Cape Cod Bugs and a Life of Passion - Josh Ellis Ep43

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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 dude whose story feels

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like it is straight out of a movie. I am not kidding.

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So imagine this, guys. You're five years old, you're sweeping floors in your

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uncle's body shop, you're breathing in paint fumes, and you're watching classics come back to life.

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While most kids are playing with Hot Wheels, Josh Ellis was building them.

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So fast forward now a couple decades, and he's an arborist by trade.

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Some of you that don't know what that is, it's basically a specialist that dedicates

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their life to the carrying of trees, which, I mean, only real straight-up people can do that, right?

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Who cares enough? Josh Ellis does.

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He's a craftsman by nature, one of the most hands-on VW guys in the scene up

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in the Cape Cod area. He and his wife are chilling on the beach one day when

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she says, if I could have any old car, it would be a Beetle convertible.

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And where most people would scroll Craigslist, Josh says, nah,

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I'm going to build one for you from the ground up.

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So we're talking full restoration and actually a new life and a new obsession.

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So since then, he's done three full builds. He paints his own cars, builds his own engines.

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He camps the hell out of his 77 Westie named Forrest.

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He's turning his next bus into a rolling photo booth for weddings and events.

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Again, turning passion into a business. You guys know how I feel about that.

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I love that. That's my favorite type of business.

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This is one of those conversations that reminds you that craftsmanship,

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patience, and heart, what it looks like when they collide.

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So grab a cold one if it's in the evening, or maybe if you do that in the morning,

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or grab a hot one if it's early and get ready for some serious VW soul.

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Josh ellis welcome to dub life diaries thanks

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for having me on joe i appreciate the opportunity that's

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probably the the best introduction that anybody's ever said about

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me so i'm gonna make sure we save that yeah man you're worth it dude looking

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at the pictures of your work and just seeing you and talking to you and hearing

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your story i'm excited for this one man but before we get rocking let me shout

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out to a couple of my sponsors and uh make sure i show them some love and support.

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Also, shout out to the Salty Dub. From the beach to

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same discount code applies dub life 10 use it at checkout this only works for

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merch all right man back to you

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man back to you it's this is all about you from this point forward okay.

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Appreciate it. Thanks so much. Yeah, brother. All right, man.

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So let's go back to the beginning.

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You're pushing a broom in your uncle's body shop. You're five years old.

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Most kids are playing in sandboxes.

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You're pushing dust and paint fumes. What do you remember about the early days

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that made you kind of fall in love with the craftsmanship side of maybe even

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dealing with the smell of paint and metal?

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Well, that's just it. I mean, first and foremost, let's go right to the smell of it, right?

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So So, I don't know, I heard somewhere that the sense of smell is so in tune with your memory.

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And God, I couldn't agree with that. I couldn't agree with that more.

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So, there's days even today, you know, where at work, so in the wintertime,

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when my guys are done for the year, I'm laid off.

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Well, the guys are laid off, but I stay working in our shop and I paint our trucks.

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And, you know, it started out as, you know, just doing a little bit of rot work here and there.

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And now I just fix everything. Um, but so there's days, especially more so in

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the wintertime, cause that's when I'm in there the most is I come in there.

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I'm usually the first guy there.

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I open the doors and, you know, about quarter past five in the morning.

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And when I walk in there, lights are off and I open that door and I smell it.

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It, it brings me right back to 1988.

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I mean, I don't, I don't know any other way to describe that.

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I can still, I can still see the, you know, the, the markings on our old shop

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when I was a kid, I like it was yesterday. So yeah.

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You know, those days were probably some of the most formative of my entire life.

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I mean, my uncle, so we'll get, I'm sure we'll get to talk about him a lot.

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His name is Paps. Well, his name is Wayne, but we call him Paps.

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And that man, he taught me how

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to be a man. He taught me pretty much everything I know, the core values.

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So, you know, going back to that question, yeah, I would say that,

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you know, when I was there, that's the only place I really wanted to be.

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I looked up to him so much and that's

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all I ever wanted to do was just own my own body shop someday

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so truly you know my next

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question really you you kind of answered it already but that's

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that's really what shaped your your mindset your patience and

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your obsession for the work that you do now a hundred

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percent yeah sounds like it so do you

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remember the first time that you you know as a

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young kid that you realized like man I

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can actually fix stuff like this is you know i can

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make it look better than new yeah all right so let's let's

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step back in time a little bit here i remember the first time i

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i he taught me how to weld and i was on his 40 ford coupe

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that well he's no longer with us but my son still

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has and you know i then fast forward

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a little bit at the time i was i think i was about 14 i

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had bought a monte carlo supersport off of my cousin and

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it was back in those days we used to buy stuff from the from the auctions and

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fix them and sell them as used cars and so i got that i was i don't know i started

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giving him 50 bucks a week or so when i was probably around 13 ish 12 13 wow

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i think i was about yeah i think i was about 14 when i painted it and that was

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the first complete paint job that i had ever done.

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So that one probably that one probably really meant the most to me in the beginning,

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So the shot must have been probably like a playground of chaos.

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Any stories that you have from back then that shaped you that might even still

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make you laugh to this day?

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Yeah, I'm talking about them as I'm thinking about some.

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So perhaps my cousins, Richard and Steven, those were his boys.

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And Richard had about 11 years on me and Steven, nine.

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So when I was, you know, eight, nine, ten years old, those guys were getting into trouble.

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You know what I mean? So, like, some of those stuff, and not bad trouble,

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just, you know, just staying out late, all that kind of stuff, whatever.

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We used to tow for the police departments, and we'd get a lot of wrecks that

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would just sit around forever.

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And sometimes we'd play a little bit of Demolition Derby in the bad part.

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That's amazing. Yeah. I mean, it's stuff that kids do.

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I mean, nowadays, you don't really hear that stuff. But, yeah,

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those were the good days, man. Just a completely different world.

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Completely different. nowadays there's cameras everywhere and

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we can't know it we can't have that kind of nobody's looking fun anymore right

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because everybody's looking right so did your parents think that you'd stay

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in the car world or did you just kind of naturally end up you know balancing

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what you do now which is essentially trees and volkswagons.

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So it's, I mean, so my career really, it's not just trees.

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We're a landscape company by, you know, we do everything from house demolition,

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site septic, and then I run the maintenance division.

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Yeah. So I have about 25 employees that I manage the crews and where they're

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going and what they're doing.

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We work on really high end residential estates.

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So yeah, we get to work on some of the most pretty places here on the Cape, which is really cool.

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Down here. It's a sick business too, you know, down in Florida.

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Yeah, the landscape guys, you know, they're the artists of the yard,

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especially a lot of the zero scape and a lot of the, you know, turf type yards now.

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Oh, man, they're high end, high dollar. They're looking great.

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Right. Yeah, I don't think there was ever a question in anybody,

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in any one of my family members' minds whether or not I'd still be in the cars.

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My older two brothers, they didn't really have, you know, they could have really

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cared less about the shop. That really wasn't their thing.

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Right. But for me, it's always stuck with me. And, you know,

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I'd probably be doing it full time, you know, when I was around.

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See, 18 or so, 19, I was doing it for myself out of a buddy's shop.

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And, you know, then things got a little sparse, so I ended up crawling back

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to the body shop and working for Pabst again.

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But, you know, for the last 20, 25 years or so, that's what I've been doing.

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It's, you know, landscaping during the season. And then in the wintertime,

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to either do my own thing or work now for our company doing our stuff.

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But I've still always, I mean, I've had projects that they, it just never stops.

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I mean, I always have to have some kind of a project going all the time.

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Is there a switch that needs to be made? You know, do you, so arborist by trade

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now, professionally, how do you go from, you know, body filler and metal and,

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you know, cars to chainsaws and trees, same?

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Yeah, it's all the same. I mean, it's just really attention to detail. Right, you may wrong.

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Yeah, that's, you know, I think that statement's kind of a broad one you could

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use even in life, Right. Attention to detail. You get what you put in.

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So the harder you work for something, the more you're going to,

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the more you're going to appreciate it.

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Yeah. I wrote that down when I, when I thought about the parallel between the

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two of them, both take an eye for structure, for balance, for detail,

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like you said. And I think you have to care about the outcome.

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Oh, for sure. Right? For sure. It can't just be something where you're like,

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well, I'm good at this. I work great with my hands.

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Yeah. This is different. You've got to actually care about the outcome.

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So, yeah. Right. That's pretty cool, man.

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And at work, so some of my favorite things to do is, you know,

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we'll build these huge projects. The guys are on for months,

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sometimes more than a year.

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And then once it's finally done and it gets turned over to me, I have to maintain it.

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But there's, you know, there's always, there's irrigation is usually our number

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one foal, right? A lot of the landscape architects, they'll plant high water

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need plants next to low water need plants.

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And I mean, the irrigation guys, they're just trying to keep everything wet.

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So I have to, the first year is usually like a balancing, you know,

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balancing act, trying to keep these plants happy, that plant happy.

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And literally I mean some of the the biggest

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joys I get from work are it's not so much the

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clients it's more so that like hey this this this

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tree's in decline and I notice it right away and I augment whatever it takes

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whatever I see and you know seeing the trees still live after a year or two

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that's some of my favorite things yeah well sure because you care like that

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that that's kind of what I was saying so let's touch on this you know you made

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a comment you said you know I'd love to be doing it full-time.

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To me, I feel like it's a hobby for you at this point, but is it something that

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you would like to push more towards as far as reshaping, recrafting Volkswagens?

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Is that where the heart's at these days?

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I think it's really, that's like a dream job, right? So I don't know if.

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And I don't have a crystal ball, but would I be content if this is what I was doing every day? Sure.

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Yeah, I mean, look, what I have to deal with at work with clients and expectations,

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and sometimes those are hard to upkeep.

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What do I have to be upset with a Volkswagen? It surely isn't the sandpaper. You know what I mean?

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So, I mean, if you get a faulty part, whatever. So, I mean, I think that,

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you know, there's a possibility in something like that.

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And I guess that would really depend on how hard I pursue it. I like the idea of it.

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Although I'm treated well at work and I'm happy where I'm at. Sure, sure.

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I like to think that there's a future down the road there as well, too.

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Yeah. Um, but, uh, in the, in the, you know, immediate, I loved,

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I love working on these things.

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I mean, to me, it's like I said before that, you know, when I was growing up,

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my, my dream was to have my own body shop.

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I don't like the idea of doing any of that stuff. Um.

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For like nowadays cars, you know, there's just too much involved in it and too much schooling.

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And, and, and I respect those guys that have to do all that,

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you know, that's, that's, that's a lot. Right.

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And I don't, I don't really, I, I'd, like I said, be content just working on

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these old cars because they're, they're just so simple and they're such a blast.

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And you guys, you'll get Josh's contact information in the show notes,

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but wait till you see some of this guy's builds.

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I mean you know he deserves to be doing this

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not just for a hobby so that's that's awesome

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true craftsman you know and there's appreciate that

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Joe thank you yeah no man you got to give credit where

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it's due man you have to again that's one of the reasons why I did this this

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podcast is to celebrate these guys like you who are you know on the outside

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or from what everybody sees and every day you know Joe I say that because that's

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my name but I could say an everyday Josh or an everyday Tom, and you're not.

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You're like the top of the top, man, like some of the most skilled craftsmen out there.

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So let's go back to this moment here on the beach in 2020.

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Your wife says, if I could have any old car, it'd be a Beetle convertible.

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What goes through your mind when you hear that? Your Chevy guy?

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It's funny as we're talking about it, because, and my wife will have to agree

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with a lot of this, that maybe it's selective hearing.

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I don't remember any of the conversation prior. But all I remember is her telling

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me that if she could have any car, it would be a Beetle convertible.

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Because that's all she's ever driven is Beetles.

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Our parents got her, I think it was a 98 hardtop Beetle when she was 16.

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And after that, she had an 08 Beetle convertible.

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And she's only had three cars. Now she bought her 17 brand new.

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And that car's got, God, almost 190,000 miles on it.

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So, I mean, when she said if she could have any old car, it would be a Beetle

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convertible. I said, okay, I'll build you. And I literally said this,

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I'll build you whatever you want.

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You just need to pick out what you want for colors and upholstery.

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And it was literally, I mean, I don't know, I swear the stars kind of just have

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to align at some point, right?

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Because maybe like a month later, we were on our way.

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It was a Sunday morning. We were on our way to go pick up my kids.

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And she said to me, she said, hey, did you see that thing I sent you on Facebook

00:15:14.887 --> 00:15:16.727
this morning? I said, no, I didn't even look.

00:15:17.027 --> 00:15:20.307
So I happened to peek at my phone, and I'm like, oh, no way.

00:15:20.927 --> 00:15:25.947
Right? So this is the best story. It really is. And hence why we call the car Lucky.

00:15:27.127 --> 00:15:29.867
So fast forward a little bit right we get the

00:15:29.867 --> 00:15:32.627
kids and and we're on our way back we were coming back to

00:15:32.627 --> 00:15:36.387
the cape and we were going to take him to the beach for the day and i

00:15:36.387 --> 00:15:39.927
asked her i said because the guy was there were there were two cars listed there

00:15:39.927 --> 00:15:44.607
was lucky right and at the time it was orange it was a i mean absolute basket

00:15:44.607 --> 00:15:48.927
case and there was a 73 for a parts car and the guy was asking eighteen hundred

00:15:48.927 --> 00:15:54.007
dollars for the two of them so i mean my wife does a lot of little odd side jobs here and there,

00:15:54.167 --> 00:15:56.387
and it's common for her to have.

00:15:57.115 --> 00:16:00.835
God, I don't know, a bunch of cash in her pocketbook. And I knew that.

00:16:01.155 --> 00:16:05.535
So, again, I was wearing shorts, you know, bathing suit and flip-flops,

00:16:05.595 --> 00:16:06.555
and we were on our way to the beach.

00:16:06.635 --> 00:16:10.355
And so I said to her, I was like, how much money do you have in your purse?

00:16:10.675 --> 00:16:13.555
And she, you know, she goes through it. She says, I have 1,050.

00:16:14.075 --> 00:16:17.995
I'm like, all right, I can work with that, right? So I messaged the guy,

00:16:18.135 --> 00:16:21.395
and he calls me right away, and he gives me the address.

00:16:21.615 --> 00:16:25.415
And I'm like, man, does that address sound? That's so familiar. Why do I know that?

00:16:25.995 --> 00:16:31.155
So anyways, as we're pulling up, it's not even an eighth of a mile from my shop.

00:16:31.575 --> 00:16:35.015
And in fact, the owner of our company, the previous owner of our company,

00:16:35.135 --> 00:16:37.635
used to own that property. It used to be his tree farm.

00:16:38.115 --> 00:16:42.935
Yeah, man. See, this is where the stars align. Yeah. So, all right. So we show up.

00:16:43.235 --> 00:16:47.055
We get in there, and I'm looking at the car. My kids, nor my wife,

00:16:47.175 --> 00:16:49.495
neither one of them, none of them get out of the car, out of the truck, right?

00:16:49.635 --> 00:16:55.215
And I'm walking around the car, and I'm looking at it, and it was in tough shape. And I knew nothing.

00:16:55.415 --> 00:16:58.655
About Volkswagens at the time. I mean, not anything, right?

00:16:59.435 --> 00:17:01.915
So I'm looking at it and I'm thinking to myself, in my head,

00:17:01.975 --> 00:17:04.415
my wheels are already turning. Okay, I need to do this. I need to do that.

00:17:04.575 --> 00:17:05.675
Like, how am I going to fix it? Whatever.

00:17:06.635 --> 00:17:10.635
So I said to the guy, and I had taken her $1,000 and I put it in my pocket.

00:17:11.315 --> 00:17:14.435
I said, well, would you take an offer? And you know the same story like everybody.

00:17:14.595 --> 00:17:19.035
Long story short, I ended up taking $1,000 and said, waving it around like it

00:17:19.035 --> 00:17:19.895
was a Winners grass ticket.

00:17:20.075 --> 00:17:23.175
And I'm like, hey man, I got $1,000 cash and I can have these things out of

00:17:23.175 --> 00:17:24.115
here by the end of the day.

00:17:24.495 --> 00:17:28.415
And he said, All right, let's do it. So we go into his office as we're signing

00:17:28.415 --> 00:17:29.815
the papers. We come out, whatever.

00:17:30.355 --> 00:17:32.755
Somebody pulls up and says, hey, are these the Beatles for sale?

00:17:33.155 --> 00:17:34.875
And the guy says, yeah, he just bought them.

00:17:35.500 --> 00:17:38.340
So then I go over to my wife in the truck, and I say, hey, you want to come

00:17:38.340 --> 00:17:42.480
out and take a look at your new car? And she comes out, and at first she was excited.

00:17:43.100 --> 00:17:45.940
Then she got up close to it, and of course she doesn't know what she's looking

00:17:45.940 --> 00:17:48.780
at. In my head, I already know what I need to do to fix it and how it's going to be.

00:17:50.380 --> 00:17:55.100
So long story short, she's like, oh. You know, I think she was a little apprehensive

00:17:55.100 --> 00:17:59.260
at the time, and maybe when we were leaving, she was like, are you sure this is a good idea?

00:17:59.840 --> 00:18:03.520
So that took a few months of me to, and literally, when I say a few months,

00:18:03.620 --> 00:18:08.240
I mean, we bought that car. It was September and by April I was driving it home.

00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:11.640
I mean, that was a complete body off restoration on that car.

00:18:12.180 --> 00:18:15.380
Yeah. I was going to bring that up. So you, you built a stand,

00:18:15.480 --> 00:18:18.380
you stripped it down, you let her pick the colors and the interior,

00:18:18.660 --> 00:18:21.560
you, you basically, you know, full resto.

00:18:21.760 --> 00:18:25.600
So, you know, what, on that build, what was your challenging spots?

00:18:25.680 --> 00:18:26.620
What was the hardest part?

00:18:27.308 --> 00:18:30.728
I think just trying to figure out, now again, look, I've never done a Volkswagen.

00:18:31.028 --> 00:18:34.508
One, taking the body off the pan, that wasn't so hard. We got plenty of equipment

00:18:34.508 --> 00:18:37.508
at work. We got a few lifts and, you know, forklifts, big machines.

00:18:37.508 --> 00:18:38.688
We can do whatever there.

00:18:39.028 --> 00:18:43.388
So that wasn't the hard part. The hard part, I think, for me was once I had

00:18:43.388 --> 00:18:47.308
it on the stand, and again, being a body man, I know that when you take things

00:18:47.308 --> 00:18:50.148
apart, you lose all that structure, you lose the rigidity,

00:18:50.668 --> 00:18:57.068
is how am I going to cut out these heater channels and still maintain the structure of the car?

00:18:57.668 --> 00:19:00.648
Because realistically, I mean, when you think of how much you're cutting out

00:19:00.648 --> 00:19:05.028
of that thing, especially being a convertible, you end up with pieces, right?

00:19:05.168 --> 00:19:08.228
I mean, when I say pieces, like the car is pieces.

00:19:08.748 --> 00:19:12.108
So I think that was probably my biggest challenge. And then,

00:19:12.288 --> 00:19:14.108
you learn things as you go, right?

00:19:14.308 --> 00:19:18.468
So I learned, because now that's the third car that at the time it was the first

00:19:18.468 --> 00:19:21.528
car, but I've had three cars on that stand, but I learned, okay,

00:19:21.748 --> 00:19:24.868
there's certain things about the stand that when you put it back on the pan,

00:19:25.148 --> 00:19:30.088
you need to kind of allow for certain differences in measurements till you get

00:19:30.088 --> 00:19:32.788
it on the pan and then you can kind of really get close. Right.

00:19:33.228 --> 00:19:36.528
So that was probably the biggest thing, the biggest hurdle, I would say.

00:19:36.828 --> 00:19:40.188
So you mentioned a few months done, you're driving it, right?

00:19:40.408 --> 00:19:44.688
So one, how long did the entire restoration take you?

00:19:44.768 --> 00:19:51.848
And two, take yourself back to, you know, really the first drive when it's It's a complete car.

00:19:52.268 --> 00:19:56.388
What's that feel like? Describe that moment. Well, the first drive in that car.

00:19:57.408 --> 00:20:00.868
The first time I took that, it was the same day that I had taken it home.

00:20:01.708 --> 00:20:06.228
Elena came to the shop, and I took her down around the, we call it the beach

00:20:06.228 --> 00:20:11.708
route in Falmouth, which is like this road that just meanders along the coast. It's gorgeous.

00:20:12.008 --> 00:20:16.448
So I took her for a ride in that. Then on the way back, we stopped the shop,

00:20:16.728 --> 00:20:19.688
grabbed our things. And on the way home, I got thinking to myself, I'm like,

00:20:20.323 --> 00:20:23.823
God, I really love this little thing. I don't know what it is about this car.

00:20:24.203 --> 00:20:27.483
I mean, at the time, look, it really was, it's not anything special.

00:20:27.663 --> 00:20:31.763
It's just a super beautiful convertible. We call this getting bit by the bug, brother.

00:20:32.043 --> 00:20:36.803
Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's just a stock 1600. I mean, a tired one at that.

00:20:36.983 --> 00:20:41.663
I mean, I think the thing had like 70,000 miles on it. What year was it again?

00:20:42.643 --> 00:20:48.503
Well, so Lucky's a little bit of a mix. It's got a little bit of 75, a little bit of 73.

00:20:48.503 --> 00:20:51.963
Okay it's re it's really a 75 okay

00:20:51.963 --> 00:20:55.023
um but uh i did away with the fuel injection stuff

00:20:55.023 --> 00:20:57.743
and and made it carbureted so right i put a

00:20:57.743 --> 00:21:00.703
the rear aprons from 73 so i still have the

00:21:00.703 --> 00:21:04.023
the 74 and 5 up bumper absorbers the

00:21:04.023 --> 00:21:08.763
bumpers that kind of stuff but i wanted a carbureted rear pan on it because

00:21:08.763 --> 00:21:12.263
it didn't have to fit that the catalytic converter from the the fuel injected

00:21:12.263 --> 00:21:17.023
ones underneath it right on was it at the same time or was it you know very

00:21:17.023 --> 00:21:20.943
close in proximity that you got the 1970 Beetle.

00:21:21.223 --> 00:21:25.743
Yeah, so that's Ringo. So it was that day we drove Lucky home.

00:21:26.607 --> 00:21:31.267
Yeah, I really fell in love with the car. And again, yeah, getting bit by the bug.

00:21:31.387 --> 00:21:34.607
That's absolutely it. I mean, that's so true. Yes.

00:21:35.407 --> 00:21:38.807
Yeah, I drove that thing home. And that night, the only thing I could do,

00:21:38.867 --> 00:21:43.587
I was scouring Facebook Marketplace and found a couple that were up in New Hampshire

00:21:43.587 --> 00:21:46.047
and set up a couple appointments.

00:21:46.327 --> 00:21:50.907
And, you know, of course, New Hampshire from where we are, it was probably about a three-hour drive.

00:21:51.227 --> 00:21:54.967
We drove up there. the first one i'm like ah you

00:21:54.967 --> 00:21:57.867
know i mean again i could fix

00:21:57.867 --> 00:22:00.587
it you know but at the time i was looking at

00:22:00.587 --> 00:22:03.607
something between like four to six thousand dollars i

00:22:03.607 --> 00:22:07.167
mean with that kind of money to spend you're not gonna you're gonna get something

00:22:07.167 --> 00:22:12.427
that probably gonna be drivable but probably needs a lot of work right and that's

00:22:12.427 --> 00:22:16.787
where i found the 70 and you know thankful that i did because i love the older

00:22:16.787 --> 00:22:22.747
body style i love everything about 70 and down is really now like where,

00:22:22.847 --> 00:22:25.207
where we're at with cars, at least the Beatles.

00:22:25.587 --> 00:22:28.667
Yeah. It was literally the next day after driving her car home,

00:22:28.747 --> 00:22:31.847
I, we went up there and we drove up to New Hampshire, looked at one,

00:22:32.347 --> 00:22:36.167
didn't like it, found the second one, found the 70 and gave the guy a deposit.

00:22:36.187 --> 00:22:38.107
And the next weekend, we went up there and picked it up.

00:22:38.647 --> 00:22:44.867
Yeah, man. Awesome. I've got a 62. My wife drives a 71 Carmen Ghia for fun.

00:22:45.607 --> 00:22:49.387
Yeah. Those are our, you know, but here I wanted to touch on this because, You know,

00:22:49.827 --> 00:22:55.627
interesting kind of background and story because not a lifer as far as,

00:22:55.727 --> 00:23:00.727
as, you know, being into Volkswagens, your entire career slash even as a hobby.

00:23:00.887 --> 00:23:05.267
And that's very cool. And the reason why I say that is because there are a lot

00:23:05.267 --> 00:23:10.327
of times that I take somebody that's never been in a classic Beetle and they

00:23:10.327 --> 00:23:12.327
go for a ride in one for the first time.

00:23:12.687 --> 00:23:15.487
I always hear this. Well, damn.

00:23:16.087 --> 00:23:19.227
Yep. This thing rides a lot better than I thought it would.

00:23:19.547 --> 00:23:24.607
And I'm like, what'd you think? You were getting into a fricking wagon from the 1912s? Like what?

00:23:25.027 --> 00:23:29.127
Right, right. It's yeah. So what I wanted to say to that was.

00:23:29.857 --> 00:23:35.257
To you, can you believe how well these little cars drive and how well they're engineered?

00:23:35.597 --> 00:23:39.677
It's pretty insane, man. Everything about them. Yeah, everything about them,

00:23:39.737 --> 00:23:43.537
I love them. Yeah, me too, man. You too, I'm locked in.

00:23:43.857 --> 00:23:50.637
The simplicity of them, the idea that they were built for the consumer to be

00:23:50.637 --> 00:23:52.817
able to work on. And you literally can't.

00:23:53.077 --> 00:23:57.877
I mean, that's why nowadays I got that 73 Westy I'm doing here in my house.

00:23:57.877 --> 00:24:01.297
And, you know, again, just doing it right at home. That's what I love about

00:24:01.297 --> 00:24:02.577
them. You know, I really do.

00:24:03.157 --> 00:24:07.897
So you've done three full restorations now on classic Volkswagens.

00:24:08.097 --> 00:24:10.277
I know we touched on this a little bit, I'm sure.

00:24:10.517 --> 00:24:13.217
But I want to, you know, just hear a little bit more detail.

00:24:13.237 --> 00:24:19.517
The process from the first time all the way to now with how much you've learned

00:24:19.517 --> 00:24:23.597
on doing three cars, what does the process look like now that it's evolved?

00:24:24.437 --> 00:24:30.117
Well, it's funny because I just literally bought a 60 ragtop Beetle.

00:24:30.617 --> 00:24:35.697
I haven't gotten it yet. I should be picking it up right after Thanksgiving that weekend.

00:24:35.837 --> 00:24:41.717
Nice. What a great year to be grateful and thankful. That's a great car.

00:24:42.337 --> 00:24:48.337
And it's a barrel green ragtop car. So, I mean, it's rare, right?

00:24:48.477 --> 00:24:52.417
What you going to do with it? But, you know, in the beginning I had,

00:24:52.517 --> 00:24:56.477
so I've got a 69 as well that somebody gave to me. That's a long story.

00:24:56.597 --> 00:24:57.737
I'll make that short and sweet.

00:24:57.897 --> 00:25:03.577
A friend of my wife's best friend, they had the car sitting in the yard for 30 years.

00:25:03.817 --> 00:25:06.997
It's kind of like a family heirloom, but it didn't move for 30 years.

00:25:07.097 --> 00:25:08.897
So it's like the ground came up around it.

00:25:09.217 --> 00:25:12.217
So the car is just too far gone and they just wanted it out of there.

00:25:12.357 --> 00:25:13.797
So I went and picked it up.

00:25:14.670 --> 00:25:17.470
Brought it back to our shop, pulled the engine out of it because it turned.

00:25:18.730 --> 00:25:22.230
Actually, I rebuilt that engine, which will probably end up going in the 60.

00:25:22.470 --> 00:25:27.530
I rebuilt that engine. It was a 1500 single port. I made it into a 1600 dual port.

00:25:28.030 --> 00:25:33.630
But again, that was a free car. So I'm into it for what it cost me to build that engine.

00:25:34.250 --> 00:25:39.330
But yeah, that 60, I think will probably just go back to as close to the original

00:25:39.330 --> 00:25:45.330
as possible. and I'll probably put that 1600 in it just for drivability. Yeah.

00:25:45.990 --> 00:25:50.430
We've got a 64 Sandy, we call that one, which that's a gorgeous little car.

00:25:50.590 --> 00:25:54.070
That's a funny story how we got that one too. And I don't want to keep rambling

00:25:54.070 --> 00:25:58.370
here, but. You're not rambling, man. This is your time, brother. Let it roll. Let it roll.

00:25:58.990 --> 00:26:02.650
I'll get into the next one. So Sandy, we took Lucky to a car show.

00:26:02.790 --> 00:26:06.390
This was, I don't know, five or six months after I finished Lucky.

00:26:07.550 --> 00:26:10.390
And we went to the car show parked next to

00:26:10.390 --> 00:26:13.110
a 64 10 beetle i talked to the guy for

00:26:13.110 --> 00:26:15.870
about an hour he was you know really cool guy i told him

00:26:15.870 --> 00:26:18.690
about the 70 that i had just gotten and you know we i had been driving

00:26:18.690 --> 00:26:21.510
that by the time that was two that i'd already gotten that thing running and

00:26:21.510 --> 00:26:24.290
going and it wasn't a bad looking car at the time so

00:26:24.290 --> 00:26:27.210
i was just driving it so we go to this car show parked next

00:26:27.210 --> 00:26:30.190
to this guy and his name's wayne really really good guy

00:26:30.190 --> 00:26:33.010
a couple months later it was right around thanks right around this time

00:26:33.010 --> 00:26:35.930
actually my wife says to me and she should know better at

00:26:35.930 --> 00:26:39.330
this point that you know tell me about these things but

00:26:39.330 --> 00:26:42.490
she says hey i don't know if you notice there's a tan beetle on

00:26:42.490 --> 00:26:46.630
facebook for sale and i i look at it and i'm like hon that's the car we parked

00:26:46.630 --> 00:26:51.530
next to it at at the show and she said no and i'm like i'm telling you it's

00:26:51.530 --> 00:26:55.670
definitely that car so i messaged him and he literally got right back to me

00:26:55.670 --> 00:26:59.270
he said i because my response to him was hey i don't know if you remember me

00:26:59.270 --> 00:27:02.430
but we had the blue and white super convertible that was parked next to you at the show,

00:27:03.111 --> 00:27:07.571
And his response back was a picture of our two cars together. Oh, cool, man.

00:27:07.931 --> 00:27:10.511
Yeah, which is pretty cool. So he told me, he's like, listen,

00:27:10.631 --> 00:27:13.711
I saw what you did with your wife's Beetle. If you want this car,

00:27:13.871 --> 00:27:15.851
I'd rather see it go to somebody like you.

00:27:16.091 --> 00:27:20.751
God, two weeks later, we had that one. So in literally, in a matter of less

00:27:20.751 --> 00:27:23.971
than a year, we owned three Beetles, right? Wonderful.

00:27:24.731 --> 00:27:29.351
Yeah. And Sandy's that car, I mean, I'd done, you know, mechanical work to it.

00:27:29.471 --> 00:27:32.291
Nothing body work, you know, put a quick shine on it, buffing it up.

00:27:32.291 --> 00:27:34.311
But you know what I talk about?

00:27:34.331 --> 00:27:38.691
I talk about with a lot of enthusiasts and this happens, but we compare these

00:27:38.691 --> 00:27:44.031
old classics to almost like a cat because, you know, they say cats find you.

00:27:44.702 --> 00:27:49.882
I feel like these classic dubs are the same way, man. They just end up finding you.

00:27:50.002 --> 00:27:54.402
Now, sometimes we're guilty because we're on social media. Yeah,

00:27:54.462 --> 00:27:55.702
we're always looking for opportunities.

00:27:56.502 --> 00:28:02.122
But that's still an example of finding us. I mean, you showed up in my feed. Dang it.

00:28:03.662 --> 00:28:09.982
But yeah, man, I think it's so cool to hear these types of stories where these

00:28:09.982 --> 00:28:12.902
cars just stars align and they find you.

00:28:12.902 --> 00:28:16.642
Any favorite paint jobs or any favorite colors that

00:28:16.642 --> 00:28:19.642
that you know resonate to you or have any stories behind

00:28:19.642 --> 00:28:23.242
them in the cars that you're building yeah ringo

00:28:23.242 --> 00:28:27.242
which is a 70 convertible that's the gray black one that's got the black two-tone

00:28:27.242 --> 00:28:32.582
in the hood and and on the deck lid so those colors are loosely based so a friend

00:28:32.582 --> 00:28:36.662
of mine growing up he and i have built so many cars together in fact we're still

00:28:36.662 --> 00:28:41.362
doing a 66 nova 320 327 car four speed really nice car,

00:28:42.022 --> 00:28:45.422
we built so many cars together over the years but

00:28:45.422 --> 00:28:48.282
anyways his his usual go-to it's always black

00:28:48.282 --> 00:28:50.942
like everything i paint for him is always black that's a

00:28:50.942 --> 00:28:53.942
hard color too isn't it it's such a hard color yeah

00:28:53.942 --> 00:28:58.682
man respect body where it's got to be spot on i mean right bringing the clear

00:28:58.682 --> 00:29:02.642
coat back to a you know that kind of show winning shine that just it takes time

00:29:02.642 --> 00:29:07.942
it takes patience it's all those things that you know that i learned really

00:29:07.942 --> 00:29:11.842
young none of the things that i have for patience.

00:29:12.602 --> 00:29:16.622
Those are the colors that he would typically use. There's something similar.

00:29:16.822 --> 00:29:21.662
And then, you know, with the dark gray, that's actually a Volkswagen color.

00:29:21.702 --> 00:29:24.302
So I think it was 14 or 15, somewhere around there.

00:29:24.442 --> 00:29:27.342
They had a Beetle convertible that was gray with black.

00:29:27.542 --> 00:29:31.922
And my 70 is loosely based off of that kind of furrow theme.

00:29:32.382 --> 00:29:37.502
Got it. Got it. So for people that are listening who think, you know.

00:29:38.175 --> 00:29:41.355
About maybe not being able to take on a project like

00:29:41.355 --> 00:29:44.515
that naturally you you not

00:29:44.515 --> 00:29:47.455
only did but did well and then continued to

00:29:47.455 --> 00:29:52.415
take on more and more what would be advice from you for for somebody to start

00:29:52.415 --> 00:29:58.035
a project like that well if say so i would say that it would depend on which

00:29:58.035 --> 00:30:02.855
but which which model we're talking about right so if it's a beetle first i

00:30:02.855 --> 00:30:07.315
say just buy the car right i mean If the engine, if the engine turns over by hand,

00:30:07.595 --> 00:30:09.755
then it's likely going to run.

00:30:10.255 --> 00:30:14.555
So if you get it running and you drive it that one time, you're going to fall

00:30:14.555 --> 00:30:16.795
in love with it enough to want to work on it. Right.

00:30:17.015 --> 00:30:21.455
So once you get to that point, I mean, if, if you're handy enough and you can,

00:30:21.515 --> 00:30:25.655
and you can weld or, or learn how to weld, MIG welding is not hard.

00:30:25.875 --> 00:30:27.775
You can probably restore one of these cars.

00:30:28.055 --> 00:30:32.695
I mean, I look at some of these people that are online and hats off to all of them. Right. Right.

00:30:33.062 --> 00:30:37.742
Annie, for one, Annie's VW, she's killing it. Our house.

00:30:38.262 --> 00:30:43.762
Yeah. Super smart. I watch her stuff all the time. Me too. Me too. I learn so much.

00:30:44.462 --> 00:30:48.382
Yeah, I give her a lot of credit. She's done some really, really impressive work.

00:30:49.042 --> 00:30:53.682
Amen, dude. And that's the thing. So you probably don't realize your own potential

00:30:53.682 --> 00:30:56.602
with these things until you get rocking and rolling on them. Yeah.

00:30:56.642 --> 00:31:02.842
One of the favorite things that she said to me on when she did this podcast was to the men.

00:31:03.262 --> 00:31:09.282
And she said, stop taking the tools out of the hands of us women.

00:31:09.642 --> 00:31:13.002
I remember that. Yeah. When we ask a question and we want guidance,

00:31:13.002 --> 00:31:14.742
we don't want you to do it for us.

00:31:14.942 --> 00:31:19.662
Right. And I swear, man, that was such an impactful statement that I think means

00:31:19.662 --> 00:31:21.302
so much to so many people.

00:31:21.842 --> 00:31:25.002
Absolutely like yeah I mean if you're if you're if you're

00:31:25.002 --> 00:31:27.762
interested enough to want to turn wrenches on one of these things then by

00:31:27.762 --> 00:31:30.842
all means that's that's what you should be doing you shouldn't you know

00:31:30.842 --> 00:31:33.802
you I get asking for for guidance is

00:31:33.802 --> 00:31:38.102
the right word yeah I understand that completely Yeah But that's just it you

00:31:38.102 --> 00:31:41.722
they want to do it on their own so I think that was a very wise statement on

00:31:41.722 --> 00:31:47.762
her part for sure For sure and wow is she talented man makes it makes it look

00:31:47.762 --> 00:31:52.462
easy you know literally when it looks that easy It takes, you know,

00:31:52.602 --> 00:31:56.122
the average folks and it gives them motivation. They're like, wait a minute.

00:31:56.819 --> 00:32:00.379
I can build this too. You know, it's all coming apart so easy.

00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:02.879
It's all going to back together so easy.

00:32:03.259 --> 00:32:07.679
Right. Yeah, man. She's, she's, she's amazing. Let's touch on forest.

00:32:08.219 --> 00:32:13.139
Oh yeah. Okay. So forest is, tell me about this Westie. Tell me about what year

00:32:13.139 --> 00:32:15.099
and you know, what, what, yeah.

00:32:15.239 --> 00:32:17.719
Tell me about the engine. Tell me about this, this, this bus.

00:32:18.519 --> 00:32:23.279
So forest is a 77 Westphalia. It's an automatic, which actually I kind of,

00:32:23.419 --> 00:32:26.759
I really come to like in that thing. And look, I've wanted to,

00:32:26.939 --> 00:32:30.079
but once I, once I got bitten by the bug, I'd love to have them all, Joe.

00:32:30.359 --> 00:32:32.739
I know, man. Hey, me too, man. Me too.

00:32:33.439 --> 00:32:36.999
I keep my eyes open for that stuff all the time. I want to switch back.

00:32:37.299 --> 00:32:39.899
I want a notch back. I mean. Me too.

00:32:40.419 --> 00:32:44.899
Me too. Now, actually, let me touch on that. The notch has evolved to one of

00:32:44.899 --> 00:32:48.859
my favorite models because to me, you're a Chevy guy.

00:32:49.079 --> 00:32:51.599
It looks like a little miniature 57 Chevy.

00:32:52.179 --> 00:32:57.759
Yep. And I just, I think that is just the sexiest little dub ever.

00:32:57.959 --> 00:33:02.019
So that's become one of my favorites, you know, the type three notch back,

00:33:02.219 --> 00:33:05.379
but I want to pay. I want to split.

00:33:06.380 --> 00:33:15.600
I'm not done yet. I still want an early, very early, even a split or an oval window Beetle.

00:33:16.520 --> 00:33:24.780
The late 70s Beetles were great as far as drivability and comfort and everything else with AC.

00:33:25.280 --> 00:33:28.900
I'd like to have one of those all original convertible. Man,

00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:30.520
I could go on forever, but I'm like you.

00:33:30.760 --> 00:33:34.660
I want them all, and I'm always looking. Always looking for opportunity.

00:33:35.420 --> 00:33:38.440
So all right so kind of like a cat with forest i

00:33:38.440 --> 00:33:41.380
mean i've i've been keeping my i was keeping my eye out looking for

00:33:41.380 --> 00:33:44.240
a westy right and and i wanted a green

00:33:44.240 --> 00:33:47.360
one and it just so happened that i mean it's what

00:33:47.360 --> 00:33:50.220
a what a crazy year right i literally i told myself this

00:33:50.220 --> 00:33:53.020
was last year i'm like do not buy any more cars you have too

00:33:53.020 --> 00:33:55.780
many cars and then you know my wife and i

00:33:55.780 --> 00:33:58.500
we went out to dinner one night and so she shows me a picture of

00:33:58.500 --> 00:34:01.800
a pink 55 chevy and i just tell her i'm like We're not

00:34:01.800 --> 00:34:05.260
buying a 55 Chevy It's not in the cards So

00:34:05.260 --> 00:34:08.500
what I do find is I found that 57 Buick So

00:34:08.500 --> 00:34:11.760
I ended up doing that 57 Buick Which

00:34:11.760 --> 00:34:18.400
is a great car It really is So I had bought the Buick And then maybe six or

00:34:18.400 --> 00:34:24.660
eight weeks later I see Forest for sale And immediately I'm like And I saw the

00:34:24.660 --> 00:34:31.160
price I think the guy was asking $10,000 for it Which way more than fair for that thing.

00:34:31.300 --> 00:34:35.800
I mean, it was a running, running, driving, reliable Westy bus.

00:34:35.900 --> 00:34:38.160
You can't find that anymore, right? No, man. Perfect.

00:34:38.640 --> 00:34:41.520
Lovely. Long story short, I ended up going up there that day.

00:34:42.443 --> 00:34:47.683
I offered him $8,000 for it. I got the bus for $8,000. He drove it to me the next day.

00:34:47.843 --> 00:34:50.723
Yep, he drove it all the way. It was down up near Boston. He drove it down the

00:34:50.723 --> 00:34:52.963
Cape for me, which was about an hour and a half ride for him.

00:34:54.063 --> 00:34:57.083
And I remember when he showed up, I was like, wow, she made it.

00:34:57.143 --> 00:35:02.083
And he looks at me like I was crazy. And he goes, hey, I don't know if you understand,

00:35:02.123 --> 00:35:06.563
but this thing's reliable. He's like, I was out in upstate New York with this three weeks ago.

00:35:07.003 --> 00:35:11.863
And he's like, I've gone to California and back with it twice. And I'm like, wow, okay.

00:35:12.443 --> 00:35:17.383
Right. So, so, so that, that's the story on, and, and I call it Forrest.

00:35:17.563 --> 00:35:21.943
He had named it Horace, H-O-A, H-O-R-A-C-E.

00:35:22.953 --> 00:35:26.273
But the name just didn't fit with me. I think Forrest more for camping,

00:35:26.453 --> 00:35:27.713
something like that, and it's green.

00:35:28.353 --> 00:35:31.013
Yeah. No, I like it. I love it, man.

00:35:31.713 --> 00:35:34.773
Got Forrest. He had done some really cool stuff to it. It's got a little solar

00:35:34.773 --> 00:35:40.453
panel on the roof, and I put a bigger lithium-ion battery in there,

00:35:40.473 --> 00:35:43.493
so it's got 300 amp hours. I'll run my refrigerator for like a week.

00:35:44.113 --> 00:35:48.473
Yeah, and I camped the hell out of that thing this summer. It was a blast. I loved it.

00:35:48.653 --> 00:35:53.953
Yeah, so I saw that in your back story. So just this last year,

00:35:54.113 --> 00:35:57.673
you've been, you've been out camping in that thing several times, but five times more.

00:35:57.973 --> 00:36:00.433
What's the, what, what are some of the best memories from the road?

00:36:00.593 --> 00:36:05.213
You know, I, as, as corny as this might sound, like just getting there.

00:36:05.753 --> 00:36:10.073
Do you know what I mean? The drive. I get it, dude. If trust me,

00:36:10.193 --> 00:36:12.993
you're on, you're on the call with the right guy. I get it.

00:36:13.353 --> 00:36:16.773
Sometimes I just take a video of myself just driving my cars,

00:36:16.773 --> 00:36:22.533
you know, because I'm, I'm, what I'm trying to do is capture the feeling that I'm feeling.

00:36:22.533 --> 00:36:29.813
And I just I can't right I watch the video later And I'm like why were you showing your toes Yeah right,

00:36:30.333 --> 00:36:35.953
Yeah like I mean for me it's whatever I'm listening to On the radio the mood

00:36:35.953 --> 00:36:38.233
that it puts me in Because I feel

00:36:38.233 --> 00:36:42.953
like in that In my Westie when I'm going somewhere Like I feel like it's.

00:36:43.488 --> 00:36:48.928
Like I'm like, like I'm free, right? So the farther down Cape on Cape Cod that

00:36:48.928 --> 00:36:50.828
you go, the more desolate it is.

00:36:50.928 --> 00:36:54.688
And that's some of the most gorgeous coastal, you know, areas of the,

00:36:54.808 --> 00:36:59.248
of, of Massachusetts that they're just untouched, you know, and it's national

00:36:59.248 --> 00:37:02.948
seashore, so it can't be touched and God, is it gorgeous out there.

00:37:03.108 --> 00:37:06.688
So when you're driving out there and just all you're seeing is the dunes and

00:37:06.688 --> 00:37:10.188
stuff, and then you get to your spot and then, you know, unhitch my,

00:37:10.288 --> 00:37:14.228
my mountain bike and just, and just go. I mean, God, I love that.

00:37:14.448 --> 00:37:19.628
I mean, that's, it's just, it's, I've, you know, the off grid thing, I suppose.

00:37:19.908 --> 00:37:24.528
Yeah. I mean, I love that because I can be, you know, and in my bus, I've got a TV.

00:37:24.828 --> 00:37:27.568
I've got every little creature comfort that you can think of.

00:37:27.688 --> 00:37:31.348
I put it in there so I could literally, there's clothes, there's food.

00:37:31.748 --> 00:37:35.748
I could right now go out there, turn the key and leave for a week.

00:37:35.888 --> 00:37:37.808
It's, it's, that's the way I want it to.

00:37:38.328 --> 00:37:41.388
And it's, it's a vibe, man. There's something magical about,

00:37:41.388 --> 00:37:44.648
about sleeping in a bus, you know, for sure.

00:37:45.308 --> 00:37:47.868
All right. So let's, uh, let's fast forward just a little bit then.

00:37:48.028 --> 00:37:54.628
So you're working on another Bay window bus now that you're turning into a photo booth business, right?

00:37:54.808 --> 00:37:58.788
Talk to me, I guess, just about maybe how this idea came to life and,

00:37:58.888 --> 00:38:01.448
and yeah, what, what, what your, what your plans are for this business.

00:38:01.648 --> 00:38:02.768
Here's my thoughts, Joe.

00:38:03.048 --> 00:38:06.288
I mean, we go to the, when, when it's summertime, my wife's a teacher,

00:38:06.288 --> 00:38:09.748
so she has a summer off. I mean, that's my busy time of year,

00:38:09.848 --> 00:38:13.068
but that's the time of year that I don't want to be turning wrenches on things

00:38:13.068 --> 00:38:15.248
all the time, right? I want to be enjoying the summer.

00:38:15.468 --> 00:38:18.388
We live in one of the most beautiful places in the country where people come

00:38:18.388 --> 00:38:22.628
to vacation all the time. So I want to enjoy that, right? We have that in common, actually.

00:38:23.568 --> 00:38:25.028
And I want to enjoy the cost.

00:38:25.609 --> 00:38:30.789
So, you know, when we go to these places more so, I think it really hit me the

00:38:30.789 --> 00:38:33.829
most in September this year. We went to a certain beach.

00:38:33.909 --> 00:38:37.369
We really can't go too often because you need parking passes and we don't want to pay, right?

00:38:37.529 --> 00:38:43.689
So this time of year, you don't have to pay. Well, anyways, we had the 64 Beetle, the Sandy.

00:38:43.969 --> 00:38:48.569
And, you know, I put all the props on that car, right? I put the surfboard up

00:38:48.569 --> 00:38:49.829
there. I've got an old Coke cooler.

00:38:49.989 --> 00:38:52.629
I've got some old vintage suitcases and luggage. Oh, hell yeah.

00:38:53.449 --> 00:39:00.469
And it's got the year manufacturer plates on it so it really hams it up I parked

00:39:00.469 --> 00:39:04.129
that thing at the beach and we go sit and this was the first time I think we've

00:39:04.129 --> 00:39:07.969
actually been close to one of the cars at the beach and every single person

00:39:07.969 --> 00:39:12.029
that came on the beach that day was taking pictures with the car of course they were.

00:39:12.889 --> 00:39:16.489
And then the following and I didn't really whatever I mean it is what it is

00:39:16.489 --> 00:39:20.229
I guess I kind of get numb to the fact of that that's what the car is right

00:39:20.229 --> 00:39:23.629
but then the next week we went back to the same beach and there was a woman

00:39:23.629 --> 00:39:26.789
sitting there on the parking lot she was an elderly woman probably had trouble

00:39:26.789 --> 00:39:28.429
walking through the sand but she wanted to be there,

00:39:29.229 --> 00:39:31.969
anyways she was close enough with an earshot she said to us she's

00:39:31.969 --> 00:39:35.609
like is this your car and i said yeah it is and she's like i feel like we should

00:39:35.609 --> 00:39:39.609
be charging admission for this stuff um i thought to myself i'm like you know

00:39:39.609 --> 00:39:44.129
what that's a pretty good idea right so not that i want to do that at the beach

00:39:44.129 --> 00:39:48.369
or anything i don't want that kind of attention but it's it's very you know

00:39:48.369 --> 00:39:51.149
i think it I think there's a big market for, you know,

00:39:51.229 --> 00:39:54.769
folks taking family pictures with something by the beach.

00:39:54.889 --> 00:39:57.989
I just, I think that, I think there really is. There is.

00:39:58.989 --> 00:40:05.729
I've had other guests on the podcast even previously that do this as a family business.

00:40:06.629 --> 00:40:09.749
They've got several buses, you know, photo booth buses.

00:40:09.949 --> 00:40:13.909
So, yeah, man, I'm right in, man. Especially for me, it's like,

00:40:14.069 --> 00:40:17.589
you know, I said this in the beginning. when you have an opportunity to merge

00:40:17.589 --> 00:40:21.369
any type of a passion that you have with business, I feel like,

00:40:21.955 --> 00:40:31.055
the income that it can substantiate is typically almost ironic because it's, it comes so easy, right?

00:40:31.155 --> 00:40:33.875
You're like, wow, why didn't I do this years ago?

00:40:33.995 --> 00:40:36.475
Well, because it wasn't right. You know, now it's right.

00:40:36.775 --> 00:40:41.115
Stars align the passions there, you know, now the, you fuel the business and

00:40:41.115 --> 00:40:44.115
it's just like, well, yeah, that thing's booked every weekend.

00:40:44.255 --> 00:40:46.795
You're like, what? Yeah. It's booked every weekend.

00:40:47.115 --> 00:40:50.555
Yeah. It's crazy. It's crazy. But I'm happy to hear about that.

00:40:50.555 --> 00:40:53.875
But I guess maybe explain the build for me just a little bit.

00:40:54.543 --> 00:40:57.603
Oh, okay. So God, you'll laugh at this, Joe.

00:40:57.883 --> 00:41:01.903
So again, my wife works way down. She's been about an hour commute to work every

00:41:01.903 --> 00:41:04.883
day and they were doing some road construction down there this year.

00:41:05.063 --> 00:41:09.063
So they had, they had a detour, right? And it's quiet down there.

00:41:09.203 --> 00:41:12.683
There's not, there's not too much going on. Right. So she comes home one day

00:41:12.683 --> 00:41:14.023
and she says to me, and again.

00:41:14.783 --> 00:41:17.463
Elena should know better when she, when it comes to this stuff,

00:41:17.623 --> 00:41:21.383
she comes home and she says, Hey hon, I think I, I think I saw one of those

00:41:21.383 --> 00:41:24.303
old Volkswagen vans that you like down on my detour.

00:41:24.303 --> 00:41:27.623
On my way to work today i said oh yeah take me a picture so she

00:41:27.623 --> 00:41:30.363
takes a picture the next morning on her way to work she sends it to me

00:41:30.363 --> 00:41:33.743
and immediately i'm like i wrote back at

00:41:33.743 --> 00:41:38.083
the 68 to 7 68 to 73 vw t2

00:41:38.083 --> 00:41:40.883
westphalia bus and she goes oh

00:41:40.883 --> 00:41:43.683
is that i mean she's clueless when it comes a lot of that stuff right

00:41:43.683 --> 00:41:47.663
and she goes oh is that one that you like i'm like absolutely so

00:41:47.663 --> 00:41:50.463
i didn't tell her but there was a tiny little for

00:41:50.463 --> 00:41:53.123
sale sign in the back window and it was

00:41:53.123 --> 00:41:56.143
an older guy all it was was he apparently had

00:41:56.143 --> 00:41:59.303
a locksmith business it was his name and a

00:41:59.303 --> 00:42:02.023
phone number what i called i zoomed in enough and i

00:42:02.023 --> 00:42:05.603
got the phone number i called the phone number and i told the guys like look

00:42:05.603 --> 00:42:08.543
i could be down there later this afternoon love to come take a look at it and

00:42:08.543 --> 00:42:11.903
he says yeah sure it's not going anywhere it's been out there for years now

00:42:11.903 --> 00:42:17.623
so long story short i go down there look at it and it sinks it's wasted like

00:42:17.623 --> 00:42:21.323
i mean it's it's absolutely wasted And in my thought, I'm like, whatever,

00:42:21.763 --> 00:42:25.123
I mean, I want to paint for us at some point, so I'm sure I could use the parts.

00:42:25.843 --> 00:42:28.663
So I buy the thing for $1,000, you know, it's got paperwork,

00:42:28.743 --> 00:42:31.963
it's got everything with it It's a complete bust, I mean, everything's there,

00:42:31.983 --> 00:42:33.803
there's a couple little things that we're missing, whatever,

00:42:33.903 --> 00:42:39.263
but it's all there So I get it back home, and it's ugly as hell, right?

00:42:39.383 --> 00:42:42.763
Somebody had tried to spray paint to make it look some kind of a hippie wagon

00:42:42.763 --> 00:42:45.883
or something I mean, it is ugly, just as ugly as it is.

00:42:46.684 --> 00:42:51.244
So, you know, I had already started acquiring parts for Forrest and had tons of stuff.

00:42:51.424 --> 00:42:54.244
So, I mean, it's just something that's just sitting over there in the corner

00:42:54.244 --> 00:42:56.184
of the yard. I'm like, ah, maybe I'll start picking away at it,

00:42:56.204 --> 00:42:58.524
right? So, tried to get it running.

00:42:58.744 --> 00:43:02.084
Had to put a distributor in it, distributor I had. So, I got it running.

00:43:02.244 --> 00:43:05.184
I'm like, wow, she don't make no noise. It actually sounds pretty good.

00:43:05.324 --> 00:43:10.804
And so, then it was on to the brakes and most of that stuff I had already started buying new stuff.

00:43:11.084 --> 00:43:14.164
You know, I had a new beam for front suspension for Forrest.

00:43:14.584 --> 00:43:17.524
Anyway, so I started picking away at it. And now it's like, all right,

00:43:17.624 --> 00:43:20.564
well, if I've gone this far, I might as well keep going.

00:43:21.244 --> 00:43:24.804
And it's funny because it's, you know, the guys at work, they'll joke with me

00:43:24.804 --> 00:43:28.684
like, you don't like them unless it's an absolute toilet that needs to be junk.

00:43:29.024 --> 00:43:31.084
And that's the type of project that you want.

00:43:32.064 --> 00:43:35.784
Well, kind of. I like being able to do something that somebody tells me,

00:43:35.844 --> 00:43:37.224
oh, that thing's too far gone.

00:43:37.324 --> 00:43:40.104
It's like, oh, yeah, we'll see about that, you know?

00:43:40.724 --> 00:43:44.644
Interesting, interesting. Interesting. And the true craftsmen,

00:43:44.904 --> 00:43:50.404
true artistic type builders I've had on, they have that same mindset.

00:43:50.604 --> 00:43:53.104
Like, you know, oh yeah, they were going to trash this thing.

00:43:53.224 --> 00:43:55.324
They said it needed to be scrapped, you know?

00:43:55.504 --> 00:43:58.024
And then, you know, all of a sudden you see it come back to life.

00:43:58.184 --> 00:44:01.084
You're like, man, you know, everybody said this couldn't be done.

00:44:01.124 --> 00:44:02.984
So cool. Cool to hear you say that.

00:44:03.304 --> 00:44:08.164
And it's three quarters of the way done now. I mean, I've, I've been flying around it.

00:44:08.164 --> 00:44:11.904
You know, I really have If I have any spare time That's what I want to be doing

00:44:11.904 --> 00:44:15.904
I want to be in the garage You know, working on that stuff But yeah,

00:44:16.044 --> 00:44:20.564
it's really moving along I anticipate painting it around Christmas time So,

00:44:20.704 --> 00:44:25.444
bit by the bug Last few years You know, kind of describe for me Maybe.

00:44:26.186 --> 00:44:30.986
What is your favorite part of the VW community, you know, now for you?

00:44:31.126 --> 00:44:35.406
You know, I got to admit that everybody that I've encountered in the Volkswagen

00:44:35.406 --> 00:44:40.606
community, it's different than any other community I've ever been a part of when it comes to cars.

00:44:40.986 --> 00:44:46.346
I don't know any other way to describe it other than it feels more like a brotherhood

00:44:46.346 --> 00:44:48.906
or family-like than anything else.

00:44:49.006 --> 00:44:53.066
That doesn't just go for anybody who's a Volkswagen enthusiast, right?

00:44:53.066 --> 00:44:56.966
That goes right back to the beginning where every single person,

00:44:56.966 --> 00:45:02.366
if you're over the age of, God, say 35, if you ask somebody about a Volkswagen

00:45:02.366 --> 00:45:06.626
bug, their uncle, their grandmother, their mother, somebody's happening.

00:45:08.086 --> 00:45:12.706
Everybody's got a story about a bug. And for that, I think a lot of that is

00:45:12.706 --> 00:45:17.206
really probably my favorite part, the camaraderie, the brotherhood,

00:45:17.346 --> 00:45:20.386
because everybody's willing to help each other. Do you think anything's missing?

00:45:20.666 --> 00:45:25.066
More of them, I suppose. I mean, I'd be happy to see these things all over the

00:45:25.066 --> 00:45:27.806
place, you know, I, I just love the cars.

00:45:28.126 --> 00:45:32.486
The more the merrier. So you're doing interior work too, right?

00:45:32.746 --> 00:45:35.006
Upholstery, you're building tops. Yeah.

00:45:35.466 --> 00:45:38.706
Where, where, where'd you learn all this stuff from, man? Is it trial and error

00:45:38.706 --> 00:45:41.226
or are you super? Yes. What's going on here?

00:45:41.626 --> 00:45:47.546
In short, yes. So when I finished Lucky, I had bought all the parts to the whole convertible top kit.

00:45:47.746 --> 00:45:51.806
I bought everything, but I was nervous to do it.

00:45:52.406 --> 00:45:56.226
I didn't know, I mean, never done one before.

00:45:56.826 --> 00:46:00.366
Just didn't know if I had what it took to be able to do a convertible top, right?

00:46:00.526 --> 00:46:05.306
So I started looking around, calling people, and nobody wants to touch that stuff anymore, right?

00:46:05.346 --> 00:46:07.606
You tell them that you've got the fabric, you've got everything for it,

00:46:07.606 --> 00:46:10.186
and they're like, no, won't do it, no, won't do it.

00:46:10.506 --> 00:46:14.206
I even talked to some old-timers, some guys that, you know, retired that were

00:46:14.206 --> 00:46:17.166
still doing stuff on the side, and nope, won't touch it.

00:46:17.226 --> 00:46:19.706
And I was like, oh, man, like, what the heck?

00:46:19.866 --> 00:46:23.966
It really is going to be up to me. Yeah, and that's literally what it boiled

00:46:23.966 --> 00:46:25.346
down to. I said, you know what?

00:46:26.105 --> 00:46:31.985
I'm just gonna give this a shot and and yeah the first one i did was was mine

00:46:31.985 --> 00:46:36.485
i didn't want to do lucky because so let's just understand a little bit about

00:46:36.485 --> 00:46:38.725
lucky right that's that's mama bear's car,

00:46:39.465 --> 00:46:42.765
i mean it it literally gets driven three times a

00:46:42.765 --> 00:46:45.785
year maybe it's a garage queen and and you

00:46:45.785 --> 00:46:48.645
know she doesn't like it to go out she doesn't want anything to happen to me i

00:46:48.645 --> 00:46:51.485
love to drive them right so my my

00:46:51.485 --> 00:46:54.225
70 ringo i mean i'm in that car all the time when

00:46:54.225 --> 00:46:57.345
we go to the beach we're in sandy Like we drive them Just

00:46:57.345 --> 00:46:59.965
not so much lucky So when it came time to do it

00:46:59.965 --> 00:47:02.605
in the first convertible top I figured you know what If I'm going to

00:47:02.605 --> 00:47:05.345
wreck one or I'm going to mess something up I can't have it

00:47:05.345 --> 00:47:08.625
be my own best car So I got to do my own first So

00:47:08.625 --> 00:47:13.265
I did mine Which I mean that was a pretty good crash course On convertible tops

00:47:13.265 --> 00:47:17.545
The older cars they have the wood bow in the front And I don't care who you

00:47:17.545 --> 00:47:26.605
buy that The wood bows from They all need work They all need to be You know fitted I did, God, 15,

00:47:26.785 --> 00:47:31.145
20 times and checked and double-checked, and it's just time-consuming, right?

00:47:31.985 --> 00:47:36.785
Where the supers, they're not as hard. But, yeah, so I did the first top on

00:47:36.785 --> 00:47:40.065
mine and thought it came out pretty good and then thought I was a hero,

00:47:40.065 --> 00:47:43.465
so we already had the stuff to do hers, so I did hers too.

00:47:43.605 --> 00:47:46.065
And then the next thing I know, like, a friend of mine came,

00:47:46.145 --> 00:47:48.865
hey, they just bought a super and they wanted a top-down. I'm like,

00:47:48.925 --> 00:47:50.105
yeah, sure, I'll do that.

00:47:50.185 --> 00:47:54.585
Then another guy, you know, yeah, so that's how it starts. That's exactly right. All right.

00:47:54.765 --> 00:47:58.425
So tell me this one. Unlimited time, unlimited budget.

00:47:58.965 --> 00:48:01.165
What kind of VW are you going to build?

00:48:01.885 --> 00:48:05.825
Bonestock square back. I'd also love. Yeah, baby. Oh, yeah.

00:48:06.365 --> 00:48:09.645
I want an oval. I mean, the old Beatles.

00:48:09.965 --> 00:48:13.225
I mean, there's something about those. It would probably, if I,

00:48:13.385 --> 00:48:15.105
if it was, if money wasn't an object.

00:48:16.023 --> 00:48:23.243
It would be a very early Beetle, probably an oval, and just have it be as original as can be. I love it.

00:48:23.523 --> 00:48:27.023
And, you know, usually I get this vibe from a lot of the, you know,

00:48:27.103 --> 00:48:30.603
the true craftsmen's more of the purist, you know, type vibe.

00:48:30.783 --> 00:48:33.923
And, hey, listen, total respect to that.

00:48:34.523 --> 00:48:41.483
I think maybe, I don't know, my Miami roots, not saying that meaning I grew

00:48:41.483 --> 00:48:45.843
up there, but I'm a South Florida kid, you know, born and raised here in St.

00:48:45.843 --> 00:48:48.863
Pete you know miami was like the influence especially the

00:48:48.863 --> 00:48:51.543
car scene so all through the late 80s and the

00:48:51.543 --> 00:48:54.423
90s man we were mini trucking we were low riding we had

00:48:54.423 --> 00:48:59.703
high drugs you know so for me it's like i don't care what year it is like if

00:48:59.703 --> 00:49:05.103
it it it's cool if it's absolutely slammed onto the ground as far as you go

00:49:05.103 --> 00:49:14.323
and you know so here's the thing i i love them all right and yeah yeah When I do a car for myself,

00:49:14.343 --> 00:49:17.143
in my head, I've already come up with a theme.

00:49:17.763 --> 00:49:21.143
I know what it's going to look like. I know what I want it to drive like.

00:49:21.143 --> 00:49:22.323
I know what I want it to handle.

00:49:22.523 --> 00:49:26.963
I know in my head, as I'm beginning the project, I know where the outcome is going to be.

00:49:27.603 --> 00:49:32.163
So with Ringo, I wanted to build my perfect Beetle.

00:49:32.563 --> 00:49:35.803
So my perfect Beetle was something that had a lot of power.

00:49:36.746 --> 00:49:40.946
Handled really well braked really well very reliable

00:49:40.946 --> 00:49:43.726
turnkey just get in it run the pants off and

00:49:43.726 --> 00:49:46.666
if that's what i want to do and that's kind of where that car

00:49:46.666 --> 00:49:49.746
is at so it's low it's got you know all kinds of suspension goodies

00:49:49.746 --> 00:49:52.846
underneath it and that car handles like it handles

00:49:52.846 --> 00:49:56.066
and drives like a very overpowered go-kart you're right

00:49:56.066 --> 00:50:00.006
and and that's i mean that's that's that's

00:50:00.006 --> 00:50:03.106
some of the most fun that you can have doing 50 or 60 miles

00:50:03.106 --> 00:50:06.346
an hour period i mean just just getting

00:50:06.346 --> 00:50:09.126
there right so yeah and about that car a

00:50:09.126 --> 00:50:12.386
little bit right so that's that's got an 1835 in

00:50:12.386 --> 00:50:15.446
it that's got cd performance ponchito heads and dual

00:50:15.446 --> 00:50:19.166
40 idfs and angley 110 cam

00:50:19.166 --> 00:50:21.826
so i mean it's decent it's i think it's nine to one

00:50:21.826 --> 00:50:24.626
compression so it goes pretty good i mean there's not much to

00:50:24.626 --> 00:50:29.306
the car so yeah yeah she she moves along pretty good and then you got you got

00:50:29.306 --> 00:50:34.486
lucky Who's fairly stuck And then I've got Sandy Which is the 64 That car is

00:50:34.486 --> 00:50:40.386
still 6 volt And I don't want to change that You know I'm losing track man How

00:50:40.386 --> 00:50:42.666
many projects do you have right now Total.

00:50:43.570 --> 00:50:48.030
Okay, so we got the 57 Buick's done. I still got to do the upholstery on it,

00:50:48.050 --> 00:50:50.070
but we drive that car. We've got the IROC.

00:50:50.310 --> 00:50:53.170
Then I got the 40 Chevy one-and-a-half-ton dump truck.

00:50:53.330 --> 00:50:59.070
Those are the GM ones. Then we've got Sandy, which is a 64 Beetle.

00:50:59.810 --> 00:51:04.370
Lucky, which is the 75 Super. Mine, the Ringo, is the 70.

00:51:04.770 --> 00:51:09.050
Then I got that 69 Beetle that was given to me. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it.

00:51:09.850 --> 00:51:15.790
Forest, which is the 77 Westy. I got the 73 Westie that I'm in the process of right now.

00:51:16.030 --> 00:51:19.830
And then just picking up that 60 beetle rag next week.

00:51:20.230 --> 00:51:24.230
Yeah. It's nine, nine projects, man. Yeah. That's cooking brother.

00:51:24.750 --> 00:51:27.710
Good. That's a lot. It's a lot going on. Yeah. It's awesome.

00:51:27.910 --> 00:51:31.410
It doesn't maintain them. You know, it really is. Oh, I know it.

00:51:31.470 --> 00:51:34.710
I got two in the driveway and, you know, in all transparency,

00:51:35.030 --> 00:51:36.470
sometimes they're running.

00:51:37.230 --> 00:51:40.010
Sometimes they're not. That's it. You know?

00:51:40.130 --> 00:51:46.850
Yeah. In the 62, I find the six volt, the six volt 1200 has proven,

00:51:46.850 --> 00:51:51.230
you know, reliable for sure. But man, that little thing is picky.

00:51:51.630 --> 00:51:55.530
I mean, it feels like, yeah, if I don't have a trickle charger on that battery,

00:51:55.870 --> 00:51:58.010
I must have some type of amp draw somewhere.

00:51:58.190 --> 00:52:00.090
It just, it dies in a day or two.

00:52:00.870 --> 00:52:03.730
Yeah. And it's like, oh, so I keep the trickle charger on it.

00:52:03.830 --> 00:52:08.470
Then the starter wants to get a little cranky sometimes and it wants to get stuck. Yeah.

00:52:09.137 --> 00:52:14.217
You know, so I've got to, I've got to advance it to get it from unstuck.

00:52:14.337 --> 00:52:15.877
And then the key switch will work again.

00:52:16.037 --> 00:52:19.277
I've gone through two key switch. I'm like, man, yeah.

00:52:20.177 --> 00:52:23.517
I don't think of Volkswagen. Yeah. I'm probably going to, I got a 1600,

00:52:23.517 --> 00:52:27.777
like, like you said, I've got a 1600 dual port that,

00:52:27.957 --> 00:52:32.617
you know, was a performance motor that came out of a trike and it's all,

00:52:32.737 --> 00:52:36.157
it's all chromed out like a Harley, you know,

00:52:36.537 --> 00:52:38.437
because it came off the back of a bike.

00:52:38.437 --> 00:52:41.037
But I've got it. It runs like a top.

00:52:41.377 --> 00:52:45.637
It's actually a new build. I'm going to put that 1600 in my 62,

00:52:45.657 --> 00:52:49.377
and I'm excited to make it a 12-volt. Yeah.

00:52:51.177 --> 00:52:55.937
So, again, moving forward, thinking about that 60 that I'm going to do, right?

00:52:56.197 --> 00:53:00.297
So that I would like it to – I want it to look original, as original as can be.

00:53:01.071 --> 00:53:04.331
But I want the creature comforts that better brakes, you know,

00:53:04.391 --> 00:53:06.211
and just a little bit more power.

00:53:06.351 --> 00:53:11.651
Because that 1200 in Sandy, I mean, again, that thing is as reliable as the

00:53:11.651 --> 00:53:13.791
day is long. Yeah, yeah, that's what I'm saying.

00:53:14.191 --> 00:53:19.951
I haven't touched that car in probably five weeks, and this morning I moved it.

00:53:20.071 --> 00:53:22.791
And again, there's no trickle charging that or nothing. I just went out there,

00:53:22.851 --> 00:53:25.391
turned the key. It took a little bit of cranking, but she fired right up.

00:53:25.671 --> 00:53:28.751
Yeah, I love it. but that car i've got i've got

00:53:28.751 --> 00:53:31.911
service records on that thing for god 35 years

00:53:31.911 --> 00:53:34.851
that i got from the guy i mean just it's it's

00:53:34.851 --> 00:53:39.551
just an original it was a one-owner car before he had gotten it just just such

00:53:39.551 --> 00:53:44.591
a nice cool car and you know i know with that thing i'm fine going around town

00:53:44.591 --> 00:53:49.271
running to the beach you know 15 20 minutes away but like any more than that

00:53:49.271 --> 00:53:53.631
it's tough on today's roads because people just get upset. You know what I mean?

00:53:54.031 --> 00:53:56.991
People go around you, honking at you, giving you the bird.

00:53:57.331 --> 00:54:02.791
It's like, it's a 60-year-old Volkswagen. What do you think? Right.

00:54:04.371 --> 00:54:08.731
But I would. I think that 60, probably that's going to be a 12-volt car with

00:54:08.731 --> 00:54:12.731
just a stock 1600 dual port and probably a little bit better braking.

00:54:13.071 --> 00:54:15.751
Yeah, that's where I'm headed. That's where I'm headed to.

00:54:16.411 --> 00:54:20.411
Yeah, yeah. All right, so I got some rapid-fire questions. These are questions

00:54:20.411 --> 00:54:22.511
that would demand a fast response.

00:54:22.671 --> 00:54:27.191
And like I tell every guest every time, if a story evolves out of any of these,

00:54:27.351 --> 00:54:28.771
so be it. But it doesn't have to.

00:54:28.891 --> 00:54:32.731
You can answer with one-word answers if you want to. Are you ready?

00:54:33.371 --> 00:54:39.891
Ready. All right. First car that you ever wrecked and or restored?

00:54:40.151 --> 00:54:44.991
Well, that's two different answers. First car I ever wrecked was a Honda CRX. What year?

00:54:45.731 --> 00:54:50.071
I think it was a 90 or 91. 90 or 91,

00:54:50.772 --> 00:54:56.532
I remember those. I had a 96 Civic hatchback I bought off the showroom floor.

00:54:56.752 --> 00:54:57.652
Loved those little cars.

00:54:57.952 --> 00:54:59.972
Oh, yeah. For sure.

00:55:00.372 --> 00:55:02.272
Honda had their act together back then.

00:55:02.972 --> 00:55:07.092
Right, right. And let's see. And the next one was, what was it?

00:55:07.152 --> 00:55:10.652
The favorite one I've restored? First one you restored.

00:55:11.052 --> 00:55:16.432
First car I've restored or first Volkswagen? First car. First car I restored. Lord.

00:55:17.052 --> 00:55:22.452
Yeah. My father gave me a 78 Camaro for when I, when I turned 16 and,

00:55:22.512 --> 00:55:25.832
you know, it was a, it was a running, driving car. It was a nice car actually.

00:55:26.072 --> 00:55:29.172
You know, a few things about it, but you know, again, I was in high school and

00:55:29.172 --> 00:55:35.412
I ended up selling that Monte Carlo SS that I had, I had done for the cash to

00:55:35.412 --> 00:55:38.272
build a motor for that Camaro. And I went right through that Camaro.

00:55:38.572 --> 00:55:44.032
God, I was 17. I think the first time I raced it in a quarter mile drag up in New Hampshire.

00:55:44.772 --> 00:55:49.132
Yeah That was probably The first one That I actually Really everything You know

00:55:49.132 --> 00:55:51.472
Engine Everything Right through

00:55:51.472 --> 00:55:54.972
the car And I was Yeah Well I hadn't even Graduated high school then Yep.

00:55:55.832 --> 00:56:01.932
Awesome, man. All right. Dream VW color combo. I mean, for me, it was what I did on my 70.

00:56:02.192 --> 00:56:06.472
But again, I loved all the old 70s and 60s colors that they had back then.

00:56:06.592 --> 00:56:10.612
So I'm really excited to get into that 60 and that barrel green.

00:56:10.812 --> 00:56:14.552
I think there's something about those old, you know, late 50s,

00:56:14.632 --> 00:56:16.112
early 60s, those colors.

00:56:16.112 --> 00:56:20.232
You touched on something earlier when you were talking about black,

00:56:20.272 --> 00:56:27.172
but my favorite or my dream combo is black exterior, obviously black paint,

00:56:27.332 --> 00:56:29.492
everywhere paint goes, and then red.

00:56:29.952 --> 00:56:38.112
Yeah. Red on the big 17-inch or even above. Yeah. Big smoothies.

00:56:38.892 --> 00:56:44.912
I love them. Red, chrome center, red interior, red carpet, red doors.

00:56:44.912 --> 00:56:51.092
That's to me, that's just like, oh, yeah, I can dig that for sure.

00:56:51.332 --> 00:56:53.332
Okay. How about this one? Favorite tool.

00:56:54.068 --> 00:56:58.128
In your garage right now. Favorite tool. This is going to sound my sanding blocks.

00:56:58.448 --> 00:57:06.168
Oh, man. I watch Annie sand with the block, and I swear it looks like you can

00:57:06.168 --> 00:57:07.388
just see the passion, man.

00:57:08.328 --> 00:57:13.188
She's feeling the car out, you know, like every single nook and cranny,

00:57:13.228 --> 00:57:16.048
and that's just so cool to me. So good answer.

00:57:16.568 --> 00:57:19.928
Good answer. Yeah, the sanding blocks don't lie. You know, as a kid,

00:57:20.048 --> 00:57:23.408
when you're learning the trade, you want to use the air tools and you want to

00:57:23.408 --> 00:57:27.188
be faster, and that's the name of the game. But if you want to be fast,

00:57:27.248 --> 00:57:28.828
you need to learn how to be good with your hands.

00:57:29.048 --> 00:57:32.728
And that's the first lesson. I can tell you the first time that I was actually

00:57:32.728 --> 00:57:35.088
told that. And I was about 14.

00:57:35.668 --> 00:57:40.048
At 13, I was working on that Monte Carlo, actually. And my uncle came out,

00:57:40.128 --> 00:57:41.088
and he's like, I'm watching you.

00:57:41.148 --> 00:57:43.268
You're putting it on. You're taking it off. You're putting it on.

00:57:43.348 --> 00:57:44.668
You're taking it off. What's going on?

00:57:45.128 --> 00:57:47.908
I'm like, well, and he says, listen, just like this. He said,

00:57:48.008 --> 00:57:51.908
listen, if you want to be good with something, if you want to figure this out,

00:57:52.008 --> 00:57:55.048
if you want to do it, you need to find the feel with your hands first.

00:57:55.348 --> 00:57:58.128
That tool is going to lie to you. The block will not.

00:57:58.828 --> 00:58:01.908
And so I guess, yeah, there you go. There you go. Xanoblast.

00:58:02.388 --> 00:58:05.908
Yeah. So one car you'd never sell. One would be that 40 Chevy.

00:58:06.088 --> 00:58:08.348
And that's because Pabst was born in 1940.

00:58:08.808 --> 00:58:11.908
I learned to weld on his 40 Ford Coupe.

00:58:12.488 --> 00:58:15.748
And I remember the day I brought that up to him. And this was years after I,

00:58:15.848 --> 00:58:18.028
you know, grown man and had kids of my own.

00:58:18.148 --> 00:58:21.508
And I brought that truck up to him and he walked around it with a big smile

00:58:21.508 --> 00:58:24.028
on his face and just told me how proud of me that he was.

00:58:24.168 --> 00:58:27.168
And I'll never forget that. That meant the world to me. Absolute world to me.

00:58:27.308 --> 00:58:31.628
So that and, and lucky Elena's, Elena's Beetle, because that's mama's car.

00:58:31.748 --> 00:58:32.868
That's the one that started it all.

00:58:33.708 --> 00:58:38.428
Yeah, man. Awesome. So looking back now at the work that you do,

00:58:38.648 --> 00:58:43.608
is it engine building or body work that gives you more kind of Zen? Yeah.

00:58:43.940 --> 00:58:47.760
100% body work. Body work. Yeah. I mean, I can feel that.

00:58:48.160 --> 00:58:54.500
I love the idea of building my own engines. And, you know, I love doing it on the air-cooled stuff.

00:58:54.600 --> 00:58:58.200
I don't want to build V8s. I don't want to work on any of that stuff.

00:58:58.200 --> 00:59:00.580
I want to work on these little air-cooled motors.

00:59:00.840 --> 00:59:04.220
And, you know, I've done a handful of them by now, and I got a 2276.

00:59:04.620 --> 00:59:08.300
I got the short block all together on my bench in the shop right now.

00:59:08.480 --> 00:59:10.320
Dang, man. Putting together a rocket.

00:59:10.840 --> 00:59:15.120
But, yeah, it should be pretty good. That'll be for Ringo. 70 convertible but

00:59:15.120 --> 00:59:19.020
that should be somewhere around 160 horsepower when i'm done yeah hey.

00:59:19.769 --> 00:59:24.309
But yeah, I mean, for me, it's body work and people, they laugh at me for that,

00:59:24.389 --> 00:59:28.149
but you know, the guys at work, they'll see me and I'll be covered in dust and

00:59:28.149 --> 00:59:32.049
still smiling. And they're like, I don't know how you can send that all day long.

00:59:32.129 --> 00:59:34.529
And I'm like, man, that's, that's the easiest thing in the world.

00:59:34.649 --> 00:59:35.669
I already know the outcome.

00:59:35.989 --> 00:59:39.949
There's nothing to be upset about. It's it, it, for me, it's simple.

00:59:40.069 --> 00:59:43.469
It's as simple as folding a load of laundry, but I guess it's because I've been

00:59:43.469 --> 00:59:46.249
doing it for, since I was a little kid.

00:59:46.729 --> 00:59:49.869
Second nature. Yeah. It's crazy. All right, answer this one.

00:59:50.109 --> 00:59:55.869
If you could only pick one, are we picking Westie camping or beetle cruising?

00:59:56.129 --> 01:00:00.709
If I had to pick one, it's going to be beetle, mostly because that's what I do with my wife.

01:00:01.089 --> 01:00:05.129
My wife's not a camper. That's not her thing. She said to me right from the

01:00:05.129 --> 01:00:09.129
beginning, I'll go with you one time a year. And she's fulfilled that obligation, right?

01:00:09.389 --> 01:00:14.509
She's done it. She's gone that one time a year. But that's not her thing as much as I love it.

01:00:14.569 --> 01:00:19.909
That's kind of my thing. but I love the time spending time with my wife doing that stuff. Right.

01:00:20.049 --> 01:00:23.229
So I would have to say definitely Beetle. I'd probably pick the same.

01:00:23.529 --> 01:00:27.209
And for the same reason, my wife is my rod or die.

01:00:27.389 --> 01:00:30.189
She's right there next to me all the time in the passenger seat,

01:00:30.189 --> 01:00:32.009
but she's not a camper either.

01:00:32.189 --> 01:00:37.649
We have a camper, but it has AC and all the rest of the luxuries of life that she's used to.

01:00:38.069 --> 01:00:41.889
Just not her thing. Doesn't mean she doesn't respect it, but just not her thing.

01:00:42.769 --> 01:00:46.329
What's one thing that people always get wrong about

01:00:46.329 --> 01:00:49.209
restorations with vws probably that they're

01:00:49.209 --> 01:00:52.029
hard i mean i can't tell

01:00:52.029 --> 01:00:56.509
you how many times i see on like facebook marketplace how many of these cars

01:00:56.509 --> 01:01:01.909
that people have like taken apart and and started to work on and then they just

01:01:01.909 --> 01:01:06.809
they lose the interest or i mean i get it i mean you know life happens right

01:01:06.809 --> 01:01:09.849
i understand that but these cars are really not that hard.

01:01:09.949 --> 01:01:13.529
And if there was any bit of advice I could give anybody that wants to work on them,

01:01:14.593 --> 01:01:17.353
just start doing it.

01:01:17.473 --> 01:01:21.853
Just start working on them. And if you have any trouble, there's plenty of people

01:01:21.853 --> 01:01:26.913
in the Volkswagen community that will offer up advice and point you in the right direction.

01:01:27.733 --> 01:01:33.113
And again, like Gary Miller, talking about him, it was because of watching his

01:01:33.113 --> 01:01:35.933
videos that I said, yeah, you know what? I'm going to take one of these apart

01:01:35.933 --> 01:01:37.253
and I'm going to put it back together myself.

01:01:38.533 --> 01:01:45.433
Amazing. You know, the type of impact that some of these influential type people have online.

01:01:46.113 --> 01:01:51.313
And again, you know, the why behind, you know, what makes you even stimulated to want to teach people.

01:01:51.553 --> 01:01:57.293
It's a similar feeling, you know, it's the feeling of, because it's not as difficult as people think.

01:01:57.593 --> 01:02:02.393
Right. And I just want to really prove that so we can continue this hobby,

01:02:02.593 --> 01:02:04.153
you know, in this lifestyle.

01:02:04.193 --> 01:02:08.473
So, you know, very awesome for sure. And like I said, in the beginning, man.

01:02:08.733 --> 01:02:10.973
VW jawbreaker. Fantastic dude.

01:02:11.613 --> 01:02:16.293
Yeah. If your VW could talk, let's say the one that you're keeping forever,

01:02:16.793 --> 01:02:19.753
what would it say about you as an individual?

01:02:20.293 --> 01:02:25.173
Dedication, probably, I would have to say. I mean, because no matter what, I mean, it's...

01:02:25.774 --> 01:02:28.834
You know, I, I want to be out there with the cars. I want to be,

01:02:28.954 --> 01:02:30.254
I want to be playing with them.

01:02:30.354 --> 01:02:33.334
I want to be even just, you know, sometimes I'll just pick a day,

01:02:33.534 --> 01:02:36.454
especially in the summertime, I'll pick a day and just clean them.

01:02:36.894 --> 01:02:40.914
You know what I mean? Just, just enjoy them and enjoy the fact that they're

01:02:40.914 --> 01:02:44.274
mine, that I, that I've put them together with my own hands. I do the same.

01:02:44.434 --> 01:02:47.514
You know, I just like to look at them in the driveway.

01:02:47.754 --> 01:02:51.854
Some days I'll start them, let them run 15, 20 minutes. I'll shut them down.

01:02:52.354 --> 01:02:55.114
I'll look over everything, check the oil. It'll just, you know,

01:02:55.214 --> 01:02:58.954
kind of go over everything and then I'll wash them. I'll clean them, shop back out.

01:02:59.334 --> 01:03:03.834
I'm like, well, dude, you just did this a week ago and you don't drive them. Yeah.

01:03:04.334 --> 01:03:08.774
Same thing with wax. I mean, I could, that's another thing. I could wax these cars.

01:03:09.214 --> 01:03:13.174
I could do that every single day. It's like blocking them. Yeah.

01:03:13.374 --> 01:03:15.414
Yeah. Yeah. The, the, the paint correction.

01:03:15.674 --> 01:03:18.914
I love that stuff. I mean, that's the stuff that when I was a kid,

01:03:18.954 --> 01:03:22.694
I mean, you know, I remember perhaps giving me certain things to do and,

01:03:22.794 --> 01:03:25.674
and I remember being, you know, being a young wimper snapper,

01:03:25.694 --> 01:03:28.474
if you will, and being like, we're not going to replace that fender.

01:03:28.934 --> 01:03:31.954
And I remember him being like, are you a body man or are you a wimp?

01:03:34.074 --> 01:03:36.694
All right. Yeah, sure. All right. I'll straighten the thing.

01:03:36.834 --> 01:03:39.494
Yeah. So, I mean, but those are the things that teach you, right?

01:03:39.714 --> 01:03:43.694
Um, so yeah, I mean, I could, I could any day, all day.

01:03:43.934 --> 01:03:48.394
That's my, it's my comfort, comfortable place. So dedication is the word.

01:03:48.954 --> 01:03:51.854
I would say yes. That's what your VW would say about you.

01:03:52.014 --> 01:03:58.014
Probably say, thank you for being dedicated. All right, finish this sentence. You ready? Ready.

01:03:59.114 --> 01:04:06.454
Volkswagens taught me a redefinition of a love for a hobby that was already instilled in me, right?

01:04:06.634 --> 01:04:11.074
So, I mean, I love cars, and I've been doing cars since I was a little kid,

01:04:11.514 --> 01:04:15.494
and damn near raced everything with an engine throughout my life at one point or another.

01:04:16.094 --> 01:04:22.714
But, you know, I don't think I was as in tune with cars again until we got lucky,

01:04:23.134 --> 01:04:25.274
right? And it was that car that really...

01:04:26.584 --> 01:04:31.004
Really made me love it again. You know, I mean, life happens,

01:04:31.284 --> 01:04:34.324
right? I went through a divorce, you know, 10 years ago, almost 10 years ago.

01:04:34.524 --> 01:04:38.264
And that kind of changed the course of direction in life for a while.

01:04:38.424 --> 01:04:43.264
It made me kind of rethink priorities and where I needed to be and kind of had to rebuild life.

01:04:43.424 --> 01:04:47.344
And the 40 Chevy was about the only thing I kept through it, to be honest.

01:04:47.884 --> 01:04:52.544
And just because I'll never sell that one. But yeah, Volkswagen really taught

01:04:52.544 --> 01:04:56.024
me the redefinition of the hobby that I already love.

01:04:56.344 --> 01:05:00.624
It brought me right back into it with an intense love for it again,

01:05:00.924 --> 01:05:02.124
like I did when I was a kid.

01:05:02.964 --> 01:05:07.564
Fantastic, man. Fantastic. And where can people find you up in your area,

01:05:07.744 --> 01:05:12.044
your neck of the woods, if they want to, if they want to maybe reach out to

01:05:12.044 --> 01:05:14.524
you or hell, maybe even have a project for you to work on?

01:05:15.324 --> 01:05:18.604
Yeah, they can find me on Facebook, Cape Cod Bugs.

01:05:18.764 --> 01:05:21.744
If anybody has any questions and wants some work done around here,

01:05:22.464 --> 01:05:25.264
capecodbugs at gmail.com feel free hit

01:05:25.264 --> 01:05:28.064
me up i'm happy to at least if it's something

01:05:28.064 --> 01:05:31.144
that you need help with or i can help you or at

01:05:31.144 --> 01:05:34.304
least point you in the right direction you need parts or know somebody that

01:05:34.304 --> 01:05:38.344
needs something whatever it may be um hit me up with an email capecodbugs at

01:05:38.344 --> 01:05:43.584
gmail.com and gladly help any way i can and that's a wrap for this episode of

01:05:43.584 --> 01:05:47.884
dub life diaries thanks for riding along with us and diving into these incredible

01:05:47.884 --> 01:05:50.664
stories of the people in the doves that drive their dreams.

01:05:50.944 --> 01:05:55.484
If you loved today's episode, don't forget to subscribe or hit that follow button

01:05:55.484 --> 01:05:56.804
so you never miss an adventure.

01:05:57.164 --> 01:06:01.764
Do you have a story to tell or know somebody else who's living the dove life? Awesome.

01:06:02.184 --> 01:06:07.104
Reach out to us. You can find us on all socials at Dove Life Diaries or shoot

01:06:07.104 --> 01:06:08.864
me an email. I'm not hard to find.

01:06:09.724 --> 01:06:14.644
DoveLifeDiaries at gmail.com. Until next time, keep the engines humming and

01:06:14.644 --> 01:06:18.044
the wheels turning and always follow the road that inspires you.

01:06:18.204 --> 01:06:22.524
This is Joe Person. I'm signing off. I'll catch you on the next ride.