Two Guys Garage Podcast

Troy Ladd has a special love for old school hot rods, especially 30’s-era hot rods. Ever since he built his first car in high school – a ’66 Mustang – the visionary behind Hollywood Hot Rods has made his bones on new stuff that looks like old stuff and makes you feel like you’re back in 1936. From one-of-a-kind barnyard finds to the one that got away, Troy tells the guys, “I wish I had the ability...

Generations have been trusting Dupli-Color and its sister product VHT for everything from oops-type fixes to full-on paint jobs since 1938. From prep and cleaner to undercoating, wheel coating, engine coating and truck bed coatings, Product Manager Brian A. Suter certainly has a lot on his color palette. Kevin and Willie caught up with him on a recent break to talk about the latest trends in the i...

Fabrication is essentially the Architecture of How – how to manipulate materials to maximize form and function. Deryck Griffith of Vibrant Performance refers to the process as using “LEGO pieces made out of metal,” as he explains to Kevin and Willie how the company “consolidates the needs of the artist” with high tech engineering. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

zMAX Micro-lubricant is well known for its ability to soak into metal on a molecular level, dispersing nasty engine carbon build-up. Because the movement of metal is a constant engineering challenge, all types of companies have found uses for the product, from locomotives to small aircraft and large diesel engines. “Cars and speed are in our DNA,” notes VP and GM Dan Chittock, as epitomized by the...

From the old pole barn in the woods to the custom multicar garage and the ultra-modern car condo, gearheads have been searching for the perfect Man Cave / Mechanic’s Dream since time immemorial. Brian McNamara of Gearhead Homes joins the guys today to answer the call as he reveal the tricks of the trade and hottest trends in auto-centric real estate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho...

Skrape is up for anything and everything. The former co-founder of Tapout is known to pick up normal family-style cars on the cheap and transform them into horsepower heroes. His quirky fascination with wagons is well-known…as is his company. Black Widow Exhaust offers a unique line of mufflers with names like Venom, Widowmaker, Neighborhater and Angry Housewife. “It’s all a marketing thing,” he e...

For Kevin and Willie, driving is all about the fun factor, and that means throwing gears – we’re talking huge left thigh, major heel-toe clutch action. More discs = more torque, and that means twin, triple and now even quad disc clutches. On this episode, Geoff Gerko of Mantic Clutch exposes surprising ways clutches are wrecked, and reveals best practices for preserving them. Learn more about your...

The Gilmore Car Museum bills itself as North America’s largest auto museum, and for good reason. Located on 90 acres in southwestern Michigan, the sprawling campus features 7 partner museums; 190,000 square feet of exhibit space; 435 unique vehicles; 3 miles of pavement; and 100 rustic camping spaces. As summer approaches and the pandemic eases, Kevin and Willie welcome Executive Director Josh Rus...

Ever wonder what it’s like to spend your working hours conjuring visions of cool custom cars and then seeing them actually brought to life? Designer Murray Pfaff has been doing exactly that for years, and in this episode he regales the guys with tales of dreams made real that are absolutely to die for. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Diesel’s here to stay, there’s no question about it now that diesel’s gotten so clean,” says Clint Cannon, and he would know. Willie and Kevin welcome the President of ATS Diesel Performance to the podcast to dissect the popular misconception that EPA-mandated emissions technology is somehow killing performance, instead making the case that OE trucks delivering 500+ hp and 1000+ lb-ft of torque i...

For many in the hot rodding world, the sport is much more than a hobby, it’s an obsession; the passion is in the blood. Case in point: Dan Millen and the gang at Livernois Motorsports and Engineering. As Willie and Kevin discover in this podcast, these guys buy and drive only what they can modify… which is just about anything and everything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adc...

Raised as a pit kid at the family-owned Brainerd International Raceway, daughter of a 27-time SCCA Champion, Courtney Hansen is without doubt one of the best-known automotive personalities on television. Perhaps not quite as well-known: she and Kevin Byrd came up together in the business on one of the most iconic automotive shows of all time. “We were kids on Overhaulin’ and all these years later...

Metalworking can be intimidating, and the learning curve can be steep. But thanks to Darren O’Brien and the good folks at Woodward Fab, it doesn’t have to be. On this episode, the guys discuss how the company’s versatile lineup of affordable tools removes the fear factor and will have you fabricating in no time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Godzilla is no longer just King of the Monsters – it’s also the latest engine from the Ford Motor Company, a 7.3L 446 V8 monster available on E-Series vans, Super Duty pickups and as a standalone crate engine. Brian Wolfe, retired Director of Global Engine Engineering at Ford, joins the guys for a revealing conversation on how this gamechanger came to be and what it means for the future of racing....

Evan Smith of REVan Media has a reputation as THE behind-the-scenes media mogul of the automotive world – a writer/photographer/test pilot with all the inside scoop on the OEs. And man, can this guy wheel! Kevin and Willie sit down with REVan Evan for a freewheeling discussion about all the baddest, newest and trendiest goings on, and what it’s like in the driver’s seat of the Ford GT 350 and 500,...

On this episode, Chris Small of AkzoNobel leads the guys on a deep dive exploration of different types of automotive paint and how to successfully apply them. Noting that “cleanliness is pretty much everything,” Small makes the case for waterborne over solvent based paints. “Less experienced painters can have better results blending and things like that right out of the gate.” Learn more about you...

Comedian Christopher Titus is an automotive addict. “The disease bites you,” he admits to Kevin and Willie. “It’s terminal, I can’t get rid of it, and I’m glad I have it!” In a lively discussion, the trio of horsepower freaks share crash and burn stories, discuss the famous Titus-Foose “Once a Knight” ’56 Chevy, and agree that “cars are a great litmus test for any relationship you’re in”… well, th...

At the racetrack, the dealership, and in the aftermarket, Roush Performance and Ford are attached at the hip. “And aftermarket is truly not even a good term in my opinion,” says Director of Aftermarket Products Josh Hipp, “because every single thing that we do is engineered to Ford’s level or above.” Case in point: the hugely successful Roush F-150 Nitemare, billed as “the quickest production truc...

Kevin and Willie go behind the scenes with longtime SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting as he prepares to roll out SEMA 360, the organization’s new online platform created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the annual Las Vegas trade show. With over 6,000 member companies, the Specialty Equipment Market Association is much more than its namesake event. The preeminent trade as...

RaceQuip has been producing fire protection and safety gear for the racing community since 1975. Patrick “The Badger” Utt bought the company out of bankruptcy in 2006 and nurtured it back to life. The root of his success? “It’s all about building quality gear and coming in at that price point that that grassroots racer is looking for and being competitive at that.” And while this life saving equip...

Rebuilding steering columns is a huge pain in the butt. Kevin and Willie have restored enough street cars, race cars and classics to appreciate the simplicity of updating old straights, tilts and column shifts with brand new quick release equipment and digital dash mounts. Today, ididit GM Trever Cornwell gives them the lowdown on how to steer clear of trouble. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...

What does the future of car audio look like? To answer this question, Kevin and Willie welcome John Myers of Kicker back to the podcast. Noting that the OEMs “do stuff to that audio signal that would just make an audiophile cringe,” Myers explains, “you’re really not buying car audio; you’re buying emotion.” Understanding the nuances and complexities of sound dynamics is the key. “You don’t know w...

Fans of the long-running series Overhaulin’ may recall that our very own Kevin Byrd appeared in some early episodes alongside Adrienne Janic, aka “AJ”. On this episode, AJ joins Kevin and Willie for a lively discussion about automotive television past and present, ranging from her initial trial by fire as a novice working alongside Chip Foose, to some of her most memorable and outrageous experienc...

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 underestimat...

CARtoons Magazine entertained and enthralled generations of car kids and adults from its birth in 1959 through its final issue in 1991. That is until 2015, when Mark Methout unexpectedly resurrected the legendary title. In this podcast, the CEO and Publisher regales Willie and Kevin with the colorful tale of his unlikely journey from recovering the abandoned trademark and reuniting some of the ori...