12x09 - The Cutting Krew

[bunniefuu]

Come on, old man!
You can do it!

You can do it!

Oh, it's going to get ugly.

[ Tires peal ]

[ Engine roaring,
tires screeching ]

-Whoa!
-Yeah!

The sprinter,
he almost took out.

♪♪

♪♪

[ Tires screech, engine revs ]

-It's biblical!
-He destroyed those tires.

[ Tires screech ]

[ Laughs ] whoo!

Narrator:
right now on "fast n' loud"...

-Boom!
-Whoo!

...hot rod hunter
richard rawlings

And the gas monkey crew...

-Perfect!
-Perfect.

-...are going full throttle...
-It burns like a mother.

...and take a '52 chevy coupe
from bone stock...

Are you pushing?

-Yeah, I'm pushing.
-You're not pushing.

...to the ultimate
stock car tribute.

Think how badass it would be
to do donuts in this car.

Ooh!

Motor goes in,
car goes down the road.

Well, theoretically.

-[Bleep]
-narrator: and then...

[ Laughs ] look at the monkey!

...nascar superstar corey lajoie

Joins forces
with the gas monkey garage...

[ Cheers and applause ]
-richard: what's going on?

Man: these fans are
loving this car!

Narrator:
...to steal the thunder

At one of the world's
biggest speed race.

Your car driving by.

--Captions by vitac--
www.vitac.com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

[ Horn honks ]

Richard: oh, yeah!

Yeah, that's
a good-looking car.

Dude, that's nice.

-So you got the deal done, huh?
-Yeah.

What did we end up
paying for it?

-18.
-Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo! 1,800 Bucks!

I spotted this '52 coupe online
the other day for sale

By a little old lady
up in wichita falls.

I gave mater some cash and sent
him off to make her an offer.

Dude, this car will sell
for 5 grand like it is.

This car is clean.

I mean, it's together.
The whole car is here.

And then if we maybe
buff it up a little bit,

I think I can get 6 or 7 grand
out of this car.

Good job, mater!
Mike, you help him get it off,

Throw it in your side,
and jack with it.

So some people are into
rockabilly,

Sailor jerry tats,
and '50s cars --

Especially the cars...

All right.
It's all yours.

...which is exactly why bass
and I are heading up to oklahoma

To look at a '55 cadillac
for a potential new build.

[ Clanking ]

-Push!
-[ Strained voice ] I'm pushing!

Holy [bleep].
Now what do we do?

[ Laughs ]

♪♪

So I've heard that there's

A bonnie and clyde
shootout site

Close by where we're going.

This isn't
a sightseeing tour, man.

We're going to buy a car.

If we're going to stop,
let's stop somewhere cool.

Bonnie and clyde,
that's cool.

It is cool.
It's cars and g*ns and...

-Yeah.
-...running from the law.

That's about as cool
as it gets, I guess.

Richard:
so tony taylor finds me

A couple of 1955 coupe de villes
up in oklahoma,

And I figured, well,
the price seems about right,

So why don't we go
take a look at them?

It's a good thing
oklahoma sucks,

Or texas would
fall in the ocean.

-That joke never gets old.
-It never gets old.

[ Both laugh ]

And I grabbed old brian here

Because, well, he hadn't gone
on a good road trip with me

Since the '34 ford.

We've been talking about
doing another throwback build

And, considering how
'50s hot rods are trending,

A '55 caddy could be
a real cash cow.

The pictures that tony showed me
was a black coupe de ville.

It looked like it might
have been factory black.

That would make it kind of rare
and kind of cool.

A lot of those cars
were pink and blue

And purple
and what have you.

If it's a factory black car,
that's just a bonus.

I don't like it when they're
easter egg colors.

Oh, gosh. Ugh.

Out here in the country
all you do is honk, right?

Then you either get shot
or people come out.

I'm-a stay here until we see
if they're sh**ting or not.

I thought sure as heck
you could direct that truck.

-You must be, jimmie.
-I'm jimmie.

My name is jimmie
and I'm from langley, oklahoma,

Have been for 72 years.

Came to look
at your cadillac.

Well, how much green
you going to cross my hand

To go look at it?

I'm not paying to look at it.
I'm paying to buy it.

Oh, well,
I'll sell it to you.

All right.

He's a pretty old cat because
he immediately told me

He was going to charge me
to actually go look at the car.

I'm like, "dude, well,

I should charge you for the gas
for coming up here."

There you go!

-That is a black...
-Look at that!

-...black coupe de ville.
-That is a black one.

You won't see
a better-looking one.

-Really?
-My own opinion.

I got you.

Richard: the '55 cadillac coupe
was a big car.

In its day, it was
the ultimate luxury in status,

Even the ones cadillac offered
in a bunch of dreamy colors.

But, for me, factory black
makes it more valuable.

Bass: ooh, whee,
that's a lot of car.

Well, I'm looking at
my reflection so far and, man,

It looks pretty dang straight.

Was this car black originally,
or is it...

No, it was actually
baby blue and white.

-Baby blue and white.
-Oh.

All wishes aside, it's not
a factory-black car,

But if it's clean
I can be down with it.

It's a good looking motor.
It's a 331?

Yeah.

Richard and brian,
they're not real sure

Just what to say about it
because it looks so good.

Well, this floorboard on
this side has been repaired.

Well, I got a new floorboard
put in it.

It does need some repair
back here.

This trunk floor has actually
got a couple rust holes in it.

Then it's rusty there, and
then there's a floorpan missing.

So you might have to put
a floorpan in this thing.

You think about
what that's going to take?

It'll be a messy job.

So jimmie's telling me,
"I have the best

'55 Coupe de ville in the world"
and how beautiful it is

And, you know, and I'm like,
"jimmie, you know,

"I know you like it,
and you've had it a long time

"But maybe we need
to check the prescription

On your glasses."

You mind if we take it
for a ride?

Go for it.

Guys, I'm going to tell you
something.

If you break this damn thing
you buying it!

All right.

He's not even giving us
a taillight warranty.

I don't know how much gas
is in it.

Maybe you won't run out
before you get back.

That's why he brought me,
to push it.

It seems to do everything
it's supposed to do.

Like grandma going to church!

Like, this is pretty cool.
We're doing 55.

Yeah.
Feels like it drives fine.

I'm floating on a cloud.

I don't know, I think if
I could get it

For 10 or under it,
would be worth it.

I know worst-case scenario,
we don't want to build it.

I could just flip it.

I think you could make money all
day long on this car at $10,000.

Car seemed to do just fine,
did everything it needed to do.

You know, truth be told, it'd
probably drive back to dallas.

This is a pretty sweet caddy,
but with the rust repair

And all of that,
it's not big build material.

Yeah, I like this old car.
Why don't you buy it?

Richard: but it'd still be
a good flip.

Well, if I can get him
low enough...

How much do you want
for it?

I'm asking 12-5.

That's the best buy
you'll ever have.

Yeah, but I got to get it home
and do a few things to it

To be able to advance it
from there.

Well, that actually sounds
like a personal problem.

How about 7,500?

He offered $7,500 for it.

I asked him which one of them
hubcaps did he want.

No. But I tell you what.
I'll make you a deal.

I'll take 10 grand,
but I've got another one

That I'm going to give you.

-Two-for-one special?
-Richard: maybe.

Is it another coupe de ville?

Yes, so we've got this one
to go with it.

This one ain't as pretty
as the other one.

Well, it can be made
that way pretty quick.

Richard: jimmie says
he's gonna sweeten the deal.

I'm like, "you mean, you want me
to clean out your yard."

I tore all this out to be able
to take the motor out.

It's terrible.

I mean, I don't think
there's maybe but three

Or four good parts on this car.
But hey, that's...

If it's two-for-one special,
you might as well take it.

Exactly, 'cause I think that
the 2,500 he's tacking on,

I can get a little more
than that for the rusty one.

All right, so 10 grand,
I get both and all the parts.

-All the parts.
-All right, sir. We got a deal.

Let's go get you some money,
get back up near the house,

And get brian to loading
cars and parts.

Bass: I thought you said
you were gonna load it?

Richard: we settled out
at 10,000 bucks for both cars.

I think
that's a smoking deal.

It's definitely fair.

Now we get to go sightseeing
instead of looking at cars.

You still stuck on that
bonnie and clyde [bleep]?

Yeah, I want to see the bonnie
and clyde shootout site.


To see bonnie and clyde.

You know what? You see how hard
those are gonna be to load?

♪♪

Richard: as it turned out,

That cadillac wasn't going to
work as a build,

So it's time for plan b,

And plan b is already parked
in the paint shop.

Look at mike coy go!

Paint is cleaning up
pretty good.

You're starting to get
really good at this.

You're buying a lot of cars
that don't have rust.

-Well, you know...
-Don't jinx us.

...i heard a lot of bitching
for a lot of years.

-Yeah!
[ Laughter ]

It doesn't look like
it's ever been apart...

-No.
-...which is good.

I looked at it and I thought
immediately,

"This is
a little old lady's car.

"I wonder which little old lady

He hit over the head
to get this car."

Richard:
here's what I was thinking.

I got on the old interwebs
this morning when I can't

Sleep at 3:00 in the morning
because I'm panicking about

How I'm going
to make y'all's paychecks,

And I realize that nascar
is coming to town,

And that's a market
we've yet to tap into,

And I typed in, you know, '51,
'52 chevy coupes

And started looking through
some of the images

And some of the pictures,
and a lot of them that came up

Were early nascars.

The first official nascar race
was on daytona beach in 1948,

And in the years ahead the cars

Were souped-up versions
of the chevys and fords

That your grandparents
were taking on grocery runs.

With a little gas monkey tlc,

My '52 could be
a daytona racer reincarnated.

Now, if we made a replica
of one,

As it is, stocky stock,
then we went out

And had a little fun with it,
somebody just...

They can go down to the local
car show and stuff like that,

And they got
a cool piece of art.

There's a market for '52 hot
rods,

But when you're making
a period correct race car,

Well, your market is shrinking.

But those are the guys
that are walking around

With a bunch of money
in their pockets,

And that's where I want to be:
in some rich guy's pocket.

If we could do anything to it,
what would be the idea?

We keep the outside
the way it looks,

Put some numbers on it,
some letters.

We do all the right details,

But underneath we do
a more modern front end

And rear end, make it handle,
make it drive good,

Put a later model v8 in it,
and then

But when you look on the outside
you don't know it has that.

Early stock cars
were all about

Looking plain jane
on the outside,

But having
enough power on the inside

To outrun the law
and your buddies on the track.

Think how badass it would be
to do donuts in this car.

It ain't going to do donuts
the way it is.

No, it's not.i think richard's idea

Of turning this into
a stock car or early '50s

Nascar version of this car,
that's a really cool idea

And something I actually
have always wanted to do.

You know, we're thinking high fs
on the front with disc brakes,

A 9-inch on the rear,
disc brakes,

Small block, manual trans,
probably a hydraulic clutch,

And then just the rest of
it's just getting the look.

You know,
even though as clean as it is,

It's just a perfect canvas
for a hot rod,

But we have to actually
have the performance too.

We want a car that's not
just show but show-and-go.

If you're talking restoration,
all that costs money anyway.

Okay, fine,
but it's got to get done.

This stock car not only needs
to look period correct,

But it needs to be able
to perform,

And we better get it done soon
because there's about to be

A big nascar race
right here in dallas,

And the whole town
will be flipped upside down

With nascar fans.

Here's the plan --

We're gonna make
this chevy coupe into

A 1950s nascar racer,

Give it new independent
front suspension

And a two-link rear,
modern coilovers

From ridetech
and wilwood brakes.

To push it around the track,

She'll get a small-block
crate motor.

Inside it will be all business
with a race cage for safety.

And finally on the outside,
well, we'll keep the paint

Because it's original,

But we'll dress it up
to make it look track-ready.

To get it all done,

I'm giving the guys a budget
of 12 grand and 2 weeks

To resurrect this chevy
as a '50s racer,

Which I'm hoping to sell as soon

As they can finish building it
for at least 30 grand.

All right. Cool.

Hey, we're going to have to

Go get chad right now,
start getting parts here.

Hey, I'm going to ride
my motorcycle

And go get a hamburger.
-Do that.

I'll take one, too.
Cheeseburger please.

Now it's hard to carry
on the bike.

Narrator:
coming up on "fast n' loud"...

Are you kidding me?

You're signing autographs
in my store.

...richard partners
with nascar royalty...

Hello!

...while the '52 chevy
unleashes its venom.

It's like I'm fighting with
this giant snake under the car.

You are being a stubborn
[bleep]!

♪♪

-Oh, yeah, you got it.
-I don't have it.

Oh, you're doing a great job.

I'm turning, like,
five shades of red here

Not 'cause I'm embarrassed.
[ Grunts ]

Mike: tony just finished sanding
the '52 chevy,

So I'm going to give it
a good scrub before

I sh**t it
with a fresh coat of clear.

For this build, I laid down
the law and decided that since

I'm really
just refreshing the paint

I might as well clear it now

Before we even start
to tear it down.

Are you pushing?

Yeah, I'm pushing.

It'll save me from having
to wait for parts

And all that crap,

And that's how I always
get screwed

Out of having enough time
for paint, anyways.

[ Whistles ]

It's nice,
like, bikini weather.

I don't want to see you
in a bikini.

-Why not?
-I've seen you in a speedo.

Mike: the most valuable
paint job you can find

Is an original one,

And it can bump up a car's
selling price by 25%.

And the only way to improve
on this car's original paint job

Is to clear it so it'll continue
to last a long time.

Huh. That looks
a lot better, huh,

Just doing that.
-It does.

That will end up saving us
a couple days on the build

And save richard some dough.

Mike: think about that
bikini stuff.

Tony: no, thanks.

I think the car is gonna
look pretty good.

It looked good
when it was wet.

Mike: instead of painting
the frame and body panels

In separate parts,
in this case, all we need to do

Is cover up the chrome, glass,

And anything else that we don't
want to get clear coat on.

Then it's time to sh**t it.[ Kisses ]

Was that weird? [ Laughs ]

All right. Let's do it.

The thing about original
paint jobs on cars like this

Is they don't have
the u.v. Protectant

Like cars do nowadays.

Ready?
♪ Let's get it on ♪

So I'm able to extend
the life of the paint

Because the clear coat
is u.v. Resistant,

And that'll help protect it
against sun fade,

Along with restoring
its original shine.

Once the clear coat cures,
we can move the car

Out of the paint booth
to be torn down.

All right.
Well, let's get it out of here.

-Okay, let's do it.
-One, two, three.

-Yeah, you're not pushing.
-[ Laughs ]

One, two, three, go!

Hold up. One, two, three, go.
Oh, my god! Really?

♪♪

-My parking lot is full!
-It is.

Richard: so I noticed that
the merch shop is doing

A little more business
than usual today,

And I'm thinking,
"hey, that's pretty cool,

"Because gas monkey
must be trending

On the interwebs or something."

Are you kidding me?

You're signing autographs
in my store?

Corey: I told them
I was richard rawlings,

So they lined up.

Come on, man!
They couldn't mix that up.

I got a lot more gray.what's up, man? Good to see you.

Richard: damn! Nascar fever
must be in the air.

A few days ago,
corey called me up

And said he wanted
to talk with me

About potentially working
on a nascar race with him,

And he's a great guy,

And I've worked with him before
at american warrior garage,

And he said he's going
to swing by my office today

So we can hash it out.

I just didn't expect him
signing autographs

In my merch shop like
the nascar superstar that he is.

Man, I need you signing
autographs here all the time.

Everybody is all stocked up.

-Yeah.
-Yeah, huh?

I only charge a little bit.
I'm not that expensive.

My name's corey lajoie.

I drive the number 72
in the nascar cup series.

Yeah, so I come here
to gas monkey garage today

A, to check it out 'cause I've
never been here before,

And b, maybe to try and pull
a little bit of money

Out of richard's pocket.

Richard: corey lajoie was born
to be a race car driver.

His father, randy lajoie,

Is a former
nascar busch series driver

And won the championship
in '96 and '97.

Last year,
corey drove his number 23 car

To an 11th place finish
in the daytona.

This season, he's driving
the number 72 chevy camaro.

Well, what you need?
What are you thinking?

I think I can get you
a smoking deal

On an old nascar cup car.

h*! [ Laughing ]

Well, let's go over here
and talk about it.

All right. Let's do it.

Guys, thank y'all
all for coming.

Oh, yeah. I can see it.

Corey's got nascar sponsorship
twinkling in his eyes,

And he's looking in good ol'
uncle richie's direction.

What do you got going on?

We're sponsor-less for our texas
race here in a couple of weeks.

I figure, why not
come down there

And check my buddy
richard's place out...

-Your backyard.
-...and see what he's got?

In case you're wondering,
sponsoring a nascar team?

Well,
it's mind-blowing expensive.

Nascar, it's, like,
got a huge demographic, man,

But the team I'm with,
tristar motorsports,

They're price point
is pretty low.

Our overhead is not quite as big
as those bigger teams,

So I think you'd be
pretty interested.

Texas is a bigrace!

It is.

Richard: for the record,
gas monkey has been sponsor

For some huge-a*s auto sports...

-Hey!
-Yeah!

...indycar, monster jam, nhra.

I've literally spent hundreds
of thousands of dollars

To get eyeballs
on the gas monkey name.

Never touched a nascar,
but there was a time

That I drove their pace car,
but that don't really count.

So there's one box left
to check off.

But it's an expensive box.
I mean, that's a lot of money.

I'm not sure about this one.

I've tried to avoid sponsoring
a nascar team

Because it's very,
very expensive.

Let's just say that this
is a regular nascar budget.

-Right.
-And this is half

Of a nascar budget.
-Right.

-I need to be back of that.
[ Laughter ]

Well, it's a great
marketing idea.

I'd love to get
that gas monkey right --

Right on the side of that car.
-Maybe russell is right.

I mean, this is the texas race,
and texas motor speedway

Is one of the largest sports
facilities in the entire world.

So all those cars going around
that track

But one of them
having gas monkey on it,

In front of all those fans,
that might be the ticket.

Plus, nascar is the pinnacle
of american motorsports.

It's the king daddy of 'em all.

If you can get me a smoking
deal, I think we'll do it.

Let me make a couple calls
and we'll figure it out.

Oh! [ Laughing ]

-All right, man.
-Let's do it!

Let's see if we can
take monkey to nascar.

Let's do it!

Man, I've followed the gas
monkey brand for years.

I've always loved it,
and for me to be able

To carry that brand on the car
is unreal.

Get me a smoking deal!oh, I'll get you a smoking deal.

Let me show you around, man.
-Bass: nascar!

♪♪

Oh, yeah!
We're rolling now, buddy.

You're moving but not very fast.

Hey!
Hold on, hold on!

Whoa, there we go.
Drive it!

Good lord, how many times

Do I have to push this car
around the shop?

I guess this is what happens now
that richard's on

A huge nascar kick
with corey lajoie and all.

So my back is k*lling me because
I pulled the old switcheroo

And cleared the '52
before the build work was done.

But now that I'm done,

Jason and charles can have it,
and get it torn down.

We're going to rip
the transmission motor

And all the suspension
off of it today.

We're going to take over now.
Thank you.

Oh, push it over here
and then kick us out.

Jason:
bass went to get a part,

So it's just me and charles
right now.

We don't want to pull the motor
transmission out together

Because we'd have to take the
grille and all that stuff out.

We want to leave
as many pieces on the car

To work as fast as possible,

So I'm going to take
the transmission out the bottom.

We're going to take the motor
out the top,

And then we're going to
drop the suspension

At this level
right to the ground

And take it out as whole units
because we don't need it.

All this is going
to get replaced.

We want to speed the process up.

We don't need to break it down
any further than we need to.

Come on.

Come on.

You are being
a stubborn [bleep]!

I might be able to detach
this exhaust off real quick.

It's like I'm fighting with
a giant snake under the car.

[ Clanking ]

Finally.

♪♪

I got to be careful not to get
clobbered by the drive shaft.

Since we're making
a period-correct stock car,

Everything but the body
is going to be replaced

With high-performance parts.

Usually we bang the car
up tearing it down

Because mike's going
to repaint it anyway,

But the trick this time
is not to even

Put a tiny scratch
in this clear coat.

That's how I like to take things
apart, big pieces, less work.

Hey, if we're not using it
I'm all about destroying it.

Perfect.

We'll get the forklift
to take it out to the trash.

Spark, mm,
burns like a mother! Whew!

Some days are just like this.

God!

Hey, tony, just the guy
I'm looking for.

Oh, my god!
Oh, man, the paint!

Even pulling the hood
becomes a three man operation

When you're trying not
to scratch the paint.

Hand off.

That's enough guys to yank
a motor and a transmission.

Should come out easy now.
-Yeah.

There you go.

Okay, let me get up there,
and I'll help you.

I got the back half of it.

Crusty, dusty.
-That's it, man. It's so close.

With the motor
and transmission out,

It's smooth sailing from here.

Now, we just need to pop off
the front wheels and suspension.

-Might not look...
[ Whirs ]

There she is! Yeah!
-Whoa, nelly!

Yeah.
...nelly!

And if we happen
to scratch anything,

We'll just pin
the whole thing on bass.

[ Grunts ]

How do you keep two monkeys
busy all day long?

Uh? Ah!

Hey, you want to throw
that exhaust on here, too?

I'll just get rid of it all.

Narrator: coming up
on "fast n' loud"...

That's not going to fit.

We're going to have
to cut this body.

...the sheet metal hits
the fan...

Ugh!

...while richard's nascar plans
might hit a speed bump.

Well, either winning or crashing
gets the most publicity.

If we're not going to win,
then we might have to look

At the other option.

♪♪

♪♪

I haven't found
the instruction packets yet.

I ain't tripping.

Tony: jeremy is like, "I don't
need no daggum instructions."

Look at the bolts on that guy!

Bass: we're starting to get
parts in to turn

Richard's '52 chevy into
a period-correct stock car

Ready for the dirt track.

It's all becoming part of
richard's big push into nascar.

It's like christmas
over here, bass!

Jimenez bros set us up
with a two-link rear suspension.

The two-link replaces
the old leaf springs

Without us having to cut
the floor.

Dutchman!

And the new two-link bolts up
to a dutchman rear-end housing.

The independent front suspension
will sit on ridetech coilovers.

-So are these...
-550S?

-Yeah.
-Those are fronts?

Stickers for everyone!

♪♪

Bass: the two-link design
is pretty much

What nascar racers rode on
up until about 10 years ago.

I would think that's something
you that you would use

On a modern race car.

This is more rock crawler.

-I've seen richard drive, so...
-Yeah.

...being able to crawl over
rocks is probably a good thing.

Bass: it's not the most modern,
but it's stiff

And that makes it
the ideal suspension

For the kind of racing an old
stock car would be set up for.

So did they give us paperwork
for this rear?

That's what I'm going for here,
a period-correct build.

-Oh, sweet, tire?
-Yes, sir!

-Oh.
-Ooh.

Hey, let me help you
with that.

Okay.

Dude, these white letters
are rad.

-Oh, they don't...no.
-Oh, yeah. That's not gonna fit.

We're going to have to cut
this body if we want the look,

And I don't think anybody
has told richard that yet,

But I think we just do it.

Richard digs this chevy
because the body is super clean,

So I don't think he anticipated

Me taking
the cutting torch to it.

The stock-car look is rounded,

Perfectly rounded,
with the tire.

Bass: it will add time
to our build,

But ultimately richard will get
more bang for his buck

If we get the look right.

I don't know. That looks
pretty dang cool, I think.

That's the look we're going for.
I mean, it has to be done.

Hey, guys,
come look at this!

Mike: while the guys are working
on the '52 chevy

I have some paint samples
for the riviera build.

Are those more or the same?

Which one do you like
the best?

It's a toss-up.
I like this one and this one.

Which one do you think he's
going to pick, is the question?

Yeah. I think he'll go with
one of these two.

Yeah.

I did some spray-outs
for richard to look at

For the riviera that we're going
to build and take to sema,

Which is coming up
in just a few months.

What do you call that color,
unattractive beige?

-Buttermilk yellow.
-Buttermilk yellow.

-Buttermilk yellow.
-When he brought the car in,

It was, like,
this puke kind of yellow.

Everybody is going to expect
green out of us.

I will give you my word
we won't do green or black.

With richard investing 300 grand

To turn this '72 buick
into a supercar,

This design definitely calls
for more of a sexy gray.

Let me tell you,
they don't stop at 50.

There's a gazillion shades
of gray.

You got a dollar
on which color?

I got a dollar that it's not
on this color pallet.

Well, don't pull them out
because you know I'll take them.

I got a dollar that says
this one here.

Richard: the riviera is going
to be the most anticipated car

At sema,
so it's got to be a super build.

Sema is the premier
auto trade event in the world

Held every year in las vegas.

Turning the boattail rivi
into a luxury pro-touring car

Will prove that gas monkey
is cutting-edge

And a force to be dealt with.

Somebody said
you got spray-outs.

-Yep.
-What's the dollars for?

Ah, we'll tell you later.

Richard: color is the first
thing people are going to see,

So the paint scheme has to be
dead nuts right on the money.

These are too light.

This is closer to what I want
but too dark,

And that's just
regular-a*s gray.

I'm looking for a color closer
to this but not that dark.

-So cano won.
-[ Laughs ]

There you go,
happy meal on y'all.

There's a lot more riding
on this riviera build

Than the $300k
that I'm putting into it.

Did I just say $300k?

I think there's a color
on the trd...

Toyota truck.

-Cement gray?
-Yeah, okay.

...so get me a spray-out
like that. It's more gray.

It's not as blue, but it's
deeper than the rest of them.

-Okay.
-It's metallic, though.

It's got a little bit
of metallic in it.

I can possibly make it
without metallic, though.

Then you just talked yourself

Into doing two different
spray-outs.

-Okay.
-[ Laughs ]

You can do one with,
and one without.

I'll do two different
spray-outs.

-How easy was that, guys?
-Fun.

Well, I lost money
andi have to do more work.

♪♪

Bass: so richard now has me
going out to north carolina

To check on the nascar team.

Richard is forking out
some major dough

For this sponsorship,
so it's got to be perfect.

He's got a lot of stuff
he's dealing with,

So he knows he can
trust my opinion.

Tristar motorsports.

Let's go see how corey is.

Russ! Why is nobody working
on the car?

We've been waiting on you.

Russell: when richard decided he
wanted to get in big to nascar,

He figured who better
than corey lajoie.

Is this her?
-This is her.

Are you ready to see it?

-I've been ready to see it.
-All right.

-Look at the green!
-Bright green.

[ Laughs ]

Basically, richard's bookending
nascar history

With the '52 chevy coupe
on one side

And now with this
modern racer on the other.

Look at the monkey!

Let me give richard
a call real quick.

[ Telephone rings ]

Aah! I can see myself!

Oh, hey, man. What's up?
-What's up, man?

So we're here looking
at the car.

It looks amazing.

Whoa, that's rad!

Hey, get away, man.
Nobody gets to see this.

What? I want to see it.

I'll walk you around the car,
so you can see what we got.

So you got
the gasmonkeygarage.com

On the back.

You got the havoline.

Richard:
wait a second, back up.

Seems like there was
supposed to be

Something else
on that back deck.

We got dickies,
havoline, and centimark.

With all the new technology
that nascar uses today,

There really is a rhyme
and reason

As to where you put the logos
for the best placement.

Plus, this car is going by you
at 200-plus miles an hour.

You need the audience
to be able to see

What you're talking about,

So we're putting
the monkey here.

We're putting our sponsors here,

And it's going to look good
going down the track.

Yeah, let's put more gas monkey
garage on right there.

This big empty spot?

Okay, put gas monkey on there.

What's up, man?
Are you going to win?

What are you doing?
I'm going to try like hell.

Well, you know,
either winning

Or crashing gets
the most publicity.

If we're not going to win
we might have to look

At the other option.

All right. Well, super cool!

-Yep, later!
-Well, you heard the man.

We need to
put something there.

All right, guys, I got
some more gas monkey here.

Let's put the cherry on top.

Russell: this is why richard is
the marketing genius,

And I'm just the guy
who helps get things done.

Due to the in-car cameras,

Things that you wouldn't think
are going to get seen, you see,

So if corey were to crash,

Our logo is less likely
to get crunched up

If we put it behind
the rear wheel.

How's that look? Good?
-That's nice.

Perfect!

That'll gain
some attention there.

♪♪

What's the deal
with this big tricycle?

That's a mustache slider, man.
Let's fire this thing up.

♪♪

Oh, god! He's going to be
on the highway here soon.

[ Horn blares ]

If I didn't have to piss before,
I do now.

♪♪

Sweet. Chad's back, and he
didn't even dent my truck.

Now we got some parts
to do some real damage.

-Heck, yeah.
-Hey, awesome.

That's what I want.
-We hit the mother lode.

Chad: motor, transmission...

Whoa, that's heavy.
Put my weight into it!

-Better move it!
-I ain't got no room!

What are you doing?

Okay, I guess we can
put it on top.

Bass: since the '52 chevy is
going to be a period stock car,

Summit racing equipment
set us up with a small block




The small block will definitely
keep the car period correct,

Which is something I insist on,

But it will also have
the power of a modern motor.

I'm building your anticipation.

Ooh!
Carb to pan.

The thing about this small block
is it looks like

An authentic
late-'50s chevy motor.

It's got a four-barrel carb.
It's been dyno-ed,

And it's got more torque
than a regular chevy motor.

That will definitely work.
-Let's get it out of the crate!

Let's get that thing
out of there.

Which means, it'll really
bolt off the corners

Like a true stock car.

-Ah, snap.
-Oh, yeah.
-Hell, yeah.

Bass: that tremec 5-speed
is a perfect match

For the small block
with smooth shifts

And a nice steep overdrive.

-What's up, b?
-Hey.

We need to obviously see
where this motor is going to be.

We have no motor mounts
in there, you know,

Start getting
all that located.

I can just put the engine
and trans together,

And then we can stab it and see
where it needs to lay down.

Sounds good.

All right.
Start tearing into it.

Narrator: coming up
on "fast n' loud"...

Boom!

...the '52 chevy knocks
the monkeys off their feet...

-It's around to the firewall.
-Hell, yes!

-Narrator: ...and...
-Whoo!

...richard takes nascar
by storm.

Man: and look at all these fans.
They're loving this car!

-Unbelievable!
-Amazing!

What's up, everybody?

♪♪

-Hey, guys.
-Parts!

I have a plethora of parts
for your motor.

-Holley hooked us up.
-Perfect timing.

Should have
everything you need.

Bass: the only way we can get
the '52 chevy done

As fast as richard wants is
by divide and conquer.

While charles is assembling
the small block,

Jason has been installing
the front suspension,

And I'm wrangling
the rear end with jeremy.

We got to go 2 1/2
inches my way.

That looks like it should be
something on a dually

From back here.

It looks absurdly wide
from back here.

It's kind of crazy
how wide it is,

But tape measures
don't lie, right?

-Could y'all use some spindles?
-Good timing.

Richard: gas monkey is
all about nascar right now

With the corey lajoie deal

And this here
'52 chevy coupe build,

But the sponsorship tab nearly
cleaned me out,

So I can't afford to lose
any money on the chevy,

Which means it has to kick a*s.

Something is either wrong
or right.

Yeah, we're finally
getting all the pieces

We needed
to put this car together.

Richard: brian is a top-notch
hot rod builder,

But wrangling
this pack of monkeys

Is a whole lot harder
than running a one-man shop.

Have you seen the tires
we're putting on this?

I have not.
There's one right there.

Oh, super cool!

Who's artistic talent is this?

Oh, jeremy was having fun
with it.

You sure it wasn't one of
his kids because that looks...

He put a happy face on it, too,
in case you didn't like it.

Yeah, he was pretty delirious.

It was pretty late
when he was doing that.

So what about the real artwork
back here?

We cutting them?

Yeah, absolutely, got to.
Yep.

If you want to fit that tire
in there.

That's going to be rad!
What color around the wheels?

Either white, black, or gold,
one of those.

-Normally, they'd be silver.
-Yeah, but most of them

You look up
in the old interwebs are white.

-Exactly.
-White works, too.

That's exactly what
I was going to say.

Do you know how to mix
white paint?

Have you ever mixed
white paint before?

-We don't have green.
-Yeah.

We don't need...

Yeah, there you go
we don't have green here.

You can't mix white out
of green and black.

Yeah, that's a good point.

I'll have to order it.

With these tires
and this suspension,

Not to say anything
about the small block,

This chevy deserves its time
around the track,

And I'm going to do it.

I'm thinking
the kennedale speedway

Is the perfect place
to kick up some dirt

And see how she performs.

-Good enough for me.
-Well, get hammering on it.

-I want that in writing.
-Yeah.

-It's in writing.
-Yeah.

Better than that, it's on tape.

Boom!
-Even better.

The queen said turn left
to go right.

[ Ribbits ]
-mike: [ gasps ] a little toad!

Ooh, [bleep]!

Come here. Come here.

Pick him up
with just your mouth.

I would if the floor
wasn't so dirty.

Uh...

[ Inhales sharply ]

[ Gulps ] ahh.

No frogs were harmed
in the making of this.

♪♪

Kind of hurts me a little bit
to see this nice

Of a trunk floor
get cut up,

But then I remember
it's just a grandma car.

Just wait until we cut
the outside.

Yeah.

If this is hurting
your feelings,

You're about to be
real sad.

♪♪

We are well on our way to

Turning this '52 chevy into
a late '50s-era stock car.

♪♪

Jeremy is cutting up the trunk
to install a crossover,

So we can anchor
the rear coilovers.

This trunk is huge.

It's made to have a lot
of luggage in it.

That was the selling point
back then,

But it takes up all the room
all the way up to the rear end,

And, well, we need to put these
coilovers behind the rear end,

So we'll cut out
a section of that trunk.

That will give us the room
we need to get the coilovers in.

Doing it this way allows
for full movement down there,

So if we want it lower,
that lower mount can just unbolt

Move it down a notch
or two, bolt it back in.

So we can adjust the right
height 2 inches

In either direction?
-Probably.

-That's nice.
-Yeah, we should be able to.

-Chadwick?
-Yes, sir.

Would you grab one of those
floor jacks back there?

Up in the front end, we still
have to make that 383 stroker

Sit at home under the hood.

I can almost guarantee

It's going to run
into the firewall.

All right.
Here we go, going up.

I decided to go with
this 383 stoker

Because it's
a period-correct motor.

-Go ahead.
-Now?

I'm going to go forward
as you go down.

There we go.

Bass: that's important to
all my builds,

To get the big concept right.

When we're done, you'll be able
to lift the hood,

And it'll have the look
of a late '50s stock car

But the power
of a more modern motor.

-You good, bass?
-Yeah, so far.

The motor is called a stoker
because the crank

Has been changed to give
the pistons a longer stroke.

They move up and down
about another 1/4 of an inch.

There it went.
That's the motor mount.

So that means more displacement,
and that means more horses.

This motor is about


Now up from it's original 350.even with a short water pump,

We got to go back
with the motor.

I mean, because we got
a 3-inch radiator.

If we took it back


That put you
where you want to be?

It'd be pretty dang close.
Right there.

We'd be able to make
just a tap in.


An inch off the firewall

At the valve cover.

Okay.

I say the motor mounts go back


And we re-stab it,
and try it again.

Hell, yes!

As of right now,
you're clearing the floor, too.

You don't really need
to do hardly anything.

I can't wait to hear
this thing run,

But first, jason's got to get
the mounts squared away

So it will fit on the car.
-Let's pull it out.

I'll move those mounts back,
and we'll stab it again.

All right. It's going this way.
Hold on.

Okay.

♪♪

Holy cow, it's huge!

How about this side?
-Yeah.

These look like the guys
with all the money.

We're poor.
-Right, exactly.

We're in the yard
underneath the tree.

You guys ready to go racing?

-Oh, yeah!
-Ha-ha!

Richard:
we're here living the dream

At the pinnacle
of american autosports.

Here we go,
texas motor speedway,

Aaa 500, nascar.

So today, we have
a k*ller driver.

We got a k*ller car.

We got the gas monkey
nascar number 72.

That's corey lajoie
racing for the smith team,

And I tell you what, they're
going to tear it up today.

Right now, nothing's bigger
than this sponsorship.

It's a huge first
for gas monkey garage.

There we are!
There we are!

Can't miss that green, baby!
Whoo!

So we roll around the corner,
and the guys are getting the car

Set up to go to tech,
and it's badass.

We got the green popping.
We got the white on there.

We got the gas monkey. Couldn't
be a better looking car.

I mean, if there were
style points

We would definitely
have won.

Love it!
-Oh, how do you not love it?

Gas monkey and nascar!

-What's up, corey?
-How are you?

You ready to go run?are you getting me through tech?

-What's up, buddy?
-What's up, russell?

Why, we have that option?

Well, if you slip the guy
the 5 bucks every station...

This money guy.

You should have told me.
I slipped him hundreds.

Yeah, it's the most attention

I've ever got as a driver
here in the cup series,

Just from the fans interacting

By saying
how cool the car looks.

I had the whole gas monkey
garage crew behind me.

Man, it's really a cool deal.

Russell: look at all these fans
are loving this car.

-Unbelievable!
-Crazy!

♪♪

-So what do we do now?
-Heavy.

Walk to driver intros.

Richard: race time is nearing,
and the energy here

At texas motor speedway
is electric.

Whoo!
[ Cheering ]

They let me on stage with corey
for the driver's intro!

What's going on?

Let's see the monkey
in the house!

It doesn't get
any better than that.

Whoo! [ Laughs ]

But now we're ready
for the starting line.

Check one, two.

Drivers, start your engines!

Oorah!

-There we go!
-Yeah, baby! Yeah, baby!

♪♪

Narrator:
coming up on "fast n' loud"...

Your car driving by.

...gas monkey nascar
makes its move...

He's moved up 11 spots.

I hope we're not using up
all our luck right now.

...while the '52 chevy,
pushes the monkeys to the edge.

-That's not a lot.
-Unh-unh.

It's just too dangerous.

Richard rawlings loveshis beer.

So I'm on my way in the door,
and, of course,

Richard's calling me up,
"hey, is the beer cooler full?"

I did the beer cooler last...
Ooh!

We may have a beer thief
on hand.

I'm going to literally sit here
and watch the cooler all day.

As I'm watching,
in walks dewaine phipps.

He comes in, opens up
the beer cooler

And just scoops up
whatever is left.

Phipps, what are you doing?!

And when he sees, me he bolts.

Wait!
-Gobble, gobble!

Dewaine phipps, if you steal
one more time, you're fired,

But he doesn't work for us,

So I don't know
what the consequence is,

But we'll figure it out.

[ Cheering ]

[ Engines roaring ]

♪♪

Richard:
that is [bleep] badass!

Dude, that's yourcar
driving by.

Richard: we're here
at that aaa 500 nascar race

At texas motor speedway.

The race just got started,

And gas monkey garage
is sponsoring the smith team

And driver corey lajoie
in car number 72.

This is one of
the biggest things

That gas monkey
has ever been a part of.

I'm trying to expand
the gas monkey brand

Throughout the world of racing,
and I'm praying corey wins.

He's in 26th.

He's moved up 11 spots.

So we're almost 50 laps in now,
and the smith team

And the 72 car are competing.

The drivers
have to complete 334 laps

Around the 1 1/2-mile track
to cover a total of 500 miles.

It's a blast seeing
our logo race around the track

At 200 miles an hour in front of
over 100,000 spectators

And over 2 million viewers
at home.

I'm telling you,
this is money well spent.

It is a sharp car!

Richard: whoa, whoa, whoa!
What just happened?

-Now he's going to the...
-He's going to the garage.

-No!
-What?!

Ohh!

What happened?

Busted fuel cell,
that's it.

While the race may have ended
for us faster than expected,

In my book it's a win
for gas monkey.

Pretty badass.

[ Cheers and applause ]
there you go!

You know, today we got
incredible brand awareness,

And I can't
thank corey enough

For letting us represent
the 72 car.

Another feather in the cap
for gas monkey. Cha-ching!

It was great to have a horse
in the race.

That's the thing.
-Absolutely!

♪♪

[ Knock on door ]
-bass: what's the password?

-Jeremy: clam chowder.
-That's not it. It's bologna.

What do you think?

I think you need to
bend it more right here.

Okay.

And if we do that,
it might be a little bit short,

So this leg might have to be
just slightly longer.

Bass: I'm really happy with how
the '52 build is moving along.

Now we're actually going to
put it on a track,

So it needs some
safety features built in.

-24S?
-Yeah. If you put the same...

Put the mark on the same spot
as 24 1/4.

So jeremy and I are working on
a single-hoop roll bar.

♪♪

We need to cut
some base plates.

We could go ahead and get
those even welded in,

If we wanted and...
-That is true.

We're making a template first

So we can get the specs
nailed down tight.

Take these measurements,
what we learned here,

And bend that one up.

-Bend it up.
-Yep.

Where is chad?
Go get me some pipe, chad.

I'll just wait here.
Go ahead and do that.

Bass: but right now, we really
need the car back on the ground

So jason can get a handle on
the fitment issues

With our 383 stroker.

-You got it, man?
-I got it.

The effort is totally worth
the time and hassle

Because the 383 stroker
will deliver

More power and torque
than the standard

Chevy engine, and that's
important on the track

So we can get out
of the turns.

You got no room
to go down at all?

No, I'm on the header.

I'm going to have to yank
the header.

At least that's an easy fix.

It'll probably be the only
easy thing

That we come across putting this
motor in a different place.

Richard: well, I still got
some nascar fever,

And even though corey lajoie
fell out of the race

At the texas motor speedway,

I still got a dog in the hunt
with the '52 chevy coupe.

And I just put down a deposit
for the kennedale speedway,

So I can take this baby out
when she's done.

Motor goes in.
Car goes down the road.

If this motor goes in like
we think it will,

And we do this
pretty quickly, you know,

We're saving you
a ton of money on labor.

That'll just give us more of
a budget to use on this one.

-What else do we need?
-There's always possibilities.

But the possibility is
only winning

If you get the motor fitted

Without a big chunk
of my money going in there...

There's some motivation
for you.

...and time and labor.
-Jason: richard does a lot

Of complaining
about time and money.

He only remembers the times
we cost him money,

Not the times we save him money,
like right now on this chevy.

Hope we're not using up
all our luck right now

Because we've got to get
everything to fit

Behind the radiator.

Chad has a shorter water pump
on order that should buy us


To need every bit of it.

Right now, the best scenario

Would be to get
the water pump here,

The short pump,
everything work in the front.

We can leave the motor right
where it's at and be good to go.

-Hey, jason.
-Yes, sir.

Elwater pump.

-Oh, good news.
-Short one?

Good news, good news. Yes.

It already looks better than...

Here let's compare it
to this one over here.

Hold this right here,
just flush.

I just want to get
a rough measurement

Of how much difference
we got.

Whew. It's only an inch
and a quarter difference.

-That's not a lot.
-Unh-unh.

All right, let me
bolt this in real quick.

If this does not work,
we're going to have

To move that motor back.

Golly.
-You need to be 2 or less.

Two inches, 2 or less.

Fingers crossed.
It's going to be close.

It's real tight to start.

♪♪

Fan blades are hitting
the bottom of the radiator.

Even if we tilt the radiator

Like it's supposed to be,
it's too dangerous.

If we hit a bump wrong,

Especially if we're racing
this car,

Something shifts, it's gonna
shred the radiator,

Shred the fan, and we're
gonna ruin the car.

[Bleep].

We're all familiar
with murphy's law,

But I'm calling this
the monkey's law.

When all the pieces look like
they're falling into place

Just right,
well, they really aren't.

♪♪

Narrator: next week
on "fast n' loud"...

Roll it.

...as the '52 chevy's deadline
closes in...

I need the rest of it done
in 12 hours.

Nothing's ever good enough
for that guy.

...mother nature
closes them down.

[ Switch clicking ]
-we have no power.

-Is that safe?
-Is anything we do safe?

-Oh!
-This is all we need.

Narrator: and...
-[ Groans loudly ]

-It's just getting to moving.
-Good lord!

...the monkeys
hold their noses...

-Dude...
[ Laughter ]

...for a car only a boy
could love.

Richard: it's gonna
be yours, dude.

-It is?
-Yeah.

Your dad is going to show
the extreme hatred

That his dad showed
and give you this car.

Narrator: then the monkeys
drop a bombshell.

[Bleep], dang!

Shut it, mike!