Hotshoe Hot Rods is in essence a two-part business. With the help of three fulltime employees, Moses Martinez, Bradley Porterfield and Jerry Hale, in addition to himself and Docia, classic car chassis are built to order for Speedway Motors in Lincoln,
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Nebraska, the nation’s largest aftermarket hot rod supplier. Hotshoe Hot Rods offers chassis that have been welded into one completed unit, called a full rolling chassis, ready for installation of engine and transmission. Other chassis are available in various stages of
completion, depending upon a customer’s desire and budget. “We are now offering another option as well,” said Chad. “Because a completed chassis that has been entirely welded together is quite costly, we now sell the component parts for the chassis separately
for those customers who are not in a position to purchase the entire chassis at one time. The component parts are made so they can be bolted together, as opposed to needing a weld.” Hotshoe Hot Rods also builds frame rails to order for Pete and Jake’s (known as the Cadillac of the hot rod industry), as well as for renowned hot rod builder, Bobby Alloway. “The frame rails were an important part of early car models,” Chad explained. “They were visible beneath the body, along the sides of the car, and therefore were somewhat ornamental.” Chad calls the chassisbuilding portion “the bread and butter” of Hotshoe Hot Rods. they currently have fixtures in stock to build chassis for an extensive range of classic cars, including all 1928 through 1948 Fords, 1930 Chevys and all Chevy trucks from 1941 through 1959. Assembling the fixtures (called jig rails) upon which to build the chassis is an extensive job in itself. A frame from the original car model must be brought into the shop as a pattern. A jig rail made from steel components is assembled and welded together in the shape of the curvature of the original rail. With this newly assembled pattern, new steel may be cut to form frame rails in the shape of the original model. Although the assembly of the jig rail to be used for a pattern is quite labor intensive and time consuming, once it is completed, it can be used for all future rails for that model of car. When asked about the market demand for classic car chassis, Chad was quick with a reply. “Although it’s not readily visible locally, when you examine
MARCH 2013