Danno Posted March 1, 2011 Posted March 1, 2011 Anybody else following the TV series Desert Car Kings on Discovery Channel? What do you think? I find it particularly interesting, since all of the DVAP facilities are in 'my neighborhood' ~ within a couple of miles of where I live. I go by there every day; I've attended their auctions (long before the TV series was filmed last fall; I've wandered their smaller lot; I've been by (but not in) their large lot and Ron's "private lot;" I've bought parts from them; and their shop is nearby ~~ always interesting stuff sitting around there. Some of their 'road' clips were filmed on nearby streets/roads and I can often recognize the exact spot. Aside from that, the premise is kind of fun, and I've enjoyed some of the side topics ~ like the vintage music shop (which I did not previously know about). Of course, you could keep the rattlesnakes. I've gotta introduce myself to their upholsterer! BTW - If you watch it and see the tall tower in the background, that's the new control tower at Deer Valley Airport ~ said to be the busiest general aviation airport in the U.S.
Monty Posted March 1, 2011 Posted March 1, 2011 I'm not impressed. It's just another cookie cutter "pressure"-driven derivative of Overhaulin'. "We've got two weeks to polish this t*rd and get it ready for auction" etc. Although the old man seems to have some brains, their profit margins from auctions completed so far have been fairly low & at least one of them sold for well under what they had put into it. The owner's son is a 40-watt mushmouth. During the build of the '64 T-Bird, the car was brought in without an engine. No problem, right? They own a junkyard. Tell me you couldn't swing a dead cat in there and not hit 30 FE engines. (The 390 was standard for '64) But the kid, in his infinite wisdom, ends up sourcing a 351M engine for it ("Cuz it'll have around 300 HP, derrrrrrr") Not only is that not period correct, which probably helped drive some of the more serious bidders away, the 351M is a '70s smog motor that would need aftermarket cylinder heads and a cam change to get anywhere near 300 HP. OTOH, I could live at that 442 museum... I just watched another entry in the auto refurb/auction chain called Car Czar. The shop owner spent over $105,000 restoring a '69 Z28 but let it go at auction for $65K. Wonder how many more losses like that he'll be able to take?
Danno Posted March 1, 2011 Author Posted March 1, 2011 I'm not impressed. It's just another cookie cutter "pressure"-driven derivative of Overhaulin'. "We've got two weeks to polish this t*rd and get it ready for auction" etc. Although the old man seems to have some brains, their profit margins from auctions completed so far have been fairly low & at least one of them sold for well under what they had put into it. The owner's son is a 40-watt mushmouth. During the build of the '64 T-Bird, the car was brought in without an engine. No problem, right? They own a junkyard. Tell me you couldn't swing a dead cat in there and not hit 30 FE engines. (The 390 was standard for '64) But the kid, in his infinite wisdom, ends up sourcing a 351M engine for it ("Cuz it'll have around 300 HP, derrrrrrr") Not only is that not period correct, which probably helped drive some of the more serious bidders away, the 351M is a '70s smog motor that would need aftermarket cylinder heads and a cam change to get anywhere near 300 HP. OTOH, I could live at that 442 museum... I agree with your points but I hadn't taken it more seriously than basic entertainment, and I find it more grounded than American Hot Rod, Overhaulin' and most of the ill-conceived rip-offs they've generated. I am kind of baffled by a few of the little things, like the TBird engine and some faux pas in the F100 and Barracuda projects; while dad seems generally to have the wherewithal, he slides some past the fact-checkers and some of the others just leave you scratching your head ... although the new shop manager seems to be pretty together. Ah, well, it's just TV. Still kind of fun to see my neighborhood on TV. And as you say ... the Olds guy! Sheeesh! I can't even imagine having his personal hobby budget! Wow! It doesn't hurt that the '70 Cutlass was one of my favorite 1:1 rides back in the day ... but his stuff ~~~ WOW!
Jordan White Posted March 1, 2011 Posted March 1, 2011 I've been watching this for a while now, and it's not a bad show. I didn't really care for the pranking on Overhaulin, and the builds took too long on American Hot Rod. I prefer the fact that they aren't building a car for a "mark", and that they're somewhat more down to earth. Of course, the fact that they actually give some info about each car they're building, along with mentioning what the cars are that pull into the lot, certainly gives it some educational merit. Now, did anyone watch the Car Warriors show on SPEED last wednesday? That was an interesting show. If you haven't, two teams have 72 hours to build up identical cars, and the winning team keeps both cars. They don't have to worry about a budget either, which allows for better results IMO. Also, the teams are the "pros" versus the "average guys", so it gives a bit of twist.
Railfreak78 Posted March 3, 2011 Posted March 3, 2011 I still have to watch it. I have a local facebook friends that is related to the people at that junkyard. I told her I just wish they would let me walk around for a day and I'd be in heaven.
Jordan White Posted March 3, 2011 Posted March 3, 2011 Today's episode was pretty good, they actually found a car that they got a good profit on.
Eric Stone Posted March 3, 2011 Posted March 3, 2011 I got about 5 or 10 minutes into the '62(?) Galaxie episode before I turned it off. They were talking about Galaxie history, and were showing photos as they went along "Galaxie this, Galaxie that, etc.." Problem was, about every third picture they'd show was of 64-65 Chevelles, which are definitely and obviously NOT Galaxies. Anybody else notice that? I decided that if they were gonna let those types of things make it onto the air, I'd be better off not watching it. It's just sloppy production and fact-checking.
Danno Posted March 3, 2011 Author Posted March 3, 2011 I got about 5 or 10 minutes into the '62(?) Galaxie episode before I turned it off. They were talking about Galaxie history, and were showing photos as they went along "Galaxie this, Galaxie that, etc.." Problem was, about every third picture they'd show was of 64-65 Chevelles, which are definitely and obviously NOT Galaxies. Anybody else notice that? I decided that if they were gonna let those types of things make it onto the air, I'd be better off not watching it. It's just sloppy production and fact-checking. Yes, that aggravated the beejeezus out of me, too. That was about as bad as it gets!
Agent G Posted March 4, 2011 Posted March 4, 2011 Well Danno, at least you have a car show, all we have is "PawnStars". G
Eric Stone Posted March 4, 2011 Posted March 4, 2011 They say "a bad day of fishing (or golfing, racing, hunting, whatever...) is better than a good day at work." but I don't think the same idea applies here. A bad car-themed tv show is NOT better than no car-themed tv show at all, in my opinion. Do it right or don't do it...
Racephoto1 Posted March 4, 2011 Posted March 4, 2011 What impresses me is that none of the cars in the yard are rusted out.The paint may be burned off, but no rust. Here in Indiana, after 10 years the car would be a pile of rust . Some guys have all the luck.
Danno Posted March 4, 2011 Author Posted March 4, 2011 Well Danno, at least you have a car show, all we have is "PawnStars". G Yeah, but it's still Vega$! Besides. You've got "CSI" and "The Defenders!" Those are "real" reality! LOL. Like they say, 'What happens in Vegas, happened in Vegas!' Best regards, my friend!
Danno Posted March 4, 2011 Author Posted March 4, 2011 What impresses me is that none of the cars in the yard are rusted out.The paint may be burned off, but no rust. Here in Indiana, after 10 years the car would be a pile of rust . Some guys have all the luck. You've always heard the phrase 'It's a dry heat' because humidity was outlawed in AZ years ago. Nothing rusts. Except Yugos, Fiats, and Darts. However, paint and plastic dashboards are on the endangered species list. It is a neat heat.
Agent G Posted March 4, 2011 Posted March 4, 2011 (edited) Yeah and I drive an all black Town Car It's gonna be dust in a metal shell soon. Oh and Danno as far as I'm concerned, "Barney Miller" was the only TV show ever to accurately portray detectives. G Edited March 4, 2011 by AgentG
MikeMc Posted March 4, 2011 Posted March 4, 2011 Yeah and I drive an all black Town Car It's gonna be dust in a metal shell soon. Oh and Danno as far as I'm concerned, "Barney Miller" was the only TV show ever to accurately portray detectives. G I prefer Deputy Fife......a coppers cop.....
Danno Posted March 4, 2011 Author Posted March 4, 2011 Yeah and I drive an all black Town Car It's gonna be dust in a metal shell soon. Oh and Danno as far as I'm concerned, "Barney Miller" was the only TV show ever to accurately portray detectives. G Oh, you got that right! Always thought they were bugging our squad room for story ideas. 'Course, I figure you must be the real life Mike Torello ... perhaps a couple decades late!
crazyjim Posted March 4, 2011 Posted March 4, 2011 I guess I mess most of these car shows. I need to channel surf more. But not tonight! It's Friday night and you know what that means - pizza, popcorn and Friday night Smackdown. Nothing real there - everybody knows it's phony. But I lile it.
Agent G Posted March 5, 2011 Posted March 5, 2011 Oh, you got that right! Always thought they were bugging our squad room for story ideas. 'Course, I figure you must be the real life Mike Torello ... perhaps a couple decades late! I know someone on that show bugged ours! Regarding Torello, well, I have the suits for sure.................. G
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