It's All About the Build with I.B.F.HotRods
by I.B.F.HotRods
Hosted by builder and industry insider Elliot Slack of I.B.F.HotRods, this podcast takes you behind the scenes with legends, rising stars, and creative minds shaping the HotRod, Custom Car, and Classic Car Restoration world. These no-holds-barred conversations reveal the artistry, grit, and business of crafting one-off custom builds and nut and bolt restorations. Tune in for brutally honest insights into the blood, sweat, and gears behind Custom Car Building, Restoration, and the hustle of HotRodding.WARNING: This podcast isn’t for the easily offended. Listener Discretion is Advised
Episodes
-
Chop Class with Joel Davis | Traveling the Country Teaching One Chop at a Time | How Model Cars Built a Life Drenched in Traditional Hot Rods
Chopping and customizing since he was 12, Joel Davis of Davis Haus of Style and Chop Class grew up on model cars, a how to customize book, and a father and uncle who loved hot rods and classics. A local hotrodder took him under his wing at 15 and taught him pinstriping, proportion, and design…
more -
Mike Wagner | Cornfield Customs | 20 Years of Metal Shaping, Self Taught, Self Made, & No Apologies
Mike Wagner of Cornfield Customs in Milford, Ohio sat down with me at his fabrication shop for a conversation that went way deeper than I expected. Over twenty years of metal shaping, sheet metal fabrication, custom hot rod builds, and race car fabrication with zero formal training. No trade...
-
Kevin and Monica Nichols | Marilyn | The Home Built 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air That Keeps Beating The Pros
Kevin and Monica Nichols spent eighteen years building a 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air named Marilyn. In this episode of It's All About the Build, we sit down with two people who are about as far from professional car builders as you can get. Their day jobs have nothing to do with hot rods, they don't…
more -
Dan & Hilary Fournier | Motor City Metalcraft & Autobodybarbie | The Craft, Family, & No Compromise
Dan and Hilary Fournier of Motor City Metalcraft sat down with Melanie and I at their shop in Mount Clemens, Michigan for one of the most honest conversations we've ever had on this podcast. We get into what it actually looks like to run a full custom and restoration shop the right way, without…
more -
VooDoo Larry | A Life Built in Kustoms
In this episode of It’s All About the Build, Elliot and Melanie sit down with VooDoo Larry for an in-depth, no-filter conversation about a life shaped by kustom culture. From early influences and the pull toward building, to the music, art, and attitude that defined an entire timeline in…
more -
Travis Sylvester of Sylvester's Customs | From Day Job to Full-Time Custom Car Builder
Custom car builder Travis Sylvester shares how he went from working a full-time job at night builds to running Sylvester’s Customs full time through YouTube, paint, and education. In this episode of It’s All About the Build, I sit down with Travis Sylvester, owner of Sylvester’s Customs in...
-
Mikey Brown from Paper to Pavement | Building the Next Hot Wheels Legend
In this episode, we travel Indiana’s backroads to meet Mikey Brown, a visionary builder with a dream of becoming a Hot Wheels Legends Tour Champion. From his home shop, Mikey shares his incredible journey, fueled by passion, creativity, and determination. This episode explores Mikey’s early...
-
Kevin Tetz | From Rockstar to Automotive Painting Legend & Paintucation University
Kevin Tetz shares his journey from rockstar to automotive painting legend, lessons from decades painting classics, and a behind-the-scenes look at Paintucation University — the ultimate resource for aspiring painters. In this episode of It’s All About the Build, we head south of Nashville to...
-
Justin Nichols | Nichols Paint & Fab, Custom Cars & Wrench’d
Justin Nichols of Nichols Paint & Fab shares the story behind his shop, his hit TV show Wrench’d, and the lessons learned building a custom car empire from the ground up. In this episode of It’s All About the Build, we hit the garage with Justin Nichols of Nichols Paint and Fab, joined by Maegan...
-
Bryan Devrous | Cane Creek Custom and Building a Shop From Nothing
Bryan Devrous and I go back. We worked together, learned together, and now we're both running our own shops. In this episode Bryan tells the real story of how Cane Creek Custom went from nothing to one of Nashville's go to shops for paint and full builds, and he did it fast. We talk about what it...
-
2024 Ridler Award Winner Revealed | Behind the Scenes at Detroit Autorama
The 2024 Ridler Award winner is in. Following up on our Great 8 breakdown, Randy and I go through who took it, why they took it, and what we saw behind the scenes that most people didn't. There's some drama involved because there always is when the biggest award in the custom car world is on the...
-
2024 Detroit Autorama Great 8 Finalists | Ridler Award Breakdown
The 2024 Detroit Autorama Great 8 finalists. Eight cars competing for the Ridler Award, the biggest prize in custom car building. Randy and I break down every single one. What the judges are looking at, what most people walk right past, and what separates a car that makes the Great 8 from a car...
-
Assembly Line vs. Custom Car Building | 35 Years of Manufacturing Meets the Custom World
Melanie makes her debut on the show, and she brought Pete. Between the two of them they've got over 35 years of assembly line car manufacturing experience. In this episode we put factory production and custom car building side by side. The precision of the assembly line vs. the handcrafted…
more -
What's Missing in Classic Car TV | Bitchin' Rides, Texas Metal, Fantom Works & More
What happened to good car shows? Randy and I share our honest thoughts on what's missing in today's classic car and custom car television. We talk about Bitchin' Rides, Texas Metal, Top Gear, Fantom Works, Wheeler Dealers, and yes, we get into Richard Rawlings, Fast N Loud, and the infamous Bad...
-
Upgrading Your Classic Car or Truck | EFI, Suspension, Brakes, Wiring & More
Is it worth upgrading your classic into the 21st century? Randy and I go through it all. Engine upgrades, throttle body EFI systems, suspension options, air rides vs. coil overs, brake upgrades, full rewiring, modern radios, and everything in between. We lay out what's worth the money, what's…
more -
Classic Car Pricing Exposed | Why People Price Their Cars the Way They Do
Everybody's got an opinion on what a classic car is worth and most of them are wrong. In this episode Randy and I dig into the research behind how people price their vehicles, what actually drives the number up or down, and why there's such a gap between what sellers think their car is worth and...
-
The 1968 C10 Build | What "90% Done" Actually Means in This Industry
A 1968 Chevrolet C10 came into the shop described as "90% done." It had paint, interior, and an engine. Sounds close, right? Not even. In this episode Randy and I break down what it actually took to get this truck across the finish line. The processes, the details, and all the "simple things"…
more -
Large Shop vs. Small Shop | How to Pick the Right One for Your Build
Big shop or small shop? It matters more than most people think. In this episode Randy and I compare the pros and cons of large shops vs. small shops, both from the customer's perspective and from the builder's. If you're looking for a shop to build your car, there are things nobody tells you…
more -
How to Actually Look at a Custom Car | Spotting the Flaws, Fakes, and Real Craftsmanship
Most people have no idea how to properly look at a custom car or restoration. They see the paint and think it's done right. In this episode Randy and I teach you how to actually examine a build. How to see the flaws, how to pick out the fakes from the real deal, and what separates a car that wins...
-
Why Custom Cars Cost So Much to Build | A Builder's Honest Breakdown
"Why do these cars cost so much?" It's the most asked question in this industry and the most misunderstood. In this episode Randy and I answer it from the builder's side. We talk about all the details people never see, all the time that gets overlooked, and why six figure price tags on custom...
-
The Ridler Award | What It Actually Takes to Win (Part 2 of 2)
Part 2 of our Ridler Award breakdown. Randy and I finish the conversation on what it takes to compete for the biggest award in the custom car world. The details most people never think about, what you can take from the Ridler process and apply to your own builds to stay above the competition, and...
-
The Ridler Award | What It Actually Takes to Win (Part 1 of 2)
The Don Ridler Award is the highest honor in custom car building. Most people see the winner and have no idea what went into getting there. In this episode Randy breaks it down from the inside. He was part of a Ridler Award winning team, and he walks through exactly what the judges look for, the...
-
Planning Your Build | The Most Important Step Nobody Wants to Do
This is the part nobody wants to talk about, but it's the part that decides whether your build makes it to the finish line or sits in your garage for a decade. Randy and I break down the entire planning process for a restoration or custom build. What needs to be done, in what order, and what most...
-
Custom or Restoration | Which Direction Should You Take Your Build
You bought the car. Now what? Keep it all original with a nut and bolt restoration, or go the restomod route and make it yours? In this episode Randy and I break down the real differences between staying stock and going custom. What matters, what doesn't, and what most people overlook when…
more -
Buying Your First HotRod | What Nobody Tells You Before Your First Build
You've been looking at cars online for six months. You're ready to pull the trigger on your first project. Before you do, listen to this. Randy and I walk through everything we wish someone had told us before our first builds. What to actually look for, what's going to cost you more than the car...
-
How We Got Here | The Making of IBF HotRods
How do you go from building hotrods out of an apartment to running your own shop? In this episode Randy and I tell the whole story. How we met, how IBF HotRods started, moving across the country, and everything that went into building this business from nothing. We also get into how the podcast...
-
Why We Build Classic Cars | The Cool Factor, the Freedom, and the Obsession
Why do we do this? Why spend years on a single car that nobody asked us to build? In this episode Randy and I break down the three reasons we keep coming back to the shop. The cool factor of building something nobody else has, the satisfaction of handing a customer something they didn't know was...
-
The Pilot | Why We Started This Show
This is where it started. I'm Elliot Slack, owner and founder of IBF HotRods out of Huntington, Indiana. Custom hotrod builder, fabricator, and the host of this show. In this first episode fellow car builder Randy Bunting and I sit down to talk about why we do what we do, where we come from, and...
About this show
Hosted by builder and industry insider Elliot Slack of I.B.F.HotRods, this podcast takes you behind the scenes with legends, rising stars, and creative minds shaping the HotRod, Custom Car, and Classic Car Restoration world. These no-holds-barred conversations reveal the artistry, grit, and business of crafting one-off custom builds and nut and bolt restorations. Tune in for brutally honest insights into the blood, sweat, and gears behind Custom Car Building, Restoration, and the hustle of HotRodding.WARNING: This podcast isn’t for the easily offended. Listener Discretion is Advised
Hosted by
I.B.F.HotRods
Categories