The Car Guys on TV - Report Cards

[RWebb]

speaking of that, which show has the most mechanical stuff?

[sammyg2]

Not sure of the most, but the best IMO is

https://www.motortrendondemand.com/show/engine-masters/645/



They did comparison dyno pulls on hydraulic vs mechanical roller lifters, with higher and lower oil levels, all kinds of good stuff.
They even took a stock LS engine and cranked it up to see if it could handle 1500 horsepower worth of boost. It could!

Awesome stuff.


Hot rod garage would probably be a close second.

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

He is a total class guy.

Absolutely agree.

Originally Posted by sammyg2

I'd like Leno's show a whole lot more if he just showed the cars that were being worked on in his shop and what they were doing to them.
As it is now, it's pretty much the same as what he did on the tonight show: interviewing celebrities who are just after some publicity.

I would too, but this show is pitched to a wider audience, not just to gear-heads. The stuff with celebs might be part of his deal with NBC. I FF thru all of that anyway. My favorite part of Leno's show is the bit he does with Donald Osborne. Another class guy...

[RWebb]

Thanks, sammy!

[Steve Carlton]

Donald Osborne has that super shiny tooth.

[Sooner or later]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

Donald Osborne has that super shiny tooth.

I really like the Donald Osborne segment.

[stealthn]

I like the Guild Garage in Ontario, amazing work, but the owner seems like a douce.

[asphaltgambler]

Actually I really like Jay's show as it is about people and what cars were / are having meaning for them. I think it's a great twist, a lot of people enjoy his show that are not core 'car' audience.

[ramonesfreak]

i love jay leno’s youtube channel. i don’t like his tv show at all.

[lgb240]

Originally Posted by stealthn

I like the Guild Garage in Ontario, amazing work, but the owner seems like a douce.

I toured that facility a few years ago with the local Lotus club. I wouldn't have them work on my lawn mower.
I saw an episode where customer brought in an '80s Iroc Camero ... his high school car...for restoration. They put it on a hoist, and the underside was riddled with rust, right up the fire wall, terminal. An honest shop would have said don't work with this car, go buy a better one, at the time less than $7 or 8k max. ...and restore that one.
Shop owner says we don't know what we have until it's dipped. Shop spends days dismantling the car to the tub, chemically dips it, it comes back Swiss cheese.
So they find him a doner car....only they buy him a firebird, not a Camero, and spend countless hours welding new quarters and camero rear section to the new doner car.
The poor customer spend countless tens of thousands of dollars of wasted money. These guys are crooks and clearly take advantage of people.

[1990C4S]

Originally Posted by RWebb

speaking of that, which show has the most mechanical stuff?

For real 'mechanical stuff' go straight to YouTube.

I do not have access to a lot of the shows people have mentioned here, but I think when Edd China did a mechanical repair you saw exactly what he did and how he did it.

Kindig shows a fair bit, but it's always bits and pieces, never beginning to end. Last week I saw a guy make a bracket from aluminum, then he bolts it on the car and it's polished stainless.

Powernation, Trucks, and Hot Rod Garage show a lot of real repair/rebuild content.

[mattdavis11]

While not strictly a car show, Porter Ridge features some quality vehicle modifications. If you like anything Jay Leno does, it's your type of show.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

I'd like Leno's show a whole lot more if he just showed the cars that were being worked on in his shop and what they were doing to them.
As it is now, it's pretty much the same as what he did on the tonight show: interviewing celebrities who are just after some publicity.
He's just doing it in a car instead of on a stage set.
Frankly, I don't give ratzarse about celebrities or what they think or what they are doing or what car they drive in high school.
I care about mechanical stuff a lot more than I do about them.

Sammy, try his YouTube versions. Usually 20 to 30 minutes on one car, no celebrities except for car owners on occasion. Mostly his amazing collection of cars. It is not the MSNBC version. He often delves deep into the car history and shows underneath or details that are cool.

Like this!

[asphaltgambler]

Originally Posted by lgb240

I toured that facility a few years ago with the local Lotus club. I wouldn't have them work on my lawn mower.
I saw an episode where customer brought in an '80s Iroc Camero ... his high school car...for restoration. They put it on a hoist, and the underside was riddled with rust, right up the fire wall, terminal. An honest shop would have said don't work with this car, go buy a better one, at the time less than $7 or 8k max. ...and restore that one.
Shop owner says we don't know what we have until it's dipped. Shop spends days dismantling the car to the tub, chemically dips it, it comes back Swiss cheese.
So they find him a doner car....only they buy him a firebird, not a Camero, and spend countless hours welding new quarters and camero rear section to the new doner car.
The poor customer spend countless tens of thousands of dollars of wasted money. These guys are crooks and clearly take advantage of people.

And they wouldn't be the only shop that does this. In the restoration side the cash flow can be a bit of a rollercoaster. All about hourly billing labor and parts where that is the goal not neccesarily a completed vehicle.

[GH85Carrera]

Another great Leno car.

[Rinty]

Originally Posted by Rtrorkt

video about Roger Barr...

Thanks for posting. Roger was the best part of my favourite car show..

[Bigtoe32067]

How many highly skilled all around old school professional mechanics like Roger are left in this country?
10, 20.
It does seem like Rogers replacement, the younger guy, does pretty good but Roger could work on anything from a Spitfire to a Talbot to very early Ferrari’s to Gullwings and early Bentleys. I used to watch it just to sit in awe of his knowledge and abilities.
Tony

[dafischer]

Ditto on the above about Roger. He was also very entertaining with his dry sense of humor.

[Scott Douglas]

A couple of years ago, Jay showed up at the 356 Club Concours at Dana Point. He just really likes cars IMO. Listening to him talk he seemed genuinely interested in what owners had to say about their cars.

[sammyg2]

Speaking of Finnegan ...