Custom Builds Built Around Specific Goals
Performance and Customization in Lakewood for cars, trucks, and ATVs requiring power upgrades or functional modifications
Custom fabrication and performance tuning require a shop with the diagnostic and mechanical depth to back up the modification work—bolt-on parts installed without tuning frequently produce less power than advertised and can introduce drivability problems that make the vehicle harder to operate. Whatever It Takes Automotive in Lakewood builds custom vehicles and installs performance modifications for cars, trucks, and ATVs, handling engine tuning, suspension upgrades, and aesthetic customization from a single location. Owners across rural Pennsylvania regularly invest in truck and ATV builds for both recreational use and working conditions that demand capability beyond factory specification.
Every project at Whatever It Takes Automotive begins with a conversation about what the vehicle is being asked to do—whether the goal is more towing capacity, faster throttle response, improved suspension articulation for off-road use, or a combination of functional and visual changes. From that discussion, the shop sources or fabricates the parts, installs modifications in the correct sequence, and performs tuning and testing before the vehicle is returned. The shop has worked with all aftermarket warranties, and a customer vehicle has earned multiple awards, which reflects build quality that holds up to evaluation beyond the owner's driveway.
Bring your vehicle to Whatever It Takes Automotive to discuss your performance or customization goals and get an upfront estimate on what the project will involve.
What Performance Modification Actually Accomplishes
Performance modifications produce measurable results only when each component is selected and installed to work with the others rather than in isolation. An intake and exhaust upgrade on a naturally aspirated engine gains meaningful airflow only when the fuel map is recalibrated to match the new flow characteristics—running a modified engine on the factory tune leaves significant power on the table and can lean out the fuel mixture under wide-open throttle. Whatever It Takes Automotive sequences modifications and tuning together so each change is evaluated against the system as a whole, not checked off a parts list individually.
After performance work is completed, the vehicle should pull harder through the RPM range the modification targeted, with throttle response that is linear and predictable rather than abrupt or flat. Suspension upgrades produce noticeable changes in cornering stability and body control that are apparent on the first drive, and correctly set ride height changes do not produce bump-steer or accelerated tire wear. Those are the functional differences between parts correctly installed and tuned versus parts bolted on without calibration.
Customization projects vary in scope from single bolt-on upgrades to multi-stage builds that include engine, suspension, and appearance changes across several visits. Each stage is scoped and estimated before work begins, and the shop identifies any modifications that would conflict with each other in advance rather than discovering the problem after installation. Work ranges from intake and exhaust to full suspension fabrication and engine builds.
Questions Before Starting Your Build
The questions below address how performance and customization work is planned, executed, and evaluated, covering the decisions that separate a well-built vehicle from one that simply has parts installed.
How does the shop determine which modifications will work together on a specific vehicle?
The starting point is the vehicle's platform, existing tune, and the owner's stated performance goal—modifications are selected based on what the engine and drivetrain can support without creating a weak link that limits the benefit of the other changes.
What tuning is required after bolt-on performance parts are installed?
Intake, exhaust, and forced induction changes all alter the airflow and fueling requirements the engine control module was calibrated for; a dyno or road tune recalibrates fuel delivery, ignition timing, and boost targets to match the new configuration and extract the actual power the parts are capable of producing.
How are suspension modifications sequenced when multiple components are being changed?
Ride height is set first, followed by alignment geometry, then corner weighting if applicable—performing alignment before ride height is finalized requires doing the work twice, and installing coilovers without an alignment check afterward produces handling behavior that does not reflect what the suspension is capable of.
What does the shop inspect before starting a performance build on a high-mileage vehicle?
Worn engine internals, leaking valve cover gaskets, and degraded engine mounts are identified before performance modifications are installed, because adding power to a mechanically compromised engine accelerates existing failures rather than improving the driving experience.
How is an ATV customization different in approach from a truck build?
ATVs typically have tighter packaging constraints around the frame and suspension pickup points, which limits what can be fabricated without affecting ground clearance or articulation geometry; modifications are evaluated against the vehicle's intended terrain use rather than only against power output numbers.
Whatever It Takes Automotive also performs performance and customization work in Chestnuthill, Palmerton, Weatherly, and Lehighton. To outline your project and get an estimate on parts and labor, call the shop at (570) 798-3990.