Five Minutes With…Alan Johnson of Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop
In 1993 Alan Johnson debuted his first car, a yellow ’37 Ford cabriolet, at the Street Rod Nationals. The car earned accolades, landed on the cover of several magazines, and the word about this new kid from down south started to spread. Since that day 31 years ago, dozens of cool hot rods have rolled out Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop in Gadsden, Alabama.
While known for their low, traditional-style ‘30s hot rods, Alan and his team, including wife Angie, have shown their innovation and sharp eye for timeless builds on street machines such as the ’71 G-Force ‘Cuda (the Goodguys 2007 Street Machine of the Year), a ’52 Suburban that scored the BASF 2023 America’s Most Beautiful award, and several land speed racers for competition at Bonneville. His shop has also developed its own line of wheels, a modernized Kinmont brake system, radiators, and many other parts. We caught up with Alan for a visit at this summer’s Summit Racing Nationals.
GG: Do you prefer the process of building a high-end AMBR contender, or a nice street-destined driver?
Alan Johnson: There are different challenges for all of them. George Poteet asked me a similar question a few years ago ’cause he knew the truck we were building for him wasn’t going to win any awards. I told him that doesn’t matter. My goal is to have you smiling ear to ear every time you get in it and for you to never have a problem with the car.
GG: What is your favorite part of a build? Planning, fabrication, assembly?
Johnson: There’s really not any part of a build I don’t enjoy, other than the office work, which is why I have so many people in the office! I enjoy the whole process. I can be in the shop sandblasting and be a nasty, sweaty, dirty mess and I’m just as happy as doing final assembly. I would take 16 hours in the sandblaster over five minutes in the office!
GG: How has your approach to car building changed in the last 30 years?
Johnson: Everything has changed in the last 30 years the way I see it. It’s gotten easier thanks to all the different manufacturers making great parts today, and it’s gotten easier since I’ve gotten 31 years of experience. We’re also incorporating more creature comforts into the cars these days and people are driving their cars more than ever.
Early on we did a car for Vernon Walker, and he’d put thousands of miles a week on it. That helped me tremendously. It showed me to think about accessibility to stuff on the car during the build process because you’re going to have to work on it at some point, and to look at the quality of certain parts that could fail. Our two builds for him never left him on the side of the road!
GG: Your business has a growing list of products and brands. How does manufacturing compare to car building?
Johnson: I’d never been around any type of manufacturing, so it’s been a whole different animal, but we’re learning. If it wasn’t a challenge, I wouldn’t enjoy going to work every day.
GG: Why was it important for you to purchase Walker Radiator and keep it going as Johnson’s Radiator Works?
Johnson: When we got word that Walker Radiator was closing it really shocked us – that’s all we ever used and never had a problem with them. I didn’t want to see it go away. So, Angie, Shane Phillips, and I started talking about taking it over and whether we had the time to do it and to make it successful. We’ve got a long way to go to get where I want it to be, but it’s getting better every day.
GG: Who were some of your earliest influences?
Johnson: As a kid, if it had wheels on it, I was into it. My first car was a ’68 VW Beetle. I was reading every car magazine there was. I never really went to any events until I had a car finished, except for Bobby Alloway’s event back in 1989 – the first hot rod event I ever went to. I knew his name, and all the guys in the magazines like Barry Lobeck, Boyd, Magoo, Brizio – I liked their cars. I met Paul Atkins a few weeks before the Street Rod Nationals where I debuted my first ’37 Ford. The car ended up getting shot for Street Rodder, Rod & Custom, and Hot Rod – and I almost didn’t go to the show ’cause I wasn’t happy with a few things.
GG: What advice would you give a DIY hot rodder when starting a new project?
Johnson: You have to passion for this to be able to do it. If you were waking up to face a normal job working 16-hour days for months at a time but didn’t love what you’re doing, I don’t know how you could do it. If someone doesn’t have passion, they’ll never get through the low points, ’cause it’s not always easy.
GG: Your wife Angie has been your partner in life and with the shop. How do you two balance your work life and personal life?
Johnson: We’ve been married 28 years and she’s been here since the very beginning of the shop and is an integral part of our success. The shop wouldn’t be where we’re at without her. It’s hard to balance that; she’s sacrificed a lot. I think all of us who are car crazy are a little bit crazy anyways.
GG: Is there a car you haven’t built yet, but would jump at the given chance?
Alan Johnson: The next one! There’s a lot of stuff out there. Some might seem odd, such as a late-’60s BMW. Eric Black has renderings of some ’60s road race-inspired Shelby Cobra coupes and early European-type racecars. I’d like to do another roadster for AMBR as a traditional car, too.
We’re actually building a car for Angie right now, something she can drive anywhere. It’s an ’80 Trans Am pace car. We both have always been Pontiac and Trans Am fans. We bought a really good car, but everyone says it’s too nice to take apart. So, we’ll see!
