Full Transcript for Inside The Judge’s Notebook At A Classic Car Show

with two things. 00:04:02.639 --> 00:04:05.360 Way back when I had to pay for college, my parents couldn't pay for it. 00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:12.319 So at the dealership, they have what they call a wholesale line, which is where all the cars they don't sell on their used car lot go. 00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:16.480 I knew I could afford any car that was on that line because they were terrible. 00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:21.199 So I'd buy one of those cars, fix it up, and sell it, and that would pay for a semester of school. 00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:23.360 And I did that twice a year and they kept paying for it. 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:25.439 Carry on through life, got married. 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:27.600 We didn't have a lot of money when we got married. 00:04:27.759 --> 00:04:30.240 My wife wanted a new bedroom set. 00:04:30.399 --> 00:04:31.519 How much do you need? 00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:33.360 Bought a couple of cars, fix them up. 00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:34.240 Here's the money. 00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:36.879 So my love for cars kept going through that. 00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:45.920 Plus, work every day was with cars, and as I got older and could afford cars for me, I started restoring cars for me. 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:54.959 And I've done everything from naturally a lot of crisis products because I love them, but I've done Ford's, I've done Jaguars, I've done Mercedes, I've done Aston Martin's. 00:04:55.279 --> 00:04:58.800 So you kind of it's not like just anybody brings everything to you. 00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:00.800 You kind of get to pick a little bit, it sounds like well. 00:05:06.639 --> 00:05:08.319 I belong to quite a few car clubs. 00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:12.560 So anybody that wants advice or whatever else, I will be more than happy to advise them. 00:05:12.879 --> 00:05:16.959 This last car that I did is a very, very good friend. 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:22.000 And it was a Mopar, so they asked me, would I mind doing it? 00:05:22.160 --> 00:05:23.839 And most of my cars have won. 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:26.319 I've had five cars win different concourse events. 00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:29.600 I've won Autorama, I've won Keels and Wheels. 00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:33.199 Pretty much the car I have currently was also on my classic car, too. 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:34.240 Dennis Gage did it. 00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:36.399 He's done two of my cars on his show. 00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:42.639 And uh so that last one, I was gonna bring it today, but it got pushed out of the garage because of Adelio's car. 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:44.720 Is that the one you were talking about? 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:45.360 I am, yeah. 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:52.639 So let's so let's talk about her car because I met her, I don't know, three or four years ago out at uh another event across town. 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:55.279 Uh Tailpipes and Tacos. 00:05:55.439 --> 00:05:55.600 Okay. 00:05:55.759 --> 00:06:01.040 She showed up and and uh we had a chance to talk to her about her car, and then we would see her pretty regularly. 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:02.560 We were doing that show real regularly. 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:06.160 So uh so let's let's talk about her car and what happened to it. 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:10.079 Okay, she um loved that car as you well know if you know her. 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:11.839 It was what she kind of grew up in high school. 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:17.120 Her mother had one similar, so when she got to the point where she could play with a car, she bought that car. 00:06:17.279 --> 00:06:27.680 Um as in all the old cars back up to about well, with Chrysler 70, but a lot of them learned prior to that, they ran direct from the battery to the amp gauge. 00:06:27.759 --> 00:06:29.759 So the amp gauge became a fuse. 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:34.160 And if the amp gauge didn't burn, it took out the whole car. 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:35.920 And that's what happened with hers. 00:06:36.399 --> 00:06:42.879 Um the wiring got old, a little bit corroded at the bulkhead, caused a lot of amperage, it lit it, went on fire, and burned the car up. 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:44.319 Now it was in a shop. 00:06:44.399 --> 00:06:45.360 It wasn't your shop, was it? 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:49.040 No, it was in an aircraft hangar with two other aircraft. 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:56.240 And thank God somebody was there when it lit, and they were able to call the fire department because the car engulfed totally. 00:06:56.399 --> 00:07:01.920 So when the fire department got there, new thing, young people, new firemen, didn't know how to open the hood. 00:07:02.079 --> 00:07:05.519 So they busted out the vent window, couldn't get in the car that way. 00:07:05.600 --> 00:07:09.839 They broke out the driver's window, couldn't they got in, found out there wasn't inside hood release. 00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:16.399 So what they did, they took their saws off, cut through the fenders and the hood, and peeled the hood forward when all it was is one little latch in the front. 00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:20.160 So they ruined the hood, ruined the fenders, and let the fire go on much longer. 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:21.600 A lot longer than it should, yeah. 00:07:21.759 --> 00:07:24.879 But the good thing is the two airplanes didn't go down, so that's a good thing. 00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:27.279 Yeah, I saw some pictures of it. 00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:29.519 Uh she sent me some pictures right after it happened. 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:33.600 Uh and I asked her, I said, what they used the jaws of life. 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:34.639 I mean, what were they doing? 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:38.959 And she said they that's she explained they actually cut into it with a saw. 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:39.360 Yeah. 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:40.240 That's cool. 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:43.279 They said they learned something from it, though. 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:47.040 They learned how simple a foot latch is on an old car. 00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:49.759 So I guess

there's some good coming from it. 00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:55.839 Uh, but I've been working on that car, believe it or not, it's at the house right now um almost a year. 00:07:56.079 --> 00:08:11.199 And it originally I thought it would only be a couple month project because it was supposed to be pull the engine in trans, clean up the engine compartment, you know, put the wiring harnesses back together on that, and put it in, pull the dash out, put a new dash wiring harness in it, but it kind of grew. 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:12.959 Yeah, we got it out. 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:20.959 I pulled the intake off because it had burned up and pooled plastic on it from in there, and looked at the camshaft and I go, this thing really needs to go through. 00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:21.920 So then we had to go through the end. 00:08:23.279 --> 00:08:25.279 Then we went through the transmission. 00:08:25.360 --> 00:08:29.920 Then we put total new front suspension under it, and we went to disc brakes, and then we up. 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:34.879 She had an aftermarket AC, even though it was a factory AC, somebody had converted under the hood. 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:35.200 Right. 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:41.279 So she wanted to go back to all original, so we went back totally original under the hoods, and uh the dash is all done. 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:45.039 So the car right now is I'm all the chrome's back on, the paint work is done. 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:50.000 It's it I was hoping to make it for the chauffeur, um, but that car has fought me. 00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:53.440 I've never had a car fight me like this car fights me. 00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:55.840 I go two steps forward and three back, everything. 00:08:55.919 --> 00:08:58.799 And then parts now are they're just crappy. 00:08:58.879 --> 00:09:01.200 I mean, this Chinese part stuff is horrible. 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:02.799 You know, you put a new part on. 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:05.120 Example, put a starter on hers. 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:09.200 Summit, a good, you know, they're they're perfect because updated to a smaller starter. 00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:11.279 Put it on, it lasted six months. 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:12.480 The restoration, it quit. 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:15.200 Now, thank God it's got a year warranty on it, but there it is, it quit. 00:09:15.360 --> 00:09:16.559 Yeah, but then you gotta take it all off. 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:17.360 I gotta take it off. 00:09:17.440 --> 00:09:21.039 Then the neutral safety switch just went out on the thing, it started leaking. 00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:22.320 So I had to get another new switch. 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:26.159 It's got a new one from Classic Industries because there's not many vendors anymore. 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:28.320 No, and it's a bad switch. 00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:29.840 So I'm fighting that. 00:09:29.919 --> 00:09:33.759 So hopefully I'll have it finished for her for next week. 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:36.559 There's another car show next week, which is where I'm trying to go. 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:39.039 So all week I will be finishing and working on her car. 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:42.320 Which I should be able to enjoy because she's working so hard out here, she wouldn't have much. 00:09:42.799 --> 00:09:46.240 Well, she's she's learned a lot because she's come and helped every day on that car. 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:48.879 So she's great at cleaning her own parts up and things like that. 00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:53.519 Then I need to clean bead blasting, all of the trivial stuff that really helps me. 00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:55.600 Very time consuming, yeah, very time-consuming things. 00:09:55.919 --> 00:09:58.639 So, yeah, so I was talking to her, and she goes, you know, well, the car's fought me. 00:09:58.720 --> 00:09:59.600 It's everything's beautiful. 00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:00.639 I'm happy with that. 00:10:00.799 --> 00:10:05.039 And it'll be a far better car than what it was because everything is pretty well done. 00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:08.559 Um, I I drove it about 30 miles without it. 00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:09.840 It it did very well. 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:12.159 So I'm I'm very pleased with the car. 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:14.159 She learned how what it takes to do. 00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:15.440 We should have done a rotisserie. 00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:16.720 Think it back on it now. 00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:18.399 I have a rotisserie and I do all mine. 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:20.559 I should have just rotisseried the car and been done with it. 00:10:20.799 --> 00:10:22.960 Yeah, but like you say, you didn't think it would be bad involved. 00:10:23.200 --> 00:10:24.480 It was just gonna be eh, yeah. 00:10:24.559 --> 00:10:25.279 We're gonna clean it up. 00:10:25.519 --> 00:10:27.120 Yeah, clean it up, be done with it, move on. 00:10:27.200 --> 00:10:28.480 But nope, it fought me. 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:31.759 So hopefully it won't fight me out the door here soon. 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:34.240 Uh hopefully, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:10:34.559 --> 00:10:35.600 Very good, very good. 00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:38.960 So, so what do you drive? 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:40.960 Oh, I have a plethora of cars. 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:44.639 Uh um again, diversity. 00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:48.480 I have to be brand loyal, so I drive a creep channel, a Jeep Grand Cherokee. 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:49.519 That's a nice car, though. 00:10:49.679 --> 00:10:50.399 I love those cars. 00:10:50.480 --> 00:10:52.639 In fact, I just bought a 26. 00:10:52.879 --> 00:10:59.440 I get corporate, so I uh it's pretty easy the way I can do a car, and knowing most of the dealer body in town are very good to me, also. 00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:01.519 So my trades go pretty easy. 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:06.159 Um, I bought one of the new Hurricane 4s, which have gotten a lot of bad publicity. 00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:06.639 Yes. 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:09.279 Uh I I don't believe that. 00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:15.840 I've

had the car now for almost 6,000 miles, and I find it to be superior to the 3-6, which was a great motor. 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:17.279 It was great motor. 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:17.519 Okay. 00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:19.120 They used it in everything for years. 00:11:19.679 --> 00:11:22.159 Even Maserati used it, they put twin turbos on it. 00:11:22.240 --> 00:11:24.399 So, you know, uh great, great motor. 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:26.799 I read about the pad wrapping, I go, I can't be. 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:29.919 They did have some initial problem with spark plugs. 00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:33.759 And if they broke, they would take a motor out. 00:11:34.159 --> 00:11:34.720 Seriously. 00:11:34.879 --> 00:11:42.799 Yeah, this you gotta consider you got a two-liter motor putting out 340 horsepower and 370 pounds of foot torque. 00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:44.559 That's a lot. 00:11:44.639 --> 00:11:46.559 That's why these people go, well, the 3-6 was faster. 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:47.919 I go, no, you got turbo leg. 00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:49.360 I understand the turbo leg. 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:52.240 I think that's what frustrates most people. 00:11:52.639 --> 00:11:55.679 But learning how to drive the car, no, I love it. 00:11:55.759 --> 00:12:00.399 The up end, once it gets scooting, I use sport mode a lot because it's four-wheel drive. 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:03.279 Sorry, sport mode, that helps a lot with shift points. 00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:07.120 Um, so no, I uh all the bad, I went, I don't I don't get this. 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:09.039 Too much stuff breeds on the internet. 00:12:09.279 --> 00:12:13.279 You know, one person has a bad experience and then all of a sudden you don't hear about the good. 00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:22.559 But if you go to any brand out there, I don't care who it is, go to Ford, go to GM, look at all the crud on the you know, Chevrolet Motors and Cadillac motors and blowing up and that you know General Motors knew about this forever. 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:25.120 Manufacturers don't they don't do that on purpose. 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:26.639 I can guarantee you working for one. 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:29.519 No, they don't, but you know, things happen and things happen. 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:31.679 And and even my brand. 00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:36.960 I love it. 00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:42.799 The only problem I had with it so far is is really and truly is uh the EBS module went out. 00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:44.080 Oh, yeah, and you can't get them. 00:12:44.320 --> 00:12:45.120 Can't get it. 00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:50.480 I mean, it it took the dealer, it took he found one, I think it was almost 15 months. 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:54.399 He found one that somebody had on a shelf someplace. 00:12:54.720 --> 00:12:58.080 There's a company in California that is redoing them now. 00:12:58.159 --> 00:13:00.559 There was one in Houston, but they're no longer. 00:13:00.799 --> 00:13:03.840 Um we are trying to find a vendor for it. 00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:05.919 I mean, corporate I have still corporate friends. 00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:09.200 Uh the problem is that you know they get older. 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:13.919 We only produce parts for probably maybe five years, depending upon the product of the lifespan, right? 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:18.799 So keeping an outside vendor, unless the outside vendor can make money on it, they're not going to reproduce them. 00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:22.399 I'm surprised somebody hasn't done the modules yet because the demand is pretty huge. 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:23.039 There's a lot of those. 00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:25.440 There's a lot of people out there on the internet looking for them. 00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:26.799 Yeah, and it's not just that one. 00:13:26.879 --> 00:13:28.639 There's other modules on the car too, the same thing. 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:29.759 But that's the biggest one. 00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:33.919 But otherwise, no. 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:37.360 I'll tell you what, our RAM trucks, if you look at them, have been superior. 00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:38.559 Very, very superior. 00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:46.559 We've done, you know, since we started with the swap down with the swoop vendors and took the market in 93 with those, we've kept command very well. 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:48.399 We could have done better, probably. 00:13:48.559 --> 00:13:53.840 Our marketing department could have done a little bit better, and we could have maybe beat Ford and beat Gemlin Motors a little bit. 00:13:53.919 --> 00:13:54.399 But you know what? 00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:58.720 We sold a lot of Dodge trucks, made a lot of money for the company, and still have a good reputation. 00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:00.320 Our new ones are still gorgeous. 00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:02.240 I still think we have the best interiors of anybody. 00:14:02.480 --> 00:14:03.360 Absolutely on the interior. 00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:12.480 Now, Ford's made a lot of progress in the last few years with their interiors, but uh definitely I I remember uh I'm a member of the Texas Auto Riders Association and they do their truck rodeo. 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:13.039 Yeah. 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:20.559 So uh several years ago, there was a hardcore Ford guy who was there and he was going on about how great the Fords were. 00:14:20.799 --> 00:14:24.799 So, you know, let's go ram, let's go ride in the ram truck. 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:29.279 And uh I got to ride with him, well, this is okay, that's okay. 00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:35.360 And uh, but he really finally got out and looked underneath at the rear suspension because it rode so much. 00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:37.679 You finally admitted how much better it rode than his Ford. 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:38.159 Oh, yeah. 00:14:38.320 --> 00:14:46.240 Uh he still drives Ford, but still, I mean, it was just he was it was eye-opening to him to see that Ram had that kind of thing. 00:14:46.720 --> 00:14:49.440 So, yeah, great trucks, great

trucks. 00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:50.480 Yeah, thank you. 00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:52.720 You're welcome. 00:14:55.679 --> 00:14:58.960 All right, it um the other thing I was going to ask you. 00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:03.519 Uh did you get to spend any time up at Chelsea at the track of the city? 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:03.840 Yeah, yeah. 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:09.200 I I spent a lot of time, as I call it, I was a field engineer, so a lot of my time was spent here in Houston. 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:12.879 We have a railhead way back when when I started, the railhead was there, right? 00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:19.039 So we could look at initial quality of all cars coming out of all plants from Mexico, Canada, uh, anything built in the States. 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:20.000 They all came there, right? 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:21.519 Because they got distributed to the dealer. 00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:22.080 Right. 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:24.159 So I could go through and look at them initially off. 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:28.480 Plus, I could do comparison because there's Chevrolets there, there's Fords there. 00:15:28.639 --> 00:15:32.159 So a great place for me to just wander around and look at quality of all products. 00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:33.200 Yeah, check them all out. 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:38.240 The only one was on top was Toyota because Toyota's got their own, which is bigger than all of us across the street. 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:39.120 Yeah. 00:15:39.600 --> 00:15:45.840 And then we have a very large dealer body here too, so I could go look at initial quality and what was breaking in the dealerships and report that back. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:52.720 So point being is I had we call I got to go to Detroit a lot, all expense paid vacations, right? 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:53.919 I didn't have to live there. 00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:54.879 So we call it. 00:15:54.960 --> 00:16:03.519 I did my time there, but I was lucky because I got to live here, so I just flew up there on Mondays and came home on Fridays and did a lot of my time up there for that. 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:06.960 So, but yeah, uh our proving up in Chelsea were phenomenal. 00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:10.639 In fact, the whole technology center, when you look at the idea of it, was phenomenal. 00:16:10.799 --> 00:16:13.840 Iacoca had a phenomenal thing when they opened that thing up. 00:16:14.080 --> 00:16:15.840 Did you have you been to the technology center? 00:16:16.080 --> 00:16:17.120 Uh no, I haven't. 00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:20.159 Second largest building in the country next to the Pentagon. 00:16:20.399 --> 00:16:20.799 Really? 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:25.600 All the floors are configured to where you can change anything interior-wise at any point you want. 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:28.720 The floors will come up, all plumbing, all electrical can be changed. 00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:32.000 All hallways are set up for cars to drive up and down them. 00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:35.120 So the whole building somebody was thinking anything. 00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:42.799 Oh, yeah, we have a full-size wind tunnel, which the other manufacturers were borrowing from us because they didn't have a full size when a lot of the race teams would come in and use our full size. 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:49.120 We had a full mini plant there, so we could build a small plant after we designed it on computers. 00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:53.120 Build a small plant, actually run a product through to see if it was going to work and what happened. 00:16:53.279 --> 00:16:55.120 So it helped a lot on the quality stuff. 00:16:55.200 --> 00:16:58.559 And then our we had a little proving ground right there too, which was really nice. 00:16:58.720 --> 00:17:02.639 So I loved going in the basements because that's the engineering aspect. 00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:06.640 In the old days, we had bras, as you remember, the peel-off bras, really. 00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:12.000 So to uh camouflage the cars, when we had them outside, they did it. 00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:18.559 Well, as a corporate, I could get into certain places, so whenever I could, I'd sneak in another room and start peeling bras off to see what was there. 00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:23.920 And then go in the trans labs to see what was going on with the transmissions, what new stuff we were coming up with. 00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:25.039 Same thing in the engines. 00:17:25.119 --> 00:17:32.640 We had rooms of 40 dyno rooms where you're running motors in different configurations, so wide open throttle stabs, whatever. 00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:36.960 Bulletproof class, because when the motors blew, some of them were grenade. 00:17:37.039 --> 00:17:39.680 All the floors were made with drains to pick up everything from it. 00:17:39.839 --> 00:17:43.599 I always love to go just see what was getting done in all of the labs and walk around. 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:46.079 Couldn't get in the styling dome without God. 00:17:47.680 --> 00:17:54.240 And if then if you could get in, then you had to surrender everything and do a strip and search before they'd let you in there. 00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:56.160 So that's the big dome. 00:17:56.640 --> 00:17:57.759 I went there one time. 00:17:58.880 --> 00:17:59.839 Hey, sorry. 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:02.079 Yeah, I did. 00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:03.359 Now that you mentioned that I did that. 00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:06.960 Cameras, phones, everything, you know. 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:08.000 It's like that. 00:18:08.079 --> 00:18:09.279 So we went in there. 00:18:09.440 --> 00:18:10.880 I'm trying to remember what it was. 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:16.480 I think it was some of the commercial vans because they were talking about the new front ends would all come off in case it got wrecked and things like that. 00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:22.240 And we were there, I don't know, 30, 45 minutes, and we were rough, we were nicely escorted. 00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:24.880 Let me show you the way out of here. 00:18:25.200 -->

00:18:26.880 You don't want to play with corporate security. 00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:28.079 Those guys are wicked. 00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:29.839 Yeah, they were pretty serious, you know. 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:32.720 But but the neat thing, people don't realize like colors of cars. 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:34.880 We're doing that five years prior. 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:36.319 Materials were inside. 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:40.160 We're getting with vendors, and we're and that's the technology center had all the vendors there too. 00:18:40.319 --> 00:18:41.519 So we didn't have to go anywhere else. 00:18:41.599 --> 00:18:44.319 They could come up from downstairs, Bosch, or whoever we were dealing with. 00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:45.279 We want to do this. 00:18:45.359 --> 00:18:45.920 What do you got? 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:46.799 What can you do for us? 00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:48.319 What price point can you come in at? 00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:48.640 Uh-huh. 00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:49.440 Same thing with materials. 00:18:49.839 --> 00:18:51.519 So you get the contract negotiations, everything's going to be. 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:52.720 Everything's going on at the same time. 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:56.000 There, and and then any changes are in there in the computer system. 00:18:56.160 --> 00:18:57.839 Say safety's got priority. 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:03.440 So as the car is being designed after it comes out of the guy's making it pretty. 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:03.759 Right. 00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:08.079 As we're going down through it, I make a change structurally here because I have to for safety. 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:10.720 Well, that added six ounces to the car. 00:19:10.960 --> 00:19:15.039 Now you go downwind and tell climate control, you got to get rid of three ounces. 00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:16.880 Somebody else, you got to get rid of three ounces. 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:20.640 Now they got to go back to the vendor or redesign stuff to get rid of three ounces. 00:19:20.880 --> 00:19:24.480 So it's that trivial, but it's pretty cool when you watch it getting done. 00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:25.200 Pretty cool. 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:26.160 Same thing with paint. 00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:28.559 We're buying so much paint in the industry does, right? 00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:31.759 Think about the whole industry is buying how many gallons of paint, right? 00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:38.880 So we got to go to those vendors and say, we're going to build 300,000 vehicles, and of that 300,000, we want 100,000 red of this color. 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:40.240 Can you create the paint course? 00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:41.440 Color code. 00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:41.680 Yeah. 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:42.079 Yeah. 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:48.240 Well, we're not because Ford's producing more red trucks than you are, so we can't supply you with that much, so we can only give you this much paint. 00:19:49.839 --> 00:19:52.640 So then you go to a different vendor and try and pick up from

a different vendor. 00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:54.480 Right, right, and hope that the codes match. 00:19:54.720 --> 00:19:56.000 Yeah, well, that part you can do. 00:19:56.240 --> 00:19:57.839 We're kind of specifying some of that stuff. 00:19:57.920 --> 00:20:01.200 But that's where the complication of complexity of build is another big one. 00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:07.440 The old days, uh, I believe we had 300,000 different ways you could build a grand Cherokee in 1993. 00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:11.200 So when you talk about quality, how do you do that? 00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:13.119 That's why some of our quality issues are getting. 00:20:13.279 --> 00:20:22.319 We had so many options for you to build the car color dash configurations here, options here, here, there, that trying to keep quality consistent, that's where the Japanese always beat us. 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:24.960 We've got three basic models, these parts go on them. 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:30.640 You got two different colors' interiors, you know, a Toyota builds a truck and a minivan on the same line right behind each other. 00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:31.599 We couldn't do that. 00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:33.119 Our plants weren't capable of it. 00:20:33.200 --> 00:20:37.599 So then we had to redo all of our plants where they're able to build anything that was in demand at the time. 00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:47.759 So rather than have just one plant be able to build just truck, all the plants were capable of at any time of point changing to where we could build for more product of what the market was selling. 00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:51.759 I can see that that'd be pretty fascinating. 00:20:51.839 --> 00:20:55.119 I got to go through the Toyota plant in San Antonio one time. 00:20:55.440 --> 00:20:58.799 And you know, they had the robots and they would bring the parts around and all that stuff. 00:20:58.880 --> 00:21:03.119 And I thought, you know, who thinks of things like this to to make this work? 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:06.000 You know, it just uh it's just seriously impressive. 00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:11.440 I I if anybody's never seen it, if you can go to a plant and watch a car get built, to me that's the coolest thing. 00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:16.160 From the starting of all of the welding where the sheet metal company, if you've been to a stamping plant, have you been to that? 00:21:16.400 --> 00:21:16.960 I haven't done that. 00:21:17.119 --> 00:21:24.160 If you go to like our normal Illinois plant where we used to build Belvedere and some other things, there was a stamping plant, uh fascia injection plant. 00:21:24.319 --> 00:21:25.680 So they would also do the fascias. 00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:28.319 So we they would do the IP panels there too. 00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:33.599 All instrument panels were built and constructed there and put together because a lot of that stuff is is just in time. 00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:41.599 So as the cars come down the assembly line, the interior group down the street, the company we're using, is building the seats for that car. 00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:44.640 So they meet that car at just the right time. 00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:45.839 It's amazing to think of that. 00:21:45.920 --> 00:21:53.599 So you because example, we had um a quality problem we thought with Dana Rearends and Jeep Grand Cherisk, because they would sing. 00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:56.799 And we tried to get away with calling the customers a little bit, they were happy. 00:21:56.960 --> 00:21:58.559 Yeah, they're singing, they're happy, right? 00:21:58.640 --> 00:21:59.039 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:01.279 Because we could Find nothing wrong in teardown. 00:22:01.759 --> 00:22:02.240 They didn't work. 00:22:02.319 --> 00:22:04.319 They were just loud singing rear ends. 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:04.720 Right. 00:22:04.880 --> 00:22:06.799 So then we kind of blamed Dana for it. 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:10.960 Well then Dana spent a lot of money trying to help us, you know, cure the problem. 00:22:11.119 --> 00:22:13.279 And it ended up being it wasn't all vehicles. 00:22:13.359 --> 00:22:14.000 That was the problem. 00:22:14.079 --> 00:22:16.319 You know, you could you didn't have a thing you could narrow in on. 00:22:16.400 --> 00:22:18.480 My God, it's every vehicle we build or anything else. 00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:24.480 So what it came down to being is the way we stacked those rear axles prior to them being built on the cars. 00:22:24.720 --> 00:22:33.359 So um so what happened is the ones on the bottom, they would bow the axle housing just a little bit to where it put enough on the axles where it would sink. 00:22:33.519 --> 00:22:36.240 Just from the weight of the ones above it. 00:22:38.559 --> 00:22:39.920 So we're able to fix that. 00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:43.599 Well, I can see how you fix it, but they're going trying to figure out that that's what it was. 00:22:43.920 --> 00:22:47.359 Well, that was my job, but a lot of it in the field was to find those things, right? 00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:48.799 I mean, we had a problem. 00:22:49.039 --> 00:22:50.480 I shouldn't err all our problems. 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:52.400 A long time ago. 00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:54.319 All manufacturers have that. 00:22:54.400 --> 00:22:59.759 We we came out with a new transmission for our diesels, which are you know, the uh cum and steals are fantastic. 00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:01.920 I mean, you know, we so we came out with that. 00:23:02.240 --> 00:23:05.200 Well, Texas is a big truck market. 00:23:05.440 --> 00:23:05.839 Absolutely. 00:23:06.079 --> 00:23:08.559 Not the biggest, believe it or not, but a big truck market. 00:23:08.640 --> 00:23:11.039 Actually, California is a bigger truck market than Texas. 00:23:11.359 --> 00:23:11.839 Really? 00:23:12.319 --> 00:23:14.160 Small duty and everything else, that's why. 00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:16.799 Heavy duty, we take it on, right? 00:23:16.960 --> 00:23:20.960 So we had a lot of 3500 series dualies,

which everybody loved those trucks. 00:23:21.039 --> 00:23:24.240 So when we came out with the new configuration, they hit here first. 00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:26.240 They front loaded Texas. 00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:34.880 Well, um, I started getting a call from a dealer telling me this truck left, it's not even 50 miles, and I'm towing it back, and the transmission is total. 00:23:35.759 --> 00:23:41.599 So then we kind of go through, and all of a sudden, I've got this is before Thanksgiving, or like a week before Thanksgiving. 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:46.160 You gotta understand unions and us, we kind of close down for the holidays, period. 00:23:46.319 --> 00:23:48.880 That doesn't matter when the thing comes, it's it. 00:23:49.119 --> 00:23:49.200 Right. 00:23:49.440 --> 00:23:49.839 End of the year. 00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:54.960 So I've now got five brand new vehicles within 50 miles that have been reported to me, cratered. 00:23:55.039 --> 00:24:00.559 And I've gone and looked at them, and I mean they're they're total catastrophes because you lost the cooling to the trans. 00:24:01.039 --> 00:24:04.880 So I call up and try and put a place hold stop sell on all these vehicles. 00:24:05.039 --> 00:24:05.119 Right. 00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:07.839 So I called the Mike Engineering, I said, listen, we need to a stop sell. 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:09.039 He goes, What bullcrap head? 00:24:09.119 --> 00:24:10.559 We don't have anybody wiping a bomb at you. 00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:11.200 You got five trucks. 00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:12.880 I go, we got front loaded. 00:24:13.039 --> 00:24:14.319 We're the first ones to get them. 00:24:14.400 --> 00:24:15.119 You don't know it yet. 00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:17.599 You know, well, we didn't have that problem in testing. 00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:19.119 And I go, no, I've done those. 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:21.839 We do one lap of America, so we put over a million miles on. 00:24:21.920 --> 00:24:25.279 But my point is this we can do a million miles, have no problems, give it to a customer. 00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:25.839 Boom. 00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:29.599 I said, why don't we just give them to customers, let them figure it out for us first, because we'll find more problems. 00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:31.039 So you don't drive like a customer. 00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:31.680 No, we don't. 00:24:31.759 --> 00:24:38.799 We you know, so so anyhow, ended up they I I didn't get the answer I wanted, so I called one of the VPs and said, we don't need this crap going on. 00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:40.240 So he put stop cell on. 00:24:40.319 --> 00:24:42.319 Well, then I got in trouble for going over here. 00:24:43.599 --> 00:24:49.359 It was worth it because what happened is the vendor who gave there's a drain back so that the converter doesn't drain down after shut off. 00:24:49.839 --> 00:24:51.519 It was a little plastic ball in there. 00:24:51.680 --> 00:24:52.079 Guess what? 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:54.319 It swelled up in transmission

fluid. 00:24:54.480 --> 00:24:57.039 So you shut the cooler off to the transmission 100%. 00:25:01.920 --> 00:25:02.960 Things you don't think about. 00:25:03.279 --> 00:25:06.240 Well, you know, no, that's where the pre-production stuff we got was fine. 00:25:06.480 --> 00:25:06.799 Right. 00:25:07.039 --> 00:25:12.799 But then when we actually said, okay, we're gonna start needing these, build them for production, they didn't give us the quality we wanted. 00:25:13.039 --> 00:25:13.759 Oh, okay. 00:25:14.079 --> 00:25:15.039 And that happens a lot. 00:25:15.279 --> 00:25:18.319 A lot of it, you know, we can we design cars, we drive them. 00:25:18.400 --> 00:25:20.559 We uh it's amazing what really happens before. 00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:23.279 I drove a lot of pre-production cars, different drivetrains in them. 00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:23.759 You'd never know. 00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:29.039 It looked like a normal car, but it was a new drivetrain just to see what so I've got all my laptops and we're finding all the stuff that's going on. 00:25:29.119 --> 00:25:31.680 No problems, or maybe we did have problems and we corrected them. 00:25:31.839 --> 00:25:33.359 But then we go into mass production. 00:25:33.440 --> 00:25:34.720 Well, then the plant builds them. 00:25:34.799 --> 00:25:36.960 You could have problems at the plant, right? 00:25:37.119 --> 00:25:40.880 Or you could all of a sudden have a vendor problem because they started producing too many of them in their quality. 00:25:41.200 --> 00:25:42.160 Their quality goes down. 00:25:42.400 --> 00:25:45.839 So, yeah, so a lot of people don't understand cars, and it's not just us, it's the whole car. 00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:50.000 It could be Toyota has them, Honda has them, everybody has them. 00:25:50.079 --> 00:25:53.279 It's just one thing consumers aren't real sympathetic about, right? 00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:54.640 That's no lie. 00:25:55.039 --> 00:25:55.599 Yeah, yeah. 00:25:55.759 --> 00:26:00.640 Particularly my my new 3500 that I just bought drops me 50 miles from the dealer. 00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:02.960 That that's yeah, that was that was that was very job. 00:26:03.039 --> 00:26:03.279 Yeah, yeah. 00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:05.920 But thank God we minimized the amount of those that happened. 00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:06.799 So it was good. 00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:08.319 We took care of the people that did. 00:26:08.640 --> 00:26:08.960 Me. 00:26:09.599 --> 00:26:11.759 Well, Ed, thank you so much for taking the time. 00:26:12.079 --> 00:26:12.240 Thank you. 00:26:12.400 --> 00:26:15.200 I've been fascinating for talking to you, and I really appreciate it. 00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:18.799 And uh hopefully uh you get a daily card done pretty soon. 00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:19.359 Oh, yeah. 00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:20.400 Hopefully this week. 00:26:20.640 --> 00:26:21.759 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:22.240 Okay. 00:26:22.400 --> 00:26:25.440 Well, I gotta I gotta catch up with Debbie

here before she gets runs off. 00:26:25.599 --> 00:26:26.480 But thank you again, sir. 00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:27.839 We really appreciate it. 00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:29.839 And uh you have a great day today. 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:30.319 You too. 00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:31.119 It's a beautiful day. 00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:31.519 It is. 00:26:31.599 --> 00:26:32.720 We couldn't ask for better weather. 00:26:33.599 --> 00:26:33.920 Thank you. 00:26:34.160 --> 00:26:35.200 Thank you, sir. 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:36.319 All right. 00:26:37.680 --> 00:26:40.960 From the Texas Gulf Coast, you're within wheel time. 00:26:41.119 --> 00:26:44.559 We're out at the Back to the Past car show. 00:26:44.720 --> 00:26:46.880 We're waiting on Debbie looking for Debbie. 00:26:49.599 --> 00:26:51.440 She's got to get her back up here. 00:26:54.000 --> 00:26:59.440 We're gonna run a quick commercial here while we're getting situated, getting Debbie in here, get her situated. 00:26:59.680 --> 00:27:00.880 I need to sit right here. 00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:03.680 Uh you can set it either one up, ma'am. 00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:11.759 Having trouble reading my stuff here. 00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:13.279 Get your chair, man. 00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:18.400 It's that time again. 00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:19.680 Fire up those engines. 00:27:19.920 --> 00:27:24.240 Heroes and hot rides is rolling into Bastro for Veterans Day weekend. 00:27:24.400 --> 00:27:26.480 Friday night, cruise downtown. 00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:30.880 Saturday, 400 of the coolest rides in Texas take over Main Street. 00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:36.880 Honor our veterans, enjoy local food and shopping, and help support local charities and scholarships. 00:27:37.039 --> 00:27:44.160 Presented by Craig's Jewelry and over 200 local sponsors, November 13th and 14th, downtown Bastro. 00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:45.599 Don't miss it. 00:27:45.920 --> 00:27:47.039 It's Back to the Past. 00:27:47.119 --> 00:27:54.640 Cruise Back in Time Saturday, October the 17th for the SBISD Alumni Association's annual Back to the Past Car Show. 00:27:54.799 --> 00:28:03.519 It's the classic cars, trucks, motorcycles, and more as automotive history comes alive at the Cornerstone Academy, 9016 West View Drive in Houston. 00:28:03.680 --> 00:28:10.319 Bring the family, check out the rides, and enjoy a great day celebrating the vehicles that we remember and the memories that go with them. 00:28:10.480 --> 00:28:16.240 That's Saturday, October the 17th, Back to the Past, 9016 Westview Drive in Houston. 00:28:16.480 --> 00:28:17.200 Happy to hear that. 00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:23.519 Cars, trucks, SUVs, motorsports, road trips, and the people who make the automotive world interesting. 00:28:23.839 --> 00:28:26.480 In wheeltime is changing and we're expanding. 00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:32.000 We're bringing you more automotive stories, more interviews, more destinations, and more of what you may have missed. 00:28:32.240 --> 00:28:38.880 From Texas to the automotive world beyond, in wheel time is your place for automotive talk without the politics or the nonsense. 00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:44.960 Join us for the next generation of In Wheel Time Cars, trucks, and the people who love them.