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MotorTranscript
00:00This is a jewel, this is a jewel.
00:02I'm getting down with the sickness.
00:04I don't think there's anything for sale in here, man.
00:06Well, you know, I've been trying to get rid
00:07of some of my project cars, and I'm
00:09keeping the ones I really want.
00:11Well, it looks like to me, Joe, you kept all of them.
00:13You really like all of them.
00:15You know, I'm going to be getting down with the sickness
00:17on the 60 Impala.
00:18Well, this one, I really like it.
00:20You've got to get up to get down with the sickness.
00:22Easy now, Mike.
00:23Don't discourage me.
00:24It looks big enough.
00:25Oh, man.
00:27We've got trouble, Mike.
00:29Not enough room.
00:32We ain't going to get done.
00:33Mm.
00:35How many cars have got this X-Frame under it?
00:37Too many.
00:38See how flimsy these frames are when you pick the car up?
00:41The whole reason I'm doing this project
00:42is because of this X-Frame design.
00:44That's some sketchy right there.
00:49Damn.
00:53I met a customer.
00:54I said, man, I got a Trans Am hood I need painted.
00:56So we're going to do the accompanying bird
00:59in the OEM style colors.
01:02His really only request was just to take the OEM look,
01:05but put my own twist on it.
01:07Fred and his wife are coming all the way from Florida.
01:09So hopefully they love the way it looks.
01:11You guys ready to see this car?
01:12And hopefully they love the way it runs.
01:15Oh, my goodness.
01:18I'm Joe Martin.
01:20I've been building cars and bikes since I was just a little kid.
01:24My team hunts down rusted wrecks.
01:26Are we going to work today, Joe, or what?
01:28We knock out the ugly and put in the cool.
01:32And turn these buckets of rust into street art.
01:37This is Iron Resurrection.
01:41I remember this car when I was a little kid.
01:42Oh, my gosh.
01:44Joe has been collecting cars, trucks,
01:47really anything automotive for decades and decades.
01:51I really don't want you to sell this Cadillac.
01:54I don't think there's anything for sale in here.
01:56I'd really like Joe to take his time today
01:59and really pick out the car that he's
02:02going to most enjoy building next.
02:05To me, this car's a perfect car because it's so imperfect.
02:11This 60 Impala I've had for years.
02:13A buddy of mine that loves cars, too, he found it.
02:16So I ended up getting the car for him.
02:18It's chipped.
02:20The trim's got some dings in it.
02:22The paint's 23 years old.
02:25Anybody can take an Impala, put air ride wheels on it.
02:29And it's going to look killer.
02:30But you still got the X-frame.
02:32You got the X-frame.
02:33X-frames on these cars, they just don't ride well.
02:36The beauty doesn't go skin deep on this car.
02:39I'm going to keep it.
02:40I want to be able to enjoy it.
02:43I think it needs a frame.
02:45OK.
02:45He's going to freshen it up, and we're
02:47going to drive the wheels off of it.
02:58Well, you know, I've been trying to get rid of some
03:00of my project cars and keeping the ones I really want.
03:03Well, it looks like to me, Joe, you kept all of them.
03:05Well, well, yeah, I guess so.
03:07Black hole, ha, ha.
03:11I took the Impala out today for a little pre-teardown test drive.
03:15Just to psych myself up, to know I'm doing the right thing.
03:18I'm going to get rid of some stuff and then really work on the ones I really like.
03:21Well, the 60 Impala, that's a good one.
03:23The 60 Impala.
03:24I mean, if you don't like the 60 Impala, you're weird.
03:26Yeah, you're weird, man, you're weird.
03:27I can always tell when Joe's never going to get rid of a car, this is one of them.
03:30When he starts investing out of his own pocket in these things and really upgrading them to
03:34something really nice, they're going to be around a while.
03:36It feels like we're in the sea ray right now.
03:38Yeah, it's right.
03:39I feel like we're in the boat.
03:40You know what I mean?
03:42It goes like that.
03:43I can feel it.
03:44And we ain't going that fast.
03:45Uh-uh.
03:46You drive these cars, it's definitely like a diagnostic kind of a test drive.
03:50I'm going to put it on the frame table.
03:51I'm going to cut the floor away, roll the frame out in the boneyard.
03:55You want to feel the steering.
03:56Look at this steering wheel.
03:57They made it big because they didn't have power steering, and the little old lady driving,
04:02she needed to be able to turn this thing.
04:03You know, just the way the car feels, the way the car breaks.
04:12It's another car we cannot scratch, man.
04:14How are you thinking right, Mike?
04:15You know, how it acts on the road, and just make a mental note of that stuff, and that's
04:19the things you want to address.
04:20You're driving around a 60 Impala in the hill country?
04:23Oh, man.
04:24How can you go wrong with that?
04:25How can you go wrong with that?
04:26Very minor body work, though.
04:35It is.
04:36Look at me.
04:37This car's got original glass, man.
04:38That's hard.
04:39That's crazy.
04:40It's not perfect.
04:41That's how I want it, so I can enjoy it and not worry about it so much.
04:44Really, the main thing is to want to get that frame set up.
04:47I love this car, and if it would ride as nice as I think it should, I think it's definitely
04:54worth going to the trouble to make it do so.
04:56We did a little 5.3 LS in it.
04:58Oh, that's right.
04:59Remember?
05:00We've got an LS in it now.
05:02We did an LS swap a few years back on this car.
05:04It's a 5.3.
05:05So, you know, it's a good motor, but it doesn't make a lot of power.
05:08Take this out.
05:09We'll save it for a rainy day.
05:10Mm-hmm.
05:11Zach's going to build a 6.2.
05:12We'll do a supercharger on it.
05:14Put a 4L80 transmission behind it.
05:16Look at the firewall, man.
05:17Yeah.
05:18Got a face only a mother could love, you know?
05:20Yeah.
05:22We're going to put that kind of power on it.
05:23We want a frame that's going to accommodate it.
05:25Just a little clean-up on them, right?
05:26Yeah.
05:27Yeah, it just needs a little something-something.
05:28So, X-frame's got to go.
05:30Basically, everything underneath the car.
05:32What do you think, Mike?
05:33Well...
05:34Is that a good plan?
05:35Yeah.
05:36Yeah, they're always good plans, but then you've got to execute them.
05:38It's more fun talking about it sometimes.
05:40Yeah, it's a lot easier.
05:41I got my plan figured out.
05:42Now it's time to blow it apart.
05:47Damn, you almost one-shotted it.
05:51That thing don't turn that great, does it?
05:53One more time, Joe Martin.
05:55You know, today's a big day for Joe, I know for sure.
05:58Oh!
06:01You're good till you turn it, Joe.
06:02Cut it back to the right and pull it straight up.
06:04All right.
06:05We're going to tear his Impala down.
06:06He's had this car forever, so it's kind of like one of his babies.
06:10Oh, that's perfect, dog.
06:11Come straight back.
06:12We want to get the body off the frame of this thing
06:14and a lot of stuff coming out and going back in it.
06:16Am I crooked?
06:17Not too bad.
06:18Let me go back up.
06:19Yeah.
06:20You know, teardowns are fun till you start.
06:22I've been waiting for this day a long time, Mike.
06:24There you go.
06:25Then it turns into a lot of work.
06:26Man, I don't know.
06:27I ain't never helped put this car on a lift before.
06:29The main goal of this thing is get the frame out from under here.
06:31Get the body off of the frame before we can build us a new frame for that one.
06:34We'll start again.
06:35Put the 250 on it.
06:36Here we go, brother.
06:39Look there.
06:40All right.
06:43All right.
06:44That's air.
06:45I can't wait to get rid of this funky-ass frame.
06:47I'm going to let you stick those pads on,
06:49because I had never put this car on a lift before.
06:51Way in there.
06:52How the hell did we do this last time?
06:53I don't know.
06:54The way the X-frame's designed, I don't have an outer frame rail,
06:58like you would on a perimeter-style frame near the rocker.
07:01I bet it was under the rockers, Joe.
07:05Whose idea was this?
07:06We was all excited a while ago.
07:08I know.
07:09We were all excited.
07:10Now we can't get the car up in the air.
07:11There's nothing under the rockers,
07:12so the problem is picking the car up.
07:14You have to reach way under the car,
07:16and his arms on his lifts are only so long.
07:18Damn.
07:20It's already fighting us out of the gate,
07:22but it'll be worth getting rid of this frame.
07:24What a pain in the ass already.
07:28You want to try it?
07:29Yeah, let's try it.
07:30All right, coming up.
07:31We have to cantilever our little piece of tubing across there
07:33to pick up the frame, so just a little work,
07:35you know, a little bit of sketchy stuff,
07:37but the main thing's get it up in there.
07:39We just got to make sure you don't slip off those pads.
07:42All right, go for it.
07:46Damn.
07:50That's some sketchy right there.
07:57Damn.
08:00So Amanda and I went to a car show,
08:05Turkey Run in Daytona, Florida,
08:07and met a customer out there.
08:08He said, man, I got a Trans Am hood.
08:10I need painted.
08:11I said, well, okay.
08:12Well, bring it out to me.
08:13He says, well, I live nearby.
08:14Can I go get it and bring it to you?
08:16So before we left for the show,
08:18we loaded up the trailer, brought it home.
08:20Here it is.
08:21Here's Fred's hood.
08:22My name's Fred Heldreth,
08:23and we bought a 78 Trans Am actually from the state of Texas
08:27back in 2018.
08:29It was a project car,
08:30and I've been working on it for five years steadily
08:33on and off, on and off, on and off,
08:35and here we are.
08:37All right, man.
08:38Thank you, sir.
08:39You're welcome.
08:40Perfect.
08:41He saw the artwork I did on Brian's gray Trans Am
08:44and decided he wants to do his.
08:51That scared the out of me just then.
08:53Damn.
08:54Look at this door, Gary.
08:55Damn, frames are garbage, man.
08:56Jeez, let me look at the other side.
08:58I mean, right out of the gate,
08:59trying to get the car on the lift.
09:01Because of the X-Frame, you literally,
09:04I couldn't get my arms to reach the frame leg.
09:06A regular frame, a perimeter-style frame,
09:09you know, you could lift the frame right there.
09:12But you can see right here,
09:13this leg wasn't going to make it all the way to here.
09:15Damn!
09:16See how flimsy these frames are?
09:17When you pick the car up, look at the door gaps.
09:19That's how flimsy the frames are.
09:21The car goes like this.
09:23So we put this, this little cross-member piece
09:25off of one of our frame tables on here.
09:27That way we can get in here and start unbolting things.
09:29Even the roof can't 100% support it.
09:32So you raise it up, and then the body's naturally
09:35going to do this.
09:36The whole reason I'm doing this project
09:37is because of this X-Frame design,
09:40which, you know, I guess served its purpose in the day.
09:43But we want to add power.
09:44We want the car to sit low.
09:45We want everything tucked in there.
09:46And so you've got to cut all the floors away.
09:48What's kicking, Zach?
09:49Hey, Joe.
09:50And it sucks because, you know, it's a Texas car,
09:53and it's rock solid.
09:55There's no rust in it.
09:56And I guess, Mike, start getting bumper bolts, body bolts.
10:00Get it tore down, we'll get some body separated.
10:02Get Zach and Mike coming over and help me.
10:04Zach's going to unplug everything.
10:05And we're just going to get that tore down.
10:13Let me pull this one nut off right here.
10:14Yeah.
10:15And then we'll be in business, I think.
10:17Today, we're tearing down Joe's 60 Impala.
10:20There it is.
10:21All right.
10:25Gnarly looking stuff right there.
10:26Oh, yeah.
10:27I think we'll get all the liquids out of the way first.
10:30Yeah, might as well get it over with.
10:32Yeah.
10:34One part down.
10:35I'm almost done.
10:36It's kind of like the kickoff here.
10:40Looks like we're making progress.
10:42Well, if we make it to halftime, we'll be doing good.
10:47Well, it's a roll of electrical tape.
10:49Tape's about as old as me.
10:51You got this car in 98.
10:52I was one.
10:54Pretty much going to scrap everything.
10:55The old frame, motor transmission, everything's going to go.
10:58That tape's been in there longer than you've been on the planet.
11:01So I just need the body where I can set it down on the frame table.
11:04Down.
11:05Down.
11:06The body on this car is in really great shape.
11:08So the floors, unfortunately, have to go.
11:10Firewall's going to go.
11:11These airlines need to come out.
11:13Well, we can just cut those, man.
11:15Put the pinches on those, right?
11:16We just want to accommodate all the modern stuff
11:18we're going to stick in here.
11:30What we're doing today is drawing the 60 Impala.
11:33It's not going to change drastically.
11:34I can show everybody kind of how the car's going to sit.
11:37The scale, how the wheels are going to look.
11:46The cool things about the Impalas in general
11:48are that they change them every year.
11:53Back in the day, when you could buy that car for 2,000 bucks,
11:562,200 bucks new, whatever it was,
11:58it's incredible to think about that everything was retooled.
12:02You know, it's kind of the jet age era
12:04with the wings and the fins and the jets and rockets
12:07on the side of the car.
12:09Everything was designed around George Jetson thing, you know?
12:16The plan for this car is just drivability.
12:19And I've been planning this for probably 20 years.
12:22So, you know, now I'm going to build up horsepower.
12:25Basically, everything's going to be revolved around the suspension.
12:34All right, so I've got yet another Trans Am hood to paint for a customer.
12:41So we're going to get in the booth, get it prepped up.
12:43So I'm going to go in here and color sand.
12:47Basically, get everything ready.
12:50Sand it out so when I do my artwork and my new clear coat,
12:52the clear coat has something to bond to.
12:57So, do a little prep work,
12:58then I'm going to be ready for some artwork.
12:59I've seen his work in the past, and man, that would be so cool
13:04to have that done on the car that I'm building,
13:09which never dreamed in a million years that that would happen.
13:13It's just the finishing touch on this car that I'm really excited about.
13:17We're going to get the wiring in the back,
13:26we need the fuel, undo the throttle bracket.
13:29Well, right now we're about to make an attempt to lift the body off of the frame.
13:33There's a mechanical fuel pressure gauge back there somewhere.
13:36Zach's got all the plumbing, the wiring unhooked.
13:38Joe and I, we've got the steering unhooked, the body bolts out and all that stuff.
13:41So hopefully, hopefully, this thing will lift right up.
13:43We've got Zachy Dew now, man, or Lieutenant Dan.
13:47Look at him.
13:51Look at him.
13:52That's Lieutenant Dan, man.
13:55I don't know who's going to play the part of Forrest Gump.
13:57I'm going to have to put that one on Joe.
13:59Damn.
14:08Here's the example I'm going to do on Fred's car right here.
14:10His really only request was just to take the OEM look, but put my own twist on it.
14:17The main thing I want to do is just get everything centered on the hood.
14:22That's the tricky thing.
14:24What I do is I just kind of draw it in rough with a pencil.
14:28Make sure everything's kind of square.
14:30Once I'm there, establish my center line.
14:32I can pretty much just kind of start doing the detail work.
14:40First glance, it's going to look stock, but, you know, if you're to compare it to an OEM stock decal, you'd definitely see the difference.
14:50The Trans Am decal's been around since, well, 70, really.
14:58Pontiac's evolved the design of the bird on the Trans Am hood.
15:01And it's just an iconic muscle car design.
15:05So it's just little subtle details are what's going to make this thing stand out.
15:11I've done a lot of them.
15:13And I never really get tired of painting.
15:22All right, I'm ready when y'all are.
15:23All right.
15:24I'm just fixing to get it real here in a second.
15:26Whoa.
15:27There it is.
15:28That was the fender wheels.
15:29Something.
15:30That was the fender wheels getting past the body mount.
15:32So the goal here is to separate the body from the frame.
15:35Tap it again, Mike.
15:37Tidja, I think we're unhooked.
15:38I think we're good to go.
15:42If we're not unhooked now, it's stretching something.
15:47Man.
15:49I think you might want to just take a gander under there.
15:52Just to be safe, man.
15:53Nothing's hanging, man.
15:54Yeah, boy, it's definitely clearing the back.
15:59That's it, Mike. Look at that.
16:06That was clean.
16:07Damn.
16:09That was a quick detach, Zach.
16:10Yeah, that went pretty good.
16:12Motor's in great shape.
16:13It's just 5'3".
16:15Head on out, Mike.
16:16There you go.
16:17Let's go on outside, brother.
16:18Let it drain out.
16:19I want a bigger horsepower.
16:20I want to put the supercharger on there.
16:21So I basically don't want to build from that motor.
16:23I mean, I can slide it.
16:24Want to do the ass slide on it, Mike?
16:25Yeah.
16:26The parts off this car will be fine.
16:28You know, somebody may want to just roll this frame under their Impala.
16:31I don't know.
16:32Send that out to the archives.
16:35I know, dude.
16:36It's a fighter, ain't it?
16:39Holy , man.
16:40So we got the 60 Impala pulled into the shop.
16:47Now that we have the frame and everything out of the way, we're going to center line everything,
16:52put it down on the frame table.
16:53Man, that's it.
16:54On the right height.
16:55Once it's set in place, Mike's going to come in and tack the car to the frame table.
16:59And then from that point, we can start cutting the floor away.
17:02All right.
17:03What now, Joe?
17:04I'm going to start gutting the interior.
17:05Mm.
17:06Carpet, seats, all that stuff.
17:08Now that we've got the body mounted to the frame table, it's time to finish the teardown.
17:12All right then.
17:13If you guys need any more muscle, I'll be over there.
17:15Right on, Brian.
17:16Right on.
17:17Don't be far, Brian.
17:18Don't be far.
17:19This thing's got a little weight to it.
17:22Oh, I know.
17:23I'm about to crab walk it.
17:25This material looks like my skin.
17:28Quit it, Mike.
17:29I'm not lying.
17:30You got that Texas weathered look?
17:31I got that weathered look, yeah.
17:33I might put that on the front porch, Mike.
17:36What next?
17:37Let's see what we got.
17:40That thing's probably still there, isn't it?
17:43Jesus.
17:44Oh, that's a thumper, Mike.
17:45Yeah, that's not how much you got some weight.
17:47Put that in the Punisher, man.
17:48Yeah.
17:49Damn.
17:50Well, you got a speaker right here, too.
17:51I know, man.
17:52That's a Panasonic.
17:53That's a Panasonic.
17:54Man, I was jamming, Mike.
17:55You coming to help Daddy?
17:56I'm not sure what that's for.
17:57But there's a pair of them.
17:59Joey, you're jamming on there, man.
18:00I'm jamming, man.
18:01Don't need those.
18:02Where you at, brother?
18:03See them?
18:04Oh, man.
18:05Look at that, man.
18:06Whee!
18:07Look at that.
18:08Hardest thing to take off this car so far as the carpet.
18:09Damn.
18:10You need a bigger trash canning.
18:11Man, I do.
18:12Blue, where's your daddy at?
18:13Where's your daddy?
18:14He's up there.
18:15Hey, what are you doing?
18:16Hey, we got to put your feet up there.
18:17Oh.
18:18She said, pick me up, Mike.
18:19I'll help him.
18:20Come on.
18:21I'll help him.
18:22Come on.
18:23Come on.
18:24Come on.
18:25Come on.
18:26Come on.
18:27Come on.
18:28Come on.
18:29Come on.
18:30Come on.
18:31Come on.
18:32Come on.
18:33Come on.
18:34Come on.
18:35I used to ride in this car, but it didn't look like this.
18:36No.
18:37That's your daddy's ideal.
18:38I know.
18:39That's a lot of work.
18:40Next time you ride in it blue, you won't get seasick.
18:41And so now, all the interior's out.
18:42This thing's ready to cut up.
18:43This is a very solid car.
18:44Some people may cringe at removing all this floor.
18:46but really,
18:47there's no parts of the car.
18:49This is a very solid car.
18:51Some people may cringe at removing all this floor.
18:55But really, the car is a problem.
18:57You know, it's a bad Teslee, and you've done all these things.
19:00I know.
19:01It's a lot of work.
19:02Next time you ride in it blue, you won't get seasick.
19:05And so now, all the interior's out.
19:08Some people may cringe at removing all this floor, but really putting a perimeter style
19:17frame in here, there's just no way you could keep the floor, so they've got to be hand
19:21built.
19:22You know, that's going to be part of the thing to make the new framework, get all the exhaust
19:28up there.
19:31So the purists may not like it, but no comment.
19:45So I got my Trans Am hood all prepped up, ready to go, got everything trimmed out, got to put
19:48my first color on here, mix it up, get in the booth, start coating it.
19:59His car is a black Trans Am, so the Bandit style, obviously, was black.
20:04So we're going to do the accompanying bird in the OEM style colors.
20:09They had a gold color, there was a little bit of orange in there, and just tabbed it a white
20:18highlight.
20:19He wanted to have the look of a factory OEM look, but with my own twist.
20:25Got my first coat of base on here, let that set up for a little bit.
20:29Kind of ready for round two.
20:30I kind of elongated the bird's feathers on the eagle, and just kind of made it a little
20:39bit longer, make it fill into the hood a little better.
20:44Just using the little sun gun here, just to make sure I got good coverage.
20:53Sometimes with this paint, you can have little thin areas, and this light kind of simulates
21:00sunlight.
21:01My coverage looks pretty good.
21:02I'll let that sit, and we'll do one more pass, and I should be ready for the next color.
21:08You know, one of the major hurdles of this project that I wanted to conquer on this car is getting
21:21this tire underneath this quarter panel.
21:24In 1960, they built a wheel tub this wide to fit a tire this wide.
21:28We're going to start cutting, brother.
21:30So we've got to remove it to accommodate our big tire.
21:37Basically, what we'll do is cut it all away, get that radius we're looking for to accommodate
21:50that tire.
21:51Basically, what we'll do after we remove the old one, we'll save some of the pinch weld areas
22:01on the inner quarter panel, and that'll be kind of a reference point.
22:07Fabricate new panels in there, start boxing it back in.
22:14Well, this particular tire that I wanted to use on this car is very tall, and we're doing
22:19a 22-inch wheel, 12 wide.
22:22So it's a big wheel anyway.
22:25A lot of times when you see the Impalas, they've got a low-profile tire.
22:29To me, the geometry doesn't look right because you've got this big, long quarter panel.
22:33You've got this little, thin tire.
22:35So my whole idea of going to all this trouble is to get this taller tire, which means I've
22:40got to cut more.
22:43I've got more rollout I've got to deal with.
22:46You know, I've got to make sure all this stuff clears.
22:49So I'm going to a lot of trouble to get this big tire to fit.
22:53So I've made all my cuts, made all the clearances I hope that I need.
23:01Put the lining in there, kind of got it mocked up.
23:14I've got it clamped in place, so now I've got to get the tire in there and check the
23:17fitment.
23:18Easy now, Mike.
23:19Don't discourage me.
23:20How much room you got in there?
23:21I've got about, you got tape?
23:24A little over 14 inches.
23:25It looks big enough.
23:26Oh, man.
23:27We've got trouble, Mike.
23:28What do you got?
23:29Not enough room.
23:30It'd be a good time to go to commercial.
23:31What a nightmare.
23:32Right?
23:33We ain't going to get done.
23:34Mmm.
23:35We may have a problem, Mike.
23:36You know, when I made my measurements, I knew I'd have all the room with the floor and
23:56everything, but to accommodate that tire, it's going to be very tricky.
24:01Oh, man.
24:02We got trouble, Mike.
24:03What do you got?
24:04Twelve and seven-eighths.
24:05Not enough room.
24:06Basically, this is the radius I want to, uh, I cut everything out right here.
24:13So when I tie this back in, I just want it to accommodate this tire.
24:16You know what I've got to do?
24:17I've got to cut into this.
24:19Trim the hinge.
24:20Accommodates it everywhere else, but now we're having side-to-side clearance issues.
24:24No way around it.
24:26So now I've got to go back to the drawing board.
24:29Hopefully I can find the room.
24:31And, uh, from that point, we'll see if we can make it.
24:34Well, smaller tire and wheel's out of the question, then.
24:36Out of the question, Mike.
24:37If that answers your question.
24:38That answers my question.
24:39All right.
24:40So we're just going to go for it.
24:41We're going to start cutting, brother.
24:43Sometimes you just got to go for it, Joe.
24:44Yeah.
24:45Joe is going to have to remove the bench seat out of a 60 Impala.
24:59That means we've got to get bucket seats.
25:01What's up, man?
25:02Hey, Steve.
25:03What's going on?
25:04How you doing, Shay?
25:05Look at you, dude.
25:06Hey, Steve.
25:07How you doing?
25:08All right.
25:09He doesn't get anything, and he does.
25:10I mean, go figure.
25:11I heard you have some seats for us.
25:12Yes, I sure do.
25:14Come on.
25:15They're right over here.
25:16Ray has got it.
25:17He's always got something.
25:18He's got everything.
25:19I got them set out over here.
25:20Oh, they're right here.
25:21Right here.
25:22Hey, thanks for pulling them out.
25:23Yeah.
25:24No problem.
25:25All the brackets are good.
25:26The hinges are good.
25:27Oh, yeah.
25:28So these actually look like they'll work.
25:30Yeah.
25:31They're out of a Thunderbird.
25:32Oh, that's perfect.
25:33They're not rotted out.
25:34All the springs are good.
25:35Low backs.
25:36It still has the burlap material, the original stuff in there, all the trims on there.
25:41How long have you had them?
25:43Uh, probably about two months.
25:46They've been in the elements the whole time?
25:48No, no.
25:49I took them out of storage for about five minutes.
25:50You're never gonna tell us.
25:51Of course.
25:52Bamo just helped me get them out a little while.
25:54Oh, yeah.
25:55You got help in it.
25:56Add Bamo to the mix.
25:57Well, this is pretty simple then.
25:58You knew what we were coming for.
25:59You have them setting out for us.
26:00Now we just don't need to talk about price.
26:02Listen, he knew we were coming.
26:04He knew what we were after.
26:05He pulled them out for us and he already had a price in mind.
26:08I mean...
26:09He was probably really busy and wanted to get us the hell out of here.
26:12$200 for both of them.
26:13A hundred bucks a piece.
26:14I mean...
26:15It's hard to argue with that.
26:16I know.
26:17I think they needed the seats pretty bad because normally we'll haggle, Shag, or Amanda,
26:21or you know, and they just jumped on it right away.
26:23Shake the man's hand.
26:24Let's get these things loaded up.
26:26Yeah.
26:27They'll go good with the car and it's exactly got a lot of good stainless and aluminum trim on
26:31it that they can use to make her look real nice.
26:34Hey, look.
26:35We think they look good.
26:36We're going to load them up and take them out to the shop.
26:41Well, Steve, as usual, these are perfect.
26:44Just to let you know, one of these is an electric.
26:47Whatever.
26:48They'll figure it out.
26:49Yeah.
26:50If the motor works, I'll send you 25 extra bucks.
26:51No problem.
26:52Throw in the hat or something.
26:53That'll be good.
26:54All right, man.
26:55Well, thanks for coming.
26:56Thank you, Steve.
26:59Damn, Mike.
27:00There's our clippy dude.
27:01Look at this, man.
27:02My IFS clip just got to the shop, so we're pretty excited about this thing.
27:06Me and Mike are going to get it mocked up in the Impala and see how this thing looks.
27:09Can't wait to get that in the car.
27:11Let's unbox it, man.
27:12Man, look at that.
27:20Man, I was going to save that and build me a Ford or something, right?
27:24Joe, we've got to build an Impala first.
27:29Here we go.
27:30Let's go.
27:32Okay.
27:33Damn, it's cool, man.
27:34Look at that, man.
27:35All right, Joe.
27:36I'm coming.
27:37I'm bringing hell with me.
27:38Ready?
27:39Let's see.
27:40Grab that thing, Nick.
27:44Okay, now the hard part.
27:46We've got to start centerlining this thing.
27:47We need to get our laser out.
27:49We need to get our MiG machine out and put a tack on this thing.
27:52Cheat it back, Mike.
27:53Little bit more.
27:55Right there.
27:56The thing with these front clips, if you don't get them correctly in the car, lined up straight
28:00and plumbing, all that good stuff, the car's never going to steer right.
28:0314.
28:04There's 14 and an 8.
28:06The front is never going to line right.
28:08Let me see.
28:09Hold on here.
28:10To get it like where it goes is very critical, so.
28:14We're not that far away.
28:16Oh, that's it, Mike.
28:17It's right on.
28:18It's ready, man.
28:19We need to.
28:20I'm going to stick it.
28:21Tack it in and see what it does.
28:23Just for the record, Joe.
28:24When we go to cut this thing off, don't, don't, don't.
28:27Don't get on me.
28:28You cussing, Mike?
28:29Cussing?
28:30Don't.
28:31Yeah, don't cuss me because you told me to stick it.
28:32There's about four points that got to get lined up and then we'll take the welder and just
28:35kind of tack it in place and that'll give us time to brace it up.
28:37Taking my time, doing it right, I don't want to have to do it twice tonight.
28:50That's it.
28:51Probably ought to tie it back here.
28:53In the back?
28:54Let's tie it.
28:55Like this?
28:56Let's go right here, Mike.
28:57Look, I'll cut you a couple real quick.
28:58We want to make sure that the frame rail and the front clip are going to be perfectly level.
29:03So we're going to add some bracing to it to keep it from moving.
29:06Man, I feel better already.
29:21Feel better already, dude.
29:23Get everything nice and sturdy.
29:24Fork two and three inch right there, that's it.
29:26That's it.
29:27That's it.
29:28That'll drive as straight as any Cadillac on the road.
29:30And then next step is we can actually put a wheel on the hub, step back and take a look
29:34at it.
29:35You know what you get to do now, Mike?
29:36I get to do a wheel test.
29:38You got some?
29:39I got some wheels.
29:40You got the wheels?
29:41I don't have the wheels, but I got some wheels that are the exact size.
29:45Well, I need my knee pads or some taller socks.
29:49I think I'm going to get some taller socks.
29:54So now that I've got my front clip, I can finish up on my frame.
30:00Meanwhile, I'm going to get Zach to start on my engine.
30:02That way I can get it mocked up, set in the car.
30:04So you got this thing from GM?
30:05Yeah.
30:06So Kurt brought it.
30:07GM has a core.
30:08So they don't think there's anything wrong with it, but I need you to kind of go through
30:10it and make sure it's cool.
30:11Cool.
30:12I'll start carrying it in there.
30:13Okay, brother.
30:14Awesome.
30:15Sounds good.
30:16So first thing I'm going to do is I'm going to start from the top and work my way down.
30:19I'm going to take these valve covers off.
30:21Look inside, make sure the valve train's good, no issues there.
30:24Once I go ahead and get all these things pulled out, cleaned up, and looking good, we're
30:28going to get these heads shipped off so we can get them ported and polished, make a little
30:31bit more power out of it.
30:32And we'll go ahead and start the reassembly process.
30:36So worst case scenario on this engine, it was a core motor, so someone did turn it in
30:39for a warranty to GM.
30:41So we're not 100% sure what's going on with it.
30:44Seeing some metal shavings in there, which isn't really a good deal.
30:48Could be a failed bearing.
30:49We're going to have to tear into it a little bit further to figure that one out, but that's
30:52not generally a good sign to find metal shavings on your pushrod.
31:02Got the color sprayed in on the Trans Am hood here, so now I'm going to do some outline
31:14work, finish it up, hopefully get it clear.
31:17Add some details, going to do some pinstripe work around here.
31:22Give it a little three-dimensional look.
31:25Some shadow work, just to kind of take the stock look of it and just add a little bit of
31:31layer to it.
31:40All right, Mike.
31:41Ready?
31:42You ready to put it in?
31:43Yeah.
31:45Look at that, man.
31:46You're slapping right in the cheek with that tire.
31:48All right, Chad.
31:49That's all right.
31:50If I'm going to get slapped in the cheek with a tire, that's a good one to get slapped
31:53with.
31:54I'm telling you, man.
31:55Damn, that is kick-ass looking there, man.
31:57Look at that.
31:58Well, that makes me feel better about the clip.
32:00Look at that.
32:01Man, full lock, Chad.
32:02I don't think it can get any better than that.
32:04Well, no.
32:05No.
32:06It's like he said earlier.
32:08That's...
32:09Well, it's perfect, actually.
32:10So I got the front clip and the Impala, and got everything tied up in place.
32:14Got everything in the center line.
32:15Got my wheel on there.
32:16Got everything looking good.
32:17You know what's crazy, too, Joe?
32:18There's very rare times that you can get every ingredient that you want.
32:21Exactly right.
32:22Sometimes you have to give up something to get done something.
32:24Yeah, exactly right.
32:25But you got all the somethings in there.
32:26We got all the somethings in there.
32:27Yeah.
32:28That's something.
32:29That is something.
32:30That's something.
32:31I say we start building a frame now, right?
32:34Well, that's the easy part, Joe.
32:36Now what I'm doing is tie the cord support to the front of the frame.
32:41Because it's just kind of flopping in the air right now.
32:46Those two mounting points go to the very front of the frame.
32:49If I got one that's in bad shape, I'm not going to get proper alignment at the front clip.
32:53So my gaps would be bad.
32:54Door to fender gaps would be bad.
32:56The hood to fender gaps would be bad.
32:57So this is a pretty integral part.
32:59Rebuild this first, and then I can move on to my mounts.
33:06I'm going to start welding it in.
33:08Going to be very sturdy.
33:09Going to get everything centered.
33:11Let's see.
33:12Where's my drill at?
33:21I can move on to my front frame horns.
33:23Once we do that, start moving to the back.
33:31Got my clip mounted on the frame table.
33:34And got the cord support repaired.
33:39So now what I'm going to do is add a frame extension.
33:41Otherwise called a frame horn.
33:43So I made a template, handed it off to Zach.
33:47Zach's going to program it into the plasma table.
33:54So we'll cut them out and weld them up and I can mount my bumpers.
33:59Right on, brother.
34:01Oh, dude, that's exactly what I need, Zach.
34:03Exactly what I need.
34:04Heavy duty.
34:05Zach's kind of like a Swiss Army knife.
34:06I mean, he can do all kinds of stuff.
34:08I mean, he does fab work, wiring, tuning, programming, everything.
34:15I'll get them broke, put them in.
34:18I'll get these four tack, and I'll have templates for the rest of them, man.
34:21But that's the thing about all the guys here.
34:22All the guys are kind of multi-tasked.
34:24So we're like a small little group.
34:28And we can do a lot of stuff, fortunately.
34:29Thanks, brother.
34:30Yeah, no problem.
34:31Right there.
34:32Look at that, man.
34:33Yep.
34:34So once I get these pieces tacked on, I'm going to do a fitment with the bumper.
34:38Right in the middle where I can walk it around.
34:40Okay.
34:41Here we go.
34:42Just make sure, you know, the width is correct.
34:43And I got a little bit of leeway to move.
34:44Let's put the other one on.
34:45Okay.
34:46This one's right on the bottom.
34:47This one's right here and right here.
34:48So I'm riding there somewhere, brother.
34:49Once I'm sure that that's going to work pretty good, I can start putting it on.
34:50Yeah.
34:51Yeah.
34:52Yeah.
34:53Yeah.
34:54Yeah.
34:55And then I'm going to move on to the back.
34:56And then I'm going to move on to the back.
34:57And then I'm going to move on to the back.
34:58And then I'm going to move on to the back.
34:59Just make sure, you know, the width is correct.
35:00And I got a little bit of leeway to move.
35:01So let's put the other one on.
35:02Okay.
35:03This one's right on the bottom.
35:04This one's right here and right here.
35:05So I'm riding there somewhere, brother.
35:06Once I'm sure that that's going to work pretty good, I can start boxing it in, finish welding
35:08it up.
35:09Move on to the back.
35:10So now that we've got the front clip in the 60 Impala, we're getting ready to start on
35:28the mainframe from the rails back.
35:31So the frame design I'm using on this car is going to be kind of a perimeter style.
35:35So basically it's going to follow the outer rockers.
35:38It's going to be a new body so the frame will be welded to the body.
35:45I'm going to build the frame out of two by four mild steel square tubing, 120 wall.
35:49So it's going to be pretty stout, pretty heavy.
36:01So I'm going to attach the outer rails to the inner rockers.
36:05From that point back, we'll get the transmission, motor mounted, establish where those cross
36:12members are going to be, and then build the rear rails out the back over the rear end.
36:18Basically from there, we'll start constructing the floors, attaching the wheel tubs.
36:25The main rails we're using right now are absolutely crucial to the overall structure.
36:31So we just got the hood clear coated, and now it's time to get a symbol on the body.
36:46Go ahead and let it down.
36:47All right.
36:48Oh, yeah, man.
36:49That looks pretty good there.
36:50So Joe, let me know that the customer hasn't had this vehicle tuned yet.
36:52I think it's looking sweet, Joe.
36:53What do you think, Zach?
36:54I'm digging it.
36:55Joe just got all of his artwork done, so now it's time for me to come in and get the engine
36:58running properly, get on the dyno and start doing some power pulls.
37:01It's ready for you.
37:02Yeah, I'll take it and we'll...
37:03See if we can make some power, brother.
37:04Yes, sir.
37:05So I got to get that done pretty quick so we can get this thing on the road.
37:08We can get the customer out driving.
37:09Right on.
37:10You got a strappy dude down, huh?
37:11Right on.
37:12You got a strappy dude down, huh?
37:13Right on.
37:14You got a strappy dude down, huh?
37:15It's got an LT4 crate motor in it.
37:16So right now what I'm doing is I got my laptop plugged into the OBD port on the computer.
37:22I'm going to go ahead and pull all the information out of it that GM has from the factory.
37:28Perfect.
37:29All right.
37:30All right.
37:31All right.
37:32All right.
37:33We're going to get this ready for you.
37:34Yeah, I'll take it and we'll...
37:35See if we can make some power, brother.
37:36Yes, sir.
37:37So I got to get that done pretty quick so we can get this thing on the road.
37:40We can get the customer out driving.
37:41Right on.
37:42You got a strappy dude down, huh?
37:43Perfect.
37:44All right.
37:45We're happy.
37:46Yeah, go ahead and roll it.
37:53Yeah, go ahead and roll it.
37:56We've got Fred's Trans Am on the dyno and Zach got everything dialed in.
38:00Look at the spark map for stock.
38:03So basically what the dyno's going to do, this car's going to go on top of it.
38:06It's got a massive roller.
38:08And it measures the amount of power that the car makes.
38:13Yeah, dude, our short terms are dialed in right now.
38:16So it takes the RPM, the weight of the drum, and the power of the engine and it gives you
38:20actual numbers.
38:21This is made to work in like a Cadillac, whatever the LT4 came in, right?
38:25It is running as if it was in that, so your intake's going to change.
38:30When you change your intake size and your length, it affects the amount of air flow that comes
38:34through the engine.
38:35So it thinks it's getting a certain amount, but in reality it's getting something different.
38:39So you have to tell the engine what it's actually getting so it can then make its own corrections
38:44based upon that.
38:45Like 10, 11 under boost, like we can push that up pretty high.
38:50Once you get those two numbers to be matched up, then you can go in and adjust the actual
38:55fueling that it's getting.
38:57We're going to push it to its limits so we can actually exceed what the factory thinks it needs.
39:02No, it's not.
39:05Not at all.
39:06Dude, it bumps up to 22 degrees.
39:09Yeah, dude.
39:10Versus a lot, it's double the spark.
39:12And as a tuner, I can use that information to kind of get the engine dialed in and making
39:17the peak power at the right times.
39:18It's pretty fun.
39:22That's badass.
39:23216.
39:24This thing runs cold.
39:25Wow.
39:26Hell yeah.
39:27It's awesome.
39:28This thing's fun.
39:29So Fred and his wife are coming all the way from Florida to pick the Trans Am up.
39:31So hopefully they love the way it looks.
39:33And after we tune it, hopefully they love the way it runs.
39:36It's going to be freaking wild.
39:37Oh, it is.
39:38Once you step on that thing, dude, it's, oh, it screams.
39:50So today's the day Fred's going to see the artwork on this Trans Am hood.
39:53Hi, guys.
39:54Hey.
39:55Hi.
39:56How are you?
39:57How are we doing today?
39:58Hopefully Fred's going to like it.
39:59I think he's going to dig the bird.
40:00And I think when he gets in it and realizes it runs a little better, he's going to really
40:04dig it.
40:05You guys ready to see this car?
40:06Yes, we're excited.
40:07All right.
40:08Really excited to see it and get it picked up and head back south.
40:12And we've got the hood scoop mounted and we've got everything shined up, so.
40:16Awesome.
40:17We didn't do the main.
40:18I'm super excited.
40:19Didn't sleep last night.
40:20Didn't you?
40:21No.
40:22He has been like a kid at Christmas.
40:24Since meeting Joe in November and Joe agreeing to do the hood, that's all he's been talking
40:31about.
40:32Well, man, let's bring it out and take a look at it.
40:34Oh, my goodness.
40:35Wow.
40:36Look at that.
40:37You never get tired of looking at a black Trans Am.
40:41Oh, wow.
40:42Look at that.
40:43Look at that.
40:44Oh, my goodness.
40:45Damn, that looks phenomenal.
40:46What do you think?
40:47That looks awesome.
40:48Beautiful.
40:49Man, it turned out awesome.
40:50We were tickled to death with it.
40:51Yeah.
40:52Tickled to death.
40:53Absolutely beautiful.
40:54The stock hood, the orange in there was kind of this peachy color.
40:56Yeah.
40:57And it looked kind of bland.
40:58So I kind of wanted everything a little brighter.
40:59Pops.
41:00It really, beyond what I expected.
41:01Yeah.
41:0278 Trans Am, the bird was scaled down a little smaller.
41:03Oh, look at that.
41:04Look at that.
41:05Look at that.
41:06Oh, my goodness.
41:07Oh, my goodness.
41:08Damn, that looks, whew.
41:09Phenomenal.
41:10What do you think?
41:11That looks awesome.
41:12Beautiful.
41:13Man, it turned out awesome.
41:14We were tickled to death with it.
41:15Yeah.
41:16And then on the Trans Am, the bird was scaled down a little smaller.
41:18Yeah, definitely.
41:19So it was a little narrower and it stopped right about here.
41:21Exactly.
41:22So I kind of elongated.
41:23Wow.
41:24And kind of stretched it, you know.
41:25With the scoop and everything on it now, oh, it looks amazing.
41:28Yeah, yeah.
41:29The attention to detail and the shadowing and the different colors, and it's uniquely different
41:33than all the rest of them out there.
41:35I guarantee you there's not another one out there identical to that, which makes it to
41:38me really, really cool.
41:42Unbelievable.
41:43Well, Zach did some tuning on this thing.
41:44I say we go see how it runs now.
41:46Let's do it, man.
41:47I'm excited.
41:48Let's do it.
41:49I'm excited, too.
41:53Oh, my goodness.
41:54It's killer.
41:55It is.
41:56Yeah.
41:58How's that shift point feel?
41:59Oh, it feels great.
42:05Damn.
42:06It is.
42:07It's awesome, man.
42:08God, no.
42:09You know, when you get the car out in the sun and you see all the effects of the colors,
42:23the shadow work, you know, it really makes it come alive.
42:25Man, it's shifting pretty strong, man.
42:27Damn.
42:28Yeah, man.
42:29And above all, he was grinning from ear to ear, so.
42:34Sounds good.
42:35Yep.
42:36Damn, it's smooth, too.
42:37It is.
42:38It is.
42:39It's very smooth.
42:40It was well worth the wait.
42:41It's been a long five years.
42:42You didn't think you'd ever get to this point.
42:44No, I can't believe you.
42:45I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me.
42:47Hey, man.
42:48Pleasure's all here.
42:49It's been broken down to every little piece you can think of.
42:52To see it all together.
42:53And now it's all back together.
42:54It's pretty amazing.
42:55How old were you when you started this kind of stuff?
42:57Oh, man.
42:58My mom said I was drawing cars on the walls when I was two or three.
43:03And I love Trans Am.
43:04I know.
43:05I know.
43:06I could do this all day long.
43:07I'd have a ball, man.
43:08The word's getting out that he likes to do Trans Am hoods.
43:11Each one of them are different in their own little way, made to kind of flow with the
43:15car and the paint scheme on the car that it's going onto.
43:18And so, this one's no different.
43:20You got a God-given talent.
43:22I really do.
43:23It's a one-of-a-kind Joe Martin special screaming chicken.