About
Eli Peter Layfield
Owner, and the guy doing the work
You are not going to get passed to a service writer here. Eli estimates the job, does the metal, sprays the paint and hands the vehicle back. If something turns up halfway through a build, the call comes from the person who found it. Trade trained, fifteen years in, and the same guy on your vehicle from teardown to the final buff.
Background
How the shop got here
Apprenticeship and side work
Started out as a subcontract apprentice at a custom shop, taking on side jobs on top of the apprenticeship. That is where the metal work and the paint work were learned, on other people's project cars.
Own facility, full time
Rented a shop, went out on his own as a sole proprietor and made rust and restoration the main line instead of the side work. Customers kept turning up saying they had been looking for years, some of them driving past half a dozen body shops to find someone who would cut and weld instead of bolting on.
Blasting and paint moved in house
Sending panels out meant waiting on somebody else's schedule and somebody else's standard. Teardown, blasting, prep, paint and the final finish now all happen in the one building.
Incorporated
Jack's Custom Restoration Inc. Same shop, same hands, on paper now.
The shop is in the Bulkley Valley
Moved north to Telkwa, ten minutes from Smithers. Vehicles come in from Prince Rupert to Prince George and everything between. Long distance projects are normal here, not an exception.
Three things we hold to
Not slogans. These are the reasons jobs go the way they go here.
A number before the work
Every phase is estimated in writing and approved by you before it starts. If a panel opens up worse than it looked, you get a call, not a bigger bill.
No filler over rust
Rust gets cut out and replaced with metal. Anything covered up comes back in a couple of winters, and it comes back on us.
Photographed and labelled
Teardown gets documented so reassembly months later goes smoothly, and so you can see what you actually paid for.
Questions
Common questions
Who actually works on my vehicle?
Eli Peter Layfield owns the shop and does the metal, paint and finish work himself. You talk to the guy doing the job instead of a service writer passing messages along.
Why are you not on the ICBC network?
We're set up for restoration work rather than insurance turnaround. That was on purpose, and it's why the rust jobs other shops send away end up here.
What experience is behind the work?
Trade apprenticeship at a custom shop starting in 2011, then his own facility full time. Rust repair, fabrication and refinishing on everything from a 1949 Fargo to a 1990 Skyline. The projects page is the work itself, and the reviews on the home page come off Google and Facebook.
Can I come see a project in progress?
Yes, by appointment. The shop is not a walk in counter, so call ahead and the vehicle will be out where you can look at it. On long restorations you also get progress updates as the phases go by, with photos, and teardown is photographed and labelled as it comes apart.
How do I know what it will cost and how long it takes?
The rate is $150 per hour plus materials and the estimate is written phase by phase, so you see the hours before the work happens. Timelines move for three reasons: how much rust turns up once a panel is open, parts availability, and cure and prep time between stages. You hear about all three as they come up rather than at the end.
Do you store vehicles during a long build?
Project vehicles stay here while they're being worked on. If a build is going to sit between phases, we sort that out with you up front rather than after the fact.
Give the shop a call
Call (250) 380-8173 weekdays between 9am and 5pm, or send some photos over and we'll get you a range.