The Porsche 914 is an older Porsche sports car with the engine mounted near the middle. People like it because it drives in a very “Porsche-like” way without costing as much as some other classics.
“Grand Prix New York” is a motorsport event name the hosts reference while talking about meeting and fundraising. It’s the kind of local racing/track event that can bring together car people and sponsors.
“Fry oil” means used cooking oil. Some people run cars on it as an alternative fuel, usually after filtering it and sometimes modifying the fuel setup.
The Corvette is a sports car from Chevrolet. It’s built for fast driving and usually has a powerful engine. In the podcast, they mention a Corvette that has a Callaway performance engine, meaning it’s been upgraded for more power.
Forced induction is any method of pushing more air into an engine than it would naturally draw, usually with a turbocharger or supercharger. The host is debating whether the Callaway setup uses forced induction, which matters because it changes how power is made and how the engine is stressed.
The Ranger is a pickup truck made by Ford. It’s meant for hauling and everyday driving, and it can also handle rougher roads. The podcast brings it up because this particular Ranger is tied to a performance-focused build and coverage in a car magazine.
Callaway is a performance brand/tuner famous for building high-output upgrades for certain Chevrolet models, especially Corvettes. In this segment, the important detail is that the engine was installed new by Callaway, and only a couple were built.
Lime Rock is a well-known race track in Connecticut. It’s the kind of place where people go to drive cars hard on a closed course, not on public roads.
Term
road and track experiences
Road-and-track experiences are organized driving events that typically combine public-road driving with time on a closed circuit. The phrase is used here to contrast with the host’s earlier “product line” and to describe what Lime Rock is offering now.
The Audi Quattro is a performance car from Audi. It’s known for having all-wheel drive, which helps the car grip the road better. The podcast mentions it because they’re talking about driving it on track and using it for driving experiences.
A go-kart track is a place built for racing small cars called go-karts. Here, the speaker says part of that track was turned into a bowling alley instead.
The Vanquish is a luxury sports car from Aston Martin. It’s built for fast driving but still feels like a comfortable road car. In the podcast, they mention a belt issue that happened while the car was being driven hard.
Place
Monticello
They’re talking about a specific place they go to for racing. Track venues like this are where people drive cars on a closed course and often take instruction.
Spring Mountain is a racing track complex they really like. They’re saying it has a lot of track surface and different ways to run the course, so you can drive it in more than one configuration.
Place
Concourse Club
Concourse Club is referenced as a track-adjacent club the speaker spends a lot of time at. In enthusiast circles, these clubs often combine social membership with access to events, instruction, and car-focused networking.
The Pontiac Chieftain is an older, classic car made by Pontiac. It was designed as a big, comfortable vehicle for its time. The podcast mentions it because the speaker bought one and talks about using it alongside another vehicle or equipment.
Wide open throttle means the gas pedal is basically all the way down. It tells you the engine is getting the maximum airflow, so the car is being pushed hard.
Term
TDI cup
The TDI Cup was a racing series built around Volkswagen diesel engines. The idea is that these cars can be run hard for long periods and still make strong pulling power.
An endurance race car is designed for long races where the car has to keep working for hours. It’s set up to stay reliable and predictable, not just go fast for a few laps.
A crew cab is a pickup with four doors, so there’s room for people in the back seat too. It’s the more passenger-friendly cab style.
Term
plate it
“Plate it” means making the car legal to drive by getting it registered and putting on license plates. It’s the paperwork-and-plates step for a custom build.
“OEM” parts are the same type of parts your car originally came with from the factory. “Stock OEM” means you’re replacing the suspension with factory-style parts instead of custom aftermarket ones.
Bilstein makes suspension parts, especially shocks and struts. Here it’s mentioned as a better replacement option when the car’s suspension is worn out.
A cargo box is a storage container you mount on the roof to carry extra luggage. It’s the kind of thing that can fly off if it isn’t secured well or if there’s a crash.
The Porsche 928 is a sports car made by Porsche. It’s a long-distance, comfortable type of car that’s powered by a V8 engine. The podcast mentions it because someone is talking about a 928-related project or build.
Term
rest oh the 928 thing
They’re talking about a “restomod” idea. That means taking an older classic car and updating it so it’s more usable and drives better now.
The Lamborghini Diablo is a supercar made by Lamborghini. It’s known for being very fast and having a strong, high-revving engine. The podcast brings it up because they’re talking about a particular Diablo car and how it’s been driven or set up.
The Ferrari F40 is a very famous supercar made by Ferrari. It’s known for being fast and for having a more raw, no-frills feel than many other cars. The podcast mentions it because someone was looking for a damaged F40 to restore and repaint with a custom color.
Verde Abitone green is just a named paint color. Here, it matters because they’re describing a custom repaint on a Ferrari F40, not a random color choice.
“Investment grade” means the car is treated like a good money asset, not just something to drive. The idea is that these cars tend to keep their value, so small issues like mileage or minor cosmetic damage matter less to buyers.
Secondary markets are the “used car market” for cars after they’ve already been sold once. They’re saying these special cars sell for much more later, not just at the original price.
The Ferrari SF90 is a high-performance Ferrari that uses both gas power and electric power. The point here is that the hybrid system can sometimes act up, and that can make it more annoying to fix than older cars.
The Ferrari 296 is a fast Ferrari that uses a gas engine plus electric power. They’re saying even cars like this can have problems with the hybrid system, and that affects how easily a normal shop can help.
A hybrid system is how a car blends gas power and electric power. If something in that system has issues, it can be harder to diagnose than a simple gas-only car.
“Gunther works” sounds like a specific specialized part or setup on the car. The hosts are saying that kind of component can be serviced without needing only the dealer.
They’re talking about how easy it is to figure out what’s broken. If a car is designed so a regular mechanic can spot the problem, it’s less stressful than needing a specialist every time.
Concept
remotely via someone's wireless
They’re describing a way to connect to the car over the internet/wireless. Instead of waiting for someone to show up, they can check what’s going on and guide the fix remotely.
Concept
flying doctor
A “flying doctor” is a quick-response mechanic/tech that can travel to fix the car when it can’t be solved remotely. It’s like emergency help for a breakdown.
Changing the oil is routine maintenance where old engine oil is replaced with fresh oil. They’re saying their process can handle that kind of task quickly as part of keeping the car running.
The alternator is what keeps the car’s battery charged and runs the car’s electrical stuff. They’re saying that even a bigger electrical component like this can be swapped as part of their service approach.
Range Rover is Land Rover’s top luxury SUV model line. The host is saying many customers buy one, then later trade it in and buy the next Range Rover again—almost like clockwork.
Glickenhaus is a car company that builds special, very high-end performance vehicles. In this segment, they’re involved in producing the cars before delivery.
LT4 is the name of a particular high-performance engine from GM. They’re saying it’s a supercharged V8 that can make a lot of power, which matters because the rest of the car has to survive it.
Term
sequential no it's a gated manual
This is describing how the shifter works. “Gated manual” means the lever moves into defined gear slots, and “sequential” means you go to the next gear one step at a time rather than selecting any gear directly.
A transaxle is a combined gearbox-and-differential unit. Saying “six speed transaxle” means it’s a six-gear setup designed to fit the car’s layout and handle the power efficiently.
The Pagani Utopia is one of Pagani’s top hypercars. They mention it because it uses a similar kind of gearbox/differential setup, which helps these cars handle extreme power.
They’re using “helicopter transmission” as a way to say the gearbox design comes from aircraft technology. The point is that aircraft gearboxes are built to handle heavy, demanding use.
A robotized transmission is basically a manual gearbox, but computers do the clutch and shifting for you. It’s not the same as a traditional automatic that uses a torque converter.
A naturally aspirated engine doesn’t use a turbo or supercharger. It gets its air just by the engine pulling it in normally.
Term
power balance
“Power balance” is about how the car delivers power—whether it feels smooth and controllable or too aggressive. They’re saying this one feels well matched to the car.
Suspension is what helps the tires stay in contact with the road and controls how the car rides over bumps. Better suspension tuning can make the car feel more stable and composed.
The Camaro is a sports car made by Chevrolet. It’s known for having a powerful engine and a performance-focused design. The podcast brings it up because this Camaro has some kind of impressive setup or upgrade.
The “red line” is the engine’s maximum safe rev range. Going past it can risk engine damage, so they’re saying this car doesn’t push the RPM that high.
This means the car is built to be stiff and solid, so it doesn’t flex as much when you drive hard. They’re saying it’s reinforced like a safety structure, but not as extreme as a full roll cage.
A roll cage is a strong metal frame inside the car meant to protect you in a crash, especially if the car rolls. It can also make the car feel more rigid when driving.
This is an engine that’s about 4.0 liters in size, and it uses liquid coolant to keep it from overheating. That helps the engine run more consistently.
Carbon fiber is a strong, lightweight material used to make cars lighter without losing strength. They’re saying this car uses it almost everywhere, which helps it feel tight and responsive.
A unibody means the car’s body and frame are basically one combined structure. They’re checking whether the original base structure is kept or if it’s mostly replaced.
Term
target bar
They’re saying most of the outside is carbon fiber, but one important structural bar is still made differently. That bar is part of what keeps the car strong.
They’re talking about extra reinforcement inside the car to make it stiffer and stronger. That helps the car handle better because the body doesn’t twist as much.
Sills are the lower parts of the car along the sides, near where the doors meet the floor. They’re important because they help the car stay strong and resist bending.
Term
buttressed and reinforced the wheel wells
They’re saying the area around the wheel openings is strengthened with extra support. That can help the car handle better because that part of the body stays more solid.
Carbon-ceramic brakes are a high-end brake type that can handle hard use without getting weak as fast. They’re talking about offering that kind of brake upgrade for this car.
A brake booster helps you press the brake pedal with less effort. Without it, you have to push harder to get the same stopping power, which can feel tiring or harder to control.
Instead of a cable connecting your gas pedal to the engine, the car uses sensors and computers. That lets engineers adjust how the throttle responds, but sometimes it can feel a little jerky if the settings aren’t perfect.
The Porsche 912 is an older Porsche that’s famous for feeling very “mechanical” and straightforward to drive. The host is basically saying he likes that older, more analog feel compared to newer tech.
Brembo makes high-performance brakes. A “six-piston” front caliper means more pistons squeeze the brake pads, which can help the brakes feel stronger and stay consistent when you brake hard.
Term
spider at 60 60% scale
He’s comparing the car to a “spider” roadster feel, just in a smaller package. The point is that it should feel light, nimble, and fun like a classic open-top sports car.
A flat engine is an engine where the cylinders are laid out sideways, like two banks of cylinders spread left and right. They’re saying that this kind of engine can make the car feel easy to live with, not just for car shows.
The Porsche 911 is a famous sports car model made by Porsche. It’s known for its recognizable shape and performance. In the podcast, it’s mentioned because people are talking about car history and how the 911 compares to other models.
Term
lift-couples events
They’re talking about a specific car event series where enthusiasts show up and the community gets more attention. The point is that the 914 is starting to get more recognition at these kinds of gatherings.
A carbureted engine mixes fuel and air using a carburetor. If a car isn’t carbureted, it uses a different fuel system, which can affect how heat and air end up inside the cabin.
Radiators help cool the engine by moving heat out of the coolant. They’re part of the cooling system, and the host is saying some of that heat can still affect the cabin.
Term
AC
AC means the car’s air conditioning. They’re talking about how the cold air is aimed—especially toward your feet—and how that changes how comfortable the cabin feels.
A nose lift raises the front of the car to help it clear obstacles. It’s useful for steep driveways, ramps, or speed bumps so you don’t scrape the front.
Comfort seats are seats made to help you sit more comfortably for longer. Here they’re talking about how the seat position can be adjusted so a shorter person can fit better.
Term
seat actually lower
Making the seat lower changes how you sit in the car. It can help you reach the controls comfortably and see better, especially if you’re shorter.
Stafford Motor Speedway is a real race track where cars run laps on an oval. The hosts mention it’s a half-mile oval, which affects how the race feels and how the cars handle.
A “lemons race” is a kind of race where people intentionally bring cheap, imperfect cars. In this story, it’s the event where the speaker previously crashed and had to replace parts afterward.
LIVE
Los Angeles TST Live is coming to you and we are doing it huge because we're
bringing along Richard Porter and Johnny Smith. Smith and Sniff is joining
TST for a live collab podcast at the Irvine Improv August 18th 8 p.m. it's a
big room so a bunch of you guys can come, parkings free and tickets start at
just 40 bucks you guys come on down it's gonna be an amazing hang TST with
Smith and Sniff live in Irvine August 18th tickets at the link in bio while
they last. What up everybody welcome to the Smokentire podcast this week's
episodes as always are brought to you by off the record we love off the record
here at the Smokentire because they're out there looking out for you as you're
going down the road as your summer road tripping as your weekend canyon
carving and as you're commuting to work whatever it is you're doing in your car
you know that if you get that off the record app it's in your back pocket
you've always got their team of lawyers across the country should you get stopped
by the police for doing something a little out of line they are going to go
to bat for you all you got to do is go to off the record comm slash TST don't
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saved your backside so one more time off the record comm slash TST gets you 10
percent off all legal services booked through off the record
comm slash TST all right folks today we're in Bedford Hills New York at my
old pal Nat Monday's shop HK motor cars this guy is a dealer of all the weird
stuff I'm talking Gunther works I'm talking Chimera I'm talking about all
those strange brands where you see me drive them and you go where do people
even buy those cars the answer is from Nat Monday at HK motor cars and he also
knows a thing or two about a hot dog it's the smoke entire podcast let's go
mini podcast it was supposed to be a full fucking podcast but guess what card
in cooperate not it doesn't always work out sometimes the car doesn't
cooperate so me and Nat we'll just reminisce for a little bit but not as long
as we were gonna is what I'm saying you know I'm very sweaty today that was a
sweat it was a sweaty afternoon with the Chimera and the 1511 914 all right
this is radio so I've known this fucking guy for 21 years now right yeah 21
years oh five yeah and we met over some car thing and you had just opened Grand
Prix New York we were raising money for it still had you not actually open I
know it's out of construction okay all right so it's before we met before it
actually opened oh yeah I remember because we got to check it out a little
bit before it opened right and I had played hockey with Larry right you were
man New York Motor Club yeah okay I actually in that thought that far back
about it for a while yeah and then when you opened you wanted to make a
television commercial correct local cable and you hired me and Tom Morningstar to
make your commercial and instead of paying with money you pay us with free
lifetime unlimited go-karting yeah that's you want on that which I great
someone asked you ever calculated the money they were too initially took
advantage of there was never a reason to because you always brought other people
with you I did I brought people you were a good freebie to have I I threw a lot
of like definitely small bar mitzvahs for some people that just showed up with
20 kids on a Saturday you never did that no no he never did that I I didn't I
don't say I abused it but I went karting every day yeah for like a year and a
half correct and I won the men's league which was pretty fun and you had great
commercials for us made a commercial we do use for a while we did probably five
years on cable TV and the better part about you want to build a winning team
exactly the coolest part about that was me that segwayed into you do the 24
hour go-kart race oh yes we did do the 24 hour go-kart race which was very fun
and we had to wet the track down to save tires so so Zach to make tires last
24 hours of non-stop use we had to basically dump water on the track
slippery so I was I made it really hard so I had the hose at the top of the top
of the bridge just track just giving people a fire hose and then the buckets
of five gallon buckets of water yeah you just nail people it was like it's like
the Nurburgring where half the track is dry and then all of a sudden out of
nowhere that's pretty cool I really fun it was it was very challenging and this
was like this was really the first of its kind of the sort of luxury indoor
go-kart track that's correct we had F1 Boston was sort of the first in America
and we just basically copied that but added a little bit more sort of a higher
end vibe yeah the bar the bar Chilean sea bass
I ate at the restaurant a lot the restaurant was actually really good
what the rest it wasn't called it was called fuel oh yes of course the
restaurant restaurant was good but I always thought that you were really
interesting because of the hot dog carts yeah so hot dog heaven yeah like Nat is
like is a very traditional entrepreneur of just start small and roll it in and
start small and roll it in I mean that's how you kind of start an HK yeah and
before that like the hot dog carts so like tell us the story of the hot dog
well with Grand Prix New York we were at Weimarock 30 days a year right so 30
days a year just promoting for Grand Prix New York at Weimarock at all the five
major weekends they'd have there so I bought Shea Stadium was being torn down
they were building city field and they put all of the hot dog carts up for
public auction to sell but you couldn't just buy one you had to buy hundred was
it a hundred was over a hundred and I got there and they were all sitting in
various piles and some were great some were you know used some were whatever
ended up selling the really good ones on eBay because you want a piece of Shea
Stadium this is your chance yeah and then we have we have a Yankee Stadium seats
yeah it was a common thing yeah so then I scrapped the junk stuff because whatever
scrap is scrap and then I kept 10 and I operated them at race tracks and various
things along with my bouncy castle and portable go-karts I went full carney
for about seven years wow he like he looks Greenwich but any he's got nice
cars now but like back then he he dressed Greenwich and he looked like this
just less facial hair but he was the trashiest person like he would draw he
would drive like weird engine swapped land rovers he'd be hustling carney
rides like the weird he was always doing the weirdest well it was desperate
times right we opened up a $12 million go-kart track in 2007 and then boom the
economy goes we didn't want to do that and every corporate event puckered up
and said we can't actually we're not allowed to do our corporate events
anymore and so we had to really change the model and do like mitzvahs and sweet
16s and became family entertainment as well but you're not wrong like I had
yeah I still I still have that Range Rover and it runs on fry oil or
you know yeah the one in the back warehouse here is got a Corvette
Callaway engine as you do yeah yeah so it's like forced induction or it's one
of two that no it's not forced induction it's one of two Callaway maids of vet
Ranger and I have the Road and Track article with it and that was owned by
another car dealer in in Greenwich so that engine was installed new by Callaway
wow and it was it was one of two built it was then purchased by Mark Star oh yeah
who's sold it to me when I was like 22 years old so I've always loved that
nothing normal about yeah super stupid yeah yeah but so but I always was like
hot dog carts like that it was just such a strange dude I was the king of go
carts and tube meat and and I have to say that like hot dogs it was 35 cents
your cost per dog and you could sell them for like 34 bucks it added up
pretty quick yep and it was a great a great couple summers doing that and then
the best part is the exit strategy on that one was lime rock bought all the
equipment from oh really they were like well we like what you're doing can we
buy it wow so all at once one customer still get a money dog dirty dirty
Monday dog a bit like a bit lime rock and they've really fixed up I mean the
lime rocks crushing it now by the way even in a while yeah I was up there like
maybe three years ago Dickie Regal who runs it now has got Rose all day as the
theme it's it's well done hospitality real yes good they've got good drinks
they've got lime rock lemonade which is basically yuck I mean they've really done
a great job okay my my my product line wouldn't fit in today's lime rocks we're
going back we're going the road and track experiences the the Hudson 400 Hudson
Quattro Cento yeah lime rock is the the track we use okay any listeners you
want to come drive with me dude you know what maybe maybe I'll ask you to come out
to lime rock with like the 037 for a day and give people a couple of thrill
rides yeah that would be a good time I'd love that you could drive I could
drive we could have a fucking a pro whatever you want to do and depending
what time of year when it is I mean October to end of October we'll have
some other really great stuff by that all right cool yeah so yeah I mean when
you when I when you were like hey after after you know when I moved to LA and
you you wisely I think converted half of the go-kart track into a bowling alley
because you can serve booze to people while they both food and beverage and you
can't serve booze to people while they're go-karting at least you should
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bass wheel like $15,000 game does $15,000 a week no way just prints tickets no
way your cost of good sold on an arcade is like 16 cents that is crazy it's very
expensive capex up front and Electricity etc but they're just PCs and
flat screens now yeah yeah it's just a wood cabinet but I'm so glad I'm not
a business anymore now everyone's got a phone that has like so many games on it
right I bet you a full arcade game good run on an Android phone it's
probably about the same processing just print tickets but that's that's a
great in October 2019 I was bought out of all those locations ironically you
could hit a fucking I get a five-wire we are into the front we are in the
complex right now it's directly across the street this by the way this this
parking lot Zach is where I hucked the the accessory drive belt off the
vanquish trying to do a donut got it this is where it happened yeah we did
that we did a charity car show and Matt Ferris shows up and blows the belt off
and I and I thought I had done some terrible thing and then till someone
sent me Vicki Butler Henderson's review from fifth gear yeah where she does the
same thing and I that was how that was my intro to Vicki I was like Vicki thank
you for proving I wasn't some shit she replicated it but and then you're like
dude I'm gonna go up to Monticello to sell race cars yeah we would I went up
there consulted for them for nine years was an executive for three of them it
was great wonderful track one of my favorite complexes still one of my
favorites and it's just happens to be two hours away from home yeah so that
was were there any open private track clubs that were built for that maybe
Autobahn Autobahn and and I was being built and spring mountain because the
radical program was between Monticello and there I think spring mountain might
be my favorite racetrack that I've seen oh yeah well it's got the most track yeah
the most tarmac out of all yeah and configurations etc. any year round
season and Ari from Monticello is building P1 down in Port St. Lucie I've
heard good things so that's gonna be there don't want to have to go to
Florida sorry yeah maybe not but same Aaron Weiss at Concourse has always been
very nice to me yeah I would love it but Florida we've got a very sticky we
spent a lot of time at Concourse Club we've got our Miami location is there
this house out of one of their loss I mean as one does yeah but Monticello was
a really fun stint I mean I lived on in lake houses with instructors we lived
my college years for another 10 kind of postponed reality and just realized that
I couldn't work seven days a week anymore well it's easy it's how easy is it to
fall into that trap when your job is like kind of fun and and a good portion of
your job is just like hanging out and bullshitting with guys around the
racetrack it's very true but you know it's like places like that breed a lot
of like-minded people you meet you meet some people that you really enjoy and
those relationships tend to be around cars there's no politics at Monticello
like outside of the politics that involve are involved at the track itself but
like you know you you talk about cars like my people's kids and
how they're doing are they racing and whatever and I built a go-kart facility
for them the off-road program and I even bought them a tank the tank yeah
I chieftain I and then an APC 432 it does what do you do with it drive over
cars oh nice as what else do you right I mean that's a carnival ride I did that
in Minnesota no Minnesota it was like I think it was called try the tank calm
or something but then with Christy plus see we built the rally program and some
other stuff and and Chris is now at P1 and I think we all kind of stayed in
that game but what what I realized from it was you know the portfolio of a resume
of people that I met who are all active car people and collectors there's a
great segue into the dealership side of things well if you're hanging if you're
there and hanging out they're asking you where to buy cars and where to sell cars
so you're you're you have to be that guy you might as well make a living off it
and I I obviously liked being at a racetrack all the time I can tell you
right now that I don't miss the commute I mean it was two hours that sucks there
was no if and so you ended up with 240,000 miles on a f80 or was it at 30
whatever that so I just destroyed the 2004 s4 in about a year sure that car
cost me $47,000 to drive 147,000 miles okay out of warranty service well that
little diesel BMW has cost around 7,000 that's in consumables if you're
racking up miles that is the car yeah oh for sure and it's got great better
headlights better better wipers all the things that you get with a BMW exist on
that three series yeah yeah you know it's not just some no it's those are
really good well I like them so much that I own a couple now oh do you I've been
buying low miles ones yeah I've got a couple in the warehouse back there I get
low miles that one matches my BMW motorcycle so that's pretty funny you're
flipping eventually in 30 years when diesel gets cheap again honestly I think
we'll just continue to put it in places we need them as shop cars like that
thing will get retired to Florida will be down there is like to get around the
wide open throttle guys have the gas powered like 328 eyes and they use them
as track trainers sure and they don't do anything to them they just change the
oil and like they're fine and they just be just where they run them for eight
hours a day and fucking I think I remember the TDI cup with Volkswagen did
that I wanted to be in that so bad but I was like 10 years older than the entry
had to be it'd be 22 but one of these in lemons you're ready it'd be great yeah
yes you could still do it yes probably yeah you could you could definitely turn
your old one into an endurance race car a wagon race car yeah I think Volvo
and BMW just did that at the Nurburgring with a crazy the m3 toy yeah what
about converting one converting that one with the high miles into like the
pickup truck that you've seen with the m3 oh yeah the one that they did at the
factory would work I think the factory one's a two to a coupe but you could
still do it it's great it's crew cab there you go be kind of cool yeah it would
be cool and plate it you also just you know I'm just gonna driving into the
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thank you to avance for sponsoring the pod and even when the suspension finally
went though they were like well what do you want to replace it with this is your
chance to put in like Bilstein's like a stock OEM whatever did the 230,000 miles
that's a good point put right back in they were like okay yeah I bet it felt
nice it's you should drive it it's glorious I've driven them before but I
felt nice when it got new shots good long-distance choice if I was doing like
lots of miles like when Vinny Russo had one of those you're doing a bunch of
miles yeah no it's a rock star of a car but Vinny got rear-ended at like 50
miles an hour that's why he didn't have anymore yep the cargo box survives though
it went flying over huh like because it flew off the car it flew off the car and
now it's on his truck it's definitely needed to be taller so did you start HK
at Monticello and like you know it was kind of like a 2019 sort of COVID boredom
thing like a lot of those things and if a lot of stuff we sell also came
out of COVID too you know these products sort of these brands came up during
COVID people sitting around 2019 did a Connecticut dealers license we were
working with Glickenhouse and we had bought a couple cars and we had
commissioned their 7-on-9 Le Mans car so we actually commissioned into owned
that car throughout the program so the car that came in third the podium winning
car is ours you still have it we do we rode and track rented Kota for us a
couple years ago to play with it oh cool and had an absolute ball really really
neat and then from there just picked up some other brands that were all sort of
these a lot of its rest on my base like you guys experience today yeah I mean
it's and I we've got about 20 minutes before we have this hard out but I do
want to talk about the two cars that we drove today but like you were you you
were called me and you're like hey man I'm gonna get into road cars because you
were doing you're just really doing race cars right beginning being at the track
which made sense and I was like okay and you're like I'm gonna do all the brands
that nobody else will sell the normal touch yeah you're like I was like okay
what someone that sounds like a good idea yeah yeah and it actually was so what
is the port fault you have Glickenhouse Glickenhouse Gunther works
Gunther works Kimera Nardone what's Nardone the 928 rest oh the 928 thing
right yeah the soap bar looking kind of it's so I get mine delivered at Monterrey
this year okay really excited for that car if you remember those came a five
liter V8s that were slow they actually made it fast sure like it's a real car
really excited about that one we have Echentrica that's the Diablo yeah driven
which is the evoluto yeah which is the 355 as well
as their four products I drove the escort everything that requires a donor
car we essentially offer except for maybe singer sure and I just they don't
have dealers they sort of do they have dealer partners to do test drives and
things I went with brands that spoke to me that I wanted in the collection though
I mean I have to say that like Kimera was a search for a crashed F40 that we
could repaint and make a custom color and then when you math the math you're
like I'll be 3000000 dollars into something that won't be worth three now
of course they are yeah by the time it was like that's kind of sacrilegious yeah
and ended up with it with a 037 in Verde Abitone green and just absolutely
love it the 030 the 037 is sort of like it is it's F40s yeah it does have a
vibe of an F40 it's maybe not quite as sorted but like you it's got the same
kind of vibe for sure everything that we carry is meant to be driven I feel like
though because we have some great stuff in the collection that you know we're
sort of not allowed to drive because God forbid you know we we take something out
and you know the HK F40 or 288 gets a blemish that while Nat was driving you
know it's a hundred people on video got it while I clipped the mirror on the
door to a parking garage or something and then everyone talks about that car
forever being that's the car yeah whereas with these with these brands we
carry I feel like you could rack it up pretty good send it back to Kimera
or whoever to get a brand new car afterward yeah and it's not gonna have
this sort of history of negativity I guess and people do people care less
about the miles and they care less about and people care less about the miles
it's not because like the Khmer is so new that it hasn't become investment grade
yet or not not investment determined by low ever they've done so well though on
the resale secondary markets virtually double from the original MSRP and where
that's real and I think that it's just meant to be driven I mean you guys drove
you know a an advanced prototype 38 today you know driving that car for two
and a half hours with the current setup might be a little bit more rough than
what you'd want long run but I think if someone wants to go for like the
ultimate morning hell spin yeah that's the car yeah I mean it's a chainsaw it
makes all the great noises very symphonic drivable thing experience it's
it's it's it's incredibly overwhelming and intimidating if you are not like
used to it and if you don't if there's a lot of people around if you don't know
where you're going if you're trying to like figure shit out on the fly it's
just like it's a lot but if if what you're looking for is you know to go
back to a time where a car made you sort of earn it that's it I totally agree
but I think that's also like where I would rather see I think people are fed
up of all the tech in these cars I mean we have an SF SF 90 we have a 296 both of
them have had some hiccups you know with the hybrid system all cars seem to
have problems here and there but it's nice to know like the simple diagnosis
of things the key mirrors and the Gunther works etc can be worked on by a
normal shop you know on a secondary like keen down the street can take care of
both of those cars really like so yeah where do you think that's where you just
take a chimera anywhere flying doctor if we have a heavy thing we every car
comes to the laptop if we log into it remotely via someone's wireless and
there's some major component we send in a flying doctor otherwise we give
instructions and they change the oil and or change the alternator I mean it's
it's it's very modular like a race car but yeah I never thought I'd be in the
position where I'd be selling these kinds of things yeah but they're kind of
weird that was my hot dogs to and you never took a like a layover in selling
BMWs down the street or like any major so when I was working a Land Rover yeah
when I when I left Wall Street I wanted to learn how to hire and fire people and
what better a place than work at Land Rover right where so the time we they
just come out with the suit with the sports was that era that BMW
Tata was it BMW and Tata like handoff oh of Land Rover Land Rover it
was at that time it's like no no way it went from BMW to Ford to Ford that's
right had the Jaguar motor and Ford before Tata so it was in that time so we
had like half the cars we were selling have BMW motors and I'm still half and
didn't and it was a great time to see kind of how a shop transitioned to
different stuff different technology that's that dealership is still in
existence and my buddy Ryan still owns it and I learned a lot there I learned
really had a hire and fire but also had a really sell luxury product what I
realized about Land Rover was that the typical Land Rover Range Rover customer
just like recycles that they just come back in they just get the next one it's
the next one like literally the time the oil changes do you'll see it just like
dropped off and the new one comes back in yeah but yeah that was that was my
only standing car sales before this and during during COVID we had picked up
Glickenhouse and I took the gold car which had gone up the hill good with
the year before and I put it in my trailer and my dog Guinness and I drove
around the country with a motorcycle on the bed of the truck the car in the back
of the trailer and just did traveling salesman everywhere so I went down to
Florida down to New Orleans to Texas twice back and forth and did the sort of
southeast corridor during the winter and sold cars wow just bringing it to like
individual customers that guys that had reached out people that we knew would be
interested and sort of you know went door-to-door like a like a old-school
investment banker and sold out of that car covered in fucking alligator or
something that that you're sitting in a crate downstairs right it does have a
black interior now with some gold stitch we've brought it I remember they
pulled this thing out I was like holy shit this interior I was alligator it was
it was crocodile ostrich and I'm about to get to drive
that car because that was like a true that was a really interesting analog
experience and that car is now at Roush where Glickenhouse is producing the
cars getting brought up to a crash tested spec yeah when are they actually
gonna start delivering so car seven is in build currently that's going to a
mutual friend of ours and then car four is a factory prototype that they're
building up they'll do further testing with and get as many miles on as
possible and then every 35 days they'll be pumping out a car or two as they ramp
up but Roush motors are they using LT4 that's the supercharged supercharged 650
horse yeah from the 06 correct old zeo with a with a Chima six speed sure
so just you know they can handle a lot more power it's a sequential no it's a
gated manual yeah yeah and three-seater the same the same six speed
transaxle as Pagani uses in the utopia I believe so it was it was theirs and
it's the it's originally a helicopter transmission of some sort yeah it is yeah
so it's got some it's got proven to like take a ton of abuse and we're not
worried about the transmission they do they did it was something out of a
helicopter in SSC use that we drove a car that used the helicopter I think that
was SSC the SSC is automatic I know it's a robotized okay so it's not fully
automatic oh it's doing the SSC is a robotized transmission I think it is the
same train might be Cima it that sound that's where I heard
helicopter the term helicopter transmission doesn't go in a lot they do
use it they do yeah yeah yeah but those are two of the American brands and then
Gunther works down in Huntington Beach ton of fun very drill yeah just we just
drove the the slant nose the F26 which is total weapon oh yeah it's actually too
much it's like it's like I love I love Peter I love what they do there is a
right amount of power for this car and that is not it that is too much I love
my speedster I have to say like I'm a you know I had my Targa that I've had
forever 77 Targa and the speedster you know the top off never bothered me we
live in an area where we know about rain weighing in advance not Miami and that
thing for a naturally aspirated engine it's quite those are right that's the
correct one I think if the weather is right the speedster is great but a lot
of the speedsters don't have heat and they certainly don't have windows and
it can be a little bit chilly yeah but if you and also if you get a drizzle at
like 38 miles an hour you get nothing in the car that's okay I don't know sure
no I'm going yeah roll through some stuff with the increased traffic here we
had you know a lot of stop and go so that might be a problem but I think the
power balance of this of the speedster is really good and then like the dynamics
of the suspension that Gunther works does is also really impressive which the
Camaro also had like I'm pretty nice the Camaro has a nice ride it actually felt
you know the gears feel really short in that car but I think that's actually
just because it's so loud yeah and you you almost never get near red line because
it feels like the thing's gonna eat itself but it's not but it just like it's
so like yeah I liken it to like literally a cat in a blender it's just so
unsettling if you're not used to it I've taken people for rides in that they
just think the car's breaking the entire time it's just really really overwhelming
with sensory shit and it's really a lot of things to think about at a time and
then we also drove this other thing you're doing called a 1511 yeah which
is it's it's it's almost you you've gun third or you've gone some of the way to
gun thuring a 914 effectively it's it's got a sort of integrated rigidity
structure it's not a roll cage but it's like some kind of structure that makes
it tight it's got a four liter water cooled engine it's a pretty nasty little
thing I think it's it's probably one of those like in the rest of mod space
right now it's probably one of the better values the price wise with a
Porsche badge on it sure you know or without a badge how much is it deliver
without a badge um 395 quid so around 550 USD fuck are you selling in quid
well it's we're in Bedford but it's UK built so you pay them directly oh I see
you have to you know is it to sort of look at yesterday we're in New England
was about a dollar 33 exchange rate not too long ago but you know it's
fluctuated so how much of that car is carbon fiber or new panels everything
is carbon fiber on that car even the door skins okay because you can see the
weave through the collect the paint there which is very cool but do they keep
like the original unibody at all and then all the body panels that go on under
carbon fiber yeah the body panels on our carbon fiber but the except the
target bar obviously right target bar is still still structure and then underneath
it if you pop the hood in the trunk you'll see all the added rigidity and
structure they're adding into it also the sills are much beef well the sills
have like a low almost what you see like a low bar on a cage but like inside that
the front hood is it's really nicely shaped the way they've I guess buttressed
and reinforced the wheel wells and that thing handled great it had a very nice
ride yeah looks cool I liked the linear power I don't like the manual brakes I
think it needs to have power booster so we make a carbon ceramic for that which
has a boosted yeah I would want a brake booster I even though the car is light I
I've never driven a car that had any kind of power whatsoever that had manual
brakes and I thought was a good idea I'm glad you can get power brakes as some
kind of an option I'd probably include the booster on the steel brakes that are
on it yep and then there's a weird bit of a maybe a little
hiccuping if you tip into the throttle a little too quickly yeah so it's a little
a little rough around the edges but as a concept I liked it a lot I think that
the the fuel pedal you're dealing with is all canvas soft drive by wire that's
tunable out the I particularly I like the main feel of a non-boosted
brake if you remember I had a gray 912 the three liter in it back in the day
yeah this is kind of that next generation for me of that when I was
thinking about what I wanted in a car I liked it more analog but having driven
the one that's in Colorado with the carbon ceramics we just delivered to a
customer that is I think the better choice and now I was just surprised it's
got what Brembo six piston front for rear like these are strong brakes the car
weighs nothing and even getting real deep in the pedal I felt like I was never
slowing down as much as I wanted to yeah and I was like that's surprising for a
car that's so light so I either the booster pad choice or whatever but like
look I mean as a concept I mean it's kind of like your spider at 60 60% scale
you know you shrink it a ton but the seats are good positions good
shifting is great steering is great yeah like it's a nice thing yeah it is a
really nice thing I could spend all day in it it was great feels real solid yeah
you know you're very tight like no wiggles or anything like that and then you go
over you know a lot of the pavement here looks like it was arc welded but the
thing just rides really nice it's a very tight little thing
that's got a lot I mean it feels like a very solidly made item even though the
chimera is very nice when you get back in this thing which is number one of this
car it's the first go at it you go Porsches are just better but you know I
always say even our Myers makes like anything that's got a flat engine in it
if some sort seems to be so usable yeah like I can take the gum to work through
the groceries you know the same thing with with the 1511 you don't have to
it's not just a show up to the cars and coffee kind of car no and you can in the
1511 you can just let off the clutch without giving it any gas and it will
just creep forward so you can in traffic or whatever it's it's pretty nice nice
little torquey car yeah yeah it is a blast I was really excited to have met Ben
and do that as a JV with them it's I think it's a fun project and everyone
who's buying one is like the real deal car guy you kind of have to be because
you're not gonna impress somebody by telling them that you've spent half a
million bucks on a 914 but if you look at 914 history and pedigree it beat 911's
in the moth no but you have to explain that to me right it's I guess they don't
know just know that I guess that's not a thing that is standard they the 914
hasn't gotten like the praise and marketing boost both from Porsche and
from like the community that excuse me that the aircolds did you know starting
20 years ago with like Magnus they haven't they haven't had that moment I
think they're starting to they've had a good showing at the lift-couples events
like that section's been growing a lot and there's some really cool stuff there
and when they're turned up a bit I mean when they you know they put the six in
like they're really exciting the 914 six was a great car to begin with yeah
like I said two liters people have two fives like strokers and then two sevens
in them I just feel like going liquid-cooled wasn't sacrilegious I agree
and I don't think so reliable yep and cheaper to produce in reality less
expensive to reduce I should say and if you look at the the drivability of that
car because of it and it's not carbureted getting heat
soaked in all the things that you have with a although the heat is coming out
of the radiators and right into the cabin is it right then it vents out of the
the side you know the the side bit there was your leg here doing oh no not
actually your legs get cooled because when you show the AC on the only event
that seems to emit cold air is aimed at the blows at your feet so it kind of
fights with AC blows on your feet yeah I think if the target top was on those
top vents would actually be producing a oh maybe the defrost vents yeah you were
you were losing that all of that was just flying up the door that's hilarious
but I did like outside of the brakes which weren't my favorite I did like how
that car drives a lot I thought the other inputs were very nice and the ride and
handling and like all that was really good the the prototype was was loved in
the UK this was the first one for the US and customer cars started dropped off
but they are like I said the real deal people like just some amazing customers
are better buying these the true Porsche customers can you get a nose lift on it
so this one's grapey a little bit did it okay I mean I think that's pretty well
prompting obviously on the Guntherworks you got one you have to use it like all
it yeah and then and the Kimera when I picked it up from you guys it was in
full-up mode it was in full-up mode yeah yeah well we we were I did that when I
turned around yeah he did it when you turn around afterwards yeah yeah no I'd
use it up put it up and down a couple of times yeah it does work actually I mean
and the Kimera is is I can't wear shoes in it my feet I can't drive but once
I'm sitting in it's actually quite comfortable yep glad it has both belts
those are the comfort seats and where that came into play was for a shorter
guy it's the only way to get a seat that comes up
otherwise you're all with pan and on the 1511 we've made the seat actually lower
I thought the shape of the seat was good it could always go lower yeah what's up
hey we're just filming something but we're filming something I'm surprised
the boys didn't say something give us five minutes five minutes so I can please
please you know right there okay
it happens sorry we really we have we probably three
you guys okay so you guys are off to go paint
convicts we're gonna go raise yeah we're gonna go race with Cletus tomorrow at
Stafford Motor Speedway that's awesome crazy you guys are all different
experience than the cars the last time I raced there was in my was in a lemons
race and my insurance broker came with us as one of the teammates and crashed our
car wow so it's like that was the last time I was there and we back he's like
hey will you tell the insurance company this didn't happen on Craigslist existed
we've found a Jeddah no golf we found a Jeddah to replace the goal a Jeddah on
Craigslist down the road to race to get the engine and transmission out oh yeah
hit the wall the front prop shaft had gone through the transmission casing it
made a hairline cracks I was leaking oil so we just pick up a whole engine and
turn a whole car to swap the engine and transmission in that's lemons but you
guys here love Stafford Springs it's so old-school and so like it's a half mile
oval yeah I think it's a half yeah I mean it's gonna be a shit show so two hours
of left turns man lots of laughs next gonna be sore yeah it's gonna be tough
but thank you thank you thanks for coming up a visit a real quick one someone
asked what's more essential to a good hot dog the bun or the meat potato bun
makes it goes a long way it does if you're boiling them they all taste the
same I'd say potato bun my favorite new method for cooking a hot dog spiral cut
it yeah in the Breville like air for toaster air fryer thing yeah like 12
minutes you get delightfully crispy very nice I like a butterfly if I'm gonna
grill it but the carts are in on stir now sure because they were used within
Shaysadian right yeah yeah upgrade them shit well you guys will have to come
back when Greenwich opens oh in your show yeah you have a new showroom building
you're actually gonna have a show room in front of this yeah yeah 366 West
Buttonham Ave across the street from BMW right next to Ferrari Maserati yep and
we're opening up this winter and we'll have to have you guys come back yeah
for sure we will be there thank you everybody that's guys short short show
but we have to go to a 311 concert it shows beach tonight yeah it's a long
way away nice now Monday hk motor cars we appreciate you see you later thanks
guys bye
About this episode
From a live Smoking Tire collab event in Irvine to stories from Bedford Hills at HK Motor Cars, the conversation bounces between early go-kart days and the origins of their hot-dog-cart hustle. They share unusual ownership tales—like a Range Rover running on “fry oil”—and how Lime Rock bought the hot-dog-cart equipment. Later, the focus shifts to hypercar practicality: remote diagnostics, hybrid hiccups, and drivetrain/build details, plus track-venue favorites and high-mileage realities.
Nat is a serial entrepreneur. He went to school with Farah and then ran a series of hot dog carts before opening GPNY, a premiere indoor karting business in NY. He then started HK to sell race cars at Monticello Motor Club but now sells the cool and weird in his own store. The Kimera, the Fifteen Eleven, Gunther Werks. If you want something from these famous boutique builders, Nat is your guy.
Show Notes
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