Heath Moore is a seasoned, custom automotive interior fabricator who has been in the custom automotive business for 30 years. During that time he has been featured in a number of publications, and – most recently – has been a cast member on the first two seasons of the Texas Metal TV series currently aired on the Motortrend Network. He also owns his own company, Heath Moore Interiors, located in Porter, Texas just North of Houston while also being contracted by Ekstensive Metal Works – the custom shop Texas Metal is centered around – for interior work on the show’s custom “builds”.
Originally from Manvel, Texas he attended Alvin High School and attended Alvin College. During which time he also entered the automotive enthusiast world starting a part-time career as a custom car stereo installer in 1988, and then going full-time in 1992. As he progressed doing larger-scale, custom automotive stereo builds he began getting more and more into doing a lot of custom fabrication work, control systems, and even engine work.
He found he excelled at the custom fabrication involved in high-end stereo builds, so when custom stereo components and installations started becoming more commoditized it reached the point that he needed to find another avenue to keep doing the automotive work he loved and still make a living. So, eventually he started evolving his knack for fabrication towards interior work and in the end “Heath Moore Interiors” was born.
Today, with many years of experience, he has developed his interiors into true works of beauty, “formed by a love of automotive art”, as he puts it. His custom interior projects are 90% handcrafted and can run anywhere from fifteen thousand to upwards of a hundred thousand dollars for extensive, ultra-high-end builds. He free hands and sculpts almost everything, and believes hand making his interiors gives them a soul that mass produced, commercially based items generally cannot provide. So, all his interiors are mostly one-off projects. However, with that said, more recently Heath has begun to further advance his art using technology – and move himself towards the future – by implementing custom CNC and 3D printing within his fabrication of interiors parts and smaller detailed components on some builds.
To this end, the newest addition to his stable of supporting tools is the CNC Shark HD 4 CNC machine from industry leader, Next Wave CNC. It has taken him some time to transition into using it, since he’s not traditionally a tech or CAD guy, but as he has progressed Heath has just been amazed by what he has already been able to do with it. In fact, he has been incorporating usage of it during builds on Texas Metal over the last two seasons. For example, he created an awesome family crest incorporated into one of the builds on the show.
As Heath told me, “The CNC Shark by Next Wave CNC has already helped me broaden my horizons and use technology towards expanding what I do.” As he continues to gain exposure, both from the awesome interior designs coming out of his own backlog of customer projects at Heath Moore Interiors and his growing exposure from the builds on Texas Metal, Heath is looking to continue expanding his brand. And, while doing so, he is also working on multiple “Heath Moore” branded interior pieces that may be merchandised in the future. Some of these items would be created and produced using Next Wave CNC CNC Shark machines – equipped with routers and lasers – and sold to the public. This would allow more people to enjoy some of Heath’s custom interior pieces at more affordable pricing.
Examples of some items Heath has up his sleeve, and in development, are a radio kit that gives a modern head unit – with Bluetooth and such – a “classic, resto look” for guys that do not want a big touch screen. It will include a block off plate, but large old school knobs and will be CNC’ed from acrylic. Another would be PCV based door panels for the ’67 – ’72 Chevy C10 – a hot vehicle these days – produce from Heath’s own custom templates perfected over years of builds. Regardless, whatever Heath pulls out of his hat based on his extensive work in custom interiors will all be production quality and based from his hand-crafted masterpieces, but cheaper than one-off pieces. This would give average automotive enthusiasts like us with lower budgets the ability to décor our rides with some of Heath’s work. Look for some of these exciting developments in the future. And, in the meantime, catch some of Heath’s further work on Texas Metal or the gallery on the Heath Moore Interiors website.
| 
| 
|
| CAD design for custom air vent ring | Wood prototype for custom air vent |
| 
| 
|
| Completed wood prototype | Video of CNC Shark in action |
In addition, check out Next Wave CNC who has a line of CNC systems ranging from beginner to advanced units. Although their CNC’s originally grew popular in the woodworking industry, more and more niche areas – like Heath is putting them to use for – have found a wide range of uses and benefits a CNC can bring. In researching for this article and speaking with Tim Owens, the founder and CEO of Next Wave CNC, I discovered they have growing sales and exposure in other industries now. Even companies like Tesla and Ford have purchased their CNC machines. That’s very cool.
References:
Heath Moore Interiors (Website)
Heath Moore Interiors (Facebook)
Texas Metal Episodes
Next Wave CNC
