Ron Jones Garage & Crew
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Car
Buick Grand National
The Buick Grand National is a fast car from the 1980s that looks mostly black and goes really well. People like it because it’s different from other cars and has a lot of power.
Car
Toyota Crown
The Toyota Crown is a fancy car from Japan that is very comfortable and has nice features. It’s not sold everywhere, so some people find it interesting because it’s different from usual cars.
Brand
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a big car company from Germany that makes many different types of cars, including small and fast ones.
Car
WRX
The WRX is a sporty car made by Subaru that has a powerful engine and all-wheel drive, making it good for fast driving and rough roads.
Term
all-wheel drive
All-wheel drive means the car sends power to all four wheels at the same time, which helps it drive better on slippery or rough roads.
Car
911 Porsche 930
The Porsche 911 Turbo (930) is a fast sports car made a long time ago. It has a special engine that uses a turbocharger to make it more powerful, and it cools the engine with air instead of liquid.
Part
magnesium case
It's a part of the engine or transmission made from a very light metal called magnesium, which helps make the car lighter and faster.
Term
fuel injection
It's how the car puts gas into the engine to make it run smoothly and use fuel better.
Concept
Nürburgring
The Nürburgring is a famous racetrack in Germany where many cars are tested and raced. It's known for being very hard to drive, so cars that do well there are special.
Car
Bugatti Type 57
The Bugatti Type 57 is a very old and fancy car that was made before World War II. It’s special because it looks beautiful and was made with great care. People who love old cars talk about it because it’s so rare.
Concept
Pebble Beach
Pebble Beach is a big car show where people bring very special and old cars to show off. It's a place where car lovers meet and see beautiful cars.
Car
Volkswagen Thing
The Volkswagen Thing is an old small car that looks like a box and was made to be used on rough roads and for fun.
Concept
hot rods
Hot rods are old cars that people change to make them faster and cooler, and they like to actually drive them instead of just looking at them.
Concept
off-road
Off-road means driving on rough ground like dirt or sand, not on regular roads. Special cars and parts help with this kind of driving.
Company
Colorado Sand Cars
Colorado Sand Cars is a company that makes special cars for driving in sand and desert areas. They change parts to help the cars handle rough ground better.
Part
ABS pump
The ABS pump helps stop your car safely by making sure the wheels don’t lock up when you brake hard, so you don’t skid.
Part
electric over hydraulic power steering
This type of steering helps you turn the wheel more easily by using electricity to help the usual hydraulic system.
Term
350 horse crate
A 350 horse crate is a complete engine from Chevrolet that you can buy and put directly into a car. It’s a popular engine because it’s powerful and ready to use without building it yourself.
Concept
Hot Rod Garage
Hot Rod Garage is a TV show and YouTube channel where people fix up and improve old American muscle cars and hot rods, making them look and run great again.
Car
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is a famous American car that is fast and stylish, loved by many people for a long time.
Company
Bring a Trailer
Bring a Trailer is a website where people can buy and sell special and collector cars through online auctions.
Car
Pontiac Firebird
The Pontiac Firebird is an old fast car from America that many people like because it looks cool and drives strong. People often fix them up or change them to make them even better.
Concept
SEMA
SEMA is a big car show where people show off cool car parts and custom cars. It's like a big party for people who love cars and want to see new stuff.
Car
Dodge Charger
The Dodge Charger is a popular fast car from America that many people like to fix up and make look new again. It's famous for being strong and cool-looking. People talk about fixing them because it takes time and care to make them great again.
Car
Chevrolet Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is a sporty car from America that many people enjoy working on and making their own. It's known for looking cool and being fun to drive. People like to build them because they have a lot of history and style.
Car
Chevrolet C10
The Chevrolet C10 is an old truck from America that people like to fix up and make faster using parts from newer cars. It looks classic but can have new engines and gears inside. People enjoy working on it to make it both cool and strong.
Car
Chevrolet C8
The Chevrolet Corvette is a famous fast car from America that many people love because it goes really fast and has cool technology inside. Some versions have special gear systems that help it drive better. People talk about it because it's a top sports car.
Car
Chevrolet Nova
The Chevrolet Nova is a small old car that many people like to change and make better. Some put big tires on it to make it look tough and drive differently. It’s a fun car to work on and change.
Car
Plymouth Cuda
The Plymouth Cuda is an old fast car from the 1970s that many people think looks tough and cool. It’s popular to fix up and sometimes add special parts to make it look even better.
Term
LS7
The LS7 is a very powerful engine used in some Corvettes. It's like the car's heart that makes it go really fast.
Term
13 to 1 compression
Compression ratio is how much the engine squeezes the air and fuel before burning it. A 13 to 1 ratio means it squeezes a lot, which helps the car go faster but needs special fuel.
Term
engine block
The engine block is the big part of the engine that holds everything together. If it gets a hole, the engine usually stops working completely.
Car
Ford Explorer
The Ford Explorer is a big car that can carry families and lots of stuff. Older ones might be a bit worn out but still useful. People talk about it because it's good for many things like driving around town or going on trips.
Car
Honda Element
The Honda Element is a small SUV that looks different because it’s box-shaped. It’s good for carrying things and people, and many like it because it’s strong and easy to change how it looks inside.
Car
Pantera
The Pantera is a cool sports car from the 1970s that looks like a race car and has a strong engine from America. Many people dream about owning one because it’s fast and looks special.
Term
CAD
CAD means using computers to help draw and plan how parts or cars will look and fit together before building them.
Term
CNC
CNC means using computers to control machines that cut and shape metal or other materials very accurately for car parts.
Concept
traditional hot rod
A traditional hot rod is an old car that people fix up and change to make it faster and cooler, usually using old-fashioned ways instead of new machines.
Car
Ferrari 250 GTO
The Ferrari 250 GTO is a very old and special car that is very rare and expensive. People think it’s one of the coolest and most beautiful cars ever made. It’s usually kept safe and not driven much because it’s so valuable.
Part
PPF film
PPF film is like a clear sticker on a car that helps keep the paint from getting scratched or damaged.
Car
Toyota A90
The Toyota Supra is a fast and fun car from Japan that many people love to drive and make look nice. It’s famous for being exciting to drive and easy to improve. People like to protect its paint and enjoy driving it fast.
Brand
GM
GM is a big car company that makes many popular cars and trucks in the US. When people say a car didn't come off GM, they mean it wasn't a stock or factory car from that company.
Car
Chevrolet Chevelle
The Chevrolet Chevelle is an old American car that many people think is really cool because it’s strong and looks great. It’s popular for fixing up and showing off because it’s famous.
Car
Jeep Willys
The Jeep Wrangler is a tough car that can drive on rough roads and trails. People like to add special parts to make it better for off-road adventures.
Concept
Days of Thunder
"Days of Thunder" is a movie about car racing, especially NASCAR, which is a popular type of car race in America. The movie shows the excitement and challenges of racing.
Concept
Formula 1
Formula 1 is a type of car race with very fast and special cars that race all over the world. It's like the top level of car racing.
Car
Ford Ranger
The Ford Ranger is a small truck that many people use for work or fun. Even cheap ones can be changed to do cool things, like taking off the back door to use it differently. People like it because it’s tough and useful.
Car
Bristol Bullet
The Bristol Bullet is a special sports car made by hand in Britain. It looks classic and is very rare, so people who like unique cars talk about it.
LIVE
All these different clients that we've had over the years that really just trust us and they just turn us loose and like just build it
You know they pay the invoices and then we turn out a product
100% you guys got to give yourself some credit because those customers don't just those customers didn't make that money by making dumb decisions
So they don't just stumble in like they fell off the turnip truck and be like oh man. Great. I found two guys to build me my car
I've got an unlimited budget you you deserve the credit well for landing that customer and having the relationship
With that customer to trust you
Presenting yourself in a certain way making the shop look a certain way and hiring the right guys. They can do the talent
You are listening to another episode of oil and whiskey this week we have
Ron Jones
Gunnison Jones
From Ron Jones garage and you brought some employees. I did go ahead and introduce Justin Fransco
And Justin Brutemire Justin and Justin Brutemire Fransco. Fransco is on right now. However because of our
Limited budget we're still in the single-digit listeners in Australia. We're waiting on them to get up to double digits
We can add a sixth mic. So we have we're gonna do a little rotating
That's like a you know, we'll do like a part two or something
Tag team match that's to keep the listeners listening all the way through
Unless you're horrible, and then they'll turn it off
No guarantees
Man Gunnison Jones, that's a that's a strong name dude. I like that. Thank you. I appreciate it good choice
When I name my son
I wanted a name that people would remember because I'm terrible with names and usually when I meet somebody no offense
But I might forget the Justin's who's a Justin was Justin, right?
It's pretty easy, but John is that's a fucking name you remember my wife. Really? Yeah
No, that's cool
She was on the treadmill pregnant and Gunnison, Colorado is always yeah the coldest place in
Colorado and she's like I like that name because Ron Jones. Let's face it's pretty boring
Ron Jones is like the name you make up when you're trying to get out of trouble. So
What's your name?
Ron Jones
So, yeah, we wanted something that was a little more it's stuck in yeah, good stuff man
Gunnison yeah, hell yeah, well, we appreciate you guys coming out doing this in person is always the better way to do it
I'm glad we could make this work
We've got to talk briefly at Grand National, but that's really the first time we've ever even spoke
Right spoke to some of your guys spoke to Gunnison before spoke to some of your guys at Bear Jacks
I don't think last year we talked to a
Triple crown yeah briefly briefly we were all you know sort of blown away
By the Porsche powered thing that she brought out there and awarded it our Roadster shop engineering
That was that was that was uh, we were so stoked. That was cool catching up with you guys
That was that's the neat thing about that show too is you know Bobby makes it very clear that like just picked the best car
So whether that best car gets all the awards or one of the awards doesn't matter and I know Jesse Greening picked it as well
Right, and we're looking at him like yeah, maybe we like how should we like spread it out and no
You know kind of give it to somebody else so that everybody like I didn't want it to be a participation trophy, right?
And we're like no dude. That's the fucking car. Thank you. That thing was so sick. So thank you
Yeah, we're very excited about it
You know first of all you got to have a customer, you know like Roger to go the distance and he basically
I mean he brings you a Volkswagen thing. You're like
It's like one of the ugliest giggles on the planet, right and then he just basically
Turned us loose and let us do what we do and those are by far the best customers
Oh hundred percent hundred percent you want. I don't want to get out in front of my skis
I know I have a habit of doing that you are you tracking you get like a timeline or you want to dive right into this portion thing
Why not I don't have any track. I don't have any timeline
I'm we I am very interested in finding out where the fuck these guys came from we're gonna get there
But why not talk about the the thing right now? Yeah, okay? Yeah, so that I mean you say that's a difficult car
I think my dad is probably the only person that likes those in their stock form
He liked them those and will and we jeep and the jeep. Yeah, he did you know the willies jeeps are like the convertible thing
Okay, that's like it almost looks like
Excalibur ish, you know
Yeah, it does what you guys did to that. I mean I feel like the things are like
It's the inner structure of a car if you cut all like the top of the body panels off. That's like what would be left
Yeah
Can save that look yeah, like the whole concept was what would Porsche had built if they would have built a Volkswagen thing
Yeah, so customer had to say true to the brand like I tried to pitch a WRX suru turbocharged deal
And he's like oh no no Porsche powered so then we're like wow this is pretty cool
And so that's when we went to the all-wheel-drive Porsche inspired
Walked me through that whole
Concept it came in the door. Did that guy have any ideas of what he was looking for?
Anything at all or did you guys just dream up? Well first off?
We're talking a little off off
Camera down in the in this shop about qualifying customers if a guy calls in and says I've got a vw thing that I want to do
he's like
Y'all have already made it past what most people most shops would because he like you had a conversation
Generally, it would have been like this. Okay. Okay. All right. Cool, man. I'm sure you'll find a shop
But no Roger was just he was easy to work with Justin had some renderings that he did and
Conceptual, you know drawings and then Gunnison was pretty involved with like the drivetrain. We'll talk about that. Yeah
Yeah, sure, so it's a Porsche 930 powered so air-cooled
We got a guy that we worked without a Denver
He restored the motor
Magnesium case and then we went with the full mo-tech standalone ECU. It's feel injected now and then as far as the driveline
It's kind of Frankenstein. It's 996 and 997 pieced together as far as the trans axle and torque tube
So we really built the car around the drivetrain and then full chromolyte tube chassis
So the customer is dictating, you know Porsche Porsche powered all-wheel drive
So you kind of you start having some framework there, but other than that. He just
Completely turn us loose. Yeah, did you have any I I mean where talk us through the ideation process of all right?
You've got drivetrain and all-wheel drive, right? You've got a little bit of a genre now, but I
Mean height right height wise wheels and tires like how off-road how street and then the level of detail that you ended up taking it
Like how does that start coming into fruition of like, okay?
This is the path now
You can start seeing because even if you told me right now
I've seen the vehicle but if you told me without seeing that that we're gonna do a Porsche powered all-wheel drive thing
Even that I'm like, okay
like
Tell me how tell me more about like the design of what it's gonna look like we blew it all apart
We got you know sent it to sandblaster and there was hardly anything left
So we knew that we were gonna have to completely scratch-build this thing
But like I said, I had no point in this thing
So Justin had some conceptual drawings the customer kind of signed off. He really wanted Robin egg blue
But we stuck with the traditional Porsche the golf blue on that
And honestly it was these guys that's why they're here like
Justin had these great ideas and we just kept working around it and working around it and kept signing off on things
So yeah, that's how the whole thing just just evolved. Yeah, I mean Justin completely scratched bill coach bill all the body on it. So I
Mean, I don't think you should come up here and talk. Yeah, maybe we should swap Justin's we can we can switch we swap it
No problem. Let's swap just
Okay
Okay, yeah, he was more on the machining in as far as this Justin. Yeah, but yeah, he was more of the conceptual
Car so yeah, I'd love to hear about that. I
Would say it was great having you
You added so much to that first couple of
I would say taking it to the next level it definitely came more
Infruition towards the end of the build as far as the detail and hardware
I I mean, I don't think till the last six months. We really thought about or I guess the last year taking it to
Salonica, I mean we had it at
NBR for what we had it
We had a Pomona in bare metal and it got a lot of traction
I had a type 57 s chassis Bugatti
That we restored restored for Pebble Beach sitting next to the Volkswagen thing and there were more people all about the thing than the
Yeah, so different crowd man. They probably didn't understand what was sitting next. Yeah
Is that a kid car? No, that's actually one of two in the world. Wow. Yeah
Well, once we talked about it, it came through to the people they were walking through they're like, wow
That's actually a crazy rare car. That's right. Just
phenomenal to look at right
The body shouldn't be on it the chassis and all the components underneath are so cool
Type 57 is is
That's the top for me as far as it didn't beautiful of a car didn't bad Chad do one of those
Same thing
The kit car thing right it's a type 57 the one with the same. Yeah, no, that's the Atlantic
Yeah, but it's still similar s chassis Bugatti, which they were I mean one of 12 cars two were Corsica bodied
Ours was one of the two
So I mean my wife and I went to San Francisco to get you know
To look at another car that was in a museum
Just so we could figure out how to get through this build process, but that's a different yeah a different car a different story
But that's also was something that was very special to us in our shop to be able to be on the line of Pebble Beach
And win our class and to have that car sitting next to a Volkswagen thing a bare metal at Pomona
Like we we've covered the whole gamut, right? Yeah, that's wild. Yeah, you sure did pretty opposite ends there, right?
That thing I think captures me because I'm all about like
Perfect mix of form and function and if I look at something that's I'm just over the years
I've sort of lost interest no disrespect to anybody but like the super-duper show cars because to me it's
We're building hot rods and you know, you're supposed to sort of drive the things, right?
That's the whole thrill of it that
That just totally captures me because to look at the car and I could just picture all the fun shit
You could do in it at the same time and that's what nails it
Well, I was looking at that Tatum car that you guys have downstairs and it's just like that harkens back to my childhood
And being at the sand dunes and I was talking to Philip out it
Yeah, like that whole off-road stuff is so cool. So you're like West Coast guy or where? Well
Colorado native, but I lived in Arizona for a long time. Okay, so I've got to glamis and nice and a lot of time out in the desert
So that must have been where some of that influence bled over into the it was it was influence
But not really knowing a lot about you know geometry on suspension and stuff like that
But luckily we had somebody to do as we had Tom from Colorado sand cars
He builds a lot of high-end
Sandcars LS powered stuff and and he was the right guy to build the chassis for us for sure
Yeah, and he's only a few miles from the shop. So it's easy to pop in and kind of check on things. Yeah
Yeah, that's again, obviously I'm a chassis guy so that that captured me
I mean, I've I spent a lot of time looking at that thing and man, is it cool like
Every details bitch and the the geometry is great. Like you just look it's well thought out
Thank you the way that's all fucking laid out the fasteners in it. It's I mean, I can still visualize that thing
It's just oh, yeah, I really details is what I mean the details of what drew me in and it's
It's what we talked about when we we picked it for the engineering ward is it's there's there's a bunch of cool-ass cars
but that's the car that like kept you there for the longest and
You kept searching for more things
Where I was gonna go with on the details is cuz when I was asking about how did that come to fruition or was it just along the lines
You can do highly detailed ornate
Items and trinkets on everything from you know tip you know tip to stern
From front bumper to rear bumper and sometimes then the details themselves
Outway the car or out way the vehicle right and it becomes about the details
And it doesn't become about the the build or what you can do with it or how but that didn't do that. It was it was so
For as over the top detailed as every single little bracket and thing was it was like the right amount of
It'll work really well. Yeah, you kept looking for the next thing
It wasn't over in the face and it's so hard
It's weird anybody that's seen the car should understand but it's so weird to say because it's not as embellished as every little bracket
You know was and you know a facet here and a
Fastener it countersunk and then the finishes as crazy as everything was it wasn't
It wasn't overdone, but I know it was overdone, but it doesn't scream to be overdone like that's it's I don't know
I'm not
Describing it well unless you've seen it. That's one of the things where it's la nacre
You know you have that big display and they can't really get up on the car to see it
So when we actually would show it when people could get up on it people could understand it more
After you could really get up on it and really look at all the details
So I think that that was you know triple crown obviously was you know you guys saw it up from yes, it's it was nuts
It's it's really nuts because there's nothing that's
There's nothing that just slaps you in your face except the whole thing in the right way
Well, it's cool to see it in that environment too because a lot of those show cars
You take them out of the display take them off the stand when the cars pitch like this and get rid all the halogen lights
And stuff and go and park it in the parking lot at a good guy's show or the triple crown
And you like yeah, you kind of you might walk past it that car shows better
It does more for it to be sitting in that environment for sure then it does like roped off
It's cool that was like one of the things to us from a mechanical standpoint wanted everything serviceable
I mean you can put up in the air service it everything's accessible and ABS pump that has a Porsche cup car ABS
Electric over hydraulic power steering really slick, but everything's serviceable like you don't have to pull panels to get anything you can work on it
Have you put in some have you put some miles on it been driven?
We toured at this hole this last year, and and we haven't put a whole lot of miles on it
But it's sitting in his collection right now. I drove at 30 miles in Del Mar when we were there took it up PC
PC one was pretty sweet. That's a hell of a ride. Yeah, that's perfect for that
Yeah, slap surfboard to the roof call it a it's it's a little loud
I mean we definitely need to probably address the muffler. It's just straight pipe right now
It's it's just a straight pipe Porsche right now, so
Hey, yeah, and you got a figure in you know that that engine from stock was 42 horsepower
This is over 300 now, so it's a ripper with a six-speed gearbox
Oh, that's probably a blast. Yeah, that's an accomplishment to make that kind of power and a out of a Porsche motor
Yeah, I mean, that's no joke. That's it's not like a ZZ for
350 horse crate, you know that right now would have been the motor
I
So back to where this all started interested I'm interested to hear the story
The first time I was aware of Ron Jones garage was Columbus with the Blue Nova
That was the first time I even knew that you guys existed and
What a way to burst on to the scene in our scene with that Nova was slick
Thank you. It did very well and ironically that's my parts guy that works for me. That was his car, so
He was there through the entire process, which is not always the best thing
I was like, oh, we have this and this but Jim was great. Jim. I was great. He still works for me
I bet no parts were missing on that build ever
It's common inside joke, but we guys like blown away
No, you were blown away when it sold at Barrett Jackson for 700. Yeah, that thing brought some big big money
I know
Car was like at Columbus
That was one of those ones you kind of know a little bit about most of the cars that are coming and stuff like that and it was
Was not expecting that a thing was nice really really nice. Yeah, I love seeing stuff
I love and hate seeing stuff like that that comes out of nowhere
Number one, it's awesome to see because not first and foremost. I'm an enthusiast
But second it just humbles the shit out of you because you're like, man, I've been doing this a long time
I've never heard of these guys and they just fucking
What's we got to tell the whole story though of like how that weekend went because your son loved it. Yeah, cuz
We got into
Columbus late
Thursday night
Yeah, Thursday night. So we parked the trailer. It was just me and him and his son. We bombed down with
Whatever we were taking at that point. Whatever it was. We were late. So we parked the trailer truck and trailer
pulled up right behind your truck and trailer in the trailer parking and
So his son is that he's like Ron Jones
Ron Jones
Ron Jones garage. We're this is like two o'clock in the morning, right? So we're all we're all punch-dropped, right?
So he just keeps saying right 12 years. Yeah, he's 12 11 or 12. And so it's just Ron June Ron
Jones
We're like we're we've been we're tired. We're ready to get back to the hotel, right?
So then we go back the next day to get the vehicle out, right? And he's like Ron Jones. It's like, all right, enough
So then we get we go in and we're looking at all the contenders, right?
And we walk by the Nova damn this thing's nice. Whatever and look and I was like, hey, why it it's Ron Jones
He's like, oh Ron Jones
Ron Jones and so that's just it was a funny like story because that's the first thing we saw was that logo and then how
Well that Nova did and how well the Nova looked it was just like the whole weekend long
It was just I was kind of sick of hearing Ron Jones garage by the end of it
But yeah, it's good story
Killers killing over that was a good group of cars too. I love hot rock garages 63 split one. Oh, man
I mean, that's that's still one of my favorite cool car. Yeah, actually that was the car
I picked I told you I'm I'm like, we're not gonna beat that and then the Mustang ends up went in but that that
Eric black gets lucky every once in a while, right? Yeah every now and then. Yeah, I want so much Roy. Yeah
Yeah, the hot rod garage car is a car like
put it up
Bring it out in 25 years still just like it's a brand new build timeless
Yeah, just it'll never got us. Nope very well executed take it back in time 25 years still
That car popped up on bring a trailer. It's over. Good. It brought did it sell? I know it brought it's old
Yeah, I don't know if it's so
Yeah, I went out there
Looked at that car for a client. It's yeah, it was really bet you drove it, right? I rode in it. Yeah
So how did this all start?
What's your background?
So I grew up in a full-service gas station my dad we ran a Phillips 66 for 55 years in Colorado
Yeah, it's pretty cool. And so I was always just a hobbyist
I mean from the age of fourth grade all the way on I I pumped gas and and we were right on the road to S
This park recommend at National Park
And just saw all these amazing cars coming through and and it was just something that stuck probably like a lot of us
It's our dads, you know, yeah, and
You know, I went to school in Arizona. I
Worked at a full at a body shop full-time
And I was a manager to restaurant became a general manager
I was still working at a body shop part-time and that was just always my passion. So
Vanessa and I got married
Almost 30 years ago and moved back to Colorado and and then we bought into my mom and dad's gas station
It was a full-service convenience store. And then I was just a hobbyist doing out of my garage
And just really lucky honestly with the people that I've met
Customers that we met the first car while I should jump back honestly Eric Pratt at Pinkies
He's really the one that kind of you know, got me going in the right direction. Really. Yeah. Yeah, it was instrumental like
His his attention to detail is like next to none. It's pretty damn good
So I had a 77 firebird that I was building and I just it was just over my head and then my customer had the means
To hire some me like Eric and and I was kind of the GC on the deal and and that's how I met Eric
And the first car we took was to seaman
Yeah, I don't know if you guys have seen that car. We sold it there a couple of years ago
Yeah, I remember it was a I mean just way ahead of its time slick slick
Curtis got the wheels all Detroit speed had a LS seven like right when they came out. How old are you?
26
2009
You're young. Yeah, I was 10 when I was at
You're talking about like I remember how long ago that was we snuck him into SEMA
That's how little he was my son keeps asking I keep telling him dude. Not yet. He's 5th. Well, he'll be 15 this year
But he's 16 or 18. I think 16 is it 16 18 to get in the show
Well, good thing none of the SEMA folks listen to this podcast or all of them do so you can get in
Just do it just figured out black problem is mice my son's been wanting to go the last couple years
And I think he's gonna go this year wants to go this year, but the problem is he he is old. He's 18. Yeah, but that's
Vegas is more the issue. That's a Vegas is more the issue and it's your party is the issue
We were there this year and it's like oh my god Tim was out of control like it was it was really good
Yeah, I mean it's it's cool if you're like into free booze and
Yeah, if it's not into that then don't come
You know, I remember that that car popping out and it was so out of character for pinkies
But it was whoa, these guys are doing this to that's cool
But pinky Eric's always done some wild stuff that was it loaded the loaded the truck was that was pro Roadster pickup
Probably one of my favorite cars yep of all times and Eric still I can name so many
Pinkies cars told you he's not interesting enough to do the podcast. He won't do it. Yeah, that's not true
I think when they move back
They might swing by and do a podcast because I talked to him about it. Oh good. Yeah, I've been on him for three years
You should be and it's just because we talk about it
He's definitely got cool style style wise like on hot rods. There's a lot of cool hot rods out there, but I can name
Like the federally coupes the federally
Coupes a little bear him right and it's him right him right. I'm right. Yeah
Not would you guys ever see that? Yes. Yeah
Yeah, that was one of the first things I ever saw that he did and honestly the level that he was doing stuff was like
Like I was blown away way back then that this guy's doing this, you know and his level and that's why he's got all the awards
He's yeah, right
Loaded's brought up a bunch of times. I mean loaded was loaded. It was a turning point of
Less is more done the right way right because that truck was so so so smooth and
Simplistic is the wrong term, but seemingly simplistic
Yeah
On on how it was done from a design standpoint just and it had two shoots the bare metal shoot in router's journal and the finish
Shooting router's journal is just and I mean that's one like literally wore the pages through of just
studying
There's a cool truck there
I'm glad to hear that you see that you're your twist and Eric's arm to from it from your side because yeah
He needs to do it. He should and he's he's like semi-retired now. Like he's he's yeah, he'll still do stuff
Yeah, but now it's now is the time tell all the stories, right?
Yeah, he's got Thomas Kearney over there as a former RS guy. He was doing all these he's out on his own
Yeah, handles all the machine work and stuff talented dude. Yep
So did the Firebird Eric's instrumental in
Pointing you focus in you right was that by
Business out of things or was that like?
stylistic or level of fit and finish or what just the level of quality that he's turned out and you know in business
I mean the guy's done it all too. Yeah, right with the brewery and everything right
So I've always respected everything that he's accomplished for sure. Yeah, so after the Firebird. What's what's next?
What's the next project you have in the shop?
I was mainly doing as stuff as a hobbyist and that got me into my first shop and
We do after the Firebird. What was the next? We had the shop on H Street called the Ocho the Ocho
The gas station still running gas station still running
I'm opening another shop on H Street. It was what 1500 square feet
Maybe I had a paint booth. Yeah, and that was when we got Jose
We still have today if I was for almost 20 years. Well, what is he 17 years now?
Yeah, he's our because he was before we finished the Firebird. Yeah, so Santa Polish prep. I mean, he's just the best
That's awesome. He's a machine
We did a few cars in between more restorations. Yeah, a lot of restoration
We did that at soul in the charger. Are you doing stuff for yourself as well with this? Are you just
Finally after all these years I'm building a Camaro for myself now
But you were never doing it as a hobbyist your hobbyist for other people, right?
And I was like I would I would build a card flip a card do a lot of auction stuff
Take that money and invest back in the shop
So I'm actually building a 69 z28 numbers matching original car for myself right now sweet. Yeah
It's cool. It's a sweet car though 30,000 original miles guy had it in his garage for we bought it when he got out of Vietnam
I think well, I think that car was registered last time was like an 82. Yeah, I mean 30 and we didn't put floors in it
I mean, it was good car. That's cool. The restoration you do
Were you doing more restorations back then or restorations like come on later?
Well, we got pretty fortunate
I hired the right guy
To get us into that that Bugatti at Pebble Beach and that was a four-year build
High Mountain Classics was in birth in Colorado. I hired one of their mechanics and Sam was the other mechanic
so we hired Mark and
you know just to
Go through that whole Pebble Beach
Process, I mean fit and finish is obviously still really important, but it's just a different. It's a different car show
It's a different, you know, it's hard to pull off that car. I mean, you're not gonna nap on you in a water pump
I mean, you're making every single piece. You know, they don't have one
You gotta tell them it's a manual if you tell it to manual they'll have it. Yeah, it's every every piece of hardware was machined
Well, tell them about the story
Do you have to do like this is a great story? I was hoping this wouldn't come up
So on the headlights it had the
Stanchion nickel plated stanchion and it yeah, it was well
I tried to weld it together because it was had a little nick in it. It's a pop metal fucking thing blew apart
Yeah, just I've still got it in on the
By our trophies. It's still sitting there all melted. I mean a 14 million dollar car
Fuck up a little
We're under the parts guy the Nova parts guy, but hey, I need you I need a visual. Um, what does this car look like pull this thing?
It's on our Instagram
It's a beautiful car the s chassis's are way low to the ground
They were so far ahead of their time compared to what we were building in this country at that time
That's a packer keep going
It'll come up
You
Yeah, so you can see a lot of the a lot of the Pell Beach stuff that we've been working on
Right there, that's when I was loading it in the trailer at the bay
Damn it looks so much better with the hubcaps off I think we can see those big big cast breaks
Yeah, I think I saw one of those an auto trader. Yeah
That's a car I've never seen before it is there's a video you go to the next one
Damn
So the whole inner structure of those cars is wood
Yeah, it's fun. How do you keep from over restoring that or do you is there there's definitely over restoring for sure
And is that around upon? Yeah. Yeah, so like one fender was a little bit different shape than the other
So we kept that, you know, you had one guy building one side of the car another guy building the other side car
So you keep those
Differences fit and finish gaps. They want them, you know dialed in and this is the only car that was ever finished in nickel
Versus chrome, okay, so then going through that whole process and all the research on the car
Now I was in to with these you had different coach builders
So, you know, some were so corsica bodied somewhere main England somewhere main France
He said there's one of two though, of course, of course, you could body. Yeah, so I wanted to so so how
Who's gonna tell you if it's over restored?
Well, I'll be judges judges. There's from from all of their experience on those two cars from 1937
There's guys that dedicate their lives just on Bugatti history and that's the thing about Bugatti's two
I know, but there's two of them. Yeah, and they were in 1937. You've got one and then there's the other one
Are you tracking with me I get that they're smart I get that these judges know what I'm saying is
There's two for a frame of reference, right? You have the one, right?
The other one has been to Pebble Beach when and how many times that was the thing like on the firewall in this car
Like the engine turn we did it based on the original size off the piece that we cut out of the firewall
And we had to argue with the judges are like, oh, those are too big. I'm like, no
That's and we had a piece of the original fire to show them. That's my point, right? Okay. That's what yeah
You have to argue your point basically, right? We gotta tell them the story on the block, too
We had to completely cast it another lock. Yeah, I mean I'm baffled. So we're going from like
Hobbyist you got it. You got the gas station. There's a gap
And you're in the garage you're tinkering and then we just we jumped to casting an engine block
I've been doing this 25 years. I mean probably almost
35 that I've been a hobbyist. I'm not casting any fucking engine block. I wouldn't even know where to begin, right? Honestly, like I've been
Super blessed with customers clients the the right guys in my shop and just
In my wife like super supportive just take it and run with it
So we've been like very really fortunate and honestly now my son graduated from college
He's working with me full-time like just I mean, it's really a dream. That's got it's this far. That's cool, man
When we're doing that car we had to get a new casting on that block and
The first one that we got back and shipping it it cracked and in transport. So
Where do you go to get a block cast? That was mad castings. Yeah, I think so
Yeah, send them the original. Do you have to like make a whole CAD file?
I believe Sam had all the original blueprints. We had the original Bugatti blueprints reverse engineered it
But they broke the original one that we had
So that insurance did not cover the
Were they tooled up to be able to like repop that at that point or was this like there's a one off
I believe they did four
Or five and I think there was only one or two that actually made it through the entire process
It's like the Bugatti engines to you. There's no o-rings or anything. It's just machine surfaces
So, you know Bugatti's good when it leaks oil. That's how you know, okay?
They all leak just drip an oil on the lawn at the beach. Just that's the way they are
That's where they all leak if they don't drip then they're out. You got problem. Yeah, huh
And what's the same as a Ford 9 inch in line a dual overhead cam this one came from the factory non supercharged
So we showed it on the lawn non supercharged and then what's great about this customer. He drives all of his cars
So he's got about 20 blue chip cars at this level. Yeah, and he drives them all so a couple months later
We we took it to Colorado Grand and it did the the Thousand Mile Road Rally
Well, we put it we put the supercharger on for that. What's that like a wine blower?
671 or something. I don't think so
Yeah, it was really neat. It's just cool that he drives the cars
It is cool most of these super high-level
Restorations just they get shown at Pebble and then they get put away for 50 years
Does it does it pull one direction with the factory headlight stanchion and that the machine headlight stanchion on one side or
John nailed the weight on that. I think it's good. Is it good?
How would you have felt if that was the Achilles heel that brought it down at Pebble Beach?
You're more of a windshield mirror than the rear view mirror kind of guy
It was like a Bugatti fell short headlight flaw or something
The I
Want to hear
It's cool. You saw what we talked about. We talked about the gap. We took this was at what point from
Still got the gas station
Hobbyists, but you know a smaller show, you know newer shop and doing this when was the decision and what was the precipice of like all right?
Full time like we're gonna this is this is the thing we're gonna do it
so we were we were building a car for Earl Tapman and he's
He's a guy that's recently deceased, but he's like Jonesy you need more space and
He does like metal domes like for key fobs and manufacturing facility in Windsor and he had some vacant property
He's like we got to get you in a bigger space. So he helped me completely design our building
And then we went from white six employees to what are we at 20 20 right now?
Yeah, well we went from the Ocho to a shop on Des Moines right from like 1500
Was that one 10? No, that was only 5,000 the second one. And then yeah, we went to 20. I like the Ocho
That would have made a good t-shirt
We love that shop
ESPN chime in like I have any copyright infringements there
There was like an old farmhouse, and then it was a just a like a pole barn in the back
All of the employees
Can they work on full-blown custom street ride muscle car and restoration or is it segmented so we've got
We have a collision shop someone can't work on restoration
So we do collision
Which we didn't do a whole lot of collision pre COVID and then we started doing a little bit more
Collision work during COVID regular driver-style collision or just classic car collision. I mean, we do we're one of Haggerty's
Preferred shops, so we do a lot of Haggerty Grundy chrome
I mean, we're pretty picky on like the daily driver stuff. Yeah, we get a lot of hell damage in our area
Do you guys get hell here?
Not a couple years more, but yeah when you get it
I mean the body shops love that except the PDR guys swept in and
Of course they all contract them, but that's a it's just a constant battle with the insurance companies
Yeah, no way the collector car insurance companies are wonderful. I agree. He's awesome. Haggerty's great
But yeah, State Farm or some of the other ones are just really hard to get through that whole process
So we kind of pick and choose what we're doing for our collision work. Yeah, and then we do automotive repair
We do full builds
Full fabrication Justin's doing, you know machining
So we're trying to do as much as we possibly can in-house like you guys, right? That's an interesting
Dynamic like we always struggled so our dad was
Collision right that's what he did his whole life and it's such a
Huge departure from the custom stuff that I mean the amount of times we butted heads with like in his mind
Absolutely baffled as to why you would sand and buff a car like show car
you know, you're talking about a car you just spent a thousand hours body-working and
Arguing over that. We don't need to sand buff this car. You get the right
I can lay that shit down
You're gonna spend what 40 hours fucking cutting and buffing that that more like
But it's they're so different and I've always struggled with bringing people on board like guys with body shop experience
It's tough because it's such a different mindset. I found you know, we've had some guys in through that have had you know collision shop
Experience and kind of it just doesn't doesn't click, you know, it's so different, right?
If you get the right
Collision guy that wanted to do it better that collision didn't work out because the speed because the speed speed and then yeah
Then you that's the perfect combo. It's the home run and honestly like an art our shop our guys like I've got a bunch of
Peruvians of work. There's four of them in the in the body shop like our process for a show car and collision work
Like we use same material. We still I mean we our quality is great no matter what so I think that's why on the collision side
Like we get so much of it. Yeah, I mean on a collision job. We're not, you know cutting it up with 800, you know, I'm yeah
I'm a Santa Polish, but
Yeah, but you're you're dealing with Grundy and you're dealing with more collector stuff
You're not dealing with the 96 ultimate that you got to do a bumper cover on right, right?
I'm telling you what you're not cutting and buffing that with anything
Nothing doesn't matter what it is. You're not cutting and buffing that 96 ultimate bumper, you know cover replacement
That's an aftermarket part. There's a hundred bucks. You're showing your age now, dude
The 96 ultimate is not on the road anymore
There's some out there and they all need bumper covers every single one of me
That was a deep
That was a deep pull anybody that understands exactly what I referenced. We'll get it
I mean early 2000s mid 2000s sure
I just think like you just don't see it anymore that era cars like it's gone 96 was probably wrong. Maybe it's 2004
All right wrong year
So
What's what's being built now? I saw we saw some trucks at the lot of trucks at the Grand National
Well, you want to talk about what we got going on. Yeah, I mean we got a couple trucks to finish up first
Then obviously we got the 87 you guys doing the chassis for yeah couple of trucks
I saw a Grand National those could use chassis to a little further than fabrication, but yeah, we figured out
The build it would be an RS for sure. Those were two that came from other shops. Yeah
We had no say they just showed up. I know I guess it's interesting that the decisions that those those shops made
They also couldn't finish it and had to go to another shop. It's that that's telling of I like that. Do you like that? Yeah?
Get it you never miss an opportunity, right? You don't know you do not you nobody should
Nobody should
He's getting lots. No, the truck the trucks really looked good. They showed well and things get some pretty killer
In the bed and under the hood fab work and stuff like that. Yeah, Justin's been cruising on that Apache
Yeah, I'm those pickups. I mean, I've never built the inside of a bed before
But they got to be done because it's so I mean it's out there. Yeah, unless you're putting a
Cab on it. Yeah, it's all that's there do something. Yeah, it's all there inner bed sides are tough. Yeah, and
Justin's working on a Nova and he's also working on a RS for chassis. Yeah K-10. Yeah, that's gonna be pretty next level. Yeah
Yeah, we're pulling the fenders
We're gonna
We're swapping again everybody
Hey, we'll we're swapping back. We'll swap back. We'll swap in right now and then we'll swap back in a minute
The K-10's a good
Here you want the scotch or grab anything off a shelf
Yeah, put her there you go, dude check some reading material. That's a that's all Delmo and Eric blacks handy work
Do you think so yeah, that's probably my favorite flyer
You see me like, oh, that's a Delmo and Eric black. He's like, yeah, I think I got some artwork in there, too
Oh, then we're gonna let Eric know that was a subtle flex
Little flex as well place though
Let's see let's see we got a camera just for that I bring that in
So then that's Eric black secret then huh, he's got like contract other designers behind the scenes
It's interesting
Taking the L's Eric's taking the L's you're you're a hundred percent certain about this
So you drew this now this one. Is there any credit given? No, it's just the first page. You flip to that's interesting
Maybe it's interesting. Can you autograph that for us?
Eric is the you this is you know, I see you photoshopped that out. Yeah, your signatures not in there water my off
All yeah, Justin come from somewhere
Justin's called research, right? It's research. That's right
Justin's working on that square body that you guys are designing the chassis for they'll be five you have that artwork or at least
I
Gotta we gotta talk to Justin about the two projects. He's got a fabside to just look at the the crew cab that we got out there
Yeah, she talked about that
Showed up a little late talked about the extra work that they're gonna have on me, but it's gonna make it cool
Do me nice. Yeah, it's you know, it's a little bit more just like building a hot rod custom
No, but it's certainly doable thing packages. I'm not looking at I think we need to do coil rear
On the truck that we're doing you can I mean it's not much to it to swap that over if you're hauling stuff
I'd still throw the bags on it, but it's gonna be like it's on 38 some 17s
Okay, we're like off-road inspired got it. Yeah, we could quote put some coilovers on there. No problem on the rear
He's either just link. I mean that thing's got big old traction bars on it anyway. So like the four-link in it
He's a cake. Okay
Justin piece of cake
He's a cake for you
You're what are you working on right now a 68 C 10. Yeah on our s4 chassis LT 5 what transmission?
It's got the eight speed C8 or C7 transmission sweet pretty sweet truck. We're gonna make it fit 37s
Would you say what Nova guys mad so we took over a project from Eric, okay, and
This was before he got
I think they had a 54 Chevy
Eric's Nova you're gonna talk into the mic. Yeah, go ahead
Detroit speed
When they were really hot and then it all went over to Roadster shop and that last customer that got a Detroit speed
That's super mad that he didn't get a roadster shop. Oh
That's Detroit happens
He just told me that like two months ago. He goes. Why didn't I get a Roadster shop and here? We are is it fully welded in?
Yep
Yeah, it's been get
75% get guess what I'm gonna send you a roll of cut-off wheels a whole row hundred hundred pack
Right the big ones right four inches and the good ones the ones that last not that not the cheap ones
Throw some saws all blades in there, too. Just give them all the tools the axe
It's gonna be a cool car though. I mean the roofs chopped and slanted back. It's it's neat. What year 67?
Yep, yeah, six or seven not an eight or nine. No, no
It was started in front. Would you know why you even asked that?
I worked at Eric's probably nine years ago. Okay, and when I got there that car got there and
It went through a few people and then
On and off. I don't know what I know the car. Yep. Yeah, I've seen it. It's been in some bare metal shoots fair
It's like that up on the chassis table. We'll have number one. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, the wheels are wheels are killer
It was in a lot killer stuff. I was in something else
To it's what it's full chopped or wedge chopped wedge wedge chop, right? It's just in April and the rear is laid back
Yeah, yeah, yeah when he kicked the front and he kicked the back out. Yeah, that's him of that. That's gonna be sweet
It's cool car
What is so your design?
CNC modeling
Programming yep and fabrication. Yep wiring
So, hey, man, I need you to do this. That's what happens. So you're a car builder you get like yeah start to finish
That's what got me into it. Nice. I wanted something nice
I grew up in street routes my dad not so big on the mic and audio thing though
From a stroller to this point I've been in cars sweet have probably a hundred thousand seventy five thousand in a model a
Car show to car show. Yeah
What motor 350 305 maybe yeah, that's not important. It was mid 90s Jag front. Oh, yeah
Jag front. I've never heard that before Jag rear the Jag fronts. You know, I think it was Jag. Maybe I don't know
It was a Jaguar. Yeah, yeah, Monza front Jag rear. Maybe I don't know I was
Okay
What a way to grow up. Yeah, I've
Probably ruined my kids a future too by doing the same thing they've grown up in hot rods and yeah
Yeah, it's a
problem why it's gonna have is
The budget the reality of that's just setting in yeah
Yeah, my so my son is like the Roadster shops biggest fan by far and so he's growing up around them in every single car
We've ever built. He's like my co-pilot and test miles on him and he knows his shit
I mean, he knows more than probably most people you would talk to you the only thing he doesn't know or really understand
He's not at the age yet where the dollar value makes sense
So to him now he's he's about to turn 15 15 in May and we're gonna start a project
So in his mind like he's building a
Million-dollar car
And I'm like I'm reeling it back in I'm like, you know, so what does he want?
So he wants to do he's big into like trans am inspired cars
Like he likes that vintage road race vibe. He's got kids got great fucking taste
So he wants to do like 70 to 73 CUDA
Some little flares on it. I mean decent flares 15s quick change rear like something nasty with like super high revenue
You know, so we'd probably do like a small displacement LS dressed up to look like a 440 or 340 that'd be cool
But yeah, it's the budget thing is we're working through that right now. I mean 15 year old. I mean
550 $600,000 bill
By the time we get it done it would be justifiable because they'd be like 38 40-year-old guy
Like
And there the CUDA's done
Yeah, I mean I grew up in that world looking at crazy cars and all that you don't really realize it until you start paying your own
bills and like holy shit, you know, this is the budge on this car and
Realizing what it takes to get to that level. It really is crazy. I mean it's snowballed. It's good over the years
You know it used to be I mean shit when we got it was twin turbo Hemi
He did. Yeah, but there's a I need to have a little bit of responsibility as a parent
I think and just I'm gonna limit the horsepower
But you got to leave something we need to make it modifiable
So we'll probably start with a little light compression so we can put a power adder on there in the future
So I'm gonna tell you a little story about my son
We were gonna just have a little
Z06 restoration project, so we bought this
2006 it was a total out in California, okay
and
We're on our fifth LS seven
He auto tracks or autocrosses it super competitive, but whose fault is that yours are GM's of the engine builders
I didn't design the motor exactly
I go fast
So don't let your kid get into racing is the more the point of the story. Yeah, it's very expensive
Got it. Yeah, we were doing the Optimus series for a full year and we did a couple years
Yeah, well you took third in the nation one year. Yeah, so super competitive. Are you buying your own motors now? No, I
Wasn't say I wonder how long that motor would last too soon talk about
That's a horrible one just one just popped the last motor had 200 miles on
Oh, that sounds like a part failure. Hey, well, that sounds like a part of your motors
local machinists
We have the cars the guard the cars gone through like four variations as far as style and performance
I mean we put a whole frame rail in it
We got there was only two frame rails left in the country when we got this car
They got the passenger side and the guy wrapped it around a pole
We were just gonna section it in so we bought the first frame rail
Built the jig for it sectioned it in
Got it all together. We put the door and the door overlapped on the quarter
So we're like, well, we have full frame rail in this so we got there a little amount of zero six
Yeah, we got the last frame around the country put it in there
Got the car square got it finally running and you know just driving around like I I had the car
The last couple months of my senior year in high school was super badass. That's cool
It was really cool. Did the chicks think it was as cool as you thought they were gonna think it
I honestly didn't give a shit. Okay, that's that's the that's the right answer
Like you guys can give me shit, you know wearing new balances and Jorts
We're having a corvette, but I'm like that one. I'm the absolute opposite of like I knew it was gonna go there
Corvette purists
But yeah, we were on our fourth or fifth LS seven
13 to 1 compression
Super badass LS seven and I I raced one event for good guys and I took it out to dinner
I'm driving at home and the fucking thing popped lost all 14 quarts oil on in Fort Collins
So some big parts broke. Oh, yeah, you can see through it. Yeah, I put a hole through the block
Just having home from dinner you in it like your foot in it or something just I mean, I was in first year
Maybe six thousand RPS
The big track at Kota, but he was getting after yeah, it's a fucking race car, you know, yeah
Stop GM ECU. Yeah, GM ECU still
So now we're we're going we got a LS nine out of Florida sweet
I'm just got a Kong Kong blower on it. This might not be engine. It's not not be engine, but this might be tuned
This might be tuned. I think it was definitely engine failure. I think I'm feeling a plug
You know
Yeah
I mean, I think that we probably need to hook you up with HP tuners
Obviously, you got a GM ECU. I think there's some especially especially that platform
That motor and what you're doing with it. I think it's time you get hooked up with the HP tuners
Yeah, the biggest the biggest challenge with those cars
Everything is sorry. I mean it's got electric door poppers and you know all that stuff. It's yeah, that doesn't pop a motor though
Yeah, electronic. Yeah, you don't yeah, right leave it on the GM
I was gonna ask if HP tuners does something to reinforce the block now through their tuning to know, but they can
Just make sure that doesn't happen. Yeah, right, especially 13 to 1. I mean
There's some things got to be right
You can put all the parts in it, but there's some things got to be right on the tune side of things
You use HP tuners on anything we haven't
Yeah, anyways, we're going the LS9 direction now found LS9 off, Florida. It's got a Kong blower
Definitely gonna be some challenges putting LS9 in a C60 a six. It's definitely not a Bolton
You're still gonna race it. Yeah, street car. It's gonna be a relearn
Yeah, a little bit in a and then blower. That's a totally different deal
Yeah, I'll make some steam that's gonna be the good part is with boost though. You could pop that thing that much quicker
Yeah, so why waste 200 miles you can also you can find new parts to break for their own
Yeah, why waste 200 miles on a perfectly good motor when you could when you could when you could pop it in four
No, that's a trim or a little educate race
Yeah, build a mystery car. That's it. That's what we're doing
Yeah, but I'm with him make the parts better
That's what Bill always 200 miles is just I find the mechanical
Fills our in-house race car driver and you know, it used to like piss me off
But the reality is is that it's a good sort of like test like how better
Can you shake a car down then have the black angel of death behind the wheel that will absolutely find the weak link?
Are you hard on shit? No, no, he just be like have the tight like the I would get my bar and then like the
Heater hose would come off the vintage air kit and I'd come back and one of the guys like dude
Like you were really just ripping at him. Yeah
I just went real hard on the vintage air control and it just first overloaded the heater
So we have like a different dynamic like Phil pretty much runs the business here, right?
And I've been in the shop ever since day one and I remember it where he's doing a photo shoot years ago
And he's got this 32 Roadster that we did and it's got this nasty little small block Chevy
And he calls me and he's telling he's like he's telling me that the fucking thing is leaking coolant out of the side of the
Cowell of the car and I'm like what the fuck are you talking about like there's no way the cars leaking
I know what's leaking coolant out of the fucking cow. What are you and yeah, and I back then I was like defensive about it
Because I didn't you know, you know as a young fabricator
You don't want anybody to tell you there's something wrong with your shit, right?
So I would just be like Phil there's there's nothing wrong with the car. What the fuck did you do that one valve?
It's got two things one on either side, right? It's an interior
So on the vintage air, you know your heater hose was either I forget if that was on it, you know
Thread out like a dash 10 or if it was just a you know press on on a five
It was a hose bar, but it was pouring fucking coolin out of it. Okay in the firewall. Yeah, no
No, it was on the on the vintage on the box and then that was one of those Dearborn deuces that had a half
like three by one channel
That ran across the whole thing and all the body mounts were there and then these little like laser cut oval holes in it
So all that shit was running down in the cowl and they just poured out the side of the cow
That's what he's sitting there taking pictures with I think Rob McGaffin or something and the car's just pouring cool
And out of this fucking cow
But that shit for breaking it's always
too hard
That's like one thing my dad and I do every every car we just shop we drive put miles on we want to make sure
Right before we turn them over. How many try how many miles to try to put on
Several hundreds. You gotta gotta shake them down
I mean the thing was different because we were thrashing to get it to
Roadster show, but I mean typically a couple hundred miles for sure. Yeah, we're pretty excited about the Lincoln that we're just wrapping up
What year Lincoln?
66 same owners the Volkswagen thing suicide door convertible with a coyote 10 speed
Yep, that's a tough car to build
It's been said many times
That's it. We talked about it a lot. I'm a really tough car beautiful car
I mean nowadays those cars are basically Bugatti level. We look at the actual aspirator
Yeah, like sale prices on them. I mean, that's a yard out all the
convertible top stuff and and go custom or do you use?
And try to get that original top to work correctly
That was a feat on itself. No way it all works. It all works
That's a uh, it's a Ouija board a tarot car rating. It's a I've got
extremely
Two times extremely intimate knowledge
And it was so traumatizing and so frustrating that that's one that I remember
Like down to every single relay and what every single relay and what every single limit switch does
And you think that you're dealing with the top
Until you realize you also got to do with the rear windows and at the rear windows
The rear power windows and the power windows switches are
integral
In the entire tops mechanism and operation and working
It is that top cover that covers the top of the soft top
There's only one trigger switch on those screws that come down. Oh, yeah
Yeah, there's worm screws that pull the painted part down
That was way over engineered
It is that entire car is that we're just talking about the top
Mechanism then you get into the actual power windows, then you get into the power antenna. It's not power
It's hydraulic
Antenna works off power steering, right?
I can't I think the power antenna is is
Powered off of the power steering. It's got a hydraulic pump. Are you serious? I'm I'm 90 something positive
Time timing wise. Where did this land in relation to the moon landing?
I know you're a big like you're big on the moon landing thing
Is this well the Lincoln is real
Right
What year was that this is gonna be a four-hour package that working on the Lincoln
No, the fucking the the moon landing. What are you allegedly? Yeah. Oh
66
wasn't it
Hey, you know
Same engineers probably let's let's go
Google when Stanley Kubrick did the moon landing when
What studio when they use did we?
Oh
Pops up
69 69
So they those engineers started on the Lincoln and then pivoted to landing on the moon
You need you need to screw with one hard and heavy just to learn
No, you don't the
It is so I've got oh a Lincoln. Yeah, I don't I love the cars. I absolutely love them
I would buy a hard top just because but even then like buy a hard top buy a hard top
And drive it straight to the shop and then pull the passenger. I mean the driver front door card off
I know but pull the driver front door card off. Don't even pull the door card off
Pull the driver power windows switch out. Just try to get it. I left
manual windows and the ta down there
Roll those suckers. We try to talk customers into manual windows all day long. Yeah, because you can at least get them all day
Yeah, they always want flush mount glass and they want single, you know, no wing windows
I like wing windows me too. I myself
I do it was years until I actually used one, you know, but I use them in my square body
I use them mine works really well. I never knew to be honest with you
I never knew that you're supposed to like flip them all the way around. That's what gets direct to the air
Yeah, I always thought they were just smoking cigarettes
You know
True story because I grew up my whole band smoked like 14 packs a day and I literally thought that that window cracked
Yeah, they were they were smoking rain windows. Yeah, when it was raining you kicked those and man
I didn't know you flipped them around and you kicked that thing all the way around now. It's a scoop
Yeah, I learned something new recently as the best smoking device though in a square body, especially
Yeah, disagree. I just saw on instagram a uh
I saw it too the vacuum
Vacuum cigarette dispenser. It was in the Corvettes, right? It's been around. It was like a 61 62 Chevy
little receptacle
That mounted underneath the dash and it linked into the vacuum
And you put your cigarette in there and push a button and it sucked it through and had a little receptacle
You never seen that? No. Yeah, I really wanted to send it to you, but you don't have a long time account, so
Long time
That's for your for your butts. Yeah
Um
It's pretty crazy
Um boy, we know I haven't seen serious. I'm just I'm thinking about it. Um
They need to do something about the like there's a I thought you were saying vacuum for the smoke or something like that
No, right. You're probably one of the last few people. I know that still smokes in a vehicle
In my vehicle. Yeah, yeah windows up your Corvette
No smoke in the Corvette. No, I don't
Windows up better. I don't windows up. No raptor smells like a savage your raptor smells like a cab
It smells like the bowling alley way
that's uh
Yep
Yeah, so I'll tell you this for question for both of you. What mill thickness did you guys laminate your window sticker with?
Oh for the vets. Is that a thing? Oh, you keep it in the glovebox. You don't have to laminate it. You don't have to show that off
No, okay
People it's a Corvette people know when it was people know that it's high yet. What day and month was yours built on?
I don't know
I'm not I I am not that guy
Do you have I wear I do rock new balances though on purpose. They're comfortable. Yeah, they're great. No, no gene short
I
I don't want a pair of gene shorts. I don't I don't wear
Those are those are novelty gene shorts
Uh
That's fine. Make fun
jealous
Yeah
Old-ass Ford
Explorer let me see that explore key. Um
Next up. All right, we're going
Your day-to-day we we're going there and then we we get off of the thing it happens. Um
Is that the way you like to work every day is a new chance you have no idea what's coming to you
You might be programming something. You might be fabbing something. You might you're a fabreneer, right? That's it keeps me
Focused, okay, kind of I like to do CAD. I like to focus and like do that
But I can't go three weeks on the same thing
You you really like what you're doing as long as what you're doing is not for a long time
Yeah, because you like doing all the things but any of those things can't be for a long time not at all
Gotcha. Yeah, I'm I'm with you on the CAD side. How much are you using that with your fabrication?
And are you sprinkler more more than I thought I would yeah, honestly, I do a lot of uh,
like stamping
So I'll make a buck
And then I actually made air filter bases for a friend of mine. Yeah, they're badger two and five eighths opening
It's like a d double d base. Okay
Um, you like printing the stampings and no, I machined those ones because I wanted to set he wanted to set
Got it. So I traded a set of
39 viewing taillights
Okay, they're like the little wedge arrow circle
traded those for
full base
that I
Basically machined a positive negative stamped it. They turned out really close to factory
a little bit different, but
That was a fabrication piece. Was that a scrap aluminum or a purchased aluminum? That was scrap aluminum. Yeah from a big
12 foot
I'm thinking what you're thinking. Don't worry
I'm usually pretty good at telling the secretary
Hey, I got this much out of here. I owe you that. Yeah, you're not gonna believe the
The part size that I got out of the purchased aluminum and we're making money
Yep, what's the guy got a gift for that rest of that aluminum over there?
Yeah, that's an interesting conversation though like where you
How much you lean into the CAD design and modeling on fabrication versus like just getting the fuck after it, you know, there's and
the finished product oftentimes reflects like
the
You know the amount of time spent behind the computer, right? It's a better finished product, but then there's there's always
That element of just getting after it like there is still a bandsaw right the bandsaw is a great tool
There's a drill press. There's things that you can knock out
And it's it's interesting to hear like somebody that's got the experience, you know
How you how you divide it, you know, do you think that there's a there's an actual achievable
Correct middle ground for that
I don't think so no because
There's a crutch element, right? There's a crutch element, but then there's always no matter which way
There's the
Are you the other side? It's the unknown, right? It's argument from the other side like you said it's
Bandsaw it out drill that hole weld it in do the stuff
It's done it mounts it. Oh man holes a little offset. Then there's the
engineer it
CAD model it
Laser it laser cut it CNC press break it weld it in then the time you're like
Holy fuck for the tab for the 90 degree tab that's got the hole in it or whatever
It's perfect, but you took this much time. That's my point is I think no matter what I think that you're I would say the threshold
Because they're both achievable for me my my rhodobroche set. I think goes up to inch and a quarter
Anything bigger than that. I'm not fucking using a hole. So I call me like spoiled or prima donna
That's the that is the absolute threshold of what I'm building before it goes to CAD
Okay, and I don't have the CAD skills. So that's going to an engineer right like dude cut me a
Three inch bracket with an inch and a half hole in the middle of it
But that's you on the on the fab on the shop floor side of things and most fabricators out there
I'm not saying it's it's right or wrong
But because they both sides are so easily obtainable and you could argue it from both sides
You could argue the speed and being cognizant of the customer's money
And then you can argue argue the quality and that the customer came to you for perfection perfection on the other side
Like it's it especially as owners. That's a that's a difficult balance, right?
Is we want to have value, but then we also want a quality product at the end of the day
So a lot of the times I just leave it up to these guys
You know, they're always, you know, I'm pretty good about it. They are
The first the I know
Fire away. He's got some
electrical knockouts
Okay
I have like up to three and a half or four inch and they cut a fucking perfect hole
Are you talking about the you're talking about the pull the the hydraulic one or electric one?
No, it's like it's basically like a rod itself or like a buck a piece
And bought this milk crate full of every size ever. Oh, sure. Yeah
So I go four inch before I go to CAD really. Okay. I like that. That's it
I'll tell you I'll tell you when it 100% I I I agree as a I think as a whole
It's unobtainable the perfect middle ground because you're always going to argue both sides
However, I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt when it absolutely is not
The correct way and that's a four by four square. That's that's six months after a new new equipment purchase
six months
Within six months of a new equipment purchase that new equipment is being used to do every single thing
Regardless if it's the most efficient way of doing it or not
Because it's the new toy
okay
Whether or not there's other things that can do the exact same thing. Yeah, but the new toy
is I mean there could be the the bench top plasma table with the CAD cam software, right
sitting next to the Scotchman iron worker
And they're going to play with
Making the holes
And lining up the holes to punch the cut out of the flat plate
Versus just sticking it in the Scotchman iron worker and play because that's just like you said you the iron worker pretty hard when you're on the
Shop and fuckers probably dusty and rusty. This isn't throwing shot. This is just human nature
It's human nature as fabricators and designers and car builders and creatives to continue to push the envelope
And to change up your day to day. You just said you don't like doing
Any of the things that you're doing for a
Long time you want to move on to the something else, right?
Just because that iron worker can punch that hole you haven't learned a new skill
So learning how to you know line up that hole and doing the thing is the learning of the skill and doing it a better way
is is
The unfortunate uh
Carrot, right? It's the thing that everybody's trying to
To get to generally like the faster I get it done
the faster I move on
So I tried to weigh that and I fought that on those air cleaners. I had made like saw it out out of
Shit hot rolled torch cut steel and I cut this
Double d center out and I welded a bunch of crap together and I tried to stamp them and I hated it. Yeah, and that's where
I
Because you'd have done it if you've done into the mill. Yeah, and I'm like fuck. I drew it. It took 10 minutes
I cut it. It took 20 minutes. I'm done in 30
Just the first piece of steel I cut took
45 minutes to cut grind right make and I hated it
The balance on what you're doing like on the Chevy too that I'm working on
I want symmetry. I want perfection on I'm
Doing something with it right now and I drew that in CAD
I'm not machining it, but I printed a buck to make the part so that I can also take that mirror it
Make the other side. Yeah, those fit the pieces. I am gonna machine
It's a good balance of fabrication machining printing. There's CAD. There's
A lot of work to do on the computer
It's just getting it
From his mind computer
Where do we go from there? Is it something that I make a stamp for and I make these parts out of this and maybe I can't do that
Mirroring is mirroring is the thing that
Takes it to 100
Go to the computer. Yep. I would agree. Mirroring is the cheat is the cheat code. Mirroring is the thing that
It's
Well, everybody's thought so, you know 20 years before yeah, absolutely
How does that work except when the body's not the same left or right? Yeah. Well, you make the rest of the ship fit it
How does that work in your shop then with uh?
The rest of the game. I mean is it
Is it something where everybody are you you're the guy you're the CAD guy?
Is everybody coming to you to like hey, man, are you guys plasma cutting anything?
Are you we'll send that out. I'll either send cut or there's a shopped on the road. Got it and we go to that
Um, our body guy comes to me a lot. He's doing a 58 corvette and we're doing a bunch of custom stuff to that
Like deleting the rectangles for the front bumper. Yep. So I actually printed both sides of the buck to make or like the positive
negative I guess
To make the patch to go into the rectangles to fill that make that symmetrical and that car is terrible side to side
There's nothing about it that you printed any sanding blocks yet. Yep for profiles. It's like that. Yep. We did
That white truck that was at the roadster show the bed. Yeah had printed sanding blocks
Think back about 25 fucking years ago sanding some of the shit used to sand
And the things you would make to
Right fit those right and print a sanding block now is well the technology is great for sure
But you still have to get to execution
Like that's you still got to have the guy to be able to to do it right
So the technology is great, but it's still I think there's still something to say about a hand fabricated part versus machine part, too
Okay, why?
Just the skill level and talent it takes to build a fabricated
I mean, no doubt both sides of the the realm as far as a cat design piece machined engineered, you know
Whatever but as far as a fabricated piece like guys that coach build
Bodies it's just are you where are you waiting?
that skill
Over the other skill the time it takes to learn it
I probably the timing takes yeah, like I think I like more so like well or the amount of people doing it
I mean think about this josh. It's like you could buy a painting or you could buy a print, you know
Like there's still there's always
Part of you that wants the painting
You know I mean there's almost a part of the one that's been done by hand, right?
Somebody physically painted that and you're gonna hang it on your wall and that's a masterpiece
Or there's there's a sense of like somebody put their heart their soul into it versus like
This is just a print, you know
You get what I'm saying. Yeah, but you're take that you're taking the the the print
You're saying that that guy has no talent. He's just hitting print. Yeah. No, I didn't I didn't mean it that way
No, I know I know but that's what I'm saying. It's a it's a flawed analogy somebody started some huge business
And created a beautiful piece of equipment that can you know digitally interpret that and print it
It's just it's different, right? There's always a time and a place like for me
I look at like look at what henry from steadfast does like some of his
Engine bracketry
You know motor mounts and stuff and things that he does on his chassis work
And it's like damn dude like well, that's a difference between soul. Well, it's by it's by hand, but that's soul
That's not talent. Yeah. Oh, so you don't think he has any talent. No, no, no not saying that
Josh says that henry from steadfast has no zero what I'm saying is you can't also you can't
You can't that's a it's a it's an invalid argument to say that the hand fabricated part
Takes more talent than the machine. It's different. It's different 100. It's different. That's where I'm getting it
I guess my analogy like you look you look at a
Bugatti atlantic one of the most beautiful cars ever made
Car was completely hand-built completely coach built
Left and right do not match and then you look at a brandy bugatti sharon. It's absolutely perfect
It's it's hard to find an imperfection in it. Yeah, you know just those two levels
But what car would you other have but that's not talent
That's soul
Which is soul? Yeah, which is soul the 57 the Atlantic, right?
Yeah, but do the guys not build in there?
sharon
Oh, they don't have the same they have an effort and soul into what they're doing talent talent
100% and they do have soul in the things that they're doing what I'm saying is the is the emotion
Evoking from the person looking at it
You it evokes more emotion because of whatever it's touching your soul for the hand-built thing
Versus the common thing now talent is a completely different thing because I promise you
The amount of talent and the talent of the individuals that's building the new bugatti
Far outweighs what's built built the 1937 one
I wouldn't argue that though. I don't know you look at the the tooling and technology they had back then to do what they did
It's but
Then you're you're but you're saying you're doing more with little and that's more talent than the talent that you have now
You get in in the 2026
I think technology just takes it to another level as all but you're I know I get I get what you're saying, but I
I think that there's an appreciation for both. They're 100% appreciation
Yeah, at the end of the day, which one do you want in your garage?
Right and probably both right like there's a there's those guys can have
Right, there's argument made for both like look you have one you can have both
Yeah, when you I look at all that stuff right and there's certain things that I love that like hand-built element
You ever look at van dam boat works? Yes, you're seeing those dudes
And now look at like viking yachts, right?
Massive cut they make the most beautiful badass fucking yacht sport fish boats in the world
But that van dam boat works like the hand element of it. It's just so fucking awesome
You know and grand like if I had the budget I'd want both of them right tied up to the fucking dock
But that's not what the discussion was appreciation for all of who has more talent
I think it's 50 50. I don't think it's a competition. Yeah, I don't think it really is like
There's so much fucking talent that goes into each side and I think to Phil's point so much soul
That goes in each side. It's just interpreted differently
Yeah, I was gonna say when you started like there's no right answer. So you should probably just yeah give in go
Oh, this this wasn't about you proven right
The discussion to have you know, you can passionately argue both sides of it and you're right either side you take
1000 I agree. Yep
the uh
I mean you look at some really beautiful
hand-built motorcycles or bicycles right and and then you look at factory built bicycles and it's
Cool shit on both couldn't do that. I'll tell you what usability stuff, but exactly
But what I will say that I guess this will end the argument for myself
I built a lot of like cool ass chassis from scratch
in my time
They're nowhere near the level of the stuff. We're engineering like what Mike and Noah and Adam are doing
Like the stuff that we're creating with technology
Yes, it's so much better
So much better. That's why you talk about like these crazy one-off things. I mean, it's even the production stuff
I mean, well, yeah, it's just fucking the accuracy the different level man. That's why I was so much better. I was
wanting to have the discussion the argument because
I 100% agree with you on
Some things that I'm
Like you said and like you said on the hand-built stuff, right? You see some oh man. That's fucking awesome
Like nobody can hand grind a knife
Like that anymore like there's so many few there's so few people that are hand grinding a knife most stuff is done C and C
But that's not putting a value
Um or a talent level on this side versus this side
And I bring it up because I understand kind of the the direction you're going with it of like
the soul
The passion the blood sweat and tears and building it from hand without any computer aided devices whatsoever
But i'm also really tired of hearing
out in the car scene
The oh, well, of course you you know, of course you can do that with an engineer and C and C
That's so easy. Well, you can just hit the button. You can't you know, you absolutely cannot discredit the talent
But that's that's what you're getting. That's an attitude that's that's sweeping through
A lot on on especially on the higher end show car stuff. Whatever. It's like
Oh, well, that doesn't that doesn't matter because you machined it
So but just because it was machined it takes all human beings out of the equation up the up the chain
And no talent involved. There's no designer involved. There was no artists involved. There was no modeler involved
There was no chrome plater involved. There was no dber involved. There was no hand finishing involved
You know, it was just a machine hit print and go that's what I I think if you want to like
Really nail it you have to have a perfect blend of the both like which is the you know, the
The thing is a prime example. There's a shit ton of technology
Wrapped up into that. I mean the thing's out of mo tech standalone ecu. There's probably a ton of cad work in it
That was the collective talent. You can still see it's not like you guys just leaned on a cnc machine
Because you can see the hand element of what was created there
You didn't just machine it to machine it like there's you know, I think like andy's uh
Chassis that we built out here. That's a another good example. There's a ton of cad designing it
But you're leaning on that like hand
Uh the skilled element what curtis did and what was done as far as like fabrication
Just your talent. It's a perfect mix
You can't a collective talent
Yeah, let's build a fucking supercar and you're like really really intelligent that you're just gonna
That's what my dad and I talked about all the time how how the level just keeps going up every year and every year
You got a salonica and you know, you do all the show circuit and then you go to seema
Yeah, then you go to seema and you see Troy's car and you know like
Yeah, fuck that fucking Troy. Yeah, you look underneath it. Yeah, that's pretty sweet
Hey, have either you guys ever moved a paint booth though? Yeah. All right. Well, that's something Troy can't do. I know that's true
We're gonna go see him tomorrow. We're spending one extra day. Yeah, that's that's worth it man
They moved it. He just couldn't get on top of it. Okay
Who's getting on top of it part?
That's a great
Example in a great conversation really because for me when you go to the like being out at gnrs
And seeing the cars it's there is an element of just leaning on technology that because you can machine it because you can print it
because there are these resources just do it and
I think what what Troy does still dominates, right? And it always will because there's there's an art form with it, right?
You know, it's
You can't argue that that's that's fucking art. There's uh, you know, Troy's got a massive what like a vf
Fucking 900. It's the largest cnc machine. I've ever seen in his shop and he's got a great, uh,
cnc dude
But Troy's stuff is it's artistic like there's so there's such a hand element what adam
Created there versus just machine it because you can machine it like that's
Well, the end is like you like you mentioned though you started talking about
What what matters is the blend, right? Yes, what you should what really matters is the finished
Product as a whole the vehicle the car the build the truck whatever it is how it looks
If it grabs you how it performs what it does for the customer. There's a lot of check a lot of boxes that need to be checked
Before you even talk about how right? What's the paint like? What's the fit and finish like? How does it sit?
What's the stance does it do the things does it run drive?
Shift into gears break like it's supposed to stop like it's supposed to you know, not overheat cool
Sound deadening in vh all that so you got all the whole total you check all those boxes then
Then you've done the thing now how you get there
Is is something different how it looks and how it grabs you can be done
by both ways
Or the perfect combination of those ways the problem that we that a lot of times it gets to is you you start
Because you can you do it too far down this way or because you can you do it too far down this way
There's both ends of the spectrum troi lad for great example troi lad
welds 17 pieces together
Grind hand finishes them. It's a cool style and sand blast them
Right, and you can't tell if it was cast cast or not, right?
At the end of the day what it looks like
Fucking matters the most
Let's get pulling. That's the determining factor. We finally got there. Yeah, right
If it finally you look at it and it looks right it doesn't matter how you got there
If it doesn't look right then it's instantly well
There was way too much machine stuff or there was way too much fabricated stuff
It was chopped too much the wheels were too big. It's
That's like the line in the sand right now the only thing about the looks thing is it subjective, but
But it's it isn't it isn't it looks looks are important
How you get to the end result and please that customer
Make it look right make it do all those things that's up to you and the and in the customer
That's your contract with the customer whether you want to hand build it whether you want to carve it
Whether you want to see and see it whether you want to do whatever it is
I don't i'm not putting one above the other what i'm saying is they're all tools in the toolbox
And I don't think that that it's disingenuous to say that one talent is more
Uh is higher up on the talent scale than the other right it's all talent and it's all different things
That would be like somebody saying that you know the guy that body works it
Is more talented the guy that paints it and the guy that paints it
You know is more talented the guy that fabricates it right the painter's the most talented
He's just got to spray it on a finished product and then somebody else sands it i'm speaking for him
I always give my guys the credit honestly because going in and I mean, I don't I don't even mask anything anymore
You're the painter. Yeah, okay, but do you buff it sand it buff it? No, okay
If the if the if the painter sands it and buff it i'll give him the credit if he just sprays it then yeah, you know
You're right. He did just no credit
Somebody else did the work before him and somebody else is doing the work
I always get the credit but it always it's either the prep or the body work or anything
Especially jose sanding polishing that dude's a machine
Yeah, because you could just put the put the material on and be like I gave you enough make it shiny
It's uh
It was no right or wrong. I think it's an important
It was an important and interesting conversation to have because you hear it so much on both ends right traditional fabricator, right?
I've got I've got a sandbag
And I've got you know a welder and I can build everything if I can't build it with that then I don't need to do it
Then you've got full blown
Maybe one welder no fabricators nothing but engineers and 3d printers cnc machine all that stuff and build
There's just a there's a there's a blend the blend is what's matt
There's a time and a place for all of it like for me, you know
I have an issue that I like
So many different genres of cars, but if I was going to have a traditional hot rod built
I don't want anybody touching a fucking computer or anywhere near it, you know
But at the same time like we're building this pantera, which is the car of my dreams this car
I've always wanted to build
And we haven't even touched the car. We're almost a year into it and all we've done
is
CAD work and design work like there hasn't been a tool other than to disassemble it there hasn't been a tool
like to touch the car so it
Yeah, but look at how many fucking badass cars so i'm at pinkies again
How many of those things and there's a lot of cnc shit in there. Yeah, but loaded. I'll bet you it was all done on a bridge port
Loaded with what I'll bet you there's not a tremendous amount of cnc. I don't I don't care how many the car
The point is it's the car dude. So exactly so i'm not i can't i'm not gonna put somebody up
I want a traditional hot rod, but don't use any cnc
If if it's something like hemrod or something like loaded or something like the federale coop
I don't care if the whole fucking thing was cnc'd on the federale coop. See that's where I give it give it to me
I want that that's where I the look is amazing. There's an element of me like the
You you pivot back to the soul. I don't want to beat this to death, but that's like so now it's now the soul matters
Well, yeah, because somebody fucking just
Worked themselves to death on it, you know
Yeah, but somebody did that on the computer side too on the can yeah, it's just like those guys get no
It's just different. I appreciate no credit for the soul. I appreciate the skill set. You see what i'm saying
It's just different
There's a time to apply both of them
Like I said the car of my dreams the most important project like I think I've ever built is this pantera and it's
All fucking technology yet for me like I want to like if I want to build an old-school car
I just want it fucking raw
But that that has nothing that has nothing to do explain it
It's just that has nothing to do with uh can't explain it's the air of cars or what should or shouldn't be
It's a personal thing when you're so far down the rabbit hole on technology
Of course, you're gonna want the opposite
Right, of course, you're gonna want the hand-built thing of course you want to want the more
Soul that I hate saying that because it means that the other one doesn't have soul
But i'm just using that as a frame of reference. It's just it's a pendulum swing. It's back and forth
I do both fairly good
Right. I can machine. I can fabricate total package. I can do some pretty bad ass fabrication and everything I
Like for eric
Did a lot of early hot rods onto that traditional side not so much his but like
Those are the parts that I have so much pride in because I literally took these fucking
Like a 3a flat and I put it here and I put this other piece here and I fucking welded everything and filleted it and
ground it
Made it look like I didn't touch it and it came from a sandbox. Yeah, right
As to where my machine part I draw it. I don't like it. I delete it. I draw it
I just keep going through and I don't see the piece in the metal and I don't cut
The piece that decides where this part goes and
Like I'm in the fabrication more
In my mind in my soul in my heart
So which one's so no dude. He just answered it. We don't have to lean into it anymore
That's from the horse's mouth. You're just the dude. You're a fucking spectator
You're in the crowd watching the fucking pros play ball
But he's he just answered the question. I'm asking the answer. He literally just so okay. What did he what did he say?
He said that he takes more pride like the pride for him is the hand fact like taking that
It's not what he said piece of metal. No, that's what I said. Yeah, are you not listening?
100% yeah 100% just said that dude. I've made like crazy machine parts too. Yeah stuff that people would say is impossible
Not here in my past machinist life
Coming into fabricating I have more pride in something I handmade
That's it. Okay. So that's it now. Now we're moving on
So he answered that because there will be no drop the mic. Yeah move on
That's interesting. What's that? What's up next? What are we thinking?
You're acting like this is a winner or a loss. It's a conversation. It is a conversation right we conversed we conversated
So what do you think? What's up? What are you thinking? I do go ahead. I do like the case you've got a plan go ahead take it
Okay, all right. So fucking Volkswagen thing all these cool cars. We talked out there about you guys like I brought out
I just dropped the
Testerosa right early Ferrari Testerosa and then you dropped on me that well
I happen to have a picture of one right here on my fucking screensaver of a 50s Ferrari Testerosa
You guys do a vast amount of crazy stuff
Yeah, one of the cool things that we do every year is called the Colorado Grand
And it's a 1,000 mile rally that starts
in vell every year
Some years we go to steamboat moe app telluride, but it's all these amazing
pretty much 1959 or older cars and
The finest automobiles in the world
Bentley's Bugatti's tabalagos
Della Hayes delages
And they just do this thousand mile rally and we do race support for them
You
Excuse me. You really find out what kind of car you'd want to own if you can ever like if I could ever make it to that level
You see these early 20s Bentley's you look at them. You're like, ah, there's no way this freaking thing's going to make it
Yeah, this 20s Bentley with a tractor motor
Runs 80 miles an hour all day down. I said no drama
Nope, and then you have this on a four inch tire. You have this
Beautiful ferrari gto
Drama all day long really breaking down shit breaks. It's just you find out what you really like and don't like
Um, but as far as the race support side, it's it's it's really cool. That's one of the coolest things we do every year
Yeah, I mean, it's just my dad and I on the rally and we get these cars going. It's really fun. Wow
that whole like genre of vehicle and that it's such a
Massive departure from what we do and we we were talking down there that there's there's there's like levels to this
You know like hot rods. I mean, there's some crazy budgets in the street world
But like even the craziest budget of the thing that's the most
Off the wall
That like doesn't even scratch the surface of like what the last entry level budget of what these cars are
The last gto just sold for what 70? Yeah. Yeah. So I work for uh, good in christies as well
It's my other jobs and yeah, we sold a uh a 250 gto for 70 million. Jesus
You imagine the the dude that's got that wins treat machine of the year that's like, oh road tour
I'm out. No
He's like, I just spent 600 on this thing. I don't want to drive it
But the 250 yeah the 250 gto is like, yeah, absolutely. We're playing it all year long
We're gonna like their news tour. That's what we love about the the client. We did the begati for I mean
We got the car fact from pebble
Expelled the whole car and he drove it. I mean, yeah, how cool is that ppf film on it?
And he's bombing it down. I said a 90 year old car, you know, wild just fucking driving it
That's what they're made to do though. Is that car is made to drive
Is that surreal because I feel like you just get used to this even for me
You get used to driving like the car as we build you forget about the budget and you sort of get used to drive
Regardless of who the client is and everything when you're driving something like that and you like are you thinking about the value?
Of that car. Are you are you enjoying just enjoying?
The fact that you get this opportunity to sit behind this car and drive it until it's has to cut you off
And then you're like you
70 million dollar car
Drag you out of that. You can just appreciate the history. You know, I mean, we've had this
427 co-brunner shop for I don't know five six years
We just you know, we've done all the mechanical to its original real deal car
Side oiler and
You just you just get behind the wheel and you just drive it and you're just it's so mechanical. You feel everything
There's just something to be said about that. There's no other car that gives you the visceral feeling as that
That's just it's just special. How early on in the in this deal. Did you know that this was your path?
Mine. Mm-hmm. Oh since I was a kid. I mean
I grew up in the gas station as well. I worked at the gas station with my grandparents and well
But what was your what was your thought then? He's got a gas station, right? It's full service
What's your thought of what you're going to do for a living? I just love I just love fast cars
I just wanted to work on cars drive them
I just that's that's my passion is this car is working on you from very early day one. Yeah
I mean, I drove way before I was 16 and I just that's what I wanted to do
Did that have any motivation and like the shop's got to happen and we're going to take this to a next level
Yeah, I think you know long term obviously that's my you know exit strategy
You know down the road is you know Gunnison and
My legacy or whatever. You're doing a good job dude. It's smart
Yeah, he knows what he's fucking talking about. It's a good kid. Yeah, good job. It's all talk
That's 90% of it. That's 90% of it. Have you met Josh? He does all the interviews. Thank you. I appreciate that
No, he's good at it does a great job works really hard. He does most of our transportation too
So we do a lot of transport around the country to different options the scariest part it is
It is we've done way more damage going in on a trailer than anything ever down the road. Yep
And who do you think did most of it is mostly dad?
Yeah, I just I just love the mechanical side of the industry for sure. That's my passion
It's uh, it's a guy's done it like like you couldn't
Couldn't ask for anything better. Well, this is the American dream. We're fortunate because number one. We got great car
clients like Roger Wybal and
Greg Sparrow
I mean all these different clients that we've had over the years that really just trust us and they just turn us loose and like
Just build it, you know, they pay the invoices and then we turn out a product
100% and we we've said that
in person
Um, you know hanging out with with builders and to our customers. We've said it on this podcast for four years
We've said it at you know events and at the party
100% could not do that without these customers. No way. No
I've been using opportunity to kind of like write the ship a little bit
You guys got to give yourself some fucking credit because those customers don't just those customers didn't make that money
I'm making dumb decisions. So they don't just stumble in like they fell off the turnip truck and be like, oh, man
Great. I found two guys to build me my car. I've got an unlimited budget
You you deserve the credit well for landing that customer on having the relationship
With that customer to trust you presenting yourself in a certain way
Making the shop look a certain way and hiring the right guys that can do the talent
That's a hundred percent the key is the guys behind it's a it's 100 there again back to the talent thing
Those customers are you know deserving of all the credit, but you have to say
You know you don't say it on here
But think think it in your mind of like we've done a good job to land these customers these customers trust us right
It's not it's not like a lottery ticket thing. It's not like all these
I don't want these shops out here listening like there's just customers that just stumble in
Like I've got all this money and I found you to do it. No, you got to do your part
Build the right fucking car
Have the right attitude have the right conversation with the customer treat the customer right hire the right guys
Be honest the shit will fucking come and even more than that
It's a customer that you build a car for and then they want another one
The repeat business in this industry is very very difficult. It is. It's very hard to do. Yeah, it is but that's
For us. That's that's our entire
It's a sweet spot. Yeah, it
You build a network of people that trust you and they trust your vision and that's those are the cars you want
Yeah, that's ultimately where you want to be
And you got to know what with those guys too like when to tell them like I mean we experience it like
When it's time to turn it on and be like dude, let's uh, let's open the fucking spicket
This this fucker's got to roll like we're gonna go wild versus like I think we should just knock this one out
You know like this is something like and we've we've got them both
You know like we've got some customers that come in and we built this isn't the car to spend the money on
Yeah, we've built some crazy high-end stuff and then at the same time you're like, dude
Let me just turn and burn this thing
Let's get this sucker out there. You were we're swapping. Yeah. All right. I'm a
All right, let's do let's do we're gonna do a bathroom break and then come back and swap. I'm dropping the knowledge on you
Okay, go ahead. She's on this. I was I was I was right, but but flipped so
Ey is
uh, irish
ira ireland and united states and then
Ky is scotland, canada, japan and most other global producers
So because that's a us based scotch. It's ey
Interesting, that's terrible. I would have pissed if we would have tried this one first, honestly
Well, any any time you see malted
Malted is gonna be scotch
Scotchy scotch pitted
There's nothing wrong with the pete taste. It's the band aid. Well, that's where that comes from the pete
That's that's the the band aid come directly from the pete if we need to we could talk we could toss it and start
I'm ready to toss it. We have we have other we have we have whiskies
No, this is just not yet
He's he's not a fan. We can you can dump it. Yeah, let's dump it
I thought it was sick with that boo rye with the rabbit on it. Have you ever had that? No, that's a that's a good bourbon
That's a that's a limited edition released from high west. They're out of salt lake city
they do
Midwinners night's dram. They do they used to do yippie ki-yay
And then the boo rye is a blend of bourbon and rye
It's a it's a good bourbon. It really is and we're you know, that's a killable bottle
Have you had that yet? Uh
We've had it. I don't remember it though. It is good. Yeah
It's gonna be quite the drop down and prove
Not a scotch fan
Hey, we tried it
He tried it. Uh with the e thing, uh, where does that fall on grill?
That's uh, oh, well what what g r i l l e part of a car or something you grill on no the car
It's a grill if it's european with an e and i don't know
Still like it should fall in line. You would know these things. Yeah, it's something. I don't know
No kill it. Yeah get after it and then when that's done we can get into one of the
You're gonna like that significantly more than what you just had try that
What's the deal you're gonna let it just kind of breathe a little bit first because I notice you guys didn't take a drink for
a few minutes
Just oh
That was just being polite. Yeah, that's much better. They uh, uh, super high proof
Whatever you do you are supposed to let it kind of off gas a little bit for a little bit
But I don't winds are that way it doesn't really matter. I mean, it's all
Everybody's got a fucking opinion. Should I drink it?
If you drink it now and then you let it sit and drink it again, it's gonna have the same flavor if you just let it sit
So like drink it
It's good shit, right? Yeah comes, you know, significantly different. Um, all right
Where are we going? We got it. We got the whole crew here. We got to make sure that
Yep, we got everybody in
Gunnison's only in one camera angle, but camera one salt matters. Yeah, you're right. That'll be what the predominant shot is anyway
Um
All right, we went off and do a tangent. Um, well, well you did what I did. Yeah, he has a tendency to do that
It's uh
I think it's beneficial. Josh, you're passionate. You know, I appreciate it. I appreciate your passion
I'm passionate about having a passionate discussion. Yeah, I think that's what's important
If we just came here to placate to the other right and pussy foot around shit
Then what who the fuck wants to listen to that? Right? I'm with you. We got to have we got to have opinions
Doesn't matter about right or wrong. You got to have opinions
At the end of the day, I was thinking about something outside when uh, y'all were all uh using the
Restroom I wanted to say body so bad
The thing we talked about we talked about soul and we're going to go off of this, right? Oh, listen
Go ahead
We talked about talent, you know, we tried to weight talent
You know, I don't I think we all agreed that you know, you can't really do that
You know, it's it's all different scopes of talent different tools in the toolbox
Talked about soul, right? And then that's that's another
Difficult one to gauge and weight and so like that. Yeah the thing that you can't
I don't think you can uh
Scale it
I mean, I think you can scale it
And I think that you can absolutely notice when it's either there or not regardless of how it was done
I don't care if it was done on
The most cutting edge elan musk ai powered cnc modeled fucking robot built whatever
Down to the guy with a gas welder and some plate steel grinding it out
Style
Yes, I'll give you on that style. Yeah, who gives a fuck of how it was made
style
Yeah, and what it looks like
is
I'm with you is absolutely agnostic to how it was built
That's that's the thing that that's that's the one common ground you can come to is
Who cares how you get there? Sure, right?
There's all different ways. There's all different tools in the toolbox. You can grind a piece of metal with about
Five different tools
right
Style style is execution like at end of the day. Look look back in history even style weighs out execution
did
G force kuda
You know
Troy's roadster Troy's model a
I mean
What uh loaded atoms 36. Yeah loaded the thing
Himrod look at a bunch of those cars nobody gives a shit like it's the finished product if the if it sucked
I don't care if you designed it and fucking ai or what the fuck you did or if you know the most advanced
Solid works or if it was so much passion that you fucking hammered the entire car in a tree stump
And replenished it by hand if it sucks it sucks
Style is the is the style style supersedes everything
I agree. That's yeah. Yep. Okay common ground moving. Yeah, we found it 100%
A little bit, but we got there. Um, all right the the dual justins
So just in squared just in squared
We had a small two just in small two
uh
Small two right top. Yeah squared. I'm smart. What's cool?
What's cool? I definitely need to talk about
Hard knocks. We don't need to talk about what's cool
What school did you go to school regular school? I went to regular school that I went to alt school
Yeah, did you really fucking I mean it alt school produce
A lot of fucking strong talent. I tell you I tell you who you don't want to fuck with
The three that went to alt school
Everybody that's watching right now could tell who not to fuck with we all went to if we all went to the bar tonight
Who's the three that wouldn't get fucked with probably us
Did you guys go to the answer set was it the answer center for you guys too?
I went to an alternative school in colorado that was just a small
I think there's maybe like 40 or 50 people and the reason for it
I just couldn't pay attention in school. Is that what it was? Was it behavior or attention?
I think we're all kind of cut from the same. Yeah, I agree
Like you can grab you can grab that thing and talk into it. Can you not hear me? I it's just I think
It's boring we want to work on crazy stuff and yeah
STEM was fun, you know like math science
I liked history, but other than that like I just could not focus
Yeah, I'm with you dude. I'm just not applying yourself. I've heard that so many times
There are so many
He's not dumb. He's just not applying. That's what I got. Yeah
Multiple times. Yeah, my mom disagreed my mom thought there was like, uh, you know
We can read times have changed so we can rewind to when the word was acceptable. Oh god. Yeah
My mom was like, he's retarded
Nowadays you can't really say that but back then it was like yeah, they're like he's retarded
And the teachers like get on the square was there like where are we sitting like is he
Well, yeah, they're like how we're turning you know and the teachers were like, yeah like look at him
He's like he looks he's even glue right? Well, no, I wasn't even glueing but I to your point
It's like I just wasn't applying myself. I had there were other things that interested me
But I hung in there like I I stayed in the pocket hung in there Josh
Not so much. No, he got like he took it one step further to the answer center, right?
I I just had to gear up for learning
Josh pushed it to the answer center where you go to the you know, they push you out of regular high school
Did we get answers? I don't know
I mean he turned out all right. I did no
First of all, again this this whole entire episode is going to be about trying to wait
A different skill level so you're you're stating that going to and to a separate
No, I'm not well, I'm not I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it
I will say that okay, but what I know what you're saying is that because I had to go
To a different
Facility a whole different school. Yeah a whole different entity. Yes for senior year that somehow that is me being
On a different level than just going to a different room
It's definitely a different level because I feared
That that was the next step, right? That was the next step, right? Well, I
I applied myself just enough to not
Have to take the problem. We're all we're all dancing around the same subject, right? Everybody had the same thing. It's like, uh
I mean your mom probably went a little harder than I've heard anybody else
Because I was never called that
I agreed with her a lot
I know
The the amount of times that it was, you know
He tests really high on these scores, you know, I he's super smart. He's just not applying himself
What nobody really would
Really say or dive down. Maybe we didn't have the terminology
It was strictly an an allocation of resources, right?
I did not allocate my resources to the things that they wanted my resources allocated to
I was
I was thinking about a lot of shit and I was applying myself
To a lot of things just wasn't those just things those things weren't like in the normal school structure, right?
I was I was I was fucking hustling. I was hustling at 15 years old
I was applying myself to a lot of things doing a lot of shit
I could talk people into doing some crazy things. Let me tell you some stories off camera about the things that 15 years old
I was doing it just wasn't like the whole
School work the kind of things got it. So it was an allocation of resources
Deal and the answer center unfortunately didn't they didn't have the answers
We found them
For life. Yeah, I found the I had already found the answers that hit 15
I didn't need I didn't need three more years of alternative school
Um, yeah answer center still around
Uh, I think it's called something different
But I I don't know that's been a long time ago. What school did you go to?
He went to college college. How'd you see you?
Did y'all go to college?
That's fuck. Yeah, dude
Fuck the system
Yeah, look at us. Yeah, we we showed them we showed them we've all had different paths, you know
That's it dude. We're here in one room. We're all doing some real cool
He went to a football school big-time football school. Yeah, no, it is this year this year
They went to indiana university
Yeah
That's what they call it, right? They do. Yeah
It why do they do universe? Why do they do indiana university and not university of indiana? I don't know
Great coach. Is that different than all the other?
Wonder where that coach learned a few things from
U of I okay. Yeah, you have I university of indiana. That's what I said, right?
I found the answers dude. It's working. I went to the answer center. Um, so we're back to my question. So
fabricator slash computer wizard
engineer
Modeler solid works all the things
Now that's your skill set. Yeah, your skill set
other Justin
Same minus the modeling and cnc
Hand yeah with the hand. Yeah, give me a hammer
You know I'm cut off will yours goes on a different level because you do it in paper
Too smart fucking fabricators. You can't figure that mic
That fucking thing is absolutely
What's the matter? Oh, it's the it's the it's the wire. I got you
Jaws it on paper and he's the most talented artist I know and then he puts it into metal
And he does the same thing I wanted to chime in so many times on the last like you're gonna talk into go ahead
Get get up in there close to Justin doing things hand hands on. Yeah, you know, I had so many interesting your your view on that
given
Given your skill set. I'm interested
I mean, you know at the end of the day
It's nice to have a bunch of different tools in the shop
And I you were talking about the iron worker versus I didn't know what other machine you were talking about because we don't have that
We're just I don't I'm assuming the lasers out. Yeah. Yeah
I was rent and raven like when we were down there doing like a little shop tour when we met you guys like
I want an iron worker in the in the shop so bad
Because they're just it's a hand it makes noise. It's get the guys an iron worker
It's like 4500 bucks. Get the guys an iron worker. Yeah, I think we're doing we're done
It's decisions made
And iron workers bought
Um
But yeah, I mean, I think there's just so many ways you could cut it. I mean
You can't lean too much on one and not enough on the other. It just has to be kind of symbiotic and
Work together, I guess the top it were a little past the topic. So it's kind of hard to go back in
When when you were in Arizona, um, how much time did you hang out with jesse janes?
No, not at all. You're picking up the vibe. You got it. Isn't there a little west coast in there in their little long beach
And they're a little yeah, you got some fucking cool factor. Yeah, he's got a little lbc
Show me your west coast chopper's tattoo
I got like three of them
Lower back
Tell me I didn't peg that you did the iron workers a hell of a tool
Man, I mean I I'd build a fucking skyscraper with an iron worker like and it nobody uses it in our shop
So I worked at one shop where we had one and it was weird to say like the heavier gauge of metal you put through it
It seemed like the better it worked 100 I don't know why that is
I was about to say the iron work is the only thing in the world that when it's gauge rated it means
Double that yeah, because that every other the sheet metal break
No, no, I'm saying iron work is the only tool that means that that will actually do yeah because
Any other tool if it says it's rated for quarter inch it means 10 gauge, right? Or it means, you know
16 gauge iron workers says hey quarter inches the max and but it gives you a wink. It's like put three eighths in there
See what'll happen. It says pull my beard. Yeah, it says put three eighths in there and like oh turns out
I can sure that shit no problem. Go ahead put some more in me that quarter inch punch
We'll let you know on a three eighths piece of metal though that it doesn't like it
Well the punch will yeah the punch is a different
Yeah
Yeah, that that the iron workers just like and it hits that extra gear. It's like
Yeah, wow that's clean. Yeah iron workers is great
And it's just you can put the amount of attachments you can put on it. Anyway, we've gone down the rabbit hole
um, that's interesting from
Uh like the artistic ideation you can both of you guys can see it in your head
Yeah, well, that's that's the thing we haven't talked about a lot
So I've been working with wrong for eight years and then we were looking for we needed somebody else
We we sold probably need one more fabricator. Honestly, but I wanted to bring him
I knew him for a long time. Well, probably three or four years, but it seemed like a long time because we just kind of connected
And uh brought him on board and with that came
CNC and CAD all this stuff. It's just it it brings the whole level of the shop everything
For sure do up another level and I get to work with my best friend
Your skill set. I mean outside of fabrication
You've obviously got an artistic creative sort of skill set
I feel like for me. Anyway, that's the missing link. I fell short on like
Expanding on that, you know as a kid, but like the that's the limitation. I feel like in fabrication
It's it's not so much what you can build. It's what you can think of and how you can
Design it to build it. Like if it's presented and it's put in front of you, like, you know, I could build it, but it's the
The creative process it is more important really well, I mean we're building art
I mean I those cars down there artwork
They didn't come off GM
Showroom looking that way. Yeah, we modified them a certain direction
There has to be
Is that am I kind of answering? Well, yeah, I mean, I guess it's just like
Influence in there
Yeah, like if you're gonna if you're gonna approach a project whether it be a bracket or like a full panel or something
Are you just diving into it and you just fab in the piece cut in the piece or like
You seem like judging by the fact that Eric black is branding your work as his
Like you obviously have
I can't wait
Too black too black
I wanted I wanted I went Chad under one and Eric under the other said that yeah, but like I mean I saw you
You're very artistic. Don't edit that. Yeah, you've got so like I guess
There's an artistic approach to it
But a lot of like you're you're starting to work on a car and they always seems like you're running into issues
Like I feel like we're engineers to some degree. Like there's always things like you're working through
Where are we running lines for an oil system or you know oil?
Fuel break like there's you have to cross over different things
Why not try to make that?
A focal point to where like you made a deliberate right for instance
Okay, so on the Volkswagen thing. This is one thing that comes to mind
So when I was hanging the pedals in that chassis, there was no room for the reservoirs for like the braking clutch
You have to have like a little bit of distance and there's like swing pedals
Yeah, it's swing pedals and the hood is right there. So what's a workaround?
Well, let's throw through the cow and make the master cylinder visible like and then also
It's serviceable. It's you don't have to take anything off the everything is right there
And I think it's kind of a neat feature
So when you hit that snag and you're thinking through that and you're like shit like you're mocking it up and it's
Is that just all in your head? You're working through it? Or is there like a pause?
I'm gonna sketch this up like here's this. Oh, this is a bitching idea
This is the direction I'm gonna go first. You can floor them out the pedals
Right, there's Ronnie Ronnie paying them. If I could do doodles on the shop before
I'm just telling
I'm genuinely curious because we've got like
You know, we've got all
All the different skill sets in the shop, right? We've got some incredible
CAD guys that will just like there's no physically mocking it up on the floor
It's I'm gonna look at it. I'm gonna scan it. I'm gonna design the most badass thing you've ever seen
and then we've got some
crazy talented fabricators that I don't think have a
Artistic skill set that are gonna sit down and sketch anything but they see it a certain way and then just create it
I would say it's a little bit of both like there's a lot of times where there's a sketch involved
And it's just so I could visualize it. I mean usually I could kind of see maybe
What I think might happen and usually, you know, there's sometimes where it doesn't work out. There's might be constraints where
You think you're gonna do something to remedy something else and then there's something else that jumps in that's like well that interferes
Right there
right
I this is gonna be a
I apologize sometimes this happens, right?
That's fine. Go ahead and say shit. All right
This is gonna be a long
Ish winded question
For two different. This is for all four of you, right? I'm because I'm very interested and if
People will just hang on for a second and listen. I think they'll understand what I'm trying to get at and I'm speaking from my own experience
There is there's two there's two major components to this question and
This is for all four of you because all four of you have a very unique
um
Idea and reasoning behind your idea about this conversation, right?
There's always those times in in in a build, right?
At the beginning in the middle at the end for whatever major project whatever major hurdle, right creative problem solving, right?
There's a create there's a problem
That it requires everybody to get creative on
Everybody's huddled around either beginning of the day middle of day end of the day
Is like, hey, this is something that we're dragging. Hey, let me get your opinion on this, right?
And then it becomes a crowd of people around this thing
One thing is I want to know what your design
language speak is and can you all say
Limited words and the other one understand what you're talking about, right?
And not that not that there's a that there's a right or wrong
But there's times that you gel with somebody and you can say very limited words, right?
Me and you do that, right? I've done that with with eric black at times
I've done with a chris at times you can kind of say things
You don't have to like I think our words are
Not the same words that most people can say to each other though. Well, you're right, but
you can say like
just
Carrera
You know this this and this, you know, and they're like, oh shit
I see okay, and I my mind is seeing what your mind is seeing
Not that anybody else not that it's wrong that you do but if you can if your mind's eye
Can connect you can say less words and each other understands versus having to go to like be like, dude
I I trust you, but I don't know what you're saying and then having to like sketch it out
There's some customers that understand that there's some customers that need the full rendering, right?
However, I want to know what each individual skill you're you're coming from a visual standpoint
You're coming from a visual but execution standpoint. You're coming from a mechanical standpoint
You're coming from this fucking shop and the customer like
You guys need to keep happy
Do the best you can do
Give the customer what he's wanting to do. So that's a very unique side of this question
Then the other part of it is
What
How do you how do you
Wait the
This is serviceable
This is the best way it's going to look
This is what this is going to cost. This is what this is going to cost. This is what we can do there
like that's that's a very it's a
And it's it's positive at the end because it's it's all these different individual opinions
Well, I think on my side of it
I mean, it kind of boils down to our culture in our shop, right? Like I give these guys plenty of
Rope they can design fabricate, you know, what happens with a lot of rope. We can hang ourselves. Yeah, I
Right between the lines, but I think you know, I mean the culture in the shop is very important because
like
I don't get pissed off very often
At all. Do I I've never been yelled at so I'll just say that right. I mean by that iron worker
Well, that's what I got done it for
So, yeah, I mean the culture in the shop, it's kind of how you treat the guys
And and at the end of the day, like I trust these guys, right?
And I'll deal with the customers. I'll deal with the invoicing
I'll deal on the paint side, but for the most part like
You know final assembly and and finishing the thing like we were putting in
Stupid hours and just trying to keep everybody happy and making sure we got food and there's there's so many things
Yeah, that comes down to it's like an event. It's your event planner every day, right?
Yeah, what the boys want for dinner tonight, right?
So I think the culture in the shops is important for me and us
Yeah, I mean, I'll say like there's one thing I kind of learned pretty early off working with you
it's like there's a lot of times where you run into like
We could do things one way or we could do things another way
One way might cost a little bit more money. It might cost a little bit. You know, there's a little bit more time involved
and uh, it's
It seems I don't I don't know because I don't deal with the the business side of things
But it just seems like it's always been kind of a safe go to to just say
Well, if we're at this crossroads, let's just go like listening and and like put in a little bit more effort
Even though it might cost a little bit more money. It's gonna be better
It's gonna be better and I don't know how you pitch that but it just seems like it's always worked
I think at least where we come from a lot is like
Let's just bring the customer in show them what we're working with. Yep
These are ideas like at least when I when I go to the fab shop, you know, I bounce ideas off of each other and you know
This would be cool. It's you know, it seems like we're usually kind of on the same page as far as style goes
Yeah, I think just just being really transparent with the customer
with the whole build process like hey, this is kind of the direction we're leading
And just just go that route
That's it means interesting
I mean I bring it up because we've all dealt with a bunch of different types of fabricators and bunch of different tips of people in the
In the shop not one that's right. That's more right than the other
There's times where it's like you deal with fabricators like dude
Give me a rendering give me a picture show me and leave me the fuck alone
I'm gonna knock this shit out right and then there's others that's like
Want to be a part of the process or like hey suck. Hey, I was thinking about this. You could also do this
I also was like been fucking around with like doing this. I can like make this turn do this
What do you think you know I'm saying? Yeah, and it's it's they're all unique in their own way
Well, the owner kind of makes me wonder like somebody that's on the like actually doing physically doing the work might see something
slightly different than somebody that's I mean a drawing is one thing but sometimes things are just
completely different on
You know the real life tangible side of things. Yeah, unless Eric Black's drawing it and then it's perfectly to scale 100%
And there's never an issue
But because I I mean I I value Eric and his talent. Yeah
Some other people don't right
Trying to walk back that last podcast. Hey, you went fucking hard on Eric on Andy's podcast
I threw a couple shots on this one
Yeah, you did I've worked off of a couple of his drawings. They're just scale. They're perfect. Yeah, I did
I would agree with that. All right, 100% perfect
You can't agree with that. You already said shit. I have I actually have a one-to-one
another guy's
32 that was at the shop at pinkies. Yeah
And he's the guy that unloaded. Okay, so he's got this crazy imagination. I love Royce. Royce Clatter
Greatest guy I've ever met just 36 of the coolest car in the park. That's pretty red best looking car the transition
Like you can have this great rendering and it's good and it gives you a really good like
baseline
But belt line
Indo transition like everything has to flow into that and you have to come up with that whole idea on that
And that's where like back to your
Initial question there
Working with Eric
Him and I I used to go into his office
Every morning at like 5 36 o'clock and we'd have this conversation about what we're doing that day
Eric correct. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. We go back and forth
Eight ten times we do a circle and you get to the point that it needs to be
Or he's out of the office and he tells me to go for it and I do what I think looks good
And then I do 15 things after that and we land on what I thought looked good
I love that guy but
He always and then it's like sorry, but it's his at that point like it's but
That's that's the process. Yeah, no, it was
Eye-opening working with somebody like that with that level of detail. Well, there's
You know, I sort of function like that. I have to see things in real time
You know, some people can like some people have a vision
You know of like and I don't I don't understand that because it's not me of like just seeing the finished product
I have to see it like in real time
Because once you see things evolving
You make adjustments
Yeah, sort of on you. That's what grinding like I said earlier on grinding that metal and I have that one piece
And then I know what that next piece wants to do and everything tells you from that
Like you have that initial shape that major body going from point A to point B and everything in between is how you want it to look
but then from that it tells you what it wants and
Just that's where I get the soul
On that back to sorry to bring that back up. You're gonna be sorry for nothing. It's just
This is what this shit is
The soul dude, I mean and you're talking about like it telling what it wants to be
I I always think like a car will tell you what color it wants to be. Yeah, you know
I've been saying that to a customer the guy with the Chevy too. He's like, what color are we paying it?
He's asked me that like 20 times. What color do you think? What color do you think?
I go, I don't know how it's going to look yet. Like you have to wait
Yeah, I I agree. I agree. But not yeah, not every single every single car can't tell you it's blue
They do tell you what they want to be but however you could also interpret I want to be black
Oh, so blue, huh? They could be saying a different color. Good point. Good point
But we always say every car
You do have a lot of blue down there. Yeah. Yeah
We always say every car almost has like a personality and it like develops as you build it
You can't like nail it down in the beginning they evolve and
Yeah, I mean we've been talking a shit ton about Eric Black. We're talking a lot about design
You know the guy who is at some point
You're gonna have to do this but can Murray faff
Well, this one I mean if we're talking about design Sean Smith's coming on. He's coming on this week
Sean Smith great fucking designer. He's coming on. He's doing our k10 for us. It's yeah Sean Smith fucking talented dude
He's very Chris Gray
Yes
That's the guy there's the designer out there
Are you gonna get him to do it?
I don't think it's up to me. I really don't
What if it what if his employment hinges on it software wise I want Justin
To use what to get away from a pencil
You're using Microsoft. I love his pencil
And he goes on a tablet and he does really good, but I want him to get into more of that
Why just scan it and do something with it digitally no the scalable the scalable your pencil is a sure when you're drawing this big
You scale it up and you're two inches off three inches off
And I want to see something I think too many people can't sketch anymore. Keep this sketch. I don't want him to quit
That's not I'm not trying to quit doing that
But if he wants to get into like scan it and say AI
Because I love the way that his mind works. That's what I'm that's what I'm waiting for
I'm just I like that's behind the curve because of that
I'm like, I could just draw and then just wait for AI to catch up and
I'm with you though, dude. I like that stuff too. I like the raw
hand-drawn stuff because it gives you like
On the fly you can get like a quick concept whether it's something simple. It can be a bracket. It can be a whole dashboard. It can be a
Like a whole like importance
Styling element of the car. I think there's still room for interpretation that way too. Well, like in case somebody's like reading it
Which is good and bad. It's good and bad. Look at Jimmy Smith
Jimmy Smith like you know case in point case in point right there
But then back to Eric Black because you guys just literally just said scalable
Yeah, so if I have an idea
I want that guy with a good eye to scale that product out perfectly
And I want him to take it to that point where I can actually like measure off of scale where I need to be
And build to that. I mean me and me and Chris back to Chris Gray me and Chris Gray spent
A good amount of time friday with this exact same discussion
the exact same discussion talking about a bunch of different designers and artists in the industry and
There's do you want a scalable blueprint?
to build a vehicle
That's one thing. Yep. Do you want?
inspiring sketches
or
renders or to get the juices flowing
On a design or to be inspired on a build or to sell a customer on a direction or whatever it is
There's a lot of there's jimmy smith stuff. There's steve stanford stuff
That's like holy shit. What if we took this car and put this roof on and so like that that's not scalable
However, it's it serves a purpose or do you want really bad ass automotive art?
Bad ass automotive all the above if I want really bad ass automotive art. I go to jimmy smith
I traded him actually traded him an original west wilson for some of his art
like a year ago
One of my favorite things I own
um
I think if I'm in the industry and I have a customer that I am building a car for
I don't want to fuck around cutting sheet metal and moving it three-eighths of an inch back every day
And growing through this whole thing exactly strictly
From a business standpoint. I want the customer to be happy. They're spending a lot of money on a rendering
But they're not spending as much as they're going to spend with me cutting this fender moving this fender making this thing
How it needs to be I know where that wheel opening needs to be
And I make the rest of it fit from there
I'm with you, man. So there's an art
But there's also
Like those two are separate. Yeah art you have function, but there's very few that do all of those things in one true
That's what that was my point. You see what I mean? Yeah, I've got some killer like keith weasner drawings on the wall
They're in frames. They're on the wall when his trucks are fucking badass cars get build, right? But are you building that?
You know, it's it's already happened. It happened a couple times
So I mean, and they're my favorites that he well, I guess like hamrod was that no
That was jimmy speth. I believe was it? No. No. No, there's a couple keith weasners. There's two keith
I guess I've never seen I apologize. I don't mean to disrespect because I'm a big fan of his yeah
But I don't I've never seen his like actual renders of like, you know, like hey, here's a car you should build
I'm a fan of his art
But that's he approaches it as art. Yeah. Yeah, I mean it's
I guess all the approaches you know all this I think is
An interesting conversation to whether or not chris gray should come on the podcast
I think we're I think he's doing we talked about a lot of interesting
Uh artists, uh, yeah talented designers
He's doing it. Yeah, there's one guy that we've made the declaration
chris gray, I feel like it's going to be like one of those, uh
Cartel interviews where he then like blurs himself out
He's all pixelated. I mean, I think it's a fake voice. Yeah
He's the guy behind roaster shops design for a long time. Okay, you know
Is he based out of chicago or is he based he's based out of the office that we were up in
At the beginning of this podcast, you know the uh, I think that
the
The tone of this whole entire episode for all the stuff we've talked about is
You're trying to quantitate
Un
Quantitatable
Yeah, you know what i'm saying
Uh, you're trying to you're trying to
Level quantitate
Things that are unquantifiable, right? I don't understand. Yeah, you're you're talking about treat that with respect. Yeah skill levels
On on fabrication versus cnc. You're now you're talking about art levels like that. It's the secret sauce. You can't it's yeah
It's the secret sauce. It's but at the end of the day the entire this entire
industry
The only reason why every single one of us are employed have businesses are doing what we're doing is
From a creative standpoint. Nobody comes in to say I have
a type 57
one of two
You know as chassis bugatti as chassis bugatti
That just just needs to get back on the road, right?
If you could just put that alternator on it, right and fix it
I could I could drive it again, right? That doesn't happen, right? This is this is art
This is creative. This is the love of the thing, right? It's not it's not modes of transportation
Right, and it's not it's a far cry from that. It's not a's and b's and you know, uh ones and twos. It's not it's it's
It's creative so
The customers
Gravitate to the shops that do the art the way they like it
The employees gravitate to the shops that build the art the way they like it
The shops utilize the artists and the renderers that do the art the way they like it
And that's just what happens. Well said. I mean they just it's very well said. There's no
Everybody's really we're talking about like well, this one means this and this one means this and this one means this it's not it's
you know
It's kind of back to what you started leading that off with is like there's no point a to point b. No it just
There's there's
Ripper ass fucking cars out there being built that have been built and that are being built right now that will show up at shows
That had no artist rendering, right?
That had no c and c right that had very limited tooling that were done in a shop
That are absolutely the styles nailed the stance is fucking nailed if they use the road to shop chassis
the uh
Okay, the look and the and the things are those things are the way they are
Regardless of how they got there and they built that art and made that customer happy and they took care of their employees
And then that gives me hope that's just so it's just the way it fucking is because we are dealing with
Rolling art like I hate to say art because it's so fucking pretentious. It's so fucking stupid
But it's the only way to frame it
Where anybody can understand that it's just creative. It's just a creative thing
You know, so what do you guys think of the salonica winner this year?
There's the fucking details were nuts
That's on a that's on a different level that that's that's what i'm getting at with what you're talking about
Yeah, I mean that thing was a different level. He's coming. He's coming on the podcast. Um, here's real soon
And i'm I don't know if he went to the uh, if he was geared up, but i'm guaranteeing there's a there's a there's a
To do the detail at that level
Yeah, there's there's a
Spectrum
Yes
On the color spectrum. I was just happy to see a Volkswagen win
I know I was questioning whether they were going to go that right had to be the hardest car to win with very
A Volkswagen thing would have been hard
Yeah, but
Studebaker was pretty hard too. Yeah, Studebaker was fucking nice. Yeah, I mean the
Chevelle was the Chevelle was off the fucking hook. I mean red one
Look, no, no, Studebaker Eddie Chevelle. Did Eddie Schiavelle from a
Stylistic standpoint you want to talk about style and like a car you want to drive in a car that you're going to look at
Coming on the fucking road. That's gonna be that's what I that's my point wicked. That's what I told daddy like that's the car
Yes, I want my garage. Yes. I appreciate
What the Gia? Yeah, there's just some levels Eddie's show 100. Yeah, yeah
Yeah, the key is a fucking piece of art
Exactly Eddie Chevelle is a holy fuck dude. I want to drive that car nasty looking. Yeah
I want to roll that bitch around and like and it's gonna do like fast car things like yeah, it's got big power
It's it's and you know
Eddie's like
We're pretty tight and we're looking over it and you're like dude, everything's insulated
It's like it's built because you know turbo cars and show cars
And most of those show cars like dude, you're gonna cook you're gonna burn the car to the ground, right?
He built that car like the car is well thought out that that car like when that customer is ready
Oh, you could drive the shit out of it. Get that car fucking rip it
I mean, it's gonna have like some show car things that you'll sort out, but that's a fucking dialed in car, you know
The the candy apple red car. That's a Henry J. That's a Henry J with the
It's a stew to bake it. No, it's a stew to bake it. Yeah, it's a stew to bake it
That was with the stew to bake it
Like never mind them. No disrespect to the stew to bake your window and the in the rocket ship on the front of it
No disrespect. I thought I was stupid. I had to make sure that I wasn't wrong. No, no, you're right
You're right, but no disrespect to that guy. I just simply as a no, I get person. I don't like those cars
I don't mean nothing body style of car, but I was fucking blown away the Volkswagen thing the style of the Volkswagen thing
What's it? You're more about the well
I was blown away with the the execution of that stew to baker. No disrespect. That's the thing
Doesn't exactly have a style, right? It's a it's a box
You took a box a utilitarian mode of transportation curves. It has zero curves
It's got fender flares. Well, it's got it. It's got a wheel opening, but that's not a that's not a curve
But you you took that and built a creation
So it's not judged on the style of car. However
The fucking stew to baker
It was amazing
The fit and finish the level of detail the things that they did however, like you said the style of the car like this
That still exists, right? It's the it's the
Beauty's in the eye of the holder. We already talked about this this but I can appreciate all that stuff because I'm not
I'm not fucking stew to baker guy. I don't like the look of the car. It's nothing that they did
I just don't like the car that was built by stew to baker
I can appreciate the shit out of what they did and I was Henry J stew to baker
I think it was no I was I was honestly I was blown away full name that to me was
It was Henry's probably at the top of the list as something that should have won
It was amazing because the execution was so good. Yeah, so good eddie's car. I'm with you
That's what I want my garage. That's the car. I want my garage
It almost gets to like the riddler thing though
Like we're even if the car is not like oh
Maybe it's not good looking or are you just judging it based on
Fit and finish quality execution or are you judging it based on the car that you want one take home?
That's a that's a that's a slippery slope. That's an already. Yeah, 100%. Yeah, I tell you that cars I would
I loved eddie chivelle. I think it was fucking awesome. I agree. I would be
It would be tough to awesome
I liked rogers 57 ranch wagon. I was
That'd be a car I'd like to have in my garage
Roger knocked that fucker out of the park with that car so well executed
Man, that'd be tough to not take that car. I know but dude should be on it like that
One we want to take home. If I had to take home one thing from that whole show
Uh, I would say without a doubt that the 36
By itself city. Yeah was the fucking number one. Okay. Well now if we're going whole show and we want to take it home
This is strictly not to use it just to look at I'm taking squeegees dodge
Dude, hold on. If we're bringing up the city
And you guys are taking a car home
Doesn't matter what the car is
I'm taking donnie welch's ladder bars home
Donnie welch's ladder bars doesn't fucking matter. Was that on the willy's? Put that in there. Don't edit
Okay
I mean it did honest to god the execution that south city does
Oh, yeah is
Well, he I mean that the fucking cool factor. It's in his boy. They've been doing it for 70 fucking years
Absolutely each year. This is this whole this mic thing. Absolutely off the hook
You're gonna have to engineer us a three mic system when you get
Let's do it that car that car was randomly placed too. So to see it just sort of like in the wild
And you're like it was in the it was in the it was in the fat fender
Yeah, yeah fat 40. What would they call that three cars like right in that same little row in the dude
That's the thing is
This isn't this is not disrespect that car was fucking amazing
He's got the recipe. He's got the secret sauce the best 36's that have ever been built ever
Right like that's
They he knows what they're fucking doing. I would have taken Royce. I would have taken Royce's. We actually hauled that out for Royce
We did which is that my favorite 36 me too hands down. Yeah, which one was that the black 36 rooster
Yes sick fucking car. Obviously none of you guys saw the uh one-owner c5 corvette
Out from the parking lot
He's hardcore, I didn't realize
I'm gonna call the one with the little FRC FRC is that
You guys probably don't understand the jargon
I'm gonna throw the one other one in there that we saw the very first car we walked in. Uh, coal fosters 56 nomad
Oh, yeah, have you seen that maybe blue and white? Ah, that was just such a tasteful car
We've talked a lot about coal fosters. He's supposed to be coming on. He's just got this light. We've made contact
That's what that's what i'm waiting on next. We've made contact. It's it's being planned. I have questions. We've we've
Full transparent. I just want I just want something full transparency
We've talked about him for quite some time
I had we had a listener that is friends with him and the rest of the salinas boys reach out gave me a cell phone number
cool
um
to to plan it
This is i'm going we're going fully on the record. It's a good one, right?
I
Did not text him
We went to a show. Were you nervous? No, we I was I was busy. It was on me. I didn't do what I was supposed to do
We went to a car show
I come back. It's on my to-do list, right?
To get this scheduled. Oh, it's a big deal. I gotta get in touch with cool. Yeah. Yeah
This is just like this is Josh. This is like josh's typical fucking day, you know, no big deal. I'm sorry. Yeah
You're gonna let me finish go ahead
You know, if you go ahead
So I always got a point to the fucking story, right?
So I didn't do that. Then I saw that he did tim stranger's podcast
right, so
You're like that's the unwritten rule
If you do tim stranger's there's there's
There could be either eternity or a minimum of six months moratorium before you do this podcast most likely it's eternity
but
It's just it's just if you do if you do tim stranger before you do this
I can't like I say tim's it's strange motion. It's tim and kerry kerry actually likes us now
She's told us that she likes us that she just doesn't like people turn the corner
um
It's but we're gonna we're gonna reach out to coal and he's gonna do it
but
I'm the one that's dropped the ball on that one
So 100% on me
anything's open
Yeah, that was uh, what was that 36 forward in the fat fender had the himmy in it?
kind of towards the front there
green
No, it was black. It was blacker had the himmy in it
Uh, I love that car. It's not fender garage. I think it had
Maybe shot or bud nick wheels on it black big himmy. I don't remember. It was done like five years ago. Yeah
I love that car
36 forward. Mm-hmm. It's good
But don't you guys think though
If troi was competing this year he'd have won again
I think he did win again. Just yeah, just bringing the car out again
Yeah, well
I I think my favorite car of all time is the
That's what the grand trino that troi built like over petite 15 years ago. Yeah, the trino
That's a good car. That car is my absolute favorite all the time. It's a cool car. No doubt really good car
And then you look at like the chassis pictures of when that car was being built and you're just like holy shit
He's so
Crazy were you blown away as well that he didn't use a rooster shop chassis?
Because we were floored
so
How do you how do you?
Squeegee's car that won this year
Ridiculous that was a fucking ridiculous. I like but I like 60s show rods. I love 60s show
I gotta agree with you like out of everything there. You want to talk about quality? Yes and execution
That's fucking freaky level of talent. Well, we just knocked it out with everything they brought this year
Holy shit. Yeah, it's pick up there wasn't it was it was rub if it was there by squeegees
It was rub flat. Yep. It was rubbed flat
Every single one of them. You just you looked at the the paint and the metallics. Oh my god
The fucking metallic is the craziest thing I've ever seen. I've never seen paint lay down like that. I love
Has that been on the podcast squeegees? No. No, I've never met him. He has not really never met him
I've been to a shop a couple times when they used to do the open houses for the Scottsdale good guys
Stuff I saw that the dodge in bare metal when he was being mocked that was about 10 years ago in the works for a minute
Yeah, you looked at the the cars in amber this year. I mean the the car
Big creek is that yeah, yeah, I mean the the style and the thing was amazing
We're killer
But then you're like the details start going down the list and what you're looking for and metallics and paint
I mean squeegees they just they nailed it the underneath side outside colors. Yeah, that's why
literally at the end of the day the the judging of cars
Whoever does that can handle the what they do. I like
You were talking about Troy Troy would enter it again this year
We've had Adam and Troy on multiple times
Love them guys that car obviously is going to go down in history
absolutely fucking amazing
it's
One of the top three four cars in in in in at least my history of knowing cars is going to
You start going down a really slippery slope when you're talking about picking vehicles just just in the time we were talking, right?
we talked about
Eddie's shrivel fucking badass, right
Talked about the quality in the fit and finish of the stutterbacker, right? We talked about
I'd love to take rogers 57 ranch wagon home
A lot or buddy's gear the gear right the one that won fucking it's cool
I'd also like to own that car, right? I'd rather it be a notchback, but
Regardless the quality fucking amazing
You talk about squeegee's truck, right the quality fucking amazing the cool factor
Is there anything that's got more cool factor than that? Well, that's Doug. I'm like, what are you gonna do with this?
He's like, who who gives a fuck
Put it put it on a lift in a glass, you know office and look at that. That's fucking cool
all day long
Yeah, light it up every now and again
the
Uh squeegee's winner the amber winner, right?
Yeah, that was my pick news
So that's I was as soon as I walked in i'm like
It may not be the most modified most elaborate car, but that's the fucking most looking car
My point all those ones that we just talked about right now
I know they got the sloner and they got the amber and they got all those other class awards
Just talked about all the ones that evoked emotion from each of us individually
We talked about the paint quality. We talked about holy shit. They're just the cool factor the fit and finish stuff
Now imagine us just saying like all right now all those ones we just named and 36 forward from troyes back in there
Now we just got to pick
the winner
right
Like on what based on what criteria right?
Based on level of difficulty
Is it just the fact of oh this one's harder to build because then you're just saying well, it's harder to build
You don't know anybody's individual challenges what the actual level of
Of difficulty was and then paint and then cool factor and then style and then how if you're going to go based on like
Just paint and check in the boxes
Who's to say that the fucking suitor baker doesn't kick everybody's ass right and then it's like oh fuck
But is it the one I want to take home?
right
There's i'm just making the point of like that's when it comes to the show judging thing because every one of those ones
I could say hell. Yeah, I'd like to have that for this purpose
I'd like to have that for this purpose
I'd like to just look at that one or that one's the coolest one or that one had the best paint
But you can't pick the best right. I think there is just those cars that come around like troyes 36
Ken digs corvette for for really those just make it easy to see a car and you're like
Sometimes they make it too easy
When you guys did the three penny roaster same thing. Yeah, right
That car was like I just yeah, I checked all the boxes. It was it was that car
I think you just you you just know
It's a hard that's a hard car to make
You think you you think you just always know at a show? No, no, not always
I just said every now and then there is that car. Oh, yeah when there's that car. Yeah, you don't always know
But when you know, you know, there's yeah, I had I had brizzio picked. I thought big
I had brizzio picked to win the yellow creek restoration was gonna win
He should have fucking wanted grizzio built some bad ass shit. You can't paint it fucking yellow. I'm sorry
He was just can't I love brizzio is one of my fucking idols dude
He builds the most the baddest ass shit ever
It you just cannot paint a yellow. That was the political the political pick though
Like that's who I thought was gonna win because it's brizzio. It's good. He was trying to win the recreation
Then you look at the car you look at the the fit and finish the gaps you're like
It was it was perfect. Yeah, I'm only fucking flawless, but dude yellow and red
Things that I picked off visually just walking around them for a few minutes. I didn't I'm not a fucking judge. I didn't do that
Squeegees was my take on big creek
I thought
Looked nicer
I would have taken squeegees
But I thought big creek did a nicer job
so you're and you're again
100% agree with you and everything you said
and
just think about
six eight judges
The same exact individual opinions albeit individually skewed
To try and come up. Yeah, so what so what trumps what with the judges? Exactly. I walk around around the loudest voice
It's
The one that like the one they want on the t-shirt. All right
The t-shirts don't sell shit anymore. Yeah
It's just it's
Or just don't be
Like don't leave it open to interpretation like be Troy, right?
You know what I mean?
There's always an element of like I think and I think the Volkswagen thing does that like it doesn't leave it open
You put it up against something
that's
Comparable
And it's not like it it'll defeat it like there's always a car that
Is just so far above and beyond which destroys car, you know the 36 it's like there's no
There's no fucking question. I know but but you're in the vacuum of
There's a word we're going to win this award
Then the best advice would be don't leave it up to
Interpretations. Yeah, but this this again this year. I'm going back to the squeegee's car, right?
You couldn't have built that car differently if you knew Troy was going to show up
I wouldn't have built that car any differently. They built that car to be what it needed to be exactly, you know, right?
So so they did that car justice which
It's ultimately the best way to build the car, right? It's what I'm saying it, you know what I mean?
Yeah, that was the same thing when we uh, went of Troy shows. Yeah, exactly like that car
It couldn't have been done any better, right? Like you built that car exactly how it should have been built. That's an emotional
That's an emotional thing. That's a good point. It's it's the way we felt when we showed the 34 at ambr. It's like
Gave it the best we could and you know, we're just we're finishing this as a tribute to the original builder
Wouldn't have mattered if we would have wouldn't wouldn't what wouldn't matter if we would have brought this year or the year after Troy
You're bringing the best car
At our penny if you got a happy customer. I think that's all that matters for sure. I think that
I don't yeah, don't say the award after this discussion right now and the
You know, we've we've beaten the show car thing to death on this podcast, right?
um, and we've
it but
But i'm proud that we've done it and i'm it's been beneficial
For a lot of different reasons it's been a bit beneficial from our own
And sometimes you have to like talk things out, right?
And have differing opinions and have a bunch of people a bunch of guests on with their own unique experiences and their own opinions
um
A little bit what you said, right? There's the
There's a time that a shop has a customer that comes along that says
I want to win
I'd really like to build something to compete for this x award. I changed what I just said because if a customer comes and says
I want to win this
The best advice for any shop is is to either manage their expectations or run
Run the fuck away if somebody says I want to pay you to win this award run the fuck away
If somebody says I want to build the best thing that we can possibly build as a team to compete for this award
Now it's a discussion to have right
those
Styles and those discussions and those as individual
Matchups will determine
What's being built right and that would make sense to if you're going to do that
To your point the advice would be if you're going to do that and you're going to have the discussion with the customer
You're going to do yourself and the customer the best justice then yes
Try to eliminate all excuses and show up with
Now that's probably going to change your stylistic
Mindset based on what you're trying to achieve
not saying that it's a guarantee
but
It'd be very difficult to not know who's going to show up
When troy or anybody else could show up not taking any talent away from squeeges
But if somebody says I want to build a 60s show rod inspired
Uber traditional right super fucking traditional stay true to the fucking story and build
That car that'd be a very difficult car to build at the level that's ever going to build anybody that says fuck it
I don't care. I want to build for this award
So managing those expectations and building the best fucking vehicle that the customer wants to build
If his mind is made up to build that style and you're going to fucking nail it like they did
Then you take these you make the award the step back of like hey, dude
We're going to show the fuck up, but if a hand built 36 shows up that's built specifically to win amber
like
Doesn't mean that doesn't mean that this fucking car is any less than it's fucking ripper. It's fucking badass
it's probably the one that if
If I was tossed both sets of keys in the air and I was going to grab a set of keys to go rip for the weekend
I would rip squeegee's car. No offense to trojan adam. I love fucking trojan. I love adam
But if I want to go rip down like so Cal
In a in a ripper ass hot a hot rod it'd be that
It doesn't but you're not again. It comes right back to what we were talking about on the style rip it out like through
So Cal I'd probably choose maybe like a super forester
something like that like uh
Yeah, something like that like a uh
What's the fucking bumper sticker that the go exist go exist. Yeah, you know what you know what I mean
But yeah, I'm with you the it's be a badass little fucking hot rod, you know jumping that 32 rows. It doesn't mean
How do you do any better than an injected nail head?
Exactly, but it doesn't it again
Right back to creative the only reason anybody is doing this is to build the dream that's in their head
and we're going to get so
But hurt and financially incentivized and
pushed by
an opinion
Whether the opinion's right or wrong it's still a fucking opinion
And if the customer's happy and you gave it if there's not a single thing that you got paid for
That you could not have done better than you did your job and the customer loves everything and the creation that was in his head that you built for him
in the story
In the story
And move on and keep doing that for that same customer over and over and over
Build yourself a successful business and you're going to win some it shows you're going to lose some it shows
And you're going to take care of your wife and you're going to take care of your kids
You're going to take care of all your employees and you continue to have a successful business
In this career that you like and build an art with the people that likes to build the art with you
And then the other stuff is secondary
And sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't
Yep
I agree can't disagree with that
Fucking
It's more fun too. We did
We did ambr 2019
I was with pinkies. Yeah
And my take home was actually rags rods
Okay, they're model. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The white one rejected. No, it was like, uh
Burgundy
None of us know remember that car
The fucking white
Modeling that rags rods did is absolutely fucking bad ass
That's the what they killed the uh visor on he's got the 37
30 37 axle two backs on the front bring a trailer, right? Yeah
They were pretty good money. He's on the yeah, he's on the Roadster
I'm talking about Roadster like ambr
So they brought like a gold
Fucking
Pretty okay car
We kicked their ass
But that was your take home because it was right that was my car
I would hop in even over the one that we built which I know was that's cool to the fucking point
There was three things wrong with that car
I won't tell you where they were minus skill. You'll never find them. Your name wasn't on the title either
My name wasn't on the fucking title
Those are three problems
We got to uh, we got to do a whiskey refill and we got to do standard questions. Oh
Standard questions
Whatever that well, like I'm not a whiskey guy, but that well
Would you yeah, you got into the antique the Weller antique. I think that's what I actually that's a good fucking
I don't know that I've ever had that really by itself. Yeah. Oh, that's it's been it's the best
Are you like are you liking it or yeah? I'm stocking. I'm stockpiling and you can't fucking find it
Yeah, throw it out there. Do you kill that? That's grab that uh black that black 12 or back there
far left
Keep going keep going keep going right there. There you go
Yeah, that antique is a great fucking bottle
You're right and I haven't had that in a long time. It's so damn good
I had it on
I remember the road tour we were on where we had it in the back of somebody's pickup truck. We brought 12
And someone brought that
Oh, yeah, that was a long time ago. I think it was the first time we were out with delancy and sirs
That bottle's gotten more and more rare
It's on it's on
That I feel like I've got one of the old school
That bubble bottles. Yeah, I got one of those 12. It's like pappy level at this point. Yeah, no
I buy this shit out of them. I can't drink them because I don't have enough a little bit
I kill it
No, I will say this is probably been this has been the biggest bottle kill
Episode I think in the history we were three. Sorry four years into this. This is probably number one as far as killing bottles
Oh great
Hey
Everybody's still talking in function
It's a high it's everybody's high performing. I feel like and we yeah, yeah, we got a pretty good crowd
We maybe one extra guest. Yeah, sorry compared to what we used to but like
Yeah
No
All right, stand your questions. You guys figured out the microphone thing. Yeah, then you got it figure
They still haven't figured it out. It's so fucked up nobody's gonna hear anything he has to say
He just does not come through on him and I so it's gonna come through on you now
It's not gonna come through on him because there's no mic pointing towards him
He's I know but I know you see it, but if you're not talking into it
Your dad lip reads
Well, he'll enjoy the shit out of it. All right, he's gonna enjoy it
First up for standard questions
Old school easy low hanging fruit we'll go around the horn start with you Ron
favorite car movie
American graffiti
Favorite scene in American graffiti all the drag racing at the end. Okay. Here it is. Yeah
Gunnison
Rush
Ah, it's a good one f1 movie. Yeah
Look at you. Look at that. I said something on the ham about a k20 swap
And somebody got on my account one of the
Locals on there. Yeah, the admins. Yeah, and
Wrote a whole thing about fast and furious. So I'm going fast and furious fast and furious one
I don't fucking know. Okay the franchise. All right
I think they're coming out with a new one and everything. Oh, they're nice. I know like
All right, the first one was that positive fast and furious 26
How many of you up to now? I have no idea. 11. Yeah, Steve is is it 11? They went to space
It's for the guy on the ham, okay, whoever you are Ryan fast and furious
Fast and furious one is a it's been a it's been a it's been an often top talked about
Game changer for sure. You're not going quorum at summer
I was gonna listen to the one that you suggested on hot rod. Yes, I never got around to it. I'm sorry
You've got to watch it. Yeah, I want to I don't know where you find it, but I've got it on vhs
YouTube has everything. Yeah, YouTube's got it all. Okay. He's got pay for it. I can buck 99
If not, I'll kick you at vh. I'll burn you
It's not burning when it's on a vhs. It's copying. What do you have two vcrs? Yeah
I don't even know how you how do you get it from vhs to you record it with your phone?
I'll page you and then go ahead and record it. Yeah, uh, jesson small two
Small tooth
No small twos jesson squared
Okay, uh, actually I'm gonna go with american graffiti because it was my first introduction to hot rod. Okay. I had a
I had a babysitter's like we got to get you to calm down. You might like this
so
And uncapped like when they when he backs out of the service station all millers 32. Yeah, I think that was your scene
I'm in
No, what about you guys?
Uh, man, I'm I'm torn. Yeah, we've talked about this a lot and I'm I'm torn between like
Dave's being confused is like the anthem for like, you know, that was growing up
You know, like it probably the biggest game changer as far as like
How we grew up and like that
Probably like shaped my career just because that fucking movie was so badass and the soundtrack to you. Yeah
The soundtrack is awesome, but you know, I'm definitely american graffiti guy, you know, that that was the one that probably at an early age
Steered me
to this day
If there's a movie that gets me fucking jacked up for like
Loving cars and wanting to kick ass and like just love the whole
Just hot rod industry. It's too lame black top. Yep. Like there's nothing that's more badass
Yep than that 55 Chevy
We had a it's not a great movie horrible movie. We had to get together at my
neighbor's house
and
They said any movie but that one and I'm like 12 years old really so naturally I chose that one
And we watched too lame black top and that is well, it's not a good if I if I can go back on this
I'll agree with you. Yeah, because that 55 is gnarly. It's a 55 is fucking
ass, dude
But back to Ryan on the ham. It should have been a but too lame black top should have been a 15 minute youtube video
It would have been great. It would have been that would have been better if it was a 15 minute youtube short
but
Like how realistic it is
You know when it it that fucking movie like it was too. It's not a movie though. It should have been a movie
Yeah, you know me. It's not a cinematic. Are you saying there are youtubers that just happen to like be 40 years ahead of the time?
Yes, that's exactly what they but they just they ran it for an hour and 20 minutes too long
I got two. It's uh
Days are confused. I probably watched that 2000 times
in the first three years it came out and then
Going with days of thunder
Oh, yeah, I love the rental car soon horrible news today. I don't know if you guys saw there never devolved that one fucking hurts
Oh, damn, bitty. Yeah today. I had no idea. Do that a fucking hell of a run. He's a great actor. Here you go. Hey, hey
Hell of a career hell of an actor. Yeah, 95 years old. He had a good run
Great movie great run man. That's uh, I'm opening scene
That and side note great nickname with top Gunny over there
Could be the best
Say what opening scene and that's opening scene to demo a home entertainment system. I promise you that top gun top
No, I'm days thunder. Okay. It tastes thunder
rattle
um, I'm uh
Forever and always will be uh smoking the bandit is number one
With a very close and close second sometimes tie and sometimes surpassed is a cannonball run
I think my second would be world's fastest indian
That's a good. Yeah, that's a good one. I didn't know we could do motorcycles in there though. You know what?
If you can't we can't it's pissing driven
If we're doing motorcycles the wild one more than brando. Okay. Yeah
But dude, let's be honest from an actual less about the an actual production quality movie forward versus ferrari
I agree. It's got to be like one of the best like it's done so fucking well. You guys seen the new f1
Yes, I just watched it. Just watch this weekend. I've not seen it yet. Oh that
No, I did the uh, I did the four watched it on my the 4k atmos atmos vision
paid for that
Is amazing. Yep f1's good. It was really really good. It was a little it started out. I was like, oh shit
It's not gonna be cheesy and then it went great
The technology in those cars. It's so cool. I yeah, but they did such a great job of it not being
If you watch formula one even formula one even at a uh, like, uh
Small level they made it enough where you're like, oh shit like
It wouldn't happen, but it could happen
Like there's things you're like, oh fuck. I can see how you would do that. Yeah
Kind of stuff like artistic license like you could kind of just be like, yeah
Yeah, they get in trouble, but they could absolutely do that. They would absolutely do that
The wreck was so unrealistic. Yeah, that would never happen
It it was it you kind of shot it it would happen in the 70s. It would not happen in 2026, but
It was a great movie. It was a really good movie. How about driven with Stallone and
Memo around over the top driven. It's not a good great movie
Over the top is probably Stallone's fucking number one. That's his peak
Like the kind of thought that went into that whole over the top situation was like, yeah
It's like anybody could just no, oh no, bring it over like that. That's what arm wrestlers did in the 80s
Yeah
Uh, I've never watched over the top from start to finish all the way through. Yeah, I have not
I haven't it's been on a hotel
I've watched some of it, but I've never watched it from start to finish
That's probably why you're a Bert Reynolds fan
Probably because if you would watch that you would it would spin you I
Rambo Rambo is the shit. I love Rambo Rambo doesn't get nothing surpasses Rambo
First blood. I'll watch Rambo with commercials. Oh, yeah
First blood because he was like he can't shut it off first blood is first blood is because
I remember watching it young
And watching it for the action and I remember watching it as later teenager
And starting to realize there's something deeper and I remember watching it as like in the 20s and be like, oh
Fuck the dude's fucked up and then realizing
The what the depth of what you were watching and then it takes then it takes a different level
First blood is it's coming full circle dude because it's so applicable to like tomorrow. Yeah, like yes
Let's just show up to work tomorrow and do first blood. Well, I mean if no, it really is
I know you know the knives that came in those. Yeah. Yeah
This ptsd
Yes
He raises his hand. He's he did go ahead Justin one. No
No, I I'm right there with you with what? Yes
Rambo Rambo. What was the movie hit the mark in? What was that? Oh cobra, dude?
Yeah, fucking badass. Yeah
You mean to bring the car up again. Yeah. No. No, we could just talk about how badass the movie
I think real quick. We should get a vote in yeah, we should get I see killer fucking movie, right? Okay
Salon and Cobra. Go ahead. Let y'all let you ask it this time. Mary and Cobra. No, no, no, no, no
in general
Bert Reynolds or Sylvester Stallone. Who are you taking as far as just in life just in with is he with sally fields or the other
It's just this is just picking somebody. He's in his prime by himself just badass
This is just in life just in life, dude
Who's if you had to pick somebody that you're you're a car show judge, but you're judging two people
Look, you're walking you're either walking you're walking two situations
You're walking into either a fight or you're walking into a situation where there's just fucking beautiful women
Who would you rather be? Oh, okay. I'm still alone
No, or
There's one person that wins in both of those situations, dude wrong. You framed it so wrong
No, I mean, I I like the way that I framed it. You framed it wrong. You're there still owner Reynolds
So are we doing one Reynolds? You just got to pick one. Well for me
Okay
Holy shit, I don't have a mustache for no reason
Were you guys talk about this? Why don't you like a bracket system where somebody brings in like another person and like every podcast
You guys dwindle down. It's hard to be. Well, you guys
We brought in John Claude van Damme
I'm okay. Oh, all right. We've toyed. We've toyed with this idea people have people have tipped have
Have teased out a little moderate. So who's your person to bring the bracket say Clint Eastwood?
Wow, there's fucking okay. I shut my fucking mouth. But you brought you brought somebody fucking good. You can't fuck
He's a ringer. How do you get a fuck with Clint Eastwood? He's a ringer. Yeah for my dad. I'm gonna lay out Sam Elliott
Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's my dad. Yeah, Sam Elliott
Now you're now now you're screwing with shit
What the fuck hey, dude, so if our dad looks identical if you've ever seen a picture of my old man
There he is a absolute spitting image of Sam Elliott
Yeah, like we might be if you would not know the fucking difference. I'm gonna find it really quick. I'm looking on my phone
I'm gonna throw it over here. We're gonna go
So
Sam Elliott in real life
He's kind of a little fucking liberal
Yeah, well eastwood doesn't no eastwood is a fucking bad motherfucker, dude. Here's
Here's my problem. Here's my problem. Here's my problem with eastwood
I don't have a problem with him. But this is my this is my issue
I have a 72
I I watched
Significantly more eastwood movies that I watched that I watched
uh
Stallone or Burt combined. However, I did I do like a lot of Burt Reynolds movies. However
Clint Eastwood was the most talented out of all those talented talented great guy I've watched him
Old old and seen him around old old so it sways my
If I'm still good, no, I'm no I'm not saying he's not bad, but I'm framing I'm framing this
I this is the way I judge this I frame this is like oh shit
I would have liked to have lived a little bit of that life
And I still pick Stallone. I mean still pick uh Burt Reynolds over eastwood
But I think eastwood's more talented, but he
I mean grantorino different generations great great fucking movie, but I don't want to be that old man in that movie
It's just different generations. Josie wells now. I want to be him
I want to be the outlaw Josie wells, but at at that age wouldn't you want to be
Clint Eastwood in that movie?
He's basically that age. No, I don't want to make it to
Josh so back to Clint Eastwood. Watch it. You grew up on a lot of his movies. Oh dude outlaw Joe
But the pale rider
Pale rider
Yeah, 100 but also getting back to car movies. I don't know if it's a car movie
But he had a truck, but any which way you can any which way be but loose. Oh anyway, yeah
I mean, that's those are fun. It's great, but then then you started getting a little like
A little gets a gets a little goofy that was there was that point of like all right spaghetti westerns
And now we're gonna do like goofy movies and stuff and then
Super talented super talented and there's very little that I mean
I go back and watch dirty hairy shit tomorrow and you if
Dirty hairy gets slept on because nobody's really going back and watched dirty hairy shit. Oh my god
Dude, that's was there two of them. There's like four four. Yeah, I've never seen a single but it's done
It's done in such a like
It's shot in a crazy way
Um, but then the lines and there's there's nobody ever tougher
Then Clint Eastwood and dirty hairy
Nobody ever tougher because that's not like oh man. I'm a I'm a badass western
And I'm gonna do the right thing, but I'm gonna be a little hard on the edges. No
That's a I've got one mission and one mission only and
Stand in my way dirty hairy is on a different fucking level and Sylvester's not doing it. I don't know I spit on your face
Because you're fucking dead
I think he's reading. No. No, I'm not reading. I'm sorry. I'm not reading. No. No. No, I'm going uh, I'm going uh, Josie Wales
Oh, yeah, the mother first tough
Josie Wales doesn't put it off, but he's tough. I
Oh, Josie Wales is great. That's a that's a go-to, but pale writer. I think pale writer's better
I like to I like pale writer for me or good about lovely. Oh, yeah, that's a good one too. Yes
All badass movies all fucking badass movies
bottom line
Stallone over the top rips every one of their arms off
Stallone fucking Rambo
Destroys every one of them Stallone Rambo or fucking Rocky beats the fucking shit out of all of them
Stallone assassin kills them all before they even know who the fuck he is
It he just wins across the fucking board dude. I got I got it. Yeah
You got me hung up on who would you rather bring to a bar with you?
Stallone is like at the bottom of my
I used to pick up
And why and why dude you got Burt Reynolds, dude. Yeah, who's having more fun. Who's having more fun?
You don't even have to say anything. He just okay. So I like
Who you guys with oh I'm with Burt
Oh, hello, hello ladies
I'm not I'm not alone can't even finish the sentence. Well, I'm not stepping on fucking Burt to bring up Stallone
I just I'm a Stallone fan. That's fine. I'm just where it is. I forgot where I was going
Eastwood eastwood is a very
unique and an interesting bring to the ad the problem is he has aged
Good for him a long time. He's he's he's eight. We've seen him old
And that's the problem. We we we didn't see Burt
Burt was old, but we didn't see Burt older. We probably saw him a little older than we should have probably but yeah
But we remember we remember but Burt faded. We only see little snippets
off the list then
Do we were to do brackets clints off the list? I mean, it's a good one. It's a good ad. It's a really good ad
but yes, that's
We're going to protect our elders elders. We do
What's our other next uh next up?
He's like
That's the first time the guest has got us back on track. He's like, all right
We got to check in the we're gonna make some employment decisions when I get home. I gotta
Um, all right next up, uh, we went we went Burt. We went there. All right, we're gonna go straight to it
uh
There's four of you. So we're going to make this rapid fire uh ish
most memorable law enforcement interaction story
Yours is definitely the best. Yeah, so
A good buddy of mine scotty stark works for me. He had a muffler shop in loveland
He grew up at the gas station. He was like my older brother
I was in his wedding. He was in my wedding. I've known him for 40 plus years
I came home from college got my 70 gto out of my aunt's storage. I'm in a tux
Going to his wedding
That's bad. It's really good
24 points speeding ticket
Going to his wedding. You're moving. Oh, it's moving. Yep
so on triple digits
57th and tapped in loveland
Well, I passed it on a double yellow and I was I was late to his wedding
And I'm tough and
You've learned that as double yellows, haven't you?
Roadblock guns drawn. Yeah, that's real. Oh, yeah
So 24 points lost my license for two years to get to the wedding. I did
I was the only one in the wedding that wasn't in the pictures though
So that was a bad one. I got colorados a bitch with those double yellows
Gunny
I think this was maybe my first second year college
Does dad know about this one? No, he was there
Is there is a better question? Is there one dad doesn't know about? No, he was no, this is the big one probably
He was there scottie's involved in this one actually
And scottie's scottie's the root of all evil isn't he?
My man reach out to him. Uh, how are you?
How are we doing?
Um
First or second year of college got the vet out. I wasn't driving it and uh
This is like when we moved into our new shop
They were actually living at the shop in a in a motor home. So I was meeting them at the shop
I was that was parked at my grandparents house
Met them at the shop for sunday breakfast as we usually do and uh, I think at this point the car
Texas speed built the ls7 for it heads cam. It was it was pretty nasty, but
Maybe 700 horse or whatever
In our shop, this is in between motor pops right in between windows running really good
In but in our area. We're in a pretty industrial complex kind of out of town
It's like seven in the morning. I'm meeting them on a sunday in an industrial complex. Oh, that's me. That's made for ripping
I don't think it's made for ripping. So I get out. Vanessa's got my coffee and I hear
The vet just going down this road
No, I'm going down this road. I'm like, well your son's he's about here, right?
well
I'm waiting and I'm waiting and I'm waiting
And no gunnison. I'm like, oh shit
So I walk around the other building and I look down the road sure enough
You got pulled over that's always when it's her son because I've got one too. Yeah, it's her son. Yeah, your your son's up to no good
Is that I got that twice today?
Your son? Yeah, your boy. What I love about our shop. It's in a real industrial complex
There's a lot of backgrounds where we can go and test the cars and you know, whatever this background that goes north and south. I mean
I guess I was at the top of third
But it's sunday morning in an industrial complex. So I'm going to give you a pass on that
A cop is doing his paperwork in the snap turn complex or the building. Oh, so I mean, I'm probably doing
130, you know, whatever
And
It doesn't really matter what time of day it is or what day it is
That's not in the 35
In a 35 in a 35 and uh, you can't even calculate that
So I I break break into the corner. I come back down the trail break. Are you hard on it and break?
Oh, no, I'm just you know cruising and
Break into the corner come back by the shop. I'm like everything's right. Everything's cool
And then all of a sudden like as like literally I'm making the corner
At the four four-way stop and I see a cop behind me. I'm like
Dude, no like no way
Because I like I have a radar detector in the car. Nothing went off. Nothing happened. Yeah, my sense didn't have to
No, it didn't happen. Not at 130 in a 35. So I just I pull off pull off to the side
I'm like I can see the shop 50 feet away. I go the other way thinking I'm gonna avoid it pull off
Guy gets out of the car. He's like, just give me your keys. Like you're done. He literally said
Just give me your keys. He said you're done. Like just give me your keys. I was just like that was a bad one. All right
He's like, uh, are you close? I'm like, yeah, like I'm like right there actually he's like, well go ahead and
Go ahead and have your parents come down here. So they came down and
We worked it out. So he didn't get me on a radar. So there was really enough proof on how fast I was going
He asked how fast I was going. Like, I don't know. Maybe I don't know 60 or whatever
45
It's like 10. He's like, dude. No, no, no, you're going way faster than that. So anyway, Scotty
He knew the town prosecutor and Windsor. So we worked it out where I just got a faulty vehicle ended up with like a
One-point ticket. So it's faulty. Did the uh, did the cop have uh, want to hear anything you had to say?
No, I went up to the cop with my wife and he's just like, yeah, I'm like, yeah, I know I heard and he was cool
The cop was cool. Yeah, that's fine. He's doing his deal. I mean, there's just a son. It wasn't like I was endangering anybody
He was in the middle and I know I'm with you dude. I've uh, I've tried that before
They don't really care. They don't care. No, they don't care. No
Uh, just corvette owner stuff. You get it. I get you. I'm fully. I'm fully aware. No
So it's your favorite move. So it's
Corvette summer. No, okay. I'm just this this corvette thing is quite new
That's a degradation of the corvette. Josh prefers him stuck like a hundred percent stuck
It once you modify it, you were I mean, yeah, I'm a pure that's for sure. Um,
Justin
Next up
I woke up on a monday
What happened on a Friday sounds like this sounds like a chris christopherson song
Oh
I live in hold on. Hold on. Let me set the scene. Yes at the scene. It's three o'clock three o'clock Tuesday morning
Except it was monday. I'm kind of drunk
Okay, so it's monday now or then
It's three o'clock monday morning wake up look out the window. I see a black car. I'm like, oh
Black car. I lived in the town of 500 people. That's not a that's not a good car
Feds I hop out my I hop out my car or into my car
Go driving going to work
I see three more
Next morning wake up. I look out the window. I see that car I get in my truck
Go down the road. I see four more
Next day same thing five more
Final day six I'm going down the road
There's everybody's parked in their weird positions
And I lived in a town of 500 people. I saw the same two cars every morning
There's another one coming off the
highway
They all get behind me
I drive into
Waconia, Minnesota
Beautiful beautiful town if you ever need to visit they have a lake
That sounds amazing. Yep. Yep. No
I'm loving the lake. Where are we going with this loving the lakes either way get pulled over by like fucking 13 cops
I had
Six behind me pistols held on my head one with a dog
Two with ride-alongs
Do you have any pistols in the car? I don't know. I don't have any pistols. Why do you have that stick in your back window?
I like I like I like Glock
Sure, you don't have any pistols in the car
Yeah, I don't have any pistols in the car
You can check the whole box like
Whoa fucking rewind this whole situation and go back to this point here
because uh
Because why do you have a bullet hole in your tailgate?
Oh, we got
We shot our we were out shooting one day and I thought I'd
Fuck I'm gonna quit
Put a mark on that fucking
G box
They pulled me over
He asked me
Do you know why I pulled you over I go I have no idea I was going the speed limit
You got like fucking 13 people behind me. I have no idea and now you got two dogs at me and you got a pistol on the back of my head
Why are you pulling me over?
Because you know how you got that bullet hole in the back of your tailgate
They go, oh hell yeah. Yeah. No, we were out shooting one day
It took my tailgate off like what the fuck do you do with a 500 dollar ford ranger
But take your tailgate off and shoot it make fun of the people with the fucking bullet hole stickers in the tailgates
Put a real one in my tailgate. Put a real one in my tailgate
Fucking ford ranger. Why the fuck would you do that to a beautiful truck like this? I go because it was a 500 dollar fucking truck
Well, I wouldn't do that to a 500 dollar truck. Well, apparently we're different people then because I would do that to a 500 dollar truck
And that's about it
And then they just ford ranger they just sent you on your way. They just basically sent me on my way
They were stalking you for quite a while
They stopped me from they had 13 fucking people
Like I think two or three dogs at me
I saw them the one sheriff that pulled me over after that
At the bar the next weekend because there was this huge fucking brawl
Did this place got the bar and the lake? Yeah
This is fucking brawl. Everybody's fucking going at it. It's beginning to get pulled over. I feel like and I see that sheriff
They got everybody arrested and I walk up. It's bigger than a key. Hey, do you remember me?
You fucking pulled me over last week. You you made me late to work
like
What's up with that sometimes they really have fucking eight cars at me. Sorry. I'm fucking drink. What about this?
What about yours?
Sometimes they miss
Hates me a debbie downer, but I don't have any really
Really? You just good for you. You've just kept it clean, huh?
What about you guys
Hey, I haven't I haven't had anything in my adult life honestly like
Uh, the only one I had which I've shared on here was like as a young kid like fucking around like as a teenager
Nothing, uh
And honestly knock on wood like all the crazy shit that I've driven and I've driven like at excessive speeds
You know again
Knock on wood. Jeremy you're talking about that car that like when you start a whole podcast with your son building the car
Yeah, is he gonna live I carry or you live he's gonna have to take it. I don't think that he yeah
I'm I'm honestly really concede. He doesn't have
like
Yeah, what would you say jet that you know him pretty well? It's like the
And you dealt with it with blaze. Oh, I'd
The problem you've got the problem that you that you don't want to admit you and Lindsay don't want to admit this
Yeah, the problem you have is what you have on your hands is a little josh
Because me and Wyatt see I'd I
Yeah, me
You have I had I had I had my own issues with my son blaze. However
He was not a little josh
You see you. Yeah, we've got there's nothing you can do. I will say this from uh from intimate acknowledge
There's nothing you can do. It's a challenge. Hang on for the ride
You can just really tell by looking at somebody in the eyes if they're gonna
Do some of that or not
This is uh
You just know, yeah, you're you'll be you know if they have it or they don't oh, yeah
The good part is is you just gotta hope that he's got the talent to no the good part is
You're gonna be some there's gonna it's gonna be some high water
But he's get once you get on the other side. It's gonna be good his issue though
He like he has a lot in common with you. He doesn't have your ability. He doesn't have your bullshit
He'll get there. Okay. Yeah
So he can get himself into trouble. I don't they can get himself out of I didn't I didn't let that age earlier
You know what the you know why you could create great bullshit to get out begin the shit ton of trouble
Yeah, you'll learn you don't get into it and try to figure out how to yeah, yeah, you're like, oh shit
Again, I mean the way you live your life is the what's the worst that can happen when you figure out what the worst is then you're like
Start back home didn't plan on that to be in the worst. So the only one I think we've shared on here, which is uh,
I think at this point we are past the statute of limitations. I don't know that we are the triple flex
Oh, no, I don't know we're on that one either
Where are we at? What's the date still doesn't want to share it still will never share his this isn't mine
216 it might be
Might be yes, we'll just yeah
We're gonna leave that
Off camera
We'll go off camera on that one mine might have been been uh, unfortunately well documented on this podcast. There's been a multiple
um
Here's where the 18 several several uh several multiples
Several multiple detainments and uh
Piece of advice
For everybody like you said they don't care about your excuses
Best thing you did was just let that go if you pushed the issue
The best piece of advice I've ever been able to give anybody
Don't get arrested by a pissed off cop. I agree that arrest that arrest goes
So different how
Why was the cop pissed off in the first place? It's been well documented. Okay, this isn't no sense in getting into it anymore
However, so preceding that don't piss off the cop that's going to arrest you
Well, no the thing is the reason I can speak to this is I've been arrested multiple times before that by non pissed off cops
So you you have a you have a standard. You're like, oh, this is how this is going to go
Turns out if they're pissed off it can go a completely different way
So if he's like if he's wearing like oakley gas cans, you're probably fucked
Uh
No
No, in my in my instance, that wouldn't be the problem
Completely different scenario
Yeah, there's uh, you can be respectful. You can understand that. Hey look, I did something wrong
um
for for
You know first few several years of driving the uh, the whole ticket thing, uh, again back to my
What's the worst that could happen?
There's so many people in the state of georgia. Like you're telling me you keep track of all of the tickets
like
Come on
I know you're supposed to pay it by a certain time blah blah. I mean, what's the worst that could happen
If you don't pay it, there's a bench warrant you get arrested, right? And you keep doing that and there's more arrests after that
Yeah, this don't go away. What is with turn? Yeah, they don't what is with the square grouper
and
What do we got? I don't understand square grouper. They're not from the keys
Oh, it's just it's it's free t-shirts. So so just so did some art work. You got a pocket knife on you? Yeah, somebody's got a
A free t-shirt dude. I'm so bum. We didn't bring the freaking
Meat and cheese up here. Oh
Oh meat and cheese
Where did you bring that? Where'd you get that from the serbian deli? Yeah, what was it called? So who's serbian?
So my buddy steve paconiak
Okay, um, he's serbian. They lived on i got i got some serbian friends. Yeah
We gotta get into it. It wasn't sarkis deli. Was it?
Oh, fuck. Yeah. Yeah, dude. We got as much time as go ahead as you want. We got crackers. We got cheese
It's so good, dude
So we did
Two axels in a one. Oh, no, we just got a bunch. Oh, yeah
Look at that. There's a red. Uh, this one's pork there. It's like a
Yeah, I thought that's a great shirt and bad at that's a prosciutto
Yeah, it's dry. It's serbian. That's steak. This is
You're gonna want to get in on that give that a good stuff
Guys, this has been absolutely
fucking amazing
Every time we say holy shit. This has been a ride
There's another ride that comes
That's why I think all of us can say we love this fucking industry. We love all of the customers. We love all of our friends
Great getting to know you guys even more
If this is the type of party we're gonna do on the podcast
You can only imagine the type of party we're gonna do at the shows
And we're all looking forward to it. Oh, yeah, absolutely great time
I think it was it was very cool of you to bring the just the two justins
I don't know what you did as you already said you can't take credit for it because you said it was your wife's son
Right, so she gets all the credit for everything for gunison for sure
great kid
great employees
Everything you guys are creating now. I understand it even more. I think we all do because of the type of people that you are
Fucking can't wait to hang out at the next show
Appreciate it fellas
You
About this episode
Ron Jones Garage shares insights into their unique approach to custom builds, highlighting a standout Porsche-powered Volkswagen Thing project. The team discusses the importance of trusting customers, creative freedom, and meticulous craftsmanship, including custom chassis and drivetrain integration. They also reflect on their experience showcasing rare cars like a Type 57 Bugatti at Pebble Beach, emphasizing the blend of form and function in their builds. The episode offers a behind-the-scenes look at collaboration, design evolution, and the passion driving their shop's success.
13 to 1 compression
350 horse crate
ABS pump
all wheel drive
Bring a Trailer
CAD
CNC
Colorado Sand Cars
Days of Thunder
electric over hydraulic power steering
Bristol Bullet
Bugatti Type 57
Buick Grand National
Chevrolet C10
Chevrolet Camaro
Chevrolet Chevelle
Chevrolet Corvette
Chevrolet Nova
De Tomaso Pantera
Dodge Charger
Ferrari 250 GTO
Ford Explorer
Ford Mustang
Ford Ranger
Honda Element
Jeep Wrangler
Plymouth Cuda
Pontiac Firebird
Porsche 911
Subaru WRX
Toyota Crown
Toyota Supra
Volkswagen Thing
Original notes
This week on Oil & Whiskey, we’re joined by Ron Jones and the crew from Ron Jones Garage for a wide-ranging conversation that goes way beyond just the cars.We get into what it really means to build cars as art not transportation. Fabrication vs. CNC. Skill vs. creativity. Can you actually “quantify” craftsmanship? Or is it all part of the secret sauce that makes this industry what it is?The guys talk about trusting clients who hand over the keys and the checkbook, building cars that stir up strong opinions online, and why sometimes the most polarizing builds are the ones that matter most.Of course, it wouldn’t be Oil & Whiskey without:• The ongoing Burt Reynolds vs. Sylvester Stallone debate• Favorite car movies (and some strong opinions)• Wild speeding ticket stories• Shop life, hustle mentality, and allocating your “resources” the right way• And maybe a few bottles getting killed along the wayGrab official Oil & Whiskey gear at oilandwhiskey.com. Good time, bad advice, great shirts.
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