07x13 - That's Never Been Done

[bunniefuu]

What do you think about
electromagnets

for the latch?
That's a bad idea.

What about making
it a convertible?

There goes the next
six months of my life.

There's no turning back now.

See, my head fits.

Awesome!

Dave's crazy ideas.

Who's ever seen a '67 c10
with a convertible top,

I mean, it's the coolest
thing ever.

That was cool.

Need anymore of
my good ideas?

[ laughs ]

dave: Clean...

Custom...

Bitchin'.

my name is dave kindig.

Designing and building custom
cars is my life's passion.

With the best mechanics,
technicians, and fabricators

in the business,
quality is our only focus.

We build bitchin' rides.

-- Captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.Com

captions paid for by
discovery communications

this c10 truck that we started
well over six years ago

has a new owner
and a new chassis.

We've been spending
a lot of time

dialing everything in in
bare metal and on a new chassis.

So far, we've added
some really cool additions,

and that is the hand-built trim,

the custom front valance,
and some new taillights.

The stance and everything
about this truck

is really starting to add up
and look great.

Kevin: We've also added
a brand-new lingenfelter

pushing close to 700 horsepower

and a brand-new six-speed
automatic transmission.

Perfect for this chassis.

This thing is going to rip it.

Everything looked great
until bryce came over

and started picking at [bleep].

We'd have been done by now.

Bryce: The primer and bondo
is just flaking off,

being able to go over there
and just scrape that away

is not normal.

Kevin: So we had to strip this
truck all the way back down

to bare metal.

Well, how's it look?

Jason l.: It's definitely
a good thing.

We would have had
a big problem if it got

all the way through paint.

Ah, look at that.

Everywhere where
it's been welded,

it's all migged through here
and it's wavy

and not ground down and...

I've seen better.

Dave: The decision
to strip this truck

was definitely
the right way to go.

This was a really nice project
to start with,

but the fact
that we stripped it down

has now opened up an opportunity
to fix a couple of things

that we'd like to make
just a little bit better.

yeah, this thing's got craters.

This truck needs a bit of love.

Probably shouldn't have gone
to body six years ago,

but now it's my problem.

You should go buy
a new dirt bike.

We can use the bodywork
on this truck so it jumps.

Yeah, rust repair kind of
picked the channel over

the windshield set
because it's pretty rough

where the chop was done on it,
it was kind of rough, so.

We got to make sure, like,
all this is decent.

That's the plan.

at some point, it will
probably go blblblblb,

and we'll have to
fix it anyways.

I'm going to go ahead and give
our client, bobby, a call

and make sure he doesn't
want to change anything else

since we're already
in bare metal.

Hey.
Hey, bobby. How are you?

I'm doing great,
dave, how are you doing?

I'm doing great.
Hey, did you get the renderings?

Yes, sir. I'm looking at them
right now on my desktop.

Right on.
What do you think?

Oh, it's like a young child
waking up christmas morning.

Oh, stop.
Keep going, though.

That's good stuff.
[ laughs ]

it's fantastic.
Awesome.

I'm glad. I really got excited
drawing this truck.

You know, originally when
I designed it for chuck,

I don't think I ever showed
you guys the blue and white,

but that was so long ago.
I'm like going,

"gosh, I hope we don't just do
the same kind of a thing."

and when you guys
started talking about

black and white and red, you
know, be in my company colors,

I was like, I really can
get behind this idea.

I think it's kick a*s.
You can say "bitchin'," too.

[ both laugh ]

no, that's awesome.

I'm really thinking the engine
would look good red.

And if we do any kind
of bed flooring

or anything in there,
we'll do that red as well.

Just so we have
that nice contrast.

That sounds great.

Awesome. What do you think
of the interior?

Do you like that,
the red interior?

Yes, the red interior
is just perfect.

It brings back memories

of what our father had
and his el caminos

and his 454 ss pickups

that were black
with the red interior.

I mean, that's perfect.

Well,
the truck's all stripped down,

so right now would be
a great time

if we want to make
any major changes.

So you just let me know.

Alright. Well, I'm going
to ask you something.

Dave brought this
to my attention last night

we were talking and he thought,
"hey, bobby,

what about making it
a convertible?"

is that crazy?

Crazy cool.

Wow, how would -- maybe like
a like a hardtop convertible?

Yes, perfect, hardtop.

What do you think?

It's not very often that
a client catches me off guard

by suggesting something
so radical and custom.

But a convertible
hardtop retractable?

That's kind of cool, actually.

I got chills, actually.
If it actually can work.

I'll tell you what, you know,
I always say where

there's a will, there's a way.
Let me go get with

will, my engineer, and see
if he can figure something out.

But yeah, if you did something
almost like a --

like the chevy ssr pickups,
you know,

and have it fold
maybe into the bed,

we've got a tunnel cover

that we're going to
put on it anyway,

so I don't see
why it couldn't work.

Alright. Well, I know you guys
can figure it out.

Yeah. Let me -- I think that
would be really interesting.

I've never seen one done.

So this will be the first?

I would have to say
this would be the first

if we could pull it off.
I'm sure we can pull it off.

When I get off
the phone with you,

let me go get with will
and I'll call you back

and let you know
what he says.

Alright. Can't wait to hear
from you, dave, on that one.

Right on.
Well, everything else looks like

we're on our way,
so I'm excited, buddy.

Everything else is perfect,
buddy.

Awesome.
I'm glad to hear that.

Convertible. Hm.

Alright.
I'll get back to you.

Alright. I'm waiting.

I'll be sitting next
to my phone.

We'll go down and look at it
right now

and see if we can
pull something out.

Alright.
Alright, pal,

good to see you.
Thank you.

Same here.
You guys have a good day.

Alright, buddy. Bye-bye.

Well, that call was worthwhile

because now the ultimate c10

is going to be a hardtop
retractable convertible.

cool.

Now we'll get tricky,
do a little surgery here.

little cut and paste
action here.

Lay this over the top of
where that roof was,

old-school photo chop.

Let's go hit the copy machine.

If I'm really careful.

Cross your fingers.

sweet!

Let's go find will.

hey, slick!
What up, dave?

Hey, not much so...
[ laughs ]

I had a nice little conversation
over the weekend

with, uh --
I'm already scared.

Okay, but don't be scared.
Okay.

I had a nice conversation with
dave on the c10 the other day.

Yeah?
And he actually --

[ laughs ]

it's the weirdest thing.
So he says --

you're not going to
believe what he said.

Was it his idea or yours?
Oh, it's his.

Okay.
So we want to probably

do something a little bit
different on the truck.

He said, "hey --"

the truck's already done.

Let me finish.

I think you're anticipating
the worst and you don't know

what I'm even going to say.
I'm anticipating the worst.

I've worked with dave
for 15 years now.

It is absolutely no surprise
to me

that he wants
to make a change now

that the truck's
pretty much done.

So he said, "hey, what do you
think of a convertible c10?

Crazy?" I said, "crazy cool." he
says, "you think you can do it?"

I said, "well, let me talk to
will, but I'm pretty sure."

retractable hardtop.

oh, and you already
have it drawn?

I just -- it was easy,
I actually

had the drawing already done.
All's I did

was go back in and do a little
bit of nip and tuck and cut.

Uh-huh.

Drawing this convertible
top is easy,

but making it happen

and actually living up
to dave's expectations

with how well it functions,
that's going to be a trick.

What if we did like
a tunnel cover

and it lifts up
and the top folds

and goes into the back
because it's got

that natural seam
already on the back of the cab?

I think -- I just imagine it.
Yeah. Yeah, it does.

And I can --
can you visualize that?

Yeah.
Can you see that being done?

I can see it in your drawing.
Can you do it?

Well, I'm sure I can.
I mean, yeah,

shoving it into the bed
is going to be interesting.

I've got a lot of things
to conquer here.

How do I cut this?

How do I make it disappear
into the bed?

How do I automate it?
And with the time frame,

I'm wondering how many guys
they're going to give me

to help me get this
accomplished.

If they could pull that
stuff off back in the 1950s,

the late '50s on the ford
starliners,

retractable hardtops,
this should be a cinch for you.

You have all of this shop
to be able to pull that off.

Yeah, sure. So we're going
to take the entire roof off

and shove it in the trunk
like a starliner, huh?

Yep.
Okay, well...

Cool?
Yeah.

Let's build it, figure it out.
Good luck.

Good luck. You're going to put
this one on me just like that?

It's all on you.
I'm putting it all on you.

I'm there --
I'm supporting you.

Yeah. I'm going to need
the support.

I believe in you.

And lots of whiskey.
And some whiskey.

I'll get you
a handle of whiskey?

Oh, hell, I don't know.
I'll just get you a beer.

Okay.
[ laughs ] cool, thanks.

Yeah, that looks fun.

There goes the next
six months of my life.

Holy cow.

alright.
It's time to cut this up.

It's all mapped out.

Pretty straight,
should be pretty easy.

I'm obviously going to have to
cut this in half, but for now,

I'm just going to take the
whole cab off in one piece.

♪ one, two, three, four,
hit it ♪

so honestly, the
trick to this is,

is saving the pieces
that I need.

Usually you do have
a sacrificial side.

This one where we're
going to keep it all,

I have to decide which one's
going to be easier to repair,

basically,
and then keep

my cuts on the line
and as straight as possible.

there's no turning back now.

We are turning this
c10 chevy truck

into a retractable
hardtop convertible.

Dave's crazy ideas.

Will's going to chop city,
population: Him.

His crazy ideas
kept me doing wild stuff now

for 15 years. So it's fun.

This is a radical idea.

Now, I got to get
on the computer

and figure out how in the world

I'm going to make this mechanism
open and close this roof.

so after I got basically
the call to get this done,

I ran to my solidworks here
and started on the design,

really kept it simple.
Look at the major pieces,

get the dimensions off those
in a very flat kind of pattern,

then just start dealing
with the mechanism

and how can we make it all work.

Started with very
simple set up.

Kind of a parallelogram.

We're going to take the roof
that's flat

and we're going to keep it flat.

We're going to put it
in the bed of the truck.

Nothing too crazy.

The back of the cab is going
to end up being one link,

is going to act
like one of the links,

and then we'll just have
a control rod

that will keep
that roof flat and level.

So one of the cooler parts
of the whole unit is this slider

that lives in the "b" pillar
that makes these three links,

this link, the connection,
which I consider a link

and this lower made it all work.
And now all of a sudden

that thing can just live
right inside the "b" pillar

and look very amazing when
it's actually relatively simple.

Then, of course, the added
intricacy to the situation,

and we'll flip this around,

and look at this side
is the tunnel cover.

We want basically the whole roof
to disappear

inside a tunnel cover.

So I basically have gone off
the actuating mechanism

and built a cam.
And you can see it's a cam

and you can change the timing
and what have you.

And I actually need to change
the timing a little more

because you can see the roof
poking out of the tunnel cover.

Once it does close,
then it's all hidden away.

I just have to change the cam
shape a little bit here.

And we should be able
to have this

basically
a full mechanical unit.

And one actuating ram in theory
should go pretty well.

Now we just have to go
apply it to the truck

and bring that theory to life.

okay, so I got the second batch
of hard parts

for the c10 convertible
top project,

got them off the burn table,

now I just got to get
them cleaned up.

Most of these all have to do
with the linear actuator

and that whole mechanism
that's going to move the truck,

basically reaching
through the cab,

getting a hold of the bottom
of the actuator

and the levers that tie
into the whole mechanism bar

that's going to transfer
the motion to all sides.

Alright. Now, I got all these
parts burned off the table.

Now it's time to bend them up
a little bit,

get them welded together,
make this thing all function.

I got this thing all mapped out,

I got hinges and motors
and push rods and sliders

and all this stuff I got to
somehow squeeze into this truck,

make it all disappear, and
make this thing seem seamless.

I've got some new cab pieces,
a lever assembly on it,

get those bolted up,
get those stuck in the cab,

get the pivots on, bushings
on, another four

or five hours worth of this,
that and the other,

and should be able to have the
back window cab chunk moving.

My goal is to run this whole
top, the tunnel cover,

everything with one ram,
one button,

mmmm, best I can.

Okay, easy enough.

Okay, let's see if we get
sparks or fire.

Which one first?

Oh, wow.

Click, nice.

Well, this is as easy as it
should be, in a sense.

There you go, blam!

And see, those are cool

because the limit switches
are right here

and they're position adjustable.

So I can slide this down
and lessen the throw.

It's an eight inch travel ram.

I have a design for about seven

and three quarters inches
of that travel.

So we should just be micro
adjustments right here

and it'll be really cool

that it has
that capability to stop.

And it's not just putting
the strain

on all the mechanical stuff.

Now that I got this ram
all powered up,

I'm going to mount it
dead center in the truck.

Well, best I can.

And distribute
that power to both sides.

Get this thing actuating.

It should work.

So there's our ram mount.

That's the bottom
of the ram mount.

Then we'll have some levers
off of here and the ram

will act on this tube
and rotate this tube.

The reason for this
configuration was I just wanted

to run a single ram, mainly
so we don't have confusion.

If we had a couple of rams
on here, one on each corner,

we would always
have to coordinate it.

This is way simpler than I can
make the adjustment

and it'll just keep it.
That's the experiment.

We're going to stick to it
for a minute.

Very cool. That's very cool.

Let's see if we can find
some other really cools.

I got all the brackets,
the bushings, the mounts,

everything is installed.

Now I got to weld
everything in place

so I can test run it,
and I'm getting excited.

this is what the jungle gym
welders must have felt like.

I'm dying to get
some power to it

and see if it functions like
I'm dreaming it's going to.

Everything has a home and it
goes together pretty easy.

Alright, that might be it,
my friend.

Okay. That's good news.

I think it'll all be just fine.

Here we go.

dave: Rumor around the shop says
that will's already got

the top working.
I got to see it for myself.

Will has been geeking out
on the computer for weeks

making parts.
I am so interested

to see if this thing's
actually going to move.

will: [ humming ]

nice.

-Hey.
-How's it going, will?

It's going pretty well.
Yeah?

Yeah.
Kevin: I see some cuts.

Oh, it's cut.
Does it work?

Yeah, it works.
Wow us, please.

Does it move right now?
Does it move?

Yeah. Now, I'm going to
make you wait.

Let's -- no, do it.

Okay.
You get in.

I'm going to get in, I'm gonna
go for a ride backwards.

Okay, go.
Okay.

I can't believe
it actually works.

[bleep] he's a genius.
Don't tell him, though.

So cool.

Dave, this is so you can
get in and out of the truck.

With your big-a*s head.
[ laughs ]

[ laughs ]

I don't know what's wrong
with you guys.

[ laughs ]

see, my head fits.

Oh, that is cool.

That is super cool,
way to ruin it for me.

Isn't that wild?

It's one thing
to draw it,

it's another thing to dream it.

And it's another thing
to actually see

what will has done
to make it work.

You can imagine it's like
a big parallelogram,

but yet we're trying to shove
all these links up through

this skinny little column.

Right.
So the column

actually
is one of the links.

Hold, please. A parallelogram
is where it does this.

Okay.
Right?

Yeah.
Yeah, I got one!

Nice.
Yeah.

Geometry class.
Yeah.

But you've got something
now that's working

you baselined off of
and you feel pretty comfortable,

obviously it's going to clear
when the tunnel cover

goes on here.
So we're still thinking,

doing a split-ish right
over the top of the wheels.

Yeah. That's what I'm
thinking would look best.

This goes in.

Are you trying to do it
as one throw, one motor?

I'm hoping.
Yeah, I'm hoping.

Brave.
And...

It is a little bit brave.

But then I thought,
well, it can use

some gas springs
to assist it.

So you're really not
lifting it.

You're just pushing it
past a spot.

You're just positioning it.
You know?

I'm impressed.
I am too. I'm blown away.

I'm jazzed.

Just look at my jazzed face.

It's jazzed.

That's jazzed?

So question for you.
There you go.

So do you think you're past
the hard part of this?

Now you're just kind
of perfecting

or do you think
you still have?

I think what's going to be
really kind of tedious

and on the hard part
is finishing out all this stuff.

Obviously,
we don't want to see seals

or sealed surfaces
on this part of it.

Not on those.

So you'll have those
on there.

Hey, let me ask you a question.
It's just popped in my head.

What do you think about
electromagnets for the latch?

That's a bad idea.
Is it?

Looks like somebody's been
watching "ancient aliens" again.

Kevin: It could work,
you got the electro,

which positions the mag,
which makes the radial movement

for it all to work
like it's supposed to.

I got this all figured out.
I'd been done by now.

Watch your fingers.

Awesome!
Blam!

Kind of cool.
That's way cool, dude.

Because like I said,
you have to do

something different
to these trucks to stand out

because they've been done in
so many different ways.

And this is cool.

Well, when dave asked me,

he's like, "hey,
convertible c10.

What do you think? Crazy?"
I said, "crazy cool." so.

Supercool.

It's still
sticking over there.

Yeah, yeah, yeah,
it's fine.

Obviously
it's all just kind of --

yeah. Sheet metal.

Oh, that's so cool.

Well, and I was really
kind of like, "oh, man,

you know,
the truck's pretty done."

you're like, "why don't
we just finish it?"

"why don't we
just finish it?

And it's already really cool
on its own."

because this is way cooler
than just finishing it.

It is kind of cool.

Awesome.

Came around to the idea,
you know,

I can get my big head
out of here.

Oh, you're trying
to help me?

You can step over now.

Stepping over
when I got doors?

Nice, will.
I'm excited.

I'm stoked. Good job.

Okay.

will is absolutely blowing
my socks off

with the fact that he's already
got this thing working,

he's got a lot of the latching
already figured out,

and now it's time
to put the seal surfaces in

and make sure
it's all buttoned up.

I'm also going to throw a couple
other guys on it

just to make this metal
extra straight.

Going around the c10, getting
this thing straightened out,

because there's a lot
of highs and lows.

So everywhere that you see
blue is obviously a low spot

and then shiny metal is high.

So it's just a matter
of hammer and dolly,

using uni-spotter
in some areas where there's

no area you can get
behind the panel.

Uni-spotter
is a really helpful tool

and you can kind of weld
this little stud on

to the metal
and then pull it out that way.

But still, you wind up
crowning it in certain areas

and then you've got a new high.
So it's just a game of chasing

the metal,
figuring out where the metal is.

And jason and will and a bunch
of the guys here

have really been helping
to kind of mentor me on,

you know, getting this metal
where it needs to be.

So it's just like life -- highs
and lows, highs and lows.

You know, you just want to get
this as consistent as possible,

make it easy for
the body shop guys,

because we're all a team here.

You know, if I do
a crappy job here,

then I'm making the work harder
over there

for the body shop guys.

And I know what that's like
too having to do

a bunch of body work,
and it's not fun.

So the more that I could do here
to be a better part

and contribute
to the work here, the better

I think the product
is in the end.

So, you know, make
something bitchin'.

I mean who's ever seen
a '67 c10

with a convertible top?
It's the coolest thing ever.

So I'm getting to the point now
where I can

do some sheet metal work,
cap up some pieces.

Everywhere we've got
a connection --

here, the middle of the roof,
and here --

we've got to get it sealed up

so you can drive down the road,
enjoy a nice,

quiet ride, no wind whistles
and what have you.

Just do a bunch
of little tricks,

simple caps for here.

We'll finish the back
of the door to here.

We won't have this jog,
so that it looks like

it's supposed to be here.
And not just a cheap mod.

Let's see how much
I like this.

Well, that came out nice.

Fair warning.

We've got to take this off.

It cracked a mirror.

bam! That was cool.

Kevin: The guys have their work
cut out for them,

figuring out the nuances
of this top,

but I have a personal project
that I have to take care of.

So I like trucks more than
muscle cars and hot rods.

It almost seems more like
a blue-collar thing to me.

You know, a truck isn't
really meant to be customized.

It's kind of work for work,
you know,

throw stuff in the back,
tow things, go to a job site.

It's more of a blue-collar
vehicle, I guess you could say.

And that's what fits me.

dave: [ laughs ]

the thing does
a k*ller burnout.

So I love building trucks
for myself,

and it's been a while since
I've actually been able

to get a truck
in here in the shop

and use some of the resources
that we have.

This one is probably going to be
my biggest endeavor ever.

It's going to be so cool,
dave's even going to like it.

Go figure, right?

so I get to start
on a brand-new --

well, brand-new to me --


It's kind of the leftover parts,
but I'm okay with it.

One of the biggest obstacles

with customizing these
late-model vehicles

is the suspension
of the chassis really

is not designed to do
what I want to do.

I want to put this thing
on the ground.

And to do so, I'm going to need
a couple key things.

I'm going to need a chassis.
I'm gonna need some big wheels.

I'm gonna need some airride.

So I'm going to strip
this thing down

and I'm going to get the body
to my boys in vegas

and they're going to
hook me up with the chassis.

we're in las vegas at flo,

checking up on the chassis
for the suburban.

I am so excited.

Flo is a manufacturing company
that builds

really cool tanks,

some of the best compressors
in the industry,

and they also have a custom shop

that they do custom vehicles,
they do custom frames.

There's a suburban frame
in there with my name on it.

We tapped the frame.
What is up?

Oh!
[ laughs ]

is this it?
We needed that, man.

This is it.
We really needed that.

I'm glad you brought it.
Yeah.

A vital piece of the puzzle.
Sorry it took so long.

Oh, beautiful, dude.
I am so pumped.

Look at this thing.

This frame is going
to allow this thing

to sit the body on the ground.
So almost like a channel.

Are these the new flo...
Yes.

...Compressors?
Those are the new ones. Yeah.

Awesome.
You're getting some

of the first ones
to hit the market.

Awesome.
These are the updated version.

They're a little bit
more efficient,

a little quieter, produce
volume a little quicker.

I've heard nothing
but good things about these,

so I'm super excited

that we're running this setup
on the truck.

On the airride suspension,
they're going to use

the new flo compressors,
which are way more efficient

than any other compressor
in the industry.

As you can see, we opted to get
a little showy on these for you.

I did the matte black
end caps.

And the anodized coating

over the top of the aluminum,
you know,

we can't give you mediocre.

It's gotta be top notch.
I appreciate that.

I super appreciate that.

So one of the cool things, too,
about this version

is we can actually
mount these

compressors in any
configuration.

Oh, really?
As you know, some of

the older style compressors,
you really only

can mount them this direction
and that's it.

Any other way, manufacturers
won't warranty them.

Premature failure on them.

We can go
any direction on these.

And whichever way they're put,
we'll still warranty them.

That's awesome.

You know, I've built many
a trucks in my day,

but I've never had a truck
with a full chassis

from front to rear.
And I'm so happy

that these guys were able
to give me a hand with it.

Now, we also on the rear
suspension.

I'm upgrading your bags.

We're going to run
a firestone 9100.

It's got a heavier
low capacity on it.

It's a bigger bag,
so all your buddies

can pile up in the back
and you can tow,

you know, a trailer and get down
the road no problem.

For me anyways, it's all about
driving them any more.

I mean, I used to build,
for myself,

super high-end show trucks,
but anymore,

you just want
to drive them and enjoy them.

Kevin: You know, there's
probably 100 different,

if not more than that,
modifications

that you would have to do
to a stock chassis

to get this thing to sit like
I want it to sit.

But with a chassis you basically
just wipe the slate clean.

You put everything together
just where you want it.

There's no modifications.
And it's one package deal.

And also, correct me
if I'm wrong on this,

because obviously, you know way
more about this than I do,

but this is how much more
narrower than a stock frame?

Shawn: This is now 29 1/2
inches wide.

So what we did is we went
ahead and sucked it in

four inches,
two inches on each side,

so you'll be able to have that
nice turning radius riding low.

Oh, that's so important.

You know, a lot of people,
you know,

at least the beginners,
at least when I was a beginner,

the first truck I built, I mean,
it looked really cool down,

but yeah, it pretty much
had to be

all the way up to turn
and it looked --

then you looked goofy,
you know.

So being able
to turn lock to lock

all the way down
is just amazing.

All these guys are super pumped
to get this done

and I'm super pumped
to have them do it.

I cannot say
thank you guys enough.

Oh, look at --
and look at this.

Nice little customized
"bitchin' ride."

that's what I'm talking about.

We have to make sure
that you can't sell this ever.

That's pretty much
what it's about.

Kevin:
Rory and the guys still have
a little bit of work to do.

So I'm going to get
out of their way.

But I can't wait
to get this thing back

so I can do my little touches
on it and make it mine.

This thing's going
to be bitchin'.

so I'm going to have to still
put a new engine in,

I'm going to have to rewire
the whole thing.

I still have a lot of odds
and ends to fix -- fuel system,

braking, a lot
of plumbing issues

I'm going to have to
take care of.

Airride and air management is
all going to have to be done.

So this is a nice foundation
to build a really cool house on,

but we still have
to build a house.

so I'm superpumped.

Well, I'm not as pumped
as I was hoping,

but I've made some progress
on the new project.

I've got all the suspension in.
I got the new wheels.

I got 26x9s
in the front,

which is 10 overall,
and I got 26x12s

in the rear,
which is 13 overall.

So they're really wide
in the back.

I got a huge dish.

You can see I've got massive


six piston in the front.

They look normal
because the wheel is so big.

But if you pull the wheel off,

those brakes are as big
as a honda wheel.

No offense to the honda people,
but that's a honda wheel.

That's how big them brakes are.

So the really cool thing
about this is the chassis

is set up
to what they call skate.

So I can lift this thing
just enough off the ground

it just looks like
it's hovering along.

So this is all the way down,
but it'll come up just an inch

and that's where
I'll be able to drive it.

I'm really excited to hit
the streets and skate.

People are just --
they're going to freak out.

I mean, when was last time
you could see the whole roof

of a suburban?

And then if I end up
having some kids,

I have room for them.

That's not going to happen.

I wish I was further along,
but it is what it is.

We're so busy at the shop,
I can't get a break.

I promise I will finish it.

You're just going
to have to wait.

Tune in next season
or something.

I got to go.
I got [bleep] to do.

dave: This chevy c10 is
now a retractable hardtop.

Will and the guys have got
everything working perfectly

and in shape and ready to go.

One of the last details
they need to do

is to make a tunnel cover
that splits in half

so it can lift up and the top
can disappear into it,

closes back down,
and is completely a convertible.

First step of this tunnel cover
is going to get

this thing mounted.

We got to get structure
built up.

The hinge is done,
get it swinging.

I got the beginnings of the
framework for the tunnel cover

going on here.

The hinges are designed just
to keep the two pieces of

the tunnel covers away
from each other.

This is a hinge that I designed.

There's nothing out there
that I know of,

that we could have bought
and just applied to this.

It's incredibly simple.
I mean, there are two links.

And with those two links,
with the length, the angles,

couple of things
you can really dictate

where you want
your tunnel cover to go.

Then the action of these hinges
is basically up and away.

Comes up just enough
to keep the structure

and all the, you know, the seal,
to raise the seal off the paint

and then moves away

from any other obstruction
to the rear here,

which, you know,
the other tunnel cover.

Now, like I said, this is one
little piece of the puzzle

and this is just the structure
of the tunnel cover.

We're going to have a full skin
that wraps this

and finishes out everything,
makes it nice looking.

Then beyond that, we're going
to actuate this front panel.

We're going to add
some gas springs

to carry the weight of it.
Then we're going to actuate it

off of the mechanism
from the top.

It always seems like there's
a million things to do

when you get into
the last couple of days.

Dave: Will has done a great job
building this tunnel cover,

but now he's got to prove
that all of it's going

to actually jive
and work together.

And to finish off
the top of this bed,

we're going to make a simple
cover with a very unique twist.

This material's supercool,

it's kind of space age.
Superstrong, superlight,

if you treat it correctly,
it's incredibly strong.

Ultimately, this is going to be
a space-age solution

for what we are doing
to this 1967 truck.

Dave: Ira simply needs to take
his patterns that he's made

and set it on top of this


and basically cut it
very carefully.

And this should work out
really well.

Ira: So I've got the templates
made up for the front

and back portion of the bed,

and we've allowed
some clearances around

for all the mechanisms
for the convertible top.

So what I'm gonna do
is I'm going to do

an outline of the wood
onto the aluminum.

It's profiled to
the bed pretty good.

What then I'll do is I'll come
back with straight edges

and I'll profile
straight edge everything in.

So when I cut it,
I should have, you know,

that little extra material in
there to grind and clean away.

kevin:
So the reason that we wanted

to kind of stay away
from a wood bed

is because it has a lot
of things going on in the bed

and you're not really
going to see it that much.

We're going to put a faux wood
bed in it.

So we just needed a panel

to take up
the same thickness as the wood.

So we went with this
aluminum honeycomb.

this stuff is really space age,
but when you start cutting it,

it's like an aluminum b*mb,

it's just aluminum shreds
everywhere.

Ugh, it's everywhere.

Dude, they all went down my
shirt and in my glasses

and my eyes, they're
in my pockets.

That'll probably be the first
and the last time

the izzy helps ira.

Or he could pay
a little closer attention

to where he's
standing next time.

the easy part of
this project is done.

We'll see how good all of
ira's planning, plotting

is going to work out here.

We're going to take it over
and give it a run

and see how it looks.

How's it look there?

-Golden.
-Yeah, looks pretty good?

A little gap towards
the inside, but not a lot.

My side's really good.
I don't know if we can

kind of
cope it a little bit

so that it runs
tight in there,

but the sheet metal
is right up against it.

Kevin: We usually never get it
on the first try.

There's always a little bit
of a tweaking and massaging,

but it looks pretty good to me.

Overall,
I'm really happy.

It's nice when you don't
have to --

have to fight it a whole lot.

So we got a little bit
of trimming to do there.

The front piece is the one
I was worried about the most,

but it seems to go
in fairly well.

We'll get that trimmed,
and we'll have this wrapped up.

Doing good.

Kevin: I've got all the guys
working extra

to get this truck wrapped up,

one of the most important pieces

is this custom tunnel cover
that covers the entire bed.

Howard: Close enough.

Sometimes it's just good
to be lucky once in a while.

Kevin:
Howard's got to cut and vent
some long pieces of sheet metal

and it's very critical
that he takes his time

because I don't want
a ton of body work on this.

I got all my leading
bends done,

these four bends here,
now I'm working on the sides,

all these pieces have
already been bent,

so now I'm trying to fit them
to get the width

of the tunnel cover correct.

Soon as I get these sides
fitting better,

and this side, soon as
I get the whole arc on here,

I'll start final fitting them.
Clecoing them in.

Then I'll have four big
long-a*s welds do.

once this is welded, I have
these corners I need to do

and then the skin will
pretty much be done,

the skin isn't going to be
welded to the structure,

it's going to be bonded.

So we kind of need to decide
on how we're going to bond it.

And we'll probably
make some trim panels

or something underneath
to kind of close everything off

and make it look pretty.

So it doesn't just
look like the skin's

glued to a structure.

It's fascinating, isn't it?

It's long and boring.
[ laughs ]

dave: This truck has taken
a lot of different forms

and got more and more custom
over the last nine years,

but now there's been so many
custom touches, fabrication,

and engineering on this truck
over the last nine months,

it's going to be so cool
to finally see this roof work.

wow.

Looks like it's
all together.

Looks good, man.
What are you guys doing?

We're playing with the top.
Is it working now?

Everything's done?
Yeah.

You guys about ready
to go to body shop, right?

We're hoping.

Let's see it work.
Show me. Blow my mind.

Do we need to put a transformer
emblem on this truck?

Maybe.
Awesome. Awesome!

It's our very
first transformer!

This is so cool.
We got the top working.

We got the tunnel cover working.
Now we got to show

dave and his sidekick
the inner workings

and how well it's functioning.

Let's see it work.
Show me. Blow my mind.

for will's sake, this is
what I hope dave had in mind

when he was
designing this project.

so you're trying to
set it up on a switch

to where they both activate
off of one button?

Oh, yeah, yeah.

There will be a computer
basically reading the actuators,

knowing the positions
of everything,

and will be able
to coordinate it.

I'm hoping we can do
the speed and the thing.

So when you're in certain zones,
it will be very tied together

and act very cool.
Okay, go back up.

yeah, it looks
really good, man.

I'm excited.
Everything's all lined up.

Dave: Well, once again, will
has been given a challenge

and has made easy work of it.
Really, from the outside

looking in,
it looks like it was nothing.

I always say where there's
a will, there's a way.

You know what we're
going to name this?

What?
Game changer.

Game changer?

Which game?
The c10 game.

Ain't nobody doing [bleep]
like this on the c10.

Nope.
Game changer.

There's a couple
of things.

Game changer.
That haven't been done.

Right.

Dave might be ignoring
my awesome name suggestion,

but he'll come around.

I just have to make it sound
like it's his idea.

Hm, I'll work on it.

This is the aluminum


Honeycomb.
Honeycomb. That is awesome.

So it's nice.

It's .040 top
and bottom panels

and it's got honeycomb
all the way through it.

So it's 3/4 overall.

Dave: I actually cannot
believe this worked.

It is so badass.

And to have the team
come together

to create something so cool,

I'm just blown away.
I love these guys.

I'm just really, really happy
with how low that top is.

I love how you've got the tunnel
cover up that high.

So we have a common plane
on here,

which is better
than a convertible blazer.

Well, look at it from here.
Look at it from here.

The window's going
to come down.

All the way down.

So you won't have a couple
seams or bottom of a window.

It'll just be
black on black.

It's a game changer.
Oh.

Game changer.
Okay.

Yeah, that's what I said,
game changer.

Oh.
I think that's what I'll

name it, game changer.

Seems like I've heard
that somewhere.

Need any more of
my good ideas?

[ laughs ]

yeah.
Wait, you had one?

No, that was it.
One a day.

Oh, one a day.
One a day.

Oh, whatever.
[ laughs ]