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The Standard is the Standard

Build what you like. Build it with high quality. No ones opinion matters. Its that simple. I could be done here with those 3 statements and you would know what JP and The Standard Speed Shop stands for but that’s no fun. Quality, integrity, thoughtfulness and attention to detail are all adjectives that describe JP and the builds that are coming out of his one man shop in Western PA. He has a secret sauce that meshes old styling with the highest quality modern performance parts to produce cars and trucks that drive as good as they look. His niche is the original paint and patina mixed with forced induction big motors and right now he is at the top of his game.

JP did not grow up in car family, didn’t grow up around a garage or in the car scene at all. At an early age he was a passionate golfer which entails driving golf carts. This lead to quads, side by sides and eventually his license with a first car where he immediately got indoctrinated in the hobby. He was fortunate enough to have a few popular mod-able cars in his late teens that taught him early lessons in turbo technology and wiring that gained his interest and progressed the performance and power aspect of his builds. The first car that JP burst on the scene with was a 2JZ powered Supra that would become on the of the fastest 6 speed Supras putting down around 1500hp running 8 sec 1/4s in the early 2000s. If you were from this era you know that amount of horsepower at the time was monstrous and made it one of the fastest street tuners in the US. Being that JP didn’t have a background in building cars the knowledge he gained came from necessity. The Supra got to such a high level that other shops couldn’t handle the work and JP decided he’d rather figure it out himself. Purchasing tools and asking the right questions along the way afforded him the base knowledge he needed to apply to future builds. The car did quite a bit of racing in Arizona both on the street and strip until he professionally and personally decided to transition away from the racing scene. If you’re wondering about the car, it was sold to a few people after JP was done with it however was purchased back and sits as a piece of history in The Standard of Speed story.

The next stage of JP’s car journey was to dip his toe into the exotic scene. He quickly found that this wasn’t for him and quickly got out. JP says they were nice cars however just wasn’t his style. At about this time the show Entourage was a huge hit and once JP saw the 67 Lincoln convertible cruising on his television screen, knew he had to own one. JP had never owned an old car and quickly found out the perils of antique car ownership. In the first 5 months JP pushed the car more city blocks than he drove it! He hated it, didn’t know how to work on a carburetor or understand the mechanics of an older vehicle. JP appreciated the old styling of the car however still craved the performance of newer cars like his Supra. At this point you start to see how JP has become one of the best builders who mesh the old styling with modern performance and the reasoning behind it.

If you’ve been in the custom car game long enough you’ll find that there’s a dirty underbelly of the hobby that slaps cars together, isn’t truthful and will try to pass off a car as high quality when it is quite the opposite. JP unfortunately found this out during ownership of a few classics and decided there was a better way. Like with the early days with the Supra, building a classic to his standards was going to have to come out of necessity. JP knew he could do it better.

Enter in the final leg of the journey that brought JP to creating The Standard Speed Shop. After owning a few painted classic trucks, JP found that it was hard to stand out at a show when you and 10 other guys had black slammed trucks. He was drawn to the patina truck scene because of the uniqueness and originality that each weather beaten truck wears. JP says, “you can then add the uniqueness and character on top of the patina paint, plus from a functionality stand point…I can sit up against it, I can sit on the fender, I can put a beer on the bed, I can let stuff roll around and its not that big of a deal.” Enter in the premier build that launched the brand in the beige 1959 Chevy Apache. This truck would be the first build that JP did as an accumulation of skills that would highlight what The Standard Speed brand stands for. JP invested in himself and the tools needed to become a one man operation, take his vision and apply it to these patina builds. JP says, “I dive deep, I don’t dive often but when it do I go deep,” and judging from his build quality he is not lying.

The first build, as mentioned earlier, is the internet famous 1959 Apache that launched The Standard Speed Shop brand and highlighted what would be the base for future builds. Original patina paint, check, big forced induction motor and overall build quality that wouldn’t leave the shop until it was 100% complete, check, short bed, big window patina truck, check. The original truck purchased was a NAPCO truck in Colorado, if you do not know what a NAPCO is, please take some time and Google them as they are coveted by the 55-59 Apache truck guys. Unfortunately when JP brought the truck home the cab forward was too rotted out however from the bed back it was perfect for the build. He luckily found a step side short bed truck with a clean cab and through some horse trading received the truck into his shop. From here the work started to create his ultimate Apache.

The two trucks were then mated together with a modified stock chassis, Mustang II front suspension with a 2 link in the rear allow for the modern performance to be brought to an old school setup. The stance is achieved by an Accuser E-level air ride system. The truck is powered by a fully built 6.0 with a 76mm Precision Turbo forcing in as much air as possible. JP estimates that this setup is good for 700hp on pump gas to the rear tires with plans to eventually take it to a dyno and tune it for a goal of 1000hp. That power is fed to the Ford 9” rear end via a Monster 6 speed transmission. With all of that power you need to stop fast and that is done by Wildwood 6 piston front calipers and 4 pistons in the rear all covered by 20” Rotiform SAC wheels that tuck perfectly under the patina body. The interior is full custom done by Sew Seam interiors that features all of the creature comforts that you would expect in a new truck. Topping it all off is the 100 year old oak planks that finish off the bed of the truck. All of the metal work such as the firewall, big window swap, inner fenders and a host of other metal massaged parts were flawlessly patina matched by Borris and Jerome from Street Machinery.

The second build that JP is currently focusing on is a 1933 Ford roadster. Sticking with the fusion of modern performance and old styling JP has the definition of unique sitting between the frame rails featuring a 2JZ motor that will surely piss off the purists. JP wanted a unique power plant swap that no one has done and looked to his Supra days for inspiration. The 3.0 2JZ motor has a Precision 6466 turbo mated to a Tremec 6 speed all run by a Motec ECU. The goal is to hit 600hp on pump gas while still running the skinny tires in the back! This thing is going to be rowdy and piss off a lot of people and according to JP it’s just the way he likes it. Taking the classic 33 Ford deign and bringing it to 2022 will allow JP to cruise this thing wherever he wants and still perform like a modern vehicle.

The modified TCI chassis, Ford 9”, upgraded suspension and breaks will keep the car looking traditional while keeping up on the interstate with the newest cars on the road. The original Henry Ford steel still wears much of the original patina and when finished will be a full fender full hood car that will look exactly like a traditional hot rod.

The third build is a 1957 Buick Caballero Estate Wagon with no post, extremely hard to find and not a lot of support from the custom world. Like the other builds this one has a wild motor setup in the order of an 8.3L Viper V10 out of an SRT truck with modified heads and a cam that will amount to about 600ish horsepower to the tire naturally aspirated!

Another manual 6 speed Tremec will keep the heavy bodied wagon performing on the highway like a new car. The body sits on a Roadster Shop Fast Track chassis equipped with a full Accuair E-level air ride system. Like the Apache 6 piston Wilwood brakes in the from and 4 piston in the rear covered in 20” Forgeline CV1 wheels.

His shop is incredible and is filled with all of the tools, jigs and lifts necessary to build anything to the highest level. The theme of the shop is a throw back speed shop filled with some of the coolest neon signs which as JP reports are sometimes “harder to find than the actual cars.” Each area has its own usable area from a fabrication to final assembly and a lounge equipped with a sweet espresso machine and of course beer fridge. He has really created a spot to spark creativity surrounded by a mix newer and older cars that emulates many of the resto mod builds that JP has created. While The Standard Speed Shop is a full custom shop, JP is a one man show and will only take on projects after close scrutiny. He is really focused on his personal builds that he may or may not sell after they are complete. JP is however an authorized dealer for some big names like Roadster Shop, Accuair and Wilwood so if you need high quality parts he is the guy to call.

JP’s Standard of Speed Shop is a passion project where there is a limitless amount of knowledge and fabrication that will allow him to never get bored. If you want to find out more about JP and The Standard Speed Shop you can find him on instagram @standardofspeed, Youtube The Standard Speed Shop or on his website www.thestandardspeedshop.com. I really appreciate the time JP took to walk through his incredible shop and share the knowledge and thoughtfulness behind each of his unique builds. I look forward to visiting him again once some of the projects are started and others completed!