Roadkill (2012–2020): Season 3, Episode 12 - Roadkill - full transcript
We hack the entire body off a C4 Corvette, cage it, and call it a race car. Freiburger and Finnegan fulfill a dream that began four-plus years ago when they first wrote the "Vette Hack" ...
- This time on Roadkill we took
all the gold chain out of a Corvette.
- We proved that with the right makeunder
even a C4 Corvette can look good.
(dramatic orchestral music)
(engine accelerating)
(dramatic orchestral music)
(car cranking, gun firing)
(tires squealing)
(upbeat rock music)
(moves into upbeat rock music finale)
(engine motoring)
(engine accelerating)
- [David] If I wait long
enough I can usually
fulfill one of my automotive dreams
and this episode is that.
Like five years ago,
Finnegan's very first story
for Hot Rod magazine was
when took the C4 Corvette
and cut the body off of it.
We cut 900 pounds off of this thing
and proved that it would
be faster in the Autocross,
but what I've always
wanted to do was cage it up
and just make it a
wicked handling machine.
We're finally going to do
it and Continental Tire
hooked us up with a Lingenfelter Corvette,
so we can have a shoot-out
at the same time.
(mellow rock music)
- [Mike] The backstory on this car
is that it's an '85 C4 Corvette
that was left for dead in
the desert and flooded.
- [David] It had that worthless
Cross-Fire 350 V8 in it,
but what made this one pretty cool
is that it had a manual
transmission, which is a 4-speed
with a Doug Nash add-on
overdrive on the back.
- [Mike] We cut this thing up
until it only weighed 2,350 pounds,
and it's been sitting ever since.
- [David] It got wasted.
It got rain down the engine,
there was weeds growing through it.
Our junk was junk, just turned to dust.
And so, we took one of our shop guys
and set him to stripping every
bit of plastic off the car,
we gutted this thing all the
way down to the bare frame.
(welder arcing)
- [Mike] So now, we're going
to throw a little bit of money
and a whole lot of parts we
have laying around at this thing
to see if we can make it handle
just a little bit better.
- We're going to have to
do everything to the car,
all that's left is the
stuff that performs.
No more Guido.
And the old 350 was all
ceased-up so we pulled that out
and we put in a new engine
that I had sitting around.
The motor here is the marshmallow mouse,
or the white trash,
it's a bone stock, junkyard
'91 truck bottom end.
It's got some World Products
170cc iron heads on it.
COMP Cams Thumpr cam, and of course,
the Tunnel-Ram and Zoomies.
And it made 350 horsepower
and 360 pound feet of torque,
it's no fire-breather here
but it was sitting
around and it was cheap,
and it's ludicrous and
we're hoping to death
that these zoomies actually
clear the brake booster.
Oh, this zoomie is going to be a drag.
- [Mike] A little Sawsall might fix it.
- There we go.
(hammering)
Like a glove!
So, EBC Brakes has a
pretty good sense of humor,
'cause they were willing to
help us out with this thing.
We actually got sponsorship
for this piece of junk,
and what's cools is that
they're an English company,
they make really high-end
rotors like this one.
And they agree with me that
stuff like slotted rotors
really doesn't do that much.
They put his slot in here
because a lot of the after-market
rotors that just have
the dots cut in 'em will
actually groove the pad,
and they're like, this is there
to keep the pad face flat.
This is the standard operating
procedure for Roadkill
putting way too nice a parts
on way too junky a car.
That master cylinder's in good shape.
This thing sat outside for so long
since we did the original hack,
that it pretty much just decomposed,
anything plastic on it turned to dust.
Okay, ready for the
zoomie moment of truth?
Oh!
Fail!
Manual booster is all we
need, even on Roadkill.
Do we want to sacrifice brake
performance for having zoomies?
'Cause this is far more
critical than brakes.
I was really wishy-washy
about the headers.
First we had the zoomies
which were really cool,
but they melted the master cylinder.
Then we had the pulling headers
that stuck straight up in the air,
but those melted the alternator.
- [Mike] This literally says
I'm goin' to a tractor pull
and I borrowed the wheels
off my dad's Chevelle.
- [David] And ultimately we just
put some short Tight Tubes on it
and dumped the exhaust
straight out the side.
I was really startin' to fall in love
with the overall shape of the Corvette,
and I didn't want the visual
protrusion of those headers,
so this is going to look much cooler.
- Did you just say you fell in love
with the shape of a Corvette?
- [David] Yeah, but look at it.
- This is a new milestone
we're hitting right here.
However, this is now
less Corvette and more--
- Roadkill!
- [Mike] Yeah.
- [Mike] So, here's part of our plan,
we're tryin' not to spend a
ton of money on this deal.
And even though we don't
have fenders on it,
which means we could have
put 12" wide wheels on this,
we didn't do that.
We are going to get rid of
our 16x8-1/2 stock wheels,
and a set of dry-rodded DFGs,
those are going to go away.
And we had this set of
17x9's laying around,
which are a half inch
wider and an inch taller.
And we've got a set of 285 40 17
Continental Extreme Contact tires,
they're wider, they're lower profile,
there'll be less sidewall deflection here,
this thing should handle
a little bit better.
(upbeat rock music finale)
But an effort to save as
much weight as we could,
we ripped out every ounce
of wiring in that Corvette,
and we're going to
replace just what we need
with a universal switch
panel and switches.
Because that small-block Chevy
has a Ready-to-Run
distributor and an alternator.
So, we just had to pick one of many holes
to run this through.
There isn't much else on
there that needs powering,
so other than lights,
we don't need a lot of wiring in this car.
Fewer things to go wrong.
This panel's really nice, 'cause
we got an open-top car here
and it's probably going to get rained on,
everything's got a condom on
it to keep the moisture out,
and it even has circuit breakers.
We never have circuit breakers.
This is already nicer
than almosteverything we've ever built.
(dramatic rock music)
A couple of days into
the build we realized
there was no way we were going to get
a roll cage built on this
car in time to test it.
- [David] And so, we sent it
out to have the tubes bent up
by Josh at Lucas Fab in Huntington Beach
and he brought the car back to us unwelded
so that we could finish it up.
But before we could even get the thing
back off our ramp truck, I broke it.
Oh, it just stuck, no!
- You just broke it?
- No, it just stuck on.
Try and roll it, it won't roll.
(metal clanging)
- Oops!
- [David] Yep, in true Roadkill fashion
I figured the handbrake was going
to work, but when I pulled it
it locked up the rear tires
and was not going to let go.
So, we had another couple
of hours of work to do
before we could ever begin
to start welding up the roll cage.
(dramatic rock music finale)
Look at all this cheating going on
with other people working in it.
(welder arcing)
I feel dirty.
- Let's be honest, you and I
would never have built
that cage in three days.
- [David] I know.
- Three weeks, maybe.
And it probably would have been crooked.
- I wonder if it got impounded,
would we ever get it back?
Would be a fix-it ticket?
Would it just be--
- Well, we wouldn't get impounded,
it'd be a fix-it ticket.
- I think t would get impounded.
- Every time I've ever got a noise ticket,
they never impounded
the car, it was just--
- Yeah, but...
- The only violations we have right now
are no fenders and it'll be too loud.
It'll have belts, it'll have
lights, it'll have a window.
- [David] Did you see I ordered a horn?
- [Mike] It'll have a horn.
(car horn honking)
- [David] I got an air horn.
- [Mike] Nice.
- [David] Yeah.
- [Mike] Turn signals?
- Doesn't have turn signals.
- Arms.
I'll have those.
Got a rear-view, got a side mirror.
- Oh yeah, we're the model of legality.
- If you close your eyes,
on paper it's legal.
Just tell the officer that.
Officer, just close your eyes,
and let me tell you all
the equipment we have.
- [David] You know how
normally speed stickers
make your car go faster?
These make your car brake.
Ooh, tail lights!
- [Mike] You like that?
- Yeah!
Look at that!
That is like the rocket thruster!
- [Mike] You don't need
a break light switch,
you just need to touch
the wire to something
every time you want to
drive, I'm stopping now.
That is awesome!
- [David] Yeah, those are pretty good.
- [Mike] That is the
best part of this car.
- How 'about we make it run?
Ready?
(engine cranking)
- Advanced, or did you just let off?
(engine cranking)
(car backfiring)
- Yee-hoo, okay!
Who wired that?
(laughing)
- So, check the firing order.
- It's one off.
This is number one, and it's
pointed at number eight.
Okay, so we just need
to rotate everything.
(engine cranking)
(engine turning over)
(engine revving)
- Nice!
- Good to go!
It smokes a little. (laughs)
This is one of the
better things we've done.
As bad as this looks, there's
really not that much butchery.
We're starting a trend with this.
People are going to do this.
- Junk buggies.
- No, Vette buggies.
The Vette cart.
- We could start a really
unsafe racing series with these.
- What's unsafe about it?
- We need to go around the block.
(engine revving)
- It's working!
(engine revving)
- [David] How's the power steering?
- Ah, two fingers!
(engine revving)
- Oh man, this thing's going to be fun!
(engine revving)
(engine accelerating)
- Ah, gettin' dirt in
the eye, how 'about you?
- Wow, the brakes are exceptional!
- I bet they are! (laughs)
(engine revving and sputtering)
(engine accelerating)
- Oh, my goodness!
- [David] Are you gettin'
- [David] Dirt in your eyes?
- Yeah, I can't see.
And the brakes want to put me through
what would be the
windshield if we had one.
- That's a good reason not to have one!
(engine accelerating)
(laughing)
- Oh wow, it's quick!
Definitely quick!
- Oh, look at all the smoke!
- [Mike] It needs a little tune-up.
And an alignment.
(engine accelerating)
Does a good burn-outs.
- 5500!
(laughing)
- That was a good burn-out.
- It's kind of loud!
You have oil on your face.
(engine revving)
That's a big oil leak, look at that!
- That was so much fun!
- Looks like a funeral pyre!
- [Mike] Is there even a gasket in there?
- [David] Probably not.
- [Mike] 'Cause your
marshmallow-white motor
is no longer white.
After all the cutting and welding,
fabricating, wiring and engine-swapping,
this car ended up weighing
a little over 2100 pounds,
and under 2600 pounds with
both Freiburger and I in it.
- Here's the coolest thing about our job,
not only do we get to build
garbage and have fun with it,
but we get to influence important people
to actually help us out, and
we're going to get to drive
this 640-horse brand new Corvette.
We got hooked up with this thing
from the guys at Continental Tire,
because Continental's the
official tire of Lingenfelter,
and of course we're friends
with Mike Copeland over there,
so it just all turns into
a beautiful 640 horsepower goodness.
So basically, we went through all this
just to be able to drive
a Lingenfelter Corvette.
- Ah, it's probably worth it.
- What we need to ask
them for is a crate motor.
- Oh yeah, because 700 horsepower
is really what you want in this.
- Yeah, ya know.
Ah, we're here, yes!
(engine accelerating)
- [Mike] Does good doughnuts. (laughs)
(engine motoring)
- All right!
I'll just go ahead and
(engine cutting out)
shut the engine off.
(laughing)
So, the deal on this, nobody would loan us
a regular stock Corvette, imagine that.
So, I called Lingenfelter,
like we need to borrow a Corvette.
We're going to be racing against that
so we want the least power you can make,
but Copeland doesn't speak that language.
So, this thing makes 640.
It has a Edelbrock blower on it.
6-1/2 psi, Kooks header, Corsa exhaust,
Continental tires and a
Lingenfelter body kit.
Other than that, stock.
- That doesn't sound stock at all.
(laughing)
Okay, so it's got almost
twice the horsepower,
but weighs about 2,000 pounds more.
- Yeah, twice as much horsepower,
but I was hoping it was twice the weight
so that the power per
weight ratio'd be the same,
but it's not, this still
has the advantage on that.
- What does this weigh?
- I don't know, what's it weigh, 3600?
- I'll tell you after I drive
it, I can tell these things.
- Okay. (laughs)
- [Mike] Automatically.
- [David] You're going to sense that?
(engine revving)
(upbeat rock music)
First thing that we needed to do
was take some test laps
in the brand new C7.
(engine revving)
(upbeat rock music)
- Oh my God, that is good.
- These are great cars if
you can be seen in 'em.
Imagine 30 years from now us
cutting one of these apart
and roll caging it, that would be good.
How Roadkill do you feel right now?
- Well, we made that amazing thing there.
It's osmosis.
- [David] We deserve this.
- Yeah, we deserve this because
we put in the hours on that,
that's the way I look at it.
(engine accelerating)
- So we have to decide which
course we're going to take.
(engine accelerating)
- Dude, this is great!
- [David] It might have
a little bit of power.
- This is great!
This is an easy car to drive.
(engine accelerating)
- [David] It is designed for
people like us who know nothing.
(engine accelerating)
- Shifting at seven-grand is awesome.
- This thing is bitching, isn't it?
- [Mike] A really great car!
(engine accelerating)
- Suit up, I'll ride along
and we'll time from inside the car,
just like Charger at the Rally School.
- Suit up for me will consist
of just putting a helmet on,
because I forgot my suit.
- You're driving, so I'm
going to have a fire suit?
- Yeah, so all right.
- We will set the bar
with the Lingenfelter,
and then shimmy underneath
it with our Vette.
(upbeat rock music)
(engine accelerating)
- [Mike] This is an awesome car.
Anyone can get in here,
and you can crash this,
but it's really difficult.
(engine accelerating)
(upbeat rock music)
Dude, I twist this knob one
more click and we're dead.
(laughing)
(engine accelerating)
(upbeat rock music)
- [David] 1:35.65.
I have no idea what a good lap is here.
- [Mike] I don't either.
- [David] That probably wasn't it.
- [Mike] Nah, there were definitely,
definitely room for improvement there.
- [David] Well, I'd like to
say I can improve on that,
but I'm not going to say that
until I actually drive it.
- [Mike] Oh, I think you can,
that was not my finest work.
- [David] I need to break
out the excuses now.
See, he had six laps,
five warm-ups and a race.
I'm going to have two,
one warm-up and a race.
- [Mike] So, that means if
I lose I look even worse.
Thanks for throwin' that out there.
- [David] This ends the
whining portion of the program.
Ready?
Ahh, that hurt.
- [Mike] I'm air conditioning
my butt right now.
- [David] Really, you have seat AC?
- [Mike] Yeah.
- [David] Wow.
- [Mike] Oh, that feels good.
- [David] How do I air condition my butt?
Here we go.
(engine accelerating)
(upbeat rock music)
- [Mike] Whoa, boy!
(tires squealing)
Thank you Chevrolet for saving me.
I really appreciate all the work
you put into the new Corvette,
'cause David's tryin' to kill me! (laughs)
(engine accelerating)
(dramatic rock music)
Did the tires do something wrong to you?
(laughing)
'Cause you are punishing them.
(engine accelerating)
Whoa!
(dramatic rock music)
Oh!
This is going to be close!
1:30!
(dramatic rock music)
You beat me,
1:34.50!
(dramatic rock music finale)
- [David] Winning!
And it was a mess!
- I spent most of the time,
that side just going clink, clink, clink.
The Corvette's not built for a helmet.
David kicked my butt by
half a second in the C7,
so we hopped in the go-kart
and on the warm-up lap
I found out just how good
those EBC brakes work.
(tires squealing)
(laughing)
- [David] Throw that, Kelvin.
- [Mike] That happened fast!
(engine cranking)
- [David] That's just
tappin' the brakes, right?
- [Mike] Yep.
(engine revving)
(engine accelerating)
(dramatic rock music)
For what it is, the go-kart is light,
it is nimble, it accelerates good,
it turns pretty well, the tires are good.
If we had a few more
laps, or a few more hours,
or a few more wrenches,
this would be a pretty awesome racecar.
(engine accelerating)
(dramatic rock music)
(tires squealing)
- [David] Five seconds
slower than the Lingenfelter!
- [Mike] Not bad, I'm a fan!
- [David] Really?
- [Mike] I'm totally a fan!
- [Mike] This has so much potential.
- [David] But the issues
are that you tap the brakes
and it wants to come around?
- [Mike] You have to
completely drive different,
you can't barrel into a corner
and then lay into the brakes.
- [David] Oh, I'm sure.
- It just wants to spin out.
But it handles good!
- [David] Really?
- [Mike] Yeah, it steers really good.
It's really not that loose.
It's the perfect amount of power
for what it is right now, I think.
Dude, the first couple
times around, I was spooked.
I was like, this thing's going to kill me
and my arm's going to come out the side.
You know, or we're going to flip it.
But once you spin it out and you realize
it's not tipping over.
- [David] Look at all
the oil on your helmet.
- Yeah, we've got somethin'
happenin' over here.
- [David] A whole in
the valve cover, maybe.
- That's just rust prevention
as far as I'm concerned.
It's not on the tires, so it's safe.
- [David] So, I had confidence
in the new Corvette saving me from myself.
(laughing)
I don't have that here.
- [Mike] I think your
sense of self-preservation
will really just kick in.
- [David] This thing let's me
be as stupid as I want to be,
and I don't want to be that stupid in it.
(engine idling)
What's your level of fear right now?
- [Mike] Yeah, I don't
trust you, I really don't,
so I'm about a nine.
Just going to hold onto these.
(engine accelerating)
(upbeat rock music)
You know the thing is,
the whole Vette hack
idea could be legitimate.
(upbeat rock music)
(engine accelerating)
Stripping a C4 down to its
bare bones and caging it,
this thing only weighs 2100 pounds.
You could science-out
the suspension on this,
give it some more horsepower.
Imagine a Lingenfelter
crate motor in this car!
It would destroy all, and
it would be an actual threat
at a time-attack event anywhere.
(engine accelerating)
(upbeat rock music)
Dude!
(engine idling)
1:35.50!
- [David] And so I matched my time!
Pretty much!
Not bad!
And I pretty much was in
third gear the whole time
'cause I can't shift it!
- [Mike] Yeah.
(engine idling)
Imagine if you had a shifter!
- [David] Wow, I can't get it in any gear.
(engine revving)
- [Mike] Maybe that's a sign.
- [David] Yeah, really!
(laughing)
(gears grinding)
Oh, we got no clutch.
(engine idling)
- [Mike] Oh, maybe that was the fluid.
- [David] Oh, probably, yeah.
- [Mike] Kill it.
- [David] We're done!
(laughing)
(engine idling)
- [David] Bye, bye, oh it didn't kill it!
Our safety measures failed!
- [Mike] Hold on, I'll get it!
- [David] Oh, that's 'cause of this.
- [Mike] Oh yeah.
(engine cutting out)
- [David] Wow, good thing we
didn't need that in a hurry!
(laughing)
I feel like I could
drive the thing better!
It's not bad.
You're right, it needs throttle response
and it needs a shifter,
and you could actually
beat somebody with this.
- [Mike] This is a good piece
of machinery right here.
- [David] Our day is ended
because we have clutch fluid
spraying all over us
and I've got no clutch,
so I did all of that in third gear
and matched my time in
the Lingenfelter car!
Actually a second slower,
I ran 1:35 instead of 1:34.
- Oh, you matched my time.
- [David] I matched your
time in the Lingenfelter.
- Yeah so, 640 horsepower
in the Lingenfelter,
300-ish here, no electronic
bells and whistles,
just your right and left foot saving you.
Okay so, what's the
Lingenfelter car probably cost?
70K probably?
There's 10-grand here.
- I just want to do doughnuts,
I'm going to fire it up
in gear and do doughnuts.
- And I'd like to personally thank
the good folks at Continental
for making amazing tires,
and pretty damn amazing tires,
both of which we're going
to destroy right now.
(mellow Classical music)
(engine revving)
(engine accelerating)
- Oh-ho!
(mellow Classical music)
(engine accelerating)
(tires squealing)
(mellow Classical music)
(engine accelerating)
- Okay, it's dead.
- Okay!
- [Mike] Another car being pushed.
- [David] We broke it after all.
No matter how many parts
we remove from a vehicle,
we can break whatever's left.
- [Mike] Obviously, the go-kart can hang
with the Lingenfelter car on the pavement,
but this is Roadkill so we
got to bring it up a notch.
- [David] So, we decided
to throw a clutch in it,
put a windshield in it and hit the highway
and go see how well this
thing works in the dirt.
Oh yeah, like factory.
(engine accelerating and sputtering)
(engine accelerating)
I don't like intersections 'cause it gives
more opportunity for a cop to drive by.
(engine idling)
- Yeah, what?
(laughing)
We should of leaned these seats back.
(engine idling)
- The what?
- Yeah.
- [David] Yeah.
- [Mike] Yeah.
(engine idling)
(engine accelerating)
- [David] I think it handles good.
(engine accelerating)
Ah, traffic!
(engine accelerating)
No problem!
- What?
Oh, yeah.
(engine accelerating)
- Do you smell gas?
- What'd you say?
- Do you smell gas?
- Yeah!
- Okay.
(engine motoring)
- We should probably check that.
(engine accelerating)
Driving on the highway in this
thing is pretty hilarious.
I expected everybody to
be staring and pointing
and cuttin' us off, but no,
this is LA prime time traffic,
and no one blinked an eye!
(engine accelerating)
(upbeat rock music)
(engine motoring)
When we got to the desert,
things were going way too smoothly,
until Roadkill kicked in.
The car sputtered and died
and we pulled over to
the side of the road,
and it turned out our electric
fuel pump was roached.
- Maybe we can get a stick or somethin'
so you could reach back and just hit it.
- [Mike] That's a great idea.
Hit it with the bottle of water.
Maybe I can reach it.
(water bottle banging)
(laughs) Is it workin'? (laughs)
- [David] No.
Tank.
- Workin'?
- [David] Yep.
(engine turning over)
(engine revving)
(engine accelerating)
(energetic rock music)
- [David] Ah! (laughs)
Whoa!
(engine accelerating)
(energetic rock music)
Bacon?
- (laughs) It's a little dusty.
I'm going to save myself
for dinner in Palmdale.
- Yeah you know, a lot of
people go there for the food.
- [Mike] This is thing is
so much like a Baja Bug, it's ridiculous!
It's lightweight, it's got
independent rear suspension,
great flotation 'cause it
doesn't weigh anything.
The thing just blasted dirt
roads, but I had to find out,
could it handle a rocky hill climb?
(mellow rock music finale)
(engine accelerating)
(engine accelerating and sputtering)
(upbeat rock music)
Yeah!
Woo hoo!
(upbeat rock music)
(engine accelerating)
(laughing)
That was cool!
Let's see a Lingenfelter
Corvette do that right there!
- Oh, we failed not bringin' it!
When we get pulled over and the cop goes
"Do you know why I pulled you over?"
I'm going to go "Exhibition of greatness."
(gun firing)
Okay!
(gun firing)
- Gun shots, all right
time to go home.
- [David] All right!
- [David] Time to go!
(gun firing)
(engine accelerating)
(gun firing)
I'd like to see Fred try
that one on dirt everyday!
Honestly, I don't even know why
Continental makes off-road tires.
- Mark this day in
history, boys and girls,
this is the first time a
Corvette's ever climbed a mountain!
Roadkill!
This is like a hill with some rocks on it,
but I don't care--
- Don't care, nobody does this, let's go!
(engine revving and accelerating)
(shifter rattling)
Shifter's over-rated.
- Oh!
- Try to avoid that, it really hurts!
(engine motoring)
- Well, you wanted to go off-roading!
- You don't know Ken Lingenfelter
personally in real life--
- I could have wrecked it and
Ken would have said "Okay."
So, that's why I drove
like an absolute moron.
(engine accelerating)
- That was really good.
(engine motoring)
all the gold chain out of a Corvette.
- We proved that with the right makeunder
even a C4 Corvette can look good.
(dramatic orchestral music)
(engine accelerating)
(dramatic orchestral music)
(car cranking, gun firing)
(tires squealing)
(upbeat rock music)
(moves into upbeat rock music finale)
(engine motoring)
(engine accelerating)
- [David] If I wait long
enough I can usually
fulfill one of my automotive dreams
and this episode is that.
Like five years ago,
Finnegan's very first story
for Hot Rod magazine was
when took the C4 Corvette
and cut the body off of it.
We cut 900 pounds off of this thing
and proved that it would
be faster in the Autocross,
but what I've always
wanted to do was cage it up
and just make it a
wicked handling machine.
We're finally going to do
it and Continental Tire
hooked us up with a Lingenfelter Corvette,
so we can have a shoot-out
at the same time.
(mellow rock music)
- [Mike] The backstory on this car
is that it's an '85 C4 Corvette
that was left for dead in
the desert and flooded.
- [David] It had that worthless
Cross-Fire 350 V8 in it,
but what made this one pretty cool
is that it had a manual
transmission, which is a 4-speed
with a Doug Nash add-on
overdrive on the back.
- [Mike] We cut this thing up
until it only weighed 2,350 pounds,
and it's been sitting ever since.
- [David] It got wasted.
It got rain down the engine,
there was weeds growing through it.
Our junk was junk, just turned to dust.
And so, we took one of our shop guys
and set him to stripping every
bit of plastic off the car,
we gutted this thing all the
way down to the bare frame.
(welder arcing)
- [Mike] So now, we're going
to throw a little bit of money
and a whole lot of parts we
have laying around at this thing
to see if we can make it handle
just a little bit better.
- We're going to have to
do everything to the car,
all that's left is the
stuff that performs.
No more Guido.
And the old 350 was all
ceased-up so we pulled that out
and we put in a new engine
that I had sitting around.
The motor here is the marshmallow mouse,
or the white trash,
it's a bone stock, junkyard
'91 truck bottom end.
It's got some World Products
170cc iron heads on it.
COMP Cams Thumpr cam, and of course,
the Tunnel-Ram and Zoomies.
And it made 350 horsepower
and 360 pound feet of torque,
it's no fire-breather here
but it was sitting
around and it was cheap,
and it's ludicrous and
we're hoping to death
that these zoomies actually
clear the brake booster.
Oh, this zoomie is going to be a drag.
- [Mike] A little Sawsall might fix it.
- There we go.
(hammering)
Like a glove!
So, EBC Brakes has a
pretty good sense of humor,
'cause they were willing to
help us out with this thing.
We actually got sponsorship
for this piece of junk,
and what's cools is that
they're an English company,
they make really high-end
rotors like this one.
And they agree with me that
stuff like slotted rotors
really doesn't do that much.
They put his slot in here
because a lot of the after-market
rotors that just have
the dots cut in 'em will
actually groove the pad,
and they're like, this is there
to keep the pad face flat.
This is the standard operating
procedure for Roadkill
putting way too nice a parts
on way too junky a car.
That master cylinder's in good shape.
This thing sat outside for so long
since we did the original hack,
that it pretty much just decomposed,
anything plastic on it turned to dust.
Okay, ready for the
zoomie moment of truth?
Oh!
Fail!
Manual booster is all we
need, even on Roadkill.
Do we want to sacrifice brake
performance for having zoomies?
'Cause this is far more
critical than brakes.
I was really wishy-washy
about the headers.
First we had the zoomies
which were really cool,
but they melted the master cylinder.
Then we had the pulling headers
that stuck straight up in the air,
but those melted the alternator.
- [Mike] This literally says
I'm goin' to a tractor pull
and I borrowed the wheels
off my dad's Chevelle.
- [David] And ultimately we just
put some short Tight Tubes on it
and dumped the exhaust
straight out the side.
I was really startin' to fall in love
with the overall shape of the Corvette,
and I didn't want the visual
protrusion of those headers,
so this is going to look much cooler.
- Did you just say you fell in love
with the shape of a Corvette?
- [David] Yeah, but look at it.
- This is a new milestone
we're hitting right here.
However, this is now
less Corvette and more--
- Roadkill!
- [Mike] Yeah.
- [Mike] So, here's part of our plan,
we're tryin' not to spend a
ton of money on this deal.
And even though we don't
have fenders on it,
which means we could have
put 12" wide wheels on this,
we didn't do that.
We are going to get rid of
our 16x8-1/2 stock wheels,
and a set of dry-rodded DFGs,
those are going to go away.
And we had this set of
17x9's laying around,
which are a half inch
wider and an inch taller.
And we've got a set of 285 40 17
Continental Extreme Contact tires,
they're wider, they're lower profile,
there'll be less sidewall deflection here,
this thing should handle
a little bit better.
(upbeat rock music finale)
But an effort to save as
much weight as we could,
we ripped out every ounce
of wiring in that Corvette,
and we're going to
replace just what we need
with a universal switch
panel and switches.
Because that small-block Chevy
has a Ready-to-Run
distributor and an alternator.
So, we just had to pick one of many holes
to run this through.
There isn't much else on
there that needs powering,
so other than lights,
we don't need a lot of wiring in this car.
Fewer things to go wrong.
This panel's really nice, 'cause
we got an open-top car here
and it's probably going to get rained on,
everything's got a condom on
it to keep the moisture out,
and it even has circuit breakers.
We never have circuit breakers.
This is already nicer
than almosteverything we've ever built.
(dramatic rock music)
A couple of days into
the build we realized
there was no way we were going to get
a roll cage built on this
car in time to test it.
- [David] And so, we sent it
out to have the tubes bent up
by Josh at Lucas Fab in Huntington Beach
and he brought the car back to us unwelded
so that we could finish it up.
But before we could even get the thing
back off our ramp truck, I broke it.
Oh, it just stuck, no!
- You just broke it?
- No, it just stuck on.
Try and roll it, it won't roll.
(metal clanging)
- Oops!
- [David] Yep, in true Roadkill fashion
I figured the handbrake was going
to work, but when I pulled it
it locked up the rear tires
and was not going to let go.
So, we had another couple
of hours of work to do
before we could ever begin
to start welding up the roll cage.
(dramatic rock music finale)
Look at all this cheating going on
with other people working in it.
(welder arcing)
I feel dirty.
- Let's be honest, you and I
would never have built
that cage in three days.
- [David] I know.
- Three weeks, maybe.
And it probably would have been crooked.
- I wonder if it got impounded,
would we ever get it back?
Would be a fix-it ticket?
Would it just be--
- Well, we wouldn't get impounded,
it'd be a fix-it ticket.
- I think t would get impounded.
- Every time I've ever got a noise ticket,
they never impounded
the car, it was just--
- Yeah, but...
- The only violations we have right now
are no fenders and it'll be too loud.
It'll have belts, it'll have
lights, it'll have a window.
- [David] Did you see I ordered a horn?
- [Mike] It'll have a horn.
(car horn honking)
- [David] I got an air horn.
- [Mike] Nice.
- [David] Yeah.
- [Mike] Turn signals?
- Doesn't have turn signals.
- Arms.
I'll have those.
Got a rear-view, got a side mirror.
- Oh yeah, we're the model of legality.
- If you close your eyes,
on paper it's legal.
Just tell the officer that.
Officer, just close your eyes,
and let me tell you all
the equipment we have.
- [David] You know how
normally speed stickers
make your car go faster?
These make your car brake.
Ooh, tail lights!
- [Mike] You like that?
- Yeah!
Look at that!
That is like the rocket thruster!
- [Mike] You don't need
a break light switch,
you just need to touch
the wire to something
every time you want to
drive, I'm stopping now.
That is awesome!
- [David] Yeah, those are pretty good.
- [Mike] That is the
best part of this car.
- How 'about we make it run?
Ready?
(engine cranking)
- Advanced, or did you just let off?
(engine cranking)
(car backfiring)
- Yee-hoo, okay!
Who wired that?
(laughing)
- So, check the firing order.
- It's one off.
This is number one, and it's
pointed at number eight.
Okay, so we just need
to rotate everything.
(engine cranking)
(engine turning over)
(engine revving)
- Nice!
- Good to go!
It smokes a little. (laughs)
This is one of the
better things we've done.
As bad as this looks, there's
really not that much butchery.
We're starting a trend with this.
People are going to do this.
- Junk buggies.
- No, Vette buggies.
The Vette cart.
- We could start a really
unsafe racing series with these.
- What's unsafe about it?
- We need to go around the block.
(engine revving)
- It's working!
(engine revving)
- [David] How's the power steering?
- Ah, two fingers!
(engine revving)
- Oh man, this thing's going to be fun!
(engine revving)
(engine accelerating)
- Ah, gettin' dirt in
the eye, how 'about you?
- Wow, the brakes are exceptional!
- I bet they are! (laughs)
(engine revving and sputtering)
(engine accelerating)
- Oh, my goodness!
- [David] Are you gettin'
- [David] Dirt in your eyes?
- Yeah, I can't see.
And the brakes want to put me through
what would be the
windshield if we had one.
- That's a good reason not to have one!
(engine accelerating)
(laughing)
- Oh wow, it's quick!
Definitely quick!
- Oh, look at all the smoke!
- [Mike] It needs a little tune-up.
And an alignment.
(engine accelerating)
Does a good burn-outs.
- 5500!
(laughing)
- That was a good burn-out.
- It's kind of loud!
You have oil on your face.
(engine revving)
That's a big oil leak, look at that!
- That was so much fun!
- Looks like a funeral pyre!
- [Mike] Is there even a gasket in there?
- [David] Probably not.
- [Mike] 'Cause your
marshmallow-white motor
is no longer white.
After all the cutting and welding,
fabricating, wiring and engine-swapping,
this car ended up weighing
a little over 2100 pounds,
and under 2600 pounds with
both Freiburger and I in it.
- Here's the coolest thing about our job,
not only do we get to build
garbage and have fun with it,
but we get to influence important people
to actually help us out, and
we're going to get to drive
this 640-horse brand new Corvette.
We got hooked up with this thing
from the guys at Continental Tire,
because Continental's the
official tire of Lingenfelter,
and of course we're friends
with Mike Copeland over there,
so it just all turns into
a beautiful 640 horsepower goodness.
So basically, we went through all this
just to be able to drive
a Lingenfelter Corvette.
- Ah, it's probably worth it.
- What we need to ask
them for is a crate motor.
- Oh yeah, because 700 horsepower
is really what you want in this.
- Yeah, ya know.
Ah, we're here, yes!
(engine accelerating)
- [Mike] Does good doughnuts. (laughs)
(engine motoring)
- All right!
I'll just go ahead and
(engine cutting out)
shut the engine off.
(laughing)
So, the deal on this, nobody would loan us
a regular stock Corvette, imagine that.
So, I called Lingenfelter,
like we need to borrow a Corvette.
We're going to be racing against that
so we want the least power you can make,
but Copeland doesn't speak that language.
So, this thing makes 640.
It has a Edelbrock blower on it.
6-1/2 psi, Kooks header, Corsa exhaust,
Continental tires and a
Lingenfelter body kit.
Other than that, stock.
- That doesn't sound stock at all.
(laughing)
Okay, so it's got almost
twice the horsepower,
but weighs about 2,000 pounds more.
- Yeah, twice as much horsepower,
but I was hoping it was twice the weight
so that the power per
weight ratio'd be the same,
but it's not, this still
has the advantage on that.
- What does this weigh?
- I don't know, what's it weigh, 3600?
- I'll tell you after I drive
it, I can tell these things.
- Okay. (laughs)
- [Mike] Automatically.
- [David] You're going to sense that?
(engine revving)
(upbeat rock music)
First thing that we needed to do
was take some test laps
in the brand new C7.
(engine revving)
(upbeat rock music)
- Oh my God, that is good.
- These are great cars if
you can be seen in 'em.
Imagine 30 years from now us
cutting one of these apart
and roll caging it, that would be good.
How Roadkill do you feel right now?
- Well, we made that amazing thing there.
It's osmosis.
- [David] We deserve this.
- Yeah, we deserve this because
we put in the hours on that,
that's the way I look at it.
(engine accelerating)
- So we have to decide which
course we're going to take.
(engine accelerating)
- Dude, this is great!
- [David] It might have
a little bit of power.
- This is great!
This is an easy car to drive.
(engine accelerating)
- [David] It is designed for
people like us who know nothing.
(engine accelerating)
- Shifting at seven-grand is awesome.
- This thing is bitching, isn't it?
- [Mike] A really great car!
(engine accelerating)
- Suit up, I'll ride along
and we'll time from inside the car,
just like Charger at the Rally School.
- Suit up for me will consist
of just putting a helmet on,
because I forgot my suit.
- You're driving, so I'm
going to have a fire suit?
- Yeah, so all right.
- We will set the bar
with the Lingenfelter,
and then shimmy underneath
it with our Vette.
(upbeat rock music)
(engine accelerating)
- [Mike] This is an awesome car.
Anyone can get in here,
and you can crash this,
but it's really difficult.
(engine accelerating)
(upbeat rock music)
Dude, I twist this knob one
more click and we're dead.
(laughing)
(engine accelerating)
(upbeat rock music)
- [David] 1:35.65.
I have no idea what a good lap is here.
- [Mike] I don't either.
- [David] That probably wasn't it.
- [Mike] Nah, there were definitely,
definitely room for improvement there.
- [David] Well, I'd like to
say I can improve on that,
but I'm not going to say that
until I actually drive it.
- [Mike] Oh, I think you can,
that was not my finest work.
- [David] I need to break
out the excuses now.
See, he had six laps,
five warm-ups and a race.
I'm going to have two,
one warm-up and a race.
- [Mike] So, that means if
I lose I look even worse.
Thanks for throwin' that out there.
- [David] This ends the
whining portion of the program.
Ready?
Ahh, that hurt.
- [Mike] I'm air conditioning
my butt right now.
- [David] Really, you have seat AC?
- [Mike] Yeah.
- [David] Wow.
- [Mike] Oh, that feels good.
- [David] How do I air condition my butt?
Here we go.
(engine accelerating)
(upbeat rock music)
- [Mike] Whoa, boy!
(tires squealing)
Thank you Chevrolet for saving me.
I really appreciate all the work
you put into the new Corvette,
'cause David's tryin' to kill me! (laughs)
(engine accelerating)
(dramatic rock music)
Did the tires do something wrong to you?
(laughing)
'Cause you are punishing them.
(engine accelerating)
Whoa!
(dramatic rock music)
Oh!
This is going to be close!
1:30!
(dramatic rock music)
You beat me,
1:34.50!
(dramatic rock music finale)
- [David] Winning!
And it was a mess!
- I spent most of the time,
that side just going clink, clink, clink.
The Corvette's not built for a helmet.
David kicked my butt by
half a second in the C7,
so we hopped in the go-kart
and on the warm-up lap
I found out just how good
those EBC brakes work.
(tires squealing)
(laughing)
- [David] Throw that, Kelvin.
- [Mike] That happened fast!
(engine cranking)
- [David] That's just
tappin' the brakes, right?
- [Mike] Yep.
(engine revving)
(engine accelerating)
(dramatic rock music)
For what it is, the go-kart is light,
it is nimble, it accelerates good,
it turns pretty well, the tires are good.
If we had a few more
laps, or a few more hours,
or a few more wrenches,
this would be a pretty awesome racecar.
(engine accelerating)
(dramatic rock music)
(tires squealing)
- [David] Five seconds
slower than the Lingenfelter!
- [Mike] Not bad, I'm a fan!
- [David] Really?
- [Mike] I'm totally a fan!
- [Mike] This has so much potential.
- [David] But the issues
are that you tap the brakes
and it wants to come around?
- [Mike] You have to
completely drive different,
you can't barrel into a corner
and then lay into the brakes.
- [David] Oh, I'm sure.
- It just wants to spin out.
But it handles good!
- [David] Really?
- [Mike] Yeah, it steers really good.
It's really not that loose.
It's the perfect amount of power
for what it is right now, I think.
Dude, the first couple
times around, I was spooked.
I was like, this thing's going to kill me
and my arm's going to come out the side.
You know, or we're going to flip it.
But once you spin it out and you realize
it's not tipping over.
- [David] Look at all
the oil on your helmet.
- Yeah, we've got somethin'
happenin' over here.
- [David] A whole in
the valve cover, maybe.
- That's just rust prevention
as far as I'm concerned.
It's not on the tires, so it's safe.
- [David] So, I had confidence
in the new Corvette saving me from myself.
(laughing)
I don't have that here.
- [Mike] I think your
sense of self-preservation
will really just kick in.
- [David] This thing let's me
be as stupid as I want to be,
and I don't want to be that stupid in it.
(engine idling)
What's your level of fear right now?
- [Mike] Yeah, I don't
trust you, I really don't,
so I'm about a nine.
Just going to hold onto these.
(engine accelerating)
(upbeat rock music)
You know the thing is,
the whole Vette hack
idea could be legitimate.
(upbeat rock music)
(engine accelerating)
Stripping a C4 down to its
bare bones and caging it,
this thing only weighs 2100 pounds.
You could science-out
the suspension on this,
give it some more horsepower.
Imagine a Lingenfelter
crate motor in this car!
It would destroy all, and
it would be an actual threat
at a time-attack event anywhere.
(engine accelerating)
(upbeat rock music)
Dude!
(engine idling)
1:35.50!
- [David] And so I matched my time!
Pretty much!
Not bad!
And I pretty much was in
third gear the whole time
'cause I can't shift it!
- [Mike] Yeah.
(engine idling)
Imagine if you had a shifter!
- [David] Wow, I can't get it in any gear.
(engine revving)
- [Mike] Maybe that's a sign.
- [David] Yeah, really!
(laughing)
(gears grinding)
Oh, we got no clutch.
(engine idling)
- [Mike] Oh, maybe that was the fluid.
- [David] Oh, probably, yeah.
- [Mike] Kill it.
- [David] We're done!
(laughing)
(engine idling)
- [David] Bye, bye, oh it didn't kill it!
Our safety measures failed!
- [Mike] Hold on, I'll get it!
- [David] Oh, that's 'cause of this.
- [Mike] Oh yeah.
(engine cutting out)
- [David] Wow, good thing we
didn't need that in a hurry!
(laughing)
I feel like I could
drive the thing better!
It's not bad.
You're right, it needs throttle response
and it needs a shifter,
and you could actually
beat somebody with this.
- [Mike] This is a good piece
of machinery right here.
- [David] Our day is ended
because we have clutch fluid
spraying all over us
and I've got no clutch,
so I did all of that in third gear
and matched my time in
the Lingenfelter car!
Actually a second slower,
I ran 1:35 instead of 1:34.
- Oh, you matched my time.
- [David] I matched your
time in the Lingenfelter.
- Yeah so, 640 horsepower
in the Lingenfelter,
300-ish here, no electronic
bells and whistles,
just your right and left foot saving you.
Okay so, what's the
Lingenfelter car probably cost?
70K probably?
There's 10-grand here.
- I just want to do doughnuts,
I'm going to fire it up
in gear and do doughnuts.
- And I'd like to personally thank
the good folks at Continental
for making amazing tires,
and pretty damn amazing tires,
both of which we're going
to destroy right now.
(mellow Classical music)
(engine revving)
(engine accelerating)
- Oh-ho!
(mellow Classical music)
(engine accelerating)
(tires squealing)
(mellow Classical music)
(engine accelerating)
- Okay, it's dead.
- Okay!
- [Mike] Another car being pushed.
- [David] We broke it after all.
No matter how many parts
we remove from a vehicle,
we can break whatever's left.
- [Mike] Obviously, the go-kart can hang
with the Lingenfelter car on the pavement,
but this is Roadkill so we
got to bring it up a notch.
- [David] So, we decided
to throw a clutch in it,
put a windshield in it and hit the highway
and go see how well this
thing works in the dirt.
Oh yeah, like factory.
(engine accelerating and sputtering)
(engine accelerating)
I don't like intersections 'cause it gives
more opportunity for a cop to drive by.
(engine idling)
- Yeah, what?
(laughing)
We should of leaned these seats back.
(engine idling)
- The what?
- Yeah.
- [David] Yeah.
- [Mike] Yeah.
(engine idling)
(engine accelerating)
- [David] I think it handles good.
(engine accelerating)
Ah, traffic!
(engine accelerating)
No problem!
- What?
Oh, yeah.
(engine accelerating)
- Do you smell gas?
- What'd you say?
- Do you smell gas?
- Yeah!
- Okay.
(engine motoring)
- We should probably check that.
(engine accelerating)
Driving on the highway in this
thing is pretty hilarious.
I expected everybody to
be staring and pointing
and cuttin' us off, but no,
this is LA prime time traffic,
and no one blinked an eye!
(engine accelerating)
(upbeat rock music)
(engine motoring)
When we got to the desert,
things were going way too smoothly,
until Roadkill kicked in.
The car sputtered and died
and we pulled over to
the side of the road,
and it turned out our electric
fuel pump was roached.
- Maybe we can get a stick or somethin'
so you could reach back and just hit it.
- [Mike] That's a great idea.
Hit it with the bottle of water.
Maybe I can reach it.
(water bottle banging)
(laughs) Is it workin'? (laughs)
- [David] No.
Tank.
- Workin'?
- [David] Yep.
(engine turning over)
(engine revving)
(engine accelerating)
(energetic rock music)
- [David] Ah! (laughs)
Whoa!
(engine accelerating)
(energetic rock music)
Bacon?
- (laughs) It's a little dusty.
I'm going to save myself
for dinner in Palmdale.
- Yeah you know, a lot of
people go there for the food.
- [Mike] This is thing is
so much like a Baja Bug, it's ridiculous!
It's lightweight, it's got
independent rear suspension,
great flotation 'cause it
doesn't weigh anything.
The thing just blasted dirt
roads, but I had to find out,
could it handle a rocky hill climb?
(mellow rock music finale)
(engine accelerating)
(engine accelerating and sputtering)
(upbeat rock music)
Yeah!
Woo hoo!
(upbeat rock music)
(engine accelerating)
(laughing)
That was cool!
Let's see a Lingenfelter
Corvette do that right there!
- Oh, we failed not bringin' it!
When we get pulled over and the cop goes
"Do you know why I pulled you over?"
I'm going to go "Exhibition of greatness."
(gun firing)
Okay!
(gun firing)
- Gun shots, all right
time to go home.
- [David] All right!
- [David] Time to go!
(gun firing)
(engine accelerating)
(gun firing)
I'd like to see Fred try
that one on dirt everyday!
Honestly, I don't even know why
Continental makes off-road tires.
- Mark this day in
history, boys and girls,
this is the first time a
Corvette's ever climbed a mountain!
Roadkill!
This is like a hill with some rocks on it,
but I don't care--
- Don't care, nobody does this, let's go!
(engine revving and accelerating)
(shifter rattling)
Shifter's over-rated.
- Oh!
- Try to avoid that, it really hurts!
(engine motoring)
- Well, you wanted to go off-roading!
- You don't know Ken Lingenfelter
personally in real life--
- I could have wrecked it and
Ken would have said "Okay."
So, that's why I drove
like an absolute moron.
(engine accelerating)
- That was really good.
(engine motoring)