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Terry William,, Wil liams Street Rods by Tara Baukus Mello
hether it is rod parts, a rolling chassis, upgrades on a current car or a custom body, Williams Street Rods in
Humboldt, Illinois, can help. While this "little bit of everything" approach may raise some eyebrows initially, the wide range of services is the result of owner Terry Williams' varied interests and dedication to pleasing his customers.
Terry started Williams Street Rods around 1996 after building a custom luggage trailer that could be transformed into a picnic table. "I had a ProStreet '55 Chevy that I had built for myself and it had a really nice upholstered trunk that I didn't want to mess up with luggage, so my dad and I designed a small luggage trailer;" remembers Terry. "We made it so the sides and fenders pulled
out when it was stationary, so it became a picnic table that could be used at the rod runs."
At the time, Terry was working at a factory that
made asphalt pavers as a mechanic specialist, but his dad had a welding and auto repair shop. Terrys custom trailer/picnic table got a lot of attention and the pair began to manufacture them under the Williams Street Rods name. The first show he took the tables to was Rod & Custom magazines Americruise.
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the same roof as his fathers welding shop, with the two often working side-by-side. By about 2000, Terry was working at Williams Street Rods full-time, doing parts fabrication and making the trailers as well as selling trailer parts and other rod accessories. He went to 1 5 to 20 rod shows a
year to sell his products and promote the business.
As Terry got heavier and heavier into street rod work, he started to manufacture his own products, initially four-bar and chassis parts. That led to more chassis and bodywork and, in 2002, he started building rolling chassis and turn-key cars for customers. Business was steady and Terry found himself with a waiting list of customers. At that time, both Terrys and his fathers businesses were housed at the same, twobuilding facility which encompassed about 3,000 square feet and four additional
employees. In 2007, Terry began to
expand the manufacturing side of his business, starting to make some of the billet accessories he previously bought wholesale. That same year, his dad retired and Terry bought his welding
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business. In addition to welding work on specialty vehicles, they do all the maintenance repairs for UPS in that area, as well as custom repairs for heavy machinery and farm equipment.
Over the several years, Terry has continued to expand the manufacturing side of his business. Around 2009, things really grew when he bought the CNC machinery from a tool company that has manufactured street rod products. 'We bought the mills, the lathes and more, as well as all the patterns to make billet aluminum dash panels, dome lights, turn signals and other products," says Terry.
These days Williams Street Rods manufactures hundreds of different products, as well as continues to do chassis work, build cars and
"upgrade" existing rods for owners looking to change the chassis, get new paint or add features. There are ten employees in what now encompasses 4,500 square feet in three adjacent buildings.
Terry is also phasing out selling parts that he doesn't manufacture to make more room for the parts that he makes. Some of their most popular items include fuel doors, window trim kits for fiberglass cars and ribbed breathers and more unusual items such as a 348/409 finned timing chain cover. He also makes a full line of plastic items, including dome lights, interior accessories, grommets for four-bars and snap-on line clamps.
Brand new products include a new single cup holder that will hold a 20-ounce bottle or a
Powerade bottle and a double version where the cups swivel out opposite each other. "Its been easy to expand our product line, because I feel like if we make one product and have the ability and equipment to make something similar, then we might as well go for it," he says.
Being different when it comes to cars has always been part of Terrys plan, both personally and professionally. His latest project-four years in the making-is a custom ·33 five-window fiberglass body that he started selling a few months ago. Hes using the first body to create a complete car that he will display in his booth at shows. It features a one-off independent front suspension, a CoNette rear and a 572 with an eight-stack fuel injector on a blower, ']ust because I wanted to be
different " Th finished . b e car will be
. , ut remain unpainted · , in gel coat " people can s , so in terms of q~:i;~~t they get
For Terry, such. . not only what . a project is SUltS him
personally. b w ·11· , ut also makes I iams Street R
"I like to tinker " ~ds stand out. fun to take a b, . e _says. "Its · as1c idea a d improve on it. " ~ n
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