Tinkering Belles with Tamara Robertson

Tinkering Belles - Ashley - Great Race Edition

• Season 3 • Episode 28

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Do you love Legacy Cars , road rally racing, shop cats and general Maker Shop Talk? 

If so, join Tamara Robertson (Mythbusters, Seekers of Science) as she revs up the fun in this all new mini-season dedicated to the Hemming's Great Race and the amazing team of Trailblazing Creators assembled by Riley's Rebuilds!

As a shout-out to Race Sponsor Quick Performance, this episode kicks off with a Tech Talk about Rear Differentials before Tamara sits down with Legacy Builder, Trailblazer and Maker Extraordinaire Ashley ( @_Rustic_Beauty ) !

Topics they cover include (but are surely not limited to):

- The Great Race

- Legacy Vehicles

- Shoutout to Clemson

- Shop Cats

- Riley of Riley Rebuild's

- Grand Torino

- The Effect of Temperature on Cars

- Vintage Restoration

- Sharing the Learning Journey

- Jessi Combs

- The Jessi Combs Foundation

- Being Fearless

- Hot Rod Power Tour

- Power of Community

- Protective Parents

.. and so much more

As we dig into Season 3's 27th episode of Tinkering Belles you're surely not going to want to miss it!

So join in on Tamara's adventure as a Maker as she works to amplify the BAMF Females Behind the Builds one interview at a time! 
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If you enjoyed the show join in on the Maker adventure with Tamara and her guests on the Tinkering Belles Instagram page.

You can follow Payton's adventures here, here, and here: 

Website - https://rusticbeautycreations.com

Linktree - https://linktr.ee/_rustic_beauty

Instagram - https://instagram.com/_rustic_beauty

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Rustic_Beauty

Tiktok - https://tiktok.com/@rustic.beauty

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/share/1Ap2NzfXtD/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Music for this Episode was provided by Bill Trowell Music.  Visit BillTrowellMusic.com to hear more and to subscribe to Bill's Patreon, where he covers favorite showtunes, movie themes, classic rock and jazz, as well as requests from Patron's. 

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Tamara Robertson:

Greetings, shopmates, and welcome to Tinkering Belles, a show about DIY, design, and all things hands-on. The sky's the limit as we talk props, metalwork, cosplay, woodwork, leather, electronics, and so much more. I'm Tamara Robertson, your host, so strap on your tool belts because we're about to get to some Skillshare-ing, y'all.

Tamara Robertson:

Today, I'm going to be joined by a maker who is following in the family footsteps wrench in hand. I don't want to give away too much, but this maker is keeping a third generation legacy alive one mile at a time. So if that doesn't make you want to stick around and hear more, then you might be at the wrong podcast.. But first, let's go ahead and have our tech talk of the day. So we're going to be talking all about the Hemmings Great Race and the components that keep our Fairlane empowered through every mile. So shout out to Quick Performance, who supplied a complete eight inch rear center section and a brand new third member for the Fairlane. But let's back it up. Where did rear differentials get their start? Now, the differential was first patented in 1827 by French engineer, Onesifer Pécure. Say that three times fast, I dare ya. Now, this design allowed wheels to rotate at different speeds while turning. In a car, the rear diff takes rotational force from the drive shaft and it splits it between the wheels. This is especially important in corners where one tire travels a longer arc than the others. Classic cars like our 66 Fairlane often use removable third-member designs, where the gears and carrier are pre-assembled and bolted into the housing, making it easier to swap ratios or to service it. Upgrading your center section can improve traction, durability, and can drastically change off-the-line performance, especially with a limited slip or locker setup. Quick Performance builds bulletproof driveline components for race, drag, and street builds, and ours? ready to carry us from Minnesota to South Carolina and beyond.

Tamara Robertson:

Well, that's it for your Tech Talk. As always, you can join in on the conversation with my maker friends and me on the Tinkering Bells Instagram and X pages. Just search for Belles Tinkering, hit follow, and share your DIY adventures together with us. Have a tool you want to learn about? Let me know, and it may be featured in a future episode. Tell us what you liked, what you hated, or possibly even what we missed.

Tamara Robertson:

So now we're going to be getting into the main event and I'm so excited to introduce you to our next maker. So drum roll, please present Ashley. Ashley, thanks for joining me. How are you?

Ashley:

Great. Thanks for having me.

Tamara Robertson:

I'm so excited to talk today. I love to start out by letting the audience know where can they find you, follow you, and what can they expect to see when they go there?

Ashley:

Well, you can follow me on Instagram and YouTube. I'm also on Facebook. My Instagram handle is underscore rustic underscore beauty. And YouTube is just rustic underscore beauty. And the Facebook is kind of just tagged along on each of those accounts. You can find it there. And you just find all my... car shenanigans, my restoration of my Torino, my constant struggles with my station wagon and just all of the in-between.

Tamara Robertson:

We have not met in person yet. We've been hanging out a lot in the chat on Instagram as Riley has been assembling us. But one of the things that I love as a superhero scientist is people's origin stories. So can you share with the audience where you got your gearhead start and why you stay in it today?

Ashley:

Well, it starts at the beginning. I've always loved classic cars. Being a kid, seeing them pass by on the road, I just thought they looked so cool. They're all shiny, the chrome, the bright colors. I've just always loved it. And so when I found out my dad had one... I thought that was the coolest thing ever, and I knew one day I wanted to fix it. I was like five years old, and so I just always had that passion deep down. Never really had much of an opportunity to pursue it. However, several years ago at a car show, I was talking with my aunt and uncle, and he's a big Ford guy, and I told him about my dad's car, and he told me to bring it up. He said, just bring it to the shop. We'll look at it and see if we can get it running, and I It turned into a whole ground-up restoration project, and that kind of fueled my fire, and I just knew that's what I wanted to do. So that's what I do. I like to restore. I just work on that. I had a job in a restoration shop. I learned a bunch that way, and it's just so much fun, so that's pretty much it. how it all started.

Tamara Robertson:

And you sent me a picture of you and a shop cat. So can, tell me, tell me about your fur baby. Tell me about your little shop mates.

Ashley:

Yes, there's one main shop cat and then there's one that occasionally lurks as well. But the main, the main homie, he's, his name is Rebel and he worked, he just kind of patrols my uncle's diesel shop. And he's just the best. He's a cat that behaves like a dog. He's just your best friend. You just go up to him, just pet him, ruffle his fur. He's just great. He's the best.

Tamara Robertson:

I love that is he in there like supervising you while you're like in the hood

Ashley:

oh yeah no matter what yeah no matter where you are he will find you and he will get all in your way it's like there's there's some reels like where I'll just be like under the car I'll be wrenching on something or I'll be trying to focus and he just comes up and he's just like all over the place like you can't get anything done unless you feed him then he's distracted for a little bit but then he'll come find you

Tamara Robertson:

Love it. Well, you got to have a friend in the job for sure. So you actually sent me some really fun photos before the interview today. And I'll of course, guys, remember, I include those in the show notes. So go over there, you'll find the links to Ashley's pages as well as these photos. There is actually two that really stood out to me. One is this guy that has this excellent flock of seagulls hair. And then the other is this like adorable little dapper guy. Like who, who are those two?

Ashley:

That would be my dad. The, the one that I think you're talking about is in Clemson. He had the car that was his, really his daily driver in high school and college. He drove that Torino around and that was a picture of him with the Clemson license plate. It just, classic and then the other picture is him as a little boy on Easter Sunday he was posing next to the Torino and I love that picture but yeah that's him back in the day, because it was his dad's car originally. So my grandpa bought it in 69, only a year used. It's a 68, so he bought it pretty much new, and it's just been in the family ever since.

Tamara Robertson:

The Grand Tarino has actually been, you're the third generation to have it.

Ashley:

Yep.

Tamara Robertson:

That's, see, and that's so amazing. That's what I love about vintage vehicles, right, is that each one not only has the story of their build and the timeframe and era they came from, but then they have the story of those that have had their adventures in them. So to see this three-generation car now be in your hands, it's so exciting. Is there a favorite adventure that you know that it's been on that you want to share with the audience?

Ashley:

Well, some of them, I don't know, are podcast-friendly.

Tamara Robertson:

Those are my favorite. We should definitely answer.

Ashley:

Well, I guess the first ever story was when my grandpa was buying it. It was really cold it was either in Illinois or Indiana that they were purchasing it, but they needed a new car. And he just said he was going to buy the first one on the lot that started. And so he just went down the line trying to start all the cars. Cause I think it was like maybe minus two degrees. And that one was the first one that started and he said, all right, I'll buy it. And so that's, I thought that was a pretty cool story that that's how we ended up with that

Tamara Robertson:

That is such a practical reason to buy it, too, right? Because when you look at vehicles, it's always the question of, like, are they going to start? Can they get through this weather? You know, I just moved from Arizona, and I tell everyone, like, I've had my Honda Element since I graduated college. She could have gone to college by now. And, like, 20 and a half years I spent in Arizona put more age on her than anything. else that I've ever lived. And she's lived in North Carolina, South Carolina, California. Now, now she's in Ohio, but like she aged so drastically because of the heat. So it's like to think about like, Hey, I'm going to get up on a freezing frigid morning and I want my vehicle to start so I can go like, it's just so brilliant to have had that. Yes.

Ashley:

Yeah.

Tamara Robertson:

Is that something when you're, when you're looking at it now, like, does it still, does it just start right up even if it's cold or hot?

Ashley:

Pretty much. Yeah. I haven't really had many issues with it during the restoration process. It ran, it had been sitting since probably late nineties and it was 2022 or one that I like started, they pulled it up to a shop and we started working on it from day one and it started. So it never really died. It just needed some love, but it, it always starts up for me.

Tamara Robertson:

Speaking of vintage cars, we are going to be coming together for the Hemings great race. Had you ever heard of the race, you know, having older cars, had you ever thought about competing in it? I know for me, I knew of it because of the list and Jessi, but beyond that, I had never even thought about joining.

Ashley:

Me either. I've always kind of heard of it, you know, just watching Motor Trend TV or just like seeing ads for it in the Hemmings Motor News. And it always just looks really cool, but it looked like something way like, oh, that's something I could never do, you know? And, you know, I've done similar things such as Hot Rod Power Tour, but this is a whole new game. Like this is some, this is next level. It's going to be really exciting.

Tamara Robertson:

I'm super stoked. And I actually, I really love the, like, The way that you said that, this doesn't look like something that I could do. And I think it's one of the things that's really brilliant about this team that Riley has assembled to be there is that we are all creators, but we are also all females that are the real deal that can get our hands on these vehicles, work on them, keep them going through the race. And we're bringing our audiences along and showing to them like, hey, if you're like me, you could come and do this. This would be something that you could totally do. Is there something as a creator that you really want to be able to accomplish while you're there at the race?

Ashley:

Kind of just that, you know, when I make content, I always try and be real with it, show the struggles, be honest when I have no idea what I'm doing. And so, you know, like all that, I'm new to this. I've never done a road rally or a race like this. And so I'm just kind of embody that you know like I'm new at this I'm learning you know a lot of us are and that's okay you know everyone's got to do something for the first time and I just kind of want to embody the whole just get out there and do it just try it you know you don't have to be perfect you don't have to be some kind of just genius with navigation and just that's all you study like I just kind of want to show people that they can just get out and do things that when they if they have their mind to it

Tamara Robertson:

I joke that Riley assembled us like the Avengers right for this and for me like I met Riley and gosh in 2023 we were signing autographs at SEMA together and was just so impressed and and everything that she was doing at the time at her age and you know her ambition level everything and so I have to ask like where where did you connect with Riley for the first time?

Ashley:

I actually saw years ago, I think when she was 16, there was a viral video or a post on Facebook and I saw that and it was like 16 year old with her own carburetor rebuild business. And I thought that's, that's pretty cool. That's awesome. And I saw her page, I followed it. And so I've been following her page since when, whenever that was, I'm not sure when that was, but yeah, I just thought that's really cool. I mean, it's a teenage girl and she's doing what we're all doing, just showing young women that they can do this stuff. You know, it's, it's really cool to see. And so that's how I, that's how I found her, but I haven't met her in person either. I don't think I've met anybody on this team in person.

Tamara Robertson:

See that I'm excited Cause like we're all going to come together and it's going to be like this big homecoming. We've just been like becoming a family in the feed and now we get to like, be a family on our own little like adventure road trip together.

Ashley:

I love it.

Tamara Robertson:

I love it too. And so what's really big for me is that we are going to get to represent not only ourselves and each other and Riley rebuilds, but also the Jessi Combs foundation while we're on the road. So we're going to be walking in the tread marks of the, you know, the legacy Jessi Combs herself, and we'll be rocking our dots and the whole vehicle for those that haven't seen it, go to the show notes. There are photos. The whole vehicle is dedicated to the foundation, to Jessi. It's got her signature JC on it. It's going to have the signatures of all the young ladies that are there because one of the things that the foundation loves to remind everyone that's on this race up is that you each are trailblazers in your own mind. But as far as Jessi's concerned, had you ever had a chance to meet her or what was your knowledge of Jessi before joining this

Ashley:

I I never did have a chance to meet her, but I knew of her, and she was just really someone to look up to. She was completely fearless, just put her mind to something and accomplished it, no question asked. If she wanted to do something, she just made it happen, and that was so cool, especially to see as a young woman with interest in the automotive industry. And it was really... She really... did a lot of good in this industry for us younger ladies.

Tamara Robertson:

She did. I mean, young and old, I would tell you all ages, all ages, getting to, getting to know Jessi and speaking at events with her, like getting to hear her interact with fans and, and young people, especially it was always so incredible. And I remember one of the things that she said that like stuck with me that I tried to like start embodying was that like, you know, live fearlessly, but know that it, It doesn't mean not having fear. It means that... in spite of the fear, keep taking those steps, keep going forward. And so I think all of us, you know, I think there's a couple of people on the team that have done a road rally race before a couple motor sports people, but for the most part, we're all brand new to this. And like, we're all learning together. And I know I was like, I don't know if I can do it, but sure. Let me, whatever you need, like Riley, let me know. We'll show up. We'll do it, you know? And so, yeah. I do. I'm pretty excited that we'll get to like be flying the polka dots while we're going.

Ashley:

I love it. It's so

Tamara Robertson:

It really is. And so speaking of special connections and road races, I saw on your channel that you actually got to do your first year at the Hot Rod Power Tour with your grandpa. Can you talk a little bit about that experience?

Ashley:

Yeah, so when I heard of Power Tour, I thought, oh, this is something that we could probably make happen. And so I worked so hard to try and get the Torino ready for it, but the And I was going to go with him. He was pretty much the only one adventurous enough in my family who would be willing to sit with me in an old car with no air conditioning, traveling all that distance. And so he was all on board for it. And the day before, though, our brake booster failed and I could not find a new one in time. But we went anyway. I'm so glad we did. We took his van. He just has a big Econoline conversion van. And we just went the route. And we had so much fun. We met a lot of people. And it was just a really fun experience with him. Just all the old cars. And we just chatted up talking about all the stuff. It brought back memories for him. You know, just seeing all the old cars. He'd see a station wagon. He'd tell a story about... kids just piling up in the back and going on family trips and stuff. And it was just really special.

Tamara Robertson:

Oh, I love that. And it's so cool. Again, those just those stories and the legacy that it builds. Is there anything that, you know, if you could give advice to someone that's looking at doing something like this for the first time, young or old, what would be some advice that that you would offer, you know, for those first getting their start?

Ashley:

Gosh, um, I would have to say just really don't pay attention to the people who say it's not possible because that sounds cliche, but it does happen. You will hear people say like, Oh, that's such a male dominated area. You don't want to work there. You don't want to, you know, your car's going to break down. You're going to be stranded. Like you don't want, you want something reliable. You don't want a project. They're going to tell you all kinds of things, but if you really want to do it, you just have to make it happen. Like don't listen to the negative people. Find people who, like like us how we found each other like find people that you can put in your circle who will motivate you to go in the right directions who will help you find people who you can connect with and just really put the negative stuff behind you because it's there but you just have to just brush it off

Tamara Robertson:

there's there's like a couple of things in there you know the fact that There's going to always be naysayers, right? But like remembering that if they've got the time to be trying to derail you, it means that they're probably not doing much on their own. No. Two, like I always try to tell people, you know, because sometimes it's the adults in our lives that end up trying to say, hey, don't do that. You know, it might not be easy. You know, you might hit a lot of barriers. I try to remind people that like, especially as parents and the leading forces and households, adults tend to know the path that they've walked or they know the paths that their peers have walked. And so they just want the young people in their lives to be successful. They don't want it to be hard for them. They want them to be able to soar. And so sometimes that comes through them sharing their own fears. Right. And so that's just like my mom. Yeah.

Ashley:

She's always nervous for me with the, like, especially with power tour. I was thinking about doing it this year and she just gets so nervous with me and all my projects and stuff. And so she's always been supportive of me, but yeah, She's always like, oh, are you sure you want to do that? Or like, you really don't want to do that. You're going to waste your money on that. Why don't just stay home or get a reliable car? You know, she's not saying it out of negativity. So you have to also account for that. Like you were saying, like a lot of your parents, adult parent figures, they're going to want to protect you and look out for you because they know that. Maybe they knew someone who went down that path, or maybe they went down that path, and they're just like, oh, they just care for you, and you'd have to know the difference, but that's a good point that you made. Yeah.

Tamara Robertson:

Yeah, no. And you know, your mom's saying it out of love. She doesn't want you to be broken down on the side of the highway at night somewhere unsafe, but it doesn't, you know, what's great is that you've got the skills. You can, you know, if you break down, you can get it started back up, you know, or, you know, it's one of those things that, that facing that fear is, leaning into it leaning into the challenge and then like you said with you know that that power tour that you guys weren't able to actually race and like still showing up you know yeah that so much can come of it and especially as you're trying to build community and you're trying to grow in certain industries it's a way to start building that story and adventure and I know absolutely We're facing, we've been facing a lot of trials and tribulations with our fair lane. And to the point that, hey, we've all said, if it ends up being that we're just a tour bus RV full of capable women keeping the Corvette on the road and not running the fair lane, we're still going to have a great time and we're going to show up for the community, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. So is there a vehicle that you're hoping to see while we're out there on the race trail?

Ashley:

I really want to see the oldest one there. I've heard that there's a lot of really old cars that tend to do this race or at least some. And so I really want to see some of these really old ones, like early 1900s cars running that. I think that's so cool.

Tamara Robertson:

I think that would be really neat. I just want to see the technology, like the automotive technology through the ages is just so incredible to see that variation and like seeing some of the older ones would be really really cool i agree for sure i love that so there's one question that i ask every single person that's on the show uh and that is if you had a superpower what would it be and why

Ashley:

oh gosh that's so difficult

Tamara Robertson:

There's so many, right? I know.

Ashley:

Is this just like any scenario?

Tamara Robertson:

It could be dealer's choice. Whatever you want to have, you could have as a superpower

Ashley:

Oh, my gosh. Well, as a kid, I always wanted to fly. That would be a fun superpower. Very versatile superpower. I like that. Help you out if you break down on the road. Just fly somewhere.

Tamara Robertson:

Do you think you would still drive a car, though, if you could fly everywhere? Do you think you would still do it just for the love of the car? Oh,

Ashley:

yeah. I would still drive. I would just use flying for... fun and for emergencies.

Tamara Robertson:

I love it. So everyone, the Hemings Great Race kicks off June 21st in St. Paul, Minnesota, and we'll run all the way until we hit the finish line, hopefully on June 29th in Moorpark, Irmo, South Carolina. Follow us on Instagram to stay up to date with all things Creator Race as we tackle this iconic vintage rally road race one mile at a time. That's it for Tinkering Bells. This episode is assembled and ready for delivery. Thank you so much, Ashley, for being here this has been such a joy absolutely this was so much fun thank you so much i want to thank you for choosing tinkering bells as your user's manual for all things maker on a bi-weekly basis if you want to continue to hear more don't forget to rate and review the show on your podcasting app of choice as well as sharing it with your friends i look forward to seeing you next time until then don't forget to keep making