Built to Drive at Roddin' Daily

• May 21, 2014
• Story By
  Kristin Cline

It's always fun to meet new car folks and being in Austin last month for Lonestar Round Up led me across the paths of Ryan Ripley and Kyle Schaefer of Roddin' Daily. Although they have a number of completed turn-key custom builds they could have brought along, they chose instead to bring a work-in-progress rolling chassis to this event. A perfect canvas to showcase their custom chassis work, this ’51 Ford F1 project has started where it counts. A custom chassis not only gives you the desired stance, but also delivers modern handling - a foundation of having a “Roddin’ Daily” hot rod. Kyle and Ryan have both have been into cars since teenagers. Both are from Texas, and both attended Wyotech – Ryan focusing on body and paint and Kyle on chassis fabrication and engine performance. The two met upon Ryan’s return to Texas and started working on projects together, finding that their individual skills complemented one another’s well. When Ryan and his wife moved into a small home with a large shop building on the property, he saw it as the perfect opportunity to take a step toward working for himself.  Asking Kyle to partner with him, Roddin’ Daily was launched in 2011. Starting on Ryan’s Model A build, they soon had friends and friends-of-friends jobs coming in. Word of mouth spread until they had more work than they're able to fit in. For the time-being they’re living a hot rodders dream (or is it?). Each with a full-time day job, Kyle at a Porsche dealership and Ryan at a collision shop, they clock into their own shop in the evenings to pursue Roddin' Daily's work. While they both enjoy working on classics the most, the breadth they’ve received working in the industry has fine-tuned and improved their skills where it counts. Inspired by custom shops such as Hollywood Hot Rods and Rad Rods by Troy, Kyle and Ryan are all about nostalgic but fully drivable cars. Kyle notes that some people leave their rides sitting in the garage "because something isn’t right and it drives funny." Adding that, “Everyone can enjoy their car – what we really try to focus on is making them drive right. Making a drivable car so people can really enjoy it is our goal.” Their work speaks for itself and expect that someday soon they’ll be in a larger location and building awesomely drivable customs at Roddin’ Daily on a full-time basis. It’s awesome to find new hot rodders that are doing it right, and Roddin’ Daily has a good thing going!