TMCP # 465 – Ask Rick; The Real Story of Herb Adams 1970’s Cheverra and Fire AM’s – The First Pro-Touring Muscle Cars!
Rick Schmidt is back for our ever-popular “Ask Rick” segment this week and we discussed two different “Pro-Touring” cars in the NPD warehouse that were developed and created by Pontiac engineer Herb Adams. Specifically, the “Fire Am” Firebird and the “Cheverra” Camaro. Interestingly enough though, when these cars were created….there was no such thing as the phrase “Pro-Touring” at all. That phase would not enter the lexicon for at least another 20 years or more. These cars are rare, fast, and fun….and were developed in the late 1970’s! Here’s the fully story.
TMCP #461: Pro-Touring Update with Larry Callahan – Spring Autocross and Pro-Touring Events for 2021!
Larry Callahan is back! For 2021 Larry will be joining us quarterly in a feature interview to bring the latest Pro-Touring event information straight from Pro-Touring.com. Larry is the “OG” of the Pro-Touring social media movement and a dear friend. You can take what he says to the bank!
Upcoming Events: Larry was able to get a comprehensive list of events for this quarter and I have posted it below. He also said he would be adding links to it and hosting it on the Pro-Touring.com website. It is exciting to see so many events listed including many that are brand new while some events are older established events that are going to see a huge upswing in interest due to pent up frustration. It will be very interesting to see what new vehicles emerge freshly built and ready to race as well as old familiar vehicles with new updates bursting forth from sequestering garages. People are anxious to use their cars after a completely missed summer in 2020 and this year will be the one to watch and attend.
TMCP #448: Charlie Hyatt, Innovative Rod and Customs, Starting a Brand New Business in the Midst of a Covid Crisis
Presented with Holley! Holley has two insane contests going on right now, and you can enter! Click here to enter to win a $20,000 small block Ford AND David Freiburger’s ’66 Buick! http://bit.ly/TMCPHolleyRoadkill and http://bit.ly/TMCPHolleyFord
Charlie Hyatt loved working on hot rods and had a career of working in hot rod shops throughout Minnesota. For years he he dreamt of having his own hot rod building business….and with young children at home and a pandemic hitting the country, he moved forward with it. And it’s working! This is his story.
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
TMCP #425: Larry Callahan – Twenty Years of Pro-Touring.com and Helping Make Old Cars Go Very Fast!
This week is a very special show marking a huge milestone for the Pro-Touring.com web site. It has been twenty years, this March, since Larry created the first launch the infamous site. It pre-dates nearly all of social media (Instagram, YouTube, Facebook) and even most forums! Thanks to Larry, many thousand people have visited to gain knowledge regarding go-fast-old-cars and share friendships over racing and “G’s”. Events and businesses have formed ENTIRELY around the Pro-Touring movement and the trend of Pro-Touring cars has become as mainstream as apple pie and kids taking selfies. I believe that Larry Callahan deserves the bulk of the credit for tossing gasoline on a match – and for fostering a place to take this industry from nothing to SOMETHING! This interview was a look book at how it all began.
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 parts alone are over $20K – and all you need to do to have a shot at it is to enter the contest! Here’s the link. Go get it! https://bit.ly/KAFS-Holley-LS-Sweepstakes.
You can ALSO set up a profile for your ride in the Holley My Garage section on their website. It’s kinda like Facebook…but from your car’s perspective! Using our link helps us out BIG time! https://bit.ly/KAFS-Holley-MyGarage
TMCP #424: Josh Oliver and Tony Huntimer; Showcasing The Rise and Life of Big Red – The World’s Most Famous ’69 Camaro
This weeks guests are Josh Oliver and Tony Huntimer from “Team Big Red Camaro”, possibly the world’s most famous ’69 Camaro and a car and driver combination that has somehow become an institution in it’s own right. This interview is the story of how a car and driver – that aren’t interested in racing professionally – are 30 years into being the biggest baddest paradigm changing racing team ever!
TMCP #391: DIY Alignment: TMCP Listeners Get 15% All QuickTrick Alignment Tools with Checkout Code “QTMUSCLE”! – April’s “All Electric Speed” Pro-Touring update with Larry Callahan
This week I talk to Gil Winningham from Quick Trick Alignment products. You may remember hearing the name before as I had Tess Winningham on the show back in 2015. Gil has stepped in since then has been working hard on social medial and promotions ever since. He is also a racer and spends weekends at the track with the QuickTrick Honda Accord and also helping out other racers with alignments.
Gil’s step dad Gary created the system to help him change alignment settings at the track or at least to save himself from hauling his race car to an alignment shop every week. People at the track saw this invention and wanted one for themselves and a business was created. Gil says that QuickTrick is always adding new products that enhance the portable alignment tool and save customers time and money.
TMCP #388: 5 Years And Counting of Building Hot Rods at Street Metal Concepts – March Pro-Touring Update with Larry Callahan
In this episode I talked once again to my dear friend Zip Simons, co-owner of Street Metal Concepts in Orlando Florida. Zip and Don Endonino put the paint and finishing touches on my Chevelle in 2016. It is hard to believe that it has been that long since they have been on the show even though I talk to them often since then.
Street Metal Concepts Humdinger on Diesel Power Magazine cover
Zip and Don have been working on cars for a very long time now and I wanted to get some behind the scenes info. He said that one of SMC’s biggest features is it’s record keeping. Every “valuable” hour is documented with what work was done and what decisions were made. This information is then provided back to the customer so they are comfortable with what is being done to their treasured vehicle. Zip says a lot of time is spent on project planning and documentation but in the long run it is all worth it. They also provide photo documentation on an ongoing basis and many customers look forward to the pictures of how the process is going. It keeps them involved and interested instead of becoming a drop it off and forget it relationship. Zip wants them to understand what is going on and what is involved.
Butch Poes ’63 Chevy II by Street Metal Concepts
Creating a custom vehicle is an emotional roller coaster and the guys want the customers to know this right up front. Quite often they get unfinished projects from other shops and this is usually due to the lack of a relationship. These vehicles are not a necessity and emotionally driven and the emotions run out before the project gets finished. Zip and Don want the customer to be comfortable and know the ball is in their court.
TMCP #385: Gray Fredrick of Advanced Fuel Dynamics, A Simple Way To Get Affordable E85 Power with an E85 Engine Tune! – 2019 Pro-Touring Kickoff with Larry Callahan
In this episode I spoke to Gray Fredrick, the sales director for Advanced Fuel Dynamics. AFD’s entire goal is to maximize the affordable power-adder benefit available in E85 fuel…but without the need for an E85 specific engine tune. Why? Because E85 fuel is an inconsistent blend pump-to-pump and state to state. With that said however, they have found a way to let the ECM do the job needed to gain that happy wonderful octane supplement and this discussion is all about that very process. The OEM’s have found a way to utilize E85 well enough with fuel economy in mind….but performance is the objective of AFD.
TMCP #373: Holy Fiberglass, Batman! Mark Racop of FiberGlass Freaks; Making Screen Accurate and Brand New 1966 Batmobiles; Pro-Touring Update with Larry Callahan
This weeks interview is with Mark Racop, founder and owner of Fiberglass Freaks, builders of 1966 Batmobiles that are Officially Licensed by DC Comics!
At a young age Mark was fascinated by the Batmobile and knew he had to have one of his own someday. This was no passing fancy or little boys dream, it was a definite passion. During high school Mark and his friends decided to create a fan fiction batman episode and of course they had to have the ultimate prop to do it with. Using very limited resources and a 1974 Monte Carlo the boys built from scratch the car now known as Bat-One. Later on the television studio finally re-released the entire Batman series and Marks dad recorded all 160 episodes on VHS. Mark spent many many hours watching, pausing, and replaying the tapes for clues on how the vehicle was built. There are pictures of him at car shows posing next to the show vehicles and even these family photos got pulled into use as reference points.