Wayne Hicks

Some of my earliest memories are Friday nights with my father. He'd rush home from work, throw a set of drag slicks mounted on steel wheels into the trunk of his 1965 Pontiac GTO Tri-Power, and we'd head to the 1/8-mile drag strip in Manassas, Virginia. Later came the SS 396 Chevelle, followed by a 1967 Chevy II Nova with Hilborn fuel injection.

Another memory that still sticks with me happened when I was about six years old. During summer visits to my grandmother's home in Front Royal, Virginia, her neighbor owned a brand-new jet-black 1966 Ford Galaxie 500. I was completely obsessed with that car. I'd sneak over to her driveway, standing eye level with the taillights, staring down those long glossy quarter panels and dreaming about the day I'd have machines of my own.

My father had a tight-knit group of friends who rode Harleys and owned all kinds of fast cars. Those men became like uncles to me. Looking back, they planted the seed that would grow into a lifelong passion.

At nine years old, I cut grass, shoveled snow, and saved every dollar I could for my first minibike—a 1969 Rupp Roadster. My father agreed to pay half. By age twelve, the bikes had grown, and so had my skills. I began racing flat track and eventually rode sponsored motorcycles on indoor, eighth-mile & half mile speedways.

At sixteen, the hot rods arrived. My first real pride and joy was a 1953 Ford Sedan Delivery powered by a 351 Cleveland from a Torino. The custom van scene was huge at the time, but vans weren't exactly hot rods. I wanted both style and speed. So I special ordered a short-wheelbase Chevy van with a 400 cubic-inch small block, Turbo 400 transmission, and posi rear. Then I added an Edelbrock intake, camshaft, and headers — I finally had the best of both worlds.

By seventeen, I was already building van interiors, cutting porthole windows, and installing sunroofs. My passion kept growing, and so did my skill set.

Over the years there were countless projects: Camaros, low rider Chevrolet pickups with louvered hoods and flames, race cars, motorcycles, and everything in between. Along the way I developed the fabrication, metalworking, mechanical, and engineering skills that would become the foundation of my career.

For nearly a decade I became obsessed with high-performance boats. During that same period, I learned to fly and earned time behind the controls of a Cessna 152. Looking back, there's a clear theme: if it was fast, mechanical, and required skill to master, I was interested.

The truth is there are far too many hot rods, motorcycles, race cars, boats, and gasoline-fueled memories to fit on one page.

What began as a childhood fascination became a lifelong pursuit of craftsmanship, performance, and learning. Today, every project that comes through Wayne's Rods West benefits from decades of hands-on experience, countless hours in the shop, and an unwavering commitment to doing things the right way.