Hot Rod Institute

Hot Rod Institute

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Dedicated to keeping the spirit of the ol Hot Rods alive!! By providing quality technical career training. Located in Rapid City, SD.

For more information visit www.hotrod.edu. ("Contact Us" tab for enrollment info). Hot Rod Institute is committed to becoming regarded and respected as the Leader in Specialty Automotive Education. We recognize that in order to realize our Vision we must continue to improve as an institute; exceeding our stakeholders’ expectations while providing topnotch education based on the needs of employers in the Hot Rod and Specialty Automotive Industry.

I always like to give updates on projects when we can, and a lot of you guys have been asking about the ‘40 Chevy Hot Rod coupe we rolled in a while back. It’s been at the @hot_rod_institute for a while, being worked on by the students and the instructors, and we’ve got some great updates for you!
1. As you can see, the louvers are grafted into the hood, giving the car the distinct hot rod look I was after. They may be a pain to paint and keep clean, but nothing looks better than louvers on the hood of a hot rod!
2. On the front of the car, the nose has been smoothed and the front fenders worked, and the lower pan smoothed and welded in.
3. At the rear, the roll pan is installed and metal worked, and the license plate has been frenched into the trunk lid for a subtle custom touch.
4. The gas filler neck has been relocated to the rear deck, with a special fl**ge being built for the filler cap to bolt to.
5. The only things left to do are modifying and working the lower fenders and laying out the exhaust system.
In case you are new to this project or GEARZ, the reason I like partnering with Doug and Danny Larue at the Hot Rod Institute on high visibility projects is it allows the students to get some hands-on experience on a high-level build. This is important because the HRI is one of the premier schools in the nation for teaching young gearheads the fabrication and building skills that will be required to work at a top tier hot rod shop or open their own. It’s important to invest in these students because they are the ones that will be building cool stuff for the next generation! If you’re interested in the Hot Rod Institute, check ‘em out!

#gearznation #staceydavid #gearz #metalfab #hotrodshop 05/31/2026

https://www.instagram.com/p/DY0jqSuiBFL/?igsh=ZG0xdHR0dmZybHdh

I always like to give updates on projects when we can, and a lot of you guys have been asking about the ‘40 Chevy Hot Rod coupe we rolled in a while back. It’s been at the @hot_rod_institute for a while, being worked on by the students and the instructors, and we’ve got some great updates for you! 1. As you can see, the louvers are grafted into the hood, giving the car the distinct hot rod look I was after. They may be a pain to paint and keep clean, but nothing looks better than louvers on the hood of a hot rod! 2. On the front of the car, the nose has been smoothed and the front fenders worked, and the lower pan smoothed and welded in. 3. At the rear, the roll pan is installed and metal worked, and the license plate has been frenched into the trunk lid for a subtle custom touch. 4. The gas filler neck has been relocated to the rear deck, with a special fl**ge being built for the filler cap to bolt to. 5. The only things left to do are modifying and working the lower fenders and laying out the exhaust system. In case you are new to this project or GEARZ, the reason I like partnering with Doug and Danny Larue at the Hot Rod Institute on high visibility projects is it allows the students to get some hands-on experience on a high-level build. This is important because the HRI is one of the premier schools in the nation for teaching young gearheads the fabrication and building skills that will be required to work at a top tier hot rod shop or open their own. It’s important to invest in these students because they are the ones that will be building cool stuff for the next generation! If you’re interested in the Hot Rod Institute, check ‘em out! #gearznation #staceydavid #gearz #metalfab #hotrodshop

05/28/2026

Hot Rod Institute has been training the next generation of car builders for the past 18years. We are not a part time hobby shop school, and we don’t try to cram a career into 9 months ether. Hot Rod Institute probably has among the lowest tuition fees too; some schools charge almost double what HRI does, we sell quality education for the specialty car industry. Hot Rod Institute does not send a salesperson into your home to try to sell you on a dream. If you want to attend Hot Rod institute, you will have to come to us, because we will not chase after you. We think if a student steps up to join Hot Rod Institute, they have done their homework on the school they wish to attend.

Hot Rod Institute is only interested in the best people with the drive to achieve their own dream. A student doesn’t need to know how to weld, do body work, build engines, that’s why students attend Hot Rod Institute is to learn those things the right way. Busy shops from all over the nation are looking to hire our graduates, because we deliver the quality education to give our students a great opportunity to be the next big time car builder. Everyone needs to start out somewhere, Hot Rod Institute is a small private school located in Rapid City South Dakota, in the beautiful Black Hils. We believe in quality not how many students we can cram into a classroom.

Just because you attend a school, doesn’t guarantee you anything. It is still up to the student to work on the training every single day and get the most out of the training. That means working hard and getting the most out of each and every day. For the most part Hot Rod Institute is a self-paced school, if you already have some skills or it comes easy for you, we don’t hold you back. If you need a little more time, we will work with you to get you up and happy with your training outcomes.

Hot Rod Institute next start is June 29th with seats still available, and for the first time in the 18 years we can offer Federal Financial Aid (FAFSA). We have always been very proud to train our Veterans new skills using their GI Post 911 or VR&E. The Fall start date is September 30th with seats still available.

I invite you to come and check it out any time. www.hotrod.edu ; FAFSA® Application | Federal Student Aid our school ID number is 04211100 Hot Rod Institute

For more information e-mail, or call
[email protected] or (605)4158340

05/28/2026

Hot Rod Institute has been training the next generation of car builders for the past 18years. We are not a part time hobby shop school, and we don’t try to cram a career into 9 months ether. Hot Rod Institute probably has among the lowest tuition fees too; some schools charge almost double what HRI does, we sell quality education for the specialty car industry. Hot Rod Institute does not send a salesperson into your home to try to sell you on a dream. If you want to attend Hot Rod institute, you will have to come to us, because we will not chase after you. We think if a student steps up to join Hot Rod Institute, they have done their homework on the school they wish to attend.

Hot Rod Institute is only interested in the best people with the drive to achieve their own dream. A student doesn’t need to know how to weld, do body work, build engines, that’s why students attend Hot Rod Institute is to learn those things the right way. Busy shops from all over the nation are looking to hire our graduates, because we deliver the quality education to give our students a great opportunity to be the next big time car builder. Everyone needs to start out somewhere, Hot Rod Institute is a small private school located in Rapid City South Dakota, in the beautiful Black Hils. We believe in quality not how many students we can cram into a classroom.

Just because you attend a school, doesn’t guarantee you anything. It is still up to the student to work on the training every single day and get the most out of the training. That means working hard and getting the most out of each and every day. For the most part Hot Rod Institute is a self-paced school, if you already have some skills or it comes easy for you, we don’t hold you back. If you need a little more time, we will work with you to get you up and happy with your training outcomes.

Hot Rod Institute does have classroom time and we do test you, to make sure you are understanding the curriculum. Those who understand the theory usually picks up with the hands-on work quicker, so classroom time is very important as well. Although most of our time is in the shop learning hands on skills, about an 80% shop to 20% classroom split.

Believe me the specialty car industry is booming, and people still want to have their dream car built, the biggest problem for the shops is finding qualified employees. They do not have time to train new employees; they want and need a new technician to step in a contribute right away. That where the training received from Hot Rod Institute can help, we train you on the skills the industry is looking for. We don’t train you for the repair industry and then expect you to step in and restore a classic car or build a Hot Rod, with repair industry skills, it don’s not work that way.

Check out the work our own rod shop puts out, all the employees working for The Rod Shop at HRI are Hot Rod Institute Graduates. It wasn’t always that way, but it is now. So, we can prove our training works very well, by the way our own Clients projects turns out, top quality. How many other school can do that? Hot Rod Institute can!

Hot Rod Institute next start is June 29th with seats still available, and for the first time in the 18 years we can offer Federal Financial Aid (FAFSA). We have always been very proud to train our Veterans new skills using their GI Post 911 or VR&E. The Fall start date is September 30th with seats still available.

I invite you to come and check it out any time. www.hotrod.edu ; FAFSA® Application | Federal Student Aid our school ID number is 04211100 Hot Rod Institute

Foe more information e-mail, or call
[email protected] or (605)4158340

Photos from Hot Rod Institute's post 04/24/2026

The Hot Rod Refinishing class are getting a little spray gun time, applying epoxy primer on our 67 Protouring Chevelle. Next is seam sealer and Raptor Liner. Looking good 👍 Hot Rod Institute

04/11/2026
Hot Rod Institute 04/10/2026

If you have an interest in Hot Rod and Restoratio industry? We are looking for a few creative people to join our Hot Rod Family at Hot Rod Institute for either this June 29th or Sept 30th start. We still have room for a few Hot Rod enthusiasts wanting to work in the Hot Rod and Restoration industry. Hot Rod Institute

Hot Rod Instituted in Accredited by ACCSC


Now it is even easier to in starting a career in the Hot Rod and Restoration industry, Hot Rod Institute wants you to join our Hot Rod Family. Now even easier to join.
We now offer Federal Financial Aid, Title IV for those who qualify. Go to the FASFA site and fill it out, FAFSA® Application | Federal Student Aid our school ID number is 04211100 Hot Rod Institute


For our Veterans (Thank you for your service) we have for a very long time offered Post 911 benefits for the Veterans who qualify or use the VR&E. These both cover all the Tuition and living expense for the Vets with a 100% qualifications letter. I would recommend the Veterans to also fill out the FASFA to see if you qualify for a Pell Grant. Pell Grants is money you do not have to pay back.


This is an awesome opportunity to attend a very small and personal training school with very small class size. The Hot Rod and Restoration business is in need of highly qualified help all over the nation. We get calls all the time shops looking and wanting to hire our graduates because of the in-depth training we offer.

So come join our Hot Rod Family

School Info Packet:

Hot Rod Institute The Hot Rod and Restoration School HRI, Inc Accredited by ACCSC Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges

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Location

Category

Telephone

Address


2402 N Maple Avenue
Rapid City, SD
57701

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm