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1963 Corvair Spyder First Car - Richard McCuistian - VW Expert Turned YouTube Mechanic Teacher
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia!
Richard McCuistian brings 60+ years of automotive expertise to this episode, from learning in his father's foreign car garage to becoming a YouTube educator with 7.5 million views. His automotive journey started at 16 with a 1963 Corvair Spyder - the same car Ralph Nader called "unsafe" - which Richard drove with 8 teenagers packed inside, using shared clutch and steering duties. From there, his path led through countless VW Bugs, including a hopped-up 1958 sleeper that embarrassed a Jaguar on the interstate.
Episode Highlights:
- Growing up in dad's foreign car garage - fixing 28 different foreign brands with no manuals
- First car: 1963 Corvair Spyder with turbocharged engine and dash-mounted tachometer
- Eight teenagers in a Corvair - passenger operating clutch while Richard steered
- Building a VW dune buggy at age 14 from junkyard parts
- The 1958 VW Bug hot rod with shaved heads and raised compression
- Type 3 Squareback and early Bosch fuel injection systems
- Teaching college auto mechanics for 23 years (2001-2019)
- Writing for Motor Age Magazine for 21 years
- YouTube channel success: 19,000+ subscribers, 1,500+ videos, 7.5M+ views
- Currently editing 10 technical articles weekly for CarParts.com
Richard shares how he started his YouTube channel to help absent students catch up on lectures, never expecting it to become a resource for thousands of mechanics worldwide. His philosophy: "If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it yourself." From Corvair adventures to creating educational content that's helped millions, this episode showcases how passion for teaching and automobiles creates lasting impact.
Richard's favorite episode is the Weber State student/instructor duo episode, "From Mustang GT Builds to Pontiac GTO Restorations: Weber State Automotive Tech & Education" https://buzzsprout.com/2316026/episodes/16548659-from-mustang-gt-builds-to-pontiac-gto-restorations-weber-state-automotive-tech-education
*** Your Favorite Automotive Podcast - Now Arriving Weekly!!! ***
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.
View all episodes
By Doug & Christian - Your Guides to Classic Cars & First Car StoriesClick here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia!
Richard McCuistian brings 60+ years of automotive expertise to this episode, from learning in his father's foreign car garage to becoming a YouTube educator with 7.5 million views. His automotive journey started at 16 with a 1963 Corvair Spyder - the same car Ralph Nader called "unsafe" - which Richard drove with 8 teenagers packed inside, using shared clutch and steering duties. From there, his path led through countless VW Bugs, including a hopped-up 1958 sleeper that embarrassed a Jaguar on the interstate.
Episode Highlights:
- Growing up in dad's foreign car garage - fixing 28 different foreign brands with no manuals
- First car: 1963 Corvair Spyder with turbocharged engine and dash-mounted tachometer
- Eight teenagers in a Corvair - passenger operating clutch while Richard steered
- Building a VW dune buggy at age 14 from junkyard parts
- The 1958 VW Bug hot rod with shaved heads and raised compression
- Type 3 Squareback and early Bosch fuel injection systems
- Teaching college auto mechanics for 23 years (2001-2019)
- Writing for Motor Age Magazine for 21 years
- YouTube channel success: 19,000+ subscribers, 1,500+ videos, 7.5M+ views
- Currently editing 10 technical articles weekly for CarParts.com
Richard shares how he started his YouTube channel to help absent students catch up on lectures, never expecting it to become a resource for thousands of mechanics worldwide. His philosophy: "If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it yourself." From Corvair adventures to creating educational content that's helped millions, this episode showcases how passion for teaching and automobiles creates lasting impact.
Richard's favorite episode is the Weber State student/instructor duo episode, "From Mustang GT Builds to Pontiac GTO Restorations: Weber State Automotive Tech & Education" https://buzzsprout.com/2316026/episodes/16548659-from-mustang-gt-builds-to-pontiac-gto-restorations-weber-state-automotive-tech-education
*** Your Favorite Automotive Podcast - Now Arriving Weekly!!! ***
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.