Two Guys Garage Podcast

On this week’s podcast, Kevin muses how brakes are “one of the coolest things you can put on a car, and who would’ve ever thought?” Well, Brembo North America President and CEO Dan Sandberg for one, and Performance Director Mike Messina for another. Not a company known to rest on its laurels, Brembo has just introduced its new UPGRADE program, a direct replacement for OE parts. “Don’t underestimate the brakes,” Dan tells the guys. “Stuff happens.”

You might refer to the 2JZ as The Little Engine That Does. “It’s probably the engine that really pushed the envelope for the imports,” says Victor Alvarez, the Oz behind the curtain at Induction Performance. As he tells Kevin and Willie, “It’s 2021 and we’re talking about an engine that was released in 1994 and it’s still extremely relevant.” Find out why, plus a whole lot more, including Victor’s picks for the 5 most crazy-fast street cars on the road these days, a couple of which might really surprise you.

Everyone’s heard the old adage, “There’s no replacement for displacement,” right? Well, Henry Bueno and Carsten Wagner of Wagner Tuning have gone to considerable lengths to thoroughly debunk this myth. Their intercoolers are a must-have for boosted applications, offering the largest application list of plug and play units in the aftermarket. With the company’s roots in Germany having recently expanded to a sprawling 60,000 square foot facility in Texas, Willie and Kevin are fired up to hear all about the art and science of cooling down.

Today Willie and Kevin are going vintage, beyond old school, to a time when Ford’s phenomenal flathead engine with its iconic V8 brought affordable parts to the masses – and gave birth to the original hot-rodding era in the process. Joining them on their journey is Bill Jagenow of Brothers Custom Automotive, who has an unbelievable eye for details and knows these engines inside and out.

There’s certainly no shortage of aftermarket waxes and polishes. Let the buyer beware – when it comes to “flossy and glossy,” not all products are created equal. Consider this alternative: ceramic coatings that create show-quality finishes that can last 9+ years. Kevin Davis from Gtechniq educates the guys on what it is and what sets it apart, schooling them on chemical bonding, physical curing, and the difference between hydrophobic and hydrophilic lubricity. Who knew?

On this episode the guys get a step-by-step crash course in powder coating from Lee Goldenstein of Pristine Powder Coating outside Denver. “I’m self-taught and self-trained,” says Lee, “and it’s just incredible what you can do now.” Header coatings in particular have become very popular, he notes; in addition to their killer looks available in hundreds of colors, they’re very strong and extremely durable, supplying a major reduction of radiant heat.

Heath Norton, VP of Callies Performance Products and its sister company, Energy Manufacturing Ltd., returns to the podcast to update the guys on some new product releases and the surprising impact the pandemic has had on the aftermarket. “We’re in the Second Golden Age of Muscle Cars,” he exclaims. “The streetcar market has gone bonkers!”

For all those who aspire to have their ride inspire “the look-back,” this one’s for you. Willie and Kevin introduce a pair of prepping and painting pros armed with expert recommendations on how to make your Technicolor dreams come true. First up is Tom Williams of Mobile Environmental Solutions, purveyor of super clean, affordable, portable, pop-up paint booths, followed by Thin Red Line Paint Specialist’s Raymond Harrison, with advice on fillers, primers, and ratios, and a mantra to just “take your time and have fun with it!”

The design work of Motofab’s Ernie Miyamoto spans a wide spectrum of creativity that can truly be defined as art. His one-of-a-kind ’72 VW Super Beetle hot rod is a triumph of fabrication and style, not to mention “the funnest car you’ll ever, ever be in in your life!” Building a car with the exhaust in mind, Ernie works freehand without the benefit of renderings. He’s learned a lot of lessons over the years, and as he tells Kevin and Willie in this podcast, “the hard part is visualizing it and making sure it fits; the other part is just fabricating.”