15x18 - 1965 Barracuda - Part 1

[bunniefuu]

In 60s America, muscle cars ruled the land.
Some didn't rule as much as others though.

You can't really hide
this car can you? Look

at it, this car sort of
got left behind and

for that sake I feel really sorry for it.
But add a willing mechanic with a 5.7 litre

hemi engine. Bags more power. And we can
deliver a turnkey classic for top money.

There's a long road ahead.
Let's get the kettle on.

Okay put the air guitar
down, put it down. Intent

was definitely to bring
the Barracuda back to life.

Acceleration, acceleration,
acceleration. But

sometimes builds take
on a life of their own

too. So we need to go
for something completely

different. Now I'm not
making any excuses but a

work on a 60s classic can lead to, well, a
tribute car with just a hint of prominence.

So we're building a race car.
We're gonna build a drag car.

And we might possibly even have a go at
three-time Top Fuel NHR Raid Champion.

Andro, how are you?
What's happening? It

could happen. I'm
absolutely sh** in my pants.

That's all I'm saying. Now where were we?

And it's very exciting
because he's done a deal

on a 2014 Dodge Charger
engine. Now this engine

is a great big American
V8. It's actually a 5.7

litre hemi. He said go
and find a car that we

can sink it in. I've
been chasing a car that

belongs to a guy that's
serving in the American

military. He's abroad at the moment and he
said that he'll sell me his car for cheap

because he just wants
to get rid of it. And this

car seems like it could
be the perfect candidate.

It's a 1965 Plymouth
Barracuda. Oh, I can hear

you already saying
sorry. And the reason is,

is because this Barracuda hasn't got the
original engine anyway. And if it even did

have the original engine,
it wouldn't be that good

because it was underpowered,
slow and dodgery.

We can change this car's fortune.

There are a lot of
people out there that want

all the feel and all
the nostalgia of a good

collectible classic
car, but they just don't

want the hassle that
goes along with it. They

don't want to be stuck on the side of the
motorway broken down. What they want

is a nostalgic car
that has a turnkey feel.

Right, this is the
street. He said he's left

the keys under letterbox
A for me. There they

are. And you can't really
hide this car, can you?

Look at it. Just 5,000
is the asking price for

this piece of sixties
automotive memorabilia.

And that's non-original
paint. I can tell

you that because that
looks like a tangerine

nightmare to me. Wow. Instantly, I can tell
you this car has got some severe problems.

It's got damage down the rear. You can
see this and that. The bumper is all there

and it's in one piece.
I'm going to get in the

trunk. The seats fold
down so you've got a nice

long area inside. It's got a spare wheel.
It's got the floor, which is the weak area.

Right, I need to check
down underneath this car.

Somebody's rolled over
a Boulder and they've

damaged the underneath
of the spare wheel well

and rust has got through
to it. So that's going

to have to be fixed. The trim is all there.
It's all in one piece. This stuff is really

difficult to find. This
rear glass has got to be

worth a thousand dollars.
Look at the curvature

on that rear glass.
Inside, a little bit of

investigation into the
original color. It looks

like it was gold. What
have we got in here?

Wow. This is what 1965
feels like. You know,

there's some good
stuff immediately. Things

like the trim. It's all
there. All the knobs,

all the dials, all the buttons, even
the original dashboard. But does it run?

Wow. Yes, it does.
Actually sounds really

good, doesn't it? It's
got a very, very nice.

engine bay. Nice and
open, very straight. But

that is one sorry looking
V8 engine. Clearly

it's got problems
because I've just noticed

that. And it's got a
nice fresh leak, which is

fantastic. Okay, so
this could be the perfect

candidate, couldn't it?
If we've got to change

the engine and we've got to put in that
5.7 litre, I reckon it'd be fine. Let's see

what it drives like, shall we? Ah, look at
the smoke coming up behind me. This engine

feels like it's just come out of retirement
and I've shaken it back into life. It feels

really, really tired.
It's not really rattling,

it's not groaning,
it's not moaning at

me. This car is, as I say, got really good
bones. It's the perfect car to do a big

project like the project I
want to set out because

it drives really well.
It's not bad at all.

Now history will tell
you the Barracuda never

got the attention it
deserved. That's because

it came out exactly
the same time as the

Mustang. The Mustang
outsold this car, you ready?

Nine to one. Although
this car was just three

dollars cheaper than a
Mustang at two thousand six

hundred and thirty five
dollars, nobody really

loved the Plymouth
Barracuda as much as they

love the Mustang. And
that's why this car got

left behind. And for
that sake, I feel really

sorry for it. Right, so
it's decision time for

me. What do I do?
Do I drive it back to the

driveway, put the keys
in the letterbox and walk

away? Or do I drive it
back to the workshop and

give this car the glory
it deserves? You know,

it is a tough one, but
I know that if we get

this car into the
workshop and do it justice,

do the right things,
give it a new heart,

this car will be
amazing at the end. This

would be a car that
anyone would want to own.

So the decision's made.
This car is coming back with me.

You've got a 65
Barracuda. This is a cool

car. In fact, even you
look cool in this car.

You asked me to find you the perfect donor
car for all that stuff that you bought.

Well, this is it. You
want to put the Hemi

in a 65 Barracuda.
This car is screaming out

to have a new power
plant. And that's why

you're going to put
that Hemi inside it. It's

perfect car for it. I
guess when Plymouth

launched the car in 64,
they themselves admitted

that the engine was absolutely rubbish.
You did measure it though, right?

Yeah. I went like that.
And then I looked at

that and I thought
it's just going to slide

straight in. Well, why
do you need to bring

the engine over? We
know that that is going to

fit inside here. What's
that? 26 inches. Okay.

29. That's going to be
29 inches. That's 28.

Right. See, I told you it will fit in.
It's just a bit of a shoe horn.

Let's look past that for a minute because
that's going to be weeks of fabrication.

Well, we ain't got weeks, but yeah, I
can see there's quite a bit of work there.

It's that amazing rear glass.
I reckon that if we were to break that,

that would be really
difficult to replace and

expensive. Yeah.
With all that fabrication,

cutting, welding, I think is going to
be a good idea to take all the glass out,

stick it somewhere safe.
This car's party piece

must have been this
boot. Look at the size

of it. This car, when it
was launched in their

advertising, they said
with the seats folded down,

you get seven foot of
carpeted do anything space.

What a time to be alive.
What time to be alive.

Do you know what? We
definitely have to do the

suspension. Well, we've
got a big power plant.

We're going to need to
sort out the suspension,

the steering, the
brakes. It's got to be really

safe. I mean, that is
a lot of power in that

Hemi. Of course. And
we're going to change

the color. We are going
to change the color.

And because you're
doing all this fabrication,

all this work, I think it's only fair
that I'll let you choose the color.

Yeah, leave that with me. Now we've got a
clear mission statement. From the outside,

you want it to still look
like a 65 Barracuda,

but on the inside, it's
going to have a modern

engine, modern handling,
modern suspension and

steering. It's basically a
wolf in sheep's clothing.

Correct. And we will shift this car's
marketplace. We'll take it from a fusty market

and we'll put it into a marketplace that's
ripe at the moment. Just to get there,

there's a long road
ahead. You really have

got your work cut out.
Best get the kettle on.

We have never, ever
tried anything like this

before, but markets change
and we have to change

as well because Mike is absolutely right.
The market for this type of car is really,

really ripe and clients are willing to pay
a premium for a proper bespoke one-off.

So that's what we got to make.

Lucky.

Now I can be a little bit clumsy.
So before I do any metal work on this car,

I'm going to take out this
massive and expensive

piece of glass that
will keep Mike happy.

The rubbers are
cracked and a little bit

frayed, so I'm going to
throw them away anyway.

So I'm just going to use a glazing
knife and I'm going to cut them out.

You've got to be so careful
not to scratch the glass.

Ant, where are you
fella? Are you using that

seven foot of do
anything carpeted space?

It's pretty good.

How are you getting on?

Right.
I've loosened that chrome piece there.

Yeah.

Just take that off.

Yeah.

And grab some gloves.

Right. What are we going to do?
Take this out then.

Yeah. I'm going to pop it for you to lift.

Okay.

Well, that's the plan anyway.

I can't believe you're going to trust
me with the valuable piece of glass,

if I was to be honest with you.

You're the one paying
for it if it goes wrong.

I'm going to slightly pop this corner.

Yeah.

Just enough so you can
get your fingers underneath.

Okay. Yeah.

Got it?

Yeah.

You under?

I'm under.

Don't move.

I won't.

Oh, don't say that.

It's heavy. You know that, don't you?

It's a big bit of glass.

Well, in fact, it was
14.4 square foot of glass,

so that's why it's worth protecting.

Go on, lift it. Just check it's releasing.

Upside down.

Right. Do you need anything else from me?

No, I got this.

I've got a load of parts of sauce,
so I'm back out on the road.

Good luck.

Thanks.

I need to prepare the Barracuda for its
new drive line, suspension, and paint.

This requires me to remove not
only the engine and transmission,

but also every single piece of the car
that's bolted, screwed, or glued to the body.

This car was born in the 60s, and
back then, things were way simpler.

Nowadays, we have complicated
ECUs and loads of engine wiring,

but if I want to take this engine out,
I've just got to deal with a few issues.

The cooling system,
the prop shaft, drop the

manifolds, the fuel
line, the accelerator,

and a few other bits and pieces, and
it should all come apart relatively easy.

And if you've got Patience and
take your time, you can do it at home.

The engine's put up a bit of a
fight, but that's to be expected.

The key is to take your time, make
sure everything's disconnected,

and then this is what you're
rewarded with, this moment.

Before I do any work,
I just wanted to put the

engine in the hole, just
so I could visualize it.

Actually, the engine bay is quite big,
but I can see some obvious problems.

Now, the engine at the
moment sits too far forward.

I want to get as much
of it as possible behind

the front axle, so that
the car handles well.

That means cutting out the bulkhead.

There's obviously no space for a
gearbox, new transmission tunnel,

really tight for the headers.

Putting it back will also help, because the
sump at the moment is hitting the steering.

I need it to go behind so it lowers,

plus I reckon it's got to go down a
couple more inches so it clears the bonnet.

Before you cut a panel on
the car, check both sides.

Have a look on the inside.

Make sure you're not going
to cut anything that you're

going to need later, because
once it's cut, it's a problem.

This is the bit I love most
about working on cars,

especially doing one-off stuff.

You get to be aggressive with a grinder.

Ant is well on the way to transforming
our Barracuda with that big engine,

but when you've got a big
engine, you need big brakes.

Now, our car had those
little 13-inch wheels,

and we're not going to get a big disc
behind there and some stopping power.

Most people will go down
the resto mob route with

an aftermarket wheel, but
we don't want to do that.

We want to keep the look original
and save these original hubcaps.

So I've come to see a friend of mine called
Bob, and he reckons he can help me out.

The problem I've had all across
America is I can't find any company

that will sell me an off-the-shelf
wheel that will take an original hubcap.

We can customize the
wheel to fit your hubcap.

Nice man.

Now, can you help me out today?

Absolutely.

My son's going to show
you exactly how to do this.

See, you're not going to help me out today.

Well, my son will.

Yeah, exactly.

You're going to get Chris to do it.

Cheers, Bob.

Chris!

How you doing?

Not bad at all.

Just been speaking to your dad.

Yeah, he told me you're coming.

Oh, that's good.

Right, is this my center cap?

Yeah, so we're going
to basically drill and tap

this so we can put a
stud on it to hold that cap

so it looks like the original
wheel when we're done.

So when they come out the factory,
they would have had little lips on them,

and you can just clip this on, and
you know it's going to stay on there.

That's correct.

And if those lips aren't
there, you're going

to recreate those by
measuring and cutting.

Exactly, exactly.

All right, we're going to pull
it out of the machine here,

and we're going to go
over and build a wheel.

So why don't you go ahead
and grab your two 16-inch rims.

Oh, they're heavy.

Go ahead, throw that
up there in the machine.

Here we go.

Now that huge big press comes
down, presses it down, and stop.

Come on, Chris.

It's perfect.

Let's show it down the line here,

and we're going to go make it straight.

We're going to use this brass hammer,

just a little brute force.

We're going to try to
make it 15,000 to 20,000.

So that's the allowable tolerance
to get it true, 15,000 to 20,000?

Yes.

All right, this is the welding area.

This is the welder.

We're basically going to tack it
90 degrees across from each other.

That way the center doesn't get pulled.

But the moment of truth is whether
our 65 Plymouth Barracuda hubcap.

fits onto our 2017 handmade wheel.

How good is that?

Actually, I'm really pleased with that.

We've retained the originality,

but we've now got the space to put
much bigger brakes behind the wheel,

a much fatter and wider tire.

And I, for one, can't
wait to get these back to

the workshop and see
what Ant thinks of them.

Well, there you go.

Mike told me the rear
of this car was full of

filler, but I didn't
realize it was this bad.

No wonder it was cheap.

And I could just stay on the cheap theme

and skim this whole panel
with a load of new filler,

but that would be a bodge.

I need to investigate
exactly how far this filler goes,

so I know exactly how
much of this panel to replace,

which means mucky time.

All I'm doing at this stage is just
spot checking exactly where the filler is.

Panel's actually quite nice at the
top, and this is the problem area here.

In fact, in some places,
it's about half an inch thick.

You can see these little
marks here are the puller

marks from when they
tried to pull the panel out.

Also, there's puller marks here.

They've then covered all of that
bodge work with a whole skim of filler.

Now, the panel actually gets
quite good in this area here,

so I just need to keep that
and replace all of this bit.

Yeah, I'm after a rear wing.

Yeah, right hand side
for a 64 to a 66 Barracuda.

Okay, thank you.

Yeah, how much rust?

Is it straight?

I'll be right down.

I got really lucky and managed to
find the rear end of a 65 Barracuda,

and I got the guys to cut it
off exactly where I needed it.

What I need to do now is work
out where we're going to cut our car.

I'm not going to put a cut
line in this part of the panel yet.

I want to make sure I cut my new piece

so that they slot together
perfectly like a little puzzle.

I'm now going to transfer the
same lines onto my donor panel.

The only difference is,

I'm just going to leave a little bit
of extra tolerance on this panel.

Once you cut the car, the car is committed.

Keep the light.

Before I fit it on the car, I need
to prep it back to bare metal.

That way it's easier to weld.

All that prep work, now it's time to cut.

For this cut line in the wing, I'm
going to be as generous as possible.

I'm going to give myself a few inches
so that when I introduce the new panel,

I can do one cut together to
ensure that they butt up perfectly.

Now that the wing's off, I get to
investigate the inner structure of the car.

And in this case, it's really good news.

Now, sometimes when you have an impact,

it's the inner panels that
can get damaged as well.

But ours are pretty solid.

Plus, now there's this gaping hole,

it gives me the space to tackle
this area of damage as well.

The story of this car continues to unfold,

and this panel, much like the wing,
was also covered in a layer of filler.

And what it did was it hid
all these dinks and dents,

and even marks here where
somebody's used a puller to straighten it.

I'm going to save this panel, but I'm
going to do it the old-fashioned way.

With the paint removed,
I can see exactly where

I need to finesse the
defects out of the panel.

Using just the right amount
of force with a body hammer,

I hit the metal from
the inside of the panel,

whilst holding the flat Dolly against
the dented metal on the outside.

I need to continue
tapping on the dent until

it's pushed back into
its original flat surface.

I hit the small screw holes caused
previously by somebody using a puller,

by building up just a
tiny bit of weld in the hole.

To finish off the hole
repair, I just need to

hit the weld with a
sander to flatten it out.

This damaged metal is easier to cut out
and replace with a newly fabricated panel.

I just need to weld it in, and
then grind the weld smooth.

And this is the reason why I left
the extra bit of meat on that wing.

But when I introduce the panel,
make sure it all lines up nicely.

I can then draw the edge,
and that becomes my cut line,

so that the two butt
together absolutely perfectly.

To protect the metal of the
inner panel against rusting,

I first need to sand off
any surface rust, and

lay in a couple of coats
of bare metal primer.

Now I can weld the outer panel
without the worry of future corrosion.

It's been a lot of extra work,
but it's been well worth the effort.

Donated panel and no more filler.

I've still got a bit to do
before it goes off for paint,

but it makes me think, shouldn't
all dead cars donate their bodies?

After looking at the work needed
to bring the car up to scratch,

and what we could expect to sell it
for, well, the numbers stopped adding up.

Sometimes in a big build,
you have to make big decisions.

So what did we do?

Decided to push the car to the back of
the garage, and forgot about it for a bit.

Well, for 12 months, if we're honest.

Like fine wine, though, the
car market changes over time,

and this has led to a moment
of inspiration from yours truly.

Ta-da!

Remember this?

Yeah.

Well, I'm remember it.

We're going to change tact.

What?

I've got a much better idea.

Trust me, because what is the
most famous barracuda of all time?

I'd like to think this one has a chance.

Well, it will be one day, but
before this car, there was another.

It belonged to a
world-renowned racing driver.

He had a drag car that was really well
known, and his name is Richard Petty.

Do you know him?

Say yes.

Yes.

Right, so what you're saying is that
we're now building a car for this client,

this Richard Petty fellow?

Well, no, I'm pretty
sure he's already got one.

No, what we're going to do is we're going
to build a car with history and provenance.

Even if it's fake, it's
called a tribute car,

and it's a big market at the moment,
especially for something like this.

So we're building a race car.

We're going to build a drag car, huh?

We're building a drag car.

Yeah, it's going to be so,
look, we're so far into this,

whatever happens next is going to be easy.

But none of this is easy.

Building a race car is a
completely different problem.

How is it?

I mean, look, the car's
already stripped out.

You've got to put
minimal interior in the car.

We've got minimal bright work.

There's really nothing to do.

Well, we're going to have to
cut out loads to save weight.

Yeah, that's the angle grinder.

You love that.

All right, and then the occupants
are going to be quite valuable.

So we're going to
need to build a roll cage.

Yeah, some bending pipes, nothing to it.

Come on, I've got an answer for everything
you're going to throw at me here.

Yeah, but think about the engine.

You know, we've got this lovely
road going hemi, which is really fast.

But on a drag strip, it's
going to be a little bit weak.

OK, so what you're talking
about here is taking a

powerful hemi engine and
making it even more powerful.

Now, truthfully, does that
sound like work to you?

It sounds like joy to me.

OK, you got me there.

Look, Ann, I wouldn't attempt
any of this unless I had you,

because I know that
you're going to nail it.

You're going to pull it off.

You're trying to butter
me up now, aren't you?

Just a little bit, yeah.

Yeah, it's working.

I think I'll go and order some metal.

Now, listen, I promise I'll help as well.

Mike's kind of thrown
me with this curve ball.

I'm on the fence about building a drag car.

But what I am excited about is getting
stuck into some proper metal fabrication.

And actually, up front,
I'm pretty much there.

It's already set up for a hemi engine.

And then via a prop
shaft, it joins the rear

axle and, of course,
turns the rear wheels.

But in here, it gets a bit tricky.

Now, I've put a bit of
masking tape down the center.

This symbolizes a straight
line between the back

of the gearbox all the
way to the differential.

Now, at the moment, that straight line's
offset against the transmission tunnel,

which means a straight
prop isn't going to fit.

Now, before, Barracuda had a
two-piece prop with a joint in the middle.

And the problem with
that is that joint can vibrate.

And over time, especially at the
speeds we're doing, it's going to wobble.

It's called whipping.

Also, it has to be held
by a bearing carrier.

And the problem with that is there's just
one more bit that could probably go wrong.

So I want to fit a straight prop.

It's going to be lighter.

It's going to be less moving parts.

It's going to be safer.

Plus, it's going to take
the direct power from

the gearbox and stick
it straight into our axle.

But it does mean that this existing
transmission tunnel ain't going to work.

Which means I get to cut
something, which makes me happy.

Now, think about it.

Our prop shaft's going to be
spinning in this space here.

And it's spinning at
thousands of times a minute.

And my a*s is going to be right there.

So just as a precaution,
I'm going to first,

before doing anything
else, build a prop catcher.

This pipe bender produces
thousands of pounds of pressure

to force the pipe to bend
exactly where I want it to.

Now, this is one half of my prop catcher.

I want to make a complete
circle to catch the prop,

which means I need to make another.

I've got my two half hoops.

And the plan is now to weld these together.

And this is where the
prop shaft's going to run.

Once I have the two halves welded together,

I need to add a cross member to the circle

so that I can weld the completed
piece to the chassis rails.

Now, this is my fail safe here.

The prop shaft runs in the middle.

And if it ever does break,
this is going to catch it.

Now, without this, imagine
the prop spinning really fast.

If it breaks and goes beyond the axis,

it actually becomes a
really powerful lever.

And it's enough to turn this car over.

Now, now that's all in
place, I'm going to shroud it.

And I'm going to do it in three pieces,

a small one here from the rear
of the car to the prop catcher,

a really long one from the prop
catcher to around about here,

and then a taper piece to fill it all in.

Using a slip roll machine, I
simply run the metal panel

through the rollers until I get
the curve to where I want it.

After a quick test fit and trimming,

I tacked the panel on and
move on to the next piece.

The extra prop shaft
catcher adds rigidity to the

floor once the tunnel
panels are welded onto it.

Bonus.

Now that's fully tacked
up, I need to reinstate

the strength and get it
all completely welded.

And that is a lot of welding.

So before I do that, I'm going to stay in
the cutting mood and lose some weight.

Now, the inner wings
on this car present several

issues because Plymouth
designed this engine bay

with a particular engine in
mind, and it was quite small.

And they certainly didn't
account for hooligans like me

to rip it out and stick a
massive Hemi in its place.

Also, drag cars generally don't have these

because they want to create
as much space as possible

so they could jam as
much power in as possible.

Plus it helps save weight.

Now I've had a few challenges
squeezing a Hemi engine

into this space, so I'm
going to bite the b*llet.

I'm going to cut both of these wings out.

When this car was new, it did
a quarter mile in 17.9 seconds.

It was really slow.

But back then, it was
considered a daily driver.

It was used for the school run and
picking up groceries from the shop.

And this strong steel shell was
enough to make the driver feel safe.

The thing is though, we're
totally changing that now.

We're building this track day
weapon with a Hemi engine

and we don't yet know what
the Hemi engine is going to do.

But what we do know is it's
absolutely going to be faster

and we're not going to
pick up any groceries.

Now the thing is, to
compete, we're going to

need a roll cage
because it's regulations.

Without it, they simply
won't allow us on track.

But more importantly than
that, it's my arse on the line.

Now race regulations
are tight for a reason.

and it's all about safety.

You see, the rules dictate the size and
type of metal I can use for a roll cage.

And for a race car, this is it.

This is inch and 5 eighths
and it's got a three mil wall.

It's really thick and you can feel it.

It's proper heavy stuff.

But the thing is, that's not just it.

It actually gets even more complicated.

The rules tell you exactly
how it has to be designed,

how it fixes to the car.

And if, for example, I
want to run one up here,

it has to be one continuous length.

It can't have any cuts or joints.

Now I've built loads of roll cages
before and I always start with the hoop.

that goes behind the driver's head.

And then our barracuda is this one here.

Now it's always helpful.

to establish the center line
of the car to start off with.

So measure side to side.

Actually a really helpful
little weld Mark there.

And then from that center line,

I want to work my way backwards.

to get to the first bend.

It's going to be 16 inches.

85 degrees.

With a small 10 degree.

And obviously that's a mirror
image, so it doubles the other side.

It's pretty straightforward.

Now it's easier to work
from the middle out.

So if I roughly select the
center of my tube about here,

then I know my measurement.

16.

And 16 either side.

My first bend is 85 degrees.

Now I want the machine
to do the work for me.

Now I've checked the structure on
the car and it's buried beneath here.

There's strong chassis
rails and I can't exactly

weld the roll cage to
this thin sheet metal.

So I want to put a hole in it.

That's three inches away from the outside.

and four inches from that crease.

Using a hole saw,

I cut through the thin floor
to expose the chassis rails.

These plates are now going
to sit on the inside of the car.

But before I go any further,

I'm just going to give
this a little tidy up.

So when I do come to weld them,

I'm welding clean metal to clean metal.

Now luckily this car has
a massive rear window.

It's just about the perfect
size for my roll hoop.

So now that's in,

I'm going to slide these base plates on.

This fits really nicely.

Right, next up, I want to run a
tube along the side of the roof here,

leaving enough space
to get in and out the car,

down the side of the
windscreen, making sure I

don't obstruct the view
and down the A-pillar.

And it all has to be in one piece.

Now it's really important that the
joins on this cage are absolutely perfect.

I keep as much strength
of the metal as possible

and this little coping
jig is going to really help.

It simply slides on the tube like so.

Where I intersect the
side tube to the rear tube,

simply slide this forward.

and you'll see it follows the contours,

allowing me to mimic that

and I know exactly how
much material I've got

to take out so the
tube butts up perfectly.

Look at that.

Now this clever little tool's genius because
it gives me the exact perfect contour.

to intersect with my roll cage.

That way the metal is
definitely touching metal

and when I weld it together

it's going to have maximum strength.

But there's a second
part of it and that's this.

This is the actual coping tool itself.

This will drill the hole

and that drill bit is perfectly
the same size as well.

It's the inch and five eighths.

Line that up.

Simple as that.

Grab my drill.

Another steel plate.

That slots up really nicely
and then it's a case tacking it in.

Next I installed the
crossbars and the firewall bar.

Now that's the basic start of my cage.

but it is only the start.

Ant's got plenty on
his plate with the roll

cage so I thought
I'd do a little research.

We've never built a real
proper drag car before

and nowhere in the world is the drag
race scene any bigger than in America.

I've come to a National
Hot Rod Association

event to get a flavour
of what it's all about

and to pick up some tips
from the best of the best.

Three times Top Fuel World
Champion Antrom Brown.

So Antrom what makes Top Fuel drag racing
different from every kind of motorsport?

I think what makes it different Mike

is what you're seeing
right behind us right here.

This monster of a power play.

You're talking about 12,000 horsepower
with over 16,000 foot pounds of torque.

We got more horsepower in one cylinder
than any other race car pretty much.

That's incredible.

That's incredible.

And an hour ago that wasn't
even built it was just an engine block

and then within an hour there's been a
flurry of people working around this engine

and all of a sudden
it's built and it's running.

Yes and we call it controlled chaos.

They're able to take
this engine when you get

back from run with
time to get your time slip

and literally within 40
minutes of the time off the time

so the cars laying back at the pits
they'll have this engine back together

with the clutch on it, new
tyres, new heads, new injector,

new manifold, new blower
and it's ready to start up and run.

So let's talk about your office.

Okay.

Your office is this
tiny little jet fighter

style c*ck and that's
your steering wheel.

Yes, yes.

That's like an old fighter plane because
you're in this tiny, tiny little compartment

and you got to steer and
the crazier part about it Mike

when you see that steering wheel
that steering wheel doesn't stay straight.

We're like this all the way down the
racetrack because those tyres back there

one gets more traction, one gets
less and the car drives by the back end

and you're just counter
steering the whole way.

So we're turning that
steering wheel way more times

than Nascar does around
the whole circle track.

That's unbelievable.

Unbelievable.

When you drop the hammer in this car and
it's gone let's talk about the speeds first.

0 to 100?

Oh, we go from 0 to 100
miles an hour in 0.8 of a second.

You know?

And top speed?

Over 330 miles an hour in 3.7 seconds.

That's incredible.

If you're going from 0
to like 330 miles an hour

what effect does it have
on you and your body?

I tell you the first time I ever sat in one
of these and stepped on the gas pedal

I literally felt my stomach
touch my backbone.

No.

Felt like my chest just
trying to crumple inside.

And we had an inside video camera.

they tied a seat belt so tight
on us where it bruises your body

you actually see the seat belts when
I half track where it crunches my body

so much they got loose
and started flapping on me.

So what's the g-force you got?

Over 6 g's.

That's just insane.

And it's all over in 4 or 5 seconds.

Absolutely, absolutely.

And that's what makes our
sport so crucial and so intense

is because there's
no mulligans there's no

do-overs there's no
second laps to make it up

there's no pit stop to make it up.

If you blink your eye.

you're going home you're
coming back a little in this car up

on this trailer and you're
getting ready for the next race

and all that hard work
those guys put into pits.

is done.

It's done.

So now you're about to go racing and
we appreciate the time you've given us.

you're going to go in and get your race
overalls on do you have any pre-race rituals

do you go in there and
touch a part of the car

kiss a photo on the wall you
know put one lucky boot on first?

No I think my best friend before
I drive is using the restroom

I always got to go take a leak
before I go get that nervous energy out.

So your pre-race ritual is having a pee?

That's right you got to have a pee.

I'll give you that.

Well listen good luck in the race.

Thank you for that.

Thank you very much for
giving us the time I'm going to

stand on the sidelines
and I can't wait to see it go.

Well get ready hold on

because you're going to feel
it just like I feel inside the car.

In four seconds?

Yes you are.

To me that sounds like sex.

It's over in four seconds.

Although we're talking about
some outlandish numbers

in Antron's arm of the sport the same
skills and mindset apply at every level

Ant is going to have to keep those nerves
in check and channel everything he knows

into those split seconds
that make all the difference.

Oh yes!

Tire smoking at Antron Brown
3.728 seconds 330 miles an hour.

Antron that run was
incredibly impressive it was

over as soon as it began
so how did it go for you?

It went good it was a great
run the car was a little sluggish

off the starting line but it
motored down the racetrack

and it's got the piston
but we still were the

third quick of the session
which was a great run.

So standing out there on the track
and watching your team rip down the car

rebuild it back up again and
watching you get involved in your

not only a great mechanic and engineer
but you're also a fantastic racing driver

I was thinking I've got a car I
reckon I can challenge you with.

Really?

Yeah so why don't you bring the
fastest hot rod you can to a track

I'll bring my hot rod and let's go
head to head what do you say?

You sure about that?

Because I'll bring that long skinny one.

Don't bring the long skinny
one don't bring that one

bring the fastest hot
rod car you can okay I

think that's really
cool I'll bring one along

and I reckon I can have a go at you head
to head I know you're three times champion

but seriously my mechanic Ann he
reckons himself as a bit of a race driver

and I want to try him
against you what do you say?

I'll take that challenge

Yeah you go I got something
special just in mind Really?

I got a super fast grocery
getter for you A grocery getter?

Oh yeah Perfect I'm
gonna crush you Oh really?

Oh okay.

Well I'm sort of hanging
around with Antron Brown

he's the three times world
champion in top fuel drag racing

I mean he's running the car that
does 12,000 horsepower and I'm sort of.

I may have challenged him to a race.

Don't talk with me stupid You.

Get in our car.

What?

No don't say that No we'll be No we'll
be absolutely fine No you've got this.