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122. The Pileup EP10: Odd Rods II
About this episode
Dive into the quirky world of odd rods in this lively episode featuring Memdog Nightmare and the queen of the fans. They revisit the fascinating story of Steve Scott, who won a hot rod sweepstakes and faced an unexpected confrontation with George Barris. The hosts also explore unique creations like Ed Roth's Mega Cycle and Carl Kasper's Vanturian, discussing their designs, eccentricities, and the stories behind them. With a mix of humor and automotive history, this episode is packed with entertaining anecdotes and insights into the odd rod culture.
Topics:
steve scott
george barris
ed roth
mega cycle
carl kasper
vanturian
automotive history
quirky designs
hot rod culture
Cars:
Buick Century
Chevrolet Corvette
Ferrari F40
Ford Bronco
Ford Explorer
Ford Falcon
Ford Model T
Oldsmobile Cutlass
Rolling into part II of Odd Rods, we're talking Vanturian & Mega Cycle. We got so wrapped up in the power of these we only had time for 2!
Recorded, edited & mixed by Emdognightmare & Queen of the Vans
Production & research Queen of the Vans & Emdognightmare
Find us: Car Krush
Stay updated w/ our newsletter
Hugs, thank you & high fives to Greg Meleney for the killer tunez!
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All right, all right, all right, the other stick, too.
Pile up, pile up.
Pile up, pile up.
Pile up.
Presenting by car crush.
We good start?
We don't know.
Hello.
Hi.
Welcome.
To the pile up.
Pile up.
Pile up.
Pile up.
Pile up.
Pile up.
Pile up.
Pile up.
Pile up.
Pile up.
Pile up.
I'm Memdog Nightmare.
I'm the queen of the fans.
And we're here with you today on our podcast called The Pile Up in case you didn't get
that part.
And this is where we talk about a lot of different automotive things.
Several.
Several.
Several different things.
And sometimes we talk trash and sometimes we don't.
We get the news wrong.
Definitely never get it right.
Exactly.
We're here to not get it right again.
Yeah.
In case there's any first comers here, we wanted to, newcomers, I mean, we wanted to just give
you an idea of what you're going to hear.
Clearly it's going to be bad.
Yeah.
It's just our enjoyment.
It might not be you.
It might not be your enjoyment.
It might not be correct is what I was saying.
Yeah.
Oh, okay.
I like what you were saying better.
Today we're going to talk about odd rods.
And this is Odd Rods 2.
So if you missed out, go back to Odd Rods 1.
Yeah.
Part 2.
Thus.
We chose 6.
We're going to pit 3 each against each other.
In one episode.
That's what we thought.
Like a bunch of silly birds.
Yeah.
Didn't happen.
Nope.
We can only get 2 at a time.
Yep.
So.
That's our story.
It was worth it.
Yeah.
I think so too.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Now we want to come back with a little bit of info.
Yeah.
Because we did Steve Scott's uncertainty.
Yeah.
We heard from the guy who built the amazing replica, which is super cool.
It sounds like he listened to the episode.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Appreciate that.
Thank you.
Hope you enjoyed it.
I'm certainly enjoyed seeing your car.
Now we have a little bit of extra with Steve Scott.
We have some juicy goss that happened in the 60s.
But it's very interesting.
And then we have like his exit from the.
The whole world.
Not the whole world.
The car.
The car of life and automotive.
Yeah.
So we wanted to cover those here off the top.
Do you want to start with the juicy goss?
I thought you were going to do the juicy goss.
Okay.
Fine.
Because it was your car.
Well.
That you've picked.
Sure.
I guess.
I just don't know.
I don't know the details that well.
You'll have to help me.
But anyway, what happened was that he won the like this hot rod sweepstakes of some
sort.
It was I think a big deal.
Yeah.
To win.
George Barris was really upset that he didn't win.
And in front of everyone slapped Steve Scott.
And Steve got a restraining order.
Yep.
Against Barris.
He had to stay a hundred feet away from him at all times.
Imagine how awkward the car shows were.
I had never heard that.
No one had ever told me that.
Like George has made people mad by, you know, again, like we talked about like
buying a car and then it's a part of the Barris fleet.
So then it's like it's a Barris car.
Yeah.
Totally lying about it.
What a character.
But I had never heard this laughing story.
And it is.
It's true.
It's not just the Internet fodder because Ed Roth did a, an illustration of.
He did a really cool shirt of, or like a waterside decal graphic of the
uncertainty.
And I don't know if it's supposed to be that Steve's got in it or
there's a monster in it.
Well, doesn't he draw people as monsters?
Well.
Why don't we just say there's a monster in it?
There's a monster in it.
The monster is holding.
I don't just don't want to make it out to be a portrait.
Okay.
That's fine.
But the monster is holding a summons and it says big George to appear in
court.
And I was like, oh, one across the bow.
Yeah.
Woof.
I'd never heard any.
I didn't know that.
And I'd seen the graphic, but I didn't know to be looking at the
fine print on the newspaper or the piece of paper in his hand.
It's such a good story.
Yeah.
That's wild.
It really.
Wow.
That's I mean, I'm aghast.
Now.
You had a juicy detail on his.
You said, you know, there is that juicy detail for us to bring up.
And I'm sorry that he got slapped.
And then you asked me if I knew what, what became of him in his
automotive lifestyle.
Yep.
And I said, no.
So I got this out of the autotopian.com.
The Autopian.
Autopian.
That's interesting because someone at work had just asked me if I
read Autopian.
Oh, well, it's pretty.
They have really detailed, this was a really detailed well written
article.
I liked it.
Yeah.
That's what he said they have.
Oh, well, he's correct.
Just look at you know someone that's not a liar.
Shout out Ryan.
Thanks for the good recommendation.
Thanks Ryan.
Okay.
So this is what Steve said.
About him about automotive.
Where's automotive career went one day driving home from my job at
Peterson Publishing Company.
I suddenly and very noticeably totally lost all interest in
anything to do with the automotive world.
It just happened.
It was like the channel on a TV just changed while I was
watching a program that up until that moment was everything
I had lived for.
And I was left with a total understanding of what had
happened and why and no desire whatsoever to try to
change the channel back.
I knew that even if I had tried to change the channel back,
the program wouldn't be there.
I gave notice the next day.
Wow.
This hit him like a.
Just a camera ray.
Nuclear bomb.
I gave notice the next day that I was quitting and from
that moment on I just simply what about my life with
very different interests and focus.
What?
And then the article said of that and that was it for Scott
and his amazing show rod building career.
He built one show rod.
It became an absolute legend and then he was done.
That's that.
Yeah, I don't know.
You see the most normal thing I've ever heard or it's
the most bizarre thing I've ever heard.
I don't know how old he was in that,
but he must have been pretty young if he was still
working at Peterson.
He was working for car craft.
I get it.
Sometimes it just gets sucked out of you.
Maybe it was just a delayed realization and then it
came at once.
He's like, that's it.
I wish I knew what those other interests were.
He'd been standing on the court and then he stepped
off the court and it all hit him.
He got back into physics.
He won a Nobel Peace Prize.
Maybe he just fly fished for the rest of his life.
Maybe.
Do you think he could retire off of a photographer's
salary for car craft?
I'm sure he got another job.
You said fly fish all I just thought you implied
he didn't have a job.
Well, I don't know.
Do you think he was a wedding photographer after that?
No comment.
I'm not going to go further.
Thank you.
Are you ready?
Do you want to do your first up?
Because I went first last time.
OK.
So it's your turn.
Wow, that's so thoughtful of you.
Isn't it?
Look at me.
All right.
Well, I'm going to break out the big guns here
and talk about Ed Roth's mega cycle.
Can we get a description of it?
All right.
I guess so.
Wait, was I supposed to give you something?
I don't know.
You just picked up your phone.
It's like you're checking your bank account.
No.
I was looking.
Listen, I want you all to know that we have notes
with pictures.
Just finished my intro to the show.
It's pretty good.
Anyway, Rose is going off over there.
We have pictures to the show, which is why
I'm holding my show notes.
Because we have pictures of the cars.
And I've got it in my, you're using an iPad.
Well, yeah.
Miss Vance over there.
It's open like a book.
Yeah.
Oh, is it?
Okay.
Well, I mean, yeah.
I think it's a kind of us.
Yeah.
It's nice.
Okay.
Mega cycle.
Imagine a cab from like a crane truck.
Okay.
Yes.
And it's at the front of the car.
Yeah.
So it's also very phallic.
It kind of looks, I guess the side shot kind of looks
like a semen.
Oh, I was going to say like a dick with a mushroom head.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's fine.
Like a semen.
Yeah.
Either or.
I mean, yeah.
Something happening to do with the penile organ.
Opposite of that cab.
Opposite of that cab is the engine.
It's a Volkswagen engine.
The exhaust is sticking way up.
Okay.
So we've got a cab, a one-seater, and you're in front of the axle.
You're sitting on top of the axle like in an economy line.
An early economy line or early van.
Engines to your side.
It's like a sidecar.
Yeah.
But it's aft and it's out in the open.
You're sealed in the cab with the steering wheel.
Engine is outside and is exposed.
And the body is, you know, gets cigar shaped towards the back.
And then there's a motorcycle behind you.
There's a beautiful custom triumph being hauled on the back of it.
And yeah, that's the mega cycle.
So the original name is by,
Oh, is this the real, I thought you were making that up.
The original name is by Robert Williams.
And it's Captain Pepe's motorcycle and Zeppelin repair,
which is supposed to be a play on Sergeant Pepper's.
I mean, this was drawn by Newton, Ed Newton in 66.
Newt.
It's so bizarre.
It also kind of looks like a fly.
Yeah.
The really big, top heavy eye.
Yeah.
And then it's got like a roll bar shape going over half of it
that also doubles into a scoop on the roof.
The roll bar shape is pretty cool.
And then it's on Craggers.
As far as I can tell, any profiles in the back and any profile in the
front in later version, the first version.
I don't know if that's just a bias by tire on the front.
And then an any profile in the back.
It's going to hard to tell.
I like the second version tires better.
Yeah.
It's in junior Sam.
It's driveway there.
And Fritz shank painted it.
Coupe pinstriped it.
And the triumph is blue, not red.
I like the blue.
Oh, yeah.
I like the all blue.
I'm not crazy about the white version.
But I think Fritz redid it and did the bike red.
I think there's a lot of subtle angles on this truck, on the
sidecar truck.
Yeah.
I mean, we're like, there's a body.
There's that belly line in the cab.
And then just the way that the, sorry, not the belly line in
the cab in the back of the truck in the bed, in the middle.
And then the way the cab is sculpted up.
You know, I'm, I think I'm tripping.
I don't think that that's a, I thought that was a Volkswagen
motor in there.
I don't know that it is.
Is that a weird choice for Ed Roth?
No, it's totally normal.
Oh, okay.
Totally normal.
But I think I'm wrong though.
Hang on.
Let me look and maybe it's in here.
But anyway, the whole thing about this car is it's like
got a floating tube grill and it has an M for, you know,
mega cycle.
And he was urged by show promoters to dip, ditch the
Captain Peppies.
I think because it was too long.
Oh, it's got a Buick v6, my bad.
Sorry.
I got faked out by the exhaust, but I guess I knew that.
I was thinking about that because when I was talking about
building that other project and using the v6 and I said,
if I did a v6, nobody'd respect me.
And then I saw this and I was like, oh, okay.
Cool.
So I was always on that page with Ed.
Ed Roth was about like, he was really concerned about his
carbon footprint that he's leaving behind on earth.
So like he rode his bicycle everywhere, especially when he
moved to Utah.
I remember you tell me that.
You know, he built those like motorcycle cars later.
It's really interesting.
Like the road agent and he like drove it to
Alaska and back and it, I think he got like 99
miles per gallon in there or something.
Damn.
Yeah.
He did a three cylinder car.
I think the stealth was three cylinder and road agent
was maybe a motorcycle engine.
It's interesting to be in his line of work and then to
have such opposing views to it.
Yeah.
That's the thing.
That's a part where I think it's just where like,
you get a guy like that.
There's more to him than just what you think is
on the outside and then people tend to ignore
that part.
Yeah.
That's too bad.
It is really.
I mean, you know, Ed was on about that.
He was, that's why a bunch of the cars had
the smaller engines.
I mean, not all of them.
The last one he was building that was in his house
that they moved to the museum.
I had a V8, had a Cadillac V8 and had the letter
that he wrote Cadillac when he asked for the motor.
Did they give it to him?
Mm-hmm.
Oh.
Yeah.
I think they gave him a North Star motor.
Did he die while he was building it?
Yeah.
Oh.
I mean, I don't know if he was in the shop
when he died.
No, I mean, sorry.
Was it in build when he passed away?
Yeah.
Yeah.
It was still in the shop there or is that
the house and so they removed the room
and moved it.
His house was in Manti, Utah
and where Eileen lives now is a couple blocks
over and Eileen lived.
I think they lived, I don't know if he had
still had his house when he first moved there.
Mm-hmm.
And then they met so they had separate places,
I guess.
So they moved, the museum is over at
Eileen's place.
So they moved that room in the car
and exactly how it was into the museum.
Oh, whoa.
So you can see how the car is sitting.
Yeah.
See when it was in process.
Mm-hmm.
Dang.
It's pretty cool.
Working right up till when he died.
It's pretty cool.
Yeah.
That is really cool.
Yeah.
How old was he?
Do you know?
Early 60s.
Okay.
So he was pretty young.
That's too bad.
I think it was.
I mean, I don't know what too young
is anymore.
Yeah.
I mean, I think he was like 65.
Let me look at that.
I can find that out pretty quickly.
Or maybe I can't.
I don't know.
I thought if I just clicked on his bio
here on custom ROM,
I'd get it really quick, but not really.
Where's our producer at when we need her?
Well, I thought you'd be searching it
at the same time.
Yeah, you know what I kind of thought.
I thought maybe I should search it
while you're searching.
And then I just didn't do it.
Sorry, he was 69.
Okay.
Okay.
Just like David Bowie.
I thought he was.
69.
I thought he was a bit younger.
Either way, I still think that was too soon.
Yeah.
He lived from 32 to 2001.
Damn.
I know.
It's a long time.
I know.
It's a long time.
He's definitely an original.
Mega Holler is interesting because
Ed loaned the car to this guy
at a salvage yard in exchange
for a VW pan to build his next car.
And
so the deal was like Ed hauls off the
pan or whatever.
And
the guy
gets to have the car in front of his junkyard
for a year as advertisement.
Ed comes back
and they're using it as a doghouse.
And the dogs have ripped the seats up
and
the car was pretty
pretty fucked up.
That's so rude.
Yeah.
I mean
it says a local junk dealer.
So Ed sold the car to Jim Brocker
in 69 and Jim traded it to Harris
and then Bill Harris died the mega cycle
and several other cars in Bill's collection
were auctioned off.
Harris was a huge collection
and all of Ed's stuff was in Harris at one time.
Oh wow.
Brocker
the Brockers were Hollywood people
and Von Dutch lived at the Brockers.
And so they would have this like Haunted House
every year and Ed Roth and Von Dutch
would decorate the Haunted House.
Whoa.
I bet that was a really killer Haunted House.
Yeah.
Dutch lived in his bus there
and they would bring him groceries
so like he didn't have to go out.
Wow.
He's worked.
So he could just work.
Yeah.
He was pretty much a made man at that point in his life.
So
but they really liked.
Yeah.
The Brockers really liked Big Daddy
and Von Dutch.
I would love to go to that Halloween house.
Yeah.
I know.
Right.
Isn't that so cool?
I mean Ed Roth for a time
worked in Knott's Berry Farm.
Like he just quit doing hot rods all together
and just went and sign
sign painted
because he never thought of himself
as a very good sign painter
so he just took a day job
painting signs at Knott's Berry Farm.
To get better.
Yeah.
Oh.
That's cool.
And he was just there doing nothing
and he thought that it was wrong
that
that he was drawing monsters
with like bloodshot eyes for kids and stuff
and
he just like
thought what he was doing
and God's eyes was wrong.
Oh because they were like stoned.
Yeah.
But who knows if they're
maybe they're just happy.
Well when he was hanging out.
He was just under pressure.
When he was hanging out at a shop
there was this guy that was hanging out
and he said that the guy
was like always smiling
and he was like
hey what's your deal man
why are you always smiling
and he was like
oh I'll bring you something tomorrow
and he's like
I thought great John's
gonna bring some of his good drugs over
and he brought him
the Book of Mormon.
And then he became Mormon.
Yeah.
Oh wow.
And then he
eventually got tired of being
recognized everywhere he went
so he
would go outside of California
and
drive until
nobody would recognize him.
Apparently that was
Manti Utah.
So he moved to Utah
and it was
you know right by the temple.
Uh huh.
Oh boy yeah.
In the small town.
Salt Lake there.
Yeah he just
rode his bike around town
and everybody just
thought he was just this
weird eccentric guy
that rides his bike everywhere.
Just kind of hiding out.
Oh do they have a temple
in that tiny town?
Yeah.
Oh okay.
Big.
Yeah it's real big.
The temple is.
Uh anyway
mega holler.
Tiny town big temple.
Fritz shank
you know
spritz by fritz
repaints mega holler
at some point
junior owns it.
The triumph gets repainted
back to red
and
coup pinch triped it
at some point.
I don't think it's like
that now
and then
uh let's see.
Mark Moriarty I think
own
Mark has owned it four times now.
Wow.
So I think Mark Moriarty
has it now.
Just a dealin and a tradein.
Yup.
Imagine what that guy's life
is like.
He's owned that four times.
Yeah.
Just buying like weird
shit left and right.
Yeah I did kind of think
about that some people
it is their thing.
But yeah at one point
in the middle there
when it was in disrepair
and the hair has had it
I guess.
Ed's son Darryl Roth bought it
and the Druid Princess
had an auction
and Ed and Darryl restored
mega cycle
and Druid Princess
in the middle there.
And when they were done
in the middle
they were sold to J. Oberg
and then once again
sent on the show circuit.
So I don't know what years
that is
but J. Oberg is another
odd rod movie car
TV car guy in California.
I had to look him up
like somebody I met
was like oh I worked for J
and then I had to like
look up J. Oberg
and he
had his hands in some cool
movie cars and stuff.
I think it was just that
people didn't like him
and I could be totally
wrong about that.
I think Dan Woods
I think part of the
Dan Woods story
which we're going to talk about
is like he hooked up
with J. Oberg maybe
at some point.
1980s Ferrari F40 limo
like he did crazy
like these like
like what happened
to the world's longest
car
and that comes in by built
by a famous car collector
J. Oberg
has 26 wheels.
Whoa.
So like J.
is another proprietor
of Wild Cars.
We should probably do
a deep dive on him at some
point.
It'd probably be interesting.
Put a pin in it.
Yeah it'd probably be
interesting.
So anyway the
Megahuller has made
the rounds
and it's kind of amazing
that it's like still out
there and hanging there.
The body again
it's blue
red triumph on it
there's a singular cab
that you sit in
the motor is next to you
the axle is behind you
so you're
hanging off the front
of it
and then there's
this asymmetrical grill.
Yeah it's going to save
the grill.
With a beautiful M
you know
that Ed
probably hand carved
nowadays we laser cut
and just have it
polished out of
stainless or something
you know.
They still make them
like they used to.
Yeah and it's like
coil over straight
axle kind of
suspension I think
under there
and I think that this
was the car where
Ed said
eventually a guy
gets tired of
looking at
you know coverings
and wants to see
what the car
is made of
and that's why the
car is completely exposed.
Oh interesting.
Yeah.
I mean it is
bizarre looking.
Yeah.
It's weird looking
like the little
sidecar.
Yeah and it's got
an offset rear end
like a truck rear end
or something where
it's offset
so it matches up
with the offset engine.
Wait.
It sticks out
further on one side
than the other.
The third member
is offset in the rear
end.
Okay but the wheels
are still parallel.
The wheels are
still parallel.
I don't know if
that's either
like a dump truck rear end
or if
Ed just had the
axle tubes
custom made
and the axles.
Yeah.
You know.
I mean Ed was
a pick and yard
kind of guy
but you can see
in this shot
that it has a
nice clear line
from the engine
back but they're
both off on the
passenger side.
Oh wow it is
almost touching
like the
coils on the
on the
passenger side.
The frames of Ed's
car is like this one
drops down twice.
Is that crazy
math do you think
to make it
so far offset?
No.
It was more about
finding a rear end
or either like I said
he might have had
the axle tubes
and axles
made for it.
Yeah.
I bet that's what he did.
I don't know.
Ed's a junkyard guy
so it could be
a dump truck rear end.
They come like that?
Yeah.
Some dump trucks
are excessively offset.
Oh okay.
Didn't know that.
Oh like a big
you know what never mind
I'm not going to pretend
I know anything about it.
But again
this also has
his coil over
rear axle
so it's like
the frame ends
at these little pockets
and the coil springs
are on the rear end
and like
a bunch of Ed's
cars are like that
so it's got
coil over axle
and then a
panored bar
that centers the axle
and then it's got
like a little
four-link setup
so that you can
change the angle
of the rear end.
A bunch of Ed's
cars are like that
I like it.
It's like a show car
way to go
because then when you
see it from the back
then you can have
that chrome spring
under there.
Looks cool.
Looks cool.
Very
interesting.
Yeah
and then the front end
it looks like a
galaxy front end.
Let's see it.
It's like this
it's like this
steel hat channel
and then
super narrow
control arms.
Hmm.
Yeah I wouldn't
recognize it
I believe you.
I think
I kind of think it's
from a galaxy
and then
it's just coil over shock.
It's pretty simple
front end and the frame
isn't really that crazy
but it's really neat
super neat to see
the way Ed did that stuff
and it's got a
rack and pinion steering
out in the front
which
That's always nice
Uncertainty also has
but the Uncertainty
has the rack and pinion
running the length
of the frame.
I can't hardly
wrap my mind around that
it's weird.
It's like a dragster
front end
and it's just
it's a long story
it's not going to be
interesting radio but
I'll tell you about it.
We'll have it more
face to face
but yeah
on this one Ed's
got the rack and pinion
just like hanging way out
front on this
special bracket
that looks like
the Chicago Bulls logo
Yeah I saw it way out there
mm-hmm
Very cool
Very simple
Very unique
Yeah
It's pretty neat
Ed's a smart guy
Eccentric
Smart
Smartly eccentric
Yeah
Excessively eccentric
I guess
excessively enough
I don't know
Anyway
It's
I'll hand the mic to you
It's your turn
I was going to say yeah
Do you want me to go?
Yeah well butt in
On to
2002
Vanturian
which is built by
Carl Kasper
sometime in 1974
I believe
I've seen it
Rose has seen it
and she actually was
pretty bummed when she
saw that it was on my list
Yeah
I mean your face is
trying to say that you weren't
I was
definitely going to pick it
Oh I thought you were
about to say I was bummed
when I saw it
and I was ecstatic
when I saw it
Oh yeah I'm sure you were
I was so thrilled
because it's in that
Hot Rod Show World book
and I was like
wow this thing's nuts
and then I saw it
and the colors are
still as
brighter than the pictures
could show
The pictures don't do it justice
Yeah they're really vivid
And it's big
Oh is it big?
A lot you know
I'm going to say something
that makes it sound like
I thought it was small
but that's fine
Some show cars are small
This thing's big
It's big
Okay
Maybe I won't say
about how small I thought it was
It's really long
I sort of thought it was
like
had a little ghost
of an
Astro in it
because I thought
it was small
Okay anyway I'll
cut that part out
Whatever
Yeah we don't have
to say that
Yeah anyway if you guys
haven't figured it out
then
and it's aerodynamic
it's raked with a sharp nose
it's like a slick
wedge from the side
It's a huge wedge
It's okay
It's a huge wedge
It's got a sculpted body
real and illusion
and it's hard to tell
from the photos
which is which
and since Rose has seen it
in real life
she'll probably be able
to tell us better
The colors are
bright
as Rose said there
Mostly orange
Yeah
Well it has a red body
Is it red?
I thought it was orange
I had it written down as orange
and then I looked at
another photo of it
and I was like it's red
That one where it's really shiny
I don't agree with that
Well because there's
orange accents on it
I've seen it in person
I feel like it's orange
Okay well there's
two different orange colors
on it then
Keep going
Okay
Okay
Alright
I'm gonna say it has a red body
Rose is gonna say
it has an orange body
I'm gonna say it has
a fluorescent orange body
Okay
with yellow, blue, orange
and purple accents
It's got a blue roof
with a small wing
at the top of the cab
and a cute little
spoiler at the tail
It's got that same
roll bar idea
that is on half of
Megahuller
Yeah I was gonna say
it is like that
It's pretty cool looking
Oh yeah the back
is like a cowl
I'm sorry
the back is like
a reverse curve type wing
that you'd see on a
transam
or Porsche
or something like that
It's real cute
It's just like a little
progressive wedge
A little whoop
from front to back
It is a progressive wedge
and you sit way in front
of the front axle
Yeah you do
As far as I know
it's a scratch built body
Okay
Yeah it's a 76 vet rear end
It's got a 454 Chevy
and that is sitting in a
Damn
I didn't know it was a big block
Well listen to where it's at
It's sitting in a
plush diamond tuck
bay
behind the seat
I feel like if I
stood there long enough
Carl might come along
and he might let me
drive it
I don't know if it runs
because it's in like a
velvet
I just kept staring at it
Diamond tuck
padded room
Also on wire wheels
Oh yeah
Yep
Which was the style at the time
Which was the style of the time
Can we get back to
how the engine is
in the plush diamond tuck
How much more do you
have to say about that
Bay
Okay
Well I'm saying
you probably never
even got started
You think
they started the engine
up in that
environment
I shudder to think
they're pushing that
What is pushing that mean
Not starting it
and pushing it
with human beings
Oh okay
Yeah I guess it wouldn't
get that hot
if you just
started it
and moved it
I mean I don't know
Okay
I don't have any photos
of the engine bay
I do yeah they're
in the show notes
They're in the
picks
Okay I can see it
How crazy is it
and everybody else
we didn't say this
at the top of the episode
but we have links
in the show notes
so everybody can follow on
Okay so the engine is
right behind the driver
Yeah
but then the
It's huge
air cleaners
for the carb
are basically
at the button
tufted
headliner
Yeah
So in my opinion
I don't see how
you could start it
and not suck the
headliner into the
carbs with that
supercharger
It's always a
blown motor
It's a blown big log
Yes
and the air cleaners
are at the roof
Which is kind of
I think the point
right
you're supposed to be like
this is stupid
but it's cool
So maybe they were pushing it
It's always entirely
possible
Maybe they got a whole
bunch of people to push it
It's always entirely
possible because
even if I feel like
even if you ask Carl
he'd tell you it ran
and it might not
Well it is
a good fantasy
that I would run
So I couldn't find
that much about
the building of this
but I did find out
a lot about
Carl as a kid
so I'm gonna
Okay
Or as in like
how we got to where he was
Yeah I met him once
he was super nice
He used to go around
in disguises at his shows
so that he could
kind of hear what people
were saying
That's hilarious
Yeah
Good for him
You want to know the truth
But he was super nice
and it was actually
really cool to meet him
even though like
a guy I worked for
had worked with
Carl a bunch
and would kind of like
say things
but just
in the way that you
talk about somebody
that you've worked with
for a long time
I feel like
Carl getting him into
rush jobs and stuff
or judging the show
and having to work
a lot at the show
but it was cool
after going to the
Carl Kasper show
as a kid
a bunch
to meet him
and he was nice
and I didn't know
that a bunch of these cars
were hit
when I was a kid
you're just like
you think about ownership
Right
He's done a bunch of stuff
He has a ton of cars
and it's like
he's not like Jean
where he like
goes out and brags about it
he just like
puts it in his show
and then he's sort of
not a guy you can reach
but then
he is his own
media machine
so I feel like
it sounds different
where it's just like
another one of Carl
Kasper's wild cars
has a big engine
and crazy paint
and that's kind of
all it is
Yeah
You know we're like
Jean's cars
that have a little more
story I feel like
Okay
Yeah
I guess I don't
I don't know the
stories of Jean's cars
That's what I mean
is like
there seems to be
not a lot of
Carl
Okay
Alright
Now here's
This is
about the
Okay
let me say this
This is a
screenshot I found
or it's a scan
of a magazine
and it's hot rod
it says hot rod gallery
Okay
and it says
Vanchurian candidate
Carl Kasper's van
is of
classic
proportions
Buck Rogers has
nothing on showman
Carl Kasper
and we suppose
that the man
from the 25th century
if he were with us
today would feel
Vanchurian
No Vanchurian
isn't a
shopped channeled
sectioned
or double whammied
stalker
but rather a
full blown
including its
671 Huffed
451 inch
rat motor
fiberglass
whiz bang
which was
designed and constructed
at Kasper's own shop
it's cockpit
compartment
tilts forward
for easy
entrance and exit
Ooh
I didn't see that
I guess I
didn't realize that
It's fiberglass
so it's
under inch plexi
that's thick
under the
hand rubbed
translucent
acrylic lacquer
over a
pearlescent under base
with shades
running from
tangerine to crimson
red, ice, blue
and organic purple
is a full
chrome ollie
tube frame
employing
reworked
old's cutlass
control arms
and a
76 vet
rear end
Well he really
described the colors
better than I did
so thank you
for reading that
It was a good
these pictures of
answering it looks
like the body
changed a little
but I don't
I struggle to believe
that
the windows
look smaller
like they
change the hatch
Well I think
like
there's so many
interesting body
lines on it
and there's
like
there's the part
I can't really
I don't know
if I can
explain this
to the listeners
but there's
just a part
of the scoop
Yup
Is it an actual
scoop right there?
Yeah
Okay
well I mean
I highly
recommend everybody
look at
Also the stance
is hard
what I put up in the
shadows
When it's in
the shot in the grass
I mean it basically
the cab is touching
the grass
like it's raked
like a van of the
day
but the front
is so
low to the ground
Yeah
it's really
And just the
shape of it is
like a shark
Corvette
Yeah
I actually have
a postcard of that
God it's nasty
Yeah it is nasty
I mean it's a little bit
of a snort on the front
but it's a really
cool car
It's a really cool car
Interesting guy
Yeah
Well he was
self-taught
he's kind of
an underdog
and he's very
humble
like you said
he was homeless
as a kid
so he grew up
with his grandparents
he had a really
interesting background
at 11 he bought
a sewing machine
and he had a
cool string
and sprang people's cars
just right into it
he built his first car
at 16
and it's still out there
winning shows
so he still shows
that car
I can't remember
what kind it was
I should have
gone a little more
deep in that
he says that
if you love
what you do
you'll never
work a day in your life
and then
what he's doing now
I saw in an interview
probably from
the 90s
or maybe early
2000s
he said he is
what he's doing now
oh that's what he
I mean he said that
in an interview
yeah
so I thought that was
interesting
and that's what I have
for the
vanturian
what's your next car
sorry
I was just looking
at all these
different Carl
Casper cars
because it's like
they just don't
have
I don't know
there's just
something about it
I think it's one of
those things where
like Carl is so
good like
I do think
he is good
at building
and hits all
it's like when you go to
a restaurant
and you're like
what does this place have
and then it's like
one of those places
that has everything
right
and you're like
a little bit of everything
then it's hard to decide
why do you do everything
cause like
you look
Carl's like
got this shoebox
and he's got these
like custom things
and then he's like
got that
late model
Ford Explorer
and then the general
lead
oh yeah
he did some late model
stuff too
oh yeah
and he's just done
one of every style
but like
even if that were the case
like
still a bad Mamajama
yeah
and he's got
huge collection
and just like
all these show
he's really put out a lot of work
yeah
yeah the
and I don't think
he's a copycat
I think he has original ideas
yeah I mean the
popcorn wagon
is two blowers
there again
another one
yeah
another super
it's got like
a modified
Model T grill
it's a wooden C cab
and then it's got a popcorn
yeah it's got
Model T lanterns
and windshield
and then
two blowers
on a small block
with a shotgun scoop
that's all the way at the roof
well that exhaust is insane
it's like the ice truck right
that exhaust is crazy
yeah
it's pretty nice
it's really crazy
it's so out there
we all should google
Carl Casper
and then I will put
links to the show notes
with the
vantuary
yeah anything
that comes up for Carl
I think is interesting
yeah as a kid
we always went to the
auto show
at freedom hall
Louisville Kentucky
and
I was telling Emily
that I was like
well I was
Emily thought it was
like really amazing
because they have these
old posters
world's largest
auto show
and it's
you know 24th annual
custom auto show
and
you know
it's like
one hall of it
is the nice
show cars
and then it's like
then you've got
on this poster
okay
star Chuck Wagner
from
radio
and then WQMF
radio station presents
playboy magazines
25th anniversary
playmate
candy loving
candy
WDRB
which was our local
Fox channel presents
Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck
with special guest
Care Bear
Care Bear
what
50 bands
super jam
band battle
I always remember
that in the commercial
50 bands
50 bands
is it over the week
see the vibrant
new dance craze
of the 80s
flash dance style
break dancing
stuff
TV wrestling stars
Jerry Lawler
and Jimmy Hart
from the WWF
and Ohio Valley
wrestling
right
kit
the night rider
stunt car
what
so it sounds like
it's a whole
variety of things
you can do
falcon crest star
Lorenzo Lomas
so
then it's got
the shirt tails
there's also
bronco hog machine
what's that
I sure want to
find out
it says
WAMZ
country station
presents the world's
two wildest car
crushing four by fours
bronco hog machine
plus
what
all-american
yes
okay I want to
drive one of those
yeah that's right
bronco hog machine
yep
also this is a super
grainy black
and white poster
and all this stuff
is just jammed
all over it
that's certainly
a lot of stuff
yeah wow
oh my gosh
it's really good
how did you
even read all that
I started in
one corner
there's a ton of them
there's loads of these
posters uploaded
and they're
definitely bring back
a lot of memories
for me
because it's like
got the fall guy stunt
truck
on this other one
Steve Bond
as Jimmy Lee Holt
and general hospital
I don't know
it was just
world premiere
of the street
hawk stun cycle
just
you know
Miami Vice
stars
wow
they just have
a little bit of everything
and cool cars
yep
he really kicked out
the jams on these
this
let's see
what year was this one
can't tell
oh my god
I can't tell
what year this one is
but it's got the roach coach
did you look that up
in our odd rod search
I did not
okay the roach coach is
wild
and then
at the same one
Tom Wopat
from dukes of hazard
and
and the general Lee
and then
welcome stars
from Buck Rogers
Tweaky
and Aaron Gray
as Wilma
so I don't know
they had a lot of
there was a lot of stuff
when you went to the
Carl Kasper show
yeah
it sounds like it
there was like
50 things to do
so it's family friendly
sounds like
yeah I mean
that's
a lot of why we went
right
but I mean
it was fun
here's
one where Mr. T is a guest
generally is
huge on this poster
and kids I know
you're getting really excited
about this
but they don't have these shows
anymore
the lowrider hopping contest
is always big on the TV
commercials
I even know the song
off the top of my head
bum bum bum bum
bum
bum
bum
bum
bum
bum
bum
bum
bum
bum
bum
if you didn't call it that
what are you doing
yeah you're right
the greatest show ever
it could be though
I mean
yeah
America's at that time
kinda got the
leg up on auto shows
yeah
I'm gonna believe
it
I'm gonna believe it
and say it was
is
okay was
because it's not
around anymore
yeah
I think that's good
because then we'll do
ice truck next time
and something else
what else
I'm doing
beatznic bandit
too
Wow, that's a good one.
Yeah, it is a really good one.
I love how 90s it is.
And then on accident, I also got a 2000s car,
Roswell Rod by Fritz.
That one's so good.
Yeah, I picked some pretty good ones.
And then my last one is the Golden Sahara too.
Also good.
That one is gonna be my biggest,
it's gonna be my swan song.
All right, well, I guess we won't rush it
and we'll just leave it at that.
I mean, Megahaller,
everybody should go look up Megahaller,
see what it looks like.
I don't know, look up all of Karl Casper's stuff.
Like the Hot Rod Show World magazines,
if anybody's got those,
oh my God, you know what we're talking about.
You've seen these wild things,
like I was, I pulled up the little cement mixer
that's got indie profiles.
Oh yeah, she did.
It's a six wheeler and it's got a chrome cement mixer.
Yeah, I wasn't into it.
But the model with it, the scale is small
and it's like a C-Cab.
I was into the idea and I wasn't into it visually.
I think they're all idea cars, right?
Even the bad ones.
Yeah, yeah.
Bath tub car.
You sit on a toilet.
That was the one you were like, it sucks.
You hated it.
And then you wanted to present it to everybody.
I both love and hate it.
Okay.
Because it is...
I mean, it's cool, they took the concept all the way.
Exactly, I mean, it's got everything.
It's so classic in that scheme and that realm
and like I feel like to fully remember history
as it were, you should have some of the shitty ones
and some of the good ones and the line should be blurred.
It's like so bad, it's good.
If you were gonna make an appalling hot rod, that's it.
Yeah, I mean, it's pretty...
It's a thing to be sitting on a toilet
if you're driving it and I'm sure it doesn't drive that.
It is sad to think of some of these as a paycheck.
I built them small so I could get more on a trailer.
Oh yeah, somebody said that.
You know, just building different cars
to get three or four cars out on a tour
and be getting paid to fill the trailer up
and go somewhere.
Hey, you gotta make a living, man.
Well, that's what I mean.
It's like, it's good and bad.
It's a hustle, but that's why some of them
I think are absolute shit.
But they're concepts and I like the concepts.
Yeah, I like the concepts too.
I like the concepts too.
Don't take my criticism the wrong way.
Yeah, well, we did another episode
in the books on the books
and I just wanna remind everybody,
I know I've said it 50 times,
click the links in the show notes
if you wanna see the cars that we went over today.
Ooh, you know what?
I ran into a listener
and he was like,
did you look at the show note links for the prelude?
And I was like, no, I didn't really look at it.
And he was like, the back wheels on the prelude
turn opposing the front wheels to a point
and then they flip and go the other way.
Oh, I did put the right link in.
I thought you were gonna say the link was broken.
No, no, he was just so impressed with what-
And he did the show note links.
I love it that people do the show note links.
He was saying like, yeah, it was Steve.
He was just like totally psychotic Japanese design
where like one person spent their whole life on this.
Oh, you know what?
That reminds me, we did have somebody write in
and talk about they had a friend in high school.
So that's what you're-
Ah!
Okay, Emily's getting into her messages.
We've got another write in from another happy listener
who has something from a high school car.
Their friend had-
Is this a callback to the features episode?
Yes, yes.
And this is a motorcycle dad on Instagram.
And he said, hey ladies, listening to Car Crush.
I knew a guy in high school whose parents
bought him a new four wheel steering prelude.
Rich Prick, it was a pretty sweet car.
I asked if it was sold in the US or as an import
because I was having issues finding out that.
And he said, yes, he got to write in it.
And yes, it was sold in the US.
And yes, it cornered quite well as I recall.
And he said it was available in 88.
And I think his was in 89.
Okay, brand new when I was just a sophomore,
junior in high school.
Okay.
Yeah.
Right on, that's it.
I kind of remembered my friends going off about him.
So-
Yeah, so I don't remember any.
And that was like the time when I was in high school.
So I don't know, I was in high school in the 80s.
What am I talking about?
I don't know.
Honestly, I don't know.
Maybe that's why I don't know about him.
But they would have been the age of car
that people would have been buying.
I had somebody write me telling me about,
cause I posted that coffee maker
that plugs into your cigarette lighter.
And this guy was like, Craigsler put a photograph.
And I was like, we already talked about that
in our last episode.
Way to tell me that you're not listening.
Oh.
And the guy just kept going on about more accessories
that we're already in the episode.
And I'm like, yeah, I get it, dude.
You didn't listen.
Yeah, that's okay.
You don't have to listen.
Yes, you do.
Just turn it on and leave it and don't listen to it
cause that just makes us have more listeners
on our platform.
If you want, but we hope you listen.
Whatever, we're just screaming in the woods.
Yeah.
I think we're, I think that wraps it.
That's it.
We're done screaming in the woods for the day.
We got it out of us and we feel better.
We're gonna get back in the shop.
We pulled my windshield out of my 67
and we were fixing some little bit rust in the corners
and welled up the seams where the skin meets the A-pillar.
The windshield posts, so it looks so cool.
Rose made a really beautiful piece of skin for the A-pillar.
Tiny little piece, but it makes all the difference
in the world.
Yeah, but it sure blends nicely.
It looks great.
As many of you know, you don't take your windshield out
very often.
No, so she's found a bunch of stuff to do.
It's pretty inconvenient.
Every minute, another thing to do pops up.
I don't think so.
Every hour and a half.
I've seen some far worse windshield openings,
but we're gonna paint the dash too.
So it has turned into a project
and we're gonna get back on it.
So thanks for listening.
Let's get a look at.
You done been piled up?
You done been piled up.
Bye.
Bye.
["Pomp and Circumstance"]
you
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