Don't let the name fool you. These guys might call themselves "Rednecks," but make no mistake, the foundation of this business is quality. Whether it be restoration, custom street rod building, or popping-out some of today's strongest and most respected fiberglass bodies and body pieces, believe us, Redneck knows how to do it.
Like most things in life, you must first spend countess years learning and paying dues before you can perfect your own ideas into a dream come true. Redneck's owner, Wayne Keimig, did just that and now owns a thriving street rod business. For over 40 years, Wayne has been in the business of building and racing hot rods, which eventually led to building full-race chassis for super gas, comp, and comp eliminator class drag cars. Wayne's shop has also been known to turn out some beautiful classic car restorations (with a lot of help from 25-year veteran of body- and paintwork Guy Paul Galley Jr., recent Wyotech graduate Luke Linin, assembly and glass specialist Brad Stillman, and last, but definitely not least, collision expert Brian Wood) like Vettes, T-birds, and so on. Imagine all of this while running a successful collision repair shop. With all that under his belt, you might think Wayne would have enough to do, but no, you'd be wrong.
With an extensive background in fiberglass repair (from all the Corvette restorations), it seemed only natural to go into the fiberglass body business. Redneck's first molds came from Joe Goodwin. From these first molds, Wayne and his crack-team of fiberglass experts, brothers Jason and Brian Barnett and Nick Conner, spent numerous hours perfecting the molds and their methods of assembly. Since Redneck started popping early-Ford bodies, the demand for new products caused the expansion of their line to include just about every individual body panel (including fenders, hoods, grilles, doors, inner garnish molding, and so on) for the '32 three-window, '34 three-window, '33 sedan, and '33 Plymouth five-window coupe. Brand new for 2003 is Redneck's '34 roadster body. This new body can be ordered with different roof variations like a removable hard top, folding soft-top, or a hardtop version combining the coupe-style roof mated to the roadster-style windshield posts. You will see more of this new body later in the photos.
Complimenting the line of bodies and accessories, is a long list of pieces and parts available through Redneck. Being official dealers for TCI, Pete & Jake's, Cornhuskers, Just A Hobby, and Street Rods By Michael, relieves the tension of finding the chassis for any application. Add to that Vintage Air, Griffin, Specialty Power Windows, and so on, and there really is no reason to search for parts when Redneck Street Rods is building your ride 'cause they already have it in stock. That pretty much sums up the Redneck Street Rods shop. If you want it they have it, if you need it done, they'll do it.
Sitting pretty inside Redneck's showroom is the '33 Ford sedan body used at all major car shows to show off everything from available options to the shear strength of the Redneck fiberglass bodies. It's hard to argue strength issues with Redneck's owner Wayne Keimig when he is jumping up and down on the sedan's roof. Believe us, we've seen it with our own eyes. This body has taken a beating, but looks as good now as the day it was popped out of the mold. The car sits on a TCI chassis that happens to be one of the chassis options available through Redneck. This chassis utilizes one of TCI's new air ride setups. Somewhere back in the catacombs of the office is Wayne's wife Connie and Laura Keith, who we all know do the real work around there (at least the really important work, like paying the bills and answering the unending phone calls). |
The Redneck showroom also houses a wall of well-deserved trophies standing proud behind the beautifully restored '57 T-bird. Redneck can restore a car from the ground up, and do it all in-house. Interior stitching is done by Wayne and his son Will Keimig. Will also happens to be Redneck's head painter and collision shop manager. |
We spied this tuff-looking Model A sitting in the corner and had to have a closer look. Al Seese, the car's owner as well as owner of a local high-end-type of CNC business (Lee Sumit, MO), dropped this coupe off for some serious work. The Redneck boys have installed a '59 Edsel roof panel into the A's top, as well as reworked the bobbed portion of the rear fenders and much more. The polished monster nestled between the Pete & Jake's chassis is actually a 410ci Chevy small-block with a Momar injection system cleverly hidden somewhere in there. This car has also been outfitted with a stainless steel bellypan and Dutchman rear end. |
Another customer car in the shop to receive the full treatment is this 2 5/8-inch chopped '34. Redneck's laid the body on a TCI chassis and installed a GM Performance 502ci Ram Jet engine. Sounds like it's off to a good start. |
Like we said earlier, Redneck can restore just about anything. In this case they are working-over another T-bird in the back and what will surely be a stunning restoration on the '58 Dodge Power wagon. |
True to the saying, "One-stop shop," Redneck's can cover every aspect of car building, including upholstery. Wayne and his son Will handle all stitching duties, as well as just about everything else. |
Speaking of son Will, here is a shot of one of his personal projects, a '48 Ford coupe. One of the finer points to talk about is the air ride, 4-inch channel job over the Art Morrison Profile chassis. Oh, and how about the Hilborn-injected Y-block? |
Can you say, Ford freak? Wayne is the proud owner and builder of some of Ford's hottest powerplants. He has five 427ci engines (the block in the center of the shot is NOS, thank you), a 406ci (out of his '62 Galaxie, far right), and a 429ci Super Cobra Jet that's just waiting for some rubber to burn. On top of all that, Wayne has quite a collection of Y-blocks and speed parts to match. Wayne is pretty savvy when it comes to building these old Ford motors since he has been fiddling with them forever (just something to keep in mind). |
Now were getting into the thick of things. Wayne stands proudly next to the newest addition to the Redneck lineup of bodies. Stay with us here as it may get a little confusing. The body is a '34 roadster with Vicky windshield posts, power windows, and a '33 roadster frame. The body comes with three roof options: the first is a folding soft top that drops down behind the seat, the second is a removable hardtop that hooks to the Mullens-style trailers for storage (also offered by Redneck), and the third is a roadster version with no windows or top. The versatility of Redneck's business has been injected into the new body, and hopefully any that may come very soon. |
Here is a shot of the Mullens-style trailers we mentioned earlier. One of these would look right at home behind any street rod, custom, or hot rod. The trailers come complete and ready for the road with many options to boot--you can have the Chevy or Ford wheel bolt pattern, or wheels and tires that match your rod. You can also opt to have it painted. This trailer was outfitted with American Racing wheels and a beautiful Maroon paint job to match a customer's request. |
If you have never seen a fiberglass body mold, well, here ya go. This is what the bodies are laid into and later popped out of. |
Showing us how easy it is to remove a body from the mold is Redneck's owner Wayne Keimig, fiberglass foreman Jason Barnett, and body assembly expert Brad Spillman. |
Did you notice in the last shot that the bodies come out of the mold with no floor. This is one of Redneck's methods of construction that sets them apart from the rest. Instead of trying to shim and finagle a complete fiberglass body onto any chassis, Redneck mounts (and recommends you do the same) the floor to the chassis first, then mates the body to the floor. Now, when the body comes off, the floor mounts will be perfectly tailored to the chassis without the usual fitment problems. This service is offered to anyone and everyone that orders a Redneck body. If you can't get your chassis to them, they have made sure to included detailed instructions on how to accomplish mounting the body yourself. These guys are very helpful and know exactly what you will be going through, which is why they have engineered the bodies and floors for trouble-free construction. |