- [Swag] Hey, "Monster" fans!
We're at the Long Beach Hi Performance Swap Meet.
This is the place where your average Joe
comes to buy a vintage vehicle.
[bell dings]
[upbeat hip-hop music]
But that's no average Joe!
- This rules and not one person has recognized who I am.
This is what it comes down to, to getting a deal on a car.
[walkie-talkie beeps] Yo.
'Cause everybody gonna know it's Jesse James.
They're gonna think I got, like, crazy Hollywood money,
so they're gonna raise the price.
- [Swag] That's Jesse James!
- Hey.
- [Announcer] And he's looking to purchase a new victim,
uh, I mean, vehicle for the Monster Garage.
- [Jesse] You won't take seven cash right now?
[cash register dings]
- [Announcer] Jesse's got his eye
on a mint 1971 El Camino SuperSport
with a factory 402 big block.
- [Seller] I'm going through a divorce with the wife,
and I got nowhere to put 'em.
Original big-block car on my lesson with air conditioning.
This is money in the bank, that's all it is.
- [Jesse] Meet me halfway, 85.
[cash rustling]
Thanks, bro. - Take care of yourself.
- [Swag] Sold to the man in the blue blazer.
- [Jesse] Yeah, this thing's cherry.
[car engine revs] [tires squeal]
- [Swag] Next up, "Monster Garage."
[aggressive industrial metal music]
- [Narrator] Join us now as Jesse and his g*ng
of maverick mechanics rip, grind, and burn,
transforming ordinary street vehicles into monster machines
in the Monster Garage.
♪ Monster, Monster Garage
♪ Monster, Monster Garage
♪ Monster, Monster Garage
♪ Monster, Monster Garage
♪ Monster, Monster Garage
♪ Monster
- [Narrator] The challenge,
chop up a rare 1971 Chevy El Camino SuperSport
and build an indestructible Figure 8 race car.
In Figure 8 racing, the track is shaped like the number 8.
Drivers must negotiate a hairy mid-course intersection
with no traffic controls.
Other than the racer's own courage,
the only objective is not to crash.
The rules: when built, the monster machine
must appear to be stock,
and the team can spend no more than 3,000 bones for parts.
Jesse and his crew have seven days and nights.
On the first day, they design.
For the next five, they build.
And on the seventh day, they race.
If successful, each team member takes home
a $3,400 set of Mac tools.
And the clock starts now.
[smasher grunts] [glass clinking]
[urgent heavy metal music]
[tires screeching] [car engine revving]
- [laughs] That was a little close.
[door handle clunking]
Aw.
Oh.
[laughing] Oh man.
This guy said this thing was cherry.
[suspenseful industrial rock music]
[Jesse chuckling]
- [Narrator] The design team rolls in to lay down the plan
for transforming the mostly cherry El Camino
into a Figure 8 flyer.
- [Bruce] Hey, Jesse. - [Jesse] What's up, man?
- [Bruce] How you doing?
- So I think this is a "Monster Garage" first.
We're just gonna make a race car.
- You like the Figure 8 racing, huh?
- Yes, I like it.
It's like car hockey.
[car engine revving] [tires screeching]
- [Narrator] Long before Team Leader Jesse James
ever rode a chopper,
he would ride his BMX bike to the racetrack
to watch his idol Roger Parsons race the Figure 8s.
- [Commentator] And it looked like Parsons
is gonna win this race.
- It was like there was no one else on the track.
And everybody was, like, braking to, like, avoid him.
He's just like, [imitates car engine revving].
Man, that guy's crazy!
- That's the way it should be, no stop signs and red lights.
- [Narrator] Billy Ziemann has been a god of Figure 8 racing
for over two decades.
- Won like eight championships, 35 main events in a row
at two different tracks.
Nothing like that Figure 8 racing,
just a adrenaline rush all the way through your body.
[upbeat industrial metal music]
You're doing about 80, 85 through that intersection.
That's the risk you take when you get out there in the car.
But you could be hurt climbing out of bed in the morning.
[car slams] [glass clinking]
- It's kinda like, you know,
just ping-pong ba*ls ricocheting,
except they weigh 4,000 pounds.
- [Narrator] Turning this black lacquer classic
into a 4,000 pound w*r-ready ping-pong ball,
just waiting for the backhand smash, won't be simple.
- This is pretty complicated.
It's not gonna be easy.
It's a big block, so you'd think that's heavy,
so we might have to set the motor back a little bit.
- Yeah, get the motor back as far as you can,
put the cage back as far as you can,
get the rear percentage better,
'cause with that big block hanging out front,
you got an extra 500 pounds.
- We'll probably have to gut the bed, gut the interior,
move the driver back.
- I was thinking about putting a battery box
in the back end too.
- [Narrator] For lead-foot racer Hot Rod Proctor,
Figure 8 racing is all in the family.
- My dad's an old race car driver.
He ran Figure 8s for several years.
And then I have an older brother
that's past champion, Figure 8 champion.
So then I came along.
I started racing when I was about 18.
And then my little sister wanted to try it,
so I threw her in the Figure 8 car.
She beat the best of 'em.
So yeah, it all started with Dad,
and it's all the way down to little sister now.
- There's no banking, so your turns are basically flat.
- Yeah, it's like running through the parking lot.
- You know, aside from handling
and putting adjustable A-arms so we can adjust the camber
and stuff like that, and then load the springs,
I think it's just gotta be able
to win the battle of attrition.
It's gonna need a full cage.
It's gotta have a 4-bars on the driver's side, right?
- Yeah.
- [Jesse] It's gotta have nerf bars and stuff on the sides.
- This car was made to have seven-inch tires,
and you're gonna be putting a 10-inch tire on there.
It's definitely- - Oh, damn.
I guess that means we're gonna have
to cut out the wheel wells.
[team laughing]
What do you figure the horsepower is?
Maybe 400, so we need to put a good carb and a good manifold
and maybe get 450 or 500 out of it, good headers.
- We have to look under it,
see if it's got clip-in axles or bolt-in axles.
That's a safety thing there, them clip-in axles.
- Yeah, so you don't go around the corner
and the axle wheel, [imitates wheel whooshing].
- [Billy] Next thing you know, there goes your wheel.
Yeah, yeah.
- [Narrator] Billy and Hot Rod will help Jesse
build the car.
But on the seventh day, they'll also be racing against him.
- And you guys both have big wings on your car.
- Yeah that wing, it creates a lot of downforce.
People think it's just there for the sponsors
to hang their name on and stuff,
but there's a lot of downforce
comes into play with the wing.
- I was thinking, putting a wing
that kinda follows the roof line
but covers the whole bed, like off of here.
- Flat deck on the- - Yeah, yeah.
- [Jesse] So that looks kinda cool.
- Yeah, a little bit to follow the shape of the body.
- [Narrator] Artist Bruce Berkey is a Disney cartoonist,
but he used to design cars for Ford.
[car engine rumbling] [car whooshes]
- My true passion is automotive-based,
and that's why it's been fun to be here today
and work on this.
Ever since I was a little kid, I could draw circles,
so that naturally turned into wheels,
and I put cars around 'em.
I still miss the car design,
but you know, this is a nice taste of that today.
- [Narrator] One question still looms over the design team.
Won't chopping up a gem
from GM inspire the ire of car buffs?
- It's gonna piss a hell of a lot of people off,
but it's kinda like taking a Mickey Mantle baseball card
and tearing it in half.
It makes all the other ones worth that much more.
Wow! Wow!
Well, cool.
Well, I think that's it.
I mean, I think it's just gotta be mean looking and evil.
- [Team Member] Uh-huh.
[funky guitar]
- [Narrator] Turning this El Camino into a Hell Camino
will require building a protective cage,
converting the automatic transmission to a manual,
moving the motor back, moving the battery to the rear,
and adding a new fuel cell.
[metal clanging]
[marker squeaking]
[car engine revs] [tires screeching]
Day two arrives with a furnace blast of summer heat
and brings with it a six-man demolition team
ready to knock the mint right outta this Camino.
[transition clicking]
James Cowboy Hollan is a demolition derby driver
and prop fabricator from Los Angeles, California.
[transition clicking]
Jeremy Stets is a pipe welder from Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
[transition clicking]
Scott Burson is a Figure 8 race car builder
from San Bernardino.
[transition clicking]
Mark Nelson is a bike builder
and the manager of West Coast Choppers.
[transition clicking]
Hot Rod Proctor-
[transition clicking]
And Billy Ziemann, AKA Barefoot Billy, stay for the build.
[transition clicking and whooshing]
[team member laughing]
- So Figure 8 car
out of a cherry-cherry '71 SS 402 El Camino.
It seems fun, but it's gonna be a lot of work.
You guys, start gutting the interior,
getting all that stuff out.
Dash, everything's gotta go, all the glass.
Try to get as much weight out of it too,
you know, fender wells, everything.
Keep as much as the paint and stuff looking kinda cool
so it still looks like a bitchin', nice car.
[team member laughing]
- [Team Member] You wanna keep the emblems on it?
- [Jesse] Oh yeah, totally.
[team member laughing]
- [Team Member] Rock and roll.
- Let's do it, we're ready.
[upbeat heavy metal music]
- [Narrator] The gut instincts of this crew come in handy
right away, proving that absolutely nothing is sacred
in the Monster Garage.
[sparks hissing]
- All those Chevy SS club guys put their custom jackets
with, like, an embroidered El Camino on the back-
[sound effect cackling]
All get together at, like, the local burger joint
every, you know, like, Wednesday night.
[metal clanging]
You know, like, "Yeah, check out mine.
I just got my new trim piece."
[glass clinking] - [Team Member] Oh!
- [Team Member] Oh. [pedal clunks]
- "Look at my new pipe."
[pipe clanging]
Look at my El Camino.
It's now got a hole where everything was.
[sparks hissing]
- Does that make me a bad person?
- 402-cubic-inch four-barrel carb.
Sh-you know it's the real deal.
[metal clanking]
- No remorse.
[aggressive industrial metal music]
- [Team Member] Over here on the bench-
- Obviously, it's not,
"No shoes, no shirt, no Figure 8 car."
- [Narrator] But no one can Figure 8, uh,
figure out how Barefoot Billy got his name.
- Billy looks like
that one little kid on the block
that's always dirty.
- Uh-huh.
[Billy laughing]
- Never really liked to wear shoes.
And then when I went to school and stuff,
I'd get kicked out for not bringing shoes to school.
And a real good friend of mine
out there at the races, Earl Stubbs,
he came up with the name Barefoot Billy,
and it's just been there ever since.
[transition clicking and whooshing]
- [Narrator] Everything must go.
The steering column,
the dash, and some spare wiring.
- [Mark] Violence is the name of my game.
[upbeat industrial metal music]
- [Narrator] Even the truck bed hits the floor
of the Monster Garage.
[truck bed slams]
They dismember the El Camino from the front end to the rear.
[driving rock music]
With the El Camino gutted and the motor pulled out,
the team is feeling optimistic.
- Nah, we got plenty of time.
- We got plenty of time.
- Plenty of time.
It's only a race car. [chuckling]
- Of course, I've seen this before on Monster Garage,
where they said they had plenty of time, and they ran out.
[Scott and team member laughing]
[energetic punk music]
I can build them from the ground up,
chassis, bodies, motors,
- [Narrator] Race Driver Scott Burson
learned to wrench on cars out of a need for speed.
- I had to, when I wanted to race,
that was the only way I could afford to do it
was build my own, so I had to learn. [chuckles]
And that's what I did.
I've always thought Figure 8 guys are crazy.
Intersections are for street driving, I think, [laughing]
not racing. [laughing]
[gentle blues music]
- [Narrator] It's the end of day two
and the end of the El Camino's days as a daily driver.
The odometer tells the tale.
- [Jesse] 78,000 miles. - [Team Member] Original.
You chopped it to hell.
- Could've been worse.
Could've been my car.
[odometer clunks]
Well, I don't think we're gonna get invited
to the Chevy picnic.
[team laughing]
- [Team Member] Not with this car.
- They never made nothing too good for us to cut up.
- [Team Member] That's right.
- We got this thing gutted as far as we can, yeah?
[team member laughing]
All right, cool.
Good job today, guys.
Awesome. - [Team Member] Alright.
- [Narrator] It took more than 30 years
of tender lovin' care to preserve this El Camino
and only one day for this team to trash it.
With only an empty shell left
in the place of this team's conscience...
[door rattling]
they are done for the day.
[cricket chirping]
Monster Garage factoid:
From 1959 to 1988, GM produced over 976,000 El Caminos,
enough to fill the driveways of every man,
woman, and child in Detroit.
♪ Monster, Monster Garage
- [Narrator] Day three.
[aggressive heavy metal music]
It's time for this team to fill the hollow void
they left on the chopping block yesterday.
- You guys wanna work at the cage
and me and Scott can probably
start hooking the motor up,
get the motor set back in, get all that welded down.
- [Narrator] A fuel safe fuel cell is on hand
to stomach high octane racing fuel.
[rock guitar riff and bell rings]
[printer clattering]
- I don't know how low I can go with it.
- You can go as low as you want.
The lower the weight the better.
- All the weight's gonna be over the rear end.
And then we can just make like a frame underneath
so it sits right on top of it.
- [Narrator] Mark and Jeremy fab the fuel cell frame first
so they know their cage will clear it.
Someone in the Monster Garage legal department
caught a whiff of Barefoot Billy's perverse podiatry
and it's got the attorney's legal briefs in a bunch.
- What?
- Mike wants to talk to you.
- [Narrator] The lawyers have put their foot down
and are stepping on Billy's toes.
He'll have to wear shoes for the build
or sign an insurance waiver.
- Stupid lawyers.
- [Narrator] The resourceful Jeremy has a solution.
- [Jeremy] Toes are covered.
- [Billy] No sweat in the Monster Garage, right?
- [Jeremy] We're legal.
- Gonna work?
- [Narrator] A generous crew member
donates his jogging shoes for the greater good.
- [Billy] I guess that's how they work.
[crew laughing]
- [Narrator] The newly booted Billy gets his feet wet
cleaning up the car's fabulous 402.
[driving rock music]
[clattering]
- In the oil pan it's actually pretty clean
but up here in the valve covers you got a lot
of sludge and stuff.
Don't really wanna mess with too much of that stuff
'cause you start messing with it
then it drops in the pan and clogs the oil pump and stuff.
Then you know what happens when you can't get oil pressure.
Without building the whole thing
it's better to just not disturb the stuff at all.
- [Narrator] The safety inspector has come and gone
and so have Billy's shoes.
- Thank you.
Woo-hoo!
[buzzing]
- [Narrator] The old oil pan is history
and is being replaced by a brand new one.
- This here is gonna save the motor.
[rock guitar riff and bell rings]
[printer clattering]
- [Narrator] In Figure 8 racing G-Force turns
can throw oil to one side of the engine block,
stopping the flow to the other side.
The new racing oil pan sports two trap door baffles
that keep the pump pickup submerged
and sending a constant flow to the entire motor.
- Hey you need cleaner hands to work on this motor.
- We need a cleaner motor. [laughing]
- [Narrator] With the fuel cell placed
the team begins on the impact cage.
Measuring, cutting, bending, notching and welding tubing.
Custom bike builder Mark Nelson prefers the white hot light
of a welding torch to the bright lights of Hollywood.
- If I wanted to be in t.v.,
I'd go to Hollywood and be a waiter.
[glass tinkling]
- [Narrator] Mark Nelson is one of Jesse's lieutenants
at West Coast Choppers.
- I'm in charge of all the guys making parts,
all the guys machining parts, the shop,
making sure everything gets done,
all the new stuff, everything, pretty much.
- [Narrator] The whole team jumps in
to build a crash proof cage
out of heavy gauge tubing.
To keep Jesse alive, the cage must be strong enough
to withstand the force
of an 85 mile per hour impact.
[crashing and slo=mo yelling]
Cowboy James, the Derby driver, is confident.
- Well I built derby cars, drive those,
and I think this will take every bit as much impact
as one of them will and keep going.
[engines revving]
- [Narrator] And if the cage is that effective,
why don't all cars have them?
- Maybe 'cause not all drivers drive like Jesse does.
[laughing]
- [Narrator] James Cowboy Hollan
felt what is known in the trade
as builder's remorse over tearing apart
a rare and pristine El Camino.
- When I first walked in
and took a look at the car, I have to say
that I felt like I'd really
like to keep that one for myself.
I think one of the lessons I may have learned from this is
if there's something beautiful you see in life
and you can't have it, you might as well k*ll it.
- [Narrator] James embraces destruction,
but when the rubber hits the road...
- From driving demolition derby cars,
I look at these Figure 8 drivers
and I think that they're crazy.
[sizzling] [driving rock guitar]
- [Narrator] The cage is coming along nicely.
Now it's time to begin making a sheet metal firewall
to protect Jesse in case of a gas tank expl*si*n.
- I can just close all this in
and close it off and I'm done with it.
- Yeah, just tack, tack, tack all the way down.
- Yeah, you won't be able to have a rear view mirror,
but for what?
- You don't need to know who's behind you.
[all laughing]
[tires squealing and engines revving]
- [Narrator] Mark fabricates the rear firewall
to protect Jesse's back.
Rod removes the wheel hub so larger lugs can be installed.
Bigger bolts will help keep the wheels on their wagon.
Jeremy welds the spider gears in the rear differential.
- Okay, this is your ring gear
for your ring and pinion,
pinions in there.
These are your spider gears.
You got four spider gears.
You just weld them here and here
and that makes both axles turn the same time.
It gives you a posi-traction constantly.
You got two wheels turning as compared
to just one wheel turning.
[spring boinging]
- [Narrator] New coil springs arrive
but they've got a little too much
in the diameter department.
But for every problem in the Monster Garage
there's a solution.
- It's only five inch in here,
so we're just gonna trim out the A-arm
and replate it for the five and a half inch spring.
- [Narrator] The modified control arm
will accommodate the big spring just fine.
Rod presses fresh bushings
into the modified control arms and rebuilds the suspension.
- Jack, help jack that up to it or-
- [Narrator] But he runs into another problem.
- We're trying to install the shocks
and this is too fat to fit under the lower control arm.
- I guess you can trim it out to the side.
- So now what we're gonna do is
we're gonna trim the lower control arm some more
to make this work.
- [Narrator] Once again, the problem is solved
by the plasma cutter
and the suspension is ready to roll.
With lots of progress on the cage, firewall and suspension,
the team calls it quits.
[ratcheting]
[rock music]
Day four and the team returns to the garage
and gets behind the eight ball.
- We're here.
- We should be able to get the motor
and transmission in today.
- Soon as we get the flywheel motor
the trans will be in.
If we don't get the switches in and stuff,
we can just hot-wire it.
- [Crew] Right, fire it.
- Fire it, yeah.
- [Crew] You guys know how to hot-wire a car?
- No, no.
[all laughing]
- It's California; we all know how.
[siren wailing]
- We get a seat yet?
[guitar riff and bell rings]
[printer clattering]
- [Narrator] Jesse settles into the new seat
and the crew fusses about him like royal dressers,
tailoring the pedals and steering to his highness.
[driving rock guitar]
- That's good.
- [Narrator] Pleased with the fit, Jesse starts
heliarcing the steering rod to the new specs.
[hissing]
[laid back guitar]
Jeremy is working on protecting Jesse's butt
with scuff bars.
- This one coming off, penetrate through the body.
Go to the frame and then up along the side of the car.
It'll be one that comes out,
runs up along the door
and then a full piece around the front.
So it'll deflect any intruding traffic.
[crashing and glass tinkling]
Rubbin', smashin'. [laughing]
[engines revving]
They're gonna be gunning for him.
They're gonna be gunning for him.
[b*llet ricochets]
- [Narrator] Jeremy Stets is the pied pipe welder
of Pennsylvania.
A sample of his audition tape makes it very clear
how this team member got the gig at Monster Garage.
[tires squealing]
- There's no "i" in team, boy.
But there is an "e".
And an "a" and an "m".
I gotta see that TV show.
Uh, the, Foster Girl, you ever see that?
[mooing]
[gravel crunching]
[random sound effects]
- [Narrator] To install Jeremy's scuff bars
means drilling through the precious doors
and rear quarter panels of the El Camino.
- No, I don't give a damn.
Actually I hate El Caminos, to tell you the truth.
- I like these.
I've built a couple.
[driving rock guitar]
- [Narrator] With the build on track,
Jesse thinks it's time for the team
to work on race strategy.
HPI Racing has set up a mini Figure 8 track
and outfitted every team member
with a monster mini El Camino.
[driving rock guitar]
[motors buzzing]
But as usual in the Monster Garage,
things degenerate quickly.
The mini monster trucks proved to be the perfect opportunity
for the builders to get outside and get some air.
[motor whining]
[laughing]
[all laughing]
Back in the garage,
Scott and Billy collect all the components that they'll need
to assemble and install the power plant.
First they mount the flywheel and clutch.
- Clutch and alignment tool.
Somehow it lines up in there.
- [Narrator] Next, a junkyard three-speed transmission
is mounted because in the race world, nothing is automatic.
To keep all the weight as far back as possible,
the motor mounts will have to be moved.
- We're gonna move the motor from here back to here.
Get about six inches set back in the motor
for more rear percentage weight.
- [Narrator] It's time to transplant the power plant.
- Okay, can you drop down a little?
Okay, we're lookin' good.
- Okay. - Whoops, sorry guys.
- [Narrator] With the motor and tr*nny in,
Scott checks to see if the stock drive shaft
is the right length.
- Yeah, we're gonna have to have one cut.
This one's too short.
- [Narrator] The next edition will be
a set of Doug Thorley chrome headers.
[mimicking squeaking]
[rock guitar riff and bell rings]
[printer clatters]
Then an aluminum radiator from Performance Bodies
to keep the cool in the hot rod.
[rock guitar riff and bell rings]
[printer clatters]
- That's all that matters
is that gapped higher than the intake.
So if this is lower, then you'll end up
with an air pocket up the top of the motor
and you'll never get it keep it cool,
it'll always get hot.
- Right.
- [Crew] On any vehicle,
as long as the radiator's higher than the highest point
of the water system, the air will all come out.
- The air will rise to the top.
[sizzling]
- [Narrator] As Jeremy installs the radiator,
Cowboy and Mark go over the Irwindale track rules
for the Figure 8 race.
- So we know which ones to break.
- [Narrator] To Jesse's horror
they find that mufflers are required.
- And we all know how we feel about rules
here on Monster Garage.
- So they're gonna look underneath the car
and make sure it has mufflers?
I'm gonna cut a little hole in this side
and take out all the baffling.
So it looks like it has a muffler,
but in reality it has nothing.
It's just an empty can.
[hissing]
That's what was blocking the sound.
- [Narrator] Jesse buttons up the mufflers
to hide the evidence.
- I just converted those from From mufflers to mufflers.
- There's always the rules you read
and the rules you read between.
[yelling sound effect]
- [Narrator] For the first time in history,
the former owner of the car
has been invited into the Monster Garage
to witness the transformation.
- You guys are done.
You my car up, you mother [beep].
What is this?
Well at least they kept a vinyl top.
- [Narrator] The unsuspecting former owner is in shock.
- Listen, man, it's gonna be beautiful.
Someone's gonna fall in love with this car
and just totally enjoy it.
Now look at it.
- [Crew] Hey, we enjoyed cutting it up so you're right,
we enjoyed it.
[crew laughing]
- He said, that's Jesse James.
I said, that ain't Jesse James, that guy's some goober.
[all laughing]
- He was all tough until I got the money out
and then you're all, yes sir.
I like that suit.
- [Narrator] The dazed and confused New Yorker
leaves the garage
and Jesse starts cutting up more than the El Camino.
- Hey, what did you do to my car?
Gong!
- [Narrator] Jesse mounts his mock muzzles on the monster.
[rock guitar]
And once he's finished the sweat shop is shut down
and day four is in the can.
[crickets chirp]
Monster Garage Factoid:
There are 38 Figure 8 tracks in the United States
and mathematicians recognize only 38 perfect numbers.
Eight is not one of them.
♪ Monster, Monster Garage
- Day five.
The crew arrives to find a new pile of parts
which will help breathe life into this monster,
including a carburetor and intake manifold.
[rock guitar riff and bell rings]
[printer clattering]
Rod rolls in with a new set of wheels.
Four Wheel Parts gave him a homey price for these chromies.
- Those will work.
[rock guitar riff and bell rings]
[printer clattering]
- We got our drive shaft.
[crew yelling]
Driveline Incorporated.
Hooked us up.
- [Crew] Let's do it.
- Look at that.
That's on.
- [Narrator] They also get a custom fit drive shaft
from Driveline Inc.
[rock guitar riff and bell rings]
[printer clattering]
While this parade of parts will promote progress,
it also proves to be pricey.
Perhaps a little too pricey.
- I was just informed we have a small problem.
- [Crew] What's that?
- We're $500 over budget.
So we gotta come up with some way
to erase our deficit.
- We can pimp Billy out on the corner.
- Well that's gonna get us about two fifty.
[laughing]
- Well let's sell some parts then.
- That's what I'm thinking.
Wheels, tires, steering column.
- Hell, those rally wheels and tires alone should be
close to $500. - [Billy] Yeah.
- For a good set of rally wheels.
- [Crew] That steering column could go
for a couple hundred dollars, all day long.
- Columns, there's a good, there's a good-
- The seat, bench seat.
- [Crew] Yeah, there should be $500 in parts there.
- Easy.
[laughing]
- I know!
All those free RC trucks that we got yesterday.
- No, no.
[all yelling "no"]
- Hundred bucks a piece.
- You could be beat up for that.
- [Crew] Hey, mine's broke anyway man.
- That's what I mean, sell yours.
[boxing bell rings] [punching sound effects]
- [Narrator] Selling the remote control race cars
is not an option.
Bad call Jeremy.
- Humanity.
- [Narrator] Per the race requirements,
Billy will paint the drive shaft white.
- They have to be white for, if it's laying on the track
it's more visible and stuff.
[hissing]
- [Narrator] Barefoot Billy finds the new drive shaft
is a perfect fit.
With the racing slicks mounted
Rod trashes the new wheels with new lug holes
to fit the much larger wheel hubs.
The words out that Monster Garage is now
in the vintage car parts business.
So Rockabilly Jay, an El Camino owner
from West Coast Choppers,
comes down to strike a deal.
- These are all SS parts.
I think we've got at least $800.
- 600 cash.
- Aw, here we go.
- I'll throw this stuff in my pickup truck
and be gone right now.
- Six and a quarter.
- I got six.
- Well, we need it, we need it, so...
- Six. - Six.
- [Narrator] Monster Garage Mantra:
When you're between our rockabilly
and a hard place, take the rock's money and roll.
Jay strikes a hard bargain
but it's enough for the team to get back in the black.
[rock guitar riff and bell rings]
[printer clattering]
So Jay carts off his booty.
Scott installs the intake manifold.
Because of the G-Forces exerted in the curves
of a Figure 8 race,
Jeremy must make a special breather mechanism
that will keep oil from being forced out the valve covers.
- In the corners, they're pulling so many G-Forces
it just sucks the oil right outta the valve covers.
You gotta have good breathers,
otherwise it blows out every orifice in the block.
- [Narrator] Scott and Barefoot Billy add the final touches
to the motor and Jeremy has the radiator locked in place.
- It'll stay on there even if Jesse James's driving it.
Jesse James and Barefoot Billy, you pick your tick.
Or pick your tick...
- Take your pick?
- That's it.
[laughing]
- [Narrator] Jesse starts on the airfoil wing,
which will be mounted on the rear of the El Camino.
He anneals some aluminum to make it more pliable.
The sheet is folded and then test fit
so that Jesse can design the fins
that will be attached to the side of the wing.
[driving rock guitar]
After they're cut out, Jesse rolls a bead onto the fin.
[driving rock guitar]
While this adds a nice aesthetic touch,
the real purpose is pure function.
- Putting some beads in it makes it stronger.
These beads...
See that?
[clattering]
Scott, I'm gonna rivet this together
'cause welding it'd just warped the hell out of it.
- [Narrator] Then Jesse makes a frame,
which will strengthen the wing
and anchor the whole thing together.
- [Jesse] Should be flush right at 48.
- [Narrator] He uses a combination of pop rivets
and sneeze juice for this purpose.
[squeaking]
- [Narrator] Hot Rod Proctor has arranged
a surprise visit for Jesse.
Kenny Dye and Roger Parsons are in the garage.
Back in the day, these two guys ruled the Figure 8 roost.
- You don't think you'd run one across?
- [Narrator] The old school racers like what they see.
- Sweet.
- Don't we wish we had something like this?
- Oh God.
- The kids are spoiled today.
- Hey, what's up guys?
- [Kenny] Lemme get outta the way.
- Hey. - How you doing man?
- Hometown boy does good.
- Wow. - Glad to see you.
This is Kenny Dye.
- Hey, what's up?
- Nice to meet you man.
- He drove the 401 car out there the same time you?
- [Kenny] Yeah. - Oh really?
- [Kenny] Blue and yellow. - Blue and yellow?
- [Kenny] The one that was in front.
- I just remember the one with the pot leaf on the top.
- [Kenny] I knew somebody
was gonna say something about that.
- How long have I known you?
since I was 10 or 12 years old probably, yeah?
- My daughter said
that you caught your garage on fire one time?
- She was having a party at her house or something.
- Tracy? - Yeah.
You were out of town
and we were like, what's that burning smell?
We looked outside and it was my house.
[laughing]
- Tracy still lives in her mother's house there in Wick.
- Really?
- And she says just tell him someday
when he's really bored just to call and say hi.
- Okay.
- Okay, we'll see you guys later.
- All right, see you Roger.
Did you guys set this down on the tire yet, no?
- No, they're mountin' tires right now.
We're gonna do that next.
- Hopefully it sits lower.
It squats down a lot.
- [Narrator] Jesse's worried about the car
sitting low enough
so Jeremy yanks the springs.
- Hey Billy!
Huh?
- How much we cutting off here?
- Probably go a coil and a half.
- Coil and a half right there on that mark?
- [Billy] Yeah, probably just
straight off of here somewhere yeah.
- [Narrator] He cuts the springs down
to suit Jesse's low riding sensibilities.
[hissing]
[clanking]
Barefoot Billy puts the cut springs back into position
and now this El Camino will ride lower
than Barefoot Billy's annual shoe budget.
- Much better.
- Good.
- That's us right there.
As low as she'll go.
- I wish I was more like Billy.
I want to be him when I grow up.
- [Narrator] They add a front bumper
and get ready to fire the motor.
- Wiring and fuel to the carburetor,
that's all we need.
It's ready to go.
- [Narrator] A little 12-volt juice
and some high octane punch.
This bad boy is ready to roar.
- Absolutely ready, I'll open the cannon.
- Go ahead.
No back firing.
- [Narrator] From this moment 'til the race,
their El Camino's lifespan
now will be shorter than a lunar moth.
[driving rock guitar]
[slurping]
This team has walked through hellfire to birth this monster.
Tomorrow they'll fine tune,
'cause there's no day eight for the Figure 8.
[driving rock guitar]
- [Swag] Coming up, one intersection
with no stop lights and an 85 mile per hour speed limit.
Jesse's gotta date to tempt fate on the Figure 8.
- Oh, oh sorry.
- [Swag] Stick around.
[rock guitar stinger]
♪ Monster, Monster Garage
[tires squealing] [crashing]
- [Narrator] Day six.
The rambunctious crew rambles in
to finish what they started.
After firing the motor yesterday
what could be left to do?
- I got a list right here on the dash.
Finish all the sheet metal inside, put the gas pedal on,
fuel line, seat belts, the windshield, gauges, door bars.
There's all kinds of other stuff
but that's just like the big stuff.
- [Narrator] To whittle down the list
the crew attacks the El Camino.
[ratcheting]
[banging]
[driving guitar rock]
[addled sound effect]
Rod and Billy put shims on the upper A-arms
to increase the camber on the front wheels.
In a turn, tires tend to roll to the side,
reducing the amount of rubber contacting the asphalt,
which in turn, produces less traction.
The increased camber compensates for this
to maintain a full flat contact in the corners.
- Yeah, a race car's never done.
No matter when you think it's ready,
you get to the racetrack, you're still working on it.
It's never ready.
[buzzing]
- [Narrator] Jesse is soaring
on a wing and a prayer.
[driving rock guitar]
With the fins attached
he can finally stand back and admire his handiwork.
- It's a little cattywampus.
It's all right though.
- [Crew] It'll be on the track.
- Yeah.
I don't know what the hell that looks like.
Whoa.
That's all crooked.
This thing's totally [mouth noise].
- It is?
[intense rock music]
[intense music]
- You wanna know what I really think?
I think he looks like [beep].
- [Crew] Straight edges out?
- I dunno.
I don't like it.
Maybe we should just cut the whole thing off
and don't run a wing.
It looks like [beep] fairy wings
that are gonna go like this when we drive.
[chimes sound effect]
I got the perfect thing here.
- [Crew] That don't look right.
- Look.
- [Narrator] Jesse makes an executive decision.
Instead of modifying the car,
he'll modify the design.
[hissing]
- There. [laughing]
We make it look just like the drawing?
Is that cool?
If it looks like crap, it looks like crap,
no matter how much time we spend on it.
Just cut it off.
I hate it.
Stupid wing.
Whose idea was that anyway?
I think it was mine.
- [Narrator] Jesse doesn't like what he sees,
so he saws.
[driving guitar rock]
- I'll never ever put something on anything
and justify the time spent.
I don't care if it took three years to make it,
if it looks like crap, it looks like crap.
[tools whining]
- That's it.
- [Narrator] Jesse's tainted tinkle bell wings
are tossed in the trash.
- Vehicle must appear to be stock.
Hey, rules are rules.
You know I can't do anything about it.
I wanted to run it, but you know,
then it totally doesn't look stock.
- [Narrator] That's right Jesse.
There are rules and there are rules.
Now there's only frame, firewall
and the finishing frenzy before this El Camino
starts rolling eights.
[driving rock guitar]
To lighten the load on this speedy SS
the hood needs to be stripped of everything but its skin.
[driving guitar rock]
[clattering]
[driving rock guitar]
- [Jesse] That's us.
[bell tinkles]
- Monster, Monster Garage.
[laughing]
- Racing isn't about being lightning fast.
- [Narrator] Running on a high octane high,
Jesse slithers into the seat ready to train his new beast.
[yelling] [laughing]
[engine revving]
Since Figure 8 racetracks are run on the flats,
the curves have no banks
so any local parking lot will suffice for Jesse
to open this El Camino up.
[driving rock music]
[engine revving]
[tires squealing] [engine revving]
[crew yelling]
[engine revving]
[engine revving]
- Woo-hoo!
I like it.
You guys want some tools?
[crew yelling "yeah"] [laughing]
- Feels good, guys.
[tires squealing] [engine roaring]
[yelling sound effect]
[funky electronic music]
- What's up Billy?
Good job.
[laughing]
Rod, Jeremy James.
Good job guys.
Mac Tools, Monster Garage CDs.
This is a good build.
Just workers, no experts.
So yeah, good job.
- [Narrator] A quick touch up on the paint
and the dark horse becomes a blank canvas
for master pin striper Pete Finland.
[funky rock music]
Monster Garage Factoid:
The Irwindale Figure 8 track is one half mile long.
It would take a garden snail 17 hours to complete one lap.
The impact of a two snail collision at mid-track
would be .06 miles per hour.
♪ Monster, Monster Garage
[bluesy guitar]
- [Swag] Hey Monster fans, Big Swag here
along with my good buddy Frankie Whiteside.
How's it going Frank?
- [Frank] Great, Swag.
We're back at Irwindale Speedway
waiting for a brand new monster,
the Hell Camino, to strut its stuff in the Figure 8 race.
- [Swag] Jesse's getting ready
to put some serious hurt on his competition.
- [Frank] He looks focused.
He looks cool.
- Got my 50 Cent shirt on.
- [Frank] He looks angry.
- Oh, sorry.
- [Swag] Could it be Figure Hate?
- It's not hate.
I just feel better if their cars are smashed
and mine's not.
- [Swag] Jesse's gonna be racing
against his builder buddy, Barefoot Billy
and Billy came here
to be number one in the Figure 8.
- There's no second place.
If you can't win, why be here?
- [Swag] The sun is setting over Irwindale
and the fans are going ape-shiz-nitty
'cause they know it's almost showtime.
[crowd cheering]
- [Frank] Check it out, Swag.
Jesse's buckling up for safety.
- [Swag] He's strapping on a 402 big block baby.
[engine rumbling]
- [Frank] They're directing the racers onto the track.
- [Swag] Frankie, while the cars are staging,
why don't you tell the folks at home
the rules of Figure 8 racing.
- [Frank] Swagman, you're not gonna believe this.
There are no rules.
It's the last man standing.
- There ain't no rules.
It's the guy with the biggest biceps baby.
- [Frank] The pace car is leading the racers
out onto the Figure 8.
- [Swag] In fifth position is number seven,
Barefoot Billy.
- [Frank] Behind him is Hot Rod Proctor in the 777 car.
- [Swag] And bringing up the back of the pack,
it's Jesse James in the Hell Camino.
- [Frank] The pace car is pulling off.
- [Swag] And there's the green flag.
[crowd cheering]
- [Frank] Swagman, Jesse's a Figure 8 rookie
so he'll have to start off in the back of the pack.
[engines roaring]
- [Swag] Oh, right off the bat they spin out Jesse James.
Are they gunning for the new guy, Frank?
- [Frank] Abso-flippin-lutely.
You gotta be kidding me, wouldn't you?
- [Swag] Makes sense, back to the race.
[engines roaring]
Ooh, that was a narrow miss.
This is full contact racing, folks.
I am out of my mind.
The number 777 car is knocking people over
like pinballs.
[engines roaring]
[driving rock guitar]
- [Frank] Whoa, I, something is happening.
Oh, it's a three car pile-up.
- [Swag] But Jesse James going to the outside,
misses the crash.
- [Frank] And Jesse's got a little something to say
to the boys, aye, Swagman?
- [Swag] Frank, when you're going 85 miles an hour,
you gotta talk fast.
- [Frank] Swagman things are really starting to heat up.
- [Swag] The crowd is going ape-shiz-nitty, oh,
the number 54 car just got spun out
and Jesse James wheels and deals his way through the pack
and he's come out in the lead.
You gotta be kidding me, Frank.
- [Frank] That was beautiful, Swagman.
- [Swag] Jesse James, he's goin' ape-shiz-nitty.
Look at him put the metal to the floor.
[tires squealing]
But wait minute, wait a minute!
You gotta be kidding me!
Jesse James, just t-boned another opponent's car.
Look at the replay.
- [Frank] Swagman, he has got to be hurt,
that was unbelievable.
- [Swag] Who was that masked racer
he just hit Frank?
I can't see.
It's, wait a minute.
It's one of the builders.
Barefoot Billy, you gotta be kidding me.
Jesse James took out one of his own builders.
But is he all right, Frank?
- [Frank] The emergency crew is there.
They're coming.
Here comes the trucks.
[crowd yelling]
- [Swag] And there's Jesse James.
He's all right folks.
Look at the crowd.
They're giving him the Monster Garage salute.
We love you, it's all right.
And Jesse James, look at the trademark smile.
- I saw it comin'.
I could totally see it.
I'm like, man, that's gonna hit.
My mind said, slow down, you're gonna hit him.
And my foot said, you, go!
[crowd yelling]
- [Swag] Look at the damage.
- [Frank] This is a tribute to the Monster Garage team.
They protected their captain from horrendous carnage.
- I knew it was you too.
[laughing]
- Thanks, thanks Jesse.
- Things to do list, ram Billy, check.
[all laughing]
- Things to do, train rookies.
- [Swag] The Monster team humped
and Jesse James took his lumps.
But there's no time for the agony of defeat.
There's metal to burn, sparks to fly.
The next Monster Garage challenge
is just around the bend.
[driving rock music]
♪ Monster, Monster Garage
♪ Monster, Monster Garage
♪ Monster, Monster Garage
♪ Monster, Monster Garage
♪ Monster, Monster Garage
♪ Monster, Monster Garage
♪ Monster, Monster Garage
♪ Monster, Monster Garage
[musical stings]
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03x07 - Figure-8 Racer
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A team of five people with mechanical, fabricating, or modifying expertise was assembled to modify a vehicle into a "monster machine."
A team of five people with mechanical, fabricating, or modifying expertise was assembled to modify a vehicle into a "monster machine."