Z-Car Roundtable Discussion ZCON
Tales of a Gearhead
What time is it? It’s ZCON time! You might be asking, “What is ZCON?” Well, it’s the premier annual international gathering for Nissan/Datsun Z-car enthusiasts featuring motorsports, car shows, group drives, and social events celebrating the iconic Z-car legacy. And this year it stopped in Nashville. So, naturally, Stacey went down to check it out and brought back a few friends to the shop to discuss what makes this convention so special.
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Lift King & California Datsun
Tales of a Gearhead
Stacey has a couple guests in the shop for this episode. First up are L.J. and MUNCH from LIFT KING. They discuss how they design & develop all their products and what they love about the automotive lifestyle, from their favorite rides to MUNCH’s passion for painting. After that, Al Allen from CALIFORNIA DATSUN is in to talk about all things Z-CAR and especially Stacey’s newest project, an original 1970 240Z that he recently found in Georgia.
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Heather Storm + Flying Sparks Garage's Emily & Aaron Reeves
Tales of a Gearhead
Stacey is out of the shop and on the road at the IOLA OLD CAR SHOW in Iola, Wisconsin! First up - Stacey chats with HEATHER STORM. They talk about her work in television hosting the Discovery/Velocity series GARAGE SQUAD and turning her passion for food, wine, and travel into her multi-media lifestyle blog, ON THE ROAD. After that - Stacey has an in-depth conversation with Emily & Aaron Reeves from FLYING SPARKS GARAGE. They cover everything from creating and building their highly successful YouTube channel, navigating the ever-changing media landscape, and how their faith and love of...
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Garrett Niss with Kyle Fischer of Hot Shot's Secret + Kai Smith of Mid-Tenn Media Blasting
Tales of a Gearhead
Garrett Niss and Kyle Fischer are in the shop to talk about Garrett’s one of a kind custom turbo diesel ’06 Dodge Ram and a very cool new product that Hot Shot’s Secret has coming out for LS engines. After that, Kai Smith from Mid-Tenn Media Blasting talks with Stacey about his mobile media blasting company and having the grit to decide to leave his desk job at age 30 - with a wife & newborn baby - to start his own business from the ground up.
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Custom Car Builder Ben Smithson
Tales of a Gearhead
Ben Smithson from SMITHSON SPEED & ENGINEERING is in the shop today. He and Stacey dive deep into the ins & outs, do’s & don’ts, and everything in between about opening and running your own premier hot rod and custom car shop.
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Anthony Sims of Lucky Dog Guitars
Tales of a Gearhead
The STUNT DOUBLE is on the road. Of course, no GEARZ project is truly completed without an accompanying guitar. So, Stacey has Anthony Sims from LUCKY DOG GUITARS in the shop to discuss the custom built six string. Anthony talks about how his love for music and playing live led to him and a group of buddies opening up a dance hall at 18 years old, how that led to building his first custom guitar and opening his small three-man shop in East Tennessee, and of course his two current automotive projects - a ’68 Charger and an original DeLorean that he inherited from his grandfather who purchased...
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SEMA VP of Events Tom Gattuso
Tales of a Gearhead
TOM GATTUSO, vice president of events for SEMA phones into to the shop to talk with Stacey about – you guessed it – the upcoming SEMA show this fall in Las Vegas! They dive into the history of the event, how it has changed throughout the years, what is new for this year’s event, and SEMA Fest which will feature live performances from QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, THE BLACK CROWES, and NEON TREES.
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Z-Cars with Max McCroskey from Resurrected Classics
Tales of a Gearhead
On this episode, Max McCroskey from RESURRECTED CLASSICS is in the shop to discuss his love of the Z-Car. After that, Stacey shakes open the mailbag to offer some advice on torque converter stall, converting a ’79 C-20 to a 4x4, and tow-strap safety.
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Matt Graves from American Powertrain
Tales of a Gearhead
Matt Graves from AMERICAN POWERTRAIN is back in the shop to discuss all things related to “saving the stick” and beyond.
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LS Swap Guru Jefferson Bryant
Tales of a Gearhead
Stacey continues his conversation with automotive journalist/author Jefferson Bryant. They discuss his love of music (especially classic funk) and playing the bass, his newest book (LS ENGINE PARTS INTERCHANGE: 1997-2020), and their love/hate relationship working on classic Jaguar XK-Es. Stacey also answers a listener question - “Can I get my ’41 FORD COE hot rod - with a fresh 406 small block Chevy - to run off of a 350 throttle body?”
info_outlineBen Smithson from SMITHSON SPEED & ENGINEERING is in the shop today. He and Stacey dive deep into the ins & outs, do’s & don’ts, and everything in between about opening and running your own premier hot rod and custom car shop.