You can travel the world in search of the individuals and vehicles that constitute hot rod culture, but nowhere else on planet Earth has the whole package quite like Southern California. The cars hardly ever rust, the sun never stops shining, and the people can’t help, but build epic kustoms all the time.

A 1951 Ford “lead sled” built by Mackey’s Hot Rods. Photo credit: Mackey’s Hot Rods

Take Brian Mackey of Mackey’s Hot Rods, for example. As a child, Mackey learned all he could from watching his grandfather, Charles Mackey, toil and tinker with classic American cars, whether it was deconstructing carburetors or sanding off messy paint jobs.

As a teenager, Mackey felt he had built up enough of a skill set to branch out and seek employment at other shops. He found one in Mission Viejo, and over time went from this one to that one as he approached mastery levels of fabrication and paint.

And like any enterprising young individual in the land of the free, Mackey eventually decided to go into business for himself and opened up Mackey’s Hot Rods in Huntington Beach, with work starting on a 1956 Chevy coupe that wound up becoming a head-turning gasser.

This ’56 Chevy was the first car to be worked on at Mackey’s Hot Rods. Mackey was very grateful to have it, since he didn’t yet have his business license at the time.

Belonging to a man named Pat Williams, the car was far from any concept of pretty or remarkable when it first arrived. As Mackey explained on his company’s Facebook page, “[I was] grateful for Pat Williams taking a chance with me before I even had a legitimate business license. This car was absolutely covered with rust. The outcome is one I am very proud of.”

Once Mackey proved to himself and his client that he was capable of competent restorations, the orders came in for more and more classics to be renewed: a 1951 Ford Custom, a 1951 Mercury “lead sled”, a 1951 Ford coupe, and a 1957 Morris Minor are some of Mackey’s more precious examples (viewable under the website’s “Projects” tab)

As we turn the corner into 2015, things are as bright as ever for Mackey and his hot rod shop. We’re looking forward to seeing what pops out of his mind next, and so should you. Follow up on new developments by visiting Mackey’s Hot Rods website and Facebook page.