On this episode of Behind the Stache, Dennis talks about his recent visit to Shriners Fest in Evansville, Indiana.

In addition to a car show with a couple hundred cars in attendance, Autogeek had many of their suppliers on hand and they were all doing product demos. Mike Phillips, Autogeek’s surface enhancement guru, was holding mini hands-on workshops and Autogeek founder, Bob McKee, was giving tours of the facility. They have about 35,000 square feet of warehouse space, and it is packed to the roof with more detailing products than I’ve ever seen in one place.

I was there as a guest and wasn’t shooting, so I actually got to just enjoy the show as an attendee for a change. As you might expect, every car there was detailed to the max; a few of which had actually been done by Mike Phillips himself. Some of my favs were a very rare ’55 BMW 507 roadster, one of the new Audi R8 mid-engine screamers, and a really nice factory triple-yellow ’67 Olds 442 convertible. A couple of my TV compatriots, Matt & Bruno from Truck Universe were also there.

This was a pretty unique event dedicated to the art and science of detailing that had a car show associated with it so participants could show off the fruits of their labor. And when you have all this just a stone’s throw from West Palm Beach, what’s not to like. I think I’ll be back.

Host, My Classic Car on SPEED
President & CEO, MadStache, Inc.

Being a gregarious individual, she introduced herself and learned that it was actually a replica of a ’34 Mercedes 500K. The car was originally owned by someone here in Evansville, but it was headed to France.

A Frenchman currently living in Chicago was the liaison for a friend of his that had flown over from France to purchase the car. They drove down from Chicago to do the deal, and then were going to drive it back to Chicago and prepare it for shipping to New York and then on to France.

Jean-Baptiste, the chap from Chicago, was familiar with the show so Sheila invited them over to the office so I could see the car. When they showed up we decided to break out the video camera and shoot some footage.

It really was pretty cool and beautifully done; timeless styling but powered by a 350 Chevy and with all the modern creature comforts like air conditioning and a killer stereo. I can only imagine how much fun it would be to drive it back to Chitown. At about $5 Mil for a real one, you probably wouldn’t be doing that. Plus, replica or not, I bet this baby garners reactions like Sheila’s where ever it goes.

The gentleman that actually bought the car didn’t speak English, but thru Jean-Bapitste I learned that there are some really good car shows in France and we agreed to put a plan together to try to shoot something over there next year.

And to think, all this because of a chance meeting at McDonalds. Hey, I’m lovin’ it!

Host, My Classic Car on SPEED
President & CEO, MadStache, Inc.

This is Moto Guzzi’s 90th year (at least for another couple weeks), and it was nearly a year ago that my good friend Melissa MacCaull, Senior Marketing Manager at Piaggio, asked me to write a blog in celebration of this milestone. As some may know though, my home burned to the ground on Dec 23, 2010, and recovering from that has dominated most of my attention in 2011. However, having finally moved into our new house on Thanksgiving Day, I can turn my focus to some of the many things I have let slide thru the course of this year. A side benefit of this delay is that I also added another Moto Guzzi to my collection, so I have even more to blog about!

In truth, I have historically been a BMW guy. They’re somewhat out of the ordinary, incredibly reliable and have a long, rich history. I really didn’t know that much about Moto Guzzi until I had the opportunity to visit the factory and museum in Mandello del Lario to shoot a segment for the TV show Corbin’s Ride On in 2006.

I was blown away! The place was absolutely dripping with history, being the site of Moto Guzzi production since their beginning in 1921; two years earlier than BMW! The museum was really impressive too, chronicling a long history of innovation and craftsmanship.

I became hooked on Guzzis tho when I went from the factory down to Catania, Sicily where there was a Breva 1100 waiting for me. There was also a Nevada 750 for my son, Sam, and a Griso for my friend and motorcycle photojournalist, Neale Bayly. We rode Sicily for four days and shot an episode of Trippin’ on Two Wheels. During this time I really grew to love the sound and feel of these bikes; and this from a Beemer guy!

There are actually a lot of similarities between Beemers and Guzzis, but while BMW’s claim to fame is rooted in German left-brained precision, Guzzis really seem to have a soul and the V-twin engine is akin to a beating heart. I knew I had to have one, and I started my search as soon as I got back to the States.

I found what I was looking for on eBay, a beautifully restored ’67 V-7, in North Carolina, and I bought it sight-unseen. We were shooting an episode of My Classic Car in that neck of the woods so we drove there, rather than fly, and after the shoot I went to pick up the bike. I didn’t have a trailer, so the plan was to ride it the 400 miles back to Evansville, IN and have the production van as my support vehicle. In general that’s not a particularly smart thing to do, and I must admit that the first 20 miles were fairly nerve-wracking as I was intensely listening to every sound and analyzing every vibration. However, she seemed so solid that soon I pretty much pinned the throttle, and it was rock & roll the whole way home.

I love this bike, and it gets a lot of attention where ever I go. It’s as bullet-proof as any of my Beemers and even more uncommon. It was so solid that when we decided to shoot the sixth episode of Trippin’ here in the US and do it on vintage bikes, this was one that was chosen to make the trip.

Neale had the honor of riding the Guzzi, which he affectionately referred to as Mother Goose while Sam & I rode a couple of my other Beemers. We covered 1000 miles in four days and shot a television episode; not a small task. The bikes all ran flawlessly and frankly performed better than we did.

The V-7 is great fun, but a bike that I have always lusted for is the Moto Guzzi V10 Centauro. Designed by Italian architect, Luciano Marabese, in honor of Moto Guzzi’s 75th anniversary, I think this is one of the most beautiful motorcycles ever built. I will say that this is a “love-it-or-hate-it” bike, and there are those that don’t share my enthusiasm for the design. But to each his own, and I definitely wanted to make one my own!

After several years of searching, I finally found exactly what I wanted; a low mileage ’98 in yellow & anthracite that was bone-stock except for a performance chip, a set of Mistral carbon fiber pipes and a bikini fairing. Spectacular!

This was actually another eBay find but it was located in New Hampshire. With winter coming on, I felt that was a bit far to attempt to ride back to Evansville so I wisely had it shipped to me. When it arrived, it was even more stunning than I had expected and with a sound that is music to my ears.

I am now up to ten bikes, but my two Guzzis have a special place in my heart. Few companies, especially Italian ones, have stood the test of time as Moto Guzzi has. It is a proud and storied marquee and may its next 90 years be as rich as its first. Moto Guzzi forever!!!

Host, My Classic Car on SPEED
President & CEO, MadStache, Inc.

We drove up to Indy the night before thru some pretty heavy thunderstorms, but it had cleared off by the time we got there and we got to witness one of the hallmarks of this culture; draggin’. That’s not drag racing. It’s draggin’, as in dropping the vehicle’s body on the ground and draggin’ it down the street. Those sparks you see are created by metal-on-pavement, and it’s quite a crowd pleaser.

Altho the weekend weather forecast had been pretty favorable, when I pulled back the curtain in my hotel room at about 6:30 Saturday morning, I was greeted by thick gray clouds and steady rainfall that looked like it had been going on for some time. Never a good sign.

Slamology is in its 8th year, and it’s held at the Marion County fairgrounds. Normally this would be a good thing, but I had visions of these low-down machines trying to negotiate a muddy show field or worse yet, nothing at the show field!

We hung out at the hotel until about 9:00 am in hopes of improved weather, but when that didn’t materialize we figured we’d better get over there and shoot whatever we could. It was pretty sparse when we got there but to my amazement, there was a steady trickle of cars coming in, and there was some pretty interesting, and occasionally outlandish, stuff.

I could tell this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park tho. Between a new band every 30 minutes and the preponderance of insane thumper car stereo systems, audio was definitely a challenge. At some point tho you have to say, “Hey, that’s the scene.” and just roll with it. Which is exactly what we did.

The show ran the complete gambit from mild to wild; although there was a lot more wild. On the mild end, there was a very cool ’59 Merc Monterey. I can’t recall ever seeing one of these. This one was a two-door post, no options car. We’re talking three-on-the-tree, radio delete. I loved it tho. It was completely original (except for the airbags), still sporting its original paint. The owner brought it specifically because he thought I’d dig it, and he was right!

Another interesting ride was this ’84 Ford Bronco II. It was dropped about as far as you could without digging a basement, but what I really liked about it was that it was sporting a mid 50’s F-100 front end and a Ford flathead engine?!? I just thought that was so cool, and it may have been the only flathead I saw all day. This was actually the second incarnation for this Bronco at the hands of this owner, with the previous one being just as cool but completely different. Wonder what he’s got in mind for round three?

I also dug John Jackson’s dropped ’64 Corvair Corvan. John is a freelance automotive photographer and spends most of his time travelling the country shooting cars and car shows. Other than the metal flake vinyl seats and the lowering, this van was a stock Corvan and he’d driven it up nonstop from Houston, TX just for Slamology. That’s dedication; and nominally insane.

Since nobody’s really making a mini truck anymore, Slamologists have had to turn to bigger trucks like this 2005 Chevy Colorado to continue their modification mania. This was an example of how much you could change the appearance of a vehicle with reasonably few modifications. This was pretty much a stock pickup that had been seriously lowered, given trick wheels, a cowl induction hood, and some pretty nice paint & graphics. It was being transformed on a budget with the engine being the next thing on the list, but this truck was also the owner’s daily driver and it needs to get him back and forth to his job so he can continue to finance the transformation.

Rounding out the day was a killer ’61 Impala bubbletop. It was a color similar to Evening Orchid which was used on the ’65 Impala’s, but this version had a lot more orchid and less evening. This car was immaculately done and it came onto the show field low and slow; gliding not more than a couple inches off the ground. However when I found it later, I realized that it had full hydraulics and it was sitting there in an incredibly contorted position, but one that I must say showed off its chromed out undercarriage quite nicely. I’m not sure that the owner was all that impressed with my attempt to imitate the car’s stance tho.

Slamology was a really interesting show. While the vehicles may have been somewhat different than most shows out there, I’d have to say that the people really weren’t. They were still folks that really loved cars and the car hobby. They just practiced it a little differently than the mainstream. This may be a bit of a fringe element, but there are some really creative and talented people in it. I say, don’t fear the fringe! Attend one of these shows and take the introductory course; Slamology 101.

Happy Motoring,

We went down a day early so we could also take in a few of the sights in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter.

The temperature was 102 degrees that day, and I found myself strangely drawn to the signs heralding “Huge Ass Beers”. I can also say with certitude that was not false advertising!

We were looking at the potential of another 100+ degree day on Sunday, which can make shooting pretty brutal, but fortunately a light rain blew thru, dropping the temperature into the low 90’s. Not exactly chilly, but certainly more bearable.

There were about 600 cars in attendance, and the rain certainly didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits. Hey, this is New Orleans, and a shower at a car show is a long way from what these folks consider adversity! Their sense of humor was in fine form too as I was greeted early on by a group sporting handlebar mustaches in honor of our attendance. If I’d had a little shoe polish for mine, I could have fit right in.

Another thing that takes a little getting used to is that everybody down there calls you, “Baby”. At first when all these women were calling me Baby, I thought, “Hey, I kinda like this!”, but when I realized that all the guys did it too, its appeal diminished a bit.

But have I mentioned there were cars there?

One that stood out to me was a ‘65 Plymouth Satellite convertible whose new owner had just completed his second tour of duty in Iraq. You don’t see these very often, and this wasn’t an over-the-top restoration; just a really nice driver. And that’s why he bought it, and that’s what he does with it. I hope he enjoys his cruisin’. He’s certainly earned it!

There was a pretty cool ’29 Model AA fire truck that was used up until 1953 by the fire department in nearby Bucktown.

As well as a really nice old school ’55 Chevy Gasser. This was owned by a guy who had been in local law enforcement for over 30 years and hence the name, Lawman.

There was a wide array of T-birds in attendance, but the one that caught my attention was this ’72 mega-bird. You don’t see these very often either. This thing was the size of a Lincoln Continental, and it was largely original. It had the 460 cui engine which it probably needed to haul all that weight around. Perhaps not one of the sexiest Birds ever built, but I bet it’s like driving the living room.

Rounding out the shoot was a nice little ‘36 hot rod Chevy truck. It was an eye-catching peach color with teal contrast, not to mention its heavily chromed, blown engine.

Everybody had a great time at the show, and I’m sure I’ll be working my cholesterol back down for the next couple months after all that deep fried seafood. The next stop is an event called, Slamology, in Indianapolis, and I expect that to be a whole different kettle of fish, so to speak.

Happy Motoring,

Not surprisingly, I went for a couple roadsters; a 1912 National Indy race car and a 1914 Mercer. I guess technically the National wasn’t even considered a roadster. Purpose-built racers were referred to as “speed cars”. This car was part of a five-car team fielded by National in the 1912 Indianapolis 500, and one of those cars actually won the race that year. Unfortunately, this particular car rolled, killing the driver. Still, that didn’t stop me from getting on it when we were out driving. It also seemed appropriate that the road leading out of Jim’s place was gravel. I felt like I had been transported back to the early part of the 20th century… and I was already sporting the perfect mustache!

We actually had a bit of excitement before we even got to the driving. When Jim went to fire the car up first thing that morning, the starter stuck, apparently sending the full current of the battery back thru the solenoid wire and as I was sitting there in the mechanics seat, I looked down and saw smoke billowing out from under my butt!

I leapt out of the car, yanked off the seat cushion, and whacked the solenoid with a wrench causing it to disengage. Ben, the cameraman, said he’d never seen me move so fast. Hey, you would too if you thought your butt was on fire!

The wire running from the solenoid to the battery was completely fried, but there was no other major damage so it was a pretty quick fix, and we were ready to go on with the shoot.

The National was really a beast. Pretty much a big engine and running gear, but little else. The engine was a 700+ cui, dual-plugged, long stroke, t-head design. And man was it loud!

Jim doesn’t baby these cars either, nor did he require that I did. Driving this racer was really something. It was a two-man job too. The driver had his hands full with wheel and the mechanic was in charge of the shift lever and the auxiliary brake. We actually made a pretty good team.

Even tho the Mercer was only two years newer than the National, it represented a significant leap in both design and technology. The Mercer company was founded by the Roebling brothers of Brooklyn Bridge fame, and while they were based in New York City, the car company was established in Mercer County, PA and hence the name. Interestingly, those cars were built about 10 miles from where Jim lives.

While the National was big, boxy, loud, and raw, the Mercer was smooth, sleek, curvaceous, and refined. This was a true roadster and a fairly pricey one, so only people of means owned them back in the day. Actually, the same thing is probably true of them today. You definitely feel pretty grand when you’re rolling down the road in this baby!

The weather forecast for that day had not been good, but the predicted afternoon storms never materialized and it ended up being a great shoot. This will be episode 26 (the last one!) of season 15, and will probably air in late July.

There won’t be much of a break for me tho since we are leaving today for New Orleans to shoot an event this weekend called Back to the Beach, and this is actually already the third shoot for the 2012 season. Come Monday, it’ll be three down and only 23 to go. Wait a minute…23 to go?!?

Happy Motoring,

One of the stars of the show was Tim Kerrigan’s ’62 Impala SS 409; beautifully resto-modded and sporting a two-tone red & faint yellow paint scheme. Tim is the President of Red Line Oil and the particular red he used is a DuPont color called Redline Red. Go figure. The paint theme was carried thru in the interior with the gauge faces being the same faint yellow used on the exterior.

Another fav of mine was a ’54 Chevy custom. I thought the car was pretty slick, but I especially got a kick out of its owner. He was a real character who did a Rodney Dangerfield that was second only to Dangerfield himself. The car had a Shock Top draft pull for a gearshift knob, and he claimed that he had to drain an entire keg at a local watering hole to get it. I got together with him there after the show to help in case he might need another one.

In the hardcore performance category, there was a serious ’69 Barracuda with the rare “Slickback” vinyl top option. The vinyl top was particularly interesting since this was a 10 sec drag car. However, this car could also be outfitted in “street dress” and since the owner was a California Highway Patrol officer, I suspect it was pretty well behaved when it wasn’t on the strip.

One of the weirdest vehicles at the show was a ’60 Jeep Forward Control, which I’d never even heard of. Forward Control was Jeep’s name for a cab-over-engine design. These could be configured differently depending on the application, and this one had spent most of its life as a wrecker in Colorado. You’d never know it tho because it was beautifully restored, and its nine-foot bed was straight as an arrow.

Rounding out the shoot was a really interesting ’68 442. What made it so unique were its interior and exterior colors. The body color was called “ivory”, but it definitely had a hint of green in it, and this was matched with a green vinyl top. The interior was perfect and while it was called “willow gold”, it had a lot of green in it too. The original 400 engine had been upgraded to a 455 out of a Tornado. The green rally wheels from a later model 442 might have been a little over the top (and I’m a green guy!). But you’re not likely to see another one like it, and this baby was sweet.

Next week we’ll be in PA finishing up the last shoot for the 2011 season. I think. It’s all sort of a blur to me. Might be lingering effects from all that Shock Top.

Happy Motoring,

In the interest of full disclosure, I will admit that I am a known Stude guy, but regardless, both cars were excellently done and fairly extreme, yet completely streetable. The streetable part might be debatable with the ’39 since I’m sure it bumps up against the noise pollution limits of peaceful Glendora, but man what a sound!

I had first run into the Stude and its owner, Leonard Knight, at the SEMA charity car show last year in Pasadena. There were a lot of nice cars at that show, but that one really caught my eye. It didn’t hurt that it was green either. (I’m also a known green-car guy).

I’ve always thought the so-called Lowey Coupe (even tho it was actually designed by Bob Bourke) was one of the best automotive designs ever. It also seems to lend itself particularly well to customization.

Leonard had gone for sort of a Bonneville look. It had a fairly low ride height considering it wasn’t on air. Leonard’s philosophy is that bags are for groceries. It also had two inch chop but that was accomplished by taking most of it out of the cowl and laying the windshield back. That way he was able to still use a stock windshield resulting in much better visibility than you usually get in a chopped car.

The interior was gorgeous with Bentley-inspired insert in the seats and a virtually gaugeless dash.

But it was what was under the hood that was most impressive; a twin turboed LSX block built to a 454 cui with LS9 heads and some of the craziest headers I’ve ever seen. The nose of the car actually had to be slightly elongated to accommodate the turbos and the custom intake. It was a beauty to behold and packed considerable punch at close to 1000 hp!

When we took it out to get the driving footage, I was surprised at how well mannered it was; as long as you stayed out of the turbos that is. Somewhat to my surprise tho, Leonard let me light it up once and that was captured on his son, Jade’s, iPhone. I think the coolest thing about the video is that the tires break loose as soon as I hit the accelerator, but within about 20 feet the turbos kick in and then the tires really start smokin’!

The ’39 coupe was a completely different animal, and indeed, it was an animal. Leonard had owned this car for quite a while and this was its fourth incarnation, with each one being considerably different than the previous. This latest version was sporting 572 with Kinsler stack injection. It was seriously tubbed with at least a foot and a half of rubber on the road on each side. The Detroit Locker rear end meant that it didn’t like slow tight turns, and the 4000 rpm stall converter meant that it was hard to do a slow tight turn. Its Copper Penny and Silver paint scheme was striking and the interior was surprisingly plush considering everything else about this pro-street was all business.

Of course driving this baby was a blast too, and it seemed to get even more attention on the street than the Stude, but I think that’s because it was hard not to notice something that was making that much racket.

I figured if Leonard let me do a burnout in his Stude, he’d probably let me do one with this beast too; and I was right! Jade got this one on the iPhone too. There was no turbo lag with this car, and she lit up immediately and burned till I let off the accelerator. Oh, and Ben, the cameraman, put in for a pair of safety goggles after that one.

The fact that I’m running behind schedule means that you won’t have to wait long to see this episode either. It’s currently scheduled to air June 12th, which is good since I can’t wait to see it myself!

Happy Motoring,