TLC show 'Wrecks to Riches'

[Bob Johnson]

Hi Bob - I'm sorry, I didn't see where you had asked about Mike and Sandy...they are really nice people, but they always ended up getting outbid by someone. They bring nice cars to the auctions, some sell and some don't, but hey, that's the auction life. And let me say one more time, we did the cars we did the way we did them because of the time frames we had to work with. We tried our best not to compromise on anything, because that's not the way we do things. I apologize again if we offended anyone by doing what we did with some of the cars.
Becky

no need to apologize..you can't make everybody happy..Barry's taste is right up there at the top..most of the criticizers don't have squat anyhow..ask for their credentials the next time one of them whine. Guarantee they haven't won AMBR or Ridler or been in the finals for Goodguys car of the year, on the cover of a decent magazine, etc.

[hotrodgal]

No problem...I miss s***t all the time

[CRUSTY69]

would the le mans really qualify as a "clone"..looked like it was 99% original metal..just the rubber nose...i didnt notice any badges..
and about the show, the editors skip to many things...seems like every episode, they show everybody, pounding the body with chissles, then a minute of sanding, then its off the paint...i know its not really like that, the editors just seem to skip ALOT of the build..

[hotrodgal]

I can't tell you how much gets left out - but the film crew shot an average of 40 - 50 tapes at 40 minutes each for each car. I think our director was pissed at Chris for something and that's why he got so much air time last night...instead of the build. And we would really rather classify our cars as "Super Muscle Cars" - as opposed to clones, 'cause they really aren't in the true sense of the word.
Becky

[Bob Johnson]

I know exactly what you're talking about. When I was captain of the Atlanta team on The Barrett Jackson Car Search, I barely recognized what they were showing..it was twisted around so much..They had an agenda..didn't want Atlanta to win the competition. Tried everything including hooking up with the L/A team and fixing the ending. I told them the rumor of Georgia boys being stupid and living in trailers was greatly exagerated. They found out the hard way..lost their show over it too.

[hotrodgal]

Hey Bob
This might sound weird, but were you at the drag races in Pomona a couple of years ago? Barry and I were there in the Top Eliminator stands and I don't know if it was you or not...but we were talking to a guy who was involved with that show. How weird would that be?

[Bob Johnson]

Hey Bob
This might sound weird, but were you at the drag races in Pomona a couple of years ago? Barry and I were there in the Top Eliminator stands and I don't know if it was you or not...but we were talking to a guy who was involved with that show. How weird would that be?

no it wasn't me..must have been one of the California guys..I met Barry when I was in California and delivered 2 old cars to Eric Giesert
might have seen him @ Pleasanton when my 48 Woodie was in the running for Goodguys Americas Most Beautiful Street Rod in 2002 or 03.

[Clean Cut Creations]

Actually no, Bob it would take anywhere from $80 to $100K to do it - but that's at full retail prices plus labor. And it would take 12 -18 months to get it done.

Then why is it represented that you can make money at an auction selling cars that cost more to build than they sell for? Isn't that the premise of the show? All this does is make somewhat informed couch potatos less informed about our hobby and what cash it takes to build a car like on your show. I now have customers coming into my shop thinking they can build cars and sell them for profit. I now seem like the bad guy when I tell them what it REALLY costs!

[zbugger]

When garage builders are building their cars, they don't usually count labor hours. They only count parts cost. It's a different story when they have a professional shop build the car.

[Clean Cut Creations]

When garage builders are building their cars, they don't usually count labor hours. They only count parts cost. It's a different story when they have a professional shop build the car.

I understand what you are saying but... let me get this straight........The regular average joe can get sponsors to give them parts for free, have a team of "FREE" labor build the car, take it to the auction to sell and do all of this in 4 weeks?
Last time I checked....SRRC was a shop with alot of specialty tools and resources that the regular joe doesn't have.

If a garage builder doesn't count their time into the value of their car that is their loss. I want to buy a new GM, FORD,or DODGE vehicle for the cost of the parts it takes to build one....but that aint gonna happen because they don't want to take a bath in every vehicle they sell. A smart at-home custom builder will count time (to an extent) or they are only cheating themselves in the long run.

I don't buy into the hype and I'm sorry that a slanted veiw of vehicle building is being fed to the show veiwers. They tend to believe EXACTLY what they hear/see. It discredits our hobby and its businesses.

[GIDRDUN]

WOW. Becareful not to give to much away.

The show and the cars were fun to work on. There was many a late nite with Barry and I. Usually until 12:00 or 1:00 in the morning. Then back up and do it again.

I can say it is true that TLC did not give much to start with. But you do have to remember it is TV. SMOKE and MIRRORS.

We did not want to take a true SS Chevelle or Camaro, GTO, GTX , GT Torino, Mach 1 etc and modify it. The true car guys would hate that. So, we did our on thing. Which seem to be working.

I am only sorry that things did not work out with the White's and hope someday to correct what went wrong. We had alot of FUN and built a great friendship so we thought. Someday maybe.

Tim (the go to guy)

[Bob Johnson]

WOW. Becareful not to give to much away.

The show and the cars were fun to work on. There was many a late nite with Barry and I. Usually until 12:00 or 1:00 in the morning. Then back up and do it again.

I can say it is true that TLC did not give much to start with. But you do have to remember it is TV. SMOKE and MIRRORS.

We did not want to take a true SS Chevelle or Camaro, GTO, GTX , GT Torino, Mach 1 etc and modify it. The true car guys would hate that. So, we did our on thing. Which seem to be working.

I am only sorry that things did not work out with the White's and hope someday to correct what went wrong. We had alot of FUN and built a great friendship so we thought. Someday maybe.

Tim (the go to guy)

what are you saying? Your deal didn't work out with the Whites, or TLC won't be doing the show next season? What went wrong that you refer to?

[vanzuuk1]

Thanks Bob, I was just trying to figure out what he meant , I was lost.

[GIDRDUN]

To clear things up. I was the shop foreman and from a buisness stand point things did not work out with Barry. I will just leave it at that. I guess we will just call it BURNOUT due to 90+ hours a week. Stress level was very high as one could imagine. It had nothing to do with TLC. The film crew was GREAT.

I wish them all the best with their show and buisness. They do build "some" of the best cars in the buisness.

[Rick Dorion]

I think everyone did a great job. Last night I watched the episode on the Parnelli Jone's car. Very enjoyable.

[Bertram65]

Did anyone see the show last night with the two Mustangs? be interesting to see how the red one turns out.
The new yellow Mustang was decent but it seemed like all just bolt on stuff that anyone could have done, why did they think they would win an award from Ford at SEMA for that? The other Mustangs they were up against appeared to be really modified.

[Bob Johnson]

To clear things up. I was the shop foreman and from a buisness stand point things did not work out with Barry. I will just leave it at that. I guess we will just call it BURNOUT due to 90+ hours a week. Stress level was very high as one could imagine. It had nothing to do with TLC. The film crew was GREAT.

I wish them all the best with their show and buisness. They do build "some" of the best cars in the buisness.

Nothing unusual there..Alan and crew experienced burnout on the Cuda project. Working toward a unrealistic deadline strains everyone's relationships..If you want to move east and have a lower cost of living, Alan is always looking for good help..He'd love to have a good foreman. I can't imagine working toward a deadline every month.

[wickedridz]

As someone who has had great opportunities to work with as well as for some of the best builders in the industry today it never seems to stop amazing me how when for whatever reason freindships and or partnerships desolve, one of the people involved typically takes the high road and the other well lets just say takes a path less traveled by most. as the saying goes there are always two sides to every story, airing "dirty" laundry in a forum that nobody knows about nor needs to know about is not only unprofesional but also just plain rediculas. people in glass houses should not throw stones. its good advice if you can understand the meaning. this is a site about the show the shop the cars and the parts, i hope that the sour grapes can be left in the trash where they belong and not here where it adds no content or insite into the topics of discussion.

[Elitemusclecars]

That show is all well and cool but has anyone noticed that the same people are bidding on his cars no matter where the aution is?

[MarkM66]

That show is all well and cool but has anyone noticed that the same people are bidding on his cars no matter where the aution is?

It's been addressed.