Octane Magazine - Flatlander's Hot Rods story

Gow Daddy Gow!!
story/photos: dan hankin

Long before the Pauls Teutul bickered in American living rooms, when the famous outlaw Jesse James was still an old Western legend, and the cable networks that now feature motorhead reality shows were in their infancy, a small hot rod shop opened its doors in Virginia Beach. The year was 1978.

Twenty six years and two locations later, Flatlander's Hot Rods is still quietly building nationally recognized cars in their Norfolk shop. Owner Alan Thornton believes his shop is the only full time, full service, traditional hot rod shop on the East Coast. That's not to say that others don't build hot rods, but the others don't build ONLY hot rods.

Flatlander's business is 1928-1948 Ford cars and trucks, and suspension changes on 1950's pickups. Services include everything from hot rod repair and restoration to fabrication, chassis construction, air conditioning installs, and complete turn-key cars built to order. The shop also narrows and builds 9" Ford rears to spec, and manufactures over fifty different hot rod parts, which are sold by dealers throughout the country. Their most popular part? A forged, drop tubular hot rod axle.

The shop also features a showroom with race memorabilia, display chassis and bodies, shirts, hats and apparel, and plenty of authentic vintage hot rod parts. The famous "Paradise Road" scene from American Graffiti is framed high on the back wall, right next to an original limited edition print of Milner's coupe. Thornton owns the rights to the print, and you can pick up your own copy while you're there.

Modern goods are on hand as well. Flatlander's distributes over 100 proven brands like American Racing, Bitchin Products, Custom Radiator, Vintique, Vintage Air, Pete & Jakes, TCI, Mooneyes, Wilwood, and many more, with thousands of parts in stock.

Despite several moments in the national spotlight, Flatlander's has remained somewhat of a secret in their own back yard. Numerous customer cars have been featured in national publications, and Thornton was co-founder of the now famous Rod & Custom Magazine Americruise Tour. He was even tour leader for five years, starting the tour in Norfolk and heading west to rendevouz with eight other tours leaving from different cities.

Thornton's fifteen minutes of fame doesn't end there. In the winter of 1989, Flatlander's built a 1932 Ford coupe to star in a movie called Deuce Coupe. The car was completed in only twenty-seven days. The movie was filmed primarily in Norfolk, Franklin, and Suffolk, and premiered at Franklin, Virginia Beach, and Northern California theatres in the summer of 1990. Thornton played a bit part, but the film didn't create enough buzz for national distribution, and quickly disappeared from the big screen. Deuce Coupe never made it to video, but Thornton managed to wrangle a copy of it for himself and hosts an annual feature for his hot rod buddies.

With popular television shows like Monster Garage and American Hot Rod introducing hot rodding to mainstream America, Flatlander's has started to see local business pick up, though roughly half of their customers still come from out of state. When asked how Flatlander's has managed to not only survive, but prosper in such a narrow market, Thornton replied, "We're a very traditional hot rod shop, kind of an old style California shop. The customer is always right, although we do offer suggestions, and everything we do is 100% guaranteed. In the past few years some of the bigger shops have begun calling us with old Ford questions. Either I'm getting to be a bigger know-it-all, or we've finally got it half way figured out."

Thornton is also quick to credit his crew, and the fact that they do everything in-house with the exception of complete paint jobs and upholstery. Shop manager Bill Stiff is a wiring and plumbing guru, and customers have traveled as far as 1,000 miles for a Flatlander's SS brake line job.

So next time you're in Norfolk, stop in the shop and check it out for yourself. Take a look around. Ask a few questions. As Alan Thornton says, "Answers are still free. Some even truthful. Hot rods forever."

Flatlander's Hot Rods is located at 916 W. 25th Street in Norfolk, VA. Flatlander's is open 9-6 weekdays (closed for lunch), and sometimes on Saturday from 10-2. Call 757-440-1932 or visit online at www.flatlandershotrods.com.