Don Pilkenton turns 60 this...
Don Pilkenton turns 60 this year, and his career in building hot rods has covered more than half of his life. Due to health reasons he isn’t as busy as he used to be, but his new shop in Carlisle, OH, keeps him as busy as he wants to be.
Don Pilkenton, of Don’s Hot Rods fame, was named Builder of the Year for the 2012 Detroit Autorama—an honor well deserved. Though there have been many names associated with the Detroit Autorama over the years, none have a history that includes winning the Don Ridler Memorial Award for the owners of three different hot rods.
Now 60 years old, Don had hot rods on his mind back when he was a union meat cutter in the late ’70s. He started working for Butch’s Rod Shop in the ’80s and was building cars in his garage behind his house in his spare time, but Brookville Roadsters’ Ray Gallahon called him in 1984 to help his business get off the ground and build some frame fixtures and assemble Model A bodies as well as some turnkey cars.
By 1988 he’d began building cars for George Poteet and Billet Specialties’ Glenn Grozich and, by 1989, was ready to open his own shop, Don’s Hot Rods, in Germantown, Ohio. From there not only a long line of award-winning cars debuted, but so did a special line of hot rod parts designed and fabricated for the home rod builder.
Glenn Grozich was Don’s first...
Glenn Grozich was Don’s first customer when he opened his shop in 1989, and soon after Don built this teal roadster for him using a Wescott body and a French Vanilla leather interior. The color was from a Geo Storm.
By the ’90s Don’s career was white hot and, as a builder, helped the owners of several cars win both the Don Ridler Memorial Award (1993, 1996, 1999) as well as a couple of America’s Most Beautiful Roadster awards (1997, 2000).
But early into the first decade of the new millennium Don had some major health issues that not only caused him to dial back his involvement in building cars, but he needed to sell his parts business, too. Steve Legens, from Martin, Tennessee, had already made a name for himself building high-quality cars (with a couple of Detroit Great 8 finalists and a Goodguys Street Rod of the Year award under his belt), and Don agreed to sell his business to Legens.
Doing better in the health department, Don opened a small shop in Carlisle, Ohio, in 2004 to do a few cars for customers (including former Ridler winner Dave Emery whose coupe received a Pirelli Great 8 nod at this year’s Autorama) but he doesn’t see himself expanding the way he did years previous. He knows he’s fortunate for the career he’s had, and he says he’s lucky to have the customers he’s worked for, adding he’s spent most of his life doing what he loves: building hot rods.
Don’s Hot Rods built this...
Don’s Hot Rods built this all-Ford original ’34 for John Russell—a customer Don has built four cars for. A Chevy crate motor powers the ride, and Don says Russell drives the wheels off of it.
Bob Young called this coupe...
Bob Young called this coupe his “dream car” and may have been one of Don’s greatest challenges due to his using curved glass throughout the car, including the doors and windshield. The car won the Ridler award in 1999 and was featured on the cover of the Apr. ’00 issue of STREET RODDER. Tragically, Young died just a week before the 2012 Autorama.
Originally built in 1995 for...
Originally built in 1995 for one of Don’s repeat customers, Dave Stitzer, this ’40 coupe is now owned by Jon Hall. It’s powered by a full-race Flattie backed to a five-speed trans, and features a Hughes and Roell flame job.
This all-original ’34 Ford...
This all-original ’34 Ford looked so great in metal to owner Joe Latone, he’s never had it painted, even though Don completed the car in 1999! Latone, who runs a street rod parts business (JPL), has a decent collection of cars that he drives but keeps this one parked in his condo’s living room.
Built for repeat customer...
Built for repeat customer George Poteet, this is a very rare ’37 Ford roadster (only 600 or so built with only 12 known in the United States) that won the Ridler award in 1996. Poteet then sold it to Bob Young, who took the car to the 1997 Grand National Roadster Show and won the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster award with it (the first car to win both awards). The car, with its aluminum top, is now owned by Paul Trussell.
A departure from Don’s normal...
A departure from Don’s normal hot rod builds, this ’49 Cadillac was built for Denny Luma and features many minor body mods.
This year’s Autorama was the...
This year’s Autorama was the first show where this ’37 Ford was shown, and it’s owned by George Poteet (who owned a ’37 Ford when he was a teenager). It was ready for paint when Don got sick six years ago, and the project had been put on hold until just recently.
Painted Dana Red, this ’40...
Painted Dana Red, this ’40 Ford coupe won the Ridler award for its owner, Dave Stitzer, in 1993—the first car from Don’s Hot Rods to do so. Several hundred body mods and changes were done to the car, which is powered by a 500-horse Lingenfelter bolted to a six-speed trans. Paul Trussell now owns this ride.
Paul Trussell won the 2002...
Paul Trussell won the 2002 AMBR award with this ’32 roadster, and he owns a matching ’32 coupe, too. The color is a 50th anniversary Corvette Ruby Red, and the original steel Deuce gets its go from an LS1 mated to a T56 six-speed trans.