Florida has always been a hotbed for kit car companies. Some say it's where the industry got its start. Being the Sunshine State, there are also quite a few automotive enthusiast related companies in general that have their corporate headquarters in Florida. Given these two facts, KIT CAR Associate Publisher Angela Schoof, KC Account Executive Brenda Frias, and I had sufficient ammunition to convince our colleagues that a trip to Florida made perfect sense. When we mentioned that we could visit several companies and I could also cover a multi-day driving, showing, rallying, and racing event called Reptile Roundup, we had the makings of a whirlwind tour. The total area of Florida is 65,768 square miles, with 53,997 of those on land. We had some panning and driving to do!
For Part 2 of our whirlwind tour, we stopped in at Street Beasts, in Miami, on two separate occasions. For our first afternoon visit, General Manager Steve Levin spoke with us and talked about the various replicars that Street Beasts produces: a '34 Coupe, a '34 Cabriolet, a '33 Vicky, a '41 Willys Coupe, a '66 Roadster, a '66 Roadster Coupe, and a '55 Speedster
Steve gave the three of us a quick tour of the immense factory, where pretty much the complete kits are manufactured, from creating the fiberglass bodies, to welding together the frames, to stitching the upholstery, to developing rolling chassis. In a new expansion based on customer demand, Street Beasts now also has the ability to build a car from start to finish paintwork, for those clients who don't desire doing the building and finish work themselves.
Later in the week, we paid a repeat visit, so that I could get a more lengthy tour of the facility and snap some photos. Street Beasts' Plant Manager Gene Cruncleton met with us and gave me a great perspective of the factory. Those who know me are aware that I'm not shy about asking questions. Having worked at Street Beasts for many years, Gene answered all my queries with great detail. He also introduced me to many of his colleagues in the different production departments, so that I might ask them a question or two.
Angela, Brenda, and I came away from our two tours of Street Beasts aware of why the company is doing so well. Street Beasts handles all facets of the production, as well as financial, marketing, and personnel issues within one huge facility. Raw materials come in the receiving bay just a bit quicker than the completed kits and fully built cars get delivered to customers.
So that we could make it to our next destination on time, we thanked our helpful and knowledgeable tour guide, Gene Cruncleton, and followed the printed Google Maps directions to company No. 3. Read all about it in the September issue of KC!