"IT'S FUN TO LOOK AT THEM, BUT YOU CAN'T REALLY ENJOY THEM UNLESS YOU'RE DRIVING THEM."

Steve Cook Creations has a reputation of building incredibly clean, detailed and subtle cars, and on episode thirty-eight, the Gearheads got a chance to sit down and talk with Steve, his son Mike, and Alan Childers. We dove deep into the design sense and philosophy of the build team. Steve lays out a lot of insight and perspective on cars as a passion, and the realities of building them as a career. Yep, realities. There's a lot more dimension to putting together an award-winning vehicle, especially when it's for repeat clients who are every bit as passionate about their cars.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

• 
  
• Steve talks about the passion of building cars
  
• The importance of focusing on quality in every aspect of a build
  
• Early automotive influences
  
• A great comparison of generations and the sources of their influences
  
• Alan's early inspiration via the magazine aisle at the supermarket
  – WyoTech and an art degree come together
  
• Cars run deep in the Cook family
  
• From motorcycle acing to Mom the Machinist
  
• Struggling with being a workaholic
  – Trying to find a life-balance
  
• Being "so quiet, it's scary"
  
• The life of an introverted car builder in a very social society
  
• "Simple is hard to do"
  – Keeping things clean, neatly-packaged and subtle
  
• When Dad doesn't understand modern color choices
  
• Building cars from memory
  
• Make everything look like it belongs
  
• Revisiting the theme of the car as a whole, from stance and overall look to the sound and more
  
• "Smell the ozone coming off of that electric car!"
  
• The fine art of patience on a build
  – Keeping things moving forward over a three to five year build
  – The evolution of a project over time
  
• On building a car that turns out to be ahead of its time
  – Staying conscious of the car's "right" timing
  
• On the value of research and communication in the shop
  
• Where inspiration lies and gets dug up from
  
• How being old school lends a unique thumbprint to build style
  
• The honor of being selected for a SEMA panel, and making the most of being the "odd man out" sometimes
  
• Building what the client remembers the car being, even if it is miles apart in terms of fit, finish and performance
  
• Hand-whittling a Duvall windshield by hand over in the corner
  
• The "hot rod family"
  
• Brian lays out the plan for the zero-gravity paint booth