02x05 - You Got a Nascar

[bunniefuu]

[tools whir]

[engine revs]

[moody music playing]

-[Scooter] So what happened?
-[Andy] That windstorm blew the door open.

There's sand everywhere.

I latched the door, but we've had trouble
with that door before.

-It's crazy, man.
-[Wes] It's covered in sand.

[Scooter] Dude. [speaks Spanish]

I don't even wanna know.

[Scooter] Oy.

[Andy] So…

We got damage all across the front,
the fenders, the hood.

It even got the glass, got the mirror.

-So it was freshly painted?
-Yeah.

It ain't even really
what I'd call cured yet. So…

-[Jaime] Oh…
-[Scooter] La madre.

[Andy] The ruined paint's a huge problem.

However, the bigger problem is
that Steve Saleen himself,

the legendary car builder,
is gonna be here within 24 hours.

He's on his way to verify
whether this car is one of his or not.

If it is, it means a huge payday
for the team.

But Steve's a perfectionist,
and there is absolutely no way

we can let him see the car
in the shape that it's in.

[Wes] This puts us back at square one.

[Andy] It's gonna take days to get it
cleaned up enough in here to paint.

-I can make a couple of calls.
-Start callin'.

Guys, you better pull a horseshoe out
of your a*s to get this ready.

We're gonna burn some midnight oil.
That's what we'll do.

[Rabbit] We can get mad or get to work.

The hurry started, like, yesterday.
That's how serious this is, man.

I'll start sanding, DA-ing.
I'll get it in primer.

Man, this sucks.

[theme music playing]

[dynamic music playing]

[Andy] So you know these guys?

[Scooter] Yeah, man,
I've known Nancy and Ruben…

I actually went to high school
with, uh… with Nancy.

-There it is.
-[Andy] I love it, dude. That's fine, bro.

This would be…
This is what I need, man. Love it, dude.

-[in Spanish] Hey, what's up?
-[Scooter] Ruben, Nancy, how are you?

This is my buddy, Andy.

-[in English] Hi, Andy.
-[Andy] Nice to meet you.

-[in Spanish] What are you guys doing?
-We had an emergency in the workshop.

Andy is the painter there.
And we want to borrow your workshop.

[in English] What he said.

[in Spanish] We do have work,

but we can do something
to help you to get your work done too.

[in English] He says they got work,
but are willing to work with us.

[in Spanish] How about $200?

How many years have you known me?

[conversing in Spanish]

Sí.

Just because we have the same roots,
it's $200, and you owe me a favor.

Yes, we owe you a favor. Thank you, Nancy.

-[in English] Thank y'all very much.
-You're welcome.

$200 for every vehicle that we bring in,
but we owe them a favor.

They scratch our back, I scratch theirs.
I need to be paintin' yesterday.

[Scooter, in Spanish]
We'll pay favor with favor.

-This gringo says gracias. Thank you!
-Let's go.

[Andy] Let's get the Mustang.

[suspenseful music playing]

♪ Tick, tick, tick ♪

We got 24 hours
to get this Mustang back in shape.

Resanding and repainting,
it's just the first step.

It's gonna be a long night,

but it's worth it
if this thing ends up being a Saleen.

The paint's gotta dry overnight,

and we cannot touch it
while that's happenin'.

It is gonna be a race against time
with Steve comin' in tomorrow.

As soon as I get back to the shop,
the entire team can detail the inside

while I buff the outside.

[upbeat music playing]

[Wes] Steve Saleen
will be here any minute.

I know we're behind on this thing,
having to repaint everything,

reassemble it at the last minute.

I've got the seats in. We still need
to get the front seats, hood.

We just don't wanna miss anything.
We still got a lot to do.

[horn honks]

[Scooter] Damn, they're here.

[Rabbit] Let's see
if we can't buy 'em more time.

-[Scooter] Hey, look who it is.
-[Rabbit] Oh my goodness.

-[Scooter] Miracle.
-[Rabbit] How are you?

-[Scooter] Good. Good to see you guys.
-Hi.

-How do we do this? [laughing]
-[Rabbit] Let's just… Easy!

-How was your flight?
-I'm starstruck.

-[Molly] It was good.
-Good. Good. It wasn't too long.

So I don't wanna get into
too many details.

This is not your typical Saleen find.

The cars we do are meant to be driven.
They're meant to be raced.

Yeah, well, this one I don't think
was meant to be a chicken coop.

A chicken coop?

-But it ended up as one.
-[Molly laughs]

And this one, from everything I can tell,
is the real deal.

A lot of people like to make clones.

And they're gettin' really good
at makin' them. That's the scary part.

But you can't clone the man.

[clears throat]

[Rabbit] So, man,
how about that rental car?

Bet it gets good mileage.

-[Jaime] We gotta hurry up.
-[Wes] I'm goin' as fast as I can.

-Well, when are we gonna see this Mustang?
-Yeah.

Have you guys ever had pan dulce?

No.

[Rabbit] No idea
what you're talking about.

Sweet bread! Remember
we had the Mexican sweet bread?

-[Rabbit] Oh, the doughnut stuff.
-[Scooter] The conchas.

What's your guys' favorite type of bread?

-Bread?
-Yeah.

-Um, I actually don't have all day.
-I tell you what, let's, uh…

Let's bring you inside.

Let's get you a cup of coffee
and get this thing looked at.

-[Scooter] After you guys.
-[Molly] Thanks.

[Steve] Actually, I don't drink coffee.

Let's check this out!

[Scooter] Look who dropped by.

-[Andy] Oh!
-[Wes] Hey, hey!

-I believe I heard the buzzer just go off.
-Yeah! Hey.

-Glad y'all came.
-Yeah.

-Hi. Steve.
-[Andy] Steve Saleen himself.

-[Steve] How are you? Good to meet you.
-[Andy] Thanks for comin'.

[Rabbit] So here it is.

Even in the condition we found this thing,

everything is factory original
still on this car.

[Steve] Wow.

So we're dying to know.

Is this a real Saleen,
or is this a knockoff?

That's a good question.
I'm gonna have to look around here.

Check and see the side skirts.

This is incredibly nerve-racking,

because we're looking at a car
that could be a huge profit margin.

Like 60, 70, maybe even $80,000.

But if not, we could have been
going through all this work,

and it's worth only 25 grand.

They are not giving us any signs
one way or another.

-[Molly] Gas cap. Yeah.
-[Steve] It doesn't open, so--

-[Molly] Okay.
-[Steve] Yeah. Let's get this.

Do you have the center console?

We sure do. You want the number plate?

-Lookin' for the dash.
-Specifically, the dash plaque.

Is that around?

[Wes] This what you're looking for?



-[Molly] 6-108.
-[Steve] Thank you.

-Let's see the book.
-[Molly] Mm-hm.

We brought a book with us.

-[Jaime] There's a book?
-[Molly] So we have a registry.

-[Scooter] Okay.
-And all the Saleen vehicles,

we take note of everything
that we do to them,

and we track it with VINs.

This is what actually
makes a Saleen a Saleen.

-I need to check one other thing though.
-Oh man.

-[Andy] Oh!
-[Scooter] Uh-oh.

-Here we go. Still on the edge.
-Sounds…

[tense music playing]

-[Molly] That's…
-So…

-You have the page?
-Yep.

-[Steve] Got it?
-We got… Did the VIN end in a 503?

-Yeah.
-[Andy] Whoo!

-Oh my goodness.
-[Scooter] It is! Yes!

-Thank you so much.
-Delighted!

-I knew it!
-[laughs]

It is a real Saleen.

When I saw the console plaque,

we made 'em out of magnesium

because we wanted to make sure
people could not duplicate it.

So when you showed me that…

-I go, "That looks like it should."
-[Wes] Nice.

-Sweet. We got some patinaed authenticity.
-Yeah.

Getting this Saleen verified
by the man himself is huge.

If we keep getting wins like this,

our shop's gonna get
beyond the $500,000 goal.

And if that happens, we can stop worrying
about the day-to-day stuff

and focus on growing the business.

[Steve] When you get done,

I actually might know somebody
that would be interested.

[Wes] Nice.

-That'd be fantastic.
-You think it can't get better, it does.

Yeah, I'll definitely take a lead
any time I can.

We do have a client that's interested, but
that was before the car was authenticated.

We'll probably have
to renegotiate a little on this price.

-Yeah, the value's gone up.
-[Wes] Yeah.

-Steve comes down, the price goes up.
-[Wes] That's it.

I know you guys are busy,
but we've got to have your autograph.

-[Scooter] Your John Hancock.
-If you would.

Molly and I will make it official.

-[Scooter] Whoo! Whoo-hoo!
-[Rabbit] We love it.

I personally would have driven this car
around the block to do the test drive

before we shipped it to the Ford dealer.

So coming back
and actually seeing this car,

it reacquainted me with an old friend

that I had done almost 40 years ago.

[Andy] This car just got cooler.

Well, it also…
It's two seconds a lap faster too.

-[all laughing]
-[Molly] Two seconds faster.

Two seconds faster
and 20 grand more expensive now.

-[Andy] Sweet!
-Whoo!

-[Rabbit] I wanna thank y'all so much.
-[all calling out thanks]

[Scooter] After you, guys.

So I guess the weight's off our shoulders
now, guys. It's a real Saleen.

-It's epic.
-[Andy] Sweet!

[Jaime] We just need the rest of the parts
so we can finish and get this baby sold.

[rock and roll music playing]

Barbecue and stuff!

-♪ Fiesta! ♪
-Gonna grill.

♪ No siesta! ♪

The secret to a great barbecue?
Never wash the grill.

Look at that. Ooh-hoo!

A team is important.
It's kinda like family.

So Jaime and I were talking
about team building.

-What are you cooking, good looking?
-Rabbito! What's up?

-What's up, man?
-[Scooter] The Wesito family. Hey!

We're also celebrating that the Mustang
turned out to be an authentic Saleen.

Andy, maestro! What's up, man?

And what better way to celebrate
and do some team building

than to have a carne asada,
you know, a Mexican cookout?

[Scooter speaks Spanish]

Tortillas are burning up!

[Lucky and Scooter speaking Spanish]

-[Lucky] Don't burn the tortilla!
-La madre! [blowing]

Oh [bleep] That's on fire.

La mad… [chuckles]

-Caden, you bring any money with you?
-Yeah, you got some money?

-No.
-Okay, never mind.

-[Scooter] What's up? How are you?
-What's goin' on? Good. How are you?

[Scooter] Good. How do you like steak?

-Well done?
-Not like that!

-Do you like jalapeños?
-No.

-No? How about salsa?
-No.

-Look, I have my own Scooter Famous Salsa.
-[Jaime] "Scooter's Famous…"

And you better
get used to the Mexican spice

if you're gonna move your family
out here full-time.

Everybody else is in there.

-Cheers.
-Cheers.

Hey, Scooter. Not bad, vato. Not bad, man.

[Scooter] Somebody appreciates my cooking.

[Rabbit] This is like sh**ting.
You don't jerk the trigger.

-You squeeze it.
-Squeeze.

Gracie, what do you think?
Are we beatin' Rabbit at pool?

[Scooter] The bunny hop!

I'm the only one
that didn't have any family here.

Kind of sucks I'm by myself,
but you know what?

At the end of the day, it's still a team.
We're together.

You should have brought Carlos.

I'll get him down here.

-[Wes] Texas is a good place.
-[Jaime] It is.

-We got a good crew here.
-Oh yeah.

My crew's outnumberin' Rabbit on pool, so…

[Jaime] It's important to have
my family with me in El Paso.

We're really building something here,

and my husband's suggesting
that we should all just move down.

This might be the right time.

That's the best pocket.
Everything goes over there.

[Lucky] Yeah, well, I seen that earlier…

-[Scooter] I brought you a plate. Here.
-That's nice.

-Thank you, Scooter.
-Look at that! Mmm! It's got chile.

And then…

-Taste Scooter's Famous Salsa. Look.
-[Jaime] That's scary.

-It's not scary.
-[Rabbit] It looks scary.

-[Scooter] There's a jalapeño there. Just…
-[Jaime] No.

-Really? [scoffs]
-[Jaime] Oh yeah.

-Come on. You know me better than that.
-[chuckles]

[upbeat rock music playing]

[phone buzzing]

[Scooter] Get this.

[woman, in Spanish] Well, hello, Scooter.

How are you, Rosa, my friend?
How are you doing?

Good. This may not be exactly
your type of car,

but I have a lead on a NASCAR vehicle.

[whispers] NASCAR.

It is a 2000 Monte Carlo.

What about the owner or what?

The seller is a character.
He got into racing, but wasn't good.

Now he wants to sell it,
start something new.

[Scooter] Okay.

The car is about
40 kilometers outside of Juárez.

And he didn't tell you
how much he wanted for it?

No, no, no.

[Scooter] We'll be in touch.

Right. Okay.

-Gracias. Bye-bye.
-Bye.

[in English] That didn't sound like Cabe.

No, it wasn't. It was my comadre Rosa.

You know, I got contacts everywhere,
you know. Cabe's not the only one.

So she's telling me
there's a 2000 Monte Carlo NASCAR,

but it's in the outskirts of Juárez,

like, about, you know, uh,


I mean, the drive's not…
It's not that that worries me. Um…

But, you know,
Rosa did say the owner was a bit odd.

Isn't it a little bit weird
to have a NASCAR car in Mexico?

Not really. You gotta think about it.
NASCAR racing's worldwide, dude.

[Scooter] Yeah. We could use the rep boost
from working on a legit one.

But it's gotta be the right one.

We don't know
if it's a left-turn or a straight

or whatever car,
a road course car or anything.

She doesn't know that. I don't know that.
You know… you know that more than I do.

-So I say we go check it out.
-Let's go.

[bird of prey screeches]

[moody music playing]

[barking]

[Rabbit] NASCAR started its circuit
down here in Mexico around 20 years ago.

Tell you what, Scooter.

If this tip is legit,
and we end up with a NASCAR…

It'll be like hittin' the old lotería.

Lotería, lotería, there you go.

[Rabbit] NASCAR Mexico,

the first NASCAR championship series
outside of the US.

When it first set up shop
in the early 2000s,

NASCAR Mexico
immediately made a big splash.

In fact, NASCAR Mexico
has the biggest NASCAR following

outside of the United States,
and it's still growing.

[Scooter] This is the spot right here.

-There we go.
-[Rabbit] Let's see what they got.

[car lock chimes]

[Scooter] Let's go check it out.

[Rabbit] Well, it's a race car.
At least it's in one piece.

I got a little bit of experience
with this.

You do?

[Rabbit] These things are so popular
where I come from.

That's where NASCAR racing got its start.

Believe it or not, there's
a robust market for rebuilt NASCARs.

-[Scooter] Yes.
-A couple of different guys buy these.

Some guys buy 'em
just because they want a race car.

Or you got your weekend warrior guys
that wanna go out and do nostalgia racing.

-[Scooter] Oh yeah.
-Either way, these guys have deep pockets.

Racing is not a cheap sport.

El Duende. You know what El Duende means?

-Not a clue. That's why I got you here.
-[Scooter chuckles]

It's like an evil troll or an evil elf.

You know, Mexican folklore.

You guys are into some weird stuff.

[chuckles]

That's interestin'.

RCR. What is that?

Richard Childress Racing.

I'm dying to meet the owner of this car.

This is who Dale Earnhardt drove for.

Now, that's very cool.
Especially the generation of this car.

-Cool.
-This is like a '99, 2000 Monte Carlo.

'Cause a lot of these cars,
when they fall in general population,

all the parts are robbed off of 'em.

The same people that were designing
rockets for friggin' NASA

was doin' the same
kinda engineerin' for this car.

And I'm noticin' that they've left
some really good stuff on here.

Another dead giveaway is that shifter.

That's telling you that it's got
the Jerico-style four-speed in it.

That's a racing transmission.
That alone is about 8,000 bucks.

An RCR road course car
could go for, like, 35,000 in the US,

and that's without the original parts.

What's this car doing in Juárez?

My assumption would be
this is around the time

when all this stuff started gettin'
popular with NASCAR in Mexico.

-Nobody in Mexico was building these cars.
-No.

So what did they do?

They trucked 'em all down
from North Carolina to here.

One of the most iconic cars
in NASCAR history, the Chevy Monte Carlo.

With a high horsepower V8 engine,
long silhouette, and suitable wheelbase,

the Monte Carlo was Chevrolet's
longtime choice to represent the brand

in the US NASCAR Cup Series.

The wheelman of many of those Monte Carlos

was none other than the legendary
number three, Dale Earnhardt.

Before he passed in 2001,

Earnhardt drove for the peerless
Richard Childress Racing.

The RCR team has been a mainstay

in the stock car racin' scene
for over 50 years.

And with Earnhardt as their driver
of the Chevy Monte Carlo,

RCR won six NASCAR Cups,

adding to the storied history of NASCAR
in the US, Mexico, and beyond.

How do you get in this thing?

You're going all wrong.
You gotta take the steering wheel off.

[man, in Spanish] What's happening?

[conversing in Spanish]

A lady named Rosa told us

that you have a NASCAR-type car
that you might sell.

Yes.

-[in English] Big engine. What is that?
-[Rabbit] It's a GM crate engine.

-[in Spanish] Does it run?
-Yes, it runs. It just needs a little gas.

[Scooter, in English] He says it works.
It just needs a little gas, but it works.

-[in English] What'll it take?
-[Scooter] Let me ask.

[in Spanish] How much
do you want for the car?

$7,000.

[Scooter, in English] He says seven grand.

Tell him 5,000 right now.

[in Spanish] What do you think
of 5,000 right now?

No, I can't.

[Scooter replies]

I still have to buy my outfit,
my clothing for wrestling.

[in English] He's firm on the price.
He wants seven.

He says he's gotta invest
in his new business

that he's gonna go into,
which is wrestling.

-We like that in the South too.
-[Scooter] We do.

I mean, to each their own.

I've had customers, you know, buy things

and move on to other things
and other hobbies.

I've bought collector cars
from people that got into fishin',

and they were sellin' their car
to buy their fishin' boat.

I have never once had a guy sell me a car
because he's gonna become a wrestler.

-I mean, it's a good price.
-It's a good price.

Tell him we'll take it.

[conversing in Spanish]

-[Rabbit in English] What did you say?
Oh, I got this, man.



[Scooter and Gonzalo speaking Spanish]

-[Rabbit] Ten…
-[Scooter] Seven.

-[translates]
-[Rabbit] Seven.

Vámonos, pues!

Let's go, Rabbito.

I'll be a little duende.
El Duendecito. Huh?

-Let's get the damn car.
-[Scooter] Let's get it.

Whoo! Vámonos! Here we go.
[making engine noises]

[Rabbit] This little NASCAR bein'…

-One, a Richard Childress car…
-Yes.

Two, bein' the condition it is
with all the stuff it's got.

And someone's gonna buy this thing.

-There's an a*s for every seat, bud.
-Yes.

Yes, and you forgot number three, man.
Look at this.

I'm a luchador now.

Maybe I can get Lucky
to stitch me up a cape or something.

Maybe we can get him
to put a zipper on it.

Put a zipper on…
No, Rabbit! No, Rabbit. Come on!

[upbeat rock music playing]

[horns beeping]

[horn honking]

You know, this is a monumental moment
for Borderland Customs.

Not only are we buildin' hot rods,
we're buildin' a full-blown NASCAR.

This is what separates us
from all the other mod shops around.

Plus, now we have a new mascot,
El Duende Junior. [hissing]

Huh? What do you think?

God help me, we got a race car.

-[Wes] Yeah!
-[Scooter] A race car.

-[Andy] This thing looks fast.
-This is a classic NASCAR.

-[Wes] I love it.
-It's got race car shocks.

It's got race car brakes.
It's got the race car engine.

It's got the race car trans.

[Jaime] I'd love to hear
the story behind this one.

So we got it from a wrestling gnome.

-[Jaime] A what?
-[laughs] A wrestling gnome!

-Did you say gnome?
-What's that? El Dorado?

-El Duende, guey. El Duende.
-[Rabbit] Yeah, that too.

It's like a troll or… or an elf.

-But this guy wasn't. He's big.
-[Scooter] He was the opposite.

So is this a Richard Childress race car?

The same people that built Dale's cars…

-[Wes] Right.
-…built this car.

[Wes] Man, I've been a NASCAR fan
my whole life. I love racing.

I've seen 'em up close,

but to actually get my hands on it
and work on it is a dream come true.

I say the guys did pretty good this time.

RCR cars don't really end up
in general pop.

Either they're in private collections,
or they're all still sitting at RCR.

[Jaime] Let's get it inside
and let's see what we got.

-[Scooter] I got this. Put it out the way.
-[Andy] What is goin' on right now?

-Show you guys how it's done.
-[Andy] Oh. Whoa! Superhero now.

-[Scooter] Hang on.
-[Wes] Oh man. Not the wrestlin' mask.

-I know it.
-[speaking Spanish]

-Sit back and enjoy the show.
-[Wes] Watch the show.

-[starts engine]
-[speaking Spanish and laughing]

-Uh-oh. The steering wheel fell off.
-[Rabbit] Let's just push him in.

[Scooter] Thank you!
What would I do without you?

-[Lucky] You can do it.
-[Scooter] Power steering would be nice.

El Duende does it again. [chuckles]

Or shall I say
that El Duende Junior does it again.

Hey, come on.

[Rabbit] Vintage racing,
these things are huge.

These guys love to take these out,
little weekend warriors.

At the end of the day, for 7,000 bucks,

we bought a NASCAR stock car.

-In Mexico.
-That's turnkey.

With the right buyer, something
like this can sell for 40 to 50,000.

Wes is gonna have welding work to do.
Make sure everything's okay with this.

-We got a little fabrication to do.
-[Wes] We're missing the cowl panel.

Just go over everything,

make sure there's no stress cracks,
everything's good and solid.

This Monte Carlo was designed to race
on an oval NASCAR track.

It needs to be the best
at goin' fast and turnin' left.

Suspension's key.
You know, horsepower's key.

If your suspension and your setup is off,
other cars are gonna slip right by you.

[Lucky] Obviously, I don't got
a lot of work in the interior.

Seat looks pretty good.
But I can try to… try to clean it up.

[Andy] So, body work-wise.

You want me to take the waves
out of it, down the side?

Slick her up.
I mean, that's… that's the key, you know?

I'm gonna get after the paint and get this
goin' quick. So let's make it simple.

Well, let's keep it real simple.
Let's wrap it.

Wrap? Wow.
The one feelin' I got, and you hurt it.

[Rabbit] This thing's gonna be on a track.
When it gets damaged,

painting it again and again
will get expensive for the buyer.

You'll have a lot of work.
You're doin' numbers, letterin'.

-Whatever you want.
-All the decals.

[Jaime] Our paint booth is
still covered in sand too.

- I'm lookin' for my job to be replaced.
-Okay. So you wanna wrap it?

-Yeah, wrap it.
-Wrap it.

-Wrap.
-[Jaime] Lucky, what do you think?

I think we should wrap it.

[tuts] Lovely. All right.

I grew up paintin' race cars.
Granted, that was NHRA, not NASCAR.

But it would be another arrow
I would love to add to my quiver.

I get why they wanna wrap this car,

but I'd love to get a crack
at puttin' my stamp on a NASCAR.

Looks like this just isn't the one.

You guys focus on the car.
I'll focus on findin' a buyer.

[Jaime] All right.
So here's what we're gonna do.

Ideally, we just want this car to go fast.

I mean, these cars are just…
they're runners on a track.

First, we need to keep it light,

and nothing else
needs to go into this interior.

Wes, you'll clean up the body
and fabricate the panels.

And the suspension needs tuning
to racing specs.

We'll keep it simple on the wrap,
just black, so the buyer can customize it.

New wheels,
give the engine a good once-over,

and then let's get it on the track.

Are we keeping the name?
El Duende? Are we?

-[Jaime sighs]
-Don't forget your mask.

[country rock music playing]

We got our race car in.

We noticed it was missin' a few panels.
Specifically, the cowl panel was missin'.

So I'm gonna get busy
and just whip up a new one.

The cowl panel is between the hood
and the windshield.

With NASCARs, that's very important,

'cause airflow across the hood
keeps downforce on the car,

which really helps traction of the car
goin' around the track.

[sighing] All right.

So now that I've got my template made,
it's time to start cuttin' some metal.

I love race cars, and I love fabricating,

so pretty much best-case scenario for me.

Once I got my 16-gauge panels,
I need to cut my corners out.

Looks pretty good.

Just gonna deburr the edge of this.

When doin' a race car,
you have to think of every little detail

and its function for the track.

So this piece needs to be
both lightweight and strong.

I've added a little bit of reinforcement
on the back of this

just to keep it
from blowin' around in the wind.

So now that we've got this welded on,
we'll mount it up.

Fits nice and sturdy.
It's like it almost grew there.

It may not look pretty yet,

but when it's all finished,
you'll never know I even touched it.

I think it'll be good to go.

I would like to take this thing out
for a lap or two. Or ten.

[country rock music playing]

-You ready, sir?
-I'm always ready, man.

[laughing] All right. Put your drink down.

[Andy] Robert is the local
hotshot wrap artist.

That's W-R-A-P, not R-A-P.

Let's peel this back.

[Andy] It's good
we decided to wrap this car.

The paint room's out of commission.

Plus, I've been curious
about wrapping for a while.

So I'm not mad
that we're gonna wrap this Monte Carlo.

When I put a cover over a cell phone,
I always get those bubbles everywhere.

-So see the back of this material here?
-Yeah.

It's got air-egress technology
and allows the air bubbles

to just easily go out.

-[Andy] That's cheatin', isn't it?
-Little bit.

-[Andy] Ready?
-Yep. Nice and tight.

The paint doesn't quite do that.

We're gonna do what's called making glass.

-It's kind of pulling the wrinkles out?
-Yeah.

[Andy] I do appreciate
the technique here though.

It's called years of cussing, sir.

After this, everybody'll want me
to do their cell phones.

[laughs] That's where I started.

-Is that where you started?
-No!

I've always been fascinated with…
with wrapping and how it's done.

The cool thing about wrapping too is,
it's like they can go over glass.

I can't do that with paint.

-It's not gonna leave any residue?
-[Robert] No, sir.

-That's a money-back guarantee, I guess.
-No, it's not.

-[laughs]
-Oh. Yeah.

So this stuff really does…
It's very, very stretchy.

It's very conformative.

That's an awesome word. Not gonna lie,
I don't know I've ever used that before.

-Yeah, I try not to.
-Not sure I've even heard it before.

-Cool, man.
-Where'd you go to school?

[Andy] I'm naturally wanting to start
addin' stripes and scallops or somethin'.

You gotta stop somewhere.
And that's my problem.

Less is more a lot. This wrapping deal,
I think, could simplify that.

I don't know.
He may k*ll me for sayin' that, but…

-Oh no, it definitely makes life easier.
-See, this is your everyday job.

Yeah, this is Monday
through Friday for me.

I bet you're hellacious with Band-A*DS,
aren't ya?

[country music playing]

[Jaime] So I'm assuming you're adjusting…

[Wes] These are weight jacks.

So on the fly, in the race,
they can tighten this down,

which'll stiffen up this front spring.

Keeps the body from rollin' over so much.

When it comes to racing,
Wes is our resident expert.

[Wes] A race car is a well-tuned machine.

It's kinda one of those things,
everything has to work together.

[Jaime] The Monte Carlo engine
just needs a little TLC,

but the suspension
desperately needs some adjustment.

So I'm kind of shadowing Wes
as he makes it NASCAR-ready.

[Wes] Traction's key.

If the car's pushin' in the corner

and another person's car is not pushin',
they're gonna get right by you.

-The car has to work through the corners.
-I see that.

You wanna be able to get on the gas
before the other person.

[Jaime] Mm-hm. Well, we've got
a lot of brake pad on here.

[Wes] That's some big brakes.
Two, 300 miles of racin'.

-Mm-hm.
-Seven, 8,000 RPMs.

-Yeah.
-These things go through some abuse.

So this car needs to corner perfect.

You know, the suspension,
spring ratings, are a big part of that.

So this is like a fine-tuned instrument.

Everything has to be precise,

and it has to be double-checked,
triple-checked before every performance.

See, I didn't grow up with race car stuff,
so this is all kind of new to me.

This is a big deal
for Borderland Customs, you know.

Not only do we do classics,

we've gotta have a broad spectrum
for all the buyers.

I agree.

That way, no matter what they bring us…

-We can do it.
-We got it in the can.

When I came to Borderland Customs,

it never dawned on me
that I'd be workin' on

the same kind of car
that Dale Earnhardt Senior drove.

Now I'm gettin' a chance
to put my stamp on somethin'

that's gonna perform on the track.

When the buyer looks at this,
sits in it, and drives it,

I want them to know
that they're in a real race car.

This is pretty high stakes for us.
You better not screw this up.

[muzak playing]

[Lucky humming]

[whistling]

I think I'll, uh, clean this race car up,
and get it ready for the sale.

When you're talkin' race cars,

a tricked-out interior is the last thing
a buyer's thinkin' about.

But I've still gotta do what I can
to put some shine on this thing.

This is where my perfectionism
comes in handy.

I love to clean and make things spotless.

Most people would complain,
but, hey, this is like a vacation to me.

This engine is filthy.

Let's get it cleaned up.
Let's get a little bit of love.

Let's see if we can make it look
a little bit better.

All right. Let me hit the wheels.

There we go!

Now we're in business.

Dry this car off a little bit.

Pull it inside. Vacuum it.

Let's see how to clean
the inside of this thing.

See if I can lift my leg high enough.

I knew I shouldn't have worn jeans today.

[grunts]

No, hell no. I'm too old for this crap.

[whistling]

There we go.

Get these rocks outta here.

How in the heck
did they get rocks in here?

Looks good. Hoo-ah!

[groans] My hip still hurts.

[groans]

[upbeat music playing]

[Wes] We'll finish settin' these valves.

We've had a lot of valve adjustments
that were way off.

Now we're on number one cylinder,
and we've still got some play in here.

So let's get number one adjusted
and put this thing back together.

-I'm anxious to see what it's gonna do.
-After a full tune-up, we're almost ready.

We gave the engine a full tune-up,
new spark plugs, rebuilt the carburetor,

because we don't know
how long this thing's been sittin'.

And then Wes had this brilliant idea of…

Diggin' a little deeper,
checkin' the valve settings,

inspecting the engine internally.

You know, with race engines,
maintenance is… is key.

These things get pushed to their limits,
and usually after every run,

they go through everything.

I did notice that a few of the valves
were a little loose,

which loses horsepower,
especially on a NASCAR

goin' in and out of corners,
on and off the gas.

It really needs to be top-notch
to be a race car.

-Ready to see how it sounds?
-[Jaime] Yeah.

I'll check and make sure
this fuel hose is tight.

[Wes] All right.
Make sure we don't have any leaks.

Yeah.

Moment of truth.

[engine starts]

[engine revving]

[Jaime] Sounds good.

Everything look good?

-It's good.
-All right.

[Jaime] We can ship it. On to the next.

[upbeat music playing]

-[Jaime] Morning.
-[Rabbit] Good morning.

[Jaime] What's goin' on?

[Rabbit] Oh, just
a little morning test drive.

[Jaime] So you have it sold?

-Making sure everything's running good?
-Not yet. Not quite yet.

-All right.
-This is why I couldn't be a race driver.

-[Jaime] Oh my God.
-Wrinkles my shirts.

So, if you don't have this sold,
you're just joyriding in it or what?

[Rabbit] I got a guy on the hook.

-[Jaime] Okay.
-What do you think about this?

If you're sellin' a race car,
where better than at a huge racetrack?

I think that's what's gonna sell this car.

That would be epic.

[Rabbit] This guy's
the weekend warrior type,

and we gotta put this thing
against his other race car brethren.

I'll tell you something.
Once he sits down in that seat,

and he feels
this old Chevy rattlin' his bones,

he's gonna be chompin' at the bit
to pay us.

I'm telling you, I can put this together.

But more importantly, how about
if we jazz this thing up a little bit?

Right now,
we just got, like, a black cloud.

Okay. So what are you thinkin'?

Full Borderland Customs wrap.

Somethin' wild. Somethin', I mean, huge.

This thing's a rollin' billboard.

This thing, done up like that,
at the right venue,

we got tens of thousands of eyes
lookin' at this thing.

I like the sound of that.

That's gonna give our name
and our brand a lot of views.

Great promotion right off the bat.

Well, sounds like a plan.
It sounds like you have some work to do.

Don't get that ponytail in a twist.
It's all gonna be all right. I promise.

MVP, baby. Star player.

Now time for another test drive.

[dramatic music playing]

[Scooter] Yo, Saleen parts are here,
you guys.

[Wes] We've got a new set of tires
that need to go on

and some authentic decals.

This Mustang is repainted,
Saleen verified,

and ready to be buttoned up.

That replacement rear hatch
and glass finally came in,

so we're gonna put that on too.

-[Wes] Think we got a jewel on our hands.
-[Jaime] I think so too.

[upbeat rock music playing]

-[engine revving]
-[tires screeching]

[Scooter] Finally, we have a finished,
fully original, verified Saleen Mustang

ready to be reintroduced to the world.

This car was a saga.

When we found it,
it had been converted into a chicken coop.

Then it was damaged in the sandstorm.

But we restored the interior,

gave the engine a racing tune-up…

[revving]

…replaced the damaged rear hatch twice,

put authentic, period correct decals
on the body…

and restored this Saleen-verified Mustang
to its original 1986 factory state.

This thing's a lean,
mean, pristine Saleen.

Perfect for rippin' around
these mountain curves.

And we hope we more than re-"coop"
what we put into it.

Sorry about the pun.
There is a possibility for big money here.

The kinda money that could reverse
Borderline Customs' recent slump

and put us back on track.

Now we just have to figure out
which buyer to go with.

[country rock music playing]

-Let's call Leon.
-Pues, ándale. Call him. See what he says.

Steve Saleen's friend in Cali
just gave us a buzz.

-He offered 75 grand for the Saleen.
-Nice.

Yeah, but local boy Leon,

he put a bug in our ear way before that.

If you got a Fox Body Mustang,
you give me a call. I'm your guy.

-We gotta give him first right of refusal.
-First dibs.

At the end of the day,
I'm a salesman of my word.

You know what? I'm gonna offer it to him.
He takes it or not.

Know what they call a salesman
that's a liar?

-A salesman?
-No, a politician.

Politician! [chuckling]

[ringing tone]

[Leon] Hey, is this Rabbit?

In the fur, sir.

You know, I told you
we'd find you a Fox Body.

We found you
one of the best in the country.

Tell me more.

It's also a Saleen Mustang.

We had Steve Saleen come down.
This thing's been authenticated.

Okay! Tell me more.

This is a running,
driving piece of history.

I've actually been lookin'
everywhere for a Saleen.

I kinda gave up on it
because I just can't find one.

Would you give $75,000
for this type of experience?

Hell yeah, that's a great price. I am in.

[Rabbit] I have a few things to work out
and some other people interested.

I will give you a buzz.
You have a good morning.

-All right, you too. Thank you, Rabbit.
-Bye now.

Bye.

Isn't it bad when you're just
a little too good at your job?

[chuckling]

[Rabbit] Here's where we stand
in our quest for half a mil.

We're halfway through the winter.

Before we put up for the Monte Carlo,

we were at 167,000.

With the cost of upgrades on the Saleen

and the purchase price of the race car,
we're down to 138,000.

We're past the halfway point,

but at least we've got two major deals
in play right now.

The bad news is, I'm worried
we're about to burn a bridge.

I'm gonna support you 100%
on whichever decision you make.

-[groans]
-As long as you make the right decision.

[Jaime] What's all the noise in here?

-[Scooter] Oh, hi, Jaime.
-It's a good and a bad.

-[Scooter] Yes.
-[Jaime] Okay. [chuckles]

[Rabbit] So, you know,
Steve said that he's got

a friend that would love to buy that '86.

[Jaime] Yeah.

We also have a local guy
that wants to buy it.

-Full asking.
-[Scooter] Leon.

Steve's guy,
the car will go out of the area.

Our work will be shown out of the area.

It'd be a nice car,
no matter where you take it.

But I think bang for the buck,
far as showing it off and proud of it,

our local guy's probably
gonna do the best job.

Well, I'm kind of disagreeing.

So we have a local sure thing,
and it's an instant 75,000 in our pocket.

Or we can chance it
that Steve Saleen's friend,

who is a high roller
in the California auto scene,

comes out here, loves it,
and takes it home to Cali,

which would spread our name
and cred all over the West Coast market.

And that path can give us
long-term success.

California may get down here.
He may not like it.

And then what do you do?
We got a guy here salivating that's local.

He is ready to come through the phone.
He can be here in 30 minutes.

You know, people might say,
"Oh, this is a good problem to have."

You got two on the hook though…

This is a "damned if you do,
damned if you don't" situation

'cause I'm gonna have to burn a bridge
one way or the other.

You gotta think, on one hand,
Leon is a very influential member

of the El Paso car scene.

On the other hand, we don't wanna spurn
a close friend of Steve Saleen's either.

[Jaime] So which one is it gonna be?

[sighs]

[theme music playing]