It’s a plug-in accessory that lets your phone get power from the car. If that plug doesn’t work, it usually means the car’s power outlet isn’t getting power anymore.
A fuse is a safety device that breaks the circuit when something electrical goes wrong. If it blows, you may need to replace it, but you should also figure out why it blew.
A steel fabrication business means they worked with metal—cutting, shaping, and welding steel parts. That skill is exactly what you need to build custom motorcycle parts.
The frame is the main metal structure of the bike. If you cut and stretch it, you’re changing the bike’s shape, which can change how it rides and handles.
They’re saying their builds weren’t cookie-cutter—each motorcycle had to be its own unique project. That kind of creativity is a big part of custom bike building.
A hood scoop is a raised opening on the hood. It can help bring more air toward the engine, and it also makes the car look more “performance” oriented.
“Dead Man’s Curve” is the name of the group they’re talking about. They chose it because it connects to a song and a story that made the name stand out.
They’re talking about a wheel company called Raider Wheels. The person describes how the original wheels were made long ago, then how he restarted making them again.
Dick Rador is identified as the California builder who originally made the Raider wheels in the 1961–1968 period. This is a key historical detail for the brand’s origin story.
A funny car is a drag-racing car designed to go extremely fast in a straight line. It looks a bit like a regular car, but it’s built specifically for racing.
The Mustang is a Ford car. In drag racing, teams may use a Mustang-shaped body style for their funny car while building the real performance parts for racing.
A “blower” is a supercharger used to force more air into the engine for higher power. Saying they don’t have the “big blower” implies a less extreme setup than top-tier fuel/drag configurations.
John Force is a famous drag racer. The conversation is basically saying, “If you could race anyone, who would it be?” and they pick him because he’s a big deal in drag racing.
PPG is a major coatings and automotive paint manufacturer. The host credits PPG with providing the paints for the cars, which matters because paint quality and correct products affect durability and finish.
Lucas Oil makes car-related products, especially oil and additives. They’re being credited here as a sponsor that helps make the show and events possible.
They’ve got disc brakes on all four wheels, and the braking system is power-assisted. That usually helps the truck stop more reliably, especially when you’re driving hard.
“Mopar” is a nickname for Chrysler cars. “Modified Mopar” means it’s been changed—usually for looks or speed—and people at car shows love that kind of build.
Term
progressive tip that starts injecting methane into the intake
A “progressive” injection strategy means the methane is introduced in a controlled, staged way rather than all at once. Injecting methane into the intake is a fuel/air modification intended to change combustion behavior and can be part of a specialized performance or experimental setup.
Power steering helps you turn the wheel with less effort. If it’s not working right, the steering can feel stiff or start making weird noises.
LIVE
She's real fine, my phone.
She's real fine, my phone, my phone, ron an Aian.
Part of the repair process is looking at what's been done, and it generally gives you a direction on where you have to go the car doctor the next time you pull into your repair shop and go. You know, I
was using my cell phone adapter and the cigarette lighter no longer works.
I blew a fuse. Can you just pop one in
for me? The only thing we pop in is people
in the pool if they're standing too close.
Welcome to the radio home of ron Ananian, the Car Doctor.
Since nineteen ninety.
One, this is where car owners the world overturned to for their definitive opinion on automotive repair. If your mechanics
giving you a busy signal, pick up the phone and call in. The garage doors are opening, but I am
here to take your calls at eight five five five six oh ninety nine hundred and nah, that's all.
The two dead Man's.
Hey running Wow is the only way I can start today's show. I'm here live at the Mahwa Sheridan Crossroads
at dead Man's Curve Wild hot Rod Weekend Bash number four, and it is just a sight to see in the sunlight, and all the cars all over the place. I think
there's one thy twelve hundred cars here at least in talking with the boys from dead Man's Curve, and this is going to be a car doctor road trip. We're
here today to talk about that great American pastime, hot rotting, motorcycling, customizing, and everything else in between. We've got a great lineup
of guests for you this afternoon, and we're gonna kick off this hour with a gentleman that needs no introduction, and I'm proud to have him sitting next to me on my left, Paul Tunnel of Orange County Choppers. Paul,
we thank you your impressions of this show. Let's start there.
No, it's really cool. I I don't usually get a
chance to walk around, uh and hang on. Yeah, I
really don't because you know, there's a lot of pictures and stuff like that, which is which is great, But I do I would, I would really like to just check out the cars.
Just be a guy and hang out.
Yeah.
Yeah, but you know, it just comes with the territory.
But I've seen some really nice cars, and you know, one of the cars that I've seen here and when I was a kid. My my uh my buddy had
older brothers and they had a sixty two four O nine with two fours. So that's kind of was my
first really introduction to fast cars. And you know the
back then they there was a lot of ration racing.
But but I did you know that that car really sticks out in my mind.
And it's I have to tell you as long as I'm doing the show these past twenty five years, I asked somebody, what was your first car? They always remember
that first car. See I can tell it's like it's
got your emotional on the inside. You're thinking about it
and you're going back in your mind. So what was
the first car Paul Tuttle drove?
My first car was a sixty six Dodge Dart push button slanted six that I hated. It was that ugly brown.
But you know the thing of it is is that you couldn't kill the car. And I tried to kill
the h I'm sure you did. And you know, I
was in high school, so you know it was it was kind of like a car that you really didn't want, but the old man said, that's the car you're getting, and that's what you got.
Now, yeah, and you were happy to have it.
Yeah, I mean yeah, I guess.
Well, well it it was the inspiration to go to the next car. What was the first hot run? I
actually went into the Merchant Marines.
And then when I got out of merchan Meines, I bought a sixty eight Gto. I'm a big, big Gto
guy in a big four four two. I got from
sixty four to seventy two, all convertible four speeds four four two and Pontiac gto. So you know, I had
a couple GTOs. I had a sixty eight and I
had a seventy and you know, back then, you know, I was in the drag racing era, right, and you know, everybody meet Friday night at the the the diner, and uh, you know, everybody would just line up and loved it.
And back then everybody had a diner or a master's park, a lot or the section of the GSP where the two lines were on the road and a lot of strange things happened at three o'clock in the morning.
It was great, and I really missed those times. We
used to race race on the Parkway and you'd race a bridge to bridge and it would be quarter mile, but you'd have like a mile of cars behind you, so there was no way you were going to take it for racing. And you know, you'd go back and
then somebody else would uh set it up and then they would go to It was just a great the.
Days of the days of the connecting Highway out and on the other side of the city. So let me
ask you this, how does Paul Tuttle go from that GT O four four two era? What was the first bike?
Where'd the bikes come in?
My first bike was a seventy one Triumph, which I'm I'm a big Triumph fan, and and then my first Harley was a seventy four, which I still have and I still have the Triumph too.
Isn't that cool?
Your first Yeah, I was kind of like the hold on the things, but you know it's you know, even my seventy four Harley, I was a fort you know, I had a steel fabricating business, so I was able to do things people couldn't do. So I could cut
up a frame, stretch it, you know, build gas tanks, build oil tanks.
So that's where it started. It was it was your
your You've got a metal working business, and all of a sudden somebody said, or was it your bike? Hey
can you extend this? Make this a little longer? And
the bulb went off in your head and said, hey, I can do this.
Yeah. And you know again, you know, back then there
was an availability to welder as you know and stuff like that. So you know, again I was fortunate. You know,
I had a steel fabricating business, and you know I could just about do anything, you know.
Right, And from where did that go? You know, where
did it become? Now all of a sudden, here's this
Orange County Chopper thing and this just takes off, right, because you're so well known for that. And as I
watched the show those many seasons, I always marveled, how did you come up with the inspiration? Every bike was different,
everyone was as nice as the one before. How did
that happen?
You know what?
It's kind of like, after you know, ten years of doing that, it kind of amazes myself because you know, when you're doing bike after bike after bike, and every bike gotta be different, and it's a real challenge and I think that's what you know, keeps you going, is that challenge of you know, just to be able to be able to you know, beat the right the bike that you did before, and we've been really successful doing that.
So you know, I think it's it's not a matter of just myself. It's creativity from the people that you're
around and the fabricators and you know, it's a gift and it just.
You love what you do, right, Yeah, there is. And
I have to tell you, you know, sitting next to you today as I watched the show, I know I knew by watching the show you loved what you do.
But I can see the look on your face that you're enjoying sitting here in the sun talking about this.
It's hitting things inside of you like you're digging it.
And now you're gonna go out there and walk the crowd and get more inspiration because there's another evolution of Paul Tunnel. What's what's what's the next evolution of Paul talk?
You know what?
It's great that you know, we took a couple of years off from not filming and you know, A and he just picked us up and we're so we're back back in action there and we'll be uh airing a show February twentieth, and it's Orange County Choppers, American Maid and you know what, we're not just doing bikes. We're
doing you know, any different snowbills or whatever it is.
And you know we're tricking them out and you know, making them run.
So so it has to run too. I've noticed that
when you you know, it's it's not just something. It's
not all show and no go, as we used to say.
It's got to look good and you've got to be able to hit it. It's a truth, dude.
You know a lot of these bikes really look good, but they're not functional. But every bike that we build
is functional, so that's important too. You know, if you
can't get on it and ride it, what's a sense.
Right, it becomes no fun. I think something is creeping
up the driveway here.
What is that?
Sounds good?
It sounds good, it looks good. It's a purple. I'm
not sure. I can't tell through the crowd real quick, Paul,
the new TV show, where where can the listeners go to find it? And about when when will.
It be out?
Well, it'll be out February twentieth, and it'll be on our Facebook and you know A and E will be advertising it too, So it's great, Mikey's going to be on the show with me. I got my nephew Nick,
who's quite the character. And basically I still have the
same people that I've had me with the last fourteen years.
Is the same talent that was all through the years of discovery.
So well, if you need a guy to acquire things, I can give you fast Harry. He's my acquisition guy.
I can loan him mount to you on weekends.
I'll take them.
And he's a character.
Look at that.
I mean, that's you know, as long as he's cheap, he's cheap. Yeah, he's cheap, trust me. And I can
say that with brotherly love. So but anyway, listen, where
can the listeners find more information? There's got to be
a couple of websites for you and they can stay abreast of what's going on in Paul Tuttle's world.
I think our website is probably the best to what's the web Orange County Choppers dot com, Orange County Choppers dot com.
Okay, listen, I want to thank you for taking the time.
I hope I did this well.
You did good.
You know what I know? Yeah, maybe I wanted to
just let you be be yourself and I really.
Appreciate you coming over here doing that, and I appreciate it.
I want to let you know, I hope you have a good afternoon and you get to walk around and get some inspiration, and uh, maybe we'll see you here again next year. We'll listen, gonna I'm gonna let Harry
hit you up again, maybe November December, getting ready for the new should launch.
Got to talk about it on air.
We'll give you a call and we'll do a phoner.
All right, sir, Okay, thank you very much, Paul totally.
I appreciate you being here. I'm running Ny in the
Card Doctor and we'll be back from the Mawak Sheridan here at the dead Man's Curve Weild hot Rod party right after this.
It's not conty.
She was day and then she woke up until.
Me by the hand.
She's gonna love me and my Chevy Van and that's all day with me. Welcome back, Running Eni and the
Card Doctor, hanging out on this glorious afternoon here in the sun at the Mahwa Crossroad Sheridan in Mahwa, New Jersey, and with the boys from dead Man's Curve. The boys
and girls from dead Man's Curve Car Club here in New Jersey as they've staging their Wild hot Rod Weekend here the fourth weekend or the fourth time in a row.
But it's not just about these past four shows. There's
a lot more to this organization and what they bring to the table. And I've kind of snared the founding
father as I've tagged him, and I don't think he likes that, but that's tough. That's the way we're going
to do it. And I want to welcome Rich Conklin
to the forum and thanks for being part of the Car Doctor today.
Rich, Thank you, thanks for having me.
You're the guy. You know, this wouldn't be here without you.
Well in one of them, yeah, one of them, Okay, and three founding members origidly nineteen seventy eight.
And you know that was one of my questions, how long has it been around dead Man's Curve.
Nineteen seventy eight Ed Stintson, Keith Adams and myself decided we wanted to start a car club. Debt was about
cool cars, hot rods, good stuff. We joined a couple
other clubs and they were talking about hey in the winter time and you know, ice skating, right, we wanted to build hot rods in the winter time and cruise in the summer with them.
Well, listen, I've seen what you do in the winter.
You have you have these hot rod gatherings at the farm, Yes, the hot rod farm, the world famous hot rod farm in Montville, New Jersey. And you guys do this snow, rain, sun.
It's you eat, breathe and sleep.
This absolutely absolutely.
You know the dirt got under your fingernails early and it stayed there.
Yes, yes, Where does.
That passion come from? What was your first car?
Well, my first car was in nineteen seventy buw a Grand Sport when I bought it when I was sixteen.
Of course I had my farmer's license, used to drive the farm trucks and beat.
Them all up.
You know.
No, I don't know highway.
So you were driving. You were probably driving at thirteen.
Then that's when you can get formally Now six sixteen wasn't sixteen? Okay?
Yeah?
And then of course my second car is my fifty five Chevy, which I still own.
Yeah, I see that out in front of us, the green lifted YEP fifty five. Is that an L eighty
eight Hood scoop. Yeah it's on there.
Yeah, that was all the rage in nineteen seventy four.
Sure, yeah, read correct piece. And you've had that car
since nineteen.
Seventy four, Yeah, seventy four is a little ladies car made it into a kind of an exaggerated gasser they used to call them street freakspan.
Right, right, doesn't it kind of blow your mind when you think about that. That was something that rolled out
of the showroom somewhere in nineteen fifty five, and it was it had hub caps on it and two bumpers, and you know, it's just just such a totally different look than it is right.
Now, right, yeah, yeah, And I of course have had it and driven it longer than it was alive before I owned.
It, right if you know what I mean?
Yeah, yeah, I've had it on the road that forty years.
I can't even believe. I don't know what the time
went to.
Yeah, it just it just sort of goes buy in a heartbeat. And speaking of time, so here you are
Wild hot Rod Weekend number four, And I know you guys are already looking forward to five, six, seven, eight, nine, and ten.
Absolutely, how you guys are.
You know how long has dead Man's Curve been doing some of their other events. You know there's that there's
that pre show. I call it the pre show before
the show.
Yeah, it's the Wild Hot Rud party at the Hot Red Form. This year was our twentieth year. This past Wednesday,
twentieth annual. There were some rumors where gonna stop it,
but it's going on.
Well, the rumors are good. You know, it keeps people
looking for more. And ye, you've definitely got everybody's attention,
you know, in the area, in the region, you are the go to guys. Yes, you know you say dead
Man's Curve and everybody's kind of like, okay, you know it's he's with them.
Yeah, yeah. Can I tell you how we started, how
we got the name?
Oh yeah, I would love to hear this story. Keep
in mind it's Family.
Radio again again.
The three founding members myself, Ed Stinton and Keith Adams.
We were in a nightclub in nineteen seventy eight watching the Super greas Or play oldies right, and we wanted to go up and we want to go and request this song. We wanted to name a car club something
to do with Jan and Dene surf music and hot runs.
So we come up with dead Man's Curve, which was a song written by Jan Barry and it was a hit by Jane Dean and I believe sixty three.
But the song was inspired by Mel Blank.
He crashed his car dead Man's Curve in Wiltshire Boulevard in Hollywood, California. It was in the newspaper that inspired
Jan Jan Barry to write the song. I never knew this,
And of course the song encouraged us to name the club something that nobody'd forget.
You know, And nobody's gonna forget that.
And our cars always kind of make a statement and always have, so the name goes along with the wild and crazy cars and hot rise that we built.
Yeah, you know, the members of dead Man's Curve have had more than a few cars, a national notoriety, magazines, TV shows, well documented and well talked about and well discussed.
There's a side to Rich Conklin though, that goes beyond all this, if that's possible. And Raider Wheels, Yes, tell
us about Raider Wheels.
Wheel's a bit of passion of mine, my whole life, just like hot rods and cars.
And you couldn't find Raider wheels. They disappeared.
Originally, they were built from nineteen sixty one to nineteen sixty eight.
Dick Rador out of California built me. He went out
of business.
They became the wheel that you never saw, but when you saw them, they were absolutely gorgeous.
I decided to start making them again, just like that.
Yeah, I'll make a wheel company. I'll just do this.
Nineteen ninety four.
I started looking into how to make wheels, and I started going around the shows and showing off some originals and saying, I want to make these. And I had
a guy named Jim Kerr, not the Jim Kerr from the radio, not that Jim Kerr from the rock band, Jim Kerr from Pennsylvania.
Car guy.
He says, you got to get a hold of Loose Center out in California, mister Anson Automotive.
He made the ants and sprint wheel.
Sure I remember those.
Gave me his phone number.
I called him.
He says, you gotta fly out and see me. That
sounds like a great idea. You got to back those
raider wheels. And he helped me along. He helped, He
helped myself and my partner at the time, and we started making them, and uh, it took a while, but we got we got the name out there in the product and everything's made in America in USA.
Yeah, oh yeah.
And the quality is just it's just it's not to be matched anywhere I've seen them. Uh, you know when
you say Raider Wheels to the to the old school hot Rotters, they know the name, they know what it means.
It's a brand that obviously has so much recognition, you know.
So you know, just I've got a feeling that whatever you decide to do, Rich, you're one of those guys that can just do it and get it done there.
There isn't a guitar in the closet at home. You're
not going to be a rock star next week or oh I sing now there you goes. I kind of
knew that was coming. Listen. I think before we do that, though,
we're gonna have to pull away and take a break.
If the if the listeners are looking for more information, there's got to be more than a few websites for a guy like you. Where where can they find more
information at about everything that Rich Conklin.
Is Raider Wheels dot Com for the Wheel company, and dead Man's Curve us at dot com for the Car.
Club Cool Panes.
What are you gonna go do the rest of the afternoon.
I Am going to run around here and make sure everybody's doing what they're supposed to do.
Good you're doing You're you're doing a good job.
I got to tell you that and greet a lot of people and greet a lot of pig Hi.
Yeah.
Well, listen for everybody out there on our local affiliate that may not be here. We are at the Crossroad Sheridan, Mahwa,
New Jersey, at the dead Man's Curve Wild hot Rod Weekend number four. We invite you all to come out
and soak up some sunshine with us and enjoy the cars, the scenery in the afternoon. I'm ronnin Andy and.
The Car Doctor and we are back right after this still go away.
Welcome back. What I'm meaning the Car Doctor hanging out
with the gang at dead Man's Curve this afternoon as we're sitting here in the sun and all the cars around us at the Wild hot Rod Weekend number four at the Sheridan Crossroads in Mahwa, New Jersey. Two gentlemen,
one on my left, one on my right from the folks over at frantic Ford. And I know there's a
story here. Al, I'm going to start with you and
Bob to my right. We're going to bring him in afterwards.
Tell us a little bit about frantic Ford, what that's all about.
Sure, no problem, Thanks for having us here today.
Very welcome, sir.
The frantic Ford was a funny car based in the late sixties. Started out as the Frantic four dragster guys
out of California, right, it came east headed by Jim Fox, and it was one of the first second generation funny cars, and it really hauled.
In the seventies and late sixties, sixty nine years. Even.
There's a word I haven't heard a long time. It hold.
And I know the second word that you want to use, Well, we can't say it here on family radio, but you know it hold. It had some go, right, it had
some go.
And that was a great Matt race car and up and down the East Coast and every place it went it ran and won and set low et records and.
Stuff like that.
The car went to the next generation, which was a Mustang too with Dodger Glenn and the same thing. The
car also hauled, but unfortunately Dodger Glenn and seventy eight passed away. There was an accident with the car and
he died behind the wheel and the car was put aside.
Back in two thousand and nine, I got together with another group of guys with Bobby Fry, Me and Bobby fry We have the rights of frantic Ford named through for Global Motorsports, and we came out with a frantic Court and who did A couple others didn't last long, But my relationship goes on with Rocky Prone, who's not here today.
He's had a football game.
Well, you know what, that's as important as that's more important.
It's family exactly stuff man family comes from.
And we got together with Bobby Toath in two thousand and eleven I think it was, and we built the replica on the nineteen sixty nine and a half or nineteen seventy mock one frantic Ford.
And that's what you guys bring to the table. You're
bringing back the I won't say it's not not that it's not fun today, but there's a fun element to the frantic Ford organization. You guys are bringing back nostalgia,
funny car racing.
Fair way to say it exactly.
Yeah, And my gentlemen to the right, Bob Bob toth, you know here are you're your you're you're a licensed top fuel funny car driver. Is that the right way
to say that?
Yes, I'm licensed.
I have also I have a front engine top fuel drive license, I have a funny car license, and I have an Advanced DT license that means I can drive anything.
Right now now. The question I want to know is
and and and for the audience out there, you know when you you know I'm gonna go get my funny car license today, I don't know. I don't know. If
mom was there, you know, Mom'm gonna got my funny car.
How fast did the funny car have to go that you could qualify for the license? Talk about the licensing
process at.
The licensing process is uh. The licensing process is uh,
pretty much where you you have to go thirty percent, which in the record which they used to make us do that, but they don't do that no more. Okay,
But to get into this process, you can't most people can't afford to own a car like this. So you
either get on a team and you start by cleaning parts and filling the trailer and doing that kind of stuff and myself, I was the driver for a long time, crewed on a lot of guys cars, and the licensing process was for me. I got in front of mine's
front engine dragster. Haven't been in a car in thirty
five years, and went to Island Dragway and went through the Saturday and Sunday and got my license in that car.
And that was what we call a seven to fifty license.
And then later on I drove another car a friend of ours. It was called the Tweeties Rat, and he
had an accident and he couldn't drive, and he asked me to drive the funny car and I jumped in the car. In the first run I made in a
funny car in thirty five years was a seven twenty nine at one hundred and ninety one hundred.
And ninety miles an hour. Yeah, and that qualified you
for your license.
Yes.
Now, Now, when you went home and told your parents this, what did they say? We're not taking the family car
no more. That's it, that's it, you're out.
Here's here's My daughter is thirty three years old and has never never came to the racetrack because she's always been scared of it, right?
You know what was your what was your first car?
A bob, your first streetcar?
My first street car was a sixty two Chevy with a four.
H nine in it.
How old were you?
Eighteen?
So you started with royalty right from the get go. Yeah,
I was very lucky. Yeah, I was very lucky. I
would say. So, you know, here you guys are, you're
running four vintage funny cars. You know, if you were
going to explain this to somebody in a real quick period of time, how do you explain this? You know,
why are you doing this? The sheer expense of this alone? Uh,
these aren't these aren't you know? These things aren't EPA rated.
We're not uh, we're not exactly getting.
Fuel on right.
The four cars that we have here is we're booked in a delt with Richie. So I asked two of
our friends that are close, Chris Mazzarella with the Total and Sandy car and Kim camp not Kim, I think McEwan with the Agent Orange car. The other car that
we have is a super Camaro. So it's the Ford
versus Chevy Camaro versus Mustag.
So you guys are going around doing match races.
We're going around match race.
We have the cars set up like we like the cars ran sixties seventies. You know, we don't have the
big mag we don't have the big blower, we don't have the big fuel pump, and you know we run into good percentage like everybody else did. But what the
tracks want, they really don't care what they see on the clock time wise, because they're kind of confused when Chris cars are running quarter mile eight from one thousand feet.
They want to show and being with Rocky Prone and Bobby tot I mean we put on a hell of a show. I mean the long burnouts, the dry hops,
the girls backing up the cars.
This is what people remember.
Is there you know jungle gym right right? Is there
a Jungle Pam?
Well, there is a Jungle Pam. She's a little bit older,
you know. You're talking about when Bobby how long he's
been around. I got started in funny cars in seventy five.
I went from street racing.
So somehow somebody must have hit me over the head and said you need to get a funny car.
Oh yeah, you need one of these.
And back in the seventies I went out to California, and I got involved with a bunch of guys and I was involved with the Jungle Gym, the Tommy Ivo and the mckw and the Snake. We used to match
race against these guys and we used to race three, four or five days a week throughout the country. Every
night we would go out and race and have fun, have fun, and that's what the fans wanted. They wanted,
they needed that excitement. They needed like the long burnouts
and the dry hops, which we don't see these days with the big time with the big time show cars, John Forest and the other guys. And I spent time
in that era with a gentleman named Gary Denchim. I
was with him for about ten years and he went over to Forest. In nineteen ninety nine, I decided I
needed to get another hobby. And my wife said one
day we were to the car. She says, you're gonna
You're gonna get a hot run one day, and I'm sitting no.
I got no time. Well, in nineteen ninety nine.
Got my first street run and had thirteen cars or twelve cars ever since. I got a thirty two five
window that's out here, and I decided I needed to get back into drag.
Yeah, I'm gonna come out. I want to sit in
at thirty two five. The Car Doctor fits, he's gonna
go look for one. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's it's gonna
be the next deal. Hey, real quick, Bob, before we go,
If you could match race anybody.
Who would it be?
John Force?
John Forest? All right, we're gonna issue the John Forest
challenge here on the Car Doctor. That Bob Toath is
looking for you. He's aiming for you, and uh he
wants to he wants to take the shot and have that race real quick out. Is there a website the listeners?
Sure, we're in Franticford dot com. We're on Facebook or
on Instagram. Uh, we're on LinkedIn. I mean we're all
over the place.
Just go to search frantic for it.
Frantic for it again and I got us thank our sponsors. Sure,
real quick quick, I got a list in my along.
But I'm gonna real quick. DJ Safety frant excuse me,
Champion M ANDH Cleavite. It's a racing Jock McGuire, c
r C A Welsh media Pat Wells who does our website, Updated Daily Stay Loop. We do a lot of charity
events Alice Lemonade Foundation, Ronald McDonald House Essentral, New York PPG, who provides the paints for all our cars, any seeds company that I work for during the day. I have
a real job, Mister Gaskett, Lucas Oil, I C A Crown Sunglasses, the World, the World d C. I one
of our ANYC sponsors. I mean, I hope I didn't
leave anybody out, but they're the guys that make it possible.
You know.
We'll talk about him next year.
We hope to come out the rocker and do this all right.
Hey, listen, I'm running any of the card doctor. I
want to thank Alan Bob for being here with us.
We'll do a quick photo afterwards, and then we'll get a little photo up going. We'll be back right after this.
Don't go away now.
For something completely different. Hi, Ron and any and the
car docket. We're back here at the Sheridan Crossroads in Mahwa,
New Jersey, at the Wild hot Rod Weekend number four.
We're in the midst of it. We're down in the
front row and we've pulled one out of the crowd that I thought was very interesting and like something I've never seen before. And there's no another one here like it.
I'm standing here with Don and I'm sorry, Donn. I
didn't get your last name, Wells Wells, Don Wells, And we've got a nineteen forty one Dodge civilian pickup truck.
Pickup truck you war, pre war, pre war with a medium sized lift. That's correct. And there's some unique features
about this truck other than the fact that you could probably ford the Hudson River with it. What's under the hood.
It has a four cylinder nineteen eighty eight Mitsubichi Fuso diesel engine in it with methane injection, and it's about one hundred and ninety six horse power. It was built
by Cliff Utter out of Middletown, New York. Sinister Customs,
good friend of mine. And as you can see, it's
got some bunch of modifications to it. Actually was a
very big monster truck at one time called the Moonshiner.
It's got nineteen fifty.
Ish axles under from an International, has a fifty two bed and fifty fifty two and on fifty nine and on fenders that have been rolled to match the front fenders.
It has power four wheel disc brakes, power windows, power, steering, four wheel drive works, and it's a it's just a lot of fun.
It has to get a lot of looks, you know.
It's it's it's just got such a presence in the American flag and the the I can't feed that rebel flag.
Thank you Schneiders enjoying that flag. I'm I'm hoping that
with him here that he's enjoying that, and I hope you get to hang on to it.
I I I.
Do too.
It's it's a lot of fun. The guy who built
is a great guy, good friend of mine, was injured.
He can't enjoy it. So we're enjoying it very much.
And we're very thankful that we me and him did the trade and we're very happy with it. It's it
gets a lot of looks everywhere we go. We got
first place at Bloomsburg Truck Show for modified Mopar with it, and uh, we're traveling around with it, and uh, we're gonna rename it the Moonshiner again, and DJ Signs and Designs is gonna reletter it and pinstripe it for us very shortly.
You know, there's always a story with with with with an older car like this. This is a great one,
no doubt you know that it's it's and I think this is the passion that keeps this industry in this this sport going. Wouldn't you say? It is?
It is and we're all getting older, but we're enjoying every minute of it.
Were every minute.
It makes me wonder. You know, well that next generation
appreciate this, and you hope that they do. It's take
a kit to a car show.
Well, my daughter's got a seventy Chevelle with a three eighty three that runs twelve eights, and my other daughter's driving a lifted Wrangler on six inch and thirty thirty fives.
So I'm trying to make that happen.
You're bringing them up right. Tell me a little bit
about you know, we've got two shift levers here on the floor, Dawn, what's this about.
It's got a two wheel drive seven twenty seven Chrysler's the same bell housing as the Mitsubichi, so it's got a shift kitted seven twenty seven automatic. It's got a
divorce case, which means the transfer case is not attached to the end of the trans and you can pretty much put anything in front of it. Four wheel drive works,
it's got Dolphin gauges. It's got, like I said again,
boost meter when you hit ten pounds of boosts. We
have a progressive tip that starts injecting methane into the intake.
Manifold gives a little more oomph to it.
You know. It's power breaks, power steering.
It's got a little bit of everything, a little bit of everything, including the kitchen sink correct perfect listen. We're
gonna get some pictures of this and we're gonna get it up on our website. For all the listeners out there,
I want to thank you for taking the time today.
You have yourself a good rest of the afternoon so much and everybody enjoyed the show. Thanks don We appreciate it.
I'm running Indy in the Card Doctor.
We are back right after this.
Are we having fun yet?
I know?
I am running Indie in the Card Doctor. Here at
the Sheridan Crossroads, Maha, New Jersey, the Wild hot Rod Weekend with the Gang from dead Man's Curve. And as
I close out this hour and gather my thoughts on on on what I've ingested, which is difficult to say the least because of the size of it, I've grabbed someone from the audience, Kerry Potter. She's the sales director
from our local New York affiliate WRCR. Kerry, Welcome to
the Car Doctor. What are your thoughts here?
This is an amazing event and everyone out there who's listening, you still have time to come on out to the car show and take a look for yourself. It's a
beautiful day here in Mahwa. And where situated or your
situation I should say, right outside the front entrance of the Sheridan Crossroad, so you can certainly come by and say hello to Ron and Amian in person.
You know anything here you want to drive home?
I'm overwhelmed. I unfortunately am I'm not so educated on
the automobiles, but I love what I see out here.
What an amazing array of vehicles. And I also had
the opportunity to go inside and take a look at some of the cars on display in there, including the car from the TV show The Monsters, Yep, the Badmobile, and the General Lee.
And I understand you made an impression on John Schneider, Bo Dupe. Is here, Luke the Duke Brothers right, Yes, yes,
he's here.
He's offering photos in front of the generally, and I did have the opportunity to meet him prior to that, and he was very nice and it made my day as well.
Yeah, I can I can imagine. Well, I'll tell you what.
The whole show itself is just a statement of what cars I'm gonna say once were, because this is what the industry was. This is what order repair sprang from.
You know, the Second World War happened, and then order repair grew after that, and then hot rotting grew out of the dry lakes of California and Nevada. And you know,
here we are with an industry that just has to be billions of dollars of the American economy, and people just see hot rods as it's a noisy old car.
Are there any noisy old cars here today, Karen?
There's quite a few, but.
They're different, right, It's it's not just it's not old in the sense of some old rattle trap at some thing you just look at and say, I want to drive one of those. Speaking of which, what's this coming
up the driveway here? I can't make this out. It's
an older Chevy pickup. It looks like pre forties w
Autotecht says on the side hills of Ringwood, so you know, somebody's gonnaet yelled at they're parking in front of the hotel.
But anyway, yeah, we just went through that in our last interview Roger Rabbit.
That's what the vehicle reminds me of.
Is that one of that movie?
Right?
Yeah?
Sure, yeah, yeah yeah.
But along with the cars, there's history and character here.
There's people who are dressed in time period dress fifties wearing the ponytail, the poodle.
Skirts, and there's a lot of characters here. I've seen
fast Harry out warming the crowd.
I'll have to see what he.
Brings to us for the second hour of the Car Doctor, which is just around the corner after the news at the top of the hour till then I'm ronning any in the Card Doctor, reminding you good mechanics aren't expensive.
They're like hot rods, They're priceless. See Yu six
About this episode
A live Car Doctor road-trip broadcast from Dead Man’s Curve’s Wild Hot Rod Weekend in Mahwah, New Jersey, featuring interviews with builders, racers, and club founders. Paul Teutul Sr. talks Orange County Choppers’ evolution from muscle cars and Triumph/Harley roots to functional, one-off bikes, plus the upcoming A&E/ Facebook return. Rich Conklin explains Dead Man’s Curve’s 1978 origins, the “Hot Rod Farm” winter culture, and his Raider Wheels comeback. Frantic Ford’s crew shares vintage funny-car nostalgia and licensing stories, followed by a wild 1941 Dodge pickup diesel build and event wrap-up with WRCR’s Kerry Potter.
Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor, takes the show on the road to the iconic Deadman’s Curve Car Show in Mahwah, New Jersey—where the cars are loud, the stories are louder, and the passion for automotive culture runs deep.
Broadcasting live from the heart of the event, Ron connects with a wide range of guests—from builders and enthusiasts to true icons of the industry and screen. Highlights include conversations with Paul Teutul Sr., sharing insights from the world of custom motorcycles and fabrication, and Candy Clark, reflecting on her role in the classic American Graffiti and the enduring influence of car culture in film and beyond.
It’s a celebration of horsepower, history, and the people who keep it all alive—captured in real time from one of New Jersey’s most beloved car events.
Whether you're a gearhead, a weekend cruiser, or just love a good story, this episode brings the car show experience straight to you.
