Two Guys Garage Podcast
Brenton Productions
Updated 3 days agoExpert gearheads and longtime co-hosts Kevin Byrd and Willie B bring their hallmark brand of automotive knowledge and passion from the TV screen to the podcasting world. Two Guys Garage Podcast covers virtually every aspect of the automotive aftermarket, from repair to restoration, from customization to innovations, all in the same loose, just-havin’-fun manner fans have been enjoying on MotorTrendTV for years.
Are you the creator? Claim this podcast
Episodes (674)
Hot Rod Overdrive
Classic hot rods are as much about cruising as they are about digging deep and going fast. But they don’t offer much beyond three original gears. Adding a Gear Vendors overdrive system is a simple and versatile way to correct that and still maintain the value and integrity of the vehicle. In this episode, the guys get the skinny from company CEO Rick Johnson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Take a Brake
Will Dover, Director of Category Management, Undercar at CarParts.com joins the guys to discuss one of the two most essential aspects of driving – stopping. While not everyone sees the fun factor of brakes, those who do can really appreciate how great stopping power enhances vehicle performance and driving pleasure. Selecting the right kit can be daunting, posing this challenge for Will: “How do we make it as simple as possible for the customer to find the right product for their car so that we can get them back on the road as quickly as possible?” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Wiring Made Easy
Navigating a virtual rat’s nest of wires can drive just about any DIYer to the breaking point of gutting their electrical system and starting from scratch. Willie and Kevin know this drill all too well, and in this podcast they turn to American Autowire’s R&D Manager Don Bock for help with hassle-free wiring. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Two Guys Garage @ 20
Former co-host Bryan Fuller joins Kevin and Willie to celebrate Two Guys Garage’s 20th Anniversary and chat about the trio’s recent reunion with original hosts Dave Bowman and Sam Memmolo on the milestone season finale. They also go deep on one of Bryan’s latest and most unexpected projects, outfitting a ’69 Cougar convertible with Tesla underpinnings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Road to SEMA: Willie B UPDATE
Willie B is deep in the throes of his first solo SEMA build on a rare 1966 Dodge Charger “slapper” car that is most definitely NOT a General Lee. With the clock ticking down, he’s sliced, diced, cut, chopped and wide-bodied it, learning firsthand that “most nightmares occur while you’re awake.” In this final installment of our five-part series, he begins to question whether all the lost sleep, high stress, and hurdle after hurdle will be worth it in the end. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Steak and the Sizzle
As president of Factory Five Racing, Dave Smith is the poster child for pride in ownership. The “Built, Not Bought®” kit car company has weathered its share of storms over the course of 27 years, with the last year-and-a-half being “both the most challenging and maybe a lot of fun, too, but not in the way I thought.” Consider this: There are 4500 parts in one kit, and with 10 kits sold in an average week, that’s 45,000 parts leaving the building in a single week. Add a global pandemic to the mix and, as Dave tells the guys, things get complicated real fast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Road to SEMA: Rob Ida
Rob Ida is a third-generation car builder and, in Kevin’s estimation, one of the most talented designer-builders on the planet. His penchant for Tuckers is renowned, and he also tackles an incredible array of projects from the most modern to most archaic and just about everything in between. In Part 4 of our five-part series, Rob chronicles the hurdles and headaches of restoring a rare 1962 Holman Moody Ford Falcon/Challenger 3 for SEMA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Cool Factor
Once upon a time, old school hot rodders had to sacrifice cabin comfort for horsepower. Today, there are zero reasons for any cool car not to have AC. Much of the credit for this can be attributed to the folks at Vintage Air and its Chief Innovation Officer, Ryan Zwicker. The company’s SureFit and Front Runner systems have revolutionized the industry, leading Willie to dub them “the panacea of pulleys,” and Ryan to note that the “best way to judge a fan’s capacity to do work is how much motor it has on it.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Road to SEMA: Bogi
As owner of the successful Girl Gang Garage and co-host of MotorTrend’s long-running hit series All Girls Garage and Garage Squad, Bogi Lateiner has earned an enviable reputation in the automotive world. Now deep into her third all-female SEMA build – “I did not expect to be building a SEMA car, ever!”– she takes time out to chat with Kevin and Willie about the project in the third installment of our five-part series. “It’s the biggest undertaking that I’ve ever done; it is absolutely insane, it’s just an unreal project!” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Unique, Buried, Forgotten
Geoff Hacker and Guy Dirkin have dedicated themselves to preserving the legacy of cars that most people have probably never even heard or dreamed of… including Willie and Kevin! “I don’t chase cars; I chase stories,” says Hacker. Over the last 15 years he’s invested more than 15,000 hours of work into Undiscovered Classics and curated a huge library of archival materials on rare handcrafted American sportscars. “We’re revising the stories that no one’s heard in 60 years; that’s what makes it fun.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Road to SEMA: Willie B
In the second podcast of this five-part series, Willie goes deep on his first gen ‘66 Dodge Charger build for this year’s SEMA Show. Not exactly renowned for its natural beauty, this labor of love (emphasis on labor) is inspired in part by Kevin’s own kick-ass 1990 LS-powered BMW M3 build several SEMAs back. “Ugly cars get really cool at SEMA,” notes Willie, “and sometimes really gorgeous cars get really ugly at SEMA!” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Cleveland’s Automotive Playground
Cleveland Power & Performance is a one-of-a-kind hybrid: part salvage yard, part custom build shop, and all-around amazing. Kevin describes it as “a go-to place for nothing but the awesome stuff,” and second-generation owner Rick Fragnoli doesn’t disagree. In fact, his famed “Reverence” restomod – a ’69 Charger with a 6.2L supercharged Hellcat engine – recently sold for around $400K. “If it’s a $20 part or a $20,000 part,” Rick tells the guys, “we’ll work with whatever parameters people need.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Road to SEMA: Ring Brothers
If SEMA is the Super Bowl of car shows, the Ring Brothers are the Lebron and Michael of car builders. Yet even Jim and Mike are up against the wall trying to get parts for the three projects they’re bringing to this year’s highly anticipated event, the first since the onset of the pandemic. In the first of a five-part series leading up to SEMA, Kevin and Willie go two-on-two with the legendary siblings who modestly describe themselves as “just guys that like cars and [are] lucky enough that people like what we’re doing.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Tools to Shape the World
On today’s podcast Kevin observes that once you truly understand the way it moves, “the amount of things that you can go make with metal is incredible!” Much of the credit for this can be attributed to the good folks at Woodward Fab, purveyors of fine industrial grade sheet metal equipment at affordable prices. “The tools are very old and technology, they’re very, very simple,” says Manager Darren O’Brien, “but the right tool can make the difference in speed and quality of your project.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Gale Banks on the Records / Part 2
In the second of their two-part interview with Gale Banks, Willie and Kevin get deeper insights into the man who changed the history of the internal combustion engine. “I’m hopelessly addicted to horsepower,” exclaims the racing legend who cut his teeth on gas and is now largely known for diesel. On predicting what lies ahead, the born to run competitor anticipates “it has to have a higher energy density.” And that’s just the beginning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Stacks and ITBs
Established in 1967, Kinsler Fuel Injection is all about stacks and individual throttle bodies. From vintage to state of the art, restoration to the latest and greatest, their specialty is and has always been classic stuff in modern interpretations. “My job is to burn up as much fuel as I can,” GM Greg Murchison tells Kevin and Willie, “because fuel is power.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Gale Banks on the Records / Part 1
Gale Banks is a force to be reckoned with – a legend with 11 patents and hundreds of copyrights, he has literally changed the world of hot rodding. In the first of a two-part conversation with Kevin and Willie, the self-described “full-blooded nerd” reflects on numerous milestones throughout his 50+ years in the business, concluding that “the underlying theme for my whole career is the turbo charger.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Blazing Blazers
When it comes to Chevy Blazers, Mark Sopko of Motor City K5 is THE go-to guy. “I did Broncos for almost 20 years; I knew Broncos like the back of my hand,” before deciding to change course and specialize exclusively in Blazers. “I was expert in the old world, I need to be expert in the Blazer world,” he tells Kevin and Willie, “so that’s what I did.” And in a big way, with his 4WD SUV walking off with First Place at 2020’s Detroit Autorama. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Understanding Harmonic Balance
Kevin and Willie ponder the science, the mystery, the voodoo behind the harmonic balancer that holds an engine together. They invite Fluidampr’s Ivan Snyder III to school them on the three types of vibration to be aware of – unbalanced, axial and torsional – starting with Lesson #1: You know you’ve gotta have a damper, but what the hell is it? The answer: It’s crucial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Driven to Win at the Henry Ford Museum
Kevin and Willie are about to geek out over history, old stuff, and cool things they learn from Matt Anderson, Curator of Transportation at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. “We’re really about the impact of the car on American culture and how it’s changed everything,” Matt tells the guys. “Before the Model T you could get a good car, you could get a cheap car, but you couldn’t get a good, cheap car; the Model T hit that sweet spot, and that changed everything.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Understanding Driveshafts
Driveshafts take a relentless beating, constantly applying load with substantial torque. Repairs, upgrades and modifications are always top of mind for Lee Mejia of The Driveshaft Shop. Citing expensive custom builds that completely neglect driveshafts and axles, Lee regales Willie and Kevin with stories of destructive and real-world testing, like what happens when a heavy projectile made out of steel suddenly pole vaults or grenades. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Pioneering the Future of Infotainment
Believe it or not, there was a time when “a record player in the car was the ultimate in fidelity and entertainment,” notes Ted Cardenas, VP of Marketing at Pioneer Electronics. From record players to 8-tracks, cassettes to digital, satellite radio to car Wi-Fi and beyond, the 25-year company veteran excitedly tells the guys the best is yet to come. “The stuff we’ll have 5 years, 10 years, 15 years from now will eclipse everything that we have today, which is the coolest thing!” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
All About Air Compressors
They may not be all that sexy, but when it comes to pneumatics and air tools, a compressor is the first and most critical big tool you’re likely to buy. Today the guys learn from Jarrett Affolter of Ingersoll Rand all there is to know about air compressors – the different types, what the fail points are, how to make them last forever, and what size you need to do what you want to do. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Horsepower Shop
Livernois Motorsports and Engineering is making great modern horsepower come alive in your car, and they’re doing it in the easiest and simplest of ways. “Everything today starts with the tuner, it’s the cheapest mod you can do,” co-founder Dan Millen tells the guys. With 27 lifts and 45-50 cars in the shop at any given time, this self-described die-hard Ford guy turned die-hard everything guy is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible both on and off the track. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Spray It Yourself Insulation
Cut-and-stick-on sound deadening materials are effective, but can be a slog to install. In this episode, Kevin and Willie detail how LizardSkin’s spray-on insulation eliminates the misery so often associated with thermal management and noise reduction DIY projects. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices