RestoMod.co.za
RestoMod may be a new name and brand. However, the roots of RestoMod run deep into the history of the South African aftermarket industry. RestoMod originally started as SA HotRods Magazine. Lockdown changed the world. It also gave us the opportunity to pivot our focus and to redirect our goals. Our new goal is to expand the brand. Not only focusing on Hot Rods and Muscle cars, but the aftermarket industry as a whole.
RestoMod is here to promote the South African aftermarket industry by keeping the market informed and up to date with what is happening in this much loved industry.
History of SA HotRods Magazine
In 2007, Joe van Zyl started SA HotRods Magazine. Joe grew up in a Hot Rod household and spent hours with his dad in the garage, building custom cars. SA HotRods originally started out as a website – sahotrods.com. The demand to see local Hot Rods and muscle cars was there, but there was no platform to show it. In September 2007, the first Magazine hit the shelf.
Originally SA HotRods started as a once a quarter magazine. This was to see how big the market really was and to gauge the response of the reader. There was no Rodding industry in South Africa at that time, but people have been building Hot Rods since the 1950’s. There were a few small companies importing parts and that was the sum of it. Guys were building cars from home. There were only a hand full of Rod building shops around and Rodding was a hobby not an industry. This was a huge challenge as every potential advertiser had to be educated regarding what Hot Rodding was and getting advertising was extremely hard. Even getting content was hard. We had nothing.
There were other aftermarket magazines focusing on Japanese and German cars with huge financial backing and a large infrastructure. And then there was this little Rodding magazine trying find a place in the industry. In 2010 Joe sold his beloved 1949 Chevy Fleetline and decided to put everything he had into the magazine. He wanted to take it from a quarterly magazine to a monthly magazine. It started out with a small print run. Rodding was starting to take shape in SA but there was still more work to be done.
A break and a boost for the magazine came when Joe did a local TV show called Street Rod Africa. He had a chance to put the Magazine on TV. Joe later followed it up with his own TV show called The Rod Shop, which focused on the local industry. TV Shows like Fast ‘n Loud and Count Customs started putting Hot Rods and Muscle cars on the map. Since then, SA HotRods has run articles and offered prizes which have been sponsored by the Gas Monkey team.
With Restomod it brings in a new dimension, and we feel that this is just the beginning of great things to come
Address:
15 Sheerline Road
Sparrebosch
Knysna
6571
Joe van Zyl
Mobile: +27 67 932 6279
Email: joe@restomod.co.za
Peter Westcott
Mobile: +27 82 335 8262
Email: peter@restomod.co.za
