All language subtitles for Full.Custom.Garg.S09E01.1080p.WEB.h264-CBFM_track3_[eng]

[Western film music playing]

[Ian] Welcome back
to the desert, sir.

[Alan] Thank you.

[Ian] A little different
than it looks like
in the summertime, huh?

-[Alan] I'm ready to mud bog.
-[Ian] Yeah, right?

[Ian] Much like the seasons
changing throughout the year,

my ideas and whims
could change by the moment.

I like to keep it exciting
and I'm glad Alan's here
for the ride.

[Ian] Got this
little switcheroo going on
in the shop also.

Just a little
something different
than we've done before.

[Alan] Okay.

[Ian] Now,
we've done some crazy stuff.

[Alan exclaims] Here we go.

[Alan] What is this?

[Ian] This is
the rolling chassis
of our next project.

[Alan] Man! [chuckles]

When he calls me to come out,

I'm pretty clueless to
what we're gonna do
until I get here

and then he drops the bomb.

I mean, I didn't know
what direction we were going.

There's nothing
besides the chassis.

[Ian] A little bit
of a lot of things. [chuckles]

It's a 1938 Cadillac chassis

and I just wanted
to update everything

so it's got
the classic Camaro front clip.

The whole drivetrain is
Lincoln Mark VII 1987

Ford 5.0 high output engine,

automatic trans, 4-wheel disc,

power steering

and air suspension.

Tada!

[Alan laughs]

'38 Cadillac, isn't this
supposed to be like...

Like two feet longer, yeah.

Wow.

It's a 100 inch wheelbase now.

[Ian] I shortened
the chassis way up.

I moved the engine
back about 20 inches

and lowered that
down to the ground,

and then C-Notched
the rear end.

[Alan] Nice.

[Ian] This is
pretty serious business
but don't take me too serious.

We're building
a full-on clown car here.

When you're standing
next to it, I want you
to feel a little nervous.

Well, it's working,
'cause I am already nervous

and I'm standing
right next to it.

[Ian] I think Alan's
an artist at heart,

so I know that he is down
for this kooky idea.

Consider this
a blank slate.
There's nothing going on here.

What we're gonna put on is
really where the figuring out
and the styling comes in.

[Alan] Uh-oh. [laughs]

Uh-oh.
I saw the look in his eyes.

[Ian] I got a whole trailer
full of potential,

you gotta see this.

This is ye olde,
carefully-curated

pile of parts.

-[Alan] Look like a pile
of scraps to me.
-[Ian] What?

[Alan] You know, I'm walking
up to the trailer and...

I'm seeing all these parts
and I...

I guess there's
a little potential in there

but, I mean, really,
you're just like...

-[Alan laughs]
-[Ian] Look at this.

Look at that tail light.

[Alan] Okay, I'll give you
a couple of points.

[Ian] Look at these.

-[Alan] I see you.
-[Ian] Look at the fenders.

So this is
a luxury scrap pile.

[Ian] It's a luxury
scrap pile,

it's not
your average scrap pile.

Look at that hood.

[Alan] The hood looks like
the size of the chassis.

-[Ian laughs] Yes, it does.
-[Alan laughs]

Well, it's a whole
1938 Cadillac body

and then a little Dodge
thrown on the back
for good measure.

You got a lot of curves,

you got a lot
of cool accessories.

We're gonna build
our own version

of this kind of shape
of sheet metal.

It's like, "Oh, man,
here we go again."

I'm up for the challenge.

I think you need some help
with your optimism, my man.

Let's get this in the shop
and you're gonna
see the light.

I need to see something,
'cause all I see is scrap.

He doesn't give me much,
he's kinda...

He leaves me on the edge
and every time, he gives me

just enough to know
what we're doing at the moment

but I don't know
which direction
we're gonna go with it.

It's pretty nerve-wracking
a little bit.

[Ian] Yeah, look at that,
laying on the ground.

-[Ian] That's got character.
-[Alan] Man.

Looking at it like that,
it's a little different.

Here, take that jack and

raise her up, lower it down.

-[Ian] Right?
-[Alan] Whoo, buddy.

-[Alan] Now, that's super low.
-[Ian laughs]

[Alan] That's when you're
scared of heights.

[both laugh]

Plop it on down.

[Ian] Look at that, man.

-[Alan] Whoo, baby,
now that looks good!
-[Ian] Right?

I mean, this is par
for the course.

My ideas always take
a little bit of warming up to,
you know?

It starts with,
"Wow, this guy is nuts,"

and then it's like,
"Wow, this has got potential

but this guy's still nuts,

but let's do it."

How are you gonna send that
to the scrapyard?

Man, I see it now.
Shame on me.

-[Ian] Talking all that scrap.
-[Alan] I know.

[Ian] You gotta see
the front fenders,
it gets even better.

Yeah, dude, look at the flow.

Up, and then up again
all the way to the front.

Sexy, sexy.

See how that wheelbase
changes everything?

It changes the entire...

-[Ian] It's not
a big limousine.
-[Alan] No.

-[Alan] It's gonna be
like Cruella de Vil.
-[Ian] Right?

[Ian] My thought was,

the headlights need to level
with the hood,

or just a little bit
above the hood.

I mean,
the whole hood just pancaked.

Can you see
what I'm feeling, man?

[Alan] It's all attitude.

[Ian] I mean, I think
it's a super cool look.

[Alan] No, it really is,

and when you look
at the wheels,

where the wheels sit
and the fender sits,

it look like you have
no engine in there.

[Ian] This is one
of the reasons
I wanted the engine so low

and dropped back
in that chassis.

I mean,
look at the hood height.

It looks impossible,

it's got the big,
bug-eyed headlights on top.

I mean,
this is the kick-off point,

this is what I was hoping
to see.

Obviously, it's gonna need
to be sectioned,

the back's gonna need
to be totally rearranged.

I guess we start

by positioning the cowl
where it belongs,

and then start
building body structure.

You know, right now
it is five pieces
of loose scrap metal.

Scrap metal.

[Ian laughs]

[Ian] First step is just
a few trims off of this cowl,

so we can see what we're up
against as far as proportions.

[Alan chuckles]

[Ian] Look at
that height difference.

[Alan] Yeah.

Alan, your firewall's on fire.

[Ian] Don't call it
a hot rod for nothing.

[Alan laughs]

[Ian] That's the tricky part
at this stage,

because, you know,
I want impossible proportions,
but...

it gotta look graceful
in the impossibility.

Look at this Sloppy Jalopy,
it's coming together already.

[Alan] I personally think
he gets a kick out of me

sitting there dumbfounded,

trying to figure out
what's gonna be next.

[Ian] I'm feeling it, man.
One authentic pirate ship's
steering wheel,

and we are off to the races.

[Ian] It's a
pretty loose mockup,

but I think this ship
is just about ready to sail.

I'm in love with it already.

-[Ian] We haven't
lost one yet, captain.
-[Alan] No, sir.

Just getting started.

[Ian] The next step is
to continue with the cowl,

and get it to position to work
with the hood and the fenders.

I'm going for maximum chop

and a little bit too much,
it's not gonna fit,

so it's kind of
a make-it-or-break-it moment.

[Ian] Looks like
we can section it a lot,

you know,
if you're looking at this,

look, you could even do
up to, like, a 10-inch section

before you get into that,

because the hood
should be landing here.

[Alan] On top.

[Ian] I think maybe let's try
an 8-inch section,

I mean, that's still huge.

[Alan] That's a lot.

[both laugh]

[Alan] Sounds ludicrous
but it makes a little sense.

-[Ian] Eight is great.
-[Alan] Eight is great.

[Ian] Over this winter, I lost
pretty much my best friend,

our Shop Inspector, Dude.

The cancer got him.

It's been pretty quiet
around the shop lately.

When Dude walked in the door,
he was just weeks old,

and he took right to it.

He became the Shop
Inspector immediately.

He was such a ham.

I never knew a dog
with such robust attitude.

He was enthusiastic,

he was always there
one hundred percent

for the cause,

and, man, he loved his treats.

[dog whimpering]

The one big takeaway

I got from my relationship
with him was

that I didn't even understand
what compassion was, I think.

[Ian chuckles]

Something that
I really learned,

how to care for something

other than myself,
in that kind of way.

We're bonded, right?
Pretty cool.

Lil's been here
for quite a while as well.

She was with Dude
for more than half of
his life,

so it's only fitting that
we introduce some young blood.

[Ian] To what honor
do we owe the visit?

The Shop Inspector's shoes
are big ones to fill.

I think he's feeling
a little intimidated.

[Alan] Very intimidated.

[Ian] Haven't heard a word
out of you since we got you.

Once the word hits the street
on the unusual proportions

going on in the shop,

the Inspector's coming in
like flies on honey.

[Alan] I think he wants
to pee on the tire.

[both laugh]

[Ian] I don't know,
you're just a baby.

[Ian] He all smiles
and licks for now

but he's only 17 months old.

I'm sure his critique
is going to develop.

[Alan] Coming over.

Yeah, while we're upside down,
let's just get it and
we'll clean all this out.

This hardware
should come apart

and the wood should
just come out.

[Alan] Man.

What this thing come out of,
Noah's ark?

[Ian] By retaining
this hood mounting points,

it's gonna assist me
in lining up everything.

8-inch section is
gonna be massive.

I don't know if it's gonna
make the door hinge
alignment weird.

But, uh, we're gonna find out.

-[Alan grunts]
-[metal thudding]

-[Ian] It's super heavy.
-[Alan] Yeah.

[Alan] It's gotta be
that radio that is so heavy.

-[Alan] Whoa!
-[Ian] Is it that heavy?

[Alan laughing tiredly]
Just take it.

[Ian] Oh, my God.

[Alan] What kind
of radio is that?

[Ian] I think
as we didn't mess,

with any
of these mounting points,

we could bolt this or clamp it
right to the chassis

and just set the lid on,
see how it looks.

[Ian] Wow.

[Alan] I know.
That looks radical, man.

Maybe we should have went
seven inches maybe.

[Ian] Plenty of room, nah,
we're... It was exact.

We couldn't have sectioned it
eight and a quarter inches,

that's for sure.

[Ian] That's the name
of the game.

We're not going halfway
on this project.

Pedal to the metal, captain.

[Alan] Look at this. Here.

-[Ian] I mean,
we're doing it right.
-[Alan laughs]

[Ian] Clearance for days.

[Alan] Ohhh,
buddy, look at that.

The hood hinge bolts line up.

Thing gives me the chillbumps,
man, look at that thing.

[Ian] This is exactly
what I was thinking
from the start.

It's like the cartoon
supervillain's car, right?

This is his getaway car,
he's like...

[laughs] Gets to this car...
[snaps fingers]

He's gone.

[Ian] What we're dealing with
is we wanna use
the hinges right here, right?

But I love the look
of the round back of it.

We're gonna have to fuse
the two doors together.

We're gonna have
to use the front

of the front door
and the back of the back door.

[Alan] So you're going
from a 4-door to a more-door.

It will be more of a door
than what it wore before.

Whose cockamamie car building
ideas are these anyway?

[Ian] The first step
in a door process,

is to section the doorframe,

make sure that
the hinges are parallel,

and see if it's gonna go.

We could cut this structure
apart from the skin.

Just move this box, "boom!"

Move the hinges back together.

-[Alan] And then the bottom
of the door will be hanging...
-[Ian] Uh-huh.

...and we just trim off
the excess.

Theoretically. [sighs]

[Alan laughs] In theory,
it sounds perfect.

[Ian] Hey, at least we have
a good theoretical plan.

Sometimes I have a plan
that's disastrous in theory,
from the start.

You're always trying to cut
through the flattest part.

So, look at that,
eight inches.

We got our hinges in place,

so this goes away.

-[Alan] Yep.
-[Ian] And then this...

slides to that.

[Ian] Make me look good.

-[Alan] Whoo! One shot.
-[Ian] Make me
look like a champion.

No pressure, right?

[Ian] That's gonna just
slip up like we described.

Then we cut off
the bottom later.

While Alan finishes up
the door section,

I'm gonna cut apart
the weird door,

so we can merge the two
together for our super-door.

Don't move a muscle.
I got the perfect look
for you.

It's giving you trifocals.

Can't be too prepared.

Now, look at this door.

[Ian] Mini door.

Stick it in that hole
over there.
See if it works.

[Ian] You have
the wiggle-jiggle.

[drilling]

Whoo-hoo!

[Ian] Looky there.

[Ian] Think we're gonna cut
right through both skins,

it's gonna loosen her
right up.

Let's just do a big, rough cut
and we'll shut it up.

[both] Yeah.

-[Ian] Wow.
-[Alan laughs triumphantly]

[Alan] Yeah, no seams
through the door,

'cause it all looks like
we can just put it
back together.

-[Ian] I know.
-[Alan] And drive it.

[Ian] I'm starting
to channel Victor now.

No, no, we're looking at this,
we're looking at proportions.

[both laughing]

I got this... I gotta put
on the right blinder

because the back is so
out of proportion right now.

From that rear tire forward,
this thing is gnarly.

It's just like,
"Okay, put one hand there.

Look at that! Wow."

It's all about self-esteem.
Just lie to yourself.

Lie right through the process
and hope you come out on top.

[Alan] I'm seeing it now.

We're in the same boat
and we're paddling.

Once we got the cowl
fitting on there really good,

we got the front end put on,

it's just looking
like a roadster

and I'm thinking, "Man,
it's gonna be pretty rad."

[Ian] Next challenge is, like,

what happens at the windshield
and that rear deck.

That's really bugging me.

Yeah, that thing looks like
a stink bug back there.

[Ian chuckles] Yeah.

[Ian] There's no glory
in the underpinnings.

It's all just fabrication,
no styling.

So we got all this business
tied together,

did front structural support,

got the cowl all welded
together, top and bottom,

bolted the fenders on,

started this little
tube chassis

to support the rear
of the car,

and tied it all in
with sheet metal.

The gas tank in this Cadillac,

like so many other cars, hung
below the floor in the trunk.

Because it's so low,
we don't want that to rip
on any obstacles on the road,

so we're bringing it up,
into the trunk a bit.

-[Ian] Yeah.
-[Alan] Here it is.

[Ian] Everything we've done
so far is just pure layout.

The next step is
styling the roofline,

but I want to get everything
secure, you know?

Now it's...
it's a car, you know?

But, it's like, anything goes.

Is it a roadster?

Is it a fastback? I mean...

Could be anything.

This is gonna have
to move down

to here somewhere.

Let's just cut this off,
I got a couple ideas.

[Ian] I think the back end
of this car was beautiful

as is,

but as soon
as we sectioned it,

it was like, "Whoa, look
at this massive overhang.

We gotta do something, stat."

Sometimes the best way
to see through a project is

to break it down
to a blank slate

and to start adding back on.

-[Ian] All right.
Put it on the table.
-[Alan] Look at that!

[Alan] Everything on this car
was built so big.

I mean, most of the time,
that was your luxury car
in the 30s.

So now we're trying to go
from luxury car to a speedster

or roadster, or Hot Wheels,
or whatever it is.

I mean, it's so low,

it's like it's almost lost
some of its presence.

-[Alan] Right?
-[Ian] You know, it's like
it's just... [mimics splat]

It's just down to nothing.

It's like the saying,
"How low can we go?"

-We're there.
-[Ian laughs]

I've never been one to say,
"Whoa, this car is too low,"

but, I mean, come on,
who's gonna be
cruising this thing,

a couple of chipmunks?

Seems like we were going
in one direction,

and now we're going
the total opposite.

[Ian] It looks so good,

I'd hate to busy it up
with a whole bunch of styling

that would take away
from the look of those
two boat-tail fenders.

Right, it's almost like
less is more.

Yeah.

Maybe we should
put this welder away

and grab some
of them scrap parts.

Do a little stacking.

[Alan] Back to the scrap pile.

[Ian] The old Dodger Lodger.

This is the third project

that this one's involved in.

These are the remaining pieces

from the Camper project.

Always loved
the fastback look, you know?

In comparison to the Cadillac,
that square back of the roof,
I love this.

Yeah, you can't beat
the fastback look.

[Ian] Maybe it'll work.

-[Ian] Let's try it out.
-[Alan] Let's go, let's see.

My favorite body style,
hands down,
is the slope back roof,

like that '47 Dodge.

[Ian] Wow, I don't know, man.

That, like, fits too good.

Like, it needs to be chopped,
for sure, but...

-Whoo! Come on, now!
-[Ian] Right?

-Dang, dude!
-[Ian] That works good.

Whoa!

[Alan] If you follow
the body line on the Dodge,
it follows the fender...

-[Ian] Right?
-[Alan] ...exactly.

[Ian] The trim works perfect.

[Alan] Every time we put
a new part on it,

it completely changes
the direction of the build.

You know, we think
it's going this way,

and all of a sudden
it's going that way,

and sometimes
we gotta go backwards.

We have no back window,
we have no deck lid,

it's all been used on the bug.

No roof skin.

So there's that. [chuckles]

That's a lot of problems
in one...

[Ian] In one package, right?

-[Alan] In one package,
definitely.
-[Ian] Well...

[Ian] Pains me to my core
to be the voice of reason,

but sometimes the shoe fits

or doesn't even exist
in this case.

Maybe we should put
the Cadillac roof back on

and just check out the window,

'cause it's like,
this is gonna have to meet

the front windshield
somewhere, you know?

Let me see what it looks like.

-[Ian] Yeah.
-[Alan] I agree.

-[both grunting]
-[Ian] Just thinking.

-[Alan] Whoa!
-[Ian] Whoa, wait a second.

-[Ian] Wait a second.
-[Alan laughing]

[Ian] Look at that!
It's a station wagon.

Oh, that's right,
I shortened it 22 inches.

It's, like,
holy station wagon.

You can see it now.

[Ian] That's a freak show.

-Yapple dapple!
-[Alan laughs]

You know,
the best accidents are
happy accidents, right?

I'm happy.

[Ian] Putting that
Cadillac roof on there,
the square back,

it knocked me out.

I'm just like,
"I had not seen that before."

It just screams
old school gangster.

It's low,
it's wide, it's rusty,

it's just so cool.

I hated this window.
Now I love it.

[Alan laughs]

[Ian] I mean, it's got
so much more character

down there
without a big trunk.

Right, it looked like
Driving Miss Daisy.

I said I wanted you
to feel uncomfortable
standing next to it.

How do you feel?

I'm uncomfortably loving it.

[Ian] That's,
like, ridiculous.

That's not
what I was looking for at all.

This is the reason
you've gotta stay
open-minded, you know?

If you're working on a project

and you've got
a set A through Z,

how are you gonna
find that inspiration?

Sometimes that thing
you think you might despise

could be the diamond
in the rough.

I still think it needs a chop.

I think we need at least
a two-inch chop
through the windshield.

I mean, look at that visor.

[glass breaking]

Oh!

-[glass breaking]
-Oh!

[Ian] That's what
an old-fashioned car crash
used to sound like.

Little more 'tude,
little more attitude.

[Alan] A lot more attitude.

[Ian] We're making
a station wagon.

Whatever it takes.

-[Ian laughing]
-That's it, for real.

-[Ian] Right?
-[Alan] That's it,
I mean, it really is.

[Alan] So I guess
the best plan of attack

is to have no plan of attack.

[Ian] A hundred percent.

[Alan] I'm learning.

[Ian] Why don't you
set up the welder

and start doing
those A pillars?

Let's just tack it on.

[Ian] Stick that Dodge side
back on there.

I give you a squint, right?
Just like...

Then you got this little
bean-shaped window,

you know what I mean?
It's, like, that big back.

It gets more complicated
as we go on

but the look is
what we're chasing, you know?

[Ian] At this point, we need
to get rid of a few
unwanted elements.

So let's just cut
some stuff apart,

change some lines, and see
where we go from there.

[Ian exclaims in amazement]

[Ian] Oh, wow!

Knock it that way,
just a little bit.

That's pretty weird.

[Alan] I didn't think
it was gonna work, man, but...

[Ian] That's the weirdest
station wagon ever.

And then this is the door top,

just skin this out,

that's gonna land
right about there, huh?

You know what I mean?

Then it gets, like, here,
it gets weird.

Or does it get weird?
I mean...

I don't know.
We've been swimming in the sea
of weird all week long.

[Ian chuckles]

[Alan] With no floaters.

[Ian] There's a razor-sharp
fine line

between building
something that's different

and something
that's just plain wrong.

Ask me how I know.

[Ian] I don't know
if I'm happy
with the back window.

Does it work
or are we just getting
too full of ourselves?

Having trouble with that.

This is beautiful,
this is beautiful.

[Ian] Back to
the big square part

that I didn't like
from the start.

Exactly.

It's got a real odd feeling.
[chuckles]

I don't think
it's a very good-looking car
at this point.

[both laughing]

[Alan] Everything's
going great

until you get punched
in the face.

[Ian squeaks]

[Ian] After a loose mockup,
I had the old stare-down
with the car.

Had to figure out what I liked

and what I didn't like.

Knock-knock.

-[Ian] What's happenin'?
-[Alan] Hey, what's going on?

Uh, I made
a couple of changes.

[Alan] I see
the window's gone.

Man!

Did you lower the roof?

Two point five.

-[Alan] Two point five inches?
-[Ian] Two and a half inches.

You know,
the fenders are sloping,

the hood is level.

The roof is doing
that stink bug, you know?

The hood
and the roof are colliding.

[Alan] When the window
was out of there,

all of a sudden,
the back of the roof

doesn't look like
this huge bubble anymore.

The hood is so long,

the fenders are so long,

and then you got this roofline
that's just so long and smooth

and goes all the way
to the back.

It just looks so good.

For some reason
the Dodge windows,

none of it's even working
for me.

If we were to change
the whole thing

to a Dodge-style roof,

rear window included, then all
the art-deco business,

you got bump, bump, bump,
window, right?

-[Alan] Right.
It gets a little busy there.
-[Ian] The Cadillac

doesn't offer any of that.

[Alan] I do remember that
it made this look extra big.

[Ian] If the Dodge windows
are just putting us
in the wrong direction,

what about
the stock Cadillac door tops?

Right? That's
what was in the door.

So this was the rear window.

That's the rear
of the 4-door car.

-[Alan] Okay.
-Then this is the front.

So they were like this
as a 4-door.

Boom-boom.
Look how long that is.

-[Ian] That's a massive entry.
-[Alan] That's huge.

[Ian] So I was like,
"Well, shoot!"

I mean, these go
right back in the door.

Oh, man, yeah.

-[Ian] Right?
-And if it's back...

[Ian] You do
the old switcheroo.

That goes there,
and we've got extra-long.

So we only have one weld
in the center,

instead of two
when you splice it in.

So it all lines up.

And I also had an idea
for the back of this.

So I had this piece
of the Dodge roof...

[Ian] I don't think I want
a window in the back at all.

[Alan] The Dodge lives on.

[Ian sighs] It's like
a little piece of everything.

I mean, it really solves
the problem of the big gap
in the back.

You got rust,
you got chrome, you got slope.

What's not to like?

The trick is just to make it
look like it came that way.

Make it look like it was
a 2-door from the beginning.

Kinda doing the "two tricks
with one trick" trick.

While Alan wraps up that door,
I'm gonna get started on
our new, old window frames.

Let's throw a B pillar in

and then we can
attach that sheet.

[Ian] Like the rest
of the car,

I wanna keep these doors
in loose assembly

before we commit to anything.

It's really one piece
at a time

and everything all at once.

[Ian] Pretty good
for a mockup.

So the Dodge drip rail
might actually make the cut.

The only piece.

[Alan] Wow!

[Ian] We'll meet the Cadillac
right about where
the visor is.

-[Alan] Oh, I see.
-And, then,
let's put a little hood

over this chrome
so it just looks more factory.

[Alan] Yeah, the drip rail
gives it so much attitude.

[Ian] Heck yeah.

Let's do
the old magnet mockup.

[Alan] All right.

[Ian] Oh, yeah, see?
That brings the line
right through.

[Ian] All the scars
from the welding,

they tend to confuse things,
but look at that.

I know. And it matches
the fender still.

-[Ian] It does.
-[Alan] How does that happen?

Drip rails are
like the cherry on top.

[Ian] It's more
of a custom trick
to shave the drip rails,

it just gives that car
that super-smooth,
unbroken-line appearance.

So, adding it in,

kind of messes
with some folks.

In a perfect world,
this would just go...
[whooshes] ...right down.

-[Alan] All right.
-[Ian] And we could pull this
to that shape but...

[hollow clunking]

I wonder if we could
take that deck lid

and maybe make
something happen here.

[in high-pitched voice]
There's no turning back now.

[Ian in normal voice]
Grab a side.

[Alan] All right, let's see.

On the car, you know,
it's sitting like this.

-[Alan] All right.
-But I started
looking at it sideways

with a little lean and...

I'll be darned if that curve
doesn't look like it matches
the curve of the back window.

[Ian] You know, typically,
the car would be like that.

-[Alan] Right.
-[Ian] No, no, no,
I'm talking about this.

-[Ian] Look at that.
-[Alan] Oh, man.

I'm quite amazed actually.

To take something
that's horizontal

and make it vertical
and it works?

[shudders] Gives me a shiver.

[Alan] Kinda looks like
it just might work.

[Ian] It's so sneaky.

People gonna think it's
some kind of mutant Cadillac

from another dimension.

It's scrap-tastic.

[Ian]
Alan and I took some time,

we got the roof structure
locked in place,

and now it's time to get
this deck lid fit up

and assembled.

I want it to work
just like it used to,

but in a smaller form.

The little handle,
the latches, the whole kit.

These are gonna get
trimmed back

to fit up with that,

and then this is gonna
get cut and widened,

and then the sides are
gonna get cut

-and fit in.
-[Alan] And widened.

And then they're all gonna
get welded to the car

before we take it
to the cruise night.

Next week.

I was hoping
to go this afternoon.

[laughing] This afternoon?

[Ian] Instead of cutting
all this apart,

what if we just took
this backer out
and split this?

[Alan] Probably would make
life a little easier.

[Ian] I think so.

[Ian] Right now,
we're in the discovery phase

and just slamming
this together
as proof of concept.

If this idea holds water,
we'll come back
and clean it all up.

-[metal creaking loudly]
-[Ian grunts]

It's even got the authentic
haunted house sound.

-[Alan] Yeah, it does.
-[both laughing]

[creaks again]

[Ian] How many welds
did we put in that thing?

[Alan]
Probably a thousand and eight.

Latch works, hinges work,

surround is there.

[Ian] This worked out
pretty clean, man.

Very satisfied.

I mean, having a back hatch
on a station wagon is

sort of a critical thing,
'cause you gotta get in there.

And having this one
as a miniature thing
with a fixed window,

it makes almost
no sense at all.

It's just perfect.

[Ian] Corners are gonna
be a challenge.

We got a pretty tight curve,

has it all come together.

[Alan] Every day is
a different view

because, like, we don't have
these parts on it yet.

We put them on,
and it completely changes
the entire build.

[Ian] There ain't no room
for junk in that trunk.

There's only funk
in the trunk.

[Ian] Once we put
that deck lid on,

it was like, "Okay,
the roof can work for sure,

let's just carry on
with these doors."

Finished parts
of the rocker panels,

put some structure in
through here,

a little skin up
and into the car.

Biggest part of the day

was creating these tube
structures in the doors.

Both sides are
pretty much square,

gaps are closed
and they shut proper.

With each cosmetic
design change we come up with,

we gotta come in twice as hard

on the reinforcement
part of the thing.

There's gotta be structure
to secure everything so,

what you're seeing is
just the surface.

It's kind of a left brain,
right brain thing,
all at the same time.

The last of the outside skin
are these rear quarters.

We might have
those stock ones,

but we could cut
and do the wamma-jamma too.

I don't know.

That'd be in a perfect world.

[Ian] I mean,
we can clearly see

the metal's gotta
do this, right?

And then come to a curve.

But I don't know
if that sheet metal
can afford that.

It's already a stamped piece.

I mean,
it looks like it'd fit, right?

-[both chuckle]
-[Alan] It may.

You know as well as I know

there's no piece of that car
that's truly unusable

until we try it, flip it,
and really explore it

in many different
configurations.

It's the flip it upside down,

and put it
on the other side trick.

Driver side.

Flip it and reverse it
to the passenger side.

[Alan] Working with Ian is...

It's very challenging.

I mean, I have
to stay open-minded,

because some
of his ideas are like...

head-scratchers.

And we have
our whole range of curvature

we can choose from.

[Alan] I mean, pretty much
it fits like everything else
did in the beginning.

Like a glove.

Would it work if we tried,
say, to put this here?

-[Ian] Maybe that
a little more.
-[Alan] Oh, man.

-[Alan] That kinda looks
pretty good.
-[Ian] Look at that.

[Ian] You know what?

Whoever came up
with the flip it upside down
and reverse it technique

is cockamamie.

-[Alan laughing]
-This...
this works much better.

[Alan] You might be
onto something there.

Takes a big man
to admit he was wrong.

Let me know when you find him,

'cause I'd like to give him
a piece of my mind.

[Ian] Let's try this
for the back of it.

[Ian] The challenge here
is that we have

these really deep dish curves

and then, it's not needing
that much of a dish.

[Alan] Oh, okay.

We're getting somewhere.
Look at this.

-[metal clanking]
-It might go.

[Ian] It's a real
compound curve,

it's kind of like
a saddle of a horse,

it's like this way
and then this way
at the same time.

Yeah, just give it
a nice... [whooshing sound]

[Alan] Sweet.

[Ian] I got my ace
fabricator welder on this one.

I ain't scared.

[Ian] That's the story, sir.

Later I might out a bumper,
you know.

I'm not sure how it's gonna
trim out in the end,

but the sheet metal look,
it's complete.

Fenders come out,
they come back in,

and then the smiley face.

-[Ian] Yeah.
-[Alan] The boat-tail.

[Alan] Voila!

Looking at the back
of this is pretty surprising,

you know, it's Full Custom
for sure.

Kinda weird,
a lot of nonsense,

not very user-friendly.

Win!

[Ian] Man, I know
you gotta take off
but the party's just starting.

-[Alan laughs]
-[Ian] We just got
a raw idea started here.

[Ian] You know, it is
that pile of scrap
that was on the trailer.

What have we created?

For sure. I mean,
we slammed on this thing.

[Alan] I think just
the love of customs

is just to be able
to create something

from nothing.

You see that pile of junk
in your backyard?

Don't throw it away.

It may be something special.

[Ian] I got a lot of ideas
still to go on this

but Alan and I made
some serious strides,

you know,
some heavy-hitting decisions

at the beginning
of this whole trip.

Just one last thing, man.

The last of his legacy.

[Alan] Oh, man.

-Right? So, I think...
-[Alan] Wow.

[Ian] Had he been here,

you'd have been approved.

Man.

-Thank you. Thank you so much.
-[Ian] Right?

-Yeah, this is...
this is like...
-[Ian exclaims]

All the way from dog heaven.

[Ian] The heavy fabrication,

like, the structure
of the car is complete,

it's there a hundred percent.

Now it's like, "All right.
It's a pretty weird design."

You know, how do we start
to tie this together?

You got the square back end

and, like,
a nice-flowing fender.

It's not a perfect,
harmonious balance

but the more I was looking
at it, it's like,

what's really bugging me,

it's actually
the wheel opening.

There's also one issue
that's been bothering me,

'cause we're very deep
into the fabrication
at this point,

and there's still no piece
of Volkswagen in this project.

So I think
we're gonna put a piece in.

So this is a piece
of the leftover roof skin

from that
chop top Volkswagen

Johnny Jalopy and I did.

-Like, it's got just...
-[metal clanks]

Just about as much crown
as that fender does.

And then it wraps this way
as well. Look at that.

It's like... [whooshing]

Just like the fenders
on it do,

they roll right under.

That there might be a donor

if I got enough room.

Oh, yeah, look at that.

Think what we're gonna do is
make a wood buck.

Hammer form it's called.

Sort of like what I did
on the bubbletop project.

You have a backboard,
then you have a retaining ring

but instead of
heating plexiglass

and inflating it,

we're gonna clamp it down
and hammer the edge

so it's kinda like
a little dish.

One question I get
on the regular is

how do I keep coming up
with ideas for new projects.

I just always have
a million different ideas

and really it's about, like,
what's presented to me,
you know?

I don't, like, specifically
hunt for a certain thing.

It's mostly, like,
kinda what washes up.

Immediately your eye is
going through here,

like, okay, well that would be
the bottom of the fender.

Some skirts will have,
like, a little raise in it

and, like, a teardrop,

sort of flowing out
like the fender.

I'm gonna put
the steel in place

and then make that decision.

Volkswagen roof sandwich.

Why am I using
this many clamps,

you may ask.

'Cause I'm about to beat
the living heck out of this

with a big, old hammer.

Nice little dish.

I think
the most important aspect

of this type of thing
is the confidence.

Don't hit it with questions,
hit it with answers.

You gotta tell that metal
what to do.

I was thinking maybe there'll
be, like, a little deco swoop

kinda at the bottom
of the thing, but...

that back fender line
is right there.

I'm gonna out that right
in the sheet metal break.

Straight shot the back
of the fender.

Comes right through.

No wheel opening.

Now the question arises,

"How are you gonna keep
that thing in place?"

I think I was gonna put
a couple simple clips.

Let the tow truck driver
figure it out.

People ask all the time,
"Whoo, how do you get the tire
off of that car?" but,

I don't care.

Sipping a margherita
by the seaside while

AAA is over there

digging my car
out of a mud puddle.

This car building thing is not
all it's cracked up to be.

It'd probably be me
laying in the mud puddle

with a Philips screwdriver,
not even a screw gun,

cursing the world.

Whoo-hoo!

That classies it up.

Straight shot,
no extra action.

Puts that back end
on the ground for sure.

I just wanna prove
one thing to my brain

before I go any further.

My whole MO in this shop
is problem-solving.

If I see something
that's not pleasing to my eye,

I'm gonna work to it
and try to remedy it.

Carry on.

See that already is
starting to come in?

Colors and shapes matter.

I just need to breathe
some paint fumes

to really get in the zone.

And I gotta say, I'm feeling
a lot better about this.

I just wanted to blank out
the hard contrast

between the skirt
and the fender.

In the end,
I'm gonna work on that.

I didn't know
how this is gonna work out

like most of these things.

VW roof equals fender skirt

in this town.

Gonna do the same thing
to the other side.

Boom, boom, boom.

Back is just about there,

front is pretty loose.

It's time
to bring it all together.

All right. Getting on
to the front end
of this thing.

I came with all
of this chrome grille stuff
in the trunk,

but it looks like it was
from two different cars.

So I'm gonna try to put
this antique pile of mess

back into something
that looks like a car grille.

The hidden mysteries
of car building.

Never a dull day.

Look at this dimension
on this thing

it's like freakin' Star Trek
or something.

Boomerang from outer space.

Wow.

-[metal clanking]
-Look at that.

Looks like we're off
to a normal start.

One minute in

and I'm already digging
the hole deeper.

This piece of tin
was all bent.

Alan and I just put
a temporary spreader bar
in there

when we set the fenders up
but now it's like,

is it the right width?

Is the front end bent?

You see what happened here.

It literally just fell apart
in my hands.

I'm gonna try
to take this mess

and put it over there
without breaking
anything else.

This grille's a big part
of the original Cadillac look

and I'd love to see it
incorporated in this car,
you know,

kind of the Easter egg,
the hint at what it was.

So I'd like to start
by putting this thing together

and see what's missing.

They look like
they're going together.

Because we sectioned it
eight inches

the grille is
eight inches smaller

so it looks like
we're gonna get away

with just modifying
a couple of these things.

There's three other no bueno.

There's just something
about this car
that was always interesting.

Growing up as a kid,

my mom and my aunt
showed me this movie

called Harold and Maude

but the star of the show
for me was always the car.

It was a really nice Jaguar

and the opening scene
of the movie is him

taking oxyacetylene torch

lighting it and heading
into the garage
with his brand new car.

[chuckles]
When he comes out it's a...

Looks a little bit like this.
The same flavor.

I was like,
what, five years old

and my mom was like,
"You gotta watch this."

This guy reminds us
of you. [laughs]

At the time,
it didn't mean anything to me,

but... now it's all
falling into place.

One more.

Some might say,

"Ian, don't you ever start
with a car that's,
like, in decent shape,

hasn't been
completely thrashed,
thrown by the wayside?"

The answer is no.

Cars that are thrown
by the wayside,

scorned by society,

are always welcome here.

It's a repeat performance,
over and over and over

and over.

That looks like
a grille to me.

It's very crooked right now,
but I like it.

One thing I'm modifying
in these grille bars,

there was no piece in there
for the original hardware
to screw into

so there was two or three
that were just
floating in space.

I realized that there are
holes through that grille

for whatever reason,

and I had a piece
of steel rod
that fit them perfectly.

Please don't break.

Kept them in line.

Yes!

Look at that,
nice and strong now.

Plug this pup in,

see if it'll work together.

There it is.

Boom!

Not too bad.

For two grilles.

Some broken parts.

A dream.

Next step is to remedy
this area here

where there is
nothing going on,

but fortunately we got
the original side pods.

Really good illustration of
how much we sectioned
this car, right?

The hood used to sit here.

It's rather substantial.

Really cool to have
these original hood sides,

because it's a simple
trim and fit scenario.

One.

Mini side pod.

Looking pretty snazzy.

Hood sides, grille,

that's what this thing needed.

Now you got a face
only a mother could love.

I gotta say,
there's still some work ahead,

but it's really
coming together.

This thing looks like
it's ready to go

to the monster mash Halloween
party of the century.

Vibe is pretty much there.

Couple of decorations,
but next up is driving it.

I wanna see
how this thing runs out.

[Ian]
Another project in the bag.

It started off as this crazy,
super-loose concept,

but, here we are,
out on the street.

I gotta say,
it's not a good looking car.

I think this is
the coolest-ugliest car
I've ever made.

There's something, like,
so appealing

and so weird about it,
it's hard to put a finger.

I'm really excited about
the way this thing works.

For a '38 Cadillac
with a super-short wheel base

to behave like a 1987 Lincoln
with a 5.0 power plant,

pretty rad.

This is Dracula's
gangster ride.

So it's gotta have airbags.

Wow.

I gotta tell ya,

it's all fashion on this one.

I've built some weird stuff,

but this ranks pretty high
on the weirdo-meter.

Definitely a kick to drive.

I had no concept of
what it was gonna be
when we started it.

This is just
what it evolved into.

The weirdness
of leaving the big roof

and turning it
into kind of like a...

a shooting brake
I think they're called.

It's not a hearse,
it's not a station wagon.

It really did build itself,
so to speak.

I chose not to paint this.

I did a little
spray can effect

just to keep
the multiple tones
sort of in check

but the idea is this is raw.

If this was finished,
it'd be a different car.

People might take
it seriously.

I think the rust
and all the old chrome

and everything being
so antique

makes people like,

"What tomb did this thing
crawl out of?"

We didn't do any metal forming
on this at all.

It's simple cut and weld.

We just took the puzzle apart
and reassigned the pieces.

The only new piece
of steel I used

was on the little
running board section

under the door.

The rest of this thing
is all Cadillac,

and two pieces
of Volkswagen hood

for the fender skirts

[car starting]

All this stuff could have gone
to the junkyard, you know?

All it takes is
a ridiculous ambition,

and a little help
from your friends.

[theme music playing]

I really wish Alan was here
to take a cruise with me,

but, all in all, I think
he's really become a believer

in the scrap pile adventure.

I think you gotta be
a little daring

and a little ready
to jump off cliffs

to attempt
something like this.

He embraced it,
went right in, I mean,

this car would have never
developed into what it is

without his assistance.

Who knows
where it could go from here.