01x03 - Monkey Business Dragster

[bunniefuu]

[ Tires screech ]

Narrator:
right now on "fast n' loud"...

[ Laughing ] wah!

...in their most ambitious
project yet,

Hot-rod hunter richard rawlings

And master mechanic
aaron kaufman

Continue their mission
to turn rust into gold

When they find
a beaten-down '60s gasser

For their big build of the week.

And richard's
not just gonna restore it.

He's gonna race it.

Then, looking to make
a quick buck with a fast flip,

The gas monkey guys
buy a cadillac,

But it comes with a curse.

There was a lady in oklahoma
that used to have this car.

She has a massive heart attack.
She dies.

Is the car haunted?

Narrator: and if all that
weren't stressful enough,

Richard brings back another car.

We're gonna continue
building a racecar
if it's okay with you.

The pressure's on, as the boys
bring two of the cars

To a no-reserve auction

And put their name on the line
in a drag race,

All while trying to avoid the
curse of the lonesome cadillac.







Rawlings: we're heading down
to dallas again,

Looking for our next big build,
wherever we can find it.

Aaron and I have been jonesing
to build a racecar for a while.

That's what we're hoping
to find.

Our first stop is a swap meet
up in decatur,

Always a great place
to find cars to flip.

You know,
most of the stuff out here

Is overpriced, underwhelming,
and in some cases, overcooked.

But every once in a while,

We manage to stumble across
a real beauty.

What you doing,
young lady?

What's going on?

What's a girl like you doing
in a truck like this?

[ Scoffs ]

[ Laughs ]

There's a car right here.

Whoa.

That's like a '32-ish,
isn't it?

It's about
the right shape.

Badass.

Rawlings: 1932 -- that's
the year the great depression

Hit the auto industry
the hardest.

Production was limited,

Which is why these pontiacs
are so hard to find.

Kaufman: this is a series 402,

One of the first cars
to have a sloped windshield.

And it even had what they called
ride control.

You could adjust the stiffness
of the suspension

With a knob inside the car.

And this was 80 years ago.

Hey, how much
do you believe this?

Does he got a price on it,
or what?

No, it just says
"runs and drives."

I guess if we start grabbing
stuff and walking off,

Someone will show up.

How you doing, sir?
Fine. You?

Richard rawlings.
Robert miller.

You own this car?
Yes, sir.

It's pretty awesome.

Yeah. They're pretty rare.
'32 Pontiac coupe.

Little five-window pontiac.
How long you had this thing?

Oh, 15 or 16 years.

I bought the car and gave it
to my wife on valentine's day,

About 15 years ago.

It says it runs and drives.
How reliable is it?

It ain't got but 33,000 miles
on it.

Original?

Mm-hmm.
Holy cow.

Heck, yeah.

It's got the original

I drove it
up to about three years ago.

'32 Pontiac was unreal.

Doesn't have
any exterior rust,

Looks altogether,
looks all original.

The car's freakin' awesome.

Well, I like this old car.
What do you think, aaron?

It just depends. I mean, for
a hot rod, it's one thing.

[ Horn honks ]
horn blows.

You know,
we got some issues,

But, I mean,
just how concerned are you?

He's only got "$12,000"
on the windshield,

But I need that thing
cheaper than that,

And I need it right now.

Mr. Miller,
what do you think

You got to really have
out of this?

I think $12,000
is a little too much.

Well, what's
your best offer?

I'm gonna cut you right in half.
I'm thinking $6,000.

Ooh, no, no, no.

Well, let's go $10,000.

[ Groans ]

I wouldn't go less
than $8,500.

$8,500?

$8,500, Bottom.

You know, that's what
I like about bargaining
with guys like mr. Miller.

He'll just tell you how it is.
"That's it.

That's all
there's gonna be, too."

So, you're saying $6,500.

No, $8,500.

Oh. See? I always forget
what we're talking about.

Aaron, I mean,
what do you think?

You got to do the work.

I mean, I dig it.
I dig the style. I like it.

I'm not a big fan of yellow,
but I can get over it.

[ Laughs ]

All right, mr. Miller.
$8,500.

$8,500. Appreciate it.
I'll take it.

This car was just too rare
to pass up,

But it's not the racecar
we're looking for,

So we're gonna ship it
back to the garage

And keep looking
for that next big build.

Rawlings:
I like to take the side roads.

A lot of times, you'll find cars
way off the beaten path,

And unless
you're out there looking,

You're not gonna find them.

There's supposed to
be some cars

Down in here
next to the lake.

I bet there's some cars
in the lake.

There's a mustang.
A little '57.

Looks like a mach 1 there.

Let's see what's going on
with that.

Son of a [bleep].
The guy's got a zephyr.

Holy cow.

Rawlings: so, we pull up, and
right out front is a zephyr.

Man, am I excited. You just
don't see those every day.

It's not a racecar, but it's
definitely gas monkey material.

That is freakin' cool.

How's it going?

Oh, hey, man.

Dude, is that
a three-window zephyr?

Yep. '39.
Holy cow.

Well, we saw the mach 1,
and then I just about

[Bleep] my pants
when I see a 3-window.

How you doing? Sean.
Richard rawlings.

Nice to meet you.
Hey, sean.

Aaron. Nice to meet you.
Hey, nice to meet you.

Wow! That is freaking
badass, dude.

I've been fortunate enough
to have about 6 of them

Over the last 10 years,
and they sell like crazy.

You want to hear it?
Hell, yeah!

There's always a guy out there
with a whole pocketful of money,

And he's gonna buy it
from you.

[ Engine turns over ]

[ Laughing ] yeah!

Rawlings:
the lincoln zephyr's a classic.

It was extremely modern
for its time.

The low-raked windscreen,
integrated fenders,

And streamlined
aerodynamic design.

Hell, yeah!

Sean: yeah,
it does pretty good.

You want to sell this?

No, I'm gonna
hang on to it.

That's what they always say.
I got those two projects.

I got one other old junker
out back, an old gasser.

Like, a '60s gasser?

Yeah, yeah. Original.
Real deal.

You want to take a look
at it?

Hell, yeah.

The guy I got it from --

Evidently, he raced it
in the '60s.

It was his brother's
from like 1960,

And then this guy got it
in like '62

And raced it until '65,
and it's just been sitting.

Is that it out there
in the trees?

Yeah, that's it.
It's been back there a while.

I had several cars
back there,

And that's kind of the last
of them, you know?

It's getting lonely.
Yeah, I need to get it
out of there.

Whoa!

Yeah, it's still got the old
straight axle under it.

Rawlings: gassers are hot rods,
mostly fords and chevys

That people use
to modify for drag racing.

They'd strip them down,
make them lighter,

And then jack up the front end
of the car

By beefing up the suspension

Or even putting
a truck axle underneath.

The idea was to get
better weight distribution

When they'd race them
on the track.

This gasser's
a '52 ford mainline.

Kaufman:
definitely got the look.

Look at that. You can see
where they did the drill.

You know, drill, drill,
drill, drill, drill...
Oh, yeah.

...until they could
break it off.

It looks like an angry beaver
attacked it.

Yeah, it's actually
pretty original on the inside,

Other than the front seat.
It's still got the old radio.

Kaufman: to find an actual
raced gasser from the '60s

Is more mythical than a lot
of other kind of barn finds.

I think it's a really honest,
cool, little gasser.

You think we could put
this thing back on the road?

I think we could make it
a gasser again.

We could make it
a real racecar.

Sean, what do you think
you got to have for this?

I was hoping to get $2,000
out of it.

Golly!
Are you gonna drag it out

And put it on a trailer
and everything?

No, that was --
you haul it.

It should be delivered.

There's not a whole lot
usable.

I mean, I think
what's got me jazzed up

Is it just looks cool.

You know,
my modus operandi

Is usually just to cut it
in half and start bargaining,

But I think I got to cut
this down to about $500.

I just got
a raw car here.

Oh. It's worth that
for yard art, man.

You got a point.

And it's serving
its purpose well.

Right.

I don't know.
I guess halfway.

Does a thousand bucks
get it?

Give me $1,200,
and you can take it out of here.

I'm okay with that.

All right.
You got a deal.

Deal?
Cool.

I'll get the money.
Aaron, you load it.

Rawlings: the car looks
a little scary.

But it's a super-straight body.
It's not real rusted out.

It's gonna be a good thing
to start with.

This is badass.

Hey, aaron, does it start?

Kaufman: I don't know.
I'm looking for the start--

I found the starter.

[ Imitating engine idling ]

[ Laughing ] wah!

All right, my man.
You got $1,200. I got a gasser.

Appreciate it.
I appreciate it.

Rawlings:
we're back home with the gasser.

We're really excited
we found the racer

That we were looking for
for our next big project.

h*!

What do you think?

Piece of [bleep]

No, it's not that bad.

It's not that good.

Mcmillan: who says?

This is about how high I think
the front tire's gonna get,

So I want to see what it's like
right now.

Hell, yeah!

Hit it!

Hit it!

[ Laughter ]

Zero front suspension.

Kaufman:
yeah. I noticed that.

Man. This gasser
looks more like a junker.

I can't believe
richard bought this heap.

I guess I can kiss my nights
and weekends goodbye.

This is an ambitious project
for us.

We're gonna completely transform
this rust bucket,

And that starts with paint.

We should cover the whole thing.
Just one color.

Rawlings: I want, like,
heavy-a*s green flake.

I want so much flake on this
thing that when they walk up,

They want to go,
"how did they get all that flake

To stick on that car?"

Except for -- when we're slow,
we can just say

It's all the metal flake
we're dragging along.

It's the weight of the car.
Exactly.

Metal flake is a paint treatment
that was authentic

To the time period this car
would have been drag-raced in.

Yellow lexan windows.

Total, like, late-'60s,
early-'70s style, you know?

What's it gonna be called?
You got to name it.

Cars back then
had names.

You know, when you're
really wrecking something,

You're tearing it up and just
making a mess out of things,

People call it
"monkey business,"

So I was thinking,
maybe we ought to

Call this one
"monkey business."

I like a little
monkey business.

Rawlings: not only are we
gonna paint the car --

We're gonna
completely gut the interior,

Drop in a racing seat,
jack up the front end,

Put some drag wheels on it,
put a racing motor in it.

We may have to put

But for the right buyer, it's
gonna fetch 25 grand or better.

I got a line
on a ford engine

We might be able
to stuff in there.
Yeah?

Rawlings: the mecum auction
is happening next week.

It's one of the biggest auctions
of the year.

There's a lot of buyers there
with a lot of cash,

And I know this car
will bring big money

If we can get it ready in time.

You got your work
cut out, boss.

[Bleep] how long do I have
to paint this thing?

Like, by friday.

Rawlings: we're really
getting into it today
building our gasser racecar.

A buddy of scot's hooked us up
with a ford 302 race motor.

We stroked it out
to 347 cubic inches,

And we're gonna
test-fit it today.

Think we got it?

It'll clear.

That looks pretty good,
actually.

Kaufman:
one of the unique design
features of a gasser drag car

Is the front suspension.

Unfortunately,
it's caused us a clearance issue

Between the oil pan
and the steering linkage.

We got to build
one of these rods

That go from here
to the steering box.

That rod is gonna have to travel
from this point

Right through the side of
the oil pan to the steering box.

This is where the
"dun, dun, dun" comes in, right?

[ Dramatic sound effect plays ]

What's the
"dun, dun, dun"?

Oh, I got to cut
the oil pan,

And the motor mounts
are a [bleep] problem.

Why? What's wrong
with the oil pan?

The drag link
intersects the oil pan,

So what we're gonna do is,
we're cut the oil pan back,

Make sure
the steering clears,

And then
weld the oil pan back.

Why can't we just raise
the motor mounts?

I mean, you're still
gonna use motor mounts,

But why can't you build them
and put the motor up in the air

To where we don't have to
cut the oil pan?

'Cause then we'd have to build
a transmission tunnel.

Which one
do you want to do --

Build a transmission tunnel
or do that?

Listen, we're gonna
continue building the
car the correct way.

I mean,
we could just sawzall

The whole
transmission tunnel out

And put the motor at an angle
it doesn't work at.

But what we're gonna
do is continue doing
it the right way.

It's just time frame.
It's just time and money.

I know how long it takes.
That's three hours.

Dude, hey, listen,
do you know anyone you can call

That will guarantee you that the

Will bolt into the car?

Name someone
that will guarantee you

The motor they sell you
will bolt into your car?

No, I'm asking for you --
what is the fastest change?

What we're doing right now
is the fastest, best.

There are
a ton more options.

This is the fastest,
best option.

It sucks. Now I got a motor

That's been tested and tuned
on the engine stand.

It's ready to go,
it's buttoned up,

It's not leaking,
it's full of fluids.

I got to pull it apart.

We're not breaking
into a motor.

We're cutting a piece
of the oil pan off.

I know that terrifies you,
but that's not scary for us.

It doesn't terrify me.

It's just our time frame
of fixing it

Is where I start
getting worried.

How long does it take?

Kaufman:
that's just how richard is.

He's motivated by money --
how much we spend

And how much time it takes us
to do something.

So, those were
his main concerns,

And they're really on
the forefront of his thoughts.

So sometimes, he lets it get
in the way of building the car.

All right.
So, what we're doing is,

We're gonna continue
building a racecar if
it's okay with you.

I'm just stressing
over time and money, man.

That's what I have to do.

You have to build
this [bleep].

I got to freak out
over time and money.

I'm gonna go back to stressing
about time and money.

Kaufman: we're humming
right along on the gasser build.

I've got k.c. Working
on the rear fender lip.

[ Buzzing ]

Since we raised the wheel wells
a lot,

We've got to fill the gap
with new sheet metal

And make it look right.

I've got scot
notching the oil pan

Because of the clearance problem
with the steering linkage.

If we get some clearance,
hopefully it'll work out.

Right now at the moment,
I'm gonna cut the corner

Out of this oil pan
and fabricate a new piece

To go in there
so that our steering link

Will be able to pass through
this area.

Right now it hits right there.

[ Buzzing ]

[ Crackling ]

Kaufman: so, the modified
oil pan works great.

We've got tons of clearance.

On top of that,
the green-metal flake

For the gasser showed up today.

[ Irish accent ]
ooh, me pot of gold.

Rawlings: while the gasser
goes off to paint,

Aaron and I are following up
on a lead.

Thomas, who's another
car collector I know,

Called me about
a '60s cadillac hardtop.

We got to take a look at that.

[ Horn honks ]

Holy cow. When you said you had
a cadillac, you had one.

I told you, man. You know,
how many feet you want here?

Good to see you.
Gosh dang, man.

Sedan de ville
debuted in 1956.

It was cadillac's luxurious
upgrade to the coupe de ville.

It was also their first standard
four-door production hardtop.

It was spiffy, luxurious,

And known for its distinctive,
huge tailfins.

It's a car right up our alley.
It's a car we got to have.

And then he tells us it's got
kind of a story or something.

Oh, yeah.

Story me up.
Okay. Here's the story.

Well, basically,
what happened was --

There was a lady in
ada, oklahoma, that
used to have this car.

She used to talk
to this car.

She had actually
been seen by neighbors

Touching and rubbing
on this car.

Well, one day, she walks
into the grocery store.

She has a massive
heart attack.

She dies inside
the grocery store itself.

So, this car sits outside.

Finally,
the grocery store, okay,

Notices that this car
is out here.

It's been sitting out here
for several days.

They call,
and they get it towed away,

And it goes
to an impound lot.

Now, this guy that
I was buying this car from --

He actually had a buddy that
walked around behind it, okay?

And when he was walking
in the ice, he slipped.

And when he slipped,
he caught his eye on the fin

And cut his eyelid
real, real bad.

This is a true story.

When I was getting this car,
this tire right here

Actually blew out
while I was underneath it

And nearly fell on me,
and I'm getting

A really, really creepy vibe
off that car.

So first thing I'm thinking is,
"is the car haunted?"

I'm a car lover,
not just a car dealer

Or whatever you want to say.

I mean, sometimes, you know,
if you love these cars,

You got to understand
that they do have personalities.

It needs love and care,
is what this vehicle needs.

Rawlings: we hear a lot of
stories while we're buying cars.

There you go.
Love on her, baby.

We usually indulge people, even
if we don't think it's true.

Thomas is probably just trying
to jack up the price.

So, what's this thing
gonna cost me?

Do I have to pay extra
for the story?

How about a dollar per pound?
She weighs 4,600 pounds.

I'll take $4,600 for it.

Man. I don't know if scrap's
going for a dollar a pound now.

Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa, now.
Be careful.

Not sorry if this nice car's
worth a dollar a pound.

Well, okay.
You know where I'm at.

What do you want to pay?

About...

$2,700?

$2,700.

How about this?

What's your best price

If you get the car to where
it'll run and drive?

Make it run and drive.

Yep.
That's basically
what you need.

That's what I need.

$3,500 To you
running and driving.

And just be sweet to her.
That's all I ask.

$3,500 For
a 1960 sedan de ville.

Yes. Black.

I don't think
I can do any better.

Aaron, you like what you see
under the hood there?

I like everything I see.

I think you need
to pay this man.

The best I can figure,
the car's only in mourning

Until it finds a new owner.

We give it a new life,
I think it'll be happy again.

I say [bleep] it.
Put some gas in it, do burnouts.

Maybe that's what it's been
waiting for its whole life.
Hell, yeah.

We got the gasser
over to k.c. Last night.

We're getting ready
to paint that bad boy.

We're gonna use
green metal flake,

Just like they used to do
back in the day.

Mathieu: aaron brought
the car over last night.

We had to smooth out the fire
wall, get the car stripped down,

Get it in primer,
do a bunch of bodywork to it,

Then get it in the paint booth

So we can put
the green metal flake on it.

We're gonna throw down
a nice green base coat,

And, then, we got about 3 pounds
of flake to put on top of it.

We got all our base coat
on the car.

It looks really good.
Nice and even.

I'm gonna come in
and lay all our flake down

Until we're happy with the coat,
make sure it's even, looks good,

And wrap it up.

The term "metal flake"
is deceiving.

It's actually pieces of plastic,
not metal.

The metal would rust.

It gives that paint
that shimmery look

That a lot of people like.

It's all done.
That's one glittery gasser.

Rawlings: the '32 pontiac
that we bought at the swap meet

Just got delivered today.

It's time to take a closer look.

I'm digging it.

I'm digging the hell
out of this car.

I mean, look at
the freakin' shape.

All the wood's good,
what have you.

Well, it's pretty clean.
We talked about it
at the swap meet.

I mean, I think
it's clean enough.

I would say it's the
best-looking '32 pontiac

I've ever seen because
it might be the only
'32 pontiac I've ever seen.

Definitely the only '32 pontiac
I've ever seen.

Rawlings:
the pontiac has one big thing
going for it -- it's unique.

There's a big mecum auction
coming up,

And I say we take the pontiac
and the gasser

And make some bank.

Hey. Listen, let's just see
if this motor runs.

Ignition.

[ Engine sputtering ]

Kaufman: it's got to turn
faster than that

To be able to suck the juice up.

[ Sputtering continues ]

[ Engine turns over ]

Hell, yeah.

Rawlings: it's good to know
the pontiac runs.

I can take it to the auction
just the way it is now

And still turn a profit.

So, we got the caddy back, and
my boy phipps is working on it.

I don't really believe in this
whole cursed caddy thing,

So I didn't say anything to him
about it.

All I care is that the car
starts and stops.

I don't believe in the curse,

But if something's gonna happen,
it's gonna happen to him.

Phipps: richard brought me
this '60 cadillac

To do the brakes on real fast.

We're doing all the hydraulics,
the lines.

He's in a hurry to get it out.

It's great to have him
as a neighbor,

'Cause look
what I get to work on.

[ Wrench clatters ]

Sorry, phipps.

The gasser came back from
k.c.'S paint shop this morning,

And the green flake
looks awesome.

The whole point -- this thing's
supposed to look outrageous,

And it sure as hell does.

Whoo!
Holy cow, dude.

I got to keep my sunglasses on
even in the building.

It did pretty good.

No, I like it.
Badass job, k.c.

This car is badass,
and I want to show it off.

A buddy of mine, dennis,
races every weekend,

And he thinks he's fast.

I'm gonna give him
a run for his money.

Bottom line --
next race is tomorrow.

I'm gonna push these guys
to get this car done.

Am I ever gonna get
any more time on these?

No.
It's only gonna get worse.

Oh, good. Very good.

Gonna be a long day.

Kaufman:
aaron got the headers done,

So it's time to paint them white
and put them on the car.

Rawlings:
the lexan we're gonna use
for the windows just came in.

It's gonna be crazy.

It's a type of plastic
they used to use in gassers.

Digging that.

If you crashed,
the plastic was safer

Than the original glass
and not too expensive.

We chose yellow for ours.

Is it crazy? Absolutely.

Is it perfect for this car?
You bet your a*s it is.

Wow!

[ Whirring ]

Mcmillan:
we're making a lot of headway.

We got everything painted.

We're starting to get things
put back on the car.

At the moment, I'm gonna put
the transmission onto the engine

And just keep rolling.

If we don't keep rolling,
we'll never get it done.

We just got to keep moving.

[ Whirring ]

All right. Good.

Richard's got this fantasy
about drag racing tomorrow.

Unfortunately, we're the ones

That are gonna be here all night
to make it happen.

The gasser's
close to being done.

I just don't know
if it's close enough.

The drag meet's tomorrow.

We haven't even
fired the motor yet.

Rawlings:
today's the day -- race day.

Hopefully, in a few hours, I'll
be kicking my buddy dennis' a*s

On the racetrack.

The guys are buttoning up
a few details on the gasser,

But since we just found it
in a field a week ago,

It's amazing how far we've come.

Gas monkey rocks!

Scot's hard at work installing
the spun aluminum gas tank

That's authentic
to the time period.

[ Whirring ]

Our graphics designer, paul,

Has come by
to do the exterior decals.

Decals are important. They tell
us what class of car we have,

What motor we have,

And, most important,
that we're gas monkey garage.

Cool!
How you like it?

Aw, hell, yeah.

[ Laughs ]

We decided early on

This car was gonna be
all about the monkey business,

And now we've got the logos
to prove it.

Why is "business"
misspelled?

[ Laughs ]

Are you [bleep]
with me?

It's "b-u-i-s-n-e-s-s."

"Boys-ness."

[ Laughter ]

Do we leave it?

That's kind of
gas monkey's style.

What, illiterate?
Yeah.

Can you cut it
and move it?

Mm-hmm.
Can you?

Rawlings: I really wanted to go
with a '50s, '60s nostalgic look

On this gasser.

Luckily enough, our friend david
owns rocket racing wheels,

And he was able to hook us up.

He revived it
from the '50s and '60s.

There used to be a wheel
like this out there,
and it kind of died off.

It's made out of a356 aluminum,
it's lightweight, it's strong,

But it looks like
the old-style wheels.

And this is what I wanted for
this car. There's no better fit.

So, I'm really excited

About how the look of this car's
turning out,

And then I see aaron still
standing in the engine bay,

But I don't hear
the engine running.

And I see scot
still working on the shifter,

And that's not good.

This shifter is broken.

Rawlings: it's race day,
and I'm at the track.

I've been talking [bleep]

About how badass
my gasser's gonna be,

And I told my buddy dennis --
I call him "the gorms" --

I said, "I'm gonna beat your a*s
on this racetrack."

It's his home track, he's proud
of it, he's got a badass car.

So, this is it?

This is it, cowboy.
That's all you got?

This looks pretty cool.

Yeah,
it's an old '55 chevy,

Been a drag car probably
for about 40 years.

Hey, where's your car?

Oh, I don't have a car.

You don't have a car?

[Bleep]
I've been waiting for it
to show up, and --

We missed it, man.
We just missed it.

Richard should probably know
better than to line this up

Before he even had a car ready,

'Cause it takes more than a week
to build one of those things.

Aaron and them kicked a*s,
and it is so [bleep] cool.

It's cool,
but it's not here.

And that's not cool.
That's not cool.

Not at all.

This isn't a bright day
in gas monkey's world.

Bottom line is,
I've been telling people

I was gonna build a gasser,
it was gonna be the best one,

Come out here
and do a little drag racing.

I don't have a racecar today.

The gasser might not be ready,

But I'm gonna see
if I can find something else.

There's a ton of cars here.

Hell, maybe I can
convince somebody to
let me borrow theirs.

[ Beeping ]

Rawlings: hey, d.

What's up, gorms?
Hey.

I borrowed a car.
It's on.

All right, all right.
That's why we came out.

You're going down.
Where is it?
What car is it?

Doesn't matter.
It's down there.

It's got a little something
special in it for you.

I'll believe it
when I see it.

[ Laughs ]

Yep.
Let's go.

I got a secret weapon --
taylor.

And I talked this guy into
letting me borrow his smart car.

It's time to mess
with dennis' head a bit.

[ Tires screech ]

Gormley:
so, I pull up to the line,

Do a big burnout
for everybody.

Richard pulls up in a smart car.

Taylor: hey, gorms, I heard
you're kind of fast!

I want to see you
prove it to us, baby!

Rawlings: trust me --
when you're on the drag strip,

There's nothing more distracting

When your opponent shows up
in a crappy, little car

And he's got a good-looking
chick with him.

It's all over now.

I got taylor, I got a smart car,

And I even recruited some
gas monkey girls to cheer me on.

[ Tires screech ]

[ Taylor laughs ]

[ Beeping ]

I couldn't believe it.

Dennis made
a classic rookie mistake.

He jumped the red light.
That means he's disqualified.

I accidentally jump the g*n
and lose the race.

Richard wins.

[ Tires screech ]

Who's the driver?
Come on. Who's driving?

That's what gas monkey does --

Kick your a*s
when you're not looking.

Come on!
My car
might not be ready...

You tricked me.

...but I showed up,
I saved face,

And I left dennis in the dust.

So, it's the day
before the auction,

And the guys
got the gasser finished.

Dennis is opening up
the racetrack

So we can take it
for a test drive.

It's 24 hours before this car
goes on the block.

I just got to know
if it runs and drives.

This is what it's all about --

Having fun
with the things you build.

I am so proud of my guys.

When I saw this thing
sitting in the field,

This is exactly
what I was thinking about.

It's-candy green,

This thing is badass.

Kaufman: it's a 347 stroker,
backed up by a c4

And a 9-inch rear end
with a spool.

This thing's
got 30-inch slicks on it,

White-walled,
rocket racing wheels,

And now we're fixing
to show you

How it's done
with the gas monkey gasser.

[ Engine turns over ]

Rawlings:
I'm ready to run it.

First thing's first --
gonna run it through the paces,

Kick it through the gears,

Check the brakes
and the steering.

Then it's time to get back
to the starting line

And [bleep] hammer it.

I was kind of flogging on it,
getting used to the car.

It quit launching, period.
It just quit moving.

I had a reverse gear,
no forwards.

I'm thinking, "no!"

And the worst part...

I think you're winning
this time, dennis!

...dennis has to give me a tow
with his golf cart.

Looks like you won.

I'm just hoping aaron can fix
this with a couple of tools.

We're not gonna race
any more today.

The trans cooler's
just ice-cold.

There's nothing
in the lines.

I don't think
the pump's turning [bleep].

This is not
what I wanted to hear.

The big mecum auction
is tomorrow,

And basically, I've got a gasser
that's a green, shiny brick?

Sometimes you just got to
keep your mouth shut

Until you actually make it
to the racetrack, I guess.
Yeah.

That's never been my style.

It's been one thing after
another with this gasser.

You know, maybe
it's that cursed caddy.

[ Dramatic sound effect plays ]

Man, don't give me
that cursed-caddy [bleep].

We got to get
this thing fixed.

Called my friend terry sullivan.

He owns sullivan's transmissions
down here.

It's what they do. They make
drag-race transmissions.

So, basically,
all we really tore up here --

We got some heat in there.

This is responsible
for third gear.

Kaufman: it didn't seem like
we did a lot of damage.

It just instantly
felt like we lost pressure.

You know, I'm ready to get
the other one in if you are.

Yeah.

We just generated too much heat,
burned up the transmission.

Just had one part failure,
and it led to --

You know, it was systemic.

I'll hold it.
You get the jack. I got it.

So, we bought
a whole tr*nny?

Yeah.
Great.

Rawlings:
even assuming the gasser's good
to go for the auction tomorrow,

Now I've dropped a couple of
grand on a new transmission...

Again.

I've got so much money
tied up in this car,

Things have got to go my way
for the next 12 hours.

And I know
just how to make that happen.

I don't believe
in the cursed caddy,

But I also can't afford
to take any more chances.

This thing has got to go,

And I've got someone
who might be interested in it,

And I'm not saying
one damn thing about the curse.

I got this old '60.

My friend magnus is in town.

He owns lone star cars
out of sweden.

You know why he calls it
lone star cars?

'Cause he comes to texas
to get big-fin cadillacs.

The floorboards are great.

Everything's in really,
really good shape.

Einarsson: I like texas.
It's the lone star state.

When I came over here,
I called him and asked,

"Hey, richard, what do you want
to sell to me this time?"

And he always come up
with something.

Tuned up the motor, put
a new fuel-sending unit in it.

Still don't have
an ignition key for it.
Okay.

When he say the car is good,
it is good.

You do have one small mechanical
problem that I hadn't gotten to.

The radiator's got
a little hole there.

Yeah, I see it. Yep.

It looks good. Need a lot
of work to be perfect.

But sometimes you don't need
to have it perfect.

Nice key.

[ Engine turns over ]

Rawlings: oh, yeah.
Yeah. Runs.

The swedes --
they like the bigger cars.

The american dream --
big, fancy.

That's the best.
Feels like the king, like elvis.

The plans for the car now

Is ship it over by boat
to sweden,

Take it to my shop,
and fix it up for the customer.

Rawlings:
I paid $3,500 for this caddy.

I'm gonna start real high.

Maybe I can get him a little bit
higher than his original number,

But the bottom line
is this car's going away.

I would price it $3,500.

Eh...

$5,500?

I can go up to $4,200.

"Up" to $4,200?
You were at $4,500.

I said $3,500.

I know I'm a little bad
on accent.
Now you're $4,200?

Yeah, and I can go
up to $4,200.

Aw, your accent
still sucks.

Yeah, I know.
[ Both laugh ]

Well, we always do
this half-and-half thing.

My bottom line is $4,800,
like she sits.

Is that the lowest
you can go?

It really is.
I mean, that's it.

Okay, we'll go for that.

Cool.

You bring money? 'Cause
gas monkey only deals in cash.

Can you count?
I can count.

We'll see.

That looks like enough.

At the end of the day,
I got him to $4,800.

I paid $3,500,
threw a battery in it,

A few things, this and that,
a little labor.

All right. Excellent, magnus.
Thank you very much.

I made a few hundred bucks
on a cursed caddy.

That's good enough for me.

Let's get it
the hell out of here,

Out of dallas, out of texas,
and out of the nation.

I'm done with that.

That's good right there.

Rawlings: even though the gasser
fell short on the track,

The day wasn't a complete loss.

Thanks to my friend misty,
we got some great shots

Of woman and machine
for my gas monkey calendar.

There you go, misty.

Whoa! Get her!

[ Laughs ]

Oh, yeah, there it is.

Oh, that's good.
Work it! Work it!

There you go, buddy.
There you go.

[Bleep]

[ Laughter ]

Whoa!
There it is!

[ Laughter ]

[ Engine idling ]

Rawlings:
the mecum auction is today.

Got a new tr*nny installed
in the gasser

After we blew up the old one
on the drag strip.

It's running fine now, so we're
gonna load up monkey business

Along with the '32 pontiac
and hit the road.

It's time to show off
what gas monkey can do

And make some money.

Mecum's one of the biggest
auctions in texas.

You can find
practically anything here,

And there's a lot of buyers
with some deep pockets.

Let's just hope that one of them
falls in love with our cars.

[ Auctioneer calling ]

Sold!

Yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah!

One of the consequences of going
with these big auctions --

It's no-reserve
and I can't buy it back.

That's the rules.

Bottom line -- if it rolls
across there for nothing,

Somebody gets it for nothing,
and I'm just out that money.

But that's not gonna happen.
The car looks right, acts right.

It's gas monkey green.
It's gonna go for big bucks.

Just because of the eyeball
of it, somebody's gonna want it.

Even if they haven't ever raced
a gasser, they're gonna go,

"Oh, I'm buying that
and I'm going to the track."

Well, even if they don't want
to go to the track,

I think just
in your neighborhood,

This right here is bound to
cause some trouble, you know?

And I think there's a lot
of people that are into
getting into trouble,

And I think
this is the ride for it.

Rawlings: how you doing?
How you doing?

Richard rawlings.
Mike williford.

Mike, how you doing?

You need yourself
a green gasser today, or what?

Man, that's a pretty
awesome-looking car

You have there.

Got to tell you,
I'm a little nervous

Throwing it up there no-reserve,
but that's the only way

They'd let me in the auction
with something this great.

I think you'll do well
with it.

What do you think
about that?

It's awesome.

Pretty cool.

Awesome paint job.

You need yourself a gasser?

If the price is right.

"Price is right"?
It's no-reserve.

You could own this thing
for a dollar.
For a dollar.

People seem excited about
the gasser, and that's good.

Hopefully, that translates
into some higher bids.

They're watching
the pontiac, too.

They're liking what they see.

Great thing about the pontiac

Is we didn't have to do
a thing to it.

We're selling it
exactly as we bought it.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
What's going on, guys?

What are you guys doing?

Get in there.
Hold on. Hold on.

How many kids
can we get in there?

Come on. Everybody in.
Are these all yours?

Well, I've got three in
this group. That's for sure.

Are you ready?

Man: oh, my gosh.

Yeah! They're all in.
No way!

How many is there,
like 40?

I think there's 20 kids
in there at least.

[ Laughter ]

Rawlings:
whether it's kids or grownups,

People respond to an authentic
vehicle like the pontiac.

All right, guys.

I'm counting on this one
to come through for me,
and I think it will.

You know what I like about this,
as nervous as I am?

It's all over
but the crying...

That's right.
...or the champagne.

That's right.

I decided to put the pontiac
on the block first.

I'm gonna set up the crowd
with a classic '32,

And then I'm gonna knock them
out with a crazy '60s gasser.

And number 226.2 is a 1932
pontiac 5-window coupe.

This is a texas car.
It's never been restored.

It's always been garaged.
It runs and drives great.

You're buying this car
right now, no-reserve.

Yeah! Let's see how we do.

I'm in this car for $8,500.

That's my break-even point,
and I got to hit it.

[ Auctioneer calling ]

No-reserve.
$15,000? How much?

No-reserve.

$5,000? $6,000?

Whew. That's not enough.

Man: steel body?

It's all steel body,
all original.

All steel body.

I'm with kevin at $7,500.
$8,000.

$8,500.

Now $9,000.

$9,000.

We're running now.

$9,500, $10,000.

Now $11,000.

Now $11,500.

Now we're making money.

$11,500. Final call.

$12,500? Final call.

$12,500?

Sold at $12,000, kevin.

Sold at $12,000.

And number 227.
Thank you, sir.

That's good for "fast n' loud."

So, we did well on the pontiac,
made about 3 grand.

Now it's time
for the moment of truth.

With all the setbacks,

This gasser's got me down
for 21,400 bucks.

I got it all on the line.
I threw my [bleep] out.

Whatever comes back,
that's what I get.

This car is a 1952 ford
mainline gasser.

It was built by world-famous
gas monkey garage...

And selling
at no-reserve.

[ Auctioneer calling ]

$50,000? $40,000?
$30,000? $20,000?

$20,000, $20,000, $20,000?

$20,000?

$10,000? $12,000?

No reserve!
At $10,000, now $12,000.

[ Calling continues ]

This is gonna be bad.

And did I hear it?
$12,000. $15,000?

At $12,000, now $13,000.
$13,000. $14,000?

At $13,000, $14,000.
Now $15,000?

Now we're rolling.

At $17,000?

At $16,000, now $17,000.
You like the color?

Take it away. Take it away.
$17,000 On the gasser?

At $16,000, now $17,000.

All in, all done,
all through?

At $16,000. $17,000?

Nope. At $16,000,
now $17,000. $17,000?

All in, all done,
all through?

$17,000?
[Bleep]

Sold! $16,000, Ryan.

Car number 238
is a 1966 ford.

We just lost our a*s.
That was not a good deal.

Rawlings:
I'm feeling good about being
in the black on the pontiac,

And then the gasser
smacks me in the face.

I was hoping 20, 30 grand.

I get $16,000? Ouch!

Well?

That's that.

Yeah, it kind of sucked.

There needed to be two guys in
this room that wanted that car.

As it turns out,
there was only one,

So there was no chance in
getting a w*r between them going

And see which one
wanted it more.

He just -- that was what
he was willing to pay,

And no one else was gonna argue
with him, so we lost the car.

Narrator: richard bought
the gasser for 1,200 bucks.

After paying
for the second transmission,

He spent a total of $20,200
in parts and labor.

Wow!

But the high bid was $16,000.

[ Cash register dings ]

He bought the '32 pontiac
for $8,500.

It went off the block
for $12,000.

[ Cash register dings ]

He took the cursed caddy
off thomas' hands for $3,500.

He spent $300
on the brakes and engine...

And sent it off to sweden
for 4,800 bucks.

The boys took it on the chin
this week with a $900 loss.

[ Laughter ]

Rawlings: one of the lessons
I learned this week

Is you got to go
with what the public wants.

We went with what we liked,
what we dig.

You know what? Maybe we need
to tone it down a little bit.

Instead of thinking,
"what do we like?"

We think,
"what makes money?"

You know?
'Cause I think so often --

Wait a second.
Can you say that again?

Can you say that
one more time?

"What do we like
against what makes money"?

'Cause that's
our biggest argument.
I know. I know.

Well, I'm always -- I mean,
I like to think of the cars

As my own until we sell them,
but, you know,

That's just not
gonna pay the bills.

I say we leave here right now,
go to the bar,

And act like we made
a bunch of money.

Yeah, nothing feels better

Than acting like we made
a bunch of money.

Let's get out of here.