Tales of a Gearhead

Stacey has Timothy Marion from Kaeser Compressors in the shop to discuss all things compressed air and the various setups they offer for your shop. Then, Lance & Dennis Overholser from Painless Performance swing to by to celebrate Dennis being inducted into the 2026 class of the SEMA Hall of Fame.

2026 is the year of anniversaries! The 250th of America, the 100th of the legendary Route 66, the 20th of GEARZ, and the 50th of Vintage Air! To help celebrate these milestones, Rick Love is on the mic with Stacey to talk about the long history of Vintage Air - where it started, where it's heading, the importance of SEMA & staying aware of automotive legislation, and most importantly, the joys of being a gearhead and having cool projects.

We're feeling the need… the need for speed in this episode! To start things off, Stacey has Mike Goodwin from Ford Racing on the mic to talk about Ford's new line of crate engines. Then the guys from Retroformance stop by to drop off and discuss the prototype of their McLaren M6GT replica project.

Matt Tisdale, owner of Tisdale Coachworks out of Winslow, Indiana, is in the shop today. He and Stacey dig into one the most American trucks ever produced - the Dodge Power Wagon. Matt describes how his love for these WW2 classics motivated him to mortgage his house to start his own company reproducing all-metal Power Wagon cabs and beds.

If yesterday was Tuesday, then today is "Woodsday". Jeff Major from BEDWOOD is in the shop. Stacey and Jeff talk about Jeff's early days growing up in a gearhead family and his father owning a gas station, then getting into stock car racing, demolition derby, and finally tractor pulling. They also talk about how that background and his dissatisfaction with the aftermarket wood truck bed kits available at the time motivated Jeff to start his own company, which is now a global leader in aftermarket wood truck bed kits!

Stacey is on the road this week, traveling all the way out to DuBois, Wyoming to sit down with Dan Starks, the founder of the National Museum of Military Vehicles. The museum is a massive 160,000 sq/ft facility that houses over 500 military vehicles, weapons, and other artifacts used in this nation's conflicts going all the way back to the Revolutionary War up to Iraq and Afghanistan. Stacey and Dan discuss Dan's passion for celebrating the veterans and their sacrifices for the country, Dan investing over ONE HUNDRED MILLION dollars of his own money to bring the museum to life, and his veterans outreach programs like The Wilderness Healing Project.

When it comes to our projects' interior, we all love it when it's finished and looks great but hate the road we have to travel to get there. Well, to make that journey a bit easier, Stacey is joined by Jonas & Eric from AUTO KUSTOMS out of Harrodsburg, KY. They discuss how they got started, what made them get into interior work, their least favorite vehicles to work on, AND bounce around few ideas for what they & Stacey might do with APACHE project.

On this episode, Stacey discusses what happens to the projects that he doesn't have the time to finish. So, he invited Jim & Jimmy Miller of MILLER & SON COLLISION out of Lancaster, NY onto the podcast since they are now the new owners of the CATALOG CAMARO project and will oversee its completion. Then, it's mailbag time! Stacey answers "should I get into 30s hot rods?", "How many miles is too many when buying a used car?", "What do I do with this project I inherited?" And "Have you ever regretted selling a project?"

Stacey has the legendary PETER BROCK in the shop. They dig deep into Peter's history working with Carroll Shelby designing the Shelby Daytona coupe, his BRE racing days, working with Nissan perfecting the original Z-Car engine, and his early pioneering work in hang glider designs. Yes, you read that right, hang gliding! Peter describes how he took those early bamboo, duct tape, and plastic "kites" people were using in the late 1960's and turned them into state-of-the art hang gliders which led the industry in safety improvements.

What time is it? It's ZCON time! You might be asking, "What is ZCON?" Well, it's the premier annual international gathering for Nissan/Datsun Z-car enthusiasts featuring motorsports, car shows, group drives, and social events celebrating the iconic Z-car legacy. And this year it stopped in Nashville. So, naturally, Stacey went down to check it out and brought back a few friends to the shop to discuss what makes this convention so special.

Stacey has a couple guests in the shop for this episode. First up are L.J. and MUNCH from LIFT KING. They discuss how they design & develop all their products and what they love about the automotive lifestyle, from their favorite rides to MUNCH's passion for painting. After that, Al Allen from CALIFORNIA DATSUN is in to talk about all things Z-CAR and especially Stacey's newest project, an original 1970 240Z that he recently found in Georgia.

Stacey is out of the shop and on the road at the IOLA OLD CAR SHOW in Iola, Wisconsin! First up - Stacey chats with HEATHER STORM. They talk about her work in television hosting the Discovery/Velocity series GARAGE SQUAD and turning her passion for food, wine, and travel into her multi-media lifestyle blog, ON THE ROAD. After that - Stacey has an in-depth conversation with Emily & Aaron Reeves from FLYING SPARKS GARAGE. They cover everything from creating and building their highly successful YouTube channel, navigating the ever-changing media landscape, and how their faith and love of family has helped and guided them every step of the way.

Garrett Niss and Kyle Fischer are in the shop to talk about Garrett's one of a kind custom turbo diesel '06 Dodge Ram and a very cool new product that Hot Shot's Secret has coming out for LS engines. After that, Kai Smith from Mid-Tenn Media Blasting talks with Stacey about his mobile media blasting company and having the grit to decide to leave his desk job at age 30 - with a wife & newborn baby - to start his own business from the ground up.

Ben Smithson from SMITHSON SPEED & ENGINEERING is in the shop today. He and Stacey dive deep into the ins & outs, do's & don'ts, and everything in between about opening and running your own premier hot rod and custom car shop.

The STUNT DOUBLE is on the road. Of course, no GEARZ project is truly completed without an accompanying guitar. So, Stacey has Anthony Sims from LUCKY DOG GUITARS in the shop to discuss the custom built six string. Anthony talks about how his love for music and playing live led to him and a group of buddies opening up a dance hall at 18 years old, how that led to building his first custom guitar and opening his small three-man shop in East Tennessee, and of course his two current automotive projects - a '68 Charger and an original DeLorean that he inherited from his grandfather who purchased TWO of them just before John Delorean's arrest.

TOM GATTUSO, vice president of events for SEMA phones into to the shop to talk with Stacey about – you guessed it – the upcoming SEMA show this fall in Las Vegas! They dive into the history of the event, how it has changed throughout the years, what is new for this year's event, and SEMA Fest which will feature live performances from QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, THE BLACK CROWES, and NEON TREES.

On this episode, Max McCroskey from RESURRECTED CLASSICS is in the shop to discuss his love of the Z-Car. After that, Stacey shakes open the mailbag to offer some advice on torque converter stall, converting a '79 C-20 to a 4x4, and tow-strap safety.

Matt Graves from AMERICAN POWERTRAIN is back in the shop to discuss all things related to "saving the stick" and beyond.

Stacey continues his conversation with automotive journalist/author Jefferson Bryant. They discuss his love of music (especially classic funk) and playing the bass, his newest book (LS ENGINE PARTS INTERCHANGE: 1997-2020), and their love/hate relationship working on classic Jaguar XK-Es. Stacey also answers a listener question - "Can I get my '41 FORD COE hot rod - with a fresh 406 small block Chevy - to run off of a 350 throttle body?"

Automotive journalist / author Jefferson Bryant is in the shop. In this first part of a two-part interview, Stacey and Jefferson talk about his early days growing up in Oklahoma storm chasing with his dad, his love of Buicks - especially his '71 Buick GS, which at one point was the world's loudest true convertible (154.7db), and the various paths that led him into journalism and becoming an author.