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[REVVING ENGINE]
[SOFT MUSIC PLAYING]
RANDY GRUBB: Nice things take time.
So the things that inspire me are things
like the Sistine Chapel--
four generations to build.
However long it takes is how long it's going to take.
And it's going to be the best that I can build it.
It may not be the best that it could ever be.
But it's the best that I can build it.
And I take a lot of pride in my craftsmanship.
And I really try to take the time to create nice things and
take the time to do things right.
Because that seems to be a lost art in this
world we live in today.
I'm lucky I have five acres, because strewn over the
property are a few relics from some of the last projects and
past projects.
You'll see the crane derrick that the '50 white Model 3000
nose came off of.
And of course, there's a few brake rotors and a semi truck
parts laying around, an extra tank motor or two-- you know,
the bits and pieces we need to do what we do here.
Blastolene is technically defined as a group of
autonomous artists that are helping each other along their
creative through the application of expertise, not
through the exchange of monies, which makes our group
rather unique.
We're looking at almost 5,000 hours.
And a lot of people think that's a crazy amount of time
to spend on a single project
I look at it totally the opposite way.
I feel very fortunate and blessed to be able to spend
thousands of hours on a single project, to be able to totally
obsess on a single part and massage it until
it's totally perfect.
We live in a world of three-second soundbites, where
everything is hurry up, get it done quickly.
That is not the mentality here in my shop.
I don't want them to be able to walk by my piece without it
stopping them in their tracks and them having
to do a double take.
Hey, what's that?
How did they do that?
I've never seen that before.
That's what makes my pieces successful, and that's what
makes my pieces engaging on all levels.
MATT FARAH: In my opinion, the last true original mind in
hot-rodding.
I've been excited to come here for years and years.
And here he is.
It's Randy Grubb of Blastolene.
In fact, the Blastolene.
We're here.
It's you.
And look at this bus!
RANDY GRUBB: You made it, Matt, to
check out the DecoLiner.
I'm so psyched to have you, Matt.
MATT FARAH: I am so excited.
I want to see this, drive it, talk about it.
But I couldn't help but notice that you have a
yard full of rockets.
So tell me what is going on with this.
RANDY GRUBB: Well, you know, at Blastolene, we boldly go
where no man has gone before.
And I'd like to introduce to my new
best friend, Bob Maddox.
MATT FARAH: Bob, pleasure.
Tell me about your Schwinn.
BOB MADDOX: It's in a stainless steel frame that I
built and has two 110-pound-thrust pulse jet
engines on it.
MATT FARAH: OK.
Now, quickly, what is a pulse jet?
BOB MADDOX: Well, a pulse jet is a hollow pipe.
It doesn't have anything in it.
As Randy likes to say, it sucks and blows.
It sucks air in, mixes with fuel.
The ignition sets it off.
It blows out like a cannon.
MATT FARAH: So basically, what we're talking about is the
world's most advanced potato gun?
BOB MADDOX: Right.
MATT FARAH: But it just fires thrust instead of objects?
BOB MADDOX: Yes.
Yes.
RANDY GRUBB: Matt, when I met Bob, he was just starting to
put these beautiful pulse jets on the side of his Schwinn
when we had the idea, hey, what about a car?
I'd like to introduce you to our latest project.
MATT FARAH: This is nutty.
RANDY GRUBB : It's the world's first drop-tank Lakester with
a V1 pulse jet in it.
MATT FARAH: So this is essentially a
missile with wheels?
RANDY GRUBB : Essentially.
No warhead either.
MATT FARAH: Well, that's good.
OK.
Instead of a warhead, there's a driver.
RANDY GRUBB : That's right.
MATT FARAH: And I assume that would be Bob?
So he's going to get in this thing.
Those pulse jets look gnarly.
This one is a massive.
I mean, we've got a beer keg thing here.
RANDY GRUBB : This is actually Bob's replica of a full-size
V1 that powered a 4,500-pound rocket.
And it flew it at 450 miles an hour.
Bob has taken that steady-state motor, made it
fully throttle-able, put it in a drop-tank Lakester that
doesn't even weigh 1,000 pounds.
So it should idle to 200 pretty easily.
MATT FARAH: So boldly going where no man has gone before
is kind of an understatement.
RANDY GRUBB : That's Bob.
MATT FARAH: Psycho.
RANDY GRUBB : Psycho.
MATT FARAH: So these are works in progress.
Unfortunately, they can't be run.
RANDY GRUBB : Come on back when they're running.
We'll show you how they work.
But in the meantime--
MATT FARAH: You don't have to ask me twice.
RANDY GRUBB : Let's check out the DecoLiner.
MATT FARAH: Yeah, bus.
Let's go to the bus.
RANDY GRUBB : You've got two driving stations.
You want to drive the one up top?
MATT FARAH: Yeah, but you've got to set it for me first.
RANDY GRUBB : Oh, it's really complicated.
It's super complicated.
Are you ready for this?
First thing, we've got to reach right over
here with your hand.
You've got to take your hand, you've got to
pull that pin out.
MATT FARAH: You mean you have to use your hand?
RANDY GRUBB : You have to use your hand.
You have to come pull that pin out first, Matt.
Then it's really tough.
Then you've got to lift the steering wheel off.
See how tough that is?
MATT FARAH: Do I take it with me upstairs?
RANDY GRUBB : Of course.
You're going to need it.
Then you reach above your head.
And you grab the steering shaft, which is on a clip
above your head.
Now, you reach over and you slap it on
the steering column.
And of course, don't forget to put the pin back in.
Now, you see how complicated that is.
Now we can go upstairs, and I'll show you how we can drive
it from up top.
After you.
MATT FARAH: This thing's a yacht.
It's amazing.
Oh, my god.
This is the greatest thing ever.
Why doesn't every car have a fly bridge?
I mean, I feel like I'm in a Chris-Craft right now.
RANDY GRUBB : Exactly.
MATT FARAH: This is the greatest thing in the world.
RANDY GRUBB : Well, not in the world.
MATT FARAH: Yes, it is.
RANDY GRUBB : [INAUDIBLE].
MATT FARAH: You are too modest.
This is the best thing ever.
RANDY GRUBB : Lets go, Matt.
MATT FARAH: Let's cruise.
RANDY GRUBB : Let's cruise, baby.
MATT FARAH: Let's just do the land yacht tour of the United
States in this.
RANDY GRUBB : OK.
So I want you to notice, although we're going over some
undulating ground here, you're not feeling like you're being
pitched out of the top of it.
MATT FARAH: No, it's really smooth.
Look at this corner.
It's flat.
RANDY GRUBB : Yeah.
You're in the corner.
MATT FARAH: The corner's totally flat.
RANDY GRUBB : It's about a sculpture that works.
MATT FARAH: It is the best!
I've never had more fun at 28 miles an hour
in my entire life.
I'm telling you.
RANDY GRUBB : It's about the smiles per hour.
MATT FARAH: It is.
RANDY GRUBB : And we're doing hundreds of smiles
per hour right now.
MATT FARAH: Oh, my god.
This is awesome.
[HONKING]
And it's so easy to drive.
RANDY GRUBB : I told you.
MATT FARAH: It's not annoying at all.
I have zero bus experience.
RANDY GRUBB : Right.
MATT FARAH: And this is no problem.
RANDY GRUBB : I liken it to a big '70s American car.
It's like a big Buick.
MATT FARAH: It's like a Galaxy wagon or something.
RANDY GRUBB : Yep, exactly.
It's like a big Cadillac 1973 sedan
Seville, a big giant sedan.
The DecoLiner was a concept I've had for a
little while, Matt.
It's been bouncing around in my head for a couple years.
The idea of a functional flying bridge started with a
houseboating trip at Lake Shasta, where we had a
houseboat that actually had dual driving stations, the
functional flying bridge.
And I thought, hey, this is really cool.
A nice sunny day, you're up on the upper bridge, driving
around in the open air.
Why couldn't we do this with a car?
Why couldn't we do this with a motor home?
So I roughed out a sketch several years ago.
And then it starts percolating in the back of your mind.
All right, now, how do we make all this work?
And how can this actually work?
OK.
The real salient element that catalyzed the whole project
was a 1973 GMC motor home.
That was the basis for the DecoLiner.
And what's unique about those motor homes is they are front
wheel drive.
They have a 455 Olds front wheel drive setup in them.
That's really unique in the world of motor homes.
Most motor homes, you walk up a flight of stairs to get
above the drive train.
And the floor in most motor homes is a couple
feet off the ground.
The floor in a '73 GMC motor home is 14 inches off the
ground, and it's completely uninterrupted to
the back of the coach.
That allowed me to stack the flying bridge, put the
double-decker on top of it.
Height is your problem.
Your overhead passes are 13' 6" max.
And we've got to stay below that.
So the GMC motor home chassis gave me the platform that
allowed me to build a low-slung motor home, stack
the double-decker driving station on the roof, and keep
the whole thing under 13 feet.
MATT FARAH: I remember you sent me the drawings.
And I didn't know what to expect out of
the finished product.
And it turns out it's actually even better.
RANDY GRUBB : All right.
Thank you.
MATT FARAH: Because usually, your other projects are sort
of minimalist when it comes to the luxury touches.
RANDY GRUBB : Right.
Right.
MATT FARAH: That's always been kind of your style.
RANDY GRUBB : Right.
MATT FARAH: But this has, with the teak and the leather-- and
are these seats right out of a yacht?
Is that what they are for?
RANDY GRUBB : They were custom made just for the DecoLiner.
MATT FARAH: Oh, excuse me.
How dare I accuse you of using a part that was originally
meant for something else?
RANDY GRUBB : I really tried to achieve a high quality of
fit and finish on this particular sculpture.
It just seemed to call for it, you know?
I had very fortunate upbringing.
And we had a shop in the backyard and a dad that was
just really generous with his time and shared his hobby and
his passion with me.
And that's obviously where I got it.
And it's grown into this level of obsession to where I can't
even start with an old car and cut it up.
I need to start with a clean sheet of paper and build
what's in my head.
MATT FARAH: This is a luxury vehicle.
RANDY GRUBB : Exactly.
MATT FARAH: And when you use these kind of materials and
make it look like this, if it doesn't feel solid, it's
almost like, what's the point?
RANDY GRUBB : It defeats the whole purpose.
And downstairs, you want it to be a comfy, rich-looking
little spot.
You can motor right down the highway at 75, 80 miles an
hour, all day long.
MATT FARAH: Have you considered Burning Man?
RANDY GRUBB : Burning Man?
MATT FARAH: You should go to Burning Man with this.
RANDY GRUBB : They've got that fine silt, that fine dust that
just deposits itself.
MATT FARAH: It would never be clean again.
RANDY GRUBB : And you know how *** I am.
I would be cleaning for the next three years.
MATT FARAH: Be honest.
How many hours did you polish this floor before
we showed up today?
RANDY GRUBB : Just for the last three days, Matt, and
that's all.
Just because I knew you were coming, and I
wanted it to look good.
MATT FARAH: It looks good.
That's the good news.
Your work is not in vain.
It looks fantastic.
RANDY GRUBB : Yeah.
It's kind of a never-ending polishing project until it's
in its new home, Matt.
Working in a scale that no one else does is not only
challenging, but fun and interesting.
We all know from the hot-rodding world what a
radius rod is supposed to look like and what a radius rod end
is supposed to look like on a '32 roadster.
My job is to scale it all up.
And that's the fun and the challenge of it.
If I'm going to build a car from scratch, I'm going to
design it and hammer out a body, one of my primary things
is let's start with a really cool motor.
Let's not put a small-block Chevy in the thing, for
goodness' sakes.
Let's start with something cool.
So that's where the tank motors come from and these
crazy motors that I start with.
That's kind of the first start is, let's find a really cool
motor, and let's find a really interesting way to wrap it up
into a really engaging, interesting sculpture.
MATT FARAH: There's nothing about this that isn't fun.
RANDY GRUBB : Isn't it fun?
MATT FARAH: This is the most fun that a bus gets, period.
RANDY GRUBB : I'm telling you.
MATT FARAH: Except, well, maybe if you were on, like,
Snoop Dog's tour bus.
You might be having some more fun.
RANDY GRUBB : I think Snoop Dog needs this to be his next
tour bus, don't you think?
MATT FARAH: He does.
RANDY GRUBB : Hey, Snoop, check it out, man.
MATT FARAH: Thank you so much for this, Randy.
I am absolutely loving it.
RANDY GRUBB : Well, I'm so glad you could come up.
MATT FARAH: This is, hands down, the most unique vehicle
I've ever driven, by leaps and bounds.
RANDY GRUBB : Well, that's as it should be, huh?
MATT FARAH: And yeah, I'm guessing
this is also the coolest.
It's probably the coolest.
It's certainly not the fastest, but it's definitely
the coolest.
RANDY GRUBB : That's right.
And it turns a lot of heads, you've got to admit.
MATT FARAH: It turns heads.
RANDY GRUBB : These are just big sculptures
that you get to drive.
They're full-function sculptures.
But they're very much a sculpture.
At the end of the day, I want you to be able to stand back
from my piece, and I want it to have all the
characteristics that a good piece of sculpture has.
It should be balanced, it should have flow, it should
have all that stuff.
This thing draws a crowd like nobody's business .
I really feel that the ultimate application for this
particular piece, rather than disappearing into somebody's
collection, is to use it for an iconic advertising piece.
The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile has gone down in history as
something super cool.
I think the DecoLiner has the similar potential for the
right product, for the right market.
And that's kind of what I built it for.
I really see it as the ultimate advertising,
promotional tool.
And I hope that that's where it ends up.
So where will it go?
Who knows?
MATT FARAH: Well, if you haven't figured it out by now,
there's a reason that I love this guy and
the stuff he builds.
It's just so crazy, so out of this world.
And I'm so happy to have finally come to see you in
Oregon to drive this thing.
RANDY GRUBB : It was fun, wasn't it, Matt?
MATT FARAH: Yes, it is so fun.
RANDY GRUBB : It was worth the trip all the way from Southern
California?
MATT FARAH: Yes, yes, absolutely.
RANDY GRUBB : All right.
MATT FARAH: And when you finish that rocket car, you
bring it to El Mirage.
I'll meet you there, and we'll film that.
RANDY GRUBB : You promise?
MATT FARAH: Promise.
RANDY GRUBB : Good deal.
MATT FARAH: Thanks Randy.
RANDY GRUBB : I'm looking forward to it.
MATT FARAH: You can read more about Randy and his cars at
blastolene.com.
Be sure to check us out, @thesmokingtire on Twitter,
@DriveTV, also on Twitter.
And check us out next week, when you see an all new
episode of me, Matt Farah, right here on "TUNED."
Can we go drive some more?
RANDY GRUBB : Let's go drive some more.
MATT FARAH: Let's go back up top.
MATT FARAH: (LAUGHING) All right.
Let's go!
[MUSIC PLAYING]