NHRA Stock Eliminator was a drag-racing category where cars had to follow rules that kept them closer to stock than full-on race cars. That’s why the same car can have a racing history without being completely custom.
Term
matching
“Matching” usually means the car’s key parts are the same ones it originally came with. It’s a way collectors judge how original and authentic the car is.
Term
turbo three fifty
A “turbo 350” means a Chevy 350 V8 with a turbocharger. A turbo forces more air into the engine, which can make it much stronger than a non-turbo version.
A “stocker cam” is the camshaft that fits the rules for a class that wants cars to stay close to stock. In his example, the rules force the lift to match the factory spec, but you can still change other cam details.
Total lift is how far the valves open at their maximum. Racing rules can require it to stay close to the factory setting, which limits how much you can “turn up” the engine with a cam swap.
The camshaft is the part that tells the engine when to open and close the valves. Chad is saying they swapped to a different cam to change the engine’s behavior, but racing rules limited what they could change.
Cam duration is how long the valves stay open during each engine cycle. Changing duration can shift where the engine feels strong, even if rules limit other measurements like lift.
“Wide open” means the gas pedal is fully pressed. That’s when the engine gets the most air and fuel, and it’s often where a cam swap shows its biggest difference.
This is a performance upgrade for an automatic transmission. It lets the engine rev higher before the car really starts moving, so it can launch more aggressively.
“Small block” is a nickname for a smaller V8 engine used a lot in hot rods. People use it to distinguish it from a bigger, more powerful “big block” V8.
A 1994 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible is a performance sports car from the C4 era. In the story, it’s used for a big road trip, not just weekend cruising.
A 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle is a classic muscle car that people still build and drive today. Here it’s mentioned as a car the group planned to bring on a long road trip.
A 1994 Chevrolet Caprice is a full-size car. The host uses it as a donor so he can build a 1956 wagon with the right chassis dimensions and modern running gear.
“9C1” is a code that identifies a specific police-spec version of a GM car. It’s basically the “cop package,” which can come with different equipment than the regular civilian model.
The Ford Edge is a family-sized SUV that’s meant for normal daily driving. The podcast part you quoted is about putting bigger tires on it and making sure they fit without hitting the car. If the tire isn’t positioned correctly, it can rub the wheel area.
“Tri-Five” is a nickname for the 1955 to 1957 Chevrolet cars. The host is talking about how that older chassis dimension can cause clearance issues when you modify it.
Power Tour is a long-distance, multi-day car event where enthusiasts drive their cars from stop to stop. It’s known for being a “drive it like you mean it” test of reliability and real-world usability, not just a show.
A “patinaed car” is a car that looks worn in on purpose—like it has real age and history. Instead of restoring it to look brand-new, people keep that used, weathered look.
Hot Rod Magazine is a car magazine that covers hot rods and custom builds. If your car gets featured there, it means the community thinks it’s a standout build.
Hot Rod TV is a show that covers hot rods and car events. Here, it’s part of how the speaker got involved with filming and interviews around Power Tour.
The Volkswagen Bus is an older van made to carry people and cargo. It’s often used for trips and events because it has a lot of space. In the podcast, it’s mentioned as one of the vehicles people ride in or travel with.
Drag Week is like a multi-day drag racing event for street cars. The cars have to race and then keep going over several days, so it’s a real endurance test.
This was a local drag strip in the Bay Area where cars raced in straight lines. The host is saying it later changed into another track name, and he grew up around it.
This is the name the drag strip later became. The host is explaining how the track evolved after Fremont Drag Strip stopped existing.
Place
Great Men, Kansas
This is the place in Kansas where they were racing during a specific race weekend. The host is saying it was a big moment because it ended up being her last run.
“Dry” nitrous means the nitrous system adds nitrous but doesn’t add extra fuel. The engine still has to get the right amount of fuel, so it has to be tuned correctly.
Spark plugs are what ignite the fuel in the engine. When people tune performance setups, they often check spark plugs to see if the engine is running too hot or too lean.
Data logs are like a recording of what the car’s sensors were doing during the run. Tuners use them to figure out what’s happening when the car launches or when nitrous kicks in.
This means the tires lose grip and start slipping instead of pushing the car forward. In drag racing, controlling wheelspin helps the car launch harder and more consistently.
In nitrous setups, “kits” are the hardware and plumbing that deliver nitrous (and sometimes fuel) to the engine. Having two kits typically means staged nitrous—one shot first, then another later—to manage traction and power delivery.
At a drag strip, the timing shack is where they measure the run and print the results. The host is describing the moment she got the official time slip.
“Tech” means the official inspection before or during the event to make sure the car meets the rules. The host is saying their car was limited by what it was allowed to do based on that inspection.
A dog-ring transmission uses special clutches to grab gears quickly. It’s often used in race cars, and it can be less smooth than a normal street gearbox.
Those “gears” are the final-drive ratio in the rear of the car. A 5.57 ratio helps the car accelerate harder, but it can make the engine spin faster on the highway.
The Lincoln Town Car is a big, comfortable luxury car. The story brings it up to show how different his grandpa’s later project was compared to his usual ride.
A four-link is a way to hold the back axle in place using multiple metal arms. It helps the truck ride better and stay planted when you accelerate or brake.
He’s describing a front-end swap: using the front part from an older “square” style pickup. Hot rodders do this to get a certain look and to make the build easier to fit together.
Air ride is suspension that uses air bags instead of traditional metal springs. It lets you lower the truck a lot for looks, and then raise it back up to drive.
TBI 350 means a Chevy 350 V8 that uses fuel injection at the throttle body. It replaces carburetors with a more modern fuel system, which usually makes the truck easier to start and drive.
The 700R4 is an automatic transmission with four forward gears. Hot rodders like it because it has an overdrive gear that helps the car/truck cruise more efficiently.
“Channeled” is a custom body modification that lowers the car’s body for a lower, meaner look. It’s one of the ways hot rodders create that stretched, low stance.
A “69 Camaro” is a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, a classic muscle car. People get attached to older cars because they feel like part of history and personal stories, not just transportation.
A 2024 Camry is a brand-new Toyota sedan. The host is saying that newer cars can be great, but they usually don’t have the same kind of special history or emotional pull as older classics.
A 1994 Honda Civic is an older compact Honda. The host is saying that cars like this can still make people stop and talk because they’re part of car culture.
A “66 Bel Air station wagon” is a 1966 Chevrolet Bel Air wagon. They’re planning upgrades so it drives more like a fun street car instead of only being built for drag racing.
TKX is the name of a modern aftermarket manual transmission. People use it in older cars so the shifting and strength are better for today’s engine swaps.
“No-prep” drag racing means the track isn’t specially cleaned or treated to give you perfect traction. Your car has to be set up to launch and grip even when conditions are worse.
Term
5-3 or a 6-liter
“5-3” and “6-liter” are ways people talk about engine size. They’re saying the car will probably get a swap using an engine in the 5.3L or 6.0L range.
American Powertrain is a company that sells aftermarket parts for car upgrades. Here, they’re providing parts to help convert an older car to a newer drivetrain setup.
A “ProCharger” is a supercharger system that forces more air into the engine. More air usually means more power, but it can also make the car louder and less relaxed to drive.
“LS” is a GM V8 engine family that a lot of people swap into older cars. It’s popular because it’s strong and there are lots of parts and support for it.
An LTG crate motor is a newer GM engine that you buy as a complete package. “Crate motor” means it’s basically ready to install, instead of rebuilding an old engine.
A Chevette is a small Chevrolet from the 1980s. The host is saying they bought a 1987 one to build, including swapping in a newer engine and a manual gearbox.
A “Square Body Suburban” is an older Chevrolet Suburban with the boxy, classic 1970s truck look. Chad is saying it’s one of the cars he wants to work on next.
Overdrive is an extra gear that helps the engine run at lower RPM when you’re cruising. That usually makes the car feel smoother and easier to drive for long distances.
On a drag strip, “10-second” is a quick time for running the quarter-mile. Chad uses it to compare how fun a manual feels versus an automatic.
Term
373 ring opinion
This sounds like he’s talking about the rear axle gear ratio (often written like 3.73). That ratio changes how the car pulls and how fast the engine spins when you drive.
PPG Billet Sequentials six-speed is a high-end aftermarket transmission option. Chad is saying it’s a serious performance choice for people who want the car to run and drive as quickly as possible.
Powerglide is an older automatic transmission used in many classic cars. Chad is saying you can still enjoy the car even if you’re not using a modern transmission yet.
Boost is how much extra pressure the forced-induction system adds to the engine. More boost usually means more power, but it can also make the engine work harder.
Bench racing means talking about cars instead of actually driving them. The host is saying that most of the time people just talk, and you should try to get out and drive.
CJ Pony Parts is a company that sells aftermarket car parts. The host brings it up as an example of the kind of business he deals with when working on products.
Edelbrock is a famous brand that makes performance parts for engines. The host mentions it because he works with companies like this when improving and promoting new products.
Fuel injection is a modern way of getting gasoline into the engine. It uses sensors and computer control to deliver the right amount of fuel, which helps the engine run better and make more power.
“Pro touring” is a style of car building where people take older cars and upgrade them to drive and handle like modern performance cars. Chad is saying some builders aren’t taking full advantage of newer engine tech.
“Big block” is a nickname for a larger V8 engine design. It usually means a bigger, heavier engine that can require more planning for fitment in a car.
“Sequential” means the transmission shifts through gears in order. Instead of choosing any gear like an H-pattern, it steps to the next one—often faster and more consistent for racing.
A 3D printer makes parts by building them up layer by layer. In car projects, people use it to prototype parts and sometimes even make real components.
Metal 3D printing is like a 3D printer, but it makes parts out of metal instead of plastic. That matters because you can sometimes print parts strong enough for real use, not just prototypes.
The “cold side” is the part of the turbo setup that handles cooler intake air before it gets compressed by the turbo. Chad is saying those parts can be 3D printed in metal for racing.
Term
time-lapse
Time-lapse is when you film over a long time but play it back quickly, so slow work looks fast. It’s commonly used for construction or build projects.
OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) is a popular free program used for recording and live-streaming video. The host mentions starting with the OBS project as part of upcoming tech content creation.
SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) is a major U.S. trade show focused on aftermarket parts, custom builds, and performance vehicles. The host references early days of going there to hang out and party with friends, contrasting with later work-heavy convention time.
Topic
Car Junkie TV
Car Junkie TV is referenced as a community platform the host helped start after Hot Rod Magazine’s forums were closed. In this context, it’s part of the shift from magazine-era forums to newer online spaces for enthusiasts.
Facebook groups are online chat/club spaces where people with the same interests talk. Chad is saying you should still meet people in real life, not just online.
A “five or six speed conversion” means changing the car so it has a 5- or 6-gear transmission setup. It usually takes a lot more work and parts than people expect.
CompCams is a company that makes performance engine parts, like camshafts. Chad is basically saying people don’t have to buy these parts to get by day-to-day.
Paint Education appears to be Kevin Tetz’s company focused on automotive paint and related work. Chad mentions it because he’d send his Camaro there for body, sheet metal, and paint improvements.
“Hot roddy” basically means making a car more exciting—usually with modifications that improve how it looks or drives. The host is saying you’d do just one fun upgrade, not a bunch of complicated work.
LIVE
Mel Henry: Hi everyone, I'm Mel Henry, and I'm the host of the Driven by Enthusiast podcast brought to us by CJ Pony Parts. And today I am joined by Chad Reynolds. And for those of you who don't know Chad, you're in for a treat. For those of you that do, you're gonna enjoy this. So, Chad, for anyone who doesn't know you, can you please introduce yourself and your current role in the automotive world?
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Yeah, I'm Chad Reynolds, and a lot of people refer to me as Bangshift Chad because I own Bangshift.com. an enthusiast website we refer to ourselves as the Car Junkie Daily Magazine.
we started this, my god, a Jillian years ago, I'd have to do the math now. like legitimately 16 years ago, I think now. I think I missed my 15th anniversary last year, actually, now that I think about it.
it was originally started by me and David Freiburger. we brought in Brian Loans and Wes Allison. and through circumstances over the years, like Freiburger had to walk away. and ultimately on November 1st of 2024, I bought out Brian Loans and Wes Allison, and so I'm the the sole owner now, which is awesome.
And so yeah, it's been fun. And the and the road to getting there is long and deep and weird, and involves that car there and a
Mel Henry: That's that's incredible. So what first got you into the automotive world going way back?
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: well, so literally that car right there is a sixty eight Z twenty eight Camaro that my dad bought brand new. and it it is a little worse for rare right now 'cause it's very dusty and needs a paint job.
But my dad bought that car brand new from Carl Chevrolet where he worked in in San Jose, California and where I grew up in the in the Bay Area, San Francisco Bay Area and that car was NHRA stock eliminator car most of its life.
when I was in kindergarten we needed another daily driver and I don't remember what had happened but because I was little obviously. but anyway, dad put it on the street for one year. My mom drove it every day, took me to kindergarten with it.
I remember going to remember when you were in school and you went on field trips and you did like the field trip to the dairy? remember Northern California is very agricultural, right? it's Silicon Valley, which everybody knows, but California it makes every other state look like they're not
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: growing things right so anyway I went to a dairy with other little kids in the Camaro like you know parents carpooled and all that so it's funny but but yeah so that car is the is the car that started it and we had a square body suburban that my dad built from nothing like literally from a rolled over brand new square body took another body that was good that a buddy of ours from wrecking yard had and built it into one brand new suburban that we drove until got I was in my twenties, and I grew up in my grandfather's auto shop.
My grandpa had an independent auto shop, and I spent every moment there that wasn't in school. So, like spring break, summer break, you know, after school, that kind of stuff always was at, you know, my grandpa's place.
And so I he always said I put a hundred thousand miles on a floor jack every year because, you know, riding it around the the driveway or whatever, but yeah, so it's all those things. I mean like I said, autoshop, the racing, the all of it.
It just was what led to all this and I don't know whether to be thankful or blame my dad and my grandpa at this point, but we'll see.
Mel Henry: That's incredible. So the sixty eight Camaro is what sparked your love of cars, but what was your first car?
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: My first car is actually under that, which is a matching blue sixty-nine Camaro convertible. and before you go, what a spoiled, you know, kid. I mean I was, don't get me wrong, but my dad and my uncle bought that car in seventy-eight.
it had been an NHRA stock eliminator car. I now know the whole history of the car, which is crazy. So it had been an NHRA stock eliminator car anyway, out of Indiana, and it won the NHRA National Championships or championship for that year, won the US Nationals.
It's got a ton of stuff, like eleven records, all kinds of stuff before we got. It anyway, we raced it for a few years. My uncle and my dad had a falling out as far as racing partnerships go, and and so my dad sold his half to my uncle.
fast forward a few years. My dad my uncle had the whole car apart for years trying to rebuild it and and got an opportunity to buy a nice race car that was already finished, and he did. And so he told my mom and dad, I'm selling the Camaro.
You know, if you guys are interested, I figured I'd let you know first. And I was twelve at the time. so mom bought it. It took three open car trailer loads to get the car home. That's how apart it was.
and I was given the car on my 13th birthday and spent years and years and years and years and years as a 13-year-old with no money tinkering and working and saving and getting gifts.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: And all the things to ultimately build it. And when we did, it you're gonna laugh at this part. I had, you know, we didn't have any money, you know. I mean, we were fine, but we didn't have money like, you know, to build cars, right?
So we had what we had. Well, I couldn't afford to buy a new engine for that thing or any of that stuff. So we used what we had, which meant that it got the stock eliminator small block in it. Okay, like it it got every Everything that was we used racewise, the only difference was at first it had a turbo three fifty in it.
At first we put a three hundred horse three fifty cam shaft in it instead of the stocker cam. If you don't know stocker cams, they have very, very strict rules on total lift that has to match the factory lift for the engine that you you know are claiming it to be.
But duration and all the other dimensions can be anything you want. So they're just amazing. Obnoxious huge duration camshafts that just make all the right noises and have no power except at wide open and all the things, right?
that was how the car was. It had four fifty-six gears in it. That's the highest rearing gear that's ever been in that car since it became a race car. and then my streetcar. it's had five thirteens in it and four fifty-six is forever.
it's now got a fifty five hundred stall glide and that small block in it normally. right now the motor and trans is out because we're probably gonna put a big block in it and some other stuff. But anyway, that car was my car, and and so you know I worked on that and worked on it.
We stripped it, it stayed in body shop jail for years, all the things, so it never was done when it was supposed to be done. But when it was done, we street raced the living hell out of it. and just had a great time with it.
And it'll it's the one, right? Like you we all have the one car that we'll never get rid of. Those two. Two are the cars because obviously that's dad's and it'll never go away. But but yeah, mine, like I said, 69 Camaro Convertible.
It's Lamont's blue with white stripes, just like dad's is marina blue with white stripes. Marina Blue and Lamont's blue, same blue. just different year, different name. and yeah, so tons of memories. Some of one we cannot discuss in that car, and lots that we can, but might need some drinks.
So yeah, it's it's it's been cool. So that car. was the car and it just snowballed from there. And and for years I did like normal, you know, to college and then I did normal jobs and I worked in the corporate world and the a thing that people s are surprised by a lot, I was in human resources.
I was a staffing manager, you know, corporate recruiter, contract recruiter, made a lot of money back in the day in Silicon Valley and all that. And that's how we ended up in Texas. I got hired by a company out here to run their staffing department and ultimately ended up being director of operations for you know telecom companies and all kinds of stuff and So anyway, got out of the industry.
I was like screw this. I don't care anymore. I don't want to do this crap. And the and the money was no good anymore 'cause this was, the early two thousands and the telecom boom had had a little bust and everything.
And so I did the only smart thing, which was to live off my savings for like a year and just go to auctions and buy cars and build things. And then the really, really smart thing, I opened a hot rod shop.
Cause who wouldn't, right? You wanna know how to not make money. Ha ha there you go. Call me for all your Yeah. Call me for all your
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Career advice, let me tell you. But yeah, so did that and built another car, which you cannot see because it's not in the building. built another car in 05 because me and my friends were gonna go on power tour.
And I'd been going on power tour since I believe it was 2000 when it went from San Bernardino to Florida. And me and my buddy Sean did it. Yeah, and we were hardcore. My buddy Sean flew to Texas because I was living here.
Then and we got in a ninety-four Corvette convertible that we had. Six-speed car, of course, competition yellow. It was cool. Anyway, he came and flew in here. He and I got in it. We drove all the way to San Bernardino with a slight detour to Las Vegas, did all of power tour and then drove it back home, and then he flew home.
He could have easily just flown from Northern California to Southern California and it would have been eat. No, no. We did the whole thing, it was awesome. but on that trip, I mean I mean, it was like, I was bit with the power tour bug, which you know well, right?
Power tour is awesome. we did power tour for a few years, and in 05, my buddy Harley was supposed to be bringing his car, and my buddy Sean was supposed to be bringing his 66 Chevelle, which I had built for him, and we had already done a power tour in it.
Well, long story short, people couldn't get enough time off work to go from California, and you know, do
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: the whole trip and so it was up to me to put something together that we could all ride in and my Camaro is not or at the time especially was not a road trip machine with four fifty sixes in it.
I Put together a 56 Chevy station wagon that I had a body sitting, like literally this 56 Chevy was just sitting in the shop. I had went to buy another car, an Al Camino if I remember right, and it turned out to be a pile.
on the way home stopped by a field where there were some cars sitting, almost got shot, ended up paying 400 bucks for this 56 Chevy. station wagon, brought it home at sat. bought a Plano, Texas police car at auction.
Actually I was out of town. I had to have my dad buy it at the auction. And was just going to use the engine in trans and the brakes and stuff, on this 56. And it turns out that a 9C1 cop car a 94 Caprice, the chassis one inch longer wheelbase than a Tri5 Chevy.
And little known fact, unless you're a Tri5 person, a Tri5 Chevy's wheelbase is one inch too short from the factory. Every rear suspension system for them extends the wheelbase one inch. Because otherwise, when you put a big tire on it, it runs into The front edge of the wheel opening.
it's not centered. So I was like, hmm, this might work. And the floors in the 56 were junk. So I literally cut the whole body off the 56, the whole body off the caprice, but left the floors bolted to the chassis and then set it over it, channeled it, put it on air ride, all the things.
I'm making it sound way easier than it was. But we we threw this thing in 49 days with a little help. From dad and my grandpa, we put this thing together. I drove it one mile from the shop, it shifted into all the gears and it steered and stopped.
Drove it one mile back, we vacuumed it, loaded it up, and I headed to Milwaukee for the start of power tour. And completely unproven. And On the way we put two oil pressure gauges in it. I have very nice autometer gauges in the car, but we put two oil pressure gauges in it because the oil pressure was really low and I thought the gauge was bad and was in denial when the second oil pressure gauge also said that the oil pressure was really light.
So it was fine. We just put 50 weight in it and called it a day, and 70, some odd thousand miles later, hundreds of pounds of nitrous through it and all kinds of other things, it's still perfectly okay.
It doesn't seem to care. So the iron-headed LT. one will not die. when I bought it it only had 40,000 miles or something, I'd have to look it up. it's got a well over a hundred on it now. I took that car on power tour.
It lit the world on fire. Freiburger and all of them were in love with it because, and I didn't do any of this on purpose. This car was supposed to be a gorgeous show car. To this day it looks like you drug it out of a field this morning, but in 2005, almost nobody had built a patinaed car that wasn't a thirties or forties car, right?
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Nobody had done a 50s or 60s car. Well, again, I didn't do it on purpose. I just built this thing so we could drive it. Yeah. And it was all temporary. everything is structural, but nothing was done nice.
Like there's no finished work done. The wiring in that car to this day, if you were to open the hood and look under the fenders at the back of the headlights, there is a spool of wire for the painless wiring because I didn't I I knew I was gonna take it all back out and I didn't want to cut everything to
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: length because I didn't know if I was gonna change routing. But the car got so famous it ended up, you know, in the center spread of Hot Rod Magazine and all these things and just everywhere.
And then you know me, I've never met a stranger and I obviously I'm so quiet. So I met Freiberger and those guys and I met a guy named Jack Walworth who worked for Hot Rod TV at the time, was doing the Hot Rod TV episodes, and he interviewed me and then through the d week We'd get to a museum that was a stop and Jack would be like, Hey Chad, can you do an intro real quick for me at the museum?
I ended up being the host basically of, a couple of episodes of Hot Rod TV that revolved around power tour back then and that just all snowballed. And they asked me when I got home
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Rob Cannan called me and said, you know, they because they wanted to shoot the car for a feature, so Wes Allison shot it while we were on power tour, which was amazing. I did I knew who he was, but we weren't friends or anything at that point.
then when Rob called me and he said, Okay, it's coming out in this issue and blah, blah, blah, and asked me a few other questions about the car, and said, Hey, we've got an idea, you Know can Jerry Pitt call you?
And Jerry was the publisher of Hot Rod at the time. And he said, He's got an idea if you'd be open to it. I'm like, okay. And so he called me and he's Jerry says, Do you want to be our man on the street announcer guy on Power Tour?
And I'm like, What? And I mean, I'd done a lot of public speaking in my career and stuff, so that's why I didn't care about talking in front of a camera or people. But that wasn't a career thing I was trying to do.
And I said, I don't know what what's this gonna entail. And he well, doing Some interviews and maybe some stuff on the stage, but we're thinking, like, you know, you can do some stuff out in the midway and you know, all these things.
And I'm like, okay. And back then, like, wireless wasn't what it is now. So they're like, we're gonna have this, you know, all this stuff. We have to have a TV truck and crap, and anyway. So I'm like, I don't know, maybe.
And he goes, Well, we'll pay you. And I said, the thing is, I'm not interested in going on power tour and riding in the van or a suburban or the bus. Us like you guys do. Like, that sucks. And he's like, Yeah, he goes, Well, what do you want to do?
I said, I want to bring my car still. And he goes, Well, that's fine. And I'm like, okay. And he goes, We'll pay you, we'll pay all your expenses, we'll get your hotel room, everything. So then I'm like, hold on.
I normally close my business down for 10 days to do this, okay, and every penny comes out of my pocket. So these
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Pardon it. These idiots want to spend money. They want to pay all my expenses and pay me to be there? Like I'd be an idiot not to do this. Yeah. So that's how it started. And I I I mean I literally started announcing that. in O five as we're leaving
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Power tour and we've gotten our long haul awards. Freiberger comes up to me and goes, Have you heard about Drag Week? We're announcing this thing drag week and I said, No. And he goes, Yeah, it's you know in September or whatever it was.
And I said, Okay, and he said, We want you there in the 56th. And I'm like, Okay. And so the the feature came out, the magazine with the feature in it came out the day, the starting day of drag week. And so everybody saw the car.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Insane the attention that we got. And so there were like 40 of us or whatever that did the very first drag week, and I've done a a million drag and drives since, did all kinds of drag weeks and you know, built some of the fastest streetcars in the world and all the things. And yeah, and it all just it's all this snowball of dumb stuff, right? Like that's how life is, it's serendipitous, you know. I mean, let it tell you where you should go, you know.
Mel Henry: Yeah. It is. It's amazing. my gosh. I'm going where I am led.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Yeah. I mean you could tell whatever you think that is, if you think that's God or karma or the cosmos or whatever, rock on, you know.
Mel Henry: Yes, there's an energy. Just follow it. Whatever you think that is.
Mel Henry: That is incredible. And so you have you have so many stories and the best stories. But what is one from your early days in automotive that really sticks with you?
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Yeah. Like early days as a kid growing up or as like when I wa already in the industry. Okay.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: I remember some really like detailed things about Fremont Drag Strip, which is where we raced when I was a kid, and it's no longer there. But it later became Baylands Raceway Park and before it shut down.
But it was in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was literally at sea level, it was amazing. It's a very historic track. Some really cool people raced there back in the day and stuff, but some neat history.
I grew up at that racetrack, I remember as a little kid, the water box there, instead of driving through the water to the starting line, the staging lanes came in at the side because the water box was backed right up to a fence and that had banners on it.
well it was pa actually back then there were no such thing as banners. There were painted plywood sheets on the fence. You had to pull out and then back into the water. And I remember as a little kid doing that, like backing dad into the water and stuff I remember one night he was racing and I was probably ten or something like that.
My uncle had gotten a little Honda CT sixty mini bike, And and I was allowed to ride it, you know, We're at the in the staging lanes. Dad has just run. All of his drunk buddies are, you know, standing around.
And the concession stand backed up to the staging lanes, like the wall of the back of the concession stand. And his buddies, like the minibikes parked there, his buddies like, get on it, Chad. And I get on it and they park the front wheel up against the building, pour some beer on the ground, you know, wide open, and I'd shift the thing a couple times, you know, and do my very first burnout.
And it was all downhill from there. I I do remember that. that one very very well I I don't know which buddies of my dad's they were but it was probably Jim Alves and Joe White and all those guys so yeah it was pretty cool so yeah that one was that one was fun for sure.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: as God, in the in the race world and in the car world, all these years of doing all these things, there's so many insane stories over the years. one of the coolest ones, my late wife, Daphne, was just one of the coolest chicks ever and into racing and and you know the the story there and you know, most of the world does.
She it was very public when she got sick, as many cool things as I've done and I've done a lot of cool things, one of the ones that just sticks with me was we were at Great Men, Kansas on the last day of Rocky Mountain Race Week in 2017.
and it we didn't know at the time that it would be her last run down the drag strip, but it was, and it was also the quickest and fastest she'd ever been by a lot, like nearly a half second and it was cool because that day she wasn't feeling great but she was all excited and a buddy of mine came up and he's a nitris guy and we were running a nitris small block in her car at the time.
It was one of those things where your friend like tells you to pull your head out of your butt, you know? Because he's like looking at the spark plugs out of the car, he's looking at the tune, it's fuel injected, dry nitrous and all this.
So it like we have data logs and everything. And By the way, this is all in her daily driver. but anyway, so he's looking at the data logs, he's looking at the spark plugs, he goes, Does this thing ever spin the tires?
I said no, and it had two kits on it. And I was leaving, like we'd leave the starting line and like a couple tenths in, it would hit the first kit, and then you know, a half second or whatever later it hit the second kit.
He's like, Why aren't you being more aggressive with this thing? He goes, If it never spins the tires and this and that, like who cares? Just get after it, it's totally safe. He goes, Leave on the bigger kit and then And almost immediately throw the second kid in and I'm like, Yeah, I know, I've been thinking about it or whatever.
And he's like, Well, you know, it's getting hot. Like, you need to do this now, you know. So so we did. 1320 video shot video of it and all this stuff, because Kyle and them were good friends of ours, and And when when it came on, like she clearly knew, okay, this is way spicier than normal, right?
And it ran right on down Broadway. It was great. it ran as quick as it was allowed to with tech because it had no roll bar in it. so it was eleven fifty. it had been a 12-0 car forever. and when she got to the timing shack and got the slip, I mean she's jumping up and down in the car, like fizzing.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: jumping up and down in the car, honking the horn, going through the pit, screaming with their time slip out, and when she got back to where we were pitted, Ryan Bartek, who was one of the used to be a photographer with 1320, was there and he got this amazing shot of her with this giant grin on her face and all the stuff and it was and will forever be like one of the coolest things at the drag strip for me.
You know and and and there's so many it was it that was one of that was pretty neat, you know. So yeah, it was cool.
Mel Henry: Yeah, that is that's very cool. And with Daphne in mind and so many other influences, who are some of your biggest influences and mentors in automotive?
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: my grandpa and my dad, I mean, you know, they weren't my grandpa was I mean, you know me, Mel. We've known each other for years now. You know I you know how I'm built My grandpa and I, if we were standing next to each other, we would be twins, I am so him, right?
He died a long time ago, but he was a mechanic. he owned a auto shop. He was not a hot rodder. He was not any of that. he was the guy that repaired people's cars in town. he looked at cars like they were a a tool.
They were a useful thing. A truck was a truck. was not into hot rods at all. And he was very vocal because again, we didn't have money and arguably should have probably not, done the racing we did sometimes.
Not that we didn't eat 'cause we went racing or anything like that, but you know what I mean. the the thing is that he would say like why do you spend money on race car stuff? You know, this and that.
And and then dad you know was obviously all into it, right? I mean so it was the two different sides that I had. Because I mean, while he did I mean we used, vehicles as tools, he also was like, dude, hot rods are awesome.
so for years we even when we couldn't afford to race, or race competitively, we would still go to good guys shows and stuff in dad's Camaro or my Camaro and we'd do hot August nights and all those things and dad's car has five fifty seven gears and a, you know, dog ring four speed and everything.
I mean, that's how it was raced, you know. So we would drive it all the time like that, but just like at show stuff, So the two of them, were a big deal. But one of the coolest things was when I was working at the last telecom company I worked at, I I walked out the door one day on my way home and I lived 15 minutes maybe from work.
I didn't even get on the freeway. I just was going city streets here in Dallas, and he had lived here, him and my grandma for years at this point, and I had moved here and the whole family had. he calls me and him and my grandma were in Missouri visiting family.
and I answer the phone, I'm like, what are you doing? And he says, What are you doing? I said, I just got off of work. And he says, How long would it take you to get to Missouri? And now it's a Friday, okay?
And I'm like, Why, what happened? because my grandpa was a Ford guy, okay? And we are Chevrolet people, okay? And he he was less sh Ford guy than he claimed to be, but he did it to Razus, right? So anyway, he drove a Lincoln town car, okay?
And I'm like, did that Lincoln finally give up on you? You know what I mean? you know
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: We're car I'm bagging on him. And at the time he's seventy five years old. he starts laughing. He goes, No, I bought a truck. I need you to bring your trailer and get this truck.
Now, at the time, I drove a lifted 92 shortbed standard cab, shubby pickup, flamed, all this It was great. looked like a slammed sport truck, but lifted. I mean, boyds, billets, like all the things, he says, I bought a truck, and I go, What kind of truck did you buy?
I'm like, completely uninterested. I said I can go home and I'll change clothes and hook the trailer up and I'll be on my way and it'll take however many hours, what kind of truck you get? He said, a 50 Studebaker.
And I said, What the hell did you buy a 50 Studebaker for? And he goes, I'm gonna build a hot rod. And I went, what? And he was like, yeah, on my way, you know, kind of deal, right? And so, yeah. And so long story short, grandpa built that 50 studre truck.
I did the welding on it. He tacked everything, but he had gotten shaky in his old age, and he had taught me to weld starting when I was four. so I did all the welding. we're not talking about some like little simple build.
We're talking a 50 Studebaker that he put a square body front clip in, a four-link in the rear. We did air ride on the thing, 17-inch wheels, TBI 350 and 700R4. You so it's fuel injected. he did every single thing on the truck himself except the interior.
He had never painted a car before. He put 86 gallons of paint on that thing, I swear. He always said, I'd like to paint it this pale yellow that was a packard yellow. The only new car he'd ever bought in his life, he bought from my grandma, and it was like a 1950s Packard.
And I said, Well, you know, we'll go down to English color and find the paint code. And he's like, you're not gonna be able to do that. And of course we could. And so we got the paint code and and that's what he did with it.
And it was done where he was really driving it. in five when I had my fifty six and it had just gotten real famous. So we went to all the local shows here with both of them. the very first cruise night we went to was in Wiley, Texas.
We pull up, it's this big grocery store parking lot, pull up. We pull through our spots. I lay the the my fifty six on the ground, right? It's all it's channeled so it sits rockers on the ground basically and all that.
And grandma and grandpa get out of the truck and I'm like, What are you doing? And he goes, What? I'm like, You have to lay it out when you park it, dude. He's like, yeah, yeah. So he hits the remote.
Psh, well Dude, he's, you know, eighty somet he's eighty years old at this point or whatever, dude. Like, everybody's like, What? The old dude with air ride? It was cool as hell. made me into a welder and taught me a ton about cars along with dad, and then we made him into a hot rod in his old age, which was awesome.
Mel Henry: Yeah. For everybody. That is incredible. The man who was like, No, this is a tool finally decided he wanted to have something fun.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Yes. And I I think I might have to do a GoFundMe at some point because that Studebaker truck still exists. when my grandpa passed away, my uncle got the truck. by no fault of his own, there was a parts failure, he crashed it at at Hot August nights of all places into a concrete post and a parking garage because it was that or hit other cars.
it's been sitting for the better part of 15 years. just wrecked. And I've asked my uncle a couple of times, I will fix this thing back up, I'll keep it, it'll be ready to drive whenever you want to go in it or whatever.
And he is still holding on to it because he thinks he's gonna get to it at some point, and he probably will not. So, so I may have to offer him some stupid amount of money at some point. So I'll need some help from the public probably for that.
Mel Henry: Yeah, crowdsource and there's there's a soft spot for that in the automotive industry, not just car culture in general, not just the automotive industry, but the car community. what is one of your favorite parts of being an automotive enthusiast?
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Yeah. dude, it's the camaraderie and the like the storytelling and you know, the the thing that you don't get and I'm gonna sound like an old man 'cause I'm getting to be an old man now, but In nineteen in in the thirties and the forties and the fifties and the sixties and the seventies, when I'm gonna I'll have a caveat.
People bought a new car, they came home and took pictures in front of it in the driveway, right? Like with the whole family. They went to the dealership. They got pictures at the dealership, right? With film cameras.
Remember people, this is before these stupid things, right? So now
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Everybody's I got a new car because they're posting it on Instagram, right? Or on Facebook or whatever. But the reality is it it isn't special now. It's just another day in your life clicking the pic. I mean, you may be excited, but it's still it's whatever. Back then it was a big deal to like get the camera out and shoot a photo, or or people didn't just own cameras. People had to pay somebody to come take a picture, right? I mean, it was a bigger deal.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: So these these older cars have this bigger story to them, right? a 69 Camaro was just a car in 69. now it's not just a car, right? but a 2024 Camry is never gonna be some super thing.
It's just not. It doesn't matter what you do to it, it may be an amazing vehicle. I'm not bashing on a Camry, but It it's never going to have this overwhelming appeal. It may be a family heirloom for your family because it's yours, but it will never be a family heirloom because it's a 2024 Camry, if that makes sense.
to me, it's all those stories. It's the experiences that led to people getting them, I told you about the Camaro and, you know, kindergarten. The other car that they had before that was my mom had a seventy one, I think it was, maybe it was a seventy Monte Carlo, right?
So same as yours. That's why I like it. Hers was Midnight Bronze. I you know, remember I have all kinds of fun stories about that thing that I don't remember, but I've heard over the years, you know. and so just having those experiences with vehicles and them being an important part of your life and sharing those with other enthusiasts is is cool, right?
we go on these events like Power Tour or Rocky Mountain Race Week or Drag Week or whatever and do these big road trips with people. you go to a gas station and people go, my God, my uncle had one just like that or whatever, right?
And and don't get me wrong, we all joke about it because half the time the just like that, it wasn't anything like this. But who cares?
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Who cares? Like they they're not gonna walk up to the guy with the 2024 Camry, right? Unless they do to say, Hey, how do you like this thing? I'm thinking about buying one for my kid or whatever.
But otherwise, they're not gonna go, it's not some relatable thing that's gonna get people to talk. And especially in a society we live in today where everybody is thinks everybody is mean and nasty and doesn't want to talk to anybody in public.
Dude, you pull up in these Camaros in my OBS suburban, in the Snova, even my 94 Honda Civic, I have an EG hatch, right? Like the people love that little thing, okay? those kinds of vehicles get people talking and they they just get people emotional.
And so that part of it to me is the coolest thing. that link that we have and it spans all different generations, different ethnicities, different nationalities. I'm getting ready to go to Sweden for a Dragon Drive event literally in like a week.
Mel Henry: Yeah, that's incredible. my gosh, that's amazing. So with all of your vehicles, do you have a project right now?
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: A project. What do you think? I'm a rookie? I have a dozen projects that don't run. I tell people all the time if you want to pick up a project and you want my opinion, I am the friend that will tell you whether or not
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: the fifty six Chevy you want to buy is the one you should buy, right? Or the sixty-nine Camaro or the whatever if you go, should I buy this one or this one? I am not the friend.
Don't put this on me. I am not the friend that you call to talk you out of buying a car in general. Nope. I'm not that guy. I mean, I've had to tell friends' wives, like, dude, I'm not, you can't hold me responsible.
I'm not that friend. I don't I everybody knows that. Like, don't put that on me. That's somebody else's job. You need a friend that's the guy that tells you that's dumb, that isn't a car guy, but I'm not gonna be that guy.
Mel Henry: You're not gonna be the voice of reason in this situation.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Exactly. I don't talk myself out of buying stuff either. Although I have been on a self-imposed hiatus for the last year and the only thing I bought was this suburban, which is a perfectly fine running and driving nice vehicle.
So the only thing I bought that's nice and running and driving in forever. So that I did, but I have So Rusty, the 56 Chevy, the wagon that we're talking about, that thing is supposed to go under the knife before the end of the year to become much more race car.
It's going to become my no-prep and drag and drive car. Daphne's 66 Bell Air Station wagon is getting a TKX and swap setup from American Powertrain, probably behind a 5-3 or a 6-liter, and it's gonna stop being a drag race.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Race car because it's after Daphne died, we did the fastest car TV show in that thing and put a pro charger on it and then another pro charger and it just got ridiculous. I mean fun, but not as much fun to drive and cruise, right?
So loud and all the things. So it's going back to being more of a fun cruiser and not a drag racer because it weighs too much and all those things. my 69 Camaro is in need of some love. We actually have a 66 Nova on the other side of those two over there too that has a full TCI everything underneath it.
and Richard Holdner is finishing up an LS to put in that thing at some point as well. I have To relive my childhood, because I'm a mini trucker as well. one of my my my first mini truck was an 85 Mitsubishi that my grandpa bought brand new, and then I did all the things to ruin it in all the right ways.
I bought another one of those because I hadn't had one in forever. So I bought one of those so I could build the mini truck I wanted to, I have a Chevette, a 1987 Chevette that I'm gonna do. I have an LTG crate motor and six speed actually sitting right up here on the mezzanine to put in that.
I have a 1955 Series 1 school bus that if anybody would like to buy it, I will sell them it cheap.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: and I might even be able to deliver it for a very nominal fee. the only reason I own that school bus is because I own a trailer that it would fit on and that's a whole other story.
I have the EG Civic. I have a Square Body Suburban. that's a project that's just sitting there waiting its turn. Like the Square Body Suburban, the Chevette, the Mini Truck, you know, the Mighty Max, like all these things are vehicles that are just waiting their turn.
I've been so busy the last several years I haven't been able to race my own junk or work on my own junk, and that needs to change this year because I'm getting burned out without playing with
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: My own stuff too, you know what mean? So, so yeah, there's lots of projects here. Of the Nova, everybody on my podcast is like, You got another car? I'm like, No, no, no, no. I'm just helping my friends spend their retirement.
It's fine. So, my buddy Steven has bought two really good 68 Chevies. one a 68 Camaro, and this one a 68 Nova. Because I said you need to buy these. they were too good a deal, and he did. He bought The Camaro a few years ago and it's getting close to driving, and so then he needed a Nova.
So there you go. So if you also need help in locating cars, since I am addicted to Facebook Marketplace but can't spend my own money, hit me up, chat at bangshift.com or message me on Facebook, and I will help you spend your money.
Don't tell your wife. Yeah, exactly. Yes, I can still get my fix, you know.
Mel Henry: It's easier to spend when it's not yours. Yes. And so with all the changes you've made to the whole variety of cars, overall, what's one modification that you think is just the best to better your overall driving experience? What's something that you're like, this is amazing. Every car should have this ability to do, make this change.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Well Okay, I'm and I'm gonna sound like this is a commercial for you guys or well one of your companies and it's not, but I would say that if you are in the market for a transmission for your hot rod, okay, if you're going to change it to an overdrive, that's one of the biggest things you can possibly do to your car to make it more enjoyable to drive.
Now, with that said, I have vehicles with seven hundred R4s and four LAD. And all kinds of stuff. But if you want the most fun driving experience and you're not drag racing the car and you're just enjoying every mile you can put on it, dude.
Put a TKX or a Magnum in it. I mean, I'm telling you, I've raced a lot of things, okay? I've been 241 mile an hour, on the Salt at Bonneville. I've been over 200 on the drag strip. I've raced a lot of cool stuff.
Okay. if you take a 10-second drag car that is a stick shift, it will be more fun to drive than a seven-second drag car that's an automatic. Like it's that huge of a difference, right? It just feels so much more fun driving a stick.
I drive a stick car almost every day with the Civic and all those things. I'm the only guy in the automotive media that does, by the way, anymore. But but you know, so I I would say overdrive, but if you want the ultimate experience, dude, put a put a TKX in it.
or Magnum, you know. Yeah. I mean American Powertrain has the kits for everything, and if they don't have a kit because you're building something weird, they'll still put all the parts together you need to do ninety-nine percent of it without any trips to the hardware store or anything.
So yeah, an American Powertrain kit is the way to go. And that's what we're putting in the 66. it's
Mel Henry: Yeah. Hooked up with American power drain.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Just too good. I'm gonna put a TKX in that thing. The five speed's all I need. It's got a 373 ring opinion in it. It doesn't need a a six speed for what we're doing and and it's not gonna make a ton of power.
so I don't need anything crazy. if you do have crazy, again, not a commercial, go look at the new PPG Billet Sequentials six-speed that they have at American Powertrain. It's not even public yet. So this is your chance to go see it.
it's awesome. whatever you have to do To make it run and drive the quickest, that's the best thing you should do. So with all that said, if you have a 69 Camaro in your garage that's been sitting forever and you're like, it really could use a paint job, and the transmission blew up, and the only transmission I have is a power glide and whatever, just get it running and drive it.
The thought process of, I'm gonna keep saving money to do this thing is the dumbest thing you can do with your car. And and I and trust me, we've all been guilty of it, right? I mean, don't take your if your stuff runs and drives, do not take it apart until you have everything there to put it back together in one weekend.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: If you can't convince yourself as a car guy or girl that you can put this thing together in one weekend, then you can't put it together in a year. Okay? Because we're all like, I can do that in a weekend for five dollars.
No. Okay, it's gonna cost five grand and it's gonna take five months. But if you can't convince yourself you can do it in a weekend, then there's no chance whatsoever that you have any of what you need to actually get your car up and running.
So don't take it apart. Keep driving. driving it. Again, six cylinder power glide in a Nova like that. Who cares? Dude, put a set of wheels and tires on it, make it sit right and take it out. Nobody's gonna know.
Nobody knows what's under the hood. It doesn't matter. You don't have to open it. I mean, come on.
Mel Henry: We're clear. Yes, and that's something that I love about seeing anybody's builds is what they choose to change, what they choose to keep original. And whenever we were having our slight engine issues prior to Power Tour, and there's Matt, I've had worse things happen closer to Power Tour. I'm like, that's not how I like to live my life, Matt. But everyone's like, are you dropping an LS in it? Is it finally getting an LS? I like my old school small block three fifty, leave me alone.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Yeah. There's nothing wrong with that.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Daphne's car has a 400-inch blueprint small block in it that has had lots of modifications over the years now, but has nearly 50,000 miles on it, has had 400 pounds of nitrous through that engine.
I don't know how much boost through all the two different pro chargers. I mean it all the things. Dude, who cares? Ray drive it, have fun with it, do all the things. I mean, a small block, a big block, an LS, I don't care what it is.
And all you people are like, you ruined the car, boy.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: an LS in it. Dude. Seriously, if you can bolt an LS in, you can unbolt an LS as well. It's like people that go, my God, I would never buy that car. Those wheels are horrible.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Yeah, the wheels are easy to change, don't pay attention to anybody else. Don't listen to me. If you think it's cool, drive it. But you gotta drive it. Like, you cannot go on power tour for your first time if your junk never runs.
So make it run with whatever you got. Now, I happen to be the guy that also believes that you're not racing if you're not thrashing the night before. and my normal is to be building things until the very last.
Minute because it's just me and I love the thrash and it it invigorates me, but it's not for everybody, as you said, Mel. So know who you are. Also get your friends involved. Working on your junk by yourself sucks.
It's way more fun when you have friends. So if you have if if there are if you have three friends and all four of you have a project and
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: It would be better for you to decide the first weekend of the month, we all work on mine, and the second weekend of the month we all work on yours, and the third weekend we work on Matt's, and the fourth weekend we work on Jeff's.
Because you will get way more done with four people on that car, even though you're gonna BS and drink beer and eat pizza and whatever and hang out. You will still get way more done and you will enjoy it.
Because remember one thing: no matter how hardcore you are, unless you drive Your car every day for a hour-long commute, you spend ninety-five percent of the time bench racing and talking about your car and only five percent driving it.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Enjoy those times with your buddies and get your wife out in the driveway you know working on her stuff and vice versa. after Daphne died we started up the wicked chick awards on Rocky Mountain Race Week and Race Week and we do a thing for women drivers and co-pilots and and women are as capable as any man on the planet so there's no reason that you shouldn't be working on your stuff together.
Saturday is work on your car day and Sunday's work on husband's car day. You know, whatever. I mean so you should do that, for sure.
Mel Henry: А в And so with being an automotive th enthusiast and working in the industry, what's a challenge that you faced that made you better at what you do today?
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: working in the corporate world before, and then owning my own hot rod shop. those experiences really make a difference because when I'm, you know, from my side as a media outlet and all that, when I'm dealing with a company like CJ Pony Parts or American Powertrain or Edelbrock or whoever, you know, it's a corporate entity, right?
They're, you know, they gotta make money, they gotta do their thing. I can understand where they come from and I can understand how the corporate environment works, right? And that doesn't mean I have a leg up.
It just means that I honestly just don't have as much stress because I'm not freaking out when they're not calling back right away and doing the I understand the corporate stuff takes a while, And then also having a hot rod shop and knowing the trials and tribulations that go along with that are they're real, right?
Like owning a small business is a hard deal and it whether it's owning a website or it's owning, a hot rod shop. And so I I think that that helps me as well, you know, in relating to those folks. because sometimes I think, we all get in our own bubble, whether you're a media person or you're a auto shop owner or a parts manufacturer and you you get disconnected from the other people that are your customers or your, you know, compatriots.
And so I I think that that helps me too, you know.
Mel Henry: Yeah. Yeah, I can see how there's benefits to seeing that side of it and you incorporate it into what you do now.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Yeah. I and I do a lot of honestly, I enjoy the hell out of this. I wish I did this as you know, to get paid. But I I really enjoy working with companies on new product development and on making products better and marketing their products.
Like that's one of the big things. I think that there are so many times where a company makes a product and they think, this is the cat's meow and it's amazing and it is, it's great. It does what it does awesome.
But they didn't even realize that by doing this, there's this whole other world you opened up if you just do these two things. And sometimes again you're headlong, right? We all do it. I'm not, you know, saying I'm immune to it, but we all get tunnel vision sometimes.
And I love being able to go, Did you think about doing that? Or we should do this, it'll change people's attitudes. And I think right now this in this country we need an attitude adjustment. So I think that I think that
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: But not only companies and everybody else, but some of we need to take a breath and be nicer to each other, that's for sure.
Mel Henry: That's just worldly advice as a whole. To be nicer to one another. So are there any products that you're really excited about right now that you can share?
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Yeah. I'm telling ya. I'm telling ya. I have to tell you, I'm an equal opportunity engine guy. I mean again I'm a Chevrolet guy, right? So I'm in a bash on Fords, but but you know, it's like your favorite sports team, which I don't do any stick and ball sports stuff.
Like that's not my cars. Yeah, I don't yeah. I don't know any of the sports ball things. I'm gonna bust the chops of my Ford friends j and they're gonna bust my chops, just like we would if it was the Raiders versus Forty Niners or whatever, right?
I do though like a big variety of engines and performance platforms and all those things. And so for me, the exciting thing nowadays is the fact that you know fuel injection has come so far. I mean, you can do so much with EFI and I love that.
I still think that there is a huge number of people, especially in the pro touring world, who are just leaving almost all of it on the table. They just don't have a clue. and I'm trying to help fix that.
But anyway, so I think fuel injection is a big deal. I think all of the technology, it's easier to build horsepower today than it's ever been before. I want to give a hard time to people that have only built LSs and think that we're old people for having small blocks or big blocks.
and I want to bust their chops a little bit because they don't know what it's like to have to make parts fit, because they just already do. and they don't leak and they don't know. I mean they just have it really easy.
But I'm not mad about that. That's great. the technology that has come along, whether it's fuel injection, it's clutches, it's, suspension, it's all the things, it's just all come so far. So for me, I would say that the the fuel injection side of things is one of those that really, really, you know, gets me going.
the technology that's coming Into transmissions and stuff with companies like PPG. I mean, all this sequential stuff. If you look, if you guys go look at PPG's stuff, and again, I know American Powertrains getting ready to start selling that stuff, it's insane.
There is a lot going on there. They're using universal gear sets. They can do five and six speeds in the same case. Like All kinds of stuff that is amazing. you can do a five speed instead of a six speed and make this use all the space where fifth and sixth were together.
So then instead of having this little tiny overdrive gear that isn't as strong, it can be this big and be wide open, a million horsepower in overdrive strong. Like that stuff to me is amazing. so it and all of that is because of manufacturing.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: manufacturing and engineering and all this. I just I bought a 3D printer and I'm like super excited Tim has the same one so I'm super excited to start using that thing and making stuff with it.
I I just think right now like it's not one part it's the technology and all the things that are like here in our faces that are available and I I love that. At the same time I think AI is going to be the end of us but you can call me an old curmudgeon, whatever you want, but as much as I love it for some of my graphics stuff because I am not UMail, I am I I still it scares me, but but yeah, just technology in general and and the technology to make stuff is just mind blowing to me.
Mel Henry: Yeah, it is and speaking of the three D printer, do you remember what year was it? twenty, twenty four at SEMA. They made that wide body Chevelle and they three D printed the whole like the undercarriage cover essentially. That was incredible.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Yes. Yes. Yes. yeah. I saw a thing the other day that was like on a reel I don't know i people watching, if you're not familiar with metal 3D printing, which is super new, don't get me wrong, and I've not seen it in person, but In a normal 3D printer environment, there's a thing they call the bed, right?
Which they're printing the stuff on, and it's basically a control computer-controlled hot glue gun squirting stuff out to make a thing, right? So so this thing, like the head goes doo doo doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo and makes whatever, right?
It makes a little figurine and a bobbleheaded chad. Well
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: On a metal 3D printer, the head stays vertically in one place and it only moves side to side and around, and the bed moves as the thing prints, okay, away from it. Well, I saw this reel of a 3D printer that is literally like seven feet tall and a four foot square, like you could stand in it. The dude printed a mannequin, not a mannequin, but like a shape like the Academy. No. Yeah, isn't it the Academy Awards that's the guy that's standing there?
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: like you know yeah I think that's the one it's what it looks like well like the Roadster show the Amber Award ones it looks like those dudes right and looks like a big Oscar or whatever but anyway it's like six and a half feet tall that he printed one and it shows it like time lapse you know in ten seconds or whatever but it goes brrr
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: And then he opens the door and grabs it and takes it out and it's as big as him. And I don't know how long it really took to print it or whatever, but it's incredible. Like you said, you can print crazy stuff. And and that is just amazing to me. And I do know people who have had the cold side of their turbo kits 3D printed in stainless steel and or aluminum in the last year and are running them on race cars right now and they're great. Yeah. It is incredible.
Mel Henry: That's incredible. Wow. Okay, so let's take a moment. I want you to tell us all about Bangshift and and what you do there.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: everyday website I post new blog items every day, somewhere between five and ten on average. and, you know, a lot of times it's photo coverage from events or live streams from events.
and then lots of YouTube videos. we're getting to where we're gonna be doing more and more of our own YouTube videos, but also I mean I'm a car guy, like and and people send in referrals all the time.
my God, people will love this one and I, you know post those and you know there's some little write up about it like my god this is cool as hell and and sometimes it's the you know guys you know Tony Angelo and Derek Beery and Mike Finnegan because they're friends and they make great content and so I know our readers want to see it and so we share it but sometimes it's people you've never even heard of or whatever and I'm a car guy just like everybody out there and and so if it if I think it's cool I know you'll think it's cool.
Today I put a video up about lifting three locomotives, train locomotives from a derailment to put on the tracks again. a locomotive, it weighs like 110 Jillion pounds, dude. And they pick it up with these four things and go and set it back down.
I'm like, that's cool. I had to watch it. So I put it on the website. I'm like, this is rad. So anything and everything like that. We do a lot of tech videos and stuff, welding content, fabrication stuff's always a big deal to me.
You know, metal shaping and everything. But if I can get some help or some time. I actually have a lot of mostly time-lapse, but a lot of video of building this shop. me and my mom and dad built this shop, a little help from my cousin Jeff, and the very useful help I might add.
there's a ton of drama around this building being built. It collapsed in a major storm and a bunch of things during construction. Like the drama is insane. I've been looking at putting that together. We're gonna start doing video.
video tech video starting with the OBS project doing a bunch of stuff there. I love doing tech stuff and I just haven't done enough of it lately, but we got a lot more of that coming. Event coverage, dude photos.
Nobody has more photos than we do. We do so much event coverage. I have the greatest group of people around the country and the world that just send me stuff all the time. And and I joke and say we put the free in freelance, but it's true.
I cannot think our contributors enough. they know who they are and they're amazing and they send stuff all the time. So yeah it's it's crazy. you will see video coming from Sweden because like I said I am going to Sweden for a dragon drive which we'll talk about a little bit more up after this but it's it's gonna be awesome.
Mel Henry: That's in that's amazing. And thinking of all of your years in the industry going from being dropped off at kindergarten in your mom's Camaro to working in it now, what are some changes you've noticed in automotive throughout the years? And you can look at this as like automotive industry or as an enthusiast with car culture.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, I mean, when I first started going to like SEMA and stuff, I just I had a name for my hot rod shop that wasn't really a business yet and just came to hang out, you know, and party with my friends and have fun at SEMA, right?
God, I long for those days. you know, it's not the same now, right? It's all work. Lots of work, lots of hours, being in the convention center overnight, literally because we have twenty four hour access.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: When I was growing up, the fact that my dad raced a car and that we were into old cars was like not the norm, you know. I mean and and I mean I grew up in Northern California. you know, I subsequently moved to Southern California in 2007, me and Daphne and the kids and we went there and lived there for ten years and I loved Southern California.
And if I had grown up in Southern California, it would have been very different. because the car culture there is a next level compared to anywhere else in the world. Don't argue with me. I'm right. and
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: So I I think that, you know, again, growing up, it was weird, right? That we were the car people. And in fact, some of my buddies that are car people now were not didn't grow up in car families, were not car people until they met me in high school, like or college and stuff.
That's how it was, right? But I feel like nowadays there's way more car enthusiasts as far as the world knows, because of social media and all those things, everybody knows everything about everybody nowadays.
And so I think that it good or bad, I think that that makes it so that it's easier to connect with like-minded enthusiasts, right? You don't have to just be reading a magazine. for years about Power Tour and then going on it to meet all the other people that read the magazines and decided to go on it.
You know, we for years Hot Rod Magazine had great forums for all the the Power Tour people and then they closed their forums down in 2007 or 8 and we started Car Junkie TV first me and Freiberger and And the Wayback Machine.
and when we did that, we had a forum and we gave the the forum freaks who were this special group of power tour people that were on the hot rod forums, we gave them a place to be. And that was like the first time that all these people from all over the country could talk to each other and get to know each other and then spend a week together and then still hang out the rest of the year online, right?
And So while I absolutely believe that there's some things that the internet has done for us that are horrible, I do think that overall just culture in general has made car culture feel like at least a lot more widespread.
And I'd like to think has made it to where if you didn't have a Chad that you grew up with, right? Or a dad and grandpa like mine that made you into a car person, you could become a car person. person just because you saw it online now.
And so it's never been easier to make power. It's never been easier to make reliable hot rods. It's never been easier to become a car enthusiast than it is today. And that I think that's probably the biggest thing that I would say over all these years.
You know, it's not something I would think about normally, but it's true. it's just changed the game, and that's awesome. You know, there are enthusiasts all around the world who wish that they. I have a guy in Lebanon.
Lebanon, who... I'm gonna say probably four times in the last ten years has sent me photos or a video from a car show that they put on in Lebanon. Okay. I'm a huge fan of Lebanese food. It's amazing. And I would love to go to to Lebanon and visit.
it's just not a place that you think of as having enthusiasts, car enthusiasts. And no, they're not driving sixty-nine Camaros or whatever, but they still they're enthusiasts. They have cool cars and they work on in a environment that is probably way harder than you if you live in Kansas or something, you know.
So that kind of thing just makes you feel good, you know.
Mel Henry: No. Yes. And I feel like you touched on this a little bit, but do you have advice to someone that wants to get into automotive, whether it be on the enthusiast level or working in the industry?
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Yeah, I I you know, there's a there are several people in the industry actually that wanted to get in and despite my discouragement, have because we helped them with some stuff and you know, advice or whatever and I joke about the discouragement.
I mean it's not the it's not where you're gonna make the most money, but it might be the thing you love. And don't let anybody though give you that whole if you're doing something you love, you never work a day in your life.
BS. if you then you're not working hard. I mean, like you you're gonna work, okay? and there's gonna be times where you think it sucks probably and it should, because it then it'll make you appreciate the good times, you know?
For people that want to get in, you know, to be in car people, go to events. Like you can do all the stuff online, right? Join Facebook groups, do all those things. but you gotta go see it in person also.
and and that even just for motivation, right? because I don't want you to start building your first car and have it take 10 years. I don't want it to do that. I want you to get something out and start driving it right away.
Like or as quick as is reasonable, right? if you're a new car person, you know, enthusiast and you want to build your first project, it is better to save your money and start with a better car because it will take less time and you will get to the payoff quicker, and that's good.
Then save your money and build a big fancy project, and when it's almost done, you can sell the first one, right? Or do like I do and just keep collecting. I don't sell things, I just keep things unless you're in the market for a fifty-five chip.
school bus and then I got you. but the Those would be my things I would say. You need to not just be the one that's online all the time. You need to go to some events. And they could be local car shows.
It doesn't matter. You know, meet like minded people. and don't let anybody, browbeat you about what's cool or not. If you're into, you know, eighties Mercedes, then do it, if you're into Volvo station wagons, I dig I'm down, right?
If you're into sixty nine Camaros, cool. whatever it is, it it doesn't matter. I mean Build something that you like. And also don't fall into the trap of thinking that everything has to be a big expensive part, if you're gonna do a kit from American Powertrain to do a you know five or six speed conversion, that's expensive, okay?
save your money, it's worth it. But every single thing you do can't be that expensive unless you have a way better job than the rest of us, you know. So you know, make a realistic budget, try and stick to it, do the smart things.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: You know, there there's a lot of little tidbits about building cars that are good. We do it on the podcast sometimes, but we've been talking about doing a car building 101 series talking about these things that are the the common mistakes that will get you tripped up and make it not as enjoyable.
if you're trying to get into the industry, remember one big thing. and this is often forgotten in our industry, nobody needs any of our stuff. Okay. No you can go to Toyota and buy that brand new Camry to get to work every day.
Okay? Or the new Chevy pickup or whatever. but nobody needs an overdrive setup from American Powertrain. Nobody needs a new camshaft from CompCams. Nobody needs any of these things. And we as industry professionals cannot forget that.
And those of you trying to get in should not forget that either, right? When the economy is great, people buy lots of things.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: When the economy is not great, they buy less things, all of this is industry is based on disposable income. While it may matter to me because my livelihood comes from it, and it may matter to you because your livelihood comes from it, in the grand scheme of the world.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: It's not important, right? It's not as important as food on your table and a roof over your head and clean water and all those things, and I think sometimes we forget that.
Mel Henry: Yeah, yes, that's a good point. And while we're saying how we don't need any of this, if you had unlimited budget, what would be the what's the dream car? What are you getting?
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Yeah. If game. I play this game every week when I look at the big lottery thing that I don't buy tickets for usually. I need to, because it's like $110 Jillion dollars right now. I will tell you that Okay, so I have a big list of things. Okay. I I will tell you that if I won like the $400 million lottery, right?
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: I would donate incredible amounts of money to charities of all kinds because I love doing charitable stuff, as you well know.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: And I think that it just makes your heart feel good and everybody should do it, right? I would definitely call a couple of different car builders. Larry Larson would be one of them and I would tell him, Okay, I want you to b build me this.
there'd be a couple of different race cars that I would want to be racing very quickly. I would probably send my Camaro to Kevin Tetz, who Kevin is if you don't follow Kevin on YouTube, you should. Kevin owns a company called Paint Education as well, and he's been on trucks and a million TV shows forever, and he's a wonderful human being.
I would send him my Camaro and Dad's Camaro, and I would tell him whatever it needs. Make it make it really nice. I don't want it to be perfect. I just want it all to be really nice. I want everything fixed body, sheet metal and paint wise.
Make this thing good again. And then, you know, and then I'd do an engine swap and all those things and make those things ready to go. My dad turns 80 this year. I would absolutely love to do that kind of thing for him and make it so that we could go drive them and just enjoy them and have fun.
And there There's tons of other stuff I would do. I love buying cars. Like I love buying stuff. Like it's like, you know, women, you know, some women like shoes, right? I want cars. but it's stupid to just buy and love them for a month and then keep them forever, right?
So what I would wanna do is I would wanna go buy a car on marketplace, okay, and go, my god, and I would do one thing to it. Just one thing, okay? Like what if any maintenance items, that's fine, but one hot roddy thing to it, right?
So let's just say I bought a 70 Chevel station wagon, okay, that was all, you know, just stock.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: And boring. I would, you know, it needs brakes and that kind of stuff. I would probably do wheels and tires and lower it, okay, because that's easy. Okay. And I would drive it for a week or two weeks.
And then it would go to Neil. And Neil would do one thing to it and drive it for a week or two. And then it would go to you, and you would drive it for a week and do one thing to it. And we would do that until it was like, my God, this thing's awesome.
And then we would either give it away to somebody or give it to a charity to auction or sell tickets to get it to go to a charity, like that kind of thing. Because in that world, I could buy a new car like every couple of weeks.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Thing ever, right? And we'd be helping people and making cool content and people would be having fun. And literally, like, I would just be sending these cars around to all my friends, and they would be having fun with them, you know.
And it's like, you know, and you I don't tell I just do what I'm doing, and you don't tell me what you're doing until you get the car and then do the video, right? And like, you know, you could go, my god, I bought an LS at the junkyard, and I'm gonna put it in here, and it's gonna be great, but the
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: The six cylinder has to do burnouts until it explodes first or whatever. Like, okay, it's you. You own it for those few weeks, you know, kind of thing. And I think that that would just be A ton of fun.
And and there's just there's a million other things. I would, like I said, I would build, I think it'd be awesome to build a fleet of hot rods that could just go on power tour, that you could just go who wants to go on power tour.
And whether it was friends or it was just random people, right? a guy named Barney Kinsey is he passed away not long ago, a few months ago, and he was a moderator for us on all our lives. Live streams and really good dude.
Barn was an amazing human being. I love him. he was physically unable, he's an older guy, and he just wasn't physically capable of going to the races for the weekend and stuff. It just would have torn him up too bad.
And so you know, for years I tried to get him to come out to events. I'm like, I'll pay for everything. Just come out and you can moderate on the chat from here next to the racetrack. I just as a thank you, you know, and and he just couldn't do it.
and I think about all the people that I've known over the years that. like their dream is to go on an event like power tour or whatever. that'd be awesome. We did Power Tour from Florida to New Jersey.
And And I made arrangements to leave my car, my 56, at a Chevrolet dealership in New Jersey at the end of Power Tour. And then I met my mom and dad and Daphne at JFK Airport in New York, and we flew to Nice, France.
And we went to Nice and we stayed there for two days, and we had a rental car to pick up, and we had a plan as far as where we wanted to go, but we had no reservations of any kind until a week later in Venice.
It it doesn't take even a day to drive. drive all the way across northern Italy, okay? But we'd spent a week doing it, bouncing on old highways, going to all these in a stick shift Mercedes diesel station wagon that did do burnouts, by the way, in Italy.
I did power tour. We did this whole trip across, northern Italy that we called Power Tour Europa. And then came back home and my dad flew home to work.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: And mom and Daphne went to New Jersey and picked up the 56 and we road tripped it back home from New York to Texas. And that trip was one of the most epic vacations ever. And I've had a lot of epic vacations.
And I can tell you that like I would want to do that kind of thing too. Like put on events for people that can't normally do it. I would pay hot rod money to have a special parking area that we sponsored that was the bang shift.
dot com CJ Pony Parts whatever the heck dream yeah the dream cruise whatever lot I mean whatever it took to help people do those things that would be that'd be amazing to me I'd be able to fulfill my dreams and race more stuff and have all that that'd be the easy part it'd be the other stuff that I think would be the most fun you know so yeah
Mel Henry: Thousand percent. Yeah, fulfilling. For sure. That was amazing. Well, Chad, where where can people follow what you're doing? Where can people get in touch with you and learn all the bangshift things?
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: bangshift on Facebook and Instagram, also my redline life on Instagram, you can find us on YouTube, Bang Shift Video. we do a lot of live streams and all kinds of fun stuff there as well.
and of course on bangshift.com where our content is up every single day. and you can reach me at chat at bangshift.com or through messenger on Facebook are the two easiest ways to get me. But if you have some cool event we should cover, if you need a something live streamed, if you want to share content from your car show or whatever, hit me up.
We're always looking for stuff to put on the website every single day and we want to cover whatever we can and bring attention to everybody's projects and what everybody's doing. So yeah. Join us, it's fun.
Mel Henry: All right, this has been amazing, Chad. Thank you so much for joining me on Driven by Enthusiasts.
BANGshiftChad Reynolds: Thank you, Mel. I appreciate the opportunity for sure. It's always good hanging out with you.
About this episode
Chad Reynolds traces his automotive obsession from his dad’s NHRA Stock Eliminator 1968 Camaro Z/28 and his own 1969 Camaro convertible to the way racing rules shaped cam choices. He then connects that mindset to real-world builds: Power Tour–ready wagons, nitrous-fed small-blocks, and patina that earned magazine attention. Along the way, he argues for reversible upgrades like LS swaps, recommends overdrive transmissions (TKX/Magnum), and urges people to get cars driving instead of endlessly tearing them apart.
Chad Reynolds shares his journey from childhood car enthusiast to industry influencer, highlighting his projects, insights on car culture, and advice for aspiring enthusiasts.
