Looks can be deceiving. If you happen to find yourself on 220th Street in Rockwell City, Iowa, you could easily drive past the Lakeside Rods and Rides steel building and think it’s just another small-town guy trying to make a living building cars. But you’d
Don Richardson painted his first car back in high school in the mid-1970s. He’s still painting today at his shop – Richardson's Custom Auto Body – in Washington. Now, instead of painting classmates’ cars in his parents’ garage, he works from a shop on the
A welcome sign at the edge of Humphrey, Nebraska (population 760) says “Integrity & Excellence – Not Just a Statement, a Commitment!” The same slogan can be applied to Boesch Hot Rod Concepts, the small shop in town that’s been turning out high-impact vehicles for
When we were in Ohio earlier this year we stopped by Steve Martino Perfect Auto a couple hours south in Lexington Kentucky. The idea was to pull out Steve DiMartino’s wicked ProStreet Falcon, but when we showed up to the shop we got more than
Leonard Lopez of Dominator Street Rods learned a valuable lesson as a young man driving and working on race cars: Everything on the car must be functional. Perhaps that simple lesson is the reason why his shop in Tracy, California, has turned out so many stunning
Jeff Kinsey of Hot Rods by JSK is a no frills, no fuss kind of hot rod builder. He will pass you on the freeway and smile as he goes by, foot to the wood. He will be the first to crack a beer with
The NHRA Museum, official known as the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California, is home to nearly 100 historical drag cars, lakesters, streamliners, hot rods, gassers, trucks and motorcycles. Its display cases are crammed with racing memorabilia, helmets,
Thom Ophof operates SaltWorks Fab with the same planning that he developed during his years as a mechanical engineer to turn out top-quality rides. Consider one of the Sarasota, FL, shop’s Instagram hashtags: #wedontstorecars. Thom schedules work and his staff’s time so that when a customer’s
Passion and persistance have made Paul's Rods and Restos what it is today. The road to a successful career can be full of obstacles with unexpected curves, bumps, and detours – and sometimes even taking a path that gets you lost for a while. With
Stepping into Michael Leeds’ Blastolene Garage is a bit like visiting another planet. You’re probably familiar with Leeds’ work whether you know it or not; he makes up one half of the Blastolene Brothers, a two-man collective including Leeds and Randy Grubb. Together, they have
