07x01 - Easy Does It

[bunniefuu]

I purchased a


Let's take it to another level.

Lane: Bitchin'.
Kevin: Bitchin'.'

justin: What we're doing on this
is just, like, a super sleeper.

Justin: This is a tight fit.
Lane: Yeah.

Slow going. It's gonna tilt
one way or the other.

[ pop ]
woo.

You get all four
of those cams camming.

[ laughing ]

[ engine revs ]

at the end of the day,
it's still a ford.

It's gonna be a happy ford.

[ laughing ]

winning.

I think the only thing
left to do is to

take this thing
out on the ranch,

since it is a pony car now.

[ neighs ]
[ laughs ]

[ engine revs ]

[ laughs ] oh, that
never gets old.

[ laughs ]

[ thud ]
[ grunts ]

colin: Stay tuned.

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

over the years, you
watchers of the show, fans,

have sent some amazing things.

Dave: This is cool.
Isn't that cool?

All of this is cool, look.
There's me. There's kevin.

I think kevin's
is pretty accurate.

This one, I'm not so sure.

I don't really
see dave like that,

but maybe some people do.

I've said this before,
and I'm gonna say it again --

we have the absolute
best fans in the world,

bar none, without a question.

So I just got a box
from one of the fans.

Since we've been
in a pandemic --

it's over, though, now, see?

It's gone.
It's gone.

It says,
"big thanks to you.

Just a little note
with huge gratitude.

Thank you for entertaining me
during this pandemic. Gary."

in the middle of all
the crazy things going on

around the world -- the pandemic
and all these things,

someone's takes the time out
to send me a care package.

But gary sent me all my
favorite treats --

a pillow, in case I get
tired at work,

some m&ms, some starbursts,
swedish fishes, some red vines,

and then he sent me this
new stamp --

it says "bitchin'."

a new stamp? This is
exactly what I need

to get me through
these tough times.

Look what I got today.

[ clicking ]

got a new stamp.

Lane: Bitchin'.
Kevin: Bitchin'.

The guys are gonna
love my new toy.

I got a new stamp
today in the mail.

It's a good one,
dude. Relax.

one guy in particular really
loves when I get new things.

Did it say, "attention
kept on dave?"

no, it said, "huge thanks,

thank you for
keeping me entertained

during this pandemic.
Gary."

you know, I'm not sure
I'm really buying

what kevin's trying
to sell to me.

Nobody sends a package
to just him.

Usually, it's to the both of us.

You know what else
he sent me?

What?
He sent me a new stamp.

I got to show you, dude.

It's really good. I think
you're gonna like it.

Did you guys get me
stamping dave?

Man: Uh-huh.
Awesome!

You know the rule.
One time, right?

We love everything that all
of our fans and friends send us,

but to be honest with you?

Guys, you don't need to
send anything else.

Let's just keep it cool.

Okay, you can send stuff, as
long as it's not a stamp.

Okay, sweet.
[ clicks ]

you can send hard, cold cash,
bonds, ferrari keys.

Tell gary "thanks."

thanks, gary.
[ laughs ]

gary, you're the man.
I hope you're watching.

And just so you know --

anyone, you can send stamps
anytime you want.

Dave: Do you want me to
make the ringing sound?

[ imitates ringing ]

[ computer ringing ]

[ imitates ringing ]

[ ringing continues ]

[ beep ]

hey, cesar, what's going
on, buddy? How are ya?

Doing great, dave.
How's everything going?

Not too bad. Not too bad.
How's the camaro?

Camaro's doing great.

Put some miles on it,
really enjoying it.

Right on.
That thing's badass.

last time cesar and I
partnered up on a build,

we created one hell
of a bitchin' camaro.

[ engine revs ]

dave: This thing's like
a rocket. [ laughs ]

cesar: This
is unbelievable.

There we go. Go ahead.

God, it's just
so much power.

It's endless power.

Wow.

Cesar's a great guy,

and he is a really
big fan of muscle cars.

The camaro we did for him,

we upgraded the motor,
the paint job, the stance --

everything was really nice
on this car.

I cannot wait to see what cesar
has in store for me this time.

Well, hey, listen,
I had a note to call you.

I guess you got
another car in mind

that you want to work on?

Yeah. I purchased a 1965
mustang fastback,

and it just so happens
it's in your backyard.

No kidding.
So...

It's a beautiful car.
It's been restored in the past.

It's a k-code
but unfortunately,

it doesn't have any of
the k-code originality.

Motor, trims, all that's
been replaced on it.

So I figured, since
it's not original,

why not just take it
to another level?

Let's make it
a modern k-code.

There you go.
There you go.

You got some pretty cool
products out there.

So what are you thinking
about us doing with it?

You know, new chassis,

new 5.0 motor, suspension,
mmm.

Wheels, tires,
but yet keeping it

looking like it's a classic car
on the outside.

Maybe we'll upgrade the wheels,
but when you look inside,

I want it to look like
a '65 fastback.

Nice original car.

Right.
No clue what it can do,

just by looking at it.

That's cool.

I like that.
Just a nice, you know,

survivor-style restomod
is something really cool.

Cesar's never done a complete
build from ground up with us.

Now, the camaro was
a pretty close one to that,

but to be honest with you,

he likes stuff that
looks pretty original,

but, of course, improved,
stance and drivability

and of course, drive train.

Roadster shop actually does
a full bolt-on under-chassis.

Are you talking about just
doing, like, the k member,

the cross-member up front,
and a 4-link,

or what are you
thinking about doing?

That chassis
sounds perfect.

Rip everything out,
modernize everything,

and this way, it's just
like a brand-new car.

You know, I haven't seen
the mustang ones

installed in one of
the cars yet,

but I am familiar with
the camaro ones that they did,

and they're amazing.
The stance is k*ller.

So, full chassis, I'm stoked.
Perfect.

What transmission,
automatic or manual?

Let's stick with manual.

Okay.
Six-speed.

Let's go for that.
Six-speed. Got it.

A six-speed transmission
is a huge improvement

over a five-speed transmission
because, well, it's simple --

do the math.
You got one more gear.

On the engine, you want
to do a pull out,

or you want to do
a brand-new crate motor?

No, brand-new crate motor.
Brand new coyote.

Okay. Yeah, and I
think they do, like,

a street-rod-type
package with that,

with a new harness,
computer --

basically supposed to be a
plug-and-play kind of a deal.

Perfect.
Yep, absolutely.

Let's put all
the modern amenities --

gauges that look original,
ac that looks original.

Everything that caesar
wants to do to this car

is exactly what I would do
with my muscle car,

if I had this nice
of an original piece

that I was willing to give up
the original numbers matching.

This will have much-improved
horsepower, braking, handling,

and still look
like a classic mustang.

They got this really
cool rtx or rdx.

Yes.

It looks like
the original stuff,

but it all lights up with
all your digital information

and the senders, and yeah.

Perfect.
Very cool.

So really, the overview of
the car -- it's a restored car.

We're basically just gonna take
all of the run gear out of it

and put in new stuff
without repainting the car,

without doing
a bunch of stuff.

Just keep it looking like
the restored car that it is,

but improved drivetrain.

Yeah, pretty much
that's the scope.

You know, we'll keep it so
that we can take it anywhere

and it's unsuspecting.

Don't have to worry about
scratches and all that.

It'll be less conspicuous
right up until

you pull the trigger on
that thing with a coyote 5.0.

Car probably doesn't
weigh anything. [ laughs ]

yeah. It should be fast.

Everything's supposed to be
in really good shape --

metalwork, body,
everything looks like

it should be good
to go for it.

That's cool. It sounds like
the recipe is "easy does it."

yeah.
[ chuckles ]

I don't know how I always
do that. I'm, like, magical.

I always come up with
the name of the episode

when I'm talking to clients.

[ both laugh ]

is that what we
can name it?

"easy does it?"
"easy does it."

[ both laugh ]

awesome. Well, when's
the car gonna be here?

You should have it soon.
No big deal.

Perfect.
Easy does it.

[ laughing ] sounds good.

[ both laugh ]

right on, buddy. Good to
hear from you again.

Alright. It's
always a pleasure.

Take care.
Thanks. Bye.

"easy does it."

yes. I'd have to say
that's pretty genius.

the hot rod gods are
definitely

smiling down on us
at the shop here,

as the newest project
just showed up.

This unibody mustang is actually
getting a custom-built chassis,

new wheels, new brakes,
new engine, new transmission,

new steering column,
gauges, air conditioning.

Quite a bit.

And that is so much easier
to say than it is to do.

being this is a mustang,
one of the biggest changes

is this car
is originally a unibody.

We're going to be putting

a full frame
underneath this thing,

which makes this thing
incredibly rigid,

and is gonna handle amazing.

So, this chassis has
a ton of cool features.

I got an upper
and lower control arm,

gets rid of
the mustang's a-arms,

I got a rack and pinion
steering, which is amazing,

and the whole thing ties back
to a 4-link with a panhard bar

and a 9-inch ford rear end.

This thing is gonna rip.

alright, we got
the mustang here.

First order of business,
we're gonna get

the old suspension torn out,
we're gonna get the engine out,

and then we're gonna roll
the chassis underneath it,

we're gonna make some cuts.

I think it takes
a little bit of modification.

We're gonna get the chassis
fit up, and we're gonna get

the new engine in,
new transmission,

we're gonna make sure
everything fits.

We're gonna get
exhaust in the car.

Before we get
to all the fun stuff,

the new chassis
and the new engine,

we got to get rid
of all this old stuff.

Old engine mounts,
old suspension,

old gas tank, old exhaust,
it's all gonna come out.

So we're basically just gonna

disassemble
the bottom of this car

and get it prepped
for the new chassis.

[ tool whirs ]

gotta come forward
just a hair, lane.

Might not be able to now.
Might have to go up and look.

So, this car is
a unibody car already,

and basically,
what this chassis does

is it basically wraps around the
big structure of the unibody.

There you go.

How are you looking? You
think we can go down there?

Seems to be. I've got
these bushings in the back

that I haven't made up to,

and I seem to be
pretty damn close to them.

Do you want me to try and put a
little more weight on it, or...?

What are you talking about?
Are you hung up on the front?

You know, this car
never had a chassis.

And to get this
to fit just right,

it's gonna take
a little back and forth.

Well, the front --
the chassis looks like

they're taking weight or bending
a little, know what I mean?

It's not rough.
I see you wiggling it.

[ thud ]
[ grunts ]

you okay there, lane?

kevin: We're in
the middle of mocking up

a brand new chassis
for a 1965 mustang.

First step is to
get everything tore down

and get the chassis
under the car.

Gotta come forward
just a hair, lane.

In spite of the name,
nothing's really bolt-on.

Do you want me to try and put a
little more weight on it, or...?

What are you talking about?
Are you hung up on the front?

It's not rough.
I see you wiggling it.

[ thud ]
[ grunts ]

a loud crash like that can
only mean one of two things --

and one is not good.

Lane: Thought we were
just a little off,

so I tugged on it, and
it settled. [ chuckles ]

next time, when
the car settles, lane,

can you just let us know
that you're okay?

Yeah, we can keep
coming down, we need to --

well, we need to
go forward.

So this chassis's actually gonna
wrap around the front unibody,

and it's gonna roll
down the rail,

and it's gonna bolt into
the old leaf spring mounts,

and it's gonna
roll across the back

and then bolt into the trunk.

You still looking good, lane?
Yep.

That's about where
we need to be, yep.

[ clicks ]

yeah, let's
spread it out.

With everybody accounted for
on the assembly side,

the next step we need to do

is stuff this massive coyote
into this tiny engine bay.

so, we got the body
mounted, mated,

however you want to word it,
to the new chassis.

Now we're getting ready
to slam the engine in.

Not only horsepower-wise,
but size-wise,

this coyote engine is way bigger
than the one that was in there.

Let me know
what I need to do.

Pull it toward
the box a little.

Just 'cause of,
the angles get longer, you know?

Let it go.

To get in there, we're have to
tilt the [bleep] out of it.

You okay?
So far.

You can go a little
more, still.

Kevin:
We're pulling out a 289 --

which was a great engine
for its time --

but we're gonna put in
this massive coyote 5.0.

It's really gonna
pack some power.

What we're doing on this is
just, like, a super sleeper.

So it don't look --
when you open the hood,

it just looks like
just a normal engine.

Go down a little move.

[ click ]
right there.

I'm a big fan of a very
stock-looking vehicle

from the outside,
but whenever I get behind it

and he gets on it,
and then you know.

Okay.

In just a hair.

Everything seems to be lining up
with the engine mounts,

but I'm skeptical if there's
room for any wires or headers.

It fits!

Putting a coyote 5.0
in this particular car

is like putting five pounds
of crap in a two-pound bag.

What's up, dudes?

How's this old pony car coming?

It's going pretty good.
Oh, we got a new engine.

Dave: Holy crap,
that's a lot of wires.

It's a lot of engine.

Dave: The only thing these
two engines have in common

is there's 8 cylinders, but
the 5.0 is a much bigger motor,

overall dimensions,
than any 289 ever built.

What are you doing
there, buddy?

So, this side
of the engine,

they wanted to have
the ecm up front,

on the passenger side.

It's a ford thing, bro.

It's like,
distributor's in the front,

wiring's in the front.

Dave: Why are they trying to
put everything in the front?

Don't know.
So basically,

we're just stretching
everything out

to have the ecm inside and
come back through

firewall on
the passenger side

instead of coming
out the front.

So you only have to
re-loom this side?

Hopefully.
Hopefully.

The way that it's looking
right now, yeah.

My guys have been
challenged with

a lot of different engine swaps,

but this 5.0 going into
this small of mustang

is gonna be a huge one,

but they're up
for the challenge.

Okay, so -- [clears throat]

the spec chassis from
roadster shop just went in.

No problems?
Yeah, it went pretty good.

There's a little bit of tunnel
modification we had to do.

Uh-huh.
It hugs tight.

There's no
side-to-side movement,

front-to-back, it just goes.

Well, it only makes sense,
'cause by the time

you update the front
suspension on a mustang

and then you update the rear
suspension on a mustang,

and you put this, you might as
well have just bought a chassis.

Yeah. And it
bolts right in.

And it bolts right in,
and it probably makes this car


it ever thought about being.

You got big brakes, you got a
big motor, modern transmission.

Rack and pinions already in.

You got big sway bars
front and rear.

I mean, you couldn't ask
for anything better.

This car was actually
a really good start.

Like, not finding any rust.
It's a very clean mustang.

Hmm. Nice. Well, that's good.

Yeah.
Cesar will like that.

Yeah, it was clean.

Do we have to build
the headers for this,

or did they send
something that goes with

this chassis and this
car and that engine?

The headers that are
coming should go right on,

from what I've been told.

Good.
Sweet.

Sure, kev. I can tell you
right now, with all certainty,

not everything
is always a guarantee,

and I'm pretty sure
you're wrong.

Kevin: What we're doing in
this stage is we're just

putting everything together,

making sure everything
jives where it is,

and then we're gonna go ahead
and split everything apart

and powder everything,

paint everything that needs
to be painted.

We'll probably just end up
doing this firewall section.

Dave: Matte black again?
Matte black again.

Just make it, like,
a nice stock sleeper.

Yep.

The only way that
this could be any better

is if this was an ls, it
would have fit a lot nicer.

I would agree.
That's a big engine.

It is a big engine.
It's a lot of --

there's a lot of
camshafts in this.

Too many camshafts.
Too many.

There's three too many
camshafts in this engine.

One, two, three, four.
I can do the math.

[ laughing ]

I was just trying to come up
with something witty.

I can do math,
though.

Alright. Cool.

Well, you get all four
of those cams camming.

Good job, guys.

Looks good.
Thanks.

The headers have just arrived,

and I highly doubt they're
just gonna slip right in.

[ metal clinking ]

justin: We're just mocking it up

so we can make our adjustments
to the chassis,

so we can move forward
with our exhaust out the back.

The coyote engine itself,
being 4-cam overhead,

is huge compared to
the 289 we took out.

Just tight.
Lot of clearance.

this is a tight fit.

These headers, they need a
little bit more room to breathe.

When these things get hot,
they expand,

and we just need
a little bit more,

so the guys are gonna do
what they do best,

and they're gonna make
some more room for them.

I'm gonna cut this ear back
on the block a little bit,

get it level at the bell
housing, give us a little room.

Then I'll come over here,
and you can see my marks.

I'm gonna trim out the frame.

These stainless headers
like to grow when they get hot,

so we'll just trim it out

to give us a little more room
and go on from there.

[ tool buzzing ]

kevin: The structural integrity
of this frame

in this car put together is way
stronger than it's ever been.

Making a few trims
and a few cuts right here,

it's not gonna hurt anything.

I know what you
may be thinking --

cutting the chassis
may not be the best option.

Well, guess what?
It's the only option.

We're just trimming
a little bit. We'll be fine.

[ tool buzzes ]

[ tool whirs ]

first priority is to
make sure this car handles

and is safe for the customer.

The headers, we got
clearance now.

We shaved off the frame.

Got plenty of room for
these to heat and expand.

And now we'll move on,
get some flanging on here

and move on to building
the rest of the exhaust.

Dave: Before we get to
the exhaust on this one,

I got a little field trip
for the guys.

Oh, and by the way, kevin --

those headers did not
just go right in.

So, with 100 percent certainty
that you were 100 percent wrong,

I'm 100 percent certain.

eventually, our plan is
to have a dyno in-house,

but until then, we really need
to brush up on our tuning.

We need to tune in
on our tuning capabilities.

What better way to do
that than literally,

send the guys
to tuning school?

Alex: Hey.
Justin: Oh, hell yes.

You want to hop in there?
Colin: Yeah.

How are we, center-wise?

You're good. Your neutral,
foot off the brake, right?

Yep.

Remember, it gets
close up here.

It's gonna roll
in a little.

We've set up a time
for all of our guys

to go and take some classes
on how to tune these cars

to the best of their ability
into the peak of performance.

So, we're gonna
strap it down right now.

These are all nice and tight,
so it doesn't move anywhere.

I'm gonna get a baseline on it,
see if it makes any power stock.

Maybe our instructor
will shed some light

on how to make
some actual power.

Yes, stay tuned.

No pun intended, right?

eventually, we're gonna get
a dyno at the shop here,

but we need to make sure our
guys are tuned in on the tunes.

That means knowing the software
and how to program it.

I really do hope they're
on their best behavior

lane: I ain't doing [bleep].

Alright, so we got
the car strapped down.

Ready to rock and roll, right?

Yep.
Everybody look good?

Everything looks good.
Connections are good in there?

Who's betting?




Not giving chevy
enough credit, man.

Yeah.
Oh, that's tough.

Well, we haven't
done anything yet.

That's true, yeah.




That was the number
I was gonna pick.

One dollar.
[ laughing ]

we'll find out.
Let's find out.

So what we're doing is,
we're bringing the tempest

that we had just
finished building.

We're gonna get it here,
we're gonna get it

strapped on the dyno,

and we're gonna see what
kind of numbers it puts down

with our baseline tune before
we go and make any changes.

[ engine revs ]

[ revving stops ]

alright, guys, so we got
our baseline numbers here.

Looks like we made
about 393 horsepower

and 384 pound for the torque,


and 384 foot-pounds of torque

was right at 4,400-4,500 rpm.

So did I win, since I didn't
go over on numbers like lane?

Yeah, it looks like you won.
What do you win?

Yeah, what do I win?
What's he get?

I got a half-eaten
jolly rancher.

Oh, yes!

What's important, what we
really want to focus on,

is looking at air/fuel
ratio, spark advance.

Where we could
pick up a lot of power

is probably the airfield ratio.

You're gonna show us
how to adjust that?

Right.
To maintain optimal power?

Absolutely.

We're about 11-5, 11-4,
throughout the entire pull,

which is more so
where you'd want to be

on a boosted
application, really,

so I think that's where
we're gonna focus on heavily.

Having the ability
to tune and diagnose problems

with any of these
computer programs

will be priceless to us.

Alex: It's all about
controlling the variables

and doing one thing at a time
to get to our desired result.

So, tuning a car
nowadays -- pfft --

is way different than
we used to tune a car.

Obviously, you know,

there was jetting,
there was carburetor size,

there was a myriad of different
things that you could do.

Nowadays, everything that we do,

for the most part,
is computer-controlled.

We're gonna need to make some
adjustments to the mass airflow.

Alright? So our
wide-open throttle range

started right at
about 6,800 hertz,

ended right around


So we know that's the range
where we need to modify

to get it where
we want it to be.

Kevin: The reason for sending
these guys to tuning school

is a couple of reasons --
knowledge is power,

and I want to be able to
tune these cars in-house.

I no longer want to take
them out of the shop.

I want to be able to
do it all in-house.

More control we have.

Alex: So now, as you can see,
our numbers are now blue,

which indicates that
those values are smaller.

So we're telling the ecu
that it's flowing less air,

so because we're telling it
it's flowing less air,

what's that gonna give us?

Justin: It's gonna give
us a leaner mixture.

A leaner mixture, correct.

Basically, to get more
horsepower,

an engine is an air pump, and
the best thing you want to do

is make it as efficient
as possible.

If you make it
volumetrically efficient,

that's how you make more power.

Alex: Alright, so we gotta save.

Now we can go load it to the car
and go do another pull.

We've looked at
the data we have.

We know there's a little bit
of room for improvement,

so now what we're gonna do
is take that improvement,

we're gonna put it on
the computer.

From the computer, we're gonna
download that into the car.

We'll put it back on the dyno
and see where we're at.

Alex:
Go ahead and fire it up, colin.

[ engine starts ]

[ engine revs ]

[ revving stops ]

looked pretty good,
based on what I can see.

That's quite
an improvement.

Justin: Yeah. All
the way to 7,500.

Yeah.

Yeah, we were around
just under 400, yeah?

Looks like we've made
around 450-460?

Somewhere around 460?
That's what I saw.

Yeah, 459 with correction.

Mission accomplished.
They got every bit of horsepower

out of this engine
that they can.

Alex: So, this was where
we were, the red.

This is where we are.

Lane: Better
than yesterday.

And this is gonna come
in super handy

when we get our dyno
at our shop.

That's way badass.

Happy to help you guys out,
now and in the future.

Did they get diplomas,
or did I just...

Did I just send them
to lunch for a full day?

Dave: The guys had a great time
over in class with hp tuners.

Now it's time to get
them back to the shop

and get this one running.

I think the trick this time
is gonna be some oval tubing.

We'll start off round
coming out of the headers,

go into cats.

I think we'll probably
transition into the oval,

try to do the crossover an oval.

The oval will gain us
a little bit more clearance --

it is pretty tight in here
with the driveshaft --

and then transition
back into round.

Mufflers over the rear end,
ignore the gas tank exists,

and go out the rear end.

I don't think there's anything
special with the tips,

just send them out the rear
valance like they would.

Stock-ish.

But...Yeah.

Exhaust.

Oval tubing has
a lot of great uses,

and one of the particular ones
that I remember the most

was actually back in
the nascar days

when I was doing
ceramic coatings.

This allowed you to have
a lot more ground clearance,

but have a big diameter tube,

but not standing four inches
off the ground.

And it looks good.

First two pieces are...
[ torch ignites ]

ready-ish.

Tacking them together and then
continue on with the cats.

dave: So what jordan's doing
is actually using this flat pipe

to make sure we still have
ground clearance,

but we still have
the three inches of I.D.

That we need
for the exhaust system.

Jordan: Got the little,
baby mufflers in there.

Got up over the axle,
just barely.

Got the last couple bends
I'm trying to map out,

and then it'll be basically
a straight shot out the back.

So, up here you can get an idea
of what it's gonna look like.

Yeah, there's not really
a lot of room to play in here,

so the obstacles
kind of dictate the path.

Yeah, basically got this
mapped out so it's gonna --

should fit nice.

perf...Ect-ish.

Dave: Jordan, once again,
has done a great job

of putting this exhaust
in every small nook and cranny

and making it fit perfect.

Now that everything fits,
it's time to pull it back out

and get everything prepped
and painted.

Oh, we're just breaking this
mustang completely apart.

Get it sent out for powder, and
then we'll put it back together.

Ready?
Yep, man.

Have at it.

If it falls on the ground,
not my fault.

Transmission and engine
have to come out separately.

It's a tight fit.

tr*nny comes out first,
then we'll do the engine.

Yeah, you have to,
actually, like,

pull this back
and then down.

Just because it fits
so perfectly

does not mean that taking this
apart is gonna go perfectly.

Slow going, it's gonna
tilt one way or the other,

that's okay.
When it comes out.

[ exhales heavily ]

it's gonna go up
a little with your jack.

Watch your leg, there.

There it is.
Ding ding.

Yep.

The whole purpose
for mock-up on this car

is just to make sure
everything fits seamlessly.

We have headers from a company.

We have an engine
from a company.

We have all of these
different companies

and all these different parts

that we're trying
to merge on one car,

and we just want to make sure
that all this stuff

gets fitted perfect
before we make it all pretty.

Okay, you ready?
Ehhh, no, but whatever.

Kinda just want
to go home.

[ cranking ]

can't go home
till this is out.

Are we clear-clear?

Yeah. Oh, yeah. We're
looking really good,

we can lower the car
if you want.

No, we can't.

If we lower the car we're
gonna set the car right down

on the legs of
the cherry picker.

Think we're there.

Now with all
the heavy lifting done,

it's time for me
to get down on the floor

and help them with
some of the details.

I'm gonna go ahead
and get this rear end

removed out of the car.

Keep going, keep going,
keep going, keep going,

keep going, keep going,
keep going, keep going,

keep going, keep going,
keep going, keep going...

Do you think he wants
us to keep going?

...Keep going, keep going,
keep going, keep going,

keep going. Keep going.

Keep going, keep going, keep...

You just got to make
things easy to follow.

...Going. Keep going.
Keep going.

Keep going. Good. Right there.

Well, my work here is done.

Good thing kev-dog
was here to help.

Kevin: Hell yeah.

So now we've got
everything mocked up,

we're gonna go ahead
and split these two back apart.

When we're taking these apart,
it is so important

that we pay
very, very close attention

and make sure
everything gets unbolted.

If we don't, we could pull
the body off the lift,

we could lift the frame
up off the jack stands,

and then it could drop
and hurt somebody.

This is a very, very,
very delicate time,

and we just need to make sure
everyone's paying attention.

Justin: You ready, colin?

Uhhh.

Whoo.

Hey, I'm touching on my
driver's side back here,

but not my passenger.

Okay, there's passenger,

right there.
[ clank ]

well, these are
a unibody car,

so this chassis ties everything
together, right, lane?

Ehh, at the end of the day,
it's still a ford.

It's gonna be
a happy ford.

[ both laugh ]

dave:
Now that all the modifications
have been complete,

we've got the car tore down,
now it's time to send it over

to get the engine bay body
worked and painted,

and a couple of touch-ups
in the floor and the wheel tubs,

and powder-coat that chassis,

and then we're going
back together.

when you modify these cars,

sometimes there's a lot more
holes left over than you need.

[ hammering ]

so, we really just want to
clean up the engine bay.

There's a lot of holes
that we don't need,

and so we're just gonna
weld them all up,

shave them all off,

and then just have the body guys
redo the inside in here.

Clean out the engine,
make it look way nicer, so...

Should be a
quick, easy pass,

so we'll just knock it out quick
and get it back over to body.

Dave: It's important for us
to shave off all of the holes

that are not gonna be used

and only keep the ones
that you're gonna use.

we don't build a lot of
style of resto-customs

like this at the shop,

but to see how this
one's coming together

and to know that it's going
to go to a great home,

and caesar's gonna drive
the wheels off of it --

I'm proud to put
the kindig-it design name on it.

[ tool whirs ]

[ hammering ]

the body guys will
take over from here

and make sure every square inch
is perfectly coated.

spraying the inside of the
engine bay on cesar's mustang

is a perfect way to
make it look original, clean,

without going overboard.

And once all of this
paint's cured,

it's ready to go back together,

and "easy does it"
finally has an end in sight.

dave:
Our upgrade to this beautiful


is on its final stretch.

Disassembled, and all
of the parts

have gone out for coating,

and now it's all
back for reassembly.

Colin: This should be
pretty simple now.

I mean, we made all the
modifications we needed to

when we had it
all together the first time,

so it should be relatively
simple going back together.

It may just seem like all
we're doing with this car

is mocking it up,

taking it apart,
putting it together,

but there's so many
details involved in this,

and the devil's in the details.

Justin: So, we got the body
mounted to the new chassis.

That thing went
super quick.

We got all
the suspension put in.

Most of our
fuel lines are run.

Now we're getting ready
to slam the engine in,

and hopefully it keeps going

just as smooth
as everything else,

and we'll have this thing
up and ripping pretty quick.

So this car is going
to kind of be --

I wouldn't say
the ultimate sleeper,

but it definitely is a sleeper

it fits!

If it fits, it ships.

This car has


never had that.

This car has state-of-the-art

suspension and braking
and steering,

and it's all packaged
in this wimpy mustang body.

No one's ever gonna know.

Yeah, we got everything
put in. It went pretty good.

It's a tight fit,
if you look in here,

compared to what
was in here.

All we really
have left is

I just got this
intake back from paint.

We're gonna put it on,
button up a couple things,

and we're gonna turn the key
and see what happens.

So, the first test-fire
is very important for us.

I'm not nervous,
but we definitely have

better luck with ls engines.
We're more familiar with them,

if you'd say, we do
a lot more of those.

This coyote swap's gonna be
something new for us.

Not brand new, but newer,
not as familiar.

We haven't done one in a while,
so we'll see how it goes.

It's a huge milestone
for the guys

to hear the engine running.

You can make sure
there's no exhaust leaks.

We can make sure the engine
actually working correctly,

there's oil pressure,
and all the things.

But it's just one of those
things, after all of this work

that we've done,
the engine fires up --

that means the wiring's right,
the plumbing's right,

everything seems to be
right in our world,

at least for
the first 30 seconds.

It's gonna be interesting,
that's for sure.

Hopefully this thing'll
make some noise --

and good noise,
not bad noise.

[ chuckles ]

and then we can go do some
donuts in the parking lot.

That'd be awesome.

Alright, colin. Let's
see what it does.

I'll keep an eye on leaks.
Okay.

Let me know if we got oil
pressure. It should be charging.

Let's check all that out. Let me
know, and I'll let you know

if I see anything and we've
got to shut her down.

Sounds good.

[ ignition clicks ]

[ engine turns over ]

wow.
Got oil pressure.

That was quick.
Battery's charging.

Let's see what
it sounds like.

[ engine revs ]

cool.

Kevin: The car's been together
and apart about five times now,

but today's a real big test
of all our hard work.

The car's on the dyno, and we're
gonna see how she performs.

justin: We've got the new
gen 3 coyote swap done in here.

This engine's rated
about 460 horsepower.

We got it down here, we've got
some tuning done on it.

It drives real well. Our
air/fuel's looking really good.

We're ready to start making
a couple of power runs

to see where we sit.

[ engine turns on ]

[ engine revs ]

[ engine roars ]

[ revving stops ]

we're not only testing out
this mustang's engine,

we are also testing out
monk's knowledge,

to see how much he learned.

So, we ran it pretty good there.

We're just looking
at the numbers

and put a baseline
power pull down,

and then we'll make
another run.

Ready?

[ engine turns on ]

[ engine revs ]

[ engine roars ]

[ revving stops ]

he definitely knows how to
put his foot in the throttle,

but I don't know what
he learned at tuning school.

I haven't seen some tuning
school diploma or anything.

So, on this last one,

we're gonna run this
from 2,000 to 5,500.

This is more
checking our torque.

I'd like to see
our torque curve.

We're gonna be looking
at our air/fuel ratio,

make sure all that's good.

He's not only faking it now
and using big words,

he actually knows
that they mean.

Good job, monk.

[ engine starts ]

[ engine revs ]

[ engine roars ]

I think we've k*lled two birds
with one stone here --

we've improved
the performance of this engine,

[chuckles] and our guys
can dyno these cars ourselves.

Winning.

Yeah, it looks like a really
good, good, flat torque curve.

That run, we only
ran the car to 5,500 rpm,

and it's showing
about 416 horsepower,

which is excellent.

It's right where
I'd like to see it.

Kevin: This pony car has
hit all the marks so far,

but before it goes back to
cesar, we have one last test --

the dave kindig test-drive.

[ engine revs ]

[ tires squeal ]

kevin: This pony car has
hit all the marks so far,

but before it goes back to
cesar, we have one last test --

the dave kindig test-drive.

All of you may think
that's not a big deal,

but pretty much, dave breaks
everything he drives.

Do you feel like
a better person

'cause you haven't taken a
classic car and bastardized it?

Okay, time out,
real quick.

Yes, I feel like a better
person for doing that, but --

it may not look
crazy different, but it is.

See, I was really trying
to get away with, you know,

feeling really
good about myself,

that I kept something all
restored and perfectly stock,

oh no, we cut it up.
But we don't do that.

Yeah, we cut it up.
[ laughs ]

dave: When this car first came
in, it had the right wheels,

it had the right stance, and the
right engine for a restored car.

Well. [ chuckles ] we don't
like those that much.

We carefully sculpted
the bottom of the car

to receive this new chassis.

New rear end,
new front suspension,

new brakes, and, of course,

that much-improved


and transmission.

I really love what's
happened with this car.

I mean, I like
that body style.

It is one of my very
favorites of the mustang,

but when you take it
and you improve the stance,

you increase
the size of the wheels,

obviously, the drivability.

With this new chassis,
it's made the stance

exactly where
it needs to be.

It's gonna drive
so much better.

It's gonna stop
so much better.

And really, those wheels
just kind of set it off.

And they're actually
the murdoch 4s,

which have a lot of
the same looks as, like,

a vintage shelby wheel.
Totally.

And with the 3-bar knockoff,

I think the fitment
looks k*ller.

The black powder coat with the
polished is a really nice touch,

and of course,
the outside of the car

just kind of
brings it all together.

Let's take a close look.

Yeah, so check this out.

This install
turned out so good,

it looks like it
almost came this way.

Ah, man, that is
a charming install.

I mean --
look at this.

The nice, satin black the guys
went through and just redid.

Guys in the body shop
did a fantastic job

doing a satin black,
which is really

kind of correct
for the era.

And the fomoco overflow bag.

Pretty cool touch.
Yep.

We got the washer bottle
hanging still, and it works.

It's all good.
That's awesome.

I mean, we didn't make
too many things.

We just kind of kept
it really clean, really sano.

It was incredibly tight.

It goes fast, it stops good,
and it has air conditioning,

and it's cherry-red.
Chick magnet.

I think the only thing
left to do is

take this thing
out on the ranch,

since it is a pony car now.

[ neighs ]
[ laughs ]

how many times should we
go around the block?

[ stamps foot twice ]
two? That's two.

I'm driving.

Is that what mr. Ed does?
That's mr. Ed.

Dave: My favorite touch is
the high-horsepower coyote 5.0

backed with a six-speed
transmission.

This really ends up
the whole package,

exactly how it should be
when it leaves kindig-it design.

[ engine starts ]

[ engine revs ]

this car just
feels really cool,

'cause it almost feels like
we didn't do anything,

but this engine feels like
we did everything --

and the suspension.

Oh, I know. It's got
the right stance,

it's got all the right
parts underneath.

This car is
super rigid now.

I think cesar's gonna have
a blast with this car.

Feel how tight
the steering is now?

We got rid of all
that junky, old gearbox.

It's all
rack and pinion now,

right.

It just feels really
good. Sounds k*ller.

You know, since it's not all
fancy on the outside,

it's kind of
like a sleeper.

It's a little bit
of a sleeper, yep.

So, you pull up
at somebody's --

oh, you just got a
junky mustang with a 289,

and next thing you know,
you're blowing their doors off.

Right.

[ engine revs ]

nice.
And, you know,

if you don't put your foot
all the way down and stuff...

You could just drive it
like a normal car.

...It's perfectly normal.

But, if you're
in a hurry, and --

[ engine revs ]

you have all the performance,
you have all of the technology

that we put into
all of our builds,

we just didn't go as far

with the fit and finish
outside the car.

Plain and simple,
you know?

I mean, look at the gauges.

These actually look
like the originals.

Yeah, yeah.
Rtx? Is that what they are?

So, they're designed
exactly like it.

See all the green lights?
That's the tack on the outside.

It's so cool.
That is trick.

Everything looks factory.
They're all digital gauges.

I mean, it's just
a great package to have.

[ engine revs ]

dave: You know, it's been
a little while since

we've played around
with a car this stock,

but all in all, this project
has been a big challenge,

it's been a lot of fun,

and I'm really happy
to see it go back to cesar,

'cause I know how much
he enjoys his cars.

kevin: So, my favorite part
about this mustang

is just its classic looks --

they don't make cars
like this anymore.

The body's not changed,
it's not overly customized,

but this thing will run
with the best of them.

So we can send this thing
out into the hills

and it can run with
the wild mustangs

just like it was born to do.

Producer: Uh-huh.
No?

[ engine revs ]

[ tires squeal ]

dave: [ laughing ]

oh, that never
gets old.

[ laughs ]