04x02 - Quarter-Mile Cadillac

[bunniefuu]

- [Schwag] Caddies are for cruising, right?

Not on Monster Garage.

[person shouting]

This Cadillac is gonna be top of the stack

or the bottom of the heap.

So buckle up and get ready to fly down the track.

This show is no drag.

[rock music playing]

[person shouting]

- [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.

[hard rock music playing]

♪ Monster, Monster Garage

♪ Monster, Monster Garage

♪ Monster, Monster Garage

♪ Monster, Monster Garage

♪ Monster

This week's challenge turn a 1981 Cadillac Fleetwood

into a pro street drag car.

The rules, the Monster must appear to be stock.

They'll get 5,000 bucks for parts.

The crew has seven days and nights.

On the first day they design.

The next five they build,

and on the seventh day they race.

If successful, the team gets a $3,400 set of Mac tools

and the clock starts now.

[fire roaring]

Straight outta Long Beach,

Jesse arrives in style

as he wheels the custom-painted '81 Caddy into the garage

and slaps it onto the lift.

Riding shotgun is the fresh Fleetwood's

former owner, Ceemack.

- Needs more speed. It's too slow.

- [Narrator] Ceemack, Jesse's longtime friend,

wants Monster Garage to juice his ride.

- Come on, come on.

That's not fast enough.

- [Narrator] It's fun and games as Jesse

and Ceemack head to the design.

But it's all business for Jim Oberhoffer,

crew chief for the Mac Tools Jesse James Top Fuel dragster.

And Feng Zhu, a concept designer

who spent the last year on Skywalker Ranch

finishing Star Wars Episode Three.

- So Ceemack has been so generous enough

to donate us his beautiful automobile that we're gonna,

we're just gonna make a drag car.

[Ceemack laughing]

[car engines roaring]

That car was meant for cruising around,

turning corners, not going fast. I wanna make it fast.

- Transferring all that horsepower into traction's gonna be

a big issue with, you know, without it going out

shaking its brains out.

- If we work our asses off

and run a 10 flat, I'm not gonna be disappointed.

- It's gonna go much faster than it did down the boulevard.

- [Jesse] Yes.

- I bet. [laughing]

- I want that car to launch.

And we'll try not, I think we can do the whole thing

without screwing any of the paint up.

- [laughing] I ordered it like that

from the factory.

[Jesse laughing]

- So basically, breaking it down to elements, make it light.

Front clip, rear clip, motor, trans, roll cage. Race car.

- It'll be a pretty tough task to make it right.

- [Ceemack] That's the hood ornament right there?

- There it is.

- Okay, okay, okay. - It stays.

- It's staying. That's important,

that's really important to me.

That needs to stay.

- [Jesse] All right, cool. Let's get to work.

- [Rex] All right man, let's go.

- Go ahead guys.

[Ceemack laughing]

- [Narrator] To make this Caddy drag-worthy,

it must be completely re-modified.

The body will remain the same.

A fuel-injected engine will put the drag in this old hag.



to custom build a new rear end.

And it will be tied together with a bombproof roll-cage

to keep Jesse safe and not sorry.

[grinding rock music playing]

[engine revving and tires burning]

Day two. For this blue beauty to do 10 flat in five days,

the Garage selected a team of fabricators and drag racers.

From Laguna Hills, California,

street rod guru and Rock and Roller, Rex Buxton.

Custom car fabricator from Phoenix, Arizona, Kurt Forqueran.

From Sonora, California, drag racer and custom bike builder,

Bret Hankins.

From Fresno, California, hot rod fabricator, Paul Dowing.

Journeyman machinist from Brea, California, Todd Simmon.

And Ceemack will stay on to hang out with his pal, Jesse.

- So you guys already know we're gonna do a drag car.

Straight up, simple. We're just gonna make it haul a*s.

- How fast is it gonna go?

- I wanna run nines.

I think a nine-second car is pretty achievable.

It's gonna be a decent chunk of labor,

but this is all pretty standard stuff.

- [Narrator] Standard stuff isn't acceptable

in Monster Garage.

So Jesse adds to their work by subtracting a day.

- There's drags Thursday night at Irwindale,

so if we hauled a*s, we could go

race it there Thursday night at street races, so.

- Sounds good. - Cool.

- Sounds excellent.

- All right guys, let's have at it.

- All right.

- [Narrator] Normally a build takes five days,

but to make it to the races by Thursday,

they'll have to do it in four.

The interior of the Caddy is gutted for weight.

Lighter means faster.

- Pulling some wool.

- [Narrator] They haven't found out

why the Caddy has lost its bark,

but they know for sure it's lost its bite.

[creepy doll laughing]

[tools buzzing]

- I got bills to pay.

- [Voice] You're welcome.

- I'm gonna watch him first.

- [Voice] Nice.

- Then I'm gonna know what to do.

[welding torch hissing]

- [Ceemack] Damn. Watch the logo.

- [Narrator] The hood is carefully removed, followed

by the trunk, so they don't ruin the disco paint job.

[snazzy music playing]

[rock music playing]

A stock gas tank won't pass muster at the drag races.

There's no way showing up at the drag strip

with 150 spokes will fly.

- [Ceemack] I can resell these.

- [Narrator] Wookiee celebrates

the beginning of a new Monster

with the traditional breaking of the glass.

Mazel tov.

[glass crashing]

- My work here is done.

- [Cameraman] What's your tattoo?

- Cadillac.

I have a shop that we customize cars,

mostly the '50s and '60s customs.

Chopped tops, airbags, hydraulics,

trying to get as low as possible so we could drag it up

and down the freeways and sh**t sparks on people.

I get to do what I like

and, you know, work for myself, which is pretty good.

If there's nothing else in my life, I'll have cool cars.

[Kurt laughing]

[heavy rock music playing]

- [Narrator] The car is being whittled down

to its bare blue body.

The Fleetwood is given a facelift

to begin the excavation of the engine.

- I like you guys. You guys ain't screwing around.

- Didn't know we were supposed to.

I want this done by Thursday.

It's doable. It'd be hard, but it'll be doable

- If we finish Thursday night and run it

Thursday night Irwindale, I'll take all you guys with me.

You guys can go stand on the starting line

and watch me run my fuel car.

We'll go watch Scott Kalitta do some passes.

- [Voice] Snatchin'!

- [Narrator] As if a set of Mac tools wasn't enough,

an early finish will score this team a close encounter

with the West Coast Choppers Mac Tools Top Fuel car.

Despite the amazing incentive, a superstitious

Bret keeps his game face on.

- I'm hoping we'll be done by Thursday,

but I'm not gonna jinx us by saying so.

[Bret laughing]

- [Kurt] Don't scratch it.

- [Narrator] Six cylinders

will never cut it at the drag strip.

The original engine is extracted from the car.

[rock music playing]

To make sure nothing is left behind,

Rex clears out the rear end.

While helping Rex remove the rear frame,

Jesse's attention is drawn to one

of his favorite subjects, mullets.

- Business in front, party in the back with that guy.

That, my friends, is the mullet.

That's how you know it's gonna be fast.

It's all. [hand whooshing]

Yeah, it's like flames coming off your head

but in hair form. Look.

- I have the 200 mile per hour style.

- [Narrator] Everything Rex Buxton does leads to speed.

- Ever since I got a car I was just fascinated

with making 'em go fast and racing 'em,

and I took welding in high school,

and so I've always kind of combined my welding skills with

making the cars go faster one way or the other.

[car engine roaring]

[rock music playing]

- [Narrator] To make room for the 17 inch slicks

and custom rear housing,

the team removes the back half of the car.

[metal thumping]

It may look beaten and broken down here in the Garage,

but that's okay with Jesse.

- I think we can do it. Wait until you see

what I've got envisioned, how it's gonna look

with 17 inch slicks on it

and stuffed right down on the ground. [imitates engine roar]

It's gonna be pretty mean.

- [Narrator] By the end of the day,

The Fleetwood Mack-mobile has gone from disco to don't go.

[tires squealing]

With no engine, no rear end, and less than

a shell to work from, this team

will have to build a car almost from scratch.

If they expect to make it to the drag strip by Thursday,

it's going to be a race to the finish.

Monster Garage Factoid,

in the latest census, the average attendance

of a single drag racing event was over 100,000 people.

More than any professional football, baseball,

or hockey game.

♪ Monster, Monster Garage

Day three. It's only the second build day,

but perfectionist Rex is already feeling the

pressure of the ticking clock.

Welcome to Monster Garage, Rex.

- Well, yeah. When you only have five days

to get the thing done.

Those people spend five weeks building a car like this.

- [Narrator] A delivery from Jeg's arrives

to put the roar in this four door.

A brand new 502 big block.

- [Paul] We got parts.

- [Narrator] Followed by an onslaught

of engine parts, including the blower.

♪ Freebie, Zip, Zero, Nada

- That's gonna make it go real fast.

- [Narrator] Torch in hand,

Todd makes room for the bigger engine.

- I got little things cooking here right now,

though, all right?

- [Interviewer] Todd Simmon,

you're doing something to your car.

What are you doing?

- I'm not dirty every day anymore. [laughing]

I did that, I paid my dues and, you know,

sometimes it's really nice to get back in.

I miss not having a shop.

[tires squealing]

I'm not not above doing anything, you know,

whatever needs to be done, I'll do it.

- [Narrator] While Todd finishes the engine compartment,

Rex prepares to build the roll cage.

- Well we're gonna have a main loop going

around here like this.

There'll be some back braces, sub frame bars, X brace.

Something's gotta triangulate the frame

to keep it strong.

[car engines roaring]

- [Narrator] Monster Garage mantra.

A roll cage is a must if you want

to keep your head from going bust.

[person dog-howling]

- Oh, I'll have all the front section

of the roll cage done today, for sure.

- [Narrator] One and three quarters tubing is used

to build the roll cage.

Jesse's personal safety is left in the hands

of Rex and Wookiee.

- Oh, no.

- [Narrator] Are they good hands?

Well, for the first time ever on Monster Garage,

a builder has broken the bender.

- The pin wasn't far enough in

and when this pulled against it, it stretched it out.

It wasn't in the bottom side.

Heat it up, bend it back up.

[welding torch roaring]

- [Narrator] No steps forward and two steps back.

Rex and Wookiee find themselves working on

the tubing bender instead of the tube.

[hammer banging]

[rock music playing]

- [laughing] We'll see how this thing works out.

[power tool rattling]

Rex over there broke the tubing bender.

He don't want Jesse to know but [laughing] we fixed it.

- [Narrator] With the bender back in business,

Rex doesn't make the same mistake twice.

He may have been new to the Garage's tubing bender,

but he is no stranger to constructing a roll cage.

[arc welder sparking]

- 'Sup. I see what they did to my Caddy today.

This the big engine going in there?

- [Bret] New motor for your ride.

- It's gonna make us do nine seconds, huh?

- Yeah.

- Real fast.

See what the rest of the fellas doing.

- [Narrator] Outlaw Jesse James shows up

ready to turn over a new leaf.

- Look what I got. The Guide to Proper Behavior.

[bell ringing]

"The good citizen obeys the law.

"A good citizen has a proper respect

"for the law and obeys it.

"This is not because of fear of what may happen

"to him if he breaks the law, but

"because he desires to do what is

"for the greatest good of all."

[Bret laughing]

Did not know that. [echoing]

- [Narrator] Paul wheels in some vital parts.

- Got our transmission courtesy of B&M

and all our parts to go with it.

We're going good right now.

[rock music playing]

I want to get it done by Thursday night so we'll see.

If everything gets here in time, maybe.

[car engine roaring]

This is my life dream is to build street rods.

I do the whole thing by myself.

To me it's, you either do it all or go home.

- [Narrator] The big block is crowned with the blower

and awaits the arrival of the fuel injector

to pronounce this engine King of the Road.

- We have blower.

Wheels. Wheels, wheels, wheels.

- [Narrator] The tires are set in place

and the team gets a forward look

at the back end of this dragster.

- Some big-a*s tires. [laughing]

- [laughing] That's bad.

That's a real low rider.

[laughing] Sweet, huh?

- [Narrator] Excited by their progress,

Rex almost summons the demonic curse of the Garage,

but Jesse knows demons can't spell.

- He almost predicted the

E-A-R-L-Y-F-I-N-I-S-H.

[Jesse laughing]

- [Rex] I didn't say nothing.

- All right, got the rear frameworks here.

- [Narrator] With a delivery from Chassisworks,

the team gets started on the rear assembly.

- These get cut. They get put in here like this.

Then these frame rails are gonna come off

with a thing like this,

and that's gonna be our rear frame clip.

- [Narrator] To make room for the 17 inch slicks,

the original rear chassis was removed

and replaced with a custom rear frame,

which will narrow the rear end to fit the oversized tires.

Wookiee welds the main support bar for the rear clip.

- Fashioned a cross member.

- [Narrator] Rex pounds and welds it into place

then moves on to the frame rails.

The rear frame must be installed straight

or it will affect the car's alignment.

Once this is checked,

the rear frame becomes a permanent fixture.

- Coming together like butt cheeks.

- [Narrator] The engine assembly is nearly complete.

[rock music continuing]

The tr*nny is bolted into place.

- We're gonna stab the motor.

Means we're gonna stick it all in there.

- [Cameraman] Really?

- Yeah. [voiceover laughing]

I am just starting my own business,

opening up a custom bike shop.

It's called Pro Street Choppers.

All the motor parts, everything's aftermarket-made stuff,

you know? The frame, the exhaust, the seat, the bars.

It's really just handmade.

- [Narrator] It's time for the motor

to move into its new home.

The new engine could be comfy in this old Caddy,

but Jesse doesn't like where the motor is mounted.

He has higher aspirations for this Monster.

- Let's raise it up so we can see the blower and stuff.

- You want to get that back pipe above?

- Of course, yeah.

That way I can make sure everything's working.

Jack the tr*nny up where you want it,

and I would mount it, and then build

your motor mount brackets right to the motor.

- [Paul] Oh, okay.

- But you can go up three or four inches.

Let's go up so the blowers are like right.

Right there. So you can see all of that.

- [Narrator] The standard engine mounting position

is six degrees from the centerline of the car.

But for this beast,

the engine will be mounted 10 degrees higher.

To get the engine into this lifted position,

Jesse must cut out the firewall and remove a section

of the original drive shaft compartment.

- Gonna make some motor mounts here and mount the motor.

[power tool rattling]

[rock music continuing]

[arc welder sparking]

- [Narrator] As the engine is secured in place,

Rex anchors the back half of the roll cage

on to the new rear frame.

Although getting off to a rough start, Rex orchestrated

and finished an entire roll cage and custom rear frame.

- Yeah man. Freaking kicked a*s today.

Good.

- [Jesse] Get outta here.

- Gotta get to the hot tub before it closes at 10.

- [Jesse] [indistinct] We're going home.

- [Narrator] After a hard day at Monster Garage,

this team goes from building to bathing.

Day four, Jesse leads the team into the Garage

and inspects the placement of the engine.

His motivation for mounting the engine

at such a steep angle isn't about substance.

It's about style.

- I'd rather have it lower and back

than squat and launched and all stink bug looking.

I don't know. Most guys on the East Coast

have their stuff all jacked up in back, you know.

With hijack your shocks.

You know, all up on the steering wheel.

Me, California style like.

- [Narrator] California style means laid back.

[motorcycle revving]

- Vroom!

- [Narrator] And to give his boat a little bark,

Rex offers Jesse a selection of pipes to choose from.

- These are good. He's like me building a bike.

- [Cameraman] How so?

- He's done it a lot before so he knows

which pieces you need. [echoing]

- [Narrator] Paul rolls in a cart full of parts.

A radiator from Ron Davis and a Kirkey racing seat.

- [Paul] Oh, great.

- [Narrator] Paul sets the seat into place

while Bret and Todd refit the front clip.

- Let's see where we at in day three.

We got the front clip back on there.

This was very important in here.

Very important to have that emblem on there.

- [Todd] We got something we can stick in there?

- Got our engine in there.

We got the roll cage in here already.

[power tool grinding]

Oh no, boy, y'all are getting it done.

- [Voice] What you doing, man?

- They definitely making progress, though.

- This is our Currie housing. Sheet metal fabbed on.

Compliments of Chassisworks.

My little home away from home for the next couple hours.

- [Narrator] This unassuming piece of sheet metal

will house the rear axle, third member, and brakes.

[power tool grinding]

Instead of ordering a pre-made housing system,

Rex is building it from scratch.

This will ensure a custom fit

with the dimensions of the rear end.

[rock music continuing]

[arc welder sparking]

- That's awesome.

Yeah, he's good.

- [Narrator] Paul begins shearing

the wheel wells into shape.

- Just like downtown.

- [Narrator] The wheel wells are hand trimmed

to fit the inside of the body to prevent smoke

and debris from getting into the car when dragging.

Bret makes a dashboard for the gauges.

- [Bret] Voila.

[power tool whirring]

- [Narrator] BDS arrives with a high tech fuel injector.

The fuel injector has special software

that allows the engine to be digitally tuned by a computer.

- Probably gonna need a laptop to tune this thing

- [Narrator] Jesse thinks mixing computer technology

with street racing can only lead to one thing.

- They can shut our dragster off from a satellite.

Yeah, that's how the man gets you.

Keeps you from drag racing.

Doot-doot-doot-doot-doot. Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

[buzzer buzzes] No fun.

- The guys from BDS are gonna come

shut it all off in the morning,

so we're gonna be time ahead.

There's no reason it won't run tomorrow.

- [Narrator] Having worked with

electronic fuel systems before, Rex disagrees.

- Not even gonna run till Friday.

We got a new twist.

- [Voice] What is that?

- Frigging fuel injection man.

- [Narrator] Rex welds his worries away

by installing the four link suspension system.

The four link secures the rear housing to the chassis

and can be raised and lowered to meet Jesse's engine angle.

[rock music continuing] [arc welder sparking]

The Ceemack-mobile has come a long way,

but to get this Caddy up to speed by tomorrow night,

this team will have to finish two days

of work in only one day.

Monster Garage Factoid,

a top fuel dragster leaves the starting line

with a force nearly five times that of gravity,

equal to the space shuttle lifting off from Cape Canaveral.

♪ Monster, Monster Garage

Day five. It's race day.

The team needs to finish the car by 8:00 PM if they want

to make it to the drag strip.

There's only one thing standing between them

and early victory

- Parts.

Every time, every time we turn around we're missing parts.

- It's all the little trivial crap that's gonna trip us up.

The little brake line fittings and the fuel fittings.

- [Narrator] Todd's not about to wait for parts.

He builds his own.

- Little shims for the transmission mound.

Well there's nothing real precision on this.

This is, this is get it done and make it work.

- Let's see what's happening. I'm gonna be a floater today.

Whoever needs a helping hand,

that's where I'm gonna be at today.

I can do that part. I can do that part for you.

What you need to roll outta here.

- Blow the back end off. Clean it all out.

[rock music playing]

- We working today.

- [Narrator] Anxious to finish the assembly

of the rear housing,

Rex adds the Currie axle and brace.

- Got it?

- Yeah. Go under.

- [Narrator] The rear end is in place.

Rex takes the measurements for the drive shaft.

He'll take no chances in order

to avoid last minute mistakes.

- I don't want to, you know, get the wrong crap

so I'm gonna have my guy make it.

If I have my guy make it, it's gonna be right.

You can bet your farm on that.

Ah, let me out. Let me out.

- [Narrator] Jesse heads for his favorite Monster upgrade.

The headers.

[rock music continuing]

- This is the hard side 'cause I had

to go up over the steering shaft

and around these brake lines.

The other side's a snap.

It only take me five, six hours to do the other side.

- How long it take you to make this one? This side?

- Yesterday and today.

- Come together like kinfolk, a family reunion.

[laughing] Coming together.

- Are those expensive?

- [Cameraman] Yeah. Break it, Jesse, break it.

Yeah, break it, Jesse.

- It's strong.

[glass shattering]

[Jesse and others laughing]

I reward on how much you work.

- I did the first day.

- What?

- The first day I was, I put all this.

At the inside the car.

If this was Monster Talking Show, I bet I win.

I bet I'd be working.

- Well, I've had some friends of mine that are,

that have been on the build team

that were working on the build team,

but it's kind of just having a friend around

just to hang out's kind of cool.

'Cause I don't really, I mean with my job

and running the shop and doing this every other week,

and I don't really have too many, too much time for friends.

[people laughing]

- [Ceemack] My name is Jefferson, I'm telling you,

'cause we finally got a piece of the pie.

- [Kurt] I like Sanford and Son. That's my favorite show.

- Lamont, you big dummy.

- [Ceemack] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- I'm gonna give you one across your lips.

- [Ceemack] Oh, Pop!

- Fred Sanford, you owe me this.

- You jive-a*s. Did she say "jive-a*s turkey" on TV?

- [Kurt] Now you can. Then you couldn't.

- She said "You fisheyed fool."

That's what she said. "You fisheyed fool."

Saying, "Fisheyed fool."

- [Narrator] Anticipating the arrival of the fuel cell,

a floor for the trunk is made from 18 gauge sheet metal.

[power tools rattling]

[arc welder sparking]

With the floor of the trunk completed,

it's painfully obvious that they are in need of a fuel cell.

- Couple of brake lines

and the fuel system is our big hurdle right now.

My stress level's starting to increase.

- [Narrator] The pressure builds.

And for good reason, the gates are open at Irwindale

and the motorheads are filing in.

A simple fuel cell can't be the reason

they miss their deadline.

Rex and Wookiee go hunting in the Monster scrap yard.

Behold, the RC car,

the most scavenged vehicle in the garage.

- That's perfect, actually.

Here it goes.

Grab it, Hoss.

[kurt chuckling]

- [Narrator] Ditching its metal casing,

the RC's fuel cell is a perfect match.

- [Kurt] Ceemack.

- [Ceemack] Here I am, right here.

- Go over to Bobby

and tell him we need five gallons of that

nitro propane race gas that clots fuel.

Bobby over in my car shop.

- [Narrator] The tires are bolted on

and the Caddy's new rear end is complete.

- I think we have created a Monster.

- Hey, ask Jesse if this is low enough for him.

- You know that's how you used to pro street cars, come on.

- [Kurt] Is that East Coast or West Coast?

- You know you had a Camaro that was like that.

Oh, man. Put it down quick.

- [Kurt] That low enough for you?

- It's making my stomach hurt. [belching]

- [Kurt] Okay.

[rock music playing]

- [Narrator] At the front end,

Jesse finishes up the headers.

- I don't know why I do exhaust. I don't know why.

I mean I was making it

and one of the guys told me when they looked at the exhaust,

they're like, "Man, that looks like a musical instrument."

I told him, "It is. It just goes, whoa!"

[Jesse laughing]

That's the song it plays.

[arc welder sparking]

[rock music continuing]

All right, it's done.

- [Narrator] As the drag races begin at Irwindale,

[car engine roaring]

the build team races to finish the engine.

- Soon as I hook up a couple wires here,

the motor will turn over.

- [Narrator] The boys from BDS step in

to give the engine a final tuneup.

By the evening of day five, the Caddy has a custom rear end,

a sound roll cage, and an engine that is ready to start.

But they're still waiting for fittings in the drive shaft.

- So what else are we missing?

- Fuel.

We gotta run the fuel lines up here still from the tank.

Make all the braided lines, hook all this stuff up.

Miscellaneous wiring.

[disaster music playing]

- So we're obviously not gonna get it done tonight.

It would've been good. You know, waving to the crowd.

[crew members laughing]

Monster Garage!

But we're good.

We can spend tomorrow buttoning everything up.

I'm sure we'll run into some stuff.

You know, just little BS.

This thing looks pretty professional.

It's good to have a team that actually works.

We're good.

- [Rex] Yeah.

- Sleep in. Come in at 10 tomorrow.

All right guys.

- Cool. - Cool.

- [Narrator] There's only one expression on everyone's face.

Disappointment. They missed the accelerated deadline,

but that means they have another day to dodge failure.

Will tomorrow be a cakewalk?

Or the usual Monster mad dash to midnight?

- [Schwag] Hey, Monster fans.

Jesse has one question about making things go fast.

- Do you think that's just a fad or is it?

- [Schwag] Stick around to see if the Monster Caddy

will meet Way Fast Whitey's need for speed?

♪ Monster, Monster Garage

- [Narrator] Day six.

The team casually strolls into the Garage

for what they think is going to be an easy build day.

- Got a lot of little things to tidy up.

The shifter, the throttle linkage. Some wiring.

Hopefully this drive shaft's gonna fit.

Either run the fuel line from the front to the back.

One fuel line and one return line.

[rock music playing]

Look out, sport.

I don't even, I'm not even the least bit worried

that we're not gonna get done.

- [Narrator] But Rex does have

something else to worry about.

- I got an 11:30 flight.

- [Cameraman] When?

- Tonight.

- [Cameraman] Why?

- Gotta go to a funeral in Oklahoma



- [Cameraman] What happened?

- My aunt died.

The only thing that's wearing on me is, like,

trying to be two places at one time.

I mean, both these things are really important to me.

I was just, my biggest problem was pretty soon

I was gonna have to decide which one was more important.

- [Narrator] Craig from BDS takes the stage again

to program and tune the engine.

- Everything from this laptop will go into that car

and that's the programs that I need to load

to make the engine run like we need to have it running.

- [Narrator] As Craig loads the hard drive,

Rex loads the drive shaft.

- All right, our drive shaft's here. Right on.

- [Narrator] But it's not just a quick install.

There isn't enough clearance between the drive shaft

and the belly of this beast.

[power tools rattling]

They make a 14 inch incision through the center of the car

and hack off a part of the roll cage.

Then a custom hump is made

to bandage the gaping wound.

- I'm doing the hump.

- You do, what hump do you mean?

[Kurt laughing]

- Yeah, just a little.

- Oh, the hump like that.

- Yeah.

[heavy rock music playing]

[arc welder sparking]

- Brakes need to be bled. We need to finish the brake lines.

That's another thing I forgot about.

You know that's always a hassle. [indistinct] stuff.

- [Narrator] The team gets the Fleetwood back on its feet.

They get a look at how this Caddy will run

when it hits the strip.

- That's cool like that.

- [Narrator] To give the team an interstellar boost,

Nebula takes the stage.

[live psych-rock playing]

- We're pretty much ready.

I'm doing my last little test right now to make sure

everything spins after I just did some rewiring.

- [Narrator] Jesse arrives

and torments Ceemack's precious ornament.

- I've got to protect.

[Jesse vocalizing]

- [Voice] Just slow it down.

- That's gonna make, that's just gonna give it this.

- [Voice] Slow it down.

- Come on, come on. Be cool, be cool brother.

Be cool. Be cool.

You play too much because you.

- [Narrator] The car is watered and fueled,

ready for its engine test.

- [Jesse] Can you turn on the fuel pump for a minute?

What do we gotta do? Dismount that shifter?

- [Rex] We're on. 60.

We're on.

- [Jesse] Do it. You got it.

- [Narrator] On the first turn, the engine spins to life.

Like a ghost in the machine,

the electronic sensors in the fuel injector

send information to Craig's laptop,

allowing him to adjust the engine's fuel

and timing tables.

- I don't know about all these computers.

It's like that whole internet thing.

Do you think that's just a fad, or is it?

It's gonna be, like, beta next year?

[car engine turning over]

[car engine running]

- [Narrator] The team checks the engine's timing.

The engine has a whole lot of go,

but the car ain't got no stop.

- [Jesse] I don't feel any pressure releasing.

- [Narrator] The team has failed to fix the brakes.

- The motor [glass crashing] runs, let's fix the brakes.

- [Rex] That way we can get the rest of the air out of it.

- [Jesse] Three quarter in ridge.

- Okay.

- That's just, I've been telling these guys all day,

"We need to bleed the brakes, We need to bleed the brakes."

I got two and a half hours before I'm outta here.

- [Jesse] Doing the brake pad so it doesn't.

- Great.

- [Narrator] 24 hours ago the team thought

they would be racing the strip,

but now they're racing against the final

hours of the build.

- Pump it, pump it up and hold it.

- That master cylinder's sticking.

- I don't feel it release. - That's what it is.

- [Jesse] Is this the master cylinder that was in it?

- [Rex] Yeah.

- [Kurt] We're getting fluid outta it, man.

- The thing is, is we got like IBM control

for the fuel injection and Commodore 64 for the brakes.

We're looking at the kind where it takes, like,

cassette tapes for memory.

- [Rex] Okay, pressure it up. Pressure.

Let me see the bolt.

- [Voice] Pressure.

- You want some pressure?

If it doesn't have any brakes, then no one gets their tools.

- [Voice] There's pressure.

- Is that enough?

That would totally suck to have to blow this up

'cause the brakes don't work.

I'd be so sad. Push it off a cliff.

[falling whistling]

[imitating crashing]

No tools.

Pump it once and hold it.

All right. It's getting better.

Good, good, good.

There it goes.

Can we start it up

and make sure it holds it in gear.

- [Narrator] With time running out,

they reassemble the brakes and give it another try.

- Go, go. It's running late.

[engine starting]

[engine revving]

- [Narrator] Going, going, stop.

They've got brakes.

It's time to take it out for the real test.

[engine revving]

Jesse pulls into Veteran Stadium

to test his latest Monster,

and he's attracted some competition.

A 1969 Chevy Chevelle SS.

[engines revving]

[start lights ringing]

[engines roaring]

The sweet sounds of success.

[team members cheering and shouting]

[glass breaking]

[engine roaring]

- And it was an even race.

- Was that bad or what?

- SS would've been smoked.

- Yeah. Yeah.

- He too slow.

He too slow for the '81 Fleetwood.

[engine revving]

- I can't get any traction, I don't have any [indistinct]

[team members shouting]

What about, what about when I came in,

he said, "Ready to get your a*s kicked?"

[team members shouting]

You notice how the talkers always just keep talking.

All right, let's go get some tools.

- Yeah. - Yeah, baby.

♪ Wah, wah, wah

- What time is it?



So much for that early finish.

[team members laughing]

That's what we get for even bringing 'em up.

- [Rex] Yeah.

- Mac Tools, Monster Garage CDs for everyone.

That guy really called me an [censor sound]

- [Rex] Straight up,

- He obviously doesn't know me.

[team members laughing]

[funky music playing]

- [Narrator] Build costs.

Freebie value.

Car costs.

Total cost.

♪ Monster, Monster Garage

[car engines roaring]

- [Schwag] Hey Monster g*ng, the Big Schwag here.

Do you recognize this place? Of course you do.

It's Irwindale Speedway.

But this time we're not on the oval.

Tonight, it's all about straight and fast.

[car engines roaring]

That's right, Thursday Night NHRA Thunder,

where anyone can race their car.

- It's street legal drags.

- [Cameraman] Oh nice.

- Yeah.

So all your cars are all street legal,

and you have to beat the other guy.

- [Schwag] Oh yeah? But this isn't just guys' night out.

- Oh you bet. Girls kick gas.

- [Schwag] But we're not just showing up with any car.

This is an '81 Caddy

with a Supercharged 502 jacked up West Coast style.

And who better to drive it

than the master fabricator himself?

What does he have in mind for tonight?

- Loud and fast, equals Jesse happy.

- [Schwag] The big question is, who will Jesse race?

You gotta be kidding me! Another '81 Caddy.

The Challenger has a tip for Jesse.

- Hope he's good on the lights.

I leave on the yellow.

- [Voice] Blue sugar, blue car.

[engine roaring]

- [Schwag] Now it's time to meet the Monster Caddy.

[start lights ringing]

Hit it, Jesse!

[car engines roaring]

Oh, the Monstrosity of it all.

Jesse James is smoked by the clean and simple challenger.

- Go tell him to line up again. We'll go again

whenever he's ready.

- [Schwag] This time it'll be a different story!

[car engines roaring]

[start lights ringing]

[car engines roaring]

Or not.

- What? You lost?

Oh, no!

- [Schwag] What do you think, Jesse?

- Stupid four door Caddy.

What's the odds?

That's what we get for running our mouths.

"We're Monster Garage, we can beat everything!"

Except for another blue '81 Fleetwood.

[people laughing]

Other than that, we're bad.

I don't care how fast you are

or how bad you think your car is, there's always one

that's just a little bit badder.

And it might be the same color with four doors.

- [Schwag] The challenger is humble in his victory.

- You can't bring a car right out and expect it to run.

And when he gets it going, it'll be down in the

sixes and flying, so.

I won't wanna race him in another month or two.

[person laughing]

- [Schwag] Jesse's through racing,

but the night is still long.

- I'm a spectator now.

I was meant to race figure eight

and do wheelies. That's it.

[car engines roaring]

I like it. Look at it.

It's all plush on the inside.

- [Schwag] But not for long,

'cause Jesse's got no time for slow paces,

car chases, or drag races that don't wait for the green.

He's got.

- Metal burn.

- [Schwag] Metal to burn.

- Sparks to fly.

- [Schwag] Sparks to fly.

- The next Monster Garage is just around the bend. Tell him.

- The next Monster Garage is right

behind the bend here.

- [Schwag] Okay, I got it. What he said.

The next Monster Garage Challenge is just behind,

I mean around the bend.

[heavy rock music playing]

♪ Monster, Monster Garage

♪ Monster, Monster Garage

♪ Monster, Monster Garage

♪ Monster, Monster Garage

♪ Monster, Monster Garage

♪ Monster, Monster Garage

♪ Monster, Monster Garage

♪ Monster, Monster