It's been said that it usually takes about 10 years to become an overnight success. If that's true, Dennis Lesky, son Matt, and the Ionia Hot Rod Shop are ahead of schedule.
When we first met Dennis in '94 at a big rod run, he was behind the wheel of his chopped '32 sedan, a former B/Gas drag racer with the name Regret painted on both doors. It seems Dennis had discovered patina, of course back then we just called that the characteristic of neat old hot rods.
Dennis had been into things with wheels since racing carts as a kid, and he began honing his considerable construction skills after discovering street rods in the '70s. Fabrication became such a passion that when it came time to leave his day job as a welder at General Motors, starting his own business looked like a great alternative to the boredom of retirement. Besides, if the newly created Ionia Hot Rod Shop needed more help, there was a kind of built-in apprentice program-Dennis's son, Matt, had gathered machining experience along with welding and sheetmetal skills and just as importantly, had developed an eye for what looked right on a hot rod. Matt joined up with his dad in 2001.
Here's a set of Shadow Rods two-piece 'rails in Ionia's jigs.
After team Lesky was up and running, the duo continued refining a unique approach to chassis fabrication, one in which modifications matched the frame's factory architecture. While most builders were using some sort of tubing to build crossmembers, Ionia's frames had X- and K-members that were folded from flat stock and had rivets, and stamped and flared holes-features that made them look like they were in the 'rails from the factory. That particular approach, and the attention to detail they lavish on everything that leaves the shop, began to catch the eye of many enthusiasts and has resulted in Ionia turning out several high-profile cars, including Geoff Skene's '32 that graced SRM's July 2007 cover.
While the Leskys have certainly proved they can build a turnkey car like the best of them, they haven't forgotten what it's like for those building a car at home in the garage either. To that end, they can help by supplying a little touch of Ionia to make your car cooler-everything from crossmembers, X-members, and boxing plates to a complete A-V8 or '32 chassis.
The joint in the two-piece framerails is reinforced by a formed backing plate, or fishplate, to which they are often referred.
On the subject of framerails, one of the most revolutionary products to come along in a while are the two-piece Deuce 'rails from Shadow Rods. Built in two sections that are welded together, they look original once the welding is done, but the real beauty lies in the fact that the multi-piece design means they're small enough to be shipped by means other than truck freight, so they can come to your front door via UPS. And now, thanks to the Ionia crew, these 'rails can come to you pinched and modified for either '28-29 or '30-31 Model A bodies. In addition, instructions for modifying the rear portion of the 'rails for an A-body are included, or they'll do that for you too.
Not long ago, our own Brian Brennan wandered by Ionia to see what the Leskys were up to. Along with a host of other projects, there were a pair of Shadow Rods '32 framerails being modified for an A using the very same components that can come to your door in kit form or a complete chassis. Take a look at the possibilities, and if you hurry you can still update that Christmas wish list.
