Roadster Shop...ARE YOU KIDDING???

[garickman]

I'm just so curious as to how it is possible to do what they do. Where do their clients come from? Where does their talent come from? Where do their ideas come from? I mean seriously, who else can produce the number of cars they build at the level they build them.

I know there are some insanely talented builders and shops out there. Most of which are more than capable of building a Street Machine of the Year contender or even a Ridler contender. It just seems that EVERYTHING the Roadster Shop builds is contender.

I see shops all the time advertising that they are hiring, begging for talented metal workers, fabricators and welders. Most custom shops would love to have one or two people who can manipulate metal like the Roadster Shop. So how many guys does the Roadster Shop have to work on the insane number of cars they build? I mean go back through all there build threads and just look in the back ground of every picture. The shop is amazing, the tooling is amazing, the work area is amazing, the number of projects in the works is amazing, they have projects hanging on the wall for crying out loud. And, who uses $8,000.00 Forgeline wheels for mock-ups!

Who comes up with the body mods, interior mods and paint schemes? Does the client have any of these ideas, or do they just walk in with a blank check and say build me something know one else has. It just seems that every time I see a Roadster Shop rendering, a paint job, interior design, CNC work, I always come to the same conclusion.....Are you freakin' kidding me!!!

[Al Moreno]

Greg, I couldn't agree more ........RS is definitely one of "The Top Shops In The UNIVERSE"!!!



:king:

[Vince@Meanstreets]

I tell you it starts with customer with trust and a vision.
ideas comes from a great design guy, the renderings are very tasteful and current.
And it ends with a crew with ability that can pull it off.

[Tom.A]

They have to have huge capital backing. The old it takes money to make money. I agree their product they put out is top shelf. If I had the kind of coin it costs for a pro built car they would be in my top two assuming endless funding. I am not sure but I would guess this shop is a hobby for the Family with the means. Perhaps from a very successful Chicago based law firm..don't know for sure.

[Vince@Meanstreets]

very true but they have been building cars for a pretty long time with a lot of high end builds and Im sure they are smart with their money.

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

I used to think that about Prodigy Kustoms....


*trollin..

[Build-It-Break-it]

Prodigy kustoms were just parts installers,vendor and light fabrication. Roadster shop is next level. When you can build an entire car and chassis on the level that they do, that's saying something.

[GregWeld]

How about giving credit where credit is due! Phil and Jeremy are talented guys -- and the "old man" (Neal) is right there helping them, early on, and probably on going, with management skills etc. Neal ran a very successful body shop business and I'm certain those skills are rubbing off on Phil and Jeremy.

These are smart people. These are talented people. And these are NICE people that are fun to hang with. They treat their customers right - do fantastic work - and therefore word gets out and more people take their projects to them. Pretty basic business.

As far as talent goes -- what fabricator wouldn't beg to work at a shop like this! They have other talented people to work with - they have great tools - nice space - well lit - and probably competitive wages.

People that can afford these top of the line builds didn't get there by being stupid and making bad choices. So if you're a potential customer and want to build this kind of quality - there are very few shops where you'd take your business and KNOW you're going to get a car that exceeds your expectations.

It's also pretty obvious to me that they've taken the revenue and plowed it back into the business and grown that business. Good old fashioned business 101.

My hat is off to them! They've more than earned their stripes.

[garickman]

I went back and re-read my original post. I hope people are not taking it the wrong way. It was meant to be a compliment to an amazing shop. I am certainly not trying to discredit them in any way. I know nothing about the Roadster Shop or their owners. I don't know how or when they got their start. I was just intrigued as to how they seemingly hit a home run with almost everything they do and what the process was to get where they are today.

Sorry guys, there's no hidden agenda or evil message lurking in my original post, just maybe wasn't worded right. Roadster Shop...I didn't mean to offend if that is the way you are taking it.

[GregWeld]

I used to think that about Prodigy Kustoms....


*trollin..




HE had the brains for backspacing and lots of other technical stuff --- but didn't have the business brains. Sold lots of stuff by giving it away... and that's not a good business model.

[Al Moreno]

I dont want to speak for Phil and Jeremy but I spoke with Phil at SEMA and congratulated them on their success. He kinda gave me the short version of their story and it isn't anything like what you might persevere from the outside looking in. It's like GW stated........ old fashion hard work. It was actually pretty inspiring to say the least. Maybe Phil can jump in and give a quick summery.You guys would be surprised.

Sorry guys, there's no hidden agenda or evil message lurking in my original post, just maybe wasn't worded right. Roadster Shop...I didn't mean to offend if that is the way you are taking it.

I dont think anybody should have taken your post the wrong way.

[youthpastor]

I dont want to speak for Phil and Jeremy but I spoke with Phil at SEMA and congratulated them on their success. He kinda gave me the short version of their story and it isn't anything like what you might persevere from the outside looking in. It's like GW stated........ old fashion hard work. It was actually pretty inspiring to say the least. Maybe Phil can jump in and give a quick summery.You guys would be surprised.



I dont think anybody should have taken your post the wrong way.

I had heard they were planning on bringing only few cars but it just worked out where many long term projects got wrapped up at the same time. I can't wait to see how many top 5 SMOTY's are picked up by the RS crew in 2015- Congrats!

[preston]

The one part of your question that interests me is where the clients come from. Its just amazing to me that there are that many people willing to spend an average of almost half a million on custom muscle cars.

Its not that I don't realize there are a lot of people with money, or that there are a lot of car people with money, but people who want this type of car with that kind of money seems like a small market. Between Rad Rides, Ironworks, RS, Divers, and all the other high end shops large and small how many $400k+ classic modified cars are being turned out a year ? 40 ? 50 ?

Interesting market and can't be easy making a good profit in this business.

[will69camaro]

I seriously doubt 40-50 $400k cars are turned out per year. I'd say that number is double reality. I could be wrong.

Either way, glad people with money like muscle cars. They're the ones pushing the envelope and leading to us getting cooler parts!

[Vince@Meanstreets]

I seriously doubt 40-50 $400k cars are turned out per year. I'd say that number is double reality. I could be wrong.

Either way, glad people with money like muscle cars. They're the ones pushing the envelope and leading to us getting cooler parts!

you can do it. Remember there are a lot of cars going overseas.


Even with your Mustang(s) Preston...how many billable hours do you think you have in it alone? You could easily top 100K-175K in labor alone.

A lot of these cars are 4000-7000 man hours easy.

[IMPALA MAN]

Like GW said, business 101. However there is more to the story. I was privileged to hang out with them and work with one of their first IRS cars. Just hanging out with these guys make you tired. In short, they are HARD working, dedicated people. I heard one story where they came back from Columbus Goodguys (after working all weekend). They got home around 4ish in the morning after having a flat on the rig. The shop crew thought Neal would be in "late". NOPE he was there before anyone else got there around 6ish. These guys are machines. Here is the formula:
Insanely hard working people + Good Capitol (that they earned) + Business (Phil), Fabrication (Jeremy), A good old fashion dose of both (Neal) + True GEARHEAD MENTALITY + dedication = Roadster Shop Success. They earn it every day.
Good Job Guys and the whole Roadster Shop Crew!!!
Neal sets a great example for his team and sons. You can't blame Phil and Jeremy, they don't know anything but to work smart and hard. It's the only way Neal ever taught them.

[snappytravis]

They are definitely top notch, I think it is great that they can work together, That within itself is priceless. They obviously have a very well reputation. Some serious money in building those cars. I wonder how the resale value is on a car built by one of the big builders?
:G-Dub:

[GregWeld]

The one part of your question that interests me is where the clients come from. Its just amazing to me that there are that many people willing to spend an average of almost half a million on custom muscle cars.

Its not that I don't realize there are a lot of people with money, or that there are a lot of car people with money, but people who want this type of car with that kind of money seems like a small market. Between Rad Rides, Ironworks, RS, Divers, and all the other high end shops large and small how many $400k+ classic modified cars are being turned out a year ? 40 ? 50 ?

Interesting market and can't be easy making a good profit in this business.





Like I tell anyone working for me -- "don't do my project with YOUR pocketbook".... LOL

The number of U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more, excluding primary residence, rose to 9.63 million in 2013, according to a new report from Spectrem Group, a consulting and research firm.

There were 1.24 million households with a net worth of $5 million or more last year, up from 840,000 in 2008. Those with $25 million and above climbed to 132,000

[PBarkley]

To put it briefly, the people who want a top notch build and can afford it are likely going to take the time to ensure that their car/property is only being worked on by a top notch crew, and will pay accordingly without question.

Establishing a standard of workmanship and craftsmanship is one thing...maintaining it day to day is another thing. There's no room for slackers at the top. That rule applies in the industry I'm employed with, and I'm sure it applies to the automotive side of things.

[Revved]

I was up at the Roadster Shop facility back in March to check on a a chassis I had on order. I got the full tour of the facility and they were bursting at the seams!! Even with as many cars as they had going on I'll give them credit and say it was organized chaos. Everything had a place, everything was in a line, everything had paperwork attached. They had to have close to 40 cars in some stage of build not to mention at least another 20+ chassis in process. They had chassis stacked on racking up the wall just for space!! Are they suffering growing pains? Maybe but if so they hide it well! Everything I've seen on that floor and finished product has been top notch and I'm not easy to impress. They delivered my chassis about two weeks later and its beautiful. The welds are so good they look machine quality.

And I'll second the notion that good shops will always be busy. Look at how many of us boutique builders here on this site have more work than we can keep up with with most of it fixing cars built by other people. For them to be building custom pro-touring muscle cars is tough enough; for them to be doing it at a production level and keeping the quality and timelines in check takes an inordinate amount of organization. My chassis was done within a week of their promised delivery date given 12 weeks earlier.. that is amazing for this industry.

If it wasn't so damned cold up there I would have probably applied instead of reinvesting my whole life in the new shop. I love pouring through their build pictures for ideas. I'll put my name in if they ever want to open a "Roadster Shop South" down here in TX. :lol:

[Dscott]

A lot of these cars are 4000-7000 man hours easy.

I have 4000 hrs in my rear spoiler lol....:rolleyes:

[Roadster Shop]

Wow, we are incredibly blown away by this thread! Greg, thank you very much for starting this and all of the comments. Thank you to Greg Weld, Al Moreno, Vince, Greg @ Afco, Sean@ Revved, Chris, and everyone else who has commented on this thread. You have made us out to be much bigger superstars than we really are! A big thanks to everyone who has commented on our other build threads and who has supported the Roadster Shop builds and products over the years. It plays a much larger role than you know in our motivation to build what we build.

For starters, it is not just my father, brother and myself. We have built an incredible team of the most talented, passionate, and motivated craftsman in the industry. They are equally responsible for the success and deserving of the praises that are brought on here. We have been very lucky to surround ourselves with people that share the same obsession with cars and the thrill of making something completely unique.

Greg Weld pretty much nailed it… No big secrets, just a lot of hard work and reinvesting everything back into the company to keep it growing.
Sorry, but no big law firm or investor backing the Roadster Shop. Hard work, proper management, meeting deadlines, a skilled and motivated work force, and a strong customer base generate revenue in this business much like any other successful business.

We started in a small, 6,000 sq/ft old shop with 3 employees and drastically outdated equipment. We grew the company over the next 5 years to be able to afford to make a major move to a much larger facility in 2009. From there we continued to grow the company and bring more and more in house. The more capabilities that we had in house, the more we were able to explore them and find new ways to make our builds more unique. For the most part, it has been more about stretching our imagination and skills to build something cooler. We have had a great customer base that has allowed us to stretch our wings and continue to push our limits.

Hopefully this has answered a lot of the questions with out getting to long winded.

Thanks again.

[Roadster Shop]

I had heard they were planning on bringing only few cars but it just worked out where many long term projects got wrapped up at the same time. I can't wait to see how many top 5 SMOTY's are picked up by the RS crew in 2015- Congrats!

Congrats to you and your team as well. The Camaro was super clean!

We didn't initially intend on bringing all the cars to SEMA. 1 was supposed to go to Columbus, but didn't get done in time. After that there wasn't really a big show to debut the car at so we held it until SEMA. The Charger was going to be held back for Detroit, but decided to debut it at SEMA instead.

The 2014 Camaro was a 45 day build. The Charger was multiple year build. Everything else was a 1-2 year build. Just happened that they all came together at the same time.

[89 RS]

Great success story, love it! Nothing like good 'ole American hard work. I can't wait to see what new projects you guys have going on, great stuff. :thumbsup:

[GrabberGT]

Great story and mucho congrats on the success. I cant say I've always agreed with the style of some of your builds but love watching the RS magic that makes it happen just the same. Keep it up and thanks for providing endless hours of material to escape my day to day office job.

On a side note... speaking of where it all began. How about a post of one of your earliest builds. Lets see how far you've grown in abilities and build style. There was an early Ringbrothers build that I saw that Im sure was awesome for its day but :confused59: LOL

[Roadster Shop]

Great idea Chris. Here are the first 3 cars that we built.

1931 Model A on 32 rails. This is the one that started it all for us. This car was started in our garage before the Roadster Shop. It was then painted and finished once we were up and running.

http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss79/RS-Perf/Picture285_zpsb3856d23.jpg

1932 Dearborn Deuce. This was our first complete car built at the Roadster shop. It was built as a display car to showcase our ideas/skills and to help sell our chassis, the Dearborn Deuce bodies, and roller packages. This car was completed in early 2005

http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss79/RS-Perf/Side_zpsd1543449.jpg

1932 Dearborn Deuce. Our first full build for a customer. This car was started on the heals of the maroon/champagne car above and finished in late 2005.

http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss79/RS-Perf/137610_Front_3-4_Web_zps090360b7.jpg

[garickman]

Well there you have it! Looks like the Roadster Shop was amazing even before they became the Roadster Shop. Congrats on your success and living the American Dream and allowing some of us to live that dream through you.

[mitch_04]

Need an over-educated floor sweeper or an under-experienced fabrication guy? :) Anything for a foot in the door!

I'm amazed that it's only been 10 years, usually talent like that comes from a lifetime of experience. You can see the attention to detail from the beginning.

[WSSix]

Thanks for the history lesson on your shop, guys. It's always cool to know the back story I think. Continues success for you guys!

[tmadden]

I used to think that about Prodigy Kustoms....


*trollin..

Shots fired. LMAO

[FETorino]

I used to think that about Prodigy Kustoms....


*trollin..

Shots fired. LMAO

I'm surprised I missed this thread.

Actually that quote does tell why RS is a success. The fact is their business model is the exact opposite from what I've heard of Prodigy.

First off as has been said the family at RS are great people. They are genuine in their love of the hobby and willingness to help people.

I spent some chump change (compared to the SEMA build invoices) at their shop but they treated me like gold.

Honesty, integrity, friendly, accommodating, professional, likable, pride in what they do; those are the things I remember about dealing with them.

Unlike some of the bad shops you hear about. They took a deposit from me but the majority of the time I owed them for work already done they weren't living off my money.

They charge you for top quality fab work professionally documented. You get what you pay for and then some. the value is there.

They don't look to nickel and dime you for BS stuff or invent invoice entries. They don't, have to, or need to, because they have business sense.

They make their profit off what they advertise themselves as, top quality builders. They have a rate that provides them profit while providing you something you can't get really anywhere else.

They continue to improve. They design and develop cool stuff but it seems they also look at how to be increasingly efficient in the production of their products so they become more profitable while the consumer continues to get phenomenal stuff at a rational price.

Like any team with great leadership they have attracted great players. Success breeds success.

RS is great group of people making this hobby better by their presence.