The MuscleCar Place

We’re kicking off our SEMA 2026 coverage straight from the show floor in Las Vegas while the show is still going. For Part 1, Rob Kibbe goes from a modern take on the 1970 Chevelle SS to a Hemi-powered Bluesmobile that drove Route 66 to get here. Tod Warmack of Trans Am Worldwide explains how his team transforms a sixth-gen Camaro into the 70/SS, and Holley’s John McLeod talks Classic Instruments, custom gauges, and how his racing background fits into his work today. Then Phil and Jeremy Gerber and Josh Henning of Roadster Shop and the Oil & Whiskey podcast get into what happens when a few shops go all in on the cars they grew up loving. Suddenly, Fox-body Mustangs, third-gen Camaros, and G-bodies are all over the SEMA floor. Arne Toman, best known for his Cannonball runs, tells us why he put a Gen III Hemi in his Bluesmobile and what it took to make it a car he could drive to Vegas and back. Steve Hayes of CTEK breaks down battery charging and maintenance for everything from lead-acid to lithium, and Jason Noel of Fat Fender Garage walks us through his custom 1956 Ford pickup and how building trucks for fun turned into a business. The post 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! first appeared on The Muscle Car Place.

Could your next collector-car purchase pay for next year’s Thanksgiving dinner? Rob Kibbe welcomes Rick Schmidt of National Parts Depot for a Thanksgiving edition of Ask Rick, featuring two car-buying challenges. First, Rick has a $30,000 purchase budget to choose between an early 1965 Mustang project, a 1993 Dodge Viper with a television connection to Pamela Anderson’s V.I.P., and a Beck Speedster replica. Which offers the best chance of turning a year of ownership into turkey money? Then the budget limit disappears—but restoration work is off the table! A 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville, a 1963 Corvette split-window coupe, and a low-mileage 1981 DeLorean compete to fund dinner and dessert. Rick weighs condition, repair costs, buyer appeal, and potential appreciation before making his picks. Rob even throws a used Tesla Cybertruck into the conversation for a bonus round. Rick also shares the family connection behind his beautifully restored 1960 Pontiac Bonneville and the mechanical rescue of his 1955 Star Chief convertible as he prepares for Pontiac’s centennial celebration at Hilton Head. Along the way, he explains why factory-correct undercarriage details matter and why Mecum Auctions and Bring a Trailer would be among his preferred places to sell a quality classic. And because it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without a little friendly disagreement, Rob quizzes Rick on the holiday menu—from cranberry sauce to casseroles and the all-important pie selection. Bring your appetite and pick your winner! The post TMCP #664: Ask Rick’s Thanksgiving Car Challenge—Which Cars Could Pay for Dinner in 2027? first appeared on The Muscle Car Place.

This week, Rob welcomes longtime friend, former podcast co-host, and Kahn Media founder Dan Kahn for a preview of SEMA 2026! Dan attended his first SEMA Show in 1998 as a teenage automotive magazine editor, and this year his agency celebrates its 18th anniversary during the show. He shares what builders and automotive content creators can do to turn a trip to Las Vegas into lasting opportunities. For up-and-coming builders, Dan explains why exploring the smallest booths can be just as valuable as checking out the biggest reveals. We discuss discovering new products, approaching manufacturers, scheduling meetings, and building relationships before asking for support. Dan also highlights SEMA’s education sessions as an opportunity to learn about running a business and connect with others facing similar challenges. On the content side, we explore how creators such as Riley’s Rebuilds and Larry Chen have built opportunities by sharing their interests and consistently doing the work. Dan explains why useful information, curiosity, and respect matter—and why creators covering SEMA should arrive prepared while leaving room for unexpected discoveries. Then it’s time to predict the next big trends! Dan shares why classic Ford trucks could gain more ground, carbon fiber components may reach more builders, and complete chassis packages and crate engines will continue shaping the hobby. He also explains why younger enthusiasts tackling ambitious projects with ’90s and 2000s vehicles give him hope for the future. Plus, we wrap things up with a little Star Trek trivia! The post TMCP 663: SEMA 2026 Preview with Dan Kahn: Big Trends, Building Connections & Making the Most of the Show first appeared on The Muscle Car Place.

The Muscle Car Place returns to Holley MoParty in Bowling Green, Kentucky! Kirk Hansen, Jimmy Morrison, and Nathan Warren bring home five interviews with the creators, builders, and enthusiasts behind some of the event’s most memorable cars and stories. Derek Bieri of Vice Grip Garage discusses rescuing forgotten cars, keeping his videos authentic, and his plans to turn a historic Chevrolet dealership into an automotive museum. Tommy Boshers shares his new chapter on YouTube, building a Chevy C10 with his son Hammer, and the heartfelt story behind a ’67 Plymouth GTX restored to honor its late owner’s wishes. Dylan McCool introduces his ’65 Dodge Monaco, which combines classic styling with modern Hemi power and Chrysler 300 comforts, plus his old-school “Cornbread” Coronet. Greg Huizenga explains the surprising combination behind his 720-wheel-horsepower turbo Cherokee, while Jennifer Harrington of The Gearhead Girl shares her automotive journalism background, family Mopar roots, and eclectic collection of project cars. From father-and-son builds to unconventional race vehicles, this episode celebrates the people who keep our hobby moving forward. Our first YouTube video features Derek and Tommy, with more MoParty interviews coming soon! Find photos, guest links, and the full episode write-up at, https://themusclecarplace.com/podcasts/the-muscle-car-place-podcast/ The post TMCP 662: The Holley MoParty 2026 Spectacular! Live From Bowling Green first appeared on The Muscle Car Place.

It’s October, and Rick Schmidt of National Parts Depot is back for a Halloween edition of Ask Rick! This month, we tackle the business case for SEMA, explore the automotive career Rick would choose if NPD didn’t exist, and put his collector-car knowledge to work with two Halloween buying challenges. First, is SEMA worth the trip? Rick and Rob discuss the expense, preparation, and potential return of exhibiting, along with the value of introducing new products, generating media coverage, and maintaining industry relationships. Rick also compares SEMA to the Hershey swap meet: business increasingly happens online, but there’s still value in connecting face to face. For our first Rick on Cars challenge, the mission is simple: spend no more than $10,000 buying a vehicle, clean it up, and sell it within three weeks to fund a Halloween bash. The candidates are a 2001 Mustang Bullitt, a 1988 Chevrolet K2500 diesel 4x4, and a 1967 Mustang Coupe. Rick weighs repair needs, negotiating opportunities, and the size of the potential buyer pool. For round two, the budget disappears, the timeline stretches to a year, and every car must be black! Would Rick choose a dual-quad 1957 Corvette, a V12-powered 1941 Lincoln Zephyr Coupe, or a 1987 Buick GNX with only 30 miles? The Corvette raises questions about authenticity, the Lincoln offers distinctive styling and usable enjoyment, and the GNX presents the dilemma of owning a valuable car you can barely drive. A bonus 1976 Cadillac Fleetwood Castilian wagon adds one final temptation—even though it doesn’t qualify for the all-black challenge! Post-recording auction updates: the ’67 Mustang ultimately sold for $20,000, while the 30-mile GNX brought an incredible $427,000. Those results add plenty to the discussion about buying well and leaving room for a future profit. Which would you choose—and would you actually drive it? The post TMCP #661: ASK RICK – The ROI of Going to the SEMA Show and Fun Before Halloween Car Flips – Corvette vs GNX vs Zephyr! first appeared on The Muscle Car Place.

What if I told you this drifting General Lee didn’t begin life as a Dodge Charger? This week, I’m joined by Nathan Warren of Warren Customs to discuss one of the wildest General Lee builds we’ve ever featured. Created for professional stunt performer Kevin Waterman, this purpose-built drift car started as a former police-package Ford Crown Victoria. Nathan removed nearly the entire Crown Vic body, leaving behind its frame, floor, firewall, and key structural components. They then assembled a 1969 Dodge Charger body around it using reproduction sheet metal, custom supports, fiberglass doors, and plenty of creative fabrication. This wasn’t built to be a disposable stunt-car shell. The doors open and close, the hood and trunk function, and the hideaway headlights, taillights, and interior controls all work. Nathan even retained the Crown Victoria’s interior hood release—and discovered that its trunk hinges lined up remarkably well with the Charger trunk lid. The project later received an LS3, six-speed transmission, certified roll cage, rear passenger seating, digital gauges, custom wheels, and additional suspension work. The result is a convincing General Lee that Kevin can drift, drive hard, and use to give passengers full-throttle thrill rides. Nathan also shares why the finished car remained hidden for nearly two years, how its original Formula Drift plans changed, and what happened when the “General Drift” finally debuted at the NOPI Nationals Motorsports Supershow in Atlanta. From the grandstands, almost no one could tell that it wasn’t a real Dodge Charger. They simply saw the General Lee sliding around the course in a massive cloud of tire smoke! You can learn more about Nathan and his work through Warren Customs. The post TMCP #660: Nathan Warren’s Crown Vic General Lee – Building a Full-Function Drift Car first appeared on The Muscle Car Place.

Finding racing sponsors can be one of the toughest parts of building a motorsports career. Drivers often rely on cold calls, emails, sponsorship decks, and personal connections—but what if there were a better way to connect racers with the brands looking to support them? This week, Rob Kibbe talks with Heidi Bandish, founder of RacerShip, an online platform connecting racing athletes, mentors, and potential sponsors. Heidi explains how her experience with the Performance Racing Industry trade show helped her recognize the challenges facing grassroots racers and inspired her to create what Rob calls a “dating app” for racing sponsorships. RacerShip allows competitors from nearly every racing discipline to build a profile, upload a sponsorship deck, share results, outline future goals, and connect with others throughout the motorsports industry. Heidi also explains the RacerShip Score, how brands can search for potential ambassadors, the importance of mentorship and mental-performance coaching, and why young racers must learn the business side of motorsports alongside developing their skills behind the wheel. The platform is already working with racers from the NASCAR Youth Series and has attracted support from SimpleTire, with plans to expand further into Junior Dragsters, MotoAmerica, amateur motocross, and other grassroots racing communities. Whether you are a racer searching for support, a parent helping a young driver build a career, or a brand looking for its next motorsports ambassador, RacerShip is creating a new way for the racing industry to connect. The post TMCP #659: Heidi Bandish of RacerShip | The “Dating App” for Racing Sponsorships? first appeared on The Muscle Car Place.

This week on Ask Rick, we’re celebrating Labor Day with a collector-car challenge built around the old rule about putting away your white clothes. Rick has $35,000 to choose between three very different white performance cars: a 1975 Pontiac Trans Am, a five-speed 1994 Ford Taurus SHO, and a 1989 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z. He must drive his selection for one year and then sell it—so which car offers the best combination of enjoyment, collectibility, and return on investment? We also answer a listener’s question about Rick’s one-off 2001 Chevrolet Silverado Fox concept truck, a supercharged dirt-bike hauler that General Motors says can never be registered for street use. Rick explains why classic Mustangs remain relatively affordable, why overlooked cars from the 1970s through the ’90s are gaining collector interest, and which unusually colored car he would choose in a second $50,000 auction challenge. The post TMCP #658: Ask Rick | Trans Am vs. SHO vs. IROC-Z—Which White Car Wins? first appeared on The Muscle Car Place.

Bridney Jordan returns to The Muscle Car Place to take us behind the scenes of the tire industry and answer some questions most of us have probably wondered while shopping for tires. Why can a factory tire rated for 60,000 miles be worn out at 30,000? Are expensive name-brand tires really better? Why can two seemingly similar tires have dramatically different prices? And does it still matter where a tire is manufactured? Bridney manages the Lexani, Lionheart and Rolling Big Power tire brands for Turbo Tires, and she explains how OEM tires can be engineered around competing priorities like fuel economy, tread life, durability and safety. We also discuss how manufacturing location, labor, shipping, distribution and brand recognition can affect what you ultimately pay for a tire—and why a manufacturer's warranty can be one of the simplest ways to judge how strongly a company stands behind its product. We also catch up on Dallas's racing season and the support he's received from Lexani, Lionheart, Rolling Big Power and SimpleTire. As part of the growing partnership between the tire brands, SimpleTire and The Muscle Car Place, TMCP listeners also have a special offer: purchase four qualifying Lexani, Lionheart or Rolling Big Power tires through SimpleTire and use promo code TURBO15 to save 15% through December 1, 2026. It's an inside look at something every car enthusiast depends on but very few of us really understand: the four patches of rubber connecting everything we've built to the road. The post TMCP #657: Why Factory Tires Wear Out So Fast – Bridney Jordan Reveals the Truth About Tires! first appeared on The Muscle Car Place.

TMCP #656 hits the road with six interviews packed into one episode. Rob starts at US Car Tool with Ryan Renadette, where the big news is the creation of brand-new reproduction 1968–69 Dodge Charger bodies built from AMD sheet metal. From there, Scotty Stapp takes over from RoadKill Nights 2026 with Mike Finnegan, David Kruk and his yellow Super Bee, Dodge’s Sam Barbeau, Jeff Turk from Blackbird Performance Products, and Chuck Sundstrom from Radford Racing School. Along the way, Finnegan talks Roadkill cars and current projects, Dodge discusses the 710-horsepower Durango Hellcat, Blackbird dives into Gen III HEMI performance, and Radford explains everything from defensive driving to drag racing and advanced road-course training. Plus, Rob gives a Dallas Kibbe Racing update and shares the TURBO15 SimpleTire promotion for 15% off a qualifying set of four Lexani, Lionhart, or Rolling Big Power tires. The post TMCP #656: Brand-New ’68-’69 Charger Bodies + Mike Finnegan at RoadKill Nights 2026 first appeared on The Muscle Car Place.