Who are the most important builders these days?

The most important builder is the guy who reads everything he can lay his hands on to learn everything he can, decides what he wants and designs it if need be, works on his skill level until it's good enough to get the job done, gathers up the parts and raw materials, gets together what ever tools he needs (beg, borrow, buy and some would say steal), calls on his family and friends for any moral support and/or help if need be, and goes out to the garage and builds, not buys, what he likes, his way, himself.

If, after all this, if he can go down the road burning gas and grinning ear to ear the farther he gets from home, then you can call him a success and that is why he gets my vote.

By the way, the use of the male gender when the gender is unknown is in the traditional way of using English, not the currently politically correct one, and was not used here with the intent to upset anyone's sensibilties.

 

huh?
ncn

 

Aaron -- I second that. Here's a link to Dave Lane's shop...

http://www.fastlanerodshop.com/

 

Rudy Rodriquez
Jimmy White
Troy Ladd

 

Here is another one to add to the list...
Dean Livermore and crew in PHX...
http://hotrodsbydean.com/

 

Your Mom.

 

No....my mom.

 

I know some who think they are "important"

 

That's why people like (from chopold's list) Richard Glymph are so good for the hobby.

I was lucky enough to get Richard to paint my car (I wouldn't call it a rod or custom, pretty stock body) after his buds Leonard Smith and Ed Harper worked out the kinks the previous body guys put in and did some body mods to get it ready for Richard's hands.

I was lucky enough to know someone that knows Doug Kauffman (great uphoulsty artist!) who is friends with Richard, Leonard and Ed. They came to my garage to consider doing the final touches on the body and the paint on my primered car. They flattered the hell out of me by just taking the job on! They did it in a matter of a few months and the job turned out spectacular in my opinion.

During the entire process from first meeting to the final product I found these guys to be SUPER nice people! To top it all off, they all come off as quite humble, which really blew me away.

(Thankfully, I have the car back in Richards hands to repair a the result of being rearended.)

Great thread!

I have it bookmarked and will go get my education with that great listing that Mike put together - great stuff!

Pete

 

Now, you may think I am biased because he is my husband, but Jonah Meade is tops.

Not only is he amazingly talented and creative...he pours every ounce of himself into his work. He works day and night to make sure his customers are happy and to make sure cars that he builds for us are right. He doesn't cut corners, he doesn't cheat people, and he doesn't skimp. He comes in every night aching from top to bottom with cuts and scars and burns. And every morning he gets back up and does it again. There is nothing better than seeing the spark in someone's eye when they see a car that Jonah has built for them all finished and ready to roll. He is a truly selfless human being, and far too under-rated in my opinion.

That is my two pennies.

 

HemiRambler : I have been lucky enough to meet a few Hot Rodders like those you described ! ( Waaay Back when I was in my early teens ) . Those kinda guys SURE makes a difference . In later years , I met Mike Fors ( Prinsbo mechanix, Sweden ), And he sure deserves a GOLDEN medal for answering all my dumb questions ..
KLAZ

 

I agree with plw; there are a lot of "unsung heroes" out there who are not likely to ever receive the credit they deserve;...call it marketing, call it lack of PR, call it a lack of "dumb luck";call it whatever you want, Many of these "artists" who are not given recognition for their skills could care less. They're in it for the love of it, period....and are incredibly talented. I have been fortunate in my life to have known a few of these gifted men, and I have great respect for them. Could it be that maybe the truest measure of a man is not what he HAS, but rather what he can do WITHOUT?

 

You got that right. Like Dirty31 that works on his hot rods at night useally after his wife and daughter goes to sleep and than gets up and has to be at work at 6. My vote if it counts is for those kinda guys !!!!

 

dave paras, aint he neat! ( parasrodandcustom.com)

 

Wow! I can't believe I'm just seeing this list. I'm flattered, but would never be at the caliber of the folks on the list. I can only squeak in time around raising 3 teenage boys and working 60hrs a week trying to be a software exec.

As Ryan said, there are so, so many regular cool folks building cool shit on this board on a family man's budget. That's what glues me to this place.

 

Aftre reading most of the posts on this thread, I would like to offer my opinion. I believe (and maybe I am heading a bit outside of the topic, forgive me if I do) that its not necessarily just builders as it is those who work on cars. Someone that can rebuild transmissions, or paint a car, do interiors, wire a car, metal work, or whatever as a specialty. Whether its a way of living or just helping your buddies on the weekend, whether you are known by a nickname all over the place or simply known as jim from down the street. I think all of those who can work on a car and help transform it into something it was not originally, fall into a very special group of people.

 

A builder is one who BUILDS the car. A DESIGNER is one who thinks of what to do first- you can be both but you cant be a BUILDER without getting your hands dirty.

Anyone out there who is doing quality work and getting people to say 'yeah...that what it SHOULD look like!' is a important builder.


There are so many small shops out there doing amazing work Other than our own shop- (insert self promotion here ) on the East Coast I can think of Lowrey's (in NH) ,Dave Simard (MA) and Extreme (in ME) for more well known guys but there are probably tons of other small shops who people just dont know about who do quality work. Thank goodness we all have the HAMB to show shit off to people so they can get recognized for the abilities and their passions.


Unfortunately now the the TV crap , its almost who you know on who gets accolades - and being in the right place at the right time..But the work still needs a voice- Shit work gets shit . Dont own stock in Bondo....'Nuff said.

 

if he didnt do this then he'd be in the wrong business or didnt want to 'make it' (whatever that means to him). Most builders and underrated- its the labor of love.

 

It wasn't too long ago that editorials in all the hobby rags were lamenting that the "kids" weren't picking up rodding and it was dying off.

It seems to me the thing has exploded over the last few years. The "rat rod" phenomenon, the "culture" aspect. It was mentioned that you can't even find 5.0's anymore (never mind the shit that *I* need ).

What builders are responsible for this, who got this started? Love them or hate them they're important and lots more people are probably putting bread on the table due to their influence.

Or not.

 

"Could it be that maybe the truest measure of a man is not what he HAS, but rather what he can do WITHOUT?"

Man you hit it on the head....guys who are back yard builders WITHOUT all the fancy plasma cutters, tig welders, hoists and even decent garage space etc that GET THINGS DONE and GET THEM DONE RIGHT - with minimal tools and maximum passion and ability are the most hardcore, dedicated builders around.

They not only have the building skills but have the ability to barter their skills to beg, borrow/use tools to get the job done right.

I tips me hat off to em !!

Rat

 

I think that its not only skills but the pride, the effort that a man or woman puts into his or hers ride. An abundunce of equipment will make you nothing if you don't put forth the effort. Pride in doing your ride the way you want it and not how you think people would like it to look is what makes a these people special.

 

A lot of em THINK they are important

 

Somebody say Texas and left me out ?
demiiiiit

 

Having chopped my '54 Chevy with nothing but a stick welder, jigsaw and a Sears 7" polisher/sander I reckon I'm the best builder ever.

 

AMEN!!-NADS-
HAIL TO THE REAL "BUILDERS-
NOT "ASSEMBLERS"........

 

wow - that underchassis is BLINDING man...Kinda clean too- I hope its driven and you just have a good detailer...LOL

 

I think Larry Grobe is building some the baddest rides around the midwest

 

The guys kicking it out of their home garages and back yards are head and shoulders above the big name builders IMO. I'd much rather see someone take pride in the rod (or bike) they put together, even if it isn't "perfect". I'd rather see a homebrew paint job with minor flaws than a mirror smooth finish that costed big money.

Based on what I just wrote, looks to me like you need look no further than HAMB to see some of the great builders.

 

I think we all have run across some pretty decent builders that do it in their garages or small shops without all of the ink. As for a big name guy I like Steve Moal. He has some new or at least different stuff and he does a bit more than others in house. Marcel, Marc and Luc Delay probably should be given a bit of credit for helping some of the builders win some of their hardware. I believe they did the last two Ridlers as well-I believe-Jim

 

Ya know alot of great builders have come and gone over the years and some are gettin older, not building as much ect. Some famous old builders simply have died. Last weekend I sold a 31 coupe body to a 17 year old kid, this will be his second model A. Kids and young people are the most important builders to me as they are the ones who will keep it alive long after the old timers are done!!! I'm not that old but when I'm somewhere and some kid asks me about my car and it might be a really stupid question I really try to be helpful. People have and do help me and I try to help others. Dave