Reality Rides

The season opener finds Carl and the gang looking at an old beat up '57 Buick that has literally been rotting away in a barn for the past several decades. However this particular model and trim package is rare, making it a must have find for the team!

A suitable donor car for needed Buick parts is found and hauled back to the shop. In the meantime we take a hop over to England for a look at what the classic and hot rod scene looks like in the UK.

The Buick body is sandblasted and it takes awhile to remove all the rust and years of neglect. A new client and build project arrives at Carl's Shop, it's an unusual assignment, creating a hot rod out of a Henry J.

The Buick starts the long and tedious process of straightening the body and grinding down the imperfections. Meanwhile, Brad meets with the clients to design the new interior.

Brad is hard at work taking a classic Impala dash and cutting it down to fit the Henry J. However Michaela is dreaming of more tropical locations to spend her time, soaking up sun instead of exhaust fumes.

The Henry J gets painted, a tedious process to create a unique "candy" color. Carl and the gang meet a collector of very rare classic cars from the 30's and 40's. Several of the cars in this collection are so rare that only a handful were ever made!

The Buick receives an undercoat of rust protection and top grade interior insulation, while Brad works on the in depth wiring that the Henry J requires.

Carl develops a custom front suspension system for the Buick, Brad continues detail work on the Henry J, and then we meet Cody and Trish, who restore gas pumps, vending machines, and signs to their former glory.

Finally the '57 Buick receives it's paint, after months of struggling over color choices and options. The Henry J receives it's gorgeous new leather interior.

Carl works on window seals and trim, which is a very tedious process as not to break the glass. Afterwards, the gang takes a break to attend an MG rally, featuring the famous British car manufacturer that was the inspiration for the Corvette.

Progress on the Buick continues as the car heads off to the upholstery shop. Meanwhile the Henry J is complete and competes at the Texas National Good Guys event to a very enthusiastic crowd.

The Buick returns with a beautiful leather interior. Carl spends the day at the CNC shop while the machine carves out the one of a kind center console control array that includes an innovative transmission selector.

Finally after almost 2 years of work, the 1957 Buick hot rod is complete and revealed to the audience for the first time. The crew reflect on some of the more difficult parts of the lengthy project.