
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