Q:   There's been a C-2 (1963-1967) Coupe sitting in the background in the shop for at least the last six to eight episodes. Progress has been made on the car, but nothing has been mentioned about it. Will this be featured in a future episode?
A:   The Corvette is a project that hasn't aired yet, but will be after the Woodie. As a brief overview, the car is an all-aluminum, twin-turbo, fuel-injected small-block Chevrolet with a five-speed racing transmission to an independent quick-change rear end. I was given the challenge of taking the inspirations of the customer and the ideas of Boyd and mixing them all around to come up with a car that took every ounce of effort we had to complete. After two months of seemingly endless days (and nights), we were successful. To find out more, be sure to watch the episode schedule for airdates to this exciting (and exhausting to build) American hot rod.

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Q:   I'm redoing a four-door Packard and keeping the straight-eight motor. How should I treat the metal after I sand off the surface rust?
A:   My work experience in this industry is fairly broad (ideation, design, fabrication, prototype) in all areas of the build with the exception of body and paint. While I understand the work (and lots of it) that has to be done to paint a car, I've only completed four vehicles by myself and am sure the guys over in the paint shop have forgotten more than I'll ever know about the "tricks" of the trade. I'm always looking to gain more knowledge about everything, but paint will just have to wait because my plate is pretty full right now.

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Q:   My question is pretty simple (perhaps even basic), but there have been times I've watched the show and been completely confused as to why that "type" of welding was done. As I watch, I like to put myself in the place of the people there and try to anticipate how they are going to handle a certain job, and I'm often wrong about when you use a MIG versus a TIG (or vice versa) method. Can you tell me how you choose what method of welding will be employed for each type of job?
A:   All welding revolves around the common principle of "alloying" two pieces of metal together using heat to melt or fuse them to each other. Both MIG and TIG welders achieve this but use a slightly different process to get there.

Both have an electrode through which electric current is passed to ground (the metals being welded). There is an arc created between this electrode and the surface of the metal. When this arc reaches sufficient temperature, it forms a "puddle" of molten metal that bonds the pieces together. Rod is introduced into the puddle, which adds more material to the joint, making it strong.

With the MIG welder, wire is fed through the tip of the torch and acts as both filler rod and electrodes. With a TIG welder, the electrode and rod are separate. You have a foot pedal that controls your current temp as well as a torch with an electrode, gas shield and filler rod. The types and thickness of the metal determines which to use in each situation.

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