A VISIT WITH THE LOBECKS

Different Schools, Same Passion

You’ve heard the saying, “They went to different schools together.” Well, Ginny and Barry Lobeck did just that. In the 1970s, street rodding was well into its “rebirth,” and mail-order business was just a fledgling industry. In southern Ohio, a young Barry Lobeck was busy finishing a ’65 Riviera. Slammed and slick—a trend that started early for Barry and continues to this day—the Riviera was somewhere between a custom and a hot rod, and it drew its fair share of attention.

Traditional hot rodders in the area were so impressed with this effort that they suggested Barry try his hand at an early rod. Comments such as “If you built a street rod as nice as this Riviera, you’d blow ’em away” inspired Lobeck to build an early hot rod. Before long, a ’34 Plymouth coupe graced his garage—yes, Lobeck with a Plymouth; this man is, if nothing else, brutally honest. The coupe was an older hot rod, and Barry brought it up to the standard of the time.

While the workmanship was fine and it was a coupe, Lobeck realized early on that Fords were really the most desirable of the traditional hot rods. The Plymouth coupe was traded for a black ’40 Ford coupe in 1973. The Ford was showing a meager 70,000 original miles on the odometer.

Ginny and The V-8 Shop

Meanwhile, up in the Cleveland area, a young Ginny was working on vintage Fords, too. She was actually a step ahead of Barry—a step some say Barry has never quite made up—as she had already entered into the early Ford reproduction parts business. It seems that Ginny and a partner were involved in restoring a ’34 Ford. When parts were impossible to find, they embarked on reproducing cowl-light arms and then dual-face temperature gauges for the ’34 Ford. Selling mainly to the restoration crowd, a business was formed called The V-8 Shop, referring to the specialty of the house, ’32-’48 Fords.

By 1975, Ginny was manufacturing running boards for ’32, ’33 and ’34 Fords. She had steel-stamped original patterns with bonded rubber covers that were made by an original supplier to Ford in the 1930s. These running boards were spot-on perfect reproductions. The V-8 Shop gained a reputation in the industry for high-quality parts and service. These stamped-steel running boards led to a line of smoothie running boards for hot rodders.

Another big undertaking was the complete reproduction grille shell for ’34 Fords. Ginny and The V-8 Shop were manufacturers and suppliers of some great V-8 parts. She was under 30 years old and the sole owner of The V-8 Shop.

The Car That Started the Lobeck Legend

Meanwhile, a bit farther south in Ohio, Barry had peeled off $350 to have the front of his ’40 coupe flamed. The front clip was flamed off the car, and Lobeck detailed the Flathead with aluminum heads, twin Stromberg carbs and a chrome ’40 Ford rearend. The car rolled on polished five-spokes—another early trend that continues to this day—and just had a great hot rod look.

This was the first Lobeck car that we can remember, and it was known as Lobeck’s ’40. We didn’t even know him at the time. The car defied basic hot rod math, since it equaled more than the sum of its parts—the car just had an attitude.

All the while, Barry Lobeck was beginning to make a name for himself as a talented car builder and a colorful character—not necessarily in that order. Things like the brass dash plaque engraved with such deep thoughts as “A Forty Without Flames is Like Sex Without a Tongue”—this graced the firewall of the aforementioned coupe—went a long way to starting the legend that we know as Lobeck.

The Deuce Roadster That Put Him on the Map

After the ’40 was sold, Barry went on to build the car that really put him on the map. In an era of resto-rods and sedans, touring cars with wire wheels and the introduction of True Spoke wire wheels, what did he do? Barry built a roadster. A Deuce roadster, to be exact, and it was a car that would go on to inspire many hot rodders to look to the past for a great approach and inspiration to hot rodding.

Running polished finned aluminum Buick brake drums, polished Halibrand wheels—in a time when they were seldom seen on hot rods—a Halibrand quick-change rear, and gorgeous burgundy paint with an orange grille insert, this roadster simply screamed H O T R O D. It was an instant hit, and the car showed up in virtually every magazine that was even remotely involved in hot rodding. It seemed everywhere you looked in the late ’70s, there was a picture of that roadster, and Lobeck, and his cowboy hat. Beyond the components on the car, there was an intangible look, a packaging that was uniquely Lobeck.

Lobeck’s Hot Rod Parts

By the early ’80s, street rodding had become such a big part of Barry Lobeck’s life that he quit his job at International-Harvester and started Lobeck’s Hot Rod Parts in Springfield, Ohio. The emphasis was on “real hot rods” with lots of cool parts available to build Lobeck-style cars.

Meanwhile, back in Cleveland, as the market was changing, Ginny was moving her business more and more toward hot rods. It was through this industry connection that Ginny and Barry met, and sparing you all the romantic details, suffice to say that several years later—in 1984—Lobeck’s Hot Rod Parts moved to Cleveland and shared The V-8 Shop building. Eventually, the two companies were combined.

Building a Hot Rod Empire Together

In 1988, Ginny and Barry purchased Just-A-Hobby, and they became manufacturers of framerails. The framerails were used for their own line of chassis, their turnkey hot rods, and they also supplied many of the major names in the business with framerails. Names like Boyd’s, Brizio, Pete & Jakes, and TCI are among the companies that have used Just-A-Hobby framerails.

As the Lobeck business continued to grow, it became apparent the time had come for a building custom-designed to handle everything from the mail-order parts business to the paint and body shop, chassis shop and assembly area. This building became a reality in 1990, and ever since, The V-8 Shop, Lobeck’s Hot Rod Parts and Just-A-Hobby framerails have been going flat out.

From this single shop, a stream of great parts and super turnkey hot rods continues to flow. It seems lately Lobeck’s has been building a lot of Deuce roadsters. The interesting thing about these roadsters is each one manages to have its own distinctive look, and yet you can still tell it’s a Lobeck car. Each one has attitude, each one a perfect stance, and each one is pure hot rod.

Recognition From the Hot Rod Industry

As we enter the new century, the Lobeck team—Ginny and Barry are definitely a team—is running strong. At the NSRA Street Rod Nationals 2000, Barry received the coveted “Individual of the Year” award. We can safely say that never has the word “Individual” been more suited to the recipient of this award than Barry Lobeck. An individual in every way, Barry continues to amaze people with his antics, jokes and incredible car-building abilities.

Ginny has also been recognized by the industry with such awards as Goodguys Woman of the Year 1992. You’ll notice that even in the award area she maintains that one-step lead on you know who! In 1995, both Ginny and Barry Lobeck were inducted as a team into the SEMA Street Rod Hall of Fame.

Being Barry Is a Full-Time Job

The Lobeck group has swelled to a company with more than 20 employees, and it takes a lot of effort to keep things running smoothly. Ginny tends to do a lot of the behind-the-scenes work, scheduling, ordering and overseeing the operation. This is done so Barry has plenty of time to, well, be Barry, and trust us when we say “being Barry” is a full-time job!

We’ve known these two hot rodders for many years, and we witnessed the growth of their hot rod business. It has been fun watching and being a part of Barry’s pranks, and enjoying the levity around the Lobeck booth. There was a time when people who parked around the Lobeck trailer might very well drive back to the motel with a very politically incorrect license plate on their car that had one off-color word or another. It was one of those plastic jobs done on an Ohio plate.

It made for a lot of laughs, sneaking around and bolting on the tag on a buddy’s car. This is one of the elements that draws customers to Lobeck’s—the feeling that this is not only supposed to be fun, it is fun.

A Formidable Team

We spent some time speaking with Ginny and Barry this year at the Nats, and it was interesting to see how these two professionals work together to develop new products, market items and defer to each other’s strengths. Behind all the fun is a formidable team running an excellent business.

Barry agreed to meet for dinner on Sunday evening after the Nationals. Ginny was heading out early to get back to the shop and keep things running smoothly.

If you attend virtually any major rod run, you will no doubt see some of Lobeck’s rolling stock. You might also see Barry and Ginny working in the trailer, one-on-one with the customers, or cruising back to the motel in their roadster. Ginny with her ever-present smile, and Barry with the ever-present enthusiasm for being Barry.

Together this team has helped to shape the face of hot rodding as we know it today. Next time you’re walking by Lobeck’s Hot Rod Parts trailer, stop by and say hi. Better yet, if you live in the Cleveland area, stop by the shop—on Saturdays the place is usually filled with hot rodders—for some fun entertainment and some of the best damn hot rods and hot rod parts available anywhere.