0:00
/
0:00
108. Ross Bradshaw from Portland Transmission Warehouse
108. Ross Bradshaw from Portland Transmission Warehouse
0:00
0:00
0:00
0:00
About this episode
Ross Bradshaw from Portland Transmission Warehouse shares insights about the Spring Classics Car Show, which he has been involved with since its inception in 1983. The show, held annually the Saturday before Mother's Day, has grown from a small gathering to a major event attracting over a thousand cars. Ross discusses the show's community spirit, the importance of early attendance, and how it serves as a kickoff for the car season. He also touches on the evolution of transmissions and the future of hot rodding, emphasizing the blend of classic and modern automotive culture.
Topics:
spring classics car show
community events
transmission evolution
hot rodding future
car culture
family business
automotive history
car shows logistics
volunteering
classic cars
Portland Transmission Warehouse is home to the legendary Spring Classic car show. On a sunny year over 1,000 cars show up! The diversity is staggering; uncut 40's, custom car's, drag cars, old fancy Euopean cars, lowriders, 20s, muscle cars, army rigs, trucks. You name it, it's there.
The show is free & open to to the public w/ high quality delicious FREE hotdogs, coffe and cookies. Ross Bradshow, President of PTW, was kind enough to sit down with me and dish on the history of the show and what makes it so special. Enjoy!
Portland Transmission Warehouse Spring Fling
1016 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland OR
Saturday, may 11th
6am-11am
1926 T6 Roadster
How auto transmissions work
How a torque converter works
Recorded, edited & mixed by Emdognightmare
Production & research Spidersfrommarz & Emdognightmare
Find us: Car Krush
Stay updated w/ our newsletter
Hugs, thank you & high fives to Greg Meleney for the killer tunez!
Filter:
|
Technical
Too Afraid to Ask
Car
Ford Bronco
"...at those are. Or four 70 w like I've got a little Bronco, so a lot of people put the electronic. four and ..."
Car
Honda CRX
"...I kind of am into all cars. Like, I see there's a CRX right there. I'd love to have a little CRX. Thos..."
Car
Ford Mustang
"...cars out there would be, I mean, we've got an old Mustang, but I just love, I would love to have a, sleepe..."
Car
Ford Model T
"...people, you know, , Hey dad, can I take apart the model T and trick it out to something to, dad was onto hi..."
Select text to request an explanation
Hey, what's up everyone. It's me. I'm dog nightmare. I'm your host today. Welcome to the podcast. I have something a little different, something exciting.
I'm here with Ross Bradshaw from Portland Transmission Warehouse, which is the home of the Spring Classics Car Show. It's every year, the Saturday before Mother's Day. You have to show up at like 4.
30 to get in the parking lot. God, don't tell them that. It's true, it's true though. If anybody, all of you that know me, know that this is in my top two. I will not choose between this and Rolling Death. Fan club show, so, whatever. But this is one of my favorite car shows and I never miss it. So, Ross, hi.
Thank you. Hello. Thank you for hanging out with us. Thanks for having me. Welcome to the podcast, . Appreciate you being here. When did the Spring Classic start? Oh, that's an easy question. I can just look up on the board. It was, uh oh, good.
Thank you. Hello. Thank you for hanging out with us. Thanks for having me. Welcome to the podcast, . Appreciate you being here. When did the Spring Classic start? Oh, that's an easy question. I can just look up on the board. It was, uh oh, good. Uh, 1981. Oh, wow. Okay. No, excuse me. 83. Okay. So you were around. I grew up with a business, but I wasn't working full time at that point. It's a family business. Yeah Our sales manager and
Was Al manager? Splice in lower start Al Stewart who was I call him the father of the show Okay Larger than life personality.
Everybody loved him. Everybody knew him. He came up with the idea of just do a car get together And just a bunch of customers come in display their cars and you can see up on the board there there were what is that 28 cars? Okay, I think and , we had stanchions and roped everything off and it was the same day mother's day weekend So we get rain probably one out of every three shows.
So yeah, kind of a chilly rainy day, but everyone came down and talked shop and loved it and the intent was just a one time deal. Right. But then, a month or two after the show, everyone started asking, you guys going to do it next year? And no one's never considered, but I'm like, well, sure. Why not?
So yeah, kind of a chilly rainy day, but everyone came down and talked shop and loved it and the intent was just a one time deal. Right. But then, a month or two after the show, everyone started asking, you guys going to do it next year? And no one's never considered, but I'm like, well, sure. Why not?
So it just kind of grew organically from there. Okay. On a sunny year. It's huge. There could be quite a few cars here. Yeah, I feel like over a thousand. Oh, yeah easily. Yeah,
extra we've we've had some people Informally count. I always say i'm gonna like hire some boy scouts to run around with clickers And I just never organized enough, but yeah on a sunny day there have been cars from hawthorne.
All the way down to division And seventh avenue. Of course you know, there's other businesses and we don't have the streets blocked off that far. It's not like the streets aren't packed. People are hopefully legally parked. , I don't want to get myself in trouble.
I haven't seen any illegal parking yet. We've had a few issues with people double parking or blocking driveways. And so we just really try and work with our neighbors to be good and friendly and warn everybody and then try and communicate with everyone participating in the show not to block active businesses or driveways or people's houses, we really haven't had that much of a problem.
I haven't seen any illegal parking yet. We've had a few issues with people double parking or blocking driveways. And so we just really try and work with our neighbors to be good and friendly and warn everybody and then try and communicate with everyone participating in the show not to block active businesses or driveways or people's houses, we really haven't had that much of a problem.
But yeah, , on a good weather day, especially it's helpful if it's like the weekend before the show, because I think people, you know, with hot rods, there's lots of convertibles and that time of year people might not even be thinking. time to get the the rig out time to pull the cover off.
It's, but it's the Saturday and Sunday and they start getting that itch over the weekend. Mm-Hmm. . And they get the car out and, maybe throw a coat of wax on it, rinse it off a bit. It seems to me that it really helps as compared to the weather getting good on Thursday or Friday before the show, but Yeah.
Regardless if it's sunny. Yeah. Even when it's not sunny though, I've come down here on. There are many times and there's still quite a few. There's quite a few. Yeah, it's a it's a big difference But yeah, there's still lots of people that are yeah I think there's a lot of people that are diehards lots of convertibles no matter what but yeah But then there's a lot of nice cars out there that I don't blame people.
Regardless if it's sunny. Yeah. Even when it's not sunny though, I've come down here on. There are many times and there's still quite a few. There's quite a few. Yeah, it's a it's a big difference But yeah, there's still lots of people that are yeah I think there's a lot of people that are diehards lots of convertibles no matter what but yeah But then there's a lot of nice cars out there that I don't blame people.
You don't want to bring them out No for sure. There's like show stoppers. I don't know if I'm going to get trailered. I don't know if I've seen a lot of trailers. It's kind of difficult in the neighborhood. We ask people if they bring trailers that they park, on the north side of Hawthorne.
Because, like we just talked about, the show continues south and goes all towards Division. So if someone parks a trailer, that's, Two or three spots for cars to park. So you don't necessarily see trailers. Okay We'll probably have a couple at least one drag car this year. They'll be trailered in so yeah, but there's not very many trailers 98 percent of all the vehicles that come down here are all driven.
Yeah, it's really it's really cool what's your favorite thing? about the show
That's a good question. I love hearing people say it's my favorite show. I always question whether or less. You know, if they're just being nice. Well I was honest about my other favorite show. Our show was just, it's different. And I think what I enjoy getting out of it is, we don't try and compete with other shows.
That's a good question. I love hearing people say it's my favorite show. I always question whether or less. You know, if they're just being nice. Well I was honest about my other favorite show. Our show was just, it's different. And I think what I enjoy getting out of it is, we don't try and compete with other shows.
We don't try and one up or say we're better or do this better or anything. We're just different. It's completely open. It's free to everybody. We want people to come down and celebrate automobiles and have fun. And I think the best part of the show is people look forward to it cause it's relatively early in the season.
And so it's for many people it's the first opportunity to get out and rub our shoulders with. Your car friends, or your car friends. Yeah, and so that's what I think is the best thing about it. Is people get to come down and spend the morning, have a cup of coffee or a hot dog if they stick around for a little while.
And just talk shop and enjoy the morning. And then, they're gone. Like by like 11. Yeah, 11. 30 at noon. Yeah, and boom, and then you have the rest of the day it's not an all day deal. So, yeah, I love that about it too. Why is it so gosh darn early? Did it start? That's the way we started it.
And just talk shop and enjoy the morning. And then, they're gone. Like by like 11. Yeah, 11. 30 at noon. Yeah, and boom, and then you have the rest of the day it's not an all day deal. So, yeah, I love that about it too. Why is it so gosh darn early? Did it start? That's the way we started it. Start that early. Okay. Back in the day, out of respect, we didn't want to take the whole day.
Electric hummm starts here Mm-Hmm. . First and foremost, it is a free event, everyone working as volunteers. But then the other thing is going back away, papa's, was it Papa's toys?
Used to have a. Show and it was always the same day and that was out in Hillsboro. I never made it because I was too exhausted to go out there, but it was a big family collection And so a lot of people like to go out there
R It just worked out that people appreciated the fact that they could come to our show in the morning and then they could go catch another show. Yeah.
Or if they showed up super early, they'd go home and hit the couch and take a nap ? Right. Uh, they had their afternoon to go cruise or relax yeah, we've just kept it early and then it gets earlier and earlier because it's so competitive to get into the parking lot.
I do love that though because it's always, the light is really good that early too. So it's great for like, taking photos. Yeah, that's true. That's true. I didn't know about that. But there's a lot of people that show up early that don't want to be in the lot too. It's funny. It's like they want to be in the, you know, that first early group, but then they want to park on 10th Avenue because they've got to leave early and, I'm like, Oh God, that creates such a, I won't say headache, because I don't want to sound like I'm complaining about people showing up, but it can be a little difficult.
I do love that though because it's always, the light is really good that early too. So it's great for like, taking photos. Yeah, that's true. That's true. I didn't know about that. But there's a lot of people that show up early that don't want to be in the lot too. It's funny. It's like they want to be in the, you know, that first early group, but then they want to park on 10th Avenue because they've got to leave early and, I'm like, Oh God, that creates such a, I won't say headache, because I don't want to sound like I'm complaining about people showing up, but it can be a little difficult.
Trying to accommodate everybody and their schedules, but we do our best. Yeah, that's actually really nice, because a lot of shows won't do that. If there's spot where we can put them, where they can leave, then, yeah. Well that's really cool. What's so great about this show, is that it's free, it's open to the public, It's in an area where there's, it's a pretty dense population.
So people just walking by that live in the neighborhood, probably there's people that just moved here, that have no idea that there's this crazy epic car show and they just walk past. Could you imagine not knowing anything about cars even, kind of, and walking past and you're just like, oh my god, and then it just goes on for blocks and blocks and blocks.
And there's everything from like, you have the cool hot rods, you have the older Cars, you have muscle cars, you have, uh, the drag cars, you got lowriders, you have the whole army section, which is really cool. The military guys will be here this year again, there's something for everybody.
And there's everything from like, you have the cool hot rods, you have the older Cars, you have muscle cars, you have, uh, the drag cars, you got lowriders, you have the whole army section, which is really cool. The military guys will be here this year again, there's something for everybody.
There really is.
dudes that started (maybe splice in earlirer) Jerry Campbell, who was a part store manager, and Al Stewart who was the, the main warehouse sales manager, said, let's do this car show. There's a lot of interest those are a lot of our customers cars. My grandfather bought his, T Speedster down.
Which one is that? The blue, it's a 26. Okay, the one that looks like it would have a name like that? Yeah. Yeah. Knee car. All the speed equipment of the day. You'd be shocked if you looked at it now because you wouldn't think it would be capable But it won best in class down at, Pebble Beach in 64.
Whoa! Yeah, right when we first bought it. That is so cool. It wouldn't come anywhere close to being a class winner nowadays, but yeah He was pretty proud of that car. It's beautiful. And I still have it. I was gonna say, is it still in the family? Yep, still have it. I'm still fighting a little bit of a distributor issue.
Whoa! Yeah, right when we first bought it. That is so cool. It wouldn't come anywhere close to being a class winner nowadays, but yeah He was pretty proud of that car. It's beautiful. And I still have it. I was gonna say, is it still in the family? Yep, still have it. I'm still fighting a little bit of a distributor issue.
I hope to get it back on the road and I'm in a speedster club and, no, I want to take it on some tours and some events. The Northwest Finnish Speedster Club. Great bunch of guys and very active with tours and, not time trials, Not rallies, but they'll have some competition, I guess you could call it a rally.
And they go all over the Northwest. There's lots of guys up in, Washington also. And, uh, yeah, so I'm just, I'd love to get the car back out and take one of my boys or my wife and participate in some of those events. Because it's fun to drive. I bet. Yeah, it's one of the cars that you have to have goggles on, right?
Yes. It looks like there's a little tiny windshield. Yeah, there's a windshield. But, you gotta have , the leather helmet and goggles go very nicely with it. Yeah. I will have photos of this stuff on Instagram, and I'll put a link to that kind of car in the show notes to people, so, click em!
End spliced part What is the Portland Transmission Warehouse? We are a wholesale parts distributor We focus primarily in automatic. We sell a little bit of standard stuff, clutch kits and the like. And we're a Timken distributor, so we sell bearings. But our primary focus is transmission shops. You know, Joe's Transmission or Steve's Automatic Transmission Repair, whatever the shop is, or an AMCO here and there.
What is the Portland Transmission Warehouse? We are a wholesale parts distributor We focus primarily in automatic. We sell a little bit of standard stuff, clutch kits and the like. And we're a Timken distributor, so we sell bearings. But our primary focus is transmission shops. You know, Joe's Transmission or Steve's Automatic Transmission Repair, whatever the shop is, or an AMCO here and there.
We sell direct to the repair specialists that do all the transmission work in the Northwest. Our market is Oregon and Washington, a little bit of Idaho, Montana. We dabble in, Alaska, a couple of camps in Hawaii, and yeah, but it's pretty much anywhere where we can get parts by the next, same day or next day.
Oh, okay. That's the, what drives the business. , so do you sell whole transmissions or just parts? We just sell components. Okay. Just internal components. Yeah. Yeah, so. Are there a lot of those businesses? Like this? Yeah. There's a number of regionals, such as us, and when I say regional, just a single location that serves a specific area.
Oh, okay. That's the, what drives the business. , so do you sell whole transmissions or just parts? We just sell components. Okay. Just internal components. Yeah. Yeah, so. Are there a lot of those businesses? Like this? Yeah. There's a number of regionals, such as us, and when I say regional, just a single location that serves a specific area.
Then we have a handful of multi location national competitors that have, you know, I'm kind of liking it too. mom, pa hardware store versus Home Depot and nothing against Home Depot or, or any of that. But you can imagine the buying power of Home Depot with a major store, high volume in every market versus the mom, pa, hardware store.
We can out service quick on our feet. We can respond, bring in new product. And just, I think do a better job taking care of the customer because it's just us. Yeah. we don't have to take, we don't have to go up through multiple
missing management of management to get a decision made.
Right. . There's only twenty of us. Oh wow, yeah, so it is small. Yeah. For how much you service yeah. Are they kind of hard to find? Parts? I'm sure they're new parts, but are they for older, mostly older specialty vehicles and stuff?
We do sell some, what we call antique parts. But no, most of our stuff, of course, it's, it's all new. Anything under warranty. People are going to take to the dealership, right? For the most part. If someone chips and hot rods a diesel pickup and blows their transmission, obviously it's not going to be under warranty.
We do sell some, what we call antique parts. But no, most of our stuff, of course, it's, it's all new. Anything under warranty. People are going to take to the dealership, right? For the most part. If someone chips and hot rods a diesel pickup and blows their transmission, obviously it's not going to be under warranty.
So they're going to go to the transmission shop and they'll get the parts from us. But for the most part, the bread and butter is once a vehicle is about three years old up till, we're still in parts 60s, 70s, 80s on up, the volume of our parts, 90s, 2000s, the teens, we're starting to get into the 20s now because vehicles are coming off the warranty, but yeah.
Okay. Interesting. Yeah. I thought it was all old car stuff. Yeah, I suppose you can think of that with the show, yeah, no, we sell the. The current commodities of what's breaking out there, right. And what people are taking to the transmission shops to be repair.
Well, when people put modern transmissions in their own cars too true. That's another test. Yeah. With the advent of all these, electronic, tuners and, um, mm-hmm. , uh, God, what do you call 'em, where you can put a four L 60 E or a four L 80? I don't even know what those are.
Well, when people put modern transmissions in their own cars too true. That's another test. Yeah. With the advent of all these, electronic, tuners and, um, mm-hmm. , uh, God, what do you call 'em, where you can put a four L 60 E or a four L 80? I don't even know what those are.
Or four 70 w like I've got a little Bronco, so a lot of people put the electronic. four and five speeds in the old Oh, wow, okay. Bronco that came with a three speed automatic, and now you got all computers to trick the late model automatic transmissions to think it's running in a Oh, they hook 'em to a late model transmission.
Yeah. Oh, wow. Yeah. No, I don't know anything about that. Yeah, there's conversion kids. There's quite a few of 'em. .
c? Is that a resto? A what? No, I'm thinking of, you know when a car is like, it looks old but everything is new inside it, it has like AC and all that stuff?
Oh, like a, a restomod? Yeah, I think of, yeah, yeah, I guess a, you know, silly me, I'm not sure what the, I always think of a restomod. For some reason I just, my, my mind just goes right to Mustang. Because you see, Mustangs have been restomodded so much with, you know, they put a, Stroker 347 and a fancy 5 speed or 6 speed or even more, more gears than that.
Oh, like a, a restomod? Yeah, I think of, yeah, yeah, I guess a, you know, silly me, I'm not sure what the, I always think of a restomod. For some reason I just, my, my mind just goes right to Mustang. Because you see, Mustangs have been restomodded so much with, you know, they put a, Stroker 347 and a fancy 5 speed or 6 speed or even more, more gears than that.
And then, you know, all the, the fancy 4 link and coilover suspension and everything. So, I guess that qualifies for a rest of my life. And then it rides like a modern car. Yeah. And, yeah, of course, Bluetooth and hands free calling and everything. I don't know why you'd want to use your phone in a car like that. When did your parents start? You My grandfather started it. Oh wow, so you're third generation. That's so cool. My grandfather started it in 38 across the street on the other side of Hawthorne. He wanted an auto shop. He was a, kind of a renter by trade. And he wanted his own repair shop. And that was just as World War II was ramping up.
I was going to say, yeah, that's the war was happening. Yeah, and as I understand it, he wanted to get a Repair only shop, but All a lot of the repair shops were doing machine work and so they were taking on extra business with the kaiser shipyards in north portland because they were building the kaiser ships all the shops were doing good business nobody wanted to sell so the only shop my grandfather could get was the texaco station across the street He didn't want us pump gas, he just wanted to repair cars.
I was going to say, yeah, that's the war was happening. Yeah, and as I understand it, he wanted to get a Repair only shop, but All a lot of the repair shops were doing machine work and so they were taking on extra business with the kaiser shipyards in north portland because they were building the kaiser ships all the shops were doing good business nobody wanted to sell so the only shop my grandfather could get was the texaco station across the street He didn't want us pump gas, he just wanted to repair cars.
Right. But that was the only way you could do it. So he ran a Texaco station with the garage, did it have a Yeah, yeah. It was like, yeah, there's pictures all showing out in there. Yeah. The shell. And then he had the kind of the repair shop, garage back behind. But yeah, , that grew.
And then in the, late forties and fifties, he started specializing in automatic transmissions. Mm-Hmm. . And one thing led to another. He, kind of became known for a good guy to go to for repairing your old Slim Jim or whatever your, 40s or early 50s automatic was. Okay. And so, So he was building them.
Yeah, pulling them out. And like we say, R& R, remove and replace. So you can remove them, build it on a bench, and throw it back in the car. He needed parts and so he started stocking more parts. And so he opened up a little parts business, he had supply for himself, and then he started selling to other shops, and then it just kind of, one thing led to another, then the warehouse opened up to sell. We kind of got into General Automotive. We were the biggest Bort Warner distributor.
Yeah, pulling them out. And like we say, R& R, remove and replace. So you can remove them, build it on a bench, and throw it back in the car. He needed parts and so he started stocking more parts. And so he opened up a little parts business, he had supply for himself, and then he started selling to other shops, and then it just kind of, one thing led to another, then the warehouse opened up to sell. We kind of got into General Automotive. We were the biggest Bort Warner distributor.
West of Mississippi. We sold at Timing Carb Kids. Ignition. Okay, so you, they were branched out pretty far. Yeah. We were a Goodyear distributor. Fell pro gaskets. Mm-Hmm. We had everything under car except suspension. We had Wow. Wagner brakes. Yeah. So, but then in the early eighties that got uber competitive.
Okay. We kind of lost our butt and lost our way a little bit. This was once again before my time Shortly before I kind of joined full time. I worked in the summers and picked the barge and stuff, right? Just got back to our roots. And so kind of we just sold off all those peripheral lines and just continued with Transmission and drive train.
Yeah, and yeah brought it back and it's been successful ever since Wow Well, how lucky is Portland to have?
Yeah, and yeah brought it back and it's been successful ever since Wow Well, how lucky is Portland to have?
How have transmissions changed over the years that you've noticed, like how has that whole world changed? Well, when I first really started, it was three speeds ruled, four speeds were just, coming into their own. , when I really started doing, I started off doing inventory management and doing purchasing.
Source and parts for the four speeds. And then everything went electronic cause the original transmissions were all hydraulically shifted. They're still hydraulically shifted, but now they're electronically activated hydraulic. We jokingly say in the transmission side, you know, the automotive aftermarket is huge, right?
The transmission industry, we jokingly refer to ourselves as the bastard children of the automotive aftermarket. Because we play in our own little sandbox. The rest of the automotive world doesn't really understand automatic transmissions. They're pretty complex, and you need to be a specialist, right? , that's why it works for us as a distributor, to specialize the segment.
The transmission industry, we jokingly refer to ourselves as the bastard children of the automotive aftermarket. Because we play in our own little sandbox. The rest of the automotive world doesn't really understand automatic transmissions. They're pretty complex, and you need to be a specialist, right? , that's why it works for us as a distributor, to specialize the segment.
, to answer your question, what's changed? They went from purely hydraulic to electronically controlled hydraulics. And then, every couple years, the manufacturer's out of gear. Right. Otherwise 27 gears! Yeah, yeah. I mean, we've got some new technologies, the CVTs came out, and then, , there's the dual clutch transmissions and stuff like that, but the planetary driven automatic transmissions still are the, bread and butter, 95 percent of what we sell.
Okay, yeah, because you said you don't do any manuals or you do a little we sell clutch kits. Okay clutch kits And yeah, some of the peripheral parts. slave cylinders and Master cylinders that's really about it. We don't sell internals for standard trans. Okay, we sell some transfer case parts we used to, we divested ourselves of all the New Venture and Fort Warner internal standard stuff, and we bought another distributor's automatic parts, so they went on and kind of did what we did, but with standards, and we stuck with the automatics, and here we are.
Okay, yeah, because you said you don't do any manuals or you do a little we sell clutch kits. Okay clutch kits And yeah, some of the peripheral parts. slave cylinders and Master cylinders that's really about it. We don't sell internals for standard trans. Okay, we sell some transfer case parts we used to, we divested ourselves of all the New Venture and Fort Warner internal standard stuff, and we bought another distributor's automatic parts, so they went on and kind of did what we did, but with standards, and we stuck with the automatics, and here we are.
Yeah. And that's because? It sounds like standards are kind of boring compared to automatics. Well, no, standards, I think standards are cool. Right? Don't get me wrong there. I put, I've got a little Bronco and I put a standard in it just because, you know, Yeah, it is. , if you're passionate about a car, it's fun.
It's visceral, you like hearing the sound of the motor and Shifting. Going through the shifts, right? Plus, like, We jokingly refer to it as a millennial anti theft device. But yeah, no, so manuals aren't boring. It's just, , if you take a look at the percentage of manuals that are sold right? Versus the automatics, it's just not, the market has shifted almost exclusively to automatic. So yeah, there's not very many manufacturers that sell manuals, no.
It's visceral, you like hearing the sound of the motor and Shifting. Going through the shifts, right? Plus, like, We jokingly refer to it as a millennial anti theft device. But yeah, no, so manuals aren't boring. It's just, , if you take a look at the percentage of manuals that are sold right? Versus the automatics, it's just not, the market has shifted almost exclusively to automatic. So yeah, there's not very many manufacturers that sell manuals, no.
There's still performance base so people like him in trucks, but yeah, , it's a very, very small segment. Yeah. Well, we still love manuals. It's okay. Yes. So your whole family is a real super car family. It sounds like. Yeah. Yeah. You grew up in the industry.
You can't, you can't not. Yeah. How many cars do y'all own? Like classic, like, a handful. , lots of Fords. Okay. I think if you look at the cars and you think, I'm a Ford guy, and I like Fords, , but I also drive a Yukon, so I mean, there's nothing wrong with General Motors.
I don't have any Dodge products right now, but nothing against Dodge either. But I'm definitely, I'm kind of an American maid. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I love American cars. They're fun. I like, I kind of am into all cars. Like, I see there's a CRX right there. I'd love to have a little CRX. Those are cool.
I don't have any Dodge products right now, but nothing against Dodge either. But I'm definitely, I'm kind of an American maid. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I love American cars. They're fun. I like, I kind of am into all cars. Like, I see there's a CRX right there. I'd love to have a little CRX. Those are cool.
They are very cool. That was Slash's first car. Really? Little fun fact. I heard it on, um, Interesting. Uh, one of the, uh, car shows that he was on. Did they, did they make a, sunroof with a CRS so his top hat could fit? It was when he was in high school, so maybe he had a top hat yet.
What's your favorite thing about transmissions? My favorite thing , well, I appreciate that the industry's provided. This opportunity for my family to, be successful and I'm grateful that we have 20 wonderful dedicated employees that are able to make a good living and, hopefully save for retirement.
Kind of a wishy washy silly answer, I suppose, but, transmissions in general. It still blows my mind that an automatic transmission is a fluid coupling. It's so crazy. From an engine to your rear wheels. Most people don't know that. No, I just learned that.
I just learned that over the summer. Because my friend kept dumping her ATF and then she's like, oh yeah, it's shifting bad because of the fluid. And I was like, wait, I thought ATF was for lubrication. Yeah, and run the hydraulics. But it is, so there is a lubrication part, but I didn't realize that also it's what shifts the car.
I just learned that over the summer. Because my friend kept dumping her ATF and then she's like, oh yeah, it's shifting bad because of the fluid. And I was like, wait, I thought ATF was for lubrication. Yeah, and run the hydraulics. But it is, so there is a lubrication part, but I didn't realize that also it's what shifts the car.
Yeah. Yeah, so if it's low Yeah, it's pretty fascinating when you can, and I can't describe it very well. You'd think I would, but torque converters are probably my least known component that we sell. There's a lot of voodoo that goes on in torque converters. Right. Someone who really knows them.
As an asset to the industry, that's what allows you obviously in simplistic terms to stop at a stoplight and not have to take the car out of gear, right? Oh, yeah, because the transmission's still turning, just not fast enough, there's not enough hydraulic pressure to pass through and start turning wheels, but when you get up towards your stall speed Then there's nothing you can do about it, but turn wheels, I guess so.
Right. Yeah, I don't really know anything I mean, like I said, I just learned the ATF fact that it's last summer. What is the future of hot rodding?
Right. Yeah, I don't really know anything I mean, like I said, I just learned the ATF fact that it's last summer. What is the future of hot rodding?
I was bummed. Who was I just talking to? Oh, I was talking to Greg at Matthew's memory lane just about. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And he was saying, gosh, the market has really dropped for forties forties cars. Yeah. Yeah. And it's, that's disappointing. Mm-Hmm. To hear, first of all, uh, Jerry Campbell, who, one of the fathers of the show, he was a big 40 Ford guy.
Mm-Hmm. . He had a 40 Ford sedan.
But Greg said the people that are into the 40s are at least the originals not hot rodded. Okay. Yeah Appreciation for the 40s is just the people are kind of aging out, right? Now, a hot rod at a 40's car, obviously the market feels strong, there's lots of crazy things that you can do to lots of 40's cars, , when I think of the future, I guess I take a look at it from, what we see here, and there's classics and hot rods, and I think it's really neat that you see both.
But Greg said the people that are into the 40s are at least the originals not hot rodded. Okay. Yeah Appreciation for the 40s is just the people are kind of aging out, right? Now, a hot rod at a 40's car, obviously the market feels strong, there's lots of crazy things that you can do to lots of 40's cars, , when I think of the future, I guess I take a look at it from, what we see here, and there's classics and hot rods, and I think it's really neat that you see both.
You can see him, a 40 Ford parked next to something that's, you know, one's bone stock and pristine, beautiful, throat frog and the others, you'd hardly recognize it. That's so cool though. Cause that, especially somebody like me that doesn't have an encyclopedic knowledge, I like to know what I'm comparing it to.
Yeah. I love a classic. I mean, I love a, like a custom car, the look of it, but also I'm like, I don't know what happened here. Right. Yeah. Well, there's so much to the people that have been doing, all that. Deuce coops. The epic, original hot rods, right?
Mm-Hmm. . Yeah. But I really wonder how many people would see a 32 Ford uncut, unblemished on the road and realize that's what is turned into, you pull all the fenders off and Mm-Hmm. chop and drop and do all this crazy stuff and turn it into a hot rod, right? Yeah, with the future of hot rodding, I think one of the cool things about, you know, people around the world like to tinker, right?
Mm-Hmm. . Yeah. But I really wonder how many people would see a 32 Ford uncut, unblemished on the road and realize that's what is turned into, you pull all the fenders off and Mm-Hmm. chop and drop and do all this crazy stuff and turn it into a hot rod, right? Yeah, with the future of hot rodding, I think one of the cool things about, you know, people around the world like to tinker, right?
But I think one of the cool things about Americans is we, as a society just love to, what can we do to fix this, make it better, make it cooler, and that's never going to change. of course. I don't know how much hot rodding you can do to a Tesla. I don't know much about them, but I'm sure people at some point when they start aging out They're going to figure it out.
They're going to figure it out, but God, I hope in my heart that people continue hot rodding internal combustion engines. Yep. I just love exhaust and smoke and burnouts and Yeah, the rumbling and yeah, there's visceral feel the car Yeah, it's real powerful, especially. Yeah Yeah, agreed.
Shows will evolve.
There's going to be a lot of people that have cool classics right now. I mean, there's a lot of old people. Right. Right. But those cars are going to go somewhere. Yeah. You know? There's too much money in a lot of those for them to, sit they're definitely not going to go to the junkyard.
There's going to be a lot of people that have cool classics right now. I mean, there's a lot of old people. Right. Right. But those cars are going to go somewhere. Yeah. You know? There's too much money in a lot of those for them to, sit they're definitely not going to go to the junkyard.
Right. So. there's probably going to be a lot of, adjustment in the market of price wise and I would venture to guess a lot of them are going to get more affordable because there's not as going to be as much demand, right? And then they'll, and then that's more cool stuff for people, young people that wouldn't otherwise be able to afford that to get into it.
So yeah, I think it'll just kind of self perpetuate like that. What would be your dream build with an unlimited budget? It's the hardest question of the whole entry. Yeah, that is a you know, I have no idea I would have to I Don't have Specific car I I think one of the coolest cars out there would be, I mean, we've got an old Mustang, but I just love, I would love to have a, sleeper bullet Mustang, like the original nondescript, just solid green that, doesn't stand out too much right on the street, but then just.
So yeah, I think it'll just kind of self perpetuate like that. What would be your dream build with an unlimited budget? It's the hardest question of the whole entry. Yeah, that is a you know, I have no idea I would have to I Don't have Specific car I I think one of the coolest cars out there would be, I mean, we've got an old Mustang, but I just love, I would love to have a, sleeper bullet Mustang, like the original nondescript, just solid green that, doesn't stand out too much right on the street, but then just.
Build the hell out of it and just have fun driving it. , and you wouldn't have to go insane with a budget on a car like that. Although, getting the car in the first place is getting expensive nowadays. But, that would be a fun build. But, oh gosh, I really like some of The real old stuff, like I said, I'm in the speedster club, and some of the old speedsters.
And a lot of that stuff is aging out, too. At least the knowledge of, the people that are putting, I mean, it's just a You know, a four cylinder motor, but you get a Rajo head on there and people put in rock steep, rock stall axles and two speed, differentials and lots of crazy stuff that was period correct.
Speed equipment from the twenties and thirties. , those are the original hot rods. That's the first thing that people, you know, , Hey dad, can I take apart the model T and trick it out to something to, dad was onto his, 32 Ford. So yeah, sure.
Speed equipment from the twenties and thirties. , those are the original hot rods. That's the first thing that people, you know, , Hey dad, can I take apart the model T and trick it out to something to, dad was onto his, 32 Ford. So yeah, sure.
Go ahead and take the 16 T apart. Do whatever you want with it. Right. That's where the first hot rod yeah. That's just three kind of grew and blossomed and they started doing the circle track with them. And that's what my grandfather, my other grandfather, not the one that started the business, but my grandfather on my mom's side.
Yeah. He loved cars, he built, restored, I don't know how many different cars himself, he started off , as a mechanic out on the speedways and, I've got pictures of him out at the old bank speedway, doing cool speed stuff, dang, yeah, that's your double, a car family double in size.
Yeah. I guess that makes sense, that's how your parents would meet. Yeah, I don't know if that's, I think mom and dad just went to college. And my grandfather that started this business, he was a car guy just because, for a living. He, wasn't a hot rodder. He, didn't wrench at home. He drove an Oldsmobile.
Yeah. I guess that makes sense, that's how your parents would meet. Yeah, I don't know if that's, I think mom and dad just went to college. And my grandfather that started this business, he was a car guy just because, for a living. He, wasn't a hot rodder. He, didn't wrench at home. He drove an Oldsmobile.
Okay, oh wait, so that, that's not his car. No, this is, yeah, I should have clarified. That's why I, that's my other grandchild. Your other grandchild, okay. Yeah, my, maternal, I guess is how you'd say it. But, yeah, for Gene Bradshaw, it was, a way to make a living for my, Harold Langdon, my mom's dad.
It was more of a passion, yeah. That's actually a cool, different, because that could make, that could make a very good business, passion and business sense. Yeah, cool. Alright, well, you've been Released. Awesome. And I'll see you at the, I'll say hi. Yeah. And everybody, there's like free hot dogs.
They're good. They're delicious too. We couldn't do the show without the volunteers. Right. How many volunteers does it take? Well, it ebbs and flows.
There's some employees. Nick Fresa, who I started calling my co producer because he's retired and he's passionate about this. He loves being involved. He does a spectacular job I'm busy running the business and it's hard to make time. I'm always behind and Nick's always there to pick up slack and take on whatever side projects he's handled.
There's some employees. Nick Fresa, who I started calling my co producer because he's retired and he's passionate about this. He loves being involved. He does a spectacular job I'm busy running the business and it's hard to make time. I'm always behind and Nick's always there to pick up slack and take on whatever side projects he's handled.
He handles all getting the judges online. He's doing the trophies this year. Tons of stuff. So a big, shout out to Nick. And then, Neil he's helping, with the parking crew. , I had another friend who's helped for years, but he moved out of town. He's always managed the parking crew, which was a godsend because managing cars we have to maintain a fire lane And yeah, you know and we want to get as many cars in As possible safely without people scratching and any door things and knock on wood.
We've been able to avoid that. Yeah couple mishaps But anyhow, yeah, it's kind of key to get a bunch of people in And so I think we're gonna have a good crew this year and then Baxter's Auto Parts has been spectacular over the years John Baxter was Regular Volunteer handing out soda He's retired, but I hope to see him again this year, but there's gonna be someone else from the Baxter's crew and then Mark Mathias from beaches.
We've been able to avoid that. Yeah couple mishaps But anyhow, yeah, it's kind of key to get a bunch of people in And so I think we're gonna have a good crew this year and then Baxter's Auto Parts has been spectacular over the years John Baxter was Regular Volunteer handing out soda He's retired, but I hope to see him again this year, but there's gonna be someone else from the Baxter's crew and then Mark Mathias from beaches.
Oh yeah. Who does the Wednesday? Yeah. The Wednesday, the big beaches. Yeah. Out at the PIR. Every Wednesday. It's huge. That comes in with his crew and he is just so amazingly efficient and quick and boom, boom, boom. And they, fire all the hot dogs. We pitch him a little bit of money, help cover the cost, but it doesn't cover everything.
They come in and he's got a volunteer crew. And yeah, that's so cool. So he's a, huge asset, although he's retiring.
Yeah, there's someone I heard beaches. Yeah, so, um, are they yeah, I was kind of wondering I was like what's gonna happen to the show Oh, I I can't answer that I've been busy and I've been meaning to reach out and talk to him to find out what his plans are But, he's always been so benevolent with lots of charities and Yeah, so yeah, I don't know what he's gonna continue to do, but I know he's Worked his butt off and deserves a little.
Yeah, there's someone I heard beaches. Yeah, so, um, are they yeah, I was kind of wondering I was like what's gonna happen to the show Oh, I I can't answer that I've been busy and I've been meaning to reach out and talk to him to find out what his plans are But, he's always been so benevolent with lots of charities and Yeah, so yeah, I don't know what he's gonna continue to do, but I know he's Worked his butt off and deserves a little.
Oh, yeah You gotta retire at some point. I imagine somebody will take the torch for that show I hope so. It seems like it because it's such a it's such an iconic, you know every single wednesday Yeah, it's a it's kind of a big deal for the portland car community Yeah, as is the spring classic I would say Yeah Sorry, I keep gushing.
Well, thanks for being nice to me. Yeah. Oh, if somebody wants to volunteer, is it, are you still taking volunteers, and where would they go?
Yeah, absolutely. They can just reach out to me at the warehouse. Okay. , 203 503 233 4966, and ask for Ross. And, , yeah, we're still, soliciting volunteers. Okay. For the, parking crew.
muddy ask rose The, shtick with the parking crews, you gotta be willing to be here early . Yeah. What time do they get in ? Well, 'cause every time I've got here, there's already been people. Yeah. You know, we try and get the parking crew here. I hate asking so early, but we get the parking crew here at, 4 30, 4 45.
It's kind of an adventure, being up that early. It is, and there's always some people here when I arrive. I've never been the first person here, and I show up pretty bloody early. You know, some people come and sleep in the car. I was going to say, I know some people that have come and slept in their cars.
It's kind of an adventure, being up that early. It is, and there's always some people here when I arrive. I've never been the first person here, and I show up pretty bloody early. You know, some people come and sleep in the car. I was going to say, I know some people that have come and slept in their cars.
Yeah, yeah. The difficult thing is, if people do that, then I feel bad, but then sometimes we have to have people move their cars because we've got to do, like, On Clay, on Tenth, we angle on one side and parallel park on the other. And if they park, parallel park on one side, then we've got to move so it creates some issues, but normally we are able to catch people and have them,
let it out. Yeah. Everyone's agreeable, even if we have to do a knock knock, sorry to wake you up. Oh boy, it's pretty funny. But we twist their arm and tell them they can come get a cup of coffee. Yeah, they say there's coffee and then there's hot dogs later, the hot dogs are delicious. Yeah, oh and cookies in the morning too.
Yeah, it's a good time. It's a good time.
Yeah, it's a good time. It's a good time.
Request an explanation for:
4 cars
4 cars featured
Request an Explanation
Heard something you'd like explained? We'll add it to this episode.
Sign in to request explanations for terms you heard.
Want to learn more?
Browse our glossary for plain-English explanations of automotive terms, jargon, and concepts.
Help improve this episode
See something that's not quite right? Our annotations are AI-generated and can sometimes miss the mark. Click the flag icon on any annotation to suggest a correction.
Report incorrect info
Suggest better explanations
Flag missing cars