Jason Thomas was born to build. His father owned a body shop and built cars and bikes for as long as Jason can remember. Now, as owner of Thomas Speed Shop in Farmington, Arkansas, Jason is carrying on the family tradition. “We build customs, hot rods, bikes and just about anything else with a motor,” Jason said.

His calls his newest creation a 2001 Hardtail Springer Bobber Chopper, and it’s a beauty, though it didn’t start out that way. “I bought the bike as a project that someone else had started and had really messed up,” Jason explained. The original bike had a cam that was much too big, a bad ignition and too much carb. “That was the first to get fixed, and then I moved to the appearance.” His overall idea was for a Hardtail with a springer and a Frisco style peanut tank. “I wanted that old school chopper look, but with some modern touches and a thumper motor.”

The entire back of the bike was crooked, so Jason took apart the rear and reworked it all. “I added a new WCC fender and bungs and spaced everything correctly, then built a seat with coilover shocks,” he said. The cam and the ignition gave him a little trouble, “but nothing too bad.”

He then moved to the front of the bike, “building some U-bars and changing lots of little things. When that was done, it was time to blow it apart and paint it.” Jason wanted the paint job to be clean, with an old school look. “I painted the tins and frame in satin black and had Brian Loker of Design Craft Custom Paint pinstripe it,” he said.

The result is an incredibly nice-looking bike that rides great. Jason also owns an XS 650 Bobber and a customized Buell café racer, but he likes his old school Hardtail for making short rides and for business. “I like to hit country roads here in the Ozark mountains, looking for old cars for my next hot rod project. I really like the shock seat when hitting Arkansas potholes,” he laughed.

When not building bikes, Jason’s busy building a family. Holly, his wife of seven years, used to ride with him, but lately, her time’s spent chasing son Parker, 2-1/2, and six-month-old daughter, Taylor. Parker can often be found “helping” in his dad’s shop, just as Jason did at that age. “He likes bolts,” Jason laughed. One day, you’ll probably be reading here about the new Harley that Parker customized, but in the meantime, he’ll be following his dad around, learning the tricks of the trade.