The Round Six Podcast

“I’M TRYING TO CHANGE THE WORLD WITH EVERY BUILD.”

Del Uschenko, better known in the C-10 and hot rod worlds as Delmo joins the Gearheads to talk trends, relocation and international art heists. Known world-wide as the man behind the “Delmo look,” conversation runs wild from the early days in Canada to what’s on the horizon. A lot to be learned and adopted to any small shop, whether just starting out, looking to re-brand or move… It’s all about recognizing value in relationships a partnering with good people.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* The move to the mountains – Burbank to Prescott

* Del’s Canadian roots

* Shop decorating – The General Lee painting – International art heists – The stain on the wall

* Starting trends – Adopting the brand that fans created from you work – Going at things backward

* The Round Six connection to the Delmo brand

* Hijacking your own brand

* “Forums” and other antiquated methods of communicating in the car community back in the day

* The AccuAir relationship and the value of partnering long-term

* Delmo’s hot rod roots

* The C-10 thing

* Del’s inspiration – Cadzilla – The cars of Troy Trepanier – Foose‘s clean build style

* The advantages of being in Burbank

* Keeping things movie-themed, Brian goes Tarantino with the timeline

* One-hundred percent organic, word-of-mouth growth

* The Del S3 vintage-look LS engine

* The infamous Y-block LS engine post

* Brian proposes the “DELephant” late-model Hemi

* Instant gratification on social media with regard to building a brand– Working at creating an audience

* “Evil Del Wednesdays”

* More great reality TV show pitches

* Passion VS Effort

* The value of deign and creativity when working with a budget

* Re-purposing and bringing in unique items from all walks of life

* The million-dollar build VS a restrained and intelligent build

* The Philosophy and sheer terror of being turned loose, design-wise

* Building a Street Freak– Brian becomes a lifestyle/style coach– Music selection– 8-tracks

* The truck trend swinging in a new direction– The “too soon” move from Squarebody pickups to OBS

* Trends, or the lack of any new ones

* Tailoring your brand to a demographic and vice-versa

 

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We are proud to have this episode brought to you by Trailer Tug. Please visit their website to learn more at TrailerTug.com

Round Six Podcast listeners get 10% off by mentioning the podcast when ordering by phone, or by entering “round six” in the discount code box at checkout on the website.

“TWO STEPS FORWARD, NO STEPS BACK.”

Jimmy Falschlehner, better known as Jimmy Shine, the man behind Shine Speed Shop joins the Gearheads on a freewheeling episode loaded with road trip tales, hot rods, history and a re-imagining of where the brand as a whole is headed into the future. Oh, and an explosive Conan O’Brien set. There’s that, too.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* Talking projects in the shop

* Jeff Allison concepts for shop projects

* Early days and getting into the industry– The “Shine” nickname– “Flesh Hammer”– The first car, nearly thirty-four years to the day

* Exercising restraint on a build

* Billy Gibbons’ Whiskey Runner – The 24V landing light– The SEMA Ignited traffic story– The Conan O’Brien explosion

* The ’56 Monterey New Orleans road trip

* The new shop

* Future projects in the wings – A lakester

* The red hat at Bonneville with Tony Thacker

* Surfing and hot rods

* On taking the hot rod thing seriously

* The TV years

* Getting a foot in the door at So-Cal Speed Shop– The interview with Pete Chapouris– A tattoo bond– A veritable who’s who of hot rodding at So-Cal in the 1990’s– Bunking with

* Taking a bigger hand in the business side of things

* “Losing him is like gaining two good people”

 

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We are proud to have this episode brought to you by Trailer Tug. Please visit their website to learn more at TrailerTug.com

Round Six Podcast listeners get 10% off by mentioning the podcast when ordering by phone, or by entering “round six” in the discount code box at checkout on the website.

“WE’RE JUST GOING TO SHOW THE CAR AND DRINK BEER.”

Doug Jerger of Squeeg’s Kustoms joined the Gearheads live in The Round Six Experience at the Grand National Roadster Show. He brought along good friend Tim Benedict, who shared some great stories from the old days of hot rodding. The gang had a great Sunday afternoon talking hot rods, history, and the incredible story of the accidental AMBR. If you don’t know it, you’re going to love it.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* The ride to Pomona from Phoenix’s East Valley

* Tim’s 331 Hemi swap story from the 1960’s

* The days when even junkyards didn’t want Flathead engines

* From Ohio to Arizona

* The Engle Brothers manage yet another cameo appearance

* Kenny Gartman’s contribution to greatness

* The 1934 AMBR winner – The incredible history – First go-round – Selling the car in Florida – Tracking the car down in Texas – Rebuilding Dad’s creation – The even more incredible AMBR win – “Somebody in their mother’s basement didn’t like it”

* The Lithuanian hot rod show scene

* Almost owning the Jim Ewing coupe (yes, the Super Bell Coupe)

* The Doane Spencer roadster

* The Nash Bridges ‘Cuda – The Ray Barton Hemi

* Comparing the eras of AMBR contenders

* The value of building a team you can count on

* Making a living VS making a killing

* The Round Six $600 Lacquer special

* Thirty-three years as an employee of Squeeg’s, and running the show since 2004

* On never giving up or giving in, and appreciating what you do every day

* A lively discussion on bringing color back

 

PLEASE VISIT OUR SPONSOR

We are proud to have this episode brought to you by Trailer Tug. Please visit their website to learn more at TrailerTug.com

Round Six Podcast listeners get 10% off by mentioning the podcast when ordering by phone, or by entering “round six” in the discount code box at checkout on the website.

“I’VE GOT MY KARAOKE SHOES ON.”

Matt Hay, Pro-Street legend, Indy car parts mogul, Doritos Super Bowl commercial precision driver and all-around nice guy stopped by the Problem Child Kustoms/Round Six Podcast Studio. We had a fun night of laughs, a cruise or two up and down memory lane, and set up a sequel so well that even Peter Jackson would take notice.As conversation moves from the early Street Freak days to the early Pro-Street movement, the gang latches onto what will become a running joke throughout the episode, and the reality of garage-built trendsetting cars get some well-deserved attention. If you missed out on the first wave of Pro-Street, this is the next best thing to having been in the thick tire smoke of it. And if you’re just discovering what was arguably one of, if not the most fun and dynamic eras of hot rodding, well, strap in and hold on, because we’re going for a ride.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* The gang goes off of the rails with reckless abandon

* The Doritos commercial– The Gary Coleman costume– Learning the ways of production– The on-set experience

* The brightest of whites

* The episode goes decidedly Tarantino-esque

* “The Relics of Pro-Street”

* The return of the ‘Bird– Restoration and repaint at Squeeg’s– The fortuitous timing of the Revell re-release of the model kit

* Taking the gamble on reliving the old days– A second generation appreciation for the car– When a thirty year old build wins “Best Engineered”

* The overhead garage door as metal bending tool– “Flapjack fingers”– “Identify as an amphibious American”

* Definitive proof that the show isn’t scripted

* Why Matt headed toward street machines versus street rods– “What’s up with the zeros?!”

* The first car, a ’69 Mustang– Matt’s first engine swap– The great driveshaft hang-up

* The ’66 Mustang– About those gold Centerlines…– A Chevy-powered street freak– The ’78 Street Machine Nationals

* The loan that secured a narrowed rear end– Debbie becomes the prime mover behind the Pro-Street Hay-days

* The coining of the term “Pro-Street”

* The Competition Engineering “rules”– When first through third place were separated by one point

* Competing against Scott Sullivan, Rick Dobberton, Mark Grimes, Rod Saboury and Rocky Robertson

* The whole “Dare to be Different” thing

* The ’79 Mustang– Budget building

* The Olds– Building a world-famous ride in a rental house– Alcohol and Thrush mufflers– “…but you were buying every round!”

* The golden age of sponsorships and co-marketing– A fantastic primer on the realities of starting out, building a name and then seeking support– The power of networking– The corporate mentality of trading ad space for feature car coverage

* The Indy car parts business– The buy-in from Reynard– The power of networking and being timely

* NCIS leads to a traffic stop

* Doing some good and giving back with old parts

 

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We are proud to have this episode brought to you by Trailer Tug. Please visit their website to learn more at TrailerTug.

“WHAT IS THIS RUBBER SACK?”

Mike Jones of Exile Fabrications in Apple Valley, California joined the Gearheads in The Round Six Experience at the 70th Grand National Roadster Show. Mike played a BIG part in making the show display what it was by fabricating the e-newsletter sign-up kiosk stands. And when he’s not over-delivering on incredible favors, he’s creating some of the coolest stuff for everything from rock crawlers to custom cars. Mike talks about his focus on off-road or the past few years, and the transition this coming year to fully-finished hot rods.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* The gang thanks Mike for his hard work and help with the Round Six Podcast show display

* Take a kid to a car show

* Brian makes a very awkward segue – And then doubles-down with an even creepier transition

* Mike’s background and history with hot rods

* Mini trucks once again prove to be the gateway

* Making the transition from off-road to street cars

* The gang goes flat-billing

* Current projects in the shop– The twin turbo Lincoln

* Mike’s 1965 C-10 project– A test bed for new products from Exile Fabrications

* It all started with a Bug– Mike’s first VW– Learning about air bags on the fly– Fist outing with the bug led to a first place at Severed Ties

* The Tacoma– From lowering to butchered first mini

* Learning to MIG weld and TIG weld

* Entry to the professional side at Daytec welding cycle frames– Crash of the motorcycle industry

* The move to building drag cars

* A jump to Trophy trucks

* Mike’s King of the Hammers ride

* Billable kilowatt hours

* Differences between building for off-road versus street cars

 

PLEASE VISIT OUR SPONSOR

We are proud to have this episode brought to you by Trailer Tug. Please visit their website to learn more at TrailerTug.com

Round Six Podcast listeners get 10% off by mentioning the podcast when ordering by phone, or by entering “round six” in the discount code box at checkout on the website.

“YOU’RE LIKE THE JOHNNY APPLESEED OF KUSTOM CARS”

Recorded in The Round Six Experience at the 70th Grand National Roadster Show, the Gearheads spent a few minutes catching up with John D’Agostino. In this special Patreon Supporter-only episode sample, the Gearheads talk about John’s 50th year at GNRS, special awards and traveling the world to spread the hobby of kustom cars.

If you’ve ever wanted to ride shotgun all over the world with the Johnny Appleseed of the custom car hobby, here it is. Huge thanks to John for his time, and look or a full-on episode soon, where we’ll catch up on the world tour.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* Fifty years of attending the Oakland Roadster Grand National Roadster Show

* John’s involvement with the hobby of kustom cars

* The Crystal Award

* Looking back on the “tent year” of GNRS in 1997
– Barely getting into the show prior to cut-off
– John invents “traditional racing kustoms”

* Rainy show weekends and leaky roofs
– Brian suggests an interactive salt rock display

* Kustoms (and the women) of Budapest

* Car shows in Istanbul

* Richard Zocchi as ambassador to John D’Agostino
– John’s first ride in the ’62 Grand Prix
– The Marcos Garcia/Art Himsl connection
– Procuring the Pontiac

* The secret to John’s display set-up

* On popping a car VS opening all doors
– The difference between a first place or a special award

* The patronage aspect
– Elevating the hobby by commissioning builds

* “When he slams his finger in the door, it’s always an even quarter-inch”

“YOU WROTE ABOUT WHATEVER YOU WANTED TO WRITE ABOUT”

Tony Thacker joins the Gearheads, and the talk runs all over the place, as can be expected. From early days in England to a career in magazines, and eventually becoming a United States citizen, and even Monty Python references. Let’s just say that Tony embodies the can-do, life redefining spirit of coming to America. In an age when so many take what is on offer here for granted, he spells out just what opportunity and freedom mean, even well beyond our hot rodding hobby.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* Retired life

* Goodwood Festival of Speed
– The never-ending fireworks display
– Billy Gibbons and flamethrower guitars

* Bringing American race cars to England

* Discovering hot rods in England as a paperboy in the early 1960’s
– Seeing the Mooneyes dragster VS Mickey Thompson

* A career as an Electronics Engineer spurs a change

* A chance letter to a magazine nets a job
– Good fortune in finding a story

*  The importance of enthusiasm and passion
– On not being a good writer or photographer, but still carving out a fifty year career

* Annie Leibovitz’s leg

* Brian discovers his new favorite magazine

* The Sun and page three

* The drunken Dunlop tire test
– Run flats and apple brandy

* The crazy days of long-term car testing for magazines

* The nude Camaro burnout shoot in England

* “We kept the prizes”

* Mangling a DeLorean

* Enzo Ferrari’s secretary
– Trading cookies for tours back when the plant was off-limits

* On traditional hot rods nearing the end of their cycle
– The aging-out of a segment of the hobby
– The future of the industry

* Rod Millen’s Leadfoot Festival

* The GM/SoCal Bonneville cars

* On knowing when to say “yes”

* An appreciation for the American can-do spirit

* “The English version of Smokey and the Bandit sounds slightly less exciting”

* Six years as the Director of the NHRA Motorsports Museum

* The amazing car collections of Portland
– A warehouse full of Ferraris

* The future of car meets

 

PLEASE VISIT OUR SPONSOR

We are proud to have this episode brought to you by Trailer Tug. Please visit their website to lean more at TrailerTug.com

Round Six Podcast listeners get 10% off by mentioning the podcast when ordering by phone, or by entering “round six” in the discount code box at checkout on the website.

“THE COMPANIES THAT ARE WINNING ARE CREATIVE”

Part two of the Eric Tscherne interview, guest-hosted by his former mentor at Mattel/Hot Wheels, Carson Lev. In this episode, the Gearheads look long and hard at the importance of management fostering creativity. The discussion works toward the successes in having management with a design background, and leading a creative team. This episode builds upon the last, and contains a wealth of information on navigating the landscape of design in a collaborative environment. Learn how a great design manager or management team can lead and clear a path for, rather than fight or derail a designer.

We are beyond thankful to our two friends for joining us and presenting this for your benefit. We hope that you’ll adopt many of the ideas discussed. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, that you’ll share them in the comments below. And if you’d like us to bring you more episodes, guests and topics like this, please let us know! Thanks for listening.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* Birth of the “Audi-Body Experience” off-road ute project

* Brian pitches “New Crystal Kambucha”

* A serious discussion on why and how creative companies are winning in the new market

* The importance of having creative-minded (an skilled) management leading creative staff

* How “meaning” has changed in today’s market

* Design beats marketing any day

* Product development is purely creative
– How creative design tells a story, which is what consumers want

* Fostering creativity by management
– The absolute failure of a company that fails to foster creativity

* The change in retail shopping from big stores to direct and internet sales
– Good design can lead the charge versus an entrenched, old-school brand
– Designers and management must be linked to be successful

* Image projection is the most important deciding factor in a purchase, and that is based upon design
– Most new cars are sold on phone connectivity and image projection over the model or trim
– If you are in management and do not respect your designer, you are dooming your business to fail
– Management that won’t take risks never reap rewards
– The golden rule of Design Management: Remove the obstacle that prevent your designer from doing their job

* How instant gratification has altered he design/creative goals of companies

DESIGN AS THE CORE OF THE BUSINESS, NOT JUST PRODUCT

* Design is the most intellectual process in any company
– The Design Department as the central hub of any successful, modern company

* When design is thought of as a utility, and not a commodity

* A look at the many facets of design
– The discipline of Industrial Design and its many values
– “Putting gingerbread on” versus guiding a project from theme to completion
– Poor design cannot be saved in the eleventh hour
– No part of design is based on “like”

* “You can hire me at the beginning for this much, or three times that at the end to fix it”
– Hiring on skill versus price point

* The recent trend of “designers” who cannot draw and what this means moving forward
– Sketching/illustration ability speeds and enhances the process and improves communication
– All sketches are important in formulating/communica...

“I’M SEEING KIDS COMING IN THAT PLAYED WITH TOYS THAT I DESIGNED!”

Eric Tscherne, the VP of Design at Wicked Cool Toys joins the Gearheads on the fiftieth episode! You may know Eric as a legendary Hot Wheels Designer, having created some of the most memorable models in the modern era, but he’s more than the sum of those die cast wonders. We discuss the early days as an intern at Mattel, to being a part of some very successful lines like PAW Patrol (yep, the Nickelodeon show) working as Design Director at Spin Master and Upper Deck, and working with licensed toy lines like Monsters University and more.

This may be the first time that a podcast has gone masterclass on crafting a Design career arc. And doubles-down by hosting not only a seasoned pro, but his mentor as well. A lot to learn on this one.

We’ll be having Eric back, as his career and accomplishments warrant a much deeper conversation. In this episode, we’re concentrating on the beginnings of a successful Design career arc, and the manner in which an aspiring student or Designer can follow their passion. The timeline here is centered between 1996 and 2005, and gets into the value of having Design-minded management, a passion-centric company culture, and what it takes to follow a dream. A lot to be learned and inspired by. HUGE thanks to both Eric and Carson for taking the time to sit and discuss these often overlooked topics and aspects, and we hope that they help you in your career planning. Please feel free to hit us up in the comments with any questions, and we’ll work to get them into future installments of this series.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* Our fiftieth episode celebrates a twenty-year friendship between Eric and Carson

* Eric’s design sensibilities are noted as early as first grade

* A life-long fascination with cartoons and toys

* “Toy cars” and tuners/mini-trucks versus the typical hot rod stuff

* Alex and Brian’s Catholic school days come back to haunt once again

* Finding early guidance at the Cleveland Institute of Art

– Life Drawing classes

– Animating on an Amiga

– Discovering Automotive Design in a basement

* “You’ll never amount to anything if you draw pictures all day.”

– The hopes that a former teacher is buying Paw Patrol toys for her grandkids

* The hurdles involved with following a dream or passion

– Relocation

– Investment of time and energy

* On interning at Hot Wheels/Mattel

– Working alongside legends like Larry Wood

– The first Carson Lev/Eric Tscherne project with Wings West

– Having a mentor who appreciates and recognizes talent… and utilizes it

* Getting to imagine future cars without restraint

* Matchbox VS Hot Wheels

* The mad rush begins for the lost Hot Wheels Probe (and not just the funny car versions)

* Walking through the door at Mattel/Hot Wheels for the first time

* Building and utilizing the morgue file

* The gas station conference room

* Having art on possibly one billion pieces of packaging (drink that in for a moment)

DESIGN TALK

* “Muscle Tone” and the GM Hi-Tech Performance Magazine fifth-gen Camaro article

* When toy design influences real-world automotive design

– Uncorking the design crew to inspire fresh thinking

– Creating a brand that reflected the consumer’s personality

“YOU DON’T WANT A GRILLE THAT LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE KICKED IT IN WITH THEIR FOOT”

Dan Baker of Alumicraft Street Rod Grilles jumps from the road home to the Round Six Podcast and talks all manners of turning aluminum chunks into chips. More than that, we talk starting a small business, career transition, life lessons, and bartering work for a Pines Winterfront grille. Heck, we even touch on the demise of some Schwinn Stingray bikes. It’s got drama, heartbreak and Maytag repair. You aren’t going to find that kind of range at twice the price anywhere else.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* Dan’s involvement in a couple of 2019 Ridler Great-8 cars

* The history of Alumicraft Street Rod Grilles

* Attending the 1971 Street Rod Nationals

* Growing up in the industry

* Starting small in the back room of Dad’s house

* Using a bandsaw and table saw to craft a grille insert

* From Maytag repairman to building custom grille inserts

* The ugly 1937 Dodge sedan that started it all
Road trip tales of Dan’s first car

* Scavenging parts from a “buck-a-whack” car

* The sad demise of that first car (and some Schwinn Stingrays, too)

* Life lessons and getting priorities in order

* Building everything to order

* Watching the most popular grille go from 1936 Chevy to 1937 Chevy car grilles

* Having your product ripped-off by one of your dealers

* The multitude of grilles for fiberglass-bodied cars

* Making sure that a grille fits when it gets to the other side of the world

* The Pines Winterfront barter story

* When to call in a pro

* Keeping up with trends
– When discretionary income dictates a trend

* Working with a designer versus recreating a factory piece

* The importance of setting up at shows

* Go-karting

* The WD-40 connection

* Window-licking and wearing a helmet; Brad takes a shot at Brian

* Dan butters us up

* Brian sees his shadow and decrees the start of show season

* Alex explores early-Springtime fashion on the left coast