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#545 John Clay Wolfe Show 03.07.26

#545 John Clay Wolfe Show 03.07.26

The John Clay Wolfe Show Mar 07, 2026 161 min
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About this episode

John Clay Wolfe broadcasts live from the Jordan Family Classic Car Collection in Santa Ana, California, mixing lively discussions on escalating Middle East tensions with engaging calls from listeners about classic cars and hot rods. The show features candid commentary on geopolitical conflicts involving Iran, Israel, Russia, and China, alongside lighthearted banter and listener interactions. Highlights include a detailed conversation about a rare 1923 Ford track roadster and the unique atmosphere of the classic car museum setting. The episode blends current events with automotive culture, creating an eclectic and entertaining listening experience.

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Technical Too Afraid to Ask
Concept

hot rod

"It's a hot rod. It's been sitting 40 years, but it's in perfect condition."

A hot rod is an old car that people change to make it faster and look cooler. They often use parts from different cars to make it special.

Concept

track roadster

"It's a track roadster. Track roadster? You know what that is?"

A track roadster is a small, open car made or changed to go fast on race tracks. It usually doesn't have many extra parts to keep it light and quick.

Concept

Rodfather

"You know the Rodfather, have you heard of the Rodfather? I think so."

The Rodfather is a famous person who knows a lot about hot rods and helped make them popular. People respect him for his work with these cars.

Car

American Motors Corporation (Amc) Pacer

"That real beer gets me drunk. And I'm more of a pacer marathon guy. But yeah, we're down here in Orange..."

The AMC Pacer is an old small car that looks different from most cars because it’s wider and rounder. Some people really like it because it’s unusual and special.

Concept

Radiator Springs

""Kind of a radiator springs kind of look. Very much. Well, the Bosque canteen""

Radiator Springs is a made-up town from the movie Cars. It looks like an old-fashioned place with cool old car stuff and signs, kind of like what people liked a long time ago.

Concept

car collection

"We're in a beautiful room full of beautiful cars at the Jordan family collection."

A car collection is when someone owns a bunch of special cars that they keep together, often because the cars are rare or important.

Car

Toyota Corolla

"But the Paul Newman collection. Corolla's Paul Newman race car collection. They moved it down here."

The Toyota Corolla is a very popular and dependable small car that many people drive. Talking about a 'Paul Newman race car collection' means there might be some special race cars connected to this car or a famous collection involving Corollas.

Car

Toyota Tacoma

"What he cannot do is give $10,000 for a 200,000 mile 30-year-old Tacoma."

The Toyota Tacoma is a type of truck that many people like because it lasts a long time and can drive on rough roads. Even if it has been used a lot, it can still work well.

Term

G-body

"It is an 81-old G-body Cutlass 2-door."

G-body means a group of cars built on the same basic design by GM during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Many similar cars shared this design.

Car

Oldsmobile Cutlass

"It is an 81-old G-body Cutlass 2-door."

The Oldsmobile Cutlass is a type of car made by Oldsmobile. The 1981 version was built on a shared design used by several GM cars at that time.

Term

factory diesel

"And it's a factory diesel with about 52,000 original miles."

Factory diesel means the car came with a diesel engine from the factory, not added later. Diesel engines use a different type of fuel and are less common in American cars from the early 1980s.

Car

Jaguar Xj

"...lectic, crazy, like Audi rally cars, Duesenbergs, Jaguar XJ. I'm sorry."

The Jaguar XJ is a fancy and comfortable car made in England. People like it because it looks nice and drives smoothly.

Car

Porsche 959

"And then, oh, a Porsche 959, which is two million, two and a half million dollar car."

The Porsche 959 is a very fast and special sports car made by Porsche in the 1980s. It has powerful engines and four-wheel drive to help it go fast and handle well.

Concept

Nazi tanks

"He's got tanks. Tanks. Like like not stock tanks, but German Nazi tanks."

Nazi tanks are old military vehicles used by Germany in World War II. They are big, armored cars used in battles.

Concept

half track motorcycles

"He has half track motorcycles from the war."

Half track motorcycles are special old military bikes that have regular wheels in front but tracks like a tank in the back to help them move on rough ground.

Car

Rolls Royce convertible

"We drive around town with the Jay Leno style and his million dollar Rolls Royce convertible."

Rolls-Royce makes very fancy cars that are super comfortable and expensive. A convertible means the roof can open up so you can drive with the top down.

Car

Buick Rendezvous

"I mean he knew I was traveling here. We had a rendezvous point and a date. You got emails."

The Buick Rendezvous is a type of SUV that’s easy to drive and comfortable. It’s good for families or people who want a bigger car that feels like a regular car inside.

Term

year make model miles average rough for clean

""...and the truth is the lightning round is coming up and you've got to call in for that year make model miles average rough for clean year make model miles average rough for clean 800-800-7234 800 that's our phone number here""

When people talk about cars for sale, they often say the year, brand, model, how many miles it has, and how much it costs depending on if it's in bad or good shape. This helps buyers know what to expect.

Car

Jeep Wrangler

"...his is the lightning round Adam in Little Rock 17 Wrangler X unlimited with how many miles? Yes that's a 70,..."

The Jeep Wrangler is a tough and popular SUV that can drive on rough roads and trails. The 'Unlimited' means it’s a longer version with more space, and people often check how many miles it has to know how much it’s been used.

Term

hard top

"Yes that's a 70,000 miles that's a GPK unlimited sport okay so it's a sport hard top no mods hard top or soft top automatic or stay it's a hard top"

A hard top is a solid roof on a car that you can't fold down like a soft roof made of cloth.

Term

automatic

"hard top or soft top automatic or stay it's a hard top it's an automatic average rough for clean it's a I would say just above average no mods grandma style no Barbie lipstick on it"

An automatic means the car changes gears by itself so you don't have to do it with your feet or hands.

Term

aluminum sport wheels

"does it have the good wheels alloy wheels like aluminum's or does it have the cheaper ones you've got it yes it's the aluminum sport wheels on it"

Aluminum sport wheels are special car wheels made from a light metal that helps the car drive better and look nicer.

Company

Carvana

"got your quick question John Carvana offered me 18 five how are they able to even able to do that because they're doing funny funny math"

Carvana is a company that sells used cars online and can deliver them to your home or let you pick them up from a special machine.

Term

supercharged engine

"and it's it's uh like why would you put a v8 supercharged engine in a like a small SUV right"

A supercharged engine is a type of engine that pushes extra air inside to make the car go faster and be stronger.

Car

Ford F-150

"you've got a 01550 Ford truck with 200,000 miles regular cab two-wheel drive yeah yes there's a 736 speed manual it's got a 10-foot bed on it cabin chassis trucks got a winch bumper"

The Ford F-150 is a big truck that many people use to carry heavy things or drive every day because it's strong and reliable.

Term

winch bumper

"it's got a 10-foot bed on it cabin chassis trucks got a winch bumper with a winch in the front"

A winch bumper is a strong front bumper on a truck that has a tool to pull things or help get the truck out if it gets stuck.

Car

Pontiac Transam

"the truck here in the next couple months use it to pull around our equipment here probably five probably five grand Adam in Alabama O2 Pontiac Trans-Am WS6 with 1400 miles yep what color silver black interior they were all sticks weren't they no no is yours"

The Pontiac Trans Am is a fast and strong car that looks sporty and is fun to drive. The WS6 means it has extra parts to help it handle better on the road.

Term

350 engine

"okay so it's a ss it's a real numbers ss real numbers matching numbers 350 in it"

The '350 engine' is a type of V8 engine that was popular in many Chevrolet cars. It gives the car good power and is well-known among car fans.

Car

Nissan Maxima

"...e me the vin dot com loaded up paul and dallas 09 maxima with 186 yes it wants wants 2,500 yeah or that's ..."

The Nissan Maxima is a comfortable and fast car that’s bigger than a small car but not too big. People like it because it’s nice to drive and usually lasts a long time.

Concept

inventory

"you have this week's inventory that you're selling so we'll have 800 cars on Wednesday and in thursday in chicago and uh oh we'll start the radio show in chicago by the way next week on a really good sports station we baby chicago and then but then you have another set of inventory that's on trucks coming that's paid for and there's another set of inventory that's in the shop getting reconditioned so you're kind of running three sets of inventory"

Inventory means all the cars a dealer has to sell. This includes cars ready to sell, ones being fixed, and ones on trucks coming to the dealer.

Term

capital intensive business

"it is it's very capital intensive business and we make three percent margin net and it's a bitch"

A capital intensive business is one that needs a lot of money to keep running, like buying many cars to sell or fixing them up.

Company

Give Me The VIN

"back to the john clay wolf show presented by give me the vinn dot com call in 800 800 radio and check out the podcast at jcw show dot com or john clay wolf dot com this is the john clay wolf show hey dude in el paso with the corvette that was on hold for a while i was just fixing to take you right as you hung up but uh i'll give 15 grand for the car just check it in to um go to give me the vinn dot com load it up you can run it out there to our inspection center in el paso and i need to verify that it's a good one"

Give Me The VIN is a website that helps people check if a used car is good and real before they buy it. They look at the car and tell you what they find.

Car

Chevrolet Corvette

"... john clay wolf show hey dude in el paso with the corvette that was on hold for a while i was just fixing to..."

The Chevrolet Corvette is a fast and sporty car from America that many people admire. It’s often talked about because it looks cool and goes very fast.

Term

street knowledge

"okay let's do what we've been waiting for all this time it's that time you are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge oh yeah everybody's favorite game show white black latino or other i'm a read a crime story and y'all just give me the general vibe okay y'all y'all ready"

Street knowledge means knowing how things really work in everyday life, like understanding cars or people, even if you didn't learn it in school.

Concept

fraud involving airplane components

"this week we got a big baller fraudster our suspect is a former nightclub dj that was down on his money you know the music game don't pay like it should so this guy could have defrauded anybody but he went for a big fish the airline industry oh our suspects slung over six white thousand subpar airplane components and parts with false paperwork to make them look like the real deal maybe that's what's been going on with bowing late white some components were tested and fell the hell apart and the scheme unraveled and our guy was caught with jet fuel on his hands"

Sometimes people sell fake or bad airplane parts and lie about them to make money. This is very dangerous because airplanes need safe parts to fly.

Term

jet fuel

"and the scheme unraveled and our guy was caught with jet fuel on his hands in the 53 million dollar lick authority said he endangered public safety worldwide on an unimaginable scale"

Jet fuel is the special gas that airplanes use to fly. It helps the engines work and is very flammable.

Car

Lincoln Town Car

"well i mean i've been around airplane shops a lot i know exactly what he's talking about so like an air conditioner in my plane the compressor cost like five grand and it is the exact same part number to the t of a 72 Lincoln town car continental"

The Lincoln Town Car is a big, comfortable car that was popular for being smooth and roomy. The 1972 version is an older model with classic looks.

Car

Buick Grand Sport

"...wo of those three weeks ago it's not a gs is it a grand sport because that's a different animal if it is i don'..."

The Buick Gran Sport is a strong and fast car made a long time ago. It’s different from regular Buicks because it’s built to go faster and be more fun to drive.

14 cars featured

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