In case you missed this in our January/February 2025 magazine.
Andy Minas was in the vanguard of craftsmen who create custom and hot rods for a passionate and imaginative clientele.
We’re not saying that Andy Minas and his wife Donna are plugged into the custom and hot rod scene but our interview took place in a ‘50s styled diner perched atop his restoration shop in Kurnell, Sydney, built as a gathering place for local car clubs. The couple run Australia’s largest indoor custom and hot rod show too and it’s well worth a visit (Rosehill Gardens, 24-25 May).
It all started back in the ‘60s when Andy’s car enthusiast uncle took the youngster under his wing and they started to paint cars and motorbikes as a hobby.
“There was no such thing as a hot rod shop back then in Australia. Most of the people I grew up with, they were doing their own work and the people that didn’t have the skills would ask their friends, like myself, if they could do it for them.”
Andy served his dual apprenticeship right in Darlinghurst at a restoration shop. By the ‘70s he owned his own collision repair shop. “I always used to have one car there, restoring it. And then from restoration we went into building hot rods, and here we are 50 years later.”
Andy left the trade for a couple of years and became a brick delivery driver but still worked on cars in his free time. The demand grew and in the late ‘80s he bought a smash shop and turned it into a hot rod shop.
It was possibly the first hot rod shop in Sydney – there were some already established in Melbourne.
“When I first started it was mainly restoration work, we had doctors and solicitors as clients. There wasn’t that much money around like there is now. Most of my clients now are people that have worked hard, they’ve got a really good business and now they can afford to enjoy their toys,” he says.
“Most of them can afford a Porsche or Ferrari but that’s just going down to the shop and buying it. When you build a car for somebody, it’s personalised. They pick the colour, the trim, the drivetrain. It’s like making a tailored suit for your client.
“Back in the early days there wasn’t a lot of money. You might do a respray for somebody or mount a steering box or something, but not build complete cars. Boyd Coddington in the US was probably the icon who started this trend, building cars for big clients and it wore off on us over here.”
Andy reflects on huge advances in technology that have been embraced by the custom and hot rodding community. “You can create some crazy, crazy stuff. The plastic moulding and the three-dimensional drawings and design work, it’s mind-boggling to think how far it’s come. It was all done by hand but now you can push a button, design your trim, create it, push the button and the machine will print it out for you.”
The idea of the Hot Rod & Custom Auto Expo is to generate an interest in the next generation. “We have a lot of interest from young people from late teens to mid-20s coming to the show now and entering cars. There’s a big club called Misled Youths and we do everything we can to support and encourage them because they are our future.”
The collectible car scene has witnessed some dizzying sums being achieved for cars that weren’t even popular when they were current.
“I worked for General Motors Holden back in the ‘70s and who would think a Commodore was going to be worth money? We couldn’t give them away at one time but everything’s changed.”
When it comes to creating your custom or hot rod you had better have deep pockets and preferably an open chequebook. “It could be $15,000 to $50,000 and northwards. What drivetrain, what engine do they want. Do they want a ‘lollipop’ smooth finish or something more customised?
“If you want to compete, it’s expensive. Most of the cars competing now are anywhere from $500-$600,000 up to the $1.5M.”
The shop which Andy and Donna built in 2010 will be passed onto the next generation when Andy is ready to retire. Son James is a body technician working alongside his father. His sister is a dancer but loves her cars, while the youngest is a forensic scientist and does the books. ●