Serious television fans are well aware that on Tuesday nights it's time to tune in to TLC and check out Chip Foose and his crew of craftsman as they "steal" a car and totally rebuild it in one week's time before returning it to the owner. During that week the owner will often be pranked by calls to throw them off the track of what's really happening to their beloved vehicle, but in the end they're always thrilled with the transformation made by the "A-Team" under the supervision of designer Chip Foose and team leader Craig Chaffers.
For the first few seasons of "Overhaulin'" the formula has been to rebuild cars and trucks from the 1950s through the musclecar era because that's the style of car Chip and the team felt had the most visual impact, and were also the kinds of cars that the owners had usually stalled out rebuilding and had left in storage or in the driveway as one of those "someday" projects. Cars from the 1930s had not been touched as projects because Chip knew from his lifelong experience of building these cars that it would take much longer than one week to tackle such extensive builds. But, after the crew had plenty of late-model rebuilds under their belts, the decision to build an early hot rod just became too tempting.
From the many letters that were sent in by friends and family members to the "Overhaulin'" program, one from Aimee Wyatt that included a song about her husband's car was selected as the one. Led by host Chris Jacobs, the car was "stolen" from the owner's garage and quickly shuttled over to the "Overhaulin'" garage/studio. The team quickly assessed the car and tore it down into two piles of what they would reuse and what they would not. The pile of parts they would reuse was actually very small and was a bit misleading because originally it looked fairly simple since 90 percent of the parts would have to be brand-new. But that 10 percent that consisted of the outer body skin, '32 commercial grille shell, and set of '36 Ford rims would eventually be the biggest challenge, as the body would require much more work than had originally been anticipated. While work on the body got started, a completely new chassis from Total Cost Involved was built, and a 312ci Ford Y-block engine and transmission was located and rebuilt by L&R Automotive Supply and SW Performance Transmissions, respectively. At the same time, parts were being researched and ordered so it could all come together, as planned, on the last couple days of the incredible seven-day rebuild.
In this "episode," we'll show you how the project got started and how the intense bodywork became the focus of the team's efforts. Next month we'll show you how the project finished, and if they made the deadline to return the car back to the unsuspecting owner. Tune in next time to Rod & Custom for all the exciting details!
After stealing the Model A...
After stealing the Model A from the owner's (or the "mark" as they are called on the program) garage, host Chris Jacobs showed co-host Adrienne "A.J." Janic what they'd be getting into for another week on "Overhaulin'."
The "A-Team" got their first...
The "A-Team" got their first good look at the car they'd be transforming as soon as the car rolled inside the garage/studio. At this point they didn't even know in what direction designer Chip Foose would take the car. The work quickly began, with all hands on deck performing the teardown.
The tub arrived on a set of...
The tub arrived on a set of '36 Ford wheels and hubcaps wrapped in wide white rubber; they are one of the very few items on the car that will be returned to the finished car. The TV crew stayed close to the action from the beginning all the way through to the reveal of the finished product at the end of another very productive week.
The teardown revealed a few...
The teardown revealed a few awful truths, one of them being the anemic Mazda four-banger hiding beneath the hood. Another was the lack of any proper crossmembers that made it painfully obvious why the car flexed so badly when it was driven.
The "mark's" family got a...
The "mark's" family got a first look at Chip's proposed design for the project--a rather traditional departure from the high-tech vehicles Foose normally designs.
The banjo rearend had its...
The banjo rearend had its own share of problems with a rather crude and interesting open-drive conversion.
Sandblasting the old paint...
Sandblasting the old paint and Bondo away revealed just how flimsy and damaged the body really was. The biggest problem was that it had once been a closed Tudor sedan and a previous owner had decided to make it an open car by cutting off the top, with no reinforcement made to restore some integrity to the body. The "Overhaulin'" crew would change all that, but it would end up costing much more of their valuable time than they had planned for.
Square tubing began to strengthen...
Square tubing began to strengthen the formerly flimsy bodywork. Shane Boulay welded while Skratch bent the tubing around the back of the body.
The original chassis was loaded...
The original chassis was loaded up to perform one last task--pranking the owner in a staged skit. He was shown a few bits of the car at a police impound yard and told it was mistakenly dismantled after recovery.
Chip discussed the game plan...
Chip discussed the game plan for the new '32 Ford chassis with the Total Cost Involved crew. The plan originally called for a Model A chassis, but it was agreed by all that a '32 chassis would look much better underneath the fenderless hot rod.
The Total Cost Involved team...
The Total Cost Involved team combined their talents on the new chassis and knocked it out in one day.
In the rear, a bulletproof...
In the rear, a bulletproof Ford 9-inch replaced the questionable early banjo-style unit.
A completely new chrome front...
A completely new chrome front axle assembly featuring a Super Bell dropped I-beam was selected to lead the way under the rebuilt nose. Fresh chrome tube shocks should make a huge improvement over the previous frontend that lacked shocks and, even more importantly, front brakes.
A mockup version of the Ford...
A mockup version of the Ford Y-block engine was dropped off at Total Cost Involved so the engine mounts could be fabbed while the actual engine was simultaneously being rebuilt.
Part of the Total Cost Involved...
Part of the Total Cost Involved package was the routing and securing of new brake lines, including a proportioning valve to adjust the proper amount of brake line pressure supplied to the front and rear brakes.