Transcript
Aniz Lavji: Here we go, Frank. Go ahead. Sorry, we have some technical difficulties here. I blame Frank.
Cameron Richards: help
Frank Wiebe: all right so we were before we crashed out where cameron was just telling us about the bill that he's currently doing in the performance side of his shop. so Let's roll through that again, Cameron.
Cameron Richards: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: let's Let's hear what you got to say.
Cameron Richards: start You want to start over or you want to edit it?
Aniz Lavji: Well, we heard about the El Camino, and I think you were you were into that.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: the other vehicle with a custom something.
Cameron Richards: Yeah, so... uh, Custer brought in a big block. Automatic. SS car. It's nice. i'm not It had a whole bunch of dust on it, so I'm not sure how much it got driven.
Aniz Lavji: mm -hmm
Cameron Richards: But he wanted to build something good Had a pretty healthy budget. And... um We put together a stroker 408. ProCharge. uh custom intercooler that we built all the piping Converted to Hydroboost 4WD. breaks.
Cameron Richards: Kept the 12 -bolt in it. um Just put a girdled cover on it Kind of did the full suspension stuff. We normally do box everything adjustable coilovers Moved him over to some low pro wheels and tires.
Cameron Richards: And... Yeah, his goal was 600 horse. It did seven. Did like 720, 730 something to the tire on our dyno.
Aniz Lavji: news.
Cameron Richards: I'm Pop Gats.
Frank Wiebe: wow
Aniz Lavji: Man.
Cameron Richards: Oh. it's pretty rowdy and it like It doesn't spin. It goes straight. I took him for a ride when he went to pick it up. and I told them obviously what it made. told him where the bill came in and Like he was good with everything and he's like, I i just don't believe you I'm like, oh, that's fine, whatever.
Frank Wiebe: thank
Cameron Richards: So I took him for a drive.
Frank Wiebe: That's what we're driving.
Cameron Richards: and i All those cars, kind of a control freak. I did. I did like the 600, I did 638 miles, I think, on that car before I gave it to him. as far as like break in miles i want to break in the motor and the tranny and change the fluids cut the filters open just make sure everything's riding good
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Cameron Richards: Um. So I was pretty familiar with the car, what it did, where it went. like it would go straight and it didn't pull and blah blah blah I took him for a ride when he came to pick it up. and Uh...
Cameron Richards: It had just rained, so the road was a little bit wet, but it was drying out. and So driving in the car like 30 seconds before he made like a good hit, right? He's like he's like he's like I still don't think this car makes what you think it makes i'm like Dude, I really don't care what you think.
Cameron Richards: Right.
Frank Wiebe: fake
Cameron Richards: Like. i'll show you so we turn the corner onto you know one of my roads and Anyway, we make this pull up to about 100. And he was just like sitting there. you know and he's like oh my gosh like he's like this is so much faster than my buddy's Uh, ZL1.
Cameron Richards: So I'm like.
Frank Wiebe: yeah
Cameron Richards: I told you, like i I showed you the sheet. I showed you the video. He's like, yeah, but... I didn't think it would actually do that on the road. And he's like, and it doesn't spin. Might. Dude, like That's the difference when you have a custom car built, right? like May I?
Cameron Richards: i I feel pretty confident on the GM platform for my age. and Me and Mike. We make power. I mean, it's like we don't even get out. We we laugh. We don't even get out of bed for 500 horse. Right.
Aniz Lavji: That's...
Cameron Richards: It's like. 500 horse when we were kids was a big deal. now it's like dude i don't even get excited if it doesn't make six seven eight hundred horse right
Aniz Lavji: That's where you tell them ah that line item on your bill where it says shop supplies $5 ,000.
Cameron Richards: Yeah, right.
Aniz Lavji: That's where...
Cameron Richards: Upcharge.
Aniz Lavji: That's why your your tires don't spin.
Cameron Richards: Yeah. Yeah. So it was it was kind of fun, right? and It was just like fun, you know, getting to know him through the project and obviously getting to know the car. and
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Cameron Richards: Um. It's just it's fun. I really I really like over delivering. on projects if I can. so like we did a 66 gto for Great customer here locally. and Um, We've actually built the car. five years in a row and we just keep adding on and adding on and adding on and you know, just like little things where Like I snuck cruise control in on him. Right. and He's not something he asked for.
Cameron Richards: But I remember him calling me the following summer. He's like man i love the cruise control like thank you so much for just like thinking ahead right like he's like so nice just to like pop it on cruise and drive down the road in my 600 horse, 66 GTO.
Cameron Richards: Right.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah.
Cameron Richards: So it's just like these little. these little things that make you different you know that like you go above and beyond is what i that's what i love i love like surprising customers and overshooting goals and
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Cameron Richards: yeah like we did a We did a... 24 Mustang GT last year. Guy moved up from Florida was super bummed about the elevation change car lost a bunch of power And at the time, the 24s, you couldn't tune them. Right.
Cameron Richards: So we kind of had this theory and. He's like, well what would you do? I'm like. I don't know I'm like, I'm a pump gas and meth guy because we don't have E85 here. I'm like I wonder what it would do with alcohol.
Cameron Richards: so we called a bunch of companies around the country and You know, the car was making like... 700 and change in florida and i think it made like high fives here because the elevation dropped right it didn't make as much boost So we changed the pulleys Kind of got the boost back, but he was like, ah.
Cameron Richards: She's still not where I want it to be. So we came up with this plan. We were like, hey, we're going to try putting... ah Putting a methanol kit on. So Julio... uh down at alky control i mean he's just a he's a freak like the dude's the man And I've worked with him for years. Love him. You just call him.
Cameron Richards: I had a buddy that helped me get set up with him as a dealer. And he's like, look. You call Julio with your credit card in your hand because he's not going to waste your time. He's going to tell you what you need. Give him your credit card. Parts will show up. Slam it on. You make power, right?
Cameron Richards: And that's literally how this dude is today. He'll sit there and talk with you and chat. He's the nicest guy in the world. then the credit card comes out you get your parts they're there in a week and you're making power so i was like you know i kind of want to put an alcohol kit on this car Um.
Cameron Richards: So we... Talk to Julio and he's like, I don't know what'll happen. I don't know if there's anybody doing this yet in the country, right? Because most guys are running E85, E30.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Cameron Richards: so Called the customer and he's like, hey, I'm down to try it. Let's see what happens. um So we put a twin nozzle methanol kit on. Wired everything up. And we we still, remember, we still have no way to tune this thing. So we're kind of like Wild West.
Cameron Richards: We got this beautiful. 24G. GT that's got GTD hood, GTD fenders, carbon everywhere. Big APR spoiler, APR wing. i mean it's like i'm i very much don't want to blow this car up like it's a beautiful car But the customer was like, hey, man, like I want to party.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Cameron Richards: Let's see what we can do. So the goal was 800 wheel, right? That's what we were shooting for. Um. We kind of do our pre -checks. We're checking to make sure the nozzles are primed and the alcohol system is full. and It comes down to like, we got people like whipples on the phone and they're like.
Cameron Richards: run a data log and we'll look at it but like we can't do anything like we just we're curious what'll happen um So we make this pole and... i mean it felt really good right like the car ran clean made a good full pull and I remember clicking the button and looking over at the dyno and just like Jaw drops, right? And you're like.
Cameron Richards: What does that say? And it says 900, like nine zero zero. You know, it's like.
Frank Wiebe: Oh wow.
Cameron Richards: Oh my... Goodness. So it's like we're all like looking around the room and.
Aniz Lavji: Peace.
Cameron Richards: It's like, was that real? Like, did it really just do that? and You make another hit, and it does like 900 on the nose.
Aniz Lavji: Wow.
Cameron Richards: It's like... What is happening? Like, how is it doing this?
Aniz Lavji: Jeez.
Cameron Richards: How is it still alive? Um. So that was fun, calling that customer, just being like, hey. You know, I know the goal is 800, but we did 900. You know, he's like, what? It's like, yeah.
Frank Wiebe: I hope that's okay.
Cameron Richards: Yeah, we did 900 right on the nose and it's like Is that safe? It's like, I don't know. like i don't I can't turn it down.
Frank Wiebe: but
Cameron Richards: You know, like.
Aniz Lavji: ah Yeah.
Cameron Richards: So that was that was a lot of fun.
Aniz Lavji: That's what you get now. You got 900.
Cameron Richards: just like Getting to do something, you know fun and like having customers that are like, Hey, I trust you. Like. Make the call, right? It's like. Dude, I've done the research and I understand the theory and I think it'll work.
Cameron Richards: Um. And I don't know. I don't know if I don't know. I think the guy sold that car like three weeks later. I think it might have scared him a little bit.
Aniz Lavji: Get the crap out of him.
Cameron Richards: Because it was rowdy.
Frank Wiebe: I think.
Cameron Richards: I mean, two of us went and made a poll. And I mean, like... at 140 that car was like getting loose and it's like this is not cool like we need a good set of road for this car right like this is a lot of power
Frank Wiebe: Wow that 900 horse
Aniz Lavji: Hopefully you can sell it to like some 21 year old or something.
Cameron Richards: Yeah, no, and he wasn't.
Frank Wiebe: Yay.
Cameron Richards: He was... He was a good, he's a mature customer, super nice guy. Um, Like super happy to have him, but. Yeah, it's just like those that. that At the end of the day, like our... our Our grassroots side of our business is always the repair, and those are the guys we love, and those are the guys we bleed for.
Cameron Richards: But it's fun. The performance side is fun to do.
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Cameron Richards: stuff like that where it's like, hey, like... You know, let's try to push the m envelope up a little bit, right? Like, let's try to do something that maybe people haven't done or. It's not just your normal Cam Bolton's car.
Cameron Richards: you know like everybody else.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah. Set yourself apart, right?
Frank Wiebe: Well, but now you learned something. and And like you said, you had Whipple on the phone. You've got to log the Whipple.
Cameron Richards: Right.
Frank Wiebe: You got them some information.
Cameron Richards: Right.
Frank Wiebe: And Julio, he... He's like. Now he can sell this all over the country. Yeah, you know what?
Cameron Richards: Right.
Frank Wiebe: These guys hit 900, so.
Cameron Richards: Yeah, though this works.
Frank Wiebe: You're right.
Cameron Richards: It's like what?
Frank Wiebe: Yeah. It worked. and And the tuning just took care of itself, which is kind of amazing, right?
Cameron Richards: Dude, I don't know what's in those new Fords but I'm telling you, that car. saw the... I don't know if it saw the octane or... If it was the temperature drop in the IAT and it just fueled, but...
Cameron Richards: From what we could see with the limited data we could poach off the... The the Whipple Tomahawk Tuner. It looked like it added timing. by itself, which is Crazy.
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Cameron Richards: I mean, I've heard of timing retard. Right, like if it gets knock it'll pull timing but I'd never heard of timing advance by itself.
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Cameron Richards: So that was pretty Pretty cool.
Frank Wiebe: Okay.
Cameron Richards: Whatever those Ford engineers are cooking up in those ECUs is pretty powerful stuff.
Frank Wiebe: You know, I've always said for years, like back when back when Ford started with EFI and the... 80s and stuff like that. I said they were way ahead of their time. way ahead of their time.
Frank Wiebe: with their engineering
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: And I still think that's the case. I think that Ford. With a lot of their. engineering that way and they're in their programming that way still ahead of their time. Like, okay, if you get...
Cameron Richards: Yep.
Frank Wiebe: talking european and stuff like that but for domestic
Frank Wiebe: Honestly, I think.
Cameron Richards: Yeah, I don't know. ah It's kind of when we get into this argument all the time because I'm a diehard pushrod guy.
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Cameron Richards: single cam pushrod ls guy but those coyote motors man you can't argue with them they run
Frank Wiebe: Oh yeah?
Cameron Richards: If you want to deal with chains and all that stuff, I mean, like... You can't argue with the RPM. And the horsepower they make.
Frank Wiebe: No. My, my...
Cameron Richards: torque Torque's always a little low, but... They got RPM to compensate.
Frank Wiebe: Bye. Yeah, my buddy down the road, he's got a... Peace. 70s truck. With a... second gen coyote in it i think and it's got a pro charger on it i believe
Cameron Richards: Mm hmm.
Frank Wiebe: And he drags us in every weekend. And. ah I think recently he blew up his differential for the second time.
Cameron Richards: Right.
Frank Wiebe: but but yeah it's it's a really sweet setup And I think just this last weekend they did what they call a. Dragon Drive.
Cameron Richards: Yep.
Frank Wiebe: You've heard of that?
Cameron Richards: Yeah, that's the big that's the big new thing. So everybody got really, really fast in the racing. Static racing, right?
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Cameron Richards: And then a couple of the guys were like, hey. Let's start driving the race cars to the racetrack.
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Cameron Richards: And then it was like, okay. We can do that. Let's start. driving the cars to the track and then driving to the next track and let let's make a circuit out of it right
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Cameron Richards: So now, and like I was in, I was in Lake Havasu. Um. And there was a pretty predominantly known race car. Family there. at a tuning school that I was at. and I remember him saying like, you know, anybody can show up to Dragon Drive and. Run.
Cameron Richards: But he's like, show up and run sixes. And we'll see who you are.
Frank Wiebe: yeah Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Cameron Richards: right these like that's Anybody can show up and complete the event. and run eights, nines, tens, elevens. But he's like, you want to show up and run sixes at the time. That was a couple years ago. You know, now you've got guys that are running fives.
Cameron Richards: fours It's just...
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Cameron Richards: insane i mean it's just it's so hard to do
Aniz Lavji: That's wild.
Frank Wiebe: And then and it'd still go down the road and drive it in and every day.
Cameron Richards: Yeah. Jump in your 3 ,500 horsepower.
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Cameron Richards: blown alcohol. You know? Pro mod.
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Cameron Richards: on mud tires and drag your trailer 300 miles you know 450 kilometers i don't know what you guys are but it's a long ways and try not to let it overheat and try not to run out of gas. and
Aniz Lavji: cheese
Cameron Richards: then show up and be ready to rock and roll the next day, you know?
Frank Wiebe: Yeah, and you can only carry the tools and equipment that you can put in your single axle trailer.
Aniz Lavji: well
Frank Wiebe: Yeah I never heard of it before, and I guess if you're in the racing world, this ah I think that would be a lot of fun.
Cameron Richards: Yeah. not
Cameron Richards: It's it's like the pinnacle right now. I mean like going fast is cool um But it is... It's amazing. and they They actually just started a Dragon Drive in Montana. which is really cool. And I personally think it's one of the hardest venues in the country.
Cameron Richards: just because of our elevation change.
Frank Wiebe: Okay.
Cameron Richards: um so we do we've got it's almost I think it's like 1 ,200 or 1 ,300 miles total. All in the state. You don't leave you don't leave the state of the... uh montana But it's five tracks, six days.
Cameron Richards: It's just, it's just.
Aniz Lavji: Wow, that's awesome.
Cameron Richards: brutal i mean like They race it. 3 ,000 3 ,300 feet all the way up to like almost 6 ,000 feet So it's just like it's just crazy to be able to tune your car.
Frank Wiebe: Wow.
Cameron Richards: to handle those conditions. Right. And like, They drive through snow and hail and... tornadoes and hundred And I mean, like this last, I think this last year. it was in july i think i think the starting day it was like 117 ambient on the first day It's just like.
Aniz Lavji: Wow.
Cameron Richards: It's brutal, like brutal.
Frank Wiebe: And then from there, you're going into 32 degree weather.
Cameron Richards: Yeah, so like you know they had to go up over the Beartooth Pass, which I think is over 11 ,000 feet.
Frank Wiebe: Indeed. more and more.
Cameron Richards: So it's like, you know, it snowed on the Beartooths. So it's like it's 117 in the valley at the racetrack. And then you have to drive a 400 mile section to the next track. And you know, it's... 38 degrees and sleeting At the top of the mountains, this it's like, what are we doing?
Cameron Richards: And you're in an aluminum Kirky race seat. Your windows don't roll up and down.
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Aniz Lavji: Oh my God.
Frank Wiebe: Probably the heater doesn't work in your car either.
Cameron Richards: And it's like... Yeah, you're like we paid money for this stuff. It's pretty cool.
Frank Wiebe: Oh, yeah.
Cameron Richards: I have a lot of respect for the Dragon Drive guys. they ah they're definitely they're warriors like it's awesome to watch
Frank Wiebe: Yeah, I'd never heard of it before until he mentioned it this last week and and they did it this weekend. I think he said he got his team got third place or something like that.
Cameron Richards: that's awesome
Frank Wiebe: And. He got some kind of a... special award for I don't know if we got the least the least amount of issues or something like that, but anyways.
Cameron Richards: Yeah, they'll do they'll do like Road Warriors or like Hard Knocks Award, right? Or like... fastest light or most consistent like they've got a bunch of little kickers they'll throw in based on the event but it's kind of an east coast thing in the states anyway
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Cameron Richards: There's a bunch of them in Florida, down in kind of the south. And then I think the most West is Rocky Mountain Race Week. Which is kind of like South Central. United States Big Sky Drag Week, is I think, is the...
Cameron Richards: Kind of the only one in the Pacific Northwest. But it's all in Montana. So I think you'll see more of them come online. I think there's actually one in Canada they just announced for next year. It'll be like...
Cameron Richards: Southern Alberta. um kind of across through there. So that'll be cool. I bet you'll get a bunch of guys from the States that'll go up across to that one.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah, his award that he got was fastest average He said he said their team, because of what their team did.
Cameron Richards: Yep.
Frank Wiebe: Uh, Ontario is now known as the fastest Or making Elmer. the fastest town in Ontario.
Cameron Richards: Nice.
Frank Wiebe: Cool.
Aniz Lavji: oh
Frank Wiebe: Yeah.
Cameron Richards: Yeah, good for him.
Frank Wiebe: So anyway.
Cameron Richards: That's it's really hard to do. It's hard, like I said. It's hard to show up and be consistent. It's hard to show up and be fast.
Frank Wiebe: Exactly. Yep.
Aniz Lavji: that uh that goes uh same same kind of thing when with auto repair right it's hard to be consistent Hard to get things done fast as a... and efficient so
Cameron Richards: Right.
Aniz Lavji: Kind of goes both ways if you think about it, right? I mean, ah every every day, every day we open the shop and. We start the morning, right? uh For us, the main goal is be efficient, take care of the customer.
Aniz Lavji: you know, it's not about being fast, but just be and Make sure it's done properly and efficiently, right? so Same thing. Like, I don't know how. how y 'all are doing these races and one after another one after another I mean, that's that's exhausting.
Aniz Lavji: But I can just imagine it's going to be a ton of fun though.
Cameron Richards: Yeah, the but they're pretty whooped. Yeah, it's kind of like Thursday afternoon at the shop, right? It's been a sprint. Friday is tomorrow.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Cameron Richards: We're going to finish it out good, and then we're going to go have a good weekend and recharge and hopefully come back Monday ready to jam.
Aniz Lavji: so yeah
Cameron Richards: Hopefully nobody breaks their arm over the weekend or you don't get that text, you know.
Aniz Lavji: Oh, God, yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah, there's always so there is always something going on. but Yep. having Having a good team and having the... ah consistency. uh goes a long way in having a decent shop and and running a good repair facility.
Cameron Richards: Yeah. Yeah I agree.
Aniz Lavji: Cameron, have you... have you gone to any uh these trainings that are in the states like asta and vision stuff like that
Cameron Richards: Yeah, so my wife and I went to Vision last year, and that was really that was awesome.
Aniz Lavji: good
Cameron Richards: Met some super cool people. kind of got Charged up. And then... Frank and I went to a Rick Live event in Minneapolis. And that was fun.
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Cameron Richards: That was more of like a. Kind of like a strategic. one group deal.
Aniz Lavji: oh
Cameron Richards: Um. That was cool. It's just good. Like we're in some coaching classes with some people and it was kind of fun meeting them and hanging out.
Aniz Lavji: Thanks.
Cameron Richards: and franken's Frank's wife and I kind of adopted me. We went and had some good burrito tacos. and
Frank Wiebe: Oh, and we have some more.
Cameron Richards: hung out for a couple of days.
Aniz Lavji: oh yeah No, that's great.
Cameron Richards: um But yeah, no, it's been, it's.
Aniz Lavji: yeah Frank said he had a great time.
Cameron Richards: We were kind of talking about that, right? like it's It's good to go. it's good to go and get charged up Learn some new tricks. Get some tools.
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Cameron Richards: um But, you know, like. Where the rubber meets the road is like when you get back to the shop.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Cameron Richards: actually implementing the changes.
Aniz Lavji: Implementation yeah.
Cameron Richards: Right, because it's like everybody can go on vacation and feel good and learn a bunch and rah -rah.
Aniz Lavji: and
Cameron Richards: But it's like when you get home and okay, like how does this actually apply? And then consistently making those changes, like you said, showing up every day.
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Cameron Richards: You know, try to be the best you can for your techs, for your customers. For your vendors like we who you can do and what you can affect And then just being consistent.
Aniz Lavji: You said you went. to You said you went to Vision last year or this year?
Cameron Richards: What division last year in Kansas City?
Aniz Lavji: Last year, okay. I ended up going to Vision this year, which was it was a lot of fun. It was good.
Cameron Richards: Yeah, no, it was It was good, I uh... Yeah, we loved it.
Aniz Lavji: I think good right now, Frank and I are pretty much on the edge of our seat, just kind of waiting for, for ASCA next month.
Frank Wiebe: Waiting. Yep. Looking forward to it. That's going to be a good time, I think.
Aniz Lavji: So 30 days away.
Cameron Richards: Yeah, this whole coaching thing and Training stuff has been kind of new.
Frank Wiebe: Is it not?
Cameron Richards: i've Kind of just been to put my head down and plow through every wall in front of me for a long time and then it's like Huh. Maybe there's a better way. Right.
Aniz Lavji: Hey. Yeah. Well, it's...
Frank Wiebe: Yeah, I'm finding um fine the coaching is really.
Aniz Lavji: it's
Frank Wiebe: It can be really hit and miss, right? If... if If you're in tune with what they're saying, it'll really work for you.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah, the right coach too.
Frank Wiebe: 5 midnight. Yeah. And if you're not, you got to work really hard to implement what they're saying and what they're coaching.
Aniz Lavji: Amen. Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Right.
Cameron Richards: One of my biggest things is just accountability, right? like i I expect my guys to be accountable to the standards of the shop.
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Frank Wiebe: Mm hmm.
Cameron Richards: But... it was kind of like doing a little bit of self -assessment. And I'm like, you know, I really don't have. anybody to hold me accountable. Right? short of my wife. But it's like...
Cameron Richards: You know, like I don't have anybody that's checking up on me. I don't have anybody that's calling and being like, hey, how are you? Like, what do you need? Right.
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Cameron Richards: It's like we're expected to do that for everybody else, but it's kind of lonely. like it's It's kind of lonely being out on the outside edge. and I mean I care about all my guys and I would do anything for all my guys.
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Cameron Richards: But at the end of the day, like I'm still their boss, and I think they look at me like that. So it's it's nice. having another group. of people who kind of feel that same way
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Cameron Richards: Right. And being able to relate with people or. you know, like pick up the phone Call Anthony up in Ontario and be like, hey, man, like have you ever run into this? Yeah. like really tell me more right because it's like i just didn't have that before coaching I was interested more in the...
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Cameron Richards: kind of like the networking side of it and like the relationship side. I mean, obviously I want to. learn as much as I can about the business side and grow and develop. but i just really enjoy the camaraderie i enjoy meeting people and like hearing their stories and You know, if I can learn from something that Frank has done.
Cameron Richards: and apply it in my life and avoid the pitfall. Fantastic.
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Cameron Richards: Right. Like... worthy use of time.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah, definitely the networking is what I that's what I my whole journey has been on this year is to get network and and Wow, it's been eye -opening. I never, I never. ah figured that I would have So many connections all over.
Frank Wiebe: North America. as I do right now.
Cameron Richards: Right. Right.
Aniz Lavji: I didn't.
Frank Wiebe: Like I know people now all the way from. Alaska. Two. Florida to Texas.
Cameron Richards: Right.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Like. A year ago? I barely knew. Well, I didn't know it needs a year ago
Aniz Lavji: Yeah. oh
Frank Wiebe: Right? and And that was all thanks to... to tools in Pennsylvania. Well, I think we met before that but
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: From... ah from
Aniz Lavji: Okay.
Frank Wiebe: podcasting.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah, I heard Jeff's podcast and that's where it kind of.
Frank Wiebe: And... Yep. From Jeff's podcast.
Aniz Lavji: Started from there.
Frank Wiebe: and And that was, that was just a fluke that. that him and I met because it was a...
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: a controversial post on TikTok where he... Got. lippy with it and i was on vacation and i was like hey wait a minute he's like I think you and I need to have a chat because I think this is going in the wrong direction.
Cameron Richards: ah
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Cameron Richards: ah
Frank Wiebe: And so... So we sat down and had a great conversation and we've been we've become great friends. And. Just... Yeah, like Cameron, like you said, the networking.
Frank Wiebe: through the 180 biz family has been unreal. The networking through this. um Podcast that we're doing here has been unreal.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah, it's been wild
Frank Wiebe: um It's just. It's just wild to have so many people in so many different... stages of life. that you can hey call up and say hey man I've got a problem.
Cameron Richards: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Hey, I... i Or somebody calls you and says, hey, can you help me with this, right? It really, really makes. this really difficult job Easier.
Cameron Richards: Yeah, it's not so not so isolated.
Frank Wiebe: And let's rest.
Cameron Richards: For sure.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Yep. 100%.
Aniz Lavji: I'm going to lean on people too, right? Like there'll be, there'll be times where I'll be stuck on something and I'll, I'll just you know pick up the phone and call Frank and. and tell them, hopefully I'm not bugging you too much. and ask him a question and you know, he's usually got a pretty good answer at least. four 5 .5 % of the time, you know usual And, and it's.
Frank Wiebe: It's better than zero
Aniz Lavji: it's better I didn't say zero.
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Aniz Lavji: And it's just nice to be able to pick up the phone and and call him or call so ah you know one of our previous guests that we've had and be like, hey, you know you're a Toyota tech. I got this.
Aniz Lavji: vehicle in and I'm having this issue you know can you give me some advice and bam you know like because you've got that connection that you never had before
Frank Wiebe: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: that you can actually ask these questions and... you know, vice versa. Like if they had a. question that I could help with more than... more than happy to. reciprocate right but that's what this industry is all about if everyone just kind of helps each other and
Cameron Richards: Right.
Aniz Lavji: has everyone's back. like Like you hear all the time, there's more cars on the road than there are shops to fix them.
Frank Wiebe: Yes.
Cameron Richards: Sure.
Aniz Lavji: So... You know, we just have to help each other. And that's that's one way you're going to change the industry for the better, right?
Cameron Richards: Right. Yeah, I agree.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah. Yeah, we all work together. We can all become better. a community. because that's really what we end up being as a whole community. of auto repair shops, auto repair.
Frank Wiebe: technicians, owners. All that stuff, as long as we can all become one. It's actually community. And. Share the share the knowledge. And. in doing not share the wealth, really.
Frank Wiebe: Like.
Cameron Richards: Yeah, well, I mean that's essentially you think about that that's where the progression comes from right
Frank Wiebe: because you know
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Cameron Richards: I mean like one company will do something. and they'll set the standard
Aniz Lavji: Amen.
Cameron Richards: Then the next company will take it and push the bar. And then they'll walk the bar, right?
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Cameron Richards: And it's just like... we all kind of build on everything that as far as information that's been learned, procedures. tools.
Frank Wiebe: Yep. Yep.
Cameron Richards: Um, So yeah, a hundred percent.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah, if if we gate kept everything that we'd learned And every, every tool that we invented or something like that. That's great. So now Cameron can do Cam phasers on something or right whatever
Cameron Richards: Right.
Frank Wiebe: But he's the only guy that can do it. No one else in the world can do it.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Hey that's great for Cameron.
Cameron Richards: Well, so
Frank Wiebe: for about five minutes
Cameron Richards: It's super Super cool to think about, right? like Volvo.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah.
Cameron Richards: Volvo invents the the seatbelt. You know, and like they very easily could have patented that tech But, like, think about how many lives they've changed slash saved because they didn't.
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Cameron Richards: Right. Like they left it open for everybody to use because like.
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Cameron Richards: It made it better. made the industry better.
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Cameron Richards: So it's like that's. I mean, that's an awesome thing to be done and so hopefully everybody else kind of can play along with that right and like obviously there's competition and yeah Like everybody wants to be the tip of the sword, but...
Aniz Lavji: Oh yeah.
Cameron Richards: I think at the end of the day, Everybody is kind of, I mean, it doesn't really matter if you're. JDM or domestic or Euro or bikes. I mean, like, honestly, it doesn't matter off -road on -road.
Cameron Richards: I mean, at the end of the day, like everybody's fueled kind of by the same thing, like the progression, right? like for the most part. Everybody wants to get. bigger, faster, stronger. Quicker, you know like whatever it is So at the end of the day, like we're all basically living underneath the same dome.
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Cameron Richards: Even though we have our own little niche groups we hang out with.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Cameron Richards: right I can go to car shows. 500 cars. And. A third of them, I don't give a rip about. It just doesn't touch me.
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Cameron Richards: But you know like I can respect them for what they are. right like We have a Honda that comes into the shop. It's not my jam. but i know this dude is passionate about this car he's built this car himself He's had us helping with some pieces and some parts.
Cameron Richards: I love it you know like it's fantastic he's done a great job even though it's not my jam
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Cameron Richards: It's just like, it's a beautiful piece of machinery that he's put together.
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Cameron Richards: It's a piece of art, right?
Aniz Lavji: You know, you respect the hustle, right? Like it hasn't been easy, I'm sure for him to do what he's done.
Cameron Richards: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: And yeah, it might not be your cup of tea, but. you know he's he's your client he's your friend and you help him out and you guys have that mutual respect and And sometimes, you know, you'll hear people people say, I'm never going to have this kind of car come through my door.
Aniz Lavji: Because that's just not what I like. But, you know, sometimes it's it's okay if you don't. particularly like something, where you can always respect it, right?
Cameron Richards: Right.
Frank Wiebe: 100%.
Aniz Lavji: No.
Frank Wiebe: Definitely.
Cameron Richards: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: At the end of the day, we're just ah we're just a blip in this whole automotive... industry and it really It really comes down to what kind of impact. Are we going to have on this?
Aniz Lavji: industry for the the small part that we do have, right?
Cameron Richards: Right.
Aniz Lavji: So if all of us kind of think that way, that we can have a small impact. then you put that all together and it becomes huge, right? And the industry needs a lot of work, but.
Cameron Richards: Yep.
Aniz Lavji: The only way it's going to get ahead is if we all work together.
Cameron Richards: Yep.
Frank Wiebe: Exactly.
Cameron Richards: Nope.
Aniz Lavji: All right.
Cameron Richards: I agree.
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Aniz Lavji: But Cameron, man, thank you so much for for coming on the podcast. I know for for us it's a little late, a little early there, sun's still out.
Cameron Richards: Sun's still out.
Aniz Lavji: You still got some time to relax?
Cameron Richards: I got still got time to mow my grass. but
Aniz Lavji: There you go. But no, I really appreciate you coming on the podcast with us.
Cameron Richards: Now I look forward to kind of hearing the final product.
Aniz Lavji: And.
Cameron Richards: and super grateful you guys took time to chat with me like i said i don't have much to offer but
Aniz Lavji: No, for sure. sure
Cameron Richards: I've been here for a day or two.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah. handle
Frank Wiebe: It's been a wealth for sure.
Aniz Lavji: No, that's great. Hopefully at one of these events or something coming up, we can all all get together for some wings and beer or something.
Cameron Richards: Yeah, yeah, I'll do the wings part. Unfortunately, I'm not a drinker, but I'll watch you get silly and I'll get you home Okay.
Aniz Lavji: Hey, oh there we go. That sounds like a plant.
Cameron Richards: ah ah
Aniz Lavji: All right, Cameron, just hang on the the line here. Thank you everyone for listening. Please. Like and follow us on YouTube and Facebook. Search for the Shop and Tread Talk podcast.
Aniz Lavji: You'll know you're on the right page because you'll see Frank and his beautiful hair on there. and if you see a chevy cruze just uh x out the window because we we don't service those vehicles but No, I'm just kidding.
Cameron Richards: ah
Aniz Lavji: Thank you, everyone. And signing off. Thank you.
