Rods stay Hot in cold economy - video included
You’d think that a severe recession would deal a death blow to artisans providing services such as custom car building. But Thom Ophof says he’s “way beyond busy. Most of my customers are retired. The ones that aren’t retired would rather do this than go to dinner, take a little vacation.”
Ophof is the owner and operator of Godspeed, LLC, a custom car shop in a small industrial park in Brownsburg. “We do metal shaping and chassis fabrication and all kinds of body modification, custom work, hot rods,” Ophof said.
Godspeed isn’t full-service, but it’s close. (On Fridays, a barber even sets up shop in the corner for Hot Rods & Hair Cuts.) The metal fabricator doesn’t do any mechanical work, but the shop’s next-door neighbor, Walt Herr of Walt’s Hot Rods, does. “They do the wiring, plumbing and mechanical work. I don’t do any of that. I just do chassis and sheet-metal work,” Ophof said.
Ophof opened his shop a year ago, with seven years of experience. An engineer for most of his 20s, Ophof worked at a hot rod shop in upstate New York and fell in love with the work.
Unlike the way it’s presented on reality TV, custom fabrication is tedious, time-consuming work — a point that Ophof stresses to clients up front. “When a car gets built in seven days on TV, you’ve got a team of 45 people working 14 hours a day, and you add that up, that’s a two-year project if I were to do it myself,” he said.
Godspeed is currently home to five vehicles in various states of distress, ensuring that Ophof will have steady work at least until a time when his customers don’t have to choose between eating out and finishing that sweet ride.
If you want to see Ophof work up close visit his shop (454 Johnson Lane, Brownburg) at 7 p.m. Fridays and get trimmed up by barber Ryan Steele in the process. More info: (317) 858-1782 or www.godspeedrides.com
redfalconf35 : RE: Rods stay Hot in cold economy - video included More..
I think the premise of the article is wrong. This hasn’t yet become a “severe recession”. It’s a recession, and it’s severe in isolated areas (see Detroit), but it hasn’t become severe in most parts of the country yet.
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