Why is Scott’s Hotrods’ ApeX4 Chassis Different?

Because most “4×4 chassis” are just upgraded versions of something else.

The ApeX4 chassis is built from scratch to be stronger, more capable, and more complete. True 4-Link suspension, premium components, and a fully engineered frame mean you’re not chasing upgrades—you’re starting at the top.

Scott’s Hotrods ApeX4 Chassis. Overbuilt by Design.

Scott’s Hotrods employs the best welders, fabricators and machinists in the industry who manufacture our products 100% in America at our facility in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Scott’s Hotrods ‘n Customs was established in 1996 by Justin Scott Padfield in a small 1,200-sq/ft facility in Ventura, CA. When Justin opened the shop doors, he had less than $2,000 in the bank and only a handful of jobs lined up…mostly fabrication work.

Justin’s reputation as a master fabricator quickly grew and within a year the shop was bursting at the seams with jobs and builds.  Knowing that the shop would ultimately be too busy to handle alone, one employee at a time was brought aboard; but only those that met a strict qualification checklist. Justin once said, “I would rather hire a kid that can learn, than a man that already knows everything. I can teach the kid, but I can’t un-teach the man.” It was with that method of hiring employees and his drive to create the business that established Scott’s Hotrods into what it is today.

Scott’s Hotrods has grown substantially over the years from the shop in Ventura, California to the shop a few miles away in Oxnard, California in 2005.  Soon after the move to the 8,000-sq/ft Oxnard building, Justin started looking outside of California for a larger shop that would centrally locate his company to the majority of the customers and THE 20+ car shows already attended every year.

After years of meticulous research and deliberation, Justin decided on Knoxville, Tennessee.  In April of 2018, Scott’s Hotrods ‘n Customs relocated its entire operation to a much larger 20,000-sq/ft shop on 3.6-acres, just 2-miles East of Downtown Knoxville.  Justin and ten of his employees made the move across the country.  More and More employees have slowly been added to the growing team of 41, so far.

In 2022, Scott’s Hotrods added a 12,000sq/ft building next door to the existing 20,000sq/ft shop.  This new building is the Sheet Metal Fabrication Hot Rod Shop that houses all of the Project Vehicles with a showroom upfront with completed vehicles.  This expansion allowed us to expand all of the manufacturing in the main building.  Scott’s Hotrods added a Plate & Tube Laser, more chassis tables, more workstations, more CNC Machines and more employees in 2022.

Scott’s Hotrods is continuing to offer more and more to its customers every year by adding a Custom Paint & Body Shop to the mix in 2023.  This shop recently got an upgrade from an 8,000sq/ft building &  40-minutes away to a 30,000sq/ft just 8-minutes away!  The Custom Paint Shop is for the project vehicles built by Scott’s Hotrods and is located just 8-minutes away from the main shop.  Keeping this crucial part of a custom build in-house allows Scott’s Hotrods to maintain a high-level of quality & precision while keeping the project timeline moving forward.

Scott’s Hotrods’ sister company, Titan PowderCOAT, is sharing the new building with the custom paint shop.  It offers Media Blasting, Powder Coating & Cerakote to the public and expands the many services Scott’s Hotrods already provides to its customers.

Over the last 25+ years Scott’s has placed in the Great Eight at the Detroit Autorama; notably the most prestigious show in the country comparable only to the Grand National Roadster Show. Scott’s has also been featured in countless shows on Discovery Channel, TLC and the Speed Channel. Scott’s has never been a shop to seek the limelight, but through networking, the limelight has sought out Scott’s and provided for an unsolicited boost in business.

Scott’s has taken home the GM Design Award at SEMA 2008 for a trendsetting 1955 Chevrolet, Quick Trip, dozens of individual 1st place trophies at a number of the car shows traveled to across the country.  Scott’s Hotrods ‘n Customs is the only company in history to win, back-to-back, the “America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR)” award at the Grand National Roadster Show in 2008 with “Undisputed” and again when competing in 2010 with “Possessed.”  In 2024, the ’67 C10 qualified for the Good-Guys Truck of the Year – Late award and the ’69 F100 “Time Capsule” took home a Top 30 at The Triple Crown of Rodding, Best Of Show at the F100 Super Nationals, Sweepstakes truck at the grand national roadster show 2025, truck of the year at the grand national f100 show 2025, BEST Paint & 1st in Class at the Rick Ross Car Show 2025 & BEST IN SHOW at BATTLE IN BAMA 2025.

It is without question that Scott’s Hotrods builds high-profile VEHICLES to win high-profile shows and does so with great success, but the unexpected success of the business is the manufacturing of parts that has catapulted Scott’s to its current level of success.

Scott’s IFS kits, 4-Bar Rear Suspension kits and Complete Chassis have become the bread and butter of the business.  Shipping out these kits and chassis from the more centrally located base of operations in Knoxville reduces the shipping time and that makes the customer happier.  The team constantly looks for ways to improve its already superior products.  Quality, Engineering and Workmanship is the mantra in the shop that is one of the most equipped in the country.

To add to their chassis, suspensions and frame parts lineup, Scott’s offers many CNC billet items that stand out from others with a custom, yet purpose-built look. The attention to what is needed in the hotrod market is the key to Scott’s success and why Justin’s dream of owning one of the best Hotrod Shops in the country is becoming a reality.