Builders Showcase
While many hot rodders build their own cars, a significant proportion of the hotrods out there today have been built by professional builders. Their work runs the gamut from turning out fully completed, one- off cars built literally from scratch to helping hot rodders complete those aspects of their car construction that they themselves just aren’t capable of.
Professional builders have been the innovators, often the trend setters in hot rodding. It’s their skill, their ingenuity, their resourcefulness that have resulted in the creation of some of the automotive industry’s most innovative, celebrated cars. When you look at the sophistication and inventiveness of their building techniques coupled with their extraordinary flair for design, you could easily make the case that the epicenter for all automotive design worldwide resides right here in the good old U.S.of A’s hot rod builder community.
This is why we wanted to create a separate place on this site for professional builders called BUILDERS SHOWCASE. We know their latest project cars are of real interest to all hot rodders, so we wanted to provide a central forum where builders could show their latest creations to the entire KruzinUSA national community.
The BUILDERS SHOWCASE will have two parts: the first will highlight a single builder and show a complete gallery of their work; the second will provide a national listing of builders with a brief sampling of some of their project cars. In both cases we have provided a direct hotlink to their respective websites so you can get a more in-depth look at their operations. If you’re interested in seeing some of the most innovative cars on this planet, we would encourage you to visit their sites.
VooDoo Larry Kustoms
Aptly named, VooDoo Larry Kustoms in Schaumburg, IL is a hot rod shop that has an awful lot going on. Looking at the work coming out of this hot rod hotbed, plainly VooDoo Larry Grobe works magic with metal. He's turning out some of the most original, innovative, unexpected and leading edge Kustoms you'll ever see. Larry will do anything from a ground up restoration to a custom one of a kind part to pinstriping that'll blow your mind and everything in between. With 30 years of experience under his belt it is easy to see Larry has really perfected his unique craft. His reputation is built on turning out hot rods and kustoms that set new boundaries. His attention to detail, gifted craftsmanship, creativity and ever changing pallet of work are renowned with the Old Skool Kustom culture.
That reputation has his shop full to capacity with a waiting list that could fill his shop twice again. He is currently working on a ground up resto of a '67 Jag, on Old's Coupe with all original tags and title with great historical value; said wheels once belonged to Mr. Al Capone! Once that bad boy is finished it will have show car guts and the VooDoo Larry treatment on the skins. Look for it at the 2011 Ink & Iron show. In addition there are three sedans in various stages of completiona dn of course Larry's own personal projects: The VooDoo Belly Tank, an awesome concept that Larry wants to turn into a racer and hopefully one day take it for a rip at Bonneville, "just race it like they did in '48, 100 mph, nothing extreme". The 1950 VooDoo Buick (that too will debut at the 2011 Ink & Iron) and the VooDoo Psychosis, a '31 Ford Maodel A, this car has been making the circuit for the past year but is in the shop for some minor mods. Take a look at some of VooDoo Larry's projects:
The Jag
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The Old's
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'28 Sedan
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Larry's rides:
The VooDoo Drop Tank
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VooDoo Buick
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VooDoo Psychosis
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The VooDoo Psychosis in action:
A note about the his shop, Larry says "if you take care of your shop, your shop takes care of you." How true that is. In one word, his shop is IMMACULATE! It exemplifies Larry dedication to perfection and unwavering commitment to producing only outstanding work. In addition to being a fine tuned space for Larry to work, the shop is a mini museum with unique artifacts throughout. Most notable are the matching set of Jimmy Jones needle nose bubble skirts proudly hanging from the rafters, a rare display to say the least. Take a look at his shop and you can see his artistry extends to the space around him.
VooDoo Larry Kustoms isn't a cookie cutter shop; no two builds are the same. When asked if he had a favorite, VooDoo Larry simply says, "they're all good". And that "good" sure gets attention! Larry has a basement full of awards and trophies, and he's certainly no stranger to the press. Larry frequently appears in the pages of Car Culture Deluxe and Old Skool Rods, where incidentally he was featured in their very first issue. He even has the distinction of being the first guy to push the pin up girl off the cover of Old Skool Rods! Take a look at some of his past work and you can see for yourself why anything in lipstick and heels can't hold a candle to this VooDoo!
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Some of Larry's Pinstriping
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Larry is the personification of passion, passion for his work and the Kustom Kulture. He is the president and founder of the VooDoo Kings Car Club, a club that over the past 10 years has grown to membership that now extends to 6 different states. He hosted the Brushmaster's Pinstriping Panel Jam; the works of the over 40 pinstripers that attended are going to be auctioned off at this years O'Riley Auto Parts World of Wheels in Chicago with the proceeds going to Ronald McDonald House Charities. Larry is so instrumental and respected in the world of Kustoms that he was asked to host the MotoRama Section of this year's O'Riley Auto Parts World of Wheels in Chicago, giving him the opportunity to showcase great Kustoms the way only VooDoo Larry knows how. Although easily the King of Kool, Larry Grobe is one of the nicest, most down to earth guys you'll ever meet.
If you are interested in this year's MotoRama, want to buy a piece of the VooDoo Larry Kool, (his merchandise is off the hook) have questions about a project or just want more info about Larry and his work check out his site VooDooLarryKustoms.com. When he says no one do that VooDoo like he do he ain't kidding!!
Getz's Hot Rods - "Only the Good Die Young"
Sadly Terry passed away a couple of years ago at a very young age. A testament to the large and loyal following he had within the Midwestern hot rod community was the 2 block long line of hot rodders waiting in the snow to get into the church to pay their last respects and the fact that though it was the dead of winter over 300 hot rodders took their cars out of hibernation to join the funeral procession. There are those that say that Terry's funeral procession was one of the best car shows of the year - a real tribute to a true hot rodder pioneer.
Luckily Terry's spirit and his hot rod shop are being kept alive and well by Terry's loving wife Gail and their two sons, Dustin & Lee. Along with the rest of the stellar crew at Getz's Hot Rods, they're continuing to turn out rides that are sure to make Terry proud.
Here are a couple of Terry's personal cars - a '33 Ford cabriolet and his 8 second, blown, alcohol Nova.
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Here is Lee Getzelman's '34 Ford 5 window coupe.
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Here are just a few examples of the literally hundreds of amazing rides that Getz's Hot Rods has created.
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If you want an awesomet ride created, visit Getz's Hort Rod Shop. You can bet Terry will be keeping a watchful eye on the project! You can reach them at (847) 683-1956.
This Ain't No Trailer Queen
As we have said before, builder Brent Jarvis prides himself on building cars that perform. He believes that a car you don't drive is just a garage ornament and he takes that philosophy very seriously. At his Performance Restorations shop he builds cars that you can drive to the track on Sunday, "beat the heck out of it", pack your junk in your trunk, drive it home and then drive it to work on Monday. Did we say drive?
We ran into Brent at the GoodGuys/PEAK Nats. where his sponsor PEAK Performance had his Chevelle on display in their vendor booth. True to form that Chevelle was not just eye candy and Brent was there to prove it. We had the good fortune to spend the weekend with Brent as he took his official PEAK Performance Muscle Car through all that GoodGuys at the Route 66 Speedway had to offer.
Check out the 6 part PEAK Muscle Car Smackdown mini series that we put together chronicling Brent's weekend at the GoodGuys/PEAK Chicagoland Nats.
*#1 This Ain't No Trailer Queen *#2 131 in the Quarter
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