IBFHotRods

Cragar wheels are the participation trophy of the car world. Slap a set on and call it a build. That's not individuality. That's a catalog.

Took a day away from the shop Friday and headed to Indianapolis for the Custom Car Revival with some good people. Everything there was true kustom. No trailer queens. No matching numbers arguments in the parking lot. Just real builds and the people behind them.

Shows like this remind me why I got into this in the first place. It's easy to get buried in the shop and forget what it all looks like when it comes together. Walking through that show put it back in perspective.

It's All About the Build. 🤙

One man shops don't get enough credit. While everybody's building teams, guys like VooDoo Larry are in the shop alone putting in decades of work with nobody watching.

I know what that grind looks like. It takes a different kind of person to keep showing up to an empty shop every day and still build at that level.

That's the life.

I sat down with him on I.B.F.HotRods very own "It's All About the Build" podcast.

Full episode available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, anywhere else you stream music, and you can also Watch it on YouTube.

It's All About the Build. 🤙

This 1967 C10 will be heading to Hawaii when it's all said and done. The client wants to be able to work on this truck without needing a lift.

Every panel templated, cut, pre stretched on the English wheel, beads rolled for strength, and fitted around an 849HP Supercharged LSA Engine. This engine bay is going to be just as nice as the outside.

Templated, cut, pre stretched on the English wheel, beads rolled for strength, and fitted. This engine bay is going to be just as nice as the outside.

It's All About the Build. 🤙

A customer just drove 2.5 hours one way to pick these up. Nobody sells floor pans for a 63 to 65 Buick Riviera. So I build them.

Flat sheet of metal, a template, and the right tools for the job. Metal shears, an English wheel, bead roller, finger brake, cutoff wheel, DA sander. Start to finish, this is what custom fabrication actually looks like. No shortcuts. Every panel built by hand.

It's All About the Build. 🤙

This is what my shop looks like on any given day.

A shop full of projects and ones waiting outside ready to come in the door.

No employees. No team. Just me and whatever build is next in line.

Some days it's overwhelming. Most days I wouldn't trade it for anything.

It's All About the Build. 🤙

BARN FIND. No one had to die to get this one.

This 1970 Mustang Fastback had been sitting on jack stands in my parents garage for 30 years. No front end. Hadn't seen daylight in decades.

Tuesday we finally pushed her out together.

Some things are worth waiting for.

It's All About the Build. 🤙

150 hours of story. 22.5 minutes of airtime. That's what television gave him.

Kevin Tetz doesn't skip past anything anymore. The screw ups, the corrections, all of it. That's what the audience actually wants to see and hear, and Kevin delivers.

We traveled south of Nashville to Columbia, Tennessee to sit down with Kevin Tetz at Motor Alley and hear the whole story.

From pursuing a vocal career as a rockstar, to his start in the industry, to television personality, to Paintucation University, Kevin's knowledge of automotive painting is as deep as it gets. What television couldn't show you, this episode does.

Full episode on the It's All About the Build podcast.

It's All About the Build. 🤙

EV, Plug In Vehicles, Battery Electric??

Whatever you call it, You can't force feed something that isn't wanted.

Kevin Tetz said it best on the podcast and this car said the rest.

This 1972 Chevelle was one of the first vehicles we had the privilege of working on here at IBF HotRods.

It's All About the Build. 🤙

It's as American as it gets.

1951 Willys Jeep. Cleaned up, wired right and running the way it should. This one came in rough and left ready for anything.

Can you have too much horsepower?

849 horsepower. 759 lb ft of torque. This engine was built, installed and sent to the dyno right here out of our shop in Huntington, Indiana. The numbers speak for themselves.

It's All About the Build. 🤙