The Grey NATO – 392 – Thomas Holland III (The Grand Tour, Watches, Alfas, & More)¶
Published on Thu, 24 Sep 2026 06:00:00 -0400
Synopsis¶
This episode of The Grey NATO features hosts James Stacey and Jason Heaton discussing their upcoming Toronto Timepiece show appearances, including a live episode recording, gear swap with RZE, and Marathon party. The main segment features an extended interview with Thomas Holland, co-host of Throttle House YouTube channel, who discusses his experience becoming a presenter on Amazon's rebooted Grand Tour alongside his co-host James and Francis.
Thomas shares behind-the-scenes stories from filming the series, including working with high-performance cars and L-39C fighter jets, the intensive production process, and how different episodes influenced his watch choices (wearing his Speedmaster for racing episodes, Doxa 250 GMT in Angola). The conversation also covers their shared passion for vintage cars, particularly Alfa Romeos, with Jason detailing his work on various models and Thomas discussing nearly purchasing a 1750 GT. They exchange thoughts on watches including the Longines HydroConquest, Marathon's new titanium SAR collaboration with Watches of Espionage, and the Vertex appearance in a new James Bond novel. The episode concludes with final notes about a concerning article on explorer Ranulph Fiennes' whereabouts and a product recommendation for Cerakote's ceramic headlight restoration kit.
Links¶
Show Notes¶
- Toronto Timepiece Show
- RZE Gear Swap RSVP
- Marathon x TGN Hangout RSVP
- “King Zero” Charlie Higson
- Vertex Cal 59 WWW
- Marathon x WOE Titanium SAR LE
- Vertex Bronze 75
- Marathon SSNAV-D
- The Grand Tour 2026
- Throttle House
- James’ L39C Flight
- Longines Hydroconquest Hands-On
- Ming Polymesh
- Gak
- Vertex M60 Aqualion
- WOE 16710 story
- Pressure (Maras, 2026)
- Thomas’ Alfa Romeo GT Junior
- “In The Weeds” - Tom Vitale
- “Heart of Darkness” - Joseph Conrad
- “Where is Sir Ranulph Fiennes” (The Telegraph)
- Cerakote Ceramic Headlight Restoration Kit
Transcript¶
| Speaker | |
|---|---|
| Jason Heaton | Hello and welcome to another episode of the Grey NATO, a loose discussion of travel, adventure, diving, driving, gear, and most certainly watches. This is episode 392, and it's proudly brought to you by our always growing TGN supporter crew. We thank you all so much for your continued support, and if you'd like to support the show, please visit thegreynato.com for more details. My name is Jason Heaton and I'm joined as ever by my friend and co-host, James Stacey. Say, James, uh, do I sound any different today or any better by chance? |
| James Stacey | I would say if you do sound better, Zoom is doing its best to compress it so you just kind of sound uh sound normal. Are you are you in a new recording studio? |
| Jason Heaton | Yes, I I uh I'm very excited to um not excited to be in here because it's rather dark and kind of claustrophobic, but uh yeah, I I um I'm I'm sitting in this uh little t sort of makeshift audio booth that I've set up in my office here, um with some sound deadening blankets uh surrounding me hanging from from hooks up around the ceiling. Um I I set this up for audiobook recording and I thought I would I thought I'd use it for uh for TGN today. We're doing kind of a a shortened version of our recording since you did something with Thomas uh that you recorded last week. But uh yeah, just uh wanted to see if I sounded different. I can't say I'm gonna continue recording in here um as we go forward because it it's a little warm and a little bit kind of claustrophobic. But uh anyway, yeah here I am. |
| James Stacey | Yeah I mean if uh if when when we get to the edit, if it sounds better, I'll I'll certainly let you know if it's something we need to uh you know start operating more more like an audio uh studio here. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, right. But yeah, I'm doing fine. Just kinda |
| James Stacey | getting ready for the Toronto Time Peace show. This is the last episode we'll record beforehand. Uh earlier or I guess late very late last week I I had Thomas into the into the home studio here uh for a solid chat. So we'll get to that in just a few minutes. Uh I guess this is our final warning. Uh Toronto Time Peace shows this coming weekend. If you're listening to this the Thursday it comes out, you've got like thirty six hours to get to Toronto. Uh if if you'd like to be there for the Saturday. So l let's walk through the timeline. Uh all of our kind of event and programming is gonna be on the Saturday itself and that kicks off at noon. So from twelve to one thirty on Saturday, we'll be doing a live episode from the show. Uh so if you get to the show, there's like an amphitheater or a theater um attached to the space at the Meridian Performing Arts Center. And that's where we'll be doing a live show. We're just putting together the details for that, but it should be an absolute blast. Then from two to four o'clock at the Twilight Diner, just around the corner from the Renegan Center, we're going to be doing a gear swap with RZE. Uh so Huey and his team uh have set up an RSVP. I think there's about 40 to 50 people uh planning to come. We'll have some food and some drinks and a ton of gear. I've got a pile here that I will transfer to a vehicle and then carry over in time. It's uh little watch bits and maybe some magazines and some uh maybe a backpack and that sort of thing. So there should be some great gear and a lot of fun that way. And then, of course, if you're looking for something to do Saturday evening, we have our Marathon XTGN annual hangout. It's a big party. We're uh just hitting triple digits for RSVP, so I think it's going to be very busy. Uh, but by all means, uh both the RSVP for the RZE gear swap, that's two to four, and the marathon party, which starts at seven p.m. and is downtown. Both of those RSVPs are in the show notes. So please jump in there. We would love to see you at both either, and certainly the more the merrier in terms of having an audience at the uh at the live taping, and of course, that will be uh next week's episode will be our potluck from the fair. That's everything. I mean, I'm looking forward to seeing you. We're like a forty-eight hours away from you landing here, and uh and I believe the current plan is to go |
| Jason Heaton | straight from airport. STS, straight |
| James Stacey | to sushi. I like it. Um I've definitely done landed in Geneva and took the Uber directly to my favorite uh like kebab spot. Uh so this is sort of the same sort of vibe. we'll toss your luggage in in the van and get over to to get some sushi before we start. Uh what what's gonna be, I think, a really fun Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and then on Monday, I head to San Diego for a thing with Tutor, which I'm very excited about. But uh it's gonna be a busy, you know, week or so of uh of kind of running around and doing all sorts of stuff. Have you been up to much aside from audiobook recording? |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, I've been doing a couple chapters a day, you know, I've just found that that kind of reading straight chapters is very different from doing the podcast recording. I don't know, I just I find my my voice is only good for about two chapters at a time and uh also kind of sitting in this small booth uh gets a bit old after a while. But um yeah, that's going well. And you know, I other than that, I um uh Christy's daughter's in town here and she has this uh this uh generation two Prius that that she drives and and she's she's got it here and it it had some work that needed to be done. And I've I'm I have to say I've I've become uh inexplicably a bit of a Prius whisperer. Uh you know, for someone who has kind of prided myself on driving old vehicles and kind of my my allegiance to Land Rovers and that sort of thing, i it is kind of funny how how Prius has become so central in my life. I mean our kind of daily driver is an eighteen Prius and then um I've done a fair bit of work on a twenty fourteen Prius, replaced both bumpers and uh done a fair share of kind of oil changes on that. And then now this two thousand and nine Prius had a cracked infotainment screen, so I swapped that out. I actually got it off Vbay and and replaced that. And then uh this past weekend I put in a catalytic converter shield um underneath the car, which was a bit of a challenge given the low ground clearance of the of the Prius. I jacked it up and kind of shimmied under there. But uh yeah, just some some car shenanigans and uh just um you know I've got like you said, forty eight hours from my arrival there and so I'm I'm gonna be packing and I've got a a few pieces of gear I wanna take, but it's uh I'm kinda trying to balance that with carry on luggage only and um |
| Thomas Holland | how much I how much I wanna take and what to what |
| Jason Heaton | to pull out. I've got a couple of items though. So I'm I'm looking forward to it. |
| James Stacey | I'm I'm so excited. Uh you know, we've got uh Ken Lamb comes in tomorrow. Uh so uh providing he he gets through the airport security and and customs and all that kind of stuff in time and I'm not asleep. I'll go pick 'em up uh tomorrow evening. And we got Kelly Murphy coming up with a uh uh as much beer as he is legally allowed to bring over the border. We're gonna supplement a little bit with some local stuff here because there's some limitations, of course. |
| Jason Heaton | Wow. Uh for that sort of thing. But uh it's |
| James Stacey | it there's a little bit of a pilgrimage of folks coming this way. Uh I'm very excited for it, uh, both you and uh and and several others. And I think it's gonna be a fun show. I'm just starting to work on the list of who we're gonna ask to do, you know, five, ten minutes on stage uh to to cover the hour and then we'll do some QA, uh, which should be a lot of fun and make for a great episode. But look, we've got uh we have actually a couple things to talk about before we get to the the kind of extended chat with Thomas. The first one, you you want to get into the marathon stuff or the vertex stuff? Two kind of favorite brands both kind of having a moment this week. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, I can I can cover the vertex uh story here. real quick I just actually learned about this this morning. Don Cochran, the shout-out Don owner, I guess the current steward of of Vertex, uh whose great grandfather was the founder of the brand, um and we've had him on TGN, it was a few years ago. Might be time to get Don back on, by the way. He reached out to me this morning, and and I I could just tell his excitement through his WhatsApp message, um, and rightly so. He had found out that uh there's a new 0007 continuation novel that's coming out shortly, I think like within the week in the UK and in November here in the US, called King Zero, written by Charlie Higson, and Charlie Higson is an author who's written a whole series of what are called young Bond novels, and this is his first um continuation novel um for a 007 as a as an actual adult uh secret agent. Anyway, um he wears a vertex in the book. |
| James Stacey | Oh, right. And Don |
| Jason Heaton | is um rightly very excited. And he actually wasn't approached by this ahead of time. He kind of found out, you know, kind of after the fact. And so he's written up a bit of a press release and that'll be you know, we'll put a link on our show notes. He's said he's gonna put something up on their website. But uh the the the watch in question is actually a a vintage caliber fifty nine, which was that kind of the dirty dozen watch that that uh UK troops were wearing during World War Two and and Bond kind of wakes up in the morning and glances at his bedside table and and uh there's the watch uh sitting on um on the bedside cabinet. And it it goes into some detail about what it is. It says the watch was a slightly battered caliber fifty-nine WWW navigation nut navigation model with a small crack in the glass. Uh that's the actual wording from the book. So um very cool. Congratulations to Don. And uh I think Vertex is such a fitting choice for for some version of James Bond. I'm not sure if it'd be kind of a vintage version or a modern one with uh a nostalgic streak, but uh very cool. |
| James Stacey | Yeah, that's great. Congrats to uh to Don and the team at Vertex for that. That's very cool. and yet another Bond book to get into, I guess. It's uh it's hard to keep talking about this on on a recent one. Um, about uh getting into some of the other sort of bond uh novels that are out there. Uh so there's certainly plenty. On the other side of the equation with Marathon, uh, we have a new collaboration between Marathon and our buddies at Watches of Espionage. And I mean, I don't I don't want to get ahead of myself. I haven't seen this in person, but it's a titanium SAR. I just if if there's a watch that would be incredible to have in titanium, this is a fairly large, burly, like true tool watch. Um, nice and thick with that great bezel. Uh I just think titanium makes so much sense for this. Uh and I think the watch looks awesome. Um did you get a peek at this? Yeah, |
| Jason Heaton | I've been s I've been reading up on it this morning. I mean, um Watches Vespionage sends out their dispatch and that just arrived in my inbox shortly before we started recording. So I read kind of the background of the development of it and kind of some of the the elements that they collaborated with Marathon to to include. And it looks great. And I, you know, I think it was written somewhere, I can't remember where, but um that you know, it's actually surprising that Marathon didn't have a titanium watch. I I had kind of assumed they did as well and I I think the SAR is the the perfect use for titanium because you know, I have an O SAR um Arctic dial that that I got in back in California earlier this year and I'll be wearing that um this weekend in Toronto. And you know, great watch. It's actually very comfortable, despite its kind of heft. But titanium is just would just make it so much better. I mean, just such a wearable piece. So I can't wait to check one of those out. |
| James Stacey | Yeah, I think this will be this will be good. I think they've teased it. I think it was on the video that went out this past weekend as well. And yeah, the watch will officially go on sale the same day this episode comes out. So if you didn't know about it, this probably isn't the right venue to find out about it in time, as they're only making two hundred pieces. It's selling for 2250. Um, and that includes like an SW200 2B, so that's the the no date um version of the SW200 with the upgrade of power reserve, which is a nice kind of addition. And then it's grade five titanium 41 by 14 millimeters, uh, 300 meter water resistance. This is the the sort of dial design that doesn't use the tritium tubes. It's kind of standard loom, uh, which they kind of operate the the two different versions uh in the marathon stuff and then the cool thing is that they're they've also come out and said that uh this le won't be the end of that there will be a standard production titanium SAR moving forward uh with the tritium tube so. I'm I'm excited to see kind of how those two versions kind of complement each other in the future. I think that's slated for like October. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. And um and hats off to to watches of espionage and to marathon for kind of t letting people know that there will be a a future version in titanium in case like you're not you know into LEs or they get sold out right away. You don't you don't miss out. But uh |
| James Stacey | Yeah, two hundred's not a ton of pieces for that community. |
| Jason Heaton | The tritium tubes um as opposed to kind of the the painted you know luminova uh loom, I think we'll we'll set enough of a difference between the two that but uh yeah, titanium cased uh marathon is just uh it's such exciting news. That's great. |
| James Stacey | Yeah, I'll I'll be excited if there's one. I maybe there won't be because there's so limited, but it'd be cool to see one in Toronto this weekend. I'm not sure what marathon we'll have. |
| Jason Heaton | True. But if we get a chance, we can you know talk about |
| James Stacey | it uh on a future episode. Um with that in mind, you wanna jump into some coordinated risk check? |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, we really came proper here. Um I was actually wearing my my Arctic SAR um to until until Don wrote with with his news about vertex and the Bond novel. Um so I pulled out my bronze 75, which is the the bronze cased version of the M100. Actually, it's a this is a hand wound uh watch that was released um to commemorate the uh 75th anniversary of VE Day and the end of World War II in Europe. It's a piece that's that's picking up some patina on the bronze. Uh I've had it for gosh six years now. And um I don't wear it a ton. I used to wear it quite a bit, and so it's uh getting kind of the a that dullness that that bronze tends to get. So I'm um pretty excited to have it on my wrist again. It's been a while. |
| James Stacey | That's a good one for sure. And then uh in a in like I said, in a weirdly coordinated, I knew we were gonna be talking about the WE uh marathon piece and, then of course I'm kind of trying to pick the right strap for this coming weekend. I'm I'm on a gray NATO currently, but I'm wearing my SS Nav D, the marathon uh navigator, uh, which I really love. And it continues to be one of those watches that I set all my other watches against. |
| Jason Heaton | I picked it up today and just glanced at |
| James Stacey | you know at the atomic time in the top right of my computer and it was to the second. |
| Jason Heaton | Wow. Uh which is nice to |
| James Stacey | have. Uh it's just a very, you know, sort of easy to wear and and with the 12-hour bezel uh tantans currently in um Bangkok for Bangkok Watch Week. So I wanted to try and have some idea of what time of day I might be slacking him about that sort of thing. And uh and the nice thing with that is you can do the the two time zones with the bezel as well. So with a little vertex, a little marathon, all pretty coordinated uh so far. But how about we jump into this tape with uh with Thomas? I I do the intro and the rest of it uh in in the room, uh so to speak. But uh Thomas Holland, this is the third time he's been on the show. You want to get into it? |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, let's do it. All |
| Thomas Holland | right, Thomas, this is your third outing on the |
| James Stacey | Green NATO. I appreciate you uh bring making your way all the way to the home studio here. I literally lay in wait waiting for my next opportunity to come on this show. So uh it's a delight as always to to see you in general. Uh we're looking forward to a good lunch after this, which I'm very excited about. I am |
| Thomas Holland | too, actually. Taking you to Jason's uh sushi |
| James Stacey | spot. Oh, is that what it is? yeah. Okay. |
| Thomas Holland | Okay. I'm excited. Um but yeah, man, |
| James Stacey | it's been uh let's let's double check the notes here. Episode two eighty two was Thomas Holland two. Okay. Thomas |
| Thomas Holland | Holland two is that that was the sequel. Yeah. And this is |
| James Stacey | Thomas Holland three. you're in a very rare group of three Pete's. I think it's you and Cole. |
| Thomas Holland | Okay. Nice. At this point. Yeah. Consider |
| James Stacey | myself honored. Yeah, I think it's the right right people to to have on that many times. Um obviously two hundred eighty-two, that's quite a quite a stretch of time ago. Yes. And a lot has changed for you in that in that period of time. There'll be people listening uh to this episode that didn't hear two eighty two and don't have the background but recognize your name from you know what Amazon's number one or number two most popular show |
| Thomas Holland | depending on what region you select |
| Thomas Holland | and whether or not you are looking within |
| James Stacey | TV shows or all things on Prime. until we do Alan Richardson three. I'm not w I'm not gonna worry about it. Stupid Alan Richardson. He's |
| Thomas Holland | just the one he's the one guy that's |
| James Stacey | been beating us all the way through the whole basically You have to have him on the on an episode. Hundred percent. Put him in a tiny car. Hundred |
| Thomas Holland | per he wouldn't he wouldn't put him |
| James Stacey | in the K truck. Yeah, no, it would be interesting. |
| Thomas Holland | he's even bigger than he was before. Like if you've seen him in the most recent series, it's just completely |
| James Stacey | oh yeah. No, he's he's a he's a brick |
| Thomas Holland | host for sure. He is absolutely huge, but |
| James Stacey | also he's been able to make a brand on it, which I respect. |
| Thomas Holland | Yeah. in a way that like feels like it |
| James Stacey | hasn't really been a thing. I feel like that idea peaked with like Predator. Yeah just put five of the big guys in the jungle. Yep. And it's working for him. It's working really well. It really is. Yeah. Good for him. Speaking of working really well, the series rip. I absolutely love it. Did you like |
| Jason Heaton | it? Loved it. Okay. That's good. That's a relief. |
| James Stacey | I sent you so many text messages and so many times you were like you were got back to me, and then 10 seconds later I on was Instagram and you were like at a premiere and I was like, He shouldn't have been responding. No, a hundred percent. You went to what, thirty five hundred premieres in two weeks? I I |
| Thomas Holland | went to so many things. Um it was actually a complete |
| James Stacey | blur. They kind of just whisked |
| Thomas Holland | us around and kept plopping us on couches and say talk to this person. And a lot of it was like some |
| James Stacey | of it was a regional radio |
| Thomas Holland | in the UK from an area of the UK I didn't even know existed. Sure. Right? So I got really good at doing the same jokes over and over again basically. Of course. But uh but no it it was fun. It was a it was an absolutely once in a lifetime experience. Um and I don't I don't know if there is a series two, God willing, that they would do that level of press thing again. Maybe they would, I don't. Yeah, |
| James Stacey | I don't know. But it was it was really, really nuts. |
| Thomas Holland | It was the whole thing was just nonstop. Well |
| James Stacey | that's great. And on the extreme off chance that you |
| Thomas Holland | don't know if you're listening and you don't know who I'm talking to, |
| James Stacey | Thomas Holland is one half of the |
| Thomas Holland | uh presenting group of Throttle House, |
| James Stacey | one of the best YouTube channels on cars. Uh, |
| Thomas Holland | he's been on the show a couple times before. Uh, we become buddies over the last few years. And then about what, a year and a half ago, |
| James Stacey | you told me, Oh, by the way, |
| Thomas Holland | uh, looks like I'm at least in contention to |
| James Stacey | be one of the hosts of the relaunch |
| Thomas Holland | of the Grand Tour on Amazon. Yes. Which is like a that's a big sentence. That was it it took a while to say actually, but yes, it was a big sentence and it was a big deal and it was a it was a kind of a a a long process of it sinking in, or I suppose me coming to the understanding and realization that this was something that I was gonna do. And I still now, after all of it is said and done, the first series is out there and people seem to like it. Still don't really believe it's not real. It's not real. Sure. Yeah, I just did a video game for the last year and a half. Actually it was longer than that. If you include like the chemistry testing and all that, it's it's been years, years and years, first six episodes. So I'm glad that people seem to be enjoying them. Yeah. Yeah. It |
| James Stacey | must be weird because every now and then |
| Thomas Holland | all you know in my line of work with watches all work with another outlet and see the pace at which they work to do |
| James Stacey | what they do. Mm-hmm. And to go from YouTube |
| Thomas Holland | where I mean there was definitely an error where you guys were what every ten days you had a video, at least maybe a little |
| James Stacey | bit faster than that, even though 100%. |
| Thomas Holland | To go from that to being like, all right, so for the next like year and a half, we're gonna do six episodes and largely filmed in a linear fashion? Uh ish. Ish. Yeah. Yeah. It was uh it was an adjustment because the the process of creating an hour of television is actually whatever you're thinking, whatever you're picturing, it's bigger. Like it's bigger, it's longer, it's it's more intense, there's more people involved. and in some ways that was a blessing because then you've got so many other people that are able to go, okay, I can deal with this bit, I can deal with this bit. All you have to do is think about those words that are coming out of your mouth. But at the same time, obviously James and I on Throttle House are we do everything in terms of like the editorial, right? And we work very closely with our team of a few very talented people. And like as a crew, we can just kind of like knock stuff out. So James and I are coming from this world of going like we have an idea in our head and we will see people's reactions to it within a couple weeks. Oh, sure. Or a week even. Right. And so to go from this idea where we're like coming up with this whatever this joke or this bit or this thing we want to do and we realize people aren't gonna see this for like a year or more or more. It's like it's almost I had to like come to terms with it. I guess instant gratification is what's happened so far in my life. Yeah, for sure. And knowing you the way that I know you, I think you'll understand the way that I would say this, the stakes are very different. You guys could probably there are mistakes you could make that would |
| James Stacey | spoil Throttle House. Yeah. And we've |
| Thomas Holland | watched a few YouTube channels do that in the last year. So it's it's a that is a real risk |
| James Stacey | in terms of the way that audiences |
| Thomas Holland | are and the way they attach to authenticity today. But it's a different stake to take |
| James Stacey | you know, the the lineage of Top |
| Thomas Holland | Gear and then the Grand Tour and be the ones kind of charged with like doing it again. Yes. was there had to have been and I I'm leading |
| James Stacey | this question 'cause I've listened to the thirty five other interviews |
| Thomas Holland | you've given in the last 10 days or whatever. But there has to be a piece of you that was like, I just why would I say yes to this? Things are good. We have a we have one of the best YouTube |
| James Stacey | channels in the world. We have an incredible audience that really likes what we do and understands us. |
| Thomas Holland | I'm not sure it was a piece as much as it was sixty to seventy percent of my entire being. Um yeah, it was it was definitely a a conversation that I had to have with myself. Sure. To go well, because that sh that show with Clarkson Hammond and May, Top Gear or Grand Tour. |
| James Stacey | Yeah. I suppose in s |
| Thomas Holland | many ways meant so much to me in my life, and the way that it influenced me, and the way that it influenced everyone in my world of the car world to go, do I wanna be the one that might screw that up? Right? It's it was a very scary prospect to actually sit there and go, I currently have something that I that I'm uh doing well with. Yes. Right. And so so doing this, is this is this a bad idea? Is this is this something that I should do? And I remember telling James about that and he's like, but what if we just gave it a |
| James Stacey | go? Yeah. And I |
| Thomas Holland | was like, okay, I will give it a go. Of course, the sentence giving it a go means, okay, every single thing that I've known in my life has to come together to I have every skill or piece of knowledge I have has to be tapped into to be able to give this the best shot that it has. And I think that's I think that's what we did, given the limitations of you know how challenging it is to actually make a TV show. It was definitely a it was definitely a challenge that I enjoyed overall. And my only the only thing I cared about was making sure that I was making a show that if I wasn't on it, I've said this before, you've probably heard this in that if I wasn't on it, I'd be comfortable watching. Sure. |
| James Stacey | Yeah, of course. Right. Because we've seen |
| Thomas Holland | how this can go before. That was that was where I |
| James Stacey | was gonna go. Yeah. Is like, you know, we we saw people, talented people take a stab at it. Yeah. Obviously in a in a world where the idea was bad. |
| Thomas Holland | Yep. Nine hosts or whatever maybe |
| James Stacey | wasn't the right choice. There were two or three people on there that absolutely could have, if given the space and time in the world to create and play in the sandbox that wasn't just Clarkson Hammond and Mays, yep. Could have done it and have gone on to continually make great stuff. Yep. So it's not a lack it's not for lack of talent, which would be the part that would terrify me maybe the most. Yeah. Because I could talk myself into like, oh, it's an insurmountable task or or that sort of thing, but I would go, you know, I have this opinion of my own talent, and I've watched people who I respect not clear the bar. |
| Thomas Holland | Yeah. With the audience. To Amazon's credit and to Studio Lambert's credit and all the people involved, they gave us enough room. Sure. I think I think you can feel it. to to allow us to be, especially Francis, to allow him to be who he is. We'll |
| James Stacey | get to Francis. yeah. Francis is is |
| Thomas Holland | is a s he needs this whole conversation. But it I I think also uh Jeremy said something way back before that even started casting was that you you can't get celebrities that just like cars, you have to get, you know, car people. |
| James Stacey | Yeah. Who can do some presenting, |
| Thomas Holland | right? And I guess that we fell under that category, luckily. Sure. Uh I again though, I don't I don't really know uh the w what what uh what the qualifications are in terms of where it blends between a person who is a celebrity who likes cars and a person. All I know is that James and I live and breathe cars and it's the only thing that we do, really. Like every day, if we're on the phone, which is every day, we have a conversation about cars first before we do any business. And we usually end up doing no business and talk about cars only. same with talking to you, right? We talk about cars all the time. |
| James Stacey | yeah. So the only thing we knew |
| Thomas Holland | how to do was just share our interest in it. And so it's not it again, it's not like we set out to do anything particularly. We just we're like, here's who we are. Yeah. Hopefully you enjoy it. Yeah. I mean |
| James Stacey | it's personal it's it's enthusiasm and personality and celebrity. And there's probably in that triangle you need someone that's not fully into only one edge. I |
| Thomas Holland | guess so, yeah. Yeah. But you know, |
| James Stacey | in the in the and we we I'm sure we can't name names, but in the sort of chemistry testing, there were people that were brought in that were very deep into the celebrity triangle part of that triangle. Sure. Yeah. Or that layout. Yep. And of course, like didn't work. or maybe the celebrity was even more just in the influencer space. |
| Thomas Holland | Yeah. I I think so we we did test with a ton of different people from all i avenues and aspects and areas that you can imagine, right? |
| James Stacey | Yeah. And I |
| Thomas Holland | think uh what Amazon was doing was they wanted a sample of every possibility just to see what would work. |
| Thomas Holland | And I think that they were, we were, James |
| Thomas Holland | and I were kind of we weren't in every single chemistry test, but we were there from very, very early stages and we were at almost all of the big tests to the point where eventually it occurred to us, I think they're probably considering the two of us and they're trying to find somebody who's gonna fit with us because we did one day where we tested with a ton of different people where we kept having to go into a room and do some different kind of bits with different people and we kept get getting called every time. So we're like, huh, okay. It went from there. we've been joking for a while that no one actually ever told us that we got the job. Yeah, |
| James Stacey | have we got a job? Which is which is pretty much true to be |
| Thomas Holland | perfectly honest, right? There was never a moment where we got an email or a call or like you guys got it. It was never that. And what they wanted to do and sharing our ideas for editorial. We are only half joking when we say we were in Malaysia filming the first or episode two, going like, I guess we've got the job. Like it just kind of dawned on us, right? Um, yeah, because no one ever told us. I I think again, the reason that they didn't is because it it almost is a little bit too scary. There, they're worried that we're gonna just implode if they're like, hey, guess what? You have to succeed Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. Good luck. Off you go. Go film a film. That just wouldn't work, I don't |
| James Stacey | think. Fair enough. Uh I'm sure that those folks know what they were doing. and was there any like specific elements? I'm sure Francis weighs in in into this, and perhaps the fact that Wilman is is involved. Were there like a specific element where you go, like, as long as I have this, or like now that we've cleared this hurdle and this hurdle, I feel like I have the pieces to put it all together. To actually make the show you mean. Yeah. |
| Thomas Holland | Hmm. That's a good question. Not necessarily. It was 'cause you got the |
| James Stacey | obviously the very public, but I'm sure also very private sign-offs from the classic three. Yep. Which is nice to have. |
| Thomas Holland | Yeah. Um it you know, in in You |
| James Stacey | mean you mean was there a moment where I realized that |
| Thomas Holland | that I wanted to do this or I was uh where you were like, |
| James Stacey | no, we have what like now we've got we've got |
| Thomas Holland | the tools. You've you know, like it's that scene in |
| James Stacey | a movie where you you've got your driver, you've got the gun the gun man, you've got the the you know the holdup man, the bank, the safe cracker, you've got enough to get the job done. |
| Thomas Holland | The moment there was a moment, and the moment was the first time we tested with Francis. Literally up until that moment, James and I were going, I don't know about this. Like if like of all the people we've tested with, if some of the people were absolutely brilliant, we still had that feeling of this is gonna be hard. Yeah. Like and it's gonna take some practice and figuring out. And then Francis arrived, and for whatever reason, he just he filled that gap between us. Um and you if you watch James and I on Throttle House, you might think that there is no gap, right? Metaphorically and audibly, because we talk over each other constantly, right? And for some reason, Francis just he just fit. And I think that it it is because he is egoless, right? He has no he has no sense of trying to dominate a scene or a conversation. He just is who he is. So he just fits. And it it it it just clicked in that moment where we were like, Okay, yep, we're gonna do this and it's we have a chance of making this work. |
| James Stacey | Yep. I mean for me the novel element of the show and and for Sarah as well, uh, was Francis. Yeah. Obviously I've watched |
| Thomas Holland | every YouTube video you've made for years and years and years. And to |
| James Stacey | watch him, he is just a delight on screen. |
| Thomas Holland | He wears to say it. He wears his heart in his sleeve. Like he he's first of all, he's hilarious. He is. He has it the most unique sense of humor I've ever seen. Um we this was probably never televised or no one's seen it here, but we were at the national television awards because we gave an award for the category that Clarkson's Farm won. And they're like, all right, you've got a couple minutes uh or not sorry, a couple seconds on stage before you have to start reading out the categories or whatever it is, right? And we're like, we we're supposed to they would they're like they're like do a bit go. |
| James Stacey | We're like do a bit. there's like millions |
| Thomas Holland | of people watching this. This is a stadium filled with people. We're like, they're like, do a bit. We go no warning. And then Francis out of nowhere says, I'm going to ask |
| James Stacey | people if they've tried the new |
| Thomas Holland | seventy-six number plates on their cars yet. |
| James Stacey | And we're like, what? |
| Thomas Holland | So he goes on stage and |
| Thomas Holland | and he announces that the seventy-six number plates |
| Thomas Holland | have been released in the UK. And he said, and could I s have any cheers if anyone's seen a seventy-six number plate or |
| James Stacey | has one on their car? And he like pauses |
| Thomas Holland | and nobody said anything, obviously, because nobody |
| Thomas Holland | cares or even thought about this. And it in that |
| James Stacey | moment in the the televised version of it cut |
| Thomas Holland | to Jeremy and he pulls the biggest like |
| James Stacey | head and hands, like smile, laugh, |
| Thomas Holland | shake his head you've ever seen. It was just the most perfect moment. |
| James Stacey | And then is I well, no, because he knew exactly what |
| Thomas Holland | was gonna happen. It's gonna be a hilarious pause. And then I was gonna look at him and I was gonna say, anyway, the nominations for right and and then deliver the thing, right? And just his timing and sense of humor, he knows he knows it. He's brilliant. And then all the other times he is just authentically who he is. So you just you just see the real Francis. When there is a train present, it's awesome. It is real. It is absolutely real. And the same thing. One time we were on the highway and he disappeared because he was listening this is in America. He was listening to the Jake Break of a transport truck downshift down a hill with his window open. We're supposed to be like filming some drive bys on the highway and where does where the hell did Francis go? Radio and Francis, where are you? And he he radios back on the radio and you hear the is that is it the Jake break of the trucks going down the hill. He was just giggling, listening to the sound of the engine. Sure. And that and that is that is just who he is. He just absolutely loves machines to a degree I've never seen before. So is |
| James Stacey | he into watches? He I don't |
| Thomas Holland | I don't think he's. I saw him wearing something vintage once. I didn't catch what it was, but he has a good fashion sense, Francis. He did some modeling before um he was really big in trains, or actually right when he started to be big in trains. And uh so he he has a he has I think a bizarre but unique fashion sense. He seems to know things. I sent him pictures of the pants that I was wearing to the premiere. I was like, did these work? And he's like, Yeah. |
| James Stacey | I was like, good enough for me. That's |
| Thomas Holland | great. Yeah. Well look well, we can jump into the watches, |
| James Stacey | but uh I have a much more important question. What do you |
| Thomas Holland | think of the coffee? so this is the coffee |
| Thomas Holland | that I heard you're talking about before. This is with the with the uh coconut water. Yeah and espresso. And you know what? I like it. |
| James Stacey | Yeah. Yeah. It's weird. Super weird. |
| Thomas Holland | It's different. It's almost chewy. Yeah, that's a good word. |
| James Stacey | Chewy cotton. And there's almost like |
| Thomas Holland | a there's like a bit of sweetness. Yeah. But not so much that is overpowering. |
| James Stacey | Well, I I always find coconut water you drink |
| Thomas Holland | it and your mouth expects the sweetness to |
| James Stacey | continue all the way across your tongue. Yeah. And it just disappears. Yeah. No, |
| Thomas Holland | I know. Yeah. It's very strange, but I I'm I'm hooked |
| James Stacey | on it. It is honestly quite good. I really enjoy |
| Thomas Holland | it. I'm drinking it right now. And it's one of those things that |
| James Stacey | I get to if by drinking it, I get to |
| Thomas Holland | presume the posture of somebody who's being healthy. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, 100%. Yeah, you're LARPing health lifestyle for sure. It's like carrying around a gun that doesn't have any bullets in it. Just for show. |
| James Stacey | But yeah, so so that's good. But um I'm |
| Thomas Holland | I'm glad you're enjoying it. I I uh I look forward |
| James Stacey | to uh many more cups of this over the next little while. But um look for |
| Thomas Holland | watches, there were several throughout the season. Uh there was been a very fun uh series of threads on |
| James Stacey | the TGN Slack of people finding the watch and |
| Thomas Holland | then obviously finding a very certain watch set to the bezel in a certain way. Yeah. And all that kind of stuff, which is a |
| James Stacey | delight. Because people I would I would encourage people to go and watch and pay attention to the watches. |
| Thomas Holland | Yeah, they're very visible. They're very visible, which is very fun. I like that quite a bit. But I'm curious if there are like any moments where like a watch on one of these adventures that stand out as being somewhat watch centric in |
| James Stacey | any way. Okay, so |
| Thomas Holland | every watch that I wore uh to uh shoot had some sort of a reasoning behind it okay to some degree um for example the closest thing i have to a I guess a racing watch is my Speedmaster. So I wore that in episode one just because it felt it felt appropriate. For those who haven't seen episode one, it's uh super, super fast cars. Uh and by the end of the episode they are racing LC uh L39Cs uh uh fighter essentially like trainer fighter jets trainer fighter jets yeah they were they were actually they're quite quick as it turns out you didn't get a ride in one I didn't okay so I've been in |
| James Stacey | in all3 9. Look you've you've flown in one. |
| Thomas Holland | Yes. Oh, lucky. Is it good? It was amazing. Yeah. Bright Brightling Air Team before they shut down. I'm pretty sure at |
| James Stacey | least one of the pilots in that episode used was from the |
| Thomas Holland | Brightling Air Team previously. That sounds about right. Those guys were so |
| Thomas Holland | cool. God. Yeah. Super. Why are fighter |
| Thomas Holland | pilots just the coolest or just just pilots? Just the coolest humans that exist. I feel so inadequate every time I'm near one. Oh, |
| Thomas Holland | they're so rad. I'm just so the |
| James Stacey | planes are very cool. They're very fast. But yeah, we were it |
| Thomas Holland | was Abbotsford. We went out out over uh baker yeah in 39s did a bunch of maneuvers and then landed so 20 |
| James Stacey | minutes one of the one of the jets |
| Thomas Holland | in the episode was signed by glenn Powell because he used it to for training for Top Gun. The hangar that we filmed in actually uh in that episode where we were sitting there getting the briefing from them about the how we're gonna do the relay race. That's the hanger used in Top Gun Maverick. Oh okay. When he he's wrenching on his his plane. The P51. Yeah. Sure. Yeah, like that whole scene. Any of the hanger scenes are at that that it literally that exact spot. Giving like Black Hawk down vibes. yeah, yeah, exactly. And that and that um we had a camera helicopter that filmed that sequence. It was the same one used in Top Gun Maverick for a lot of the work, right? The The photography in that sequence, I mean the photography in the show in general. Yes. Remarkable. Yeah, these guys are the best. Uh but that there were a couple shots where I was like, one, why don't I see the helicopter ever? Yep. I think you see it right at the end for one moment. I was like, that means they did so much work so that that helicopter wasn't consistently visible. Yeah. In through the windows of the cars, the rest of it. Yep. And then there's at least one or two where I'm like, well, they either pick the lens or that All of the above. Um yeah, the the pilot and the camera operator for that team, they're like the best in the business. I remember asking uh Phil, the uh director and exec producer, Phil Churchward I. said, I was like, why not just use a big drone? Like, drones are so good these days. He's like, Cause it'll be better if we use the helicopter with the camera. I was like, listen, no arguments here. But yeah, we we just kind of we did the race for real. We just literally went and did that race with the Jets and the the the the camera helicopter just stayed out of the way and they were in constant communication with the pilots the whole time. It was this incredible orchestra so that we could actually run the race for real. But |
| Thomas Holland | that that camera helicopter was so |
| Thomas Holland | nuts to watch. Like as we did a bunch of tracking shots of us going just down the like some establishing shots and stuff, and that helicopters just floating like right around us so low, insane precise maneuvers from the from the pilot. Just so cool to watch these guys. I basically the that entire time with with the pilots and the helicopter and all the directors and all the people. I felt so completely inadequate |
| Thomas Holland | as a human. And |
| Thomas Holland | this is all here to film me do a thing. I'm like, I feel like you guys, you come here, drive the car. For |
| Jason Heaton | sure. Do I was like, what am what am I doing |
| Thomas Holland | here? This is pointless. Did the pilots take the cars out? no, they're they they weren't allowed. It's all too |
| James Stacey | official, I guess. There's insurance. The amount |
| Thomas Holland | of insurance is so insane. Actually getting the insurance for Francis to drive that Hennessy was was quite I mean there's also segments in my mind where I would have expected you guys to be wearing helmets. Yep and you weren't. And I was like, that means you guys |
| James Stacey | owned the whole space, right? Yes. |
| Thomas Holland | Exactly. Um yeah, yeah. There was uh well, I mean th there's definitely a lot of health and safety involved to make the show, obviously, because you know, in the past things have gone wrong. Of course. So they're I don't want to say they're over cautious. They're probably |
| James Stacey | correctly cautious. Just cautious. Yeah. |
| Thomas Holland | Um, but I I at the same time, you know, James and I are are are pretty it's old hat driving a car quickly on an airfield. So we're we're we're pretty comfortable with with our own limits. But what was the original question? We're what were we talking about? we got to Speedmaster as it was like a racing theme for watch, picking watches. yeah, yeah. So I wore the Speedmaster on that one. Just it felt correct is the closest thing that I could that I had, and I think is one of my favorite watches and it's the one that I bought at two million subscribers on YouTube. So wearing it for the first time. I think it was our earliest conversation. Yes, it might have been you're looking at 3570. So that uh that felt that felt correct. And then another standout one for me that I was uh that I really enjoyed wearing was the uh my |
| James Stacey | Doxa 250 GMT. |
| Thomas Holland | I wore that in Angola in Africa and I almost lost it. So I was talking about this because I had the bracelet on it with the stock bracelet and I didn't like how thick and kind of sharp the clasp was. So I just put like an aftermarket one on it, which looks similar. No, I swapped the actual clasps on their bracelet. And it's just like one of those kind of, I guess, Amazon whatever. Yeah, I've done it with mesh ones. yeah. But their bracelet will take their clasp takes anything that |
| James Stacey | fits. Yeah, exactly. So I thought that'd be fine. |
| Thomas Holland | But then when we were we had to launch those stupid canoe boats off that that that boat in the ocean. Styrofoam. God, they were so unstable. Genuinely so I went in two more times off camera actually. But as I was like crashing onto the in the on the beach, the watch unclipped and it like fell and I caught it in my middle finger. There |
| James Stacey | you go. I was like, Jesus. But |
| Thomas Holland | uh but no, that was perfect for that, for that trip. Yeah. That's awesome. That's |
| James Stacey | good stuff. And then for it'd |
| Thomas Holland | be remiss for the crew with the CWN one made |
| James Stacey | an appearance. It sure did, yeah. That |
| Thomas Holland | was in the Invincible Cars episode, correct? Yes. Last car standing. Yep. That's what it's like. Episode four. That was our working title, Invincibles. Um, yeah, I wore it in that one because it felt I I see that watch as like kind of indestructible. Yeah. Like that's my my men, my what I use it for. When I want to do something that I know I'm gonna bash something around, that's the one that goes on because it's it feels so beefy. For sure. Um and so and that was a uh a film about cars that are indestructible. So it's like this seems correct. |
| James Stacey | Great. So yeah, it's the I'm |
| Thomas Holland | I'm glad we're not going too deep into any one episode. I really encourage anyone who hasn't uh watched the series to check it out. I'm super pumped for a second season um and to see what comes of all of that. Yeah, hopefully. I mean it it's just i it it's a matter of if Amazon is like, yep, let's do it. |
| James Stacey | yeah. So hopefully they say yes. So aside |
| Thomas Holland | from watches in the show, since we |
| James Stacey | chatted last on record, you've made a lot of watch moves, kind of kind of evolved in some ways, kind of regressed |
| Thomas Holland | in others. Yep. Yep. What's um what's |
| James Stacey | kind of behind? What do you mean regressed? What does that mean? |
| Thomas Holland | You're wearing a titanium bracelet on a steel watch |
| James Stacey | right now. I am literally doing that. That's a good |
| Thomas Holland | point. Which does make me kind of feel ill. |
| Thomas Holland | Okay. It is it is one of the |
| James Stacey | best steel watches you can buy right now, and easily the best titanium bracelet in the world by my measure. |
| Thomas Holland | Okay, no, this is fair enough. Fair enough. Listen, I'm wearing the uh the long jeans Hydro Conquest, the new one, the thirty nine, and you wrote an article |
| Thomas Holland | about this because I |
| Thomas Holland | bugged you so many times. So much. Please. And you were very fair, I thought. I |
| James Stacey | love having my mind changed. yeah. I mean you were |
| Thomas Holland | you were very fair. I think I think you enjoyed it in the end, but at the same time, I understand why you and many people look at this watch and go, eh, you know, it doesn't really do enough for me to go |
| Thomas Holland | out and buy one. Do you know what I mean? But |
| Thomas Holland | I but I love this thing because and this is so vain. It just looks so cool. It does look at the end. Like that's it also just wears really well and there's not like an element of the watch that doesn't work. No, it's just |
| James Stacey | on a like a generational run currently. |
| Thomas Holland | Absolutely are they are just embarrassing brands above them. 100% |
| Thomas Holland | they are. The price for this thing is is so |
| Thomas Holland | so good con considering what it is. It's not cheap off. Every time I look at it, |
| James Stacey | I go, Am I looking at Canadian? I know, |
| Thomas Holland | right? I know. And I've got it on the Ming Polymesh. Yeah. Um, which they this they sent. The Ming is magic. Yeah, the Ming they sent it me to test. I got I gotta return it at some point, but I've been wearing it on this because okay, so as you know, in the watch world, no one else outside of the watch world cares at all. Really, nope. You could be wearing the craziest thing imaginable and people won't notice it. And if you try and explain it to them, their biggest question is, but my well, my phone tells the time. So why do why did you spend so much on that? Doesn't do your heart |
| Thomas Holland | rate. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. |
| James Stacey | So the only exception I've ever |
| Thomas Holland | experienced that actually gets non-watch people interested is this bracelet. Yeah. If you hand this bracelet to somebody and go feel this, they go, What the hell? Yeah. What it doesn't I don't understand. Like it doesn't make it doesn't make sense based on our interaction with the physical world that we know it as we know it up up until this point. It's just such a cool piece of technology. It's like the when you were a kid, because you and I are similar of a similar age. Did you ever have gak? Oh my god, yes. It's like gak. |
| James Stacey | It is like gak. I know exactly what |
| Thomas Holland | you mean by that. Non-Newtonian somehow. Like it just it |
| James Stacey | should. It's like do this. Came from Earth? yeah. |
| Thomas Holland | It feels like it feels like you're feeling a brace, what a what a regular watch bracelet would feel like if you were on the moon. Do you know what I mean? Where there's no air resistance and less than if you could if you could knit titanium. Yes. |
| James Stacey | Yes it's such a bizarre feeling thing. |
| Thomas Holland | That's very cool. I'm I have I'm wearing my aerospace with it now. it's pretty much become my daily. It's this I'm deep like so far into titanium currently. |
| Thomas Holland | You really are, yeah. Uh you know, it's I wear |
| Thomas Holland | this, I wear the pelgos, I wear the long jeans. Yep. Um pretty much constantly. And the the other thing with that watch, the only and you bored it so that we can have a conversation about it, but the the main reason I have not bought a steel black dial conve quote unquote conventional dive watch is I have the verdicts. And it's fair. It's so good at doing what I want a steel dive watch to do that it's like a category I don't think about anymore. |
| Thomas Holland | Um so no, it is a uh it is a really, |
| Thomas Holland | really good watch. I found it |
| Jason Heaton | I don't know I don't know. I you know what I |
| James Stacey | don't know what it was about what it was about it. You know, |
| Thomas Holland | so some things just click and some things don't. Of course. That was it's considerably chunkier. Yeah, maybe. But you know it's probably ten, fifteen percent more metal. Yeah. |
| Thomas Holland | That never bothered me though. The |
| Thomas Holland | chunkiness aspect has never really bothered me. |
| James Stacey | Something about it just didn't click in the same |
| Thomas Holland | way that I had an FXD for a while. Actually between when we recorded last and now I have bought and sold an FXD. Yep. |
| Thomas Holland | Which I really liked, but again, something |
| James Stacey | about it didn't fully click. Might |
| Thomas Holland | have been that I couldn't put a bracelet on it. I really do like and |
| James Stacey | you borrowed my thirty nine, that didn't click. |
| Thomas Holland | Yeah. I I don't know why. I don't know. sometimes it just it just doesn't, but uh something about this this uh Hydro Conquest really does it just I mean they basically check all the boxes. Like I said in my in my write up and like we talked about this a ton before I ever wrote it. My only holdback is like if you're not if if the zone of your appreciation for aesthetics and steel dive watches if the center of it isn't a submariner, yeah, this watch may not speak to you. And for me, my favorite subs are are like 90 subs. Yep. A little less shiny, a little less bulky, all that kind of stuff. And even then, I've never really wanted one bad enough to buy it. And you know what's weird because like that's true for me as well, right? Like the the modern sub I don't really have any interest in. Yeah. it's too flashy. On paper, an absolute perfect watch. Of course. Very shiny. |
| Thomas Holland | and and this does have the same kind of ceramic |
| Thomas Holland | shiny bezel, but for some reason on this I think this wears better. I think it's if you want an unpopular opinion, I think this watch wears better than the what is now a forty one military. I think I agree. I think I agree. And n |
| Thomas Holland | nothing nothing wears better |
| Thomas Holland | than my Explorer two sixteen five sevent thaty,'s still easily the best wearing sports watch I think |
| James Stacey | I've ever become across. Yeah, |
| Thomas Holland | and and I so if I was to do a sub, it would be from that it would be that fourteen oh six oh or the the sea dweller from that air is awesome as well. Yeah, exactly. Very cool. |
| Thomas Holland | But I but I still think that I don't know. |
| Thomas Holland | Weirdly, after having the Explorer 2, I just kind of go, I don't know if I I don't know if I want a submariner anymore. Not because there's anything wrong with the sixteen five seventy. I just kind of go I have that era and I as a sports watch and I and I love it so I don't know if I want something that's similar but does a slow. I don't know if you uh but like watch it of espionage did a whole story about switching down to a 16710, down in terms of age. Yep. Uh from like a Batman or one of the blue-black uh GMT masters. And like I've always thought the 16710 was basically a perfect GMT. Yeah. Especially when you could swap the bezels, all that kind of stuff. Um and yeah, those those uh the five digit stuff is rad for sure. Yeah. And I'm trying to think of what else you've you've kind of got what kind of came and went in the last couple years. I sold my Zen.. The 105 Yep. 105. I sold that. And I I remember when |
| Thomas Holland | you when you asked me about the 105. It's |
| Thomas Holland | funny because everybody has like different things that they care about. It's kind of like with cars. Like yeah. You may love sunroof, you may hate them. And you wanted the what I would see as like the sunroof of a of a watch which is it had you want it day date. |
| James Stacey | Yeah you're like date what other |
| Thomas Holland | watches have day date and I was like I I don't know I've never that's a pointless |
| James Stacey | question talking about it. no, I just I need to f give me a minute |
| Thomas Holland | to filter. I've never done that on my own. Like I've owned I've it's a couple Seiko's that I've had day to that sort of thing, but never a real concern for me. I don't even like you know, he didn't tease me was on the previous episode, uh, tease me that that I actually set the date on my date just because I was at a Rolex event because I thought I'd do a wrist shot. Otherwise I would I wouldn't even set it. It takes too long. |
| Thomas Holland | Yeah. On the sixteen oh one. Takes way too |
| Thomas Holland | long. So yeah, because you so I have a sixteen oh one four. Yeah. Right, which is just the generation after, right? So I can quick set the date. Yeah. Um |
| Thomas Holland | but every time you send me the a picture |
| Thomas Holland | of yours and I see the pie pan dial, |
| James Stacey | I go, Oh that's gorgeous. It looks so |
| Thomas Holland | good. So it's just an exceptionally pretty |
| Thomas Holland | thing. It looks that I so good. It works so well on the bracelet. It's just easy and it's fun and and it gets no attention, which I wore I wore that watch to the premiere. I noticed. Yeah. And uh I absolutely love it. That said, we've been talking a lot about Rolex. I do want to make my opinion known that generally I think about modern Rolex like I think about modern Porsche, and that I I have a have little time personally for for them so I d I I don't I don't love the kind of methodology behind it and I don't it's not I |
| Thomas Holland | occasionally don't like the people that |
| James Stacey | yeah that's that's that's where I was gonna go like that's just me |
| Thomas Holland | if you're a d a deep watch enthusiast, I totally understand liking Rolex. Yeah. The number of times that I will have a conversation with somebody in the enthusiast space, in a community event, that sort of thing, and what they want to talk about is the fact that they were the story behind how they got their Daytona. Right. Like it was something like a barn find of a of a this or that. And like I get it, they are hard to buy, but it doesn't really make that story interesting. And it's a I'm I'm a little bit with and it's this with way Porsche too, where like the right car, the right person, the right way they treat it, cool, but it also feels like there's a group of people above that that buy it as like a way to get into these same conversations. And then they only want to talk about the GT3RS or or the this or that. And it's like it's there's a little bit of that, you |
| James Stacey | know, like I've said this before and it's not a popular |
| Thomas Holland | opinion, but Star Wars, which I know you love, punk music, which I loved at one point. There you have to separate the the core material from the fan base. Otherwise it can be difficult to to necessarily enjoy it. And like the Rolex thing is they are so much like Porsche, so ubiquitous, so well made, so good at what they do, yes, that they attract more than just enthusiasts. Exactly what it is. And it it's it's not but generally I think that the the main issue that I have is that I also associate Rolex with the people who who are like, oh bro, that doesn't you have to buy your first Rolex, it's the only way you'll be respected. And like you don't you're not a real entrepreneur who enjoys taking peptides and you know, hawking some energy drink on Instagram. You should buy my course on how to buy your own. You should buy a course on how to do a course so you can give people the course so you can and then then you'll have to buy a uh GMT master. So I just I hate the culture. I hate that culture of it completely, right? So I rebel against it, which is which is so annoying because it's it conflicts directly with the culture of Rolex that I do like. Which is like people who enjoy our era of Rolexes, the in that like the real sp like Ed Visters in that whole world of like properly using a Rolex Yeah, he's right there he is, right? There's the man himself. Um I love that. And that is why I have an explorer too. It's because of it's because of Ed Visters, right? But yeah, I don't I don't I would hate |
| James Stacey | for us to sound too much like the guy who |
| Thomas Holland | sees a younger person wearing a Pink Floyd t-shirt and demands that they list three albums. Like getting into watches is fine. And if your if your first foray into watches is Rolex, great. My hope is that every single person who did really well in crypto a few years back and was able to get a day Daytona continues on that path and learns one, yeah, my Daytona is an incredible watch, but has reasons behind it. Not because they were able to buy four diamonds set date just and were allowed to then it like the wrong story. I personally draw the line at watches that have diamonds on them. Anything that I'm just absolutely not interested in. Any aspect of that. We'll wait for |
| James Stacey | season three or four. Sure. Yeah, we'll |
| Thomas Holland | see. Uh no, I it's just it's just not a Francis will have you in like head to toe Laurel Piana. |
| James Stacey | Got some Louboutons on.. Yeah, of course Yeah. Yeah. |
| Thomas Holland | Uh no, I just I I I hate that stuff. But I I I have those Rolexes, I'm very pleased with them, but I see this Long Jeans Hydro Conquest in some ways as the antithesis to the submariner. And uh it was a lot cheaper. And I really enjoy it. Uh so outside of that kind of stuff, are are the is there anything on your radar? I mean, we're always kind of texting back and forth about this watch or that watch. what's got you excited since the longing? |
| Thomas Holland | So let me that's a good question actually. I'm constantly like hunting and searching for something that that |
| Thomas Holland | really interests me. and right now there |
| Thomas Holland | isn't Because we texted briefly about Annie |
| Thomas Holland | Digi Bright Links. We did a copilot, there was there was the uh Oh Jopilot. It's the same one as yours, but it has the bezel that has all of the I can't remember the name of it. It was a Pluton or it was a Jupiter or something like that. Whatever. I |
| James Stacey | don't remember. I don't think I do like it. |
| Thomas Holland | I I am in the market for an NE Digi. I think they're really fine. But yeah, they're great. Yeah. And uh other than that, I have been looking at Vertex um M100s and M36s. Yep. I was actually in London recently, and I went and tried one on. Actually, I walked into Vertex right when they released uh the special edition for the pressure film that just came out with uh uh Ben uh Brendan Fraser in it. Which I watched on the plane by the way on the way home. And it is good excellent film. Oh nice. It really, really is. It's about for those that don't know, it's about the the weather forecast uh that greenlit D-Day um and how important that was. And I did not realize. Like the story's insane. And it's one of those things where you keep going, um, every time you turn around, there's a new story about World War II that absolutely blows your friggin' mind. Because the scope and the scale of that was such a massive conflict for sure. |
| Thomas Holland | So many individual insane stories and people |
| Thomas Holland | that did stuff. And this is one of those where you just go, like wait a second, you're telling me that like one of the most important events in the history of mankind came down to one guy's decision to go yes or no. it's crazy. It's honestly crazy when you think about it. That is. Um, and uh yeah, I just happened to walk into vertex right when they released it, and they only were making, I don't know, like a very small. Ten or twelve? Ten or ten. Yeah, I think it was around ten. And he had two left. And it had the tan dial, right? But in that moment, I was like, I I don't want to or can't spend this on on the watch right now, but it's it's just such a cool it serendipitous moment to walk in and he's like I have I have one and they're almost all gone. But uh but yeah, I do I do like the M thirty six. It's really, really cool. |
| Thomas Holland | And with the show being done, |
| Thomas Holland | any plans like is there a uh did you do something to commemorate that? A watch, a car, uh |
| Thomas Holland | no, not really. 'Cause I I did text |
| Thomas Holland | you. Um let me let me just check my notes here. I don't want to get the name wrong. It's okay to be K. Yeah. Uh episode uh three. Yeah. I did text you if you got to keep that truck or the the pickup truck. Uh no. So well the way that it would work if you yes, I know. So there's a there's a is a is a story behind that, that uh that Honda Acti attack, which is what I drove, which is which is the greatest name for a vehicle of especially that. It just attack on is so |
| James Stacey | funny. You're expecting like a vehicle like a uh uh like one of the big |
| Thomas Holland | Mercedes utility trucks, you put a sherp on the back, that's you can lift it |
| James Stacey | up with one hand this thing. And the the attack |
| Thomas Holland | version I I've I think I've got this right. What makes it an attack is that it has locking differentials. Cool. Right? And I think also the low range, and by the way, it's low range, it's just low range on the shift on the main shifting box. So you just push it over further and you get a different first and second as opposed to a separate. It's so fun. And I loved that truck. And they had already sold it before because the people, the people |
| Thomas Holland | that helped prep them for the shoot |
| Thomas Holland | it was uh it was a community college actually because they had to like wire cameras into them and stuff so they needed some extra help. Yeah sure and they had they had uh they had promised them to the uh community college which w which means means I'm not that upset. They actually gave us a tour of the facility. They seemed like it's like it's like a really cool place. Lots of uh you know, students were working on these things and learning about them. So I was like, okay. As opposed to some random dude getting it. It's a it's going to a school. So I'm happy with that. But otherwise, that is definitely the one vehicle that I want. I'm actually considering buying one for my cottage. Yeah. Right. There's one there's a spot on the drive up to my cottage that has four or five of them in the lot. Uh not they're Suzuki's. Yeah, the Su yeah, the Suzuki, what are they called? I can't remember the |
| Thomas Holland | name of the I don't remember. But there's some really, |
| Thomas Holland | really great K-trucks op K-Truck options. I mean, could you just imagine one spray paint like painted the same as the Junior? As like the like a |
| James Stacey | support little tiny support truck with a little leather |
| Thomas Holland | tool roll in the back. That that'd be bad |
| James Stacey | news. Actually, speaking of that, there is |
| Thomas Holland | a a vintage Alfa Romeo like van |
| Thomas Holland | that you can get. Um they're |
| Thomas Holland | super rare and extremely cool. I don't remember the name of it though. |
| Thomas Holland | I've seen the Porsche equivalent from like the days of |
| James Stacey | the 550. We did that shoot up on Gross |
| Thomas Holland | Glachner and they had one. Nuts. It |
| Thomas Holland | looks it looks so good. It's like it's got like a snup nose van |
| Thomas Holland | with like the alpha grill on it. Just |
| Thomas Holland | well look speaking of alphas. Yeah. |
| Thomas Holland | How are you enjoying the junior? Uh |
| Thomas Holland | I am really enjoying the junior. Uh and |
| Thomas Holland | well, okay. As you know, an |
| James Stacey | alpha is never complete. You're always |
| Thomas Holland | adding, tinkering, fixing, uh thesising. |
| James Stacey | You're fixing. There's also some fixing. |
| Thomas Holland | Um and so a a typical thing with |
| James Stacey | these old uh 60s and 70s alphas is that the door seals |
| Thomas Holland | are really thick and the the the the car just kind of goes ugh over time and things kind of bend and shift and the |
| Thomas Holland | doors don't fit well. So |
| Thomas Holland | actually to be fair the doors never fit that well from the |
| Thomas Holland | factory. They just kind of bolted them on and were like, that'll do. And then ship the |
| Thomas Holland | cars around the world. But mine are particularly not fitting well. And as a result, I needed these thinner door seals. Okay. And alphaholics makes a a deliberately a thinner door |
| Thomas Holland | seal, of course they do. And guess what? |
| Thomas Holland | It was really cheap. Super reasonably priced. That was a lie. It was |
| Thomas Holland | extraordinarily expensive. Um, and I had to ship it from the UK. So |
| Thomas Holland | I'm like, okay, this is called a swap the door seal, the door will close easier. So there's less resistance. So I just went in, just a door seal that goes around the |
| Thomas Holland | inside of the car, I just went, popped it, went, |
| Thomas Holland | and just pulled the whole thing out. Super easy. I was like, okay, so I'll just put the new door seal in. There's basically like a little channel that runs around the entire thing |
| Thomas Holland | and you just kind of like press the rubber into |
| Thomas Holland | it. So I started, I was like, |
| James Stacey | okay, I'll just press this right. So I just little screwdrivers |
| Thomas Holland | and it's kinda hard to get in. So I so I push the first |
| Thomas Holland | little it was with and this little the first |
| Thomas Holland | centimeter goes in. I was like, all right, good start. And then I did the next centimeter. And then I did the next centimeter. And then I realized five minutes had passed. And I looked at how much door seal I have left. Yeah. |
| Thomas Holland | And I've realized this |
| Thomas Holland | is gonna take me days. Like it is the most tedious thing |
| Thomas Holland | I've ever done in my entire life. Can you lubricate |
| Jason Heaton | it or anything? No, there's there's no there's |
| Thomas Holland | no there's no way you just have to you have to get it you have to get it like in between the little channel no matter what you do and it goes in reasonably easy. It's just really like precious stupid little screwdriver work to get it because it's kind of on the other side of the lip of the seal. And then I was like so I got frustrated. So I started like kind of like trying to like hammer it with the with the screwdriver. And then at one point I was like, okay, let's just say there's a little gap in this channels. What if I start from the top and I kind of like put the lip in and then and then press it down in, right? So I did that. I slipped. I cut my finger wide open. So |
| Thomas Holland | that has just now healed. Um, but |
| Thomas Holland | I currently can't drive the car because I have half a door seal installed. And so I'm literally on the verge of ripping the door seal out and running nor door. But I'm like 50% through. So it's like I'll just, but every time I go, I'll take the |
| Thomas Holland | car, I can't because a stupid door seal |
| Thomas Holland | isn't in. So currently my car is immobile because I don't have a door seal in. And I just it's one of those things where you go, why did I start this? The car was totally functional. It was lovely. It was great. You drove it. You liked it. A delight. Right? Great car. Yeah. |
| James Stacey | So it's a it's a uh GT Jr. |
| Thomas Holland | Yeah. An original thirteen hundred now with a two thousand. |
| James Stacey | It's quite alpha holics. Quite a built, |
| Thomas Holland | quite a built two thousand. A brand new front end. Yeah, |
| Thomas Holland | literally the front end is all new metal. Thankfully, you can buy panels for these cars just everywhere, right? So I actually went with a GTV front panel. So it's got the four air gr holes for uh the re the rad. But |
| Thomas Holland | yeah, it's it's it's all good to |
| Thomas Holland | go. It all works functions fine, except the engine itself isn't breathing as well as it could because the exhaust, the headers are a bit restrictive. So I uh bought a uh an exhaust from Alpha Holics, which as you can guess was actually quite cheap. Quite reasonably priced. yeah. No, it wasn't all it was extremely expensive and I had to ship it over from the UK. But yeah, so it it arrived and I have yet to install that because I have to install a door seal until then I don't want to, yeah. One thing at a time. I hate starting one project and then switching. Sure. I have a thing about that. I want to just you know get it anyway. |
| Thomas Holland | And it's just it's it's it's that's indicative of every Saturday, a door sealed day or an extra |
| Thomas Holland | day. It's just so oh it's so frustrating. |
| Thomas Holland | And then and you realize that in your life |
| Thomas Holland | you've got all these cars that you're you like to work on and that's |
| Thomas Holland | fine, but then you like |
| Thomas Holland | go into your kitchen because you want to have a piece of peanut butter toast or something, right? So you spread, so you get a plate out, you put a piece of toast down, you put some peanut butter on it, then you turn around and you realize the entire kitchen is somehow a massive disaster. And there's fruit flies everywhere. So the only thing you ever do is go, okay, I'll just I've got to do this first because obviously activities of daily living important. So I'll do that and then I can go into the garage and install the door seal on my alpha. Sure. But then somehow the kitchen is never clean and the your life is never in order. No, you |
| James Stacey | gotta get on a f Why |
| Thomas Holland | am I doing this to myself, basically? No, I mean hey, uh You were so close to buying an alpha, by the way. |
| James Stacey | Exceptionally close. It it's like like maddeningly, |
| Thomas Holland | frighteningly, saddeningly close. |
| James Stacey | I'm pretty depressed about it. Uh I don't I don't I don't like thinking about it. Um you know I I might even have made the wrong choice. I don't I don't know if |
| Thomas Holland | you did. I don't know. It was a delightful thing to drive. |
| James Stacey | Oh I think that's I wish you had been able to to zip down to the states. It had a |
| Thomas Holland | thirteen hundred in it, right? No, it had a seventeen |
| James Stacey | fifty. Oh, seventeen fifty. Built seventeen fifty uh forty millimeter, dual forty millimeter carbs. I went past a country club, and I bet you there were a couple people that thought a Cessna was taking off. And then my favorite part of driving this car, and it's an absolute delight. And we'll have coal on and we'll talk about it more in the future. But my favorite part of driving this car is it starts really nicely. Once I figured out that the clutch travel was about two inches total, very easy to drive around. Yeah, throw it under reverse. All of that's good. It's a 1750 gearbox, |
| Thomas Holland | yeah, uh motor brakes, |
| James Stacey | uh so disc brakes all around it's a good upgrade |
| Thomas Holland | from the drums, which that car came with, right? And then a |
| James Stacey | full LSD upgrade. And uh and it tracked really nicely, the steering was really sharp, everything felt great. Uh, brakes are terrifying, but what are you gonna do? It's an old car. Yeah, I'm sure that's something I could have worked on had it become mine. Yeah. But you'd be I was driving it along and I was like, oh for a I I just like I've got a straight section. I don't think there's a police officer within four miles that'll hear me. Uh I'll I'll like give it a blast. And so I dropped it down into second and it just blips beautifully. It's like everything about it was just and it's the induction noise is so loud. Is it ear piercing? |
| Thomas Holland | Love that. like the GT Jr. |
| James Stacey | Yeah. Love it. Um And so I hammer it through third. Colt told me like it would go to like mid sevens, maybe even eight. So I you know, went to maybe the sixty five hundred, put it in a third, hammered it through third, and then there's one of those things at the road that tells you, like, this is how fast you're going above the speed sign. And I was like, let's see how good the speedometer is. Yeah. And I look at it and I go by and it's, you know, the speed limit's 40. And it goes, You're going 37. I was like, I just made the sound of a car going zero to a hundred. Uh of a uh it was just a and it it's it's like very small and compact, but once you're in it, it's like weirdly roomy and bright 'cause it's a mid century car with a lot of glass. |
| Thomas Holland | Yeah. Um it had a roll it had a |
| James Stacey | roll cage, didn't it? full yeah, 'cause it had been rally prepped for Pan Americana in the nineties. |
| Thomas Holland | No, it's it's it's a one that got away |
| Thomas Holland | for sure for you, I think. But you will I think you made the right choice. It's just the getting the cars up here right now is just so expensive. |
| James Stacey | every time I spoke with an importer, they'd give me like one reality, and I was like, okay, I could okay. Because in my mind, I knew that you know there was a |
| Thomas Holland | percentage of the value of the purchase value |
| James Stacey | of the car that I was willing to spend to get it. Yeah. Because once it's here, I'm not re necessarily recuperating that cost, but that would be the cost of owning it. |
| Thomas Holland | Yep. And so once I |
| James Stacey | spoke to enough people that number inflated to well beyond 10% of what I was paying for the car and closer to 20. |
| Thomas Holland | Yeah. And I just I figured like |
| James Stacey | this is the right car for someone who this isn't their first vintage car. It's not a car that they're going to tie a ton of their like happiness to, whicho I would uh when I when I got it. Um and I just so I I had to I had to be realistic about me and my limitations. But a great car. No, I thought |
| Thomas Holland | I mean listen, we'll find you one. We're gonna get AC. Could |
| James Stacey | be a spider. I'm deep into the Z three M world. Yeah, |
| Thomas Holland | they're good. Some bad seats, man. |
| James Stacey | Some bad seats. Yeah. But they look I've never driven one. Uh I've driven a three liters Ed four. So I but I think the M is the one that insulates you from some of the further depreciation. Because like the floor on a Z3 is like six grand Canadian right now. Yes. If you can't 200 and eighty thousand kilometers, and the guy's like guys like runs and drives, come take it out. It's like this this is |
| Thomas Holland | that era of BMW yeah. Uh about German cars is that if you maintain them, they will go for a very, very long time. My the the biggest piece of proof I have, maybe this will make you feel better about finding a high mileage BMWs from that era, is that my race car, which recently blew the engine on it, I bought the engine from a Russian in a truckyard for $300, |
| James Stacey | Canadian. Another uh M? |
| Thomas Holland | no, no. This is just a a uh a non-M engine from like a 2001 five series, which I put in my car. Right. And you know I I I I said to him it was like he he was in the middle of the night he like had it floating on a crane in the air already to drop in the back of my truck 300 bucks on Facebook Marketplace. and I was I was |
| Thomas Holland | like I walked up to him and I |
| Thomas Holland | was like, is it do is do you have a is there a compression test? Did you do a compression test? And he goes, Bro, car is fine. I was like, not a car, but whatever. Um, and uh so I bought it for I was like three hundred bucks what do I have to lose? Which I didn't realize at the at the time. Three hundred bucks was not the investment that I was making in it, it was the fact that I had to install it in my car. And then possibly run it, have it break, and then it's not a I actually spun my dad's pickup truck off the road in the process of uh going to get this engine. Oh okay it was middle of the winter and I was driving up a back road. I don't think I've ever even told anybody this story. And uh hit black ice and he had no weight in the back. Well, I had no weight in the back because I took all of his sandbags out that he leaves in the winter. |
| James Stacey | Because of motor. Yeah, because I was going to put the motor in it. |
| Thomas Holland | And then I spun up a hill and de-beated the tire, ended up in a ditch. Good fun. But yeah, |
| Thomas Holland | the uh that engine had over |
| Thomas Holland | three hundred thousand kilometers on it when I bought it, and then I raced it for like five years after raising the rev limiter to seven thousand and it held on with absolutely no complaints and zero repairs. I just changed the seals of all the you know oil pump and all that thing. And when I was installing it, beat the crap out of it for years, and it finally blew up after like its fifth eight hour endurance race. So when they s when he |
| Thomas Holland | says two hundred and whatever thousand kilometers on |
| Thomas Holland | it, you're good. Yeah. I do the maintenance. I I |
| James Stacey | mostly just wanted to find someone that like drove it frequently. |
| Thomas Holland | Yep. And I don't care what the number |
| James Stacey | is. necessarily It's like how the they got to that number. Yeah. That's more important to me. |
| Thomas Holland | Yeah. Um, I think with a well-made vehicle, I |
| James Stacey | mean I've said this before, you know, got a toy to van out in the driveway, like, doesn't matter. |
| Thomas Holland | Yeah. You're replacing the parts that are |
| James Stacey | gonna fall apart based on their age anyway. 100%. |
| Thomas Holland | There's actually there's actually very few cars out there whose engines genuinely can't go over, you know, hundreds of thousands of kilometers. Right? Most of them are going to have a peripheral engine part issue that you can fix, right? So people do get a little bit too wrapped up in if mileage has something to do with rust. |
| James Stacey | Sure, Audis with the chain and the water pump and |
| Thomas Holland | listen, outies talking about outies. Obviously. Come on. Yeah, no, they're they're terrible idea. But uh but the the S54 in that E46 M3 it that we raced that I raced in. In a beloved motor. Such a brilliant engine. Sounds like a chainsaw. And if you're into that, which I am, then it sounds good. If you're not, which I understand, it doesn't sound good, and that's fine. But the the engine in that one, that was a very high mileage car, and it was totally fine that whole trip, right? The only thing that did happen to that car was I unseated the rear spring at one point, going over a bump. That's that didn't even make it into the episode. It |
| James Stacey | didn't actually a lot of stuff didn't |
| Thomas Holland | that.'s just kind of the nature of making that show, right? But it can only |
| James Stacey | be so long. It could exactly. Yeah. But yeah, uh definitely, you know, getting |
| Thomas Holland | um the majority of the notifications on |
| James Stacey | my phone are auto trader uh currently. Yeah. Uh Whether or not whether or not I go down that road, I'm not sure. Maybe I just enjoy looking. Um probably need to move before I buy a car. Fair enough. Don't really have anywhere for the Jeep currently. |
| Thomas Holland | Right. Might buy a shipping container |
| James Stacey | and put the Jeep in that at the end. Yes, whatever works. Yeah. Just as in a C can. According to Claude, which is wrong on a lot of things, I can fit the Jeep in a C can. I have to confirm that the actual size. Do some measurements. I might have to like take the panel off the top and back it in and then come out over the top and then disconnect the battery. Like it'd be like a a Zelda puzzle. Uh like smoke reno time stuff. It would be it would be a you know a shrine uh to get to get my spirit orb for loading my Jeep and then just cover it in kayaks and close the door walk away for the winter. Uh but yeah that's that's uh I I appreciate I appreciate the you know the guidance that you've been able to afford me uh in in these things. Um happy to. 'C youause've been down that road before and and man, that day that we went and drove uh the spider and the GTA and then went to the movie, that was a good day. That was fun, man. |
| Thomas Holland | Yeah. We uh and we took the uh we took the awesome hot |
| James Stacey | dog it was a good date. Listen, I I had a good |
| Thomas Holland | time. I'm happy to do any time it again. But the the I'm glad that you got to drive both alphas back to back because I loved both. I |
| Thomas Holland | don't think anybody else other than |
| Thomas Holland | me has done that. So it was so interesting to hear your kind of insights. And |
| James Stacey | the majority of my performance car driving of the last several years is old stuff. |
| Thomas Holland | Right. Yeah, exactly. So you you had a lot of reference points, which was really really insightful. you described the spider as a peach, |
| James Stacey | I think is what you said. And the uh |
| Thomas Holland | the the the junior as like a |
| James Stacey | very angry very angry car, which |
| Thomas Holland | is basically mission accomplished is what I'm saying. It was like that was my intent with building them and and ha having them how they are. So I'm glad that that's how it felt to you. Yeah, |
| James Stacey | totally different like stress levels and and anxiety uh in exhibited by the vehicle. Like you could tell that GTA uh the GT Jr. just wanted to go. |
| Thomas Holland | Yeah. Just more the carbs have huge chokes. Like so it's really and the cams are pretty aggressive. So it's not super happy about being at low revs. Sure. And since they're carbs, they're just finicky to begin with, right? So that that car I love the temperamental nature of driving it. And |
| James Stacey | it just it has like it's somehow a four cylinder that has the chop of like a Z twenty eight. |
| Thomas Holland | And then everyone and then it takes a little breath and you're like, oh, is it gonna die? And it goes. No, it's it's great. It's such a fun little car. And the the spider has fuel injection, so totally different experience. Really smooth. Yeah. Yeah. |
| James Stacey | Great steering.. yeah Just easy |
| Thomas Holland | as a better than I expected. Yeah, exactly. |
| Thomas Holland | Cool. Steering box, not that good, but it's good as it gets. |
| James Stacey | Yeah. Fair enough. Yeah. Well, look, man, unless there's any other topics burning a hole in your pocket for uh for this episode, we could jump into some final notes. |
| Thomas Holland | Yeah, let's do final notes. I love doing final notes. I |
| James Stacey | w I I I lay awake at night |
| Thomas Holland | thinking about what I'm going to say in final notes. So this don't get your hopes up. It's not that exciting. But I do have one thing that I would I think is a a uh a book that I'd like to share. If any of the listeners are fans of Anthony Bourdain, I'm a huge Anthony Bourdain fan. I love watched everything, and I've somehow I haven't read his book yet, but I have it and I've just |
| James Stacey | started it and uh Kitchen Confidential? |
| Thomas Holland | Yep. Okay. Yeah, it's excellent. Yeah, I I've heard I'm excited to |
| James Stacey | see Tony as well. Uh which I believe is either in theaters or nearly in theaters. Almost. If you want to do another movie date, let me know. Yeah, I'm |
| Thomas Holland | very hund ared percent. Let's do it. Um, so I read uh In the Weeds, Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain by Tom Vittale, I think it's Vitail |
| Thomas Holland | Vittel, okay, who is his director |
| Thomas Holland | and kind of like second in I command to making the shows that he made. And it it was incredibly insightful to me about Anthony and his process of approaching and making television, which I mean from a kind of a selfish perspective, it's it's very it was very educational for me and in terms of like the mentality for approaching making a show. But it |
| Thomas Holland | was just so cool to hear the behind the |
| Thomas Holland | scenes of some of the most like insane uh uh adventures that they went on and how crazy some of them actually were. When |
| Thomas Holland | they went to the Belgian Republic of Congo, |
| Thomas Holland | not the not the Belgian but what but that's the I'll |
| James Stacey | get to that in a second. When they went to the Congo and |
| Thomas Holland | they did that episode, I didn't realize how intense it was. And I also didn't realize that the reason that Bourdain wanted to go there so bad is because he was obsessed with Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, and that's why he wanted to go to the Congo so bad to make that episode. And so after reading this book, I read Heart of Darkness, because I I'd known about it obviously. it's a very important piece of literature. And then I read it and it was pretty intense. It was a it was a really it was a really heavy piece of literature compared to what I've been reading recently. It's been since I was in university, I haven't read stuff that's kind of of that era in language. So it was really exciting to read and super like you had to spend a lot of time thinking about each page. So like if you're looking for something that you haven't experienced before, that is a a really fantastic thing to read. it's culturally important, incredibly important history about Africa. And it's a just a it's a it's a bit of a ride. It's kind of it's super dark though. I |
| James Stacey | haven't read it. it's super dark. It's really |
| Thomas Holland | it's really worth reading, honestly. Yeah.. Very |
| James Stacey | cool Yeah, good uh good tip for |
| Thomas Holland | sure. Um I'll hold my |
| James Stacey | final notes to do with Jason in the and the final bumper for this episode, but you've basically led us into there. Uh Thomas, man, it's an absolute treat to have you on, hear a little bit more about uh the success of the grand tour and some watches and cars. All the good stuff. |
| Thomas Holland | Always happy to be here. Thanks so much, yeah. |
| Jason Heaton | All right. Well um you know thanks to Thomas for making the time in his uh clearly very busy schedule um to to come on and and record with you. Uh I haven't actually had a chance to listen to the audio yet, but uh I'm excited to do so and um, you know, the third time's a charm and and certainly congratulations to to Thomas and and the team for for moving over to the grand tour and and uh yeah, that's that's big news and it was a good good timing for you to have them on. |
| James Stacey | For sure, yeah. No, it was a treat to have Thomas on. And right after we we recorded, we went to the the sushi spot and ordered a mess. I just had to do a little bit of quality control. |
| Jason Heaton | Oh sure. Make sure that make sure that the the you know |
| James Stacey | that they weren't slipping. Right. Uh before you showed up. But yeah, ate ate some uni and some Toro and that sort of thing. It was it was a really nice day. And uh yeah, huge shout out to Thomas for being on. It's always a treat. Uh we got into a lot of different things, and so I hope people enjoyed it very much. But yeah, how about uh a little bit of final notes and we can put a bow on uh a nice long episode here. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, sure. Um mine is uh a story that um I'd kind of seen rumored and and hinted about in various places, including Slack and and uh um o others. And uh it it's from the Telegraph, the the London Telegraph uh newspaper, uh their online uh version. And the title of the story is Where is Sir Ranolph Finds? And um I had to to sign up for a free trial subscription because I I just had to read the story. It's just it's fascinating. Um you know, for those not familiar, Ranalf Fines um talk about James Bond. I mean the guy actually had he auditioned for James Bond back in the sixties, strangely. Um he he's he's led such an amazing life and he's he's often considered the world's greatest living explorer. Um, you know, he did the transgleob expedition where he went around the planet uh on the surface, um across the poles. He's, you know, crossed continents, uh, you know, Antarctica, gone to the North Pole, climbed Everest, et cetera, et cetera. Um anyway, he's gone missing, apparently. Um he's quite old. He's in his eighties and he Oh |
| James Stacey | wow. Um he's |
| Jason Heaton | uh last rumored to have been been uh living in uh kind of a home for the aged in the UK somewhere, um, but nobody's able to actually go in to see him. Uh his uh his wife his longtime wife, who had died uh gosh, probably a decade ago or maybe even longer. He remarried, and his um current wife is being a little bit evasive about his whereabouts and kind of restricting access to him. And uh there are a lot of his friends uh are quite and his relatives, uh including his cousins Rafe Fines and Joseph Fines, uh are are rightfully uh concerned about his uh well-being and his whereabouts. So um it's it's quite a long read. It's a it's really a fascinating story in the telegraph. And uh I just signed up for a free trial subscription. I think it gets me a month of articles on the telegraph. Um but uh yeah, that one's I uh I'd say that one's kind of worth the read. it's really quite quite disturbing and fascinating at the same time. |
| James Stacey | Yeah, that's uh that sounds uh yeah, disturbing and fascinating. Yeah, I I think you covered it there. That's uh that's quite the story or the that's quite the pitch for a story. |
| Jason Heaton | Goodness. Yeah. What a guy. |
| James Stacey | Uh a a true legend. Yeah, he is. And |
| Jason Heaton | I I I can't remember which one of his books I read. I bet you've read Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know. Mad |
| James Stacey | Bad, Dangerous to Know. Yeah. Yeah. |
| Jason Heaton | He's a he's quite a writer too. I mean I've read yeah, his his books are great. yeah. |
| James Stacey | the segment where he deals I won I'm not gonna give anything away, but I I have um I have a pretty strong stomach for gore and the descriptions therein. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. But the segment where he talks about dealing |
| James Stacey | with some frostbite in his like garden shed. |
| Jason Heaton | Mm-hmm. Uh that got under my |
| James Stacey | skin. Yeah. Yeah. I remember that part of the book uh very strongly. Yeah. So yeah, that's uh look, my final note this week couldn't really be any more different. Um, but it is a a product that I bought. Uh this is not an ad in any way at all. I have no connection to the company. I know Sarah Coat from their coatings on the TGN pen and on watches and that sort of thing. Well, as it turns out, they make all sorts of ceramic-based stuff. And I needed to or I wanted to clean up the headlights on my van. They're, you know, this is a 10-year-old Toyota. They've gotten kind of cloudy and yellowed. And I'm a uh picky when it comes to things like headlights. I think they look it really helps the vehicle look new and modern and that sort of thing if they're nice and clean. So I bought for uh the equivalent, it'ss $18 U. I paid $30 Canadian for the Cerakote Ceramic Headlight Restoration Kit. And like if you go on on YouTube, you'll get videos of people using toothpaste, you'll get videos of people using power tools or no power tools or special coatings or you know, removing whole like really polishing a lens and then you remove whatever UV coating it has and it gets even worse very quickly. So I was worried about doing it right. And the reviews seem fairly strong on this product. And in like 30 minutes, the difference is ridiculous. They look brand new. And uh and then you, you know, the final step in the process is to apply this ceramic layer that they say once it's cured, which takes twenty-four hours, but they say once it's cured, like will last as long as you own the vehicle. So we'll see. But uh from a scenario where uh no power tools involved, and I would say it took me 30 minutes, maybe 40. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, uh, plus the call it two |
| James Stacey | hours or so where you really want to be careful that nothing touches the and no water interacts with the the lens, the the you know the plastic housing of the headlight. really nice product, really, really easy to use. I ha if you're if you drive an older vehicle where you've got some sun damage or some fading, some discoloration, that sort of thing of the headlights, I'm really, really uh kind of impressed by. |
| Jason Heaton | Huh. This is great. And uh, you know, given what I said earlier about uh about all my work on Prius's older Prius's, I might have to uh to do something like this. Because I I've tried. I've I've tried kind of various kind of plastic polishes and things on headlamp. This is like a |
| James Stacey | a bunch of these wipes that clean the lens as much as possible and then a little hand sander that does a two thousand and a three thousand grit pass |
| Jason Heaton | to kind of rough up the lens. And then at that |
| James Stacey | point, if you didn't watch the two and a half minute video they offer, you'd think you did something wrong because they're they're quite cloudy after the sanding. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. And then you you dry make sure |
| James Stacey | they're super dry and then you do this one simple pass with a little wipe of the ceramic stuff. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. And they're like cr they're crystal clear. Wow. Wow. |
| James Stacey | Like I was kind of blown away. I I took photos, but like they don't really convey the difference. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. Like you can tell that it looks like I |
| James Stacey | just put a new headlight in basically. But the from where it was, like even Sarah was very kind of surprised by the difference. So you walk up, walk past the van and you kind of notice, like, oh, it just looks a little nicer. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. Um I wasn't expecting it |
| James Stacey | to be kind of that easy or um or that effective. Um and then yeah, I would say the most finicky part of it is you uh you know, because you're doing a little bit of sanding, tape off the the paint around the the headlight. But other than that, like you're opening little packages and wiping the lens just through three stages. So you're cleaning it and then sanding it and then coating it and you're done. |
| Jason Heaton | Hmm. Nice. That's a good that's a good tip. Cool product. Yeah, I'll have to look for that. Good one. All |
| James Stacey | right. Well, there you go. Uh that's a solid episode. Again, a big shout out to uh Thomas for being on. Uh looking forward to Thomas Holland 4 sometime in the future. Maybe uh maybe we record that one on the road going to look at some stupid car I've convinced myself I need or something |
| Jason Heaton | like that. Uh but look man, |
| James Stacey | I'd I'm I'm weirdly excited to get to the end of this episode because it just means I'm |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, I'm gonna as soon as we hang up here, I'm gonna go and uh round up some more gear to pack along for the swap and uh and uh start uh start my fast, you know, my my my fasting ahead of our same. Yeah. |
| James Stacey | All right. Well look, thanks so much for listening. If you want to subscribe to the show notes, get into the comments for each episode, or even consider supporting the show directly, which can |
| Jason Heaton | And we leave you with this quote from Douglas Adams, who said, I may not have ended up where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be. |