Watch Now: Tim Odell Does Vintage Go-Fast

I’m Tim Odell. We’re into vintage, go fast. We are in Lincolnton, North Carolina, right outside of Mooresville, Charlotte. We are in my shop right now, and the shop is Vice Unlimited.

We do two, three, four big projects a year, it seems like. Mostly it’s word of mouth, customer-wise. But, we’re, yeah, definitely staying busy, for sure. I think just creating things with my hands is probably what satisfies me.

Early on I got a degree in graphic design. You know, I wanted to design graphics on snowboards and skateboards because that’s what I was into. But I realized I didn’t want to sit behind a computer screen, you know? I wanted to use my hands and build stuff.

I’ve done a lot of projects for customers for SEMA and some higher-end builds. And I told myself, man, it’s time for you to build yourself something. And so that’s what’s behind me. This is my 1946 Diamond T Ultra4 car.

So I started out with a Diamond T cab. Picked it up in Virginia, total rusted out. But I saw the potential in it. So Diamond T, they kind of have a chop-top look from the factory, which is really cool.

And that split window, you know, it kind of gives it a real sinister low look. So that’s why I, you know, decided to go with this particular cab. So starting at the front of the truck here you’ve got some cool truck light, LED headlights; a set of 40-inch Nitto Trail Grapplers, a great off-road tire, also a great road tire too. You know, I’ll be able to drive it to the beach, to a car show or bomb through the desert.

You know, that’s kind of the purpose of it. So those tires work great for that. So in my career I started out doing body work, you know? And so body work is all about getting it straight, getting it slick, getting it shiny, which is cool.

But one thing I don’t like about that, you know, you’re always afraid of scratching it or scuffing it. And so I kind of gravitated more towards the patina look. The patina is something you can use. You can drive it.

You can scratch it, chip it. People can lean on it. They can look at it. It doesn’t matter.

It’s something you can totally interact with. And when you throw in new parts with it and you kind of make it a real racy looking thing, it really contrasts; and you see — you see the difference between new and old, and it kind of in my opinion really gives it a really cool look. So these are Hutchinson double-bead lock wheels, 17-inch. Since this thing is something I’ll drive on the road, it has somewhat of an interior in it: full custom aluminum-fabricated dash, center console; full Holley system, fuel injection, display gauges.

The truck actually runs off an iPad, so you actually start the truck with an iPad. Turn on the lights. Beyond all the cool products, this thing was just a pile of tube on the floor, like a sheet of steel leaning up against the wall. That’s what it was, you know?

And I didn’t start out with anything other than a cab; so every little piece on this was cut, welded, bent, you know, right in the shop. On this particular project there’s a lot of things that I’ve never done before, and so I’ve learned a lot. And that was satisfying. That’s a 6.0 liter LS motor, turbocharged.

It’s a mid-engine car. Engine’s in the back. So that rear end is actually flipped over, upside down, so that makes it a high pinion axle so to help compensate for the rear end being flipped over. That pump that’s running off a drive shaft, and it’s oiling the pinion bearing in the axle.

Now, lubrication is very important. Made these cool custom holders here. You can easily pop this open and grab your oil and top it off. I think design and having an eye is important, but I think deep down, if you want to do this, you have to have a passion for it.

And then I think it’ll happen for you. But you’ve just got to want to do it, you know? Being excited about what you’re working on and using your hands, that’s success.