Customs Looking for bodywork/metal work apprenticeship in L.A. area!!

Well i've been thinking about this for a while now, and i have finally decided to ask if any of you guys ( shop owners ) in the L.A. area are looking to bring in somebody for some help or apprenticeship?? Im not looking to make a fortune but more to learn and help around the shop. I started building a 51 chevy 15 months ago and i just have such a p***ion for customs that i'm seriously thinking of making a career change. Im currently a teamster for motion picture and i've been unemployed for 5 months now, i am pretty tired of that business and my wife and i were talking and we both agreed that it would be a perfect time to pursue this p***ion of mine. My wife has a very good career so financial incentive is not the reason i'm doing this, i just want to build and help build custom cars and like what i do for a living. I am considering enrolling in some cl***es but would much rather learn from working in a shop and paying my dues. I don't know to many custom car shops in L.A so that's the reason i decided to post this thread. Thanx for your time guys!!

Ian

 

once you figure out the shop you want to apprentice at, just go there and volunteer.... it's cheaper than school and if you're valuable (yet not yet proven,) you'll prove your worth and then make money.

i was a troubled kid who dropped out of school. i wanted to be around drag racing and learn to build motors & work on race cars, so i picked what i thought was the best race team in my area-- walked in and started sweeping floors for nothing. over time i was porting heads, building and dyno testing motors. never made a lot of money, but got to travel the country, work on high dollar stuff and LEARNED A LOT.

if i had kept it up, i could have made a living at it. along the way i learned that it's way more fun having cars as a hobby than a full time job though.....

-scott noteboom

 

my buddy started sweeping the floors at bio kustumz, they build big dollar cars for some big names, with in a few months he was a tweaking on cars a bit, within a year he was a fabricator. Now hes the main guy their six years later and he kicks *** at it. so good luck with it, definately pays off to start slow and work your way in.

 

Just to let everybody know, Ian, is a nice and trustworthy guy, I would hire, in a New York minute, if I could. Just an all around good guy.

 

Well that's nice Chris!! Thanx for vouching for me bro!! Im so serious about this too.

Ian

 

Thanx guys!! Great advice, i just need to figure out where to go?? Not too many shops around here that i know of. There's seems to be more going on up in NORCAL.

Ian

 

Ian, I stumbled across your posting and I wish you all the very best good fortune in your quest. How about keeping us updated on your situation?

 

I will!! I just made a list of a few shops not too far from my area and i'm gonna get in touch with them.

Thanx!!

Ian

 

in so cal, i'd want to learn custom body mods from bill hines-- which makes me think of brad masteron, who's doing great stuff out of his shop in lynwood. for paint, i'd love to learn from donnie at imperial customs. jimmy white knows his way real well around hotrods. hell, you could take a pilgrimage to the desert and try to spend time with gene winfield-- who is a master of about everything in the universe.

lots of amazing talent in socal. chase down your dream and make it happen. im stoked for you...

-scott noteboom

 

Right on bro!! Yeah Brad is pretty much AMAZING to say the least!! Im friends with Donnie, but what i really want to learn is custom body mods and all the good stuff that comes with it, learning to work with better tools, metal, different types of welding.....etc....... It's quite intimidating to walk in a shop and tell them that you want to sweep their floors when you don't know anybody there but i'll get over it!! LOL!!!!

Ian

 

what up ian . yeah guys . ian is a cool dude . lemme think try to othink of anybody who may be in a position to help you . also i wanna cruise by and see the chevy in person man . talk soon buddy ,
donnie

 

and thanks scott for the compliment ... see ya soon i hope man .

 

i remember coming across a shoebox on ebay and went to the guys site i think it was lordz of customz. anyways they did pretty good work (or at least looked like)and they were out of LA. im sure they have a website you can check out

 

Donnie, you're the man!! Thanx bro!! You can stop by anytime man! 213 804 4503. Im in the garage everyday between 6 or 7 am until about 5 pm , im in burbank, alameda/griffith park dr. 213 804 4503.

Thanx Donnie!!

 

Jesse is the owner and he seems to be a good guy! I should stop by their shop and talk to him. Thanx man!!

Ian

 

sure. i just checked out the site again and they seem very legit and im sure you can learn a few things.

 

dude go for youre dreams man .who knows whats up for our industry .**** you might just make it and look back and say man i use to work 80-90 hours a week for someone else.

 

Right on man!! Nice truck!!!

Ian

 

I just thought i would bring this back up for the morning crowd since i posted this pretty late last night. Thanx for all the help and advice!!

Ian

 

I've known Ian for 10 years and everything he does, he does with style an grace. he definitely would be a solid addition to any shop. his workspace is always tight an clean (I've worked with him on a few different projects an me being a bit of a clean freak I was impressed) he's a true gentleman, insanely honest and well respected in his field.

 

Hey,here's a tip Ian...take some pic's with you,of the work you have done on your Chevy. That should convince anyone to hire you! Good Luck buddy...

 

In response to Bob's comment...

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/ind...viewPicture&friendID=32455272&albumId=1637533

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/ind...viewPicture&friendID=32455272&albumId=2635994

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/ind...viewPicture&friendID=32455272&albumId=2711549

And what else does every dude in search of a metalworking apprenticeship need to brag about? The ability to do a *****in' hand plant like this!!!



Ian rules! Haven't known him very long but I generally have a good sense about how people are and he's a ruler in my book.

 

Bad Bob! thanx so much bro!!

You ****ing rule homie!! That's so rad you posted this stuff!! That pic of me skating is so funny dude!! I love you guys, ****!!

Ian

 

I ****ing love you bro!! True friend!!

Ian

 

i'd hire you on the spot with the picture alone, lol.

that handplant totally take me back to the 80's. i used to practice those damn things for hours on my driveway..... then in an act of even more 80's coolness, drop the other arm down into a ho-ho. lol.

streetplants, wallrides and bonelesses, oh my! i blame it on brain dramage from eggwhits and aquanet in the hair

-scott noteboom

 

21 years ago homie!! LOL! I was 16 i think? PUNK TIL' YOU DIE, YOU KNOW WHY!!!

Ian

 

haha ian the ruler . only thing that would have been better would have been a table top on a vintage bmx bike ! .
still trying to think of something for ya buddy .
donnie

 

LOL!! thanx homie!! I think im gonna go see this guy at this custom shop soon, he built some of my favorite customs and somebody recently told me he's a super nice guy. their yearly BBQ is coming up so i think it would be a good opportunity to introduce myself.
Ian

 

Hey Ian,

If sombody would have told me that the metalwork and paint business " is what it is" nearly fourty years ago, I'd still have jumped in with both feet! Having said that, it ain't often, no Disney movie! Plan on goin' hungry, goin broke, or damned near, and some years having to do collision work on total ****boxes, jus' to cover your overhead, at times.

As far as getting your feet wet, I'd get into several of Gene Winfield's cl***es, Ron Covell's and the online metalworking sites: metalshapers.org & metalmeet.org? None of the above will cover building kustoms, but the skills you'll need will be offered, there. Today, unlike the past, there are a ****load of books, tapes, discs & workshops all related to metalwork. Knowledge is a tool, knowledge & experience = money!

S****ey Devils C.C.
" Spending A Nation Into Generational Debt Is Not An Act Of Comp***ion!"

 

There's even some good stuff on YouTube! Gets addicting, actually...