“IT’S FUN TO LOOK AT THEM, BUT YOU CAN’T REALLY ENJOY THEM UNLESS YOU’RE DRIVING THEM.”

Steve Cook Creations has a reputation of building incredibly clean, detailed and subtle cars, and on episode thirty-eight, the Gearheads got a chance to sit down and talk with Steve, his son Mike, and Alan Childers. We dove deep into the design sense and philosophy of the build team. Steve lays out a lot of insight and perspective on cars as a passion, and the realities of building them as a career. Yep, realities. There’s a lot more dimension to putting together an award-winning vehicle, especially when it’s for repeat clients who are every bit as passionate about their cars.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* Steve talks about the passion of building cars

* The importance of focusing on quality in every aspect of a build

* Early automotive influences

* A great comparison of generations and the sources of their influences

* Alan’s early inspiration via the magazine aisle at the supermarket

– WyoTech and an art degree come together

* Cars run deep in the Cook family

* From motorcycle acing to Mom the Machinist

* Struggling with being a workaholic

– Trying to find a life-balance

* Being “so quiet, it’s scary”

* The life of an introverted car builder in a very social society

* “Simple is hard to do”

– Keeping things clean, neatly-packaged and subtle

* When Dad doesn’t understand modern color choices

* Building cars from memory

* Make everything look like it belongs

* Revisiting the theme of the car as a whole, from stance and overall look to the sound and more

* “Smell the ozone coming off of that electric car!”

* The fine art of patience on a build

– Keeping things moving forward over a three to five year build

– The evolution of a project over time

* On building a car that turns out to be ahead of its time

– Staying conscious of the car’s “right” timing

* On the value of research and communication in the shop

* Where inspiration lies and gets dug up from

* How being old school lends a unique thumbprint to build style

* The honor of being selected for a SEMA panel, and making the most of being the “odd man out” sometimes

* Building what the client remembers the car being, even if it is miles apart in terms of fit, finish and performance

* Hand-whittling a Duvall windshield by hand over in the corner

* The “hot rod family”

* Brian lays out the plan for the zero-gravity paint booth