October 14, 2025 • 31 mins
What can a 120-year-old car teach about passion, perseverance, and giving back?
Master restorer Alan Travis shows how restoring history is about more than cars, it’s about inspiring others, sharing knowledge, and living with gratitude.
🧠 What You Will learn:
- How mentoring students and sharing restoration knowledge keeps history alive
- Why true passion is measured by hands-on engagement, not just admiration
- A Jay Leno story that shows the joy, respect, and camaraderie in craftsmanship
🗝️ Key takeaways:
- Preservation of the past fuels education and personal growth
- Gratitude and dedication sustain both people and their passions
- Sharing what you love amplifies purpose and inspires the next generation
Listen now to Alan Travis’s journey through history, mentorship, and the spirit of gratitude.
Watch on YouTube or subscribe to YoggNation’s Spirit of Gratitude podcast for stories that celebrate resilience, passion, and purpose.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to the Yoga Nation The Spread of Gratitude
Podcast on the OneTech platform.
Hello friends, my name is YogashPatel, and this podcast explores
the themes of bullyingself-awareness and the power of
our inner spirit, including thesilent battles we all face.
Join me every week as I invitehigh-profile guests as we
explore how adversity shapes us,how gratitude lifts us, and how
(00:24):
we can all uncover the innerstrength that we all have within
ourselves.
Join the conversation.
I appreciate you listening in.
SPEAKER_01 (00:36):
How many people do you know who can take apart and
rebuild every nut and bolt of acentury-old car?
For all you history lovers andcar buffs, my next guest is
someone very special.
Alan Travis isn't just acollector, he's a storyteller
who brings 100 Euro cars back tolife piece by piece.
His passion, and you'll see whyon this episode, has reached
(00:58):
over 50 million views online injust the last two years, as he's
been featured on Jay Leno'sGarage, The Guild in Canada, and
ESPN Radio.
But here's what makes himunforgettable.
Alan opens his door on hisScottsdale, Arizona home, which
he calls a collection, to sharethese treasures to everyone, and
boy, is it impressive.
When he restores a car, he justdoesn't tune it up.
(01:20):
He takes them apart, sometimesover 3,500 individual pieces,
and brings history roaring backto life.
With that, with gratitude,welcome to the podcast, Alan.
Thank you.
Absolutely.
My pleasure and my honor.
So got a side question to askyou, Alan.
Have uh could you take apart amodern F1 car driven by the
(01:41):
likes of Lewis Hamilton or MaxVerstappen?
SPEAKER_02 (01:45):
No, because it's not exciting.
You know, that's was createdjust a few years ago.
Most of my cars are and vehiclesare 125.
You know, my newest ones are 110years old, and they're kind of
boring.
I like the ones that are 120 to125 years old.
Um and the the masters of andthe inventors mind all in one
(02:08):
piece created those.
And and I try to put myself backin the same mindset as those
people back then.
That's why I read all my 8,500books and magazines.
Um and then all those magazinesare 1895 to 1915.
So if I'm going to do a 1902 caror motorcycle, I'll get out a
(02:28):
hundred magazines, 1902 andearlier, and and 50 hardbacks,
and then I'll read those, putmyself in my that mindset.
And then what I've learned to dois make sure when I'm doing the
1902 vehicle, I don't look aheadand get some 1903 and 1904
magazines out because maybethey've perfected something a
(02:49):
little bit better.
I don't want to be there.
SPEAKER_01 (02:50):
I want to do it.
Well, what's the appeal?
Is it is it the engineeringbehind it?
Is it the historical record atthe time?
What draws your interest tothese very vintage uh uh uh
treasures?
SPEAKER_02 (03:05):
Well, these I I choose and I seek all over the
world, is what I've done.
Is the the first and the oldestof each invention production
vehicle.
You know, and most of the timethe people, if it was a Dirac
vehicle or a Renault vehicle ora Bugatti vehicle, you know,
Andre Michelin was there workingon it.
(03:25):
Mr.
Itra Bogatti worked on that car,and his ignorance his initials
are on there.
So it's the passion of thosepeople creating that vehicle for
the next person to own.
Um, and the next person to own,they created these cars for a
lifetime.
That's why there's so muchhands-on craftsmanship, and then
you're taking that apart, maybefor the first time in 120 years,
(03:48):
and then you're you're nottrying to modify it, you're not
trying to make a hot rod, you'rerebuilding that what they
created for you to have.
That's amazing.
And if these cars can talk, whatwould they say?
They they do talk.
Um, you know, you you findtrials and tribulations, and
after you get one done, you readthe next year's magazines or
(04:09):
books, you find out what theychanged.
And all and they uh likeIotropagati, we have the oldest
Bugatti Grand Prix car.
Um he he decided that he'd onlysell them to the pilots, the
aces at the time, the 1912, 13,14 pilots, because those are the
people that are courageousenough to race his Bugatti.
(04:30):
And then to get a car from him,you had to go to a chateau in
France, you had to ridethoroughbreds in the morning,
and then in the afternoon, youyou flew your airplane a little
bit in the airfield that wasaround there, and then you had a
lesson or an hour or two with acar, and you you repeated that
for 30 days, and when he thoughtyou were eligible and worthy of
(04:51):
the car that he created for you,you could have it.
But there weren't there's nodealerships, there's no car
lots.
You know, you you you maybe youhad an agent that would talk to
you that you would be a likelycandidate to own one, but you
didn't, you couldn't just go getone.
You couldn't just go get one.
There's there was nomanufacturing at the time.
(05:13):
So that's what my cars andmotorcycles are.
So you feel the weight ofhistory.
Well, I do.
And when I when I start a car,when I start a restoration, for
example, the Bugatti, since wementioned that one first, um,
there's you know, hundreds ofpeople in the world know that,
okay, Alan Travis has the oldestBugatti Grand Prix car, and he
thinks he's gonna restore it.
(05:33):
So it's like everybody in theworld is watching me, and if I
screw it up, Alan Travis screwedit up.
So that's why I spent so manyhours on that one, and then I
got it all done, and it'sperfect.
And I've raced internationalBugatti Grand Prix at Lime Rock
and Washington's Glenn andLaguna Seca.
I've taken it on 500-mile tours,I've done mountain climbs so
(05:55):
they they know they know that Igot it done.
In fact, something bad happeneda couple years ago.
We were on a tour in Pasarobos,California, and then we were
driving it spiritedly in themountains, in the mountain
roads.
And I broke an axle on it, youknow, going fast on the
high-speed roads, which means ifyou break an axle, you're tired
(06:17):
and a wheel fly off and you'reskidding on the road.
And so people were, you know,online would say, Alan Travis
ruined a multi-million dollarcar, say.
I mean, they do some a few saidthat.
And then other people wouldchime in and say, Yeah, but he's
the one that restored it.
Just wait.
So within a month, I had it allrepaired, and I just had to wait
(06:38):
for the fender to get paidpainted, but and now we've we
using it again, it's perfectagain.
So I you you live the samehistory that they lived back
then because it's not different,it's the same.
And the last uh answer to thatquestion is every one of my 25,
you know, 100 and some year oldvehicles, they exactly run like
(06:59):
they did back 120 years ago.
You know, the same drivingexperience.
If I gave you the owner's manualand you translated it from
French or German or whatever itis, the same buttons you push,
the same levers you you youtoggle, or is exactly what you
do today.
If it didn't have a windshieldback 125 years ago, it doesn't
today.
And you you have the exact sameexperience.
(07:21):
So if I gave you the magazineand gave you the experience,
it's the same.
SPEAKER_01 (07:24):
Well, and again, you just don't fix these vehicles,
right?
These cars.
You research their history andhonor the owners who come
before.
And I think you mentioned thatearlier.
What's the most moving storyyou've uncovered while restoring
one of these classics?
SPEAKER_02 (07:38):
Um, I guess my 1905 Mitchell was the first car in
Northern California.
It was bought by the uh minesuperintendent for the Orville
Mines in actually in theDredgerville, which is in the
stream.
Uh it was it was the first carin Butte County, and then uh the
the lake or the river it inOroville flooded in February of
(08:04):
1906.
Uh that when it flooded, itkilled 25% of the people in the
town in Dredgerville, which isright 100 yards from Oroville.
Uh but in the summertime whenthe water receded, they the
townspeople went back and gotthe car out of the river.
So it was submerged in the riverfor six months.
(08:26):
The car only had a few thousandmiles on it, but the townspeople
and the family cherished it somuch they drug it out, they put
it in a basement of a house, itstayed there until 1990.
This car, and then it's rightbehind me.
I it's it's that one there.
(08:48):
In fact, I give you, I'll get apicture real quick.
This is the picture of how I gotit.
And then I told them when I whenI bought it that I would have it
done in a month or so, a couplemonths, and I'd bring it back to
(09:09):
them and give them all rides intheir car.
Why did it stay in the basementfrom 1906 to 1990?
Because nobody was born in theirfamily that could fix it and
restore it.
So they kept waiting for otherpeople to be born.
More and more and more, youknow, they had many generations,
and my title for the car is1905, and the same title has the
(09:29):
title of the house on it.
Same address, same property.
So I I got it all done, Ibrought it back to them, and
then um I dressed them all up inin fancy hats and lace and all
that stuff, gave them all rides.
Um that that just that's justone story that and that every
one of these has the same story.
It wasn't a wealthy family, butthey had so much passion for
(09:50):
that car, even in thatcondition, they kept it in the
garage for 115 years before Ieven got it to restore it.
SPEAKER_01 (09:58):
Incredible, incredible.
Well, and what do you think arethe parallels in restoring a car
and restoring a person's lifefrom a hardship or challenge
experience?
Because again, what this podcastaims to do, Alan, is to provide
inspiration, education,entertainment, which I'm getting
a lot of that right now.
But more importantly, discoversomething about yourself.
(10:20):
And so what I like to do is Ilike to bring these diverse
guests and with their passionsbe able to connect the dots in
terms of how what they do on aregular basis influences and
affects their self-awareness,their inner spirit, their sense
of gratitude.
So curious to find out again,going back to the original
question, the parallels that yousee in restoring a car versus uh
(10:44):
restoring a person's perhapsmental and or physical health.
SPEAKER_02 (10:47):
None of my vehicles have been restored from
derelicts.
You know, they were alwayscherished, they were always,
even if they got in derelictcondition, they were always kept
back in their barn or theirbuilding or their garage
somewhere or another for ahundred and some years.
So I've when I restore a car, Ido complete vehicles and I don't
hunt things.
(11:07):
So they're I start with at leastthe mass of the vehicle.
I guess the only time I've everhad any issue ever, you know,
when you ask if I ever had ahardship, I don't count it as a
hardship.
I'm an engineer, but I had atriple bypass 21 years ago.
And then um they do the theytake your heart out and they put
(11:28):
new veins and that kind of stuffin.
And then my worst, the worstthing that anybody ever told me
ever in my whole life was when Iwoke up, you know, an hour after
I woke up, they said, Well, nowfrom now on you can start doing
scrapbooking and you can umyou'll be fine if you scrapbook,
but you need to just do that,relax, don't.
(11:50):
And that was the worst possiblething somebody could tell me.
So in the hospital bed, Istarted entering uh triathlons,
marathons, you know, 10K's.
I even entered Iron Man.
So I was not gonna doscrapbooking.
So the same thing on the cars,you know, there's you know,
(12:11):
maybe you could take apart anyof the cars um and make
something else out of them, butthe cars are the same, the same
core of them being perfectlyfine, just a little bit of
effort put onto them, thenthey're exactly as brand new
again as I was by starting to domy running and my marathons and
(12:31):
my triathlons and things.
So I never ever did thescrapbooking.
SPEAKER_01 (12:35):
I guess to me it also speaks to don't listen to
your detractors.
And Dr.
SPEAKER_02 (12:41):
Dietrich himself did the surgery, and I've outlived
all of the doctors.
I'm I'm doing really I playpickleball every day, I do
everything.
I we hike, we do all of it.
So I and the same thing as mycars, they do all of it.
You know, if I want to take anycar, that an 1895 car, and I
want to go to Costco tonight, infact, Mary's at a my wife's at
(13:03):
an event tonight, I may take oneof the cars that's 120 years
old, I might go out to dinnerwith it.
Because there's they're back toperfect again, like what I am
from 21 years ago having mytriple bypass.
It's the same thing.
That's the parallel that I draw.
SPEAKER_01 (13:17):
And you've dreamt about owning cars ever since uh
you were a young teenager.
SPEAKER_02 (13:24):
Oh, way earlier than that.
It was it was in the 1950s.
SPEAKER_01 (13:28):
I was five or six years old.
Wow.
Well, what does it look like?
I mean, what is give us thatsense of perspective, Alan, when
you wrote down the cars that youwere dreaming of owning, you
happen to have it.
So, what does that journey offrom imagination to reality
teach this next generation aboutdreaming big with the power of
(13:50):
belief?
SPEAKER_02 (13:51):
In when I was four or five years old, I would write
poems and little short storiesfor the outside, the back cover
of the Arizona Republic next tothe crossroad puzzles.
They would also, in that sameback page, they would have
comics of antique cars.
And I got interested in antiquecars at five years old by those
comics, which were Tad Burnessdrawings.
(14:14):
They weren't actual photos ofcars.
And then I started reading allthe specs because I was always
an engineering type kid.
Um, and then I got a book.
My grandfather in the 50s, 1958or 59, gave me the Tad Burness
book, and get and I put all mykillippings in that book, which
I still have today, which Ishowed you, and then I started
writing down the cars that Iwanted, which is I wrote down 25
(14:38):
cars, which is about what I havetoday.
Now I've learned a little bitfrom when I was four or five
years old to in my 70s.
So I have replaced a few ofthose names and brands with
other names and brands.
So in my in my overall simplemind, I've got 17 or 18 of those
cars.
In fact, I have none of them,but I have the the start of the
(15:02):
conversation by my handwritingwhen I was five years old on
this car and that car and theother car.
But I've gotten in the last 50years, I want to go older and
older and older.
So I want the oldest ones in theworld, which weren't actually
presented to me when I was fiveyears old.
SPEAKER_01 (15:17):
Yeah.
Do you think you're just you'rejust lucky that you found your
passion early on?
Because again, what I'm tryingto do is also draw parallels to
folks that perhaps may not knowwhat their North Star is, and
you know, finding uh avenueslike this podcast to help them
explore or rediscover theirpassions.
(15:38):
I think there's something to besaid about what you're good at
internally and letting thatshine.
SPEAKER_02 (15:44):
I had five or six times in my life that I simple
sentences or simple uh motionsled my life the way where it is
today.
You know, Boy Scouts, meritbadges.
Okay.
You can get merit badges, youcan be an Eagle Scout, and every
one of the merit badges youlearn not tying electronics and
(16:04):
this and that and the other.
So when I was eight or nineyears old, I took a merit badge
for electronics, and then thatwas great.
So when I was uh well, seventhgrade, I started studying for my
first class FCC license, whichis the highest level engineering
license for being an engineer ata radio and TV station, and I
(16:25):
got that license when I was ineighth grade.
So the little little hint of ofachieving something really meant
a lot to me.
I could if I could achievesomething.
Uh something my my father said,or my mama and dad said when I
was 13 years old, when I waskind of looking at cars, you
know, 10 way too early to drive,but my parents said, Well, you
(16:48):
can't have a car unless you havea brand new car and you have to
have enough money saved for yourinsurance and all.
So that next day I started doingyard work for people.
I took I planted people'spetunias, I took care of pets, I
was a substitute for paperroutes, and by the time I was
14, I had enough money to buy anew car and to loan my parents
enough for a motorhome.
So just a little bitty, littlepushes, like the hearted triple
(17:11):
bypass thing with a little pushof the scrapbook, you know, in
my rebellious nature, allowed meto be an achiever.
SPEAKER_01 (17:20):
Well, I don't think it's necessarily rebellious, I
just think that it was uh goodparenting along with environment
and a little bit of perhapsstubbornness, as I like to call.
This is great.
This is this is amazing, Alan.
Thanks for sharing all thisperspective again.
Uh, for those listeners that areout there, I mean, what we're
seeing is really history inmotion and history in the making
(17:44):
through the lens of what Alan isdoing to help restore these
classic and vintage cars.
And speaking of which, you'repart of a Bugatti, well, I like
to pronounce it Bugatti car clubthat that helped raise and
donate a lot of money towards uhMcPherson College in Kansas to
inspire students.
And so why was it so importantfor you to tie your legacy to
(18:07):
education?
SPEAKER_02 (18:08):
Um, somebody's got I've got to instill my passion
into these vehicles.
Otherwise, where are they gonnago?
If they go to a museum, theydie.
You know, because there's nobodyin a museum, there's no docent
that can start these and runthese and drive these and jump
these and do the things thatI've done.
You know, I've crossed theAustralia the Outback, we've
done the Great American Racemany times, I've done London
(18:29):
Brighton.
I mean, it's not that they lookgood, you have to use them.
So what I what a the um theparallel for McPherson College
is that McPherson College, wegave them a lot of money, and
they we instructed, I didn't,but the people in the Bugatti
Club instructed them to make amanual for the race cars for the
pre-World War I racing Bugattis.
(18:52):
So they spent six months, thestudents did that.
And it only it turned out I havethe only one in the world that's
running.
So there's none, there's none ofthem.
So I decided that since I wasgoing back to Watkins Glenn for
International Bugatti GrandPrix, Watkins Glenn is in New
York, I would bring my car, andthen I know Kansas has to be
halfway or along the way.
(19:14):
So I called McPherson Collegeand I said, I'll bring a Bugatti
to your college.
I don't know what you have forme, but I can just drop it off
or I can you know talk about alittle bit.
So the um we go there, and thenthey say, you can have a half
hour from 9 to 9.30 in themorning on the Friday that I got
there.
So I got there Thursday night, Idropped it off, and then I had a
(19:35):
lot of students surround the carand ask me questions.
So the next morning I got thereat 9 o'clock, and then I had a
hundred and fifty studentsaround me asking me questions.
And it continued for anotherhour, and I had two or three
hundred students in the round,as it turned out, and then the
the students, the dean was goingto have a dean report or a dean
(19:57):
uh celebration at noon, wherethe dean talks to all the
students and encourages them tobe good and to you know continue
their studies and learnrestoration and all.
So it as it turned out in theround, it kept going on.
10, 10:30, at 11 o'clock, I theyreleased every one of the
classes, all 800 students, to meand to this big room that the
(20:20):
Bugatti was in the center of,and I was in the center of in
the round.
So then at 11:30, the dean cameto me, and two of the teachers
that had been there for 40years, and they said, We've
never seen this before.
We we know the students knowyou, and we know that they know
you know for every aspect aboutrestoration and the history and
the passion and in painting andthe parts and rebuilding the
(20:43):
engines and all, but we've neverseen students ever be so
incredibly interested in it in aspeaker.
Normally our students in fiveminutes they start kind of
rotating around, in six minutesthey start looking at their
phone, seven or eight, nineminutes they start giggling or
or whispering.
We saw none of that, and there'shundreds of people around you.
I'm gonna make an announcement,the dean said.
(21:04):
I'm gonna make an announcementthat we're canceling the dean's
talk today.
We're gonna continue with youtill 12 or 12:30.
Whenever the students get tiredof this, we have never seen this
in 40 years, where the studentsare so interested.
So that's that's a one of themany, many goosebump times in my
life that sharing information onwhat I learned and what I love
(21:26):
is really helping people.
And then the next year, so let'sskip that a minute, that it was
pack fabulous.
So the next year, McGhersonCollege called and they said,
we'd like to bring 12 of our topstudents, 12 of our top donors,
and 12 of the top families withthose students and the five or
six teachers.
We want to fly them all fromKansas to Scottsdale, and for
(21:48):
you to give our group apresentation of your collection,
um, we think that's the bestthing in the world.
And they did that, and there wasanother goosebump minute which
lasted two or three hours, also.
So it just, you know, sharing isreally important because I know
that the at least 800 studentsin that go to Kansas to
(22:09):
McPherson College are gonna beuh nice stewards of our hobby
and our vehicles.
SPEAKER_01 (22:15):
Yeah, and I'm sure just seeing these students as
light and the their eyes lightup, I'm sure that probably was
one of those goosebumps momentsthat you just mentioned.
SPEAKER_02 (22:27):
So so in our hobby, you know, to me, money and what
something might or might not beworth has nothing to do with it.
It's all of the stuff, all theother stuff.
You know, so it's somebody justthe opposite of me, but somebody
might, somebody that uh peoplemight think is similar to me.
Somebody might buy a car for amillion dollars at an auction
(22:47):
and put it in their living roomand then show people from time
to time, look at what I have inmy living room.
Well, my cars aren't in myliving room, my cars are driven,
get dirty, leak, or registered,insured.
We go on rallies and tours andtake them to elementary schools,
and you know, we really, reallyenjoy and use our vehicles.
SPEAKER_01 (23:09):
Do you think there's a uh parallel?
Maybe not not the right word.
I'm just trying to think of theidea that I'm trying to express.
And so you have the old that ismaybe brushing against the new,
the new being what today'stechnology is computers, social
media, you know, the F1s, themodern F1s, as you said, that
(23:33):
they're boring because of allthe computer stuff.
But there seems to be aromanticism, right, of the past.
And I think that's what uh youbring out in your talks and in
your in in these field tripsthat that people come to your uh
uh your collection.
SPEAKER_02 (23:52):
I a good story in that is Penske has a beautiful
museum really close to us uphere in Scottsdale.
They have 20 or 30 million or 50million, a lot of value were the
cars.
Next to it is the Bugattidealership.
Uh three years ago they broughtout the new Verone, you know,
the new$5 million Bugatti.
(24:13):
And then they had uh Penske hadcontacted me to greet the guests
and have something in theparking lot of one of my things
as a as kind of a VIP.
You know, they had Bob Bondarantthere too, and so I brought the
Bugatti, just brought that.
So the Bugatti dealership, whichis right next to the Pinski
Museum, had the new Veran.
(24:34):
So they decided they came outand said, we'd like to park our
new fancy, unbelievable Bugattinext to your Bugatti, because
we're gonna have tomorrow, we'regonna have all the dealers from
all over the world come to ourdealership to learn the car and
learn the passion that we'regoing to place on our car, but
it hadn't learned, but we'regonna place on our car, and they
(24:56):
can see yours too.
Okay, fine.
So they bring that, and they'reboth parked out there, and
there's there's two spots inbetween the two cars, and I got
there an hour, an hour and ahalf early.
So everybody that was showing upwas around my 1913 Bugatti, and
it seemed like they were almoststanding on the Varone looking
at my car.
(25:16):
Nobody was looking at it at all.
And they had prior, they hadinvited me to the breakfast for
the Bugatti dealers the nextmorning.
They finally came out about halfhour later and said, We're
taking our Bugatti, we'reputting it back in.
Nobody's looking at our carbecause it doesn't have that
passion, it doesn't have thehistory, doesn't it have what
you need.
Yeah, you have a price of thefive million dollars, um, but
(25:38):
it's it's it has no it has novalue.
SPEAKER_01 (25:42):
No, that is such a that is such a neat story.
Um Wow, who uh not many peoplecan can tell that.
That that's for sure, uh, withthe amount of knowledge and
experience you have.
And speaking of knowledge andexperience, you and your a
hypothetical here, you and yourfriend comedian Jay Leno are
sitting at a bar.
(26:03):
What do you talk about inreference to this future of car
culture and the ability toinspire people?
SPEAKER_02 (26:09):
I won't do the bar thing because he doesn't drink
and I don't either, but but wecan still take care of this.
So I did some Jay Leno'sgarages, and then I get there at
eight in the morning, and I'mthere till 8:30 at night.
And then um I can do anything Iwant there.
We're we're even on the samelevel because we both know we
know everything about oursubject.
(26:30):
So uh a parallel to thatquestion is we did the video on
the Bugatti, which is that's goteight or nine hundred thousand
things from it, and then umwe're in the car, and the entire
day from eight in the morningtill eight thirty at night, Jay
Leno says not one joke.
None, because we had 23 peoplethere for it.
(26:51):
CNBC, we had directors,producers, we had camera men,
people, and you know, women, andall of it, and we carried all
the cameras, and then thedirector called the next day and
said, you know, we've done 500of these Jane Leno garages, and
we've always there's always bigvoids because the people that
(27:11):
own the cars don't know Jay'squestions.
So he fills in the blanks withcomical things.
He says, We've been looking atthe tapes from yesterday, and
there's not a single time thathe gave a joke at all.
He says, You guys could havegone on forever.
Also, he said normally he justdrives around the block.
But he drove your car for 42miles.
(27:34):
Everybody had to go to therestroom and had one to eat, and
he drove yours till 9 o'clock atnight, where you turned on the
lights, he would not stopdriving it.
It's like you guys have knowneach other for a hundred years.
So we talk about everything, thepassionate part of the of the
cars.
Um it's just solid.
It's just solid, and it's sorewarding.
SPEAKER_01 (27:58):
Well, I think it also, you know, that passion
amplifies, right?
I mean, beyond just the thestaff on the show, but I guess
it's the viewers as well,because I happened to watch that
episode and it's like, wow, thiswas really awesome to not only
see it in person, but to see itbeing filmed, you know, driving
on what?
Was it Mulholland Drive oreverywhere, up down the hills
(28:21):
and valleys, just everywhere.
SPEAKER_02 (28:24):
And just and even to this day, he could be in a line
to sign a hundred people'sautographs, but he'll see me in
the background and he'll say,Hey Ellen, and run over to me.
He says, How's the type 22?
And and then he'll call my phoneor email, or just you know, it's
it's just amazing.
He also donates his time forMcPherson College too.
(28:46):
Uh there's there's a museum thatwants he and I to be curators of
it.
And then we had a big meetinglast year, and they he said, uh,
you know, just let Alan.
Alan knows more, just have Alando it.
And that, I mean, Jay is anunbelievable person.
I mean, he's he's the he he'snot a rich person or famous
person.
(29:06):
He might be, but he's apassionate person for cars.
And then he just sees you seethat every time he shows up
anywhere, that's what peopleknow him as.
SPEAKER_01 (29:15):
Well, I think wealth is defined as not necessarily
the num the the bank balancethat you have, but again, again
to your passions, your yourability to give back, your
spirituality, all thesedifferent pillars that I think
you certainly exemplify.
Uh this is this is incredible.
And final question, you hadmentioned uh your surgery, your
(29:40):
open what with the open heartsurgery and I think bypass.
I yeah, if that's bypass, thankyou.
Yes.
You know, and I think it goesback to one of the earlier
questions I had around our preplanning call, and that is you
never worry.
Is that did I under s did I readthat correctly?
And If so, how do you manage abad day and how could people
(30:04):
learn, you know, what what wouldbe the takeaway of this type of
thought process that I'm sureyou probably it's probably you
train your mind to think this?
SPEAKER_02 (30:17):
It's an engineering process.
You know, so if if you're anengineer and you go to college
to be an engineer, I was, youknow, lots of time you're an
engineer way before that, oryou're a farmer, you're an
engineer.
It's the same thing.
You know, it's kind of the same.
Uh there is no, there's nothere's no obstacle.
You you can solve everything.
So by that mentality, whetherit's a financial thing or a
(30:39):
health thing or a car thing or amechanical thing or a machining
thing, I can get it done.
You know, today we mounted aincredible fancy headlight on a
car, and there's no mount forit.
Okay, fine.
I'll start with a piece ofbronze and start putting on the
mill, and I have it done when Iget done.
Emotions are different.
Well, I'm just always positive.
I I just I don't get down.
(31:02):
I I you know maybe I have awonderful wife that we've been
married 50 years so far, and andall of the we've done everything
together, and it's it's so justpositive.
It's just simply positive.
SPEAKER_01 (31:17):
And I think that is certainly a key message on this
podcast that uh you justhighlighted.
Alan, this was a tremendoushonor and pleasure to have you
once again.
Thank you for your time, and forthose citizens of Yoge Nation
who are perhaps in Arizona,Scottsdale, more information on
where you could see thesebeauties that Alan has
(31:41):
rightfully preserved andrestored.
Uh that information will uh willbe out.
But uh again, it's amazing.
You have to see it for your owneyes.
Alan, thank you.
Thank you again.
SPEAKER_02 (31:53):
Thank you, thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (31:55):
Bye for now.
Welcome to the Yoga Nation The Spread of Gratitude
Podcast on the OneTech platform.
Hello friends, my name is YogashPatel, and this podcast explores
the themes of bullyingself-awareness and the power of
our inner spirit, including thesilent battles we all face.
Join me every week as I invitehigh-profile guests as we
explore how adversity shapes us,how gratitude lifts us, and how
(00:24):
we can all uncover the innerstrength that we all have within
ourselves.
Join the conversation.
I appreciate you listening in.
SPEAKER_01 (00:36):
How many people do you know who can take apart and
rebuild every nut and bolt of acentury-old car?
For all you history lovers andcar buffs, my next guest is
someone very special.
Alan Travis isn't just acollector, he's a storyteller
who brings 100 Euro cars back tolife piece by piece.
His passion, and you'll see whyon this episode, has reached
(00:58):
over 50 million views online injust the last two years, as he's
been featured on Jay Leno'sGarage, The Guild in Canada, and
ESPN Radio.
But here's what makes himunforgettable.
Alan opens his door on hisScottsdale, Arizona home, which
he calls a collection, to sharethese treasures to everyone, and
boy, is it impressive.
When he restores a car, he justdoesn't tune it up.
(01:20):
He takes them apart, sometimesover 3,500 individual pieces,
and brings history roaring backto life.
With that, with gratitude,welcome to the podcast, Alan.
Thank you.
Absolutely.
My pleasure and my honor.
So got a side question to askyou, Alan.
Have uh could you take apart amodern F1 car driven by the
(01:41):
likes of Lewis Hamilton or MaxVerstappen?
SPEAKER_02 (01:45):
No, because it's not exciting.
You know, that's was createdjust a few years ago.
Most of my cars are and vehiclesare 125.
You know, my newest ones are 110years old, and they're kind of
boring.
I like the ones that are 120 to125 years old.
Um and the the masters of andthe inventors mind all in one
(02:08):
piece created those.
And and I try to put myself backin the same mindset as those
people back then.
That's why I read all my 8,500books and magazines.
Um and then all those magazinesare 1895 to 1915.
So if I'm going to do a 1902 caror motorcycle, I'll get out a
(02:28):
hundred magazines, 1902 andearlier, and and 50 hardbacks,
and then I'll read those, putmyself in my that mindset.
And then what I've learned to dois make sure when I'm doing the
1902 vehicle, I don't look aheadand get some 1903 and 1904
magazines out because maybethey've perfected something a
(02:49):
little bit better.
I don't want to be there.
SPEAKER_01 (02:50):
I want to do it.
Well, what's the appeal?
Is it is it the engineeringbehind it?
Is it the historical record atthe time?
What draws your interest tothese very vintage uh uh uh
treasures?
SPEAKER_02 (03:05):
Well, these I I choose and I seek all over the
world, is what I've done.
Is the the first and the oldestof each invention production
vehicle.
You know, and most of the timethe people, if it was a Dirac
vehicle or a Renault vehicle ora Bugatti vehicle, you know,
Andre Michelin was there workingon it.
(03:25):
Mr.
Itra Bogatti worked on that car,and his ignorance his initials
are on there.
So it's the passion of thosepeople creating that vehicle for
the next person to own.
Um, and the next person to own,they created these cars for a
lifetime.
That's why there's so muchhands-on craftsmanship, and then
you're taking that apart, maybefor the first time in 120 years,
(03:48):
and then you're you're nottrying to modify it, you're not
trying to make a hot rod, you'rerebuilding that what they
created for you to have.
That's amazing.
And if these cars can talk, whatwould they say?
They they do talk.
Um, you know, you you findtrials and tribulations, and
after you get one done, you readthe next year's magazines or
(04:09):
books, you find out what theychanged.
And all and they uh likeIotropagati, we have the oldest
Bugatti Grand Prix car.
Um he he decided that he'd onlysell them to the pilots, the
aces at the time, the 1912, 13,14 pilots, because those are the
people that are courageousenough to race his Bugatti.
(04:30):
And then to get a car from him,you had to go to a chateau in
France, you had to ridethoroughbreds in the morning,
and then in the afternoon, youyou flew your airplane a little
bit in the airfield that wasaround there, and then you had a
lesson or an hour or two with acar, and you you repeated that
for 30 days, and when he thoughtyou were eligible and worthy of
(04:51):
the car that he created for you,you could have it.
But there weren't there's nodealerships, there's no car
lots.
You know, you you you maybe youhad an agent that would talk to
you that you would be a likelycandidate to own one, but you
didn't, you couldn't just go getone.
You couldn't just go get one.
There's there was nomanufacturing at the time.
(05:13):
So that's what my cars andmotorcycles are.
So you feel the weight ofhistory.
Well, I do.
And when I when I start a car,when I start a restoration, for
example, the Bugatti, since wementioned that one first, um,
there's you know, hundreds ofpeople in the world know that,
okay, Alan Travis has the oldestBugatti Grand Prix car, and he
thinks he's gonna restore it.
(05:33):
So it's like everybody in theworld is watching me, and if I
screw it up, Alan Travis screwedit up.
So that's why I spent so manyhours on that one, and then I
got it all done, and it'sperfect.
And I've raced internationalBugatti Grand Prix at Lime Rock
and Washington's Glenn andLaguna Seca.
I've taken it on 500-mile tours,I've done mountain climbs so
(05:55):
they they know they know that Igot it done.
In fact, something bad happeneda couple years ago.
We were on a tour in Pasarobos,California, and then we were
driving it spiritedly in themountains, in the mountain
roads.
And I broke an axle on it, youknow, going fast on the
high-speed roads, which means ifyou break an axle, you're tired
(06:17):
and a wheel fly off and you'reskidding on the road.
And so people were, you know,online would say, Alan Travis
ruined a multi-million dollarcar, say.
I mean, they do some a few saidthat.
And then other people wouldchime in and say, Yeah, but he's
the one that restored it.
Just wait.
So within a month, I had it allrepaired, and I just had to wait
(06:38):
for the fender to get paidpainted, but and now we've we
using it again, it's perfectagain.
So I you you live the samehistory that they lived back
then because it's not different,it's the same.
And the last uh answer to thatquestion is every one of my 25,
you know, 100 and some year oldvehicles, they exactly run like
(06:59):
they did back 120 years ago.
You know, the same drivingexperience.
If I gave you the owner's manualand you translated it from
French or German or whatever itis, the same buttons you push,
the same levers you you youtoggle, or is exactly what you
do today.
If it didn't have a windshieldback 125 years ago, it doesn't
today.
And you you have the exact sameexperience.
(07:21):
So if I gave you the magazineand gave you the experience,
it's the same.
SPEAKER_01 (07:24):
Well, and again, you just don't fix these vehicles,
right?
These cars.
You research their history andhonor the owners who come
before.
And I think you mentioned thatearlier.
What's the most moving storyyou've uncovered while restoring
one of these classics?
SPEAKER_02 (07:38):
Um, I guess my 1905 Mitchell was the first car in
Northern California.
It was bought by the uh minesuperintendent for the Orville
Mines in actually in theDredgerville, which is in the
stream.
Uh it was it was the first carin Butte County, and then uh the
the lake or the river it inOroville flooded in February of
(08:04):
1906.
Uh that when it flooded, itkilled 25% of the people in the
town in Dredgerville, which isright 100 yards from Oroville.
Uh but in the summertime whenthe water receded, they the
townspeople went back and gotthe car out of the river.
So it was submerged in the riverfor six months.
(08:26):
The car only had a few thousandmiles on it, but the townspeople
and the family cherished it somuch they drug it out, they put
it in a basement of a house, itstayed there until 1990.
This car, and then it's rightbehind me.
I it's it's that one there.
(08:48):
In fact, I give you, I'll get apicture real quick.
This is the picture of how I gotit.
And then I told them when I whenI bought it that I would have it
done in a month or so, a couplemonths, and I'd bring it back to
(09:09):
them and give them all rides intheir car.
Why did it stay in the basementfrom 1906 to 1990?
Because nobody was born in theirfamily that could fix it and
restore it.
So they kept waiting for otherpeople to be born.
More and more and more, youknow, they had many generations,
and my title for the car is1905, and the same title has the
(09:29):
title of the house on it.
Same address, same property.
So I I got it all done, Ibrought it back to them, and
then um I dressed them all up inin fancy hats and lace and all
that stuff, gave them all rides.
Um that that just that's justone story that and that every
one of these has the same story.
It wasn't a wealthy family, butthey had so much passion for
(09:50):
that car, even in thatcondition, they kept it in the
garage for 115 years before Ieven got it to restore it.
SPEAKER_01 (09:58):
Incredible, incredible.
Well, and what do you think arethe parallels in restoring a car
and restoring a person's lifefrom a hardship or challenge
experience?
Because again, what this podcastaims to do, Alan, is to provide
inspiration, education,entertainment, which I'm getting
a lot of that right now.
But more importantly, discoversomething about yourself.
(10:20):
And so what I like to do is Ilike to bring these diverse
guests and with their passionsbe able to connect the dots in
terms of how what they do on aregular basis influences and
affects their self-awareness,their inner spirit, their sense
of gratitude.
So curious to find out again,going back to the original
question, the parallels that yousee in restoring a car versus uh
(10:44):
restoring a person's perhapsmental and or physical health.
SPEAKER_02 (10:47):
None of my vehicles have been restored from
derelicts.
You know, they were alwayscherished, they were always,
even if they got in derelictcondition, they were always kept
back in their barn or theirbuilding or their garage
somewhere or another for ahundred and some years.
So I've when I restore a car, Ido complete vehicles and I don't
hunt things.
(11:07):
So they're I start with at leastthe mass of the vehicle.
I guess the only time I've everhad any issue ever, you know,
when you ask if I ever had ahardship, I don't count it as a
hardship.
I'm an engineer, but I had atriple bypass 21 years ago.
And then um they do the theytake your heart out and they put
(11:28):
new veins and that kind of stuffin.
And then my worst, the worstthing that anybody ever told me
ever in my whole life was when Iwoke up, you know, an hour after
I woke up, they said, Well, nowfrom now on you can start doing
scrapbooking and you can umyou'll be fine if you scrapbook,
but you need to just do that,relax, don't.
(11:50):
And that was the worst possiblething somebody could tell me.
So in the hospital bed, Istarted entering uh triathlons,
marathons, you know, 10K's.
I even entered Iron Man.
So I was not gonna doscrapbooking.
So the same thing on the cars,you know, there's you know,
(12:11):
maybe you could take apart anyof the cars um and make
something else out of them, butthe cars are the same, the same
core of them being perfectlyfine, just a little bit of
effort put onto them, thenthey're exactly as brand new
again as I was by starting to domy running and my marathons and
(12:31):
my triathlons and things.
So I never ever did thescrapbooking.
SPEAKER_01 (12:35):
I guess to me it also speaks to don't listen to
your detractors.
And Dr.
SPEAKER_02 (12:41):
Dietrich himself did the surgery, and I've outlived
all of the doctors.
I'm I'm doing really I playpickleball every day, I do
everything.
I we hike, we do all of it.
So I and the same thing as mycars, they do all of it.
You know, if I want to take anycar, that an 1895 car, and I
want to go to Costco tonight, infact, Mary's at a my wife's at
(13:03):
an event tonight, I may take oneof the cars that's 120 years
old, I might go out to dinnerwith it.
Because there's they're back toperfect again, like what I am
from 21 years ago having mytriple bypass.
It's the same thing.
That's the parallel that I draw.
SPEAKER_01 (13:17):
And you've dreamt about owning cars ever since uh
you were a young teenager.
SPEAKER_02 (13:24):
Oh, way earlier than that.
It was it was in the 1950s.
SPEAKER_01 (13:28):
I was five or six years old.
Wow.
Well, what does it look like?
I mean, what is give us thatsense of perspective, Alan, when
you wrote down the cars that youwere dreaming of owning, you
happen to have it.
So, what does that journey offrom imagination to reality
teach this next generation aboutdreaming big with the power of
(13:50):
belief?
SPEAKER_02 (13:51):
In when I was four or five years old, I would write
poems and little short storiesfor the outside, the back cover
of the Arizona Republic next tothe crossroad puzzles.
They would also, in that sameback page, they would have
comics of antique cars.
And I got interested in antiquecars at five years old by those
comics, which were Tad Burnessdrawings.
(14:14):
They weren't actual photos ofcars.
And then I started reading allthe specs because I was always
an engineering type kid.
Um, and then I got a book.
My grandfather in the 50s, 1958or 59, gave me the Tad Burness
book, and get and I put all mykillippings in that book, which
I still have today, which Ishowed you, and then I started
writing down the cars that Iwanted, which is I wrote down 25
(14:38):
cars, which is about what I havetoday.
Now I've learned a little bitfrom when I was four or five
years old to in my 70s.
So I have replaced a few ofthose names and brands with
other names and brands.
So in my in my overall simplemind, I've got 17 or 18 of those
cars.
In fact, I have none of them,but I have the the start of the
(15:02):
conversation by my handwritingwhen I was five years old on
this car and that car and theother car.
But I've gotten in the last 50years, I want to go older and
older and older.
So I want the oldest ones in theworld, which weren't actually
presented to me when I was fiveyears old.
SPEAKER_01 (15:17):
Yeah.
Do you think you're just you'rejust lucky that you found your
passion early on?
Because again, what I'm tryingto do is also draw parallels to
folks that perhaps may not knowwhat their North Star is, and
you know, finding uh avenueslike this podcast to help them
explore or rediscover theirpassions.
(15:38):
I think there's something to besaid about what you're good at
internally and letting thatshine.
SPEAKER_02 (15:44):
I had five or six times in my life that I simple
sentences or simple uh motionsled my life the way where it is
today.
You know, Boy Scouts, meritbadges.
Okay.
You can get merit badges, youcan be an Eagle Scout, and every
one of the merit badges youlearn not tying electronics and
(16:04):
this and that and the other.
So when I was eight or nineyears old, I took a merit badge
for electronics, and then thatwas great.
So when I was uh well, seventhgrade, I started studying for my
first class FCC license, whichis the highest level engineering
license for being an engineer ata radio and TV station, and I
(16:25):
got that license when I was ineighth grade.
So the little little hint of ofachieving something really meant
a lot to me.
I could if I could achievesomething.
Uh something my my father said,or my mama and dad said when I
was 13 years old, when I waskind of looking at cars, you
know, 10 way too early to drive,but my parents said, Well, you
(16:48):
can't have a car unless you havea brand new car and you have to
have enough money saved for yourinsurance and all.
So that next day I started doingyard work for people.
I took I planted people'spetunias, I took care of pets, I
was a substitute for paperroutes, and by the time I was
14, I had enough money to buy anew car and to loan my parents
enough for a motorhome.
So just a little bitty, littlepushes, like the hearted triple
(17:11):
bypass thing with a little pushof the scrapbook, you know, in
my rebellious nature, allowed meto be an achiever.
SPEAKER_01 (17:20):
Well, I don't think it's necessarily rebellious, I
just think that it was uh goodparenting along with environment
and a little bit of perhapsstubbornness, as I like to call.
This is great.
This is this is amazing, Alan.
Thanks for sharing all thisperspective again.
Uh, for those listeners that areout there, I mean, what we're
seeing is really history inmotion and history in the making
(17:44):
through the lens of what Alan isdoing to help restore these
classic and vintage cars.
And speaking of which, you'repart of a Bugatti, well, I like
to pronounce it Bugatti car clubthat that helped raise and
donate a lot of money towards uhMcPherson College in Kansas to
inspire students.
And so why was it so importantfor you to tie your legacy to
(18:07):
education?
SPEAKER_02 (18:08):
Um, somebody's got I've got to instill my passion
into these vehicles.
Otherwise, where are they gonnago?
If they go to a museum, theydie.
You know, because there's nobodyin a museum, there's no docent
that can start these and runthese and drive these and jump
these and do the things thatI've done.
You know, I've crossed theAustralia the Outback, we've
done the Great American Racemany times, I've done London
(18:29):
Brighton.
I mean, it's not that they lookgood, you have to use them.
So what I what a the um theparallel for McPherson College
is that McPherson College, wegave them a lot of money, and
they we instructed, I didn't,but the people in the Bugatti
Club instructed them to make amanual for the race cars for the
pre-World War I racing Bugattis.
(18:52):
So they spent six months, thestudents did that.
And it only it turned out I havethe only one in the world that's
running.
So there's none, there's none ofthem.
So I decided that since I wasgoing back to Watkins Glenn for
International Bugatti GrandPrix, Watkins Glenn is in New
York, I would bring my car, andthen I know Kansas has to be
halfway or along the way.
(19:14):
So I called McPherson Collegeand I said, I'll bring a Bugatti
to your college.
I don't know what you have forme, but I can just drop it off
or I can you know talk about alittle bit.
So the um we go there, and thenthey say, you can have a half
hour from 9 to 9.30 in themorning on the Friday that I got
there.
So I got there Thursday night, Idropped it off, and then I had a
(19:35):
lot of students surround the carand ask me questions.
So the next morning I got thereat 9 o'clock, and then I had a
hundred and fifty studentsaround me asking me questions.
And it continued for anotherhour, and I had two or three
hundred students in the round,as it turned out, and then the
the students, the dean was goingto have a dean report or a dean
(19:57):
uh celebration at noon, wherethe dean talks to all the
students and encourages them tobe good and to you know continue
their studies and learnrestoration and all.
So it as it turned out in theround, it kept going on.
10, 10:30, at 11 o'clock, I theyreleased every one of the
classes, all 800 students, to meand to this big room that the
(20:20):
Bugatti was in the center of,and I was in the center of in
the round.
So then at 11:30, the dean cameto me, and two of the teachers
that had been there for 40years, and they said, We've
never seen this before.
We we know the students knowyou, and we know that they know
you know for every aspect aboutrestoration and the history and
the passion and in painting andthe parts and rebuilding the
(20:43):
engines and all, but we've neverseen students ever be so
incredibly interested in it in aspeaker.
Normally our students in fiveminutes they start kind of
rotating around, in six minutesthey start looking at their
phone, seven or eight, nineminutes they start giggling or
or whispering.
We saw none of that, and there'shundreds of people around you.
I'm gonna make an announcement,the dean said.
(21:04):
I'm gonna make an announcementthat we're canceling the dean's
talk today.
We're gonna continue with youtill 12 or 12:30.
Whenever the students get tiredof this, we have never seen this
in 40 years, where the studentsare so interested.
So that's that's a one of themany, many goosebump times in my
life that sharing information onwhat I learned and what I love
(21:26):
is really helping people.
And then the next year, so let'sskip that a minute, that it was
pack fabulous.
So the next year, McGhersonCollege called and they said,
we'd like to bring 12 of our topstudents, 12 of our top donors,
and 12 of the top families withthose students and the five or
six teachers.
We want to fly them all fromKansas to Scottsdale, and for
(21:48):
you to give our group apresentation of your collection,
um, we think that's the bestthing in the world.
And they did that, and there wasanother goosebump minute which
lasted two or three hours, also.
So it just, you know, sharing isreally important because I know
that the at least 800 studentsin that go to Kansas to
(22:09):
McPherson College are gonna beuh nice stewards of our hobby
and our vehicles.
SPEAKER_01 (22:15):
Yeah, and I'm sure just seeing these students as
light and the their eyes lightup, I'm sure that probably was
one of those goosebumps momentsthat you just mentioned.
SPEAKER_02 (22:27):
So so in our hobby, you know, to me, money and what
something might or might not beworth has nothing to do with it.
It's all of the stuff, all theother stuff.
You know, so it's somebody justthe opposite of me, but somebody
might, somebody that uh peoplemight think is similar to me.
Somebody might buy a car for amillion dollars at an auction
(22:47):
and put it in their living roomand then show people from time
to time, look at what I have inmy living room.
Well, my cars aren't in myliving room, my cars are driven,
get dirty, leak, or registered,insured.
We go on rallies and tours andtake them to elementary schools,
and you know, we really, reallyenjoy and use our vehicles.
SPEAKER_01 (23:09):
Do you think there's a uh parallel?
Maybe not not the right word.
I'm just trying to think of theidea that I'm trying to express.
And so you have the old that ismaybe brushing against the new,
the new being what today'stechnology is computers, social
media, you know, the F1s, themodern F1s, as you said, that
(23:33):
they're boring because of allthe computer stuff.
But there seems to be aromanticism, right, of the past.
And I think that's what uh youbring out in your talks and in
your in in these field tripsthat that people come to your uh
uh your collection.
SPEAKER_02 (23:52):
I a good story in that is Penske has a beautiful
museum really close to us uphere in Scottsdale.
They have 20 or 30 million or 50million, a lot of value were the
cars.
Next to it is the Bugattidealership.
Uh three years ago they broughtout the new Verone, you know,
the new$5 million Bugatti.
(24:13):
And then they had uh Penske hadcontacted me to greet the guests
and have something in theparking lot of one of my things
as a as kind of a VIP.
You know, they had Bob Bondarantthere too, and so I brought the
Bugatti, just brought that.
So the Bugatti dealership, whichis right next to the Pinski
Museum, had the new Veran.
(24:34):
So they decided they came outand said, we'd like to park our
new fancy, unbelievable Bugattinext to your Bugatti, because
we're gonna have tomorrow, we'regonna have all the dealers from
all over the world come to ourdealership to learn the car and
learn the passion that we'regoing to place on our car, but
it hadn't learned, but we'regonna place on our car, and they
(24:56):
can see yours too.
Okay, fine.
So they bring that, and they'reboth parked out there, and
there's there's two spots inbetween the two cars, and I got
there an hour, an hour and ahalf early.
So everybody that was showing upwas around my 1913 Bugatti, and
it seemed like they were almoststanding on the Varone looking
at my car.
(25:16):
Nobody was looking at it at all.
And they had prior, they hadinvited me to the breakfast for
the Bugatti dealers the nextmorning.
They finally came out about halfhour later and said, We're
taking our Bugatti, we'reputting it back in.
Nobody's looking at our carbecause it doesn't have that
passion, it doesn't have thehistory, doesn't it have what
you need.
Yeah, you have a price of thefive million dollars, um, but
(25:38):
it's it's it has no it has novalue.
SPEAKER_01 (25:42):
No, that is such a that is such a neat story.
Um Wow, who uh not many peoplecan can tell that.
That that's for sure, uh, withthe amount of knowledge and
experience you have.
And speaking of knowledge andexperience, you and your a
hypothetical here, you and yourfriend comedian Jay Leno are
sitting at a bar.
(26:03):
What do you talk about inreference to this future of car
culture and the ability toinspire people?
SPEAKER_02 (26:09):
I won't do the bar thing because he doesn't drink
and I don't either, but but wecan still take care of this.
So I did some Jay Leno'sgarages, and then I get there at
eight in the morning, and I'mthere till 8:30 at night.
And then um I can do anything Iwant there.
We're we're even on the samelevel because we both know we
know everything about oursubject.
(26:30):
So uh a parallel to thatquestion is we did the video on
the Bugatti, which is that's goteight or nine hundred thousand
things from it, and then umwe're in the car, and the entire
day from eight in the morningtill eight thirty at night, Jay
Leno says not one joke.
None, because we had 23 peoplethere for it.
(26:51):
CNBC, we had directors,producers, we had camera men,
people, and you know, women, andall of it, and we carried all
the cameras, and then thedirector called the next day and
said, you know, we've done 500of these Jane Leno garages, and
we've always there's always bigvoids because the people that
(27:11):
own the cars don't know Jay'squestions.
So he fills in the blanks withcomical things.
He says, We've been looking atthe tapes from yesterday, and
there's not a single time thathe gave a joke at all.
He says, You guys could havegone on forever.
Also, he said normally he justdrives around the block.
But he drove your car for 42miles.
(27:34):
Everybody had to go to therestroom and had one to eat, and
he drove yours till 9 o'clock atnight, where you turned on the
lights, he would not stopdriving it.
It's like you guys have knowneach other for a hundred years.
So we talk about everything, thepassionate part of the of the
cars.
Um it's just solid.
It's just solid, and it's sorewarding.
SPEAKER_01 (27:58):
Well, I think it also, you know, that passion
amplifies, right?
I mean, beyond just the thestaff on the show, but I guess
it's the viewers as well,because I happened to watch that
episode and it's like, wow, thiswas really awesome to not only
see it in person, but to see itbeing filmed, you know, driving
on what?
Was it Mulholland Drive oreverywhere, up down the hills
(28:21):
and valleys, just everywhere.
SPEAKER_02 (28:24):
And just and even to this day, he could be in a line
to sign a hundred people'sautographs, but he'll see me in
the background and he'll say,Hey Ellen, and run over to me.
He says, How's the type 22?
And and then he'll call my phoneor email, or just you know, it's
it's just amazing.
He also donates his time forMcPherson College too.
(28:46):
Uh there's there's a museum thatwants he and I to be curators of
it.
And then we had a big meetinglast year, and they he said, uh,
you know, just let Alan.
Alan knows more, just have Alando it.
And that, I mean, Jay is anunbelievable person.
I mean, he's he's the he he'snot a rich person or famous
person.
(29:06):
He might be, but he's apassionate person for cars.
And then he just sees you seethat every time he shows up
anywhere, that's what peopleknow him as.
SPEAKER_01 (29:15):
Well, I think wealth is defined as not necessarily
the num the the bank balancethat you have, but again, again
to your passions, your yourability to give back, your
spirituality, all thesedifferent pillars that I think
you certainly exemplify.
Uh this is this is incredible.
And final question, you hadmentioned uh your surgery, your
(29:40):
open what with the open heartsurgery and I think bypass.
I yeah, if that's bypass, thankyou.
Yes.
You know, and I think it goesback to one of the earlier
questions I had around our preplanning call, and that is you
never worry.
Is that did I under s did I readthat correctly?
And If so, how do you manage abad day and how could people
(30:04):
learn, you know, what what wouldbe the takeaway of this type of
thought process that I'm sureyou probably it's probably you
train your mind to think this?
SPEAKER_02 (30:17):
It's an engineering process.
You know, so if if you're anengineer and you go to college
to be an engineer, I was, youknow, lots of time you're an
engineer way before that, oryou're a farmer, you're an
engineer.
It's the same thing.
You know, it's kind of the same.
Uh there is no, there's nothere's no obstacle.
You you can solve everything.
So by that mentality, whetherit's a financial thing or a
(30:39):
health thing or a car thing or amechanical thing or a machining
thing, I can get it done.
You know, today we mounted aincredible fancy headlight on a
car, and there's no mount forit.
Okay, fine.
I'll start with a piece ofbronze and start putting on the
mill, and I have it done when Iget done.
Emotions are different.
Well, I'm just always positive.
I I just I don't get down.
(31:02):
I I you know maybe I have awonderful wife that we've been
married 50 years so far, and andall of the we've done everything
together, and it's it's so justpositive.
It's just simply positive.
SPEAKER_01 (31:17):
And I think that is certainly a key message on this
podcast that uh you justhighlighted.
Alan, this was a tremendoushonor and pleasure to have you
once again.
Thank you for your time, and forthose citizens of Yoge Nation
who are perhaps in Arizona,Scottsdale, more information on
where you could see thesebeauties that Alan has
(31:41):
rightfully preserved andrestored.
Uh that information will uh willbe out.
But uh again, it's amazing.
You have to see it for your owneyes.
Alan, thank you.
Thank you again.
SPEAKER_02 (31:53):
Thank you, thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (31:55):
Bye for now.
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