Story and photos by Mary Lendzion

Back when Scott Leber was in high school, he would take his 1973 Nova SS to Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.

Then he would rev it up and race it down the quarter-mile in what is now the Edelbrock Sportsman category, and all the while, he was becoming more and more interested in muscle cars.

Leber went on to work for AkzoNobel Coatings, Inc., where he was a reactor operator. On the side, he would paint cars for people, and that served as inspiration to start his own company.

“I was painting Camaros, Corvettes and other muscle cars when a fellow approached me about building a 1951 Henry J mold off of a steel car in 2004, and that’s when I decided to start my own business, which I did in 2007,” said Leber, who cleverly named his company ScottRods Custom Hot Rods and Fiberglass.

Leber, who finished the mold to build the 1951 Henry J, eventually purchased multiple molds, and can now build more than forty cars and trucks, including 1933 Willys, 1941 Willys Gassers and Trucks, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1937 and 1940 Fords and 1937 Ford coupes.

ScottRods Custom Hot Rods and Fiberglass works closely with customers to build race bodies, hot rods and street rods to their specifications, so each has its own character.

“We don’t keep anything in stock because we want to build vehicles exactly the way the customer wants them,” said Leber. “As soon as the customer has decided, the molds are prepped with mold release, which is a wax product, and then a gloss black gel coat is applied on the mold release, and we hand-lay the first layers of fiberglass matte and polyester resin on top of the gel coat. Then we get into the curing process, which takes two to three weeks, and that’s followed by a green test to make sure the product is cured all the way before we remove the body from the mold, which looks like a giant clam shell and can weigh almost a ton. So, as you can see, there’s a lot to it.”

Leber added that ScottRods Custom Hot Rods and Fiberglass has even made some bodies for mega trucks and pulling trucks.

“We can give customers any stage they want, from a mold of a vehicle to a roller with doors, windows, tires and wheels,” said Leber, who built the family business with his son, Zack, who runs the shop, and his wife, Kathy, and also employs Elizabeth Pruitt as a glass tech. “We ship all over the world”

With their straight axles and raised front ends, Gassers, including the ScottRods AA/Gassers, attract a lot of attention at various events at Summit Motorsports Park, and in 2021, fans can catch them in action at the 15th Annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, June 24-27 and the 20th Annual Lingenfelter Performance Blue Suede Cruise, July 9-11, among other events at America’s Racetrack.

Also worth watching will be the 1963 Corvette Gasser which was recently built by ScottRods Custom Hot Rods and Fiberglass and was featured at the Detroit Autorama last year.

“It started out as two sticks of steel and a drum of resin, and I will drive it with our other ScottRods AA/Gassers,” said Leber, of the car which features a chassis by Gordon Crowe of Crowman Fabrication and paint by Jim Palosi of Customs Unlimited, and is powered by a blown big-block Chevrolet engine.

“Our Gasser drivers consider Summit Motorsports Park to be home, and we have the best time at events there,” said Leber. “On top of that, it’s such a good feeling to hear ScottRods over the public address system during events. It makes me proud, and it makes the other Gasser drivers proud.”

For more information about ScottRods Custom Hot Rods and Fiberglass, which is at 2512 Higbee in Monroeville, Ohio — twelve minutes from Summit Motorsports Park — call 419-499-2705 or visit scottrodscustom.com.