Back in the fall of 2010 a friend and I started our own media production company. We saw the need for video production work in our industry and had a few ideas on some special events and video concepts we thought would work.
The idea of the 48 Hour Build came up during a discussion with Bret Voelkel and Chad Reynolds just a few weeks after we opened shop as Route 2 Media. The gist of it was this: With the amount of high quality bolt-on parts that currently were on the market, it had become “easy” to build an amazing top quality car – in fact, it could even be done in just a few days.
Now, you have to remember that live internet video was still a new thing, YouTube had just recently started showing videos larger than 480p resolution, and streaming live for 48 hours straight from a work shop in Jasper, Indiana was a pretty crazy thing to do… let alone getting the car done in that time.
The biggest “risk” however was showing the build process live with no edits, cuts or do-overs. The idea of the event was to show how well the quality parts worked… and if you are live, they had better work! If something didn’t fit, or if something broke, or if a part failed (even something as simple as a fastener), in the time frame we were working under – it just might not be possible to get it fixed in time.
Planning was HUGE! The inside joke was this was easily the 4800 Hour Camaro because of all the meetings, all the testing, all the detailed build schedules etc… Looking back it is easy to forget how real the challenge was and how we all knew that anything could go wrong, but we were all very determined to eliminate every possible variable we could think of.
Of course, it worked.
Eight years later, now I’m working on a “new adventure” (this website). Here in the winter of 2019 I am remembering the time spent in the winter months of 2011 leading up to the first 48 Hour Build, and I find it interesting the thing about the event that stands out the most to me.
Yes, the entire 48 Hour Camaro project was about marketing and gaining exposure for the companies involved and to that end it was highly successful. Also, we ended up putting together one of the coolest Camaros ever built with amazing performance potential (it is still one of the hottest cars at any event it attends). And, while we didn’t “break the internet”, we certainly pushed the bounds of promotions / marketing in the hot rod industry.
Here is the funny thing, none of those things are what really brings joy to me about the 48 Hour Camaro project… I remember the fun. The relationships. The camaraderie. The friendships that were forged during those 48 hours (and the 4800 hours spent planning).
Here is what I am learning, and I hope to share with folks that visit this website:
The countless Miles and Hours we spend on building and racing are an investment…
but in the end, it is not the cars and trophies that make it worth while.
In the end, what counts are relationships.
With that in mind, when I look back at the 48 Hour Camaro project it is one of the best things I’ve ever been a part of.
Much of the video below has never been published before… and it was all filmed during or within the week after the build. Listen to common thread of the story… it is all about the people:
