07x01 - Year of the Monkey

[bunniefuu]

Right now on "fast n' loud"...

Hot rod hunter Richard rawlings

and master mechanic
Aaron Kaufman

get their hands
on a cream puff '78 cutlass.

I wanna build
a traditional-style lowrider.

All right, vatos,
let's get to it!

But as the monkeys tackle

their first ever
hydraulic build...

I like.

Aaron's new take on old tech
might raise a few eyebrows...

Think I'll soon be doing
interior like that?

...and leave them down
in the dumps.

Yikes. It should be a lowrider
right now, and it's not.

Meanwhile, Richard tracks down
a rare prewar Mercedes...

Let's look at the hydros.

...but a '64 impala lowrider
packs a bigger surprise.

Oh. Aaron's gonna laugh at me
on this.

It's a crazy week
of ups and downs

that could have the monkeys
singing for joy...

...or leave them sinking
to rock bottom.

**

Dang it. I was really countin'
on this one.

Captions by vitac...
www.Vitac.Com

captions paid for by
discovery communications

all right, kemo sabe.

I hope you got a good reason for
dragging me out into this mess.

Oh, yeah. I got a good one.

I mean, you been,
you know, botherin' me a bit

to try to build a lowrider
or somethin' like that.

- So...
- Uh, yeah.

Well, I got a car that could be
just right for that kinda thing.

- It's a '78 cutlass...
- It's a little one.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

That, uh,
has always been garaged.

Super-nice car.
Clean, runs, drives,

does every single thing
it's supposed to do.

- So I figure...
- That's a...

That's a good body
to do it with.

I think so, too.
Love to see it.

Well, that's where
we're goin'.

So Aaron's been kinda
bugging me the last few months

about maybe wantin'
to build a-a lowrider.

You know, once he gets
somethin' in his head

and he starts stewin' on it and
then he kicks me a few times.

I'm like, "well, that's right."

We built a lot
of different kind of cars,

a lot of times very low.

But one thing we've never done
is really built a, uh,

a traditional-style,
uh, lowrider.

I want a car that is...
Is a nice car to drive,

is a fun car to drive, but is
by all definitions a lowrider,

one that uses hydraulics
and much smaller wheels.

Really?

After doin' a little research,
I realized there was

a whole Lotta lowriders out
there in the lowrider community.

You know, not quite as many
as the hot rod community,

but it's still a big market.

I know that we can build
anything in our shop.

And... and we do
a damn good job of...

Of anything that we attempt.

If we an crack that nut,
well, business could explode.

I'm thinkin' he's right up...

Let's see what he's got.

So, if this cutlass turns out
to be the right car,

I might just be ready
to take this leap.

- Hey, hi, Richard.
- What's goin' on, sir?

- How are you, sir?
- Good to see ya.

- How you doin', man? Hey.
- Aaron. How are you?

- What's goin' on?
- So you got a cutlass, huh?

Yeah.

I'm Javier vazquez.

A few months ago,

I bought a model a
from gas monkey garage,

and I was thinking of selling
my mom's car.

- It's green.
- That's all right.

That one doesn't have
enough miles on it, man.

You gotta start drivin'
that thing.

- Yeah.
- '78 cutlass.

Wow. You say this was
your mom's car?

Yeah. She don't drive
anymore.

Dude, there's not a crack
in here. Wow.

Looks pretty good
from over here.

Hey, open the hood.

Cool. Let me fire it up.

Your mama knew how
to take care of a car.

Dude, this thing is clean.

He's got a beautiful car.
This is an amazing car.

It'd be a great car to drive,
great car to own,

most importantly,
a great car to cut up.

Aside from the faded paint,

I do... I can't imagine
findin' one much cleaner.

Well, um,
how much do you want for it?

Uh, how 'bout five?

- Five hundred?
- Five g's.

Five g's. God.

Jeez. Um, I don't know.

I mean, it seems like
I used to buy these cars

for about $500 or $600
when I was in high school.

If you're just talkin'
about a '78 cutlass, I mean,

it's probably worth $1,500
if it runs and drives.

But when we got over here
and saw this one,

it's a really nice car.

So him asking $5,000 for it is
probably about what it's worth.

But I need to get it
a little bit cheaper than that

because I'm not real sure

how the, uh,
lowrider resale community goes.

How about, uh,
how 'bout 2,000 bucks.

Come on, man.

- I'm tryin'.
- It's what was my mother's car.

I can't do that.

- Um...
- Come on, man. '78.

- It's green.
- It is green.

- Yeah.
- You know me and green.

I'm... I'm...
I'm a freak about that.

Um, I don't know, Javier.
How 'bout about 2,500?

The list price is 35.

God, it seems
like a lot

for a car like this, but...

You know, the paint's
in fine condition, right?

The car runs well.
It looks great.

It's not rusted.
I don't know. I-I...

I got ya. All right, my man.



- You take cash, don't you?
- Yep.

All right. Cool.

- Here you go, my man.
- Thank you.

- Appreciate it.
- Yeah.

Well, let's get
this thing loaded, Aaron.

- I'm not loading anything.
- We're not gonna load it?

- Well, he said it drives.
- All right.

- So...
- I'll race you back.

I love good,
original cars like this.

I mean, his mom
had it for long time.

Super nice.
It's not all messed up.

Just a perfect car to launch us
into this new arena.

To settle down at $3,500, I
think I got a really good deal.

- Thank you, Javier.
- See you.

I'm really excited
about the prospect of this build

because, if we don't do anything
else, we love to experiment.

This is really all
about satisfying my curiosity.

I've been curious
about playing with hydraulics

for a long time.

But curiosity k*lled the cat,
I thought.

Well, it's a good thing
I'm not a cat.

There you go.

All right, you slackers.
Time to get to work.

All right. What mess are they
bringin' us now?

Check it out.
'78 cutlass.

Little old lady
drove it to church on sundays.

This car is pretty daggum nice.

It's hard to tell right now
from all the, uh,

the accumulation of moisture
on the outside the car.

But I couldn't be more impressed
with the quality of the car.

Yeah, well, uh, vato,
why don't you tell him

what you're thinking
of doing?

I want to build
a traditional-style lowrider.

- My latino side just went "Ahh!"
- Yep.

- So...
- I thought you were Italian.

I'm mex-Italian. Half...

He makes it up every day.
Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Exactly.

So, like I said,
we're gonna build a lowrider.

But I want the thing
to ride and handle.

I want the car to drive right.

And I don't wanna have
to compromise my vehicle

to have hydraulics.

So lowriders have been around
for a quite a long time.

It's hard to say exactly
when they started,

but one thing's for sure is that
they've always been evolving.

The most notable improvement

was when they started
adapting aircraft hydraulics

to the suspension of their cars.

And that's really
when the fun started.

Like most things,
if a little bit's good,

a whole lot's better.

And when it came to hydraulics
and Springs and hopping the car,

it really just kind
of turned the cars

into a bit more of a toy
and less of a vehicle.

It's a lot of fun, but it's also
hell on the cars and the riders.

That's why I think it's time
to put a gas monkey spin on it.

So is thing gonna, uh,
like, three-wheel?

- No.
- What?

I don't want... you know...

Ri... ridin'
around in the lowriders.

- Covered wagon.
- 'Cause I'd really like

to have one that looks the part,
sounds the part,

but I don't want it
to act the part.

I want it to act
like one of our other vehicles.

Does that mean lowrider
paint job?

- Yeah.
- Can we do all the...

Like the lace, and the boxes,
and the lines and the...

Sure. Gotta remember,

lowrider paint jobs
are way more involved

than a lot of the hot rod stuff.
But still...

You know, I think the sides of
the cars look really good on it.

And you just want to freshen up,

maybe paint the whole thing...
That's it.

Back to the original color
and then do the roof.

Do the hood, the roof
and the deck lid

and come out with somethin'
really, really nice.

- Wha?!
- That's right.

- What'd you say?
- I like it.

Yeah, my latino cups
are runneth over right now.

This is one... probably
one of my favorites.

So the world's
about to get turned upside down

for this cream puff cutlass

as we transform it
from a nice Sunday morning lady

into a lowrider with tons
of Saturday night attitude.

So if we're gonna really break
into this lowrider scene,

then we're gonna need
two things.

Number one is
a kick-a*s hydraulic setup.

And number two
is a badass paint job.

And that's exactly
what we're gonna deliver.

And along the way,

Aaron's gonna turn
the hydraulics world on its head

with a little bit
of his hot rod expertise.

Luckily, we're starting off
with a pretty good car.

We're definitely gonna
lose those wheels for something

a little more appropriate

and something
a little more shinier.

You know, the motor's fine,
and the interior's great.

So no, sue.

And that's really good news
for my bank account.

I mean, we're a hot rod shop
breakin' into a little bit

of a different territory
for us, which is hydraulics.

And Aaron's gonna be messing

with the traditional way
hydraulics have always worked,

and that leaves a lot
of question marks,

which I like to see a lot
of dollar signs.

So I'm gonna keep a tight grip
on my wallet this time,

and we'll see what happens.

Well, here's the deal, guys.

I don't know what
the resale value is on, uh,

'78 cutlass lowriders.

So I'd like
to keep the investments...

I don't know,
$10,000 in a couple of weeks?

I'd... I'd...
I'd have to sit down...

I mean, that sounds great,
but I have to see.

G guys have got...
The guys are gonna need the car

- in the booth for the week.
- All right.

Look, we got a great car.

I think I've got a good plan
for it.

Admittedly,
it's all an experiment.

But, despite what we may get
out of it on the other side,

at least it'll be fun for us.

Yeah, well,
we try not to lose here.

That's not the...
That's not the goal.

But it's here.
We're here.

I guess there's no goin'
back now.

We got $10,000 and 2 weeks.
Get after it.

Don't make me regret
this decision.

- Using the shorties?
- Shorties.

Take it up.

Good.

All right, vatos,
let's get to it!

As far as teardown goes
on this one,

we're not tearin' this one down,
really.

But we're gonna eject
the rear Springs and shocks,

pull the wheels off on it.

The difference between air ride
and hydraulic suspension

is that one is riding on
compressed air inside of a bag.

The other one is riding
on hydraulic fluid

inside a cylinder,
which doesn't compress.

So we have to develop
the ride somewhere else.

Typically, it's in the spring.

Uh, one of
the biggest advantages

to air ride is
that there are fewer components,

and it does yield a better ride.

Uh, on the hydraulics,

you do have an ability
to build a better rider,

but it is more complicated.

- Do the honors?
- Yeah.

Air systems
are susceptible to leaking,

same as hydraulic systems.

But hydraulic cylinders,

uh, tend to handle abuse
a bit better.

What we're trying to do

is create car
that is very low to the ground,

rides wonderful, handles well,
and is on hydraulic suspension.

Trying to dispel a myth
that hydros ride bad.

What we're actually gonna do
is use all the components

that everybody else uses,

but we're gonna apply them
a slightly different manner.

Guess we're gonna see if I can
actually pull this one off.

Coming up on "fast n' loud,"

Richard digs up a treasure
from the '30s.

That is incredible.

But will Dennis Bury the deal?

- Dude, it's worth $85,000.
- No.

**

All right, boys.

I'm gonna give you some advice
the proctologist once gave me.

There's nothing more important
than a clean rear end.

So let's drop this one and get
it prepared for some hydros.

Hey, Jason, can you help me, uh,
pull this down?

- How's that?
- Yeah. That's good.

Oh, there she goes.

Okay.

All right.

So I spent
the last couple of days

fabricating parts
for our lowrider.

My plan is slowly starting
to take shape.

- What do you wanna do?
- Set it off there.

Jeez, Louise.

Tebow.

But we're to do doing
our lowrider is actually kind of

bridge the gap a little bit
between performance,

ride, and how hydraulics work.

What I'm attempting to do

is actually utilize shocks
and Springs in conjunction

with the hydraulic cylinder,

which actually can lift
and lower the car.

So what we'll have to do
is make a lot of parts

and combine a lot of parts
and put 'em together in a way

they haven't been used before.

Take this over here and see.

The parts that we've been
buildin' the last couple of days

are these, uh, bearing cups
that are going

to fit around the top
of our hydraulic cylinder.

We're short a few pieces
right now,

but eventually, I'll slip
a spring over the cylinder

and then the bearing on top.

Basically, the setup will look
something similar to this.

As you pull down the bumper
or... or encounter a bump

or something, we're actually
gonna be riding on the spring

and not the hydraulic system,

which actually makes the car act
like it always would have.

It's not incredibly
groundbreaking.

It's just that we're trying
to do a better job

of installing
a little bit nicer components

than you would typically find
on a lowrider,

see if we can come out with,
like, you know,

a-a better result.

We're getting
tantalizingly close,

but there's still
a lot of work to do.

Dude, we should hit the road
early like this every morning.

That.

Now this week started off
kind of screwy.

I mean, I'm a hot rod guy.

And I got Aaron buildin'
a lowrider back at the garage.

Next thing you know,
Dennis is asking me

if I want to go in with him
on a '38 Mercedes.

Now, that's not exactly
in my wheelhouse.

What's it called,
a '38 b cabriolet?

It's a '38 b cabriolet
two-door.

- So...
- Prewar Mercedes. k*ller find.

That's why you're here,
'cause I don't know anything

about prewar Mercedes.

Dude, prewar Mercedes
is money in the bank.

It's a blue chip car.

All right, well,
you talked to him.

What was he saying,
it's from Turkey or somethin'?

Yes. He said they believe that
the car was built for a diplomat

for the embassy in Turkey.

Then, a lot
of those cars were lost,

you know, to the w*r.

Yeah, well, he wants a bunch
of money for it, dude.

He's askin' 85 grand.

I don't know if we can
beat him down or not.

How much do you think
the car's worth if it's good?

Prewar two...
Two-door Mercedes cab,

it's a 250 to 350 car, done.

- No way.
- Yeah.

You just gotta love it,
man,

stuff like this sitting
in people's backyards

and their garages...
Incredible.

Well, I know, but we still
gotta get it bought.

Watch your step, old man.

Since I really don't have idea
how much I'm gonna make

on the lowrider,

I sure could use a sure thing
right now.

I hope we didn't come out here
for Nothin', man.

This better be the real thing.

- How we doin', sir?
- Good. How are you?

- Good. Richard rawlings.
- Steve Thomas. How are you?

- Are we in the right place?
- Hey, Richard.

- Okay.
- Dennis? Leann.

- Mornin'. Thanks for havin' us.
- You're welcome.

- This is it.
- So, uh, where's it at?

- It's in here.
- Oh, right in here.

- Damn.
- There she is.

- There it is.
- Awesome.

- That is cool.
- There it is.

- There it is.
- That is incredible. Wow.

And it's been here since 1970,
is that what you said?



Hi, I'm leann Thomas.
This is my brother, Steve.

So give me the rundown.

I know y'all talked to Dennis
on the phone,

but what... what's the story?
How does it end up here?

Our 1938 Mercedes-Benz,

it's been part
of our family history

for the last 40-somethin' years.

Dad got it in about 1970

from a friend of his
near here in town.

He took 7 years to restore it.

He just loved it so much,

but at the same time,
it caused him a headache.

He would get it running,
drive it down the street,

and it would stop.

You know, he passed away
about a year ago,

and we need to sell it now.

Do you know
if it's factory color?

Was it green from the factory?
Or...

- No, it was black. No.
- It was black.

Okay. When was the last time
it ran and drove?

Probably mid-'80s.

- '83, '84.
- Mid-'80s.

But it's been
in climate control like this,

- or is it...
- It had to be.

- It's been in this.
- Wow.

Two-door cabriolet.
That's pretty rad.

It does have
the original motor in it.

The car looked like it had been
really well taken care of,

except for dad...
Well, he painted it green.

Which is kind of weird,
but, you know, they were doing

weird stuff in the '70s.
That's what happens.

Leather's still good. Soft.

I think it's...
I think it's corinthian.

The original gauges are
super nice. It's pretty rad.

What they're asking for,
what they want for it.

I'm thinkin' need to buy it, get
it locked in now, immediately.

I don't need to see any more.

So...

So, um, you guys said you wanted
$85,000 for it.

Uh, what's your pain threshold?
How 'bout 65?

I think we're gonna stick
with 85.

We got down to negotiating
on the price,

and I'm thinking, you know,
typical gas monkey style.

We'll roll in there
about $60,000, $65,000,

and they said no.

As dad always says, we're not
starving, so we can wait.

We're not hungry,
so we can wait.

Why don't you try
your negotiating skills?

When I talked to him
on the phone, he told me $85,000

or don't come out, so...

I think the car's worth it.
I think we got a deal.

- Done deal.
- What?

Before I could hit 'em at 75,

genius here
just says okay on 85.

Dude, it's worth $85,000.

We didn't even go to 75.

Were you gonna go to 75?

- No.
- No.

Dude, it's worth $85,000.

- All right. Cool.
- It's a great car.

- Thank you.
- Great car. Great car.

- Thank you.
- All right, now, it's done.

- I'm like, you didn't even try.
- Well, one of these days,

somebody's gonna back up
'cause you hit 'em too low,

we're gonna lose the deal,
I'm gonna lose half my profit.

When you're buyin' somethin'
that's in the money,

just pull the trigger,
pay 'em.

Tiny bit. All right.
That's good.

Dennis understood
that this car is...

There's not many in Texas.

There's not many
in the world.

And he jumped all over it.

So works out for us.

I'm a happy woman.

And a happy brother.

Yes.

You're pretty centered.
Stay on that line.

Okay.

The tale of the tail basically
is we paid 85 grand for the car,

which, for me, is about five
or six cars, not one.

But it'll be worth every penny
if we can get it

back in the shop,
get it runnin' and drivin',

and then turn this thing
for a nice, juicy profit.

I'm tryin' to move... move up
there to the old Dennis level.

Uh, I'm...
I'm just taking baby steps.

Which is just gonna cost you
half the profit each time.

So it's not a problem.
I'm in.

Guys, thanks for your time.
We'll take care of the car.

- Okay, thank you.
- Great car.

- Y'all have a good one.
- All right.

And you always rag me
all the time,

"why do you buy
these sports cars?"

Well, it's 'cause
it's a world market.

If I get him to pay attention
and keep chasing ferraris,

lamborghinis, porsches,
Mercedes,

we're gonna have
a good year.

He's still not listenin'.

- All right!
- Dude.

Our parts finally came in.

I'm a kid in a candy store
over here.

No kiddin'.

- It's all the hydraulic stuff.
- Yeah.

Now that my concept is finally
starting to take shape,

we can focus on some
of the lowrider components

that go in the car
rather than under it.

And I think we need to map
this whole thing out.

Oh, oh, oh, the choices.

Yeah.

Let's try putting the bumps
right about here.

We'll put the component rack
in the center.

All right.

And then, we should have plenty
of room for the batteries.

Because not only do
we need to pump hydraulic fluid

all the way
to the cylinders in the front,

but we also have to provide
power for all the new components

in the trunk.

All right, boys and girls.

Now that we're ready to start

installing
our lowrider components,

it's time for a visit
with professor Aaron.

As we all know,

it takes a battery
to start the engine on any car.

But the problem is
it won't produce enough power

to turn our pumps
fast enough nor nearly

long enough to complete the job
that we need,

and that is to lift
and lower the car as many times

as it takes to make me happy.

To fix that, we're simply gonna
utilize the bountiful expanse

of trunk space to house
an additional two batteries.

And their sole purpose
is actually to run the pumps

in the hydraulic system.

We're wire 'em in such a way

that it actually
doubles our power!

Leaving the single battery
in the front to handle

all the car operations.

You know what? Pretty simple
and get the job done.

This...

Is a mouse wearin' a hat.

All right, Jeremy.

Let's fabricate some mounts
for the batteries

and get the rack in there
for the rest of the components.

Well, we got a plan.

And now, the challenge is to get
everything in and wired up.

That'll be one small step
for our lowrider

and one giant leap
for gas monkey kind.

Coming up on "fast n' loud"...

Let's go for a ride. I want
to see what this feels like.

Richard gets schooled
in lowrider 101.

Yikes.

Monkeys see,
but can monkeys do?

It should be a lowrider
right now...

**

And it's not.

**

Hey, you wanna pop that in
there, see what it looks like?

Careful.
It's hot off the presses.

- Is it?
- All right.

Sorry about that.

I guess I'm just anxious
to see this thing in action.

How 'bout you, Charles?
How's it Lookin' back there?

Pretty solid.
The electronics are bolted in.

But I still gotta get them wired

and, uh, finish hookin'
up the hydro hoses.

That's exactly what
I wanna hear.

So we're actually making
some headway

on my special gas monkey
lowrider experiment.

But I'm still refining
some of the parts

that I'm havin' to fabricate
for my new suspension design.

- How does it look?
- It's... it's goin' in there.

Are there any obvious bumps?

Basically sits flush all back
here but a quarter gap...

That's okay. That's fine.

Toss it in there, see,
'cause they're both...

Both will be exactly
the same.

Hopefully, by the end
of the day, we'll be able to see

how the car sits with the new
suspension elements in place.

To stay on schedule,
I need to get this right

on the first pass.

I like it.

Richard!

My boy's here, the one
I was telling you about,

the one with the low low.

You gotta see this.

Damn!

- What's up, man?
- What's goin' on?

- Eric, this is...
- Richard.

- Richard. Pleasure.
- Eric, how you doin', man?

Charles,
how you doin', brother?

- Doin' all right?
- Good to see you again.

So ever since we decide to build
this funky hybrid lowrider,

I've been a little nervous.
I mean, we're a hot rod shop.

But we're tryin' to break
into a new market.

- What's your setup look like?
- Yeah, let me show you.

So I asked Charles
to ask one of his homeboys

to get over here and give me
a full-on lowrider education,

because I gotta figure out
the best way to sell this thing.

Wow! That's a Lotta stuff.

All right.
So how's all this setup work?

Motors move the pumps
or the gears,

which pushes the oil
into your cylinders.

Cylinders right here,
of course.

I got 12 in the back,


And that's
where you that little...

- That's the length of it? Okay.
- Yeah.

And then
your dump's right here.

This is what allows the oil
to go through the tubes.

So I hit the switch,
motor takes it up.

I hit the switch down,
the dumps release the oil,

- and it drops the car down.
- Cool.

What'd he say?
I didn't get any of it.

He said,
"bigger, better, faster."

- There you go.
- Got it.

And of course, all these motors
are powered by the batteries.

Six batteries I run mine off.

Of course, you can go off
of 8, 12, 14.

That's when you get
into your radical hoppers.

I'm... I'm classic.
Lean and smooth.

But then, there's a lot of
my homies that have their top,

their trunk,
their hood painted radical.

They want to be seen.
They want to be noticed.

Yeah, that's what we wanna do.
All right.

Well, the big deal was I wanted
a real car to come by 'cause

I don't even know
what Aaron's making in there.

He's telling me it's gonna
be smoother and better

than a regular hydraulic car
out there.

So I wanna go for a ride in it

so I know the difference
'cause Aaron can... Aaron

can finish whatever's in there
and tell me how good it is,

- and I wouldn't even know.
- Definitely.

- Let's go for a ride.
- Game changer.

I want to see
what this feels like.

- All right.
- Do I get to get some...

- Get some gangster lean?
- Ooh, yeah.

All right. Here we go.

Whoa, man.

This is amazing!

- Pretty cool.
- Yeah!

Heck, yeah!

Dang, man, that is rough.

- What are you rollin' on, 13s?
- 13s.

Every time I ride it,
I lose about an inch of tread.

So I go through a full set
in about 3 1/2 weeks.

Do you roll over it all the way
up like this all the time,

locked out? Or...

Well, the higher you are,
the better of a ride it is.

Am I supposed to be sittin'
over like this?

Man, however you feel
like ridin',

'cause when you're in one of
these bad boys, everybody look.

Man, when you take off
in Eric's lowrider,

I tell you what, Dorothy,

you're definitely
not in Kansas any more.

Oh, here we go.

That's the way to do it
right there.

It's a rough ride,
but it's fun.

I mean, even
when he's not doin' somethin'

with those fancy switches,
you're in for a bumpy ride.

- But, no...
- Golly!

Whatever this thing
is that Aaron's building,

it better not ride like this.

I mean, I can see why it's fun.

It's just a little rough
for an old guy like me.

- Oh, yeah.
- It's violent, man.

It's real rough.

I get it now. I mean, these
things are kind of wacky fun,

but, you know,
me and my achin' back right now,

I'm kinda gettin' why Aaron
wants to do it differently.

Hey, man, thank you, dude.

Still though,
this bucking bronco ride,

well, it gave me an idea.

Hello?

- Alex, it's Richard.
- Hey, what's up, man?

Check it out.
Uh, we're buildin'

a traditional-Ish lowrider
over here.

I figure the best way
to show it off, uh,

especially since, uh, it's gonna
be a little bit different,

is, you know, invite a few
of the car clubs local

and have an afternoon, you know,
lowrider frickin' car show

in the parking lot there
at the bar and grill, so...

So ridin' with Eric,

I realized that these guys
are kind of a tight-knit group.

And if you wanna reach 'em,
you know,

and maybe sell 'em a car,

hint hint, um, you wanna
get 'em all in one place.

I'm thinkin' gas monkey bar
and grill.

Maybe... what... what...

What dates do we have available
in the next, like, 3 to 4 weeks?

Uh, we're pretty backed up
with... with dates,

but I would say, really,
the only time

we've got available
is that next Saturday.

Are you kiddin' me?

There's no way in hell
I'm gonna be ready by then.

That's next week.

It's 9 days, but, I mean,
beyond that, you're booked.

That's about all we got.

I can tell you where
this is goin'... south.

And I don't mean
south of the border.

Okay, so next Saturday it is.

I'll just nail it down,
but these guys are gonna

be pissed off when I tell them
they gotta speed up.

Can't even throw a party
at my own bar.

Later.

A.k., remember how you're
supposed to be done in 8 days?

Well, now,
you have to be done in 8 days.

- Ready?
- Bring it.

Right there.

We might be able
to work with that.

So Jeremy and I made a Lotta
headway on this cutlass today.

We got the rear end
painted and installed.

All right.

'Kay. Hold on.

Let me get the blood
back in my hand.

Now, we can actually test
the new suspension.

All right, let's see if this,
uh, part Aaron's been workin'

on does the job.

I'm kind of excited, you know,

because, even though
the full weight of the car

won't be on it,
with everything assembled,

we should see the car
sitting really low, low

once the Jack is removed.

In other words, the frame

is gonna be sitting
really close to the axle.

- You ready?
- Yeah.

All right.

Are those lift arms
gettin' loose yet?

Yeah, that's it.

Frame's not really
droppin' that much.

Think this will make
it look any better?

Uh, sort of.

So what are we,
about 100 inches away?

Whatever it is, it's a lot.

Yeah, that's a lot
of Fender gap.

Yikes.

Looks like Aaron's
new re-engineered setup

isn't quite ready for prime time
because when we put it in,

the frame's ridin' way too high.

Um, I think Aaron's gonna have
to rethink his strategy here.

Yeah.

We don't wanna throw Aaron
under the bus,

but this basically right here,
at this point

that it's sittin', these...

These... the axle
should be up here.

It should be
a lowrider right now.

- Yeah.
- And it's not.

This is, like,
a standard height.

I guess we better
get Aaron over here.

Coming up on "fast n' loud"...

You want me
to yank all this out?

...Aaron finds too much junk
in the trunk.

Oh, it makes me
wanna just blow up.

- What's up, ladies?
- And Richard's latest buy

hides a surprise.

I thought this was
a hydro car.

Holy cow.

The answer when we return.

Richard petty won his sixth
Daytona 500 in a 1977 cutlass.

All right, guys. What's up?

Well, me and Jeremy got the back
mocked up, and, uh...

Now, how far is it off?

A mile.

Well, at least the parts
are nice and shiny.

Yeah. But it does look
like it's a long way.

So Charles and Jeremy
mocked up

the new suspension system
in the rear end.

And even though it's still
on the lift

and not carrying full weight
of the vehicle on it,

I was hoping to see the axle
much closer to the frame.

Unfortunately, it's clear that
my assembly is just too long.

Well, looks better than
it did on the lift.

That's not saying much.

You know, this is the very first
lowrider that we've ever built,

and it's not even really
a traditional one.

It's using a system
that I've kind of dreamt up,

which means that we're
in uncharted territory.

So I guess the real job
for me now

is to get this... Well, and this
project back on the map.

- What do you got to your axle?
- Four inches.

Well, we gotta make that
go away.

The challenge now
is to figure out

how to reconfigure my system
so the car drops as low

as I need it to
without affecting

the integrity of my system.

All right.
Let's think through this.

We can order Springs


The lower spring cup
I can shorten 1/2-inch easy.

But it's gonna
take a lot more than that.

The tall spring
has so much better feel to it

than the short one does.

So I'd rather not do that.

Yeah, we're gonna have to...

We're gonna have to go
through the top no matter what.

Since I don't wanna shorten
my coil spring,

the only option left
is to cut into the trunk

and allow the hydraulic system
more room to operate.

Only one problem... there's
not exactly a whole lot of room

in there either.

Four and a half.

What did we have before
we hit the rods up here?

And then
there's still the driving force.

Not that much.
We only got a fourth.

But that should give us
enough space.

So get a 6-inch piece
of pipe and rock 'n' roll.

Mean that we have to do a lot
of Cuttin' and stuff?

Do you want
me to yank all this out?

Ah. Yeah.
I guess we have to.

My biggest problem here is time.

When we're re-engineering
somethin' like this,

there's always a lot
of trial and error.

And Richard's deadline doesn't
leave much room for that.

Man, there's nothing I hate more
than going backwards.

You know, no matter
how many cars we build,

it just irritates me
more than anything.

You know, the longer I do this,

the more you think I'd be
prepared for days like this.

That's not the case.

You know, when you're buildin'
stuff and you get to a point

where you feel like you've got,

like, most of the car
together and it looks cool

and it sits right, and then
you gotta take everything off.

And then, it goes back
to bein' just some crap

on top a Jack stand,

and you felt
like you were almost there.

Yeah.

Oh, it makes me wanna
just blow up.

Whatever.
Just rip it all out.

In 50 feet, turn right.

All right, all right, all right.

So while the guys are doin'

whatever it is that they're
doin' with the hydraulics,

I'm out here in sunny scottsdale
doin' a little hydraulic mission

of my own.

When I was checkin'
the old interwebs the other day,

I found a, uh, pretty cool
lowrider for sale, '64 impala,

very, very popular
and rollin' on hydros.

You know, in gas monkey fashion,

I jumped a plane.

Now, you guys
might be wonderin' why

I'm chasin' down
a traditional lowrider

when Aaron is back at the garage
buildin' some fancy new one.

You have arrived
at your destination.

Oh, yeah!

Well, it just so happens that
this one's bein' sold by, uh,

the guy that owns
one of my favorite bars,

and that's where me and Dennis
go when we come to Barrett.

Kinda let our hair down
and... and raise a little hell,

if you will.

I mean, this has gotta
be a good sign, right?

- You Richard?
- Yes, sir.

- I'm Ryan.
- Ryan. Richard rawlings.

Nice to meet ya.

This is my favorite place
when I come to scottsdale.

Anyways, what's the story
with the car?

'Cause I saw it on the net
for sale, and I'm interested.

Picked it up
about 5 or 6 years ago.

It's a one-owner car.

It's been redone a little bit,

but it needs a little bit
of extra work.

My name's Ryan hibbert.

You know, when I bought
the impala,

I wanted somethin'
I could cruise around in

and do a little promo
for El hefe.

But, you know,
it's had its use, and...

And I'm Lookin' to part ways
with it.

It's got some good work
done to it,

but it needs
the Richard rawlings touch.

Well, you know,
the Richard rawlings touch

begins with gettin' it cheap.

So on first glance,

this thing seems to be
in pretty good shape.

It's rollin' on 13's
with those lowrider, uh,

spoke-y wheels.

Paint and body's pretty nice.

It's got a little scratch
on the hood

that needs to be repaired.

It looks like a little
crate motor.

It's got a little...
It's got a rebuilt 350.

In general,
this is a good-looking car.

Interior's in pretty good shape.

Uh, let's check out the trunk.

I'm like,
"hey, you know, pop the trunk.

Let's look at the hydros."

Oh, wow.

Um, I think we got a problem.

This thing's set up on air.

Yeah, it's air compressed.

- Got a little jbl.
- I thought this was a hydro car.

- Nope. Air bag.
- It looks like one.

Holy cow.

So there you go.
I kinda peek way up under there,

and there's an air tank
and two air compressors.

This car does not have hydros.
It's got air ride.

Holy cow.

Aaron's gonna laugh at me
on this 'cause I really thought

I was comin' out
to look at a hydro car.

Ryan self-admittedly
flips tacos, not cars...

Regular trailin' arm setup.

And he wasn't payin' attention
to what I was talkin' about.

We just kinda got
our wires crossed.

Man, dude, I really thought
I was comin'

to look at a hydro car.

You know,
in any other situation,

I'd probably be sayin' adios
about right now.

But I'm standing next to the guy

that owns one of
my favorite bars in scottsdale,

and I really
don't wanna offend him.

So what do ya do?

- Can we take it for a ride?
- Yeah. Let's do it.

Super cool.

Man, this thing can drag.

It's a great cruiser.

Doesn't really get
to do the burnouts, though,

like you like.

Oh, dude, some cars
aren't made for burnout.

Some cars are just made
for Lookin' cool.

So I get behind the wheel,
and I gotta admit...

Even though it's not on hydros,

it's a pretty nice car.

This thing is frickin' cool.

And besides that, if you buy
just a junker '64 impala,

it can be anywhere
between 10 and 20 grand,

and then
you add all the work to it,

it's a $35,000 car, $40,000 car.

Gets down pretty low, too.

I mean, this definitely could
still be worth the trip out

if I could get it
for the right price.

All right. Well...

- So what...
- I came all this way.

So, uh,
what's it gonna take?

And how much is this thing
gonna cost me?

I think I gotta get $30,000
for it, man.

- I-I really do.
- Come on.

You got your...
Your logo in the back.

You already used it
for marketing.

So he hits me at 30k.

Now, I gotta get him under 25
to make it work,

so that means
I gotta hit him even lower.

It's gonna cost me
a couple grand to get it home.

The hood's gonna
have to be redone.

I don't know. 15 grand?

At 15,
I just... I-I can't do it.

Well, I hate to have come
all this way for Nothin'.

I could probably do 22.

Man, I thought you were
gonna say 25. I'll do 22.

- Yeah?
- It's done.

k*ller, man.

So I told Aaron
I was gettin' a hydro car.

Not real sure what Aaron's gonna
do about this.

Probably just gonna laugh.

Sure would like a cold beer
right now.

But I think I got it
cheap enough

that I can do somethin' with it
and make some money.

And my plane
doesn't leave till tomorrow.

Those guys are back
at the ship workin'.

Beer assistance!

All right. Anyone with a free
hand, come help me, please.

Look out ahead.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

You sure you want me steerin'?

Yeah, no.

So Richard and Dennis picked up
this rare prewar '37 Mercedes

the other day
for something like $85,000.

It's a pretty cool car,
actually.

But it doesn't run, and Richard
wants us to find out why.

He says the owner says the head
gasket may be blown in the car.

I don't know if that means
he knows it's blown.

So if you guys will just
go through it

to check the fluids first,
make sure we don't have

any major problems.

Get underneath it,
make sure nothing's missing.

- Okay.
- Main thing...

Just get it runnin',
drivin' as soon as possible.

He's got a Lotta money
in this car.

We need to see
if he spent it wisely or not.

- All right.
- Cool.

All right.
I'll leave you with it.

Okay.

See what we got
underneath the hood.

- See what we got.
- Anytime you're dealin'

with a foreign care this old,

the main concern
is finding parts.

But they're not just
lying around in junkyards

like the American classics.

Fuel hose and filter for sure.

Radiator hoses, belt.

So it's all basic stuff
we gotta get.

Might as well
check the gasket out,

see what we've got.

The other problem is we
know chevys and fords so well

that we could practically take
them apart with our eyes closed.

Can't get the head off.

Something is still holding it.

But Mercedes?
That's a different story.

Standing on the carburetor.
Is that bad?

It is movin' a lot more.

Ah, dang it. Get off.

Yay.

Watch it right in here.

- You got it?
- Yep.

It's aluminum, light.

So we finally got the head
off the engine

and took our first look
at the head gasket.

This part is very critical
because,

if it's not working properly,

then we lose compression
in the motor.

And it is a compression engine,
so...

Yeah, it's definitely
showin' some wear and tear.

This gasket is extremely rare,
so we're gonna have it

specially made and hope that
solves the problem because,

if it goes any deeper than this,
we're in deep trouble.

I'm wonderin' if it's
these areas on the hood...

If you look at 'em,

how nasty and chewed up
they are.

Worst case scenario is,

if the head is bad,
can we find one?

Guess we won't know
until we can fire it up.

- Coming up...
- What's the dealio?

Richard hits a new low

when he finds the Mercedes
in the dumps...

- Daggone it.
- Cool.

...while Aaron's cutlass plan
is still up in the air.

- It's takin' a little longer.
- Jeez, dude.

All right, so finally,

we're about to cut
the very last spring seat,

which is the part that drops
over the hydraulic cylinder.

You know, seems
like it's just takin' so long.

Man, this took forever.

**

Way cool.

So while I was off in Arizona,

Jason got a new head gasket
for the prewar Mercedes

that Dennis and I picked up,

and it should be runnin' by now.

According to Dennis, this thing
is like a work of art.

Now, what I'm Lookin' for
is some really rich art lover

to take it off my hands.

Jason.

Hey, man.
What's the dealio?

I was expecting to hear
this thing turn over.

Well, f trust me,
you do not wanna

get into this one.
We fired...

But we just put a head gasket on
it and got everything else done,

points, plugs, cap, rotor.

Yeah. It looks the part,
but as soon as we fired it up,

white smoke the entire shop.

Uh, obviously,
the motor is trashed.

Uh, unless you have someone
that can build a Mercedes motor,

I would suggest
we just stick a fork in it,

send it out the door.

Daggone it.

When Dennis and I
bought this car for $85,000,

we figured we'd throw
a few dollars at it,

and then, we'd make
a few dollars when we sell it.

But that kinda depended on it
being a period-correct engine

and a car that runs and drives.

You know, the kinda thing
a buyer's Lookin' for.

It's not advisable to drive it.
It does kick through the gears.

And it does have brakes.

Yeah. All that is true.

And it's more complete
than it was when we got it.

- So...
- That's true.

Uh, really needed it
to just at least run and drive.

It technically runs and drives.
It's just not a pretty sight.

I can't sell
on technicalities anymore.

- It, you know...
- Yeah.

When I was young and flippin'
cars back in high school, maybe,

but not anymore.

I was really countin'
on this Mercedes

to bring in some quick cash,

and now, I don't even know
if I'm gonna break even.

Dang it. I was really countin'
on this one.

Has anybody seen Aaron?

He'd better have better news
for me.

This the car
from scottsdale, man?

That's what they gave me.

That's cute.

- How was the drive, towmator?
- It was all right.

Wasn't too bad.

Whatcha think, a-Ron?

Well,
we got a pretty clean car, man.

Seller's like, "yeah, man.
You know, it's a great car.

"Like, the hydros work
and all that stuff.

It goes up and down."
But then...

Well, take a look underneath.

Oh, wow.

What do you think
about those hydros?

Well, they're different shaped
than mine.

- Those look like bags.
- I know, man.

We go ahead
and pop the trunk.

I'm like...
Compressors, tank.

And I'm like, "ah, man!"

Well, I'll be honest with you.

I think, if we clean the car up
and put a bigger set of wheels

on it, I think it...
I think it's complete passable,

normal hot rod. I mean...

You know, eating humble pie
is not my favorite kinda meal.

But I gotta admit, Aaron was
a little easy on me,

which makes me kinda suspicious.

Okay, well, all that aside,
now that I don't

have two cars on hydraulics

like I was hopin' to have,
how are we doin' on ours?

Uh, we're movin' along.

You know, the...
The biggest thing is, like,

'cause I'm making something new
or adapting something, the, uh,

- it's taking a little longer.
- Jeez, dude.

- But we still gotta paint it.
- Yep. We'll get there.

So when we committed
to this build,

we committed to two things...

Some fancy,
new, uh, smooth way of,

uh, doin' lowrider hydraulics,
and it would have

some really k*ller paint job
that would just show the world

that we arrived.
And we still gotta go paint.

We're plannin' on puttin'
the, you know, all the colors...

Sure.
And panels and lace and stuff.

Problem is Aaron's takin'
so long

on the hydraulic side of things

that I don't think he's gonna
leave enough time for k.C.

You know, the lowrider party's
scheduled for next week,

and it's gotta be done
by then.

Sure. But look.

Truth of the matter is, I can't
guarantee you that it's gonna

work flawlessly 'cause I have
had no time to, you know...

This is... this is the test.

You know,
this is the first one.

And so I've already had
to make a couple adaptations.

Man, you're killin' me.
Right, 'mater?

Whose bright idea was it

to break into
the lowrider market anyways?

Yeah, it's mine.

But you better nail the hydros
on the cutlass.

Really gonna look dumb.

Next week on "fast n' loud,"

the custom lowrider paint job

puts k.C.'S skills
and Patience to the test.

Ain't nobody got time
for that.

We got time for that.

Who wants to go racin'?

...and Richard gears up for
another run at the big leagues.

This is one and done.
We either win or we go home.

This must be
what Dr. Frankenstein felt like.

Can Aaron ever get
his lowrider pumped up?

Will k.C.'S paint job
pass inspection?

Or when the gas monkey lowrider
finally makes its debut...

I had a feeling I was gonna
catch a Lotta hell on that.

...will Richard be in
for a letdown?

Whoo-Hoo!

And what's
with Tony's new getup?

Shazam!