Dirt Roads and Vintage Wheels

There’s a certain sound that tires make when they turn onto a dirt road that lends itself to certain expectations. You might expect to see something old fashioned or things built on hard work. If that’s the case, Ankum road in Gasburg, Va. gives no disappointment. Skeletons of vintage vehicles huddle together like silent memories but this is no junk yard. Each piece is vintage and each piece a work of art in progress. The sounds of an electric grinder scream in the background and you can see the sparks as a metal surface begins to smooth. This is Kentz Kustomz - a real, live, custom body shop.

Unexpectedly Kent Writtenberry, the owner, drives up on a golf cart. He’s dressed in coveralls. A blue bandanna stands out strongly against his ginger hair and beard, accenting his crystal blue eyes. His smile is genuine as he invites you into the shop. You’re greeted by more antiques – all Chevys. “I’m a Chevy guy,” Kent confesses. He mentions his dad and other family members all like Ford but Chevy is his pick. “To me, Ford is bland. Chevy has got better lines.”

“ONADINE” is sitting on a lift in one corner of the shop. “That’s my personal vehicle,” he says. “My personal truck. Well it belongs to my girlfriend, Kim.” He motions you to go through, saying that it’s a 51 Chevy. She’s

burgundy in color and getting modifications. Kent points to a primer gray Chevy Nova, void of any motor and resting on the concrete floor. Its chassis sits next to it like huge bones longing for the muscle of the car that it will be. “That’s a total restoration,” he explains. “It’s getting a new modern motor. We call it an LS motor. It will get all kinds of upgrades. It’s going to be candy apple red.” His voice carries a small lilt when he mentions the color.

He points to a ‘56 Oldsmobile on a lift. That one, he says is going to be part of a giveaway at the Atlantic Nationals car show in 2020. He mentions that he and automotive customs legend Gene Winfield worked together “chopping”, or reducing the frontal profile of the vehicle. “We cut it 2 inches,” he says “Then we brought it back here and dropped it down. It’s going to have a wicked custom paint job – a lace roof with a custom mix of purple. It’s going to be a pretty car.”

Outside, Kent introduces “JoLine”, a 1937 Chevy that he says is his next masterpiece. “This will be my next award winner for personal use - in about 5 years,” he remarks. “That’s what the plan is.” He reveals his intent for a metallic teal coat of paint but this piece isn’t about Kent’s talent as a painter. “This one will show my metalworking skills,” he says, looking at her like a lost love as he mentions that he leaves in July for a car show in Canada. “It takes up about 8 days of my life, then we’re at Syracuse.” He turns away and makes for his office.

It's all in the details and Kent misses none.

Inside the office, magazine covers, photos and awards belonging to “MayBline” his 1951 Fleetline, cover the walls. MayBline is a Brandywine Candy color and was described by Hot Rod magazine as “Textbook Perfection.” Kent has won over 50 awards, both national and international, from MayBline and others of his creation. He mentions two of his cars have placed in the top 100 cars in the nation since 2013. Kent considers himself an artist. Each vehicle is its own canvas and each one tells him its name and how it wants to be recreated. “I’ll tell you what I do,” he says. “I sit down in a rolling chair and look at the flow and the line and it tells you what it needs.”

While Kent is well known for his jaw dropping skills in custom paints and designs, he says his favorite part of the restoration process is the metal. “Metal working makes things happen,” he said. “I create things. You can buy things but when I was coming along I didn’t have enough money to buy it but I could get a piece of old

sheet metal and cut it and create what I wanted. I can take a piece of flat metal and make 10 curves. That’s what I really like. I want people to look at what I’ve done and instead of saying ‘that’s nice,” I want them to say, “How the hell did he do that?”

In the business more than 20 years, Kent said he started in custom work when he was only about 9 or 10 years old. He recalls that his daddy owned a general store and it was the place for people to hang out. “Everybody came out to work on their hot rods then they’d go down and race at Eaton Ferry Bridge on Saturday night,” he admitted. “I was a kid and all of daddy’s people, they were the crews for the Fords. The Chevys were somewhere else. They would all be drinking and having a good time.”

He looks out the window while he recalls that in those days he would hold the wrenches and be the “gopher” but as he got older those guys did too. “They got older and wanted to spend more time drinking,” he says, then laughs. He looks down a bit, then continues. “They would pay me to put in a clutch or a transmission for them and they would sit around and drink.”

Kent laughs then shares that a lot of people ask him what his goals are for the future. He remarked that he wants to pass his skills along - teach young people how to do custom design. He said that not everyone is cut out to be a doctor or a lawyer. Some people are cut out to be fabricators and he wants them to understand that they don’t have to be stuck. They can learn to be creative, to take mechanical and fabrication work to higher levels and they can have fun. “I was self-taught,” he says in a thoughtful tone. “I watched people. I worked for free to pick up on their skills. That was my YouTube. Now it’s on the computer and you can see 20 people doing something. That’s no sign they all are right but you can get a little something from each one.”

He talks about how he puts in 150 percent on each of his creations and how it’s so much more than the physical labor - it’s the planning, organizing and overseeing as well, that makes these custom creations the works of art they become. “How do I charge for the hours I’m awake at night thinking about the project,” he asks. He talks about his son, A.J., a 25 year old, Kent says, is already showing great skill. He expects him to become great in his own right. He mentions Mike Moran as well. “He’s been in this business a long time. They both put in just like I do,” he says. “Kim works, too. She welds and grinds and takes a lot of nice pictures.” Kent says he has a lot of appreciation for his mom, dad and God for where he is today and that he gets to live a life that allows him to do this work. A friendly hug and a wave says it’s time to go. Kent picks up a piece of metal and starts to spray it with the water hose.

There aren’t a lot of dirt roads anymore. Your tires make a distinct sound when you drive across the sand and rocks. Dirt roads are reminders of hard work and grit. This dirt road leaves no disappointment.

Visit Kentz Kustomz on Facebook , www.kentzkustomz.com or at 2355 Ankum Road, Gasburg, Va.