Baby, You Can Drive My Car
Restorers in Lamar turn their hot rod hobby into a booming business.
Brian Brewer and Tim Riegel of Lamar decided to do what they loved, and the money would follow. They turned their fascination with hot rods and vintage cars into two booming businesses almost five years ago. The friends and colleagues opened Fast Eddie Hot Rods and Redneck Street Rods in March 2004.
“It’s just something I’ve always loved ever since I was a bitty boy who was a car freak,” says Riegel. “I knew the names of cars before I knew the names of relatives.”
Brewer and Riegel worked at O’Sullivan Industries before the furnishings company closed, and the duo restored cars in their spare time. The pair gained some notoriety from their hobby hot rods around the Midwest, and they soon decided fast cars could mean big business. “We saw the writing on the wall at O’Sullivan’s, and we didn’t want to get fired, so after persuading my wife for three months, we decided to go for it and start our own business,” Riegel says.
Getting their wives on board was the guys’ first roadblock. “My wife, Kathy, was very worried,” Brewer says. “I’d had a secure job for 21 years in the furniture industry, and we weren’t sure. You always hear horror stories about if a business doesn’t make it past two years, you won’t make it.”
Riegel’s wife, Diane, had to go back to teaching when the guys started the venture. “It took a long time for her to understand why we wanted to do this, and it took a lot of commitment from my family, but they backed me all the way, and we never looked back,” Riegel says.
The team created a business plan, landed a loan from a local bank and started Fast Eddie Hot Rods and Red Neck Street Rods. Riegel had experience in planning, purchasing and budgeting at O’Sullivan’s and now oversees Red Neck Street Rods, while Brewer oversees the Fast Eddie Hot Rod Shop.
Today, the people at Fast Eddie’s Hot Rods build and restore antique, classic, muscle and custom automobiles. Their specialty is complete frame-off restorations of cars made in 1972 or earlier. The company’s six full-time employees have more than 110 years of combined experience in restoration and customization.
The guys spend a lot of time on the phone talking to other hot rod hobbyists about their projects. People bring or ship in their vintage cars, and the guys do an estimate of the work needed. Then they dismantle the car, separate the frame from the body, and rip out the interior and the engine. They start rebuilding with the chassis. The body shop crew repairs body damage before the car is put back together again.
The companies do jobs big and small, but all of their customers can afford to race with the big boys. Fast Eddie cars have an average value of $60,000, but the team recently completed a restoration of a 1957 convertible that came in at $165,000. Customers for Fast Eddie’s cruise in from as far away as Boulder, Colorado, and the average build times are six to eight months.
Brewer’s and Riegel’s other business, Redneck Street Rods, manufacturers reproductions of 1932 through 1934 Fords that cost around $22,000. Customers call from coast to coast to order the vehicles, and completed cars are delivered within four to six weeks.
Macho Movers
Brewer’s favorite car restoration to date is the 1951 Kaiser, which took 14 months to complete and will be featured early this year in Superrod magazine. Although the exterior looks stock, the car boasts a 400-horsepower, 2006 LS2 GTO engine—the same as a Corvette—while providing an average 23 miles per gallon.
Riegel’s favorite car is the ’64 Fairlane, which sells for around $154,000. The guys plan on debuting it at a national street rod show this year.
Riegel and Brewer say their shop remains busy despite the downward economy. “Our goal is to be 10 percent more profitable than last year,” Riegel says. “We know that this year is going to be hard, but we have a lot of momentum.” The company was recognized as the Business of the Year by the Lamar Chamber of Commerce. “It’s local recognition for building up our company in four years,” Brewer says. “It’s a great honor.”
Business-Savvy Tips
Tim Riegel and Brian Brewer of Fast Eddie’s Hot Rods and Redneck Street Rods offer these tips to potential small-business owners:
1) Be passionate about what you do, and hire people who are passionate, too.
2) Motivate your employees by keeping them engaged in the business. Brewer and Riegel take their crew to car shows each year to see what’s new in the market and get them reenergized about their jobs.
3) Keep your employees loyal by paying them well and offering benefits, such as health insurance and time off.
4) Get training on how to be a small-business owner before starting. There are many details, such as insurance and workman’s compensation, which can be a challenge to navigate without experience.
5) Ask your local chamber of commerce for assistance on starting up your own small business. Also, your local bank can be a great resource for finding much-needed capital.
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