Classics never go out of style

With so many shops out there doing high-quality restorations, how does Jacobs make his company stand out from the competition?

“Our clients come first in everything we do,” he explains.

That means every member of the team makes sure the client they’re working with gets exactly what they signed on for—and is treated with respect and complete professionalism throughout the entire restoration process.

“A typical job always starts with getting to know the client. The more I know them, the easier it is to work alongside them and deliver what they want,” Jacobs notes.

ALL SHAPES & SIZES

Every project at RJ CARS (rjcars.com) is unique, with its own demands and issues. And most of those projects come from baby boomers.

As Jacobs puts it, “their kids are gone, their house is paid for. They’re sitting there looking at their retirement account. That’s pretty boring. Looking at them you ask, ‘what are we going to do with those retirement funds? Let’s spend them and build a muscle car or classic.’”

It’s not unusual for customers to express interest in projects of the Concours-award caliber, but Jacobs finds they don’t often follow through once they get what they asked for.

“It’s funny because I build these cars and people say they want a Concours car like a Shelby, so I build it. And then the owner may never take it and show it anywhere!”

The team at RJ CARS has restored and worked on numerous top brands and classic muscle cars over the years, from a 1917 Locomobile, to a 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, to a 2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. The most common builds are Mopars, with more than 50 complete restorations performed, Jacobs estimates.

Among them are three full-blown Superbird restoration projects, including a six-pack original, a 440 four-speed Dana original and another completely restored original. Related jobs have included Hemi builds, a special-order Petty Blue 1972 ’Cuda and a ’70 T/A Challenger dealer demonstrator owned by Jacobs himself.

The key to a great shop is having a talented team. Finding and keeping that talent takes keen eyes and ears to understand what motivates them.

How does management at RJ CARS find new employees? By word of mouth, sometimes from colleges (a past employee is now a teacher himself), via social media and even through email campaigns.

Jacobs tries to keep his employees interested in their work by bringing in great projects.

“My guys are here because they want to work on cool cars,” he explains.

Sometimes, however, other jobs need to be taken on to pay the bills and fill gaps between projects.

As a small company, RJ CARS provides paid holidays and paid time off, bonuses and SIMPLE IRA accounts. The group also celebrates special occasions together. It’s the little things—and a great amount of respect—that matter the most, Jacobs believes.

Cash flow and parts availability can mean delays when dealing with high-end restorations. Keeping the team busy between those projects are more run-of-the-mill jobs including collision repair, detailing and engine tune-ups.

There’s never any doubt, however, of the highest-ranking priority placed on restorations.

“You know, a lot of body shops will do a restoration, but typically that restoration is going to sit in the corner and collect dust. It’s not at their forefront. My forefront is the restoration work. My background is doing collision work” Jacobs explains.

And every once in a while, a filler project takes an interesting turn—often involving the shop’s paint booth. Among the oddball requests the shop has tackled are restorations of pedal cars, gas pumps, antique and cast iron furniture, horse buggy parts, light posts and signposts. Other fun jobs included a remote-control jet and dragsters with candy finishes.

One of the most memorable paint projects was a rally car that had traveled around the world. Since the owner was from Aruba, Jacobs had one of his vendors come in and airbrush the Aruban flag on the hood…

Please head on over to the Motorhead Digital Blog for the rest of this article.

Barry is the founder of Motorhead Digital, providing signature Marketing Maximizer™ programs specifically developed for auto restoration, performance and restyling shops. These programs are geared towards customer acquisition and conversion to keep those project bookings coming. With over 23 years of experience in digital marketing and web development, Barry’s goal is to help clients market and grow their shops through strategic marketing practices. You can reach him at (585) 766-9785, [email protected] or online at MotorheadDigital.com

As seen on The Shop Magazine