It is time for the 2nd installment of the Shops of the South series. A few weeks ago when I was in Murfreesboro, TN to pick up my rig I had a chance to stop by and visit my buddy Adam Woodlee’s shop, Wide Open Design (WOD). Adam works out of a very nice shop behind his dad Dwight’s house. Their shop is super clean and well organized. Adam said that over the years the shop has grown with each project. One thing I liked most about the shop was the abundance of old American iron lying around.
Adam is one of the foremost builders of custom rigs in the Southeast. His creations are part rock bouncer and part hot rod. His specialty is detail work and building true one-off creations. Enjoy!
The shop is divided into three bays:
1st bay is the fab shop where you will find all the benders, notchers and drill presses. Adam also has a really cool pre-CNC plasma table. You just cut out a template on paper and lay it under a moving light on the table. The light picks up the borders of the template and draws it out. Then it is time to cut!
2nd bay is the finishing/reassembly bay. This is where a rig comes once it is back from the powder coater and ready to be put together. This area of the shop is super clean and also has a sweet 2 post lift.
3rd bay is Dwight’s domain, the machining shop. All kinds of cool machining tools can be found in here!
Dwight started off machining 205 doublers and still does a lot of them today. He handles all the machining duties for WOD projects.
Matt O: How long have you been doing this?
Adam: It started as a hobby for my dad and me when I was 15, so that was 11 years ago. I have been doing this full time as Wide Open Design for a little over 4 years.
Matt O: How much of your business is parts sales vs. services? How many rigs have you built so far?
Adam: My core business is building custom rigs and our secondary business is the machine shop that my dad, Dwight runs. We also do repair work and smaller projects also. I would say our business is 65% custom rigs, 25% parts sales and 10% repair/general fabrication. Ron's jeep is the 5th rig built at WOD.
Matt O: How long does a build last from idea inception to finished product? About how much time do you spend in the planning process?
Adam: The planning process generally takes a few hours. From there I generate some hand drawn sketches of what it might look like. Then the parts ordering process begins and it is off to work. An average build takes 6 months from start to finish.
Matt O: Have you seen value in posting your custom projects on national and regional forums for others to see?
Adam: Yes I have seen value in posting pics online, although I generally do this once the project is complete. It helps getting pics of your work to the public. I would also like to live blogs of my builds through my website in the future.
I bribed Adam so I could take some spy pics! Ron’ McCraken’s jeep got a new boxed frame and custom everything. It had just come back from powder coating when these pics were taken.
Matt O: Do you have a favorite part of the build process? What do you feel is the hardest part?
Adam: My favorite part is interior and sheet metal work. I really enjoy the details and finish. The hardest part of a build is just getting it off the ground. Taking a concept and turning it into a vehicle is hard, especially when you are trying to package everything and not screw yourself 10 steps from now.
Matt O: You seem to be very creative with a tube bender, how do you come up with those sick lines? Do you have any inspirations in the custom fab world?
Adam: I am always thinking about lines. From show cars and bikes to just driving down the road looking at cars. I am always looking for things that jump out at me. In terms of builders that inspire me I have serveral; Campbell, Bender, Twisted Customs, Randy Slawson, several Trophy Truck builders and especially Bryan Cole.
Matt O: I feel that most a lot of what custom builders do is truly art with metal? Did you enjoy art or drawing when you were growing up?
Adam: I don't feel I am an active left brain person, but I did enjoy drawing when I was younger. I did not purse or excel at art, but it is something I would say I am good at.
These are some pics of Donny’s crazy HP buggy. Adam is going to do a tech writeup for CRAWL Magazine on this rig.
WOW!
Check out some of these super cool details.
Front Grill is a custom aluminum piece built by Adam.
Nolen these pics are to show your what a real gun drilled shaft looks like. You know it is big when the quarter falls in.
Matt O: It seems like a word of mouth kind of business, but how do you come across new customers?
Adam: Word of mouth for sure, but a lot of times it is just chance or luck. Some folks seek you out, but a lot of times a mutual friend turns people on to me. I also try to go to big rides and attend marketing shows to get my name out in the community.
Matt O: So you have a spot in the KOH, can you share any secrets about your new rig?
Adam: My rig is a big experiment to say the least. It is a 2 seat, rear engine, LS2, Atlas, F/R 14B's, etc. It is not like the rigs I have built for my customers in the past. I am actively trying out new ideas on my rig to see what does/does not work. It will be a test bed and I plan to change it up several times after it is built just to gain some knowledge.
Adam’s new rig is on the left. 2 seat, rear LS2, Atlas 3.8, Steering 14B’s front and rear, Coilovers and Bypass shocks. Lots of goodies on this one!
Custom Twisted Stitch Seats with the WOD design in the head rest
Matt O: So I hear you are going to compete in XRRA East with this new rig next year. Tell us about that.
Adam: Ever since the East series started I have wanted to be a part of it. I am anxious to get out there and see if I am any good! I went to all the races this year and spotted some for Levi and it was a blast. I really enjoy trail riding, so I am interested to see how XRRA compares.
Matt O: Any future plans for WOD you can share with us?
Adam: I am planning to move to a new shop with more room and I really want to hire a counter guy that can handle the administration side and push part sales. That will free up a ton of my time and let me focus on building rigs! I plan to stick with what I do now and focus on the niche market of custom rigs. Anything I can make in selling parts is just extra.
If you want the one of the sweetest custom rigs around, WOD should be on your list! Adam and his crew do a great job of going the extra mile and turning out truly unique creations. You can see several rigs he has built at most any big ride. His website http://wideopendesign.com is current with all his projects and parts. Adam is also a regular here on Hardline, and is a really good source of technical information. I don’t think you can go wrong have WOD build you a custom rig!
We are looking for more shops to add to this series. Coleworx, BTF and ORC are all on the radar. If you know of other local shops in the south please let me know!
Adam is one of the foremost builders of custom rigs in the Southeast. His creations are part rock bouncer and part hot rod. His specialty is detail work and building true one-off creations. Enjoy!
The shop is divided into three bays:
1st bay is the fab shop where you will find all the benders, notchers and drill presses. Adam also has a really cool pre-CNC plasma table. You just cut out a template on paper and lay it under a moving light on the table. The light picks up the borders of the template and draws it out. Then it is time to cut!
2nd bay is the finishing/reassembly bay. This is where a rig comes once it is back from the powder coater and ready to be put together. This area of the shop is super clean and also has a sweet 2 post lift.
3rd bay is Dwight’s domain, the machining shop. All kinds of cool machining tools can be found in here!
Dwight started off machining 205 doublers and still does a lot of them today. He handles all the machining duties for WOD projects.
Matt O: How long have you been doing this?
Adam: It started as a hobby for my dad and me when I was 15, so that was 11 years ago. I have been doing this full time as Wide Open Design for a little over 4 years.
Matt O: How much of your business is parts sales vs. services? How many rigs have you built so far?
Adam: My core business is building custom rigs and our secondary business is the machine shop that my dad, Dwight runs. We also do repair work and smaller projects also. I would say our business is 65% custom rigs, 25% parts sales and 10% repair/general fabrication. Ron's jeep is the 5th rig built at WOD.
Matt O: How long does a build last from idea inception to finished product? About how much time do you spend in the planning process?
Adam: The planning process generally takes a few hours. From there I generate some hand drawn sketches of what it might look like. Then the parts ordering process begins and it is off to work. An average build takes 6 months from start to finish.
Matt O: Have you seen value in posting your custom projects on national and regional forums for others to see?
Adam: Yes I have seen value in posting pics online, although I generally do this once the project is complete. It helps getting pics of your work to the public. I would also like to live blogs of my builds through my website in the future.
I bribed Adam so I could take some spy pics! Ron’ McCraken’s jeep got a new boxed frame and custom everything. It had just come back from powder coating when these pics were taken.
Matt O: Do you have a favorite part of the build process? What do you feel is the hardest part?
Adam: My favorite part is interior and sheet metal work. I really enjoy the details and finish. The hardest part of a build is just getting it off the ground. Taking a concept and turning it into a vehicle is hard, especially when you are trying to package everything and not screw yourself 10 steps from now.
Matt O: You seem to be very creative with a tube bender, how do you come up with those sick lines? Do you have any inspirations in the custom fab world?
Adam: I am always thinking about lines. From show cars and bikes to just driving down the road looking at cars. I am always looking for things that jump out at me. In terms of builders that inspire me I have serveral; Campbell, Bender, Twisted Customs, Randy Slawson, several Trophy Truck builders and especially Bryan Cole.
Matt O: I feel that most a lot of what custom builders do is truly art with metal? Did you enjoy art or drawing when you were growing up?
Adam: I don't feel I am an active left brain person, but I did enjoy drawing when I was younger. I did not purse or excel at art, but it is something I would say I am good at.
These are some pics of Donny’s crazy HP buggy. Adam is going to do a tech writeup for CRAWL Magazine on this rig.
WOW!
Check out some of these super cool details.
Front Grill is a custom aluminum piece built by Adam.
Nolen these pics are to show your what a real gun drilled shaft looks like. You know it is big when the quarter falls in.
Matt O: It seems like a word of mouth kind of business, but how do you come across new customers?
Adam: Word of mouth for sure, but a lot of times it is just chance or luck. Some folks seek you out, but a lot of times a mutual friend turns people on to me. I also try to go to big rides and attend marketing shows to get my name out in the community.
Matt O: So you have a spot in the KOH, can you share any secrets about your new rig?
Adam: My rig is a big experiment to say the least. It is a 2 seat, rear engine, LS2, Atlas, F/R 14B's, etc. It is not like the rigs I have built for my customers in the past. I am actively trying out new ideas on my rig to see what does/does not work. It will be a test bed and I plan to change it up several times after it is built just to gain some knowledge.
Adam’s new rig is on the left. 2 seat, rear LS2, Atlas 3.8, Steering 14B’s front and rear, Coilovers and Bypass shocks. Lots of goodies on this one!
Custom Twisted Stitch Seats with the WOD design in the head rest
Matt O: So I hear you are going to compete in XRRA East with this new rig next year. Tell us about that.
Adam: Ever since the East series started I have wanted to be a part of it. I am anxious to get out there and see if I am any good! I went to all the races this year and spotted some for Levi and it was a blast. I really enjoy trail riding, so I am interested to see how XRRA compares.
Matt O: Any future plans for WOD you can share with us?
Adam: I am planning to move to a new shop with more room and I really want to hire a counter guy that can handle the administration side and push part sales. That will free up a ton of my time and let me focus on building rigs! I plan to stick with what I do now and focus on the niche market of custom rigs. Anything I can make in selling parts is just extra.
If you want the one of the sweetest custom rigs around, WOD should be on your list! Adam and his crew do a great job of going the extra mile and turning out truly unique creations. You can see several rigs he has built at most any big ride. His website http://wideopendesign.com is current with all his projects and parts. Adam is also a regular here on Hardline, and is a really good source of technical information. I don’t think you can go wrong have WOD build you a custom rig!
We are looking for more shops to add to this series. Coleworx, BTF and ORC are all on the radar. If you know of other local shops in the south please let me know!
