HOT ROD Podcast: Lucky Costa on Hot Rod Garage, Roadkill, and the Best Cars He's Owned

MotorTrend

NHRA's Brian Lohnes & HOT ROD Magazine's John McGann are back at Pomona Speedway for the final day of HOT ROD Power Tour West! Today

Transcript

00:00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:00:03 Hey, everybody.

00:00:07 Welcome back to the Hot Rod Pod, where it all began.

00:00:10 Brian Lones, NHRA lead broadcaster,

00:00:12 John McGann, editor-in-chief of Hot Rod Magazine

00:00:14 here at Pomona Drag Strip.

00:00:16 It is the Power Tour West 2023.

00:00:19 We haven't really done this before, John.

00:00:20 We're going to talk to a guy who you are very, very friendly

00:00:23 with.

00:00:24 Yeah, I've known Lucky Costa for several years.

00:00:26 We've photographed his car.

00:00:27 The Hitscherville for a cover shoot for Car Craft Magazine.

00:00:31 Jeez, probably about eight years ago.

00:00:32 And he and I have just become friends since then.

00:00:35 Really good friend of mine.

00:00:36 I like him a lot.

00:00:37 He's a good dude.

00:00:38 This is the one man on Earth that

00:00:39 can talk about being on overhauling,

00:00:41 being in jail for a few years, running from the law,

00:00:44 and do it all with a smile on his face.

00:00:45 And he's made a great life success of himself.

00:00:49 And self-taught, completely self-taught.

00:00:51 Basically got into cars just because he

00:00:53 wanted to do something.

00:00:55 He wasn't good in school.

00:00:57 He was good at working on cars.

00:00:58 Became really good at automotive electronics,

00:01:01 fixing other people's problems.

00:01:03 And it turned into a giant career for him.

00:01:05 He's going to talk about his problems,

00:01:06 fixing other people's problems, his longstanding friendship

00:01:09 with John, and honestly, one of the most entertaining episodes

00:01:12 you will see of this series.

00:01:13 Ladies and gentlemen, the one and only Lucky Costa.

00:01:16 Hey, everybody.

00:01:16 Welcome to this episode of the Hot Rod Pod, Where It All Began.

00:01:19 I'm Brian Loans, the lead broadcaster for the NHRA.

00:01:21 He is John McGann, the editor-in-chief of Hot Rod

00:01:23 Magazine.

00:01:24 He is Lucky Costa, a man of undefined history.

00:01:27 Mm, history.

00:01:29 You know what?

00:01:29 I like that.

00:01:30 So you know Lucky, of course, from Hot Rod Garage.

00:01:33 You know that the work and the cars that he has built,

00:01:35 whether it was with Tony Angelo for years,

00:01:37 now it's with Alex Taylor.

00:01:38 And we have him on this show because we

00:01:40 want to dive into the sordid past of his gearhead history,

00:01:43 which I feel like we're going to get into the deep end

00:01:45 of the pool here.

00:01:46 I was not aware of this part.

00:01:48 Is a statute of limitations?

00:01:50 A lot of those are up, right?

00:01:51 You know what?

00:01:51 A couple of those.

00:01:52 Yeah.

00:01:53 No names.

00:01:53 I think I might have a story or two for you.

00:01:57 I mean, so Lucky, the easiest way to start this thing off,

00:01:59 where it all began is in our show title.

00:02:01 So you've got to take us back to when, before the beard was

00:02:04 this awesome color of platinum--

00:02:06 Nice.

00:02:07 --before the beard existed--

00:02:08 Keep going.

00:02:08 --where did all this start for you?

00:02:11 What, just cars in general?

00:02:12 Yeah.

00:02:13 Or the TV thing?

00:02:14 Cars in general.

00:02:14 We've got to start from the start.

00:02:16 I told this a couple times before,

00:02:17 and I don't know if it's tasteless, which it probably is.

00:02:20 Well, but--

00:02:21 Let's start now.

00:02:23 --why ruin it.

00:02:25 Humble beginnings.

00:02:26 Single parent, my mom was, and I wanted a car

00:02:29 when I was 14 years old.

00:02:31 I saved my lunch money, which was, I think, $1.25 a week.

00:02:35 And when I had $50, I bought a '63 Ford Galaxy 500

00:02:39 from my neighbor, which now you wouldn't try

00:02:43 to be friends with, for sure.

00:02:45 Selling a car for $50 from the back of an apartment complex.

00:02:49 And pink slip-- I don't know what that is.

00:02:51 Registration, never heard of it.

00:02:53 Me and my friends would just cruise around our neighborhood,

00:02:55 which was a decent neighborhood in Torrance, California.

00:02:58 And on our '63 Galaxy 500, that was just slammed to the ground.

00:03:04 Because that's the way it was.

00:03:06 We were not cool enough to even think about that.

00:03:08 With our bicycles or skateboards in the back.

00:03:10 Because if we ran out of gas, we went to the gas station

00:03:12 with our gas cans.

00:03:14 Because we were like, if we pull into a gas station,

00:03:16 we are going to jail.

00:03:18 And so yeah, that's what we just cruised in the neighborhood.

00:03:20 And then somebody had the clever idea of putting air--

00:03:23 we realized it actually had air shocks on it.

00:03:25 Juice those babies up.

00:03:26 We aired it up.

00:03:27 Juiced it like a compressor?

00:03:28 No, we aired it up with a tire pump.

00:03:31 And then we took it into a field and just jumped it.

00:03:34 And that was good times.

00:03:36 Nobody wanted to ride with me anymore after that.

00:03:38 And the last time I saw that car,

00:03:40 I was doing 100 miles an hour, according to the speedometer,

00:03:44 on Pacific Coast Highway, westbound above Hawthorne

00:03:48 Boulevard, roughly.

00:03:50 The engine started making a funny knockity knock noise.

00:03:54 Everything stopped.

00:03:55 Smoke ensued.

00:03:57 I coasted into a-- this is going to date myself,

00:03:59 but at least somebody did--

00:04:01 into a Jimco parking lot.

00:04:03 It was, in my defense, an abandoned Jimco parking lot.

00:04:05 I never saw the car again.

00:04:07 You just left it there.

00:04:09 At least it went out with its boots on.

00:04:12 I got out.

00:04:13 I looked.

00:04:13 There was this trail of junk.

00:04:15 Went all the way to where the car was parked.

00:04:17 I opened the trunk with a screwdriver.

00:04:20 I got my bicycle out, and I rode about a mile

00:04:22 back to where I lived off Madison Street in Torrance,

00:04:24 right by Why Not Burgers.

00:04:27 And just a little add-on to that, years and years later,

00:04:30 I get called to go do the Van Lingen towing in Torrance.

00:04:34 And I go, hey, just out of curiosity,

00:04:35 you do police impounds?

00:04:36 Yes, I do.

00:04:37 How long have you been doing it?

00:04:38 Well, my father did it before me, and his grandfather

00:04:41 before that.

00:04:42 So Torrance impound?

00:04:43 Yeah.

00:04:44 Remember a '63 Galaxy 500 from a Jimco parking lot?

00:04:47 As a matter of fact, I do remember that car.

00:04:49 So I became friends with the guy who

00:04:51 impounded the car that I bought for $50 from some crackhead.

00:04:53 That's an awesome full circle story.

00:04:56 Before there was crack.

00:04:58 That's how cool that guy was.

00:04:59 So yeah.

00:05:02 I remember I gave him $40.

00:05:03 I owed him $10.

00:05:04 I went out one day to start the car, and it cranked.

00:05:07 Mind you, I'm 14.

00:05:08 I went over there angry at a grown man.

00:05:10 Hey, man.

00:05:11 Hey, this car doesn't even start.

00:05:13 And he had the distributor cap with the wires.

00:05:15 So now you know about the first time I bought a car.

00:05:17 This is the first time I worked on a car.

00:05:19 Bring me $10.

00:05:20 I'll give you the cap and wires.

00:05:22 I gave him $10.

00:05:23 He gave me the cap and wires.

00:05:25 Well, this one reaches.

00:05:27 Wow, yeah.

00:05:28 Pop, pop.

00:05:28 That's not right.

00:05:29 Figured out what the firing order was and put it on the car.

00:05:32 That's where it started, right there.

00:05:34 That's awesome.

00:05:35 That's like the best origin story we've had yet.

00:05:37 It is.

00:05:38 That's pretty much a top.

00:05:40 14 years old.

00:05:41 Yeah, yeah.

00:05:42 And has that been the theme?

00:05:45 Like your mechanical education?

00:05:46 Like you are, my understanding anyway,

00:05:48 like a fully basically self-taught guy

00:05:50 when it comes to this.

00:05:51 Yeah, absolutely.

00:05:52 I never had more than one car.

00:05:55 I didn't actually legitimately have a car.

00:05:56 Because from 14, not long after that car went away, so did I.

00:06:03 So for numerous months, I was not

00:06:06 available to purchase any cars.

00:06:10 You're restricted in your ability to purchase.

00:06:13 Exactly, exactly.

00:06:15 Here's another.

00:06:16 Because just recently, a bunch of stuff,

00:06:18 it's just the circle has connected.

00:06:19 I think I told you about it.

00:06:21 I met Mike Ryan, the stunt guy.

00:06:23 Oh, yeah, man.

00:06:24 That guy's run a Pike's Peak and Big Rigs, done all this stuff.

00:06:26 He's a rock star.

00:06:27 So we're up in by Saugus, the city of Saugus,

00:06:30 off of Magic Mountain.

00:06:32 That's where his little stunt spot was.

00:06:33 We did the deal where we borrowed

00:06:35 New Bern and Cotton's police car and inadvertently

00:06:38 jumped it 50 feet and broke it in half, I think.

00:06:41 Whatever, it happens.

00:06:42 They left the keys in.

00:06:43 It's on them.

00:06:44 And while I'm standing up there, I go, hey,

00:06:46 this all looks so familiar to me.

00:06:48 Is there a Bouquet Canyon Road up here?

00:06:50 Because for whatever reason, I remember

00:06:52 writing letters in every return envelope,

00:06:54 it was Bouquet Canyon Road.

00:06:56 He's all, yeah.

00:06:56 I go, juvenile detention center?

00:06:58 He's all, yeah, Scott's Gutter?

00:06:59 Those are the camps that are right there.

00:07:00 They're gone now.

00:07:01 But that's the wreckage of them right over there

00:07:03 on that other little mountain.

00:07:05 I was like, wow.

00:07:05 The last time I was up here, I was

00:07:07 handcuffed in the back of a police car.

00:07:09 And today, I am jumping 150 feet.

00:07:11 [LAUGHTER]

00:07:13 I've heard these stories.

00:07:17 Full circle, yeah.

00:07:18 But it's awesome--

00:07:18 Oh, by the way, John hangs out at my shop all the time.

00:07:20 I do.

00:07:21 As much as I can count them.

00:07:22 They're coming over.

00:07:23 I like it.

00:07:23 Well, we became friends after a Car Craft photo shoot.

00:07:27 And just--

00:07:28 He hasn't been able to shake me since.

00:07:30 Nah.

00:07:31 But I love hearing these stories.

00:07:33 But I always liked how it's like you

00:07:35 were able to just make something out of wherever you were at.

00:07:38 So all the self-taught stuff.

00:07:42 Well, like I said, I never had more than one car at a time.

00:07:44 I would always work on something and then go, like, squirrel.

00:07:48 There's a blue Volkswagen Beetle.

00:07:50 That looks really cool.

00:07:51 I'm going to sell this and buy one of those.

00:07:53 And I would hustle and bustle and end up with that.

00:07:55 Started with bicycles, skateboards.

00:07:58 And I've been trading up ever since.

00:08:00 And now, I have seven cars.

00:08:02 And that's good for me.

00:08:04 That's really good for me.

00:08:05 No David Freiburger, but that's good for me.

00:08:07 So you said you grow up single parent, blah, blah, blah.

00:08:11 But so mechanically, your brain, you're

00:08:13 just kind of wired this way.

00:08:15 Yeah, I just figured it out.

00:08:17 My t-shirt says it all.

00:08:18 Good enough for now.

00:08:19 It's going to get us wherever we're going,

00:08:21 even if it's the scene of the accident.

00:08:22 So yeah, it's still a good time.

00:08:25 I mean, on stuff that matters, I've done a little work

00:08:28 and studied the correct way to align a car

00:08:30 and to torque things.

00:08:31 Well, yeah, but the way--

00:08:32 The funny castle nuts, they have a reason.

00:08:35 Safety seems like a thing.

00:08:37 So I mean, I'm a little bit more responsible now.

00:08:39 But yeah, I'm self-taught.

00:08:40 I went to Scroc two weeks, I think,

00:08:42 Southern California Regional Occupational Center.

00:08:44 Drop a little shout out to those guys.

00:08:47 Two weeks, I think, I lasted there.

00:08:48 And then I moved on.

00:08:50 Not a classroom kind of guy.

00:08:52 Yeah.

00:08:52 Or an authority kind of guy, as I'm thinking of.

00:08:55 That may also--

00:08:56 Well, you know, when I went away,

00:08:57 I was not a delinquent at all.

00:08:58 I just didn't want to be-- yeah, authority, right.

00:09:00 What do you mean, be in before the lights come on?

00:09:02 What do you mean?

00:09:03 No.

00:09:03 There's so much going on out here.

00:09:05 Yeah, you see all this cool stuff that happens

00:09:06 after the lights come on?

00:09:07 Yeah, exactly, man.

00:09:07 I told you I bought a car, right?

00:09:09 I'm not going home.

00:09:10 I'm a grown man.

00:09:11 Well, a lot of people don't know that you

00:09:16 got into this business doing airbags and stereo installs

00:09:20 and car phone installs when car phones were a brand new thing.

00:09:24 Yeah, car phones weren't it, which, man, once again,

00:09:26 at least I'm getting dated here.

00:09:29 At least I'm seeing some action.

00:09:30 I remember those days.

00:09:32 The squiggle antenna on the back.

00:09:33 I was going to say, kids, if you ever

00:09:35 see pictures of a car that have a little pigtail-looking thing

00:09:37 coming off the back glass, that was a cell phone antenna.

00:09:40 Yeah, and don't put your head next to it.

00:09:41 You'll get a headache.

00:09:43 But yeah, originally, I started out--

00:09:45 my whole gig was Mobile Tech, which is my--

00:09:48 all my social media is Mobile Tech Lucky.

00:09:50 Mobile Tech was the name of my business.

00:09:52 It used to be, like, literally, I got a job at a body shop.

00:09:54 And they're like, what's the name of your business?

00:09:55 I'm all, oh, my name's Lucky.

00:09:57 And they're like, no, we need a name of a business.

00:09:59 I'm all Auto Electric, because that's what I did that day.

00:10:02 And I actually had to go get a DBA to sit on an electric.

00:10:04 [LAUGHTER]

00:10:06 So yeah, that's another story about taking an ad out

00:10:10 in the wrong kind of newspaper.

00:10:11 I was just like, this is true.

00:10:12 This is cool.

00:10:13 They're like, yeah, Auto Electric.

00:10:15 And it flew.

00:10:16 Wow.

00:10:17 Yeah.

00:10:17 LA Weekly, I think, was the name of the thing.

00:10:19 Get out of here.

00:10:20 Yeah, it was inappropriate and wrong.

00:10:22 And I was just like, but it flew.

00:10:23 And then I got a bank account.

00:10:24 So that's how my business started.

00:10:26 And then it turned into Mobile Tech.

00:10:27 I would go to body shops and dealerships.

00:10:29 They would call me and cars that were hit in the A pillar.

00:10:34 We had to take the door off, take the dashboard out,

00:10:36 replace the A pillar.

00:10:37 Body shops in the day were body shops.

00:10:39 They just fixed cars.

00:10:41 They're like, these wires are all smashed, and they're smoking.

00:10:45 Or they put it-- oh, you know, Felipe says his nephew

00:10:48 will come over and fix it.

00:10:49 But now all the lights, it looks like Christmas on the dashboard.

00:10:52 So just so you know, I charge a little extra

00:10:54 if Felipe weren't there first.

00:10:56 So I would go there and take out dashboards.

00:10:58 They would do all the repairs.

00:10:59 I'd go back, put it all back together, repair the harness,

00:11:01 shut off lights.

00:11:02 And then airbags-- I worked on cars before they were airbags.

00:11:06 And airbags started deploying.

00:11:07 And every airbag that deployed--

00:11:10 now if an airbag deploys, the car's junk.

00:11:11 It's going off for parts.

00:11:12 But back in the day, it was like, we got to save this thing.

00:11:15 We need a steering wheel and a windshield and a new dashboard,

00:11:19 and we can wash the blood off the seats.

00:11:20 That's legitimately how--

00:11:22 That hoses out.

00:11:23 That was-- there were so many cars I went to,

00:11:26 they're like, yeah, it's not ready yet.

00:11:27 It's like a hazmat team back there cleaning it.

00:11:31 I was like, what happened to it?

00:11:32 Oh, the airbag deployed.

00:11:33 And I've looked at the white airbags,

00:11:36 and it was clearly a woman that wore lots of makeup.

00:11:39 Boom.

00:11:40 Yeah, just-- I was just, are they OK?

00:11:41 And they show up with two black guys, like, is my car good?

00:11:44 That's good.

00:11:44 So they were so happy times, even though it seemed sketchy.

00:11:48 But so yeah, that's why I did that for many, many years,

00:11:50 put my kids through school.

00:11:51 But see, that in and unto itself--

00:11:53 like, I remember being like maybe 11 years old.

00:11:55 My parents had an '86 Ford Taurus.

00:11:58 My dad had swapped a heater core out,

00:12:01 so he had to take the whole dash out of the car.

00:12:03 And my dad is a fairly mild-mannered person.

00:12:05 And it was like I never heard the words.

00:12:07 I mean, the amount of profanity and just anger.

00:12:10 Like, dashboard and wiring work is stuff

00:12:12 that people are phobic of.

00:12:14 And that was your specialty.

00:12:15 Well, a robot did it.

00:12:16 You know what I mean?

00:12:17 Martin came in and put the dash in there, and you were set.

00:12:20 I've got the cheat codes for that stuff.

00:12:22 I know how to unbolt it all, unhook it,

00:12:24 lay the dashboard on a blanket on the seats,

00:12:27 and then fix everything behind there-- harness, heater core,

00:12:30 whatever--

00:12:30 and then put it all back together.

00:12:32 And I do it relatively fast.

00:12:34 And then I go over and I look at the book, and it says 18.8 hours

00:12:37 at $100 an hour.

00:12:39 Yeah, here you go, sir.

00:12:41 They're like, oh, thank you so much.

00:12:43 Really?

00:12:43 [LAUGHTER]

00:12:44 I was just like, sweet.

00:12:45 OK.

00:12:46 So yeah, that was it.

00:12:48 Well, and then it turned into--

00:12:51 well, how did you get on to overhauling?

00:12:53 Because people may or may not know you were on overhauling.

00:12:55 I was on overhauling for a couple of seasons.

00:12:57 That was a good time.

00:12:58 Chip Foose is a funny man.

00:13:01 Yes.

00:13:02 Should I stop there?

00:13:03 No.

00:13:04 I freaking love Chip Foose, I swear.

00:13:06 I've been with him when a car is done, and he walks over,

00:13:09 and the people are in the next room waiting, crying,

00:13:14 kids sleeping on the floor, wee hours of the morning.

00:13:16 He's all, let's take the motor out.

00:13:18 This color doesn't work for me.

00:13:21 And I'm like, no, no, dude.

00:13:24 It's done.

00:13:24 He's all, let's get the motor-- and people don't question him.

00:13:26 People just run at the car and scatter it and pull the motor

00:13:29 out, and he reshoots something.

00:13:30 I was there once, and he looked at an LS

00:13:32 we put in a Pontiac, and he's all, no.

00:13:34 Makes a phone call, and someone brings over

00:13:36 a legit set of Hemi heads.

00:13:37 And he takes them and makes a cardboard pattern,

00:13:40 and then goes over to the Beverly Shearer,

00:13:42 and shears up some metal and polishes the other chamfers

00:13:44 and puts it all together and sets it on.

00:13:46 Hey, Lucky, make me some longer spark plug wires.

00:13:49 I look in there, and it's an LS.

00:13:50 Looks like it has Hemi heads with spark plug wires coming

00:13:52 out.

00:13:52 I'm like, you know what, bro?

00:13:54 I would not have called this one.

00:13:55 But good for you, man.

00:13:56 Good for you.

00:13:58 And then the Cadillac that we did, he went the motor up

00:14:01 while the people were there for the reveal

00:14:02 in the wee hours of the morning.

00:14:03 He painted the whole motor gold, which

00:14:05 is the color it was supposed to be, like if it was a Cadillac.

00:14:07 You know what?

00:14:08 Made all the difference in the engine compartment.

00:14:09 It just looks and stuff a lot different than other people.

00:14:12 But yeah, I worked with him for a few years,

00:14:13 and it was a simple deal, mobile tech.

00:14:15 I got a phone call from--

00:14:18 shout out to 714 Motorsports in Huntington Beach.

00:14:21 And they said, we have some cars that are all partially done.

00:14:26 And now the seasons prior to me going there,

00:14:28 they were building cars in seven days or something,

00:14:31 which I never saw any of that.

00:14:32 I would not have signed up for that.

00:14:34 And they were taking cars, getting them almost done.

00:14:38 I heard stories about they towed the car

00:14:40 to a bar on Del Coronado Island for the reveal.

00:14:47 And they're like, hey, guess what?

00:14:48 It's artist night.

00:14:49 Chip Foose is here to do a rendering of your car.

00:14:51 And the guy who owns the car, oh, bro, I want a rendering.

00:14:56 I wasn't there, and I don't think he talks like that,

00:14:59 but I'm just saying.

00:15:00 I like it, but I like the character you've created.

00:15:02 It's a bar.

00:15:03 It's going.

00:15:03 I like all of it.

00:15:04 So he's all, well, what do you want?

00:15:05 He goes, I got an old '88 or something.

00:15:07 I don't remember what it was.

00:15:09 And he's like, oh, yeah, that could be this color

00:15:11 and this color.

00:15:11 And mind you, his insider had already told Chip,

00:15:13 and Chip had already built the car.

00:15:15 But they never got around to put a transmission in it,

00:15:18 because they only got seven days.

00:15:19 So they got the money shot.

00:15:20 It's a car.

00:15:20 It's beautiful.

00:15:20 It looks great.

00:15:21 I don't think there was a stitch of wiring in it.

00:15:23 No transmission.

00:15:24 They put it on a trailer.

00:15:25 They sneak in over to Del Coronado.

00:15:26 They meet at the bar.

00:15:27 And while everybody's in there doing the deal,

00:15:29 the aid crew push it out front.

00:15:31 And Chip does the rendering, gives it to him.

00:15:33 He's like, man, this would be sweet.

00:15:35 And Chip takes off his whatever.

00:15:37 We'll come out here.

00:15:37 And the guy's crying.

00:15:38 Oh, it's great.

00:15:39 It's amazing.

00:15:40 And then they hop in.

00:15:42 And I heard he put the key in and turned it.

00:15:44 And they're like, oh, cut.

00:15:45 Yeah, so nothing works.

00:15:48 Nothing works.

00:15:49 But can we do it one more time, make it seem more spontaneous?

00:15:53 So now that it's all done, the guy's stoked.

00:15:55 He gets a car.

00:15:56 It's cool.

00:15:56 They send it off to a warehouse.

00:15:58 Next week, they're starting on the next build.

00:15:59 At some point, they had like 10 cars stocked up.

00:16:03 And I got called to say, so we need this car, and this car,

00:16:06 and this car, and this car.

00:16:07 This one needs a tranny, a rear end, a motor, just whatever.

00:16:11 And I was just like, oh, OK.

00:16:12 Yeah, I got this.

00:16:13 And I gave them the don't ever call me again price.

00:16:16 Like, you know what I mean?

00:16:17 I was like, so you guys are a TV show, you say?

00:16:19 They're like, yeah, it's called Overhaul.

00:16:21 Yeah, I'd never heard of it.

00:16:22 So it's a TV show, though, right?

00:16:24 They're like, yeah, OK.

00:16:25 So this is your price.

00:16:27 And they're like, great.

00:16:29 I was like, OK, cool.

00:16:30 So I think maybe in a month, 28 days,

00:16:32 or I don't remember exactly how long.

00:16:34 But pretty fast, I stopped doing what I was doing.

00:16:37 And for this money, I stopped doing what I was doing,

00:16:39 rescheduled that stuff, and did every one of the cars

00:16:42 all the way, and then took them to independent shops

00:16:44 in Huntington Beach area, and said, can you do me a favor

00:16:47 and do a full safety inspection on this?

00:16:49 Well, you know, that would be considerably expensive.

00:16:51 Yeah, was the question.

00:16:52 But if you could do a full safety, a full alignment,

00:16:55 set the levels, do whatever you got to do,

00:16:57 tighten every bolt you can get a wrench on, sure.

00:16:59 It'll be $800.

00:17:00 OK, add $800, add $1,000, whatever it costs.

00:17:02 And then got them all done.

00:17:04 Went to them and said, here's your bill, boom.

00:17:07 And I'm thinking, man, one bedroom or two bedrooms?

00:17:09 It's going to be sweet.

00:17:12 And I go, and all these invoices are for each car safety

00:17:15 inspection at that facility.

00:17:17 So they are going to assume all liability for the car,

00:17:19 if anything, if a bolt breaks or a tire falls.

00:17:21 They're like, that is genius.

00:17:24 I was like, yeah, so here's your bill.

00:17:26 And they're like, would you like to be on the show?

00:17:27 I'm all, no, here's your bill.

00:17:29 They're like, but we will pay you this much money.

00:17:31 I was like, what day do I start?

00:17:33 And they're like, we just need you to come in in the morning

00:17:35 for the tear down and then the decon.

00:17:38 Is that the TV?

00:17:39 You TV people?

00:17:40 The decon.

00:17:41 Decontent?

00:17:41 Decon?

00:17:42 No, deconstruction.

00:17:43 Deconstruction.

00:17:44 And then come back and check on it, do the electrical,

00:17:46 and then be there for the reveal.

00:17:48 I was like, yeah, that's cool.

00:17:49 Well, that actually turned into 14,

00:17:53 18 hours a day, every day of the week for two years.

00:17:58 Wow.

00:17:58 Yeah.

00:17:59 And I go, OK, so I've worked a lot more hours this week,

00:18:01 so how do I invoice that?

00:18:02 No, you signed a contract.

00:18:03 This is how much you're making if you work one hour or 100.

00:18:07 So lesson learned, either way.

00:18:09 It was still a lot of fun.

00:18:09 I met a lot of very cool people and built a lot of definitely

00:18:12 cool cars.

00:18:14 And I think, again, that comes from the fact

00:18:15 that you're this mobile guy who's

00:18:17 going around to all these different places,

00:18:18 working with all these people.

00:18:19 And every time you leave one of those places,

00:18:21 clearly, or the majority of times,

00:18:22 they think, this guy's pretty damn good.

00:18:24 This guy did right by us.

00:18:26 So when the time comes and your name pops up, boom,

00:18:29 somebody's right there saying, yeah, this is the guy you need.

00:18:31 Yeah, everything I've done has always been referral.

00:18:33 When I got that gig, it ate up a lot of my time.

00:18:36 And I sort of had to kind of-- when

00:18:37 people were calling me mobile, because I had a route--

00:18:39 not a route, really, but a lot of body shops and dealerships

00:18:42 I work with regularly.

00:18:44 And I just sort of kind of phased it out.

00:18:46 It was kind of phasing itself out.

00:18:47 But a few of them, like Wagner's Dino Tune,

00:18:49 and I still go there a couple times a week.

00:18:52 And I'm working on cars.

00:18:53 People come over, hey, are you the guy on Hot Rod Garage?

00:18:55 And I'm under a dashboard, like changing a fuse box.

00:18:57 I'm like, yeah, what's up, bro?

00:18:58 And the guy's over there, like, lookie, what's going on there?

00:19:01 What's that customer want?

00:19:02 I'm like, no, I'm just chilling with your customer.

00:19:04 What do you mean you're on TV?

00:19:06 That's pretty funny.

00:19:07 I got in trouble.

00:19:08 I was supposed to be over there changing,

00:19:10 doing something on Ford Explorer,

00:19:11 and I went on Power Tour.

00:19:14 He goes, what are you doing?

00:19:15 I go, meet and greet.

00:19:16 Who are you meeting?

00:19:19 Yeah, why do they want to meet this guy?

00:19:21 But I've always been like--

00:19:23 I mean, it's the industry.

00:19:24 I don't know that they're going to find somebody

00:19:25 with a little more silver hair tomorrow,

00:19:27 and I'm going to be out.

00:19:28 So if that's the case, I have a couple of small shops

00:19:31 that I work out of and still book stuff and do

00:19:33 stuff on the side.

00:19:34 Look, the reason why you're relatable

00:19:36 and the reason why people line up to meet you

00:19:38 and get your autograph is because you're a dude.

00:19:40 You're not out there trying to present yourself as something.

00:19:42 Is dude OK?

00:19:43 It's a great thing.

00:19:44 You're a guy.

00:19:46 You're the guy that most of the people here at the Power Tour

00:19:49 look at.

00:19:49 And one, they know you're whip smart

00:19:51 because you're funny as hell.

00:19:52 And two, they know you're a really, really good mechanic,

00:19:54 and that's the things they respect about you.

00:19:56 It's cool.

00:19:57 I don't acknowledge any of that, but I appreciate you, bro.

00:19:59 I appreciate you.

00:20:01 This is my reality, and I can substitute it for whatever.

00:20:04 What's funny, because people come up to me,

00:20:06 and they're not like, oh, you're John from Hot Rod Magazine.

00:20:09 He's like, I've seen you in Lucky's YouTube videos

00:20:11 or your Instagram stuff.

00:20:13 Only fans.

00:20:16 I haven't ventured into that world.

00:20:19 And if you did, it would go out of business.

00:20:21 So the people at Only Fans are more than

00:20:22 happy that you stay away.

00:20:23 And with that--

00:20:28 Moving on.

00:20:29 Well, with that, speaking of Only Fans,

00:20:30 so your Chevelle, your pickup truck,

00:20:34 these are obvious calling cards, right?

00:20:35 You had the Chevelle out here this weekend.

00:20:37 People are constantly crowded around it.

00:20:39 But I want you to talk about that car

00:20:41 and kind of the evolution of that car to where it is.

00:20:44 Because I think it's the reason, again, the people out here

00:20:47 love it.

00:20:47 Super smartly built. It's clean, and it's blistering fast.

00:20:52 It's actually running really good.

00:20:53 I mean, it's stretched out.

00:20:55 Supercharger belt, so it's not running

00:20:56 as good as it normally does.

00:20:57 But it's definitely cool for a car with AC and two seats,

00:21:00 and I drive it everywhere.

00:21:01 So the gig with that car is--

00:21:02 you remember Kalen, Tech Center Kalen?

00:21:04 Yeah.

00:21:04 So-- why aren't you smiling right now?

00:21:08 Why would I be smiling?

00:21:09 So Tech Center Kalen, me and his dad were very, very good friends.

00:21:12 And his dad passed away years ago.

00:21:14 But we used to share a shop together.

00:21:16 The shop was like 900 square feet,

00:21:18 and we just squeezed all of our stuff in it

00:21:19 because nobody had a garage at home.

00:21:20 And Kalen hit me up.

00:21:22 He goes, hey, you want to buy this Chevelle?

00:21:24 It was sort of a project car.

00:21:25 I've been thinking about building it.

00:21:26 I've been throwing parts at it, doing articles,

00:21:28 because he did a lot of stuff for Car Crafts.

00:21:29 Super Chevy.

00:21:30 Super Chevy.

00:21:31 That's a magazine with paper in it, right?

00:21:33 Yeah, that's the concept.

00:21:34 Yeah.

00:21:35 And I was like, yeah, I'm not super fond of the car.

00:21:39 It's not for me.

00:21:40 And he's like, well, no.

00:21:41 Yeah, no, this would be a cool car for you to build.

00:21:44 Yeah, I just don't like the buy style.

00:21:45 I don't like the way it looks.

00:21:46 And it was sitting all jacked up.

00:21:47 And it was just a body.

00:21:49 I didn't even think it had glass in it, no motor, no nothing.

00:21:52 It had some truck tires on it or something.

00:21:54 Because what-- how about you do payments?

00:21:56 I was like, well, what do you want for it?

00:21:58 It's all $5,500.

00:21:59 Yeah, I don't see it.

00:22:00 He's like, I'll let you do payments.

00:22:01 What do you got on you?

00:22:02 I'm like, $500 on me.

00:22:05 Give it up.

00:22:06 I gave him $500.

00:22:07 He went over and tore a paper out of a ring binder.

00:22:11 I wish it would have been a peachy folder,

00:22:13 but it was just a ring binder.

00:22:15 And I think he had a yellow highlight pen.

00:22:17 And he wrote $500, lucky, 55 Chevy.

00:22:20 And for the next, I want to say, two years, maybe, or whatever,

00:22:25 whenever I saw him, I would just throw some money at him.

00:22:27 Hey, dude, I owe you some money still, $300, $400, whatever.

00:22:29 And finally, I gave him like $300.

00:22:32 He gave me back $100 and then wadded some piece of paper off.

00:22:35 It was on the side of his toolbox and threw it in the trash.

00:22:37 I was like, what's this?

00:22:38 He goes, oh, the car's paid off.

00:22:39 It's yours.

00:22:39 There's the paperwork.

00:22:40 All those parts go with it.

00:22:41 I go, what's that thing you tore up or wadded out?

00:22:44 He goes, I was keeping track of the money you gave me.

00:22:46 By the way, thanks.

00:22:47 It's like you gave me nothing for the car.

00:22:49 It's been like two years.

00:22:50 And I never got any money for the car, technically.

00:22:53 And I was just like, well, give me that back.

00:22:54 So I still have it.

00:22:55 I ironed it.

00:22:56 It's kind of cool.

00:22:57 And ever since, I've been just throwing money at that car.

00:22:59 I did the whole car before I actually

00:23:01 knew anybody at Hot Rod with whatever I could.

00:23:04 The first transmission was a T56 bone stock,

00:23:08 second and third synchro upgrade.

00:23:10 And then $1,200 offer up-- no, Craigslist.

00:23:13 Not even offer up cool yet.

00:23:15 It was Craigslist.

00:23:16 And then I got the gig for overhauling.

00:23:21 And somebody at the dealership had a six liter aluminum LS

00:23:25 that had a DOD lifter failure or whatever, or tappy tap noise.

00:23:30 And they said he'd sell it for $1,000.

00:23:32 I borrowed Chip Foose's truck.

00:23:34 I go, Chip, can I use your truck?

00:23:35 Yeah, go ahead.

00:23:36 I jump in his truck.

00:23:37 And I drive over there.

00:23:38 I pull in.

00:23:38 I back up.

00:23:39 I'm all, dude, don't scratch this truck.

00:23:41 I look cool driving it.

00:23:42 It's F-150, but don't scratch it.

00:23:44 And he looks at it.

00:23:45 He goes, who's this?

00:23:46 He's all, is this Chip Foose's truck?

00:23:48 It says Foose on it.

00:23:49 I was like, yeah.

00:23:51 He's all, let me get some blankets.

00:23:53 Gave the guy the money, loaded the car up-- or loaded it up,

00:23:55 dropped it off, and brought the truck back.

00:23:57 And then I just cleaned that up, got some parts.

00:23:59 I got a mystery cam from Shaver Racing.

00:24:01 Mystery cam.

00:24:03 I'm all, bro, I want it to really be choppy,

00:24:06 and just be choppy.

00:24:08 I mean, that's--

00:24:08 That's all I need this to do.

00:24:10 And I need lifters.

00:24:11 And he's all, call this number.

00:24:12 And after you call it, don't call it anymore.

00:24:14 And it was like, comp cams, like one of the engineers.

00:24:16 OK, like right to his desk type thing.

00:24:18 Yeah, exactly.

00:24:19 Don't give it to anybody and throw it away after you call it.

00:24:21 And for like $80, a cam shows up at my shop.

00:24:24 And George, Grandpa George Shaver, before he passed,

00:24:28 he hooked me up with all that stuff.

00:24:29 So that was pretty cool.

00:24:30 I put it all in.

00:24:31 I made it run and drive with a set of Foose wheels

00:24:35 on it that I found somewhere.

00:24:36 Like, they were cool.

00:24:38 Everybody's like, dude, no, those wheels are not--

00:24:41 They were shiny, right?

00:24:42 Yeah, they were chrome.

00:24:43 They were like torque thrust, but like super spider.

00:24:47 You know, they just arched way out.

00:24:48 And I was just like, but if you look right here,

00:24:50 they look like torque thrust.

00:24:51 He's all, no, they still don't look.

00:24:53 And I was like, all right, either way.

00:24:54 If you look right here.

00:24:55 Yeah, exactly.

00:24:58 And then since then, I've been upgrading everything.

00:25:01 So one of the last builds me and Tony did together

00:25:05 were a 6.2 upgrade, which is--

00:25:08 I haven't told this on camera.

00:25:09 I might as well.

00:25:09 I mean, they can't really do anything about it now.

00:25:12 So I get a phone call.

00:25:13 Hey, look, we need an episode.

00:25:14 What do you got?

00:25:16 I was like, oh, yeah, I'm getting ready to put a new 6.2,

00:25:19 aluminum 6.2 in my Chevelle.

00:25:21 Oh, really?

00:25:22 I go, yeah, I'm trying to get my budget right.

00:25:24 And we'll take care of that.

00:25:25 Wait, what?

00:25:26 Yeah, we'll take care of that.

00:25:28 I was like, oh, OK, sweet.

00:25:31 So you'll do that and then pay me to put it

00:25:33 in my own car on the show?

00:25:34 Yeah, absolutely.

00:25:35 All right, I guess I could squeeze that in.

00:25:37 And then I think I either called you or I called a bunch of people.

00:25:39 Get over here.

00:25:40 We've got to get this motor out of my car.

00:25:43 So and then I was just like, man, where can I get a 6.2?

00:25:46 And then you had a 6.2 laying around.

00:25:48 And so I scored that 6.2.

00:25:49 It was out of--

00:25:52 Was it out of--

00:25:52 Oh, jeez.

00:25:54 That was the crate engine that we had used for dyno test.

00:25:57 OK.

00:25:57 But yeah, it was all disassembled because there was some--

00:25:59 yeah.

00:25:59 I get the whole motor.

00:26:00 It looks complete.

00:26:00 I was like, man, we're going to throw this thing in.

00:26:02 This is good.

00:26:02 I go, wait, why are all these bolts loose?

00:26:04 And somebody had gone in and taken the lifters and the cam

00:26:06 and then put the timing cover back.

00:26:08 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:26:09 So I told that-- so we need to get this, this, and this

00:26:11 and have a machine shop check it all.

00:26:13 Oh, that'll be a great part of the show.

00:26:15 Nobody on my show talks like that.

00:26:18 But so we sent it off to CPR.

00:26:22 Yep.

00:26:22 And he just machine cleaned and put it all back together.

00:26:26 And then me and Tony put it in.

00:26:27 By the way, we might do boost.

00:26:28 Let's go ahead and gap those rings in the future,

00:26:31 a little boost.

00:26:31 Boost is good for everybody.

00:26:32 And so it's all gapped, ready for boost.

00:26:34 And a little XX blow by right now, but it's fun to drive.

00:26:37 And so that was that build.

00:26:39 And then Tony did his thing.

00:26:41 And now new season rolls around.

00:26:44 And me and Alex are working on something.

00:26:45 I get a phone call.

00:26:46 Hey, we need an episode.

00:26:48 What do you got?

00:26:49 Well, you know I built my Chevelle for boost.

00:26:52 Trying to get my money together for a Vortex supercharger.

00:26:56 Hey, let's make some phone calls, too.

00:26:58 We can do it for you.

00:26:59 So yeah.

00:27:00 So I got the--

00:27:01 listen, we got three superchargers available.

00:27:03 One of them is very drivable.

00:27:05 It's very nice, 10, 12 pounds, something like--

00:27:08 you'll love it.

00:27:08 It's very-- it's going to work great in your car.

00:27:10 What else you got?

00:27:11 We got this other one, 15, 18 pounds or something,

00:27:13 a little more aggressive, but still very drivable,

00:27:15 very subtle.

00:27:16 You'll love it.

00:27:17 What else you got?

00:27:17 Well, we got this one.

00:27:18 Does not handle turn down well.

00:27:21 I was like, I don't really know what that means,

00:27:23 but I like the way it sounds.

00:27:24 That's the one for me.

00:27:27 I should have went with the second one,

00:27:28 because right now it sounds like the blow dryer's running

00:27:30 all the time.

00:27:31 And the only time it's quiet is full throttle

00:27:34 and the blow dryer's closed.

00:27:35 And you're pinned in the seat.

00:27:37 Man, this thing is really running good.

00:27:39 And when you let off, it was just like, man.

00:27:44 So that, and then a T56, the original $1,200 T56

00:27:48 is still in it, but it got sent out to a Transilla.

00:27:52 Rockland Standard Gear.

00:27:53 Rockland Standard Gear, yeah, yeah.

00:27:54 Transilla.

00:27:55 And turned into a Transilla.

00:27:56 And yeah, with all the bulletproof everything

00:27:59 they could do at it.

00:27:59 And so that was a good gig.

00:28:01 And then, which I think I pooped out a couple differentials.

00:28:03 So it's got a--

00:28:04 no, it's got a Fab 9 in it with a straight third member.

00:28:07 And then what else?

00:28:08 Ride Tech hooked me up with everything front to back.

00:28:11 And it was--

00:28:12 No, I mean, it just--

00:28:13 The thing sits right.

00:28:14 I mean, it's just a mean frickin' car.

00:28:16 I was driving around like an idiot with heated coil springs.

00:28:19 So it was sketch.

00:28:21 There was some old school luck in there.

00:28:23 But now it's a little more high tech.

00:28:25 No, the thing's great.

00:28:26 And is that-- when you look at that car,

00:28:28 does that kind of represent you to the best of the way

00:28:32 you look at that car, where it's like, this is not a beauty

00:28:34 contest, but it's nice, it's clean, it's well finished.

00:28:37 It's not there to win a car show,

00:28:38 but it does absolutely haul ass.

00:28:40 Well, if the car show's racing, it's there to win.

00:28:43 Yeah, OK.

00:28:43 Yeah.

00:28:44 But yeah.

00:28:44 No, yeah, yeah.

00:28:45 I mean, I see a lot of really amazing stuff.

00:28:47 But it's the same thing with our show.

00:28:49 We do a show, Hot Rod Grimes, that is, you could do this.

00:28:53 Everything we do on our show, you could do.

00:28:55 We have the convenience of a lift and a bunch of cool tools

00:28:58 and everything.

00:28:59 That's all cool.

00:28:59 But we're not reinventing the wheel.

00:29:01 I see a lot of shows out there.

00:29:02 And I love them all.

00:29:03 And I watch a lot of them, just because I still learn stuff.

00:29:06 But I see a lot of-- listen, I've

00:29:08 been doing this for 50 years.

00:29:09 I'm the only one who could do this.

00:29:10 I'm the most skilled person you know that could do this.

00:29:12 And this is what we're going to do.

00:29:13 You could never do this yourself.

00:29:14 [LAUGHTER]

00:29:16 Nor should you try.

00:29:17 Nor should you try.

00:29:17 Don't try.

00:29:18 However, get a job, save some dough,

00:29:21 shout me out on social media.

00:29:23 We'll build you a car.

00:29:25 I mean, I still have lots of great ideas

00:29:27 from those kind of shows.

00:29:29 Shall go unnamed.

00:29:31 Yep.

00:29:32 Well, I love--

00:29:33 I've ridden in the Chevelle.

00:29:34 I've driven it.

00:29:35 But you always put on a show everywhere you go.

00:29:37 The C10, your '67 C10.

00:29:40 The Felonies, is that what you call it in the show?

00:29:42 Well, I don't know.

00:29:43 [LAUGHTER]

00:29:46 He did about a mile-long burnout on the on-ramp yesterday.

00:29:49 Well, in my defense, that on-ramp

00:29:51 was talking some crap, OK?

00:29:53 It was asking for it.

00:29:54 And you gave it to it.

00:29:55 Yeah, yeah.

00:29:55 We had detoured to Mexico, which is my go-to now, OK?

00:29:58 So this on-ramp was Mui Bonita.

00:30:00 It was Ensenada.

00:30:01 Yeah, see?

00:30:02 Ensenada, kilometer 38.

00:30:03 Mile marker.

00:30:04 By the fish market.

00:30:05 And yeah, exactly.

00:30:08 I saw a really nice car do a burnout

00:30:10 that was a little lackluster.

00:30:12 And it was an amazing car.

00:30:14 And I straightened that out.

00:30:15 I straightened that out, yeah.

00:30:17 Challenge accepted.

00:30:18 The fun part was leaving Eddie World, right?

00:30:22 I left Eddie World, and that's where the burnout started.

00:30:24 And then I kicked it, and then I went down,

00:30:26 and did this and that and this.

00:30:28 And then I was like, it's going to be very embarrassing,

00:30:31 because a lot of people are watching this when I go off

00:30:33 into the dirt, which I've done in the car.

00:30:35 So I got out of it, got straight,

00:30:37 and then got back into it all the full length of the on-ramp.

00:30:42 And then when I got onto public highways, that's when I--

00:30:45 Of course, you maintained a proper and proven speed limit.

00:30:47 Whatever the posted speed limit was over there.

00:30:50 So good times, though.

00:30:51 Who do you look at as guys that inspired you coming up?

00:30:54 Would you pop open car magazines and see stuff

00:30:56 and think, man, I want to do that someday,

00:30:57 or this is what I want my stuff to look like?

00:30:59 I mean, in the overall kind of hot-rodding picture,

00:31:01 who are the people that caught your eye when you were a kid?

00:31:04 See, that's a good question, by the way.

00:31:06 Thank you.

00:31:07 That's a good question.

00:31:08 Thank you for asking that.

00:31:08 That's one in a row.

00:31:09 Thank you for asking that.

00:31:10 Is that how they're supposed to go?

00:31:11 One in a row.

00:31:11 That's a great--

00:31:12 [LAUGHTER]

00:31:13 That's a great question.

00:31:14 Thank you so much for asking it.

00:31:17 I was reading-- I had a lot of time to read from 14 to 18.

00:31:20 OK, let's put it that way.

00:31:22 And I wasn't really looking at names.

00:31:23 I was pretty much looking at--

00:31:25 when you leave school at 14, you're not really

00:31:28 looking for the big words, OK?

00:31:29 So I was just checking out cool stuff and the way stuff was built.

00:31:32 And I didn't realize it then, but a lot of the stuff

00:31:35 that I was looking at back then was stuff

00:31:36 that Fry Burger was doing back in the day.

00:31:38 And I didn't know it was Fry Burger.

00:31:39 I'm not shouting out to Fry Burger, trying to--

00:31:41 Yeah, yeah.

00:31:41 But that was just--

00:31:42 --get a shout out to whatever.

00:31:44 But I was just like, wow.

00:31:45 And I learned way later that that was stuff that he was doing.

00:31:49 And I was like, wow, kind of funny.

00:31:51 I saw pictures of him when he was younger.

00:31:52 I was just like, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have been friends.

00:31:55 But I do remember some of these pictures

00:31:57 of this heavy, big hair, metal rocker dude

00:32:02 that was writing these articles.

00:32:03 I'm just like, I'm pretty sure I've read a bunch of his stuff.

00:32:07 And so I mean, that was sort of indirect influence.

00:32:10 But like I said, I could only have one car at a time.

00:32:13 So I was just doing stuff as it went.

00:32:17 You mentioned Kalen before.

00:32:18 And he kind of helped you get into Hot Rod Garage.

00:32:21 Right, exactly.

00:32:22 So 714 Motorsports was a shout out

00:32:24 to go to deposit on my first home.

00:32:28 And then one day, Kalen, who is my buddy Sammy's son,

00:32:33 he called me up and said, hey, Mobile Tech Lucky,

00:32:36 we got a car over here.

00:32:38 It's an El Camino.

00:32:39 They put a transmission in it last night.

00:32:40 They need to drive it tomorrow.

00:32:41 Transmission failed in the parking lot.

00:32:43 I was like, OK.

00:32:46 Yeah, all right, yeah.

00:32:47 Let me move some stuff around.

00:32:47 I'll hook it up.

00:32:48 Indoors, I need a floor jack.

00:32:50 I mean, I don't really do stuff like that, electrical stuff.

00:32:52 But yeah, I can figure that out.

00:32:53 Oh yeah, no, it's ideal working situation.

00:32:55 All right, I go over there.

00:32:57 It's like, well, nice spot.

00:32:58 He goes, there's the car.

00:32:59 We actually already got the old transmission out.

00:33:01 You put in the new one.

00:33:02 And then here's a new controller.

00:33:03 OK, put it all together.

00:33:04 And then some skinny guy with a funny beard walks up.

00:33:07 He goes, hi, I'm Mike Finnegan.

00:33:09 He didn't say that.

00:33:10 It doesn't even sound like that.

00:33:11 But I found out later it was Mike Finnegan.

00:33:12 He said, hi, I'm TV's Mike Finnegan.

00:33:14 Yeah, exactly, exactly.

00:33:15 [LAUGHTER]

00:33:18 But anyway, he rolls up.

00:33:21 And I said, this guy's pretty cool.

00:33:22 And I was just like, whatever.

00:33:24 He's all, what-- is it all done?

00:33:26 Yeah, all dialed in, all set up.

00:33:28 I'm sitting there late.

00:33:28 I just knocked it out pretty fast.

00:33:30 I was feeling a little bad throwing him

00:33:31 a bill for like $400 or something.

00:33:33 And he's all, how much is that?

00:33:36 This much?

00:33:37 He goes, yeah, double that.

00:33:39 Well, no, I'm not trying to go to Club Fed.

00:33:41 He's all, no, no, you're leaving money on the table.

00:33:42 Just double that.

00:33:43 I said, well, thank you very much, sir.

00:33:47 And I did on the invoice.

00:33:48 And somebody mailed me a check.

00:33:50 I was like, wow, these guys are pretty cool, man.

00:33:52 And then, yeah, I never heard about it again.

00:33:55 It was his wife's El Camino that he was building for him

00:33:57 or whatever, LS swapped and overdrive and stuff.

00:34:00 And then it wasn't that much longer.

00:34:03 I got a phone call.

00:34:04 It was Fryburger.

00:34:07 And once again, this is all because somebody went to Kayla

00:34:09 and, hey, do you know somebody who can straighten this problem

00:34:10 out overnight?

00:34:12 And Fryburger goes, hey, listen, we got 10 days to LS

00:34:14 swap a stubby van.

00:34:16 Yeah, OK, what's your point?

00:34:18 Well, do you want to do that?

00:34:19 Ah, sure, I can knock that out in a couple weeks.

00:34:21 OK, we're over here.

00:34:22 Same spot, same spot.

00:34:23 I go over there.

00:34:24 There's all the stuff.

00:34:26 I think day two or three, he shows up.

00:34:29 And I'm putting the rear end in.

00:34:30 And he shoots the whole rear end installation.

00:34:32 And Mosher does all the talking.

00:34:34 I'm just like, I've worked on overhauling already.

00:34:36 So I'm doing it.

00:34:36 This guy's pretty good.

00:34:39 What's the part number of that?

00:34:40 It's a 227-1855.

00:34:42 Really?

00:34:42 And he was right.

00:34:44 And I was like, wow, OK.

00:34:45 So then I think the next day, he rolls back in.

00:34:47 He's like, hey, what are you doing?

00:34:48 I'm getting ready to put the training in

00:34:50 and close this thing up.

00:34:52 He goes, OK.

00:34:52 So now you mind if we shoot?

00:34:54 No, go ahead.

00:34:54 And here's the funny thing is my sarcasm and humor

00:34:57 does not work unless I'm bouncing off somebody.

00:34:59 Because I've sat in my house by myself.

00:35:01 Hey, so the other day I was--

00:35:03 It's just not that funny.

00:35:05 It's very sad.

00:35:05 I mean, I laugh.

00:35:06 [LAUGHTER]

00:35:08 And I think maybe somebody yelling at a camera

00:35:11 and trying to be likable just doesn't work,

00:35:14 so unless you've got somebody else there to like you.

00:35:16 Well, and that's something, too.

00:35:18 Like in my own job in the NHRA stuff,

00:35:20 I work with Tony Pedregon.

00:35:21 And he and I have a natural kind of friendship and cadence

00:35:24 together.

00:35:24 He's like a race car guy, right?

00:35:25 He actually is.

00:35:26 Oh, man.

00:35:26 He is a accomplished race car guy.

00:35:28 But I understand working with somebody else,

00:35:31 it doesn't always go right.

00:35:33 And you guys made a great pair for the seasons

00:35:35 you worked together.

00:35:35 And again, you can tell.

00:35:37 Like people can tell pretty quick when something

00:35:39 is completely phony and when it's not.

00:35:42 And everybody has their moments together.

00:35:44 There are times where I look across at Tony like,

00:35:46 what are you doing right now?

00:35:48 You're killing me right now.

00:35:48 I know that look.

00:35:49 I know that look for like seven years.

00:35:51 You've had those with Tony, too, right?

00:35:52 I mean, that's just not how it works.

00:35:54 Yeah.

00:35:55 Yeah.

00:35:56 Yeah, Tony's a great guy.

00:35:57 I love working with that guy.

00:35:58 It's pretty funny.

00:36:00 I mean, I don't intentionally try to push people's buttons,

00:36:02 but you've got to have some fun, right?

00:36:03 Until someone says, hold my beer.

00:36:06 It's all fun until someone says, hold my beer.

00:36:09 But Tony didn't even do that.

00:36:10 He just go, let's wrap this up right now.

00:36:14 OK, no more vertically challenged references.

00:36:16 Done?

00:36:17 What's next?

00:36:17 When he goes full Pennsylvania, you know you've got it somewhere.

00:36:20 That's right.

00:36:21 That's right.

00:36:21 What else is off the list of humor?

00:36:24 But yeah, ever since that--

00:36:25 I mean, yeah.

00:36:27 Yeah, ever since the van was the beginning and then--

00:36:31 This was the MSD van, right?

00:36:32 The MSD Atomic van, which years later I

00:36:35 bought from the company on the grounds

00:36:39 that I remove the motor transmission

00:36:41 and give it back to--

00:36:42 I think it was Dirty Every Day wanted

00:36:43 it to put it in their big--

00:36:45 their motor home, Molesta Rosa, whatever that thing was.

00:36:50 But wasn't the beginnings of that van-- didn't Rob Canan--

00:36:53 That was just--

00:36:54 So Rob Canan initially, by the way--

00:36:55 Oh, yeah, so that's the van.

00:36:56 There used to be a dry cleaning van or something.

00:36:57 Yeah.

00:36:58 And he ran him over.

00:36:58 Yes.

00:36:59 Rob Canan was run over--

00:37:00 By his own van?

00:37:01 By his own van.

00:37:02 Wow, nice.

00:37:03 He started it.

00:37:04 He was in gear.

00:37:05 And he--

00:37:07 Was he reaching?

00:37:08 He had his foot outside the thing, started it.

00:37:10 It was in gear, and it was running,

00:37:11 and then he was under it.

00:37:14 But that was a t-shirt van.

00:37:15 That sat at our old shop in Gardena.

00:37:17 It had galvanized pipe bolted to the side

00:37:19 so you could hang hangers and shirts on the inside.

00:37:21 Yeah.

00:37:22 Yeah.

00:37:22 It was a cool van.

00:37:23 I would have left it.

00:37:23 They had a cool patina.

00:37:24 They had the Keep on Truckin' Dude or something

00:37:26 painted on the side.

00:37:27 Yeah.

00:37:27 Yeah, it was a cool van.

00:37:29 But either way, I ended up buying that thing for a song

00:37:31 and a dance and pull out the motor and transmission.

00:37:34 That was a new motor and transmission.

00:37:36 I put a motor and transmission in it

00:37:38 and got everything working overdrive,

00:37:40 but I didn't bother calibrating the indicator.

00:37:44 Then they had a lady that was in charge of product Julia.

00:37:47 And hey, hop in the van.

00:37:50 We need to put a couple hundred miles on it.

00:37:51 We're all at the racetrack.

00:37:53 Bring it out here to Fontana.

00:37:55 I was going to say Fontucky, but Fontana.

00:37:58 And bring it out here, but just cruise it out here.

00:38:01 So she got in and just went click, click, click, drive,

00:38:03 which was low.

00:38:06 And then got on the freeway and just

00:38:10 screamed for like an hour and a half.

00:38:12 Oh, god.

00:38:13 And then it shut off.

00:38:16 She called me.

00:38:17 Actually, whoever was riding with her called me.

00:38:19 This thing is so badass.

00:38:20 It sounds like a rocket ship.

00:38:22 And it's just screaming in the background.

00:38:24 What are they doing with that thing?

00:38:26 Oh, no.

00:38:26 And so it gets there.

00:38:27 They send a tow truck for it to pick it up.

00:38:29 And well, we think it just shut off.

00:38:31 I think it overheated.

00:38:31 Maybe the ignition failed or something.

00:38:33 And then someone sent me a picture

00:38:34 of a piece of metal sticking through the side of the block.

00:38:37 And it just shut off.

00:38:38 I'm going to tell you right now, it

00:38:40 knocked first at least once because there's

00:38:43 a rod right there.

00:38:44 So they packed it all up and sent it to Mike Copeland.

00:38:49 And said just swap it because it was a Langenfelter motor.

00:38:51 And just-- I'm sorry.

00:38:53 I left out the key part.

00:38:54 So it was like a 15--

00:38:55 It's a Langenfelter engine.

00:38:56 It's a $15,000 Langenfelter motor.

00:38:57 It's not a junkyard 53.

00:38:59 It is a Langenfelter build LS.

00:39:01 That was four hours old.

00:39:03 So they sent it there.

00:39:04 They put him another one.

00:39:05 And he's all, blow this one up too.

00:39:07 I'll build you another one.

00:39:08 I saw Mike.

00:39:10 So yeah, they put another one in.

00:39:12 And then they did Roadkill Nights, I think,

00:39:14 or something with it.

00:39:15 Maybe it was Roadkill Takes America,

00:39:19 which is a funny thing.

00:39:20 Did you ever see Roadkill Takes America?

00:39:21 Oh, yeah.

00:39:21 I did not.

00:39:22 OK, so they wrapped the van.

00:39:23 They said Roadkill Takes America.

00:39:25 One of my first gigs on the deal was driving the van,

00:39:27 selling merch.

00:39:28 Actually, not even selling merch,

00:39:29 just making sure no one stole the merch.

00:39:31 You were merch security.

00:39:32 I was a merch guard.

00:39:34 Hey, look, could you go on the road for 10 days?

00:39:36 Let's do it, man.

00:39:38 You're going to pay me to cruise?

00:39:39 Nice hotels.

00:39:40 This is great.

00:39:41 What do you need me to do?

00:39:43 Make sure no one steals the shirt.

00:39:44 Actually, the gig was make sure all the cars

00:39:45 run at all the stops.

00:39:47 And so I did that.

00:39:48 But yeah, good times right there.

00:39:51 You told me before how much you respect Tony as a driver.

00:39:54 He's an excellent driver.

00:39:55 But you didn't like to-- and actually,

00:39:57 one time we were going somewhere, and I was driving,

00:40:00 and you're like, dude, let me switch.

00:40:02 You don't like being a passenger.

00:40:03 No, so I have an inner ear issue.

00:40:07 What?

00:40:07 Are you guys buying it?

00:40:08 Nice.

00:40:09 Is it the space between them?

00:40:10 No, no, exactly.

00:40:12 It's called a brain, and it says don't let somebody else kill

00:40:15 you, kill yourself.

00:40:16 No, so BVVP is the thing.

00:40:19 So I have crystals that roll around inside my ears.

00:40:22 Get out of here.

00:40:22 Yeah, for real.

00:40:23 And then there's a whole procedure

00:40:25 to get them to stop rolling around.

00:40:27 But in the meantime, if I don't anticipate what's going on,

00:40:29 if my head moves funny, then all of a sudden,

00:40:31 I start getting vertigo, and I've

00:40:33 fallen down like an old person, which is weird,

00:40:35 because I'm like 40-something.

00:40:36 That's weird.

00:40:36 Yeah, I thought you were in your 30s.

00:40:37 But that's what I'm saying.

00:40:38 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:40:39 I didn't--

00:40:40 So yeah, and plus it's Tony Angelo.

00:40:43 I've seen Tony Angelo drive stuff.

00:40:45 I'm super always impressed by what he does.

00:40:47 That's good English, right?

00:40:48 Yeah, super always impressed.

00:40:48 Super always impressed.

00:40:49 One of our first gigs was the Fury 3 wagon.

00:40:53 So I was thinking of--

00:40:55 A barn find, moss growing in the window,

00:40:58 bullet holes in the quarter panel.

00:40:59 What do you do with that?

00:41:00 You slam it.

00:41:01 You put cool tires on it.

00:41:03 You do disc brake conversion, and you put a 512-inch stroker

00:41:06 in it.

00:41:07 And then you drive it to--

00:41:08 I don't even remember the parking lot.

00:41:10 It's like Kern County Fairgrounds parking lot,

00:41:13 which is like dirt that they spray this milky stuff on

00:41:16 to make it not dust.

00:41:19 So--

00:41:20 And it's--

00:41:20 It's like oil dirt.

00:41:22 Organically oil dirt.

00:41:23 So we get there, and he's like, OK, so what I'm going to do--

00:41:25 and Tony doesn't sound like this, but--

00:41:27 I like it, though.

00:41:28 Again, we've created a-- it's a Rocky-esque--

00:41:32 we're getting to that.

00:41:33 We're getting to the Philly.

00:41:34 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:41:35 OK, yeah.

00:41:35 Well, all my Philly sounds like Boston anyway.

00:41:37 It's fine.

00:41:37 So Tony's like, I'm going to get in the car,

00:41:39 and we're going to go to the bar, OK?

00:41:41 That's Philly to me.

00:41:42 Tony's from Southie all of a sudden.

00:41:43 Yeah, it's fine.

00:41:45 His name's Tony O'Malley all of a sudden.

00:41:48 Exactly right.

00:41:50 So he goes, all right, so you stand over there,

00:41:52 and I'm going to drift in the frame,

00:41:55 and I'll go around you a couple of times.

00:41:56 I'm like, whoa.

00:41:58 So run that by me again.

00:41:59 I'm going to drift in the frame while you're standing there

00:42:01 yelling on this episode of Hot Rod Garage,

00:42:03 whatever the dumb line was.

00:42:05 And I was like, OK, here's the deal.

00:42:06 I said, a Coke can down the middle of the road,

00:42:08 or the parking lot.

00:42:09 I go, you drift around that.

00:42:11 And he drifts around it.

00:42:12 I was like, OK, that was cool.

00:42:13 It looked neat.

00:42:14 Just skidding in, and just tire frying.

00:42:16 It's like, that was cool.

00:42:17 I go, now do it again.

00:42:19 Do it again.

00:42:20 So he lines up, goes in to where I look over.

00:42:22 There's like one set of burnout marks.

00:42:24 I was like, you know what?

00:42:25 Here's the deal, bro.

00:42:26 I'll stand right here.

00:42:27 You hit me, hit you back.

00:42:29 Let's go, man.

00:42:30 Let's go.

00:42:31 And he whooped and went around me a couple of times.

00:42:33 And I was just like, nice, Tony, nice.

00:42:36 On this episode of Hot Rod Garage, man, Tony, go.

00:42:39 Ever since then, I trusted him.

00:42:42 But I'm still not dumb.

00:42:45 So yeah, so luckily I had an inner ear issue, which

00:42:48 actually, it was kind of fun.

00:42:49 We did a lot of episodes where the OMG, the five point OMG,

00:42:54 I was sitting on an Apple box next to it on the outside.

00:42:57 And the camera was shooting from the driver's side.

00:42:59 And I was just like, on this episode of Hot Rod Garage.

00:43:01 And he like fires up and drives away.

00:43:03 And I'm just sitting there on a box.

00:43:05 I'm still not right with this guy, man.

00:43:08 It became a running joke.

00:43:09 But that intro to the Fury episode

00:43:14 was one of the things that was playing in our office at work.

00:43:17 Oh, really?

00:43:17 Yeah, with the sound down.

00:43:18 But it was just like, and I was every now and then,

00:43:20 I'd look up from whatever I was doing.

00:43:22 And there's you standing there.

00:43:23 You're like this.

00:43:24 And then the car is going around you.

00:43:26 It's just such a cool scene.

00:43:27 And to have it be just like, hear the story behind that.

00:43:30 I've been to Willow with Tony on the AMC Javelin, which

00:43:33 was one of the gnarliest, most equipped, fastest

00:43:36 cars that we've put together.

00:43:37 And here's a gig.

00:43:38 We built the motor.

00:43:39 It was a 301 or whatever the AMC version of a V8 is.

00:43:42 And it was doing great.

00:43:45 But those things have big issues with the amount of oil volume

00:43:48 in the top of the motor by the time it gets to the bottom.

00:43:51 And it would do stuff like fill the top of the motor up

00:43:53 with oil.

00:43:54 And you stand on the brakes, go into a turn.

00:43:55 And it would just throw up oil under the fan, which would then

00:43:57 blow up on the windshield.

00:43:58 Oh, wow.

00:43:59 Yeah, just everywhere.

00:44:00 But Tony did not care.

00:44:01 He would come out of like--

00:44:03 I don't know what the term is-- the off camber

00:44:04 when it's kind of blind.

00:44:05 And I was just like, what is--

00:44:07 we had driven over there, because they're filming.

00:44:09 We have to film a lot of the spots where we set all up,

00:44:11 and somebody comes flying by.

00:44:12 And OK, they'll go around and do it again.

00:44:14 OK, now let's shoot the whole thing.

00:44:16 We're standing there, and Tony just sideways,

00:44:18 fourth gear on the rev limiter, all it's got.

00:44:21 Blind, a little bit of air, back and bounces a couple of times.

00:44:24 I'm thinking, oh, this is going to be ugly.

00:44:26 Drives out of it, pulls out of it,

00:44:27 and starts going down the back straightaway.

00:44:29 They're like, oh, Tony, turn around and come back

00:44:30 and do it again.

00:44:31 Ah, better if I just do the whole thing.

00:44:33 He's going so fast.

00:44:34 He's just like, get it together.

00:44:36 He's coming back around.

00:44:37 So yeah, the guy constantly impressed me.

00:44:40 What is, whether in your youth or your not-so-youth,

00:44:44 a moment that you got away with in a car?

00:44:47 And I'm sure there's a long list,

00:44:49 but if there's one in particular that you got away

00:44:52 with something in a car and you thought to yourself, OK,

00:44:55 that one I'm not going to try to attempt again.

00:44:58 Dumb stunts.

00:44:59 I mean, I've done--

00:45:00 Not even intentional or not.

00:45:03 I mean, I've got a couple of good ones.

00:45:06 I mean, I got pulled over in Hermosa.

00:45:11 Officer Cavanaugh, was his name, motor officer?

00:45:14 Still around, I think.

00:45:15 I talked to somebody.

00:45:16 I talked to somebody, and she's all, you knew Cavanaugh?

00:45:18 I mean, I think it's one of those deals.

00:45:20 And I was driving a Hillman, which is like a Thames.

00:45:23 Yeah, a little Hillman.

00:45:24 Right, exactly.

00:45:25 Like a Hillman Banks or something?

00:45:26 Or a Husky?

00:45:27 It was a Hillman-- well, it was actually

00:45:29 a Thames, which is just like a Hillman.

00:45:30 It was a panel van that we had put on a Jeep chassis,

00:45:33 like a military Jeep.

00:45:34 OK.

00:45:34 And it was right-hand drive.

00:45:36 And the four-cylinder's between the seats.

00:45:38 So it had 31-inch tires, nice and wide.

00:45:40 You rev it up, and you dump the clutch,

00:45:42 and it would do a wheelie going forward.

00:45:43 And then you rev it up, and you dump the clutch,

00:45:45 and it would do a wheelie going backwards.

00:45:47 Let's drive it, right?

00:45:49 So we're in front of Mickey's Liquor on Hermosa Avenue

00:45:51 in Hermosa Beach.

00:45:53 I pull up, I stop, do a little wheelie.

00:45:56 All my friends--

00:45:56 [LAUGHTER]

00:45:57 It was like a clown car that does wheelies, right?

00:46:00 It's lifted.

00:46:01 And a cop on a motorcycle pulls up.

00:46:03 He goes, I see your license and registration.

00:46:05 I was like, oh, you know what?

00:46:06 I don't have a driver's license.

00:46:08 Good story, sir.

00:46:09 He had no registration.

00:46:11 He's all, OK, do you know where the Hermosa Beach Police

00:46:14 Department is?

00:46:15 I'm all, yes, I do.

00:46:16 And he goes, you know what?

00:46:18 Should I even tell this story?

00:46:19 Yes.

00:46:20 All right.

00:46:20 So he's all, OK, you drive up there.

00:46:22 I'm going to follow you.

00:46:23 Do not try anything.

00:46:26 I drive myself to the police department.

00:46:28 I park into a space.

00:46:29 I get out.

00:46:30 He walks up.

00:46:30 He goes, OK, turn around.

00:46:32 Put your hands behind your back.

00:46:33 And he arrests me.

00:46:33 [LAUGHTER]

00:46:34 I was like, did I just drive myself to jail?

00:46:37 He's like, yes, you did.

00:46:39 And he walked me in.

00:46:40 Statute of limitations.

00:46:41 The first thing he said is, what's your name?

00:46:44 Todd.

00:46:46 And that's where the story will end.

00:46:48 [LAUGHTER]

00:46:50 Man, yeah, that's quick thinking.

00:46:52 Yeah, yeah.

00:46:53 That is quick thinking.

00:46:56 Well, and then we had an incident

00:46:58 with the steering column in "The Fury," which was hilarious.

00:47:00 Speaking of Tony Angelo.

00:47:02 He-- steering couple-- we changed the gearbox.

00:47:05 We'll power gearbox on the thing.

00:47:06 And he put in a billet--

00:47:08 looked like a rag joint, but it was a solid billet--

00:47:11 and used bolts.

00:47:12 And I don't think any part of that was--

00:47:14 actually, it would've been right if the steering column

00:47:15 was perfectly straight.

00:47:16 Yes, correct.

00:47:16 But it was not.

00:47:17 It was at a little bit of an angle.

00:47:18 And I drove the thing around for months,

00:47:19 because I ended up buying the car.

00:47:21 Me and him were rolling down aviation

00:47:22 at a high rate of speed--

00:47:23 I mean, at the speed limit, whatever

00:47:24 the posted speed limit was.

00:47:26 And then we go around the turn onto Marine or Rehoboth

00:47:31 Boulevard.

00:47:31 I think we were turning onto 190th by the gas station.

00:47:35 It was right past TRW.

00:47:37 Yeah.

00:47:37 Yeah, OK.

00:47:38 No, no, it was further up where McDonald's is on the right.

00:47:41 Yes.

00:47:42 OK.

00:47:42 I thought we all know, of course.

00:47:43 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:47:44 So we make the left.

00:47:45 And as we're going to make the left,

00:47:47 it starts to spin.

00:47:49 We're doing 40, right?

00:47:50 Am I exaggerating?

00:47:51 40 miles an hour.

00:47:53 Kind of getting on it.

00:47:54 And mind you, cars are merging.

00:47:55 And I'm just like, bzz, bzz.

00:47:57 I'm trying to correct, but the wheel's just spinning.

00:47:59 So now I realize if I step on the brake, it goes left.

00:48:01 If I step on the gas, it goes right.

00:48:02 And I was like, wop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop.

00:48:04 People are just like, you're an idiot.

00:48:06 I'm like, wop, bop, bop, bop, bop.

00:48:08 Next to the curb.

00:48:09 Bro!

00:48:09 Bzz!

00:48:11 Whoa.

00:48:13 That was crazy.

00:48:14 I saw the look on your face.

00:48:16 I'm like, uh-oh, we're in trouble.

00:48:17 This isn't good.

00:48:18 You're like, what happened?

00:48:19 I'm like, bro, how good is this?

00:48:20 The steering wheel just spins.

00:48:22 Became the Atari arcade game from the '80s.

00:48:26 Super fast.

00:48:27 Gas, brake, gas, brake, left, right, left, right.

00:48:31 We're good.

00:48:31 We're good, bro.

00:48:32 But you basically parallel parked that thing on the curb.

00:48:34 And we went--

00:48:36 I go, you know why it broke?

00:48:37 Because of the rag toy?

00:48:38 Well, no.

00:48:39 I'm wearing a roadkill shirt today.

00:48:41 I've not worn a roadkill shirt in months.

00:48:43 I put this thing on today.

00:48:44 Failure.

00:48:46 I forgot about that.

00:48:48 Then the other one in your--

00:48:49 I'm sorry to hijack with stories.

00:48:51 No, no, no.

00:48:52 It's about when we were on the fast lane coming back

00:48:54 from Del Mar.

00:48:55 From Del Mar, yeah.

00:48:56 Driving the speed limit once again.

00:48:58 And we were in the left lane--

00:49:00 In the carpool lane.

00:49:01 Carpool?

00:49:02 Carpool?

00:49:02 What car should we park?

00:49:04 I have a fast track.

00:49:05 I'm going to hit my 800 horsepower too loud.

00:49:09 It was-- Villas Ronfles was the name of the street.

00:49:14 I know that because the coach house is there.

00:49:15 I went to a great punk show there.

00:49:17 But either way, we're going around the corner.

00:49:19 We're in the left lane.

00:49:20 And the car, boom, just shuts off.

00:49:21 And all the touch screens, nothing works.

00:49:23 I was just like, click, click.

00:49:25 John, we're going in, bro.

00:49:27 So all he could do-- and there's lots of traffic.

00:49:29 Everybody's humming along.

00:49:31 And I pull over to the left.

00:49:32 And I get out.

00:49:33 And you know what you do when you break down

00:49:35 the left lane of a blind turn.

00:49:37 Everybody's doing 80.

00:49:39 You get out and you go live on social media.

00:49:41 And a cop rolls up with the flashers and everything.

00:49:44 He's all, what are you doing?

00:49:45 You're planning your death?

00:49:46 I'm all, quite possible.

00:49:49 Shut that off and let's talk about getting high.

00:49:51 We got a truck coming.

00:49:54 He goes, I'm not joking.

00:49:55 This is very serious.

00:49:57 You ain't kidding, pal.

00:49:58 Thanks for your service, bro.

00:49:59 Just then, the tow truck pulls up and picks us up and drags us

00:50:02 off the road.

00:50:03 And I go, dude, just take us to AutoZone.

00:50:05 And they dumped us in AutoZone.

00:50:07 Yay, shout out to AutoZone.

00:50:09 Not so shout out to the employees of AutoZone.

00:50:11 No, sir, you can't work on your car in the parking lot.

00:50:12 No, dude, I'm buying a battery.

00:50:14 I'm just going to drop it in.

00:50:14 You can't work on your car in the parking lot.

00:50:16 OK, great, let me get that battery.

00:50:18 So he gives me a battery.

00:50:19 I ratchet strap it to the other battery

00:50:20 and just move the cables over.

00:50:22 The alternator's dead.

00:50:24 Fire it up.

00:50:25 See you guys later.

00:50:27 Drive to the next spot.

00:50:28 Return the battery, because we buy an alternator.

00:50:31 We buy an alternator, and battery's charged up.

00:50:34 We're good to go.

00:50:35 Back on the road.

00:50:36 Freaking great.

00:50:37 That was a good day.

00:50:38 That was on our way home from Del Mar.

00:50:40 Which another thing really quick, too,

00:50:42 is my perception here is like, Ian,

00:50:44 this is-- I don't think I've ever said you, but--

00:50:46 I love you, too, man.

00:50:47 Yeah, absolutely.

00:50:49 You like--

00:50:49 I'll see myself out.

00:50:52 He likes going to car shows, but not necessarily being at them.

00:50:55 I think we spent-- almost every car show we've gone to together

00:50:59 where he had to drive out of LA County,

00:51:02 we spend more time in the car getting there

00:51:04 than you spend walking around.

00:51:05 Oh, yeah, absolutely.

00:51:06 It's like, all right.

00:51:07 It's the trip, man.

00:51:08 It is.

00:51:08 That was very hippie, wasn't it?

00:51:10 It was very.

00:51:10 That was very-- yeah, I got some granola back here.

00:51:13 I got a Volkswagen van to present.

00:51:16 We did the same thing when we went

00:51:17 to Santa Barbara for the Race of Gentlemen

00:51:19 was the flat hats and flannels.

00:51:20 Oh, yeah, the flat hats and flannels, yeah.

00:51:22 Remember what they call it?

00:51:23 The Race of Gentlemen?

00:51:24 Yeah, yeah.

00:51:25 I think we were there for like 15 minutes,

00:51:26 and then you're like, let's get out of here.

00:51:27 Yeah, and we got best parking.

00:51:29 Remember, we pulled up, and the guy goes, is that spot open?

00:51:31 He's all, yes, sir.

00:51:32 And the guy just pulled out.

00:51:33 We backed right in.

00:51:33 It's like front row.

00:51:35 Got out, walked around.

00:51:36 Paid?

00:51:36 Yeah, not even trying to get that freebie stuff.

00:51:38 We ran into Chip there, too.

00:51:40 Did we?

00:51:40 Yeah.

00:51:41 Yeah, maybe.

00:51:41 But walked around, looked at--

00:51:43 I called my buddy Ben Bright.

00:51:45 Do you know Ben Bright, my fans?

00:51:46 He's one of the fabricators.

00:51:47 He's like seven feet tall.

00:51:47 I know who he is.

00:51:47 I never met him.

00:51:48 Yes.

00:51:48 Nice.

00:51:49 A giant man.

00:51:49 Coolest guy in the world.

00:51:50 Used to ride a sports truck to Huntington Beach

00:51:52 to do overhauling.

00:51:53 Like a--

00:51:53 That huge guy was folding up on the--

00:51:56 And he's legit.

00:51:57 He's not playing a part.

00:51:58 That's the way he lives.

00:51:59 His pants are rolled up for a reason.

00:52:00 That's just him.

00:52:01 Got his welding helmet, his gloves on the side of his belt.

00:52:04 He would stand-- the cops would pull up next to him,

00:52:05 and his knees are up by the handlebar.

00:52:07 And he would stand up like he's holding a BMX bike

00:52:09 between his knees and didn't text or something,

00:52:12 and then put his phone away.

00:52:13 And then, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah.

00:52:16 But yeah, super fun guy.

00:52:18 Yeah, we saw him there.

00:52:19 Love that guy.

00:52:20 Of all the stuff, as we get near the end of this conversation,

00:52:23 of all the stuff you've had, of all the stuff you want to have,

00:52:25 what is the best car you've ever owned?

00:52:28 My C10 is like the funnest, most functional truck.

00:52:34 So '67 to C10, that quick, short story.

00:52:38 When I was a youngster, I used to sneak into Marineland.

00:52:42 It was shut down.

00:52:43 Wait, so you'd sneak into places?

00:52:44 It was-- well--

00:52:45 After all these other stories, I would have never expected that.

00:52:48 Well, technically.

00:52:49 We were courteous.

00:52:50 We would cut the chain next to the lock

00:52:52 so that they could just unlock it and hook it--

00:52:55 take one link out and hook it back up.

00:52:57 That's called courteous, OK?

00:52:58 All right?

00:53:00 So we would sneak--

00:53:01 Kids today don't understand these things.

00:53:03 Delinquents.

00:53:04 But we would sneak up there, hang out,

00:53:07 and all the places all smashed.

00:53:09 We would just, whatever, drink some beers and skateboard

00:53:11 and stuff like that.

00:53:12 And somebody used to roll in all the time with a red Chevy truck

00:53:15 and then chase us out of there.

00:53:16 Whipper snappers, next time I see you,

00:53:18 you know you're going to jail.

00:53:19 And then two weeks later, we'd be up there

00:53:21 with our piece of crap Toyotas or whatever we had,

00:53:23 and just Datsun LB110 is what I was rolling, bro.

00:53:28 Jacked up in the back because we got rear-ended.

00:53:31 So we would, like I said, same thing.

00:53:32 We would cut her right next to the lock

00:53:34 so that we wouldn't ruin the lock,

00:53:36 and he could just drop a link and hook it right back up.

00:53:38 And so anyway, for years--

00:53:40 well, not for years, but for a while we did that.

00:53:42 So now years later, some guy goes, hey, you were with me.

00:53:45 I hear you want to buy a C10.

00:53:46 It's like, actually, no.

00:53:47 I've had one before.

00:53:49 Oh, you know what?

00:53:50 I got one.

00:53:50 I want $35,000 for it.

00:53:51 I was like, I've never seen a $35,000 C10.

00:53:54 John, let's go check this piece of crap out.

00:53:56 So we roll over there, and it's a guy I sold my orange Chevelle

00:54:00 to.

00:54:01 And he opens up one of those Home Depot tarps

00:54:05 or whatever, easy-up things.

00:54:06 And there's a frame sitting like this.

00:54:08 It's got cat dander on it this big, but freshly painted.

00:54:11 And I was just like, that's gross.

00:54:13 And then there's a bed on a roll-around dolly

00:54:16 with a cab in the back of the bed, right?

00:54:18 And then a couple--

00:54:20 pick the grill you want.

00:54:21 And then we got some doors over here.

00:54:23 And then all these tin boxes right here

00:54:25 have everything you need to put it together.

00:54:27 I'm all, $3,500, right?

00:54:29 He's all, yep, pretty firm.

00:54:30 Let's get the money out of the way.

00:54:32 $3,500.

00:54:33 '67, legit, short bed.

00:54:35 And I was like, cool.

00:54:37 I go, but the only way to tell if you have all the stuff is if

00:54:40 we start putting it together.

00:54:41 So if you go on my YouTube channel--

00:54:42 shout out to my YouTube channel.

00:54:43 Yeah, no, you got to check it out.

00:54:44 Lucky's Garage Show on YouTube.

00:54:46 And go towards the beginning, there's

00:54:48 me and John yanking this frame out,

00:54:51 putting it on dollies in the driveway.

00:54:53 I put my phone on time-lapse and stuck it

00:54:55 on the side of the guy's garage.

00:54:57 And then Cherry picked the body cab out.

00:54:59 And then he put the front suspension

00:55:01 and rolled the rear end out and put the bed on,

00:55:03 filled the bed up with a bunch of stuff by the end of the day,

00:55:05 pushed it to the end of the driveway.

00:55:06 And then called the tow truck, I think the next day, 9 o'clock.

00:55:09 I zip-tied my phone to the light bar and put it on time-lapse.

00:55:13 And I'm driving it in my car.

00:55:14 And when I get close to the tow truck,

00:55:16 it would link to my hands-free.

00:55:19 I'm like, oh, I got to slow down.

00:55:20 I don't want to cancel the video.

00:55:22 So it time-lapsed all the way to me and Kalen and Sammy's garage

00:55:25 and then lowered it out.

00:55:26 And it ends up, the truck was a retired Los Angeles County

00:55:29 fire truck called a plug truck.

00:55:31 And it belonged to a guy, a guy named Lou or Bud.

00:55:37 I want to say Lou.

00:55:39 And he got it from a guy who used

00:55:41 to do security at Marineland.

00:55:43 Get the hell out of here.

00:55:44 Chase, get the hell out of here.

00:55:45 And I didn't know it until way later.

00:55:47 That is insane.

00:55:47 It was gray, primer gray, a bunch of different colors.

00:55:50 And I'm washing it with Ajax and Scotch-Brite.

00:55:53 And I go, what is this?

00:55:55 And it says fire and the city code still on the passenger.

00:55:57 Man, that's cool.

00:55:58 And I was just like, I'm going to hot rod the shit out

00:56:00 of this thing, man.

00:56:01 I'm going to hot rod the heck out of this thing.

00:56:04 So.

00:56:05 And you still have that.

00:56:06 I still have that.

00:56:07 And now it's got an Ace Racing engine in it, a 6 liter--

00:56:12 5.3, sorry, 5.3 with trick flow heads,

00:56:16 Magnuson 2300, 14.8 pounds, pump gas.

00:56:22 I would tell you it was fast, but it's never, ever

00:56:24 hooked up once in its life.

00:56:26 I mean, it burns tires like a mother.

00:56:27 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:56:28 So yeah, it is the C10 shop truck.

00:56:31 And if you check it out on social media,

00:56:33 shout out to Mickey Thompson.

00:56:36 Yes.

00:56:38 Tire supplier.

00:56:39 Yeah, exactly.

00:56:41 That's spectacular.

00:56:42 And as a plug truck, would it go around and serve a fire plus?

00:56:45 Serve fire hydrants.

00:56:45 That's all it did was serve fire hydrants.

00:56:47 So the bed was in really great condition,

00:56:49 no rust or anything.

00:56:50 But it's weird stuff.

00:56:50 Once in a while, the back of the cab, a piece of bondo

00:56:53 falls off.

00:56:53 I'm like, how do you get a hole in the back

00:56:54 of the cab between the bed?

00:56:56 I was like, OK, so now I make these stickers

00:56:58 that say slow and fun.

00:57:00 Slow AF.

00:57:02 Clearly slow and fun.

00:57:03 It says and fun.

00:57:05 And I just put a bunch of them over the hole for the trip

00:57:07 here so you don't smell carbon dioxide while you're driving.

00:57:09 But yeah, it's got a Dakota Digital.

00:57:11 It's got the whole suspension is QA1,

00:57:13 even their new front end with the rack and pinion.

00:57:14 It's super nice.

00:57:15 AC blows ice cubes.

00:57:16 I love that truck.

00:57:17 So my chick hates it, so I know it's cool.

00:57:19 You know it's cool.

00:57:20 That's been a common theme.

00:57:21 That has been a common theme throughout these episodes.

00:57:24 If somebody's significant other hates the vehicle,

00:57:26 it means it's awesome.

00:57:28 So last and final question for me, you work your ass off.

00:57:31 I mean, you have worked your ass off,

00:57:33 whether it was on the mobile side,

00:57:34 then you get into the TV stuff, and you hustle.

00:57:37 And does that come from you being a kid

00:57:39 and wanting that next thing and wanting the next $5

00:57:42 in your pocket?

00:57:43 Because you're a very hardworking guy,

00:57:46 and I say that with all the respect.

00:57:48 I mean, I'm not trying to hustle and make money,

00:57:50 but it's great to be appreciated and get paid for doing stuff.

00:57:54 Just your nature.

00:57:55 That's all I got.

00:57:56 I don't even have a home garage.

00:57:57 My shop is where I keep all my stuff and do stuff like that.

00:58:01 But don't get me wrong, I did rock Las Vegas casinos

00:58:04 just last night.

00:58:05 So there's a fair amount of partying going on here too.

00:58:09 I don't drink.

00:58:11 So I have no excuse for the stuff that

00:58:13 happened at the casino last night.

00:58:16 I got nothing else.

00:58:17 But it's good to know you, dude.

00:58:20 On hood, bro.

00:58:21 On hood.

00:58:21 Yeah, these guys are boys.

00:58:23 And I think, again, your gift when people watch you

00:58:26 and the reason that your YouTube channel is such a success,

00:58:29 you and Alex Taylor do such good work on Hot Rod Garage

00:58:31 because people relate to you.

00:58:33 You're not out there putting on a show for somebody

00:58:36 like this is you.

00:58:38 The Olympic level of smart assedness that you've seen,

00:58:40 that is all real.

00:58:41 There is not a script.

00:58:42 There was no cue cards.

00:58:43 That's what I was going to say about the walking around

00:58:44 with you at shows.

00:58:46 Or in person, everyone asks me what you're like off camera,

00:58:50 and I'm like, it's the same dude.

00:58:51 Whether he's on-- that you see on Hot Rod.

00:58:53 I appreciate that.

00:58:54 I mean, I don't--

00:58:55 I was going to say I try to be that, but I don't.

00:58:57 I really just do not.

00:58:58 I had somebody hit me up on power tour.

00:59:00 They're like, hey, Lucky, thank you so much for keeping

00:59:02 the show PG-13.

00:59:03 Me and my daughters watch it all the time.

00:59:05 And I was just like, if this guy knew what a creative person I

00:59:11 was, he wouldn't be saying that.

00:59:13 But you know what?

00:59:13 That struck a nerve, and I consciously, in public,

00:59:16 tried to be a little bit more respectful.

00:59:18 I appreciate everybody watching.

00:59:19 And you know, we haven't talked about Alex Taylor.

00:59:21 No, yeah, we should.

00:59:22 Yeah, she is as real as it comes, too.

00:59:23 Love Alex Taylor.

00:59:23 Super talented, yeah.

00:59:25 And the only reason she's not here with you right now

00:59:26 is we want to do a separate episode with her.

00:59:28 OK, perfect.

00:59:29 So we're not leaving her out at all.

00:59:30 Well, maybe I won't say anything nice about her.

00:59:31 Let me know what she says about me.

00:59:33 I will.

00:59:33 Yeah, we may come back and have a split screen battle.

00:59:36 We'll expose the seedy underside of Hot Rod.

00:59:40 Seedy underbelly.

00:59:41 And tread on the set.

00:59:43 But again, she says nothing positive stuff about you.

00:59:46 You guys crank out creative projects,

00:59:47 and it's a great partnership.

00:59:48 You know she drives a race car?

00:59:50 Like legit.

00:59:51 I mean, I am a professional race car driver, clearly.

00:59:54 And a professional stuntman.

00:59:55 Oh, did you see me jump at the police car?

00:59:57 Yes.

00:59:57 Professional stuntman.

00:59:58 And then what else was I a professional?

01:00:00 Professional rally racer.

01:00:01 I did the rally racing.

01:00:02 I got paid for it.

01:00:03 Dirt fish stuff?

01:00:05 No, I didn't do dirt fish.

01:00:06 I think we just went rally racing.

01:00:08 But they paid me for that day.

01:00:09 So professional.

01:00:11 And then Willow Springs, I got paid to go to Willow Springs.

01:00:13 Compensated road racer.

01:00:14 Professional road racer.

01:00:15 That's exactly right.

01:00:16 Yeah, but she's a legit professional drag racer.

01:00:19 Well, yeah, she is.

01:00:20 And last year, two years ago, she

01:00:22 was like she's run the drag and drive stuff forever.

01:00:24 And then this team of the Radioverse, the World Car,

01:00:26 calls her up.

01:00:27 You want to drive this?

01:00:27 She's like, yeah.

01:00:28 And this is a 4,000 horsepower, 3 and 1/2 second,

01:00:31 eighth mile car.

01:00:32 And she got in there like a boss and just started banging off

01:00:34 around everything.

01:00:35 It's amazing.

01:00:35 Yeah, impressive.

01:00:36 She can get it.

01:00:37 I'm scared of those cars.

01:00:38 I mean, I get to call them out of the booth,

01:00:40 and I'm scared watching them.

01:00:41 So yeah, a little one sitting inside one.

01:00:44 Lucky Costa, awesome dude.

01:00:45 We thank you for coming in, hanging out with us today.

01:00:47 My pleasure.

01:00:47 Thanks for letting me hang out.

01:00:49 Time's up.

01:00:51 Well, thank you, Lucky.

01:00:52 It was a great way to end "Power To The West."

01:00:55 It absolutely was a good time.

01:00:56 Now, does security walk me back out?

01:00:58 Yes, they'll walk you back out.

01:00:59 Some of the things you admitted to,

01:01:01 we have some paperwork for you to sign up.

01:01:02 They're always trying to--

01:01:03 Todd.

01:01:03 My name is Todd.

01:01:06 He's Todd.

01:01:06 He's John O'Brien.

01:01:08 Make sure you keep tuned in to Hot Rod Pod, where it all began.

01:01:11 Leave us some great comments.

01:01:12 Leave us a review and stick with us.

01:01:13 We have a lot more interesting personalities

01:01:15 coming on this series.

01:01:16 It's going to be a continued party with guys and girls,

01:01:20 just like this man here, who goes by Todd,

01:01:22 but his real name's Lucky.

01:01:23 We'll see you soon.

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