Chris Hartsock - EP.155
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Car
Toyota Supra
The Toyota Supra is a popular sports car that many people love for its speed and style. It's often modified for better performance, making it a favorite among car fans.
Car
Honda Civic Type R
The Honda Civic Type R is a special version of the Honda Civic that is built for performance. It has a more powerful engine and better handling, making it a favorite among people who love fast cars.
Car
Honda Integra GSR
The Honda Integra GSR is a sportier version of a car made by Honda. It's known for being fun to drive and is popular among people who like Japanese cars.
Car
Nissan GT-R
The Nissan GT-R is a fast sports car that many people admire for its speed and technology. It's popular among car enthusiasts for its ability to perform well on the track and the street.
Term
HKS
HKS is a company that makes parts to make cars go faster and perform better. They are especially popular with people who like to modify their cars for racing or performance.
Term
DCT
DCT is a type of automatic transmission that helps cars change gears faster and more smoothly. It uses two clutches to manage the gears, making driving easier and more efficient.
Car
Honda Civic
The Honda Civic is a small car that many people like because it's dependable and saves on gas. It's been around for a long time, and some versions are really fun to drive, making it popular among car enthusiasts.
Term
salvage title
A salvage title means the car has been in a bad accident or has serious damage, and the insurance company decided it wasn't worth fixing. Cars with salvage titles can be cheaper, but they might have hidden problems.
Term
rough shape
When a car is in 'rough shape', it means it's not in good condition. It might have dents, scratches, or other problems that need fixing.
Part
B16
The B16 is a type of engine made by Honda that is popular for being powerful and able to spin fast. It's often used in smaller cars like the Honda Civic.
Car
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
The EVO is a sporty car made by Mitsubishi that is famous for its speed and performance, especially in racing. It's a favorite among car enthusiasts.
Car
EVO
The EVO is a fast car made by Mitsubishi that's great for racing and driving on different surfaces. It's known for being powerful and fun to drive.
Term
H22 engine
The H22 engine is a type of engine made by Honda that is known for being powerful. It's often found in sporty cars and is popular among people who like to modify their cars for better performance.
Car
SRT4
The SRT4 is a fast car made by Dodge that was popular among car fans. It has a special engine that makes it quicker than regular cars, and people liked to race them.
Term
built head
A built head is a part of the engine that has been improved to make it work better. It helps the engine breathe more easily, which can make the car faster.
Term
stock turbo
A stock turbo is the original turbocharger that comes with the car. It's meant to give the car extra power without needing any changes.
Term
stroker
A stroker is a modification that makes the engine bigger by changing how far the pistons move. This can help the engine produce more power.
Term
FP red
FP red is a type of turbocharger that helps the engine produce more power. It's made by a company called Forced Performance and is popular among car enthusiasts.
Term
wheel horsepower
Wheel horsepower is the actual power that your car's wheels can use to move. It's different from engine horsepower because some power is lost in the parts that connect the engine to the wheels.
Term
transmission
The transmission is like the car's gear system. It helps the car go faster or slower by changing gears, similar to how a bicycle works when you shift gears.
Term
harness
A harness in a car is a bundle of wires that connects different electrical parts, helping them work together. It's important for things like lights, the engine, and other systems to function properly.
Car
BR 350 SE
The BR 350 SE is a special and rare car, with only a few made. It's unique because of its color and is considered a collector's item.
Car
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR
The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR is a special version of a car designed for racing and performance. It's popular because it's fast and has a lot of features that make it fun to drive.
Term
Evo nine
The Evo nine is a special version of a car called the Mitsubishi Lancer. It's designed for speed and handling, making it great for racing and driving enthusiasts.
Part
clutch fan
A clutch fan is a fan that helps cool the engine. It turns on when the engine gets hot and turns off when it's cool, which helps save energy.
Term
N.A.T.
N.A.T. means adding a turbo to an engine that doesn't have one. It helps the engine produce more power than it normally would without a turbo.
Company
BUSHER Racing
BUSHER Racing is a company that helps make Mitsubishi cars faster and better for racing. They work closely with Mitsubishi to create special versions of their cars.
Term
DSM
DSM stands for Diamond Star Motors, which is a group of cars made by Mitsubishi and Eagle. They are popular for being fast and having turbo engines.
Car
Honda S2000
The Honda S2000 is a small sports car that seats two people. It's known for being fun to drive and has a powerful engine that can go very fast.
Car
Mercedes-Benz C300
The Mercedes-Benz C300 is a stylish and comfortable car that many people enjoy driving. It's known for being a luxury sedan with good features.
Car
Dodge Vipers
The Dodge Viper is a super-fast sports car that looks really cool and has a big engine. It's famous for being a lot of fun to drive, but it's also very powerful, which can be intimidating for some drivers.
Car
Ford Mustangs
Car
Nissan Skylines
The Nissan Skyline is a car that many people admire for its speed and cool features, especially the sportier versions called GT-R. It's popular in racing and has a lot of fans around the world.
Car
Chevrolet Corvettes
The Chevrolet Corvette is a classic American sports car that many people love for its speed and stylish looks. It's been around for a long time and is known for being a good value compared to other fast cars.
Car
Gordon T50
The T.50 is a super-fast car created by a famous car designer, known for being very light and fun to drive. It's a special car that many car lovers are excited about because of its unique features.
Car
Jeep Cherokee
The Jeep Cherokee is a type of SUV that can handle rough roads and is great for outdoor adventures. It's also comfortable enough for daily driving, making it a favorite for many people.
Car
Cadillac Ctsv
The Cadillac CTS-V is a fancy car that goes really fast and has a lot of nice features inside. It's like a luxury car that also feels sporty and fun to drive.
LIVE
Hey, and welcome back to the next episode of the Right Hand Drive Guys podcast, the podcast
for guys who like right hand drives.
I'm Bobby.
This is Aaron.
Yeah, yeah.
And this is today's special guest, the friend, the homie, Chris Hartsock.
What's up, buddy?
So if you've been listening to the podcast for, you know, longer than a year, then
you probably remember that we had Chris on quite a while ago, just pretty much Supra
talk at that point, just we talked about pricing, we talked about availability, the difference
between right hand drive, left hand drive.
We pretty much covered a bunch of Supra stuff, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
So we said, you know, Chris is a local, local guy.
I've personally known him since, like, I don't know, probably 2000 or something.
If you count like the forum, just banter.
The early days.
Chris was an asshole when he was younger.
And I was mouthy.
So it was kind of one of those like things that happens on forums, right?
The mouthy forum days.
Yeah.
And I'm just going to clear the air.
I had a right hand drive Civic Type RX and I had not a clue about it, right?
I come into, you know, whatever, some money and I really wanted a right hand
drive car and I had found this car in Texas and, you know, it was beyond my knowledge
of what was going on with cars back then.
I would say, especially items being tucked and like that whole thing, right?
That was never a thing for me.
So long story short, I get the car finally.
I post the pictures on this local main forum because I was living in Colorado at the
time.
I post the pictures on this local main forum and somebody asked me what this like red
and black like nub was on the firewall.
And like being being an idiot, you know, I just like immediately assumed I'm like, oh,
those are obviously the capped off AC lines.
Duh.
And then Chris was like actually like, Hey, you dumb stupid piece of shit.
Just so you know, that's actually your battery post because clearly it's relocated.
And that was the last time I did not do my due diligence before posting stuff on the
internet.
For sure.
That was it.
Caught you a lesson.
Yeah.
I was never getting called out like that again.
Dude.
So thank you.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
For sure.
They were the Wild West.
Dude.
I remember 10 speed back in the day.
Yeah.
You know, the Nashville local forum was.
Yeah.
Pretty rowdy.
Aaron got back on there recently and found himself acting like a dummy on the internet.
I was like, why am I talking like this?
Like the default mode.
Yeah.
I'm like, what the hell was I even thinking, dude?
Yeah.
If you, if your local forum is still up and you were one of those kids back in
the day, like definitely try to log back in and see what's up.
Yeah.
It's pretty, it's pretty funny.
Yeah.
And so then, you know, like it was a thing where I finally met you in person.
It was some Waterville meet.
You had your red Civic.
Like there was like some show sign on there with insane TVs and like crazy stuff.
Do you remember?
I can't remember that.
I feel like, I almost feel like it was literally right down the road from the store
where the, the store where I just had in Waterville.
And like anyway, so I finally met you.
You weren't a dink in person.
You just were serious about your cars, right?
So that, that was like my introduction to Chris Hartzalk back in like 2005 or four.
I feel like in the earlier days, it was like, you know, before that, you know, because
I built not bought, had come out and everybody was like, so like, oh, look what I did myself.
And at the time, dude, that red Honda, I converted from an automatic to a five
speed with a JDM GSR.
And, dude, I did that in my, I look at my dad's garage now and I'm like, well, how did I do
this?
Like I would never, right?
I would never do this now.
So there's a lot of pride in it, right?
And I think being so into it, like in the same area, you know what I mean?
It's like you're competing with one another, but you know, at the same time.
Yeah.
And like in that sense, like from, from your perspective, let's say I had just
bought a car, I didn't build it and I had no clue what the, what the battery
post were.
And it's a type R at that.
And is it type R?
It's a type R.
Yeah.
That is about to be in magazines that are now on the wall, right?
Exactly.
And I had no clue where the battery posts were.
Yeah, I get it, dude.
Now in hindsight, I'm like, yeah, I probably needed to be shit-talked a
little bit.
So in that, like in that sense, right, how do you guys feel about giveaway
cars now?
Oh, giveaway.
Right?
Because like sometimes I know, like I've seen five or six local, not local, but
like in person rather, I've seen these giveaway cars.
I saw the 8080 GTR, like one of the first like five cars they gave away in
Vegas before this person, her name was Mandy, a dude I met her driving down
the road and it just had like this big 8080 on the back of it.
And I was like, no way.
Is that like, is that it?
But in that sense, you know, those people may not know everything about
that car, but it's like super sick.
Like where does that fit into like today's culture and is it relatable to
that?
Right.
Yeah.
I see what you're saying.
I mean, I don't know.
We did just have Carlos Perez on, right?
Yeah.
He does a lot of giveaways.
He does a lot of giveaways.
His giveaways are more, a lot of his giveaways are more basic on the
basic level, not like an 8080 or whatever, like that crazy level.
You know, he's had a few, but I don't know, what do you think about
giveaway cars?
I mean, they're cool.
I mean, they're, they're a way to get a person into a car that wouldn't,
wouldn't have the means to otherwise, right?
And that can be a good thing and a bad thing.
But like with 8080, they give away like crazy cars with a, you know,
loads of cash with it.
And you know, on their videos and stuff, most of people that you see winning
the cars, like it's not your typical enthusiast, right?
It's not a guy, you know, walking in there wearing an HKS shirt.
No, it's some mama three that bought a shirt for her husband and ended
up winning this car.
Right.
Yeah.
So I don't know.
I think it's cool.
It brings more people into it that might not necessarily have.
But right.
It depends on what their attitude is about it because that's what that's
what it really is.
It's like, if you're trying to, you know, act like you know everything
about it and act like you put it together and did all that, maybe not do that.
Like he's the scene accepting, right?
Yeah.
I mean, let me give my quick experience with it because I have a different
experience because I actually bought a giveaway car off a dude who won it.
And he was, he was the, like he was kind of an enthusiast, right?
I think this was a YouTube channel that he wanted off.
And he clearly viewed and watched the YouTube channel.
However, the guy was not like a car guy.
So the guy wins a 35 GTR.
Yeah.
The guy beats the ever living piss out of it.
The man has no funds to maintain this.
That's working.
Correct.
Yes.
And so that's the flip side of it.
Somebody gets it.
Like you said, you know, whatever.
And the mama three that just doesn't understand the car doesn't understand the upkeep or the
maintenance costs.
And now they're, they're driving this car like they always thought, like they drove it on
grant or whatever, right?
Or on Forza.
A grand theft auto.
What do you mean?
Yeah, yeah.
Grand theft auto for real.
So we show up to pick up this car that this dude got that was literally like
nice when he got it, right?
Like in great shape.
Now it has all completely bald tires, a valve in the, in the DCT is messed up.
The, the hood is like the hinges are bent because they tried to close like some tools
in the hood and the hinges are bent.
So the hood's lifting up in the rear because he was getting an oil change at, you know,
whatever, or whatever, right?
Like, right.
You're taking a 35 GTR to get an oil change at the lowest bidder.
What ended up happening is they drained the DCT and filled the motor oil.
No, no, it wouldn't surprise me dude.
That's what they would do, right?
Like that's, dude, it's just like what?
That's crazy.
So like, I think giveaway cars can be good.
I mean, I, I don't know.
I hate the whole buy these digital assets and, you know, buy this entry and you
get a download of a desktop screensaver thing, you know, like just this whole
stupid thing.
Like I don't really like, but like you said, I do think it's cool that you're
able to get somebody, if it, especially if it is a true enthusiast, it just doesn't
have the financial means, right?
That's like the biggest come up ever, dude.
If when, Chris, if when you were 19, dude, imagine if you won this super, dude,
if you won this super at 19, it would have changed your life.
For sure.
Probably not for the good.
Think about it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
If you won that, you just now under there at 19.
I couldn't.
Dude, I mean, you know, much trouble I would have, like I would have got in.
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
I had street bikes at 16, I bought an R6 and at 18, I had an R1 and, you know,
it's funny I talk about, you know, this all the time with my wife, like, there's
no way that like, dude, there are so many times where I should have not made it
out of that.
And like, she was there for a lot of it, you know, and like, that's, that's
scary, you know, now I'd look back and I'm like, dude, I can't, you know, and
imagine having a car like that, you know, I'm 36.
So yeah, I mean, the trouble I got in with what I had already was enough.
Right, right.
With just a GSR swapped Civic, dude.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, literally speaking of Civic, I know you've had some heartbreak when
it comes to Honda Civics.
Can you tell us about a time that you lost something that you loved?
Dude, OK, so you remember?
Do you remember my electron blue pearl SI?
I remember it in spirit, dude.
So I put a I got this car.
It was it was a salvage title out of bit of her, dude.
It was like in rough shape.
It had a it had a B16 in it that was blown up and they had like spray
bomb, the wheels pink and like over spray on the tire and stuff.
And I had some damage and it was like, wasn't it wasn't very nice.
What year is this?
This was a 99.
No, what year was this when you found it?
Like 2007, 2008.
Yeah, it's still pretty new car.
Yeah, so yeah, yeah.
I mean, they were there were an abundance of them.
I mean, there you would see him, you know, the electron blue one stuff.
Yeah, yeah, of course.
That was an SI only.
Yeah, with the red SI on the back.
Yeah, yeah.
So it was hurt.
I think I paid twenty five hundred bucks for it, dude, blown up.
That's I put that JDM GSR in it.
I did a bunch of body work, got it painted, dude.
The car was.
It looked very like the paint was sick.
Yeah, yeah, I got there was some stuff that happened to it.
That would that's another story.
But I get so at that.
So at that time, I have that car, life's good.
I, you know, just get it painted, everything's straight.
And then I buy my EVO and I had just bought in my EVO.
Like I had it for like a week, maybe two.
And it was like late in the year.
It was like November and my dad calls me.
He's like, hey, where are you?
And I was like, I'm, you know, somewhere nearby.
And he's like, you might want to get home.
And I was like, well, what happened?
He goes, dude, you just had a giant tree branch fall in the car.
And I was like, yeah.
So I'm like, OK, so, you know, the EVO's EVO stock and I'm ambitious with it.
You know, so I come home and like, dude, this branch, huge branch
had fallen on the roof rear like pillar and cave the roof in diagonally
to the driver's side.
It was basically this wasn't just a branch.
This was this is a whole tree.
Basically a tree came off another tree.
Like I remember I came over after it happened.
I was part of it out. Yeah. Yeah.
And it was like caved, caved bro.
Like the roof was touching the headrest of the backseat.
Like it was caved in.
That's and I was like less than a month out of paint.
Yeah. So like, yeah.
And then insurance wouldn't cover it.
I think yes, there was an act of God, they said, right.
And then so like now I'm like, because I have that, I still have my red
S.I. shell. So I'm like, all right.
So I just pull everything off of that and swap it over under the red car.
Yeah. And come to find out, dude, is my neighbor's tree.
So like I could have gone after his insurance.
Like I I remember I have a picture somewhere of that day
hauling it to the scrap yard and then picking it up with the claw from the roof
and just like off the trailer.
Like I remember that another one bites the dust.
Yeah. Yeah. So that was tough.
You know, that was tough.
I lost I lost some money on that.
But you know, so did you end up going back to the red car after that?
Yeah. So I ended up at the time, man, I was buying selling Hondas like crazy.
I mean, somewhere in there, I had that H 22 EK and that thing ripped, dude.
Yeah.
H 22 is rip in civics.
You know what?
If I could rebuild one car, it would be that H 22 EK.
I remember the first time I got that motor in that car.
I didn't know if the hood was going to shut
because that H is like it sits back and it's way taller and it did.
And that car was just stock.
It was all stock H 22 and it was so fast.
I remember SRT fours were like a big deal at that time.
Yeah.
And I beat an SRT four in the interstate and I was like, yes, you know,
like this thing is so fast. I made it.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that's pretty cool.
I think H 22 is underrated because of the short supply of them.
So like it didn't become a mainstream like B series type thing
because of the production numbers were so low.
But it was especially in an EK civic like a fast.
Yeah, it's sick.
So OK, so you mentioned.
So you have an Evo do.
Yeah, that was like the.
Oh, is that what your screen name means?
That yeah, that was the that was the first time I really got into doing
like straight up like full motor work.
We did a at first I did a built head on it stock turbo
and it made 300 wheel and like that thing was fast, dude.
Yeah, that thing was fast.
And then I was like, well, I want a little more.
So we went with a two one stroker, bottom end.
And then I did the FP red and like, dude, that the car was fast.
It made 580 wheel.
And then I blew a hole out of the trans the stock trans.
So yeah, yeah, big hole.
And and from there, I was like, you know what?
I really want to do.
I really want to make this thing like everything I've ever wanted.
But then like I got into my traveling career.
Yeah. So car came second.
And one thing, dude, I remember doing and I wish I didn't
because I had I wiretucked my Civic and like that was that was different.
But like I really wanted to wiretuck the Evo.
And I remember cutting the harness.
And I was like, because it was running, this car was running.
I moved it like drove it to where it's at.
Really? Yeah.
And I remember cutting the harness.
And I was like, all right, I'm committed and like, yeah.
Yeah, that was like so that was so stupid.
I should have never done that.
So is that the demise of that?
So that's where it stopped.
I what I now have a harness in a box and I have a I have a
SHEP stage one.
I've got a built transfer case.
I have everything in the in the car in the box.
Still, I just refuse to work on it.
Like not on a like if I don't have a lift,
if I don't have a proper place to work on it, I'm not going to.
Like I'm done with that stuff.
So that's the motivation then.
So I've got it.
You know, it's got a brand new motor in it.
It's got a brand new turbo on it.
It's got a bunch of really nice parts.
But I just I, you know, and with traveling for work,
you know, I just haven't had the time.
It's got, you know, I feel like it would be,
you know, now that I have a kid,
you know, maybe something that he and I could get into
once we once I have a place for it.
Yeah, you know, can I interrupt you and ask a question?
Yeah, go for it.
Can you just have you lost interest in the Evo?
I just I'm just wondering, you know, we're here.
Everybody's listening like.
So I don't want to say I've lost interest in it
because because I haven't, you know, right after I bought the Supra,
I bought a BR 350 SE that car was one of three
BR 350 cars ever made that were graphite gray.
Dude, the just the graphite gray Evo nine MR is like the best of the best.
That is the most like appealing looking car in the world.
It's like so you get the SE lip on it with the Evo nine rear.
Like, dude, that thing is just like perfect.
So I so I bought that and I was like, sweet.
Now I have two like this one is, you know, it's a limited like this.
You're never going to find another one, right?
And so I have that I'm down.
I'm working down in Philly, Westchester.
And like Supra stock, I just bought it.
And then I then I take the car.
I have the factory clutch fan like the it had separated
and like kind of walked into the crank pulley and I couldn't drive it.
And I'm traveling for work, you know, I don't have any tools with me.
So I found a local shop and they built drift cars.
So I was like, sweet, you know, you guys can do.
Like you guys can do all the work I need done to this.
And so I dropped it off and they're like, hey, you know, what do you like?
What are your plans for this thing?
And I was like, well, I don't know. I mean, I just bought it.
Yeah. Yeah.
I'm just trying to drive it, you know?
And he's like, well, you know, you're this is leaking.
This is leaking. If we do this, we should do this.
If we're going to do that, like if you have plans on like
doing a single turbo on it, like, you know, if you don't do it,
you're going to spend the money twice, basically.
So I was like, OK, like what's an N.A.T.
Like, OK, like what's an N.A.T. kit going to cost?
He's like, well, you know, you're about like 15, 16 grand in an N.A.T.
And I'm like, it's like, but you could GTE swap it and then do a single.
And I'm like, sweet room to grow, you know, like, all right.
OK, you know, like we're talking the future here.
OK, yeah, sure.
So I'm like, I'm like weighing out, like, OK, do I want this EVO
or do I want to build this Supra?
And I was like, so I ended up flipping the car looking back.
I wish I didn't. I wish I still had it either.
I wish I wish I still had it.
I wish I wouldn't have done that because it was like I sold it for nine grand.
Rolling shell. Wow.
And I paid. I think I paid 6,500.
So, I mean, I was in the green, right?
I mean, like now I got a made a little money to put into the soup, you know,
and then that shell today, could you imagine EVO nine M.R.
Shell today? Yeah.
Oh, my gosh, dude, 20 plus.
Just that's just an M.R.
Now imagine a B.R.
350, right, what that would pull.
I mean, do you know about those like those B.R. cars?
Not really. Oh, BUSHER. It's a BUSHER thing.
So BUSHER Racing got with Mitsubishi because I did a bunch of research.
I do remember this now.
And he so we never got the FQ version EVOs, right?
So BUSHER went to Mitsubishi and said there's a there were three dealerships
in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, I believe.
Oh, you're sure.
And there were 23 cars total and they were sent to BUSHER
from the factory and labeled B.R. B.R. cars.
And they're all labeled spark plug cover has the addition number in it.
And the bumper has like an emblem and the trunk has an emblem.
And they're incredibly rare.
Now, like, I don't know how many of them are like survived.
Yeah. But that was the story with BUSHER and it came with some BUSHER stuff, right?
Like the tune that came with some bolt on.
So this was like U.S. only. Yes.
Yeah. Wild. Yeah.
Which you don't hear that happening.
I do remember now that you just described the story.
I do remember when that happened.
And yeah, I've never seen one for sale.
Like you never I never see them, you know, it was just like this folklore.
Right. Like all these BUSHER built car.
Like, you know, they were big in drag racing, right?
BUSHER. Yeah. Yeah.
David BUSHER, he's got like, yeah, dude, the guy is like insane with DSMs and E-Vos.
And yeah. And the early GTR is I want to say he was like,
I might be wrong, dude, but I want to say his his bolt on GTR like
won quite a bit.
Like he's had some world record with it.
I don't know. I can't I can't cite what it is.
But he's like super into it.
So he hosts the DSM EVO GTR shootout in Ohio every year.
That's cool. Yeah. Super cool event.
I've met David. He's a good guy.
And yeah, I mean, imagine the stories he could tell over the years.
Because he started with the one G's.
Pretty crazy. That's crazy.
They that you don't hear of that happening of a shop
collaborating with the manufacturer and actually selling the cars at the dealership.
Like that's cool.
Yeah. That's super rare Japanese cars.
Like for sure. Yeah.
And this was 06. This was 06.
Yeah. You know what I mean?
So like, like I wonder if those are sought after in Japan.
Like, you know, the busher stuff or the USDM E-Vos, the busher stuff.
Maybe. I mean, that probably right.
Just like certain things are. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, that's pretty cool.
So so you get rid of this thing.
So yeah, you got to put it, put the money into this bad boy
so that you can get to where you want to go and reach the goals.
So then like, OK, so sold the sold the Evo a dude from Rhode Island
and somewhere I can track this guy down.
But he drove he drove from Rhode Island pretty much straight
and picked it up in the middle of the night and he was a good dude.
But so sell the car. Now I've got the cash.
I'm like, all right, because so this build on the Evo is like
I mean, on the Supra is I'm thinking like 1520, right?
Yeah, right. So you never get out with that, right?
Like, all right, I'll have a thought. Yeah.
Yeah. So I dropped the car off in February.
Dude, covid hits the governor Wolf and PA shots like everything down, right?
So they've got my car.
I've given them a down payment and like now they can't work.
They can't order that, you know what I mean?
Like, so what's going to, you know, you guys still have my car, you know?
So like, thankfully, where it goes on, I'm in the area.
I know I'm going to be in the area for about a year.
And so we have the luxury of time on our side,
but there were a bunch of sourcing issues, right?
So we got some things that weren't right.
And, you know, so end up like changing a couple of things like,
oh, you know, if it's going to be a few more months,
like, let's get that.
Let's get that plasma man intake from Australia.
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
I mean, if we're going to do it, like, and then there were some issues
with some of the parts, like the exhaust housing from Garrett was like,
had it had a defect.
So they, you know, oh, we'll take it back.
And instead, you know, you can choose from some of these options
that we can change, you know, on the house.
So I was like, cool, you know, so I ended up getting a little bigger turbo.
And I ended up going with the 12 blade billet wheel.
So like, there was a bunch of like add-on stuff and like next thing you know,
bro, October rolls around and we're like more than twice.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
So that happens so quick, especially with prices and stuff going up
during the same time. Yeah.
So I so I bought the car the year before and then I put more than I paid for it in it.
That's crazy. Yeah, you'll have that on these big jobs.
Yeah, dude. So super guys.
Yeah. I mean, and to be honest, the car is going great.
The tune is great.
It's been awesome.
I've had to adjust some things, you know,
because I get the car done and I come back to Maine and
it's winter. Yeah.
So like cars and storage and like not driving it.
So I've probably put like, I don't know, I think I did my mileage.
You had to 7000 miles or something.
Really? Almost 8000 miles in the last few years.
That's not much.
Since I've right on that build and the car goes great.
And then I was having I was blowing transmissions up
and then taking teeth out of the rear end.
And yeah, that does happen.
I mean, yeah, that does happen when you get this huge turbo on there.
It's it's one of the, you know, there's one thing that I did
that I swam against the current on and that was going with a turbo that size.
And I'm glad I did because I was told not to.
I was told it was way too big.
But what I like about it is that when you're not,
when you're under four grand, it drives like stock.
You can drive that thing normally does not constantly spooling.
Yes. Yeah.
And with the gearing now with the with the RPMs down,
the heat isn't so bad.
And like, you know, when we were in Nashville,
dude, it was we could just ride around with it.
Yeah. You know, and it was normal.
That's cool. It was it was sweet.
It was I'm so glad, especially with Taylor Dragon,
with the gearing, the way it is, if that turbo was smaller,
that car would have been way more dangerous on that road. Right.
Yeah, it's almost like for with these type of cars,
like you almost if you do, let's just say daily it
or drive it during the day, often on regular roads,
you almost do need a turbo that big or way smaller.
It's like one or one of the two, right?
Like that medium sized turbo is going to be constantly spooling.
Yes. Right.
When you're getting into it on the road
and it's kind of too much, right?
Whereas, yeah, this big thing hasn't even started.
So you're almost driving in a it's only going to spool when you want it.
It's so pleasant.
I don't I don't track my fuel mileage.
But I'm I am having now with the T 56 and the and the built rear
with the different gearing, the car is so much more friend.
I mean, I was on the way here doing 80 at 2100 RPM.
I've never had that.
I've never had that since I had the car.
So you mentioned this word track and you said you don't track your fuel mileage.
But do you track the car?
So I haven't I haven't.
I'm not against it where I'm up.
So we just had the the lowering land speed, right?
And I looked into it and so if you don't have a cage,
if you don't have the safety things, you're not allowed to go over like 150.
Yeah, bro, that's fourth.
Yeah, that's not that much fun.
Like to some listeners, 150.
Holy crap.
But like in a car like that with that type of gearing, it's really not.
Is that is lowering a mile?
Yes. Yeah, yeah.
So like, you know, top of fourth is like 187.
Yeah.
So damn 187 Glendale, bro.
Yeah, so I I'm not against it.
I mean, I would I found myself on the tail of the dragon.
I was more nervous about other people.
Yeah, that's hard.
That was scary.
And I find I watch these track day things and like
it's hard to have.
I went through so many life events, you know, when I bought my house,
you know, I took that to the closing.
I took that to the house for the first time.
I've got pictures of all this.
So when you have, you know, you're emotionally attached,
you've gone through these things in life with that.
You know, my first car was at 85 Supra in high school.
So when you go through all these things with that,
you know, you get you get attached.
Right.
You don't want nobody crashing into your that now it becomes
sentimental because like you said, you've brought brought it to
all of these life events now going to a track day with some
noobs or some squids or whatever you want to call it.
And one of them T boned you because he slides through the corner.
Yeah, there goes.
You'd almost have to go to a track day with legitimate drivers.
Right.
Right.
So in Vegas, they hosted a track day just Supra's.
I don't know what's happened with that event that the last few
years, but now we have the pusher.
I would love to attend that.
I would, you know, I definitely it's not out of the it's not
out of the question, but I'm not willing to make the car
attract car.
Right.
You know, I'm not willing to do.
I'm not willing to put a cage in it.
You know, because I put my kid in the car.
See, I took him to daycare this morning in that.
That's cool.
You know, so.
Yeah, I mean, that's the.
I just don't want to lose that part of it because it's like, you
know, now here I don't I don't have an issue like I'll bring it
to the to the track and like drag it like I have no problem
with that.
I just need to make sure it's not going to break.
Right.
Because yeah, I mean, right, it either has to either
got to have a little fun with it or it does have to
be like a drag car or not a drag car by a track car.
Right.
It's hard to.
I mean, it's hard to do both with something like that.
Something like our buddy TJ when he's talking about the
86 or whatever.
Yeah.
Very easy to make like a street and a track car.
This not so much.
And where we're in the Northeast so so high like, you
know, now you're trailering what two, three, four
hours, you know, Walkins Glen is like nine nine
hours away.
I don't know, man, like I just I'm having so much fun
with it the way it is and and it really fits the bill
for me.
You know, I'm not saying that that I'm not going to,
but I definitely definitely would.
Yeah.
I mean, if you would, you need to at least try it
out right only because you'll never know.
Right.
Just feeling it, you know, like, yeah, of course,
you don't want to get on the track again with
some turds, but like to feel it and know you did.
Oh, yeah.
That'll be nice.
A little check it off the the super bucket list.
Right.
For sure.
And hey, like we haven't gone back to it yet,
but like you still need to tell us what happened
with the Evo and maybe that's a track car.
Right.
Yeah.
So I can see that.
So you sold the other Evo the shell.
You've put the money into this.
Right.
So now this thing's right where you want it.
How long goes that?
2021.
So four years.
Fall of 2020.
Four or four.
Four and some change.
Yeah.
And then obviously you had a son.
Yeah.
And you got married.
Yeah.
Or were you married when you built the car?
No.
So you got married, had a son that takes
And bought a house.
And bought a sweet house.
Yeah.
So that takes up some time and finances.
Where's the Evo during all of this?
It's just chilling in my shot.
Like a puppy.
Just looking at you every time.
Ready to go.
Yeah.
Come on, dude.
I said, man, I have everything in the box ready to go.
Yeah.
I took the stock Brembo's off to redo them.
Never did anything with them.
I bought a set of CCW classic race versions in Houston.
So those are discontinued.
Yeah.
Wow.
They're supposed to be, they've got like in between the bolts.
They have holes drilled out around it.
They're supposed to be like an ultralight version of this,
of the classic.
Yeah.
I remember like, I for sure remember,
because you also have like a do luck trunk, right?
Or like something.
Yeah.
So that trunk is all from Chris Cessna's Evo.
That's the first stock block Evo in the nines.
Yeah.
And he's in de-sport.
He's got that trunk on his car.
I drove out to STM in Rochester, New York in my S2000.
And I brought that home in the passenger seat, dude.
It's not the only thing you brought home.
Yeah.
This guy is infamous for being ridiculous transporting things
in S2000s.
Dude, what's the deal with that S2000?
You haven't touched on it at all.
Oh, the S2K?
I had a dude, I got, so I think I bought that car for like 11.
11 grand.
And it was like nice.
It was nice.
So I was, I was working down.
This is at the very beginning of my traveling union career.
I was actually driving down to Boston and I got, dude,
I'm going to be honest, I fell asleep.
And I hit the guy in front of me in traffic.
Airbags went off.
His car was fine.
My airbags deployed because I had a C300 that was lowered.
And so I took it right in the headlights and the grille,
totaled my car.
So I ended up finding this S2000 in Boston
and ended up buying it.
So it was great.
I had a good time with it.
Then I got, then I got a little, a little rowdy with an S2K,
with a Honda Ruckus.
Do you remember that when I brought that Ruckus home?
Yeah, in the car.
In the passenger seat, dude.
I took the top off.
That's like the whole thing.
It was like sticking out of the roof.
It was literally sitting like this.
Those are heavy.
Yeah.
Did you do some damage during that?
Dude, I didn't do it.
It didn't do any damage at all.
I put a couple towels or a blanket in the passenger seat
so the tire was sitting on that.
And then I put a microfiber on the headrest
and then I strapped it down.
So it wasn't going anywhere.
Yeah.
But like I drove home from Old Orchard Beach like that,
dude, in like November.
Yeah, that's pretty.
It was cold.
It was cold.
Did it rain?
No, it didn't rain.
I just remember, like you had a picture of it
at a gas station.
Yeah, in Augusta.
It was just like so ridiculous.
You were still in this point at that time of like ridiculousness.
Yeah, ridiculous defiance.
I'm going to do it anyway.
When we're not talking about the license plate.
Anyways.
If you want to know, you can find it.
You can research it.
You'll find out what the license plate on that car was.
That was rowdy.
I was like, okay.
I was 21.
Yeah.
Working at Planet Fitness.
Yeah.
I had three jobs at the time.
Yep.
Yeah.
Because you know, yeah.
By this time we were cool.
So I remember stopping by Planet Fitness to say what's up.
And you showed me the car.
And I'm just like, dude, this is crazy.
Purple wheels.
It was rowdy.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, it was just a cool car.
You know, for at that time for sure.
But like, yeah, when you start putting like,
I don't know, motors or whatever else you were putting
in that car, you know, transporting everything.
Yeah.
It was crazy.
Dude, I drove that thing every day in the winter.
And like, that was not a good time.
Oh, I bet.
I have a picture driving through the snow and like,
I'm bottomed out.
There were a couple nights.
I didn't know if I was going to make it home.
And there weren't no blizzaks on that thing.
No, no, I had those tilty wheels.
Yeah.
Like baloney skin.
Like, yeah.
So the demise of that, I was working at Advanced Auto Parts at the time.
And I was getting like, that thing had,
it did have snow tires on those road of grids.
And I had a veal side teardrop titanium exhaust on it that came with it.
And it was loud.
It was very loud.
Yeah.
And I'm like struggling to get out of this parking lot, dude,
in Waterville and a cop pulls me over and gives me a driving to
endanger, bro.
I got a driving to endanger in that thing.
And I was, I had my CDL.
So I'm like, dude, I can't have it.
I can't.
Okay.
This is going to ruin my career.
Like if I get, if this sticks, dude, that's like a big deal on a CDL.
Right.
Yeah.
So I was like, you know what, like I'm going to list it.
And I listed it and it sold quick.
But like I was like, that was the, okay, like I need to know what be such
a hood rat, like doing these loud, obnoxious things with these cars.
And I'm growing up kind of.
Right.
Like this is, you know, I need to take a step in the right direction.
You know, I've got the Evo.
I don't need this.
And yeah, I sold it.
Did you get the ticket though?
Did the ticket stay?
Dude, I had to hire a lawyer and because it was on private
property and everything, it dropped.
Wow.
But that still cost me what?
$2,500 bucks, dude.
I thought you were going to say you brought the like, the
bill of sale.
Like, listen, I sold the car.
Just don't give me the ticket, dude.
No, I didn't even have to go to court.
Yeah.
My lawyer took care of that.
No, I mean having to fight those things and like on a CDL, dude,
it's like next level.
And those, that's another reason right now that like having that
car at 19, you know, I had my CDL at 18.
Dude, that would have been wrapped around a freaking tree or
something.
It's fast now, dude.
With the gearing, it's fast now.
Okay.
So then let's.
Okay.
Wait, hold on.
I'm just still, I want to know.
Have you lost interest in the Evo?
I haven't lost interest.
I haven't lost interest in it because it hasn't gone away.
No, I still got the Evo.
So I sold it like at every store.
It's like something I'm never going to.
That was like my, you know, dude.
So what year did I buy that?
Oh, eight.
Yeah.
So it's an oh four.
So it's like four years old.
Yeah.
I think it was in 1905 for that in, in Goffstown, New Hampshire.
And yeah, I have a picture of that car when I took it home for the first time.
But dude, you know, that was my first time having something fast, right?
And there was a lot of growing up in that car, but not like, I think it's a good
thing that I didn't have it during those vulnerable years where I really
could have done something that could have caused me like future harm.
Yeah.
And, you know, with that thing, the way it was, I mean, dude, the 500 horsepower
Evo was a fast.
Yeah.
I had a, I had one 485 on E85.
And it was a blast, dude.
And dude, until I threw that rod out the block, it was a blast.
I'll tell you that much right now.
Dude, I could catch second and like spin second.
Yeah.
It was crazy.
Like nothing I'd ever had up until that point, you know, and of course
being on E85, it was just even more of a beast.
So, right.
You're right.
500 horsepower Evo is like fun.
It's different than like 500 horsepower in that thing.
Yeah.
It's way different.
Yeah.
Okay.
I'll stop harassing you about the Evo.
I get it.
You love the car.
Okay.
And yes, like you said at the beginning, hopefully it is something
that you and your son eventually could do together to get him some
mechanical aptitude and to bring back the memories for you.
Like that'll be sweet.
Yeah.
So then, okay, let's talk about the car that runs the one behind us.
The Supra.
The Supra.
Yeah.
I think maybe you gave us a quick rundown when we were on the last
episode, but things have kind of changed.
Can you just tell us a little bit?
Like obviously, you know, throughout this episode, we've been talking
about it, but like, you know, what is the final setup here that you
have?
So as it sits right now, it's basically somewhat stock motor.
It's got a build head, bolt on turbo.
Is it a GTE?
GTE head, but...
So the blocks are the same.
Yeah.
Between the turbos and non-turbos.
And so it's just a head swap.
Now, some people are making good power on the GE heads.
I didn't want to for future growth, like, you know, eventually,
you know, it would be nice to do another motor and then have like
two, you know, you could just kind of tear on and if something
breaks, you're not done for the year, right?
I mean, future, I don't see going with a bigger turbo than
what I've got.
That one max effort, everything is will put me right about
1200 wheel.
Me and Aaron are both like, dude, how could he fit something
bigger in there?
Dude, what the hell is he talking about?
Yeah, 76mm, just so if I were to get a bigger turbo, it wouldn't
clear the strut tower.
I'd have to change the manifold and move it forward.
Oh, wow.
So, yeah, I mean, I just want to, I just want to keep
improving on like the little things.
Yeah.
You know, the stuff nobody's doing, like with relocating,
changing that radiator to be a, you know, dash 20, you
know, on the opposite side.
So you're not crossing the front of the motor with the
J-pipe, just doing like things that are just not very
common, but like well thought out just to try and make it like
cleaner or something people haven't seen because that was
one of the things I got in Nashville with the other guys that
had Supras, they came over and like, oh, look at that.
Oh, that's sweet.
I never even noticed it.
Yeah, that feels good.
Yeah, like having something that other people might not
because, you know, it definitely wasn't the easiest.
You know, I had to cut the whole top of the radiator off
and have it custom made.
Yeah, that's a whole thing.
You know, like it was not easy.
But I really liked, I have the chase base water neck on that
and I liked it because it had both ports for the pro EFI
temp and the factory gauge temp.
And then it had the port for my turbo.
Oh, that's cool.
So yeah, Chase's kit is super nice.
It's attractive.
It looks good.
You know, and then just tidying it up with the
straight fed operator hose.
It just, you know, that's a big deal.
And having the, having the electric fans, you know,
a lot of people are like purists with the factory Toyota
clutch fan and like it works.
It, you know, it works, it works very well,
but it's just not visually attractive to me.
No, for sure.
You know, like coming from the Honda world.
Yeah.
You know, everybody talks everything.
You barely see anything, you know, plugged in.
Yeah.
One thing that did throw me for a loop a little bit
is that the T 56 kit has a Bluetooth speed sensor.
That's a thing.
Wow.
That's cool.
So, um, yeah, I didn't know like, I don't know,
just over the years, seeing how like people make
innovative parts, you know, like that's also pretty
cool too.
Yeah.
For sure.
Things have definitely gotten better.
So to speak, you know, throughout the years,
which, you know, that's what we deserve anyways,
right?
We're spending our money.
Yeah.
Um, but what is the full setup right now?
Like list out the setup?
Um, it's just a 76 millimeter, uh, with some fuel.
What's the fuel?
It's on, it's on a flex fuel sensor.
Oh, that's cool.
Uh, so yeah, 93 tune with an ethanol tune on a pro EFI.
Um, it's a, it's honestly a pretty simple setup.
Um, I would say that, you know, I kind of
overkill the motor a little bit on the stock
drive line for the NAs because, uh, the first
transmission I blew up doing a second to third
rolling anti lag on the interstate.
Uh, fun.
I lost everything, but, uh, but fourth, I had
to drive home and fourth.
Wow.
Yeah.
I made it though.
That's cool.
Um, and then, and then the second time,
uh, what was I doing?
Oh, I was showing the wife how spicy it gets
from first to second.
Uh, and then blew the transmission up, uh,
for the second time.
And then, uh, you rescued me when I took
the four teeth off to rear diff.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's right.
Over by the highway there.
Yeah.
So what's the transmission now?
Uh, it's the Granis racing, uh, T 56 kit
with a tilt and twin disc.
Um, and it's got a built rear with a
limited slip in it now.
Wow.
What's, uh, I see people like, what's
so special about the Granis?
T what's so special about the T 56 kit?
Um, what is that doing?
Like, what does that mean to somebody that doesn't know?
Joel Granis, um, big super guy.
He has the orange Supra.
Um, I think he ran like six something this morning.
He's been breaking records for the last 30 years.
So wild connection here.
Um, when I was working in Westchester,
uh, I was working with a dude.
His name's Bart.
I still talk with him, older guy.
And I'm, you know, he, he was the one that
dropped me off to the shop when I went to
like go there for the car and everything.
So I'm talking to him about Supras
and this guy's in his like fifties.
Right.
He doesn't know.
He's like caught that.
Right.
Yeah.
He does that.
It's a spicy Toyota.
Right.
So I'm telling him about the Granis T 56 kit.
And he's like, Granis, he's like,
where are they out of?
And I was like, well, I think he's out of
like Holidaysburg PA or something.
He's like, is he related to,
you know, so-and-so Granis?
I'm like, I don't know.
I can ask him, no, like, because I had been
reached out to Joel for a while talking
about options for the car and everything.
And I was like, hey, Joel, by the way,
is, are you related to so-and-so?
Like, crazy story, but like, are you related
to so-and-so?
He's like, yeah, that's my dad.
Oh, no shit.
I was like, wait, did you guys own
a construction company up here?
And he's like, yeah.
Yeah.
He's like, my whole family did that,
you know, still does that.
I do this.
And I was like, one of my buddies,
like, worked for your dad's company.
Like, that's just a while, like, out of their connection.
But so, yeah, Joel Granis has like
perfected this conversion kit.
So basically, the V160s that come stock
in the Twin Turbo cars, they're like bulletproof,
but they don't make parts for them anymore.
And they're like, insanely expensive.
I mean, like, you can get used ones
for like 15 grand.
Is that a get-trag?
Yes.
Yeah.
So, now, I mean, since I've done the T56,
people are doing like the 8HPs now.
That's super common.
Actually, people are opting out of the T56
to go with the 8HPs because you can still
have like a clutch pedal.
But it's like, it's out of a charger.
Yeah, they were in a lot of different ones.
It's like an electronic one, right?
Yeah, it's a DCT.
Yeah.
Anthony, over in Freiburg, he just converted to that.
And I've been watching his,
he's got a bunch of information on it.
And he's super happy with it.
But like, if you're going for that,
like, if you want like a fast, you know, super,
it's got to be an automatic.
Yeah.
You know, that's just,
and it's been like that first forever, you know?
But for me, the T56 was like,
now I'm not blowing transmissions up anymore.
Right.
Because the stock, what I have, the W58, dude.
Nothing.
No.
You know, like I blew up two of them.
Yeah.
I'm okay.
Like I'm done.
Yeah.
They've been making T56s forever.
Like they came in Mustangs, Camaros, Vipers, I believe.
I mean, dude, I mean, it's a Tremac transmission.
And yeah, if you're into cars,
you probably heard of that at some point.
Yeah.
So I mean, I think that's pretty cool that they're like
sourcing parts that you can find in the States already.
Right.
Not using something that's kind of almost unattainable.
Exactly.
And that's, you know, you guys deal with part sourcing.
Like, you know, that's a huge struggle for you guys.
Skylines period.
Yeah.
It's a pretty big thing, especially because we weren't able to have a
USDM version.
So at least for you, you're like searching for USDM parts,
but maybe a JDM part would work if you had to, right?
For us, it's like only paying tariffs now for the most part.
So it's like, yeah, it's tough.
And so, but so when you're talking about this,
what transmission is that car from?
Or what car is that transmission from?
They're kind of universal.
Yeah.
But I mean, what do they come from?
I mean, they put them in like the 0304 Corvettes.
Corvettes.
Yeah.
I mean, a lot of pretty much anything.
Brand new transmission.
Correct.
From a company.
Brand new from Tremac.
Yeah.
And then Joel does a bunch of work to them.
And then they put like a plate.
He does it.
Yep.
I see.
I see.
That's cool.
Yeah.
They have a bolt on.
I'm pretty sure they have a bolt on bell housing.
They do.
It's separate from the gearbox.
So it's like.
So that's what goes against your motor?
Correct.
And they make, I mean, they make that bell housing for all
types of engines.
So.
Yeah.
It's like universal in that sense.
All you have to do is have the correct spline on the
input and output.
And then as long as your shifter location is close enough,
it'll work.
Oh, yeah.
That's cool.
I came with everything.
But that's pretty cool that like a company like that,
that specializes in super parts, like is in the States.
For sure.
There's not, there's not a lot of that with the
skylines or like the things that we didn't get over here
because the cars weren't here.
They don't have a market for it.
Why would they?
Why would they even go into business?
Yeah.
Exactly.
So yeah, that's pretty cool.
I'm like excited to see where the future goes with
these cars since now they're coming over to the
States and manufacturers are starting to have,
you know, more and more input on them because they're
here and available.
Yeah.
I mean, that will be cool, especially when you
start seeing more stuff for our cars.
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Like when that something like that can be
adapted instead of me having to just try to
search out another one.
Right.
Because that same Getrag is the same one that's
in an R34 that, you know, that's the V 160.
The one that you took out.
Yeah.
So that's pretty cool.
So now you've upgraded that.
That was obviously a problem.
Yeah.
You got smart instead of keep using the stock ones.
Yeah.
You built it up.
That's it.
Spent the money.
I'm sure it was a lot.
Spent the money.
Now you don't get to worry about it.
But then what?
You blow the teeth out of the rear.
Yeah.
So it's a constant weak link thing.
Right.
You're just chasing the weak link, man.
Yeah.
And that's a super thing for sure.
That was, dude, I wasn't doing anything crazy.
It was wet that morning.
I was, I was actually leaving a job interview with an energy
company and it was a good breakfast.
It was good, dude.
That was a good breakfast.
It was raining that morning.
And so I go to take a left to head to the interstate and like
get on it and first it with the road is wet.
So it was like a, you know, right to the limiter and then,
you know, hit second.
And then when I hit second, dude, it like something wasn't
right.
And I was like, cause I just done the T-50.
I had 300 miles, bro, on this new T-506.
Barely broken in.
Like, and like something's really not right.
Like, so I'm like, dude, I can't, I'm not,
I'm not going to chance making it home.
Like I'm thinking, dude, I just blew this.
I'm like, this is a brand new transmission.
There's no way.
Like there's no way I just destroyed this.
No, it's the next thing in line, dude.
So I actually called you to come and rescue me with a
trailer.
My buddy, Tyler's and Tyler's a homie.
I went to high school with him, known him for a long time.
And so haul it over there.
He, we drain the fluid, dude.
And like, he sticks his magnet in bro.
And we're pulling out shards, like chunks of teeth in the
rear diff.
And I'm like, awesome.
There it is.
Like, okay.
Like didn't, wasn't planning on this, but like, all right.
I guess like this is next, you know, so what do you do?
You just spend all that money on the transmission and
you know, so it's like, whatever, I'll just build the
rear end.
And I didn't.
So I had a couple options.
Those had, they have two different size rear ends, 200
millimeter in the 220, the 220 has come in the TT cars,
but from 94 to 97, the JDM, like the axles are
good.
So they changed axles in 97 and 98.
So like the earlier, let's call them version one
axles are good for a thousand horsepower.
Right.
So like, I had those.
So I'm good.
I don't need to do axles because axles are
expensive.
Right.
You know, so I'm like, all right.
You have a two of them.
Right, dude.
And they're like, you know, you're talking like
1400 bucks, you know, so I'm like, not, you know,
if I can just rebuild this rear diff, like I'm
good.
And then I was looking at my options, you know,
swapping to the 220 and then getting a limited
slip and whatever.
So anyway, I found out, I'm like, okay, well,
let's change this than this.
Go with a stronger ring, ring gear and
pinion and like put a limited slip in it.
And then I found out it was a Tome A and
like not the JDM one.
So I'm like, what did I do?
Right.
But, uh, dude, the car has, uh, I mean,
it's done well.
I mean, it doesn't, we were, we were, uh,
role racing that Viper.
I mean, like it puts down, uh, and it's
been good to me.
Um, you know, it's, uh, hasn't broken.
I haven't really had any issues.
Um, and I've been driving it pretty
consistently all summer.
So yeah, that's good.
Like when you can drive it, like I'll
definitely give you props as far as
like driving the car and not being
like, um, overly, I don't know,
sensitive to the fact that like stuff
can happen.
You know, you've definitely driven
the car places.
I would never even consider driving
my car, but I guess I'm a bitch about
it, you know, but like you, like I'll
see you taking, like the, you know,
maybe we can overlay a few pictures,
but this man will take it to a
literal job site.
It's parked between an excavator
and like a type of machine.
You don't even know what it's
called.
And, and it literally, he parks it
right next to it.
The thing's getting dusty, like all
this stuff, right?
But like he did drive it to work
and got to enjoy it and like, you
know, I guess when it comes to
those two different types of people,
you know, you are like driving the
car as opposed to like allowing it
to sit here and collect dust in a
different way.
Right?
You're letting it collect dust by
driving it.
I let it collect dust by looking at
it.
So like a definitely mad props for
like driving the car that you put
a bunch of money in time.
Hey man, you know, I, uh,
work in long days, there's a lot
of times where, you know,
my only time to myself is that,
you know, driving to and from.
And that's, that's what like
initially that's what that car
was to me.
It was, it was my, getting my
time back.
You know, the only time I'm ever
back to myself is driving
to and from work.
And, um, you know,
that's what, that's what that,
that's what, that's where that
came from, you know.
Was, was just the necessity
for something to drive?
Just having something fun to
drive to and from work that
like made me feel
like myself.
You know what I mean?
Cause it was like really my only
outlet, right?
So, um,
I was working in Philly.
Uh, that was a super long
job.
We were working long days,
seven days a week.
Wow.
We were doing directional drilling
and, uh,
we were there for a long time
and I'd go to like these cars
and coffees and I'd see all
these cars and like, dude,
some of the cars that were
there were insane.
And like club loose was nearby.
So like straight up drift cars,
like no blues.
Yeah.
Like not street legal.
And, um, you know,
they were still doing it
and it was sick.
And they had car events all
the time up in Allentown over
in King of Prussia.
Uh, you know, it was super
sick and that got me thinking
like, man, you know, I really
want to have something.
So I found a one J FDRX seven
on marketplace,
message the dude and I'm like
pumped because this is like
the FDS always had a soft spot
in your heart.
Yeah.
So it's got like the Liberty Walk
kid.
It's got the one J cage.
Like it's sheet metal dash.
Like this thing's nasty.
And I'm like, sweet.
Like I can just throw a tag
from another state in this
thing and run it.
Like I don't have to worry
about cops.
Right.
So like I'm getting pumped.
I hit this dude up,
you know, communications going
well.
Hard is a rock right now.
Right, dude.
And I'm like, I'm like
getting ready to borrow a
trailer to go get it.
And it was in Glen Burnie,
Maryland.
I'm in, I'm in West Chester.
So a couple of hours away,
I'm like pumped.
So I'm getting money sent down
from Maine because they're
capping me at the ATM, dude.
And like whatever.
So I get some,
I'm getting some money sent down
and I go to like Sundays
are only day off.
So I hit this dude up like
430 on Sunday morning.
I'm like, Hey,
I'm on the way.
I got the money.
He's like, Oh, Hey man,
sold it.
I sold it.
The guy came from Ohio
overnight and I'm like,
dude, I'm bombed because I
was super pumped for this.
Yeah.
So like I'm at work,
like, you know, the next week
and I'm like,
I'm pretty bummed out
and I'm looking on Marketplace
and I see the Supra pop up.
And so initially first thing
I do is hit the dude up
and I'm like, Hey,
I'm for real.
Even though I have a Texas
number.
Yeah,
I'm 35 minutes away from you.
I really want to come see the
car.
I'll give you everything I have
right now.
If you don't sell it,
I'm not from here.
I live in Maine.
You know,
this is going to take some
coordination for me to get you
paid.
But like,
if you're willing to like,
just hear me out and like,
take my down payment.
I will buy this car.
You're like, dude,
please.
Right.
You're basically like,
I'm not a scammer.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's like what I led with,
bro.
You know,
I'm a shooter.
So I was like, Hey man,
this is it right here.
This is the deal.
So I get off work.
I go meet this dude
and get to talking with him
and he, he preview,
you know,
and so we're like, you know,
communications going well.
And he agrees to like,
you know,
hold it for me.
Everything goes through,
get the money.
I still talk to this guy.
I still like,
I still,
I still talk to him about the
build.
I talked to him about his car.
Very, very cool dude.
And I'm sure that like,
especially with this level
car,
you,
when you sell it,
you really care about what
happens to it.
Right.
I don't want to see it go.
You know what I mean?
Like,
it's not like just like a,
yeah,
let's just get this one right
out of here.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So,
okay.
So
before we wrap this up,
what's next?
I know maybe it seems like
not much,
but you must have something
in the back of your head.
Like what's next for the
Supra?
Like what,
like there's got to be just
even some little trinket
that you've had your eye on
just something for the thing.
I think for me,
I think the next thing for it is
I need to do like,
they do the SRT-8 Cherokee
or the CTS-V Brembo
brake conversion.
Yeah.
Definitely need to do
something there.
Brakes were good on
Tail of the Dragon,
but I definitely need more,
especially with how fast it
is.
Like the legs are way longer
now.
So,
the factory brakes
aren't cutting it.
Other than small little
it's and bits, dude,
like the TRD wing,
I'd like to put the TRD wing on it.
You and everyone else.
Maybe another,
you know,
eventually another motor.
But like,
I'm so happy with it,
the way it is because it,
you know,
I talked to so many other
super guys and they're like,
you know,
the car is 900 horse now
all the time and like,
I missed when it was 600.
Like I,
you know,
and there's a lot of
maintenance that goes into
a car at that power level.
Of course.
You know,
and then like,
I don't know how you got,
like how people react
when they see you out in public
and you're driving your cars,
but like,
everybody in the world
wants you to two-step it for
and like cut through traffic
to see it.
So like,
my drives are kind of thought
out, you know,
when I,
when it's just me and the wife
and we want to go have dinner,
I find myself kind of not
want to take it.
And I don't mean that
in like a negative way.
The wow factor
has kind of dulled down on me.
On you. Yeah,
you're jaded to it.
And so I'm so used to it.
And I love that enthusiasm
and I love that people love seeing it.
But sometimes, dude,
like it's so overwhelming that like,
you know,
it is.
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
It's hard to,
yeah, sometimes it is hard.
Like,
you can tell I haven't driven
my car in a while
because my shoes are dirty, dude.
These people shine my shoes
when I get out of this car, dude.
They love it so much.
It's insane, dude.
Like, they're offering to buy me dinner.
I'm just like,
it's like 95.
Especially up here.
You know,
you don't see them up here.
Yeah, I know, for sure.
It's unique.
And I find that,
like, you know,
a lot of it, dude,
is just like personal boundaries,
right?
Sure.
Like,
don't pull in my house
and like take a picture of it
in my driveway with my house.
You know,
like I get the enthusiasm
and I'm so happy
that you're that thrilled to see it.
Like,
I don't mind if I'm like,
you know,
go into a gas,
like you pull,
follow me into a gas station.
Oh, hey, yeah,
I'll check it out.
You know what I mean?
But like,
I got my kid with me
a lot of the time.
Yeah.
And like,
I'm not trying to do this
when I have him.
You know what I mean?
He doesn't understand.
He's losing his patience.
You're sitting there
yapping your ear off
as a dad, right?
For sure.
Yeah.
Just be like me,
like go behind the dumpster
and beat it over there.
Just like get a good view
I get it, you know,
but like,
I think that,
you know,
our area
has a lack of these,
like,
could you imagine
if someone had anything like this
when we were kids?
Oh, yeah, it would have been
like when we were
when we were just
got our license harassment
charged on us.
I remember,
I remember BJ's NSX
and like,
when I would see that,
I would be like,
Oh my God,
you know,
like that's an NSX.
That's the first one
I've ever seen in,
you know,
in person.
And,
you know,
I'm not sure if
for the Supra,
I'd like to do a little more to it
just like,
you know,
find things,
but I mean,
I'm looking at other platforms now.
Whether that's an FD,
something of,
you know,
but maybe,
maybe something else.
I'm not sure.
I mean,
maybe that's where it's at
because,
you know,
if you feel done with it,
like maybe,
maybe
the Evo.
I've got it.
Right?
I've got it.
Now,
you've got to wait a few more years
for Timber to get a little older
so you're,
he can understand it.
You start doing it now.
He's like, dude,
what blocks?
Dude,
you know,
and like,
I kind of regret doing,
like I was like,
oh,
that's going to be a full race car.
I want that.
So like,
you know,
it doesn't have much for interior.
Yeah.
I mean,
like that stuff's not hard to source.
You know,
like,
thankfully,
you know,
I don't know.
I think
if you have a car
and you're like super into modding it,
I feel like you have that one
where you went way over the top with it.
You're like,
I can't get it back.
Yeah.
You know,
you cut that thing.
You just can't uncut.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I hear you.
It sucks.
Yeah.
And as you get older also,
like you do want more reliability
than you necessarily want raw power.
Right.
Like,
for sure.
And that's with me personally,
like,
not that the 33 is like completely like race car by any means,
but like,
after how,
and now that I have the 34,
I'm like,
I don't need to do that much to the motor.
Right.
Like,
like this guy,
these,
these type of guys say,
you let the magic out.
Right.
Yeah.
It's true.
You let the magic out.
Right.
And now you're dealing with the loss of magic.
Unless you're going all the way in.
All the way.
Unless you're going all the way.
And you create a new magic.
Don't even bother.
Yeah.
Don't even bother.
Yeah.
It's true.
I do agree with that now.
Like what,
what's the point of opening it up
unless you are going all the way.
Right.
You know,
because all you're doing is,
is replacing this one thing.
Right.
But like you found out with the limitations.
Everything.
It's,
it's more things.
So yeah.
I mean,
I kind of agree in the sense of like,
you know,
as I get older,
I'm like,
well,
I don't need all that.
I need to enjoy the car.
Yeah.
And if the car is on the side of the road
and it's,
I let the magic out,
then what the hell am I even doing?
Right.
Right.
Chris,
where can we find you on the internet?
Um,
so Instagram dude,
you mad Evo,
that's,
that's my primary social media.
What?
You don't got any tiki talks?
I do,
but like,
I mean,
it's not really super,
super like a lot of car stuff on it.
But,
no,
my Instagram,
I've got,
you know,
the car from when I first,
when I first got it,
I got Red Honda on there.
I got the S2000 on there.
Oh, okay.
It's like,
memory lane.
Yeah,
exactly.
I've got tons of super stuff on there.
You know,
I've been to,
geez,
what,
14 states with that car.
That's cool.
Had a great time with it.
And now,
now with the diesel pusher and the car trailer,
traveling is,
is a lot more,
a lot easier.
Yeah.
And it makes a little more sense.
And definitely,
you know,
Nashville was,
Nashville was awesome.
I've,
I've,
I've still been,
you know,
going back to those,
those photos and,
and just taking in the tail,
the dragon,
and the Cheryl house,
Skyway and,
you know,
the devil's triangle dude.
And like,
man,
that was such an awesome trip.
Bucket list for sure.
You know,
Chris,
we appreciate you coming through today.
It's always a blast.
And so,
yeah,
if you've ever,
if,
if you watch any episodes prior,
Chris's super always makes,
you know,
some,
some background appearances.
And I think that he'll continue to have that happen this winter.
So you'll see the,
this super back here,
peeking into a few of the videos.
But yeah,
if you guys want to check out the show notes and join the
Facebook group,
we'd love to have you.
And of course,
you can always find us on Instagram at our HD.
G.
U.
I.
S.
But for episode 155,
I'm Bobby.
This is Aaron.
And Chris.
See ya.
About this episode
Bobby and Aaron welcome Chris Hartsock back to discuss his journey with right-hand drive cars, particularly his beloved Supra. The conversation dives into the evolution of car culture, the challenges of building and maintaining high-performance vehicles, and the nostalgia of early car forum days. Chris shares stories about his experiences with various cars, including his Honda Civic Type R and Evo, and reflects on the importance of community and knowledge sharing in the automotive world. The episode also touches on the pros and cons of giveaway cars and the impact of social media on car enthusiasts.
Original notes
In this episode of the Right Hand Drive Guys Podcast, we sit down with one of our closest friends from right here in Maine—Chris Hartsock. Chris has a garage that speaks volumes: a legendary MKIV Supra and a rally-bred Evo 8. But his story goes back to his early days when he owned a Honda S2000… and somehow managed to squeeze a Honda Ruckus into it! We talk about his evolution as an enthusiast, the cars that shaped his journey, and the community that keeps the passion alive.
Whether you’re here for the wild stories, JDM legends, or just to hang out with friends, this episode delivers it all.
Guest: Chris Hartsock @UMADEVO
Location: Maine
Topics Covered:
- Early Beginnings – How Chris got into cars and what hooked him on JDM culture.
- The S2000 Era – Stories from his time owning a Honda S2000, including the infamous Honda Ruckus-in-the-trunk story.
- Current Garage – Breaking down his MKIV Toyota Supra and Evo 8, what makes each car special, and how they fit his driving style.
- Motorsport Passion – From spirited drives to the motorsports influence that shaped his choices.
- Friendship & Cars – Reflections on years of building, driving, and enjoying cars alongside close friends.
Key Takeaways:
- Chris’s journey shows how humble beginnings can grow into dream car ownership.
- The importance of car culture and friendships that form around it.
- Why enthusiasts hold onto certain cars for life.
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave us a review. Follow us on Instagram @RHDGUYS and connect with us to suggest future guests or topics!
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