Stay Tuned Is YouTube's Most Eclectic Hot Rodder By Far

Tony Angelo has been building fast and somewhat sketchy cars for longer than many of you reading this have been alive. If you've been following the car scene, particularly on the east coast, you probably know Angelo, if not personally, then by reputation. He's one of those guys who helped bring drifting to the U.S. from Japan, and grow its popularity here. Most people were probably introduced to him when he took on the role of host on Hot Rod Garage back when Motor Trend went all-in on video. Since moving back east, Angelo cranked up his own YouTube channel and largely does the same ridiculous stuff he always has, but now he doesn't need approvals from invisible higher-ups, so he can go even wilder with it. 

This is one of those YouTube shows that makes for great entertainment week in and week out, building a dozen or more ridiculously sketchy project cars. Tony and his team have a lot of fun, and that's obvious from the first minute. They'll break out some pizza, get wrenching, and soon enough it feels like you're there hanging out right alongside them as they build a 500 horsepower turbocharged minivan or a V12 Mustang. More than anything, I think it's important to have a few dirtbag hot rodders who really get after it in your to-be-watched queue. It helps keep you grounded. 

That's why we're taking it upon ourselves to highlight some of our favorite underrated builders in a new series we're calling Wrenchers You Should Know. Not only do some of these people deserve way more views than they're getting, but they're typically the Do It Yourselfer type, rather than the big corporate-sponsored four-figure-horsepower slop that's dominating your feeds. In each installment we'll introduce you to a cool new builder, talk about some of their work, and give you a few reasons why you should be watching their progress. Here we go, Stay Tuned!

Tony and his crew of local Pennsylvania hot rodders don't do anything by half measures, and most of their project cars sound like the kind of thing you would dream up in a bench racing session with a few of your good buddies after a few small beers. Tony doesn't just let weird things happen in his head, he breaks out the welder and makes them happen in real life, and I can't help but applaud his stick-to-itiveness as I watch these ridiculous ideas come to fruition. 

One great example of that is this 1989 Ford Mustang. The five-liter Mustang is among the most common pathways for car enthusiasts to build a whole lot of speed. Everybody knows the tricks to make power with a 5-liter, and even more know how to push a fox body faster with an LS swap and some turbos. That's nothing for Tony, as he has spent the last couple of years putting an Aston Martin DB7 V12, which is "basically" a pair of Ford Duratec V6s mated together, into a Mustang. 

Would this engine have been more fun to drive in the Aston Martin chassis it came from? Yeah, probably. Would the Mustang go faster with a well-built 302 and some nitrous or something? Definitely. But that's not the point. If you're asking those kinds of questions, you just don't have the kind of deranged brain that Tony does, and I must have it too, because I think this is one of the coolest ideas anyone could possibly have. 

Did he spend years piecing the car together and getting it running only for it to blow up on the dyno? Yeah, he sure did. And despite being seriously discouraged by the whole thing, they're optimistic the engine can be put back together, maybe with some more modifications, and power the Mustang again. 

Not good or weird enough for you? How about taking a cherry $800 Dodge Caravan and swapping a built SRT-4 turbo engine under the hood? Who doesn't love front wheel drive burnouts with your entire family along for the ride? This project completely rules, and it's obvious the team put a ton of effort into getting it up to speed. Obviously this is a much easier project to put together than a V12 Mustang, as the SRT-4 engine should theoretically bolt in place of the original Dodge engine, as the 2.4-liter turbo A855 engine has its roots in the old Chrysler 2.2-liter "Trenton" engine. 

Despite how "easy" this swap is to make, it still required a whole boatload of labor and effort. This isn't the kind of thing you can just do in an afternoon, of course. Sourcing a wrecked SRT-4 is just the beginning. After sourcing the components and upgrading the engine to make more than double what it did from the factory, they still needed to wire and plumb everything, which is one of the most tedious and annoying parts of any engine swap. 

In the old Neon platform, the SRT-4 made an impressive-for-the-time 230 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque. Even that was enough to rip the steering wheel out of your hands under hard acceleration. Crank up the boost and put it in an older noodely van chassis, and it's going to be a handful and a half. Moreover, with twenty-something pounds of boost on tap, fire spitting out of the exhaust, and enough power to rip the tires off in fourth gear, this is maybe the coolest minivan on the street. I might actually be in love with this van. 

If you get through all of the videos on Stay Tuned, you can go back and check out Tony's videos co-hosting with Lucky Costa over on the Motor Trend YouTube channel, or maybe they have a Hot Rod Garage channel on the Heebee app or something. Look around, you'll find it. I still think my favorite project on that show was the twin-engine Chevy Impala SS "Twinpala" with two front-driver LS4 engines and all-wheel drive. It's just so stupid, and I love it so much. 

After getting it running and beating the crap out of it, they later upgraded both engines to around 500 horsepower with turbochargers and when it was running right it totally scooted. With 16 cylinders, all-wheel drive, and lots of boost, it's basically a poor man's Bugatti Veyron, right? Like I said, these guys are down and dirty speed demons, and every stupid thing they do is in the name of hot nasty go-fast. When I grow up, I want to be like them, and you should, too.

If you have suggestions for some lesser known builders on social media, please feel free to drop them in the comments section as well. I'm always on the lookout for folks out there doing cool stuff. It doesn't have to be just cars, either. While I'm well apprised of the car and motorcycles building scenes, I'd love to get deep into the nitty gritty of some more niche topics. Do you follow some cool folks building snowmobiles, jet skis, or DIY fighter jets or something? I want to know about it.

And yes, you're welcome to do some self promotion in the comments as well. Let everyone know where they can follow your build and what you're up to. If it's unique or good, we'll feature it on the blogs.