ABOUT

 

About Us

 

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South City Rod and Custom is a full production shop, catering to Hot Rod and Custom car enthusiasts on every level. We perform all types of service from repair work to full builds. We do chassis upgrades, including full air ride installations. We also do sheet metal repair and shaping, including everything from simple panel replacement to full custom work such as top chops, channeling, and sectioning. We also share our shop space with Joe Compani of Compani Color, who has painted all of the cars that have been built at South City Rod and Custom, so all paint and body work is done in-house.

 

 

Our Mission

 

 
 
“Our mission at South City Rod and Custom is simply to do the best possible job at the most reasonable price. We will not cut corners just to keep costs low, but we will do exceptional work as efficiently as possible. You won’t find a more honest and hard-working team.”
 

 

Our History

 

Bill Ganahl was born into custom car culture. His father, Pat Ganahl, is a journalist in the field, having been the editor of Street Rodder Magazine, HotRod Magazine, Rod and Custom Magazine, and The Rodder's Journal, and also authoring technical guides, biographies, and cultural books on the hobby. Pat is a builder too, and Billy was raised in and around his dad's garage, spending many weekends at California's various drag strips where they raced nostalgia classes throughout the 80's and 90's.

In 2000, Bill began his tenure at Roy Brizio Street Rods in the Bay Area, where he remained working until early 2013. Here, Bill honed his fabrication skills, including everything from chassis building to final assembly, but focused primarily on sheet metal shaping and fabrication. Bill also became the resident expert on historical restoration while under Brizio’s employ, being responsible for the accurate resurrection of the Jack Calori 1936 Ford coupe, Sam Barris' (first ever?) chopped 1949 Mercury, the two time AMBR winning Ala Kart, and Tom McMullen's famous '32 Roadster. The Calori Coupe placed 1st in its class at Pebble Beach in 2005 in addition to receiving the Dean Bachelor Award.

South City Rod and Custom was started by Bill Ganahl in 2008 as a side shop where he moonlighted after working full days at Roy's. Billy initially used his shop to explore slightly different styles of builds, taking on a broader range of years and makes than some of the more traditional shops. His first full build was a 1941 Graham Hollywood owned by Phil Linhares. Bill also started doing ever-popular air ride conversions in 50's and 60's cars as well.

After taking his shop full time in January 2013, Bill has already achieved major accolades with his most recent endeavors. Dave Pozzi's 1941 pickup, which was originally the Nick Lepesh pickup famous in the early 60's, has won the West Coast Kustoms award and graced the cover of Rod and Custom Magazine. Nick Rogers' 1951 Mercury took 1st place in the Radical Custom Class as well as the Triple Gun Award at the 2013 Grand National Roadster Show, went on to win the Custom D'Elegance award at the Sacramento Autorama, and finally the Custom of the Year Award at the 2013 Goodguys West Coast Nationals.