# Autogeek's How-To Features on My Classic Car with Dennis Gage



## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

*Autogeek's How-To Features on My Classic Car with Dennis Gage*

Last October, Max and I paid a visit to Dennis Gage to film 3 how-to segments for his TV show My Classic Car at his studio in Evansville, Indiana. Here's some behind the scenes shots from that video shoot.

The TV studio is located on Dennis's property, what looks like an average steel building is a fully functional TV Studio, the one you see on all his TV shows. Dennis and crew are very meticulous and you'll always find them making sure everything is spotlessly clean, even Dennis lends a hand.




























*Neat as a pin...*









Here you can see both the outside of the studio, there's nothing to draw your attention to the building and no sign that there's a TV studio inside. Our first demonstration car is this 1964 GTO Convertible.



















The son of the owner dropped the car off and you can see Dennis with Sheila Perkins, his Vice President of Sales, Sheila is actually a "Car Girl" and owns and drives a 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Convertible.









*Here we've moved the GTO into the studio...*


















Dennis has his own Make-up Artist, Leesa Richardson, and it's her job to get everyone ready for filming...


















Before we shot our segments, Jim Grundy from Grundy Classic Car Insurance was there filming his own feature.









Before we started I spent some time explaining the process I was going to use on the GTO so the Grips and the Camera Operators would know where to position cameras, extension cords, lights, tables, etc.









Dennis is awesome at interviewing and finding out the specific information we want to present so when we start filming he can ask all the right questions and basically help me to explain the process and show it at the same time.


















Dennis is also very good at creating a display to showcase products for the cameras...


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## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

_Continued..._

We shot two features using the GTO, one on the hood and one on the trunk lid...









This is Mike Seib, Grip #1, super cool guy, I think we were talking about drag boats in-between takes... 









Here were doing a how-to feature using Wolfgang products on a classic 1955 Chevy Truck with extreme oxidation.


















It's fun and surreal at the same time working with the host in his Studio for a show that I've been watching for years...









Concentrating on my lines and taking some ques from the camera guys...









Filming the segment...









Discussing with Tinker, the owner, what I did to remove the oxidation to this one small section...


















Working on a heavily oxidized, dark finish is easy, capturing it on video without making a single mistake is vital because once your bring the polisher down onto the paint and start working the polish you will dramatically change the color of the paint. It would be impossible to do it a second time because you would have made one section look good and the cameras would show that and then everyone watching would become confused.

Luckily, it came perfect the first take. I actually placed a tape line down about where you see the overhead florescent light and only buffed on the side of the hood between the windshield and the tape-line. The demarcation line between before and after will be incredibly dramatic when you see this segment air during the TV show.

What you see below is after I removed the tape-line and the shared with Tinker how to duplicate what I did for the segment.









Here's the owner, Tinker with Dennis Gage. (Thanks for letting us use your truck Tinker)



























Here's the crew during a lunch break...

Starting with the young man sitting at the front left hand side of the table and going in a clockwise pattern...

*Ben Woehler - Producer*
*Mike Seib - Grip #1*
*Jarod Buente Grip #2 during filming, the rest of the year he's an Animator.*
*Dennis Gage*
*Max*

Moving across the table from Max

*Chad Hall - Production Truck Engineer*
*Sheila Perkins - Vice President of Sales*
*Brian Clark - Camera #1*
*John Gerard - Camera #2*









A note about Chad Hall, the Production Truck Engineer
All their computers and electronics for capturing and editing video are in a large, sound proof, truck specially built for this purpose parked right next to the Studio. Remember they shoot live on locations so they need to be mobile. The entire time we're shooting we talk back and forth to the team in the truck through intercoms and headsets as they direct the camera shots.

At the end of filming the 3 Features, Max and I had our pictures taken with Dennis on the set...









He's a funny guy and a blast to work with!


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## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

My Classic Car is on Speed Channel but they also make the episodes available on their website shortly after they air on TV for anyone that doesn't get the channel.

Because "live" events change all the time, (like a car race that's rained-out), it's hard for the different TV Channel providers to confirm a schedule that's 100% accurate till about 2-4 weeks before the tentative air dates.

That said, here is the tentative schedule as provided to me by My Classic Car yesterday...

*My Classic Car Schedule
*Here are the air times for *My Classic Car Episode #6 *with Autogeek's Wolfgang Feature.

Sunday, April 3rd at 10:00 pm Eastern Time and 7:00pm Pacific Time

Monday, April 4th at 4:00am Eastern Time and 1:00am Pacific Time

Tuesday, April 5th at 3:00pm Eastern Time and 12:00pm Pacific Time

Sunday, April 10th at 10:00am Eastern Time and 7:00pm Pacific Time

Tuesday, April 12th at 2:30pm Eastern Time and 11:30am Pacific Time​


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## Millz (Oct 21, 2010)

It has to be said. That dudes 'tash is amazing. GTO's not bad either.


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## WHIZZER (Oct 25, 2005)

Great incite to the programme


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## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

Millz said:


> It has to be said. That dudes 'tash is amazing. GTO's not bad either.


I've been watching his show for years but this was the first time I've ever met him and worked with him and he's genuinely nice and professional in every sense of the word.

*I got a My Classic Car T-shirt too!*


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## Millz (Oct 21, 2010)

Mike Phillips said:


> I've been watching his show for years but this was the first time I've ever met him and worked with him and he's genuinely nice and professional in every sense of the word.
> 
> *I got a My Classic Car T-shirt too!*


It looks good, wish we had shows like this in the UK. Just looking on the site now, seems you can watch the previous few shows. Shall look out for your episode :thumb:


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## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

On Episode 6, our first feature shares how to remove oxidation, swirls and scratches using the Flex 3401 with the Wolfgang products and Lake Country CCS Pads.

Removing Swirls, Scratches, Water Spots and Extreme Oxidation with Wolfgang​


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