MOTOR HEAD FOR LIFE

Scott Sullivan is one of the original Pro Street pioneers. He still builds cars today out of a small shop in Dayton, Ohio.

- JOHN MCGANN

There are few fabricators in the world who are as skilled and talented as Scott Sullivan. He may be one of the most underrated car builders of our time. He doesn’t receive the fame and notoriety of the TV show car builders, and he doesn’t crank out a SEMA show car every year. One of the pioneers of the Pro Street style, Scott has continued to build cars for customers and himself for the last 40 years out of a small shop in Dayton, Ohio.

Though he’s associated with the Pro Street movement, Scott hasn’t pigeonholed or typecast himself into any particular style. Most of the cars he has built can’t be overtly labeled as Pro Street, though they often incorporate certain elements of the Pro Street style. Scott is one of those builders who can expertly rework an entire car in such a way that you don’t recognize all the work that’s been done to it. His 1954 Chevy, for example, was the cover car of our April 2022 issue. In the intro paragraph of the feature, author Jeff Smith wrote, “The longer you look at this ’54 Chevy, the more amorphous it becomes. It’s not Pro Street, but it does have big tires. It’s not Pro Touring, but it does have a six-speed manual and big brakes. It’s most certainly not a custom, yet it offers some classic custom touches that you must search carefully to identify. With those items checked, this ride checks off all of the above and more.” In short, Scott’s stunning, bronze ’54 was all those styles but encompassed none of them.