TMCP #639: Jason Noel – Fat Fender Garage, The 20-Year Overnight Success
Jason Noel, founder of Fat Fender Garage in Gilbert, Arizona, joins us this week with a story that’s less about horsepower at the beginning — and more about perseverance. Jason didn’t grow up chasing race cars. He was a finish carpenter by trade, building doors and crown molding before the 2008 housing collapse wiped out his business and forced a complete reset. What came next wasn’t a hobby gone wild — it was a deliberate rebuild. One old truck led to another, then to customer builds, then to something much bigger than he ever planned.
Today, Fat Fender Garage is a full-scale restoration shop specializing in classic Ford and Chevy trucks, known especially for early Ford F-100s and modern Coyote swaps. Along the way, Jason learned that if he wanted the quality and timelines his customers expected, he’d have to take control of the process. That meant bringing paint, upholstery, parts manufacturing, and now even chassis production in-house. What started as flipping a few trucks for fun has grown into a 75-person operation building high-end custom vehicles and engineered components designed to compete at the top of the industry.
In this episode, Jason shares the hard lessons from early customer builds, the philosophy behind vertical integration, why he chose to compete directly with established chassis manufacturers, and how telling the real story — wins and failures alike — became the backbone of Fat Fender’s marketing success. If you’re into classic trucks, modern restomods, or the realities of scaling a business in the automotive aftermarket, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.
TMCP #637: Tom Maxwell of Velocity Restorations // Classic Cars and Trucks Made on Modern Day “Small-Mass Production Line”
Velocity Restorations serves a unique space in the restoration world — for enthusiasts who want a classic vehicle that captures the memories of their past without spending years in a garage or navigating endless custom decisions. Rather than operating as a boutique, one-off shop, Velocity takes an a la carte, production-driven approach. Customers choose from a curated range of options that fit within a carefully planned build system, allowing Velocity to deliver consistently high-quality restorations at scale. Their process is engineered for repeatability, efficiency, and continuous improvement, resulting in vehicles that are designed to be driven, not just displayed.
Unlike companies producing brand-new replicas, Velocity Restorations starts with authentic, original vehicles, restoring them through a refined production line that preserves history while delivering modern reliability. With a growing inventory of sourced vehicles and demand that continues to rise, Velocity offers everything from classic and Fox-body Mustangs to Broncos, Ford trucks, Chevy Blazers, C10s, K10s, and Scouts. The result is a restoration experience that delivers peace of mind, a rare industry warranty, and a vehicle ready for road trips, memories, and real-world use. You can see Velocity’s impressive builds at YouTube.com/@VelocityRestorations and explore build options at VelocityRestorations.com.
TMCP #428: Blake Foster, SpeedTech Performance USA; “Big Front Tire” Pro-Touring Suspension from the Ground Up!
This week our guest was Blake Foster, President of SpeedTech Performance USA. Speedtech is known for many things, but as of late I’ve noticed a LOT of their product in the field, at SEMA, and at the track. The common denominator: BIG front tires are included in the suspension packaging, even on cars where there is often no practical way to do so (such as an A-Body GM car like a Chevelle or GTO). Blake’s mottos is, “why make great suspension just to run a 245 tire?” With that said…I needed to know more!
Yes, Holley is the official EFI source for The MuscleCar Place Network! If that’s not enough, they have just announced that with the help of Prestige Motorsports, Dart, and TorqStorm, they’ve concocted a 427 cubic inch, twin-supercharged combo that is capable of sending absurd levels of good old-fashioned V8 horsepower to the pavement! The retail value of all of the components totals up to $23,364.44 and all you have to do to get a shot at winning is to SIGN UP HERE! Here is the direct link to use: https://bit.ly/KAFS-Holley-LS-Sweepstakes