Rock Falls’ Steel Town Speed restores, elevates performance of classic cars, hot rods

ROCK FALLS – Tyler Felder believes life is too short for boring cars.

Felder’s classic car and hot rod shop, Steel Town Speed, specializes in custom restorations, performance upgrades and full ground-up builds.

STS does not do general vehicle repair or maintenance, such as oil changes or brake jobs. Instead, it focuses on unique builds, often taking on vehicles that stall out at other shops to help bring unfinished projects across the finish line.

“We meet the customer where they are in their build and help them however we can,” Felder said.

Interested in tinkering with things since he was a boy, Felder went to school to broaden his mechanical skill set – but the string of maintenance jobs that followed never scratched that itch. He opened STS in February after deciding to take a chance on himself.

“I wasn’t happy or fulfilled,” Felder said. “I’m 34 and decided if I’m gonna do it, I’m gonna try now, before it’s too late. I don’t want to have the regret of ‘I could have done this’ or ‘that could have been me.’ Money and benefits aside, everything that we don’t have now doesn’t matter as much as living throughout the day doing something you love.”

Whether they are breathing new life into a ’69 Camaro or fabricating a one-of-a-kind part for a classic Volkswagen Beetle, Felder and his crew pride themselves on taking the time to honor a customer’s vision.

“It’s the attention to detail and the passion that we pour into every build,” Felder said. “We treat every vehicle that rolls in here like it’s one of our own.”

Steel Town Speed is located at 302 W. 15th St. in Rock Falls. For more information, call 815-283-5349 or visit steeltownspeed.com.