Latest / Jeep Talk Show / Thousands of Jeeps Saved—Here's Their Complete Philosophy

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Thousands of Jeeps Saved—Here's Their Complete Philosophy · Jeep Talk Show

0:00
Hi, boys and girls, it's
0:01
time for another Jeep Talk Show
0:03
interview episode.
0:04
Today we're gonna be
0:05
talking with Shelby and Adam
0:07
over at Jeep Recyclers.
0:09
You know, Jeep
0:11
Recyclers kinda sounds bad.
0:12
It kinda sounds like the old,
0:14
what was that Obama
0:15
thing, cash for clunkers?
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You know where they
0:18
were recycling things,
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but you guys aren't doing that at all.
0:21
You're actually doing the Lord's work,
0:23
keeping these old Jeeps going.
0:25
So Shelby and Adam McDaniel,
0:28
husband and wife duo
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behind JeepRecyclers.com,
0:32
the go-to source for
0:33
high quality new aftermarket
0:35
and reproduction
0:36
parts for the 1963 to 1991
0:39
classic full-size Jeeps, Wagoners,
0:41
Cherokees, and J-Series trucks.
0:44
Since 2016, they've been on a mission
0:46
to save these iconic full-size Jeeps
0:49
while building a business rooted in grit,
0:51
integrity, faith, and community.
0:54
What started as a
0:55
passion project has grown
0:58
a brand that's not only supplying parts,
1:01
but teaching others how to
1:02
bring these Jeeps back to life.
1:04
You can find out more
1:06
about Jeep Recyclers
1:07
by going to JeepRecyclers.com.
1:10
Shelby, Adam, thank
1:11
you a lot for being here.
1:12
And I apologize for having you guys
1:14
get all squished up there.
1:15
I hope Adam had a shower today.
1:18
Yeah. Not yet.
1:20
(both laughing)
1:20
I know it works.
1:22
It's time to get busy,
1:23
not in time to lollygag in the shower.
1:25
We're settling together,
1:27
so this is nothing new.
1:28
It's all good.
1:29
All right, so you guys
1:30
are looking at 10 years
1:32
doing this business.
1:33
Is it a full-time business for you now?
1:35
Are you guys able to
1:36
not work outside the home?
1:39
Yeah, so this is what
1:41
we do seven days a week,
1:43
12, 14 hours a day.
1:45
Owning a business is wonderful, isn't it?
1:47
A lot of slack time.
1:49
It's like eating
1:50
glass every day, you know?
1:52
And then asking for more
1:53
next week, so absolutely.
1:55
What's the average, if you know this,
1:57
what is the average age of the people
1:59
that are dealing with you?
2:00
Do you find that it's older people
2:02
that maybe were alive
2:03
during the time of these Jeeps,
2:05
or is it new people
2:06
that are just finding out
2:07
about the full-size Jeeps
2:08
and they wanna be a part of it?
2:09
Or maybe they got a hand-me-down
2:11
and they wanna try to restore it.
2:13
I mean, I think with a lot of things,
2:15
you can get a lot of ages, but for us,
2:17
it's mostly 45, 65, I would say,
2:20
would be the most common age group.
2:22
And some are hand-me-downs.
2:24
Some are retired, and this
2:27
is their passion project.
2:29
So yeah, but I'd say 45, 65.
2:31
Yeah, you can only go to Luby's so much
2:33
before you need something else to do
2:34
besides this being retired.
2:37
So how did you guys get started in this?
2:41
Because you guys don't
2:42
look like you're 45 to 65.
2:45
This is a, it's kind of some young people
2:48
doing this thing.
2:49
How did you guys get going on it?
2:51
Well, I, thanks for calling us young.
2:54
So.
2:55
I know.
2:56
It's all relative.
2:58
So I had a fitness
3:00
company for almost 20 years
3:02
and I got up every
3:05
morning at 3M, went to work,
3:06
got home every night at 9PM.
3:08
And I don't know,
3:10
around the 19 year mark,
3:12
I'm driving home one
3:13
night and I just called Shelby
3:16
and said, "I think I'm
3:17
ready to do something else."
3:18
And so she excitedly
3:21
said, "Oh, wonderful."
3:23
So I tried to figure
3:25
out what else could I do.
3:27
And as I'm standing in my
3:28
backyard in Northern Virginia,
3:29
I have 38 Jeeps and I
3:30
thought maybe I'll do something.
3:32
God bless you.
3:35
And Joey didn't know about it.
3:37
(laughing)
3:38
And it was something I
3:40
already, I really loved.
3:42
So I really, anytime, so
3:44
for the other business,
3:45
if I needed to raise
3:46
money, I'd sell some Jeep parts
3:49
and it would raise some
3:49
money so I could start something
3:50
there, we have a
3:52
plethora of dogs and animals.
3:54
So if one needed a surgery, I'd sell
3:56
parts to pay for that.
3:57
And some of the best
3:59
conversations I ever had
4:00
were people showing
4:01
up to buy parts from me
4:02
and some of the best relationships.
4:04
And for me, that's what it's about,
4:06
is really having a good
4:07
relationship with people
4:08
and enjoying what we're doing.
4:10
So, and that to me
4:12
just kind of smacked me
4:14
to the next day, so here we are.
4:16
Now, I don't remember when
4:17
the movie Twister came out.
4:19
I think it came out before you guys
4:21
started the business,
4:22
but do you ever get calls about Twister
4:24
and the J10 Haunt Show?
4:26
I wanna build me a J10 Haunt Show
4:28
and I'm not gonna trash
4:29
it like those bastards
4:30
on Twister did.
4:31
It hurts us to see that.
4:33
It hurt me.
4:34
Just make this one a
4:35
cringe and cry at the same time.
4:37
It's one of Shelby's favorite movies,
4:39
but yeah, we've been pretty fortunate
4:43
with our social media
4:44
and some of the people
4:46
who relive that and go
4:48
on that same road trip
4:49
and they take those vehicles and,
4:52
but yeah, quite a few actually.
4:53
Who needs a damn Dodge Ram?
4:55
Dodge Ram is what
4:56
should have been trashed.
4:58
That's right, not on Haunt Hoffs.
5:00
That was a good movie.
5:01
It was a really good movie.
5:03
And, but yeah, I mean, it was,
5:05
and what a great start of the movie,
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showing that Jeep, that J10 out there,
5:11
just balls of the walls
5:12
and blowing through mud
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and so on and so forth.
5:15
And yeah, I see that and I go, wow.
5:17
And I knew about the,
5:18
I think I called it a Haunt Show.
5:21
Is it a Hondo?
5:21
Hondo.
5:22
Haunt Show.
5:23
Haunt Show, okay.
5:24
So I actually seen Haunt Shows around.
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I actually saw one broke down on the road
5:30
and I started to stop and see,
5:32
because Jeepers help
5:33
each other, but I didn't.
5:35
And of course, I think if I had stopped,
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I would have just been
5:37
there looking really close
5:38
at the Haunt Show.
5:40
Because I think it was a yellow one.
5:42
I think it was done up just
5:43
like the one from Twister.
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And this was a number of years ago.
5:47
It was after Twister,
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of course, but yeah,
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it was really cool.
5:50
That same road that I would drive down,
5:53
I saw a Gran Torino red
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with the Starsky and
5:57
Hutch stripe on it too.
5:58
So I don't know what
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it was about that area.
6:00
Where'd you live?
6:01
That sounds like a good place to go.
6:03
Yeah.
6:04
So that was always fun.
6:06
Never could tell what you
6:07
were gonna see around there.
6:08
Now, the Dukes of Hazzard Dodge Charger
6:12
would have been cool to see as well.
6:14
Your favorite movies.
6:15
I guess they all have
6:17
cars and Jeeps in them.
6:18
Yeah.
6:18
Well, we have a round table episode
6:21
that we are a round table
6:22
that we have once a week.
6:24
And some of the times
6:25
we'll talk about movies,
6:26
about Jeeps and movies.
6:28
I don't know if you guys
6:29
watched "The Walking Dead,"
6:30
but there was a lot of Jeeps,
6:32
a lot of Jeeps broken down and stuff.
6:35
And I think they were like CJ levels.
6:37
They weren't modern day
6:38
or even like TJs and YJs.
6:40
It was like CJ level Jeeps.
6:43
And there was sometimes
6:43
there were grand Cherokees.
6:45
I don't think I ever
6:46
remember seeing an XJ.
6:47
I have an XJ.
6:48
That was my first Jeep.
6:49
And, but yeah, we
6:51
would talk about the movies
6:52
and Tom Hanks and Castaway.
6:54
He was driving an XJ, a blue XJ.
6:58
And yeah.
6:58
Oh, and nobody seems to remember taken
7:01
about the chase scene when
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he's in the white Cherokee.
7:05
And he's, you know, it was a long scene
7:08
and had the white Cherokee.
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So it's fun.
7:10
It's fun to see those things in movies.
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And of course, if you're a Jeeper,
7:13
you recognize them.
7:14
Of course.
7:15
How many times we're paused?
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We had to pause for one.
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And I go, did you see that?
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And Shelby's like, are
7:20
we watching the movie?
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Or that's not Eric Rach.
7:22
It wouldn't have been available.
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What is that?
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That wasn't available in that year.
7:26
Yeah.
7:27
It's like the Tom Hanks thing.
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It had a sunroof in it.
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And mine, my 98, which I
7:33
think that was a 98 in that movie,
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I had the top of the line Cherokee.
7:38
And there was no sunroof.
7:40
So, you know, I was like,
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it's not that I initially would want one.
7:44
I think it'd be more of an
7:45
escape hatch than anything else.
7:49
But yeah, it's fun seeing those things.
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And it's like, if you
7:52
know too much about things,
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I mean, it's like watching a
7:55
movie about a passenger plane.
7:58
And if you're a pilot, you
7:59
go, that would never happen.
8:01
They have to do this, this, this.
8:02
So it's better to be stupid
8:04
if you want to enjoy, if
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you want to be entertained.
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We have to always remind each other.
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It's just a movie.
8:09
It's a movie.
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Just a movie.
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Just watch.
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I like it.
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Well, I like it when my wife,
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I know we're getting way off track here,
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but I like it when my wife
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says, why would they do that?
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I said, it's in the script.
8:21
(laughing) Pills are out of the movie.
8:24
It's a good one.
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You say that, you know on, yeah.
8:27
(laughing)
8:29
All right, so anyway, you had,
8:31
what was it?
8:32
600 Jeeps in the backyard and the HOA.
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You must've had multiple
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levels of Jeeps back there.
8:38
83, is that what you said?
8:39
Yeah. 38, 38.
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38, and so, I mean, we had a
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little more than three acres
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and it was kind of a,
8:46
yeah, so we bought a property
8:48
from the whole neighborhood.
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It was like FBI, US Marshal, CIA,
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and the guy we bought our house from,
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we called him CIA,
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probably shouldn't say it,
8:56
it was CIA Dave.
8:57
(laughing)
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And because everything was designed
8:59
where you can't see it from the road,
9:00
you can't, so for me,
9:01
it was perfect, you know?
9:02
Yes.
9:03
Everything was lined up and it was just,
9:06
oh, this is perfect.
9:07
So yeah, our front yard looked great.
9:09
Our backyard looked like
9:10
Sanford and Son, so, but yeah.
9:13
Good, I hate the HOA.
9:14
I mean, I know what
9:15
they do, but there's stuff,
9:18
there should be a loud,
9:19
there should be waivers
9:20
for certain things
9:21
that are cool, you know?
9:24
(laughing)
9:24
But three acres makes sense.
9:25
So these, all these
9:28
Jeeps, I think you said 38,
9:29
these 38 Jeeps, were
9:30
they all the full size
9:32
or was it a mix of more
9:33
modern and less modern Jeeps?
9:35
No, I mean, it was, I'm obsessed,
9:38
so I kind of get the same type over,
9:40
well, so CJ7 and full size Jeeps.
9:42
So I had quite a few CJ7s and I mean,
9:49
to say that we had a lot of Cherokees
9:51
would be an understatement.
9:52
So we had quite a few
9:54
Cherokees, Cherokee Chiefs,
9:57
and that's basically what I
9:59
would build my vehicles out of,
10:01
so instead of going and buying,
10:04
instead of buying the part,
10:05
which 99% of the time wasn't available,
10:09
I just have to go source
10:10
it and restore it myself.
10:11
And that's kind of how I got
10:12
into this in the first place.
10:14
And the whole point behind
10:15
wanting to drive what we do
10:17
is to make that easier.
10:20
So if, but that's it,
10:22
so that's basically it.
10:24
So let's say somebody is interested
10:27
in having a full size Jeep,
10:29
and I imagine they are
10:30
very difficult to find,
10:32
and I would think they
10:33
probably are even more difficult
10:34
to find that aren't eaten up by rust.
10:38
Let's say they do find one someplace,
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or is this something
10:42
that you guys can provide?
10:43
I'm not trying to sell your Jeeps,
10:45
but is this something that you guys
10:47
could provide a starter vehicle?
10:51
Well, as far as a
10:52
starter, we, I would say more,
10:54
like our vehicles, I don't know how,
10:57
we have a little more than
10:58
60 at the shop right now,
11:00
but they're parts vehicles, a
11:03
lot of them are parts vehicles,
11:04
but we do actually help source vehicles
11:07
when people reach out and they're like,
11:09
hey, I just want to get something good,
11:11
and I want something that is
11:14
not going to be over my head.
11:16
At this point, we're fortunate enough
11:17
to have so many contacts,
11:18
and be able to reach out
11:19
to certain people and go,
11:20
hey, so-and-so is looking for this,
11:21
and we've connected a lot of
11:22
people with different vehicles.
11:24
And so,
11:26
so yeah, so we don't
11:27
actually sell them the vehicle,
11:30
we connect them with somebody.
11:31
That's good though, so
11:32
they can contact you guys,
11:34
and you guys can help.
11:36
And then whenever they need parts,
11:39
they can come right back
11:40
to you and get the parts.
11:42
So the thing that concerns me is like,
11:45
I mentioned my Cherokee,
11:46
I bought the Cherokee 98,
11:48
still have it, driving
11:49
a 2021 Gladiator now,
11:52
but the Cherokee, I mean,
11:55
I was using it going
11:56
back and forth to work
11:57
right up to the day that we got the,
11:58
I got the, the, the grant, not the grant,
12:00
the, the, the, the Gladiator.
12:04
But I'm a little
12:04
concerned about driving the XJ
12:07
because the factory
12:09
sensors aren't available anymore.
12:11
And I'm sure you guys
12:12
have run across this
12:13
that the aftermarket
12:15
sensors just don't last as long,
12:17
and they're generally not
12:18
as good as the, the OEM ones,
12:21
which are expensive,
12:22
but they work very well.
12:23
So how realistic, I
12:26
don't think that anybody
12:27
would be driving a full
12:28
size, 40, 50 year old Jeep
12:32
back and forth like a daily,
12:33
but is that something that can be done?
12:36
Did you know that can
12:37
be done by, you know,
12:38
keeping up with the
12:39
parts that you guys provide?
12:40
Yeah, you'd be surprised.
12:41
Yeah, there's, we do have some,
12:44
so first the answer is absolutely,
12:46
sorry, I'm gonna cut you off.
12:48
I get excited to answer stuff, so you got
12:50
something like that.
12:52
But yeah, we have quite a few people
12:54
who still drive them as their daily.
12:57
And we have a customer in Australia who,
13:01
he restored it back to new
13:03
and it's his company vehicle,
13:04
but he put a, you know,
13:06
he put a Cummins in it
13:08
and he's got a big allister.
13:09
Oh, nice.
13:10
I mean, it's a beautiful thing.
13:12
And he'll call me at 6 a.m.
13:13
cause it's 6 a.m. here.
13:15
It's what, 4 or 5 p.m. or something.
13:18
He'll just be like,
13:20
"Well, let's just talk all day."
13:22
(laughs)
13:22
So he's the world's
13:23
nicest person on your own,
13:24
but they're definitely out there.
13:27
That's really, really cool.
13:29
What do you see more of,
13:31
and I'm assuming, you know,
13:32
you have interactions with your customers
13:34
and maybe they share pictures with you.
13:35
What do you see more of?
13:37
A Restro mod and an
13:39
all new paint or patina?
13:42
Maybe they put some clear coat
13:43
over the nastiness of the vehicle.
13:49
You talk to more people,
13:50
so I have a general idea.
13:51
I'd say more Restro mod,
13:54
more new paint versus
13:56
patina in my experience.
13:59
Do you see them going
14:00
back with the factory
14:01
or the original factory color?
14:02
Or do they go with new colors?
14:05
Like maybe this, the vehicle
14:07
didn't come in a bright red
14:09
and then they paint it a bright red.
14:12
Oh, that's a tough one.
14:13
All right, actually,
14:15
so there's such a, all right,
14:17
I say there's different clicks.
14:19
So we have lots of different companies
14:22
that we sell parts to,
14:24
but they primarily
14:25
restore it back to original.
14:27
And then there's a
14:28
different click of people who,
14:30
they want them completely different
14:32
from how they came factory.
14:34
Right.
14:35
And so I don't even,
14:38
so you asked me a percentage,
14:40
so I'm like, yeah, maybe 51%, maybe 38.
14:42
So I'm thinking probably like a 50-50,
14:45
because it really, the
14:46
number of people out there,
14:49
they have ambition to probably go back
14:51
to the original look.
14:54
And then there's one to modify it in it,
14:56
and they do a great job.
14:57
I mean, we get pictures all the time.
14:59
So it looks beautiful both ways.
15:02
I just think it just depends on.
15:04
Yeah, the individual.
15:05
I just didn't realize,
15:06
I didn't know which way
15:08
most people are going.
15:09
So for me personally,
15:11
it kind of seems sad if
15:13
you've got a 50-year-old Jeep
15:14
and then you painted hot pink
15:17
or put stuff in it that wasn't factory.
15:21
It seems wrong.
15:22
I think that even when
15:23
people do a new paint,
15:25
it still looks classic,
15:27
even if it's a different color.
15:29
I don't see too many
15:30
outrageous paint jobs,
15:32
at least with, in my experience again.
15:36
So somebody might change
15:38
it from a white to a gray,
15:40
for example, and it looks beautiful.
15:41
Like it looks absolutely stunning.
15:43
So even if it didn't
15:44
come like that originally,
15:46
the paint job still
15:48
just looks miraculous.
15:50
Well, I was coming home for work,
15:52
and this was a different job,
15:53
so it was a different part of Houston,
15:57
but I ran across a
15:58
absolutely immaculate Wagoneer,
16:02
and it looked like showroom.
16:04
And I had a dash cam,
16:06
so I definitely was
16:08
sharing that with the guys
16:10
on the forum that was at the time.
16:12
And I looked at that and I was like,
16:14
"Oh, I'm glad to see that."
16:15
It wasn't lifted, it wasn't big tires.
16:18
It literally looked
16:19
like a brand new Wagoneer
16:20
from the factory.
16:22
And I wanna say it was
16:23
red, but I can't remember now.
16:24
But anyway, it was really neat to see,
16:27
and I couldn't help but
16:28
think it only requires one person
16:30
to run a red light or a stop sign
16:33
or swerve into you on I-10.
16:35
And, but I mean, that's
16:37
what they're for, is to drive.
16:40
I mean, God bless Jay Leno,
16:42
he can do whatever
16:43
the hell he wants to do,
16:44
but having all those vehicles, you know,
16:46
where you walk around and look at them,
16:47
it's just, you know,
16:48
at least he gets at them
16:50
and drives them.
16:50
I would have to have a drive vehicle.
16:53
Yeah, I feel the same way.
16:55
You know, I used to,
16:57
I like to challenge
16:58
myself when I restore stuff.
16:59
So it was like low skill
17:03
trying to match high skill.
17:04
So I had to restore stuff way above my,
17:07
I would say my skill at the time.
17:11
And when we go to drive it,
17:13
I just re-sweating the whole time.
17:15
And-
17:16
You're like me.
17:18
I'm like, "What's going on?"
17:19
The parking lot went, and
17:20
they just got to the corner.
17:21
It was like, it's not even,
17:23
well, fortunately, whenever we drive it,
17:25
somebody would flag us down
17:26
and wanna buy it, you know?
17:27
And I'd always say,
17:28
"Hmm, not selling this one."
17:29
And they were like, "This
17:30
is how much I'll give you."
17:31
And you're like, "Well."
17:33
(both laughing)
17:33
You got to a point where I was like,
17:35
"I just want some drivers."
17:36
You know, so, and I
17:37
started doing the, you know,
17:39
at the patina, the
17:40
Saint Maine Clear Coat.
17:41
And there's ways to play with it
17:43
so it doesn't look so like bright.
17:45
I mean, just, there's so
17:46
many different ways to play
17:47
with that look.
17:48
And that's kind of the way I like it.
17:50
Yeah, it kind of needs
17:51
to be dull, doesn't it?
17:52
I mean, when you have the patina
17:53
and it's real bright and shiny,
17:54
it's like, "What the
17:55
hell's going on here?"
17:56
I saw one like that online the other day.
18:00
Definitely unique.
18:00
I mean, everybody
18:01
definitely has a different taste
18:02
and I like and appreciate that.
18:04
It just, mine's a little calmer, I'd say.
18:09
All right, well, I'm jumping around here
18:11
with some questions, but it dawned on me.
18:13
Can you give me an idea,
18:15
and maybe you've
18:16
already done some of this,
18:17
but kind of condense it down.
18:19
What exactly you guys do?
18:21
What is the reason for Jeep recyclers?
18:24
I mean, obviously you sell parts,
18:25
but what all does that entail?
18:27
Don't sell the vehicles
18:29
unless you get flagged down
18:31
and the price is right.
18:33
(laughs)
18:33
But as a company, what
18:35
is it that you guys do?
18:37
You wanna answer or you wanna make it?
18:38
Well, parts.
18:40
So basically 1963 to 1991,
18:43
we supply parts to restore
18:46
those specific full-size Jeeps.
18:48
And not only parts, the goal is to supply
18:52
the academics as well.
18:54
So we're in the process
18:55
of trying to, not trying,
18:56
but rather making videos,
18:58
showing them how to fix their own stuff
19:00
and even save money,
19:01
because if they're buying apart
19:04
from us that they
19:05
probably don't need to buy,
19:07
we're gonna try and talk you out of it.
19:08
Just the more that you can save,
19:11
the more you can end
19:12
up doing restore-wise.
19:13
But as far as the phrase
19:16
save the full-size Jeep,
19:19
it really came from,
19:21
when I was 10 years old,
19:22
my grandfather had a
19:23
J, it was probably 65.
19:26
I'm still not sure exactly what year,
19:27
but it was at least a J4000.
19:31
It was a dually, it was a dump,
19:32
and he used it as his business truck.
19:35
And he pulled a bulldozer with it.
19:38
Wow, wow.
19:39
And it was just the
19:40
world's greatest vehicle
19:41
in my mind at that time.
19:42
And I thought it was the
19:43
world's fastest vehicle,
19:44
because I had no influence.
19:45
Right.
19:46
But at the time, I just
19:48
thought it was the world's
19:49
greatest thing.
19:49
And for me, it's just
19:50
recapturing that feeling
19:53
to be able to recapture that feeling.
19:56
You have to be extremely resourceful.
19:58
And my goal is to not
19:59
make it be so resourceful,
20:02
or no, a certain guy
20:03
or a guy, which is good.
20:05
But if we can produce those parts,
20:08
make it easy for you to find them,
20:10
and make the experience pleasurable.
20:13
That's our goal.
20:15
So do you guys have
20:17
anything on your website,
20:19
JeepRecyclers.com, to
20:20
help put people in contact
20:22
with other people, or maybe sources,
20:25
for things that you don't have?
20:27
And if you don't have that,
20:28
is that something that's in the works?
20:30
Well, first, I think one
20:31
of the biggest questions
20:33
I know that I get is, do we know a shop?
20:35
Do we know a shop that can
20:36
help them with certain things?
20:38
So that is gonna be,
20:39
that is in the works of
20:41
being able to provide
20:43
more resources on our website
20:45
to connect people around the country.
20:47
Because they want
20:48
somebody that is not just,
20:51
has a good credibility,
20:53
but has actually worked
20:54
on these kinds.
20:55
Yeah, absolutely.
20:56
I mean, you're gonna dump a lot of money,
20:57
and you'd rather dump it with
20:59
somebody that is trustworthy
21:00
and knows what the hell they're doing.
21:01
Yeah, yeah.
21:03
Just to kind of add on to what you said,
21:06
a lot of the shops that we deal with,
21:08
they call in to buy parts because
21:11
parts were thrown away in disassembly,
21:13
because they're assuming that our parts
21:17
are like LMC truck where
21:19
just order a new front fascia.
21:20
Just order, you know,
21:21
just add, just order.
21:23
It's not available. Don't exist.
21:25
So, throwing that away.
21:26
So it's basically, we get a lot of people
21:29
reaching out for that.
21:30
Yeah.
21:30
But yeah, as far as, go ahead, I'm sorry.
21:33
Yeah, and I mean, we
21:34
have a very large catalog
21:37
of new aftermarket parts.
21:39
So there's, if it's a
21:41
part that isn't available,
21:43
we still have a lot of used parts
21:45
from all the years of collecting that,
21:46
we try to obviously match people up with,
21:49
but if there's
21:50
something that we can't find,
21:52
I mean, again, we're
21:53
always about trying to
21:54
help you connect with someone who can.
21:57
A lot of times though, I actually,
21:58
that's part of my role,
21:59
is I look at who do I know,
22:02
and then I actually do
22:03
the footwork for them,
22:04
and try to find what
22:07
they need outside of us,
22:08
just to make it easy for them.
22:10
So yes, if there's
22:12
something that they need,
22:13
they can't find, they can absolutely call
22:16
and we'll do our best to find that part.
22:19
That's great, that's wonderful,
22:20
because I mean, I think
22:22
it's good customer service,
22:23
and hopefully they really enjoy that,
22:25
and develop a relationship with you guys,
22:27
and then come back to
22:29
spend money with you.
22:31
But that's a lot of additional work.
22:33
Is this a lot of phone call stuff?
22:34
I mean, I get the
22:36
feeling that the old Jeeps,
22:37
the people are gonna be
22:38
more on the standard telephone,
22:41
than they are gonna be
22:42
email and direct messages.
22:44
You know, I get it all, and I love it.
22:47
I mean, I actually,
22:49
before I joined with Adam here,
22:52
at Jeep Recycler's, I had another company
22:54
that I was also running,
22:55
and it was all online talking to people
22:57
all around the world, so
22:58
that's like my cup of tea.
23:00
I love talking to people.
23:02
And so, we have a very
23:04
different, very positive vibe,
23:07
when it comes to your
23:08
point, customer service.
23:10
Like, we, I enjoyed, we
23:11
enjoy talking to people.
23:13
And we do get to know
23:14
each other very well.
23:16
And so, when people call,
23:18
I say to them as contacts,
23:20
"Hey, Larry, what's going on?"
23:21
Like, I know it's them.
23:23
I always address them by first name.
23:25
And I have people that are like,
23:26
"Shelby, I don't need anything.
23:28
I'm just calling to say hi."
23:29
Oh, that's nice.
23:31
So, we've really created
23:33
some great connections,
23:35
and we're obviously
23:36
looking forward to doing more,
23:37
but that's what we wanna keep providing.
23:41
So, do you find, and I would assume
23:42
that you have to do non-local.
23:44
Where are you guys located?
23:46
And I'm assuming that
23:47
you have contacts all over,
23:49
because these people calling
23:50
you aren't just local people.
23:52
Yeah, we don't get a ton of,
23:54
we get people from all, I mean,
23:56
all over the US, international.
23:59
So, contacts are also all over the US
24:03
that we're connected with,
24:05
we've done business with,
24:07
or had our own experiences with that.
24:09
Again, if we're short on something,
24:11
in terms of a used
24:12
part, then we know who to.
24:15
Well, if they're calling for a shop,
24:17
I mean, that's what I'm talking about,
24:19
is like, well, you may
24:19
know some local people,
24:20
or do you know, do you have contacts
24:22
for other shops across the country?
24:24
Yeah, we have, I mean,
24:25
we've worked with many
24:26
shops across the country.
24:27
So, we definitely have contacts.
24:29
It's just finding someone close enough
24:31
within driving distance to
24:33
exactly where that person is.
24:36
And if they're willing to drop it off,
24:38
if it's two hours away,
24:39
that sort of thing.
24:40
Yeah, that would be nice
24:42
if it's only two hours.
24:43
I think a lot of the
24:44
times it's a lot further,
24:46
especially for some quality folks.
24:48
You know, yeah, absolutely.
24:51
Okay, so anyway, we were
24:52
talking about the shop,
24:54
I mean, the business
24:55
and what you guys do.
24:56
So, you get people connected with things,
24:59
you sell parts, and you
25:01
have new parts and used parts.
25:04
Do you guys actually build parts?
25:06
Do you actually create
25:08
things that aren't available
25:09
or refurbish parts to
25:14
a like new situation?
25:17
That's a long effort.
25:19
That's a long answer.
25:20
Pick whichever one of
25:22
those multiple questions
25:23
you wanna answer.
25:25
That's actually how we started.
25:26
So, the name Jeep Recyclers,
25:28
in fact, just to kind
25:29
of drop a hint here,
25:30
I keep smacking my hand, I'm sorry,
25:32
but it keeps coming up. That's all right.
25:32
I'm a very valid person.
25:36
We're actually in the
25:38
works of updating and changing
25:39
our name to
25:40
fullsizegeparage.com or fsjgarage.com.
25:43
And just to make it more user friendly
25:46
for people to be able to reach out,
25:48
I mean, we have people reach
25:49
out for all kinds of parts,
25:50
just for the name itself.
25:52
But the name originally was,
25:56
or I should say the idea originally was
25:58
the restoration of parts.
26:00
So, I spent a lot of
26:02
time traveling the country,
26:04
going all over, I've flown,
26:05
I've gone a lot of
26:07
places to buy a lot of parts
26:08
to come back and it's fun.
26:10
And we have a lot of parts for that.
26:13
But I would say initially we were
26:17
restoring everything
26:18
to OEM plus.
26:20
So, most of the
26:21
fullsize Jeeps you've seen
26:23
the last five years at SEMA have had
26:25
are our vent windows, our clusters are,
26:29
just different parts
26:30
that we specialize in
26:32
that we obsessively build.
26:35
So, small parts that have served us well.
26:40
In the vent window, there's
26:41
a little pin on the bottom
26:42
and I believe the XJ has it too,
26:44
but there's a little pin,
26:45
basically just that the
26:46
vent window pivots on.
26:48
We make those in house.
26:49
So, we make those in house and I made it
26:52
because I just needed
26:53
it for the restoration
26:54
that we were doing.
26:55
But we've had people from Australia
26:58
send us their parts to
26:59
restore, to send back
27:00
and it's great.
27:04
But we're slowing that down to reproduce
27:08
and to really focus on more than new
27:10
because if the goal is
27:11
to save the fullsize Jeep,
27:14
I need to be able to
27:16
work on producing more
27:17
and creating more and what's gonna make
27:19
the biggest difference
27:21
and restoring.
27:22
I mean, I'll disappear for
27:24
15 hours staring at a part
27:26
and I love it.
27:27
But the thing is it's not
27:28
gonna help the community.
27:29
That's just one person, right?
27:31
Exactly.
27:32
Yeah.
27:32
So, yeah.
27:33
So, we're definitely moving
27:36
fast into more reproduction.
27:38
We did some
27:39
reproduction parts last two years,
27:41
but we're gonna be putting
27:42
the pedal to metal on that
27:44
plus growing our new parts
27:45
inventory moving forward.
27:48
I can well imagine,
27:49
I don't think there's a
27:50
lot of people doing this.
27:52
So, I can well imagine
27:53
there's somebody famous
27:55
or somebody noteworthy that
27:56
has contacted you guys for help.
27:59
Does that ring a bell?
28:00
Is there an individual or a company
28:02
that's contacted you?
28:05
Yeah, David Spade used
28:06
to reach out all the time.
28:07
Really?
28:09
Oh yeah, and the King of Thailand.
28:11
Of course we've talked to them too.
28:13
So, David Spade is a level
28:16
above the King of Thailand.
28:17
It's what I'm getting from this.
28:19
Well, if I say that because--
28:20
You don't like that.
28:22
I'll send like, I'll
28:24
send them different vehicles
28:26
and he's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
28:27
What else?
28:27
You know, and I'm like,
28:28
yeah, well, you're something,
28:29
you know, so.
28:30
But it was just, it was
28:31
more funny to where like when,
28:34
so we would communicate
28:35
with the King of Thailand
28:36
and hopefully it doesn't come back at us.
28:37
But there was two people,
28:39
we were talking to the
28:40
restoration person as well as him,
28:42
but they would come
28:43
through the same channel.
28:44
And so, the person restoring the vehicle
28:47
would come through,
28:48
excuse me, good sir, dear sir.
28:50
And the other one came
28:51
through not quite like that.
28:53
Yeah, right.
28:54
And so--
28:55
Why aren't you kneeling, dammit?
28:57
(laughing)
28:59
Exactly, so it was definitely unique.
29:02
But yeah, we sure had others, you know.
29:05
So, but those are
29:07
notable that are coming to mind
29:08
at least right now.
29:09
So I like the King of Thailand,
29:11
but let me get you back to David Spade.
29:13
I did not know that David Spade
29:15
had anything to do with Jeeps.
29:16
This is something new.
29:18
So if you don't mind talking about it,
29:20
I don't think Spade cares.
29:22
He seems to be an open book.
29:24
What Jeep or Jeeps was
29:26
he, is he dealing with?
29:28
And does he--
29:29
I'm sorry if he
29:30
interrupt you, I'm really good.
29:30
That's all right.
29:31
But so, specifically he
29:35
was looking for Wagoneer
29:36
and this was a few years ago.
29:38
And it was, he didn't
29:41
know a lot about him.
29:42
He didn't know, he just,
29:43
I think he just liked it.
29:45
And so, I basically
29:46
again with the contact said,
29:47
well, this is the area around you
29:50
and these are the vehicles I know
29:51
and these are the people I know.
29:52
And so, it was trying
29:53
to get him connected
29:54
with people I know to go for a ride,
29:56
see if you liked it, if you want that.
29:58
And it opened the door for
30:01
another person that we met
30:02
who has a Wagoneer out there who,
30:04
he, I can't think of what he does.
30:07
Or I know what he does, but he's more
30:10
like a music manager
30:13
or something, but he's in that industry.
30:15
So he was like, oh yeah,
30:16
I can take care of that.
30:17
And so, they got connected somehow
30:19
and I don't know what
30:21
he did much after that.
30:23
But I don't know, I just,
30:25
the initial conversations
30:27
that led up to the meaning of those two,
30:30
kind of sad because he
30:31
stopped talking to me.
30:33
(laughing)
30:34
But a resolution was
30:36
come to you, obviously.
30:37
So, but it was just enjoyable.
30:38
So another one.
30:39
So you don't know if he actually ever got
30:41
the Wagoneer or not?
30:42
I really don't, yeah.
30:44
Now that I'm talking about it,
30:45
I'm working out to find out.
30:47
I think, I have a theory.
30:48
I think almost everyone at some point
30:52
in their life wants a Jeep.
30:54
Jeeps are so iconic and so different
30:57
and even more so with the full-size ones
30:59
because they don't make them anymore.
31:00
And when you see a
31:01
full-size, you go, that's a Jeep,
31:04
but I've never seen one like that before.
31:06
That's wild.
31:08
You know, when we lived in DC,
31:10
so I had all kinds of,
31:13
I wanted for a lot
31:14
better term garbage, you know?
31:16
But I loved it, you know,
31:17
and I didn't want to restore it
31:18
because I loved it and it
31:19
worked exactly how it was.
31:19
Yeah.
31:20
A cars and coffee event where in DC,
31:23
I mean, you seeing a
31:24
Bugatti or Lamborghini,
31:26
you know, it's just, it is, you know?
31:29
And we got more attention
31:30
than they did constantly.
31:31
Hey, where do you find this?
31:32
What's this?
31:33
And just, or if I, you know,
31:36
we've had a couple of
31:37
M715s, the military Jeep trucks.
31:40
And that thing would just, you know,
31:41
it's like it stops
31:42
traffic, people slowing down.
31:44
And we have an M725,
31:46
which is an ambulance.
31:47
And that thing, it looks like a
31:49
Disneyland parking lot
31:50
behind you when you start to be driving,
31:51
because we're all trying
31:52
to go, what exactly are you?
31:53
You know, so, but yeah.
31:58
Agree.
31:58
I agree, I agree.
31:59
It's a common denominator, right?
32:01
I don't think we've ever met anybody
32:03
that didn't like a Jeep, so.
32:05
Yeah, absolutely.
32:07
So my wife, my wife has a TJ
32:10
and this lady that was older than my wife
32:15
stopped her at Sam's while
32:16
she was getting out of the,
32:17
or getting in or getting out of the TJ.
32:19
And she started asking her questions.
32:21
And this wasn't like
32:22
what you would expect
32:23
a Jeep person to be.
32:24
It was an older lady, probably in her
32:28
sixties, maybe older,
32:29
and she was asking
32:30
questions about the Jeep.
32:31
So I always say on the show,
32:34
don't be, don't want
32:36
to Jeep all your life.
32:38
And then tell
32:39
yourself, well, I'm too old,
32:41
or it's a midlife
32:41
crisis, or it's not practical.
32:44
It doesn't get good gas mileage.
32:46
Bullshit, get the Jeep, get a Jeep.
32:49
Yeah, so.
32:50
Can't go wrong.
32:51
I couldn't agree more.
32:52
We really can.
32:53
Yeah, and to add your
32:54
point as far as like the age.
32:56
So in our last company, my last company,
33:00
the fitness company,
33:02
my very first client,
33:04
she's 96 years old now.
33:06
And she goes, my goal is never to say
33:08
I'm too old to do this.
33:09
Yeah.
33:10
Never to say I'm too old to try that.
33:12
And she's sharp, and she--
33:14
Bernice?
33:14
Yeah, Bernice.
33:15
So she can do all that.
33:17
She just put me in my place.
33:19
She's fun.
33:21
And I couldn't agree more.
33:23
So go get it, live life.
33:25
I think they'll
33:26
absolutely love it if they do it.
33:28
No, it's a lot of fun.
33:29
And I don't have a Jeep to turn heads,
33:32
but my daughters will often tell me,
33:34
oh, that guy in that car
33:36
is a stare in the Jeep down.
33:38
And it's really, I was, oh, okay.
33:39
I'm not looking for
33:41
people looking at the Jeep,
33:43
but they notice it.
33:44
So it's always fun.
33:45
It's always fun when you have something
33:47
that people appreciate,
33:49
even if they don't know what
33:49
the hell they're looking at.
33:50
Yeah, absolutely.
33:53
So where are you guys
33:54
going in the future with this?
33:55
I know you're talking
33:56
about changing the name
33:57
of the website to better
33:59
articulate what you guys do,
34:01
but where do you hope to go with the
34:05
company in the future
34:06
or just do more of the same?
34:09
Well, we're definitely
34:09
not more of the same.
34:12
Yeah, so we're
34:14
definitely making the transition
34:15
and so we can speak to the fact,
34:17
but there's so many,
34:21
there's so many,
34:23
we have so many ideas that
34:25
we could bankrupt ourselves
34:26
next week.
34:26
Yeah.
34:28
There's so many things that
34:30
we currently have in the works
34:32
that are kind of like
34:34
molasses getting done,
34:36
but still moving.
34:38
So as far as the future,
34:40
actually having a
34:41
catalog that you can look at,
34:43
more how-to videos showing
34:44
you how to do the things to,
34:48
a big part of having,
34:50
I think these vehicles
34:51
is being able to remove the parts
34:53
without destroying the parts.
34:55
Oh, and I can well imagine
34:57
breaking bolts off is a real thing
34:59
on vehicles that are that old.
35:01
Absolutely.
35:02
Oh, it got loose all of a sudden.
35:03
Oh.
35:05
(laughs)
35:06
Absolutely, yeah.
35:07
And just one of the
35:10
academic points, good, I'm sorry.
35:11
Yeah, and we really want
35:14
the future of the FSJs to,
35:17
somebody wants to buy pool size Jeep,
35:18
they should be able
35:19
to look at that catalog
35:20
and be like, okay, I
35:20
need all of these things
35:21
and they're available.
35:23
Shouldn't have to go on
35:23
this wild goose chase.
35:25
So we feel there's just so
35:27
many missed opportunities,
35:28
which are opportunities for us to step in
35:31
because we've got great contacts,
35:34
I'll leave it at that,
35:35
to really get into the
35:37
reproduction of these parts.
35:39
So that's the
35:39
direction that we're gonna take
35:41
and we're really, we don't stop,
35:43
I mean, we work seven days a week.
35:45
So this isn't like a hobby thing for us,
35:48
like we put the pedal to the metal.
35:50
Well, it sounds like
35:51
there's a passion here.
35:52
And I think that's important
35:53
that people need to understand.
35:55
I mean, anytime you're working for free,
35:57
putting people in
35:59
contact with other people,
36:01
losing great customers like David Spade,
36:03
it's a passion thing.
36:06
It's not the money grabbing thing,
36:09
but you gotta support these folks
36:11
because if you don't support them,
36:13
then they won't be
36:14
there when you need it.
36:15
Right on.
36:16
Do you guys ever hear from Jeep people?
36:18
Like, I'm not Jeep people,
36:20
but people that literally
36:21
work for Jeep, engineers.
36:23
I know, I always brain fart on his name.
36:28
There was a gentleman
36:29
there that was executive VP
36:32
over at Jeep North America.
36:34
He's not with the company any longer,
36:36
but he was interested in getting a grand,
36:41
well, I don't think it
36:42
was a grand, but a Wagoneer
36:43
and wanted one of the buddies
36:45
of the show who's a builder,
36:47
a restomod type
36:48
person to build it for him.
36:50
And I can very well see,
36:53
especially when you're
36:54
in a position at Jeep
36:56
where you have access
36:57
to all the new stuff,
36:57
you can take a new Jeep home every day
37:00
and then get something else the next day.
37:02
It is cool whenever you have the heritage
37:05
of the company that you're working for.
37:08
Jim Morrison, I just remember the name.
37:11
It's the same name as the singer,
37:13
but Jim Morrison used to be with Jeep.
37:15
I'm familiar with the name.
37:17
I think we might be
37:19
Facebook friends actually, but--
37:21
Jim's a great guy.
37:22
He's been on the show.
37:23
He's the only Jeep employee
37:24
that we've ever had on the show.
37:26
And I think he actually
37:27
still has that Wagoneer.
37:28
I think he does the
37:29
Toledo Jeep Fest with it.
37:31
As far as I remember,
37:32
and I could be
37:32
completely off and wrong at this,
37:33
but as far as other contacts,
37:36
we've had engineers
37:37
that were former engineers.
37:40
When we go to some events, we contact,
37:44
but unfortunately I--
37:45
I don't know if we're
37:46
from specifically Jeep.
37:48
We've got builders that call us.
37:50
I don't know if we're from Jeep though.
37:51
I think we're still in
37:52
the phase of head in a hole,
37:55
if that makes sense.
37:56
So trying to get all the stuff done.
38:00
And so we haven't really gone out
38:02
and sawn a lot of people, I should say.
38:05
Unfortunately.
38:06
Well, you mentioned Toledo Jeep Fest.
38:08
Where do you guys go?
38:09
Is there a place that
38:10
people can maybe go to an event
38:12
and meet you?
38:13
And do you have
38:13
anything there at the event?
38:15
Do you have a booth?
38:15
Do you show things?
38:16
I mean, just walking
38:18
around looking at the eye candy.
38:21
Well, we haven't had a booth since the,
38:25
for a couple of years.
38:27
Through this transition,
38:29
moving from restoration to new parts
38:33
has been a money mastering event.
38:38
So basically eating half of peanut butter
38:41
and jelly sandwiches
38:43
and not going a lot of places.
38:45
I mean, we're
38:45
fortunately starting to move
38:47
into a direction right now.
38:48
It's into that fun phase
38:49
where you can start to do more,
38:51
see more and build and have dinner.
38:53
We just have to look them down.
38:54
I mean, we've been.
38:55
Yeah, and so that's
38:56
kind of what the last,
38:57
I would say two or three years have been.
38:59
And so it's really, like right now,
39:01
normally December is
39:03
normally our slowest month
39:05
and it hasn't slowed down.
39:08
Things are going the right direction
39:09
and the champion's on
39:11
the phone constantly.
39:13
But as far as to answer your question,
39:15
as far as us going to events,
39:17
I mean, we'll probably start going to,
39:20
there's an event that John Holoball,
39:25
the Jeep Ranch Museum, he
39:26
has, which is a phenomenal event.
39:28
It's in Gibson, Pennsylvania, in May.
39:30
And we'll go there.
39:31
And then as far as--
39:33
Bantam?
39:34
Yeah, Bantam.
39:34
So those are the--
39:35
Oh yeah.
39:36
But, you know--
39:38
Do you have an old full-size Jeep
39:40
that you actually could
39:41
take places to entice people?
39:44
One or two, yeah.
39:46
Well, I thought you
39:47
may have sold them all,
39:48
just out there.
39:49
I'm kind of an order.
39:50
So we have two 65s in the garage,
39:55
couple of M75s, J10s.
39:58
We have the J10-4.
40:00
Yeah, the J10-10-4 edition, yeah.
40:02
So there's definitely some toys.
40:04
Good.
40:05
Yeah, so absolutely.
40:07
Well, and where are you guys located?
40:10
We're in Catanning.
40:11
We're just a little north of Pittsburgh.
40:13
Okay.
40:14
Yeah, west side.
40:15
So we have, and the gentleman
40:17
that probably contacted you, Chris,
40:19
he lives up in that area,
40:21
and he goes to like the Toledo Jeep Fest
40:23
and several other places.
40:24
So we'll have to stay in contact.
40:26
So if you're gonna be at a
40:27
place that he's going to,
40:29
he can grab the camera and do a video
40:32
that we can put up on YouTube,
40:34
and just a short thing that--
40:35
We love it.
40:36
That we do on occasion.
40:37
That'd be great.
40:38
Yeah, Michigan, I mean, he
40:40
goes to Toledo Jeep Fest.
40:42
Sometimes when Jeep has things going on,
40:44
he'll go, I guess it's
40:46
Detroit where he goes.
40:48
I don't know nothing
40:49
about none of those places.
40:50
I'm a Texan, and I
40:52
haven't ever been there.
40:54
It'd be neat.
40:54
I wouldn't mind going
40:55
to Toledo Jeep Fest,
40:56
but boy, that would be an
40:58
expensive drive or flight.
41:01
Understood, yeah.
41:02
We'd like to go to Texas, so.
41:05
(laughing)
41:05
All right, well, you know how the kids
41:08
go to the social
41:08
media, and I'm sure you guys
41:10
are on social media,
41:11
where can they find you?
41:14
Well, I mean, obviously our
41:15
website is JeepRecyclers.com.
41:17
Our Facebook page is JeepRecyclers,
41:20
and same with our
41:21
Instagram, and what I'm gonna say.
41:23
And our YouTube, yeah,
41:24
it's all just JeepRecyclers
41:26
with an S, no space or anything.
41:28
I don't think in between, is there?
41:30
No.
41:31
Well, you can go to JeepRecyclers.com,
41:33
scroll all the way down to the bottom,
41:35
and you'll see the
41:35
icons for those various
41:37
social media platforms, so
41:39
that'll be a way to do it,
41:41
but it's always nice to be
41:42
able to look at your name
41:43
out there several
41:44
times during the interview.
41:47
All right, guys, well, thank you so much.
41:49
Continued good work,
41:51
then continued success,
41:53
and I'm hoping that
41:55
there's never a problem
41:57
when you're sharing one
41:57
of those peanut butter
41:58
and jelly sandwiches, that
42:00
you didn't use the right jelly,
42:03
because if you use the wrong jelly,
42:05
that half is like, well, you
42:07
know I don't like that jelly.
42:09
Oh, we've already worked
42:10
that out a long time ago.
42:12
(laughing) Better read more, yeah.
42:13
So basically, you eat the
42:15
jelly that she likes, I got it.
42:18
(laughing) Happy wife. That's right.
42:21
That's right.
42:21
All right, well, thanks so
42:22
much for being with us today.
42:24
You guys have a great rest of the day,
42:26
and hopefully we can get you back on the
42:30
show here real soon.
42:32
That sounds good, we love it.
42:33
Thank you. Thank you.
42:35
You're my friend, you're my new friend.