ABOUT
DOUG JENKINS CUSTOM HOT RODS
Doug
Jenkins Custom Hot Rods is the natural outcome of
Doug's love of cool
old cars. He originally operated a local garage
in Fairbanks, Alaska, and was well known by the
great old rides he and his wife had. Years of experience
in the arctic building
and repairing cars where the temperature extremes
weeded out bad work pretty quickly, his shop built
a reputation for timely, quality work. Starting
with earthmoving and logging equipment, then to
medium and light duty vehicles, the shop in Fairbanks
moved more and more toward specialty and classic
auto
restoration over the years.
 Right
away a challenge presented itself. With Doug's shop
doing such good mechanical work, his customers asked
him if he could recommend a body shop with the same
high standards of quality and timeliness. After
some effort, Doug decided to handle the paint work
as well as all the mechanical needs of his customers.
It was a grand success.
While
all this good work on classic cars was going on,
Doug discovered dirt track racing. After several
successful years in both stock cars and sprints,
the family decided to sell out their business, home
and dreams in Alaska and head to the lower forty
eight to try professional sprint car racing with
the World of Outlaws. Doug, his wife Kerry and two
little girls, Robin and Holly, took their suitcases
on a plane and never looked back.
Five
months and 40,000 miles of driving between races
later found the family whipped. Unable to meet the
demands of two and three nights a week of racing,
the uphill battle of learning so many new tracks,
and the incredible expenses involved in racing at
that level ruined Doug financially. The family was
completely supportive throughout the entire time.
Sleeping in the truck or trailer when there was
time to sleep, little girls stumbling into truck
stops or rest areas with their toothbrushes every
morning, no one complained much.
Feeling he had failed himself and his family, Doug
decided to take the family back to Alaska and start
over. But the kids would have nothing of it! They
loved St. Louis and the opportunities there, and
firmly demanded the family relocate. So, living
in a friends' basement, the family began again in
Missouri. Doug broke out his toolbox and went to
work.
 Using
the skills he had gained from the small shop in
Fairbanks, Doug met the needs of a friend from Church
who had a Nash Healy in need of electrical work.
That guy had a friend with a '37 Cord. That guy
had a friendIt was an instant fit. Top quality
work, fair price and timely delivery turned out
to be an unbeatable combination. The growth has
been rapid, going from one man in an uninsulated
garage to a staff of 24 in a 50,000 square foot
facility in four years.
Doug
Jenkins Custom Hot Rods is still doing the same
thing today. Every day is a new opportunity to meet
good people with cool
cars and make their dream come true. In keeping
with the original concept, virtually all of the
work is handled under one roof.
From
the plastic media and sand blasting of the car to
the final product, all the auto
restoration work customer needs is done right
here. Design, body and paint, engine
shop, mechanic work, electrical, air conditioning,
chassis, exhaust, custom fabrication and a comprehensive
parts department are all located in one place.
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