Live from Dead Man’s Curve’s Wild Hot Rod Weekend in Mahwah, New Jersey, Ron Ananian (“The Car Doctor”) talks shop, storage, and creativity with a lineup of guests. Candy Clark (American Graffiti) shares how the film inspired generations of hot rodders and discusses the sequel’s darker turn. The Doucebags explain building a custom “adult beverage” bar and keeping car culture family-friendly. Motor Car Manor’s Matt covers climate-controlled vehicle storage and prep tips. Hot Rod Harry and Slag dive into custom fabrication, design guidance, and passing the craft to younger builders.
Dead Man's Curve Car Show – September 5, 2015 | Classic Car Show Interviews & Automotive Insights
We’re back with the second hour from one of our favorite on-location broadcasts—and if you love classic cars, car shows, and automotive culture, this hour delivers.
Kicking things off is Candy Clark from American Graffiti, sharing stories from one of the most iconic car movies of all time and her connection to the golden age of cruising.
From there, we dive into conversations with industry experts covering:
Classic car storage tips and long-term vehicle preservation
Custom car building, fabrication, and restoration techniques
Real-world advice from professionals in the automotive aftermarket and car hobby community
Whether you're into muscle cars, hot rods, restoration projects, or weekend car shows, this hour is packed with insight, experience, and passion.
Take a listen and enjoy Hour 2 from the Dead Man’s Curve Car Show—where car culture, classic vehicles, and real-world automotive advice come together.
"...car repair, cars, pinstriping, car collecting, customizing, you know, as an inspiration to a ton of people."
Customizing is when someone changes a car to make it look or feel the way they want. That can be things like paint, wheels, and other style changes, and sometimes more mechanical upgrades too.
Customizing is modifying a car’s appearance and/or performance to match the owner’s taste—commonly including paint, trim, wheels, interior changes, and sometimes engine or suspension upgrades. The segment frames customizing as part of the broader hot-rod and street-culture ecosystem that the film helped popularize.
"...a lot of people got their inspiration to go into the field of car repair, cars, pinstriping, car collecting, customizing, you know, as an inspiration to a ton of people."
Car collecting means people buy and keep cars they love, sometimes because they’re rare or have a special history. Here, they’re saying the movie inspired people to take up that hobby.
Car collecting is the hobby of acquiring and preserving vehicles, often focusing on specific eras, brands, or styles. In the context of this segment, the hosts connect “American Graffiti” to inspiring people to pursue collecting and customizing as a passion.
"...car repair, cars, pinstriping, car collecting, customizing, you know, as an inspiration to a ton of people."
Pinstriping is the fine, decorative line artwork you see on some custom cars. It’s a style detail that makes a car look more personalized.
Pinstriping is a decorative painting technique—thin, detailed lines—often used to add character to custom cars. It’s closely associated with traditional hot-rod and custom-car aesthetics, and the segment lists it as one of the creative paths inspired by car culture.
"They had a huge hot rod show there. It's been going on for ten years. Modesto has a big one."
A hot rod show is a car event where people bring cars that have been modified for style and performance. It’s usually about older cars that have been customized, not brand-new cars.
A “hot rod” show is an event focused on modified, older cars—often with custom bodywork, engine swaps, and period-style upgrades. These shows are a big part of classic-car culture because they celebrate creativity and preservation of an era’s look and feel.
"There's so many American Graffiti shows. It's it's just really great. Do you ever see any of the cast members all the time?"
American Graffiti is a famous movie that made people really interested in old-school car culture. So “American Graffiti shows” are car events that celebrate that same nostalgic style.
“American Graffiti” is a pop-culture touchstone from the early 1970s that helped spark interest in 1950s-era cars and cruising culture. When the host mentions “American Graffiti shows,” they’re referring to car events themed around that vibe—classic styling, street culture, and nostalgia.
"Tell me Mercedes gott you a hot rod? Honda? All right, why do you ask?"
Mercedes is a car brand that makes mostly luxury cars. Here it’s being mentioned as a contrast to hot rods and custom cars.
Mercedes is a major German automaker known for luxury cars and engineering. In this segment, the host uses “Mercedes” as a starting point for a conversation about hot rods, contrasting mainstream brands with custom builds.
"Tell me Mercedes gott you a hot rod? Honda? All right, why do you ask? I'll tell you. I'll tell you, afair what Honda stands for?"
Honda is a well-known Japanese car and motorcycle company. In this conversation, it’s mentioned as part of a brand discussion before they get back to hot rods.
Honda is a Japanese automaker famous for reliable everyday cars and motorcycles. The speaker brings it up in the context of “what Honda stands for,” which is a common way people talk about brand identity even when discussing hot rods.
"But we're here to talk about a different car club, and we're here talking about hot rods in general. ... Let's talk a little bit about car clubs and the deucebags."
Car clubs are organized groups of enthusiasts who share a common interest—often a specific type of car, like hot rods or classic vehicles. They typically coordinate events, meetups, and shows, which is why the host is discussing clubs alongside the cars themselves.
"...you're gonna turn to the gentleman to my right, Uh, that being Ron Schmidt. Ron is one of the body guys..."
“Body guys” are the folks who fix dents and damage and prep the car for paint. They focus on the outside of the car, not the engine.
“Body guys” refers to the people who specialize in bodywork—panel repair, metal shaping, filler work, and prep for paint. In a shop or club, they’re often distinct from mechanical techs.
"...doing rods and customs versus doing collision work. This is much better."
“Collision work” is fixing a car after an accident. It’s about repairing damage and getting the car back to the right shape and safety level.
“Collision work” means repairing cars after crashes—restoring structural alignment, replacing panels, and returning the vehicle to safe, factory-correct condition. It’s typically more process-driven than custom fabrication.
"...does somebody bring you a car and say, painted, what would you make it look like? How would you make it. Look I'm not I'm not really a custom paint or I do regular paint work."
Custom paint is when a car gets a unique paint look instead of a normal color. It can be something flashy or detailed that takes extra work to create.
Custom paint refers to one-off or highly personalized paint jobs beyond standard factory colors. It can include special finishes, graphics, and multi-step processes tailored to the owner’s vision.
"So so what I do a lot of stuff that people can't do. I do a lot of weld and fab in this and that, or you know, I do paint jobs."
Welding is how you attach metal pieces together permanently. A fabricator uses it to build or repair metal parts for a custom project.
Welding is the process of joining metal parts by melting and fusing them together. In fabrication shops, it’s commonly used for structural repairs, custom brackets, and metal body modifications.
"So so what I do a lot of stuff that people can't do. I do a lot of weld and fab in this and that, or you know, I do paint jobs."
“Fab” is short for fabrication—making or modifying parts from raw materials or existing components. It often includes cutting, shaping, welding, and fitting parts to achieve a custom result.
"And I'll tell you what, if we had a television camera here, that wouldn't describe it. You have to be here and be immersed in it to really appreciate what's going on. But there's all facets and all sorts of things going on all ways that the car culture is covered."
“Car culture” just means the whole community of people who love cars. It includes car shows, meetups, and the people who talk about cars and work on them.
“Car culture” refers to the community and lifestyle around cars—events, shows, clubs, and the people who share knowledge and enthusiasm. In this segment, the host emphasizes that you have to be there in person to truly understand the energy and variety of what’s happening.
"Well your words to me were, I started collecting match box cars as. A kid, That is correct, and I still have Them the same match box."
He’s talking about Matchbox toy cars—little model cars you can collect. It’s a hobby he started as a kid and still does as an adult.
“Match box cars” refers to Matchbox die-cast toy cars—small metal/plastic models made for collecting. The guest’s collecting background is used to set up the conversation about collecting and preservation, even though it’s not real vehicles.
"I have a nineteen fifty seven Chevy Nomad and it's a very original car. The interiors one hundred percent original, still has the original plastic seat."
When someone says a car is “original” or has a “100% original interior,” they mean it still has the factory parts. Collectors usually like that because it’s more authentic and can be worth more.
“Original” (and especially “100% original”) refers to a car that retains its factory components rather than being heavily modified or restored with replacement parts. For classic cars, originality often affects value, authenticity, and how the car is judged by collectors.
"But what makes the car super unique is that it is a fuel injection car. Oh wait a minute, Oh, this is that Matt fifty Oh now I know who this is."
Fuel injection is how a car puts gas into the engine. Instead of using a carburetor, it uses valves/injectors controlled by the engine to spray the right amount of fuel.
Fuel injection is a method of delivering fuel to the engine using electronic control and injectors instead of a carburetor. It’s often associated with more precise fuel metering, better cold starts, and improved drivability—especially on older engines when converted or when built with injection from the start.
"If I could, yes, and a giant dehumidifier. So let's talk about that a little bit."
A dehumidifier removes extra moisture from the air. That helps prevent rust and damage when you’re storing a car for long periods.
A dehumidifier reduces moisture in the air, which helps protect stored vehicles from corrosion and deterioration. For classic cars, controlling humidity is especially important because trapped moisture can accelerate rust on metal panels, fasteners, and underbody components.
"As they walk down a narrow hallway, he felt these blasts of air, you know. And he got to the end of the hallway and he said to the guy that was running the toys, and he said, well, we're blowing the dust off your clothes because you're now about to enter a clean room."
A clean room is a very controlled space where they try to keep dust and dirt out. For building engines, that helps protect sensitive parts from getting contaminated.
A “clean room” is an environment designed to minimize dust and contaminants. In engine building, that matters because dirt can affect precision parts, bearings, and internal surfaces—so the shop may use filtered airflow and strict cleanliness practices.
"It's super important to you know, battery tender or the pull the battery. You want to fill up the gas tank to prevent any moisture build up, or you can completely empty the tank."
A battery tender is a device you plug in to keep the battery healthy while the car sits. It’s like a gentle charger that prevents the battery from going dead.
A battery tender is a smart charger/maintainer that keeps a car’s battery at the right voltage during long storage. It helps prevent sulfation and dead-battery issues without overcharging.
"if the guy wants you to hang the Sodo fenders on a ford. And yeah, that's not it's not gonna work right. Yeah, it's not gonna it's not gonna look right."
Fenders are the panels above the wheels. If they’re not the right ones or not mounted correctly, the car won’t look right and the wheel may not fit properly.
Fenders are the body panels over the wheels, and they’re critical for both fitment and appearance. In custom work, getting the correct fender shape and mounting points matters so the car looks right and the wheels clear properly.
"Well, we're here this weekend shopping my fifty two Plymouth Cranbrook, Florida. Or right."
A Plymouth Cranbrook is a classic car model from Plymouth. Here they’re talking about a 1952 one they’re working on and getting running again.
The Plymouth Cranbrook was a mid-level model in Plymouth’s lineup, and in the early 1950s it was a popular choice for classic-car builders. In this segment, the host is talking about working on a 1952 Plymouth Cranbrook and getting it back on the road.
"There's it's a four inch chop two door sedan, nosed and deck shaped door handles lowered about six inches, Foxcraft original fifties and needle those bubble skirts wide white w fifty five old tobcaps."
A “four inch chop” means the builder cut down the roof by about four inches. That changes the car’s look and makes it sit lower. It’s a big body modification, not a small trim change.
A “four inch chop” refers to cutting and lowering the roofline by about four inches, then reshaping the body to match. This is a classic hot-rod/custom technique used to change the car’s proportions and stance. It’s a major bodywork operation that affects glass fitment, structure, and overall styling.
"There's it's a four inch chop two door sedan, nosed and deck shaped door handles lowered about six inches, Foxcraft original fifties and needle those bubble skirts wide white w fifty five old tobcaps."
“Lowered about six inches” describes the car’s suspension ride height being significantly reduced. Lowering changes handling feel, center of gravity, and tire-to-fender clearance, and it often requires suspension modifications. It’s also a key part of the visual “stance” that custom builders aim for.
"I create custom. One off gas tanks, bodywork. The impossible is. What I do? Right, So, Harry, how wrought?"
“One-off gas tanks” means a custom, unique fuel tank fabricated for this specific build rather than using a production tank. Custom tanks are often needed to clear chopped/lowered bodywork, fit a specific chassis, or accommodate engine/transmission packaging. This is a specialized fabrication job because fuel system safety and proper venting are critical.
"You know that it's not just it's not bodywork, it's creation. [1910.2s] Yes, it's a combination of both because in a final result, it does go for bodywork and pain."
Bodywork and paint are the steps that make a car look straight and clean. Bodywork fixes the metal and shape, and paint is the final coating that gives it its color and protects it.
“Bodywork and paint” refers to the restoration or modification of a car’s outer panels (bodywork) and the application of paint for appearance and protection. In classic-car work, this often involves metal shaping, panel alignment, surface prep, and multiple stages of finishing.
"because it's not a car show, it's an event with a car show, and every other thing is an attraction here, whether it be a celebrity. It's a party. Yeah, it really is an extravaganza."
A car show is an event where people bring cars to show them off. Some shows are just displays, but others are bigger events with lots of activities.
A car show is an organized event where vehicles are displayed and judged or celebrated, often with vendors, entertainment, and community activities. The speaker emphasizes that this one is more than just a static display—it’s an “event with a car show,” with multiple attractions.
Select text to request an explanation
Roan Ananian.
I like that quiet ton in a repair shop, and it pops up at the oddest hours when you least expect it. And sometimes it's not at the end of
the day. Sometimes it's danging right in the middle of
the afternoon.
Well, she got her.
Day's card down.
See she forgot all about the library like.
He told her, old man. Now and with the radio
last and go crusing just as fast as she can.
It's you.
It takes a TV.
The car doctor, Frick tells you. Yeah, I don't think
I want to get married and have kids with this person.
And chances are you probably don't want Tom working on your car either.
Welcome to the radio home of ron Anian 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 open,
but I am here to take your calls at eight five five five six ninety nine.
Hundred and now he.
Ronnie.
Hey, welcome, I'm Ron and Andy and the car Doctor here and suffering a mechanical malaise as my headphones are starting to cut out on this live remote here at the Card Doctor weekend, as we're live at the Wild hot Rod Party at the Sheridan Crossroads in Mahwa, New Jersey.
That's good, Tom, and there you go. Now I can
really hear everything as it's starting up, and I just lost it again Tom. If Tom could fix it, Hang on, folks,
we're fixing things as we go here on the Card Doctor, because that's what remotes are all about, as things break.
But then again, that's what mechanics are about. As things break,
they fix them and they make it work. But in
the meantime, while Tom and Tony frantically try to resolve my headphones that no longer work, I'm going to turn to my left and speak of my guests as we opened this hour of the Car Doctor here at the dead Man's current Wild hot Rod Weekend number four here in the Sherion Crossroads of Mala.
New Jersey.
She's someone that needs no introduction, definitely not to me.
She is that bubbly smile that just lights up the screen whenever she's on it. And I say that in
all sincerity. And she's somebody from the movie that probably
shaped my life. I have to tell you that, yeah,
it really did, Candy Clark, and that we're glad to have you hear in the card.
Doctor with us. Thank you.
And what is the movie?
Well, it would be American Graffiti. Although you were great
in Blue Thunder, I thank you.
I heard that you liked my car.
That vein was really cool. Yeah, that was that was
kind of it. But American Graffiti, you know, I saw that.
I was sixteen years old. Now I have to I
have to backtrack a little bit. My father passed when
out early in life, I was eleven years old. My
dad thought, and you know, I was that lost little kid.
And I started taking a part things mechanical and playing around and I got to be pretty good at the When I was fifteen, my mother came out and she said, you've taken all this stuff a party to start putting something together or make it a career. And it was
at that moment. A year later American Graffiti came out.
We saw that black fifty five.
Yeah, and I hear and I see your car right there.
It's a direct replica, and I think it's better than Falfus.
So what do you what does it mean when Uh, well, Falfus was a field car, wasn't it. Yeah, yeah, we
won't say why though. This is family radio, you know,
and that's a true story. Forty about you found me
forty years later? Does that?
What is forty two? Actually it came out in nineteen
seventy three. We shot it in seventy two, and it's
the best hot rod film of all time. I'm told
that all the time. Oh I believe it. You know,
it's been drummed into my head that it's the best.
Do you ever get tired of talking about? Never? You know,
how does it feel to be part of something that saw the story stick?
I bask in the glory? I really do. I love
the film.
I love you.
Know, without American Graffiti your being the success, it could have been a dud.
You know.
In fact, Universal Pictures thought it was drive in movie quality only, and you know that that wouldn't have done very well. But without American Graffiti, George Lucas wouldn't have
been the billionaire he is today because he wouldn't have gone on to do Star Wars.
And can you imagine a world without Star Wars?
That would be hideous?
What fun?
Would it be?
No fun? But anyway, American graffiti is really admired and
loved by so many people, and like you, a lot of people got their inspiration to go into the field of car repair, cars, pinstriping, car collecting, customizing, you know, as an inspiration to a ton of people.
Right, it speaks to us, it does.
And you know, I've been to Japan with the film, and the Japanese love it. And I've been to Sweden
and you're you know, I hear in Australia there's a huge, huge car shows and it's really affected a lot of hobbyists.
And also, you know those that music in the film, those those people's careers were pretty much quiet and over with because you know, it was now the seventies, the Beatles, a whole different sound in that read what is that?
I don't know?
And it revived those careers and created old these stations and all that. So it was good for a lot
of people.
He included Well, right now, I understand during the filming the film, the first couple of nights in one city, well.
We got kicked out and he got kicked out. Yeah,
there's kind of guy complained that owned a bar that we were blocking his business because we shot at night, so it stands to reason. But you know it was
Sam Refel and much too Sarma Refel's regret. We moved
over to Petaluma, California, and Petaluma takes all the credit.
They had a huge hot rod show there. It's been
going on for ten years. You know, Modesto has a
big one. There's so many American Graffiti shows. It's it's
just really great.
Do you ever see any of the cast members all the time?
Bo Hopkins and I have done a ton of shows together, Paula, Matt, Cindy Williams. Toad doesn't do shows though. How come he's
just not into it? And plus he's a director and
he wants to be by the phone to accept all those directing jobs. So it's just, you know, some people
interact really well with the public and some people just not.
You don't do it.
And I already know the answer to this question, but I'm going to ask it anyway. We did American graffiti,
and we did more American graffiti, yes, which kind of didn't do well at the box.
No, I love it.
They wanted more, The fans wanted more of the same.
They wanted it to just pick up where it left off.
And it just got too serious, you know, Vietnam, and you know Debbie was like working in a strip joint. Anyway,
it just got too serious and Ron and Ron Howard and Cindy Williams characters were bickering and on the verge of divorce and it was just too much for everyone.
And you know, people come up to me and say they how to do another American graffiti as you guys, as you are now, Like nobody wants to see that.
You want to see us as teenagers, you know, Yeah, they want to see us on walkers and you know, having heart bypass surgery, forget it.
They want to see us having all the fun times and memories like it.
Drinking and smoking cigarette's, hanging out.
I'm making a Those were the days shooting the last scene, the drag race scene Paradise Road. Yes, was it one shot?
Two shots?
How long did it take?
Beats me? I didn't you know, if I didn't have
to work, I certainly didn't show up. You know, the
night shifts. I don't know if you've ever worked all night,
but it is not easy, right, So if you didn't have to work, you didn't go watch really.
Well the Little life done on television. I know why
they call it a production because this, uh, there's there's a lot going on.
It was so cold a summer in Petaluma. It must
have been forty degrees and we're trying to make it look like a hot summer night. I had that little
spaghetti draped strap dress on and a little sweater I wore over my shoulders and that was it. And I
was freezing. But and and we had no trailer, we
had no chairs, so it was just pretty rustic. It
really was.
You know, I I where's fast? Harry's fast Harry? Here?
Crab fast Harry? Because I know he wants to ask
he wants to ask our guests something before we get off there. Harry has a question for you, Candy, if
you can give him a second. Here Harry got distract
that he saw he saw a shiny car. Harry, I
had a question for Connie about Candy.
You mean, who's Connie for Candy? I'm jealous, who is it?
Who's Connie? Who's Connie Stevens? Yes?
Yeah, what was that? What was that comment you were
making tour before.
I walked off there, and I said, you're even prettier into Connie Stevens, which is what Code told her.
Right, really, yeah, you're gorgeous.
I thought I looked like Sandra d Yeah yeah, but you look like that too.
You keep saying stuff like that.
O'kay.
Some old Harper's girls don't pay. Guys pay.
Hey, I'm a high roller. I'll pay all day all.
And you know what, Toad borrowed three dollars from me.
He never paid me back with interest what second? And
I was really really mad at the time. Never paid
me back. So with interest and penalties he owes me
about thirty thousand dollars.
Let's go collect. We'll send him an email.
So well, I'll send the boys in.
I'll tell you this real quick story, Candy, and then we'll let you go. About two years ago, and I
think I told you this story. I want to do
it here on here for posterity. A friend of mine
by the name of Rich Johnson.
You still and.
Steve's ordering here here in Building Park. Rich passed away
about a year and a half ago. He came up
to you at the Syracuse Street Rod Nationals I think they were, and you very graciously autographed that picture of you standing in front of the Deuce Coop.
Oh yeah, that's a good one.
Yeah. And he said to me, I told her sign
it card dot peel out, and you were like, car doctor, who's the car doctor. Well, I'm the car doctor. I
told you the story. I got it for you, and
he got it for me. It was the last thing
Whichie gave me. It's still hanging in my office at home.
And I just want to tell you that I appreciated how kind you were to him. And then I know
you have a busy schedule and they've always got a lot going on.
I tell you, if anyone's in the neighborhood, they need to come down and see this show. Tomorrow will be here.
But this show is in its fourth year. It is building.
It is giving the other car show a real run for its money, the one in Parsippany. We won't mention
the name, but uh yeah, it's it's This place is packed, Yeah.
It really is. And there's one of everything here, if
not two of everyone here.
There's it's a great show.
It really is.
Well listen, you're making it greater.
Oh it is so much fun. It is my world.
This is the world that I live in, and I belong in and I love.
By the way, what is Candy Clark drives in every day?
Come? Oh, you're not gonna You're gonna be disappointed.
one never did again. I'm ronning Any the Card Doctor
with Candy Clark, American graffiti and so much more. And
I'll be back right after this.
Don't go away.
And that was.
Sad every hardway.
Let me slip away home every haighway. Hey, welcome back
ron Annie and the Guard Doctor. Having a grand all time,
this bright and glorious afternoon here at the Sheridan Crossroads in Mahwa, New Jersey, with the gang from dead Man's Curve our club here in New Jersey as they're celebrating their Wild hot Rod Weekend number four. But we're here
to talk about a different car club, and we're here talking about hot rods in general. The two gentlemen that
I'm with are members of that by the name of the Doucebags, and we're gonna welcome al who is to my left and we're gonna get to Ron in a minute to my right. But now let's start with you.
Let's talk a little bit about car clubs and the deucebags.
And keep in mind this is family radio, so let's be careful how we say these things. Sir, Welcome to
the Car Doctor.
Sai.
You you know, talk a little bit about the about the club. What's it? What's it all about? Well?
Yeah, basically, what it is is a coup of friends.
We all started out hanging out.
We started coming to car shows.
And it started as.
A loan survivor kind of guy.
He was all alone and he had a thirty two duce, right, and he would come and he just set up a little sore horse and he'd be sitting there all alone.
And then we met him.
We started talking to him and what do.
We all have in common? Cars?
Right?
It was great.
So then we all started hanging out. It's a family show,
and uh it was it just evolved into this club.
We had started off to be a club. It just
how long have you guys been a club for five years? Yeah?
And you know different now from when you first started.
Oh sure, I mean it keeps evolving it, but we we kind of keep it low key, but we have a variety of.
Cars, deuces or I mean, you guys are hardcore. I
was down in your booth area that you've kind of overtaken that part of the parking lot here at the Sheridan Crossroads. What's with that bar for adult beverages?
You know? That?
Is that a Ford? What was once a Ford pickup truck?
It's now it was a twenty nine right, and it's got a wooden bar and the smoke comes out of the radio and I'm thinking, I don't have time to open the beer, much less build the bar, Like where do you guys find the time to do this stuff?
Talk about creativity?
Well, the group of us got together at night. It's
a week and we put in two.
Three four hours and we just built. Five years later,
here's the bar. So so this this was the first event.
This this took five years. Well next to this is
the next year. We're doing a float. Yeah, yeah, that'll
be that'll be the parade of cars going bo.
We we don't want to give it away because people copy us all the time.
I don't know why, but we're doing a float. Yeah
I can imagine, well I imagine when you get that float done and it's gonna have to get painted, you're gonna turn to the gentleman to my right, Uh, that being Ron Schmidt. Ron is one of the body guys,
I'm gonna say in the club, or maybe the only body guy.
The side rob custom Yeah.
Right.
I share a shop with Mike, my friend's buddy, Mike's Bam performance, and we kind of we were got card and he's talking about we it was gonna be lon Art.
Actually we're gonna put it out on the roads. But
our lambover and letus said it was a piece of junger.
Right.
So we ended up looking around drinking some beers and we're like, let's make a bar at it. It's like
we're a club, but we you know, we're a car club, but we drink, so let's make a bar.
So that's what you see and just and just have a grand old time.
Yeah, that's pretty much it, you know.
So this turned into that and we all got together and it was like wow, we started doing this and everything else.
Did you always do customs? I mean, did you start.
Out how different?
How how different is this? You know, doing rods and
customs versus doing collision work.
This is much better.
Is this creative for you? Do you get something good?
I mean I don't get as much time to do my own stuff, right, you know, like I'm probably the only one in the car clip that wh my cars don't work right.
Well the shoe the shoemaker always goes at the bar, you know. And that's and that's what impressed me. I
noticed the bar is done. That's got to be.
A two months ago.
So I came together pretty quick. Yeah, I noticed that.
It was Hey, we need to drink beer. We got
to have a bar. Yeah, that's pretty cool. Yeah, I
enjoyed that. But when you talk about creativity, just to
get serious for a second, you know, does somebody bring you a car and say, painted, what would you make it look like? How would you make it.
Look I'm not I'm not really a custom paint or I do regular paint work. I have people that do
the custom work for me. So I'll lay down any paintwork,
you know, I'll do candies whatever, but I'm not like, I'm not I can't draw right.
So do you like do you like doing custom work or candies? I'm sorry, candy?
Yeah?
More so like I don't run into too much of that, like right now. I mean I only started doing having
my own shop a little while ago, and you don't just there's not that much call really for it. I
mean a lot of people that do their own stuff that they do that, like a lot of these guys here, I'm sure they work on all their own cars themselves.
So so what I do a lot of stuff that people can't do. I do a lot of weld and
fab in this and that, or you know, I do paint jobs.
Do you do work? Do you work during the day?
Do you Oh?
Yeah, no, no full time?
Yeah, this is a that's how do you put up with the interruptions?
Uh, it's tough because I worked by myself, so people come there. It definitely takes a lot out of your day.
Too bad.
I don't answer my phone.
So yeah, I've been there, done that. I guess when
guys like I'll show up, you know, al do you do you look at somebody like with this fabrication ability and think it's a dying a dying art.
I do And hopefully the kids come up today, will we'll get into it, right.
And that's and that's really what you guys are trying to do. I know we get around a lot here,
but you know, to impress upon the next generation, because you know, what I say to people is to make them understand how important it is to pass this on.
Imagine if the next generation looked at UP thirty two or an LS six or a fifty five Chevy and said it's just an old car with a loud engine, and they didn't appreciate it. So once we're gone, all
that stuff goes by and the world is driving priuses.
I hope not.
Yeah, well I hope not too. You know, it could
be a big problem. Al, just real quick, what was
your first car? I always love to ask this question.
Seventy Chevelle? Yeah, four fifty four right?
LS six, Yes?
Speed?
So you had one, yeah.
Back in nineteen seventy four. Wow, sixteen hundred dollars.
We don't even want to know what that car is worth that I can't hold, but you know what it's worth. Yeah,
I know what it's worth today. Ron, what was your
first car?
It's a seventy three Corvette four point fifty four and I still have it down. It's got twenty two thousand
original miles. I built it when I was young and
I took it off the road around eighty two or so, and it's just sitting in the garage.
And you're the body guy. You can put it back together.
Yeah, yeah, I just haven't because I guess it was together, but I was younger.
To be jumped.
Now.
But it's still pretty still rolling on by now. Is
there a website? Real quick? No? Not yet, not yet.
We're working on. Hey, well, they can stay tuned here
and we'll keep them well informed. Also about the bar
as it continues to revolve. I'll be looking for that
next year. I'm running any in the card Actor with
the gang from the Doucebags. We'll be back right after this.
Are we having fun yet? I know I am ronning
any in the car Doctor here at the Shared Crossroads Maha, New Jersey for the dead Man's Curve Wild hot Rod Weekend number four. I got to tell you, I'm a
little bold over by the celebrities and the people coming through and the talent, and it's just it's it's very refreshing, and it's like nirvana to be here in this car culture and see what's going on with words just simply can't describe it. And being on radio doesn't describe it.
And I'll tell you what, if we had a television camera here, that wouldn't describe it. You have to be
here and be immersed in it to really appreciate what's going on. But there's all facets and all sorts of
things going on all ways that the car culture is covered.
And our next segment deals with the care and the storage of vehicles and it's it's kind of a cute story.
And let me introduce my next guest to my left, Matt from Motor Car manor Matt. Welcome to the Car Doctor.
Thank you, thank you for being here.
When we started this conversation, I found you out in the parking lot. I said to you, how did you
get into this? Well your words to me were, I
started collecting match box cars as.
A kid, That is correct, and I still have.
Them the same match box. Oh yeah, yeah, be careful,
I think fast. Harry's going to want to talk to
you when you come off air because he's the match box kin. So you went as a little kid, little
and for those that may not know or remember, match boxes with those little die cast cars in the boxes, and then they had cases and now you're an adult and you're still kind of collecting match boxes, aren't you.
Yes, that's that's correct. It's a lot more expensive right now.
Yeah, to do this correct? Do you ever sort of
stand there in the in the in the middle of the facility. How big is the facility that you currently
have right now?
We're about eighty five hundred square feet, which we're actually looking to expand shortly.
Business is good, Business is very good.
Yeah.
Well, you could see how many cars that are right here.
People need storage, right so, and and do you ever stand there in the middle of all that and think if it was only a mine?
Oh all the time?
Yeah, I mean it's it's like a kid in a candy store. I mean I stand there and actually it's
actually probably the best thing for me. It's it's the
safest thing to keep my family happy, is that I can stare at other people's cars.
They don't have to be mine.
Do you ever hope that somebody can't pay the bill for storage and you get to retain the possessions? No,
I don't hope that, actually, why because then you have another one?
Right Well, chances are the vehicle that is left there probably no one wants right.
Yeah, how many? How many vehicles are in the facility
anyone given time.
That during the winter time we get about thirty five to forty cars there.
How many of those thirty five forty cars are customers and how many are yours?
You know, everybody asked me that question and I can't imagine why. Well, a good portion of them are, mind,
but I also have other facilities to store my cars, I guess. Unfortunately mine are the first to go right
when we filled.
So what's your favorite car in the match fleet?
Well?
I have a nineteen fifty seven Chevy Nomad and it's a very original car. The interiors one hundred percent original,
still has the original plastic seat.
Covering over it.
But what makes the car super unique is that it is a fuel injection car.
Oh wait a minute, Oh, this is that Matt fifty Oh now I know who this is. I didn't realize
who this was. Okay, I know. The whole story behind
this was the car with the original fifty seven fuel injection that's sort of been hand assembled and uh correct, Yeah, okay, is this car here today?
It is not here. I just didn't want to bring
it where we're located. We're located on the grass, and
this car is one of those cars you don't want to.
Leave outside for too long.
So I did bring one of our other cars, which would be another fifty sevage Chevy bel Air hardtop coupe.
So if you were going to design this car show, you would have everybody in a bubble with air conditioning.
If I could, yes, and a giant dehumidifier.
So let's talk about that a little bit. You designed
this facility for storage, correct, What does that look like on the inside. Is it just you know, as in
a parking garage with three storage lifts ors or more to it than.
We actually don't have any lifts at this time. When
I speak with customers, they seem to kind of shrug at the idea of having their vehicle either on a lift or under a lift. So we like to keep
them on the floor. And you know, we're very clean facility.
Everything is you know, there's we try to wipe up the oil because it seems like every car in there does leak.
You know, a friend of mine was down south this past week at one of the engine builders for one of the NASCAR Cup teams, and he told me the story that when they walked in the building. In the
door of the machine shop. As they walk down a
narrow hallway, he felt these blasts of air, you know.
And he got to the end of the hallway and he said to the guy that was running the toys, and he said, well, we're blowing the dust off your clothes because you're now about to enter a clean room.
I think you need to get one of those.
I agree, I would like to do that.
You were that kind of a guy. Did you have
a messy room as a kid?
No, I'm very neat.
Yeah, I bet you are.
Yes.
In fact, when we have customers, I have my very first car that I owned in high school.
I still hold held on.
To it, and I show my customers this is my car since high school. It was never in a garage
until maybe ten years ago, and I just this is my favorite car. I take good care of it. I
do everything to it. And that's how I treat your car.
And it survived this long in my hands, even as a teenager.
And that's how I treat everyone's car.
Right. What do you recommend for somebody looking to store
a car met real quick? What are some of the
things they need.
To do well?
It's super important to you know, battery tender or the pull the battery. You want to fill up the gas
tank to prevent any moisture build up, or you can completely empty the tank.
It's two options.
Also, you know, you got to keep those the tire inflated properly, make sure you don't get any flat spots, so occasionally rotate them. If you're storing at your home,
a big thing to fight is humidity. Humidity will kill everything,
especially with today's gas with the ethanol in. It will
corrode the gas tanks. And it's just something that you
really need to concentrate on if you can't put it in a secure, safe environment such as our facility.
Yeah, how tough is it? The break into your building?
It's pretty tough.
Yeah, Yeah, I've I've often found myself trying to get in at the key.
Yeah what if you forgot your key? You had to
get in the building. You know, like everybody's got a
way to get in. I'm betting you don't, right.
Correct, And you know, and we have a keypad for the security code, and it's a rotating security code, so every month it changes.
Yeah, I got a feeling at the town would let you put armed guards out front. You probably would do that.
That's absolutely correct. And you're thinking about a moat. I
heard that conversation before.
That's true.
And if I can get a dragon, it would be perfect.
Yeah, it would just be a well listen, Matt, I gotta tell you, I'm gonna come over and take a look at the at the cars you've got here today, and I'm gonna Getjeff to drag me up. I want
to see the fifty seven. It's been an absolute pleasure.
I've got to tell you that there are a lot of artists here today the way they build cars, and I think you've taken storage to that level. You, sir,
are an artist, and I think anybody would be uh, anybody would be happy to put their car into your facility.
So good luck to you in your future endeavors. Is
there a website real quick that anybody can go to.
Everybody can check motorcar Manner dot.
Com and all kinds of information. Absolutely, Matt. You will go,
have a good rest of the show and enjoy the afternoon.
I'm running any in the card doctor.
We are back right after this, rolling along here.
I am running any in the card Doctor at the Sheridan Crossroads in Mahwah, New Jersey for the while hot Rod Weekend number four with a gang from dead Man's Curve.
As we roll along along this hour, I have two gentlemen, one to the left, one to the right. I have
hot Rod Harry to my left and I have Slag to the right. Two artists when it comes to creating
that automobile, that custom ride that you're looking for, and we thought we'd grab them for this segment and talk a little bit about it. Harry, let me start with
you or hr maybe that would be the correct.
Way to do this.
It's a hot rod Harry. It was a nickname I
was given years ago.
Now now now, were you given that nickname before you were into hot runs?
No?
So it came after from a friend of mine.
Isn't that funny?
Right?
You know? Hot Rod Harry? And look what you're doing.
Yeah, you're Actually The funny part about it is everybody calls me hot rod Harry.
But I ride around in custom cars. There is a difference.
Is there a difference?
Tell me about it, hot Rod zone at fenders, customs are low and slow?
Oh okay? And is it customs are going to be
more radical in their paint jobs. Is that a correct
way to say? It?
Will elth work out to be about the same.
Now, when you create a car for somebody, is it Harry or hot rod? Harry, I'm sorry. Here, here's my
thirty eight Chevy. Do what you want with it, or
here's what I think I'd want, and then you kind of guide them process.
It's a little bit of what the customer wants.
And if it's something that isn't gonna look right once it's done, you'll try and guide them.
Out of it.
Yeah, you know, like I gotta steer them the right way sometimes. Yeah, yeah, you know, is it? Is it
if the guy wants you to hang the Sodo fenders on a ford.
And yeah, that's not it's not gonna work right.
Yeah, it's not gonna it's not gonna look right. What
are you working on in the shop right now?
Well, we're here this weekend shopping my fifty two Plymouth Cranbrook, Florida.
Or right.
Yeah, I notice that that's that's going on right now in the parking lot. Yes, yeah, And I noticed everybody's
got they're just they're standing around going look at these guys.
They're bringing up the old car. What the heck is
this all about? What's going on in the shop? I mean,
other than this fifty two What do.
You want my fifty four to two doors down that we chopped here last year, which is actually here right now, right in front of us. Right, that's a little work
in progress. It took me about a year to get
it all back on on the road and a.
Lot of bugs worked out.
Yeah, it's pretty much it at the moment.
You know you're doing You do this. It's not just
a job. You don't really work. This is your passion.
Yeah.
Yeah, I grew.
Up around hot rods and custome cars, so I just don't know any better, and it's what I love, and I stick with.
It, and I don't know, not knowing any better at this point.
Oh, I'm not complaining yet because I wouldn't have it any other way.
Yeah. And if you had all the time in the
world and you could build whatever you wanted, what would you make.
It's sitting right at the curb right there in my fifty fort.
Okay, so the work in progress. Yeah, look at that,
and I can't see because my sunglasses aren't Wow, look at that. And now how long is that's a work
in progress area or is it? Yeah?
I have that car seven years. It was off the
road for the last two.
Describe that for everybody.
There's it's a four inch chop two door sedan, nosed and deck shaped door handles lowered about six inches, Foxcraft original fifties and needle those bubble skirts wide white w fifty five old tobcaps. It's got a seventy one three
oh two Ford motor in it, sixty seven cougar see four trends, and he's seventy nine Granada heavy duty to ninety three geared rear.
Harry, you're a soul from another era. Now where does
this gentleman to my right fit in? Where does slig
fit into the grand scheme of things?
Uh?
You know, what's your what's your part of this operations?
Leg?
I am the fabricator, welder, metal man.
So I create custom.
One off gas tanks, bodywork. The impossible is.
What I do? Right, So, Harry, how wrought? Harry? I'll
get used to that.
Yet.
We'll say to you, hey, we have to make this widget, and you're the guy that He'll give you the drawing and you say, here's how we're going to do it.
Yes, that's exactly how it goes.
Yeah. And when somebody says, give me an estimate, what
do you say, can't time in material? Right? You know?
So it's every everything should have a price, a dollar figure, but you can. Nothing is a constant. Everything is so
variable on what you're working with and what you're doing.
And tell me if you can, and I know it's happened.
It's happened to all of us. You get down to
that last fifteen minutes of the job, Uh huh, something doesn't look right, it doesn't feel right, it doesn't fit.
Got to start over, cut it apart, throat in the garbage.
If I'm not happy with the job, it doesn't go out the door, right, right, So it's got to be right.
Yeah. It's like I said where I started this conversation.
You guys are artists. You guys are Your canvas is
an automobile or a piece of metal. And I think
that's what the listening audience has to grasp. But I'm
sure they have by now. You know that it's not
just it's not bodywork, it's creation.
Yes, it's a combination of both because in a final result, it does go for bodywork and pain. But to get
to that point, so many hours and thought that has.
To just go into it to make it work.
Right, If if there's any kids in the mix here and they wanted to drive a car today, what would you make them drive? Or what would you let them drive?
Something old?
Something old slag? What makes them happy?
Because the guys driving, the kids driving the new Hondas and stuff like that, they're starting off.
The same way we did.
These cars were affordable when we were kids, so these are the rods of that. Yeah, now that we're getting older,
you can't go to a guy and be like, I'll give you five hundred bucks for your seventy Nova.
Right, it doesn't work. It just doesn't happen. So they're
going to go spend five hundred dollars.
On a new Honda or an older ten year old Honda and hopefully and customizing and customize it from there.
Something something to look forward to. Gentlemen, The clock's gonna
grab us. But I want to thank you for taking
the time to stop buy with I'm running any in the card doctor hot Rod hard on my left, lag to my right. I'll be back right after this.
Thank you.
Hey, welcome back. Running at in the card Doctor as
we're kind of doing our close out for the end of the weekend here at the Wild Hot Rock Party with the gag from dead Man's Curve. I have it
to my left Danny c and to my right, Mike Hickey.
Mike's been my go to guy this afternoon. Danny's been
running around. You guys are both tired. Closing thoughts, Danny,
I'll go to you real quick.
I think the best closing thought I could do for just where we are this part of the day is just one big thank you to everybody who supported dead Man's Curve in the Wild Hot Rod weekend. It's amazing
how many people have come up to us and thanked us, and they can't believe what we put together. So in closing,
I'm just gonna say one big thank you to everybody who has supported this show and believed in this the last four years, and today it just exploded. We more
than tripled our attendance and everybody's just having an outrageous time, and it's just one big thank you to everybody.
What do you see?
What do you see ahead for next year?
Oh my god, you know we're talking about putting a vintage trailer parking because nobody does the vintage trailer. So yeah,
we're gonna do something.
One can I get an umbrella?
I think we got to bring a couple of pink flamingos.
A couple of flaming but I need a ten for next year. Mister Hickey, what are your thoughts here? It's
been an outrageous weekend. It's nothing but fun for everyone.
Uh, the family environment, children are just blown away, the attractions, you know, the celebrities that are here have been so personable and forcoming and I just wanted to do.
What Danny says is thank you very much for coming out.
Guys coming out, And it sounds like we're get ready for a muffle wrapping.
Come. Yeah, it sounds like we've got we've got some
things going on here. As far as everybody's kind of
clearing your throat, well, I gotta tell you, gentlemen, it's been.
As I said before, radio doesn't suit this show because it's hard to describe it and I don't know that a camera would capture it all. Maybe they can hear it, yeah,
I mean you can hear it. You know, it's the
energy of being here. It's it's it's the sights, the sounds,
the smell, the bark, the bite, it's it's what cars were.
You have to be here because when you see it, or you can tell anybody, because it's not a car show, it's an event with a car show, and every other thing is an attraction here, whether it be a celebrity.
It's a party. Yeah, it really is an extravaganza. Yeah, man, man,
we'll use that. Well, we'll leave it there. It's an extravaganza, gentlemen,
till the next time. And for everybody else out there,
I want to just let you know it's been a great time here with the gang from dead Man's Curve.
I'm running any in the car doctor, letting you know that good mechanics and hot rods aren't expensive, they're priceless.
See it.
Request an explanation for:
Request an Explanation
Heard something you'd like explained? We'll add it to this episode.
Sign in to request explanations for terms you heard.
Want to learn more?
Browse our glossary for plain-English explanations of automotive terms, jargon, and concepts.
See something that's not quite right? Our annotations are AI-generated and can sometimes miss the mark.
Click the flag icon on any annotation to suggest a correction.
