Working on a classic car can teach you lots of things. Especially if that car is a few decades older than you are.
The average age of the crew at Steve’s Auto Restorations skews younger – much younger than the cars they work on. This bucks the stereotype of hotrods being the domain of folks with, let’s say, a few more miles on the odometer. It’s a way to keep the ideas fresh and to pass on specialized skills to new generations. And that’s just one of the ways this custom shop continues to think outside the box.
They’re also located in Portland, Oregon, which is a bit of a hotrod backwater compared to traditional hotbeds like Southern California or Southeastern Michigan. It’s kind of like a movie production studio opening in Boise instead of Hollywood. It’s just meant that Steve’s has had to work a bit harder to gain relevance in the industry.
Check out the video above for a glimpse into how they do that.
Originally founded by Steve Frisbie in 1978, this shop has steadily gained an elite reputation. Their approach – combining period-correct restorations with in-house industrial design and fabrication capabilities – has resulted in numerous awards, including a Builder of the Year award for Steve himself at the 2001 Grand National Roadster Show, and the 2017 Don Ridler Memorial Award for their Renaissance Roadster build.
Today, the team carries on Steve’s legacy by continuing to focus on what’s important: craftsmanship, attention to detail, and dedication to trying new things – making the versatile boots in the Gibson collection a great fit. Because when you’re creating rolling works of art with a unique blend of scratch-built originality and vintage soul, How It’s Made Matters.
