One Stop Shop: A & I Custom Chrome & Accessories

Original photography from the ACT archive

A & I Custom Chrome & Accessories is building a reputation for providing great service, unique customisation and has become Sydney’s one-stop-shop for all styles and levels of truck customising.

Brothers Andrew and Ian Heathcote started A & I Auto Electrics 25 years ago. The company has now grown to be one of Australia’s premier truck customising businesses.

The business has diversified extremely well and is broken down into different workshops, the auto electrical workshop and the fabrication workshop. Ian runs the auto electrical side of the business and Andrew runs the fabrication and custom truck division. From the original two brothers the group now has more than 20 specialised staff. “All our craftsmen come from different fields,” Andrew explains.

“We’ve got our fabrication workshop which employs craftsmen, fabricators, boiler makers, fitter & turners and in our auto electrical workshop, which is located in the building opposite we have auto electricians and a mechanic.”

Andrew has specialised in the customisation side of the business for seven years and has some of the best outsourced upholsterers and spray painters in the business to compliment the unique fabrication which A & I do.

The business is literally now a one-stop-shop for customisation and repairs as well as offering an onsite store and an online parts and accessories store. For A & I the bulk of the work is on fairly standard trucks however, the staff can also create highly customised vehicles. “Because our team has a keen eye for detail, and a passion for what they do, we are able to transform some really spectacular trucks,” Andrew explains.

There are far too many great examples to list here but some of these trucks include Carl Forrest’s immaculate 2012, T909 and North Coast Towing’s spectacular Freightliner Coronado.

Another brilliant truck which showcases the extreme customisation is Vic Attard’s K200 featured in this issue of Australian Custom Trucks.

Andrew says A & I are able to provide its customers with both classic styling and the more contemporary looking trucks.

In designing the custom gear Andrew builds components and accessories based on 20 plus years being on the road doing breakdown work on the highway so he ensures things are easy to either take off or work around.

“When we build stuff we make it so it can be removed and ensure the driver or mechanic working on the truck has easy access, we really try and think of the repairers,” he says.

“For example, when we create a visor, we think about the person that may have to change a windscreen so we make it easy to detach.” He says just making sure simple things like a deck plate can be removed by one person and not needing two people for the job or having to go up underneath the truck are all things the team have factored in when creating parts and accessories.

“We do all the engineering in-house. It’s not only one person. Everyone has their chance to contribute so we come up with the best solutions,” he explains.

He says A & I don’t just specialise in one brand of truck, but will give anything a go. “We do Freightliners, Kenworths, Macks, Western Stars and Volvos,” he says.

“We have even made visors for Isuzus and Hinos so we will give anything a go and we won’t just stick to particular brands.” As well as providing fabrication and customisation the A & I Autogroup is also a distributor of genuine Vortox air cleaners, the Sydney agent for Ice Pack and most recently it has become the New South Wales agent for King Bars. “There are a lot of reasons behind this move, especially for providing a one-stop-shop,” he says. “Having all the items handy ensures a truck can drive in, we can do everything to it, and it can drive out all done.”

He says this association is catered towards customers so there are shorter lead times, as they have the ability to fit bars, Ice Pack units or Vortox air cleaners when other work is being completed.

“For example, if there are any variations in fitting the bar we can deal with it in our fabrication shop rather than having to send the bar back,” he says.

“If the customers want something after they’ve ordered the bar, and it’s here, we can actually modify it afterwards as well.” Location is everything and the shop is perfectly positioned for easy access says Andrew.

“With our location being in Wetherill Park we are easy for truck drivers to access, ensuring that all their ‘bling’ requirements can be accommodated to the highest standards and we really are your ONE-STOP-SHOP,” he says.

Rear Vision: what happened next?

Were you involved with the business or custom trucks featured here? We would love to hear your memories or an update on their story.