Learning Channel-- Overhaulin'

[PeterGreen]

I don't watch a lot of TV, but the other night I came home from a long doctor's visit, and I was tired, and just felt like plopping myself in front of the TV. The Learning Channel had a show called "Overhaulin'" which I decided to watch. The premise of the show wasn't explained too well, but it was apparently a show in which someone's car was radically modified, kind of like, "Pimp my Ride." Except, in this case the owner of the car was not asking to have the work done, instead it was done as a kind of surprise. The owner was an 18 year old kid, and the car was a 1967 Dodge Charger with a 440 and auto trans that the kid's grandmother bought. The kid's father inherited it but he unfortunately died when the son was only 10. The show's producers stole the car, then made up this stupid ruse by pretending to be cops and threatening the kid. The kid was smart enough not to fall for their stupid act, so this wasn't exactly a great TV moment. The car was largely original, although they said the brakes were shot. The car was taken to the SEMA convention, where various auto customizers pitched in and completely changed the car, dropping in a crate Hemi engine, and many custom pieces including incredibly inappropriate bucket seats. All of the chrome was taken off the car, and they put in a new stereo and filled the trunk with subwoofers.
Then they went to the kid, and they told him still using the fake cop ruse, that his boss had been discovered to be the thief and they were going to arrest the kid's boss. Then they took the kid to the SEMA show, and showed him the car. The kid was a good sport, although not particularly articulate.

The next day I googled 1967 Charger, and lo and behold, there was the very same car for sale, asking price $110,000. This made me incredibly sad. Here this kid had a car which was in his family for three generations, was largely original, largely rust free, and numbers matching, and without his permission it was changed into what looked like, in my opinion, an overdone restomod with inappropriate wheels, upholstery and paint. Doubtless, the kid couldn't afford to pay the income tax on it and had to sell it. I later found out the show was an old rerun, and the series has been canceled. All in all, a very disappointing show. What do you think?

 

[TooManyWheels]

If they tarted up an original, numbers matching car with a 440 without the owner's permission, I think that legal actions should be forthcoming.

 

[Trajan]

Guess you guys are not familiar with how the show works.

The show's premise was that an unknowing "victim" – the mark, in the show's language — is nominated to be "Overhauled" by his or her family or friends, the insiders. The mark's car, usually an old and tired antique car, was obtained through some ruse. Some common examples included the car being "stolen" by Chris and Chip, a car being misplaced or lost at a mechanic's shop, or the car being towed away by "police."

An integral part of the show was when the two co-hosts play tricks on the unsuspecting mark, sometimes acting in roles of insurance adjusters or law enforcement agents, other times helping the insider, while Chip Foose and a team of mechanics – dubbed "The A-Team" – have a week to remake the car into a custom masterpiece. Each show ended with the surprise reuniting of owner and newly made-over car.

 

[OtisBlkR1]

I was a fan of this show, and frankly looking at where most of these cars came from there would have never been a propper resteration.. these cars may have been classics that were molested into "masterpieces" instead of back to factory original.. but the plain truth is the owners in the end get a clean dressed up car that celeb Chip Foose has customized for them.. its way better than a ghetto "pimp my piece of trash" tv show where they throw on a ubber cheap paint job and a $5,000 stereo and God knows what goddy stupid gimmic they add (like a fish tank) or a slushy machine to your dash.. atleast overhauling did clean work, and used high end quality parts and the end product may have been molested but they were always show quality if not show winners... the owners win.. most of them im sure would have never had the funds to do anything with these cars, atleast something was done and they werent allowed to just rust into the ground..

 

[earlyre]

and yes, TLC(hasn't been the learning channel in nearly a decade)cancelled the show, but now it's back! a new season is starting soon on Velocity (the discovery owned network formerly known as HDtheater - now mostly car related shows)

and i can see the guys over @ graveyardcarz smashing their tv's over the aforementioned episode of overhaulin'

(if you aren't familiar with graveyardcarz(another velocity show) they are a shop in oregon that 1)specializes in classic mopars, 2) do OE restorations. take it back to exactly how it rolled off the assembly line, even reuniting the original numbers matching engine and transmission, if they can be found.)

 

[SteveSRT8]

I met a guy personally at an LX meet that owns a classic Challenger that was "Foosed" on Overhaulin'.

While we were talking someone offered him 70k for it! He refused.

It's a beautiful job, and the car really holds up to even the most detailed inspection. Granted it's a 'resto-mod' car which hurts the value, but I bet he gets a LOT of money for it.

Chip Foose is careful what he puts his name on.

 

[Volvohead]

If the "A-Team" ever touched one of our cars, 'ol Chip would get an "overhauling" to be sure. Expensive ghetto peddlers, IMO.

 

[afoulk]

My favorite episode was the one where they "overhauled" Chips personal ford pickup. That was an emotional one.

 

[ddrumman2004]

I quit watching TLC years ago since it has become a reality channel, like most others, to be fair.

I have caught glimpses of Overhaulin' and found the show not to my liking. About the only auto show I watch is "Wheeler Dealers".

 

[mechtech2]

He's a very smart kid to sell that piece of metal for so much.
Think of the good $100,000+ can do for him or the family!
[Vs. a trinket]

 

[Duffman77]

I was never much a fan of the show but I like stock paint/trim and wheels on a 50s-70s car. Chip was never interested in doing restorations as it isnt his claim to fame. I think some owners were wanting something different than provided is some cases.

I do agree that his work is top notch though.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

If it were me and I owned a classic , I'd be pretty upset if it were "overhauled".

If I owned a stock classic that needed a bit of work, I wouldn't mind if the bit of work was done. Not all the extra [censored] they do.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: Duffman77
I was never much a fan of the show but I like stock paint/trim and wheels on a 50s-70s car. Chip was never interested in doing restorations as it isnt his claim to fame. I think some owners were wanting something different than provided is some cases.

I do agree that his work is top notch though.


They are VERY thorough. I have watched many episodes and they strip most of those cars down to bare chassis, upgrading the entire braking system and all the suspension while they do cosmetics. Wiring upgrades, etc., are all done.

Just the paint on this guys car would cost 5-7k at any shop around here!

They are not preserving the original, they are customizing it, and they GREATLY improved the handling on that guys old Challenger. They handle like a light truck from the factory!

Having restored and resto-modded quite a few here the expense is high even if you didn't count labor. Not for everyone.

Not everybody here likes fixed up old stuff.

 

[Hootbro]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
If it were me and I owned a classic , I'd be pretty upset if it were "overhauled".
.......


I like the show but I am not buying the whole scheme of the "mark" being in the dark.

There has to be some type of liability release and if the "mark" is the sole legal title holder of the car in question, then the "mark" has to buy off on it before it can be redone. These episodes of where family setup the deal can not always be in a legal position of authority to approve it.

I mean realistically if the "mark" did not buy off on it and wanted his car period correct restored and not "Foosed", then he can sue their socks off.

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
If it were me and I owned a classic , I'd be pretty upset if it were "overhauled".

If I owned a stock classic that needed a bit of work, I wouldn't mind if the bit of work was done. Not all the extra [censored] they do.

Agreed.

I really don't care for this guys work. I don't care how supposedly good it is they are not restoring the car to its former glory, but perverting it instead, it's more about Chip Foose than it is about the car.


I always thought that this premise of the unsuspecting mark was a fake, because what happens if the mark hates the fooseing of his classic vehicle?

Overhaulin sucked just like all the other reality [censored] they put on these days.

 

[Volvohead]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
If it were me and I owned a classic , I'd be pretty upset if it were "overhauled".

If I owned a stock classic that needed a bit of work, I wouldn't mind if the bit of work was done. Not all the extra [censored] they do.


+2.

Couldn't agree more.

Go hack up a new car with Chip's mutated styling concoctions, not a classic that someone spent 40 or 50 years taking care of to get to us intact.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Come on, many if not most of those 'classics' were basket cases owned by people who would have never, ever had the means to do anything with them, which was the point of the show to begin with. Yes, some of the cars deserved a straight restoration due to either their rarity or for the sentimental value they had to the owner, but I'd say 90% of the cars were redone were a marked improvement in every way over how they were.

That said, I personally would never want someone else to customize MY car if I sincerely had plans for it someday. Customizing is down to the owner's tastes, and should not be done by anyone else, even Chip Foose, and even if they have 'insiders' who think they know what the owner would do to their car. Some of the personal touches and tributes they did were downright silly.

I always hated when Foose would ask the insiders what the owner was into and the things they liked, but I think that's flawed. I may like computers, bacon cheeseburgers, and Star Wars movies, but that sure as [censored] doesn't mean I want any of that anywhere on my car!

Also, they don't seem to take into account the usefulness of the car once they are done with it. Too many of them were finished rolling on 20"s only three inches from the ground. That may be fine of a lot of southern California, but they did overhaul cars that were from other areas. And if my door handles were shaved off and the mirrors removed from my car solely for the sake of style, I would be pretty annoyed by it. I wonder if there was an episode or two that got such a negative reaction from the owner that they couldn't air it?

Chip Foose seems like a genuinely nice guy, but Chris Jacobs is one of the most annoying people I've ever seen on TV. As soon as he starts talking, I feel the urge to reach through my TV and punch him in the throat.

On the other hand, Courtney and AJ... good lord, yes please. Courtney looks so much better back in the early Overhaulin' episodes than the does now on the Power Block. Shame.

 

[NHHEMI]

I love the show and used to watch it all the time. Something I am not seeing mentioned here is the mark's family/friends are consulted on what the owner wants to do with the vehicle so the end result is something the owner will like. There have been shows where it was a resto vs a modded vehicle. Chip Foose is extremely careful to do a project that comes out along the lines of how the owner has talked about wanting to do it and that includes restoring to like original.

The show is amazing. I can't believe people here actually think it is criminal or some kind of bad thing. Unbelieveable. The amount of work and money that goes into these vehicles as a gift to these owners is incredible. The cars are done for people who couldn't afford to do it themselves and who deserve it. I have NEVER seen an owner see the car and not go bat c r a p crazy over it( in a good way ).

 

[mechtech2]

Foose makes money, his workers make money, the show makes money.
And, someone gets a car worth 50 times than it started.
They could always sell it, buy a used cruddy replacement, and keep the cash.
And many get entertainment from it all.

Point is, it's a win win win win situation.

 

[SteveSRT8]

I'm glad some of you guys noticed they do their research. They don't just rip off someone's car and paint it.

Plus it's TELEVISION people. I seriously doubt it's for real.

Let's see, the last one I remember was an old car that was rusting away on the side of the house. Not exactly a pristine classic!

This place just kills me sometimes...