Restoring Classic Cars with Justin Smith and 2023 GMC Canyon Pickup Truck Review
In Wheel Time Podcast: Your Go-To Automotive Talk Show
Restoring Classic Cars with Justin Smith and 2023 GMC Canyon Pickup Truck Review
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Welcome to another In-Wheel Time podcast, a 30-minute mini version of the In-Wheel Time car show that airs live every Saturday morning 8 to 11 am Central, anywhere From the 63rd annual Auto-Rama at the George R Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, texas.
As downtown baby, it's the In-Wheel Time car talk show Coming up.
More guests from the massive participants at this year's show, what We'll have?
The upcoming events calendar.
Mars has a review of the new GMC Canyon ATX, and later you'll hear the stories making automotive news headlines.
We haven't even gotten into any of that yet.
Nope, howdy, along with Mike out of this World, mars King Conrad DeLong we always need more Jeff Zeekin.
Right over here I'm Don Armstrong.
Also joining us today is Chief Engineer David Ainsley.
That was a good one, glad you could join us.
And, by the way, the GRB and Auto-Rama opens at one hour from now, 10 o'clock this morning in downtown.
Houston, get in your car and get out here.
Yeah, absolutely.
Traffic is light this morning.
It's great, plenty of parking.
It's going to be a great time for you.
We can promise you that.
Okay, joining us now is the lead designer and owner of a company called Smithy.
His name is Justin Smith.
Justin, thanks for coming and joining us this morning.
Absolutely Happy to be here.
Well, tell us about Smithy.
Okay, this is your company that you started.
Yes, how long ago did you start this company?
So it was back in 2013.
13.
13, yeah, we're very young.
So welcome to the next decade.
Yeah, yeah, exactly Are you here in Houston?
Yes, we're 1960 in Jones Road 1960 in Jones, or, as I like to call it, honus.
Yeah, there you go.
Honus Road.
Well, I mean, you know we have a lot of Hispanic.
Yeah, there you go.
Thank you, sir.
We have a lot of Hispanic culture going on here, so it could very well be Honus Road it could be.
Well, he's up there where I am.
He's up there Because I'm at, basically, jones and Loretta.
Yeah, up here, that's.
Honus.
Yeah.
I'm trying, I'm at the top of the hill.
Yeah, so we're in Houston, texas.
We still have the street called San Felipe, but Houstonians back from way back, when it's always San Felipe, don't ask me how or why, but it's San Felipe.
Okay.
Right up yours.
There you go, so I just thought I'd throw that in.
Let's get back to Justin.
Please, please, please.
So, justin, I see on your card here it's got design fabrication paint in interior.
You do it all.
Yes, we do.
What do you currently have in the shop.
Oh, we got a Bronco that we're doing 71 Bronco.
A 71.
Bronco yeah, we got a couple of Camaro's that we're working on.
Everybody has to have a Camaro.
It's status quo.
Is it a 60s or 70s Camaro?
It's all 60s, all 60s.
Yeah, how did you get your skill?
So I think over the.
I mean I was born into it.
Were you yeah.
Dad, big family, all about cars.
The reunions we had were talking about cars versus family things, and that's kind of how it manifested, I guess, and it was just a big part of my life.
The sickness continues with you.
Yeah, I was born into that.
Yeah, so what have you got on display here in your booth?
So we have a 65 custom Corvette that we put together.
We also have a 65 Buick Riviera which is finished up and we just finished.
No joke, on Tuesday putting the hood on that 69 Camaro.
Let me tell you something.
I know about that, because it's time for the show.
Oh my God, it's got to be ready in two days.
We move in is in two days.
Yeah, panic, oh my God.
What are we gonna do?
Work all night for a couple of nights.
Finish it, finish it, yeah, I remember the last, well, my first Corvette, the one that I showed at this show.
As a matter of fact, years and years ago, we put the wheels on it to put it on the trailer.
That's how, the last second it was before we got it down here, and it rained on the way down here on an open trailer.
Of course it did.
Always my luck, and I'm sure you've dealt with that very same thing.
Absolutely.
I was toiling well into the night on the weekend prior.
I actually painted the hood on the car Sunday night and was working on it Monday and Tuesday getting it perfected.
Yeah, it was definitely crunch.
I went to a car show it was a Corvette Expo in Oklahoma City and one of the guys friends of ours in the Corvette Club needed to paint a part and we were staying at the holodog in right there next to the convention center.
No problem, just pull up the little compressor, put it in the room, put the thing that we're going to paint.
We just taped off the bathtub and the shower and then 10 o'clock at night right in the shower and I know that you've probably done something similar.
I'll reserve yeah.
I know, my wife's listening too, so I gotta be careful.
Because they're still looking for you.
You have to collect on that over spray of the bathtub.
Well, they're still over spraying.
I'm tile, yeah.
Yeah, so do you deal in?
high-end stuff.
I like to think so yeah, but we do what we do best.
We do a lot of modern conversions and stuff like that.
Modern powertrains.
Modern powertrains and put as much technology as we can into them, make them safer and more reliable as we can.
So do you buy the pre-made?
I don't wanna call them a kit, but the pre-made engine transmission.
Packages from like Skoggins and Dickey or whomever yeah we do some of those.
Rodgers and Debs.
Yeah, yeah, we definitely do that.
And we use paste performance.
We use a lot of those other GM dealers that have parts, wholesale type of sides of things, performance side.
So we use them.
And yeah, we get into some other engine builders, we get into Nelson Racing, we get into wet motor, sports motors and stuff as well.
So, and we, you know, we store and bring to life older engines as well.
We use a couple engine builders or the West side performance and stuff like that to get those done.
Yeah, so the Corvette down.
There is silver.
What color silver is that?
It's an Orion Silver.
It's the Silver Nebula.
Oh Silver Nebula.
It's a Nebula from.
You know, I think that I've experienced that back in the 70s somewhere along the line.
I've been told that I'm from Nebula many times I was when you were with the Maui, wow.
That's right.
No, it came from there and it created this Nebula.
Yeah, so what power train do you have in this Corvette we?
have a just a Crate LS3.
It's their 525 horse version and we paired it with a 4L70.
Wait a minute, that's a 525 horsepower.
Factory motor Correct that's a Crate engine with 525 horsepower, that's correct.
How much does something like that cost?
It's, they're, really they're, don't tell me cheap Cause.
they're not as expensive as you think.
Yeah, they're not, as they're not as bad and they come as the package.
So you're going to be you know you'd land around with transmission and stuff like that probably around 18,000 or so.
Oh, that's not too bad.
I thought you were going to say you know 28,000.
Well, that was the hell of it.
You sent me this week.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Do you generally play in the GM powertrain world?
GM and Ford primarily.
The Ford's doing more and more crate.
Yes, they are yeah.
And there's a lot of aftermarket assemblies too that they're coming out with.
We, I think we source from like TD Motion or one of those out of Florida that puts those together.
How many?
people you got working for you over there.
Right now we've got about nine hardworking people yeah.
Yeah, is your wife involved in any of this.
Just the support I need to run it all.
Yeah, yeah, but she does her version of that.
Yes, definitely, she's part of it.
The guy you'd have to, and do you live close?
by out there I do.
I live about 10 minutes from the shop Nice.
We're looking at the Corvette, the red interior.
Who does your interior work?
So I use Aaron Davis.
He's in Austin, he's innovative rides and I've been using him for quite a while.
He used to work for me at my shop and we did these cars together and then he went up and joined Phil Cato with Martin Brothers up there.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, up there, and Phil broke off and did his own thing.
I guess Sort of Cato.
Yeah, and now, now he's down in South Austin and we work with him on our, our interiors and stuff like that, through design and and all that and so he hasn't, he hasn't gotten ruined by all of the influx of Californians there in Austin.
I guess not, not yet he did move quite a bit outside of Austin.
So he's got a head on his shoulders.
There you go, is he out?
there by the Martin Brothers.
No, I don't know how he did it for so long, but he lived a good hour away from from that shop, so I think he's much closer now.
Where he's at.
Yeah, yeah, Interesting.
Do you what?
Somebody brings you a car, let's just say the 65 Corvette.
What kind of condition or what kind of shape was it?
What kind of car was it before you got ahold of it?
Was it a stock?
Yeah, it was, I'm sorry.
Where you say the 65, which one?
The Corvette the Silver Corvette.
Yeah, so that was a purchase I made for myself.
It was a Corvette.
Oh, now the truth comes out.
And.
I, you know I got to.
There was a lot of unique things done to it and already.
Yeah, already done.
And I definitely wanted to accentuate that and and clean it up some and correct a little bit of things that were wrong.
Did it have the Stinger?
hood on it.
I did it, had that same hood on it and then it the fender flares were roughly done.
We corrected those and lined them up correctly and have everything flow correctly.
So that was the one that I let get away and that found a good person to help build it and we joined forces and so was it originally a 327 car?
I know it's got the big block hood on it, but it was an original 327 car.
I don't know exactly what was in it.
They didn't have an engine or anything, it was just a body.
And so I see, and it did have a chassis on it, the original chassis, but other than that, did you still have the original chassis on it?
No, no, it has an Art Morrison chassis.
Now, gotcha.
The chassis of choice of builders.
Yeah, art Morrison, rosershop and all that we use.
Yeah, so you.
You built it for yourself.
Yeah, I started and then I got talked out of it.
Of course you did.
Yeah, I got talked out of it by the wife.
No, it was.
It was by the owner, the new owner.
Yeah, I was going to say now it's by a new owner?
Yeah, was it an owner that he was thinking, man, I sure like that car how much would it cost me to take that off your hands?
Yeah right, the Benjamin's talk.
Yes, that's it.
The Benjamin's do talk.
We've got a request to talk about the Riviera.
Yeah, what's the power train in the Riviera?
So it's an LS as well.
It's a.
It's not a beer beeric nail head in it.
No, that 401.
I wish that would have been a real, a real nice touch on that.
I love that car.
Well, you can always go back, yeah, and, but the current owner is he's out of Austin as well and he enjoys that car.
So what's the deal with Austin?
I mean, do you have a lot of clients out of Austin?
I think it was just mutual friends and and how it comes around.
I think that connection came from Aaron Matter of fact.
He did the interior on that and it kind of funny, the circles that that are made within this community.
I know that we have got hours and you know you've got clients, that word of mouth, this guy, this guy that's how I met, met Mark Rancourt, through another friend, the pain house, and and one leads to another, leads to another and you get this done and that done and put all these people together and it's a big circle and it's.
Somebody asked me the other day so how do you, what did you get on in it all this?
You know it started when I was working, I guess, At the, the Chevrolet dealership, when I was in high school, and one thing led to another, led to another and my passion for cars continued and it was that passion that led me to buy a brand new Corvette in 1977, with no horsepower but whatever the case may be and From that I got into the Corvette Club and then from the Corvette Club, started showing and then meet people like yourself, like
Larry Way, like Bill and Sharon sites, john Hovis, and it all turns into a some big, weird circle of car people that we're so happy to be part of your weird circled on and underscore a weird.
So there's that that's where Austin comes in.
Well, there you have that wheel.
Well, it's gone beyond weird now.
The car is gorgeous.
What was the condition of the Riviera when you got it?
So what?
We inherited that one.
It was from another shop that was in Austin area and we we took it on and and it was had a lot of wrong parts on it from different years.
The interior was completely wrong all of you know that the door trim and how it opens and then it had a section for Electric seats, which it didn't have and and we just had to go through and and find individual little parts everywhere and and that's.
It was a big undertaking.
Is that?
Not just from one source.
You had to dig deep or something like that, yeah it's.
It's crazy Like there's a community.
There's a community of parts.
Guys, they all know each other and they just find these Buick parts here and there and you order from all of them.
You order one, one part, or maybe a door handle or two door handles from them and try to find the best part that you can restore, because they're not all Restorable and so you have to source, find all the sources you can.
On that.
We did a Lincoln last year and it was 63 Lincoln convertible that was here and it was the same thing.
You got to find all those parts and and make sure that they they fit right or operate right and it's it's.
It was a big undertaking because I don't think that most people realize that.
You know these cars that we see here very, very rarely are the original full Car, like, for instance, this would hear.
Most of these cars are put together with different pieces because one's missing a door handle, missing the correct bumper, or the bumper has been modified where it doesn't fit right.
You got to go find what you want a reproduction, do you want to try to restore it yourself?
And a rechromate?
All of these things go into it.
It's a real, it's a real science, a real art.
Yeah, it's.
It's there what's neat a there's some neat fact factors that come into it.
It's like there's a lot of parts on those were shared between different cars of that year.
But you know, the GM line.
Yeah, they also build Buick and even some Pontiac stuff was all kind of intermingled in that chest correct, and some chavelle.
I mean you were in the chavelle and and you know you could get the rear hatch pop latch and that we put in it.
It's off a chavelle and so we're able to finagle and get where we wanted to go with it, just by sourcing other parts now.
The cars that you're showing down.
There are any of them in competition with the the rest of the cars that are yeah.
We put them in for our clients and so they can and enjoy that so all of those are client cars.
So is the Corvette, one of the magnificent seven it is yeah, we were blessed with that.
Yeah, and that's cool.
Yeah, and did you, did you strive for that?
We were hoping to get that we did not.
Normally we just come in, we want to show and show the work that we do and share it with people and and stuff like that and and we're told, hey, you know, let's get this thing put up on stilts and and and all that.
And I said, oh yeah, let's do it.
And so that's why we put it up there and did the extra work cleaning it up and and we're Fortunate enough to be included in good luck.
Thank you very much.
Yeah, quite an honor for you.
Yeah, you know, and I've said this with Larry, is you know?
The Millwinders award is Houston's version of the Riddler.
You know that is that you are top tier.
Just to be nominated for the magnificent seven shows that you do in top tier work, yes and, because you're on the show, sort of like stuff in the ballot box.
Either something yeah, either that.
Are you gonna go to jail because you stuff the thing?
That's probably more along the lines yeah, so do you have anything that you're working on getting into the shop?
Yes, we have a few projects.
We've done a couple.
Chevelles 66 67.
Chevelles and we have a influx of Chevelles coming in, which is great.
We love, we love doing you find that that's somehow.
That's the way it kind of goes.
You get a like the core of that.
Now you're gonna start getting three or four more Corvettes yeah, because you did that one.
Is that the way it usually?
That is exactly how it goes.
Yeah, we did.
Last year we had a 55 f100 we called, we nicknamed double nickel and and we showed that one around a little bit and and now we have four trucks in the shop and and Collection in the corner of the shop of all of the other parts that might work on some of those.
Yeah, there's a little bit of it.
Yeah, so it, you know there's.
Yeah, it's.
It's crazy we're, we're super busy, we've got a good, you know you say you have nine people that work with you.
Yes, how big is the shop?
the shop we have.
We have three different sections of the shop and they range between it's all conglomerate in around 13,000s worth of you, and, and the main shop is assembly and all that stuff, and then we have a little fabricated in pain area and then A paint booth area and what kind of paint?
booth do you?
have.
It's a Colmet, it's a semi-down draft and and it it works really well for what we do and how we do it.
Well, justin, it's great to talk to you.
Thanks so much for joining us Absolutely, and best of luck on your magnificent seven.
Thank you run yeah, oh yeah.
We're hoping that that that's gonna be a winner for you.
And the name of the company is Smithy customs, or just Smithy, as it says on your business card.
Smithy just.
Smithy.
Yeah design, fabrication, paint and interior.
It's a pleasure to meet you, pleasure to talk to you and we hope to see you again.
Absolutely.
Thank you for having me and and enjoyed it.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
All right, I'd like to tell you that if you'd like to get in touch with us, you can always shoot us an email.
Our address here is info at in wheel time Com.
Do you have the events calendar?
Do we have events?
We should have some events.
Well, we're at the event you need to be at.
Well, that's true but we've got another event coming up next weekend.
Yeah, so Autorama this weekend Saturday and Sunday still have time to get out here for Saturday show and all-day Sunday.
Well, well worth coming out to look at what's going on.
Where can you get tickets?
Oh, Riley's auto parts.
Let's talk about next weekend next weekend is the car social at Gulf Coast Auto Shield.
That's there off of Beltway 8.
It's kind of like the first exit past 59 on Beltway 8 is heading east Another.
Put another one you want to go to because there's gonna be some.
You know they.
John always has some cool cars at the shop, so that'll be worth going to.
Then December 3rd If next Sunday is coffee and chrome at the Avalon diner, don'll be there signing hero cards.
Yeah, as long as you buy the hero cards for me.
I'm gonna sign them and give them to my daughters.
But you know.
So there's lots of stuff going on.
Gilman's having their big event also on the second and they're gonna have Bucky Lasik there, kind of one of the Subaru drivers.
Saturday January 13th is the Chick-fil-A at Ellison.
So Chick-fil-A and Katie is opening up a new store on Ellison and they're gonna have a car show from 9 to 11 am on Saturday January 13th and then Rudy's tomboy Firem Up Car and Truck Show is going to be Saturday January 20th and that's from 9 to 2 pm.
Perfect, that's it Back to you, Don.
All right, thank you so much.
All right, it is Saturday morning, our nine o'clock hour here at the George R Brown Convention Center and the 63rd annual Autorama, and joining us now is Mr Mars.
You've been really busy today.
Oh he's been busy today.
I do a great job.
I see a little bit of sweat on your brow this morning.
Exactly no, that's spray from the beer can that opened up.
While you're all warmed up, why don't you give us a review of the GMC Canyon?
All right, I'd be happy to do that.
So this is the 2023 GMC Canyon four-wheel drive AT4 Crew.
Cab.
Nice long name for saying that this is the mid-size pickup from GMC.
Now They've taken the Canyon and this is the third generation of it, so it's got a little bit of a redesign, but it's basically across all of the trim levels.
There's four of them.
It's kind of the same truck but they kind of enhance some different pieces of it.
For the off-road portion, the AT4X.
So it starts out with the elevation, the AT4, which is the one I was driving, the Denali, which I have driven and my wife wanted to keep that one, and then the AT4X, which is definitely more off-road design of the series of it Five passengers.
It's got a lot of things on the outside of it, like the LED lighting, automatic high beams, and that includes the front headlights, the fog lights, the rear tail lights, got the corner step rear bumpers, which I really like that and I'm not sure why it took so long for somebody to think of that Simplicity of design Exactly.
And now it also had the tailgate storage that we've looked at on a couple of them and I've decided that that's a really good place to put tie-downs and things for that like you would use in the bed of the truck Make a randy.
Well, you could put a gun back there.
Rope duct tape.
yeah, Rack rope, duct tape, yeah, tarps you know, turn it into a death wagon.
Yeah, exactly exactly.
Had the spray-in bed liner to protect things back there, had the power sliding back glass and it was rolling on some 18-inch dark gray aluminum wheels that had 33-inch tires.
I know that General Motors is just waiting to hear this review.
Sure they are.
They've been dying from waiting on this for weeks.
I like the truck.
I think the third generation of the Canyon is the best looking of all of them.
I agree, I think it looks great.
I parked it up against my full-size truck and it's almost as big as my full-size truck.
Yeah, it is.
It's amazing.
On the inside of it you're gonna find a level of seating that's heated and ventilated.
Front seats Got a 11.3-inch
diagonal screen that also includes your surround view.
Now, this is a Google-based system and so everything runs through Google on it, which is rather different from the things that I've had to deal with before.
8.0
diagonal driver's information center that was up there had the wireless charger and again the Google base.
You could get Apple CarPlay and Android to function through it, but you had to go through Google to make all that work.
Then you sit there and look under the hood and it's got a 2.7-liter
turbo.
Now this little engine, I was kind of impressed with it 310 horsepower, 430 pound feet with an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Again, we've talked about how the Littlans have to, sometimes have to do a little extra downshifting.
You really wind this up and under a stress, shall we say, it makes lots of noise.
It works really hard, but it works really well.
And that's the standard engine in the full-size Silverado.
Yes, and it's 2.7
turbo.
And even in the Canyon, when it's properly equipped.
It says it'll sow 7,700 pounds.
You ragged on this car, didn't you?
You beat it up.
You loved it.
You loved it.
Yeah, you did you floored it, I did extensive research to be able to come up with this comprehensive way.
Wait till you hear this fuel economy.
It's always the tell.
No, no, no.
The EPA says in the city should get 17, and the Highway 21 combined is 19.
That's what the sticker said.
Absolutely, what did you get?
357 miles, I got 17.5
miles.
Oh, you're lying, I am not.
Okay, whatever you say.
Edit here I coasted a lot towards the end of it, yeah.
I pushed it down the street, so the speedometer would go around, but the gas mileage wouldn't count.
And I will say, because of the off-road structuring and the ability to handle the 7700 pounds, it's got a firm suspension to it and it gets much more firmer as you get more off-roady into it, but it's very compliant, it's very drivable, let me put it that way Did you go off-road in it.
No, it did not.
So the base trim price on the base model is $38,095 for the elevation of this vehicle.
If you're looking at the base trim for the AT4, $43,949,355 is the Out-the-Door MSRP.
But if you look at some of the others the Ford Ranger that starts at $29,585, the Double Cab Toyota Tacoma at $29,.
Well, the Jeep Gladiator is really setting up there at $39,6 for their base model crew cab vehicles to compare it with.
So if you compare it to all of them, there's quite a few in there to look at nowadays in the mid-sized trim.
Thank you, sir.
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Houston's finest cars are invited to another Gulf Coast Auto Shield Car Social Saturday, december 2nd, and you're invited too.
Show off your personal pride and joy, or just stop in to see the likes of Lucid Lamborghini, porsche, ferrari and more.
Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your one-stop shop for paint detailing, coatings, window tint, clear bras and wheel repair.
The Car Social is your opportunity to get a tour of this state-of-the-art facility located at 11275 South Sam Houston Parkway, just south of the Southwest Freeway.
It all takes place Saturday, december 2nd, 9 to noon.
This is the perfect opportunity to connect with other car enthusiasts, from BMWs to mentallys, corvettes to McLarens.
The Car Social is a different kind of show.
Talk to the owners.
See Gulf Coast Auto Shield's facility.
You'll be amazed.
Put it on your calendar now the Gulf Coast Auto Shield Car Social Saturday, december 2nd, 9 to noon at 11275 South Sam Houston Parkway, just south of the Southwest Freeway.
The In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show will be there too.
We'll see you then.
Hey, houston, america's greatest hot rod tradition is back Thanksgiving weekend, the O'Reilly Auto Parts Auto-Rama At the George R Brown Convention Center.
Four action-packed days of hot rods, customs classics, trucks and performance cars.
The Ultimate.
Lowrider Showcase Sponsored by Shorties Hydraulics.
See Lone Star Throwdowns, texas-sized truck spread.
And don't miss the traditional rod and custom section.
Friday, saturday and Sunday see wild, high-flying freestyle motocross stunt shows.
Shop the Swat Meat and Women's World.
All weekend On the celebrity stage Presented by Nick's auto-repairing classic car restoration.
Friday meet AEW Tag Team Superstars the Looja Bros.
Saturday it's Noel G Hector from the Fast and Furious.
Sunday it's Lou Ferrigno, the original incredible hulk.
The O'Reilly Auto Parts Auto-Rama this weekend at the George R Brown Convention Center.
Discount tickets at O'Reilly Auto Parts, part of the summer racing equipment show car series.
See auto-ramacom for more info.
The original group of loopy tortilla restaurants will have you telling your family and friends just what the original recipes mean when it comes to the best fajitas in Southeast Texas.
Founder Stan Holt invites you to visit the original loopy tortilla near I-10 and Highway 6.
Here's the original house that inspired the design of all the rest and the original charm that helped make loopy tortilla the go-to destination for Houston Tex-Mex.
Speaking of original, nothing can compete with the original lime pepper marinade that everyone will agree makes loopy tortilla award-winning beef fajitas, the best anywhere.
Loopy Tortilla Katie is another location that gives you the same quality and service Houstonians have come to expect at loopies.
It's located just off I-10, in the Grand Parkway.
At Kingsland Boulevard in Katie, find yourself an Aggie Land.
Head to the loopy tortilla in College Station, located just around the corner from Kyle Field.
It's a great place to enjoy those famous frozen margaritas before or after the game.
Headed east to Louisiana, stop in at the loopy tortilla in Beaumont.
It twos on I-10, you can't miss it.
The original group of loopy tortilla restaurants invites you in for the best Tex-Mex anywhere.
That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show.
I'm Don Armstrong inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning 8 to 11 am central on Facebook, youtube, twitch and our InWheelTimecom website.
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About this episode
Justin Smith, owner of Smithy, shares insights on restoring classic cars, including a 1965 Corvette and a 1971 Bronco, emphasizing the challenges and joys of the restoration process. He discusses sourcing parts and modernizing vehicles with contemporary technology. The episode also features a review of the 2023 GMC Canyon AT4, highlighting its design, performance, and features, including a powerful turbo engine and advanced tech integration. Listeners will appreciate the blend of restoration expertise and vehicle review in a lively automotive setting.
Original notes
Join us as we are taking you straight to the heart of the 63rd annual Autorama in Houston, Texas, where we had a chat with Justin Smith. As the lead designer and owner of Smithy Customs, Justin lets us into his world of classic car restorations, revealing the painstaking and rewarding journey of bringing a vintage vehicle back to life. Echoing through our conversation are the revs of a 71 Bronco, Camaros, and a 65 custom Corvette, each with a unique story to tell. Experiencing the high-octane race against time to get a 69 Camaro ready for the show, Justin also shines a light on the importance of modern conversions for safety and reliability.
But the adventure doesn't stop there! Get revved up as Justin shares about the unique obstacles in restoring vintage cars, with a special focus on a gorgeous Buick Riviera Nominated for the prestigious Magnificent Seven award qualifing for the Millwinders Award for the Houston show, Justin also enlightens us about how showcasing a car often leads to an influx of similar projects. Get to visualize his workspace, complete with a paint booth, as we wrap up our chat with him, sending our best wishes for his award nomination.
Now, let’s change lanes and bring you a comprehensive review of the 2023 GMC Canyon Pickup Truck. We dissect its features, engine power, off-road capabilities, and impressive Google-based system compatibility with Apple CarPlay and Android. Though the fuel economy could be better, it’s clear that the Canyon stands its ground against the likes of the Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma.
So, buckle up and join us on this exciting ride every Saturday morning for lively chats around everything cars and beyond!
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