Art on Wheels
Transforming classics into art on wheels. IDA pride themselves in starting with a vehicle that they love and making it better than they ever imagined. With the Ida team at the helm, they can create custom vehicles in the collectable, show car, hot rod and racing world that will be admired for years to come.
Destin for Automotive Greatness.
Ida’s passion for impeccable design and workmanship started at age 7. He grew up in his father’s autobody shop where he developed not only a love of cars, but the ability to bring them back to life. His Father, Bob was a Hot Rodder and Racer since his teens, as he built a 409 Powered 34 Ford, Willys Gasser and Hemi Healy. Together they collaborated and built cars together for decades.
You can say that the fondness of vintage cars runs in Ida’s genes. In 1947, his grandfather, Joe Ida, invested his life savings in a Preston Tucker dealership in Yonkers, New York. However, when Tucker’s dream went belly up amid legal troubles a year later, so did Joe Ida’s. Instead of completely giving up, Joe Ida opened a repair shop and trailer rental business in Brooklyn, New York, where Rob’s father, Bob Ida, worked hands-on and developed skills that he would turn into his own legendary success and teach his son. Bob moved the business from Brooklyn to New Jersey where he began building hot rods and drag race cars. In 1980, he and Rob built their first hot rod together — a Willys Pickup.
With more than 40 years of experience, Ida has transformed dozens of high-end vehicles into award-winning showstoppers at his Morganville, New Jersey shop. With Tuckers “in his blood,” he built a custom twin-turbo Tucker 48, another Tucker 48 that scored second place at the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours and is amidst a creation of a Tucker Torpedo concept car built from a wood chuck. With some help from Sean Preston, the great grandson of Tucker Preston, he also took on the challenge of building a Tucker 48 replica out of fiberglass. His masterpieces have been shown at Amelia Island, Pebble Beach, SEMA and the Playboy Mansion.
