01x09 - '48 Chevy Fleetmaster

[bunniefuu]

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

...hot rod hunter
richard rawlings

And master mechanic
aaron kaufman set their sights

On a purple '48
chevy fleetmaster.

Look what's stuck
in the '80s, man.

It's a hot rod wannabe
in need of a makeover.

That is ugly as [bleep]

But getting the car to look good
is the least of their worries.

What the hell was that?

That could be a problem.

Then richard takes a trip
down memory lane...

Look at that.
"Corvette summer"!

...with a '74 corvette.

And looking to make a fast buck,

Richard buys a sweet '63
caddy convertible off the web.

[ Whistles ]

It's gut-check time

As gambling man richard
places two cars

In a no-reserve auction.

No reserve?
Ha ha!

[ Calling ] last chance.

I've never seen such a bargain
in my life.

Narrator: but will his roll
of the dice turn up snake eyes?

Sold, sold, sold!







Rawlings: we're at the 2012
pate swap meet.

I always come out here
every year.

I carry a pocket full
of money.

I don't even know what I'm gonna
actually end up taking home.

I might buy a car,

Or I might buy a birdhouse
made out of license plates.

I don't even know.

It's just whatever
strikes my fancy.

You can buy everything out here
from a casket to a car to dogs.

See what I'm talking about?

They just bring the craziest
[bleep] out here.

There's more [bleep]
than you can even look at.

Last couple years
I've come out here,

I hadn't even seen half of it.

Sometimes I've even bought cars
out here

And literally sold them
the same day.

I'll buy them from one guy

And sell them to the next guy
who comes along.

You want
another wicker hat?

I'll be all right today.

[ Dog barks ]

What's that down there?

Looks like bumpers.

No, the crazy purple thing
down there.

Probably someone's wife.

Rawlings: so, we're rolling
along, and I see this '48 chevy.

Check this thing out.

Look what's stuck
in the '80s, man. Ha ha.

It's the ugliest damn thing
in the world.

It is stuck in the '80s,

And, you know, I'm a kid
of the '80s,

So I remember those cars when
they were supposed to be cool.

And they weren't then,
and they're not now.

Holy [bleep] wait till you see
the inside, man.

I think they tore apart,
like, a 1980 cadillac seville.

Wow.

[ Laughs ]

You haven't seen
the best part yet.

I don't even know
what that means.

I don't know, either, man.

You know, it's got the general
gist of being a cool hot rod.

It's just somebody put it
together in the '80s

While they were playing
disco music

And just being a little stupid.

What's going on, guys?
How are y'all today?

Willie moore.

Willie,
richard rawlings.

Good to meet you,
richard.
How you doing?

Nice to meet you, guys.

Well,
what do you think, man?

Pretty nice old '48, huh?

What's the story with this?

Did you build it, or does it got
any kind of history or anything?

Moore:
well, I bought this car,

But I've actually had it

About four different times
over the years.

Did some trading
with some friends.

They'd take it,
drive it a year or two,

Come back,
we'd swap again.

But this car was built up north
several years ago.

Pretty solid old car.
It's an older restoration.

Paint's kind of faded.

You know,
it's got an '80s thing to it.

Yeah,
it's mechanically solid.

Actually,
the body paint's old,

But, you know,
mechanically

It's really a pretty good,
solid old ride, man.

Rawlings:
'48 chevys were luxurious cars
with power to burn.

In 1948, they made five versions
of this car,

From the sport coupe all the way
up to a woody wagon.

The woody wagon was the last
wood-structured car ever made.

In 1948, these cars would have
set you back 2 grand.

I kind of dig it,
but I can't read your sign here.

It's all faded out.

How much money you want
for this thing?

I'm asking $15,500.

But, you know,
with everything,

I want as much as I can get,
and you want it for nothing.

So we can make a deal.

He said $15,500.

I'm like, "willie,
you're [bleep] stupid.

"I don't know
what you're drinking

"Out of your cooler over there,

But you need to put that down
and start talking real price."

I know what he's drinking
out of his cooler over there.

What about $14,000?

No, no, no.
Can't do it.

I need this thing
at about --

I think $12,000
is about the number.

Hey, you're almost there.
You're getting close.

You're getting close.

And that's my goal is a number
that both of us can live with.

That's what we really want,
you know?

I don't give a [bleep]
if you live or not.

I need to get the car, chief,
so I can make some money on it.

I understand.
Damn, dude.
Pass it on down.

You said you made money on it
like four or five times.

It's my turn.

You know, it's hard, hard times
in texas, richard.

It's hard times.

You got any beer in that cooler
of yours over there?

I always got beer for you.
Ain't no doubt about that.

I'll give you 13 grand
for this car and a cold beer.

I can do that.

Or would you like to rather
have some bourbon?

No, I can't do that.

$13,000 It is, rich.

$13,000 Is definitely more than
I wanted to spend for this car,

But bottom line is, we're just
gonna knock the ugly off of it,

Give it a good, solid foundation
and a good look.

I think the car might bring 25,

Willie,
I got 13 grand here.

Man, that's what
I'm looking for.

I got money to get
home now, richard.

There's the title.

Looks like what I need.

Here's the keys.
Cool.

Title's open and clear.
You just put it in your name.

When you're ready to turn it
over, you're good to go.

Yes, sir.

What I like best about this car
is he said I can drive it home.

I mean, he basically gave me
a money-back guarantee.

He said, "jump in it and go
to california if you want."

So, you know what?

Assume my position.

I say we jump in that damn
thing, do some burn outs,

And beat the [bleep] out of it
all the way home,

'Cause worst-case scenario,
we're tearing it apart anyways.

Oh, yeah.

We're here!

Oh [bleep]

What do you think
about that?

That is ugly as [bleep]

That's why I got you.

Mathieu: no.

Maybe not after this one.

Wow!

Whoever painted this car
must have been richard --

I mean, drunk.

God almighty.

Yeah, it's pretty disgusting,
but it's a pretty cool car, man.

It's got a v-8, mustang ii
front clip with disc brakes.

It runs and drives real nice.

What's the drivetrain
look like?

It's not too bad.

Engine compartment's
pretty just sanitary.

Kind of plain jane.

They got a little close on
the headers with the steering.

You can see where it's rubbing
a little bit.

We might have to
adjust that a tad.

Fundamentally,
it's a great little car.

It's just really ugly.
So our job is to fix the ugly.

Yeah. We're gonna need
some hammers

To knock the ugly
off of this [bleep]

Kaufman: the plan on
this 1948 fleetmaster

Is really straightforward.

We're going to strip it
of all its bad detailing

That's been added over the years

And return it to its original
hot rod roots.

We'll start by lowering
the suspension,

Giving it a new set of wheels,

Repainting it a respectable
flat black,

And reappoint the interior in
a simple black-on-black design.

We'll also clean up the engine

And make it look as good
as the outside of the car,

Because a real hot rodder
will look under the hood.

And if the motor looks bad,

It's an indication
of shoddy worksmanship

On the rest of the car.

[ Horn honks ]

Slam it, wheels, tires,
flat black the exterior.

I would like to be in
and out of this thing in a week.

Well, you know what?

We're at my favorite stage
in this game.

This is where
y'all get to work

And I'll go play
in my office.

What are you gonna do
in there?

I think one week is a good
timetable for this car.

There's a leake auction
coming up this weekend in tulsa,

And I think a car like this
could sell big.

So, while the guys strip
the ugly off the fleetmaster

And get it ready for k.c.
To paint,

I'm gonna check in with christi,
my new office chick.

She said I deleted
an important e-mail

On a potential lead on a car,
but that's just horse [bleep]

[ Humming ]

What's up, christi?

Hi, richard.
How are you?

I'm good.
Do I have e-mails?

The e-mail
that you sent to me...

Uh-huh.

...there was a second one that
you were supposed to send me,

And I can't find it.

Is that it?
No, I have that one.

This one.
No, that's the same one
you sent me.

Okay. Well,
why'd you [bleep] lose it?

I didn't lose it.
You lost it.

It went to your e-mail.

I didn't do this.
Yes, you did.

You're the one in here
clicking around like a tornado.

Well, it's because I've got
immune -- or not --

What is it?
Attention deficit disorder.

They make meds for that.

[Bleep] whip them out.
Let's do some.

It can't have disappeared
on the [bleep] computer.

You deleted it.

Even if I deleted it, it would
be in my deleted file here.

That's not true.
You hit the "delete" button.

It takes it completely out.

I'm telling you I'm right.
Even if I'm wrong.

You're always right.

Is this it?
No, that's the $14 one.

[ Chuckles ]

Mcmillan:
so, me and the guys got
the fleetmaster stripped down,

And richard wants me to get
the seats over to sue's

To get the upholstery work done.

Hey, sue.
How's it going?

Hey. How are you?
I'm making it.

We need another set
of seats done.

Okay.
What we need to do?

We need them to be black.

Do you want black leather
or black vinyl?

Oh, black vinyl.

Sue: richard want me to recover
the seat with black vinyl.

Black vinyl,
I don't think looks good.

But he's crazy.
He want to do it anyway.

While aaron and the boys are
getting the fleetmaster ready

For the auction this weekend,
I got to see a man about a car.

I got a call yesterday

From a gentleman that's got
a '74 corvette, t-top car.

It's a 350 automatic.

He started to kind of
customize it

And kind of gave up
or lost his way on it.

So I'm gonna go check it out.

When you get a call

And they tell you they got
a corvette in the garage

And you get there
and it's a four-door nova,

You just never know.

Yes?

Hey, mr. Clayton.
Richard rawlings.

We spoke on the phone
about your 'vette?

Yeah, we sure did.
Cool.

This guy's garage
is so full of crap

I don't even know
if there's a car in there.

Time to rip off the cover,
see what we got.

You ready? Whew!
Look at that.

The back end,
I don't like a lot.

Got some 280z taillights in it,
smoked, plexiglass covers.

Real '80s style.

This makes me want to, you know,

Put on a gold chain,
cruise up to the disco.

Clayton:
everything inside is stock.

Yeah, that's real nice,
actually.

It's got a few custom add-ons.

Very period-correct
for the late '70s, early '80s.

The work's not bad, though.

I mean, whoever put these
scallops in the front fenders

And what have you,
they did a good job.

Looks like pretty even work.

It was done by a corvette shop
that's no longer in existence.

Now, I know this 'vette
is a little bit too new,

But I like the old
"corvette summer" movie.

[ Laughs ]

For the auto industry.

The economy was in a recession,

But americans were still lining
up to buy corvettes.

If you were a kid
in the mid '70s,

The corvette was the coolest car
you could drive.

The removable t-top panel
was introduced in '68,

And the soft rubber bumpers
debuted in '74.

'74 Was also the last year for
the 454 big block chevy engine,

And it was also the last year

That corvettes ran
on leaded gasoline.

Well,
it's pretty dad-gum cool.

It's in great shape.
The interior's nice.

It's a pretty cool car.

We usually,
on something like this --

'Cause I got to do
all the work

And get it back on the road
type thing --

I'd probably offer you
something like 2 grand.

But I think,
on this one, $2,500?

We'll get her loaded up
and get her out of your way.

You can have all
your garage space back.

Uh...

I'm used to people waiting on me
to come up with a number.

This guy's just hemming
and hawing.

I don't know if he's trying
to add up the math

And figure out
what he's gonna make

Or if he's gonna freaking hit me
in my face.

"Corvette summer"!

[ Laughs ]

What do you think, man?

It's no bueno.

I can't buy it
and sell it for you.

This is a real negotiation.

You ready?
Whew!

Look at that.
[ Laughs ]

Rawlings: so, I'm out looking
for an easy car to flip.

The guys are working
on a big project.

I got a lead on a '74 corvette.

Offered the guy 2,500 bucks,

And he sure is taking his time

Telling me if that's
a deal or not.

We'll get her loaded up
and get her out of your way.

I'll be happy
with $2,700.

You got a deal.
I can do that.

How do you guys pay?
Cash.

Cash.
That's what I thought.

That's how
gas monkey plays.

It's kind of like the '70s
when this car was new.

It was cash, grass,
or a*s.

Nobody rides for free,
right?

I had that on my car
at one time.

[ Laughs ]
I think everybody did.

Not all the cars I chase
work out as well.

This is a good car,
and it's good for the money.

Now comes the grunt work.

I got to get all his [bleep] out
from on top, underneath,

And beside this car
so I can drag it out

And put it on my trailer and
take it to gas monkey garage.

Mr. Clayton,
I appreciate it.

A lot of the time people
get the description wrong.

You described this
just like it was,

And I am happy to get it.

I'll have her up and running
by tomorrow.

I'll give you a call
when I'm doing a burnout.

Okay.
Go right ahead.

All right.
Thank you, sir.

Mathieu: we got the fleetmaster
over at the paint shop.

It's got a real '80s look,

So we're gonna sand off
all the stripes on it,

Put it in primer.

Once the primer dries,
we're gonna paint it flat black.

We chose to go with
a flat black color on it.

It's a little more classic look,
so it'll look real clean.

And I think everybody
will like it.

"Corvette summer"!

Was he trying to turn a corvette
into a fiero or what?

Dude, I thought
they were fiero lights, too.

They're actually

And you know what?
Believe it or not...

Besides this hideousness here
and a little bit of hood,

It's a really,
really nice car.

The interior's perfect.

Everything's never
been butchered.

The wiring's right.

I mean,
this was just a nice car.

It seems fine.

Kaufman:
it never ceases to amaze me

The modifications
that people think

Will improve the look
of their car.

You know, there's just no
accounting for taste.

The exhaust in the back --
not bad.

I like the four mufflers
on it.

I mean, for this car,
I think it's okay.

It's awful strange,
but if you're gonna be strange,

Be the king of strange,
I guess.

In my business,
it's what's under the hood

That makes or breaks the deal.

You either made a smart move
or a dumb one.

And we just don't know
till we fire it up.

How we doing, phipps?

Okay.
The points were shot.

Really?
It's got some.

Chuck them in.
Let's see what happens.
Okay. Cool.

All richard's 'vette needs
is a set of points,

Which is $13, $14.

This shoots the spark out
to the spark plug,

Ignites the fuel.

Okay.
Get ready to spin it over.

Fixing to do some contact.

Everybody clear?

[ Engine whirring ]

[ Whirring stops ]

Oh, here we go.

I'll bet
on the second turn.

[ Engine turns over ]

Bam!

Price just went up!

[ Laughs ]

Rawlings: see, kids?
I made a great deal.

The corvette's up and running,

And now k.c. Is back with the
fleetmaster from the paint shop.

Mathieu:
what do you think, man?

Rawlings: [ laughing ] yeah!
Looks better already.

It looks great.

I'm happy we changed
the color to flat black.

I think if we had gone
with a shiny color

Or another flat color,

I think you would have seen more
imperfections in the body.

So I think this was
a good choice for this car.

Yeah, this'll definitely make it
easier for someone to buy.

[ Scoffs ]
it was hard for me to buy...

[ Laughs ] when it was two-tone
purple with the stripes.

Well,
hopefully we fixed that.

Cool, let's get it off.

That's the thing
with these cars.

You have to be able to look
past the ugly.

If you can do that,
you can make a load of cash.

Y'all ready?

Are we square back there?
I can't see [bleep]

Rawlings: I'm pretty sure
I scored with this one.

Come on, man! Let's get
that piece of junk in here.

Cool!

K.c., You made
this car cool.

All right, so, first thing
I want to get done

Is getting rid of
the stupid stuff on here.

The yellow plug wires --
go ahead and yank them.

Everything that's worn-out
or ugly, let's just ditch it.

Also, yank this header
on this side.

We're gonna fix that.

Kaufman: we're getting started
working on the '48.

We want our engine to look good,

But we also want to make sure
it's mechanically sound.

So I'm gonna have our new guy,
todd, remove the exhaust header,

Which is a set of pipes

That collect exhaust gases
from the cylinders.

When we were driving it, every
once in a while it'll bind up.

And you can see
what's going on.

The concern is, once we make
clearance with that,

We think that the header's
also the only thing

Holding the center link
in place.

The steering linkage is the rod

That runs
from the steering wheel

Down to the rack and pinion.

And whoever put the steering
linkage in this car

Just ran it up
against the header.

It's no bueno.

Hey, k.c.?
What?

Come give me a hand
getting this header out?

I guess.

[ Grunting ]
I got to get all dirty.

All right.

Aw, they beat the [bleep] out
of that.

Imagine that.
Shocking.

Kaufman: so, todd just yanked
the headers out.

They were hitting
the steering column.

So, what we're gonna do now is
I'm gonna finish making a dent

Or a recess in the header
just to clear the steering,

And then we'll have some freedom
around the steering shaft.

This is one of the risks
that we run into

When working on a car that was
rebuilt by someone else.

There's always the chance

The owner didn't really know
what he was doing,

And then we have to fix
his mistakes -- like this one.

I think I'm good
about right there.

So, while the header cools,

Scot's going to get started
on the front suspension.

We took it all apart,

Took the old spindles out
which hold the wheel,

And we got new spindles.

And as you can see,
the new spindle --

The location
is two inches higher,

Which is gonna lower the car
two inches.

At the same time,

We also took one coil and 1/4
off of the spring,

Which is also gonna lower
the vehicle.

I think it lowered it
about 2, 2 1/2 inches.

And then we got 2 inches
out of the spindle.

So, putting this
all back together,

The front of the car should be
four to five inches shorter.

You ready?
Yep.

We're having a good time
working on this car.

It's one of the post-w*r cars
from the day.

In world w*r ii,

They had to stop production
on the major vehicles

Being made at the time

Because they needed the steel
and the rubber

To make w*r materials --

Tanks and jeeps and all
that kind of good stuff.

And they actually used some of
the tooling from the car plants

To produce all the materials
our soldiers needed for w*r.

When the marines and
the soldiers got back from w*r,

This would have been
one of the first cars

Back to production in '48.

I think they might have made
some in '47.

All right.
Jack it up a little bit.

And it's just a cool car.

We're proud to be able to work
on post-w*r cars.

And we're just really happy

To make this one get going
back on the road.

All right, well, that's that.

Rawlings: sounds good.

Oh, yeah.

Rawlings:
so, phipps worked his magic,

And this corvette's purring
like a kitten.

And I got just the guy for it.

A friend of mine, thomas, he's
somewhat of a corvette expert.

And this '74, running,
is exactly what he might want.

Is this the corvette
you told me about?

I'm just glad to see you
in a nice neighborhood for once.

Yes, it is.
It's good.

I enjoy getting out
of the slums.

Good to see you, sir.

Weeks:
richard gives me a call.

He says, "thomas,
you just got to come up here

And check out this corvette."

And I'm like, "what?"

I said, "you know,
I'm real picky

"When it comes to corvettes.

"I mean, extreme stickler.

"I mean, if it just ain't
the right corvette,

I'm just not there."

Good god.
What taillights are these?

I guessed fiero,
and so did aaron,

But they're
actually 280z.

Late 280z.

First, right out of the box,
I thought,

"Oh, my god, this car is
just completely gross."

Goodyear wingfoots.
Western flyer wheels.

I mean, this was the [bleep]
back in the day.

Then, as I moved around it,
I got to thinking,

"You know, this is kind of a car

That's a little bit of old
that's new again."

All right.
What does it cost me?

That's always the deal
with you.

On this one, thomas,
you're gonna have to tell me

What you're willing to pay,
because the bottom line is,

I'm not a big 'vette guy,

And I've only had
about two or three.

And I didn't even look
this one up in the book.

I don't even know
what it's worth.

What do you want me to do?

You want me to make you
an offer?

Yep.
$3,500.

Can't sell it for that.

Well, what am I supposed
to buy it for?

I don't know.

I can't buy it
and sell it for you.

This is a real negotiation.

That's exactly right.

So when I'm telling you
the price,

Then I'm selling it
for you.

So you got to tell me
a number now.

So I can't do both.

I think the car's
worth $4,500.

$4,500?

Yeah.

Take my hand, thomas.
Take my hand.

[ Laughs mischievously ]
I'll get the goodies.

What the hell was that?

[ Engine chokes ]

I'm trying to sell
this '74 corvette to thomas,

And, as usual,
he's trying to haggle me.

I think the car's
worth $4,500.

$4,500?

Yeah.
Green ones.

Pesos?
No.

That'd be $45,000
or $450,000.

$4,000.

Just grab my hand.

You know it's gonna go
to that anyway.

I know, but I need $4,500
for it.

$4,250.

Take my hand
and get it over with.

All right.
$4,100.

I just want the extra 100 bucks
so I can say I got it.

Take my hand, thomas.
Take my hand.

Sold.

Kids, don't think this is easy.

I had to pay 15 bucks
for those points.

And then I sold it
for $1,400 profit. Sweet!

Hey, we'll button it up,

And I'll have it all ready
for you in the morning.

Well, I'll come get it
and bring the trailer.

I got to run back to the back
and check on the boys.

This is what I have
to do every day

While the guys are in the back
working on the big builds.

Already sold it.
Made the profit for the day.

Those guys are paid.
The lights are on.

I'm happy,
ready to go have a beer.

Kaufman: so, the steering
wasn't that bad.

It just wasn't up
to my standards.

It was hitting the header,

And we thought
that we could probably

Just dent the header
a little more

And make some clearance.

We did that.

But then we soon realized

That without the header
supporting the steering linkage,

It was wobbling
all over the place.

That's dangerous because you can
lose control of the car.

So, decided to nix
the whole thing,

Yanked it out,
and started over from scratch.

So, what we have here
is a section

Of the original steering shaft
that was in the car.

The reason it's not
the complete thing

Is I used a piece off the end

And a piece off the top that
belongs on the steering column,

Rebuilt the whole
middle section.

Basically, it cost a couple
hundred bucks in parts

And a couple hours of time.

And time is money,
so on a project like this,

We're trying to control costs
and keep it as low as possible.

This is a real big pain
in the rear.

Scot, you want to make this
stick permanent on the frame?

Yep. This is gonna be the final
assembly of the steering.

So aaron made a bunch
of extra steering shafts

To go around the exhaust.

I made this bracket to help
hold parts of it up.

I'm gonna get it welded on.

All the steering finished.

Looks good.
Piece of pie.

Rawlings: today's the last day
of the pate swap meet.

I already got one car booked
for the auction.

I'd really like to have two.

So I'm gonna take a quick trip
through here,

See if I can find
any last-minute deals.

[ Laughs mischievously ]
I'll get the goodies.

I like this little wagon.

Ha ha!
They clear coated it.

Whoa! That's expensive.

Here's a prime example of
stupidity building a car.

If you're gonna rob a mustang ii

Front suspension
off of something

And you're gonna stick it
underneath a car

And what have you
and you don't have enough room

Or you don't know what
the [bleep] you're doing,

You should probably just quit.

Instead, this guy decided to cut
holes in the fenders.

That'll work.
That [bleep] don't sell.

And he wants 24 grand for it.

It's gonna take more than that
to fix it.

So, I'm stumbling around pate,

And I'm looking for a cool car
to buy.

And I see a sinclair sign.

Actually, I only saw
the "sin" part,

And that's badass
because most of the time,

These guys don't separate up
these signs,

And they're real expensive
to buy.

What's happening, man?
Richard rawlings.

Steve parker.
Steve.
How you doing?

The sign's got me all rocked up
'cause that's --

Pretty much encompasses it all
right there.

Does this
encompass your life?

Well, most of it anyways.

So, with the "sin" sign,
I just had to have it.

Gas monkey's
all about sinning.

I mean, we're raising hell.

We're chasing women.
We're doing burnouts.

Taking my picture, sweetheart?

You ought to come in here
and take a picture with me.

So, he wanted 175 bucks for it.

I thought that was
a little too much.

I just stroked out a $100 bill,
and you know what?

I'll take
your 100 bucks for it.

Golly, that was easy!
Awesome.

So, now I'm gonna go home

Dragging a little sin
on my back.

[ Laughing ] yeah!

Well, I got a cool sign,

But I struck out on finding
another car for the auction.

So, get back to the office,

Try my luck online,
but I got to work fast

'Cause the auction's
in just a couple of days.

You here to get your
xanadu corvette, or what?

That's it.

Thomas rolled in to pick up
his '74 corvette today,

And he's a wealth of knowledge
on a lot of cars.

I like to say I am, too,
but I don't know 'vettes.

You know, richard,

I know you said you didn't know
too much about corvettes,

But I'm gonna give you a little
bit of history on the '74.

Well, go ahead
and enlighten me.

'74 Was the last true
dual-exhaust corvette.

Also, '74 was the last
point-ignition corvette.

Yeah. I know that
'cause I replaced them.

So, in some circles
of corvette guys,

This would possibly be
the last corvette

That really isn't like
a production car.

Does that makes sense?

That's why the '74

Was the attraction for me
on this car when I got here.

I mean,
I didn't tell you that.

I would have paid you more
for that.

Well, let's talk about it.

[ Both laugh ]

I'm gonna go study up some more

'Cause I think I can make
some more money next time.

I'll sting you
on the next one.
You will.

But I still got 1,400 bucks.

One day's work.
That ain't bad.

Thank you, thomas.

We'll see you again.

Have a good one.
All right.

Just buttoned up
the steering column.

The dash is all tight.

Everything's ready
to rock and roll.

Y'all ready to see what it looks
like on the ground?

Yeah, I'm ready.

[ Kaufman laughs ]

That's absolutely righteous.

That's right where
it's supposed to be.

Man: it sits a little more level
than I thought it would.

I thought we were gonna have
a rake in the back.

Yeah, well,
with the tires --

The tires are gonna add
an inch of rake.

We just got the car
on the ground.

It looks great.

We were a little concerned

At having a little more rake
than it does,

Which is just the back end
pointing down

Towards the front,
but it sits really nice.

The new tires are gonna lift
the back up a little bit.

So we're tickled to death.

We really, really, really,
really like this setup.

Looks pretty good.

Looks a lot better
than it did purple.

It's not purple
and jacked up.

All we have to do is wash it off

And get it over
to the alignment shop.

Well, I was gonna say
if someone grabs some gas,

Go ahead and fire
this thing back up,

Reprime the motor,
and get it outside.

We need to wash
this thing off anyway.

Give it a shot?

Yeah. Come on.

[ Engine whirring ]

Come on.

What the hell was that?

You're getting close.
Come on.

We go to start it,
it's not starting.

It's acting wrong.

That could be a problem.

Something's wrong.
What do we do? What do we do?

Rawlings: whoo!

All the way from california.

How much is that $500 job?

Probably $10,000.

[ Laughter ]

Give it a shot?

Yeah.
Come on.

[ Engine whirring,
whirring stops ]

Come on.

What the hell was that?

[ Engine whirring,
whirring stops ]

Brett, pull the plugs.
I want to bring it up one more.

The car's on the ground.

We're ready to back it outside
and wash it,

And it just won't start.

You know, it's got
some weird symptoms.

I mean, it won't fire.

It's acting like
it's hard to start.

Go ahead.

[ Engine whirs ]

This is a big, big problem.

The guys are waiting on me
at the alignment shop,

And we're trying desperately
to get it down there.

Oh, hold on a second.
Try it again.

The pcv valve's off.
Try it again.

[ Engine whirs ]

The ignition's hooked up.

Mathieu: it was real frustrating
when the car wouldn't fire up.

Everything went great.
It pulled in great.

And now we go to pull it out,
and it won't fire up.

Could be something
under the dash

'Cause the dash was
pretty tore apart in there.

We might check
the voltage on it.
[Bleep]

I replaced all
the spark plug wires.

I knew it was my problem to fix.

We'll just
check these first.

One. Eight.

One, eight,
four, three, six.

Mcmillan: I got to looking.

Whoever put the distributor in
before we got the car

Put it in one tooth off,

Which means I had the rotation
on all the spark plug wires

Off one turn.

Now,
that could be a problem.

'Cause they got this thing
in here.

I put this one
as number one.

'Cause that's usually
number one

'Cause it points
at the number one cylinder.

I bet that one
is where they got one.

Do you want
to switch them one?

Yeah.
'Cause they're all in order.

Okay.
Well, switch them one, then.

We didn't do anything but take
them off and put them back on.

That's all right.
Just turn them one, then.

Mathieu:
we get these older cars,

And most of them
are people's projects.

So we don't know exactly
what they did.

And when we get them, we have
to kind of figure it out.

So we're trying to figure out
whatever somebody else did.

It gets real frustrating.

Only got eight
different combinations.

We'll get there
eventually.

[ Engine turns over ]

Kaufman: had a little problem
starting it.

All it was was the plug wires.

We didn't take
the distributor out.

Whoever last set the distributor

Had it clocked
a little bit wrong.

So, we put it back in there the
way it's supposed to have been.

It was just one plug wire off.

Turned them all,
busted right off.

It just couldn't be better.

Oh, that looks
so much better.

Damn, that gas monkey
did it again.

All right. That's it.
All right. Break.

Rawlings: we're gonna take
the fleetmaster to alignment

And then straight to sue's.

She's had the seats all week,

And all she needs to do

Is install the door panels
and the carpeting.

She should be done tomorrow
by noon at the latest.

Sue: crazy richard.

He want a car one day early.

Rawlings: I been looking hard
for a second car I could buff up

And quickly take
to the leake auction.

I wasn't able to find
anything locally,

But I did manage to get this gem
off the good, old interweb.

Whoo!

All the way from california.

It looks pretty clean.

It's as clean as it was
in the pictures so far, dude.

You got to love
these finned cadillacs.

This '63 convertible
is just like the one

Al pacino drove in "scarface."

I paid 9 grand for this one,

And I'm pretty sure it's gonna
bring $12,000 or better.

Wheels, tires, lower it.

Make sure everything works
like it's supposed to.

Fix the stupid interior and the
back window and rock and roll.

It's a drop-top caddy.

If it's down low and rides and
does what it's supposed to do,

There's your money.

Otherwise,
I think it's good.

All right, cool.

Well, drag it off.
Let's get rid of it.

Rawlings: I'm gonna push
my guys hard,

Try to get this thing
thrown together,

Get it up to the auction,
make a little money.

Hey. What's going on,
old richard?

Hey.
Check it out.

I just got this in, and I want
to take it to an auction.

If you look, the interior's
really, really nice.

No.

Okay, so,
seats, front and back,

Carpet, kick panels,
what have you,

And a new back window.

How much is that $500 job?

Probably $10,000.

See, it's too early
in the day.

I got to get you when you're
drunk later at about 5:00.

No way. [ Laughs ]

How about this --
I'll let you do this,

And me and aaron get
to take your daughter

Out to dinner
or something.

No way, jose.

[ Laughter ]

Rawlings:
sue likes to play hardball,

But I know she'll get it done
quick and at a good price.

We're leaving tomorrow night to
take both cars to the auction,

So she better get it done,
chop-chop.

[ Rock music plays ]

Chop-chop.

So, all right. So, all we got
left is the console.

It kind of seems to be
the last little bit.

This morning we got
the fleetmaster back

From the upholstery shop.

Sue did a great job
on the interior.

Now there's only one big thing
left to do -- the console.

I told scot what I wanted on it.
He's getting on it right now.

This isn't the most important
part of the car,

But it's the details,

The small pieces that make
the car comfortable

That's gonna help the car sell.

I just cut all this metal
from a flat sheet.

I bent it, made a console,

And I'm gonna weld
these end plates on.

By the way, this is very bright.
It will blind you.

Rawlings:
you know, fabrication, that's
what gas monkey's all about.

I've got some of the best guys
on the planet here.

You've got scot, aaron, k.c.

They can make anything
out of anything.

Bottom line, any [bleep]
with a hot rod shop

Can go drag a new part
off the shelf -- we make ours.

What I'm about to do
for the console

Is cut this hole out

Where the switches are gonna
come up through the bottom.

The way I'm gonna do that,
I'm gonna use a plasma cutter.

The way a plasma cutter works --

It creates an electric arc
which melts the steel,

And then compressed air
blows through the arc

And moves the melted steel
out of the way.

Well, that was a nice,
clean cut.

All we got left is to drop it
off at sue's to get vinyled.

I'll install it in the car
first thing in the morning.

Kaufman:
so, we've got just a few things
left to button this one up --

Get the interior panels
screwed in,

Get the speakers in,
test the radio,

Make sure it's working,
and then put the seats back in.

That's about it, man.
About done.

Time to roll.

[ Engine turns over ]

[ Engine revs ]

Rawlings: so, here we are.

This car was hideous when
we found it at pate swap meet.

It was absolutely horrible
to look at.

This whole thing just screamed,
"please, help me."

And we did.

It was two different kinds
of purple.

It had a gold stripe.

It was as ugly as I think
a car can get.

I told aaron what I wanted
to do --

Flat black,
get it down on the ground.

As soon as I opened the door
on this car, it was horrible.

Now we got another shade
of color,

But recovered him in black
and lost the headrests.

The old console was just crammed
in there out of another car,

And it just didn't work.

So we built a brand-new
small console down low,

And an all-black interior --
you can't go wrong.

The other thing wrong with
this car when we found it --

It was sitting way up high.

We got the whole thing slammed,

Dragging weeds
right where we like it.

On the way back to the shop
from the swap meet,

One thing we noticed
was this car does drive good.

It had plenty of power,

So we didn't want to mess
with that too much.

All we did is just
cleaned it up,

Get rid of all the oil,
grime, nastiness --

Make it look presentable again.

So, we made it right.
We made it fast and loud.

Now it's time to sell it
at auction.

I think people
are gonna step up.

There's gonna be a lot of hands
in the air.

This thing should bring
well over 20 grand.

The way we found this car,
it had very, very few buyers.

Now that we put some cool back
in it, it's gonna be a home run.

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

Make some money today?

Let's do it.
Let's make some money.

$7,900.

I've never seen such a bargain
in my life!

Looks like it's gonna be
a bad day.

Sold, sold, sold!

Oh, my god.

Is this really what y'all
are working on?

Yeah.
You coming to help?

No.
It was better purple.

You have no taste.

Whatever.
Rawlings: are you guys
jacking with my new girl?

Christie, are they giving you
a hard time?

She's the one who came in

And told us she didn't like
what we were doing.

I like it better purple.

You're insane, aren't you?
No.

Well, I think you could lose
your job there.

Rawlings: so, the leake auction
takes place over two days.

This is day two --
nicer, more finished cars.

You get the drill.

Bottom line,
I don't know this crowd

'Cause I haven't been to tulsa
in a while.

But I know
what I brought is right.

When I drag out my fleetmaster
and my caddy,

These people
are gonna be impressed.

It's a little bit different
economy up here,

But we brought some
medium-priced cars.

These aren't the highest-priced
cars here.

There's a lot of people
with a lot of money.

They just don't have as much
as they did a few years ago.

The crowd looks great, though.
It's jamming out there.

People are raising their hand.
They're buying some cars.

The '48 is great,
and it's a damn good drive.

You just hop in it and go.

A.c. -- You can drive it
through the summer.

I think this is
gonna make someone

A really nice
weekend cruiser,

Throw the grandkids in it,
go to breakfast.

This car's cut out
for that.

The '63, this is someone
that wants to restore a car.

This is
a really good start.

I think this is a great project
for someone.

I think we'll find
our buyer here.

I brought two
really good cars.

They're really well priced,

And I think I got a margin
of profit in there.

It could surprise me.

I could make a bunch
of money today.

But I'm definitely
gonna make some.

Whoo!

Man: this is another one.

Rawlings: I paid 9 grand
for this caddy,

Put another 3,500 bucks into it.

I'm hoping to get
at least 15 grand.

Man:
...richard rawlings.

$30,000.
$30,000.

[ Auctioneer calling ]

[ Calling continues ]

Drop the rates to $7,900.

We're gonna lose our a*s.

$7,900? $7,900? $7,900?

Just another 100 bucks, sir.

[ Auctioneer calling ]

$8,100? $8,100? $8,100?

We're gonna sell at $8,000.
$8,100? Last chance.

Are you sure?

Going once. $8,100?
Going twice.

$8,100? Going three times.
Last and final chance.

Sold, sold, sold!

Thank you, sir.
Sold -- $8,000. Thank you.

Rawlings: all right.
Now I'm scared.

I just lost 4,500 bucks
on this caddy.

I might have misjudged this
crowd, but it's too late now.

The fleetmaster is in
at no reserve, as well.

And whatever they're willing
to pay for it is what I get.

I got $22,500 into the '48.

At this point,
I really got to get 30 grand

Just to make up for my losses.

No reserve?
What are you hoping for?

Oh, it'll definitely bring
over $20,000.

Over $30,000
would be awesome.

But, I mean,
it's a badass car.

Auctioneer: $15,000.

[ Auctioneer calling ]
no reserve.

[ Calling continues ]

What's his number?
What does he got to get?

It's no reserve.

It's no reserve?
Ha ha!

Auctioneer: $7,500?

[ Calling continues ]

Ladies and gentlemen,
you're missing the boat here.

$6,000! $7,000!
Money's down.

[ Calling continues ]

$8,000? No reserve.

[ Calling continues ]

Looks like it's gonna be
a bad day.

Where you going, sir?

[ Calling continues ]
are you sure?

You want to bid right there,
sir, with the margarita?

This car comes
with a free margarita.

[ Calling continues ]

[ Calling continues ]

Oh, boy!
Here's a buy here.

[ Calling continues ]

Looking for your wallet?
$11,250.

I'll tell you what -- I've never
seen such a bargain in my life!

[ Calling continues ]

Now $12,000.

Now $12,000. $12,000.

[ Calling continues ]

Anybody else? $12,000?

$12,000? Going once.

$12,000? Going twice.

$12,000?
Going three times.

Last and final chance,
ladies and gentlemen.

$12,000?

Sold, sold, sold!
$11,750! Thank you, sir.

It's a good thing there's not
any sharp objects around,

Or I might just do
something drastic!


That's less than I paid for
the car in the first place.

This is the absolute worst I've
ever done at an auction, period.

Did you buy it?

You got a [bleep] lot of car
for the money.

I think that it was the timing
that it went up.

A lot of the guys that are here
right now bidding on cars

Are bidding
on really high-end cars,

So a lot of the buyers
probably aren't looking

For this type of vehicle.

You got a hell of a car.

Sometimes I take my chances.
That one didn't pay off.

It's just not a big crowd.

I thought there might be
some money out there.

There wasn't.
I lost my a*s on the '48 chevy.

I lost my a*s on the cadillac.
This is part of it, though.

I'm gambling, always trying.

A lot of times I win.
Sometimes I lose. You know what?

I'm always gonna drink beer
in the evening,

And I'm getting
out of here now.

Narrator: richard started
the week strong,

Buying a '74 corvette
for $2,700.

After only $100 of work,
he flipped it for $4,100,

But could have made more.

I'll sting you
on the next one.

He bought a california cadillac
for 9 grand...

And spent $3,500 to completely
redo the interior.

It brought only $8,000
at auction,

But the worst was yet to come.

The '48 fleetmaster
cost richard $13,000.

Repainting the car and upgrading
the interior, wheels, and tires

Set him back another $9,500.

The tulsa crowd was unimpressed.

Sold, sold, sold!

And richard walked away

With about half
of what he put into it.

It was the worst week yet
for gas monkey garage

As the boys ended up
over $14,000 in the hole.

Kaufman:
this stings, you know?

We're gonna go back to the shop,
lick our wounds,

And we got to find
a car fast

That we can make
some money on

Because unless
we recoup this loss,

We're gonna run low
on the next car.

[ Spraying ]

Ladies, you want to
piss your ex-husband off,

Today and today only
we're throwing in aaron free

With purchase of this car.

Look at that.
Look at this.

Vinny would have drove
this car everywhere.

I don't know why those [bleep]
painted it black.

It had some cragars on it.

We had two coats of purple
and some gold.

[ Speaks indistinctly ]

[ Laughter ]

Get out in your garage.
Build something.