Luke M.
5/5
If you're looking to have a hot rod/rat rod/street rod/street rat built, you've come to the right place. If you're reading this I'm assuming you're doing research on who you want to build your hot rod. And if your research is similar to mine it doesn't take long to realize that building a hot rod can go sideways in a hurry. Any forum has plenty of people who chose the wrong shop to build their dream car and now the whole thing has turned into a giant, expensive, nightmare.
That will not be your experience here. Over the last 12 months, Minter Fab has turned my '65 F100 into an entirely new machine. While this is my only experience having a hot rod built, I have learned a few things that I will try to quickly list here.
Integrity is the most important trait of any hot rod shop. I've had the pleasure of dealing with Minter for a year now, and I can say that I've never once doubted his integrity. If he says something, it's true. That's reassuring when you busting out another thousand on a build that at the moment is nothing but a pile of very expensive pieces. If I had gone with a shop I couldn't trust as fully, I might have lost my mind.
I'm grouping unwavering pursuit of perfection and attention to detail as the next up. Don't be fooled by the rough exterior. Watch the videos and you'll see that Minter Fab did not miss one detail on this truck.
Communication is critical, and it has to go both ways. Hot rods are tens of thousands of dollars spent on thousands of details. Minter posts regular updates on YouTube and we regularly kept in touch via phone and text. I never had to wonder how the build was progressing because I got multiple updates every week. Don't end up going to a hot rod shop that sends you more bills than updates. That is a terrifying scenario and one that often ends up going poorly. Minter was also very good at understanding the direction I wanted to go with the build and either telling me how he could get it done, or if it just wasn't possible. With the updates he regularly posts, it's easy to be confident in how the project is going even if you don't see it in person regularly. I think in the last year I only saw this build in person 4 times over the entire year.
Technical expertise is obviously going to be in the top 5. Very few shops can build everything from 1920's rat rods to 1950's Chevy trucks on coil overs to 1960's Ford trucks on slammed on air ride to a first gen Bronco lifted on air ride to classic muscle cars. Regardless of your project, I would recommend looking at Minter Fab. Chances are he's done something similar before and has the necessary background going into the project.
Pricing is also a concern when building a hot rod, but not in the top 5. I would say that if pricing is in your top 5 concerns, you might want to look at building most of it yourself, and for the parts you can't do yourself, I absolutely recommend Minter. Hot rods take hundreds of man hours to build, there's just no way around it. Hundreds of man hours multiplied by even a rate as fair as Minter's ends up being lots of money. I know you won't find a shop that charges a more fair hourly rate to build you a hot rod and will work harder during those hours.
If you're looking at building a hot rod, I would 100% recommend getting in touch with Minter Fab before making your decision. I rate this shop 5 stars, 10/10, two thumbs up, would absolutely recommend to a friend. I can say very confidently that you won't find a better hot rod shop in the PNW. Even if you're not from the area, he is worth the drive.
