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Live From HD Werks In Boca Raton - EP.175

Live From HD Werks In Boca Raton - EP.175

Right Hand Drive Guys Mar 21, 2026 75 min
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About this episode

HD Werks in Boca Raton gets the spotlight as the Right Hand Drive Guys tour a shop built around long-term, nut-and-bolt restorations and performance builds. Peter, Dre, and Bobby break down how a tiny team handles everything from wiring and tuning to engine assembly and suspension, while subbing out interior work and relying on trusted glass and import partners. The conversation covers the real bottlenecks—money, hiring the right people, tariffs, and parts availability—plus practical build philosophies like single-turbo “street” recipes, managing expectations, and avoiding “cheap” clapped imports.

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Technical Too Afraid to Ask
Concept

right hand drives

"The podcast for guys who like right hand drives. I'm Bobby and I am here today with Peter and Dre"

A right-hand drive car has the steering wheel on the right side instead of the left. That’s common in countries like the UK and Japan, and it can affect how the car is set up for driving.

Concept

long-term builds

"Yeah, we're building right now. We're doing a lot of long-term builds."

That means the car project isn’t a quick fix—it takes a long time. Shops do this when the work is bigger and needs more careful planning.

Concept

nut and bolt restorations

"...like basically nut and bolt restorations where we take the entire car apart and build them to the customer spec."

This is the most thorough kind of restoration. They take the car apart almost completely, then rebuild it carefully so it comes out right.

Concept

customer spec

"...where we take the entire car apart and build them to the customer spec. I mean, that's really the most condensed form..."

“Customer spec” means the restoration/build is tailored to what the owner wants—such as originality level, performance goals, and acceptable tradeoffs. It’s a key idea because two restorations of the same car can end up very different depending on the spec.

Concept

restoration-oriented

"Whether it be performance-oriented or just more restoration-oriented or interiors or whatever it is or a combination of both,"

Restoration-oriented means the goal is to bring the car back to how it used to be. That can include making it look and feel more original, not just faster.

Concept

interiors

"Whether it be performance-oriented or just more restoration-oriented or interiors or whatever it is or a combination of both,"

Interiors means the inside of the car—like seats and upholstery. Restoring the interior can make the whole car feel and look much better.

Concept

subbing out

"So, I mean, clearly, obviously, you must be subbing out a lot. There's no way that you're doing start to finish inside of this place."

“Subbing out” means sending some work to another shop or specialist. It’s common when a project needs skills or tools your shop doesn’t have.

Term

painting

"So you're painting here, are you tuning here?"

“Painting” means repainting the car’s surfaces. Getting it right takes careful prep and matching the color so it looks smooth and consistent.

Concept

tune remotely

"We tune remotely. Roberto actually helps us do the tuning portion of it."

Remote tuning is when someone adjusts your car’s computer settings from a distance. They connect to the car’s computer and change the tune so the engine runs the way they want.

Concept

break-in

"We do the break-in, we do the start-up, I do the face-map."

Break-in is the first period of driving after the car is rebuilt or heavily modified. It’s about easing the engine into normal use so parts wear in the right way.

Term

face-map

"I do the face-map. I mean, literally down to the, just need to turn it up."

A face-map is a tuning step where the computer’s settings are mapped so the car responds correctly. Different shops may use the term a little differently depending on the car.

Concept

dyno ready

"we can drive it around and vet everything and make sure they're dyno ready and then we just, we sub it out."

Dyno ready means the car is set up so it can be tested on a dyno safely. The shop makes sure the engine and computer are working correctly before running power tests.

Term

first coat

"I'm looking at that thinking that he's painting a standard black 34, but really that's the first coat, right? That's just what they look like."

Paint is usually applied in layers. The first layer can look darker or different, and the real color shows up after the next coats are added.

Term

suspension work

"[316.9s] I pretty much do all the engine assembly, suspension work, [320.8s] any of the maintenance that comes in for just like quick stuff. [326.4s] Yeah, you probably, we probably gotta get a little closer"

Suspension work means fixing or upgrading the parts that control how the car rides and handles. If it’s worn out, the car can feel bouncy, pull, or wear tires faster.

Term

pre-purchase inspection

"Okay, so just from anywhere between the maintenance stuff [337.2s] where people bring the car in for like a pre-purchase inspection [341.2s] and post-purchase inspection or service"

A pre-purchase inspection is when a shop checks a car before you buy it. They look for problems you might not notice, so you don’t get surprised after you hand over the money.

Part

engine bay

"[782.2s] Or is that something that was OK? [786.2s] So I was in the middle of painting an engine bay at the time. [790.7s] And I'm like, I'm like, Corey, can you just like I need some help?"

The engine bay is the area under the hood where the engine sits. Painting it is mostly about making it look clean and helping protect metal from rust.

Term

painter

"[841.4s] So he's actually an excellent painter as well. [843.1s] He's excellent. He's very, very, very good. [854.1s] He's he's even better at bodywork. Yeah."

An automotive painter is the person who applies the paint so the car looks right. They also do the prep work first, because paint won’t look good if the surface isn’t ready.

Term

bodywork

"[854.1s] He's he's even better at bodywork. Yeah. [857.0s] But he has the processes down now and all of the things that the co-lesson."

Bodywork is fixing the car’s outer sheet metal—like dents or damage from bumps. After the metal is fixed and smoothed out, the car can be painted properly.

Concept

time management and problem solving

"Like I taught me this years ago, this is just it's two things. It's time management and problem solving. And that's it."

They boil it down to two things: staying organized with your time and figuring out problems when they happen. That’s what helps a shop finish the job instead of getting stuck.

Brand

Audi

"Right. Yeah, you just don't want to work on an Audi, right? Right. Yeah. And it's not efficient."

Audi is the car brand mentioned as an example. The speaker’s point is that working on different brands isn’t totally different—you still deal with the same basic systems.

Term

valve cover

"Cause, um, we ended up doing a, um, Tropical Glitz, Miami Beach, Engine Bay color for the valve cover."

The valve cover is a cover on top of the engine that helps keep oil in and protects the moving parts underneath. People often paint it because it’s easy to see.

Concept

proof of concept

"I'm, I'm very proud of it because it was a proof of concept for me as a business owner that, um, for lack of better terms, I can't shit on that."

A “proof of concept” is basically a test project. It’s meant to show that an idea works, not necessarily to be the final, perfect version.

Concept

client experience

"So, um, and, and again, the client, like every time we have a good client experience too, like it's just, that's just as important as the car is."

“Client experience” refers to how the customer feels throughout the process—communication, transparency, updates, and overall service. The speaker emphasizes that a great experience is as important as the final car itself, especially in a build/customization shop setting.

Concept

Alibaba

"I make 5% after you swipe a credit card, if that, on the part that you can find on Alibaba."

Alibaba is a website where you can buy parts from different sellers, sometimes at lower prices. The shop is saying their costs and margins aren’t the same as what you see online.

Concept

markup

"And then you get mad that it's the same price. Right. Yeah. I mean, it is a business. I should be charging you double. I'm period. Like, realistically. Your markup should be more."

Markup is the added amount a business charges above its cost to cover labor, overhead, risk, and profit. The segment is discussing why a shop’s price can be higher than what a customer finds online, especially when sourcing is difficult.

Company

DHL

"...they're like, oh, by the way, DHL will, DHL will give you the bill, not tell you what it's for, demand that you pay it or they're sending it back."

DHL is a shipping company that handles international deliveries. The concern is that they may charge you extra fees and expect payment quickly.

Term

rust bucket

"Because we don't want to work on a rust bucket, right? Because it's sometimes easier just to find another shell and buy another car and swap this stuff over."

A “rust bucket” is a car that’s badly rusted. It usually means fixing it can be expensive and may not turn out as well as starting with a cleaner car.

Term

quarter panel

"Like if I crash where my wife hits anything, like for our cars, if it's like a quarter panel, I just get rid of the car."

The quarter panel is the big outer metal panel near the wheel. If it’s damaged, it can be hard to fix so the car looks and lines up correctly.

Term

red flag

"Yeah, that's it. That's like immediate red flag, right? [2754.7s] Red flag. They just love to put that enamel on the car."

A “red flag” is a warning sign. It means something about the car doesn’t add up, and you should be more suspicious before you buy.

Part

Bushings

"[2798.1s] Bushings are actually blown completely out and then they'll just put RTV around it and be like, [2802.5s] make it look. Oh, wow. That's pretty bad."

Bushings are the soft parts in the suspension that help smooth out movement. If they’re worn out, the car can feel loose or clunky, and it’s not something you want to ignore.

Term

single turbo

"...single turbo or twin? I like the singles for two reasons. One, they're easy to work on... much less heat in the bay... power potential is way greater."

Single turbo means one turbocharger is doing the boosting. They’re saying it’s simpler to service and can be better for making very high power.

Part

exhaust

"Don't do long term stuff. Do short term stuff. Do like exhaust and stuff. I'm like, that's dumb."

Exhaust is the system that routes gases out of the engine. People modify it to change the sound and sometimes the performance.

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