TOLEDO — If you don’t know the man, then you’ve at least seen the car, and if you’ve seen the car, then you know the man — local gearhead Chris Blocker of Toledo. A staple among the Tama County car shows, Blocker’s Frankensteined modified rides are a true sight to behold, making all that crowd around the vehicle drop their jaws in awe.

If you’re not as mechanically inclined as Mr. Blocker, or Blocky as he is often called, you are now in luck. In February, he came up with an idea for a new adventure, a YouTube channel called Blocky’s Garage. It may have only been up for a limited time, but there are already a dozen helpful and interesting videos ready to be watched.

The reason Blocker started his channel is simple. In his own words, it was because he has “a lot of knowledge about cars and all of their parts, and I wanted to bring people in on my everyday work as well as my tinkering.” Tinkering may be an understatement as he does a lot more than just change the oil and tighten the lugnuts.

Blocky does motor pulls, body swaps, and full-on restorations that you will be able to see on his channel, all while learning a little something along the way.

“I’ve been ‘saving’ a lot of vehicles from junkyards in hopes to bring them back to life. I’m hoping everything I’m working on is helping teach someone even a little something new that they didn’t know before. I’m always going to depth on all my work to ensure that someone learns something,” he said.

This is just the start of Blocky’s Garage, as there are a whole slew of projects planned for the future — a vintage dirt track car, a Rat Rod Gasser, a Ramp Truck, and a Rat Rod Truck are all on the itinerary, but that’s not all.

“I’ll also be doing motor rebuilds, rear ends, transmissions, full restorations, and a lot of “how to” videos as well as quick tips,” Blocker said.

Blocky’s YouTube channel has been growing with the publication of every video, and subscribers know they are watching quality content made by a man who knows what he’s talking about. However, it hasn’t come without its challenges.

Blocker has struggled here and there with various parts, including editing, and getting the videos out promptly — as well as talking to himself when he’s alone in the garage, narrating what he’s doing, and of course, turning on the camera. Despite these small slip-ups and setbacks, Blocker has been putting himself out there and has been receiving nothing but support, not only from online comments but just from people around town as well.

If you don’t just want to see Blocky on the internet, but you want to see his cars in person — if you want to see his rat rod, named “Loose Change,” the car that inspires awe, makes you drop your jaw, makes you say, “Ooh-la-la” — then you’ll have to go to one of the many car shows in which Blocker is in attendance. Some of them may be featured on his channel in the future, but seeing that fan-favorite rat rod in person is not to be missed.

Blocker goes to a whopping 30 plus shows a year, and if they’re close, he brings along some of his other cars, not just the rat rod, but the Tribute “Dukes of Hazzard” tow truck, the ’65 Galaxie 500, and his ’07 Corvette.

So, if you can’t get out to any of the local car shows this year, or if you need to learn a few mechanical tricks, then get out the computer or a cell phone. This local motor maestro’s YouTube page is the place to go if you simply want to learn a few things or if you want to have some fun and see a car get transformed. Check it out on YouTube at Blocky’s Garage.

Some of the car shows that Blocker attends are listed below.

• Brooklyn on June 9

• Gladbrook on June 15

• Victor on June 29

• Goodguys (at the Iowa State Fairgrounds) July 5-7

• Dysart on July 19

• Hudson on July 20

• Chelsea on July 27

• Marengo on Aug. 3

• Keystone on Aug. 4

• Grinnell on Aug. 24

• Reinbeck on Sept. 21

• Tama this September