Narrator:
right now on "fast n' loud"...
My boss wears women's jeans.
What?!
When master mechanic
aaron kaufman takes time off,
Hot-rod hunter richard rawlings
seizes the opportunity
To revisit an old friend...
Oh, there it is.
My 1974 mercury comet.
...and remake
the first car he ever owned.
That's the way I used to drive
in high school.
What is this?
But when the monkeys realize
His glory days
weren't all that glorious...
It was called
"comet vomit."
...they vow to give it
the kind of class
It never had in school.
Y'all can do
whatever you want to.
Paint it some other color
other than green?
[ Scoffs ] no.
Mike:
I'm okay with the green.
I'm okay with the green.
Meanwhile, emotions run deep
When richard tries to buy
a '69 c-10 chevy.
[ Voice breaking ]
it just seemed to me
Like it was out here
wasting away.
Welcome, guys.
And aaron seeks new horizons
away from the garage.
Yeah!
Narrator:
it's a week where expectations
Crash against reality.
Uh-oh.
We died.
Will the monkeys be able to
deliver green gold to richard?
I'm gonna go call up
some of my old cheerleaders.
Or will the past come back
to haunt them all?
Okay, that looks stupid.
-Wow.
-Wow.
We can't even walk down
a hallway that well.
-- Captions by vitac --
www.vitac.com
Captions paid for by
discovery communications
This one I'm fired up
about, dude.
[ Laughs ]
I finally found
my high-school car.
I graduated high school
in fort worth in 1987.
That's right --
I'm a lot younger than I look.
Now, school and me --
Well, it was never
the most comfortable fit,
But I had something cool
To help me get through
the whole thing...
My 1974 mercury comet.
[ Meows ]
When you talk to gearheads
about hot rods,
You never hear the words
"mercury comet."
But back in 1974,
it had a lot to offer.
Based on the same frame
as the ford maverick,
It was a compact car with class
and a comfortable ride.
By the time I got mine in high
school, it was 11 years old,
But I still thought
it was the cat's meow.
[ Meows ]
You drove a comet?
Wow.
Yeah.
It was puke-green.
I mean, the most disgusting
color green
You could have picked.
What made you buy that?
It was my dad's car,
And he decided to sell it
so he could get something else.
He was willing
to finance it for me.
I think he charged me
$25 a week or something.
And it was a six-cylinder?
At least I had a car.
Your first car is a lot like
your first love.
You just never forget it.
So, a few years ago,
I wanted my first car back.
But being as
I couldn't find it,
I decided to look
for a '74 mercury comet
That I could re-create
into the one I had.
Problem is -- they were just
utilitarian transportation.
There wasn't anything
really special about them.
Most of them
have just been junked.
You just have to get lucky
and find one
That's been
in somebody's garage forever.
Oh, there it is.
Look at that!
Mercury comet!
Oh, dude, imagine that thing
all nice and green-on-green.
It's like 1987
all over again.
So far.
* Duh-duh-duh *
Look at that.
Wow!
Wow!
Didn't expect to see that.
Richard.
Good afternoon, gentlemen.
How are you?
My name is fred naturale.
Hi, fred.
Dennis collins.
Dennis.
The super bee is not for sale.
Whatever. Never mind the big,
orange thing in the back.
Let's talk about
the comet.
Love it!
So, what's the story
on this car?
Came from california.
And it was a typical
dear-old-lady story.
She drove it on the weekends
to the supermarket.
The car actually got shipped out
to cape cod, where I bought it.
Dennis:
what are the miles, "r"?
-55,000.
-Yep.
Richard: so, I'm checking it out
in the driveway.
I mean, the interior
is unbelievable.
Dennis: the car is clean.
There's no rust.
And it's really dry
underneath.
Been tapped once
over here.
Yeah, there's a little bond
on that side.
Probably
a parking-lot accident.
You want to see
under the hood?
Yes, sir.
Still got
all the smog stuff.
Yeah.
Start it up.
[ Engine starts ]
Whoa.
It sounds good.
This is my wife, daria.
Hey, daria.
Richard rawlings.
-This is richard.
-Nice to meet you.
He's interested
in your comet.
Fred: when I purchased
the comet,
I was actually gonna do
a v-8 swap-over on the car
And make it a little bit
of a hot rod.
But once I got it
running and stopping,
It ran so good that
my wife jumped in
Behind the wheel one day
and never came out.
Never got out of it.
Take it for a drive?
Absolutely.
Take it as far as you'd like.
Jump right in.
Even the seat-belt buzzer
works, dude.
Does it feel like home?
[ Breathes deeply ]
Let's find out.
Ugh. Definitely smells
like the one I had.
Or is that you?
[ Laughs ]
Well,
I guess it's the car.
Hold on.
Hanging a corner.
[ Tires screech ]
Yeah!
[ Both laugh ]
That's the way I used to drive
in high school.
I'm sure.
Probably had it on two wheels.
[ Tires screech ]
So, we get it
out on the road,
And it doesn't make a rattle,
doesn't make a sound,
Does everything
it's supposed to do.
Even the a.c. Works.
I mean,
this is a good car.
All right, I'm buying it.
I don't care what he says.
Man, not a rattle,
not a shimmy.
Pretty rad.
Fred:
it's a good ladies' car.
Oh, don't say that, dude.
I drove this car in high school.
[ Laughter ]
it's real dependable.
I had no thought putting her
behind the wheel.
Anyways, you're looking
for somewhere around --
We were asking $6,200 for it,
but we're open to offers.
She's got to give
the "yes" or "no."
[ Chuckles ]
So, they were hoping
for around 6,200 bucks.
Quite frankly, I don't know
If that's in or out
of the ballpark,
'Cause there's just not anything
to compare it to.
But you know me.
No matter what,
I need to get it cheaper.
Golly.
I think I only got like 3 grand
When I sold it
in high school.
How about $3,500?
-That's --
-no.
-No? No way?
-No, no, no.
All right.
What's the bottom line?
$4,500?
Wow!
We're moving
in the right direction.
How about 4 grand?
Smidgeon.
Smidgeon more.
A smidgeon more.
How much is a smidgeon?
$200.
Okay. $4,200.
That will get us dinner
tonight.
That's a big dinner.
$200 Extra will get us --
-Oh.
-I was gonna say.
You're going for
a $4,200 dinner, I'm going.
[ Chuckles ]
Um...yeah, I'll do it.
Stick out your hand.
Awesome!
There we go.
Ladies first.
Thank you.
The 4,200 bucks,
it's a weird number,
But he needed 200 bucks
for dinner.
I mean, look at him.
He's a big guy.
That's probably like
half a side of beef.
There you go, ma'am.
Thank you, richard.
Anyways,
this isn't about money.
I don't want to build this car
and sell it and make a profit.
I want a chance
to get behind the wheel
Of the very first car
I ever had
And be that kid that was ready
to take on the world.
Well, guys,
we're gonna get back to dallas.
Thank y'all again.
-Thank you very much.
You made my high-school dreams
come true again.
-Nice.
-[ Laughs ]
Great to meet y'all.
-Whoo!
-See you later.
Richard: we wish
it was green-on-green,
But we can fix that
at gas monkey.
Otherwise,
it's exactly what I need.
I'm going back to 1987.
It's gonna be like
going back to the...back,
Wherever that is.
Dennis: how could you be
a ladies' man in high school
Driving a ladies' car?
Dude, I wasn't.
I got ridiculed like hell
in high school.
**
Sweet!
Charles: shh! All right, guys.
He hasn't seen us.
Jason: mike, tony, get moving.
You're dragging back there.
What's up, guys?
Where are the guys?
Hello?
I told you he'd leave the keys
in the car.
Hurry, come on.
Get in. Get in!
Hurry.
The train's leaving.
Hurry, hurry,
hurry, hurry,
Before somebody realizes
it's gone.
All right, let's go.
[ All screaming ]
[ Tires screeching ]
[ Laughs ]
Uh-oh.
Daddy.
Oh.
Go in reverse,
go in reverse.
Go, go, go!
[ Laughter ]
This never happened.
Come on, man.
Mike:
he doesn't look happy.
[ Laughter ]
All right,
get out of the car.
Hey, it's a cream puff.
[ Laughter ]
I can't believe you'd treat
a nice classic this badly.
Tony: oh, man.
I freakin' love it, man.
It's a comet, dude.
What's not to love?
Jason:
you used two inappropriate
words, "nice" and "classic."
This is yours?
Hell yeah, it is.
Did it come with a [bleep]
no.
[ Laughter ]
Seriously, man,
this is super-cool.
You know how long I've looked
for one of these?
-Why?
-Exactly.
You are looking at,
except for the coloring,
The exact car
I had in high school.
Hold on. I'm gonna
go out on a limb -- green.
It was green.
[ Laughs ]
With -- wait, wait, wait.
With green interior.
With green interior.
So, check this out.
It's actually
kind of bad news for y'all,
But good news for me.
Aaron's taking
a little vacation time.
He's not coming in
these next couple weeks.
Why?
Mostly 'cause he's
"the bearded wonder"
And he needed a break.
He just said he wanted
to take a little time off.
You know, he even told me
he wants to go fly a jet
And do a lot of other things
that he's always wanted to
But didn't have the time.
Yeah.
But here's the great news.
Aaron would never
build this car for me.
I've talked to him a million
times over the last 15 years,
And he's like,
"no way in hell
Am I ever touching
a mercury comet."
So, since he's not here,
now we're gonna build it.
That's the bad news
for all of us.
That's it.
So, what are we doing?
I want the exact car
I had in high school.
A.c., Power steering,
power brakes.
Shag carpet.
I don't think
you can use power
On anything on this car.
Dude, come on.
Cheatham: it's ridiculous.
It's got bumpers
that stick out like a mile.
Like this much room between
the body and the bumpers?
I know.
This is the first car
I ever customized.
How did you customize it?
Well, I put
a stick-on hood scoop.
I put some stripes on it.
And I had
some keystone mags
With some toyo raised
white-letter tires.
Mike: and that's what
you want to do again?
Heck yeah.
This was a rad-dude car in 1985.
Well, since you can't see
the motor when the hood's down,
Can we put a real motor
in the car?
Nope. This is gonna be the car
I had in high school.
It can be the car you had in
high school with the hood shut,
But with a cool motor
in it.
-But that was 1985.
-Yeah, no kidding.
We're going
with six-cylinder.
You gonna tuck
these bumpers?
Please say yes.
No.
That's the way they came,
that's the way I want it.
We'll lose the smog control,
clean up underneath,
And just make
a bad-a*s comet.
You can't use "bad-a*s" and
"comet" in the same sentence.
Yes, you can.
-Oxymoron.
-No, you can't.
That's a bad-a*s comet.
See? I just did.
That's wrong.
Jason:
you know, with aaron gone,
You'd think richard would
ask the rest of us monkeys
What we want to do
with this car.
We have a ton of experience
and a lot of good ideas.
But what's he gonna
let us do instead?
Pretty much nothing.
Cheatham:
we could at least add, like,
one "o" of cool to it
If he'd just let us
tuck the bumper,
Shave some stuff off.
And put a 5.0 in it.
Put a 5.0 in it.
Instead of a six-cylinder.
-Yeah. [ Scoffs ]
-i don't know.
Yeah. But some big, old, wide
meats in the back, tub it out.
Like, we could, like, make it
like a [bleep] monster
But no.
Basically, anything cool,
richard don't want on this one.
Because the car ain't cool.
Ain't cool at all.
Mike:
so, how long do we get to build
your high-school dream car?
Richard:
you got two weeks.
-Okay.
-All right.
You sure we can't
tuck these bumpers?
Guys, come on.
This is it.
Get to work.
Bleh.
Richard: all right,
here's the deal.
Narrator: richard has
a change of heart...
Y'all can do
whatever you want to.
...before breaking a seller's.
It sounds like you got a lot
of family history with it.
Does that come
with a big price tag?
**
Cheatham:
well, I guess we should
get started on this thing.
I really don't want to.
It does nothing for me.
I don't mind
doing ugly ducklings,
But this is
the ugliest duckling.
This is not even a duck.
Richard.
What's this I hear,
you're building a '74 comet?
Heck yeah. Like the one
I had in high school. Ha!
Are we paying for it?
Yes.
Have we bought it?
Yes.
Mm.
Okay.
So, you know how it goes
When you think back
on your childhood.
You tend to remember
the good times,
But not so much
how things really were.
It was vomit green.
That was not cool
in high school.
Green.
It was super-cool.
It was called "comet vomit."
Comet vomit --
that's what they called you.
We don't need
to talk about that.
I don't think
this is a good idea.
It's a great idea.
What are you gonna have
the monkeys do to it?
Make it just like the one
I had in high school.
Then I'm gonna get
my lovely wife
To dress up in an eastern hills
cheerleading uniform,
And I'm gonna go cruise around,
try to be cool.
Oh, goodness.
No.
As richard's big sister,
I feel like it's my job
to save the world
And not have to relive this
ugly, ugly chapter in history.
I think you need
to think about this.
What's the point
of doing the car
If you're not gonna give it
the gas monkey treatment?
That's what
people want to see.
Because I want it to be
like the one I had.
It's 2017.
Come on.
I wasn't --
Listen to me.
What?
Listen to your sister.
No comet vomit.
Let the monkeys
do their job.
They know how
to gas-monkey it up.
Listen to me.
[ Sighs ]
I was the cool one,
anyway.
Just go away.
I'm gonna go to talk to my guys.
Richard:
hang on, hang on.
Don't put that thing
on the lift yet.
It's a cream puff!
All right,
here's the deal.
So, I've been listening
to y'all b*tch enough
And I've heard all
the snide comments and remarks.
So, instead of building
my exact car from high school,
To a point, y'all can do
whatever you want to.
Why don't we
give it some nuts
And give it a little
-I like the sound of that.
-Yeah.
Why don't we do a 300 motor,
maybe a different carburation?
Change the stance,
maybe cut off the bumpers.
-Bumpers.
-Bumpers!
Get rid of all this trim
that's not needed,
And paint it some other color
other than green?
[ Scoffs ] no.
It will be green.
Mike: I'm okay with the green.
I'm okay with the green.
What about the hood?
Do you want to go
With the grabber hood
that had the snorkels?
-Yeah, a grabber hood.
-Absolutely a grabber hood.
All right.
-We're talking bigger wheels.
-Bigger wheels.
We can just do
a locker rear end,
Straight-6 webers,
keep the c4,
Put a shift kit in it,
just hop it up a little bit
So it will be
fun to drive.
Y'all still need to give us
enough time to do our job.
You're gonna get your four days,
just like always.
[ Laughter ]
Richard: I don't want to get
into fender flares
And I don't want to get
into changing my suspension
And I don't want to get
into shortening the rear end
And having to build tubs
or anything of that crap.
So that you don't
have to do any mods.
Does that make y'all happy?
-Yes.
-Yes.
Here's the downside.
The bearded wonder
gets back in three weeks,
So that's all the time
you're gonna get.
Man: whoa.
Well, you got to look
at the bright side, too.
You don't have to deal
with aaron.
He'd be trying
to shoehorn a 572 in there.
And that's a chevrolet
and not even a freakin' ford.
Cheatham: but we do
have to get it done
Before he gets back
from vacation,
So it's still
a lot of work on our part.
Jason: if that's decided,
we need to start
Tearing this thing down --
like now.
I don't know why richard
finally saw the light,
But I'm certainly
more excited about this build
Now that richard's letting us
monkeys have some input on it.
And let's just shred it
and get it to mike and tony.
Try to give you a decent
amount of time this time.
Sure.
All right.
Charles: of course,
now that we've talked the talk,
We got to walk the walk,
Especially now that
we're piloting the ship.
It's going to be
our asses on the line
If richard's not happy
when it's done.
Literally dropped the tank.
Ay, papí!
Gotty.
Wink.
Aah.
Jason: there's a couple
of big issues --
Or, in this case, small ones --
That we got to tackle
if we're gonna stay on schedule.
What is that [bleep]
That was the reaction
we had, too.
We're going to have jamie
soup up the motor
With a carburetor
and some new internals
And give this motor
some real power.
Leave it loose
so it will fly out of the back.
[ Laughs ]
And we're sending
all the interior
Out of house, to rolando.
Clear?
You're good on my side.
Then, while mike and tony
start stripping the paint...
It's kind of satisfying
watching it bubble up.
It's making
your hair fall off.
What?!
...we're going to tackle
One of the ugliest things about
this car -- the bumpers.
-Hey, guys.
-What's up?
Just bumpin' along here.
Tony:
be careful back there.
That stuff
really stinks, guys.
-No, it doesn't.
-We know.
Cheatham: so, here's the deal
about comet bumpers.
Any year
but this particular year,
They had really nice,
sucked-in bumpers.
But this little era has
the big impact-absorbing bumpers
That are horrible.
If we don't fix that,
no matter what else we do,
Everybody's gonna be turned off
at the first look of it.
So, they left us
about a football field.
So if we can get it down
to an end zone,
It's gonna look a lot better.
-What are those?
-Oh, geez.
Well, before,
when it stuck out really far,
See, these cool bad boys would
go here and do this number.
'Cause that's how far
it was out.
What I'm wondering is --
if I could cut --
Say, cut the lip of it...
Mike: right there?
...or tuck it
under the bumper.
Let's look at it.
Yes, sir.
You want to stick that one
on here?
Jason: now I got paint stripper
all over my hands, thanks.
Okay, that looks stupid.
Tony: yeah.
-Easy, k*ller.
-Patience.
Cheatham:
yeah, that looks fantastic.
What was I thinking?
You know what, guys?
The amount of work it would take
to not only suck this in
But then make
all this business on the corner
Out of rubber
and plastic make sense...
[ Clang ]
Mike: and that piece
is falling off.
...is not worth it.
I think it's obvious.
What's obvious?
That we need a new bumper.
Yeah, 'cause this one sucks
really bad.
So, you think, obviously,
this bumper's not gonna work?
There's just too many
other options, I think,
That are better.
Yeah, this bumper's awful.
I think --
pull that away.
I think we use
a '69, '70 maverick bumper --
They curl up, and I think
it would fit into that,
Where at least we could
shape it the way we want.
And then you could use
a lower valance off that car,
And even if we had
to shorten it.
We can get one of those local.
Yeah.
But richard wanted us
to keep these bumpers.
Well, richard doesn't get
to choose anymore.
Jason: we all know
richard wants to keep the comet
Looking like a comet,
and we're gonna try.
But we also want
to make it look cool.
And on this tight schedule, we
don't have time to fool around.
Well, it's settled, then.
We're gonna get
a different back bumper.
We need to take
the most efficient route
Whenever possible
that will still give us
The look we're after.
Here's my modification.
Done.
Sorry, richard.
Richard:
so, here's a fun fact for you.
Having all seven monkeys
try to cobble together
Your high-school car
doesn't come cheap.
And daphne made it real clear
That I had to dig up some cash
of my own to help pay for it.
So, a friend of mine just
down the street from gas monkey
Gave me a call
and told me about a truck
That's been in his family
for a very long time,
And he was ready to sell it.
I grabbed some cash
and headed over.
What's going on, james?
How you doing, sir?
Doing all right?
Is this the truck
you called me about?
Yes, sir. It's my wife's
grandfather's truck.
No kidding.
'69 Step-side
chevy pickup.
He bought this
when he was still with us.
And when he passed away,
My father-in-law decided
he wanted it.
Drove it for many,
many years.
So, is this
the original seat?
I don't know.
He had both of these
when he passed away,
And I just kept both of them,
'cause if we ever did anything,
I didn't know
which one would go in it.
What we had hoped to do
with that truck was --
My father-in-law
was going to help my son,
When my son turned 16,
fix it up,
And it was gonna be
my son's first vehicle.
There's a spot or two
on the floor, I think,
That's gonna have
to be repaired and fixed.
But he developed arthritis
And ultimately found out
that he had lung cancer
And ultimately passed away.
Oh, man.
So, there the truck sat.
So, how long's it been here?
About four years.
And, man,
I loved my father-in-law.
[ Voice breaking ]
he was a heck of a guy.
Yes, sir.
And, uh...
It just seemed to me like
it was out here wasting away.
And sonny
wouldn't have wanted that.
The more he started talking
about his father-in-law,
He really did get
a little tore up over it.
And, you know,
that's pretty cool to see.
People get emotional about cars
Because it's also,
you know, part of family.
I mean, I could tell you
a ton of stories
That I'd probably cry like a
little baby about me and my dad
And some of his hot rods
he had when I was growing up.
So, my thought was --
if there's any life in it,
Driving down the road
with somebody,
Sonny's kind of still out there
hot-rodding around.
I gotcha.
There's always life
in these old pickups.
I can promise you that.
He wants to see this thing
back on the road.
And I'm willing
to help get it there,
But only if I can get it
for the right price.
Mm! You know, it's just
an old step-side pickup truck,
So I don't know.
It sounds like you got
a lot of family history with it.
Does that come
with a big price tag,
Or what do you want for it?
Well, you can't pay for the
emotional attachment, richard.
I realize that.
I gotcha.
I wish more of my customers
realized that.
So, I think
just what I'd like to do
Is just do $1,000,
if you could do that.
I'm not gonna
argue that, sir.
I appreciate you, richard.
I can give you a grand.
That's not a problem.
I even got that in cash.
So, at 1,000 bucks,
I'm not gonna low-ball the guy.
There's no reason to.
It's a super-fair price
right there.
Let's go get that title
and do some paperwork.
All right, man.
Appreciate it.
James: driving up every day,
seeing this truck sitting here
Was always a monument to me,
kind of, of sonny,
And it's hard to let it go.
But I think this has got an
opportunity now to go somewhere
And be fixed up
and have a good home.
I believe it will be
driving down the road,
And I think, somehow,
up in heaven,
Sonny's gonna be smiling.
Narrator: the comet
drags the monkeys down.
...do is alter the --
the whole front end?
Jason: yeah,
that's a big deal.
And aaron's vacation
takes him to new heights.
Aah!
**
Skrrr!
Hey, you got to watch out
for them curves, man.
Watch out for them curves.
How long are you
gonna have it, germs?
Uh, as long as it takes.
I don't mean that
in a rude way,
But it's
the wrong answer.
Well, can "as long as it takes"
be quick?
Uh, yeah.
Well,
now that we have parts,
We should be able to start
rock 'n' rollin' on it.
'Cause I will come over here
and sand if I have to.
-No.
-No, you won't.
-No, no, no.
-Okay.
So, we let mike and tony
start priming the comet
While we're chasing parts down.
Well, now that stuff's
starting to roll in,
We got to finish
mocking everything up
Before we can give it back
to him.
Get this up here.
We tracked down
a pair of maverick bumpers
To replace these hideous, huge
bumpers that were on the car.
But it's gonna take some work to
make them fit the way we want.
Charles: dude, I can get
my whole hand in here.
Not only that, it's tucked
way underneath there
And it's, like...buck-toothing
right here.
And then it's, like,
underbiting over here.
We're gonna have
to shorten the bumper
And then have it
re-chromed.
That's the only way
it's gonna happen.
I think we're on the right track
with the bumpers,
But there's still
another important decision
We have to make.
Where do you want
to go with this?
Jason: are you ready to take it
to the body shop?
No, no, no.
Mike: we don't know
what we're gonna do yet.
[ Grunts ]
[bleep]
Jason: richard told us
he added a hood scoop
To his high-school version
of this car.
But we're gonna do one better.
We pulled in
a ford maverick grabber hood
With these cool air scoops
on the side.
Aah!
Now we've just got
to make it look
Like it belongs on our comet.
Seems like all you'd have to do
is alter the --
The whole front end?
Jason: yeah,
that's a big deal.
Even though it doesn't look
like much, that's a big deal.
Jason: do you think if we used
the maverick grille
Instead of this,
it would look better?
We could get
a maverick grille.
Only thing -- like, we didn't
start with the maverick.
It's not supposed
to be a maverick.
Yeah, it'd break
his little heart
If we did anything else
to change his original car.
So, you just want to cut
the scoops out of this hood
And put them
in that hood?
-You want to use the boss'?
-I think so, yeah.
If we just carve these out --
we'll cut them around this way,
Get the hump
and everything,
And stick it onto that hood
and see how it goes.
Charles: I just see
a humongous difference
In how these are sitting,
versus that hood.
So to try to graft those
onto that,
When you could just
cut this front end off
And put that front end on it.
Hmm. I don't know. I'm gonna
leave it to you, jeremy,
To figure out
what you want to use.
Eh, I feel the same way.
Yeah, you're the fabricator.
You're the one
that's gonna have to do it.
So put your mind around it,
see what you think.
All right.
Just don't
take six weeks to do it,
Like somebody else
we know.
Fun.
Watch your feet.
Moving behind.
Cheatham:
so, here's the skinny on this.
We want to keep our original
structure from the comet hood
But use the skin off
the maverick grabber hood.
You guys have fun with that.
I'm taking my body back.
All in all, it has
kind of the same features.
It still hits
the same "a"-to-"b" points
On all the corners.
It's got like a 1/4-inch gap
on the back back here.
Do you want it
right up against the edge?
If you can, get it as close
as you could for me.
It's gonna take a lot of work,
But nothing to it but to do it.
**
[ Ringtone ]
Hey, dude.
What's going on?
Hey. Just wanted to know how
things are going at the shop.
Well, uh, they're going.
You're not gonna believe
what richard's got us
building right now --
A '74 comet,
and it's green.
Of course it is.
Can you guys take
a long lunch today?
-Yeah.
-Why not?
What kind
of question is that?
Yeah,
I think that's a winner.
Well, meet me at
the fort worth alliance airport,
Because I've got
a surprise for you guys.
Fort worth alliance airport.
Okay.
When do you want us
to meet you?
Right now, man.
Okay. Good enough.
We'll see you shortly.
Mike: what does he want us
to go to the airport for?
Heck, I don't care.
Let's go.
Let me go get
jonathan and webster.
Charles: if this is what I think
this is, this is gonna be good.
**
Aaron: when I was little,
I was a big f-14 fan.
I loved "top g*n." I watched it
about 4 billion times.
And then I was always a big fan
of the thunderbirds.
They flew f-16s.
And I thought that the plane
was given to us by god himself.
-That is awesome.
-Dang, this is crazy.
So when I found out that
the thunderbirds were performing
Just a little ways
from the shop,
I decided to have a field trip,
my style.
[ Whooshing ]
How do you do, sir?
-Welcome, guys.
-Hey.
So glad y'all could
get out of the shop.
Thanks for having us.
Field trip.
It's nice to get away.
Welcome out of the garage.
I'm major scott petz,
the advance pilot and narrator
With the united states air force
thunderbirds --
Call sign cheetah.
The thunderbirds are
the united states air force
Advanced demonstration team.
We take our eight f-16s
on the road
And perform air shows
Every single week
from march until november.
This is
a high-performance aircraft.
It's doing 9 g's,
going over 500 miles an hour.
And six of them
have more horsepower
Than the entire starting lineup
of the daytona 500 --
In one motor of one jet.
Wow.
It's a complex system.
You guys want
to pick my brain,
Or the harder workers on
the team -- the mechanics here?
So, what kind of workout routine
to y'all do
To get
in this kind of shape?
We do the 8-minute abs.
[ Laughter ]
So, we get here,
and us guys, man --
We're all kind of star-struck,
you know?
We love what we do,
but those air force guys --
They're on a totally
different level than us.
Of course, I wouldn't know that
firsthand, but aaron would.
[ Camera shutter clicking ]
He actually got
to fly with these guys
A couple weeks back.
Man:
we're going ballistic, man.
[ Aaron laughs ]
I guess it pays
to be one of the bosses.
You guys want to see
a jet up close?
-Absolutely.
-Come on.
Have you guys worked on, like,
jet motors or anything?
Yeah, every day.
Every day.
[ Laughter ]
Jason:
the next thing you know,
We're staring into the mouth
of this huge intake.
There's 30 blades up there
with this engine.
Any gearhead out there
knows how cool it is
To get up close and personal
With an incredible machine
like this.
Right up here,
You can kind of think of it
as the transmission.
We call it
an accessory-drive gearbox.
Our tires -- we keep them
at around 300 psi.
And the wheel
is actually designed
To blow, separate apart.
And it will light off
right around here
Just from the heat,
and that's what creates
Around a 16-to-20-foot flame
sh**ting out the back.
Each wing holds
about 500 pounds of fuel.
The thing is --
this isn't like a car.
If something goes wrong,
You can't just pull over
to the side of the road.
A mechanic working
on these things --
He's got to be
on top of his game.
Think of, like, an engine.
You know, you have a piece of
a valve, whatever it is.
You'll blow a hole
in the block.
You're far away
from a fuel tank.
We have fuel tanks
all around the engine,
So if a blade
punctures that,
You're now a fireball
flying around.
All right, guys,
the pilots are stepping out.
They'll be loading up
in the 1 through 6 jets.
Enjoy the show.
-Absolutely.
Thanks for having us.
[ Indistinct shouting ]
Jason: so, the thunderbirds
are doing their big shows
With music and everything
on the weekend.
[ Engines whirring ]
But lucky for us,
they have to rehearse...
And we got a front-row seat.
[ Whooshing ]
God, dude, they look
like they're right
on top of each other.
Mike: I call that
going to work.
God, the stress those wings
are under, man -- whew-ew.
Oh, god, man!
-Oh, man.
Aaron: the opportunity to go fly
with the thunderbirds
Was a childhood fantasy of mine.
Aah!
-Wow.
-Wow.
We can't even walk down
a hallway that well.
You can't be a gearhead
and not love this.
Woman:
that's a controlled stall.
Yeah,
he's walking it, yeah.
Very, very challenging,
especially on a windy day.
That's a lot of work.
-[ Laughs ]
-yes! Nice!
[ Laughter ]
I know this took a bit of a bite
out of the monkeys' day,
And they're not on vacation,
like me.
But, sometimes, taking a break
is exactly what everybody needs.
Maybe there's a little bit
of inspiration.
These guys have
a schedule to keep,
And they're doing a good job.
Now my guys can get back
to the shop and get back to it.
Man: all right.
Jason: yeah, it sure does
make you feel proud
Of the old
red, white, and blue.
That's a hell of a show.
So, here it is.
Narrator: richard's negotiating
Comes between
a man and his marriage.
Oh, my gosh.
My wife would k*ll me.
Narrator:
and the honeymoon is over
for the comet build.
Sounds like
the timing is way off.
You mother-trucker!
The answer when we return.
Narrator: the answer is "a."
The convertible
mercury comet caliente
Driven by vince vaughn's
character, trent,
Was actually owned by writer
and co-star jon favreau.
**
What you think?
It's fresh.
This is fresh.
You can smell it.
It looks good, man.
Yeah,
it looks pretty decent.
Straight.
And the green's
not near as bad
As I thought
it was gonna be.
Nah.
I'll tell you what --
that engine bay --
You can definitely tell
that you sandblasted it.
It's super-fresh.
Well, cool.
We got a car to build now.
Yep. We got --
the fenders are done, too.
Next, I'm gonna get started
on the hood.
Okay, we'll start, I guess,
making brake, fuel lines,
And then start hanging
suspension.
Yeah.
All right.
**
Charles: come on in.
[ Both laugh ]
Cheatham: whoa!
Going up.
So, we've arrived at another
key stage of this comet build.
Look out now.
The main body's
over here for good,
And we can finally start
hanging parts on this car.
Well, the good news is --
we have more power.
And with the locker in --
we got it in now --
The tires and wheels
will hook up pretty good.
[ Paint g*n hissing ]
'Cause we spent a lot more time
than we expected
Fabricating the hood
and the bumpers,
We're coming down to the wire.
Scooch it up
a little bit.
So, our goal
is to get everything on,
Everything working on schedule.
Work through the burn.
You're almost there.
God, dude, my leg --
dude, seriously?
You're literally
almost --
[ Grunts ]
[ Laughs ]
I can't move any farther.
My butt's
cramping up, man.
[ Laughs ]
Don't stop now, dude.
It's all riding on you.
Keep truckin'.
Oh, man.
So, you came in from indiana?
No, minneapolis.
Minneapolis.
Right on.
This texas weather --
If you don't like it,
just wait a minute.
Richard: so, you guys remember
that truck
I bought from a friend of mine
the other day?
The guy selling it was kind of
emotionally attached to it,
So he wanted it to go
to a good home.
Well, since aaron seems to be
enjoying his vacation
A little more than I'd like,
This isn't a good time for us
to build it.
So I had tony put it up
on the old interwebs.
And before you could say,
"give me a beer,"
This guy named jason from
minnetonka or minnesota
Or -- I don't know --
somewhere cold
Said he's coming down
to look at it.
I said, "cool. Bring a trailer.
I'll hold it till you get here."
So, here it is --
'69 chevy c-10.
Decent truck.
You know, just clean,
no rust-out.
It's got some surface rust,
And I bought it here local,
one-family-owned.
And, usually,
what I do on something like this
Is just go through it
front-to-back
And make sure I can tell
you the truth about what
it does and doesn't do.
So, what's your plan?
I'm kind of thinking
an ls swap,
Kind of a gas monkey garage
clone
That I build myself and I can
probably actually afford.
Really?
Well, this one's got
the original six.
We tuned it up.
New brakes, battery.
Cleaned the car.
Cleaned the gas tank.
I like the '69 c-10.
It's kind of a unique
body style --
You know, a short box,
sporty little truck.
It looks really clean.
So, does this thing run?
Yeah.
[ Engine starts ]
Up in minnesota,
due to the salt,
All of our classic cars
kind of get rusty and crusty,
So, definitely, if you can
come down south and pick one up,
You have to take
that opportunity.
Richard: throw the hood down.
Let's go for a ride.
Richard: so, we take the truck
out on the road.
You know how I work --
got to seal the deal.
You know, it could be
a skosh peppier,
But it's running
nice and clean.
Uh-oh.
[ Laughs ]
we died.
And, well, it's not running
all that great.
We're off now.
I mean, what are you gonna do?
It's a hot rod.
Or it's gonna be a hot rod,
if I can sell it to this guy.
So, there you go, man.
See? It just needed to warm up
a little bit.
She's purring
like a kitten.
Besides, jason didn't come
all this way
To go home empty-handed.
I paid $1,000 for it,
But I think I can make eight
times that
If I play my cards right.
You know, this one
being one-family-owned
and what have you,
And it is in really,
really good shape --
I don't know.
Richard starts at $10,000.
I'm like, "oh, my gosh.
My wife would k*ll me."
I don't think I can get
to $10,000.
I can do $5,000.
Mnh-mnh.
How about $7,500?
Uh...
$7,500 Seems like a lot,
but it is solid.
It'd be nice if I could throw
a soda can back here
And it not fall out,
but I can do $7,500 today.
Cool.
Let's do it, man.
I'm a little disappointed
to part with this truck,
but gas monkey did well.
We got a local one-owner truck
back on the road,
And it's going to a good home.
It's gonna be a pretty cool
hot rod.
Let's get out of the rain
and go do some paperwork.
Check this out.
Oh, yeah!
We got some shiny new rims!
When us monkeys pushed richard
To let us beef up
his high-school car,
We were taking on
a lot of responsibility.
Hot damn.
I dig that, man.
Not only because the boss man
Has such sentimental value tied
up into this build,
But we wanted to show him
that we could do this.
Dude. I like it.
Wow.
Yeah, once we get that valance
in front all laid in,
I mean, it's gonna look
a lot more tucked to the ground.
Right now, we are this close
to finishing.
Bottom or top?
We can still get the car done
on time.
We have a lot of loose ends
to tie up,
But we need to fire it tonight.
If we want to stay on
our schedule,
That's the only way
it's gonna work.
Ready?
Yep. Let's do it.
[ Engine starts, stops ]
Aah!
So close.
It sounded so good
for like a whole half a second.
Just got to get some gas
up to it.
Yeah, I know.
It's gonna take a while
for it to -- just crank it.
[ Engine starts, stops ]
Oh! Man.
You mother-trucker!
Sounds like the timing
is way off.
So, anytime you have
an old motor
That will crank
but won't engage,
You can quickly narrow it down
to two things --
Either fuel or fire.
Come on, baby.
This is it.
Go ahead.
[ Engine starts, stops ]
Oh, it sneezed.
Ooh!
In this case, we'd already
double-checked our spark plugs,
So we knew the problem
was in our fuel-delivery system.
Is there enough gas?
How many gallons did we put? 5?
Yeah.
But that's plenty.
Again, fool.
[ Engine starts, stops ]
Hold on a second.
Hold on.
He's gonna check something.
This was the last thing
we wanted.
First time bringing them to
life, they always want to fight.
If richard walks in right now
and this thing isn't firing,
All he's gonna see is a bunch
of l's on our foreheads.
[ Engine sputters ]
Guess what it is.
What's the matter?
The same thing it is
every single time.
It's not sucking.
It's backwards.
It's sucking
on the delivery side.
So the fuel-pump fittings
are backwards again.
The one that feeds the
carb and the one that
comes from the tank.
I didn't put those on there.
I didn't do the fuel pump.
I didn't, either.
It came in on the motor.
So, we get going pretty fast
around here on these deadlines,
And sometimes the little things
get overlooked.
For instance, we thought we had
a perfectly plumbed engine,
And that's just not the case.
He said he was running it,
so we just stuck it in there.
I didn't check it twice.
Kind of embarrassing,
but it happens.
So, who's taking the blame
for it?
I will.
Hey,
as long as we get it fixed
Before richard gets here
so I don't have to hear
him, we're all good.
What's up? I thought you were
gonna have this running
by the time I got back.
We didn't want to get it running
before you got here.
You need you to be here
for the big presentation.
You ready?
[ Engine starts, stops ]
Just like high school.
[ Coughing ] little puff.
[ Laughter ]
[ Engine starts, revving ]
There we go.
All right, good enough.
Get it on the ground.
Let's drive it.
[ Laughter ]
Feels good when we win.
What does richard always say?
"Winner, winner,
chicken dinner"?
That's what I'm talking about.
Announcer: coming up, when
the comet makes a comeback...
[ All cheering ]
...richard gets schooled
by some old friends.
Biggest geek you've ever seen.
[ Laughs ]
Comfortable?
I just want to be in
a different place right now.
Don't bother me unless you're
bringing me coconut drinks.
Keep it going, 'cause my heat
goes away when you do that.
[ Laughs ]
[ Both laugh ]
Scott: I was in high school
with richard from 1984 to 1987.
Richard was really not known
as the "athlete" in school.
But, man, he could detail
the heck out of a car.
Amy: richard definitely wasn't
a ladies' man.
I think he wanted to be,
but he wasn't.
Clint: richard rawlings' hair
in high school --
He had a direct part
in the middle.
Biggest geek you've ever seen,
man.
[ School bell ringing ]
Richard liked to pop his collar
a lot
And pulled it up real high
And walked through the halls
like he owned it.
Amy:
he thought he was so cool.
And everybody was like, "okay."
[ Tires screech ]
Daniel:
you know, that comet --
I don't understand
why he was in love with it,
Because it was puke-green,
And nobody thought
that it was cool.
He would do donuts
to get attention,
But it really didn't work.
Clint: but what made it
interesting to me
Was he thought
it was everything.
He thought this was
the coolest car ever made.
And I actually admired that.
Welcome to eastern hills
high school and my first car.
In what I affectionately call
"vomit comet green."
For years and years, I've been
threatening the car community
By bringing back the vomit comet
and finally decided to do so.
I went out to arizona,
found myself a pristine
White-with-blue-interior
'74 mercury comet,
Brought it back down here
to dallas,
And told the monkeys
what I wanted.
I want the exact car
I had in high school.
Why?
Exactly.
So, after a lot of pressure
from daphne
And the guys moping around,
I decided to let them do
their thing.
You know, give me
the 2017 version of my comet.
Richard
turned it over to us,
And, you know,
that was a big deal for us
To make the car that
we thought he should
have had in high school.
We wanted it
meaner and cleaner,
So one of the first
things we had to deal
with were the bumpers.
Was one of those years
Where they actually stuck
the bumpers out quite a bit
For crash regulations --
ugly.
We put a 1972-style
maverick bumper on ours.
We tucked them in.
One way richard tried to toughen
up his car back in high school
Was to add a hood scoop.
We decided to make it
a lot cooler than that.
So, our plan was to use
the maverick grabber hood
with the dual dome scoops.
But it didn't quite fit
the comet.
What we decided to do is
to keep the original comet hood
And implement the grabber hood
into the back two-thirds.
And it gave us the look we were
looking for, fit the car.
We didn't have to change
the front end.
Saved us some time.
Now, when it came
to the power plant,
I didn't really want to go
overboard.
I had jamie rebuild the motor,
rebuild the carburetor.
It's got a little bit more
power, but we're running
All the original
components underneath --
Motor, tr*nny, rear end,
you name it.
Well, except for charles here
had to put in a posi-trac.
Come on in.
You know,
that's the differential
Where both wheels spin
at the same time.
Let me tell you why that's cool.
When I would do brake stands
through here,
Only one wheel was turning.
Now we're gonna be turning two.
Hey, peg leg -- not cool.
Not cool.
Unless
you're a pirate.
This is true.
Arrrr!
When it came to rolling stock,
we reached out to u.s. Mags,
Who made us a stellar set
of wheels.
And chassisworks took care of us
on the front suspension
With the varishocks,
the total-control suspension.
Makes this car
ride like a dream.
Now, when it came to color,
the 1974 mercury comet green
Was the coolest color
in the world.
Well,
let's talk about that.
It wasn't exactly
the coolest color.
But you made me
go with it anyway.
So, me and tony
took a little more time
To straighten up the body
and make it absolutely perfect.
We worked the gaps.
We worked everything
to really slick this car out,
'Cause let's be honest -- the
car that richard had before --
The tuba player was going on
more dates than he was.
When we finally
got the color laid on,
We all had to agree
with richard.
Man, it's the right color
for the car, and we all love it.
When it came to the interior,
I wanted to keep it stock.
Now, the car that I had in
high school was green-on-green,
Which was
a really hideous combination.
But this car, being a bucket
seat, screamed for black.
We put in a kicker stereo,
subwoofer, 6x9s.
Now richard can relive
those old heavy-metal days
From back in the day.
So, I was a little nervous
Letting the guys
take over the comet,
'Cause I really wanted the comet
of my high-school days.
But, well,
I couldn't have been happier
When they delivered
the 2017 version.
But, at the end of the day,
the big question is --
Am I gonna get a wicked, smoky
burnout,
Like the ones I thought I was
doing when I was young?
There's only one way
to find out,
And me being a child,
kids will be kids.
Y'all watch this.
Don't wreck it.
Yeah,
don't wreck it.
Let's go, richard!
Let's go, richard!
Let's go, richard!
Let's go, richard!
[ Tires screech ]
Whoo!
[ All cheering ]
Richard:
so, I guess I'll never have
That perfect replica
of the vomit comet,
But I'm okay with that...
Whoo!
...because, just like me,
The gas monkey comet
is way too cool for school.
[ Engine revs ]
What's up?!
[ Tires squeal ]
[ All cheering ]
This turned out so perfect,
so nice.
I mean, I could probably sell it
for a really big profit.
But I never will.
I mean,
unless I get the right offer.
[ Tires squeal ]
See y'all later.
[ Tires squeal ]
[ All cheering ]
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09x06 - Camaro Rising
Watch/Buy Amazon
Richard Rawlings and prodigious mechanic Aaron Kaufmann seek out forgotten and abandoned classic cars for restoration at their Gas Monkey Garage.
Richard Rawlings and prodigious mechanic Aaron Kaufmann seek out forgotten and abandoned classic cars for restoration at their Gas Monkey Garage.