Summary: “IT’S FUN TO LOOK AT THEM, BUT YOU CAN’T REALLY ENJOY THEM UNLESS YOU’RE DRIVING THEM.”<br><br> <br> Steve Cook Creations has a reputation of building incredibly clean, detailed and subtle cars, and on episode thirty-eight, the Gearheads got a chance to sit down and talk with Steve, his son Mike, and Alan Childers. We dove deep into the design sense and philosophy of the build team. Steve lays out a lot of insight and perspective on cars as a passion, and the realities of building them as a career. Yep, realities. There’s a lot more dimension to putting together an award-winning vehicle, especially when it’s for repeat clients who are every bit as passionate about their cars.<br> THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:<br> <br> * Steve talks about the passion of building cars<br> * The importance of focusing on quality in every aspect of a build<br> * Early automotive influences<br> * A great comparison of generations and the sources of their influences<br> * Alan’s early inspiration via the magazine aisle at the supermarket<br><br> – WyoTech and an art degree come together<br> * Cars run deep in the Cook family<br> * From motorcycle acing to Mom the Machinist<br> * Struggling with being a workaholic<br><br> – Trying to find a life-balance<br> * Being “so quiet, it’s scary”<br> * The life of an introverted car builder in a very social society<br> * “Simple is hard to do”<br><br> – Keeping things clean, neatly-packaged and subtle<br> * When Dad doesn’t understand modern color choices<br> * Building cars from memory<br> * Make everything look like it belongs<br> * Revisiting the theme of the car as a whole, from stance and overall look to the sound and more<br> * “Smell the ozone coming off of that electric car!”<br> * The fine art of patience on a build<br><br> – Keeping things moving forward over a three to five year build<br><br> – The evolution of a project over time<br> * On building a car that turns out to be ahead of its time<br><br> – Staying conscious of the car’s “right” timing<br> * On the value of research and communication in the shop<br> * Where inspiration lies and gets dug up from<br> * How being old school lends a unique thumbprint to build style<br> * The honor of being selected for a SEMA panel, and making the most of being the “odd man out” sometimes<br> * Building what the client remembers the car being, even if it is miles apart in terms of fit, finish and performance<br> * Hand-whittling a Duvall windshield by hand over in the corner<br> * The “hot rod family”<br> * Brian lays out the plan for the zero-gravity paint booth<br> <br>
