Tales of a Gearhead

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 avail...

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 D...

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...

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 man...

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"...

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 disc...

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 origina...

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 fro...

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...

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 a...

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 Che...

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...

Jeff Kelderman from KELDERMAN MANUFACTURING is in the shop, but he is not alone. He brought with him his two favorite birds. No, these aren't pet parakeets or parrots. One is the actual hero car used in the David Spade cult classic JOE DIRT. The other is a Superbird that Jeff had cloned into a replica of the Joe Dirt Daytona with way more power and creature comforts that he plans to use as a daily...

Stacey continues his conversation with singer/songwriter Chris Hennessee. They dive in on a lot of firsts. First guitar. First lick learned on the guitar. First song learned on the guitar. Then they discuss the bands and players that influenced them, the state of the music industry, how judging art as a contest is never a good thing, and finally Chris' new podcast FULLY ARMED.

In this episode, musician/songwriter Chris Hennessee is in the shop to swap some tales with Stacey. In part one of this two-part interview, Chris talks about his early days playing the honkytonks on Nashville's Lower Broadway, how back then Lower Broadway was MUCH different than it is today, and meeting/jamming with a young Jamey Johnson. Stacey and Chris also discuss how their approach to songwri...

Stacey has YouTuber DYLAN MCCOOL in the shop! They discuss Dylan's childhood growing up in a MOPAR household, earning $600 at the age of 10 to get his first project car - a '74 DART SPORT, how his love of teaching applies to his YouTube channel, and why he wouldn't be where he is today without his faith and family.

Josh Dillon AKA "SLEEPERDUDE" is in the shop. Stacey and Josh talk about how he got into cars, starting a YouTube channel, leaving his auto body day job to do YouTube full time, his upcoming projects, and the important roles family and faith play in his life.

Charley Strickland from STRICKLAND MOTOR RACING INC is back in the shop. He and Stacey discuss his long planned next project - THE SURFACE ORBITER 2. "What's that?" you're thinking? Well, it's Charley's take on the Dobbertin Surface Orbiter, which was an amphibious vehicle designed and built by Rick Dobbertin in the 1990s. The DSO started out from a 1959 Heil milk tank trailer and was modified by...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  A new year means a new season of GEARZ, and of course, TALES OF A GEARHEAD. Stacey teases what you can look forward to in the upcoming 2025 season. Then he sits down with his daughter Talon. They talk about what it was like growing up in a house full of wrenches, guitars & amps, her now living in London, and her dual careers as an audiobook narrator & singer/songwriter. After that...

Dave Gossett from DAVIKKI Ltd is back in the shop. Stacey and Dave have an in-depth discussion about the evolution of the kit car from cheap backyard projects of the '70s/'80s to the high end component cars of today, the early builds that got Dave in trouble with Ferrari, the vast improvements of fiberglass through the years, and how all that went into the new RETROFORMANCE M6GT project. Then Stac...