Wichita, KS - At Devlin Rod and Customs, all attention is currently focused on a 1955 Ford that will be entered in the Darryl Starbird's Hall of Fame National Championship Rod and Custom Show on Jan. 18-20 at the Century II Convention Center in Wichita, Kan., said Tim Devlin, owner of Devlin Rod and Customs.
The 1955 Ford will be receiving many modifications, he said, some of which include chopping one inch off the top, shaving the door handles and emblems, rebuilding the firewall to house a 429 BB Ford engine, installing rear wheel tubs to accept larger wheels and tires, and adding a full air-ride suspension, just to name a few.
"There is not one item that was left alone on the car," Devlin said.
Four years ago, Devlin said his life was on a completely different track. After graduating from Kansas State University with a degree in management, he moved to Denver where he took a job as a financial analyst for a real estate investment trust. Soon thereafter, Devlin, who grew up with an appreciation for cars, enrolled at WyoTech in Wyoming to get involved in street rod and custom fabrication, he said.
"I still had a passion for cars and decided that the suit and tie thing was not for me," he said.
After one year at WyoTech, Devlin said he went home to Wichita in search of a job at RK Restoration.
"I was just looking for a job but realized that he was willing to sell the place to me," he said. "I had no intentions to do that right out of school, but it turned out to be a good enough deal, and the real estate investment alone made it worth it."
After purchasing the building and taking over ownership in 2005, Devlin said he changed the name to Devlin Rod and Customs and geared the focus towards hot rods and street rods.
"The image of the whole shop has changed," he said. "We wanted to try to give people the idea through our logo and cleaning up the shop that we had been in business and doing this for 20 years. You are more apt to do business with somebody who has been in business for 20 years rather than somebody who is just getting started," he said.
Devlin Rod and Customs has completed 15 full builds and a lot of half and partial builds since they opened in 2005, Devlin said. A full build, he said, can take anywhere from eight to 18 months to complete and cost $50,000 to $75,000.
"The amount of time it takes and money it costs to complete a full build depends on a number of things, including the condition of the car to start, the shape of the panels and floors, and whether or not the parts can be purchased or have to be custom made," he said.
Devlin said he would describe his custom-build style as classy and added that it is important to do things tastefully and have some discretion. "You don't want to take every job just because it is a dollar," he said. "It is your reputation--you don't want to do something that somebody is going to see at a show and think, 'They do stuff like that? I don't want to do work with them.'"
Devlin said his four employees are doing most of the rebuilding, while his duties revolve around running the business.
"I can't give enough credit to the guys working on the cars," he said. "It wouldn't happen if it wasn't for them. I may be the guy up front with my name on the building, but they are really the guys that make it happen."
At 31, Devlin is the oldest employee at Devlin Rod and Customs, something he said shows that the younger generation still has a passion for hot rods and street rods. Although Devlin and his young team are enthusiastic about what they do, he said his customer base is primarily 40-60-year-old men who grew up on these cars.
"It is the baby boomers who want these cars," he said. "Our customers are typically guys that have done well in life or they have been saving this money because this is something they have always wanted to do. They're not all white collar; some are blue-collar guys that have been saving their money because this is their dream. They have maybe been holding onto this car since high school, and now they have the money and they want to build it."
Regardless of who the customers are, he said building a loyal customer base is key to the success in the custom business.
"Reputation in the hot rod and custom business is huge," he said. "Word-of-mouth spreading through other guys probably represents the biggest part of where you are going to get customers. It is all based on what you have done and what they say you've done for them."
Devlin said being involved in local car shows through custom displays, as trophy presenters, and sponsors has also been a great way to get his name out in the public eye. Specifically, he said he likes to be a part of the shows like the charity Make A Wish Dream Show that offer more than just a car show.