The Round Six Podcast

TIM STRANGE SITS DOWN WITH THE GEARHEADS

Episode eighteen. That’s a milestone, right? If we were a female pop star from the 1990’s, the creepers would be posting weird things over on social media about how they’d have a chance with us now…. But instead, it’s us who get the chance to sit and talk with good friend and hot rod industry ambassador extraordinaire, Tim Strange.

We talk custom car legends in their underwear, the darker side of TV stardom, hot rod cruises and fat camps, goat sex changes and the dangers of “buffet syndrome.” Let’s see your podcast do this.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* A Marvel-style intro

* A poor, sad, nearly pathetic flat boob joke at the expense of 4-H

* Getting started in the hot rod hobby

– Tim’s first car, a ’55 Chevy that he bought at eight years old

– His Dad’s custom bikes and wild ’57 Chevy

* Always knew he wanted to build hot rods

– Had his business name picked out in sixth grade

* The benefits of being raised to work hard

– Farm life

* Early days working on Corvettes, both concours and custom

– Learned to paint ‘flake by fixing crashed custom bass boats

* Tim’s sideline as a Christmas tree flocker

* Brian and Tim’s shared history

* The mentoring theme continues

– Learning marketing and the value of am working relationship with manufacturers with Rocky Roberstson

– Staying true not only to your word, but to those who give you a hand

* Advice to young builders on the topic of sponsors

– Nothing is free

– Do what you promise

– It goes well beyond money

– “You dance with who got you there.” – Bobby Alloway

* On burning bridges with sponsorships

– All companies network

* How social media has changed the sponsor/builder relationship

– A whole new requirement and dynamic vs the old days of simple magazine coverage

– Instagram VS Facebook

– Number of views, social reach, YouTube views

* On the changing of goals in the industry

– Getting in magazines VS winning awards

* Hot Rod fat camp

* On automotive television

– “Search and Restore”

* On the business of building hot rods

– “Buffet syndrome”

* On building cars for enjoyment VS judges

* The great goat sex change

* Appreciation for all cars

– What we’re used to VS what we can do

* Darryl Starbird’s underwear

* The Hot Rod Cruise

* The superpower that is insomnia

* Brian expresses his thanks to Tim for his help

– Tim’s talking hands destroy an iPad at SEMA

* New product judging at the SEMA Show

* The Nashville-to-Vegas “Strange Road Trip to SEMA”

FIND TIM ONLINE

Official Website: www.strangemotion.com

Instagram: @strangemotionrodncustom

YouTube: thestrangemotionway

 

THE ENGLE BROTHERS HANG OUT AND WHATNOT

On episode seventeen, David and Greg Engle of Engle Brothers Fabrication take time from their busy Instagram posting to hang out with the Gearheads and talk cars, life, family, being freakishly tall, and surprisingly, human anatomy.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* A bizarre intro

* When things go off of the rails

* Getting started in the hot rod hobby

* Family history with the Road Kings

– Early chrome moly dragster chassis construction

* Drag Week and Greg’s connection to it

* Podcast Superhost, “Ludicrous Misnomer”

* Greg reveals that he doesn’t like LS engines

* Dave’s 8HP blown Olds

* Alex’s dog falls asleep

* Putting soul into a project

– The importance of making things look timeless

– Beauty is in the details

* Shots fired on Greg’s wagon

* Inspiration and where you find it

– Art in every aspect of a build

– Making the most of what’s on hand

* The Danny D-painted kandy gasser stroller

* The V8 go kart!

* Greg’s old tool finds

– A monster bred of necessity

– Built to last

– Estate sales and Craig’s list

– Barry Manilow’s third mention on the podcast, but the first to evade editing

– The value of purchasing used or old/antique tools when starting out

* Being mentored by Rob Ida

– Picking up things from everyone you admire

* How Brad’s flip-phone Compu-Serve app failed him again

* Return of the hot rod musical Tres Miserables

* Dave questions why we had the brothers on

– Brian hypothesizes that it’s the booze again

– Alex argues that it was a lost bet

– It all boils down to mutual enabling

* The value of being unafraid of failure

* Seeking out a mentor/guide

 

EPISODE SIXTEEN: IT AIN’T SO SWEET, LOOKING BACK ON IT

The Gearheads attempt to enjoy the first “Film Friday” episode, and in honor of this being the first week of Summer, made a grave error.

We watched “Corvette Summer.”

Three of the Gearheads rented it on Amazon; one went right on ahead and purchased it on iTunes. Buyer’s remorse? You’ll have to listen to the episode to see just how deep that rabbit hole goes. There’s nostalgia, kitsch, and, well, this movie. It makes you wonder if they had stuck with the title The Hot One, or its working title Stingray (which was registered for another cruddy film that also had a Corvette).

“Luke, join me or you’ll star in CORVETTE SUMMER.”

– Mike Nelson, MST3K, episode 513

 

IT’S AN INTERACTIVE EPISODE – HOW THIS ALL WORKS

You can join the Gearheads, and watch along with us! Simply grab a copy of the movie (you can rent or purchase it here on Amazon, or purchase it on iTunes, too), cue that bad boy up as described in the podcast (get to the :10 mark, and let ‘er rip when we do!), and enjoy. We’d suggest having a beverage handy, and leaving your expectations outdoors. If you haven’t seen this one in a while, you may have some preconceived notions about what it’s like.

So did we.

THE GEARHEADS REFLECT ON THE FILM THROUGH A HAZE OF METALFLAKE

Rather than even try to break the show down to just some bullet-pointed notes, we thought it best to just jot them down here. Except for Alex. He went all bullet happy. Either way, you’re welcome.

BRIAN SAYS:

Between the release of Star Wars Episode Four, A New Hope, and Episode Five, The Empire Strikes back, actor Mark Hamill was involved in a car accident.

This film is that accident.

I honestly don’t recall it being this bad. I mean, the only thing that saves it is Annie Potts. The rest is terribly written at best, poorly acted when at its worst, and just plain poorly filmed the rest of the time. Inflicted with major gaps in the storytelling, this thing is like some foreshadowing to latest Star Wars movie on more than just a few levels. The title of Beck’s song “Corvette Bummer” kind of sums it up neatly. It’s the discount store version of a car movie; heck it even has a Great Value edition Willem Dafoe played by Kim Milford.

The good stuff: As poorly written as this film is, there is a lot to be said for establishing exposition by way of a few simple scenes with the car. However, it all gets blown apart over and over again by some very blatant Achillean themes. I mean seriously, between the bizarre teacher/student relationship and so forth, it’s uncomfortable to watch. And I attended Catholic school. Case in point, the shop teacher, played by Eugene Roch is just effing bizarre.

ALL THINGS ARE DELICATELY INTERCONNECTED. EVEN HERE.

Weirder still, Roche played “Captain Tim Greenwood” in Steven J. Cannell’s TV series Stingray (episode 11, season 2)! Continuing his connection with weird-looking red cars, he was also in Hardcastle and McCormick. Let’s go even weirder, why not? He was in an episode of Taxi named “The Road Not Taken,” an episode of Night Court entitled “Hit the Road, Jack,” two episodes of Webster (“Rearview Mirror, Parts 1 & 2”), four episodes of Perfect Strangers (but only two could be tied in, car-wise with “The Break-In” and “The Horn Blows at Midnight”), and weirdest of all, considering the character relationship in this monstrosity, a Priest in the TV movie A Friend to Die For in 1994 AND another in 2003’s The Di...

EPISODE FIFTEEN. BOB FLORINE OF ARP TALKS FASTENER ENGINEERING AND SALES MASTERY.

The Gearheads host the very gracious and incredibly fun Bob Florine of ARP. We talk careers, the value of learning a business from the ground-up, working as a traveling salesman and engineering. To say that there is a TON of value in this episode would be an understatement. If you’ve ever wanted to learn the in’s and out’s of fastener engineering and how to work your way to the top, then this is your episode. Suffice to say, Bob is the guy you want riding shotgun the next time you run to the hardware store to match up those bolts for your Kruupenschornen IKEA chair.

If you ignore the incredible free class on fastener engineering, the amazing advice on moving through the ranks of company and even the great example of how to treat others, please take this away from the episode:

Bob is a guy who is excited about, and clearly loves his job. The same one he has held for over forty years. Consider that for a moment. This episode hands you the secret to a happy life and career. Boom.

The guys dive deep into the why’s and how’s of bolts, and then get carried away talking about Bob’s project cars, and a little Round Six connection to one via our own Brad.

 

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* The value of starting out on the ground floor

* How a quality product and diverse line can put a company far ahead in all aspects

* A brief history of incredible sustained growth

* Competition in the marketplace

* Quality and engineering

* From go-karts to space

– Everything from food lines to oil rigs to aerospace

– Much of ARP’s work comes from racers having day jobs and suggesting the product to their employers

* Dealing with counterfeit parts in the marketplace

* The incredible advances in race technology

* Brian launches “Team Pushbroom,” the only F1 race team that exclusively uses counterfeit parts

* Smokey Yunick

* John Paul Stapp and the rocket sled

* The wealth of engineering information available in just the first twenty pages of the ARP catalog

* Threads are the weakest link in a fastener

* Torque wrench versus stretch gauge

– Torque is variable, stretch is empirical

– Yield

– Elastic versus plastic

* How fasteners are essentially springs

* Designing fasteners for turbocharged applications

* Exploring the re-use of “torque-to-yield” fasteners

* Explaining thread diameter

– Rolling/extruding thread

* Hot-heading versus cold-heading

* Marketing

– Sponsorship versus paid placement

– The value of personal relationships over sales dollars

* Moving to California on his own at seventeen

* Starting in sales

* Bob’s first hot rod, a cafe racer-style Honda

* A ’68 Satellite with a 383

* The $1500 4-speed ’69 Road Runner

* The Red ’70 Camaro

* The ’57 Ranch wagon

* Pete Chapouris and Brad’s tribute on the tailgate

* The forthcoming ’67 C-10 project

* On patina

– Alex invents “Simu-Rust”

Listen to/watch this episode on YouTube! Be sure like, comment and subscribe to our channel, please!

 

EPISODE FOURTEEN. ROB IDA, TUCKERS, HOT RODS AND RACING ON THE BEACH.

The Gearheads host the incredibly skilled and prolific Rob Ida for an evening of incredible coincidences, hot rods, legendary friends and more. If you had to illustrate humility and grace, you’d be well served in using Robs image as a reference.

Rob shares his hot rodding history, his perspective on cars competing for awards, and being fortunate to have been able to work on cars that inspire an emotional connection, versus simply being a means to an end in and of themselves. Being a small shop, it’s simply about the car, which is why you won’t visit the shop and see a ton of decoration. Ida’s shop is, as he describes it, “decorated with work.”

And that is a fine description of his incredible career, as well. We think you’re going to enjoy the heck out of this episode, and cannot wait to have Rob back again soon.

You can learn even more about Rob and his team on their website: www.robidaconcepts.com

 

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* The stakes are high with a new game show

* The Race of Gentlemen

– eBay helmets

* Gene Winfield

– Finishing projects of Gene’s from the 1960’s

– Metalshaping classes

– Laying down on of his world-famous fade paint jobs

– The incredible work ethic of a 90 year old icon

* Building cars as art, not a competitive device

* Having the opportunity to purchase Gene’s old ’32

* “Decorated with work;” discussing the lack of flashy decor in the shop

– Emotional attachment to a project versus over-processing a build

– The recurrence of trends

– A love of engineering and design and balancing the two

* Rob’s love for Willys, Tucker and Porsches

* A family history of fast cars

– His Dad’s supercharged, 10-second 427-powered street ’32

– From horses to the Hemi Healey

* Building the Tucker Torpedo

– Solving the problem of the center-mount driver seat

– Using Arduino and SolidWorks

* Pebble Beach concours-level Tucker #44 restoration

– Removing 200-lbs of factory lead

* Using the cars to go beyond, in terms of charity and inspiration

* Rescuing the original Tucker blueprints

– Saved from a landfill because of the ink!

– Discovering original correspondence from Rob’s grandfather and Tucker

* The challenge of working on/restoring Tucker automobiles

* The 589ci Tucker flat six

– Simplicity means less parts to break

* The incredible engineering of Tucker

* The value of having great people in your life, and taking the time to recognize and appreciate them

Listen to/watch this episode on YouTube! Be sure like, comment and subscribe to our channel, please!

 

EPISODE THIRTEEN. LIFE COACHING AND ART. AND COFFEE. AND PINSTRIPE CHRIS.

The Gearheads host Chris Dunlop, aka “Pinstripe Chris” for a fun evening of talking art, life coaching and taking risks to get where you need to be. He has an unmistakable and unique style, his work is easily recognizable, and rather than talk about that, we talk about Stanley Kubrick and a Pontiac Fiero. And Spencer Gifts.

An episode that any young artist will not want to miss, as Chris offers some priceless insight and life experience. He’s truly a man wise beyond his years, and truly on a road to forging a legendary career.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* “The punk rocker that wants to buy fake dog poo”

* “I knew your mom!”

– Motley Crue concerts and Brian’s mom

* The profitability of life coaching

* The difference between “want to” and “have to”

* On moving from Maryland to California with $1200

* Making the transition from restoring exotics and classics to being an artist

– The willingness to start from ground zero to realize one’s potential

* Creating art

– “Show something familiar in a unique way”

– Channeling  the inner “skater” mentality

* The California car culture

* SEMA build stress and career trials

* The difference between monetary gain and opportunity

– Exposure versus profit

– Weighing numbers versus value

* The advantage of being efficient in creating work

* How hands-on automotive work translates to better art

* The fundamentals and their importance moving forward

* Return of the Pirate and Turtle

* Keeping fresh by being diverse

* Developing a unique look

– Limiting “borrowed influences”

– Dissecting art

– The “Bob Ross” effect of “happy accidents”

– “Artistic Neurosurgery”

* Art and Coffee

– The different wiring of artists and their response to caffeine

* The difficulty of wasting materials

– The cost of pixels

* The advantage of working both digital AND analog

– Knowing when to apply which approach

– Looking for an reveling in the “human flaws” that put a fingerprint on their work

* Chris’ Bic pen art

* The value of always pushing for perfection

* The Sharpie car thing

– Chemistry

– Clear coating tricks and tips

– Paint markers earn their place

– The Fiat Olympic car and Jay Leno’s Garage

* Chris’ secret car crush

Listen to/watch this episode on YouTube! Be sure like, comment and subscribe to our channel, please!

 

WHERE TO FIND CHRIS AND HIS WORK:

Website: www.pinstripechris.com

Instagram: @pinstripe_chris

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PinstripeChris

 

EPISODE TWELVE. SCOTT SULLIVAN. ‘NUFF SAID.

The Gearheads host Street Machine and graphics legend Scott Sullivan on a very rainy Dayton (“day-INN”) night, and talk about cars, rain, improvised weapons and more. This one really does have a little something for everyone, assuming that you don’t get out a lot.

The best possible description of this is to imagine yourself at whatever age you were when you first saw the Cheez-Whiz ’55, but with the cool factor of being a fly on the wall in a garage with that car, Scott, and four of his neighbors. It’s cool, and has one heck of a neat historical gem tucked away. You don’t want to miss this one.

Be sure to look for this, along with all of our other episodes (and much more) on our YouTube channel.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* The guys re-reinvent reality TV all over again

– “American Hot Rod Gladiator Ninja” is born

– Potential hosting job for Hydro Gene

– The world’s largest throwing star

* It rains

– Hear some actual Ohio thunder

* Alex brings a storm of expletives

* Brian’s Directorial diary

* Early influences

* Ohio drag racing history

* Custom paint roots

– Speaking of roots, we talked about hair color, but that’s a extra for subscribers only

* They heyday of graphics and magazines

– That “1980’s” stuff

* Junkyard trawling revisited

* The “jubilance” of eleven listener and a glove box door button

* Scott’s Nova

– Being twenty-two and building the first Pro-Street car

– October 1979 Popular Hot Rodding Magazine coined the phrase “Pro-Street”

– Setting the street machine world on fire

* Cramming a 13-inch tire under a  ’71 Dodge Demon in a driveway

* The Rat Pack car club days

– Pat’s ’70 LS-6 Chevelle

–The unseen candy red version of the Nova

–Leaving the club

* “Birds can fly, but flies can’t bird.”

* Winning Street Machine of the Year simply because of a bad parking spot (yeah… you read that correctly)

* The struggle to find 16 and 18-inch wheels

* Bringing back Convo-Pro’s. We’re joking.  …maybe.

* The story behind the ’55 wheels.

* Assorted details on Scott’s ’54 Chevy project

 

Listen to/watch this episode on YouTube! Be sure like, comment and subscribe to our channel, please!

 

CARSON LEV FLOORS THE GEARHEADS ON EPISODE ELEVEN

It goes to eleven… The Round Six Gearheads sat down with Carson Lev to talk hot rodding, marketing, licensing, Hot Wheels and being mentored by Ed Roth and Mickey Thompson. Not enough street cred? He’s the guy who brought the real Twin Mill to SEMA, and learned to stripe and letter at the shoulder of Kenny Youngblood. Yes, you read that right. It’s a fascinating episode that’s loaded with life lessons and more.

 

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* On being born and raised in the hotbed of hot rodding

* Growing up in the vicinity of sixteen or so drag strips

* “Normalcy is mediocrity”

– Mentored by Ed Roth and Mickey Thompson

* How insecurity bred drive to succeed

* Hanging out at Lions Drag Strip while his Mom was at work

– Washing cars for Mickey Thompson

– Learning from legends

– The truth behind the hamburger

* History as told from the guy who was there

* The importance of old-school mentoring

* The dichotomy of Ed Roth and Mickey Thompson as mentors

– Mickey’s lessons in efficiency and negotiating

– Learning the value of a name alongside art and design from Ed Roth

* Early dreams of becoming a Doctor

– The inspiration of the Dino

* From Med School to Industrial Design

– Bringing the ergonomics ideas of Henry Dreyfuss to the field

* Lettering and pinstriping after a day of designing biomedical products

* Hanging out with Kenny Youngblood

– Learning what a Stabilo pencil was

– Using an afro pick to paint headlamps

* Kirby’s Clubhouse, Reath Automotive

– “The Hot Rod Version of the Ed Sullivan Show”

* Carson’s intro to Wally Parks

* From medical design to Hot Wheels

* Licensing the World’s Coolest Car Company

* The Twin Mill at SEMA

* The Disney connection

* How to ace a job interview in one simple step

* The importance of paying it forward

 

Listen to/watch this episode on YouTube! Be sure like, comment and subscribe to our channel, please!

 

THE GEARHEADS GO HOLLYWOOD

The Round Six Gearheads sat down and just riffed about movies, cars, movie cars, and car chases. They even ponder the genius of a Bridges of Madison County crossover action film. Yeah, it’s a bumpy ride here in episode ten. We go Hollywood so that you don’t have to.

This episode dedicated to Carson. See what you missed?

Again?

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* Animal-shaped/themed wheels

– Return of the goldfish wheel

* Plotting the ultimate heist getaway car

* Wondering just how many sentient cars there were in movies and TV

* The ultimate mash-up

* “WHERE IS MY TURBO-BOOST BUTTON?!”

* Making Love Bugs, not War Machines

* Barney Rubble in a leotard? Sure. Why not? Don’t judge Eric.

* ANOTHER Joie Chitwood Thrill Show reference

* Never-ending fries? No, but we’ll have many extra hubcaps, please.

* Exploring the insurance claims of car chases

* The obviously humorous side of exploding gas stations in movie chases

* An accident so violent the vehicle brand changes

* The value of having production designers who understand cars

* The eighty-four second quarter mile run

* The guys pitch a new YouTube channel idea

* Heart Like a Wheel/Face Full of Oil

* The incredible weakness of film car hood hinges

* Fast cars or character development?

– Living life nine sequels at a time

* Why an NOS energy drink works, but a Bars Leak-branded one wouldn’t

* Bottoming-out in Alex’s getaway car

– The value of air shocks in your heist car, and keeping them filled

* The delightful Clint Eastwood/Snake Plissken mash-up

* Re-imagining sappy love stories as car movies

* A call-back to the Round Six trophy

* Worst-ever stock car racing movie crew chief

* Drink your Hydrazine!

– The birth of energy drink spokesman, Hydro Gene

* More assorted juvenile idiocy

 

AND SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU’VE EARNED IT: