TMCP #665: SEMA 2026 Part 1 – Trans Am Worldwide’s “New” 70 SS, Phil-Jeremy-and Josh from Roadster Shop, New Holley Goodies, CTEK Chargers, Fat Fender Garage’s on their Own Chassis, and the Hellcat Bluesmobile!

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The SEMA Show is still going, and our first episode from Las Vegas is already out! Rob Kibbe takes us onto the show floor, where a sixth-gen Camaro has been turned into a 1970 Chevelle tribute, a Dodge Monaco has borrowed some hardware from a Crown Vic police car, and a 1956 Ford pickup has about 800 horsepower hiding under the hood.

And the Bluesmobile? It got here the good way. Arne Toman drove it down Route 66.

For the first installment of our SEMA 2026 coverage, Rob catches up with six stops’ worth of guests, from the Roadster Shop crew and Holley’s John McLeod to the builders who brought these cars and trucks to Vegas. One question kept coming up in different ways. What would you build if you could take the car you loved growing up and make it drive exactly the way you always wanted?

Trans Am Worldwide – The Chevelle That Started in the Back Seat

Tod Warmack and his brother grew up riding in the back seat of their mom’s Chevelle. Years later, after building modern Trans Ams on Camaro platforms and producing a run of Burt Reynolds-signed Bandit editions, they had the experience to bring that family favorite back in a form of their own.

The result is the 70/SS, a tribute to the 1970 Chevelle Super Sport built from a sixth-gen Camaro convertible. Tod walks Rob around the car and explains how the optional carbon-fiber hardtop lifts off with two people, leaving the power soft top ready to go up at the push of a button. Then they get to the engines. The two 454-powered examples Tod brought to SEMA were rated at 1,500 horsepower, and he says the entire 25-car run of that edition sold out.

Roadster Shop – The Cars We Grew Up With Are Taking Over

Phil and Jeremy Gerber and Josh Henning join Rob to talk chassis, the Oil & Whiskey podcast, and the number of third-gen Camaros they’re seeing around SEMA. Even the Roadster Shop crew was surprised at how quickly those cars showed up in force.

They’ve seen the pattern before. A few builders put serious time into a Fox-body Mustang, a third-gen Camaro, or a G-body. Then somebody walking the show sees one done well and starts looking at the car sitting in their own garage a little differently. Once there’s a chassis and parts to support that build, it gets a lot easier for the next person to start one. It’s a conversation about how the next generation of hot rods takes shape, one shop and one car at a time.

Holley and Classic Instruments – What Goes Into a Gauge Built for Your Car?

John McLeod has raced at Bonneville, still runs NHRA Stock Eliminator, and now oversees motorsports work at Holley alongside his roles with Classic Instruments and Racepak. Rob catches up with him on the show floor to see how that experience carries over into parts for the cars we build at home.

John shares what’s happening back in Boyne City, Michigan, where Classic Instruments still builds gauges to order. The conversation covers direct-fit clusters, an OLED display with switchable readouts, and the details you can order to make a dash your own, right down to pointers painted to match the car. If you’ve ever stared at a freshly finished interior and wondered what gauges would actually look right in it, John has a few ideas.

Arne Toman – The Bluesmobile Gets Its Cop Shocks Back

Arne Toman’s Dodge Monaco has lived three lives. It started with a 360, picked up an LS along the way, and in that configuration won the C2C Express with Ed Bolian. Yes, they dressed as the Blues Brothers. Now version 3.0 has a supercharged Gen III Hemi from a Hellcat and a front subframe sourced from a P71 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor.

The best part of this walkaround is hearing Arne explain why he changed it. He wanted a fast Bluesmobile he could enjoy driving, and the old suspension and brakes were holding it back. So he asked himself what Elwood would do, found a donor police car, and got to work. Then he took the finished Monaco down Route 66 to SEMA with plans to drive it home, too.

CTEK – Will Your Project Start After Sitting?

Steve Hayes of CTEK and Rob dig into a familiar garage problem. You finally get a free Saturday to take the car out, turn the key, and hear a click. Steve explains what happens to batteries in cars that spend most of their time parked, why battery chemistry matters when choosing a charger, and how a permanently mounted connector makes plugging in easier. They also get into smart chargers and the new jump starters CTEK brought to the show.

Fat Fender Garage – An 800-HP ’56 Ford, Right Down to the Hidden Taillights

Jason Noel started Fat Fender Garage because he liked working on old trucks. Then somebody asked him to build one. He said yes, did it again, and eventually turned that work into a shop that designs its own chassis and makes parts available to people building trucks at home.

At SEMA, Jason shows Rob a 1956 Ford pickup powered by a Gen 3 Coyote topped with a 3.0-liter Whipple supercharger. Jason puts the combination at around 800 horsepower, but the longer Rob looks at the truck, the more questions he has about the details. The shop made covers and billet pieces to help the wide Coyote look at home in the engine bay. And those taillights Rob couldn’t find? They’re tucked into the rear bumper.

Rob also checks in with a Dallas Kibbe Racing update before the floor interviews, including why Dallas is bringing back the original body and chassis for his final Legends race of the season.

Listen to TMCP #665 above, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube for the next installment from SEMA 2026.

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