Rad Rides Podcast

On this crossover episode we talk muscle cars and professional bodybuilding with IFBB Pro Jennifer Zollars! We go into a deep dive of the bodybuilding world nd talk behind the scenes of a typical prep all the way up through show day. We also spoke about the podcast being hacked and some of Jen's favorite cars to photograph! You can find her on instagram @jeni.snax or on Facebook Jennifer Zollars or just catch her live during this upcoming season in the IFBB Professional league.

What you are looking at and listening to is the story of the lost 1981 Oldsmobile Omega that was indeed used as one the Official Pace Car for the 1981 PPG-CART-Indy Car World Series from the forgotten car era. This 1 of 1 prototype was the product of the GM beancounter reigns taken off using a mix of factory and aftermarket parts culminating in one of the raddest Omegas ever.

My faith in the Pittsburgh car scene has been rejuvenated with the first Steel City Cars N’at / Burgh Built end of summer bash. A collection of cars, trucks, lowrider, classics, exotics all gathered at the Soutpointe parking garage for a celebration of car culture before the hands of old man winter relegate these machines to the garage. Everyone behaved themselves, no burnouts, no donuts, no fights just a bunch of like minded enthusiast celebrating the freedom to drive their beloved machines and admiring each others works of art. I talked with three of the show goers in quick podcasts to find out some of the stories behind the 500 cars that showed up to the event.

Slate Performance is on a mission to become the premier custom and restoration shop in the Indianapolis area…and boy are they starting off hot. Their resume includes a CEO who worked on a NASCAR team to movie cars contracted by Universal Studios to wide body classic Corvettes pumping out 1000+ horsepower the quality and performance being pumped out is unmatched.

Within the past decade the phenomenon of cars and coffee started, presumably in California, where a group of car enthusiast started meeting in the mornings. No matter what the make or model, as long as you drove or rode it there you were admitted. Awesome, until like many things in our society it was ruined as it grew in size.

When putting together a car collection most go for some type of theme, a certain era of cars or only collect a certain make. For Justin Ross, his collection is based on some of his favorite designers and has a completely different take on what makes a car special to him. Names like Zagato, Giugiaro, and Gandini all continue to pop up when Justin explains how he built his collection. If you don’t know these names you should, they’re all designers that have influenced many of the iconic cars of the 70s, 80s and 90s and reason behind the rolling art studio that is Justin’s collection.

“Never forget” we use that phrase a lot, however it takes a unique person to truly never forget. We all love the classics, 60’s Mustangs, 30s hotrods, GM muscle, but what about the forgotten cars? Enter in Mr. Obscure, a mysterious man who has a passion for the rare, weird and forgotten cars of yesteryear. By day he works a normal job like the rest of us, however through the magic of sitting on the throne, educates the internet on obscure cars that 99.9% of us have never seen.

In every sense of the phrase “hand built",” EJ Talik is putting out some of the best hand built hotrods on the streets in America. Trained by fire he has learned the old school ways of swapping metal and has a resume that includes Riddler and Good Guys winning hotrods. His one man shop outside of Pittsburgh PA includes simple tools and a lot of man power. No big power hammers, not CNC machines, just EJ basic metal shaping tools and a shoulder with tendonitis that could tell a story.

For Cody James his daily driver Cobalt SS turned street/strip beast was built 100% at home out of boredom and to prove to his friends it could be done well and on a budget. The sticker on the side of his car is not only a metaphorical disclaimer but in every sense of the meaning, absolutely true. The car was built on blocks in a three car garage and is the only RWD Cobalt that still retains the unibody platform.

Like many of us aging Fast and the Furious kids we are at a point in our life where function sometimes outweighs form. So what is an aging car enthusiast to do? The unlikely four door that looks like a time attack weapon draped in black and carbon puzzled show goers and piqued the interest of the young and old alike.