The Round Six Podcast

THE GEARHEADS TALK EVERYTHING HOT RODDING WITH BRIAN BRENNAN.

The Gearheads sit down and talk all things street and hot rodding with Brian Brennan. As the man with fifty years at the helm of some of the leading magazines in the industry, he has a few tales to tell. Suffice to say, this one is loaded with incredible stories. We go deep into his experiences with legends like Pete Chapouris, Little John Buttera and more, and even get into the life lessons of hot rodding.

Looking toward he future, we come to realize that the industry is doing just fine, and that the hobby is on the path it needs to be to keep kids involved… Even if they’re not into the same cars their parents may have been. Learning just what a positive and adaptable attitude Brian has, it’s easy to see why he has had such a successful career: His finger is squarely on the pulse.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* The four steps of the magazine business

– Inform

– Educate

– Participate

– Report

* We talk about podcasting and what it means to the hot rod industry

* Brian Brennan launches his podcast “Barn Finds with Brian Brennan”

* Tales of Little John on the tenth anniversary of his passing

– Road trippin’ with Buttera

– Sleep all day, drive all night

– On being self-taught

– Starting the billet movement

– The on-again/off-again Boyd/Brizio relationships

– On the whole thing being about the people, not the cars

* The hot rod thing and mortality

– Brian shares some very personal insight

* Tales of the Colorado State Trooper

* Thirteen treks across the county in a roadster

– People just want to talk cars

* Brought into the business by Tex Smith

* Naked street rodders (and drive-by moonings!)

* Current and coming trends

– On the popularity of classic trucks

– Squarebody Chevy trucks

– The resurgence of the pre-’49 cars

* On shooting features

– How social media has altered things

– On shooting a feature at a show vs on-site

* Choosing a favorite event

* The Triple Crown of Rodding

* Judging for national awards

– Building the judging team

– Moving from traditional “show cars” to hot rods in AMBR

– On the return of chrome brake rotors

* Opening the model year cut-off in Street Rodder Magazine

* On a 300+ page issue of Street Rodder

* On what the new trends may be

* Why Brian’s screwdrivers are dipped in rubber

* On the importance of paying dues as a car guy prior to writing about cars

* On starting out as a muscle car/drag racing guy

* Fodder for stories

* Hot Rods as life skills

– The fine art of bartering

* The $1/gallon orange paint

* Return of the return of the junk yard trawl

* On retaining/inspiring youth involvement in the hobby and industry

* The pennies-on-the-dollar hot rod resale market and how it’s actually bolstering the hobby

* Brad’s Semaphore skills

 

THE GEARHEADS TALK ENGINES WITH MIKE LEFEVERS.

The Gearheads sit down and talk engines, Bonneville records and more with famed racing engine builder and machinist Mike Lefevers of Mitech Racing Engines. He’s  soft-spoken guy with some serious history. LeFevers was the Engine Development Director at Carroll Shelby Enterprises, spent five years in Gale Banks Engineering engine department, and was involved in the Buick Indianapolis program. He’s not only the Treasurer of Save the Salt and Secretary of the Bonneville 200 MPH Club, he’s also a life member of the latter.

He is the LeFevers part of the Kugel/LeFevers 1992 Firebird, which was the first production-bodied automobile to exceed and set a record over 300 mph in 1999. And it has power windows. Just like Mike, it’s full of surprises.

 

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* Recreating the ’79 Kugel engine to reset the record

* Mechanical injection and twin turbos on alcohol

* Early beginnings with a ’56 Crown Vic… and no brakes

* Losing eyebrows while tuning cars

* On learning in the driveway

* The value of reading what is pertinent to your interests

* A foot in the door at Gale Banks Engineering

* Being mentored by Wally Cartwright

* Heading to Bonneville with Geisler

* A very special Hanky-Panky

* First runnings at Bonneville with Bruce Geisler

* The Sundowner Corvette

– 255 MPH in a stock-bodied ’68!

* The first stock-bodied car to go 300MPH – The Kugel/LeFevers Firebird

* Getting family involved

– Working to get his sons into the 200 MPH Club

* A record-breaking year at Bonneville Speed Week

* SCCA and Trans Am involvement

* Putting his own shop on hold

* The Shelby years

– Investigating the Chrysler V6 engine failures in the Shelby Can Am racing program

– Started as an engine builder on the Cobra Continuation Series

– Development of new heads (the aluminum VS iron head argument)

– Developing, casting and building new 427’s

– Working with Carroll Shelby

– Shelby was more of a businessman than a tech guy

– Lee Iacocca killed the Shelby DOHC 4V 427 Ford cylinder head program

* Mike’s thoughts on the great engineering of the Ford 427 SOHC

* On building small and big-block Chevy engines

* The “idiot-proof” nature of the LS engine

* Vipers and the recession

– Development of dry-sump systems and intake manifolds

– What is it with this guy and snakes?!

* On gauging the health of the industry via your customer base

* Modern tech VS old-school know-how

* The importance of knowing the source of your research materials

* Building the engine to the car

THE GEARHEADS UNWIND AND TALK SEMA, SPONSORSHIPS AND PROJECTS. AND BROWN DIAMONDS.

Episode twenty-six goes all sorts of places as Brian, Brad and Alex discuss projects of the artistic and four-wheeled sort. They preview the SEMA Show preview, talk churros and racecar sponsorships, and then it all goes weird with kit car talk and celebrity tribute parts.

It’s been a while since we just sat and talked, and thought it was a good time to lay back a bit prior to the buildup to SEMA madness.

 

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* Brian goes all “Show Host”

* Brad talks streamliner sponsorships

– The Salt-O-Masochist

* PR disasters

* A blurry blue lightning bolt

– Terrible racecar sponsor team-ups

– …and some memorable ones

* Things that rhyme with “six piston”

* “Don’t worry; it’s not you.”

* Brian runs out of side effects

* The SEMA preview, well, preview

* Bacon-wrap and pumpkin spice all of the things. Except for the churros.

* Alex’s ’64 Chevy project

– Finding the truck

– Then come the bees and spiders

* Alex talks plumbing and wiring

* Brad steals the truck and lowers it

* How patina won on this truck

* Checklists on a project

– Brad calls back to his Dad’s el Camino

* Customizing a car is a slippery slope

* Restoration meets hot rodding

* The joy of wiring and plumbing

* Alex’s first project

* The infamous 1969 Camaro

* The lowest production number ’71 Camaro RS

* The guys go all kit car

* “The Lisper”

CATCHING UP WITH CHRIS JACOBS

Episode twenty-five is a reunion of sorts on a few levels, as the Gearheads take a few minutes to catch up with a friend of the podcast, Chris Jacobs. An actor-turned television host, he’s most well-=known in our industry and hobby from his work on Overhaulin’ with another good friend of the show, Chip Foose, as well as one of the roaming personalities at the Barrett-Jackson auctions.

Boasting a variety of roles on TV shows like The X-Files, Two and a Half Men, and even V.I.P. with Pamela Anderson, where he played a surfing Doctor. Yeah the guy has done a lot of really cool stuff. He’s  blast to hang out with, and is just a genuine, good human and a true credit to the hobby.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* Brian sings the praises of the TSP-7411XR Mk V FriendMaker telescope for “keeping in touch”

* Things get litigious early in this episode

* Whoring a podcast intro for all its worth

* Long Lost Family enters its fourth season

– The parallels between Long Lost Family and Overhaulin’

– Chris’ personal connection to the show

– “It’s me without a hat”

– How timing plays an important role in the show and in life

* Inspired to enjoy cars via his brothers’ cars

* Auditioning for the role of host on Overhaulin’

– Avoiding the drama

– The freeing aspect of zero drama

– From seven to twenty-nine episodes

– On establishing a genre

– The impact the show had on building a career

* Hosting the on-site vehicle coverage at Barrett-Jackson

– Another A-team entirely

* The unforeseen dangers of a stolen car prank

– A gun is pulled

– “This is really real now”

– Zero poop

– The unflappable Chip

– Loco Chip (“The Evil Gang of Solvang”)

– A shout-out to Scott for not altering hot rod history

* The 1987 Grand National

– The magic radio

* Chris’ GTX

– 392 swap by Mark Worman and the crew at Graveyard Carz

– To be auctioned at Brrett-Jackson Scottsdale in 2020, with proceeds to benefit Special Operations Warrior Foundation

– Chris’ sincere value of service personnel

* The salad days of Chris’ acting career

– Dr. “Banzai” Kovacs. IMDB it.

– The joys of residual checks

– On acting as a career with a fallback career in place

* SEMA Show 2018

BRAD FANSHAW SPENDS AN EVENING TALKING BRANDING, MARKETING AND ADVENTURE

Episode twenty-four gets right into it with the man behind more cool stuff than you can shake a billet guitar at. Brad Fanshaw has launched action sports brands, managed the most well-known hot rod shop in the universe, and was the first to take an automotive aftermarket company public.

He hosts a couple of well-known podcasts: Man Seeks Adventure (with Dave Marker and Heather Storm) and Shift and Steer (with co-hosts Aaron Hagar & Matt D’Andria; and formerly with the late Pete Chapouris), along with producing television shows like Car Warriors and The Car Chasers.

The guys sit and talk marketing, branding, and the value of an experience and not simply having a product, as well as gleaning valuable tips and tricks for making the most of your SEMA Show experience.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* Entomology, Shrek 4D and a Dorian Gray reference

* Early VW influence once again surfaces on an episode

* Brad’s first car

– Having the fastest car in High School

– Making twenty bucks street racing before homeroom

– The vintage Pro Street parts stockpile

* A sidetrack leads to gold Moroso valve covers

* Memories of header installs

– Accessory bracket spacers

– The joys of constant re-torquing

* Brad’s orange thing

* It all starts with BMX in our industry

– The freedom of transport and self-expression

* Running ABA and organizing Nationals

– The joys of running a front loader

– The Orange Fairgrounds incident

– Blame it on the monster truck guys

* Being “productively destructive”

* Taking Vision Street Wear from $10M to $125M in five years

– Genesis of The X Games

– Running the largest television production company in Orange County

– From action sports to a Boyds clothing line

* Cadzilla leaves the shop, Brad comes in

* Building the Hot Rods by Boyd empire

– The value of first-class marketing in a new frontier

– Laying the groundwork to bring in investment capital

– Reaching outside of the automotive world to retain the hot rod spirit

* Brian proposes a Virtual Reality Venture Capital pitch

* Starting a watch company

SUPER-BONUS TIPS FOR MARKETING YOURSELF/YOUR SHOP AT THE SEMA SHOW:

* The value of technology/technique sharing

* Building the Starbucks of the hot rod world

– The experience of being a part of something absolutely huge

– Recalling when Brian bought his first Hot Rods by Boyd t-shirt

– Adapting the action sports approach to the “Boyd look”

– The Boyd Zone Tour

– Creating an atmosphere versus buying a product

– The creative atmosphere at Boyd’s during the Chip era

* From Vaynerchuk to Spicoli in one deft swoop

* Building a hot rod-themed billet guitar for Michael Anthony of Van Halen

– Presenting the guitar at the Hard Rock

– Grabbing press via Tim Allen on Leno

* Tips for marketing and branding aimed at the small shop

– How to gain maximum exposure at SEMA

– Influence potential sponsor companies

JF LAUNIER BREAKS THE RULES… AND HAS SOME PUT IN PLACE BECAUSE OF HIM

Episode twenty-three heads to The Great White North and drags JF Launier back like a felled case of Labbatt Blue. JF is a long-time friend of Brian’s, and brings his outstanding, catchy spirit of what hot rodding really is to the podcast. Who else can say that they’ve built a Ridler Award winner and then done donuts in Cobo Hall with it? Or driven it at the Optima Ultimate Street Car Challenge?

No one that we know outside of this JF guy.

Aside from a veritable metric ton of Canadian references to get the show rolling, it all goes onto mind-blowingly cool territory with a guy who just gets it.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* An almost uncomfortable trip North of the border

* Brian and JF hint at current projects

* Talking Detroit debuts

– The new rules regarding any pre-show coverage of debut cars

– The risks involved with social media involvement vs keeping a new car “secret” until the show opens

– JF’s personal experience with leaked images and the Ridler judging rules

– Having a rule put in place to ban tire-smoking donuts on the show floor because, well… JF

* Where passion rules the project

* Not building cars but being the steward to someone’s dream

* The Kaiser build

– Learning along the way

– Innovating and persevering

– Showing up at GNRS with a Kaiser

– Spitting the pinion out of the car

– Jeep Liberty headlamps, and where to use them

* French-Canadians and the art of cursing

* Beating the heck out of a Ridler-winning car

* The ’55 Chrysler Phantom Wagon

– Installing the wood headliner and clocking screws

– Being an Jack-of-all-trades on a project out of necessity

* “Car Club Night”

– Offering a chance to “lease the shoes of an Olympic athlete”

– A group effort

– Learning by doing

* “Rivision”

– A team effort that bred priceless friendships and memories

– When group participation trumps magazine coverage

– The only Ridler winner to not be featured in Hot Rod Magazine or Street Rodder Magazine

– The helping hand at Rad Rides

– Being an ambassador to hot rodding

– Pushing 150MPH in a Ridler-winning car

 – Post Barrett-Jackson Cup Hijinks

– The Symphony of boost

– The sound effect stylings of JF

* Doing donuts in Cobo Hall with Chip Foose in the passenger seat

* Scaring Jacques Villeneuve with a Buick

* Nature time with Alex: The Plecostomus

* Acadian VS Nova

* Drifting in the snow

* Re-return of the Aquarius wheel

* A well-endowed giraffe

* Eric’s bad taste in wheels

* Canadian Tire gets an open invite to sponsor this mess

* “The Canadian Ballet”

 

KEVIN OESTE HOPS ABOARD THE MIGHTY ROUND SIX FREIGHT TRAIN

Episode twenty-two of the podcast that shouldn’t have brings it all next-level with the always awesome, always friendly and super-prolific Kevin Oeste of V8 Speed & Resto Shop, V8TV, and Muscle Car of the Week. And his team just broke 50,000 subscribers on their YouTube channel. If that doesn’t make you feel lazy by comparison, he’s also the face on many promo videos for aftermarket companies and the host of SEMA Central at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

…and he likes Buicks. And knows his kuchen.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* A regrettable but damned funny innuendo-loaded intro

* Kevin’s awesome media presence

* A terribly naughty pee joke

* Kevin and Brian film at SEMA

– Round Six’s Brian was the first guest on the V8 Radio podcast!

* Kevin’s background in radio

– How he and Mike Clark teamed-up on their podcast

* Superfans gone wild

* Early automotive influences

* Riding along with Dad in the Police cruiser

* The importance of engaging the youth in our hobby and industry

– Moving beyond the car show to the movement; getting kids INTO cars literally

* The difference between ours and the next generation

– The aspect of personal safety is pushing kids away from hot rodding

* Today’s technology is magical

* Flat Earth theory… It’ll make sense

* Engineering in the face of legislation

* Oeste’s involvement in SEMA

* Working with Hot Rod Magazine

* The different missions of people at the SEMA Show

– The recurring theme of the importance of interpersonal relationships

* Recognizing the value of your own business or production

* C0-hosting the SEMA Hall of Fame banquet with Jessi Combs

– On inducting his hero Ed Pink

* “Don’t screw this up, stupid”

* Giving thanks for being a friend

* “Old cars make new friends”

* Return of the Vantheon!

– The $300 Dodge van

* Celebrating the success of your colleagues

* Brian plots his tattoo

– Two sleeves and a back battle

– The Star Wars front gets weird

* The Buick thing

* “The Sewer Sniffer” Skylark

* Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals

* All the latest goings-on in the V8 Speed and Resto Shop

MAX FISH DROPS IN ON THE PODCAST

Episode twenty-one swims far into the mind of Max Fish, renaissance man. Known far and wide for his engineering and design prowess in the world of air suspension design (heck, he’s writing THE book on the subject), he’s also an accomplished builder, painter and artist in his own right. Hosting one of the most entertaining feeds on social media, he’s the kind of guy who can tickle your brain in the most fascinating of ways, and we spent an evening talking all manner of things.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* Neil DeGrasse Tyson and the 2-link

* Working as a “boutique-style” shop

* The genesis of The Air Suspension Design book

– Humble beginnings with a Street Source and “Ask Max”

– His column in MiniTruckin’ (ties to former guest Mike Alexander)

– From notebook to complete book

* Inspiration from a tattoo sketch book

* Going from stock to “more stock”

– A non-racing suspension book

– Notes on where the book is at, completion-wise

* Teaching the engineering of suspension design

* Growing up as a “yard sale” of a kid

– Dad had a long list of hobbies

– Groomed to figure things out

* Escape From Anza… to Hemet

* On wanting to be a mechanic

* The difference between “stocker” and “stalker” explained

* Turning down a job on a race team to work at Target, and the reasons why

* Owning a shop

– Partnerships, going it alone

* The joys of driving a slammed VW and living on a dirt road

– The recurring theme of BMX to VW’s and minis

* Timeless design

– Working to honor history, yet redefine it

* Cadzilla as inspiration

* Design by the eye

* The importance of the eye over the tape measure

* Growing up next to Dick Dean’s shop

* Friendship with Larry Watson

* Baffling the paint experts

* Getting into the arts

– Painting as an escape from car overload

– The Brewery in LA

– Fine Art and Lowbrow

– The joy of juxtaposing elements

– Letting go and just creating for the sake of pushing the envelope

* Drop spindle talk

* The proliferation of the Pinto/Mustang II suspension

* Grade-8 nails (left-hand thread, naturally)

* The Dunning-Kruger effect and cognitive bias in 2-link people

CHIP FOOSE HANGS OUT AND TALKS STORY WITH THE GEARHEADS

Episode twenty goes all-out like a lacquer thinner-soaked rag on a fresh candy-painted Lamborghini Miura hood. The gearheads .

Please excuse the slight technical glitches in this episode. We were plagued by sun spot, aliens or perhaps an alternate-dimensional rift.

Chip Foose is the kind of a guy that defines what a hot rodder or car nut should be. He’s experienced not only a rich family history in the industry, but having made his mark in virtually every aspect of it; a true renaissance man of the car world if there ever was one.

We dig a bit deep, and find Chip to be not only the fascinating guest we had expected, but an unexpectedly open, passionate about his craft, and downright fun.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* Humble beginnings

– Working in his Dad’s shop

– Customizing bikes

* The AMT days

– The Ala Kart

* Alex Tremulis inspiration

* Chip’s bicycle fixation

– The hunt for original, pre-teen Foose-built Huffy customs

* The bike caught in the midst of a legal battle

Chip’s design ends up in bike lore limbo

* Chip finds design at seven years of age

– Chip’s Dad Sam inspires him via his art

– Expressing the Foose look at eleven years of age

– “If you can’t make it good, make it gaudy”

* Chip Foose quote memes gone wild

* Flush glass in a first-gen F-body

– The first Pro-Touring car

* The Engle Brothers find a way into the episode

* Chip’s new ’67 C-10 project

– Throwing ideas

* The Imposter Impala

– The sheer number of hours invested will floor you

– Chip and Brian compare Ridler Great-8 notes

– Chip’s keys to figuring proportion

– Cutting up a brand-new Corvette

– Airbag recall on a ’65 Impala?

– Making a hot rod from a brand-new car

– From driver to Ridler winner

– The best/worst two-inch square determines the winner

* On going 180-degrees from trendy

* Pillows in the backseat

– It sounds like a Tim McGraw song for a reason

* Chip’s involvement with the Progeria Research Foundation

– Chip’s sister Amy continues to inspire

– The annual poker tournament/car show

– John Stamos finds legend status among the Gearheads

– Clinical trial progression

* Life lessons at ten years old

– Learning to respect

* Chip’s first car

– Inadvertently bought his sister’s car

* The GTi and San Marcos Pass

* The art of flipping cars

* Overhaulin’ and over-workin’

– Chip ruins the rendering game

* On having zero time to build a SEMA car

– Six weeks of work forty hours, sleep eight, repeat

– The joys of sleeping on your feet

* Swapping stories

* Chip’s first day at Kindergarten

* Disney and Cars Land

* Chip’s favorite food at Art Center

* Worst. Outro. Ever.

More information on the Progeria Research Foundation:

The Progeria Research Foundation website: www.progeriaresearch.org

 

MIKE ALEXANDER INSPIRES THE GEARHEADS

Episode nineteen brings the inspiration and life lessons themes.

Mike Alexander is the Tim Ferriss of the automotive world.

He’s an example of inspiration, dedication and vision. A pioneer in the digital publishing world, he has moved seamlessly to manufacturing  some of the most ground-breaking air ride systems. Living proof that hard work pays dividends, he opens up about design, school and instinct. Along the way, he lays out a master plan for making it through work, work, work.

…and then we discuss nipples. Like you’d expect any less.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* An awkward discussion glides seamlessly into a podcast

* Starting with a letter to the Editor of MiniTruckin’ to land that first gig

– Renting a car a twenty one and holding tripods

* The humble beginnings of mini trucks and the lifestyle

– “Second car poor” lifestyle

* The constant shifting of magazine ownership

– The “perfect 24”

* The passion of building a brand

* Self employment for better or worse

* Shop names in hindsight

– The value of projecting your business name on your future self

* Starting early has value (and impresses Brian)

* The digital revolution

– The politics which prevented growth

– Missing social media and more by twenty years

* Plotting a future, post-magazine life

* Rev’d Media, Slam’d Mag and a talent pool of incredible proportions

– Deliberate quality standards

– When Jalopnik doesn’t compare

– The coffee table book of digital

* The value and non-value of formal education

* Knowing what to apply and when

– Following your interests; pursuing what you love

* Max and Brian’s metaphysical discussions serve as an example

* NEVER giving up

* Bring passionate enough to get mad at your passions

* Balancing character with nervous energy

* “Smile at hardship”

– Working with struggle to forge character

– Fight over flight every time

A VERY NON AIR-FRIENDLY JOKE WAS REMOVED HERE FOR YOUR SAFETY.

* The podcast is not sponsored by a condom company

* An absolutely terrifying Michael Jackson joke

– Eric made us keep it

* The small business-as-child metaphor

* Creative brain equals no sleep

* The value of compartmentalization

* Koala bears and chlamydia

– Dancing in a golden shower of bear urine

* SEMA insight from every angle

– Building a vehicle and the challenges presented

– Cost vs ROI of booth space

* Sponsorships revisited

– Representing your sponsor product’s company through your creation

– Responsibility weighs heavy

– The importance of effort and how it reflects in all directions

– “How you do anything is how you do everything”

– Or “grip the banister with both cheeks”

– Brian’s lack of a trigger

– The value of spelling “sponsorship” correctly

– Sponsorship is the pro-level of building

– Trade-level value

* Mike and Brian plot matching SEMA tattoos

* FLO Airride Manufacturing!

– A bespoke line of air ride systems

– A unique compressor

– Billet vs inferior materials

– Addressing longevity through design