Dec. 9, 2024

Inside SEMA with Randy Borcherding on Custom Cars, then NASCAR Shifts, and Lexus Innovations

Inside SEMA with Randy Borcherding on Custom Cars, then NASCAR Shifts, and Lexus Innovations
Inside SEMA with Randy Borcherding on Custom Cars, then NASCAR Shifts, and Lexus Innovations
In Wheel Time Podcast
Inside SEMA with Randy Borcherding on Custom Cars, then NASCAR Shifts, and Lexus Innovations
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Randy Borcherding from Painthouse steals the spotlight as he takes us on a thrilling journey through the SEMA show in Las Vegas. He unveils the secrets behind his stunning 1965 Mustang Fastback and the award-winning 1970 Cougar Convertible, delving into the challenges of car preparation and the unpredictable nature of transportation logistics. Randy also shares a personal note on how COVID affected his sense of smell, adding a unique layer to our conversation. Whether you're a gearhead or just love a great story, Randy's insights into the world of custom cars and the art of navigating SEMA are sure to captivate.

Join us as we discuss the latest buzz in NASCAR with Chevrolet's surprising decision to drop the Camaro branding, sparking speculation about Cadillac's future in the racing scene. We also venture into the luxurious realm of the 2025 Lexus NX 350h, highlighting its impressive design and cutting-edge features. Along the way, we tackle the scarcity of quality upholstery shops, debate tie-down methods for car transport, and share some light-hearted banter that offers a glimpse into our personal lives and ongoing projects. Get ready for an episode packed with automotive passion, industry insights, and a few laughs.

Be sure to subscribe for more In Wheel Time Car Talk!

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00:01 - Car Talk Show SEMA Recap

11:01 - Car Show Prep and Updates

19:01 - Tex-Mex Dining and NASCAR Updates

Car Talk Show SEMA Recap

Speaker 1

Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast . We don't know how , but by golly , from the Sugar Shack Studios in Texas , usa , this is the award-winning In Wheel Time Car Talk Show . What kind of award was that , mr Morris ? It was a podcast .

Speaker 2

Our podcast won an award . It was an on-time award .

Speaker 1

Yeah , this hour he's fresh back from the SEMA show in Las Vegas with an empty wallet From Paint House . It's Randy Borchardt . Also , I'll give you my thoughts on driving the 2024 , was it the 24 , Lexus NX350 ? And Jeff has the Motor Minute . That and more in this segment of the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show . Howdy , along with Mike out of this world , Mars , and he's out of his mind this morning . We always need more Jeff Zekin . Chief Engineer David Ainsley will be joining us later . I'm Don Armstrong . Glad you could join us on this chilly , rainy morning here .

Speaker 2

It's chilly . Yeah , I'm not into chilly . No , no , no , you don't like chilly . I'm not a cold person .

Speaker 1

No , but I'm talking about chilly , chilly , oh , chilly , yeah , chilly , with or without beans .

Speaker 2

It doesn't matter , just put it in front of me , I'll eat it .

Speaker 1

I'm not a big , I don't care , we'll get yours on the side . The beans no , I don't need them .

Speaker 2

You don't want me to have those . He's got too much other stuff on the side .

Speaker 1

You don't need any more beans , you don't need it on the side , and if you're wondering why , you may not be wondering , maybe you don't care , but we were supposed to be at the Gulf Coast Auto Shield Car Social today . However , with the weather , it was canceled a couple of days ago and I know that Mr Mars has put stuff out there to let everybody know that it wasn't canceled . Canceled , it was postponed , from what I understand , to Saturday , january 11th . Mike likes putting out on that . Yeah , put out whenever I can .

Speaker 1

Ooh , I don't want to know . Mike likes putting out on that . Yeah , put out whenever I can . Ooh , I don't want to know , but anyway . So that's coming up on the 11th now and we will have our broadcast from there 10 to noon . The Car Social is from 9 to noon . We'll be there at 9 . We'll be there at 8 , actually , but we won't be on the air until our normal broadcast time and that's over a month from now , uh , 11th january , the 11th .

Speaker 1

Yeah , so a little bit , five weeks , I think something like that . So , anyway , now that we got you all caught up and confused on that , let us uh turn our attention now to the paint house studios of randy borcharding and his wife , jen , and uh , I assume that he is there , can . Can you hear us , randy ? I got you , you got me . Oh yeah , baby , we got you . How you doing . I'm good guys , what's up ? What do you ? Are you ? Are you in the paint room ?

Speaker 3

I am in the paint room . How did I ?

Speaker 1

know the paint room . How did I know that ? I just kind of felt that .

Speaker 3

Well , you can probably smell it from there .

Speaker 1

It's a little stiff .

Speaker 3

Yeah , sadly I can't smell it at all . No , no , not at all .

Speaker 2

You must have COVID .

Speaker 1

No , that's too many fumes over the years , ah .

Speaker 3

It's probably that , and when I got the OG COVID back in 20 , my smell's never been the same , Really . Yeah , my wife did that . She lost her sense of smell and it's just barely back . Yeah same , it ruins meals . You might as well just eat the things that are good for you .

Speaker 1

Yeah , Either that or just sniff not even a loaf of white bread . I mean , if you can't smell , you can't smell .

Speaker 3

Oh , indeed , I mean a little bit of coffee . That new car smell . It's not there , so why buy it ? Anyway , it ruins a lot of things .

Speaker 1

Well , that's a shame it is Well . I'm glad that you're with us this morning . I really wanted to talk to you about SEMA . Did you have a car in SEMA this year ? We ?

Speaker 3

had two . Actually , one was a former project built 15 years ago , kind of showing it off as a car that 15 years later still presents itself . Well , wow , later still presents itself well , wow , 65 , 65 mustang fastback . And the other , the debut car , was a seven or is a 70 cougar convertible that won the best ford car at sema award , which was pretty dang cool wow , 70 cool so were these were these old customers of yours that let you borrow their cars for , I guess , displays .

Speaker 3

Yeah , I mean one is a customer . We've done many cars for the Mustang and he's happy to have his stuff shown off . The Cougar is the first time we built a car for this gentleman , but he's been a customer a long time because the project has taken a long time .

Speaker 1

Well , it's a Cougar . That's a rare car in itself .

Speaker 3

It's an awesome car it is . Even though it's built on the Mustang foundation , it's unique for sure .

Speaker 1

Well , you know from what I understand and correct me if I'm wrong I understand that it may be the foundation , but there aren't a whole lot of interchangeable parts between the Mustang and the Cougar .

Speaker 3

No , perhaps the windshield frame , windshield floor pan , but even the wheelbase is different . The Cougar is a longer wheelbase . It rode a little nicer , allegedly a gentleman's hot rod versus a hot rod .

Speaker 1

I agree .

Speaker 3

All right . Did it have a stock motor in it ? No , sir , it had the . Would it come in the 04 cobra mustangs , the terminator engine , they call it . It's a little 4.6 but supercharged , um you know , beefed up a little bit , made about 600 horsepower or so nice well , thank god it's not an LS . Indeed , nothing wrong with the LS , but a Ford , and a Ford is , I think , the way to go .

Speaker 1

I totally agree , and I know that a lot of people oh yeah , but the LS is so easy . Well , it's not about being easy in my book , it's about being correct . And to me , this is just me . I want a Ford and a Ford , I want a Chevy and a Chevy , and if it's a Buick , not a GM . But if it's a Buick , I want a Buick engine , absolutely .

Speaker 3

I do not disagree . In most cases . There are exceptions where I'd change that rule . Okay , and what ? Are those the Cutlass . We're building 68 cutlass . They want to drive it , they want a reliable powertrain , they want to get on the highway and , uh , you can decorate a ls yes , look like an oldsmobile engine and give you , in my opinion , a lot more reliability and I am right there with you , I I think that that's , that's perfectly admissible .

Speaker 1

At least it's a general motors product correct , we didn't cross the lines . Yes , sir , we're dating cousins and they and they were also . That's good , I like that . And there was also a period of time when you know that big wow if you will came out about . Well , wait just a minute . I bought me an oldsmobile , I bought me a buick and this has got a general motors engine that shared among other platforms . Remember that ? What was that ? The 70s or 80s ? 70s , yeah right about 1980 ish .

Speaker 1

I think that they they crossed the line and got into all sorts of trouble and big lawsuits and all that .

Speaker 3

And now I remember when they were putting Oldsmobile engines and Pontiac Trans Ams and Chevrolet engines and just they crisscrossed a lot .

Speaker 1

Yeah , and they're clearly , you know , going for the generic engine that they could put in all makes and models of cars . And I get that . And look what we got out of it . I mean we got the LS , which is a beautiful engine that has really stood the test of time . I got the LS1 in my old Corvette , hey , and it sings right along . It's not a big powerhouse thing , I think 345 horsepower , but it's plenty for me .

Speaker 3

It's fine , right right , and it doesn't leak oil and probably gets fairly good economy if you keep your right foot under control .

Speaker 1

Yeah as a matter of fact , I just put uh 53 worth of premium fuel in it and , uh , and , and it got 22 miles per gallon . And that's uh highway city here in town , and that car is 23 years old yeah , that's crazy and I agree , yeah , and so you can't beat that , because back in the day , you know , I had a , a horrible 19 . Well , the car was nice , it was mine , I bought it , ordered it from the factory , a 1977 corvette with an l82 engine , remember , remember those things .

Speaker 3

Oh , my sister had a . My sister had a 78 with the L82 , and I hated that car because I always had to work on it .

Speaker 1

Yeah Well , I mean it had a carburetor on it and it ran , but I can't 175 horsepower , you're kidding me . And it swallowed gas to get the 100 .

Speaker 3

And I remember reading somewhere that that era the corvette was heavier than the half-ton pickup truck that wouldn't surprise me , that , not at all yeah , not by much though well , it was , you know , a lead block up front , yeah , and uh lead heads in the whole nine yards .

Speaker 1

There was no , and all of the , the overkill on the epa stuff , the emissions with the pumps , it was just awful . But at any rate , if it weren't for all of that , we wouldn't appreciate the LS today . So let's , talk about Paint House and what you got cooking now .

Speaker 3

Presently . I guess back behind me is that Cutlass we discussed . I'll walk that way and flip the camera around . Just got it painted right before .

Speaker 2

SEMA , sema , were you sweating bullets sitting here drying .

Speaker 3

I'm trying to figure out how to flip the camera around were you sweating bullets to get it ready for sema oh , of course , between between getting this thing sprayed and the cougar done and the mustang , I mean it's a lot okay , so I , I , I guess I just don't follow along .

Speaker 1

So this car went to sema , but it's in pieces today this car did not ? This car was painted as we were getting the other cars ready for , oh , dear god so it was big crunch time then yeah , yeah even , even though the other ones , I guess , were semi ready to go well , you , you think that the mustang pretty much was .

Speaker 3

It's been done for so long , it doesn't take much to get it ready .

Car Show Prep and Updates

Speaker 3

The the cougar . We were still building the car , you know the the night before sema , essentially because it's the first time you put it together fully yep and uh did you have to do any last minute tweaks or adjustments or assembly once you got to sema ?

Speaker 3

not so much it . It behaved . I'll put it that way . They don't always . Trailer rides are always interesting . I love our ATC trailer , but they can only take so much of the roughness out of these highways . We have Sure , and sometimes things happen and you get a surprise when you get where you're going .

Speaker 1

In this case we were fortunate that didn't happen well , I'll say because , uh , I've seen cars that you know are all ready to go , ready to pop right into the show space and they open the trailer and the car has walked inside the trailer and it's rubbed one of the fenders raw I've , I've had that happen .

Speaker 3

I've had coilovers break , I've had , uh , four bar bolts come out . I mean you just it . You never know what might happen when you open that .

Speaker 1

It's like a bad christmas morning you got to open your present and when you , when you , when you put it in there , it's all good and everything's fine and you've got it all tied down and you've done all of the crisscross stuff and you got just the right amount of tension on the suspension and you know it's not going to walk and boom .

Speaker 3

There it is yep , now here's something to talk about . We use max tie downs . Big believer in their product , they purport to tie them down straight , not not crisscrossed . I've tried it . That's when my vehicle did scoot sideways and rub a fender . Well , I think of it like guitar strings right , you can get them tight , but there's still a little bit of side-to-side , I guess , availability to move under the right conditions , and they stretch . Criss-crossing keeps it where you put it , unless one of them breaks . And that's their theory is that if one strap breaks , for whatever reason , then the car can shift sideways and it'll hit even more so . So I don't know , I don't know what's right or wrong , but I've always believed in the criss in the crisscross .

Speaker 1

Well , yeah , that's the way I've always heard and seen it done . I have not done it myself . But the other thing is I in these trailers I'm surprised that they don't have some sort of cleat system that you can drive the car onto a cleat that can accept a tire and no matter what happens , you may get a white wall burnished a little bit , but you're not going to have the car walk inside the trailer with a cleat well they have .

Speaker 3

They have over the tire strap methods , right where you can literally strap on the tire . But here's the problem . What if you lose air in that tire ? It has happened that way too oh lord , yeah exactly and now you got a loose situation .

Speaker 1

So you got a loose nut behind the wheel .

Speaker 3

That's always the case with me . Yeah , um , anyway , there's no perfect way to do it . Just figure out what you're comfortable with and monitor it as the best you can do , sure ?

Speaker 1

so when are you going to have the oldsmobile done well , allegedly uh , I'd like to say summertime , it'll be back together .

Speaker 3

Yeah , I've got the suspension parts in the booth . We're painting the chassis powder coated . The engine trans are ready to go , so it's time to put it back together once I got a little more spraying to do you know , last time we talked to you , you were looking for an upholsterer because you had lost yours .

Speaker 1

I don't know where it was georgia or alabama or somewhere uh tennessee yes , sir . Okay , did you find anybody ?

Speaker 3

well , we're using sculpt garage over in san marcos with great success . He did the cougar . It's beautiful , uh , cars in the trailer , or I'd show it to you , maybe on the next call . Um , he's phenomenal , but he's a small shop and he can only do so much , so the cutlass may need to go to somebody .

Speaker 1

If you're out there , let me know okay , that that's a fair , that's a fair call yep , because , I'll be honest , I haven't found one in houston yet yeah , well , um , that's kind of surprising , as big as this city is and of all the shops around town .

Speaker 3

I agree and honestly , it never ceases to amaze me the things I cannot find when I need them in a town this size .

Speaker 2

Well , here's what I see on that . You've got plenty of upholstery shops , but do they meet the criteria that he's looking for ?

Speaker 3

That's what the problem is . That's exactly the point . Yes , we have a certain standard we're looking for . We have a certain standard we're looking for and not to dismay any shops out there , but they all have a place and not all of them want to do this level work , just like collision shops . Most of them know how to make their money and they don't want to deal with show cars and , unlike us , we don't have any standards . We have no standards whatsoever that explains why I'm on the phone with you .

Speaker 1

That's exactly right , jen's not listening to this issue . Oh , I hope not , but she already knows all that about you anyway .

Speaker 3

By the way , how is she doing ? She's awesome . I'll just put it this way Thank God for hot chicks with low standards .

Speaker 1

Amen to that . Well , so we got the Oldsmobile cooking . Anything else in there ?

Speaker 3

69 Vette . You guys have seen it in the past . It's been on pause for a while . We're about to get back into it . It's also ready for an upholstery shop , hint , hint , and then it's time to polish it and button it up . It starts , it runs , it's very close to the finish line and , uh , red 57 convertible chevy you guys saw last call yeah , the old 2-4 barrel bel-air . You know , really nice , straight , clean car just did a repair on it . And then we've got this uh c10 truck behind us here that we have yet to begin on . So it's going to be a very custom , heavily modified hot rod truck that we haven't opened , that can of worms yet .

Speaker 1

Gotcha . Well , it's always good to have stuff in the pipeline .

Speaker 3

Indeed , just need employees . That's the problem . Oh really , yeah , I've lost two of my main guys . I don't know where the heck I put them . And uh , man , if you're out there and want to do something in this industry , holler at me . I could use a couple good hands , or four I like it .

Speaker 1

Randy , it's always good to talk to you , my friend , especially here before christmas . We love you and we , uh , we hope you and your family have a wonderful christmas and the holiday season and all and uh , hopefully , uh , I'm gonna call your buddy up there with the dino in january and hopefully uh schedule some time with him in february . I want to get excellent . Yeah , I've got to get that harmonic balancer changed on there and I I got a feeling that he'll know how to do that the right way indeed , and he's a good tuner , you'll have luck Very good .

Speaker 1

Randy . All right guys . Thank you , Randy Borcharding Paint House . Thank you , my friend , We'll talk to you soon .

Speaker 3

See you guys .

Speaker 1

Bye-bye , take care , it's always good . Hey , you can catch the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show 24 at InWheelTimecom and the Odyssey radio app . It's drilled into my mind , I can't help it . Well , it takes a bit . We also video stream our weekly show on Facebook , youtube and InWheelTimecom and podcasts available from your favorite podcast provider . Theinwheeltimecom Car Talk Show continues right after this quick pit stop .

Tex-Mex Dining and NASCAR Updates

Speaker 1

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Speaker 1

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Speaker 2

So do you know that Chevrolet is not going to be with NASCAR ? Chevrolet drops the Camaro branding Wait a minute . From NASCAR , they dropped the branding from NASCAR . The car will still be there , but there won't be anything that says Camaro on it . Check this out . Next season , what ? Next season , chevrolet NASCARs will be going to a different look . For starters , there will be no Camaro branding on the cars , of course , at the end of 2023 . A lot of fans , those in the industry , were wondering what's going to go on with the branding . It now appears that much will change , except the lack of the Camaro on the rear bumper . Chevrolet and GM they're in a tough spot . They knew this was coming , but they have no plan for the future . Here's what they're predicting Cadillac could replace Chevrolet in NASCAR .

Speaker 1

Are you kidding me ?

Speaker 2

In case you haven't heard , cadillac and GM are getting into Formula 1 in 2026 , which is awesome . There's all kinds of other stories about that too .

Speaker 1

Oh my .

Speaker 2

God the big move for the manufacturer is . America will now be vested interest in the global racing series . So could GM put Cadillac in NASCAR ? They already race in IMSA and the WEC , which is the World Endurance Challenge I watch it all the time when it's on and sports car racing . The next-gen CT5 could actually be the badass NASCAR car that would be awesome .

Speaker 2

Chevrolet , in many ways , and NASCAR they want to get together , but in stock . In stock car racing is less about the racing and more about selling the cars . Win on sunday , sell on monday and the drama with the drivers . But putting a plane chevrolet on track . What product are they really selling there ? You go , I want cadillac in there as well , and then you know what we need to get the buick back . Did I tell you about a buick ? You did .

Speaker 1

You did mention that a time or two .

Speaker 2

It seems I heard something about that .

Speaker 1

Yes , it's all rumor . I'm sure . And lies . Thank you , Jeffrey Yep . Time now for this hour's car review . Had a chance to drive the Lexus NX350H for 2025 . This car is an SUV Built in Canada , Comes in three trim levels the base , the premium and the luxury . I think I would call the base something other than nothing , Other than just the plain . You know you call it . Does it say base on the ?

Speaker 3

name no it doesn't .

Speaker 1

I called it that , but what else would you ?

Speaker 2

call it Because you can get more options on other stylings . Well , I understand , but I mean , you still got to have a name , whatever .

Speaker 1

So I have the Luxury , which is the top of the line all-wheel drive . This is a small SUV Seats . Five Exterior changes from last year . None it was all new in 2022 .

Speaker 1

Nose looks heavy on this vehicle with that protruding spindle grill , but somehow it works . Sculpted sides give it an hourglass figure Looks good . Rear hatch mimics the nose , but on a much smaller scale . Obviously , attention to design detail is outstanding on this car and very noteworthy as well . What I liked about it . The overall design gets high marks , including the wheels on this car , and I never really talked too much about wheels , but I like them . What could use improvement ? Nothing . Good job .

Speaker 1

Lexus Interior highlights awesome design overall with the built-in large infotainment screen , which is . I don't understand why manufacturers don't build the infotainment screen into the dash , like this one is , but they continue to , you know , stick them on top of the dash and look like an afterthought . Contrasting soft surfaces exude a luxury feel . Make-believe wood trim is high quality and fit and finish overall is superb . Door handles are electronic and add a nice touch to it , so you just kind of press the button on the door handle on the inside to get out . It's really cool . Cargo trunk room adequate for its small size . What I liked about it speakers built into the door panel . It's a really nice design touch that I liked . What could use improvement ? The ability to change commands of ancillary equipment from the steering wheel can be confusing because it has dots Painted dots on this four-button thing , wow , and you know you can see what you're changing up there on the dashboard . But it's confusing to me . But you know , so is most of life .

Speaker 1

2.5 liter four-cylinder hybrid motor with 240 net horsepower combined . What you were going to say ? Something Jack was agreeing . Well , yeah , you know , jack and I kind of are on the same track when it comes to these things . Transmission , cvt , very smooth . It works perfectly for this car . Tow rating 2,000 pounds , if you dare , 41 miles per gallon in the city , nice , 37 on the highway , for a combined of 39 . I got 37.9 over 348.1 miles . What I liked about it ? Well , let's see Mileage . Yeah , I don't think anything could use improvement there . You know , lexus has this thing that they kind of match up powertrains with the vehicle and it just works . Ride and handling Superb . Not sure why you would want the F Sport which is available . It's not a trim level per se , but it is a package that you can get , on the different trim levels , an F Sport and an SUV . Why ?

Speaker 1

It's a luxury SUV , it's performance isn't it .

Speaker 1

No , it's a ride handling thing . It doesn't make sense for this particular car . What could use improvement ? Nothing . It's one of the big reasons you buy a Lexus Pricing Base trim on this $52,340 . Prices tested $57,275 . The base model price is $45,125 . This is about $2,700 more than the gas-only 250 model . So you decide . But I'll tell you what I would pay the $2,700 extra for the smoothness of this hybrid combination drivetrain .

Speaker 1

Competitors to the vehicle ? Well , none of them are hybrids like this . The BMW X3 starts at $49,500 . The Acura RDX starts at $46,050 . And the Genesis GV70 , with which it competes , $45,700 . I'd buy this . It's a nice car . It is a very nice car . It rides great . It kind of reminds me of the original RX that came out way back when I bought one , loved it , drove it for years and it was a beautiful car . The only drawback to that was the turning radius , which was huge . But who cares about that ? They fixed that shortly after everybody complained about it . Good deal , yeah , all right . If you'd like to get in touch with us , shoot us an email . The address is info at inwheeltimecom . We continue right after this quick break .

Speaker 1

The holidays are upon us and Pro-Am Auto Accessories is your local one-stop for the auto enthusiast on your gift list . Pro-am Auto has been serving Houston since 1984 , providing world-class products for sports cars , european sedans and American muscle . Pro-am was one of the very first distributors in the US for brands such as Recaro , redline , momo Corbo and Simpson . Located in the heart of Houston's premier shopping corridor , the Galleria area , pro-am's walk-in storefront includes an 8,000-square-foot warehouse and showroom with installation and service bays . Pro-am reaches a worldwide audience through Pro-Am Autocom , taking its local reputation to the rest of the world . Holiday gift giving is alive and well at Pro-Am Auto . If you don't see what you're looking for on the website , call and Pro-Am will lend you a hand . Pro-am Auto Call and Pro-Am will lend you a hand . Pro-am Auto 6125 Richmond at Greenridge in Houston's Galleria area . Call them at 713-781-7755 .

Speaker 1

The award-winning In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show brings you great guest interviews each week , from manufacturers and suppliers to the aftermarket , racers , enthusiasts and other friends just like you and me who love to talk about all things automotive . The In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show takes it to the road too , with remotes at popular cruise-ins and shows In Real Time's live . Video and audio stream can be found on the Odyssey Radio app , youtube , facebook and InRealTimecom every Saturday 10 to noon Central Time , or grab a podcast anytime from your favorite podcast provider . That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show . I'm Don Armstrong , inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning on Facebook , youtube , twitch and our InWheelTimecom website . Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts , spotify , stitcher , iheart Podcast Podcast Addict TuneIn , pandora and Amazon Music . Keep listening and we'll see you soon .