Tales of a Gearhead

Charley Strickland from STRICKLAND RACING INC made the trip all the way up from Fort Worth, TX to chat with Stacey in the GEARZ shop. They discuss his early days building go-karts and junior dragsters in his backyard, street racing to put himself through college, and his time with Fastlane Engineering/circle track racing which led him to his current work – designing top of the line all-aluminum mo...

LaVon Miller from Firepunk Diesel and Kyle Fischer from Hot Shot's Secret are in the shop with Stacey today. They discuss LaVon's 90-POUND weight loss journey on the carnivore diet, Firepunk's decision this year to switch from a diesel S-10 to a diesel Mopar Duster, and how Hot Shot's Secret has been there every step of the way on this record-breaking season. After that, Stacey chats with Dave Gos...

Dennis Overholser, the visionary co-founder and inventor of Painless Performance Products, is in the shop today. Stacey and Dennis dive into how Dennis' early days in the military and his frustration with rewiring projects at the time led him to create Painless Performance Products. It's a company that to this day prides itself on innovation, quality, and the pursuit of excellence in automotive el...

Heavy equipment YouTuber Andrew Camarata stopped by the studio and discussed everything from growing up watching Stacey on Trucks! to creating a 1 MILLION subscriber YouTube channel from a property management business and building a castle out of shipping containers!

Stacey chats with Lonnie McCurry and Malerie Pike from SKYJACKER. They discuss the company's beginnings, its growth from a small two bay garage to their current 80,000 sq/ft facility, the importance of SKYJACKER's constant research & development, and how faith & family have made the company everything it is today.

Ben and Dick Strenkowski from RETROFORMANCE are in the shop today. Stacey and the father/son duo dig into RETROFORMANCE's humble beginnings as a machine/service shop started by Dick's father, and how that has led to their hot new M6GT project. It's a redesigned and modernized version of the iconic M6GT that was created by Bruce McLaren to be the fastest road car in the world in 1969. Then it's off...

Stacey sits down with Scooter Williams to talk about his creation: the South's biggest, baddest hot rod, custom car, rat rod show, AND swap meet – THE REDNECK RUMBLE. This year's show takes place on Sept. 20 -21, 2024 in Lebanon TN.

"Oh, I think you need all that bass." - ancient Buck's Super Stereo World saying. John Myers from KICKER Audio is in the shop to talk all things car audio. From amps to speaker placement, to DSR technology and beyond. So, dust off that TK-421 modification and get ready to have this episode get an extra three or four quads per channel, but that's just technical talk. Turn it up!

In this second part of Stacey's interview with the guys from LOKAR Performance Products, Skip Walls hops on the mic with Stacey, and they discuss Skip's early days in California, building up LOKAR, moving the company to East Tennessee, the current state of the industry & where they see it going, and what Skip thinks makes up a hot rod. Then it's into the mailbag, where Stacey offers some advice to...

In this first part of Stacey's two-part interview with Skip Walls and Brian Downard from LOKAR Performance Products. Stacey sits down with his longtime friend and raconteur, Brian. Where all manner of gearhead tales get told. Including Brian's legendary Christmas ham incident. Might not be for the faint of heart, but it is definitely hilarious and one you won't soon forget.

Stacey continues his conversation with Abe Wine, owner of SHOPRAT METAL WORKS and co-host of History Channel's TRUCK NIGHT IN AMERICA. They discuss Abe returning to home help out with the family shop, the dire need for quality mechanics, the importance of learning mechanical skills (especially welding), Abe's ongoing 1954 FORD F-500 Y-Block project, and finally discipline & the art of apple butter...

Stacey sits down with ABE WINE, owner of SHOPRAT METAL WORKS and co-host of History Channel's TRUCK NIGHT IN AMERICA. Abe talks about growing up in rural Virginia, the important influence of his uncle & granddad had on his childhood, and the strange & winding road that led him to being on television.

Part two of Stacey's interview with Derek Bieri from Vice Grip Garage. Stacey and Derek dig into their other great passions - guitar playing and music. They discuss the role music plays in car culture, their favorite guitars & guitar players, Stacey's time as a session musician in Nashville, A.I.'s effect on the industry, and the importance of family and being true to who you are.

This episode begins with part one of Stacey's interview Derek Bieri from Vice Grip Garage. They discuss Derek's youth growing up on a farm in Minnesota & Wisconsin and how that led to his automotive passion, the early days of his shop and the creation of his wildly popular YouTube Channel. Then it's into the mailbag where Stacey answers some listener questions about removing oil from your vehicle,...

Jeremy Stoermer from Holley Performance Products is in the shop today. He and Stacey talk about what Holley has going on for the year, upcoming shows & events, plus some good ole fashioned Mopar chat.

Andrew Collins, executive editor of THEDRIVE.COM calls in to talk with Stacey about what THE DRIVE is all about, his early days getting into all things automotive - including his time as an off-road guide in Australia, his thoughts on the new Ford Ranger Raptor, renewable energy and dream projects.

Stacey ZOOMs into the magic of the internet to chat with Tony Muckleroy from JEEPTALKSHOW.com to deep dive about all things JEEP and more!

Stacey talks with Trevor Cornwell from IDIDIT to discuss one of the most underrated BUT also one of the most important parts of any build: the steering column. They also dive into the history of IDIDIT, where they see the future of the aftermarket steering column industry heading and Trevor's current projects, dream projects, and what makes a hot rod.

Ace photographer Curt Lerner, from GET LIT CREATIVE IMAGING, swings by the shop to chat with Stacey about his lifelong love of automobiles and photography, an upcoming project involving SGT ROCK, and everything that goes into his specialized highly detailed automotive photography. Then it's a quick grab out of the mail bag. Stacey offers some suggestions on how to get more power out of a '02 S-10,...

Like Glenn Frey once sang "The heat is on…" and with the summer months fast approaching. Stacey has in depth conversation with Chris Schwartz from Heatshield Products about all things heat related to a one's project.

Favorite intriguing vehicles? Stacey has a few. He also has some answers to listeners trying to find a tilt steering column for a '70 CJ-5, what synthetic oil would be best for a '64 GTO, and is there a build sheet for Stacey's old Wicked Willys project.

It's a new year and Stacey hits the ground running with another listener question lightning round. Touching on everything from '80s Chevy speedometers, project regrets, the best engine for a '40s/'50s Model A, how to hold onto a project, high mileage vehicles and of course… guitars!

The chimneys are getting swept, the house fuses popping from one too many plugs in the living room outlet, and that special lamp is displayed for the whole street to see. Stacey celebrates the podcast's 100th episode and shares some of his favorite gearhead Christmas memories. Then he looks ahead to all the great projects he has in store for 2024.

Stacey sits down with Chris Picconi from Classic4x4.com and the host of the "Classic 4x4 Podcast". They dig into Chris' background in finance and how that led him to follow his passion of classic 4x4s, as well as the current trends in the auction world and how to properly navigate getting your vehicle ready to go up on the block!

Part 2 of Stacey's interview with STRANGE MOTION ROD & CUSTOM's Tim Strange. Stacey and Tim continue their talk about the state of custom auto business, share war stories about doing work on trade, the importance of shop safety, and how a freak accident nearly cost Tim his life.