Shop develops award-winning customs with focus on utilizing the latest technologies

“Form and function can coexist,” says Josh Henning, director of business development at the Roadster Shop. “We do not sacrifice quality or drive-ability no matter the budget. The money spent on customizing a car is wasted if it can’t be used and driven like it was intended to.”

Based in Mundelein, Ill. and established by Bill O’Rourke in the 1980s, in 2004 the business was purchased by Neal Gerber and his sons Phil and Jeremy, who were intent on carrying on and enhancing O’Rourke’s legacy of constructing highly valued vehicle builds.

Originally situated in a 7,000-sq. ft. structure in Elgin, Ill., where O’Rourke specialized in modifying pre-World War II Fords, the Gerbers subsequently relocated to a 30,000-sq ft. building in Mundelein, later adding a 20,000-sq. ft. expansion to accommodate their growing chassis manufacturing operations.

“Through much dedication and hard work, the Roadster Shop quickly became a given – or staple, if you will,” says Josh, “for any muscle car, hot rod, truck or cruiser build in any top shop or at-home builder’s list of modifications. The Roadster Shop’s mantra was and has continued to be, ‘why just build ANOTHER...when we can build the BEST’”

Pressing onward with their technologically advanced and exquisitely styled projects, a coinciding focus of the Gerbers has been on “revolutionizing the performance muscle car and truck aftermarket with new suspension designs and offerings. The Roadster Shop does not specialize in one specific style of car as the name might suggest. Rather, we have the expertise, knowledge and design savvy to build top award-winning cars across a broad range of genres.”

Elaborating further, Josh reports that “we design and manufacture our own line of suspension and complete chassis in-house, in addition to doing complete full builds. We feel that we build better chassis because we build cars, and we build better cars because we build chassis.”

Employing 64 people within a 55,000-sq. ft. facility, before a potential patron sees a single ball peen hammer or spray gun, he or she is greeted in an upscale 5,000-sq. ft. retail showroom that showcases a collection of customer vehicles along with an assortment of product offerings, branded apparel and other merchandise.

Also in the showroom are offices housing design, engineering and sales consultants providing “an ideal environment” for customers to collaborate with a staff of experts as they plan their project vehicles.

The company “is an industry leader,” says Josh, “by the technology we implement on daily basis and how we approach the build from the beginning. Having a full in-house design and engineering capability is essential to delivering not only what the customer wishes to see, but allows us to advance our own ideas and push forward independently with our own parts development and vehicle concepts.

“It gives us a unique ability to establish ourselves as a leader in design and performance, creating industry trends instead of following or reacting to them – showing restraint where necessary yet fully able to push the limits of a concept.”

Key strengths include “our engineering and design capabilities combined with our overwhelming library of data from previous designs, builds and manufacturing experience,” he points out.

As a producer of customs, tracking cycle times and dealing with insurance companies are non-issues, and maintaining positive relationships with suppliers is a given because “we with treat them with the same respect, communication and timely, early payment that we expect to be treated with. Being friendly while communicating each other’s needs and expectations is unfortunately becoming a lost art by many in our industry,” Josh asserts.

Forward-thinking capabilities

Full mechanical capabilities are accompanied by five body work and prep stalls along with a large staging area for parts. BASF Glasurit finishes are applied in a newer downdraft paint booth that is 10 feet longer than a typical production booth, “which provides the ability to paint each car completely disassembled for a flawless finish.”

“The Roadster Shop is a brilliant, high-quality operation,” says BASF marketing director Dan Bihlmeyer. “As part of our talented group of Glasurit and R-M ambassadors, they are a great partner to showcase our premium Glasurit products on their premium builds.”

Josh additionally emphasizes the shop’s Survivor Series line of “resto-mod” daily drivers that involves outfitting original low-mileage vintage vehicles with modern-day chassis and updated drivetrains suitable for long-distance cruising while visually displaying the character of well-preserved paint and trim.

In the design and fabrication departments the company employs 2D graphics, sketching, “ideation” and full 3D computer modeling of parts, concepts and vehicle rendering: “Put simply, we can take an idea and make it a reality. We are able to take an idea from sketch and turn it into a fully functional part.”

With a HAAS VF4 CNC mill featured in the assembly room, “we are able to machine any component or part of a vehicle build as needed,” he notes, “from one-off parts creation on high-end vehicle builds to suspension prototyping and parts development. The CNC mill allows in-house manufacturing and development of the highest standard.”

Continued on-track “real world” testing and development ensures that “our customers receive a fully developed, proven product. Both our muscle car chassis and vehicle builds have earned the reputation of being equipped to compete with today’s high-end supercars in acceleration, skid pad, slalom and braking tests.”

New customers are always arriving through a constant pattern of marketing initiatives that include an ongoing large social media presence, magazine advertisements and placement of magazine articles depicting satisfied patrons with their treasured project vehicles. An ambitious schedule of participating in about 20 trade expositions and consumer car shows is maintained on an annual basis.

Partnering with the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association to sponsor the Roadster Shop Style & Engineering Award results in high-profile presentation ceremonies throughout the show season at select Goodguys events. Each event-specific winner becomes a finalist for the end-of-year Style & Engineering title, an honor that includes a new Roadster Shop frame.

“The Roadster Shop team learned to take a comprehensive, big-picture approach to its builds early on,” according to Editor Daman Lee at the Goodguys Gazette.

“After consulting with customers on the goal for a vehicle, an in-house design department conceptualizes the finished product before the shop starts any work. Today, that process might also involve a 3D scan of the vehicle, which allows a digital rendering to be developed on the computer. This scan can then be manipulated to visualize changes, design custom components and virtually model parts – everything from a one-of frame, to custom brackets, body panels, interior components and other details,” says Lee.

“These forward-thinking approaches and capabilities have set Roadster Shop builds apart from others and have established the shop as a leader in performance and design,” he adds, referencing three Goodguys Street Machine of the Year awards clinched by Roadster Shop clients.

The company continues to collect rack-up consistent accolades, such as Business of the Year honors from the Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA) bestowed at the 2016 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas.

In 2017 the Roadster Shop’s AXIS Camaro build was declared the “Peoples Choice” winner at General Motors’ Chevrolet Design Awards competition.