The Origin Story

I was always that kid who was into anything with an engine, go-karts, dirt bikes, anything that made noise and went fast. But it wasn’t until 2006, when I was 11, that things really kicked off.

That year, my dad brought home a 1975 K5 Blazer. It was a clean, turn-key truck with new axles, fresh upholstery, a hard top, and a recently rebuilt 350 engine. At the time, I didn’t realize it would be the truck that started it all for me. We already had cool cars around growing up, stuff most car folks would drool over, but the K5 was different. It was the one that pulled me in and got me turning wrenches.

About 2 or 3 years after we got it, the engine blew up. Back then, YouTube wasn’t full of step-by-step tutorials. There was no “how to rebuild a small-block Chevy in 10 minutes” video. So my dad and I just figured it out the hard way, trial, error, and a whole lot of trips to AutoZone. That hands-on experience is what really taught me the foundation of mechanics, and honestly, I haven’t stopped learning since.

Fast-forward a few years, and I was selling a roll bar on Craigslist. A guy hit me up to buy it, and turns out, it was my second-grade teacher, Mr. Q. Small world, right?

We ended up talking about his 1987 K5 Blazer project. At the time, I was just working on my own builds, balancing work, school, and life. But Mr. Q and I stayed in touch, going back and forth on ideas and his vision for the build. After more than a year of casual planning, we finally got started.

That first project was no small job, crossover steering, 8-lug axles, 1350 driveshafts, Offroad Design leaf springs (front and back), King shocks, and 35” Milestars. It took about three months and was the first official ORP Customs project. From there, things just started growing.

At ORP Customs, the goal has always been simple: be a reliable, honest source for other car enthusiasts. We’re upfront about what we can do and what we haven’t done (yet). We’re not here to oversell or fake it. We’re here to build solid rigs, solve problems, and help people enjoy their cars and trucks the way they’re meant to be used.