06x03 - Hot Air

[bunniefuu]

♪ And keep on burning ♪

♪ There's a fire in your soul ♪

♪ Keep on burning! ♪

-[Mark] How you doing, my friend? Good.
-[Nick] I'm good. How are you?

So what's your sentiments
on this business venture?

I think we've got some growing pains.
I think we've got some problems.

-Yeah?
-I think there's some expectations

from my side and from your side
that might not quite be working out.

[Mark] We dove headfirst
into this high-end world

and put a lot on the line
with these two Ferraris

but those deals
didn't turn out as expected.

With the McLaren going bye-bye…

Excuse me for a second.
I'm gonna talk to my son. Let's go.

…I'm not sure
I have the kind of patience it takes

to match Nick's vision
of building this business.

And the entire team,
they're feeling it too.

You know, on builds like the DeLorean,
we really all get to shine,

but on the high-end stuff, we just don't.

It's hard to see how we're gonna
move forward this partnership,

but I wanna talk to Nick
before I make any final decisions.

Well, I was talking to the crew
last night, and they kinda--

They're not happy
with the direction it's all going in.

Just to put wheels and tires
and a vinyl stripe

-and an exhaust on a car…
-Yep.

…it's not really what we do here
or what everybody wants to do here.

I wanna build a relationship
with these clients.

I wanna build a business
based on those relationships,

on strong foundations,

so if we're doing stripes
and wheels and tires,

but that segues into bigger builds,
more builds, more clientele,

that's where I'm trying to get this.

-Sure.
-It's gonna take a long time to do it.

This partnership started off like
this is gonna be awesome,

but then reality set in.

Your clients don't want
me telling them what to do.

-I don't want them telling me what to do.
-Right. That's exactly it.

Your business is taking a hit.

-Mine's certainly taking a hit.
-Sure.

I'm laying it all out on the line
with these guys

and if they're not biting,
then my reputation is getting a ding.

It's just pedaling backwards.

Just sometimes partnerships
have to separate, stand back

and look at it from a distance and see,
is there a way to resolve it?

Is there not a way to resolve it?
Right now I don't see one.

I think it's go back to our own paths,
and if they cross again, they cross again.

We've already started this.

-We've set the ball rolling.
-Sure.

-If anyone comes to me for something--
-It's not over, just on pause.

Yeah, pause it for bit.

All right. Let's go out to the shop
and talk to the guys

and kinda lay it out there,
so everybody's on the same page.

-Let's do it. We owe them that.
-Cut the tension with a knife.

[Mark] Yeah, absolutely.

[tools whirring]

[engine revving]

["It's Just the Way It Is"
by Ziggy Sullivin playing]

♪ It's just the way it is ♪

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah… ♪

[Mark] Hey, guys!

-[Constance] Hey.
-[Caveman] Yo, yo, yo.

Nick and I got a somewhat
somber conversation, not a bad thing,

but we wanna talk to you guys about.

This idea was great. The execution,
we can't figure out how to make it happen.

The situation's not working,
so we've decided that

we're just gonna both go in the direction
that we were going before.

Go our separate ways right now.

I don't wanna stifle
that creativity in you.

I don't wanna hogtie anyone.

So what does that mean for me?

[Mark] Jake was part of the package
when Nick came on board.

He's an incredible fabricator,
and he's more than proven himself,

and we would love it
if Jake decided to stay on.

Mom and Dad are fighting
over which one keeps the kid.

Where do you wanna go with, Dad or Mom?

Stay with Mom.

To be doing this for as long as I have

and stumble upon a mental hospital
where I just blend right in,

-and everything's perfect.
-[all laughing]

I wanna be a part
of these more exciting builds.

-A lot of more fab work, doing what I do.
-Sure. Yeah.

I found the misfits that I fit in with,
and it would be awesome to stay here.

It's fine.

-[Jake] You sure?
-Absolutely.

[Nick] Of course,
I'm really sad to see Jake go.

We've had a great working relationship
for a long time. He does fantastic work.

But the stuff he's doing here,
that's what he's into.

I wouldn't dream of getting in the way.

[Tony] Jake, I'm glad you wanna stay, man,

but if you eat my sandwich
out of the fridge one more time,

we're gonna have some problems.

It was an accident.

How you feeling about it, Caveman?

-I got a new brother!
-[all laugh]

Are you all right
sharing a room for a little while?

Oh, no, I get the top bunk.

You gotta stack them together,
so we have more room for activities.

-That's right!
-Tony, how do you feel about it?

Man, you know I love what we do here.
We cut cars apart,

a lot of engineering and design
and machining and fabrication.

I need to get back to that.

I feel like we've been kinda handcuffed
on these projects,

so I'm itching to make something.

I think everybody's
kind of all on the same page

with the same attitude
that it's not the situation.

It didn't fly how we thought it would.

I hope that sometime in the future
I'll have the perfect car

that allows Gotham Garage
the full creativity they're looking for.

Hey, what are we doing with this Ferrari?

So we're just gonna let Nick take the 488.

-Sell it.
-What? Wait a minute.

-[all groaning]
-He's gonna sell it.

Hopefully, we get our money back
out of it.

Thought about
changing my decision for a second, but--

-[all laughing]
-[Caveman] What?

-I'm just kidding.
-Thanks, guys. Be well.

-See you soon.
-[Tony] All right, Nick.

[Mark] Don't wreck it.

I'm certainly not happy this partnership
with Nick didn't work out,

but what it does mean

is we get to focus on the kind of cars
and trades that I love.

[engine revs]

[Shawn] Yeah, that puts the pressure
squarely back on my shoulders,

but wheelin' and dealin',
that's in my DNA.

That's what I do, baby.

See you later, Nick.

So, our next Gotham Garage build
is gonna be your first Gotham Garage build

as part of the family.
What do you wanna build?

[smacks lips]
No question, a Chop '54 Bel Air.

-With skirts, slant back, chop top?
-Everything.

-Whole nine yards? Never gonna happen.
-Slanted pillars.

What we'll do is get that gondola in here
and work on that hot-air balloon.

-Yeah! That's what I'm talking about.
-Oh, man.

It's about time we're doing this balloon.

With this partnership with Nick ending,

I know that this team needs to get
their creative juices flowing again,

so we're gonna get back
to finding passion projects,

starting with this hot-air balloon.

[Constance laughs]

There it is.

[Caveman] We should make Shawn
take it off all by himself.

[Mark] Yeah, really.

Now, if we can turn this basket
into a Gotham Garage original,

there's a sweet Bronco waiting for us
on the other side.

It's a damn good deal.

Mark, so what are we gonna do
with this thing?

Well, I have been thinking
about that long and hard.

I tried to figure out
the FAA rules on this hot-air balloon,

since it is a flying aircraft.

Yeah, 452 subheadings,
and that's page one.

Yeah. It didn't go so well,
so I talked to Rusty.

He owns the hot-air balloon company,
and he also pilots these things.

Hey, so I was on the FAA's website,

and I figured I'd just call you
because it's faster.

[Rusty] Probably, yes.

Yeah, so what can I
and can't I do to this gondola?

[Rusty] You can't really change
the structure, the framing,

the cabling, the carabiners, the burners

because it's all been certified
through the manufacturer and the FAA.

Okay, so basically,

if it doesn't already have a hole,
I can't make a new one?

[Rusty] Correct.

You cannot drill holes into it.
You cannot alter the cage.

You cannot weld to it.

You can only put eight people in it,
so that's 1,600 pounds,

so every pound we add to this thing is
one more human that can't get in it.

When I talked to Rusty, I found out
that he's a super big Corvette fan,

and he didn't get specific, but he said,

"Can you make this basket
look like a Corvette?"

-[all laughing]
-Corvettes are pretty expensive.

-They're desirable.
-They are.

So are we gonna buy a Corvette
to chop up and turn into an airship?

Those cars are worth
way more than the Bronco.

-That just makes no sense financially.
-[Mark] I'm way ahead of you, Tony.

After I talked to Rusty last week,
I already put a plan in motion.

-Remember Aaron over at Starr?
-Yeah, of course.

They're the ones that made the concept car
long before you came along.

The guys over at Starr Creations,

not only did they make the body
for our concept car,

but they also have another company
that makes molds of iconic, classic cars.

They think the project is super cool,

so they're making me the body
of a '63 Split-Window Corvette,

and they're driving it out personally
all the way from Florida.

So we're gonna get
a brand new Corvette body from US Bodies.

And then we're gonna
magically graft it to the basket.

-That's it. Magic.
-Do you see how simple this is?

[Caveman laughs]

In the meantime,
there's a whole lot of work

that needs to be done
to this particular basket.

One thing is,
all of this needs to be re-dyed black.

All right? Now that you guys
got the vision on this whole thing,

let's get it cleaned up.

-Cool. All right.
-Sounds good.

[Mark] The guys from Starr,
they'll be here later with that body.

♪ This is my kingdom ♪

♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh-oh ♪

♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪

♪ This is my kingdom… ♪

[Shawn] Hey, what's going on guys?

You got a little weight on your shoulder
now you got a tow the rope yourself again?

Trying to get back
used to what I used to do.

[Mark] Caveman's got something
he wants to talk to you about,

so you don't have to work again.

What do you got, Caveman?

-So, my buddy Dangerous Dan…
-Okay.

His fan-favorite car, the hearse is dead.

-The hearse is no longer.
-How do you know about this guy?

Dangerous Dan.
He's a freaking local celebrity guy.

Dangerous Dan Pachella is a top competitor
in the world of demo cross,

which is a race combined
with a demolition derby.

Cars get absolutely trashed in demo cross,

and it sounds like that's what happened
to Dan's signature car,

the badass black hearse.

So, he's asked us to build him a car,

and he's counting on us
to make this car a fan favorite,

a crowd pleaser, and to win.

I'm interested in what's he talking about.
What kinda money has he got?

Well, that's just it.
He wants to do a little trading,

but what he does have is
a toy yard for adults.

-You mean a salvage yard?
-Exactly, he's got a salvage yard.

Boy, my mind went somewhere else.

[all laughing]

What kinda value is he talking right here?

Fifteen, twenty grand worth of trade,
but he has the car too.

-That makes a difference.
-What kind of car?

He's got an IROC.

-That's a unibody car.
-Wait a minute.

That's the worst chassis you can use
in a demolition derby.

-He really wants to use that car?
-Yeah.

That's gonna take
a lot of structural reinforcement.

-[Shawn] Yeah.
-When do we have to deliver this?

How long do we get? A couple weeks?

The next racing season starts
in five days.

-Five days?
-[Caveman] Yeah.

If we only got five days,

it's gonna take everybody getting in there
and doing what they gotta do.

But I like the idea
of trading for cars in a salvage yard.

This actually would be a pretty fun build,
to be honest with you.

It sounds like it
because this is all about

the most obnoxious car on the track
is the coolest car on the track.

So, are we good?

How long you think it'll take
Dangerous Dan to get his Camaro here?

-I'll jump up and I'll go give him a call.
-[Shawn] Let's do that.

[Caveman] All right, see you guys.

That's gonna be a fun deal,
actually. I like that.

Nick goes away,

-and now Caveman's doing your job.
-[Shawn] Wow.

What do you have,
a genie and you just rub the bottle

-and ask it for wishes every day?
-[Shawn laughs]

Hey, thank you, Caveman!

Now I can relax a little bit.

[rock music playing]

[Tony] You know
what this thing reminds me of?

-Mmm?
-[Jake] What?

-[Tony] The Wizard of Oz.
-What does?

At the very end of The Wizard of Oz,
they escape in the basket.

Oh… That's true, yeah.

Think about it.
We're kinda like the Wizards of Oz.

That's so random,
but I see what you're saying.

[laughing]

-You guys done with this? I'm ready to go.
-[Constance] What on earth is happening?

You're ready to go!

-I'm ready to go!
-[Jake] All right. Let's get to work.

[Jake] What's up, Mark?

I got something I wanna show you outside.

They just pulled up
with the body for this thing.

-Cool!
-No way.

[Jake] Dude, check that out.

[Caveman] Oh, purdy.

-Hey, Aaron.
-[Aaron] What's going on, Mark?

[Mark] My friends at US Body,
they really came through for us.

They made us a super lightweight
'63 Split-window Corvette,

fiberglass composite body
that's perfect for this project.

Appreciate you guys driving this
all the way in from Florida, man.

That's a trip, ain't it?

[man] 2500 miles, man.

[Mark] I owe you a lot of beer, don't I?

[all laughing]

-Yes, sir.
-[Mark] What's the total weight?

I think she's only about 130 pounds
minus the doors, so…

-That's crazy.
-[Constance] That's so light.

I think we should get it off the trailer
first thing, get it inside.

-See how it matches up to the basket.
-[Aaron] Let's do it.

[Constance] Caveman,
can you see out those glasses?

It doesn't matter if I can see.
I drive like this.

[man 1] When a garage does something
out-of-the-box, it's a suspension lift

or some crazy paint or whatever,

but a hot-air balloon car,
that's a little on the crazy side.

A little far from the box
if one even exists,

I don't know at this point if that…

-Mark might be insane with this one.
-Yeah, he might be insane. [laughs]

I think it's gonna look pretty cool
if we can pull it off.

[laughs]

I just wanna thank you guys
before you have to get back on the road.

-You're welcome.
-Anytime.

-Have a good trip.
-Constance, everybody, take it easy.

[Caveman] Drive safe.
Don't get too many tickets.

[Mark] Let's start with the part
we know is gonna happen.

So Constance,
you're gonna get it all masked off

and then start spraying this
with that fabric dye.

Jake, Caveman, you need to get the outside
wiped down with some acetone.

Tony, you and me,
we're gonna do measurements

and try to figure out
how to get that body.

with the fewest amount of cuts,
to get on this body,

then we'll worry
about how we'll fasten it later.

[rock music playing]

I'm gonna say 86 inches.

How long's the basket this way?

I'm gonna say 56.

One thing Rusty told me to keep in mind

is that hot-air balloon baskets
always lay on their side

when they're filling the balloon.

We need to run down
the dead center on the car.

So, we can't just drop
this fiber glass body over the basket.

We're gonna have to cut it into two pieces

and figure out
how to mount it to the basket somehow.

All right. You ready to cut?

Ready to cut.

[rock music playing]

[tools whirring]

[Mark] All right, so…

All right. Slide this over, Tony.

[music continues]

[Mark] Um…

I think what we need to do from here is
we'll start making a very light structure.

to at least get this thing locked together
and then figure it out from there.

[rock music playing]

[tools whirring]

[Jake] Did it.

[Mark] So we can't bolt to the basket.

Well, the good part is

that crossbar right there almost lines up
with the holes in the front.

I think we just utilize the holes that
are already in the basket, the step holes.

That's probably the second-strongest part
of this whole gondola.

Uh… Looks pretty strong,
but that's how you climb in and out.

We'll just make a pathway on the body
to get in. Won't be that difficult.

They're gonna climb in
from the front anyway.

Okay.

[Tony] I got one idea, Mark.

[Mark] Uh-oh. Somebody went to the wall.
We're in trouble.

I got some brackets.

What if we add some of these but bigger?

These would bolt together
like that, right?

You slip it in here, four bolts,
and it's captured.

Boom.

-And we do that on all the holes.
-[Mark] And then…

-This could weld--
-Why don't you just weld that to that?

This could weld right to it,
so it comes off.

[Mark] Right.

[Tony] Mark's right.

Mounting the body through the step holes
of the basket

is gonna be the only way
to not alter the basket.

By mounting these sandwich plates
on both sides of the step holes,

we're gonna have a solid, secure mount.

A, this is gonna be sturdy,
and we can weld to it,

and, B, we're gonna be able to assemble it
and disassemble it quickly.

-That sounds like a good idea in theory.
-I can make one and sample it out.

Well, why don't you do that?

And then, I'm gonna go prep the other shop
for Dangerous Dan's race car

because that is a pretty big rush job.

And in the meantime, if you guys wanna
scooch this metal out of the way,

we'll get this ready for the next step.

Cool.

[rock music playing]

So for right now, Jake and Constance,

can you start working on a template
for the front of the hood,

-so we can get the step platform built?
-Cool.

Caveman, you can start prepping out
the front and back for fiberglass.

Okay, I thought you meant prep like lunch.

-No, not that kind of prep.
-Lunch is after that, Caveman.

[Caveman] Yeah, you never let me eat.

[Tony] The sandwich plate solution
makes sense in my head,

but until we actually build it and try it,
we don't know how it's gonna work.

To hold up this whole Corvette rig,
these sandwich plates have to be strong.

These are the plates I made.

When I put this on the backside,
you can see the holes,

and there's no way it can push through.

We have a nice secure mount.

Hey, check this out.

I just made these two plates,
one on each side, and it bolts in,

but it has to be strong enough
to hold the weight of the body,

-the weight of all the people…
-All right.

[Tony] …you know,
whatever comes its way during flight.

What do you think?
Think you can get it off of there?

[Jake] Every time I move it,
it just rocks.

No, I don't think
that's gonna go anywhere.

[Tony] You have that one by one
right there?

So that frame we're building for the body,
it can just weld right there.

When you install it,
you're just putting the bar up there,

two plates, back ones, and bolt 'em up?

Yeah, we'll be like a NASCAR pit crew.

We'll grab one half of the body, bolt it
in, grab the other half, bolt it in.

-Then we're flying.
-Cool. I think that'll work good.

[rock music playing]

[crackling]

[music stops]

[Tony] Um, Constance, we can start
prepping this for fiberglass work,

so we're gonna mount those into the body
and put fiberglass on them.

Okay.

Because we're using the existing
step-holes to mount the Corvette body,

we need a new way to get
the passengers in and out of the basket.

[crackling]

[Tony] So we're gonna build
two durable fiberglass step platforms

that fit on the front and the rear
of the Corvette body.

-[Tony] You can pop it out.
-[Constance] Okay.

So everybody can get in and out safely.

Yeah, that's pretty darn close.

Let's see
how that other piece fits up there.

-I think it's all locked in.
-[Constance] All right.

All right. Next step is paint,
so let's get it prepped.

[ "Like Wildfire"
by Richard Mead & Bea Parks playing]

♪ I get wild ♪

♪ I'm on fire ♪

♪ I'm on fire… ♪

[Caveman] Oh, dude!

Hey, guys! Hey, Dangerous Dan's here!

-What's up, Dan?
-What's up, Caveman? How are we?

-How you doing? Good to see you.
-Same here.

-This is Mark.
-Nice to meet you, Dan.

-Shawn.
-Nice to meet you, Dan.

Same here.

I'm Dangerous Dan Pachella,

and I'm best known for demo cross racing
out in Lake Perris, California.

I used to drive my hearse.

It was custom-built like a brick,
and the crowd loved it.

It was the crowd favorite,
and it's won me a lot of races.

My hearse finally died,

and I got the season opener coming up,
so I gotta get a car together.

[Caveman] Look at that!

[Dan] To be honest,
I'm on a bit of losing streak.

I've gotta get a car
that'll put me back on top,

get me back in the winning streak again.
So I've known Caveman for years

and no doubt in my mind,
Gotham is the garage

to get my car done
and get me back in the winner's circle.

-[Mark] …replace it with metal.
-Oh, look!

[all laughing]

-[Caveman] Hey!
-[Mark] The job has started.

-Yeah.
-We started!

[Dan] All right, guys,
so this is what we got.

We got a 1990 IROC Z.

This is a pretty slick car
for the night of destruction.

To be the crowd favorite,
you gotta have something cool.

-[Shawn] You gotta impress there, right?
-Exactly.

Kinda run me through what your
expectations are, what you want.

I need you guys to handle, obviously,
building the whole car,

-but I also need to make the thing safe.
-Right.

So we'll put a cage inside, put bars
across this way to fill in the T-top.

The other thing I would like
is we have what's called a halo.

It's an external roll cage.

The T-top-- Basically make this a roof.

-So enclose it.
-Yes.

[Caveman] Armored plating?

Armored plating's perfect.
I wanna see something out of Mad Max.

We could definitely…

-We specialize in that.
-All right.

Yeah. When you get this back,
you'll be the man in all of the pictures.

Ain't nobody wanna stand
next to nobody else's cars.

Perfect.

Dan, now that we know
what we're giving you,

what are you willing to give us?

Caveman was talking.
He says you got a junkyard.

-Toy yard.
-And you're willing to do a little trade.

Exactly. You guys come down
and you can pick and choose what you want.

If you work out to about 20 grand
worth of parts, I'm good with that.

[Shawn] So I hear you need
a rush job on this.

The race is in only four days?

[Dan] Well, there's the problem.

Dan, that's a big ask,

so I'm thinking instead of the 20 grand
in value of cars,

let's boost it up to 30 grand.

That's a bit much.
For a demo cross car, that's quite a bit.

What about we do the deal
for 20 grand in trade,

but if you come in first, second,
or third in the big event with this car,

we get an additional 10
to 15 grand in parts.

Then it's on us to make sure that you win.

[Shawn] That's an incentive right there.

And all you're doing is
giving up extra parts from your junkyard.

Dan, give us a little incentive.

All right. We got a deal.

-All right. Now we're talking, huh?
-Sweet!

Dude, we're a Dangerous Dan's
team now! Yeah!

We need to get this car in the shop,

and you need to go get the rest of
the crew to get this thing done.

I think we scored a square deal with Dan,
and this build isn't just about the money.

It's about getting
the creative sparks flying again

and none of us ever worked
on a Demo Cross car before…

[Mark] 40 feet.

But four days to get everything done
to this car is gonna be super tight,

so I'm gonna have to pull everyone off
that hot-air balloon project

to get this car done on time.

Come check this car out.
Look at that. We got a race car.

[Constance] Wow. This is fun.

A race car that's turning
into a demolition derby car.

It's not a demolition derby.

It's the same thing.
Rubbin' is racing. They get to hit--

I don't understand
what Cayman's talking about.

Can you please explain to me
what's happening here?

So remember when we went to the Night
of Destruction at the Perris Speedway?

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

[engine revving]

-[Mark] There it is.
-[Shawn] Oh!

-[Nick laughs]
-[Mark whistles]

Hey, you broke!

So Dangerous Dan is
the number one guy, right?

He's the fan favorite.

He's gotta have
the most outlandish car there.

We're gonna go full Mad Max on this thing.

It's gonna look like
it came out of the movie.

So what we have to do
is make this really nice,

fast IROC, be able to take a hit.

So you're telling me

we're gonna put everything
into this car, blood, sweat, tears,

and he's just gonna take it out there
and destroy it?

That's how we have to build it,
so that doesn't happen.

The key to building
a Night of Destruction car is

it's gotta be fast, maneuverable,
so you can hunt down your opponent,

and it's gotta be built
strong enough to take a hit.

Or twenty. Or thirty.

Bottom line is,
this thing's gonna take a lot of hits.

[Mark] We need to strip this car down.

We're gonna remove all of the bumpers,
all of the plastic, all the glass,

get rid of all the weak stuff.
We gotta make it strong and durable.

[Constance] And we have how long
to get this done?

We have four days,
so let's get this thing tore down.

Everybody grab their tools,
and let's get this happening.

[sings] ♪ Tearing down the ROC! ♪

[rock music playing]

[Mark] When building a demo cross car,

the number one thing
to consider is safety.

After all the non-essential pieces
have been removed from this IROC,

we can focus on building
this thing up as strong as a tank.

The IROC was born for speed,
but when we're done with it,

it will be able to take the hits
while also delivering a knockout punch.

It feels good getting back
into the groove, ripping things apart.

This is how it used to be around here.

Don't leave your car sitting here
for too long,

'cause you might not get it back
in the same condition.

[all laughing]

[Mark] So, anyways,
why don't you guys clean up this mess,

and I'll go design the roll cage.

[Tony] Good deal.

♪ Tell us your stories
Write some better ones ♪

♪ Let it beat the drums ♪

♪ We are champions! ♪

-[Mark] Caveman.
-Yes, sir.

-Come over here.
-[Caveman] No.

I've got Tony, Jake, and Constance
over at the other shop

scavenging as much steel as possible
and parts for this beast.

Also, they're pre-bending up
some of the roll cage

for the interior of this IROC.

Basically, we have to take this carcass

and turn it into a demolition derby car
winner race car,

slash, don't die in it,
so here's what I'm thinking…

When Dan said "Mad Max,"

I immediately knew
what I wanted to do with this.

So, to turn this IROC Camaro into
a post-apocalyptic car-k*lling machine,

we'll start by fortifying the interior,
the roof and the trunk,

with a heavy-duty steel roll cage
inside and out.

Then comes the body armor
and steel plating for maximum protection.

We'll swap out the front and rear
plastic bumpers with steel tubing,

effectively making
both ends into battering rams.

In the end,
form and function go hand in hand

with all of our modifications,

creating that Mad Max look
and giving Dangerous Dan

what's sure to be
the new fan-favorite car.

-Got it?
-Get it. Got it.

[Mark] All right. Let's get on it.

[rock music playing]

[Caveman] That says get out of my way.

If that hits the back of someone's car,
it's gonna lift up the front end of it.

I don't want him to hit somebody
and get stuck underneath them.

They get bound
'cause they get up under somebody,

and I wanna make sure
the radiator is 100% protected

because that's what takes


-Radiators and flat tires.
-Yeah.

Once a radiator gets punctures
and leaks all the antifreeze out of it,

your motor super-heats,
and then it tears itself apart.

Flat tires, it's really simple.
It's a flat tire.

As soon as you got
more than one flat tire,

you either can't steer
or don't have any traction in the back.

I feel pretty good
about how we're protecting the car,

but we really need
to reinforce that roll cage.

[Caveman] Yeah.
A dead Dangerous Dan is no bueno.

[laughs]

[Mark] Demo cross races are brutal,

so in order to give Dangerous Dan
a fighting chance,

I've designed
the most extensive roll cage ever seen.

[rock music playing]

[Caveman] Is it totally rad?

-[Mark] Totally rad, dude. Totally rad.
-[Caveman] Rad, Randy.

I wanna see how it rides right now
with all the metal we just put in it.

When you get this thing on the Earth--
I didn't mean all the way to the Earth.

-I didn't mean that far down.
-[Caveman] Well--

-You can stop anytime. You can stop. Dude.
-[Caveman] You need to stop. Hello? Stop.

I think we got a problem.

-These springs are sprung.
-Dude.

[Caveman] Dude, what…

This car is supposed to be built
to be slammed, Caveman, not be slammed.

[Mark] We've added 500 pounds of steel
to this IROC,

and the front end can't withstand
the load, so we need to find

some heavy-duty coil-over springs
for the front of this car to lift it

to keep it from going
underneath one of his opponents.

We certainly don't want
Dangerous Dan to become Endangered Dan.

[Mark] Maybe some truck springs
or some off-road springs would do the job.

Regardless, I gotta reach out to the team,

and they gotta find
some heavy-duty springs immediately.

Okay.

[Tony] What's up, Mark?

[Mark] So what I need is bigger springs
in the front of the Camaro

to lift it up higher because we put
that giant truck bumper on there.

You want us to go
pick something up?

[Mark] No, this is a demolition car,
buddy, you don't buy nothing.

There's a whole bunch of sets
of coil springs that were taken out

of some trucks and some other cars.

Just need to find the biggest ones we got.

Okay.

-We'll just make 'em work. All right, man.
-[Tony] All right, bye.

Maybe you know where the coil springs are?

No.

[Tony] Mark swears
they're in here somewhere.

I don't know where, so…

[rock music playing]

[Constance] Now, here you go, guys.

[Jake] Those look way too small.
Let's keep looking.

-[Constance] We got a dinky one over here.
-[Tony] It's not gonna work.

Man, I hope we have a set somewhere.
We're running out of time here.

[Tony] That's not gonna work.

[Constance] Hold on.

[metal clanking]

[Tony] Oh, my gosh, those are huge.

I don't know
how these are gonna fit in there.

[Jake] Hopefully, they work.

[Tony] Yeah, let's take these down there.

♪ Don't let me down ♪

♪ Don't walk away ♪

♪ Don't sell me out ♪

♪ Don't take the pain ♪

♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh! ♪

We're all gonna jump on this
and get it buttoned up.

So, I'm gonna have Constance
and Caveman put the springs in it.

Uh, Tony, I need you to put the seat,

the seat belts,
the battery, and the fuel cell in.

We got to plate the doors, plate the roof,

and then we can get it painted
and wheels and tires on it.

Well, let's get started.

[Caveman] Rock on!

[tools whirring]

On this build,
safety is our number one concern.

We've got the roll cage finished up,

that's gonna give us a solid foundation.

But now it's time to install
the driver's seat

and reinforce the whole interior.

So, that way,
when Dan gets hit and banged around,

the car is the only thing
taking a beating.

[Caveman] Time to spring into action.
Oh, yeah.

Perfect.

[Tony] These 2500-pound-rated coil springs
are gonna give the IROC the extra support

from all of this battle armor
we just added

and it's gonna give this beast
all of the stability it needs

for Dan to pull offensive
and defensive maneuvers in the arena.

[Constance] Okay,
so what do you need, Caveman?

I need about…

three or four inches.

The springs are so tense that, as we're
jacking it up, they're not collapsing.

Ask everybody to come over here
and jump on the back.

Tony, Caveman wants you
to jump on his back.

Can you get everybody on the back
and squat the back down?

Okay. Something like that. That's great.

-[Constance] I feel I'm not contributing.
-I need more!

[Constance] I'm trying.
This is all the weight I have.

-[thuds]
-[Constance] Ooh!

[Caveman] That did it. We're good.

[rock music playing]

-[Tony] You wanna start attacking it?
-[Mark] Just start welding it.

[crackling]

[tools whirring]

[Caveman] All tight.

[Mark] Now that we've pretty much got
this thing together,

it's time to get it on the ground

and see if the suspension can take
the weight of all this steel armor.

I saw what it took for Caveman
to get those springs in there.

I bet when this thing hits
the ground, this is full ride height.

[Mark] It's gonna go down something.

[hisses]

[hisses, clanks]

-[Constance] Wow.
-[Mark] That's it.

[Caveman] Damn.

That's about 3.5 inches right there.

[Mark] We got a race car.

[Mark] Let's get this thing painted.

["Hex on Me" by Ziggy Sullivin playing]

[spray bottle rattling]

♪ Hey ♪

♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh ♪

♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh ♪

♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh-oh ♪

[Mark] Now that we've made
the IROC a lot tougher,

we need to make it look tough as well.

With the rattle cans and paint markers,
we're gonna make it look

like Mad Max himself took it
on a hell ride down Fury Road.

This will definitely be a crowd pleaser

and will put Dangerous Dan
and Gotham Garage in the spotlight.

♪ Cause I can't face tomorrow ♪

♪ Tomorrow ♪

♪ I got a Hex on me! ♪

[rock music playing]

[Mark] We took a 1990 IROC Camaro
that's built for speed

and turned it into a fortress on wheels.

[engine revving]

This demo cross warrior is durable enough
to take a hit from any side,

so it can tear up the track
and anything that gets in its way.

[music continues]

[Mark] But we didn't do all this work
just to survive the Night of Destruction.

This thing is tailor-made for victory.

Dangerous Dan may have won
some races with his old hearse,

but we think
this car will put him back on top.

Both in the competition
and as the fan favorite again.

Wow.

[Mark] I thought I'd drive it for you
so you didn't have to trailer it.

[Dan] This is something else.
You guys went crazy on this paint job.

-How you doing?
-[Dan] Good.

-[Mark] The clan's right behind me.
-[Dan] Yeah.

-[Tony] What's up, Dan?
-[Dan] There they are. What's up, guys?

-[Shawn] Hey, buddy.
-[Caveman] Who put my flag back here?

-We're good. Good to see you guys.
-[Jake] How are you?

-What do you think, bro?
-I like this. It looks good.

-[Tony] Did you see this?
-[Dan] What is it with the bullseye?

What you guys doing to me?

A big plate, but if they're gonna hit you,
this is where you wanna get hit.

I think we did pretty much everything
you asked for and then some.

It's got about 200 feet of DOM roll bar
tubing in it to keep you safe.

Got the racing seat.
It's got a giant crash bumper up front.

We stripped everything out of it
that you wanted out of it.

We were trying to make it
look like nothing else in here.

Sorry that you are
officially a hard target.

I'm a hard target regardless.

Now everybody knows
which car is yours. They're not guessing.

-'Cause it's nice and bright. Thanks!
-[Mark] Right.

Dan, did we deliver
on the crowd pleaser here or what?

I believe you did.

Too bad you painted this thing yellow
so I could find you on the track.

[Dan] Oh, you're gonna find me for sure.

-You can't miss this color.
-[Caveman] You'll be behind him.

He's my biggest competitor.

He's trying to take me out.
I'm trying to take him out.

-See you on the track.
-[Dan] I'll see you.

I brought Gotham Garage this Camaro,
and they delivered. They did what I asked.

Now it's showtime. Let's see
what this thing can really do out there.

What's your favorite car? This one?

All right, my man.

[man] The new car's amazing.
You did a really nice job.

-[woman] That's awesome.
-[Dan] You wanna sit in the seat?

-Then come here.
-I wanna sit in the seat.

-[Dan] Grab that steering wheel.
-This car is gonna win.

-[Shawn] Yeah, this is the one!
-[Tony] All right.

That's what I'm talking about.

Dan, good luck.

-[Tony] You got this, brother.
-[Jake] Good luck, brother. k*ll it.

Enjoy the show, guys.

[announcer] Welcome, everyone,

to Perris Auto Speedway
for the Night of Destruction.

[all cheering]

Yeah!

And here comes tonight's racers.

The Car Masters
Rust to Riches car, number 69.

Let's go, Dan!

[announcer] The veteran
Dangerous Dan Pachella.

[whistles]

There we go.

-[Shawn] Come on, Dan.
-[Tony] There we go.

[announcer] Here we go.
Let's count 'em down.

-[Mark] Here we go.
-[announcer] Five, four, three, two, one.

[horn blows]

[Shawn] Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!

[announcer] And here we go, they're off.
The first of 20 laps!

[all cheering]

[announcer] There's a lot of blood
about to be spilled.

Competitive drivers ready to mix it up
here at Perris Auto Speedway.

And we're heading into lap number 5.

[Tony] Oh, my God, he's lost a tire too.

[Caveman] Oh, dude!

[announcer] Here comes Dangerous Dan.

Dan's moving up fast.
He's already in seventh place.

-[Mark] We're getting that bonus.
-[Shawn] Come on, Dan.

-[thuds]
-Oh! Oh! Oh! Ohh!

[announcer] Look out. Look out!

[crashing]

-[all] Oh!
-[Tony] Hey, look.

[announcer] That could be it
for Dangerous Dan.

-[Caveman] Oh, man.
-[Mark] Oh, no.

[announcer] His night could be over!

[theme music playing]

[music stops]