“On the Road” with Hot Rod Chavik

“On the Road” is a podcast produced by JC Whitney. We bring you interviews with a cavalcade of figures from across the world all united by one thing: their undying love of all things automotive. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

In this episode, we sit down with Stanley and Daisy Chavik of Hot Rod Chavik, a family-run business blending Old World craftsmanship with American car culture. Founded in Bohemia, Europe, and now thriving in Southern California, the Chaviks have made a name for themselves in custom car fabrication and restoration. From their patented innovations to their passion for iconic hot rods, Stanley and Daisy share how they turned a love of speed and ingenuity into a true American Dream. Tune in for their inspiring journey, their connection to automotive history, and a glimpse into the artistry behind their unique creations.

Angel Sala-Belen: Hello and welcome to JC Whitney’s on the road I am your host Angel Sala-Belen and today we have hot rod chavik in the studio. Stanley and Daisy, how are you?

Stanley: Hi good!

Angel Sala-Belen: All right, how are you?

Daisy: Hi how are you?

Angel Sala-Belen: Well, yes thanks for being here. So for our guests that don’t know, Stanley and Daisy are the owners and co-founders of Hot Rod Chavik which was founded in 2003 in Bohemia Europe, and then you moved to Southern California in 2017 and formed your business in 2018 in SoCal and you, Stanley, do all of the Custom Fabrication modification and Innovation on these cars that you renovate at your company

Stanley: Yes it’s a mainly uh my hands.

Angel Sala-Belen: What you guys provide at your facility is OEM standards at the very bare minimum. And then, with your skill and your ability, you provide OEM-plus parts for the parts that can’t be provided anymore or aren’t being supplied anymore.

Stanley: Yeah, exactly. We customize original parts or make the same-looking thing or better-working parts, actually.

Angel Sala-Belen: Okay, so from what I understand—when we were talking off-camera before we started recording—you guys own a patent, is that right?

Daisy: Yes, that’s correct.

Angel Sala-Belen: Can you talk about that patent a little bit?

Stanley: Uh, yeah. I figure it’s actually for a very popular hot rod, which is a 1932 Ford. With this, you will be able to install Indie wheels with Kinman brakes, which are very rare brakes.

Angel Sala-Belen: So this kit allows for more clearance to allow those brakes to fit into that classic hot rod?

Stanley: This setup actually allows you to use a traditional car with traditional brakes, which are very rare and you cannot find them. And also, you can install them with a special knockoff-style Indie wheel from the late ’40s.

Angel Sala-Belen: Oh yeah, like a replica wheel of the late ’40s?

Stanley: Original too. You can put a Hilbrand wheel.

Angel Sala-Belen: Sick! That’s awesome. What inspired you to take that move from Bohemia, Europe, to Southern California?

Stanley: I was always a big fan of the USA, and for sure, it was typical American movies. And my parents actually raised me like that—they liked the music and style from the USA. When I was a little kid, I rode motorcycles and built go-karts or dirt bikes or dirt cars. That’s why I moved here, took my whole family, and came here because the American car culture pulled me in.

Angel Sala-Belen: Oh yeah, oh yeah. You try to get out, and they keep on pulling you back in. I love it. It’s really, you know, the classic tale of the American Dream, right?

Stanley: It’s the big American Dream. I feel like we did what so many people did—we came here for it. I love the whole concept of the USA. It’s about freedom and about the USA.

Daisy: We came here to be Americans.

Angel Sala-Belen: There’s nothing more American than hot rodding, so you’re right in line. We appreciate you, and I’m sure you’ve been welcomed with open arms in the hot rod community.

Daisy: Very blessed.

Stanley: Very blessed people. We have so many friends.

Angel Sala-Belen: Where did you gain the skills to allow you to do what you do?

Stanley: I probably started very young, like about eight years old, when I first started building motorcycles. My brother was older, and he brought home some motorcycles, and I started helping him and working on them. The skills came because we couldn’t buy anything there. You had to make everything yourself. By the time I was fifteen, it was easy to figure out where I was going. I went to a school for automobile repairs, and I kept moving forward. Even now, I still study because I like engineering. I’m always learning new things.

Angel Sala-Belen: So, if I’m understanding correctly, your brother introduced you to it at a young age. You kept learning until you could go to school and get the formal training, and then you just started doing it?

Stanley: Yes, exactly. My brother already had this hobby, and since he was older, I started younger than he did. By the time I was fifteen, I was much farther along because I started at eight.

Angel Sala-Belen: Super young, yeah. That’s very convenient for what you do now.

Stanley: I’d throw my school bag in the corner and go straight to the garage. My whole life, I’ve been in the garage. That’s my life.

Angel Sala-Belen: Yeah, who needs those books when you know you’re going to be building cars?

Stanley: Exactly. You need books when you’re fixing something.

Angel Sala-Belen: Unless it’s a book about fixing the car. Otherwise, it’s just a book to hold up something.

Stanley: No Shakespeare.

Angel Sala-Belen: No Shakespeare—“To be or not to be?” Not to be! At what point did you stop just working on cars and start working on pieces of art?

Stanley: Probably always. When I started the business, I took on work that was necessary to support the business financially. I could do anything, but now we’re in a position where we only do what we want to do. So I’d say probably always—every car we build, whether small or big, is iconic. It’s always something special.

Angel Sala-Belen: Where does that inspiration come from? I mean, you started so early, so it’s got to come from somewhere. I want to know.

Stanley: It’s probably because I like speed. When I sit on a motorcycle or in a car, I can feel good vibrations and hear the good sound. My brain just switches off, and I love it. Also, I was poor and wanted to beat the rich guys who could just buy things. I had to build it myself.

Angel Sala-Belen: You know there’s a saying: “Built, not bought.” It’s a badge of honor. It’s easy to show up with something you bought; it’s harder to show up with something you built.

Stanley: That’s the way I can do it—I can build it, but I can’t buy it.

Angel Sala-Belen: Well, guess what? That’s a blessing. How involved is your family with the company?

Daisy: Back in Czech Republic, Stanley was always in the shop. He’d be sick, and we didn’t have time to spend with him at home because we had so many responsibilities. He’d be in the office on the sofa.

Stanley: We actually live above the shop.

Angel Sala-Belen: Above the shop?

Stanley: Yeah, everything revolves around the cars.

Daisy: Everything is about the business.

Stanley: We haven’t been on a real vacation in, I don’t know, fifteen years. We’ve never actually taken one.

Daisy: No, our vacations are related to the business. We go to Arizona for car shows, and that’s our vacation.

Angel Sala-Belen: That’s cool.

Daisy: Weekends are for car shows.

Stanley: I try to spend weekends doing something else, like hiking or enjoying nature, but cars are always the main thing.

Angel Sala-Belen: That’s cool, though.

Stanley: And Daisy works mainly because, without her, the business wouldn’t function.

Daisy: “Mainly” sounds good.

Stanley: Yeah, because I just enjoy it. I have fun. But seriously, without her, I’m just a big dreamer, and it’s hard.

Angel Sala-Belen: You know what? She’s been instrumental. She was speaking to our team and making sure everything was lined up. She’s good.

Stanley: She’s very good.

Daisy: I just want to make sure he’s okay.

Stanley: And our son, for sure. He’s working—that’s the first thing. The second thing is, he likes studying, and I’m proud of him. He’s doing something normal and different. I wish he would work in my shop and take it over when I’m older.

Daisy: Yeah, he really likes engineering and 3D modeling.

Stanley: He studies robotic engineering.

Angel Sala-Belen: It’s amazing how vast the automotive industry is. He could get into the field and still be in a completely different realm of the industry.

Daisy: Yes, he definitely has a different point of view. He’s very talented—he has an aesthetic eye, and he sees shapes and feels those things.

Stanley: He’s already helping with advertisements, videos, and music. He can do that stuff.

Angel Sala-Belen: So he’s earning it. That’s what we love to see. That’s the American spirit—making sure our young people get out there. They’ve fallen off a little bit, but we’ll get them back on track. Where do you see your company going in the next five years?

Stanley: I live in the dream. I see our company, myself, my wife, and my son being stable and building amazing stuff for individual customers. That’s what I see.

Daisy: You’re so serious.

Stanley: No, and I also see going to Bonneville and setting some records. I want to show our name in a way that says we can build something serious. We want to create something that will put our name out there—something like our 1932 tribute Indy car, which is a roadster hot rod inspired by Indy cars.

Daisy: We have a Buick Indy car that we fabricated. It’s not something everyone has. But if you build something that almost everyone has in their garage and make it completely different, that’s the challenge. That’s our goal.

Stanley: The Buick I built is an Indy car from 1933 that was crashed in 1935 and destroyed. I rebuilt it in the Czech Republic and brought it here to California. The driver, who died in 1935, was from California.

Angel Sala-Belen: Was he buried in California?

Stanley: Yes, with his mechanic. And now, I’m driving the same car on the PCH.

Angel Sala-Belen: That’s some deep stuff.

Stanley: Very serious stuff. It’s amazing.

Angel Sala-Belen: So, what it sounds like is, the company’s sticking around. You envision anything and everything fantastic that’s within reach, and you’re going to grab whatever fits that dream of yours—and whatever your wife allows you to grab.

Stanley: Yeah, mostly.

Daisy: He’s lucky that I don’t need anything. I don’t need expensive things. He’s lucky.

Stanley: Yeah, we spend money on carburetors and things like that.

Angel Sala-Belen: That’s it, ladies and gentlemen. We don’t know how Stanley did it, but he did it.

Stanley: I don’t know how I did it either. I’m super happy.

Angel Sala-Belen: I can see it—it’s so good. I’m happy for you. Do you have a defining moment in or around a car that helped shape who you are today?

Stanley: That was when I was young.

Daisy: I think he feels the connection. That’s what I would say—the right answer would be that he feels connected to the drivers and the car industry and feels deeply inspired.

Stanley: Yes, there are things like that.

Angel Sala-Belen: Do you have a favorite driver or car?

Stanley: I enjoy Ken Miles now. Actually, maybe that’s because of the movie, and being around the cars used for the movie was amazing. It all happened here in California. But there are so many things. Probably the first one was Malcolm Campbell, the British guy who set the record in 1929. I think it was over 300 miles per hour.

Angel Sala-Belen: I’m trying to remember the vehicle—it was Bluebird, right?

Stanley: Yes, and I have a big friend, Danny Thompson. He’s a 400-miles-per-hour guy. Speaking with people like that is amazing.

Daisy: When you’re in the Czech Republic, everything feels far away. You see things on TV, and they’re untouchable. But here, you live it, and you meet those people. Most of them are very nice, open, and willing to share their experiences and advice. It’s unbelievable.

Angel Sala-Belen: That’s true. There are a lot of people like that. But they also respond to people who share their interests. For him to recognize that within you is just another way the universe says, “Hey, you’re doing the right things.” How can people get in touch with Hot Rod Chavik and both of you to see what you’re doing?

Daisy: Every year, we have an open house. It’s usually posted on So-Cal Car Culture. We’re located in Orange, California, at 748 West Angus Avenue. You can also find us on social media—Facebook, Instagram, and our website, hotrodchavik.com.

Stanley: Or you can see me driving around in the 1933 Indy car. Just stop me, and I’ll talk to you.

Daisy: We have lots of interesting projects open right now. Whoever wants to come and check them out, we’ll give them a personal tour.

Angel Sala-Belen: You heard it right here! If you see them driving down the street, give them a wave. And if you try to challenge him to a race, he’s either going to beat you or turn you down.

Daisy: Don’t do that.

Angel Sala-Belen: Don’t do it?

Stanley: I’ll take it, though. Always.

Angel Sala-Belen: Stanley and Daisy, it’s been a pleasure. Thank you very much for joining us today. Until next time!