Backyard Builds To Best In Show - Brad Long - Long Restoration Ep35

WEBVTT

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To learn more about this class-leading VW magazine.

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Welcome back to Dub Life Diaries. Today's guest is a true craftsman,

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a storyteller in the world of vintage Volkswagens.

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From late nights in the garage with his dad and his son to building award-winning

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bugs that have graced magazine covers and taken home best in show,

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he's living proof that passion can turn into a full-time lifestyle.

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He's the owner of Long Restoration, which is a family-run shop that's breathing

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new life into forgotten classics, pushing them far beyond what our parents ever dreamed they'd become.

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Brad Long, welcome to Dub Life Diaries.

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Thank you, sir. Thank you. Pleasure to be here. Yeah, brother.

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Well, man, I'm excited to do this one. I've been seeing you from afar.

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I'm happy to get to know you. Before

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we get going, I just want to give a shout-out to a few of my sponsors.

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First up, Volksmania Magazine. I feel these guys are the flyest VW magazine

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on the face of the planet, best quality, but more importantly, the best people.

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And I think that's really what we're all about is the people,

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just like our wonderful Volkswagen community.

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Next up, my buddy Chris White, Riverbank Customs. Man, one heck of a Volkswagen dude.

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He is all about this scene, y'all.

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Check him out. Follow him on YouTube, Riverbank Customs. You can't miss him.

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Such a special guy in the scene. Go give that page on YouTube a subscribe.

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And then lastly, shout out to Salty Dub from the beach to the bay.

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Salty Dub is tearing up the VW scene. some

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epic VW events and swag salty

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dub.com same discount code applies so dub life 10 will give you 10% off merch

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that's it my sponsors back to you my man back to you all right good morning

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sir yeah good morning so let's get this thing cracking man take us back to 18

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years old in the body shop.

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What got you hooked on, on painting, on auto painting?

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Well, it's a funny story. 16, 17 year old, me and my buddies out riding around

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like everybody did back in the late eighties.

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He backs over a car, woman comes out, what are we going to do?

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He says, well, my uncles do this on the side.

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She said, okay. So we went up there and they taught us, we actually fixed it.

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They painted it, but we fixed it.

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And it kind of got me interested in, okay, I think I

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want to do this and it went

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from there went to school for it for a little bit left

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school early got a job in a body shop first started

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out washing cars then started buffing

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and got to a painter's helper and then

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i think it was three or four years into it i was in my early 20s i was a painter

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so but it was cool back then because you was with all the old school guys right

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you know and that's what's I think what's helped me today on some of this metal

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work because they would teach you how to hammer Dolly.

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In today's body shop world, it's, you come in, you put a fender on,

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you don't fix it no more. You know, just replace, replace, replace.

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And back then, we'd have to fix everything. So, I mean, I think that's what

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helped a lot, you know, learning from the old school guys.

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Yeah, my background's HVAC, at least last 10, 15 years of my professional career.

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And you see a lot of that in that industry as well, right? Like the old school

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guys were like beer can, cold refrigerant line mentality. Right.

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No, fix everything, replace nothing.

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You know, we can, we can fix anything. The old, the old shop heads,

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you know, the old, uh, you know, mechanic guys nowadays, technicians,

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early 20 year old guys are out in the field and everything's,

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oh yeah. Yeah. You got to replace it. Yeah.

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So I, I feel that. I feel that for sure. How do you think working?

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You worked in the collision centers. How do you think that, you know,

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getting that experience, you know, with those guys, how do you think it changed

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your approach to how you do, you know, your restorations now?

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Like I say, the way they taught us how to fix stuff.

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Of course, like when we do a car now, I paint it piece by piece.

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We don't paint them together. Back in the older days, you did paint the body shop cars together.

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Well, as it grew, we started painting them in pieces too.

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Okay. Hanging doors, doing them inside and out at one time. Same thing with

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the fenders, but you done it all in the booth at one time, but everything was off.

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So some of the old school stuff and some of the new school stuff put it into the Volkswagen stuff.

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I mean, I get a lot of people ask me, why do you paint the doors off the car?

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Well, it makes a cleaner job. You got no tape.

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You got no tape lines. There's no tape lines on our cars when we're done with

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them. I mean, it's all, the jams are like the outside.

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I mean, it's, you know, I do paint under the hood and stuff first and tape it

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off, but you can tape it off to where there's no tape lines or anything.

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I think we've done, since we've been doing this, I think I've done one car where

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we didn't take the parts off.

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That kind of made me sick. But it was, it was that guy's budget.

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You know, he's like, yeah, yeah.

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So, I mean, it's, you know, we didn't pull the beating out of it.

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We didn't paint the beating on the fenders, but I mean, it's,

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uh, we just, I mean, they're in a hundred pieces when we do them.

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Now you always been a car guy though, right? Even in your childhood. Oh yeah.

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Even in my child. I mean, dad had Volkswagen growing up. Yeah.

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I remember riding around in it. It was a green, can't remember if it was 72 or 73.

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I know it wasn't a super beetle, uh, yeah.

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But I remember running around in it and he always had, of course,

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you know, I say running around in it now and barely getting the backseat of one.

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Right. You know, when he's a kid, you'd run all over the backseat of above.

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Yeah. Ride in the back in the luggage compartment. Yeah.

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And now I can't even crawl back there. Right. And, you know, he had Impalas.

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He had all kind of, even when he was younger, you know, he had 55,

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six, sevens, all kind of old trucks. and like my first vehicle was a 71 C10.

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I traded it for a 66 Super Sports Chevelle.

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So it was always hot rods, you know, but I remember the bugs when dad was, when I was younger.

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Didn't he race them too? Yeah, he run, he had a blue bug, number 88.

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We had a local dirt track and he would race them and it was pretty cool,

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you know, Cause they was the bugs and the gears and like the dude down the road

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from us on the gas station. He had a gear, they raced together.

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And I mean, it was, he had the hole cut in the roof. So when he done buckle,

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he just climbed out the roof of it.

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I mean, it was, you know, it was pretty cool. For sure. Now let's fast forward a little bit.

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I know as my wife, you know, wanted a Carmen gear one day I had to make it happen.

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Your wife said, your wife said she wanted a bug, right? Right, exactly.

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She's like, I'm tired of you and your dad having all these hot rods. I want something.

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I said, what do you want? She said, I want a Volkswagen Bug. And I'm like, really?

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And so we searched and searched and searched. And I drove, we went out West

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Tennessee and found her one.

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And of course it was just going to be, was going to leave it patented up,

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just do the interior, you know, fix rust if we had to here and there.

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And then that didn't happen. It turned into, you know, full restoration and,

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you know, full color change and all that stuff. Turned into a full project. Yeah. Yeah. So.

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What year is this one? 70. 70? Yeah. Standard?

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Standard. I had a 72 standard, my first car and my first Volkswagen that is right.

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Fresh out of high school, 96, I believe.

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I bought that car for two grand. It was an auto clutch and it was,

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it had 70,000 miles on it, man. It was beautiful. Right.

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Yeah. You can't find them like that anymore on the side of the road.

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It was in the mall parking lot back in the day. You can't find one running for $2,000.

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No, you sure can't.

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So this 70 standard, this is a completed car now?

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Yes, it's been done five years, I guess, somewhere around in there. Yeah.

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Yeah. Share with me what the finished build is like. We've done,

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it's two-tone, blue and white.

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Okay. The white is OG white for a Volkswagen.

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The blue, I kind of like metallic sparkles. She don't like that.

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She likes just solid colors.

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So I made her a blue for it. It's a custom color. We've done it ourselves.

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You can't go to the paint store and buy it. So I'm the only one that has a formula for it.

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And kind of a medium blue.

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And it's four inch narrowed beam. you

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know got disc on the front got smoothie wheels nice

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we went with the og like still got

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the high back seats in it the basket weave interior

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yeah that was that was the first car

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we put a headliner in and i have

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to say that was an adventure of course

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you know now she does every headliner at the shop but

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it was the 1600 1600 okay i

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was gonna ask that yeah it's got baby duals on it

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okay of course we made this stainless exhaust

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stainless j tubes you know we did

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have i did have air shots on it for a while took those

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off now it's just i got regular shots on

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it then it's lowered down pretty good she made me raise it up the other day

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what's this car's name sammy sammy yeah she had come up with sammy she's a big

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supernatural fan okay and she likes sam off of the Winchester boys, of Supernatural.

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Okay. There was a Sam doll sitting in the front seat.

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So that's how she came up with the name of that. Cool, man. I love how all these names, you know.

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Oh, I know. How we always come up with them. It's always a fun.

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There's always a story behind it. Yeah.

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Now, I know you did a lot of work on this car in a two-and-a-half-year span or so.

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Didn't you work with your dad and your son on this project? Yeah.

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We had a, we got a little, we don't know if you call it two car garage out back

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and that's where we did it at. And yeah.

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Of course, dad, he would help what he could, but it helped him remember having

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a bug back in the day, especially when we was working on the engine stuff.

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You know, he's like, Hey, I remember doing this on the race car.

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I remember doing this because his motor went out and his green bug he had.

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He remember taking it out.

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And so he helped me a lot of stuff on, cause I had never worked on a Volkswagen.

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He helped me a lot on taking them apart. But then my son, Caleb, I begged him forever.

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To help me in the shop and he would never do it. He's I don't want to do it.

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I don't want to do it. I don't want to do it.

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And so when we started this Volkswagen deal, he like, I think I want to do this.

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And I said, okay. So he helped us a little bit on Debra's car.

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You know, he come over and I taught him a little bit on cutting some stuff out and stuff like this.

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And that's what it gradually turned into where he's at now.

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And me and Debra probably done 75% of the work on it, but it was just cool.

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Having dad in the background i bet talking about

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memories and stuff oh man the priceless

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in fact and that you know we're not

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as big volkswagen family as a

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lot of your guests are you know that grew up that's i've

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been mad you know right like i say we did have volkswagens

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and it was more the hot rod scene and now

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it's nothing but volkswagens i mean it's well i've worked on a couple of hot

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rods in the past few years but it's it's mostly i turn them down i don't want

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to work on it it sounds like in your first you know in your early years it sounds

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like your dad was a pretty a pretty,

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stuck on volkswagen guy too yeah i mean yeah you know you said you say you're

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you're not like a lot of the guests but there ain't no difference yeah i know

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i'm not just saying you know like.

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They was probably 20 something years there that we

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didn't have you know yeah yeah and the Volkswagen stuff you

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know yeah yeah and I can appreciate that too

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and I feel like you know the same thing for me right I got my

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first one you know fresh out of high school I didn't grow up

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having childhood memories but then I had to actually back up and and think because

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I remember about eight nine years old my mom next door neighbor near my mom's

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house was this guy named Dale and Dale had this yellow sand rail that was just

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loud as all hell big old mud bogger back and street tires on the front.

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It was such a crazy, scary, loud, wind resistant, just crazy ride.

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It was burned into me, you know, and you don't think much of it or I didn't

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have in throughout my life, but I'm like, you know, that was an air-cooled Volkswagen. Yeah.

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Well, you know, it's like my dad's brother.

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He'd come home one day with a bay wind. I think it was actually a Westphalia.

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And cause he had the plaid interior.

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And I just remember he didn't have it long, but I just remember running all around that thing too.

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Cause you know, I thought it was cool. You roll up in there with that plaid

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interior, the way they did them back then.

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You know, my mom's brother had a rail since you brought that up and it was painted

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like a candy cane. It was red and white.

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It taped all the, he didn't have it long either.

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I think he blew it up. but it was one of those short

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rails this one was too yeah i

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mean it would it would rear up front end and but yeah you didn't have it long

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but i mean it was pretty cool there those those are actually really cool cars

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oh yeah you know i'd like to have a rail just me too me too i think down the

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road yeah i think about them you know i look at them sometimes i see them on

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marketplace And I'm like, should I?

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No, you don't, you know, you don't need any more projects.

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Exactly. So you got this car ready for the car shows, right?

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Yeah. What year did you first enter Bugapalooza and Bug Jam?

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I think 2020 because it's COVID year.

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Okay. So 2020. Yeah.

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What did that first round of car shows really help you or help teach you as

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a builder, now builder of Volkswagens,

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what did that first round kind of really stand out and teach you?

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Well, we liked about this.

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Being from the hot rod world, when I done her motor, it's all chrome.

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I mean, everything on that thing was chrome.

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I started going to the, because that's what we do to a hot rod. That's right.

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Start going to these shows and i'm like i don't

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think chrome is the way to go because i got to seeing all these guys

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you know painting their tins color matching i'm doing wild stuff

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to them and stuff so i was like okay so the first year there i got all these

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ideas and you know it was how i had the engine bay done you know at first it

00:16:15.970 --> 00:16:21.570
had eight spoke imp black wheels on it and And I got to noticing every other

00:16:21.570 --> 00:16:24.890
car had eight spoke black MP wheels on it, you know,

00:16:25.230 --> 00:16:27.410
and I'm like, okay, we got to do something different.

00:16:27.570 --> 00:16:31.190
So it taught me a lot, especially on the motor side of it.

00:16:31.830 --> 00:16:37.210
Got to noticing all the dual carburetors, you know, people doing stainless exhaust.

00:16:38.410 --> 00:16:39.290
And so...

00:16:39.794 --> 00:16:42.694
The first year she didn't you know she did pretty

00:16:42.694 --> 00:16:45.674
good at shows and stuff i think bugapalooza was

00:16:45.674 --> 00:16:48.314
like she had a second place went to

00:16:48.314 --> 00:16:51.054
some shows here and there we did get a best paint award at one

00:16:51.054 --> 00:16:56.114
show that year and then we went to bug jam that's all we heard bug jam bug jam

00:16:56.114 --> 00:17:01.034
bug jam so that's where we went or see it was covered year so we get there there's

00:17:01.034 --> 00:17:06.134
500 something cars and everybody's like this year's down and we're like what

00:17:06.134 --> 00:17:10.854
do you mean down and they're like no there's She was eight or 900. That's right.

00:17:11.714 --> 00:17:16.894
Okay. There's 537 cars here. That's huge to us. We get there and then you get

00:17:16.894 --> 00:17:18.314
to see how they judge cars.

00:17:18.814 --> 00:17:24.034
And, you know, they walk up with their little notepad and their pen and they got all this stuff down.

00:17:24.134 --> 00:17:27.854
They judge you one to 10 and, you know, you're sitting there watching them get

00:17:27.854 --> 00:17:30.094
onto your car inside it and all this stuff.

00:17:30.294 --> 00:17:34.414
And she took, if I'm not mistaken, she took second place her first year at Bug

00:17:34.414 --> 00:17:38.994
Jam out of the 68 and up modified class.

00:17:39.494 --> 00:17:42.234
Damn so we come we come back and i was like

00:17:42.234 --> 00:17:45.214
all right we got to do something different so i pulled

00:17:45.214 --> 00:17:48.854
the motor and all the tens color matched it white to

00:17:48.854 --> 00:17:51.654
the white on the car but at it still in

00:17:51.654 --> 00:17:54.914
2021 it still had the eight spoke empies on it we still

00:17:54.914 --> 00:17:57.594
i didn't get to that point yet had a little problem with the

00:17:57.594 --> 00:18:00.934
hood on it so it's got a carbon fiber hood on it from

00:18:00.934 --> 00:18:04.214
my guy david wiley that does all the fiberglass work

00:18:04.214 --> 00:18:07.374
he was doing the carbon fibers and i

00:18:07.374 --> 00:18:10.054
just had a little spot that no matter

00:18:10.054 --> 00:18:14.114
what i've done to it the rust kept popping back up i cut it out i cleaned in

00:18:14.114 --> 00:18:18.934
when i cut it out i cleaned all inside of it it just kept popping up okay we

00:18:18.934 --> 00:18:24.774
put carbon fiber hood on it 2021 you know we went to kansas bugger rama out

00:18:24.774 --> 00:18:29.654
there my buddy kurt won't just come out there because he got to see a car on Facebook.

00:18:29.934 --> 00:18:32.854
We got to become friends. I'm like, man, Kansas, that's a haul.

00:18:33.934 --> 00:18:37.154
So we go to Kansas. I go out there and support him.

00:18:37.794 --> 00:18:41.234
And then we just hit, you know, all the other shows again.

00:18:41.834 --> 00:18:45.694
So this time we go to Bug Jam, totally different. And we set up.

00:18:46.134 --> 00:18:50.714
And of course, this year there's 800 and something cars. And I'm like, oh boy.

00:18:51.194 --> 00:18:53.574
Now it's a real one. Yeah, now it's for real.

00:18:54.094 --> 00:18:57.434
And you get to walking around and you get to looking at all these cars and they're like,

00:18:58.141 --> 00:19:02.381
Man, there's some beautiful cars here. It's hard. You know, if we place in our

00:19:02.381 --> 00:19:04.581
class, I'll be tickled to death, you know?

00:19:04.881 --> 00:19:09.661
So you're sitting there and the judges come up and they talk to you about your car.

00:19:09.841 --> 00:19:13.081
Then they go off and they come back up, tell me a story behind the car.

00:19:13.321 --> 00:19:17.021
So then I get to tell them, you know, me and her built it in the garage in the

00:19:17.021 --> 00:19:19.541
backyard. I painted it in the backyard in the building.

00:19:20.541 --> 00:19:24.001
And, you know, you get to doing all this stuff. And then when they come back

00:19:24.001 --> 00:19:27.961
again, there's two more judges with them. So now you went from two judges to four judges.

00:19:28.141 --> 00:19:30.881
And you're like, something serious going on here.

00:19:31.021 --> 00:19:33.821
And then the last time they come back, there's six judges. And I'm like,

00:19:33.921 --> 00:19:37.021
okay, so maybe we're going somewhere with this.

00:19:37.241 --> 00:19:41.641
But I'm like, I hadn't been in it long, but I'm like, there's no way a 70 standard

00:19:41.641 --> 00:19:45.741
is going to compete with some of these oval splits, you know.

00:19:46.401 --> 00:19:49.941
These split when the buses, I mean, there was some bad-ass rides there.

00:19:50.041 --> 00:19:51.501
And I'm like, there ain't no way.

00:19:51.621 --> 00:19:53.701
So we get up there to awards.

00:19:54.281 --> 00:19:57.641
She wins her class. I'm like, okay, I can take that. That's good.

00:19:58.141 --> 00:20:00.821
You know, then they get to going through the best ofs and all that stuff.

00:20:00.821 --> 00:20:03.201
And I'm like, okay, we ain't going to get nothing.

00:20:03.761 --> 00:20:10.321
Then she wins best of show. And I'm like, oh my God, you know, how do we do this?

00:20:10.501 --> 00:20:14.821
You know, two people from Dunlap, Tennessee, build a bug in the backyard in

00:20:14.821 --> 00:20:19.021
a garage and a half and compete against these high dollar rides.

00:20:19.141 --> 00:20:21.541
And I mean, it was just, it's just mind blowing.

00:20:21.841 --> 00:20:27.701
I mean, it's, you know, and of course doing that turned into what now is, you know.

00:20:28.141 --> 00:20:36.061
Right. What goes through the head of a craftsman, a skilled craftsman like you

00:20:36.061 --> 00:20:40.341
that really was doing this from what it sounds like kind of as a hobby?

00:20:40.621 --> 00:20:43.981
Oh, yeah. Kind of like a weekend thing. What goes through your head when you

00:20:43.981 --> 00:20:45.481
win best in show out of...

00:20:46.105 --> 00:20:51.965
800 and something cars and you're, you know, yeah, I don't know what goes through, but you tell me.

00:20:52.625 --> 00:20:56.185
I was speaking. I just stood there. I'm like, you know, I ain't gonna lie.

00:20:56.285 --> 00:20:59.225
They was a little tear come out. I bet, man.

00:20:59.445 --> 00:21:05.345
A lot of years, years of effort and work and rust and blood and oh man.

00:21:05.665 --> 00:21:11.205
It's just unbelievable, you know, to think that they picked her car out of all them cars there.

00:21:11.605 --> 00:21:17.625
That is so awesome, man. And then after the show, the judges talked to us and

00:21:17.625 --> 00:21:23.365
I was asking them, I'm like, you know, how there's no, and they're like,

00:21:23.485 --> 00:21:25.385
you know, your car's clean. It's neat.

00:21:25.625 --> 00:21:30.585
Y'all built it yourself in the backyard. So I think the story had a lot to do with it. Sure.

00:21:30.885 --> 00:21:36.585
And so, but I mean, it was, you know, we still put in the effort the same as everybody else does.

00:21:37.445 --> 00:21:43.265
And I mean, it was, it was just mind blowing. So you said that that experience

00:21:43.265 --> 00:21:45.465
pretty much brought it to what it is today.

00:21:45.765 --> 00:21:49.805
So really for me, when did it click? When did you start to really think,

00:21:49.945 --> 00:21:55.045
okay, this isn't just going to be weekends anymore. This is actually going to be a career.

00:21:55.305 --> 00:21:59.025
Well, you know, while we was building her car, we got into some of the club

00:21:59.025 --> 00:22:01.005
scenes out of Knoxville and stuff.

00:22:01.405 --> 00:22:03.925
And then I started painting some of their cars.

00:22:04.425 --> 00:22:09.265
You know, spot in here. I did two all overs.

00:22:10.205 --> 00:22:13.985
You know, they was pretty nice cars anyways. They just need to be freshened up.

00:22:14.985 --> 00:22:19.325
And then we started going to the shows and then you see that car that you just done.

00:22:19.965 --> 00:22:25.085
Okay. It's placing, you know, Debra's car is placing this car's place.

00:22:25.085 --> 00:22:28.125
And I'm like, okay, so we, we've got three cars that we've done.

00:22:28.365 --> 00:22:33.465
That's placing, you know, me and her talked about it and then you, you win bug jam.

00:22:34.376 --> 00:22:38.616
And then the whole ride home, my phone was blowing up. When can you do my car?

00:22:38.736 --> 00:22:41.396
When can you do my car? When can you do my car? Wow, man.

00:22:42.176 --> 00:22:45.476
I got goosebumps from that. I mean, it is crazy. So, I mean,

00:22:45.856 --> 00:22:50.596
that was, you know, it takes us like 10 hours to get home pulling a trailer from Bug Jam.

00:22:51.076 --> 00:22:57.236
So, that was a very fun 10-hour ride. I bet. I get to talk about all that.

00:22:57.576 --> 00:23:01.876
And, you know, it was one of them deals. We just decided, hey, let's do it.

00:23:01.956 --> 00:23:05.596
Let's see if we can do it. For the listeners that would get motivation from

00:23:05.596 --> 00:23:10.816
that, maybe still stuck at the day job, wanting to complete a lifelong dream

00:23:10.816 --> 00:23:12.136
of stepping out on their own,

00:23:12.916 --> 00:23:18.856
describe for us, what was the scariest part of walking away from the day job?

00:23:19.216 --> 00:23:25.776
The stability. I mean, I knew I painted cars, so I knew what I had to do every

00:23:25.776 --> 00:23:27.856
week to make what I needed to make.

00:23:28.136 --> 00:23:31.576
And it's very easy to make that what we needed to.

00:23:32.296 --> 00:23:36.236
And because see, I worked, my wife never stayed at home. She didn't work.

00:23:36.356 --> 00:23:39.916
And to this day, she threatens to beat me up over making her work now.

00:23:40.276 --> 00:23:45.116
But I mean, it's, you know, the stability, you know, I had the insurance.

00:23:45.496 --> 00:23:47.176
Well, now you've got to get your own insurance.

00:23:48.096 --> 00:23:52.176
You've got to pay for that insurance because the company I worked for helped you pay for it.

00:23:53.196 --> 00:23:58.016
And, you know, you had your 401 that you put into now, what are you going to

00:23:58.016 --> 00:24:00.436
do? I mean, it was, it was a lot to.

00:24:01.365 --> 00:24:07.045
I mean, it ain't a quick decision to make to, hey, I'm going to leave this world and start this.

00:24:07.165 --> 00:24:11.305
No, I know it. I know it. And just happening, you know, as you're telling that

00:24:11.305 --> 00:24:15.585
story, you know, kind of that backstory, it's really just ringing all the bells

00:24:15.585 --> 00:24:19.325
in my mind because same for me and my family, five kids.

00:24:19.705 --> 00:24:23.485
You know, my wife probably worked a lot harder than I did every day staying

00:24:23.485 --> 00:24:27.225
home, you know, raising those kids and homeschooling them.

00:24:27.225 --> 00:24:31.585
But, you know, all substantial, you know, teenagers now that are,

00:24:31.765 --> 00:24:34.765
you know, well into their years and developing fine.

00:24:35.005 --> 00:24:40.405
But I remember that feeling of, you know, whatever I had to do to make ends

00:24:40.405 --> 00:24:45.205
meet, you know, jobs, three jobs, night jobs, weekend jobs, whatever,

00:24:45.545 --> 00:24:46.845
you know, just to make it work.

00:24:46.845 --> 00:24:51.505
And then my wife stayed true to what she's always done, which was real estate.

00:24:51.765 --> 00:24:56.385
She always stayed up with her licensure and all that stuff and did continuing ed.

00:24:56.525 --> 00:25:03.065
And I remember being in Colorado, the last stint we were there from roughly 2018 to 2022.

00:25:03.545 --> 00:25:08.825
And she had, you know, kids were teens, you know, entering teenage years, should I say.

00:25:09.605 --> 00:25:13.985
She doesn't have to be as home, you know, as much. and, you know,

00:25:14.085 --> 00:25:18.425
really wanted to start getting back out there in the workplace and did and was

00:25:18.425 --> 00:25:20.345
very good, very successful.

00:25:20.625 --> 00:25:23.905
And, you know, it was really awesome to to see that, you know,

00:25:24.065 --> 00:25:27.505
after being home for so long and, you know, just to be able to accomplish,

00:25:27.505 --> 00:25:31.705
I don't know what what she wants to do out of life as well.

00:25:31.945 --> 00:25:35.485
Well, fast forward to now. And the whole reason why I said this story started

00:25:35.485 --> 00:25:38.945
telling you all these details is because now.

00:25:39.858 --> 00:25:45.078
I'm her first licensed agent in real estate. She's the owner broker of our real

00:25:45.078 --> 00:25:46.658
estate company down here in Florida.

00:25:47.118 --> 00:25:49.838
And she's the man. Right.

00:25:50.938 --> 00:25:55.218
You know what I mean? Exactly. So it's really cool to see that happen,

00:25:55.298 --> 00:25:58.578
man. Exactly. All I had to do is get the heck out of her way. Right.

00:25:59.178 --> 00:26:04.058
And now it's kind of like the roles are reversed. Now I tend to have a lighter

00:26:04.058 --> 00:26:05.718
schedule and everything.

00:26:06.018 --> 00:26:09.798
But I didn't for almost 20 years. you

00:26:09.798 --> 00:26:12.498
know it's like she loves to be able to

00:26:12.498 --> 00:26:15.258
tell that and then to also see what it's

00:26:15.258 --> 00:26:17.918
turned into now like yeah now we have the

00:26:17.918 --> 00:26:21.438
ultimate lifestyle together we get to work together every day we spend a lot

00:26:21.438 --> 00:26:26.138
of time together and you know i don't know it works for us yeah i mean that's

00:26:26.138 --> 00:26:32.358
me and her i mean we work together every day yeah you know she's my best friend

00:26:32.358 --> 00:26:36.418
i mean it's right that's We still got a 17-year-old at home,

00:26:36.538 --> 00:26:39.198
and we homeschool her now.

00:26:39.518 --> 00:26:43.998
And, of course, you know, she's one. She races a junior dragster.

00:26:44.618 --> 00:26:50.618
Oh. So, you know, that helps with homeschooling because, like,

00:26:50.938 --> 00:26:54.278
you know, Thursday, you know, we just got done with the big show we had.

00:26:54.558 --> 00:26:56.418
Now I'm working Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.

00:26:56.878 --> 00:27:01.078
And now I'm getting the car ready and the motorhome ready because Thursday we

00:27:01.078 --> 00:27:04.818
leave for Montgomery, Alabama for four days to run the bracket finals.

00:27:05.478 --> 00:27:08.938
So, I mean, it's... Amen. That's one good thing about homeschooling,

00:27:08.938 --> 00:27:09.898
owning your own business.

00:27:10.458 --> 00:27:15.238
That's right. You know... Make your own schedule. Yeah, and I can still do stuff with her.

00:27:15.598 --> 00:27:18.558
Yeah. I mean, you know, you get to spend four days at a racetrack.

00:27:18.858 --> 00:27:25.638
I mean, it's... Our racetrack people are the coolest. It's kind of like the Volkswagen world.

00:27:26.018 --> 00:27:29.938
Sure. I mean, we all help each other. you know we're.

00:27:30.721 --> 00:27:34.261
We won it all last year. Our track did the bracket finals.

00:27:34.981 --> 00:27:39.401
So we're going for a repeat this year. So hopefully, you know,

00:27:39.521 --> 00:27:40.861
we have good luck this weekend.

00:27:41.041 --> 00:27:43.921
And I got some Volkswagen guys that live close to where we're going.

00:27:44.361 --> 00:27:47.201
That's texting me like, Hey, I'll see y'all Friday. I'm coming to see you.

00:27:47.201 --> 00:27:49.141
And I've never got to meet them. Yeah. Cool, man.

00:27:49.581 --> 00:27:53.381
You know, I get to meet them through the racing thing. The Volkswagen guys.

00:27:53.441 --> 00:27:54.261
I mean, it's pretty cool.

00:27:54.681 --> 00:27:59.261
Yeah. Heck yeah. It's all community, you know? And then the whole thing on,

00:27:59.261 --> 00:28:02.781
you know, having that flexibility in your schedule.

00:28:03.141 --> 00:28:07.181
Here's what I always like to say about that. Doesn't it feel nice to do what

00:28:07.181 --> 00:28:10.141
you want instead of what you have to? Exactly.

00:28:10.781 --> 00:28:15.581
You know, I think that that's something that people should strive for in their life.

00:28:15.881 --> 00:28:20.021
Work to do what the hell you want to do, not what you have to do.

00:28:20.161 --> 00:28:23.081
Because there's never as much passion in what you have to do.

00:28:23.081 --> 00:28:25.781
Now, I know the bumper sticker is real.

00:28:26.301 --> 00:28:31.841
You got to do what you got to do at times, but the goal should be to work towards

00:28:31.841 --> 00:28:35.581
a life where you're doing what you want to do every single day.

00:28:35.761 --> 00:28:39.341
Yeah. And that's really what I'm hearing, man. And I love the sound of it.

00:28:39.921 --> 00:28:43.821
That's like, you know, being at the shop, you know, my son just had that grandbaby.

00:28:43.941 --> 00:28:48.101
She's a year old and they're like us. They live five minutes from the shop.

00:28:49.821 --> 00:28:53.681
We get to see her about every day because she'll come in about quitting time

00:28:53.681 --> 00:28:58.281
and you know see her run through the shop of course you got to chase her because

00:28:58.281 --> 00:28:59.521
she's gonna grab everything in there,

00:29:00.141 --> 00:29:02.981
but i mean that's pretty cool to get to see her every day like

00:29:02.981 --> 00:29:06.061
that so it's cool truly so how

00:29:06.061 --> 00:29:08.781
does running a restoration shop with your

00:29:08.781 --> 00:29:11.981
family compare to working in traditional body shops

00:29:11.981 --> 00:29:14.681
which you've also done in the past probably a little bit of that

00:29:14.681 --> 00:29:17.681
whole schedule thing like we're talking about i mean it's

00:29:17.681 --> 00:29:21.261
don't get me wrong now we have our fights during the day you know being all

00:29:21.261 --> 00:29:26.361
family but it's you know it's just cool you know you get to go in you know the

00:29:26.361 --> 00:29:30.641
guys you work with in a regular body shop yeah you become friends with someone

00:29:30.641 --> 00:29:37.501
but you're not like buddy buddy you know and it's a better feeling going into the shop every morning,

00:29:38.141 --> 00:29:39.741
And it's all family.

00:29:40.681 --> 00:29:44.481
And you'll let Pete, my partner, him and his wife, you know,

00:29:44.641 --> 00:29:47.481
and then his son was working with us.

00:29:47.661 --> 00:29:52.181
So it was two families working together. Man, what a dream come true.

00:29:52.421 --> 00:29:54.841
But Cam, he just left us.

00:29:55.181 --> 00:29:59.441
His dream is to be a cop and he got a chance to do it.

00:29:59.501 --> 00:30:03.821
So we're down a person, but it's still all family. You know,

00:30:03.961 --> 00:30:07.281
it's me, Debra, and Caleb, and then Pete and his wife for shell.

00:30:07.781 --> 00:30:11.641
So, I mean, it's just, you know, it just makes it so easy.

00:30:11.721 --> 00:30:15.261
Cause like, if we need to do something like this morning, I get to come home,

00:30:15.341 --> 00:30:17.401
do this. They're still at the shop working.

00:30:18.299 --> 00:30:22.439
Next week, Pete and Rochelle is going to Cruising the Coast for the week to

00:30:22.439 --> 00:30:25.859
do that. Yeah, cool. So we stayed back and worked the shop.

00:30:26.519 --> 00:30:31.139
And so, I mean, but 99% of the time, we all go to shows together.

00:30:31.679 --> 00:30:39.059
But we're just so busy, especially so close to Bug Jam, that it's hard to close the shop for a week.

00:30:39.519 --> 00:30:48.079
Yeah. Let's touch on Bug Jam. I'm proud to say this year I am sponsoring the Stereo Contest. Sweet.

00:30:48.299 --> 00:30:52.939
Sublife Diaries is. So I'll have a little tent set up and I'll be there hanging

00:30:52.939 --> 00:30:57.299
with y'all the whole weekend. So I'm looking forward to meeting everybody in

00:30:57.299 --> 00:30:59.859
person for sure. It's going to be fun.

00:31:00.179 --> 00:31:04.579
And stereo contest, Randy's never done nothing like that at Bug Jam.

00:31:04.979 --> 00:31:07.459
So I think he's looking forward to it as well.

00:31:08.419 --> 00:31:12.519
He's an awesome guy. He's always looking for innovative ways to try to capture

00:31:12.519 --> 00:31:16.319
and put on for this Volkswagen community.

00:31:16.339 --> 00:31:19.159
And unfortunately, he gets a lot of a lot of push

00:31:19.159 --> 00:31:22.139
because you know his his his life and background is

00:31:22.139 --> 00:31:25.019
not all vw so what he still has

00:31:25.019 --> 00:31:27.719
one of the biggest baddest shows in the state hell in

00:31:27.719 --> 00:31:31.079
the southeast yeah he called me the other day he's like hey i

00:31:31.079 --> 00:31:33.939
see you were a vendor this year i'm like yeah we

00:31:33.939 --> 00:31:36.879
figured we'd do that and he said i was looking through my thing

00:31:36.879 --> 00:31:39.739
and because we just set up last year as a we had

00:31:39.739 --> 00:31:42.579
a show car there we just set up as a show car

00:31:42.579 --> 00:31:45.399
but we talked about it and i was like no let's be a vendor again this

00:31:45.399 --> 00:31:48.459
year we've done it i think every time but twice

00:31:48.459 --> 00:31:51.219
and i was like i think he's gonna

00:31:51.219 --> 00:31:54.259
set us up next to riverbank so we can all hang out oh

00:31:54.259 --> 00:31:56.959
hell yeah man that's cool i'll be up there

00:31:56.959 --> 00:31:59.859
hanging with y'all yeah at least i hope

00:31:59.859 --> 00:32:03.019
i will be i don't know how much work it's gonna be i've never

00:32:03.019 --> 00:32:06.099
done a stereo contest i mean so we'll

00:32:06.099 --> 00:32:09.719
see how it goes but you know it's definitely gonna be fun let's

00:32:09.719 --> 00:32:13.139
talk about some of these builds because i know when you

00:32:13.139 --> 00:32:16.459
sent me some of your vw backstory you brought

00:32:16.459 --> 00:32:19.319
up some cars and i and i was excited to

00:32:19.319 --> 00:32:23.279
i noted them and i was excited to want to talk about them let's go let's go

00:32:23.279 --> 00:32:27.239
through a few of them and you can give me kind of the details on them i know

00:32:27.239 --> 00:32:35.439
there was lucille yeah lucille was a 68 68 on air yeah yeah i bought that car

00:32:35.439 --> 00:32:38.799
it was because we was building Debra's car. Okay.

00:32:39.259 --> 00:32:43.119
And I got to building this Volkswagen. I'm like, man, these things are pretty cool. I want one.

00:32:44.639 --> 00:32:47.659
She's like, no, you can't buy one until mine's done.

00:32:49.959 --> 00:32:54.959
So I said, we need one that we can take to the show now and cruise around in.

00:32:55.299 --> 00:33:00.119
So I bought it, come out of Knoxville. It was a rusty patina.

00:33:00.359 --> 00:33:06.519
They had made it like that. Okay. Had no carpet, no headliner, barely had seat covers.

00:33:07.159 --> 00:33:13.459
Had, uh, aluminum door panels that was, had designs cut in them with red behind it.

00:33:13.759 --> 00:33:15.999
Okay. Uh, but I mean, it was just.

00:33:16.769 --> 00:33:21.129
A rough looking car. We drove it everywhere. And it was cool because you'd roll

00:33:21.129 --> 00:33:26.409
into these hot rod cruise ends and everybody's looking at the rusty bug.

00:33:26.709 --> 00:33:29.769
And then when you hit that switch and it falls on the ground,

00:33:29.969 --> 00:33:34.649
they were just like, you know, they's all around it because it was on the air and they hit the ground.

00:33:34.889 --> 00:33:38.269
Yeah, that's right. That was my friend. I didn't keep it long. I sold it.

00:33:39.469 --> 00:33:43.749
And, but it was just a cool car. I mean, it was, she didn't like riding in it.

00:33:43.749 --> 00:33:48.869
Cause I mean, all that wind, there was nothing in the dash, the wind come through the dash.

00:33:49.169 --> 00:33:52.589
We drove it on some cold mornings and I mean, you, you'd freeze to death.

00:33:52.589 --> 00:33:55.169
And I mean, it was, it was rough.

00:33:56.149 --> 00:34:04.129
That sounds it. I got a 71 Carmen Ghia that still has active heat and it works like a damn champ.

00:34:04.389 --> 00:34:07.629
And what, what stinks is down here, you know, you're in the South too,

00:34:07.749 --> 00:34:11.289
but down here in Florida, man, it's so humid and hot in the summertime.

00:34:11.289 --> 00:34:15.349
I can't drive that car more than five, seven minutes because the heat's just banging.

00:34:16.329 --> 00:34:19.369
I'm going to fix that this year when it cools off.

00:34:19.989 --> 00:34:23.829
It's starting to now. We're starting to see the sun shift a little bit,

00:34:23.849 --> 00:34:26.849
and we're starting to see those cooler mornings, or at least less humidity,

00:34:27.069 --> 00:34:30.209
which makes it feel cooler. Slappy.

00:34:30.909 --> 00:34:35.669
Yeah. Slappy. Tell me about Slappy. It was a Ranch 74 standard.

00:34:36.149 --> 00:34:38.369
Okay. Be another Beetle? Yeah.

00:34:39.709 --> 00:34:44.669
When I sold the Lucille one, a guy I got to know out of Knoxville had built

00:34:44.669 --> 00:34:49.809
his car, and he sold it to a guy, and he was just letting it sit there.

00:34:49.909 --> 00:34:54.709
It was flat red, and it more looked like black when I found it.

00:34:55.329 --> 00:34:57.129
And he'd just been letting it sit outside.

00:34:58.170 --> 00:35:05.870
So I got it pretty good price and I actually picked it up in Knoxville and drove it and it hadn't run.

00:35:06.050 --> 00:35:09.210
He hadn't had it run in, I don't know, six, eight months.

00:35:09.670 --> 00:35:12.030
He said, you going to drive it? I said, yeah, let's fire it up and see what

00:35:12.030 --> 00:35:16.770
it does. So I took, fired it up and I took off and drove it to another guy's

00:35:16.770 --> 00:35:18.630
shop and had him go over it.

00:35:18.730 --> 00:35:23.450
Cause at the time I wouldn't really mechanical wise on a Volkswagen.

00:35:23.830 --> 00:35:25.490
Right. Doing all that stuff.

00:35:25.970 --> 00:35:29.510
So he went over it for me and I went back and picked it up and I drove it from

00:35:29.510 --> 00:35:33.550
Knoxville back home, which is a little over an hour drive in a Volkswagen.

00:35:34.030 --> 00:35:39.390
It had red and black clad Mazda Miata seats in it. So it was a comfortable ride.

00:35:40.450 --> 00:35:46.470
We really hate that that car is gone because you could drive it anywhere. It was a 1641.

00:35:47.150 --> 00:35:51.710
I took all the 10s off of it, painted them flat red to match a car.

00:35:52.510 --> 00:35:58.650
This car really didn't have to do much to it. It was already nared bean, smoothies, lowered.

00:35:59.390 --> 00:36:03.410
We did a little odd in things to it, but nothing, nothing major.

00:36:03.890 --> 00:36:08.630
And, but we drove that car because we'd go to Cerper Uwagons. That's in Severeville.

00:36:09.490 --> 00:36:16.790
I would drive it from Dunlap to Cerper Uwagons and I would run up 75 in it. And, which was not fun.

00:36:17.090 --> 00:36:21.510
It, uh, especially when a semi would pass you and it'd blow you over in the emergency light.

00:36:22.310 --> 00:36:25.030
And so that i did that once and then

00:36:25.030 --> 00:36:27.830
we started running back roads but i mean it was

00:36:27.830 --> 00:36:30.890
just one of them cars you could just get in and it was

00:36:30.890 --> 00:36:33.670
comfortable and we talked about

00:36:33.670 --> 00:36:36.870
that the other day she's like man i miss that car because it

00:36:36.870 --> 00:36:39.750
was just so fun to drive why'd you end up barn ways with

00:36:39.750 --> 00:36:42.790
it yeah i give what i give for

00:36:42.790 --> 00:36:45.570
it and what a guy asked me for i wanted to give me for

00:36:45.570 --> 00:36:48.410
it i had to sell it i get that one of them deals that

00:36:48.410 --> 00:36:51.370
i get that i get that i did that to a 58

00:36:51.370 --> 00:36:54.350
beetle that i had i just i didn't

00:36:54.350 --> 00:36:57.550
want to i really didn't want to sell it but i

00:36:57.550 --> 00:37:00.710
said you know what i'm going to put it on marketplace and if

00:37:00.710 --> 00:37:03.710
i can get this there's really no reason not

00:37:03.710 --> 00:37:06.590
to sell it and then i did not only did i get it

00:37:06.590 --> 00:37:10.310
but i got it like 24 hours later right and

00:37:10.310 --> 00:37:13.210
then it you know about three weeks out i start kicking

00:37:13.210 --> 00:37:16.210
myself and then i see it for sale again

00:37:16.210 --> 00:37:18.990
for four thousand dollars cheaper than

00:37:18.990 --> 00:37:23.390
he bought it for me for and i'm like man i'm not in a position but i'd love

00:37:23.390 --> 00:37:27.730
to go get that car back it's gone now i probably won't ever see it again but

00:37:27.730 --> 00:37:31.890
i know that feeling i know that feeling all right let's move over to gangster

00:37:31.890 --> 00:37:36.490
the right the right hand drive tell me about this one that's one of the reasons

00:37:36.490 --> 00:37:38.870
I sold a red car was to buy this 62.

00:37:39.310 --> 00:37:42.790
Okay. And it was pretty much rush free.

00:37:43.893 --> 00:37:48.693
Little rust in one of the wheel wells, nothing, nothing bad, but the pan was perfect.

00:37:48.933 --> 00:37:52.073
I mean, it had been wrecked on the left front. Wasn't too bad.

00:37:52.373 --> 00:37:56.733
They just filled it full of mud. So we had to take all that out and straighten it out and stuff.

00:37:56.853 --> 00:38:03.233
But I mean, it was, it was, like I say, 97% rust free, still had the original motor in it.

00:38:03.793 --> 00:38:08.413
Looked pretty rough when we got it though. You know, it was a, it was an OG Turkish car.

00:38:08.853 --> 00:38:12.053
So, uh, that's why I kind of wanted it.

00:38:12.533 --> 00:38:18.933
And Um, so we ended up, you know, we was going to build it. That was our bill for bug jam 2022.

00:38:20.893 --> 00:38:24.493
And then it started, Hey, let's do this. Hey, let's do that.

00:38:24.913 --> 00:38:30.893
Let's do this. Let's do that. So, I mean, it got to, to the point to where we're

00:38:30.893 --> 00:38:32.633
like, okay, boys, we're going to stop here.

00:38:32.793 --> 00:38:37.973
You know, we're building too much stuff or want to build, want to do too much stuff to this car.

00:38:38.473 --> 00:38:43.293
So it wasn't, it was a regular, regular left-hand drive. One of my guys working

00:38:43.293 --> 00:38:44.953
for me said, let's make it right-hand drive.

00:38:45.273 --> 00:38:47.453
And I thought, oh, come on now.

00:38:48.073 --> 00:38:51.553
And then we got to looking at it, and it's, you know, beam-wise,

00:38:51.773 --> 00:38:54.793
it's not hard to switch it left to right. Okay.

00:38:55.593 --> 00:38:59.873
Steering box to this side, swap the tie rods, you're done.

00:39:00.413 --> 00:39:03.953
The dash, you know, we welded up the

00:39:03.953 --> 00:39:07.913
glove box hole, made the hole for the speedometer the way we wanted it.

00:39:08.113 --> 00:39:11.013
I had some people say, well, you didn't center it over the steering wheel out

00:39:11.013 --> 00:39:14.533
of there where I wanted it. I wound it off to the side. We made a custom dash.

00:39:14.953 --> 00:39:18.873
And then where the glove box was on the passenger, or the Speedo was on the

00:39:18.873 --> 00:39:23.113
driver's side, we just smoothed it and made it completely smooth.

00:39:23.873 --> 00:39:27.813
And so it was custom on both sides, but I left it OG in the center.

00:39:28.133 --> 00:39:34.313
Still had the OG knobs with a stereo block off plate on it, and it still had the ashtray.

00:39:34.873 --> 00:39:39.573
So the dash was custom and stock. Then I had the Bond Hot Rod.

00:39:39.753 --> 00:39:43.073
He was at a show we was at. I had him because of the.

00:39:44.010 --> 00:39:48.090
Side of the dash we filled in and looked plain. So I had him do some striping

00:39:48.090 --> 00:39:52.290
on the, on the dash side of it. Of course, he's a Volkswagen guy too.

00:39:52.850 --> 00:39:57.650
And he was tickled to death to do it. So we did that, cut the headlights out,

00:39:57.750 --> 00:40:01.330
dropped them two inches, made it kind of like a low light. Yeah.

00:40:02.810 --> 00:40:07.950
Made split bumpers for it, front and rear. The rear bumpers had LEDs in them.

00:40:08.390 --> 00:40:10.610
Nice. Of course, everybody's like, where'd you get them LEDs?

00:40:10.830 --> 00:40:12.310
I said, Amazon, 20 bucks.

00:40:12.310 --> 00:40:17.690
And so we had to heat them a little bit and bend them to make them fit the bumpers

00:40:17.690 --> 00:40:24.470
but i mean they they work great and put the w deck lid on it smoothed it you

00:40:24.470 --> 00:40:28.430
know it's just completely smooth took the handle off tail light everything or

00:40:28.430 --> 00:40:30.950
the license light thing off took all that off.

00:40:31.610 --> 00:40:34.690
Put the slide out adjustable hinges on it we also

00:40:34.690 --> 00:40:37.770
used a front hood latch on

00:40:37.770 --> 00:40:41.110
the rear made a box made

00:40:41.110 --> 00:40:43.930
it so the engine

00:40:43.930 --> 00:40:47.290
lid has a hood latch on the rear and

00:40:47.290 --> 00:40:50.230
then you reach up under the passenger fender and pull

00:40:50.230 --> 00:40:54.010
the cable and it pops the engine lid ah so

00:40:54.010 --> 00:40:56.950
we did the same same thing to the hood

00:40:56.950 --> 00:41:00.690
we shaved the hood and put the

00:41:00.690 --> 00:41:03.350
hood release up under the driver's front fender so you

00:41:03.350 --> 00:41:06.370
just reach up under there and pull it smooth the

00:41:06.370 --> 00:41:09.210
inside just put the headliner in the center

00:41:09.210 --> 00:41:12.050
and took all the teeth off and everything

00:41:12.050 --> 00:41:16.750
smoothed all it painted it the same colors outside i mean it was hit all the

00:41:16.750 --> 00:41:21.110
wires the wiring harness is under the gas tank all the wires are run through

00:41:21.110 --> 00:41:26.730
the body you can't find no wires on that car because let me go back to 2021

00:41:26.730 --> 00:41:31.670
with devra's car yeah i was mentioning And then they, how they judge you at bug jam.

00:41:31.930 --> 00:41:34.470
I mean, so her car is sitting there.

00:41:35.090 --> 00:41:37.950
The judge comes to me, the driver's door is open. He said, come here.

00:41:38.030 --> 00:41:39.130
I'll show you what I docked you on.

00:41:39.630 --> 00:41:44.230
We walk 10 feet behind Debra's car. And I'm like, why are we walking back here?

00:41:44.350 --> 00:41:47.850
And he said, you see that red wire hanging down under your steering column?

00:41:49.070 --> 00:41:53.650
He said, we docked you a point for that. I said, okay, I got you. Go to 2022.

00:41:54.570 --> 00:41:59.410
And when they do it at bug jam, like the boys that judged her car the previous year.

00:42:00.030 --> 00:42:04.630
They move them around every year so we show up at bug jam will buy car.

00:42:06.110 --> 00:42:10.690
And guess who my two judges are? The boys that judged Devers' car the previous

00:42:10.690 --> 00:42:15.390
year because they got the fully custom division this year. Okay.

00:42:15.990 --> 00:42:19.590
And I was like, okay, boys, find a wire on this car. Yeah.

00:42:20.130 --> 00:42:24.250
He got me last year a point for a wire, so let's see if we can find one on this one.

00:42:24.550 --> 00:42:28.570
And they couldn't find one. And I said, I've done that for y'all because I was

00:42:28.570 --> 00:42:31.750
going to show y'all that we can hide every wire that we need to.

00:42:32.190 --> 00:42:37.070
So, I mean, it was, we even had the headlight wires. It run up under the gas

00:42:37.070 --> 00:42:40.990
tank and come up inside the wheel wells and come into the headlight.

00:42:41.150 --> 00:42:42.830
I mean, we hit everything on it.

00:42:43.610 --> 00:42:49.190
I even hit the radio. It was under the rear seat and just Bluetoothed it from

00:42:49.190 --> 00:42:51.590
the phone. You couldn't even see the radio in it.

00:42:51.950 --> 00:42:54.050
Now, didn't this car win?

00:42:54.490 --> 00:42:59.330
Yeah, it won Best of Show, too. So we won it two years in a row, two different cars.

00:43:00.450 --> 00:43:06.910
And then how much longer did you own this one, Gangster? I had it before you sold it. I had it a year.

00:43:07.390 --> 00:43:12.770
About a year? Yeah. It took a while to sail because it had a price tag on it

00:43:12.770 --> 00:43:16.370
that, you know, not everybody's going to jump on. Sure.

00:43:17.090 --> 00:43:19.230
And so it took a while.

00:43:20.390 --> 00:43:25.290
And we was just out cruising one night. It was me and Debra and Pete and his wife.

00:43:25.690 --> 00:43:30.610
He said, let's take the bugs and go cruise. So I actually drove Gangsta that night.

00:43:31.190 --> 00:43:34.970
And we was at a restaurant about 20 miles out of town here.

00:43:35.170 --> 00:43:39.350
And Pete took a picture and tagged me in it of both our bugs sitting out in

00:43:39.350 --> 00:43:39.870
front of the restaurant.

00:43:40.410 --> 00:43:43.750
And this guy from Florida messaged me. He said, hey, is that car for sale?

00:43:43.850 --> 00:43:46.670
And I said, which one? He said, the turquoise one. I said, actually, it is.

00:43:47.230 --> 00:43:52.150
So we talked for about a month, you know, and I was like, eh, dude, ain't for real.

00:43:53.090 --> 00:43:57.430
And because he would talk to me, then I wouldn't hear from him for two weeks. And he called me back.

00:43:57.490 --> 00:44:06.050
And we'll come to find out he was real. and he's from Panama City and he's big into hot rods.

00:44:06.190 --> 00:44:08.970
I'm talking he has a garage I'd love to have.

00:44:09.150 --> 00:44:15.290
It's full of he has some Mustangs, Shelbys and stuff that not many were built,

00:44:15.910 --> 00:44:21.810
and he just bought one four or five months ago that was very rare.

00:44:22.290 --> 00:44:29.490
There was only, I think, if I'm not mistaken only 12 built. And there's only three to be known left.

00:44:30.110 --> 00:44:35.830
And he bought it at Mecham. And it was very weird.

00:44:36.030 --> 00:44:38.770
It's like a reddish-orange-ish color with plaid interior.

00:44:39.270 --> 00:44:42.970
So it's a beautiful car, but you don't ever see one. Right.

00:44:43.130 --> 00:44:46.870
So, you know, and then he was buying it for his, at the time,

00:44:47.810 --> 00:44:49.170
almost 15-year-old son.

00:44:50.222 --> 00:44:55.542
Yeah. Wow. So I'm talking to the dad, which knows nothing about Volkswagen.

00:44:56.322 --> 00:45:01.662
And I got the 15-year-old in the background that knows as much as we do.

00:45:02.262 --> 00:45:06.462
He has studied up on Volkswagen. Okay. And, you know, he's like,

00:45:06.522 --> 00:45:08.842
I want a bus too one day, but I don't want no Brazilian.

00:45:09.142 --> 00:45:13.022
So, I mean, he's like. Wow. Like, okay. He's been studying this stuff.

00:45:13.222 --> 00:45:17.482
Yeah. You know, and it was funny. And then when they showed up to get it,

00:45:17.822 --> 00:45:19.642
you know, I'm standing there and this boy ate.

00:45:20.582 --> 00:45:25.162
Five foot tall you know he looks just like a beach boy he's got long blonde hair.

00:45:26.362 --> 00:45:30.662
Skinny tanned you can tell he's from Panama City and it

00:45:30.662 --> 00:45:35.982
had a big 1915 in it okay I tried to tell him how to drive it around Panama

00:45:35.982 --> 00:45:40.622
City and he kept fouling the plugs getting stuck in traffic so we took that

00:45:40.622 --> 00:45:45.862
motor out and put him a 1641 in it that way he can sit there and idle all he

00:45:45.862 --> 00:45:49.322
wants and he can drive it. You know, he ain't got to worry about it.

00:45:50.342 --> 00:45:53.882
And so he brought it, he had it for a while and brought it back to us and we

00:45:53.882 --> 00:45:55.662
put the motor in it, swapped that out.

00:45:56.202 --> 00:45:59.862
He's damaged the fender a few times. I've had to refix the fenders and,

00:46:00.002 --> 00:46:01.762
you know, it's on the ground.

00:46:01.862 --> 00:46:04.262
I mean, it's static lowered and you got to be careful.

00:46:05.282 --> 00:46:10.522
And I've been to Panama City. It's not easy to get into parking lots and stuff

00:46:10.522 --> 00:46:11.942
and them lowered bugs like that.

00:46:12.182 --> 00:46:16.182
Right. So it's actually at the shop now. I got to fix the fender again.

00:46:16.662 --> 00:46:20.182
It keeps me in business. It's cool. I get to save my old car all the time.

00:46:20.682 --> 00:46:24.902
Yeah, yeah, for sure. So that's gangster. Moving over to Ugly Betty.

00:46:26.482 --> 00:46:30.782
66, right? Yeah, I'm a daily driver. Your daily driver. Yeah.

00:46:31.082 --> 00:46:32.402
Tell me about Ugly Betty.

00:46:32.742 --> 00:46:37.662
It's just, I sold Gangsta, which it was, I hated driving it because I was scared

00:46:37.662 --> 00:46:40.322
a rock would hit it or something. You know, didn't want to scratch it.

00:46:41.162 --> 00:46:45.162
And driving down the road, everybody wants to look at it because you're on the wrong side driving.

00:46:46.027 --> 00:46:50.207
So I've had people almost hit me in that car, you know, because they're looking at me.

00:46:51.327 --> 00:46:54.367
So when I sold it, I told Debra, I said, I must buy me a car.

00:46:54.607 --> 00:46:58.167
I don't care what it looks like. Got another friend off Facebook.

00:46:58.467 --> 00:47:01.747
He wheels and deals a lot in Volkswagens, and he had this one come up.

00:47:02.167 --> 00:47:06.367
So I went and bought it. It's just a 66, patina Dialla.

00:47:07.427 --> 00:47:13.487
It's lowered. Still got drum brakes all the way around. It's got BRMs on it. It's 1641 single port.

00:47:14.587 --> 00:47:16.847
I pulled the motor. dressed it

00:47:16.847 --> 00:47:21.787
up, painted it, kind of painted the motor patina to match the car. Sure.

00:47:22.227 --> 00:47:25.707
And kind of took one of my cleaning towels when I was in there painting it and

00:47:25.707 --> 00:47:31.587
dipped some paint on the end of it and kind of smeared 1641 on the blower housing,

00:47:32.087 --> 00:47:35.107
and then wiped it to make it look old like it had been on there a while.

00:47:35.547 --> 00:47:40.447
So that's the way I've done the engine. You know, and I painted the engine bay to make it look better.

00:47:41.007 --> 00:47:45.907
But the interior was rough on it, so we bought all new interior for it.

00:47:46.027 --> 00:47:51.067
Put it in, found a set of pop-outs for it, and of course, we started making

00:47:51.067 --> 00:47:52.747
the pop-out extenders for the windows.

00:47:53.107 --> 00:47:56.127
My brother-in-law has a plasma table, and he has it at the shop,

00:47:56.587 --> 00:47:59.707
so we started making pop-out extenders.

00:47:59.847 --> 00:48:03.647
We make some hood props for the front, made some hood hinges.

00:48:04.127 --> 00:48:07.287
Just any little thing we can make for bugs.

00:48:07.447 --> 00:48:12.247
I show it to him, and he'll make it for us, but I drive that car.

00:48:12.367 --> 00:48:15.207
It's got a bottle opener on the, I put a bottle opener on the

00:48:15.207 --> 00:48:17.887
left front and when you're at

00:48:17.887 --> 00:48:21.007
these car shows and stuff everybody that you know like drinks corona

00:48:21.007 --> 00:48:23.827
or something they'll roll up and pop their beer bottle

00:48:23.827 --> 00:48:27.387
off the front of my car because i'm the only one's got a bottle opener it's

00:48:27.387 --> 00:48:30.187
just a cool car uh deborah's the one that named it

00:48:30.187 --> 00:48:33.247
ugly betty because she thinks it's ugly still got

00:48:33.247 --> 00:48:36.147
it oh yeah i'll go to work

00:48:36.147 --> 00:48:38.887
this morning and come back up here and i drive it every it's

00:48:38.887 --> 00:48:41.907
pouring rain the wipers word i mean

00:48:41.907 --> 00:48:45.007
everything thing works on it i drive it how hard

00:48:45.007 --> 00:48:48.487
is it how hard is it to make those safari kits

00:48:48.487 --> 00:48:52.187
for the front windows we

00:48:52.187 --> 00:48:55.507
haven't done the front windows yet because i do i

00:48:55.507 --> 00:48:59.847
just get everything from loose nuts on the front windows right i've

00:48:59.847 --> 00:49:04.707
talked to a couple people online i was going to try to i've seen a couple of

00:49:04.707 --> 00:49:11.107
builds i've seen some carmen guias even early 70s that had the safari windshield

00:49:11.107 --> 00:49:15.927
I guess it's not as easy because it's a little bit curved, but I've seen it.

00:49:16.491 --> 00:49:20.091
But anytime I ever chase that rabbit and I go down that hole,

00:49:20.331 --> 00:49:25.171
you know, by the time I end up with somebody, you know, in Mexico or in another

00:49:25.171 --> 00:49:28.351
country, and it's just, it doesn't feel right.

00:49:28.571 --> 00:49:33.051
You know, I'm like, I'm not comfortable, you know, spending a thousand dollars

00:49:33.051 --> 00:49:34.551
or whatever it is for this kit.

00:49:35.171 --> 00:49:38.271
You know, you want me to do it through WhatsApp? Like, no, man.

00:49:38.751 --> 00:49:44.951
Yeah, we bought a front safari for a bug out of country, and it didn't work.

00:49:44.951 --> 00:49:48.051
Ah see so we just called we

00:49:48.051 --> 00:49:50.931
just called jeremy up you know hey i need

00:49:50.931 --> 00:49:55.171
this we get it it fits you know yeah

00:49:55.171 --> 00:49:57.931
that's a good thing when they fit so you got a

00:49:57.931 --> 00:50:03.431
shot you got a shot full of projects now you've got a 51 split you got multiple

00:50:03.431 --> 00:50:10.211
buses there you got some carmen gears when you take a new build or a new project

00:50:10.211 --> 00:50:15.751
i guess we could say uh what's your philosophy as a builder on how far to take

00:50:15.751 --> 00:50:17.591
a build. Well, I just listen to the customer.

00:50:17.831 --> 00:50:21.891
You know, if they leave it up to me, we're going to customize it, slam it.

00:50:22.271 --> 00:50:25.911
You know, it's going to be dragging going down the road, but not everybody likes

00:50:25.911 --> 00:50:28.031
that. I love that. I know.

00:50:29.131 --> 00:50:33.091
And so I just listen to them. If they say something, you know,

00:50:33.171 --> 00:50:34.431
we think it might be better.

00:50:34.551 --> 00:50:38.791
I don't tell them, hey, I think this will look better. We just kind of guide them in that direction.

00:50:39.051 --> 00:50:43.491
Right. And, you know, start the build and be like, You know,

00:50:43.591 --> 00:50:45.411
I think it would look better with this.

00:50:45.791 --> 00:50:47.771
And then you send them, oh yeah, it will.

00:50:48.471 --> 00:50:51.971
So I just kind of start out with, you know, listening to them.

00:50:52.411 --> 00:50:55.531
I just, you know, this is how we want to do it. Okay.

00:50:55.991 --> 00:51:00.111
And then when we see some stuff that might look better, we just kind of guide

00:51:00.111 --> 00:51:03.771
them in that direction without them knowing we're making them go that way.

00:51:04.791 --> 00:51:10.111
And just to make the car look better. And I mean, we done a 78 Super last year.

00:51:10.731 --> 00:51:14.551
It was the lady's dad's car and

00:51:14.551 --> 00:51:17.291
first thing he said was brad you can't lower it

00:51:17.291 --> 00:51:20.111
and i'm like come on man he's like no

00:51:20.111 --> 00:51:23.711
can't lower it i want it stock and i'm like okay so

00:51:23.711 --> 00:51:26.751
but he went with a ford bronco color

00:51:26.751 --> 00:51:29.891
we put plaid interior in it put the gilmore ac

00:51:29.891 --> 00:51:32.771
on a convertible with a 1904 motor in it

00:51:32.771 --> 00:51:35.431
dang yeah i mean it was it was a

00:51:35.431 --> 00:51:38.311
beautiful car when it was done yeah y'all y'all are

00:51:38.311 --> 00:51:43.771
busting out some work man and i mean it's it's every day yeah that's awesome

00:51:43.771 --> 00:51:49.351
we could work 24 7 if we wanted to but i mean what a what a privilege a couple

00:51:49.351 --> 00:51:52.931
times throughout you know our conversation you've you've mentioned some of the

00:51:52.931 --> 00:51:56.691
great friends that you've met in the scene yeah you know to you,

00:51:57.211 --> 00:52:03.311
and to all the listeners what what makes the vw community different you know from your perspective,

00:52:03.871 --> 00:52:05.931
It's just, well, everybody helps each other.

00:52:06.311 --> 00:52:13.331
I mean, for, I'll give you an example this weekend. We're cruising with seven of us. We get to leave.

00:52:14.232 --> 00:52:17.932
Hey, my car won't start. Battery's dead. Nobody's got a jump box.

00:52:17.992 --> 00:52:20.692
So we're out there. All I was pushing him off.

00:52:21.172 --> 00:52:24.992
So them two left. Well, then the other five of us get ready to leave.

00:52:25.192 --> 00:52:28.292
And she's like, lady who's with us, she's like, my car won't start.

00:52:28.732 --> 00:52:33.112
So, you know, we're out there. We tried to jump hers off, trying to take a screwdriver.

00:52:33.492 --> 00:52:35.052
Because Robbie Johnson was with me.

00:52:35.972 --> 00:52:39.032
We're trying to jump it off, you know, trying to get the starter.

00:52:39.372 --> 00:52:40.852
We're like, man, let's just push it.

00:52:41.232 --> 00:52:44.952
And so we pushed it off. and another cruise

00:52:44.952 --> 00:52:48.092
friday had a couple that was

00:52:48.092 --> 00:52:50.992
going down and fixed them

00:52:50.992 --> 00:52:54.052
right there on the spot and i mean it's anytime you

00:52:54.052 --> 00:52:56.972
need anything it's you know i could call up anybody right

00:52:56.972 --> 00:52:59.772
now and go hey i'm having a problem with this and they'll

00:52:59.772 --> 00:53:02.592
they'll tell me exactly what to do but it's

00:53:02.592 --> 00:53:05.592
just you know it's totally different than hot rodders

00:53:05.592 --> 00:53:08.372
you know it's hot rodders kind

00:53:08.372 --> 00:53:11.472
of got their own little clicks and you know

00:53:11.472 --> 00:53:14.432
the Volkswagen I mean it's just

00:53:14.432 --> 00:53:20.332
like one big family you know yeah you know and it's cool when you when you're

00:53:20.332 --> 00:53:23.632
at a show when you got a guy that comes up man I follow you on Facebook I finally

00:53:23.632 --> 00:53:28.572
get to meet you yeah and you sit down you get talked for an hour and it's you

00:53:28.572 --> 00:53:32.552
know it's like you've known him for 20 years before you even made him because,

00:53:33.012 --> 00:53:36.152
of the reaction you know reacting on Facebook but I

00:53:36.152 --> 00:53:38.772
mean it's they're just everybody's just

00:53:38.772 --> 00:53:41.932
so cool i mean it's anytime you need anything everybody's there

00:53:41.932 --> 00:53:44.632
i vibe with that and i tell you that's why

00:53:44.632 --> 00:53:48.992
i started this podcast because i have a similar experience everybody i meet

00:53:48.992 --> 00:53:55.232
straight up cool as hell yeah you know all just very we're all kind of alike

00:53:55.232 --> 00:54:00.592
we all have a same commonality you know in these cars not any of them are the

00:54:00.592 --> 00:54:02.732
same i i feel like the volkswagen.

00:54:03.709 --> 00:54:08.449
Seen is like a fingerprint because there's no two alike, you know,

00:54:08.769 --> 00:54:12.269
even if they're the same year, you know, even if they're the same color,

00:54:12.529 --> 00:54:16.289
they're still different, right? They name, different personality.

00:54:16.529 --> 00:54:19.129
Some look like they're smiling. Some look like they're laughing.

00:54:19.389 --> 00:54:20.369
Some look like they're angry.

00:54:21.989 --> 00:54:25.089
It's the coolest thing ever, man, for sure. Oh yeah. I mean,

00:54:25.249 --> 00:54:29.969
it's just great. I mean, like I say, just call up anybody, anytime.

00:54:30.249 --> 00:54:33.569
It don't matter what time of the day, you know i have

00:54:33.569 --> 00:54:36.369
like chris why i'm going to bed

00:54:36.369 --> 00:54:39.509
he messaged me 11 o'clock at night i'm like so

00:54:39.509 --> 00:54:42.329
i'm getting my phone out messaging back you know i mean

00:54:42.329 --> 00:54:47.109
it's just stand up dude man that's awesome yeah it's just cool the way everybody

00:54:47.109 --> 00:54:52.649
is i mean it's just you know so you're putting on you're putting on a show now

00:54:52.649 --> 00:55:00.489
i i see the last few years i've seen some of the you know the newer shows that are either coming back,

00:55:00.789 --> 00:55:05.909
you know, they're reviving a show that was in the 90s or something, or starting their own.

00:55:06.049 --> 00:55:10.009
I mean, how important do you think it is to keep the culture alive for us to,

00:55:10.209 --> 00:55:16.029
as an organizer, for us to put together these events like this for our community? I think it's great.

00:55:16.369 --> 00:55:23.089
I mean, you're bringing people into your town, you know, that would never come here, you know.

00:55:23.369 --> 00:55:27.649
It's like Derrick with Bugs on a Bayou. I mean, that was a great show.

00:55:27.649 --> 00:55:31.949
I mean, we went to it last year. I mean, I think it's just, or this year, I'm sorry.

00:55:32.169 --> 00:55:37.269
I mean, it's just, I think it's great that everybody's bringing these back or

00:55:37.269 --> 00:55:38.629
starting a new one. Yeah.

00:55:38.949 --> 00:55:44.329
And it just gives us more places to go and you're getting to meet people that

00:55:44.329 --> 00:55:45.549
you would never get to meet before.

00:55:45.969 --> 00:55:49.149
And I just think it's great for the communities that they're putting them on in.

00:55:50.079 --> 00:55:54.579
And as a VW community, I think it's great to get everybody to gather up and,

00:55:54.739 --> 00:55:58.059
you know, because most of them we go to have a cruise on it.

00:55:58.219 --> 00:56:00.759
That's what it's about, driving them. Right. Yeah.

00:56:01.999 --> 00:56:04.959
I just think it's great that they're doing it. We got a few.

00:56:05.259 --> 00:56:08.379
I hope you boys, you know, eventually can come down.

00:56:08.579 --> 00:56:12.339
But here in the Tampa Bay area, we've got VWs over the Skyway,

00:56:12.579 --> 00:56:14.959
which has been, this will be the 27th year.

00:56:15.599 --> 00:56:20.579
For the 25th year reunion ride, we had a little over 400 cars.

00:56:20.939 --> 00:56:24.659
Now, all these cars are coming over the Skyway Bridge at one time.

00:56:24.899 --> 00:56:28.159
So, you know, the line's over two miles long. It's unbelievable.

00:56:28.639 --> 00:56:29.779
It's a really cool thing to see.

00:56:30.339 --> 00:56:33.559
They changed the construction of the downtown St.

00:56:33.679 --> 00:56:39.179
Pete Pier around, what, 2018, 2017, something like that.

00:56:39.279 --> 00:56:43.399
They opened the new construction of the pier, And they did not host a car show

00:56:43.399 --> 00:56:49.519
on the pier since the new construction until just a few months ago, actually, in May.

00:56:49.699 --> 00:56:55.939
We did V-dubs on the pier, which was only about 150 of us, but still was awesome.

00:56:56.779 --> 00:57:02.619
And we're working on a few other things. We did a nighttime ride trying to figure

00:57:02.619 --> 00:57:05.539
out how can we make this cooler for the Skyway.

00:57:05.539 --> 00:57:10.299
Well, the Skyway Bridge lights up at night with, you know, several million dollars

00:57:10.299 --> 00:57:13.659
worth of LED lights that you can see it from damn space. I'm like,

00:57:14.079 --> 00:57:18.439
why don't we light the cars up, you know, drive them over the lit up bridge?

00:57:18.579 --> 00:57:20.799
How cool would that be? So we did that last year.

00:57:21.139 --> 00:57:24.559
It was right after a couple of hurricanes had hit our area and stuff.

00:57:24.759 --> 00:57:31.199
And, you know, attendance was about 120 cars, not quite as big as the actual

00:57:31.199 --> 00:57:38.559
Skyway ride. This year we're coming back and we're actually, we negotiated the St.

00:57:38.679 --> 00:57:45.459
Pete Fishing Pier, Skyway Fishing Pier, which if you notice like the Southern California car shows,

00:57:45.579 --> 00:57:50.599
they have a couple of the, like the buses on the pier in Huntington Beach where

00:57:50.599 --> 00:57:54.239
you see the drone shots and it's like all, it's just the whole pier is just

00:57:54.239 --> 00:57:58.099
full of, we're going to create that here with the same drone shots.

00:57:58.099 --> 00:58:02.519
And the backdrop is Tampa Bay and the Skyway, and it's going to be epic. That'd be awesome.

00:58:02.959 --> 00:58:07.519
Yeah, hopefully some of you guys can come down for some of those here in the future.

00:58:07.719 --> 00:58:11.739
But back to you, back to you. I know your whole family gets involved with this.

00:58:11.919 --> 00:58:15.439
What does it mean to you to share this experience with your wife,

00:58:15.499 --> 00:58:16.879
with your kids, even your dad?

00:58:17.419 --> 00:58:21.179
I mean, it's cool. I mean, like I say, getting to work with your wife every day.

00:58:21.539 --> 00:58:23.839
You know, some people say, how do y'all work together every day?

00:58:24.039 --> 00:58:27.119
I love it. It's like I said before, we're best friends. I mean.

00:58:27.899 --> 00:58:29.079
Me and her do everything together.

00:58:29.539 --> 00:58:32.979
It's very seldom you see one of us without the other.

00:58:34.519 --> 00:58:39.459
And working like Caleb, our son, working with us, like I say,

00:58:39.739 --> 00:58:43.139
you see the grand baby about every day. Of course, they only live.

00:58:44.111 --> 00:58:46.991
It probably takes him 10 minutes to get to our house from where he lives.

00:58:47.371 --> 00:58:52.651
And he lives like five, six minutes from the shop. We all live in this town,

00:58:52.771 --> 00:58:55.331
which we do have an older son. He's in construction.

00:58:56.191 --> 00:58:59.351
He lives in Chattanooga. So we get to see them too.

00:59:00.411 --> 00:59:03.911
But, you know, and then like Bailey's homeschooled, you know,

00:59:04.071 --> 00:59:05.531
she's at the shop all the time.

00:59:05.691 --> 00:59:09.011
She's got a 14 GTI. I think I screwed up on that one.

00:59:09.311 --> 00:59:14.391
It's lowered. Oh, nice. So, yeah, now I got to put a bumper on it.

00:59:14.771 --> 00:59:20.571
And so, I mean, I probably should have bought her a four-wheel drive truck instead of a lower GTI.

00:59:20.871 --> 00:59:24.871
Right. Hey, man, I like it. Volkswagen life. Yeah.

00:59:25.071 --> 00:59:27.151
I mean, it's just awesome to get

00:59:27.151 --> 00:59:31.811
up, you know, because we're together 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

00:59:31.971 --> 00:59:34.691
I mean, it's just, we go to the shows together.

00:59:35.491 --> 00:59:38.611
Caleb didn't get to go to a lot last year because of the newborn.

00:59:39.351 --> 00:59:42.171
And so but this year she's a year old

00:59:42.171 --> 00:59:44.931
now so he's gonna be back at

00:59:44.931 --> 00:59:48.531
bug jam with us this year he's excited he said about killing him last year because

00:59:48.531 --> 00:59:53.871
he didn't get to go i mean it's old fomo fear of missing out yeah yeah it hits

00:59:53.871 --> 00:59:58.531
us all so let's fast forward to the future man what's what where do you see

00:59:58.531 --> 01:00:02.751
long restoration say next five or ten years well the next five years i'm I'm

01:00:02.751 --> 01:00:03.731
sure I'll still be there.

01:00:03.931 --> 01:00:08.671
I'm hoping within 10 years that it's Caleb's, you know, maybe,

01:00:08.671 --> 01:00:12.531
I don't know, Pete's younger son would want to be part of it again,

01:00:12.831 --> 01:00:17.011
you know, or whatever, but I wish we could keep it like that.

01:00:17.571 --> 01:00:19.571
Family? Yeah. Mm-hmm.

01:00:20.291 --> 01:00:24.571
I mean, it's, and it's so hard to find employees right now.

01:00:24.711 --> 01:00:28.371
I mean, it's, nobody wants to work and that's what's killing us.

01:00:28.531 --> 01:00:31.771
And that's one good thing about family. I mean, we're always there.

01:00:32.491 --> 01:00:35.511
That's five years. See, that'll put me, what?

01:00:36.131 --> 01:00:41.391
Ooh, that put me almost 60. I'll be almost retiring. I don't think I'll ever get to retire, though.

01:00:41.591 --> 01:00:45.211
I'll probably be 65 and still in there painting the Volkswagen.

01:00:47.011 --> 01:00:50.471
Hey, man, that might not be that bad, though. Right. You know,

01:00:50.891 --> 01:00:52.571
something you said kind of hit home.

01:00:52.831 --> 01:00:56.331
You know, labor is hard to find. Skilled labor is even harder to find.

01:00:56.331 --> 01:01:02.611
And, you know, I did, I did consulting in the trades for a number of years and

01:01:02.611 --> 01:01:04.271
something that I saw a lot when,

01:01:04.351 --> 01:01:09.491
when I was helping companies recruit new technicians was when you get to a place

01:01:09.491 --> 01:01:14.771
in business where you can build a technician instead of hiring one that has

01:01:14.771 --> 01:01:18.051
all kinds of bad habits and shit, I feel like it's, it's.

01:01:18.446 --> 01:01:24.206
It changes things because you can instill in that technician the expectations

01:01:24.206 --> 01:01:28.026
slash how you want to evolve the customer experience.

01:01:28.366 --> 01:01:33.146
So I always say to people, man, if you can build the employee,

01:01:33.566 --> 01:01:35.426
you know, it's, it's, it's better.

01:01:35.766 --> 01:01:38.446
I don't know if that helps you at all, but you know.

01:01:39.086 --> 01:01:44.026
For example, like Caleb, my son, I told you earlier, I begged him to work with me.

01:01:44.166 --> 01:01:50.506
He would never do it when he was younger and when he started with us three years ago he couldn't weld,

01:01:50.986 --> 01:01:55.306
he didn't know how to he didn't know how to do nothing but now

01:01:55.306 --> 01:01:58.226
he welds everything he's our

01:01:58.226 --> 01:02:01.046
fab guy if he can't if we can't buy

01:02:01.046 --> 01:02:04.186
a part he can make it and that's

01:02:04.186 --> 01:02:09.006
so cool man was i had a hint of him you know right in the same way with pete's

01:02:09.006 --> 01:02:13.286
son cam he come to work for us right out of high school when he graduated he

01:02:13.286 --> 01:02:16.166
didn't know nothing but he stood back and watched he said i want to do the body

01:02:16.166 --> 01:02:23.126
work and i'm like well first of all you're crazy to want to do that but so i worked with him,

01:02:23.626 --> 01:02:30.266
showed him and he worked with us for a couple of years and he done 90 of the

01:02:30.266 --> 01:02:36.786
body work on all the vehicles and it like i say it sucked when he said hey i'm

01:02:36.786 --> 01:02:39.946
gonna be a cop and i'm like ah but that's That's what you want to do at your

01:02:39.946 --> 01:02:41.246
dream. I'm not holding you back.

01:02:41.406 --> 01:02:44.326
Yeah, no, for sure, man. And that's the right attitude to have.

01:02:44.406 --> 01:02:45.406
I think that's your target.

01:02:45.926 --> 01:02:51.966
That's your target employee, though, is maybe the younger high school guy that's interested in cars.

01:02:52.446 --> 01:02:58.506
If you're patient enough to show them the way, and if you're financially strong

01:02:58.506 --> 01:03:04.106
enough to be able to hold on to somebody like that and train them and pay them to be there. Yeah.

01:03:04.386 --> 01:03:09.006
You know, I know that's always the Achilles heel for a lot of these these HVAC

01:03:09.006 --> 01:03:12.006
plumbing and electrical companies that I've worked with in the past as always.

01:03:12.306 --> 01:03:18.326
But how do I pay them a reasonable salary, you know, to get a skilled person

01:03:18.326 --> 01:03:22.466
like that to stay through the hurdles of development?

01:03:22.466 --> 01:03:28.326
And the answer was always the same and still is to me, not sure it would resonate

01:03:28.326 --> 01:03:32.726
or even work for you, but performance pay is how you do that.

01:03:32.886 --> 01:03:37.446
Performance pay is, you know, you pay a reasonable hourly, you know.

01:03:38.170 --> 01:03:41.990
Way less than somebody that's a skilled plumber would be hourly,

01:03:42.430 --> 01:03:44.030
like for a union, let's say.

01:03:44.470 --> 01:03:48.210
But it's based on performance. It's based on their ability to communicate with

01:03:48.210 --> 01:03:51.790
customers, get five-star reviews, and do a good job for your company.

01:03:51.790 --> 01:03:53.870
If they can do that, well, they'll make more money.

01:03:54.050 --> 01:03:56.650
Well, guess what? So does the company. Right.

01:03:56.970 --> 01:04:01.550
If they're producing. So it doesn't cost you to hold that person and train them,

01:04:01.650 --> 01:04:04.450
I guess is my point. But yeah, man. Yeah.

01:04:04.950 --> 01:04:09.910
There's some similarities there in growth and development, but keep rocking,

01:04:10.070 --> 01:04:12.870
man. You guys are crushing it, dude. We're trying. I appreciate that.

01:04:13.190 --> 01:04:17.190
Yeah, for sure. So last question I have for you, and then I got some rapid fire,

01:04:17.350 --> 01:04:20.570
some quick answers we'll dive into is this one.

01:04:20.950 --> 01:04:24.250
I feel like you're like a legacy builder. I talk to a lot of builders,

01:04:24.270 --> 01:04:26.750
and then I get that feeling from some of them that are just like,

01:04:26.850 --> 01:04:31.230
oh, man, you know, this one really, you know, peel the onion back because there's a lot here.

01:04:31.390 --> 01:04:34.130
How do you want people to remember your builds?

01:04:34.450 --> 01:04:40.710
The way I, I think what I'm known for, Caleb, all of us are known for is we build clean.

01:04:40.910 --> 01:04:43.050
They look sophisticated. They're just clean.

01:04:43.330 --> 01:04:50.470
We don't, I don't do nothing wild. You know, we do custom stuff, but they still look OG.

01:04:50.870 --> 01:04:53.850
You know, you got to look at them really hard.

01:04:54.390 --> 01:04:57.830
We just want to be known as them clean builders that build nice cars.

01:04:58.090 --> 01:05:04.190
You know, they're straight, they're slick, but they're not way over the top.

01:05:04.770 --> 01:05:08.130
Cutting and we just, well, that's the way we will be known is just,

01:05:08.250 --> 01:05:11.310
just the clean rides and they're just.

01:05:11.810 --> 01:05:13.930
Everyday cars that you can drive. Yeah.

01:05:14.570 --> 01:05:16.670
Yeah. Yep. I like that, man.

01:05:17.330 --> 01:05:20.510
All right. I got some rapid fire, as I was saying. So these are going to be

01:05:20.510 --> 01:05:22.810
a fast, fast response, fast answer.

01:05:22.950 --> 01:05:25.370
If a story comes of it, cool. Let's get into it.

01:05:25.570 --> 01:05:29.770
But if not, don't, don't feel like you need to. All right. You ready? Yes, sir.

01:05:30.190 --> 01:05:33.290
All right. Favorite paint color that you ever laid down? Black.

01:05:34.539 --> 01:05:38.959
Black. I thought I was going to hear maybe something else, but you know,

01:05:39.099 --> 01:05:43.199
I want to finish my thing in black. So I want to make my thing. I got a 74.

01:05:43.579 --> 01:05:48.239
I want to make it themed for my podcast. And what my dream, my dream for that

01:05:48.239 --> 01:05:53.179
car, that build is black, everything except for trim.

01:05:53.339 --> 01:05:57.999
And then in trim, like headlight rings, et cetera, door, door hinges or not

01:05:57.999 --> 01:06:00.399
hinges, sorry, handles. I want gold.

01:06:00.919 --> 01:06:07.379
Right. I'm black and gold. And look, man, I might get maybe some negative feedback

01:06:07.379 --> 01:06:11.419
for this because it's not too Volkswagen-ish, but this is my dream,

01:06:11.479 --> 01:06:12.959
so I'm going to keep going. Right, exactly.

01:06:13.419 --> 01:06:20.779
I want to put gold like Dayton or the old McLean or McLean wire wheels on it,

01:06:20.779 --> 01:06:22.379
and I want to dump it. Why?

01:06:22.559 --> 01:06:26.159
Well, because my whole childhood was centered around the lowrider culture.

01:06:26.419 --> 01:06:29.559
Right, exactly. We had a lowrider show. you know lowrider magazine

01:06:29.559 --> 01:06:32.259
used to come right into tampa and set up at the fairgrounds and

01:06:32.259 --> 01:06:35.059
every year i'd go there and you know lowriders are

01:06:35.059 --> 01:06:38.459
like a part of my my my past i had bowling ball

01:06:38.459 --> 01:06:41.179
candy apple red paint on some of my cars was sort of

01:06:41.179 --> 01:06:43.939
you know big old hammer wheels that stuck out

01:06:43.939 --> 01:06:47.139
real far and just the lowrider scene so

01:06:47.139 --> 01:06:50.339
a little bit of that is is kind of just ingrained

01:06:50.339 --> 01:06:53.379
in me so anyway you said black yeah because you

01:06:53.379 --> 01:06:56.039
find the black it's got to be straight and it's

01:06:56.039 --> 01:06:58.959
going to be slick yeah man that's just

01:06:58.959 --> 01:07:01.719
i'm just like painting it but you can just make it

01:07:01.719 --> 01:07:04.499
slick as glass yeah oh oh that's how

01:07:04.499 --> 01:07:07.679
i want i want to see my thing there one day it's it's tan or

01:07:07.679 --> 01:07:12.679
almond you know whatever that is now now and i swear i like it you know it's

01:07:12.679 --> 01:07:17.899
it's my ride but buddy i can't wait till she's black i can't wait till she's

01:07:17.899 --> 01:07:23.919
black all right all right best food or best drink that you've ever had when

01:07:23.919 --> 01:07:26.579
you're on the road doing VW shows?

01:07:27.919 --> 01:07:32.939
This will be a little story for you. Wonderful. It's probably not the best,

01:07:32.979 --> 01:07:35.279
but it's the most memorable.

01:07:35.859 --> 01:07:41.559
We're on our way back from Kansas. It's me and my wife, my daughter, one of her friends.

01:07:41.959 --> 01:07:45.039
I don't know if you've ever been out there. I have.

01:07:45.699 --> 01:07:48.879
There's nothing. There's nothing driving back.

01:07:49.239 --> 01:07:53.459
If you're going one way, I pulled a camper across Kansas.

01:07:53.679 --> 01:07:57.919
So one way you get about eight miles to the gallon and you're going back against

01:07:57.919 --> 01:07:59.399
the wind. You get about three.

01:07:59.859 --> 01:08:06.899
Yeah. I mean, there is nothing. And if you rolled up to where an exit was and oh, there's food.

01:08:07.339 --> 01:08:14.199
Well, it's five miles off the road. And I'm like, so we finally roll in and

01:08:14.199 --> 01:08:16.359
there's this big, huge convenience store.

01:08:17.115 --> 01:08:21.735
So we wheel in while they had a kitchen. We're about to starve because we'd

01:08:21.735 --> 01:08:22.755
been driving for a while.

01:08:23.115 --> 01:08:29.355
So we just roll in, we buy hamburgers, corn dogs, potato logs,

01:08:29.735 --> 01:08:31.635
whatever they had in that hot man.

01:08:32.155 --> 01:08:37.535
And even the women was laughing at us and they give us a discount on it.

01:08:37.995 --> 01:08:43.895
And we loaded all that stuff back up in the vehicle and off we went and we're

01:08:43.895 --> 01:08:48.235
just eating all that convenience store hamburgers and stuff going down the road.

01:08:48.455 --> 01:08:52.075
I mean, it probably wasn't the best, but it's. Hey man, that was a cool story

01:08:52.075 --> 01:08:56.035
though. It's the most memorable story of eating on the road.

01:08:56.375 --> 01:09:00.335
One tool in the shop that you can't live without. My son.

01:09:01.075 --> 01:09:05.755
Ooh, man. Great answer. All right. We in trouble.

01:09:07.415 --> 01:09:13.015
That's awesome though, man. It really is. How about most underrated VW model?

01:09:13.255 --> 01:09:16.275
Underrated. super beetle super beetle yeah

01:09:16.275 --> 01:09:19.335
you know what i like that i like that you said that because i

01:09:19.335 --> 01:09:22.535
hear a lot of pushback on the super beetle i don't know why i like

01:09:22.535 --> 01:09:26.655
the super beetle too they look good too man i mean they ride good i mean hell

01:09:26.655 --> 01:09:31.655
yeah no right but it's you know they're not my thing but i mean we're working

01:09:31.655 --> 01:09:35.655
on two of them right now i mean they ride good to get them all set up right

01:09:35.655 --> 01:09:41.095
and everything but a lot of people hate them all right how about same question other way around,

01:09:41.315 --> 01:09:44.295
most overrated, overrated VW model.

01:09:47.155 --> 01:09:51.915
You know, everybody likes a 67 Bug. For what reason? I don't, because it's a one year.

01:09:52.809 --> 01:09:57.469
And we've done a couple of 67s that we've converted to 66s.

01:09:59.649 --> 01:10:05.029
You know, it's because you can't get the rear aprons. You know,

01:10:05.209 --> 01:10:06.829
nobody makes them. You can't find them.

01:10:07.269 --> 01:10:10.829
But everybody likes them. But, you know, that's a real hard question because

01:10:10.829 --> 01:10:13.869
I don't know if you're looking at it. All right. How about one build?

01:10:14.209 --> 01:10:17.409
One build that you wish you could get back? Gangster, my 62.

01:10:17.849 --> 01:10:22.689
Okay. Gangster. That's the right hand drive? Yeah. Oh, man. That thing sounded awesome.

01:10:22.809 --> 01:10:25.789
Yeah who inspires you most right

01:10:25.789 --> 01:10:28.489
now on the vw scene right now i

01:10:28.489 --> 01:10:32.169
have to say it's my boy chris white from riverbank yeah

01:10:32.169 --> 01:10:35.849
buddy i mean he is you

01:10:35.849 --> 01:10:40.489
know if you talk to him he's like well brad inspired me to do this and i tell

01:10:40.489 --> 01:10:44.129
him i said don't be telling people don't be putting that off on me that i got

01:10:44.129 --> 01:10:51.089
you to try to do this and you know made him talk you know a few years ago and

01:10:51.089 --> 01:10:55.069
he come to my shop and he walked up to me and he's like,

01:10:55.209 --> 01:10:58.009
you know, you've inspired me to want to do this.

01:10:58.569 --> 01:11:02.509
And of course, you know, that meant a lot, but I mean, the past year,

01:11:02.769 --> 01:11:04.369
I mean, that boy has been on it.

01:11:04.609 --> 01:11:08.329
I mean, he is anything Volkswagen he's pushing.

01:11:08.749 --> 01:11:12.209
He is man. You know, we just had our show this past weekend.

01:11:12.709 --> 01:11:18.469
I mean, he pushed it big time. I mean, he is, you know, he's just a great guy.

01:11:18.649 --> 01:11:22.689
Do anything for you. But I mean, he's all about it right now,

01:11:23.009 --> 01:11:24.369
trying to get all this going good.

01:11:24.729 --> 01:11:29.989
If you weren't doing restorations right now, what would you be doing?

01:11:30.889 --> 01:11:36.449
I'd probably be in a body shop, still painting. Okay. If people want to get

01:11:36.449 --> 01:11:40.509
in touch with you, if they hear something from you that's motivating or they

01:11:40.509 --> 01:11:44.449
want to follow your builds, shout out where they can find you online.

01:11:45.429 --> 01:11:49.549
On Facebook, it's Long Restoration. TikTok, I post a lot of videos on TikTok.

01:11:49.629 --> 01:11:51.049
It's same thing, long restoration.

01:11:51.429 --> 01:11:55.869
Our email address at work is longrestoration24 at gmail. Okay.

01:11:56.932 --> 01:12:05.732
So if our phone number at the shop, 423, I got to try to remember this, 677-1834.

01:12:06.392 --> 01:12:09.652
We're there 8 to 4 central time every day.

01:12:10.452 --> 01:12:15.692
Yeah, you guys, if you want to follow Brad's builds, check out Long Restoration

01:12:15.692 --> 01:12:19.372
online. If you're going to be at Bug Jam this year for 2025,

01:12:19.572 --> 01:12:21.272
you're going to be there as well, right?

01:12:21.372 --> 01:12:24.732
Don't you have a, you're bringing a build, a new build to Bug Jam this year?

01:12:24.932 --> 01:12:27.592
Yeah, I'm bringing two. bringing two all right

01:12:27.592 --> 01:12:31.272
67 on air and a

01:12:31.272 --> 01:12:34.212
72 standard that's my

01:12:34.212 --> 01:12:40.172
car that's my baby that's my that's my first car i ever had so 72 standard yep

01:12:40.172 --> 01:12:44.652
that's what we're bringing them to all right well y'all look out for them there

01:12:44.652 --> 01:12:49.392
and that's a wrap for this episode of dub life diaries thanks for riding along

01:12:49.392 --> 01:12:54.032
with us and diving into these incredible stories of the people in the dub that drive their dreams.

01:12:54.512 --> 01:12:58.912
If you loved today's episode, don't forget to subscribe or hit that follow button

01:12:58.912 --> 01:13:00.232
so you never miss an adventure.

01:13:00.552 --> 01:13:05.172
Do you have a story to tell or know somebody else who's living the dub life? Awesome.

01:13:05.492 --> 01:13:10.672
Reach out to us. You can find us on all socials at dublifediaries or shoot me

01:13:10.672 --> 01:13:12.292
an email. I'm not hard to find.

01:13:13.152 --> 01:13:18.212
Dublifediaries at gmail.com. Until next time, keep the engines humming and the

01:13:18.212 --> 01:13:22.812
wheels turning and always follow the road that inspires you. This is Joe Person.

01:13:22.992 --> 01:13:25.832
I'm signing off. I'll catch you on the next ride.