Under The Hood: American RestoMods Inc.

March 4, 2015

Under The Hood: American Resto Mods

In this new feature, we search out the nations best resto-mod shops and check in with the owners to see how they got into the business and what drives them to be the best. In this first interview, we check in with Ralph Sikes and his shop American Resto Mods in Buford Georgia and take a look at his shop. The thing that attracted me to Sikes and his shop was a clean and organized website and serious detailing of builds that he and his team are working on. We all know a shop or two that is just a mess and can’t get it’s act together. This is not one of those shops. American Resto Mods has been around since 2007 and has built a solid reputation as a get-it-done-right shop. Sikes and his longtime crew have spent the better part of a decade rebuilding peoples dream cars and building a business model that is sustainable and successful.

Having been a business owner myself at one point, I can attest that running a successful business takes a ton of work, commitment and can be a stressful venture if you don’t have the right people surrounding you. Sikes made sure that he built his crew with solid craftsmen that can make good things happen when they all lay their hands on the build. Meet Ralph and his crew from American Resto Mods in our inaugural Shop Profile called Under The Hood.

Meet The Crew

Dave Vinson – Mechanic

Back in the 1960′s, Dave Vinson used to hang out with his sister’s boyfriend and help him and his friends work on their cars. “Those cars were fast!” he laughed.

Dave bought his first car in 1971 — when he was just 14 — a 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air. He paid $75 for it, and all it needed was a clutch.

In 1977, Dave started automotive training at vocational school. He was trained on 60′s cars and worked for a GM dealership for nearly 20 years. “During that time,” Dave remarked, “I must have worked on 25,000 cars, doing heavy engine repairs, regular mechanics, electronics, emissions, and electrical work.”

In 1998, Dave started building muscle cars, hot rods, and restoring classic cars from the 1930′s and 1940′s. He figures he has worked on 300-400 restorations. “I’m very particular about my work,” Dave said. “I listen to what my customers want, and I pay attention to every detail of the job.”

Car restoration is a very tight community, where word-of-mouth is the driving force of recommendations. “I try to exceed my customers’ expectations and gain their trust. That’s how you build a reputation in this business,” Dave concluded.

Justin “Blake” Vaughn – Mechanic

With 10 years of professional experience as a degreed mechanic, Blake Vaughn is the youngest member of the Dream Team; but the quality and perfection of his work belies his age.

“I like the old cars, because they are more fun to drive,” Blake said. “Plus, there are no computers that can mess up things.”

When Blake first started restoring cars, he was concerned about being able to find parts. “Many customers want a full, authentic restoration to the original condition when the car first rolled off the assembly line. That means we have to do extensive research to locate original parts. Every detail of an authentic restoration is critical, because these cars are usually going to compete in classic car shows. You can be sure that judges will carefully scrutinize the car inside and out.”

Just like his crew members, Blake always treats his customers’ cars as if they are his own. He loves to see his clients’ reactions when they first see their car completely restored, their reactions can be summed up in a few words: “Wow! That’s Awesome!”

Nick Henderson – Body Work and Paint

Nick “helped” his father restore classic cars when he was 2 years old. He claims his interest was fostered at birth, as he was born with a Hot Wheels car in his hand!

Nick got his first shot at painting a car when he was 15 years old. It was a 1923 T-bucket. When he was finished with the car, as he puts it, “It was black!” His first large project was a 1957 Bellaire which he helped build for a good friend. When finished he says, “It was beautiful – like a new car!”

Nick’s dream car is a 1987 Buick Grand National – wicked fast! Nick definitely has an eclectic taste in vehicles. He drives a custom 95 Chevrolet truck, and has built a drift capable 240Z. Be careful because Nick is always hunting a suitable location in any car to install a fish tank!

New Team Members:

Mike Lundeen

Clay Archer

Marty Gravitt

Joe Driver

High-Five!

An Interview with the owner of American Resto Mods, Ralph Sikes.

Restomods.com: How did you get into restoring and modding out classic cars?

Ralph Sikes: At 17 I purchased my first car, a 66 Mustang. I quickly went broke paying the local mechanic to perform repairs, so for my birthday my father gave me a Craftsman tool box full of tools and a Chilton’s repair manual. For the next several years I learned to do all my repairs and conversions like automatic to manual transmissions, full interiors and upper engine work. I became the neighborhood go-to kid for fixing cars and I maintained my parents and grandparents cars.

In 2007 I started the build of a 66 Mustang Restomod at a local restoration shop, but after a few months I realized they were slowly going out of business. I visited several shops and was not impressed with what I found. Small, disorganized shops with dead projects, clutter and cars sitting outside. So I decided to open my own shop.

RM: When you opened that store, how did you select your crew?

Sikes: Our core crew came from the previous shop that failed and they have now been together for over 10 years. The other members have been slowly assembled over the last 5 years. We have 9 full time techs that handle everything inhouse.

RM: Have you noticed an increase in people wanting to restore their old cars or is that something that isn’t dependent on the economic climate?

Sikes: There’s definitely a clientele that are somewhat recession proof and are always involved in a project or build. Opening our doors at the height of the recession (2009) was rather frightening, however we always have a waiting list of work. Right now we’re about 4 months out. I feel there is significant demand for professional shops that can perform high quality work in a reasonable time frame. I’ve heard many horror stories of project that were started years and tens of thousand of dollars ago and are still apart and far from being completed.

RM: Do you get customers who have tried to mod their vehicles and just made it a mess?

Sikes: Occasionally, but most contact us before a project is started which give us the time to help them develop a solid project plan.

RM: What do you recommend or what are some tips you could give the average person wanting to tackle a resto project?

Sikes: Reasearch, reasearch, research! Develop a plan and budget and stick to it!