Today we’d like to introduce you to Camren Beattie.
Hi Camren, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Scott’s Hotrods employs the best welders, fabricators, and machinists in the industry who manufacture our products 100% in America at our facility in Knoxville, Tennessee. Scott’s Hotrods ‘n Customs was established in 1996 by Justin Scott Padfield in a small 1,200-sq/ft facility in Ventura, CA. When Justin opened the shop doors, he had less than $2,000 in the bank and only a handful of jobs, mostly fabrication work.
Justin’s reputation as a master fabricator quickly grew, and within a year, the shop was bursting at the seams with jobs and builds. Knowing that the shop would ultimately be too busy to handle alone, one employee at a time was brought aboard, but only those who met a strict qualification checklist were allowed to do so. Justin once said, “I would rather hire a kid that can learn than a man that already knows everything. I can teach the kid but can’t unteach the man.” That method of hiring employees and his drive to create the business established Scott’s Hotrods into what it is today.
Scott’s Hotrods has grown substantially over the years, from the shop in Ventura, California, to the shop a few miles away in Oxnard, California, in 2005. Soon after moving to the 8,000-sq/ft Oxnard building, Justin started looking outside of California for a more extensive shop that would centrally locate his company to most customers and 20+ car shows already attended yearly.
After years of meticulous research and deliberation, Justin decided on Knoxville, Tennessee. In April 2018, Scott’s Hotrods ‘n Customs relocated its entire operation to a much larger 20,000-sq/ft shop on 3.6 acres, just 2 miles East of Downtown Knoxville. Justin and ten of his employees made the move across the country. More and More employees have slowly been added to the growing team 36.
In 2022, Scott’s Hotrods added a 12,000sq/ft building next door to the existing 20,000sq/ft shop. This new building is the Sheet Metal Fabrication Hot Rod Shop that houses all Project Vehicles with a showroom upfront with completed vehicles. This expansion allowed us to expand all of the manufacturing in the main building. Scott’s Hotrods added a Plate & Tube Laser, more chassis tables, more workstations, more CNC Machines, and more employees in 2022. Scott’s Hotrods continues to offer more and more to its customers yearly by adding an 8,000sq/ft Custom Paint & Body Shop to the mix in 2023. This shop is strictly for the project vehicles built by Scott’s Hotrods and is located just 40 minutes from the leading shop. Keeping this crucial part of a custom build in-house allows Scott’s Hotrods to maintain a high level of quality & precision while keeping the project timeline moving forward.
Over the last 25+ years, Scott’s has placed in the Great Eight at the Detroit Autorama, notably the most prestigious show in the country comparable only to the Grand National Roadster Show. Scott has also been featured on countless Discovery Channel, TLC, and Speed Channel shows. Scott’s has never been a shop to seek the limelight, but through networking, the limelight has sought out Scott’s and provided an unsolicited boost in business. Scott has taken home the GM Design Award at SEMA 2008 for a trend-setting 1955 Chevrolet, Quick Trip, and dozens of individual 1st place trophies at a number of the car shows they traveled to across the country. Scott’s Hotrods ‘n Customs is the only company in history to win, back-to-back, the “America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR)” award at the Grand National Roadster Show in 2008 with “Undisputed” and again when competing in 2010 with “Possessed.” It is without question that Scott’s Hotrods builds high-profile cars to win high-profile shows and does so with great success. Still, the unexpected success of the business is the manufacturing of parts that has catapulted Scott to its current level of success.
Scott’s IFS kits, 4-Bar Rear Suspension kits, and Complete Chassis have become the bread and butter of the business. Shipping out these kits and chassis from the more centrally located base of operations in Knoxville reduces shipping time and makes the customer happier. The team constantly looks for ways to improve its already superior products. Quality, engineering, and workmanship are the mantras of the shop, which is one of the most equipped in the country. To add to their chassis, suspensions, and frame parts lineup, Scott’s offers many CNC billet items that stand out from others with a custom yet purpose-built look. The attention to what is needed in the Hotrod market is the key to Scott’s success and why Justin’s dream of owning one of the best Hotrod Shops in the country is becoming a reality.
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
Smooth road? No. Staying consistent and sticking to our values have proven to make us successful—quality, Creativity, & Engineering. There have been struggles throughout the years. The biggest is customers cheating us out of money. Without going into too much detail, Karma can make everything right in the universe. We moved the company from Southern California to East Tennessee in 2018. Yes, that is a big move, 2,200 miles across the country. Justin Scott Padfield values his employees so much that he paid for the move out of his pocket. 12 of the 15 employees moved with the company, and now we have 38 employees. The move was a big ordeal but went as smoothly as possible. Just a few hiccups getting started here, and in hindsight, it was no big deal.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Scott’s Hotrods’ n Customs manufactures Independent Front Suspension Kits, 4-bar Rear Suspension kits, Fuel Tanks, and complete chassis for any vehicle from 1925-1987. We also manufacture many CNC Billet parts for many applications. Almost all of our parts are also available through Summit Racing. We also build complete turnkey hot rods. A typical custom hot rod build costs North $200K before Paint & Interior. We are not saying that building a hot rod for less is impossible. We build hot rods and customs to a whole other level. Some say it is over the top. If it is worth building, it’s worth overbuilding. Paying attention to the details and taking our custom sheet metal work further than others sets us apart from most. Some say our vehicles are so beautiful in bare sheet metal that we should not paint them.
Scott’s Hotrods’ n Customs is continuing to grow as a whole. We added a Custom Paint Shop to the list of services we provide. The more we can do in-house, the more we can control and maintain a high-quality standard. We now have five 3-axis CNC Mills, one 4-axis CNC Mill, 3 CNC Lathes, 1 CNC Plate Laser, and 1 CNC Tube Laser machine that produce numerous parts we use every day manufacturing Billet Parts, Suspension Kits, & Chassis.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Be honest & straightforward. The truth will always come out, so as long as you are a straight shooter, there’s nothing to worry about. The way we bill our customers is an excellent example of being honest. This is about the Custom Hot Rod Project Vehicles we are building. We bill our customers weekly for the work done that week. We email pictures of the work performed weekly, if not daily. This way, the customer knows and sees what they are paying for. If we do not work on that vehicle that week, the customer does not get a bill. We do not take Deposits on Project Vehicles. We do not take a lump sum of money upfront to start a build.
Pricing:
- Independent Front Suspension Kits Start at $3,075
- 4-Bar Rear Suspension Kits Start at $2,093
- Coilover Chassis Start at $13,410
- SuperSlam Chassis Start at $14,220
Contact Info:
- Website: https://scottshotrods.com/
- Instagram: @scottshotrods
- Facebook: @scottshotrodsandcustoms
- Youtube: @scottshotrods
Image Credits
Camren Beattie
