As we venture across the U.S. on our Stateside Shop Tour, we’re focusing on shops in all 50 states that do work on Bow Tie cars and trucks. This week’s stop puts us in Fargo, North Dakota, at the Hot Rod Shop of Fargo, owned by Cody Wendelbo.

Cody and crew are putting the finishing touches on a 1954 Chevy pickup for a local guy wanting to honor his grandfather. As a child, the owner remembers going to the Patriarch’s farm during the summer months, and driving the truck. He also remembers fixing it when it broke, and painting it with a brush every summer.

New black vinyl sets of the interior. The letters on the back of the seat are the first initial of the owner’s family first names.

The shop started with a rusted out, all original truck with hardly any interior. They pulled the cab, box and front suspension from the frame, and media blasted everything,

They replaced the front suspension with TCI’s Mustang II system and the rear got a TCI four-bar system. The rear was upgraded to a 9-inch, and air ride was added to all four corners. After the suspension was completed, a 383ci stroker engine was built at Quality Engine in Fargo, and mated to a Muncie M22 four-speed.

Stripped, painted and ready for all the good stuff! The red carpet is how every build is treated. Note: R & P already mounted.

At the same time the sheetmetal repair was being done, the owner wanted to have “something custom” be part of the long bed. The shop designed a steel bed cover that uses linear actuators to lift it, showing the subwoofers and amps. LED lights were added so when the cover lifts, the lights come on. One side of the bed houses the fuel cell, and the other side has the air ride controls. All the glass is new, and Rocket Racing’s Boosted wheels will be used on all four corners to accentuate the flat black paint.

Body work done and in primer. The 9 inch rear was been fitted to the frame before the chassis was removed and painted.

The shop also handled the custom interior, using black vinyl and adding white LED floor lighting. An Ididit steering column was installed and Billet Specialties steering wheel was added. A complete Alpine sound system is used, and the gauges are Dakota Digital.

That 383ci stroker should power the old truck just fine, especially with a four-speed behind it.

When asked about his shop, Cody told us he initially opened to create cool cars for customers. He started with 1,800 square feet and no employees. Now his business has grown to include seven employees, and a 10,000 square foot shop.

Every build must have the owner’s ideas incorporated. Custom bed cover is a lift up steel cover that hides the stereo amps and speakers.

The Hot Rod Shop of Fargo works on roughly 10 projects at a time, currently in their shop is a 1934 Chevy three-window street rod project, a 1965 Corvette, a 1948 Chevy convertible, a 1955 Chevy Bel Air, and a 1953 Chevy 210.