Who is 3.8slow_stang?
Many may recognize the user handle @3.8slow_stang from his helpful Capri Tools reviews, TikTok and Instagram. However, the many truck drivers and other customers who rely on his dedication to quality know him as Richard or Richie. While he currently works mostly on trucks, his experience covers a much wider area of mechanics, including cars and boats.
His training prepared him for a wide variety of work as well. In addition to Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certifications in maintenance and light repair, brakes, and suspension, Richie also has specialty training in other areas, including electrical, suspension, AC systems, leveling systems, furnaces, water heaters, and hydraulic leveling. A licensed New York State Heavy Duty and Motor Vehicle Inspector, Richie knows that little details matter, such as “being careful to run wires so they all flow … and checking my work.”
The Fuse Was Lit
When Richie was 10 years old, his grandmother let him dismantle and attempt to repair her broken Roomba autonomous vacuum. Even though she bought a new Roomba before he repaired the broken one, she continued giving him repair projects, including projects she could have done herself. From a young age, Richie always wanted to know how things work and how to fix them. He moved from Roombas to lawn mowers to go-carts until he started with his own project truck. He spent his youth tinkering, fixing, and learning about the mechanics of how things work.
Acts of Service
In addition to his mechanical career, Richie is also a dedicated volunteer firefighter. He started as a junior member at the age of 14 and continued throughout high school and college. Today, Richie remains active in his firefighting duties, with numerous certifications in interior firefighting, equipment operation, and fire officer courses. Volunteering alongside his father, who inspired him to join, Richie values the sense of community and support at the firehall. For Richie, firefighting is about giving back to the community and being there for people on their worst days. With 12 years of service, he wouldn’t change this part of his life for anything and has made many amazing friends along the way.
His Mustang Build
These days, Richie is more likely to be working on his 99 Ford Mustang with his dad than a Roomba. He enjoys the process of customizing his 99 Ford Mustang, including the challenge of working with an incomplete tool box, including missing necessary sockets and using claw hammer as his main hammer. He added a massive wing, window tint, red racing stripes, copper, and a new front bumper. He installed Shelby GT500 rims, rear window louvers, and side vents over the rear windows. His 99 Mustang also got a full paint correction and ceramic coating.
After a burnout and blowing the flange off his exhaust manifold, Richie “got the bright idea” to put an exhaust system on his 99 Ford Mustang, a decision that led to a lot of hard work, and a lot of swearing. Lying on his back on a cold concrete floor with almost no room to work, Richie began removing rusted catalytic converters.
After cutting the rest of the exhaust off, he started on the manifolds. A presoak in penetrating oil had no impact, so he turned to heat. Without a big torch available, he tried a little butane torch, about the size for roasting marshmallows. The heat worked on the bolts, but the EGR tubes wouldn’t budge. Richie used a pipe wrench and a crescent wrench in place of the missing wrenches that could have been the right size.
Fortunately, putting it back together was smooth sailing, and Richie is happy with the new set of headers and a cat back dual exhaust. Now he is installing all new pads, rotors, calipers, hoses, and parking brake cables.
"Goal is to turn a slow stang into a street terror."
- Richie
Richie At Work
Richie’s nearly one decade of work in the industry started with a job at a GE dealership. Pursuing additional training and wanting to get his hands on more vehicles, Richie got a job at an automotive shop. He added carpentry to his mechanical expertise with a job working on motorhomes and campers. Richie weathered the impact of COVID by applying his skills to a job as a decontamination washer at an environmental company. He worked his way up to his current position and now works on trucks, trailers, pumps, generators, and boats.
Richie’s commitment to getting semi drivers back on the road quickly and safely fuels his truck work. He logs services, repairs, and parts and tracks mileage. He touches base with drivers on their return drive to see if ordering parts or service kits ahead of time to improve efficiency. He’s currently servicing 5 over-the-road Kenworth semi trucks, multi lowboy trailers, drop decks, and even a heavy haul beamer. He also works on countless dump trucks, water trucks, guzzlers, and other machinery.
What's Next for Richie
Richie strives to be like his mentor. To run the truck shop. To be able to diagnose without blinking an eye. To make work easier for people in the field with custom harnesses or wiring diagrams. To, like his mentor, leave a legacy for younger generations, teaching them to take pride in their work, find simple solutions, and avoid going into debt purchasing unnecessarily expensive tools.
