Car restoration TV shows.

[benjamin j]

Do these shows drive you nuts? They never show much of the body work when finished because it is BAD. I watched one the other night where they fixed up a charger and the hood was an inch lower on one side. They spent 50.000 and it looked like some kid put the body panels on while he was drunk?

I understand that it is supposed to be entertainment only but they act like these fools are really fixing up a car.

[GARY F]

i agree 100%. do not watch them. get the job done in 3 days. Ha-Ha

[Rusty_OToole]

Reality TV = more TV than reality.

If you record and watch the same show 2 or 3 times the phoniness really jumps out at you.

[Guest olds 34 dude]

yes what a farce. I recently saw two of the shows from a few years ago with Boyd Coddingtons' shop. in an hour , maybe ten minutes work , twelve of commercials and the remainder bickering between the inmates! Dave

[Dandy Dave]

Yep. Sent in some stuff to host "A TV Show" Them Idiots never gave ol Dandy Dave an interview even. They are not interested in what is real and factual. Only how much a Million Dollar car is worth is all. Not interested in the fact that the preservation and restoration of an old car costs more then the bottom dollar figure of what it is worth in most cases. Done told em they needed a character like me to make a good show. It is quite obvious they are not looking for a good show, just more of the same ol same old reality BS. Getting to really hate TV now a days anyhow. It just is not like it was years ago and with satellite, and you have to pay for it. Dandy Dave!

[28 Chrysler]

I did not see the show but I saw the truck.

There was a old truck listed for sale out here that was featured on one of the Monkey reality shows.

The truck was modernized for safety by moving the fuel tank from behind the seat to under the bed with the gas cap 3 inches above the bed a foot in front of the tailgate. No body work was done, very little drive-train work only to make it run, and then the chrome doodads.

The owner acted like he was proud of it but wanted to go away for some reason.

[rocketraider]

I worry most about the influence these shows have on the hobby, because they have contributed at least as much to the skewed perception many people hold of it as the auctions have.

[Dandy Dave]

Yes sir. Get a bunch of millionaires drunk and give them a bidding card. Caaaa...Cccching. Now every junker in every barn, garage, and back field is worth a Million. Dandy Dave!

[Amphicar BUYER]

Yup, manufactured drama! The Monkey guys just can't seem to install a headliner in any car they do. Is the upholstery lady not able to look up? They just annoy me now with the manufactured antics. The cars are more set pieces than the focus.

Floyd Cotterpin was an a**hole needlessly and his cars became the same thing over and over again. At one time he had skills but then it only became drama. No wonder he died early.

[Dandy Dave]

On one show I caught a few minutes of a while ago, they were trying to fit a steering box in an old Chevy El Camino, or Ford Ranchero. Their claim was the engine would not fit in with the original. Then later in the show they said the replacement was larger than the original but was ordered because they thought it was smaller. Idiots are filmed slamming the side of frame with a 20 pound sledge to make it fit. I had to shut it off as I could not stand to see the crude destruction done to what looked like a relatively solid old vehicle. We all know what happens to the steering alignment when a frame is bent in an accident. These jerks were doing it on purpose. :mad: Dandy Dave!

[benjamin j]

If I made a TV show about one of my restorations it would be like a mini series. I could spend four weeks on one fender. There is rust removal<st1:PersonName w:st="on">, </st1:PersonName>welding the cracks<st1:PersonName w:st="on">, </st1:PersonName>dent removal<st1:PersonName w:st="on">, </st1:PersonName>fine body fill<st1:PersonName w:st="on">, </st1:PersonName>and paint. No one would want to watch my show but at least I could bring the camera in close when I finished for all to see.

I have several young guys in my neighborhood they are in their early twenties and they hang out in my garage a lot. They ask me is that still the SAME part you were working on last week? They definitely watch to much TV.

<o:p> </o:p>

[Guest Skyking]

Floyd Cotterpin was an a**hole needlessly and his cars became the same thing over and over again. At one time he had skills but then it only became drama.

Yea, he proved that when he tried to get Miss Belvedere running, that was another joke!

[Guest]

I think the only show that I've seen that has some credibility is Chasing Classic Cars. One of the things I admire is the civility of the show. Certainly more of a class act that all shows should emulate. All the others have all this horseplay, shop politics, back stabbing, personal problems etc. always going on. They act like infants. PLUS, all the others do not restore cars because they are modifiers, and customizers and that has nothing to do with restoring a car. They take a antique car and turn it into a modified used car.

[Paul Dobbin]

Well said Mr. Helfen! For a guy with a lot of posts, you got this one right. My hope is that a real restoration shop or Jay Leno gets a show that shows the best of our hobby. So far we're mostly mis-represented by the "reality" made up drama, but it's still more interesting than the soap opera's without cars.

[Jrope]

Those shows are not about cars, they are about money.

[Dandy Dave]

It is well time we get started. Ol Dandy Dave say's we should start our own show. Send the cameras on down and start filming us real guys doing what we do the best to show what it really takes to get a good antique car up and running and in show condition. Who wants to be on the list? I told them I could open some doors to what it really takes. Maybe I've been a clown too long for anyone to take me seriously??? But if it was not for some humor, we would loose our minds doing this tedious work to perfection. Oh, wait,... Here they come again... The guys in the white coats...I gotta hide now. Dandy Dave!

[TexRiv_63]

Take a look at "Reality Rides", it is the only decent show I've seen that shows it like it really is. You can watch on the web at:

http://reality-rides.com/home.html

[Guest Skyking]

It is well time we get started. Ol Dandy Dave say's we should start our own show. Send the cameras on down and start filming us real guys doing what we do the best to show what it really takes to get a good antique car up and running and in show condition. Who wants to be on the list? I told them I could open some doors to what it really takes. Dandy Dave!

Could you even imagine the EPA allowing that?

[Taylormade]

I'll chime in here since I make videos for a living. A few years ago I pitched a show called the Fatman and the Convertible and actually had some interest from several networks. What they wanted is some kind of drama - competition, rivalries, outright hate or some combination of all three. The Teutuls started it with Orange County Choppers. What was meant to be a simple show about creating custom choppers turned into an unexpected hit when audiences became fascinated with the family dynamics - mainly Paul and Junior's constant arguing - and the trend was started. My idea was a show about me restoring a 1950 Dodge Wayfarer convertible while I tried to lose eighty pounds. I thought the 'fatman" angle might provide enough "drama" although I was mainly interested in a show about car restoration in a home garage. At the end of each show, I would weigh in and we'd see the results. This was a few years before "Biggest Looser." They liked the losing weight angle, but wanted more angst, more tension than that plot device could provide. They suggested that I could get a group of "friends" who would come over to my garage each episode to deride my work and humiliate me, thus providing "motivation" for my continued restoration and weight loss. The "friends" would be a bunch of local numbskulls the producers would dig up through auditions - good old boy types with outrageous mannerisms and off-beat quirks that would provide "entertainment" for what the producers figured was the main audience - people who weren't really interested in car restoration. No matter that they weren't actually my friends or neighbors or even people I would normally associate with. No mater that they (the producers) would write up situations and problems that didn't actually exist to give my "friends" fodder for the show since the reality of a guy working on his car in his garage was "boring as hell.". They said in an hour show, they would allow no more than 15 minutes of actual restoration, but wanted the rest to be interplay among the characters: gags, pranks, verbal exchanges and generally anything to make me look like an overweight nerd fighting for his dignity. They also wanted some kind of deadline to finish the car - some show or auction that would force a tight time frame to pressure me to finish the restoration. Even more drama.

At that point, I gathered up my proposal, left the room and made a nice two hour documentary for NOVA on PBS.

[39BuickEight]

I think the only show that I've seen that has some credibility is Chasing Classic Cars. One of the things I admire is the civility of the show. Certainly more of a class act that all shows should emulate. All the others have all this horseplay, shop politics, back stabbing, personal problems etc. always going on. They act like infants. PLUS, all the others do not restore cars because they are modifiers, and customizers and that has nothing to do with restoring a car. They take a antique car and turn it into a modified used car.

I also don't mind Legendary Motorcar. Similar style show with a wide variety of cars, a little more restoration, and a little less running around.

I watch them all because I love seeing the cars, but I agree with everyone here that they are certainly no accurate depiction of the car hobby, and the acting is really bad. The negotiation aspect of them is so fake, but I just look past that.

[mrpushbutton]

To follow Helfin's excellent post, what worries me is that so many of these shows celebrate the bastardization of original cars, and tend to follow the late Boyd Coddington's poison mid thinking "you can't rebuild those old engines" and "You can't drive those old cars they way they were originally". Not many show the amount of work it takes to preserve the original features and engineering of the cars. As was said before, it's all show biz-ness.

[Rusty_OToole]

Take a look at Jay Leno's videos for a refreshing change. Real cars, described and driven by someone who really knows what he is talking about (most of the time). No drama except for what comes naturally ( like burning his eyebrows off trying to start a Stanley Steamer)

[Dandy Dave]

Could you even imagine the EPA allowing that?

Just like blowing a Hydraulic hose on a D8H Caterpillar. If you don't shut it down fast, there will be 50 gallons of oil all over the dirt pile in less than a minute. Dandy Dave!

[Restorer32]

I lost my reality show virginty when I accidentally (really, but that's a different story) found myself at OCC in about season 2 or 3 of their show. I was dismayed to see most of the "tribute" bikes they had supposedly built for customers lined up in their gift shop for sale.

[Bhigdog]

I especially like when the "restorer" or "builder" sends his chrome and upholstery work out on Tuesday and gets it back on Thursday. HAR HAR HAR................Bob

[DrData]

Chasing Classic Cars is one of the better shows...I especially like Roger, his ace mechanic. Unfortunately, I never will be able to afford any of the cars that Wayne highlights. The other really good one is Wheeler Dealers, even my wife enjoys that show. We would like to get Edd China to live at our house and work on her old 280ZX for a few weeks. The dialogue on the show (between Mike and Edd) is pretty well written and has none of the fake confrontationalism of the other shows (Sheeshh...I wouldn't work half a day in most of those places). Most of the cars are within the realm of collectability for most of us. I especially want the Morgan from last year.

Ta-Da

[D Yaros]

I have to agree that Wheeler Dealers does appear to be one of the most realistic of the resto shows. They do a good job, given the time constraints, of showing the what and how of the repairs being made.

[Restorer32]

I enjoy Wheeler Dealers. However, they never seem to factor in Edd's labor when they "sell a car on for a profit".

[TerryB]

I get the same feeling about American Pickers when they buy something in Florida, then have to drag it back to thier home base and are happy that they will make $200 on it. Can't pay the bills very well with those low profits.

Terry

[Larry W]

I'd like to expand on "rocketraider's" comments. I wonder how many well meaning individuals purchased old cars to restore, thinking that they could finish it in a week or so, tearing it apart, then realizing what a daunting task they embarked on, and selling it at their wife's insistence for a fraction of their investment. I personally know of a '69 Cutlas convertible that suffered that fate and I'm sure that there many others, all due to these " reality" shows. On another note, whenever I make a donation to PBS, I ask that they try to broadcast more automotive based shows, but there's slim pickens at best. The ones they've shown in the past have all been a pleasure to watch, and much closer to "reality".

[Scooter Guy]

I get the same feeling about American Pickers when they buy something in Florida, then have to drag it back to thier home base and are happy that they will make $200 on it. Can't pay the bills very well with those low profits.

Terry

It's a TV show. As much as I like the show overall, I know that these guys aren't really making money on their "picks." There is no way making a few hundred dollars here and there on an item can support two people on the road, a third person at the shop, the other overhead of operating retail stores (two of them actually), and travel costs (van, fuel, and so on). Plus there are 6-8 other people that actually 'work' in each shop that never make the TV show...gotta pay them too! Instead, they are paying the bills by doing the TV show and selling Antique Archaeology logo merchandise (t-shirts, coffee mugs, etc.) and their shops. Most of the really great stuff (especially if it is motorcycle or gas/oil) they keep for themselves. The little they do let go of is pretty high priced, but again...it's not truly where they are making their money: the show pays the bills (along with the merchandise and book deals). I try to just look past that and enjoy the show for what it is.

As far as car TV shows go, I'd watch any of them before I'd watch most of the garbage on TV these days. I have zero interest in "reality" shows, sing-offs, dance-off, tabloid news, sit-coms, most made-for-tv dramas and so forth. A bad car show is always better than a "good" reality show...at the very least I can get a laugh or two out of it.

[Dandy Dave]

As far as car TV shows go, I'd watch any of them before I'd watch most of the garbage on TV these days. I have zero interest in "reality" shows, sing-offs, dance-off, tabloid news, sit-coms, most made-for-tv dramas and so forth. A bad car show is always better than a "good" reality show...at the very least I can get a laugh or two out of it.

Yep, The big three back in the old days had better TV than all the channels we get on Cable/Satellite combined today. Ol Dandy Dave could make some bad TV. I'm just waiting to be discovered. :cool: Dandy Dave!

[Guest]

Take a look at Jay Leno's videos for a refreshing change. Real cars, described and driven by someone who really knows what he is talking about (most of the time). No drama except for what comes naturally ( like burning his eyebrows off trying to start a Stanley Steamer)

Well I have and what I don't appreciate is making a Good Olds Toronado project, a car that was Motor Trends car of the year and all the unique engineering that Olds put into that project/production car turned into a Chevy RWD. I also opposed the 502 BBC in a 1955 Buick Roadmaster. Please, modifiers out there if you have to modify a 1955 Buick or any other car in the case of a Buick please use a BUICK ENGINE! Otherwise you not only have a modified car, you have turned it into JUST ANOTHER CHEVY.

The deal with Leno is he only does this sort of thing to the low end ( comparatively ) type of car. I do not think he would do this to one of his Duesenbergs. Which makes me think of a name called hypocrisy. When you hear a interview and see who smooches with who at Pebble Beach, then see that same person with a different set of people at the L.A. Roadster show it makes you wonder. I guess you can go both ways, many people do. I have a hard time getting around it.

[rocketraider]

The story was Leno's German mechanic doubted the Toronado FWD drivetrain could hold up behind the twin-turbo LS engine. Hence, conversion to RWD.

That mechanic was obviously pitifully unacquainted with that drivetrain as it easily withstood a 1000-hp supercharged Olds engine (two of them actually) in the Hurst Hairy Olds. Yes, Hairy tended to bend his tie rods under full throttle, but that was not the transmission/LinkBelt/final drive. I don't think I've ever heard of a drive chain failure in an early Toro or Eldorado.

Yes, front wheel drive is what makes a 1st generation Toronado. Otherwise it would be only standard-issue RWD GM from the era.

[Guest]

There is no doubt that Leno and his Mechanic had heard of Joe Schubeck, George Hurst and that Olds. Leno was into cars back in those days. For the few who don't remember see the link:

http://www.speedhunters.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/hairy2.jpg

All Wheel drive Twin 425 Olds engines, twin THM 425 turbo hydra-matic's. Just the job.

http://www.oldsmobility.com/old/images/hpcarsspt66_p1pic.jpg

Edited May 16, 2014 by helfen (see edit history)

[Scooter Guy]

Well I have and what I don't appreciate is making a Good Olds Toronado project, a car that was Motor Trends car of the year and all the unique engineering that Olds put into that project/production car turned into a Chevy RWD. I also opposed the 502 BBC in a 1955 Buick Roadmaster. Please, modifiers out there if you have to modify a 1955 Buick or any other car in the case of a Buick please use a BUICK ENGINE! Otherwise you not only have a modified car, you have turned it into JUST ANOTHER CHEVY.

The deal with Leno is he only does this sort of thing to the low end ( comparatively ) type of car. I do not think he would do this to one of his Duesenbergs. Which makes me think of a name called hypocrisy. When you hear a interview and see who smooches with who at Pebble Beach, then see that same person with a different set of people at the L.A. Roadster show it makes you wonder. I guess you can go both ways, many people do. I have a hard time getting around it.

Huh. Interesting.

Maybe I'm the only one, but I have never considered Jay Leno to be a dyed in the wool "purist" when it comes to cars. He owns just about everything under the sun: steamers to jet powered and everything in between. Some original, some restored, and even some hot rods and customs. He's a car guy...he seemingly just loves them all. He is equally at home at Pebble Beach or the LA Roadster Show; good for him. I'm right there with him...I am just a car guy. I like just about all of them. Personally I think more of us could follow Jay's example and just be "car guys."

[Kimo]

I can't stand "Chasing Classic Cars" and will no longer watch it. While there seems to be some reality in it I get an impression impression that Wayne is always looking for a big score even at the expense of the seller, which I suppose is actually the case in the real world 99% of the time. So, I do not find it an easy show to watch.

I agree with the others that if there were to be a car restoration show that I would most like to see Jay Leno as the host with his chief mechanic as the co-host. And since in the real world it takes a great many months to do an honest restoration instead of of "put some lipstick on it and flip it fast for a quick buck and never mind what happens after the sale" that you see on pretty much all of the shows, that it would make sense to have several cars being restored at any given point with each getting its next phase of restoration during a show. After a while there would be a stream of final results cars regularly flowing from such a restoration line.

[Eric Wahlberg]

In my retirement I work two days each week in a restoration shop where we often laugh about the so called reality shows and how quickly they can produce a finished car. We often wonder how many unseen people are doing the work and how much is done after what may be considered normal working hours. As anyone who has been involved with automotive restoration knows, it takes longer to disassemble, inventory and assess parts and decide what to restore/replace and research a car before doing any restoration work than the time these shows take to do an entire project. The only thing real about these programs is that they are unreal.

[Guest]

At least Chasing Classic cars usually sticks mostly to the type of car you will find at a AACA points judged event. But I wonder, even this show has featured some high end hot rods. And now I see Pebble Beach has let hot rods in. My prediction will be sometime in the future you will see hot rods at AACA points judged events, after all hot rods are already at local AACA chapter events and tours.

[michel88]

Hot Rods at AACA events like Hershey would go against the clubs number 1 rule. I hope that there are never any Hot Rods at Hershey!