The Chevrolet C10 is a popular old pickup truck that many people love. It was made in the late 1960s and early 1970s and is known for being tough and useful.
The Volkswagen Beetle is a small car with a unique rounded shape. The 1972 version is one of the last models produced before major changes were made in later years.
Car
Volkswagen Camper
The Volkswagen Camper is a van that people often use for camping trips. The 1971 model is known for its spacious interior and ability to be converted into a sleeping area.
The Ford Model T is a historic car that was very popular in the early 1900s. It was one of the first cars made for everyone, not just the wealthy, and helped change how people traveled.
The Volkswagen Type 3 Squareback is a hatchback car from the 60s and 70s. It has a unique shape and is known for being practical with more space in the back.
The Volkswagen Type 2 Westfalia Campmobile is a vintage camper van from the early 70s. It's designed for camping and has a roof that pops up to create more space inside.
Bent valves happen when parts of the engine hit each other because something went wrong, like shifting gears incorrectly. This can cause serious damage to the engine.
Money shifting is when a driver accidentally shifts gears incorrectly, which can break the engine. It usually happens when someone is driving fast and makes a mistake while changing gears.
The Tesla Semi is a big truck that runs on electricity instead of diesel fuel, which makes it better for the environment. It's designed to carry heavy loads and travel long distances without needing to stop for gas. People are talking about it because it could save money on fuel and help reduce pollution.
The Lancia Delta is a small car that was popular a long time ago and is known for being good at racing. It has a unique look and is loved by people who collect classic cars. Many remember it for its speed and style.
Car
Chevrolet 350
The Chevrolet 350 is a type of engine that many cars use. It's known for being powerful and is often found in sports cars and trucks.
The Nissan Pathfinder is a type of vehicle called an SUV, which is bigger than a regular car and can carry more people and stuff. It's designed for families and can handle rough roads, making it a good choice for both city driving and outdoor adventures. People like it for its roomy interior and comfort.
A 'barn find' is when someone finds an old car that has been hidden away for a long time, usually in a barn. These cars can be special because they might be rare or in need of repair, making them interesting for collectors.
Patina is the look that develops on an old car over time, showing its age and history. Some people like this worn look because it adds character to the vehicle.
Electric conversion means changing a car that normally runs on gas to run on electricity instead. This can make the car more environmentally friendly and cheaper to operate.
A turbo motor is an engine that has a special device called a turbocharger. This device helps the engine produce more power by pushing in extra air, making it run faster and more efficiently.
Car
Tesla
Tesla is a company that makes electric cars. They are known for being high-tech and have models like the Model S and Model 3 that run on electricity instead of gas.
The GMC Hummer EV is a big electric truck that is designed for tough driving and has a very strong look. It's special because it runs on electricity instead of gas, which is better for the environment. People are excited about it because it can do a lot of things that regular trucks can do but without polluting.
The Hummer EV is a new electric truck made by Hummer. It's designed to be powerful and can go off-road, while also being environmentally friendly because it runs on electricity instead of gas.
'Eighties and nineties cars' are cars made in the 1980s and 1990s. They often have a unique style and are easier to work on than newer cars, making them popular among car lovers.
A service bulletin is a notice from the car company that tells mechanics about problems with certain cars and how to fix them. It's important for keeping cars running well.
The body control module is like the brain for many of the car's electronic parts. If it breaks, things like your windows or lights might not work properly.
Coding is like setting up a new part in your car so it knows how to work with everything else. It's important for making sure the new part functions properly.
The Chrysler Conquest is a car from the 1980s that was designed for sporty driving. It has a turbocharged engine, which means it uses a turbocharger to boost its power, making it faster than many other cars of its time.
A boost gauge shows how much extra air pressure is being pushed into the engine by a turbocharger. This helps you see how powerful the engine is running.
The fuel pump helps move gasoline from the tank to the engine. If it doesn't work well, the car can have trouble running smoothly.
LIVE
Welcome back, Planet Earth 2-2, all the cars I've loved before.
Your authoritative podcast on life lessons through cars and, hey, where automotive history and
American history make your history, but guess what?
Our viewership, no, I should say the listenership, because you can't see me.
I'm having a bad hair day, which is a good thing, all over the world, which we will
get into in a moment, and real happy to have today's guest with us, and we'll introduce
him in just a moment.
But before we get underway, let me introduce my partner in crime, Mr. Doug, which is the
smarter half of the two of us, but I think I edge him on the air, even on a bad air
day.
How you doing, partner?
How you doing, pal?
Doing great.
Good to be back here with you.
Always, always.
And hey, I just wanted to, but before we get into today's episode, I want to bounce over
to our, some of our, our data here, the stats, data analytics, statistics, the stat
analytics is what I like to call it.
But anyway, favorite thing behind the scenes, this is not really published anywhere.
This is very super secret information.
I guess it sort of makes me a spy.
But for our last five episodes, top countries and territories where we're
listening to United States, overwhelmingly not surprising.
I'm in the Southeast United States in the Republic of Florida.
Doug is in the Mid-Atlantic here.
So, OK, United States, right?
But did you know I'm going to go in descending order?
We have listeners that guess who's in the two spot.
You got any idea, Doug?
Can it is a large continent in the southern hemisphere and crocodile Dundee is there.
And he's probably our listener.
It's Australia.
Australia is Australia, Germany.
Yes.
So we're really, this is widening the, the, the depth breadth and scope is
widening here, then Sweden, Argentina.
I'm sure that's Lionel Messi is checking us out, Norway, Canada.
All right.
So for you, for you hockey fans, Nepal, we get listened to in Nepal,
rooftop of the world with the prayer flags.
How you like that?
Netherlands and India around us out.
So, hey, if you're listening in these places, thank you for listening.
If you're in this place, want to be on the show, guess what?
We are just a few electrons away.
Christian at carslove.com, Doug at carslove.com.
Check us out online, carslove.com.
By the way, we're getting a lot of traffic there, too, partner.
I see that's a lot of people just get the episodes from there,
which really kind of surprised me as we move forward in this whole
endeavor to see people just get, get it, you know, right from the site,
as opposed to a podcast streaming platform.
But you know, Doug is always under the hood of the website, changing
the oil and, you know, getting the timing on the spark plugged, right?
So any, any updates to, to the marketing?
He's kind of our chief marketing officer.
I know we're talking, we're going to talk about fan mail here for a minute,
but I was just going to say, if you're any, in any of those countries
and want to be on the show, hey, just reach out, just shoot us an email
and we make it easy.
Talk to, talk to any of our guests and it's relatively painless.
And we haven't lost a patient yet.
So, so what do you say to all that, Doug?
Anything to add?
Yeah, no, no harm, no foul.
Yeah, we'd love to have people from all over.
We'd love to hear the feedback
from, from people in other countries.
Are we talking about interesting cars and great stories and do they resonate?
Yeah, yeah.
And I like hearing what, you know, people grow up overseas.
What was that like?
What did you drive?
What's the car culture?
And so, you know, we're always looking for international guests
to be part of the conversation.
Speaking of, I'm real excited to meet our guest here, Joe, today.
And for introductions, I'm going to pass the baton
into the gently outstretched am of Mr. Doug.
Yeah, yeah.
So Joe and I go way back.
So far back older than over over over half of our age.
So you've known him longer than me, actually.
And that takes some.
I have, I have probably go back to middle school with Joe.
But really?
But yeah, Joe is born and bred, I believe, in Annapolis, Maryland.
Right, Joe?
Yeah, I was born downtown Annapolis in the hospital.
That's now condos.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
And yeah, Joe's, I think you've lived here your whole life, right?
Yeah, I spent, I think five years in Florida, you know,
one and all, but the majority of my time, definitely in Annapolis.
Yeah, yeah, same.
Same here, same here.
Yeah, and yeah, Joe, Joe's a big car guy going back to his father,
maybe even farther back than that.
And yeah, Joe, we're super happy to have you on the show
and just hear hear about some of your cars.
Yeah, where do you want to start?
Yeah, what do you think, Christian?
The first?
Well, I always like, first off, where in Florida were you?
Or did you just kind of bounce around?
My father retired in 1987 and we moved to Cocoa Beach.
Oh, I lived in Cocoa Beach for about a year and a half.
And we came back then once I finished school
and after I worked as a mechanic in Annapolis,
I moved to Fort Lauderdale and then South Beach
and then St. Petersburg.
Oh, man, you got the whole Florida experience.
Yeah, I was in Fort Lauderdale on the days of like
the candy store was still there at the belly flop tower.
Oh, which is a long time ago.
I dig that.
Thank you for sharing that.
Oh, right, man.
So that's a true Florida experience there.
So, yeah.
So what we like to do typically on the show is kind of start
with your first car and sort of so what what was your first car?
And then if you need to, you can take a step back even further.
We've had some guests talk about, you know,
hey, before I even drove, I was getting my getting my fingers
black and greasy with my dad, my big brother,
you know, somebody showed me.
So where does it start for you?
Well, the best place to begin.
So my grandfather used to race cars and if he passed away when I was 10,
but he got me first got me into cars.
And so I would go to his house in the summers
and mess around the garage with him.
And then I drove my first car when I was probably about 12
with my dad, he had a C 10 Chevy pickup.
Like, you know, the predecessor to what they call the square body now,
one before that was like a 1970, 72 or something.
And that was my first year of a stick shift with that truck.
But my first car ever owned, I never had it registered,
but I had a 72 Beetle that I bought from a neighbor.
And I literally just drifted it in my parents' driveway.
We had a dirt driveway and I wore ruts into the driveway.
I bought it when I was 14.
The first car I ever drove with legal tags on it,
that was mine, was a 71 Volkswagen Camper.
I love that. OK, so so we're going to dig into the VW branch
in your family tree or trunk, as it were in your case.
So let's go back to your to your to your grandfather.
What do you remember? Do you remember?
You didn't know you said he passed on when you were 10.
But yeah, I'm curious about. Yeah.
He raced in a NASCAR regional series somewhere
in Pennsylvania in the 19 like the late 1950s.
And and he he had a really bad wreck
and my grandmother wouldn't let him race anymore.
Oh, wow. So.
Now, OK, so you didn't see him race this predate?
No, no, we had pictures.
My grandmother had pictures of his cars and stuff,
but he worked for Ford.
So he was a World War Two vet spent four years
in South Pacific and came back and worked
as a Ford mechanic the rest of his life.
Gotcha. Nice.
It was the NASCAR was just kind of a hobby, if you will.
Yeah, it was nobody back then did it for a living.
It wasn't you couldn't you didn't make enough money to live.
It cost you a lot of money to do it back then.
Yeah. Yeah.
Maybe he had some sponsorship from Ford, perhaps.
I don't know. Maybe his his mother or something
was really close to his mother. She may be paid him.
I don't know.
I don't know a lot about it.
I just know there are pictures of it in any race NASCAR
when years before, you know, 15 years before I was born.
Nice, nice.
And your and your and your father probably got the bug from him.
No, because it was my on my mom's side.
I got my father.
My father is a lot older.
He was born in 32 and his father drove a model T
across country before there was a national highway system.
Oh, man, I cannot.
I've heard about that.
I've heard about that was a big promotion to get cars.
Hey, it'll make it.
And it took it took a month or something.
Like it was one and we took five days
driving a boat across the country.
So they took them about a month and a model T.
And that that had to be, I don't know,
probably in the 20s.
Yeah, I would say probably 20s early 20s, the latest.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
So it actually goes back in my family a lot.
Yeah. Yeah.
Think of the adventures, everything that you just mentioned,
all the adventures, the lore, yeah, all about family.
OK, so I didn't mean to derail the conversation,
but it's hey, it's it's a core competency, as I say.
So back to the VW here.
You were about to talk about the the the square back, did you say?
No, no, I had a I had a 71 West
L. U. Campmobile. Gosh, OK, OK.
Yeah, that was that is it just I don't know.
I was in the Volkswagen and my dad had a friend at work
that was selling it.
I think we paid 800 bucks for it.
And I drove it for I think two years.
And then I money shifted the motor and bent all the valves in it.
And I so this is your high school.
Yeah, I had my sophomore year of high school.
I drove that maybe sophomore into my junior year of high school.
And then I blew the motor up one day and then
my sister at the time with a dead head and she had a friend
who was going on tour and he bought it from me, put a motor in it, left.
And then I got a phone call, you know, obviously at my parents' house.
And he is like, hey, call him from a pay phone.
Hey, I broke down in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Oh, I have to leave it here because I can't miss the next show.
If you want, I'll mail you the title and you can come get it.
What I said.
And I was like, dude, I'm like, 17, how am I going to come
to Albuquerque, New Mexico and tow a Volkswagen home to Annapolis?
So that one, I don't know where it is.
It's probably sitting on the side of the road in the desert somewhere.
You might still be waiting for you.
I don't know. I don't know.
I never heard from the guy again.
He still might be passed out.
Yeah, that was the beginning and end of my first car.
And I had a lot of good times in that car.
Oh, I was what I was just about to say, yeah, you're you're
let's not bury that lead.
So you must have been the party boss in high school.
I not really. We didn't party with it much.
I mean, I wasn't at all a deadhead or hippie type person, you know.
But I know we had a lot of fun, you know,
sliding it around in the snow and for sure.
I know I could only go over 60 miles an hour
if I got about 10 feet behind a semi truck going downhill
and then I could get about 75.
But it was really cool.
It had it had a fold down bed in the back to pop popped up.
It had a pop right. Right.
Yeah, had the little like one bed up there
and then it had a tent to the side
and had a giant VW symbol on it.
And apparently those are super valuable and rare now.
And I have no idea like when I told the thing
how valuable those would be down the road.
Who who knew what color was it, Joe?
Was it brown? It was it was white.
OK, OK. Yeah.
My memory failed me, but I had a brown one at one point, too.
But maybe that's what I'm thinking.
It wasn't a camper and it was a newer one.
Yeah, I think it was more of this squared, squared one, right?
Yeah, it was a modern van again. Yeah.
So how did you guys meet?
Was it high school or was it high school?
Middle, middle school, middle school. Yeah.
Yeah.
You guys had classes together or you would geek out over.
Well, we didn't have a really big school.
I think our graduating class was only 300 people or 350 people.
Yeah, yeah.
So not like we had a everybody knew everybody back then.
Yeah, it was it was easy.
Now, now I think the graduating class is like over 500.
Oh, yeah, I'm sure at least that.
Yeah, yeah.
And so we know what happened to the Volkswagen, right?
And not not your first Volkswagen, probably not your last as you have a story.
But after you kind of wrecked the engine, sold it to the dead head,
would you move on to?
So my dad had bought my sister this really nice
Oldsmobile Delta 88 convertible was baby blue with a white interior.
And my sister was a bit of a train wreck in high school.
So she would she would forget to put the top up
and it got rained in a bunch of times.
Oh, no, she would run it out of gas and call my dad and bring her gas.
So finally, he was like, no, you can't have this car.
And he gave it to me and gave her I can't
her gave her like a Honda or some little piece of crap.
So that's the car I had when I graduated high school into college.
And that car was really cool.
It was big. I think we could put like 11 people in it.
You know, I mean, it was and it was fast.
It was fast for me back then had a 350, right?
Yeah, but they they had what they called a rocket motor,
350 rocket motor, which had aluminum tappets.
And I think it was about 700 RPM higher red line
than a small standard small block Chevy.
And it had a turbo 400 in it.
So you could really get on it without without destroying things.
Yeah. And it was a convertible.
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
It was as big as a whale.
Right. It was massive.
Yeah. I think it was about 18 feet long.
Yeah. And I got on a on a good day.
Oh, I don't a good day. I got nine miles per gallon.
On a bad day, he didn't check.
Yeah. Well, I didn't pay for gas.
So I didn't care. Yeah, very good.
Yeah. Got gotcha.
And yeah.
So your dad gave you that car
because your sister wasn't wasn't being responsible with it.
Yeah. Did that go over well with your sister?
Oh, no, she's still mad about it.
Still to this day. Oh, yeah.
Wow. Did she drive a convertible now?
Or did she did she learn her lesson?
Did she feel like she had to redeem herself? No, she's she's never owned
a cool car since she's always had little crossover SUV things, you know,
like or like a pathfinder or I think she drives a what is it?
A RAV4 now.
So why is to know yourself?
Why is to know yourself good on her for sure?
Yeah. And so, so, Joe, we were talking before the show.
You currently own about eight cars.
Yeah. My number's right. Yeah.
Today I own about eight. Yeah.
I mean, that includes my wife's minivan and my I have my daily driver
Toyota Sequoia. I tell everybody if you if you're going to have one car
own a Toyota.
Yep, that's the one that doesn't need any work, right?
Or you could just ignore them and they just run.
Yeah. Yeah.
And and and you you just built a thousand square foot garage.
I think you were telling us.
Yeah. And for your car projects and and to do some work
on other people's cars as needed. Yep.
Yep. It's a big, big process.
I bet. I bet.
Now, now, how do things fit in the garage?
Are they kind of hard to round the perimeter?
You put in a lift?
Do you? Yeah.
So I put in pads when I built it for a lift.
OK. I don't have the lift in yet.
But my garage, it's got a 20 foot door on the front
and a 10 foot door on the back.
So you actually pull through it.
Oh, I like that.
So because it's in normal speak,
it's in the front of the house,
because I live on the water.
So the garage between the street and the house.
So you can't see my house when you pull up,
which is really nice.
So it's just you just see a garage when you pull my driveway.
I like that. I like that.
Garage. Tell where your heart is.
Garage full of cars.
So some of these cars have been barf barn finds, right, Joe?
Yeah, I feel fine with his word, which I don't want.
Yeah, I have a 62 beetle that a mutual friend of ours.
You know, James McCrae.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
So he owns a restoration business in Easton.
He does. Yes.
So he's a he restores car.
He's worked with the North Street Garage in
in Easton, I think they're maybe in Oxford,
doing some Bugatti restoration work.
And so he found this car.
He's like, hey, you might want this car.
The guy, the local guy used to work
for a Volkswagen dealership over there
and who had owned it since new and had given it to a son
and the son, I don't know, it ended up having a bent pushrod.
That's why it was parked and had been sitting in this field for about 15 years.
And we went over with his trailer
and pulled it out of the ground.
It was literally buried to the floor in the dirt.
And so that's my next project in the queue
when I finished the current one I'm working on.
OK, so what what is going to need
excuse me for what what is going to need to be done to that car?
Obviously, Yank, the upholstery is there.
No, the funny thing, the funny thing is,
the upholstery is perfect in the car.
There's no more. How can that be?
No idea.
So the car was it was an anthracite gray car
had been painted trimer gray over the anthracite paint.
And it looks it looks like a patinaed out rat rod right now.
And I think that's the route I'm going to go with it,
put a new pan under the thing, essentially.
And I'm going to do an electric conversion with it.
So it'll it'll do 100 miles an hour
and it'll have a 90 mile range with the kit that E.V. West sells.
So that's my current plans with it,
because to get the same performance,
I need to spend about twenty thousand dollars and build a turbo motor.
And that would be completely unreliable and obnoxiously loud.
And require a lot of maintenance and it wouldn't go with that.
Got you. So that was the thought process.
So that's that that's really you don't own any other electric cars.
But have you had experiences?
OK, yeah, oh, yeah, yeah.
I have a lot of guys I know with Tesla's
and a friend of mine just bought a Hummer truck, the Hummer E.V.
And oh, and that's an insane thing, too.
Nice, nice.
And is there anything you won't do on cars, Joe?
Or you can't because it seems like there's
well, the guy's got no time.
He's got I can't do a lot.
OK, so you'll do bodywork.
Do you paint?
No, I mean, I can.
I don't because it's not good to do it in your garage.
Yeah.
But I have a good friend who is a painter
who can do all my artwork for me.
OK, I need his number.
I've got a I've got a ninety three hundred
ZX that is five different colors.
What color did it start out?
Black. Yeah, I got it.
But it kept getting hit on my narrow street.
Yeah, but yeah, I know this feeling because I have a black Mazda.
It's got three times on one side.
Yeah, yeah, but Doug's a mad scientist.
He likes to get in his garage and play and, you know,
rap or, you know, experiment with different raps.
And yeah, man, I mean, it's like, you know, not at Joe's level.
But yeah, so, you know, we're around the same age.
So obviously eighties and nineties cars are probably your favorites, right?
Yeah, I mean, if you look at what I own, that's most of what I own
is eighties and nineties stuff there.
You can still work on them.
You know, my last I had a I had a 2010 BMW
530 that was my daily driver.
And they had a service bulletin
that was never sent to me about clogging sunroof drains
and the spare tire well filled up and destroyed the body control module
about six other modules.
And and that was an eye opener on modern cars to avoid them.
Yeah. Yeah, I think it was it was a known flaw.
And they, you know, and I bought all the modules online and thought of myself,
but then I still ended up having to pay seven or eight hundred dollars
to get the whole thing coded to the car.
Yeah, right. Yeah.
Yeah, that's that's that's well.
It's it comes down to the whole right to repair movement, which is really,
you know, a big thing that really angers me.
Yeah, no, I'm with you.
Do you know about that, Christian, the right to repair movement?
Yeah, I've just been reading in the news recently about about that.
There are laws in states and they're, you know, they're pressing for
because when you talk about there's, you know, almost a freedom of information
piece there to well, I think the biggest, the biggest
the biggest group of people in effect are the farmers, right?
Who say, say you have, you know, a thousand acre of 1500 acre farm
and there's 10 of those farms in one area in the middle of Ohio or Idaho
or wherever Iowa cornfields.
And there's only one John Deere pack and it's harvest season.
And you got to get that corn out of the ground.
And it's a good point.
You're really a dollar.
Tom mine goes down and you can't fix it yourself
because you can't plug the diagnostics into it.
Right. It's a real issue with those guys.
I mean, the car guys and stuff is just kind of like, oh, I'd like to do it,
you know, change my own batter without paying BMW, a hundred dollars
to code the car to it.
But for farmers, it's kind of like, you know,
it's like you got to get your crops out of the ground before they spoil.
And sometimes, you know, that equipment goes down and they can't fix it.
Yeah. Yeah.
No, it's a really good point.
I hadn't thought about that.
That's a really interesting argument.
Yeah. And, you know, on these BMW products,
you just said something that reminded me of my old son's first car
was a mini BMW product and drove me nuts, you know,
having to go get a battery, but you can't just, you know, like on my
Acura, you can't just sort of throw the battery in there and and walk away.
Now it's got to be.
They have that intelligent battery sensor.
Yeah. Exactly. That's right.
That's right.
And so, you know, an additional complication or dependency as it were,
which to me means dollar signs.
So, you know, it is what it is, right?
Makes the world go round.
So BMW BMW got around the antitrust implications of that
by offering you a free, basically a dial up service.
You could plug your laptop in and it would take about 20 hours to code it yourself.
What? Really?
Yeah. So that was how they got around it.
What a good nugget.
Great nugget.
So I'm done.
I'm done with BMW products now.
OK. So we just lost our sponsorship with BMW.
Yeah. OK. Yeah. Great nugget.
That's it. That's it.
Great nugget.
So for sure.
So I did want to ask, Joe, like one of my favorite cars that you own
that I haven't seen, but I always wanted one is the Chrysler Conquest.
Yeah, that's a cool car.
And you've still got that.
You've got the graphic equalizer, right?
Oh, yeah, it's got it all.
It's got the seat belt that run up the window.
Yeah. Yeah.
And it's it makes turbo noises.
And it's it's pretty fast, right?
It's yes.
If you're not used to really new fast cars, it seems really fast.
It's got a boost gauge that goes up.
It only makes six pounds of boost with a stock turbo and the stock
wastegate and it's bone stock.
It's only got 90,000 miles on it.
Yeah. And that car is red or black?
No, it's white with a red interior.
OK. That's what I know.
What year, Joe?
It's an 89. It's the last year they made it.
It's the SHP.
So that's the special handling package.
So it has eight inch wheels in the front, nine inch in the rear.
Let's say it's staggered, 16 inch wheels.
It's really hard to find tires for it.
But I redid the whole car during covid.
So I was I remember the picture.
It didn't work for four months.
I sat at home for four months and went through the whole thing.
I bought every single replacement part,
this mention and engine, everything got replaced.
It's like a new car now.
It runs perfect.
Yeah, no, it's a.
Oh, it's cool that you still have access to it.
Yet you sold it to your friend.
Right. Yeah.
But what's been your favorite car?
I mean, there's been so many,
whether it's one you own now or one you've had.
I think my favorite car is sitting right in front of me
and it's my 94 Miata.
I bought for my 30th birthday.
Nice.
So I've had it for 21 years now.
Yeah. What color is it?
It's black.
OK. Yeah.
My 94 was black, too.
With the tan leather interior and tan top.
Yep. Yep.
How often do you drive it, Jeff?
Same here.
I haven't driven it much this year because it has a.
I got to take the fuel tank out.
Oh, I got to take the fuel pump out.
It's the fuel pump is when it gets warm,
it starts getting loud and intermittently not working.
So it starts idling badly.
But it's really it's kind of a pain in the ass
because of the roll cage in it to get to the fuel fuel pump.
So I haven't messed with it.
Gotcha. Wow.
Yeah. No, you know, it's funny.
I'm looking at buying like a.
Or I was looking at buying like a 95
and the guy let it sit because the fuel pump went out.
Yeah. And so it's not far from my house.
So it's tempting.
Without the roll bar, it's about a 10 minute job.
Yeah, he he was like, yeah, it's like $2,000.
I'm like, how can that be?
It's not. It's a hundred dollar pump.
No, I hope he's not listening.
Yeah. If you have a BMW guy,
do it add in the dial up.
Good grief.
Yeah. Yeah.
Got to find a got to find a landline.
Yeah. Yeah.
So any and your wife's been very supportive of your hobby, right?
Yes, she likes cars, too. Nice.
Yeah, we we we've gone to Bear Jackson auction together
and looked at stuff and she supports me 100 percent
with my stupid car stuff.
Yeah, what's her favorite car?
That's how we ask.
Would it be the Miata?
I don't know what she.
Probably the Porsche
because I had car play.
That's that's a good reason.
So on on that you have a four nine eleven convertible.
It's a
let's see, it's a six speed.
I'm sure. Yep.
Six speed manual. Yeah.
Silver black interior.
Yep. I've seen it.
I've seen it on St.
Margaret's Road. So yeah. Yeah.
With your well license plate.
Yeah. Yeah.
Well, Joe, we we as they say, pictures or it didn't happen.
So we got to see some pictures of this garage
when you get it squaring away.
Is there are you? Look at it now.
Look at this.
This is like Jay Leno's garage.
Look at this. I know. I know.
Oh, he's killing it.
Yeah. Look at you.
I'd never leave.
I'd never leave.
That is fantastic.
Well, thank you for sharing that, Joe.
Yeah. If you could love to get pictures
of that and throw them up on the website.
But wow, so you said it's not done,
but it looks it looks in a state of finish.
I mean, you said, yeah, it's the electrical
is only roughed in now.
We're doing a Mr.
Cool mini split system in it.
Yep. Yeah.
This thing of heat and then
we're going to finish two of the walls
and I'm going to hang some TVs
and have a couch in here and
see where never get this.
You'll never see this guy again.
He's never going to leave the garage.
I mean, I'm going to invite myself over his house now,
but I'll bring plastic.
I'll bring my DeLorean over.
And now that's the car of never driven.
All right.
It could happen.
Sounds like you guys.
Yeah, sounds like a pleasant afternoon spent together.
Well, I'd say what, Joe, it was great meeting you.
Thanks for sharing some stories.
Yeah, no problem.
And in a thanks for having us in your garage
as well as our listenership.
So, you know, you know, by association,
there's there's an Argentinian, a German,
a Denmark, an Australian who's just, you know,
who are all hanging out in your garage together.
So thank you for having us and we appreciate your time.
But yeah, I'll share this.
I'll share this to all my friends around the world.
So yeah, please.
Yes, you have friends and listeners all over the world.
So yeah, as always, look at the time.
I mean, a half hour in the books.
Really pleasant walking down memory lane with Joe,
making a new friend.
And yeah, Doug, is this OK?
If we we could mention fan mail one more time.
Again, feel free to reach out.
Go ahead. Yeah.
So fan mail is a new feature on our podcast platform.
So you'll see a link if you look in the show notes,
it'll say click here to contact Christian and Doug.
It's literally a text message.
So love to hear feedback.
Super easy. No email required.
Email us to a guy.
Yeah, Roger that.
So so as always, follow the show, download the episodes.
You never know when you'll you'll get caught
not having access to to some sort of cell tower.
So download the episodes, follow.
Let us know what you think.
Leave us a review.
Positive ones help us.
If it's negative, just email that to us.
How about that? We've got a deal.
So anyway, hey, that's this week's show.
It's a wrap.
Yeah. That's it.
That's it. We'll book into.
Thanks, Joe. Great meeting you.
Power. Thank you, Joe.
Thank you guys.
Well, thank you.
Hey, we'll see everybody next time on to all the cars I've loved before cars.
Love.com. Check us out.
Your platform streaming platform of choice.
Take care.
Take care. Bye.
About this episode
Joe shares his passion for cars, recounting his journey from childhood influences to his current collection of eight vehicles, including a 71 Volkswagen Camper and a 62 Beetle project. The episode dives into nostalgic stories about his grandfather's racing history and the adventures he had with his first cars. Joe also discusses his recent garage build, plans for electric conversions, and the challenges of modern car ownership. With a mix of humor and heartfelt anecdotes, this episode highlights the deep connections between family, cars, and personal history.
What happens when you buy your first car at 17, blow the engine, and sell it to a deadhead who abandons it in Albuquerque? You become a lifelong car enthusiast with an epic garage.
Meet Joe, an Annapolis native whose automotive DNA runs deep—his grandfather raced NASCAR in the 1950s before a bad wreck ended his career. Joe's first car was a '71 VW Westfalia camper that barely topped 60 mph unless he drafted behind semi trucks. After money-shifting the engine, he sold it to his sister's deadhead friend, who called from New Mexico: "I broke down. Come get it if you want it." Spoiler: 17-year-old Joe couldn't.
Now Joe owns eight cars, including his beloved '94 Miata (21 years and counting), an '04 Porsche 911, and a Chrysler Conquest TSi. His latest project? A '62 Beetle field find buried to the floor in dirt—destined for electric conversion with 90-mile range and 100 mph capability.
From rebuilding suspensions during COVID to building a dream 1,000-square-foot garage, Joe proves car passion never fades—it just gets faster, smarter, and more garage-worthy.
Equal parts travelogue and car talk, this episode will make you want to grab a map, hop in your own beloved car, and create new memories on the open road.
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Listen on your favorite platform and visit https://carsloved.com for full episodes, our automotive blog, Guest Road Trip Playlist and our new CAR-ousel of Memories photo archive.
Don't Forget to Rate & Review to keep the engines of automotive storytelling—and personal restoration—running strong.
