To All The Cars I've Loved Before: Classic Cars, Car Stories, and More
Do you remember your first car? That feeling of freedom with the windows down, music up, and friends in the backseat? Every car tells a story—and those automotive stories reveal who we really are.
Welcome to To All The Cars I've Loved Before, the podcast celebrating automotive nostalgia through the lens of everyday people. Unlike industry shows focused on specs and stats, we dive into the personal history behind the metal. From first car stories and forgotten beaters to classic car restoration projects and Jeep Wrangler adventures, we explore the vehicles that shaped our lives.
What You’ll Hear: Join hosts Doug and Christian every #TorqueTuesday for unfiltered conversations with car enthusiasts, father-daughter restoration teams, and lifelong petrolheads. We skip the politics and new car reviews to focus on:
- Classic Car Culture: Tales of vintage dreams and barn find realities.
- Project Cars: The blood, sweat, and gears of the home garage.
- Life on the Road: Road trips, learning to drive a manual, and the cars that got away.
Whether you're a restoration junkie or just miss your old high school ride, this is the place where car culture meets personal history.
🎧 Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at carsloved.com
🌳 Connect with the community & see behind-the-scenes photos and videos: linktr.ee/carsloved
Every Tuesday is #TorqueTuesday with new videos and episodes.
Episodes
151 episodes
From Clunker to Summit: Restoring a 1998 Acura Integra for Mount Evans 🏎️⛰️
"We sat on a rock in the driveway, stared at the car, and thought: What did we just do?" 🛠️🧩.What happens when a father humors his son’s "crazy idea" to buy a $5,000 project car during a global pandemic?. In this episode, we’re joined by...
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Season 7
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Episode 5
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34:04
From SEMA "Noob" to 383 Stroker: Christina Lardie’s '69 Camaro Journey 🏁
What do you do when you inherit a classic car shell and a garage full of mystery parts? You buy a ticket to SEMA just to ask the manufacturers, "What is this and how do I install it?"In this episode, guest co-host Dave joins Doug ...
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Season 7
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Episode 4
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41:59
Starting a 1963 Comet with a Paperclip & The NASCAR Trailer Woodshop 📎🚙🪵
What do you do when you retire from a corporate career but still want to build things? If you're Mark Freibaum, you buy a 24-foot NASCAR auto hauler and transform it into a mobile woodworking shop for kids. 🛠️🏁In this episode, we ...
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Season 7
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Episode 3
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33:54
Father-Daughter Restoration: Edelbrock Carburetors, Jeep YJ Builds & The Future of Hot Rodding with Riley's Rebuilds 🛠️🔥
What happens when a 13-year-old girl wants to buy her first car but can't legally work? She starts rebuilding carburetors in her dad's garage—and accidentally builds a national brand. 🔧😲In our 2026 Premiere, we sit down with Ri...
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Season 7
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Episode 2
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43:30
Trading Up: Nissan Skyline R34, Mk4 Supra, Porsche 996 & Zender Mercedes 420 SEL 🇯🇵🇩🇪
Is it possible to start with a $3,000 budget and trade your way up to a $60,000 JDM legend in less than a year? 🤯💸In this episode, we sit down with Jon Khlok, founder of Kent Island Cars and Coffee, to hear one of the wilde...
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Season 7
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Episode 2
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1:02:50
Porsche 928 vs. C3 Corvette, Lancia Zagato Fires & The Reality of Owning 29 Cars 🔥🇩🇪
What happens when you live by the philosophy that "you make money on the buy"? You end up with a $900 1970 Chevelle Malibu Convertible that funds your future Ferrari... and a fleet of 28 other cars that might just be owning you....
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Season 7
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Episode 1
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39:23
The Only 4-Year Car Restoration Degree: Preserving Heritage Skills with Student Cash & Instructor Chris 📚🔧
Would you daily drive a 95-year-old car to class? For Cash, a student at McPherson College, his 1928 Ford Model A Sport Coupe isn't just a showpiece—it's his ride, complete with a golden retriever in the rumble seat. 🐕🚙...
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Season 6
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Episode 10
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1:00:02
45 Years of MotorWeek: John Davis on Creating Automotive Television & Changing How America Sees Cars 📺🚗
How do you keep a TV show about cars on the air for 45 years? You make sure "the cars are the stars." 🌟📺In this monumental episode, we sit down with John Davis, the creator, host, and executive producer of MotorWeek. Since ...
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Season 6
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Episode 9
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49:34
45 Years of MotorWeek, John Davis' Unforgettable Pantera:
In 1975, before he became MotorWeek's trusted voice for 45 seasons, John Davis had a purchase decision to make: Jensen Interceptor or De Tomaso Pantera? Both were exotic cars with American engines he could actually w...
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Season 6
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1:39
How I Borrowed a Ferrari to Build a $30M Track Day Empire: The Xtreme Xperience Story 🏎️📈
Can you build a multi-million dollar business by simply asking, "Can I borrow your Ferrari?" For Adam Olalde, that audacious question was the spark that launched Xtreme Xperience. 🏎️🤯In this episode, we sit down wi...
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Season 6
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Episode 8
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37:29
Selling the Dream: Enzo-Era Ferraris, Lancia Delta Integrales & The Art of Car Sales with Next Gen Classics 🇮🇹🛠️
What is it like to learn how to drive a manual transmission on a 1930 BMW the day before driving it across the podium at Pebble Beach? 🤯🏎️In this episode, we sit down with Colleen Sheehan, founder of Next Generation Clas...
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Season 6
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Episode 7
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45:49
Tesla Model S Rental Nightmares, Custom Land Rover Defenders & The "Airbnb for EVs" ⚡🏰
What happens when a college student buys his dad's Tesla Model S with no income and decides to rent it out to strangers to pay the bills? (Hint: It involves a bank robbery). 🏦🚔In this episode, we sit down with Ray Vardi, fo...
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Season 6
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Episode 6
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38:23
First Car Stories and Why Miata Is Always The Answer - a $500 Skoda to a 500HP Track Car with Coastline Academy 🚙🏁
What was your first car experience? For Nigel Tunnacliffe, it was a $500 Skoda 135 GLi—a rare, mid-engine Czechoslovakian oddity that he bought with his own savings at age 15... only for it to be totaled by his brother days...
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Season 6
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Episode 5
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36:09
Restoring a Dodge Viper GTS, Trading a VW Thing for a Porsche 356 & The Reality of Project Cars 🛠️🏎️
What happens when a father and daughter start filming their garage projects during lockdown and accidentally build a YouTube empire with 34 cars? 🎬🚗In this episode, we sit down with Caroline and James, the dynamic duo behind HH...
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Season 6
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Episode 4
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56:14
Mastering the Porsche 911 on the Track: F1 Legends, Watkins Glen & The £15 Race Car with Dirk Dekker 🏁🏎️
What does it take to master an air-cooled Porsche 911 on one of America's most iconic road courses? For Dirk Dekker, a driving instructor with over 25 years of experience at Watkins Glen International, it takes patience, pr...
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Season 6
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Episode 3
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38:56
Jeep Life Hacks, Mustang II Custom Builds & The Art of Automotive Invention 🛣️🔧
What happens when you give a 14-year-old a driver's license, a 1974 Mustang II found in a field, and a welder? 🤯🏎️In this episode, we sit down with Jeremy, the creator of the Freedom Top Vault—a game-changing accesso...
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Season 6
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Episode 2
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34:59
1980s Icon Collection: 1984 Chrysler Laser XE, PT Cruiser Regrets & Buying a 1981 DeLorean 🏎️🕹️
Every car enthusiast has THE car. For Curt Bellotti, it was always the DeLorean. But before he could afford his stainless steel dream, he fell in love with the "poor man's KITT"—a 1984 Chrysler Laser XE Turbo with a ...
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Season 6
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Episode 1
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36:33
Air-Cooled Culture: Building the "Small Car Company" Club & The 200HP "German Look" 1972 Beetle 🇩🇪🔧
Some car enthusiasts are born; others—like Dave's father—need convincing. It took five decades and seven different VW Beetles to turn his dad from a skeptic into a believer. 🐞✨In this episode, we sit down with Dave, the fou...
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Season 5
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Episode 10
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48:00
The Heartbeat of Diesel: Mercedes 240D Memories and Ford 1000 Tractor: A Philosophy of Reliability 🚜🔋
What kind of person drives a 1984 Mercedes 240D into the ground for decades, believing it's the pinnacle of engineering, only to suddenly switch to a Tesla? For Croom, it wasn't just about changing cars—it was about testing...
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Season 5
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Episode 9
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39:08
The Art of Automotive Paint: Restoration Secrets, Custom Body Work & JDM Legends with Matt Pratt 🛠️🇯🇵
What does it take to turn a backyard hobby shop into a premier automotive restoration business during a global pandemic? 🤔🛠️In this episode, we sit down with Matt Pratt, owner of Top Coat Garage, to discuss his journey from...
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Season 5
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Episode 8
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47:07
Cop with a Kei Van: JDM Imports, a 1967 VW Beetle named "Alice" & An Oldsmobile Cutlass 🚐🐞
Most law enforcement officers drive American muscle or practical trucks. Deputy Dave dreams about importing Japan's tiniest, most impractical vehicles: JDM Kei vans. 🚓🚐In this episode, we sit down with Dave—a man whose resu...
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Season 5
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Episode 7
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40:10
Backstage at SEMA: How a Mustang Fan Became an Industry Photographer (And Snuck Into the Drift Track!) 📸🏎️
Rob's first car was a no-frills 1986 Chevy Spectrum with crank windows and no radio. Today, he’s the guy photographing the most expensive, rarest, and most modified cars at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. 📸🏎️In this episode, we...
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Season 5
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Episode 6
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42:35
From a Plumbing Truck to Podcast Strategy: Krystal Proffitt on Hand-Me-Downs, Resilience & finding Your Voice 🎙️💼
What happens when your first car is a hand-me-down work truck that is literally a rolling billboard for your dad's plumbing business? And it's "Doo-Doo Brown"? 💩🚚In this episode, we sit down with Krystal Proffitt, a content strate...
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Season 5
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Episode 5
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42:52
Discovering Our Bus Was a Movie Star: Brian’s 1973 Chevy, A "Cry-Baby" Secret & Wind Therapy 🏍️✨
Imagine buying your first car—a 1973 Chevy Pickup—only to discover years later that it had a secret life as a movie star in the cult classic film Cry-Baby starring Johnny Depp. 🎬😲In this episode, we sit down with Brian...
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Season 5
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Episode 4
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37:12
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The Car Dad Sold for $150: Justin’s Journey to Reclaim the Family Corvair & a Catastrophic Diesel Runaway 📉🛠️
In 1975, Justin’s father sold his 1963 Corvair Monza Spyder for $150 because it broke down. Forty-two years later, Justin tracked down that exact car—still sitting in the same barn, with the 1975 inspection sticker still on the wi...
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Season 5
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Episode 3
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37:59
