Things are getting serious in the EV performance, racing, and aftermarket spaces, and it’s only a matter of time until they morph in with the OEs. “There’s a large portion of us out there that is trying to fight this tsunami wave of electric power and performance, but I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” notes Willie, “you’re gonna lose!” Kirk Miller and Jake Hawksworth of Hypercraft USA join the podcast from King of the Hammers, where they’re pushing the boundaries of EV with their advance hybrid and all-electric powertrains. “Imagine being able to throw 100 hp or 200 hp virtually across the entire rpm range, and no impact on emissions,” says Jake. And that’s not including their 1967 Mustang all-electric, all-wheel drive Fastback, capable of delivering 1200 hp and a theoretical 0-60 mph in 1.2 seconds!
Sterling Bakus is a scholar of 3D printing, having built his very own Lamborghini Aventador that “at least from five feet away, you wouldn’t be able to tell that it wasn’t real.” The internet took notice, as did Kevin and Willie. “For car guys and car enthusiasts and shop owners, this is something you should truly pay attention to,” says Willie. “This is great technology.” And best of all, it won’t bankrupt you. Far from it. For less than the cost of a decent welder, you can purchase a quality printer and scanner and be on your way. “I don’t have a large format printer,” notes Backus. “I print small sections on my printer and then glue them all together.” Sounds simple, right? Just wait until you hear what he’s working on now!
“There’s many things in life we want to be just like Willie,” Kevin pronounces at the top of today’s episode, “and this is one of them.” He’s talking about where to build and house our cars, where to put our tools, what our shops and garages look like. And Willie has a set of garages guaranteed to turn any car guy green with envy. But how do you find a house with a great shop or garage? Returning guest Brian McNamara started Gearhead Homes after identifying such a necessity. “I wanted a big garage myself and I couldn’t find somebody to help me out with that,” so he’s created a way to “dig those up and find those based on software and some other things that we’ve got proprietary to us.”
The 2023 SEMA Show continues to loom large on the guys’ minds. “It is so massive, it’s hard to even wrap your brain around,” marvels Kevin, while Willie exclaims “it’s just filled to the gills with cool cars and wild things to see, watch, and witness.” It also provided occasion for Willie to reunite with his old “PINKS All Out” pal, 6-time World Champion NHRA Top Fuel Driver Clay Millican. Along with CRC Marketing Director Raquel Wenger, they discuss CRC ‘s “Build for the Future” scholarship program and the amazing story behind the 2006 bone stock GTO with only 1350 original miles on it they had at the booth.
As the hustle and bustle of the holidays recede in the rearview mirror, the guys finally get some time to trade notes on the 2023 SEMA Show. And there is a lot to talk about, including some of their favorite hot rods and show cars, as well as what wasn’t there (spoiler alert: it’s the Big 3). Perhaps best of all, Willie shares his sit-down conversation with 7-time Supercross and Motocross Champion Jeremy McGrath. The legendary racer, tire developer, and Maxxis brand ambassador says he continues to “have a lot of fun using a lot of great tires,” while reflecting that, “I didn’t race to be the Jeremy McGrath that everybody knows of now, it just kind of all happened.”
Kevin introduces this episode noting that “we have been looking for the last 50-60 years in automotive for somebody to give us the fuel system bits and parts and pieces that we need, and we keep asking for more; it’s a never-ending game.” Enter David Deatsch, whose namesake operation DeatschWerks has been in the game of going from mild to wild for 20 years. Starting from the grassroots level, “My mantra for the company was stay focused on fuel systems,” he tells the guys, “but let’s do everything within fuel systems,” including in-tank brushless pumps for generating 800-1500+ hp!
Custom tuning continues to evolve by leaps and bounds. From simple tinkering with a screwdriver on a carburetor; to the first generations of fuel injection where everybody freaked out; to computer systems that with just a few parameters can learn by themselves; to dialing in sophisticated software and still managing to keep things legal as the EPA cracks down on emissions. Jay Payson of SCT Bullydog joins the guys to explore the innumerable ways in which the world of tuning is quite literally at our fingertips more and more each day.
The owner of this heavily modified Jeep is in the military and is out on active duty. So, his buddy contacted Willie and Kevin to help him get it ready for his return. Due to the abuse the owner throws at it, it has started developing common steering problems. So today, the guys will go through the steering, upgrading it to a newer heavy-duty setup to withstand anything it’ll encounter on the trail!
Jim Horne and his wife/co-driver Barb are off-road racing professionals based out of Moab, Utah. “Racing for me, it’s not something I wanna do,” Jim tells Kevin and Willie, “it’s something I have to do, it’s inside me.” Securely tucked inside their Jeep Mojave Gladiator, the couple has put an astounding 5,000 hard-driving miles on a single set of Hercules Tires TT1s riding King of the Hammers, the Mint 400, and Best in the Desert… with plans to start the next season on the same set of tires! “And we can’t say that with any other tire we’ve raced on this truck.”
There are three key components effecting engine oil performance: viscosity, cleanliness, and additives. As Kevin points out, “It’s crazy how much science is going on in all these fluids that are in our vehicles and what those fluids are doing,” like dramatically increasing intervals between oil changes. Frequent guest Kyle Fischer of Hot Shot’s Secret adds that technology’s evolved over time, allowing oil to last longer before it falls out of grade. But that’s not all. Enter the bypass filter, “a second oil filter added to the vehicle’s oil system allowing you to keep it clean as the day you poured it in until the day you change it,” says Kyle, “and that is just priceless for the longevity of an engine over the long haul.”
Willie describes his buddy Brendan Schaub as “a mountain of all things: size, character, and energy,” not to mention an MMA fighter, standup comedian, podcaster, and crazy car/truck guy. His daily driver is a RAM TRX Sandblast Edition that packs a 700 hp Hellcat engine and supercharger, one of only a thousand made in 2022 and among the last to be delivered before Dodge shuts it all down in 2024. Today he joins the guys to wax ecstatic about the truck as all three bemoan the end of the ICE era and ponder a gasoline-free future.
Pilot Transport performs a crucial behind-the-scenes function in the automotive world, moving 350,000 vehicles all around the country each year, with 110-120 trucks on the road at any given time, including 30-40 runs to Fairbanks, Alaska in the winter! Joe Parks is the GM overseeing this massive operation for a roster of major clients including the Detroit OEs, Hot Rod Power Tour, Roadkill Nights, and SEMA. “I bet this man has been responsible for more million-dollar rides than we’ve ever seen in our life!” exclaims Willie, uniquely positioning Joe as the man with the inside scoop on some of the biggest mistakes folks make when hauling their own vehicles.
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