Hot Rods & Hijinks

Recorded at LilyJack Customs in downtown Greeneville, the hosts welcome longtime friend and mini-truck enthusiast Matt Ball to rehash Greeneville car culture from the early ’90s, including his lowered Honda CR-X with an early Eibach setup and their build of R.B. Kelly’s Datsun “bullet side” mini truck into a peach/pink convertible cruiser with custom wheels, Fiero seats, and a big sound system. They share stories about filming the build on VHS, cruising around town with the top off, and other throwback adventures like a Zima run to Hamblen County and a 1991 roadside encounter where Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan handed them a signed magazine. The conversation also covers Florida trips near Titusville, downsizing and simple living, concert memories and music connections, and Matt’s perspective as a trucker—including frustration with trashy truck stop behavior.

On this episode of Hotrods and Hijinks at LilyJack Customs in downtown Greeneville, Tennessee, the hosts sit down with Bladyn Norton and Brody Inscore of B's Auto Detailing to talk about their fully mobile detailing business, including full interior/exterior details, ceramic coatings, paint correction, extractors, and fleet work. Blake shares how he got into detailing through a love of cars and discusses his LS-swapped, lifted Jeep and its drivetrain issues. They break down ceramic coating expectations and prep steps, paint correction processes, common causes of swirls from car washes, and why UV and thin modern paint can lead to clear coat failure. They cover pricing ranges for mobile services, travel distance, social media marketing, odd cleaning challenges like dog hair in Toyota carpets, and goals like building a shop and possibly expanding into PPF and aircraft detailing.

In this episode of HotRods and Hijinks at LilyJack Customs in downtown Greeneville, Tennessee, the hosts welcome Brandon Shaw and Tyler Ricker from Off The Chain Bicycles. They discuss how Tyler’s longtime interest in bikes and a partnership with Mark Ailey (Knuckle Busters/Off The Chain) led to building custom bicycles and helping grow a local custom bike scene. The conversation highlights a Pigeon Forge night ride and fireworks outing featuring a chrome cruiser with a powerful custom sound system, plus unusual builds like swing bikes, a buddy bike, and other rare styles. They cover upcoming shows and raffles—including Pedal Enuf at the Fair Enuf car show in September, a Pigeon Forge bike show on November 7th, and future giveaway bikes for Fair Enuf and Sparks—along with plans for a two-wheel-drive e-bike build. They share how to find Off The Chain Bicycles on social media and at their Sevierville storefront, then wrap with “had enough” gripes about parts suppliers, road construction, and not having enough fun.

In this Hotrods and Hijinks episode filmed at LilyJack Customs in downtown Greeneville, the hosts talk with Victor Pate of Black Label Coatings about his one-man powder coating shop and how he focuses on difficult, high-detail work other shops avoid. Victor explains his background in paint, the lack of touch-ups in powder, and his process from chemical stripping and outgassing to blasting, curing, and multi-stage finishes, including powder-only graphics and artwork inspired by tattoo flash. He discusses developing custom powders (signature satin black, murderous gloss black, and clear), launching blacklabelpowders.com during COVID, and why he scaled back production. Victor also covers wheel refinishing with in-house mounting and balancing, equipment and air management upgrades, maintenance tips, warranty, and standout projects like Patrick-from-SpongeBob wheels, plus his long-term 1975 C10 build.

At LilyJack Customs in downtown Greeneville, the Hot Rods & Hijinks podcast welcomes Tom Willett of TRC Logistics and Greeneville & Co. Realty to talk about growing up across Greene County and how that local knowledge helps in real estate. Willett explains why Chuckey is currently the county’s most desirable area, discusses land and home pricing differences by location, and shares market numbers showing active listings are flat year-over-year while land listings are down. He describes his approach to pricing, flipping vs. rehabbing and renting, FHA anti-flip rules, and how barndominiums and newer manufactured homes compare to stick-built houses. The group also discusses out-of-town buyers (many from Florida), local growth, zoning and development challenges, affordable housing, tiny homes/containers, and frustrations with Zillow estimates and panhandling.

From Minivan Mods to NOPI Nationals: Mike Cooper’s Wild Car Scene Stories & the On the Stax Journey Mike Cooper, owner of On the Stax, joins the podcast to reminisce about early-2000s East Tennessee car culture, car clubs, and cruising scenes, from minivan and mini-truck mods to imports, big wheels, and air ride. He recounts building a heavily modified Mazda 5 daily driver with air ride, carbon fiber parts, an elaborate Sound Decision stereo setup with many TVs, and the costs and tire wear that eventually led him to trade it in after winning at NOPI Nationals, where class winners had to make major changes to return. The group swaps stories about major shows like Slammed Enough and Lebanon, discusses how trends evolve (including electric cars and new engine tech), and shares Mike’s infamous Gatlinburg arrests tied to car-show antics. Mike also explains how he quit drinking, found Friday Night Magic, and opened On the Stax nearly four years ago as a Pokémon/Magic buy-sell-trade tabletop shop serving mostly adults, with Pokémon demand driving big business.

Recording at LilyJack Customs in downtown Greeneville, the Hot Rods and Hijinks podcast welcomes Dale Kyker of Kyker's Extreme Automotive, a 46-year veteran of the car business and cast member of Netflix’s Swap Shop. Dale discusses the ’84 Oldsmobile 98 Regency he drove in (27,000 miles, first time in rain), his farm upbringing and work ethic, and how he started at Captain D’s and then with Kent Bewley in tobacco warehouses before rising from detail rack to technician and becoming the youngest service manager in the Atlanta zone. He shares memories of Oldsmobile history, 1980s tech and emissions quirks, diesel engine failures, and shop-rate changes, plus launching his own shop, running multiple dealerships, and the realities of TV production. Dale also describes building a highly accurate Guy Fieri Camaro clone for a Myrtle Beach Flavortown restaurant and highlights upcoming Greene County Fair events.

In this episode of Hot Rods and Hijinks at LillyJack Customs in downtown Greeneville, Tennessee, Reed and Tommy Bennett sit down to talk shop updates, recent events, and small-town mischief. They recap hosting an NSRA shop tour, a pre-party with The Vertical Birds, and a downtown car show with about 400 cars, with plans to do it again in October and hopes for a future soapbox derby return. Reed shares what’s happening in the shop—staffing, parts delays, and projects including a flamethrower truck nearing completion, a Lincoln transmission, multiple Camaros, Jeeps, a CJ light restoration, and a big dually build with semi wheels that needs a name. The conversation drifts into food stories, local happenings, cruises, and pranks, highlighted by the “man horse” rooftop statue story and a movie-theater call that led to a shutdown for deep cleaning.

On the Hot Rods and Hijinks podcast at Lily Jack Customs in downtown Greeneville, hosts welcome Army veterans Cody and Cassie Richards from Statesville, NC. They share how they met in the Army as heavy equipment engineers, Cody’s Afghanistan deployment shortly after their daughter Chloe was born, and why it influenced Cassie to leave the Army. Cassie discusses her pin-up journey, international magazine features, and leading Pinups With Purpose to support charities, emphasizing inclusivity and community. She also talks about publishing two children’s books—The Kindness Effect and Izzy and the Grape-Eating Dragon—available on Amazon. Cody dives into their builds including a ’30 Model A and a custom ’53 DeSoto with detailed modifications, plus their daughter’s Studebaker project. They also cover valve cover racing, work stories, upcoming travel, and future show plans.

On Hot Rods and Hijinks, the hosts talk with Chris "Hook "Fillers about the Fair Enuf car show, why he started it to create a place for friends and families to hang out, and how Greeneville/Greene County’s vehicle culture is resurging. Chris explains how the show began with help from Justin Wyatt and support from sponsors and local leaders, and how it’s grown into an inclusive event welcoming mini trucks, lifted trucks, hot rods, classics, tuners, bicycles, motorcycles, and more. For year four, Fair Enough expands to two days (Friday and Saturday) and adds a Friday “Night Shift” cruise and street takeover downtown by The Gentry with a band and food. He shares how he got hooked on the scene through Toby Brown and discusses the importance of camaraderie, cross-show support, and creating lasting memories for kids. Fair Enough is September 25–26; info and tickets are at fairenuf.com and on social media.