how many guys watch T.V. shows like forged in fire,.....

Grumpy

The Grumpy Grease Monkey mechanical engineer.
Staff member
how many guys watch T.V. shows like ,
forged in fire,
overhauling
Wheeler Dealers ,
fast and loud,
counting cars, etc
and cringe when they see some guy or gal,who obviously is ,
lets just say, far less skilled, or obviously clueless,
with a welder or at welding,or a code scanner,
or completely incompetent in the way he , or she, measures ,
or installs , or disassembles, or cleans some part,
or checks a component function.
some how you just know just off screen theres a director saying
"hold this near here, on the car, and smile"
and, you can,t doubt, its the very first time the actor has ever seen the tool..
guys that can,t even correctly hold a tool,
or are about to try to weld on a filthy grease covered rusted frame,
weld on a fuel tank,etc.
and do you....ever start screaming at the T.V. ...
about, "your a F#$%^ IDIOT!" , why would he do that?
my wife has threaten to turn off the T.V. at times
she asked me why I get upset?

you know as well as I do they must have actual skilled people doing the work,
off camera,and what takes two minutes on the show took some skilled guys 6-9 hour's to do it,
or those cars would never get completed or run...
it makes my wife a bit crazy,
when I stop the t.v. show, back it up,
and point out the ways the guy is simply clueless....

and those actors should never be allowed near any technical , or precision,damn tool,
more complicated than a yard stick or rubber mallet!
let alone a welder, plasma cutter or drill press, or micrometer!
and its all too obvious that precisely using a torque wrench,
soldering, gun, doing wiring, using a multi meter and a vacuum gauge
or a timing light is far above the pay grade.
now I have an extensive back ground in engineering,
Ive never been what anyone would consider an expert welder,
but after 45-50 years of running several types of mig,
TIG, ARC, and oxy-acetylene torch welders
and owning a full size mill,
is it as obvious too you guys,
that some of the actors don,t have a clue what they are pretending to do,

and have zero idea how some component is installed or supposed to function?
I'm watching forged in fire, and several muscle car rebuilding shows,
and the total incompetence , and lack of skills, at times is really amazingly depressing!
once ED CHINIA left wheeler dealers the show started to suck,
and theres several other shows that skip over or ignore the mechanical skills,
and gloss over the upholstery, wiring, trouble shooting, body work, welding painting ETC.
TO me the whole reason to watch the show is to pick up tips, and to see expert skilled people work...
I'm obviously not grasping what the people paying for the show have in mind!
am I the only one who thinks most of these show's ignore the basics and try not to teach or instruct?
WE all make mistakes, but we learn from the mistakes!
if you watch many of these shows its obvious that hours or even days of work are skipped,
or ignored, glossed over or made to seem totally inconsequential...
if something took two days to complete it should have 5-6 minutes,
spent detailing what was required, in tools skills and parts, to get the work done!
 
Last edited:
You should see/read the swedish subtitles on these shows, even worse, translators have now clue at all, and the average Joe watching in Sweden dont know its wrong :confused:
Nitrous was translated in to "saltpeter" in the Street Outlaws show :D:eek:
 
And the towing shows, where a truck has slid off the road into a ditch and they pull it sideways. Breaking chains and cables!. Hook on the back pull it the opposite way it went in, you fools! It is a show of course. 8 years ago a friend called and his sister slid off the entrance ramp on the interstate. It was icey!! So I go out to help , I have a heavy 4x4 and 2 straps and two chains. Hook onto the minivan, the guy driving it has turned the wheel full left. I'm pulling to the right. I correct him. As I start pulling he turns the wheels full left again!! I stop and try to explain to him with no such luck, why this won't work. Finally I unhook and go home. It was a couple of months of niceness until they called again with something equally stupid.
 
am I the only one who thinks most of these show's ignore the basics and try not to teach or instruct?

These shows are not how-to programs - they are entertainment. I like shows that make you think - but the majority of people can't do that anymore, so that leaves a small audience. Small audience = no second season.
 
We watched Ryan Evans from Counting cars paint, he is very good and is a nice guy. My wife wanted a picture with him and he took the time while I fumbled with the phone to get the picture. He said Horny Mike was more off the wall than even portrayed.

I wouldn't mind being one of the folks on those shows. Ryan Evans was made a millionaire by Counting Cars.

Phantom Works quit filming because it disrupted their shop so much I read.

The shows that I don't care for are the ones like ToyMarkerz and another one that farm the heavy lifting work out to other shops.

I also don't care for shows that make stuff up. There was a gun show on years ago where the shop made a gun for "The Preacher". It turned out that "The Preacher" was a person that took part in Cowboy Action shooting and that was his CAS persona. The folks from the film saw him and had him be in the show. It actually wasn't his gun at all.

Or when the shows with Jesse James was on, and he was ranting and raving. Just like on OCC with Jr and Sr. Turns me off. I can't stand the drama crap.

I have to say my favorite has become Full Custom Garage.
 
Or when the shows with Jesse James was on, and he was ranting and raving. Just like on OCC with Jr and Sr. Turns me off. I can't stand the drama crap.

I have to agree with this.. The drama can really ruin a show.
 
once ed china left the Wheeler Dealers show I stopped watching
 
I quit watching after Red Skelton and Hee Haw went off the air.
I can watch the the rest at the Mall or on just standing on the corner.
IDIOTS everywhere willing to tell you anything/everything about themselves.
 
I like my You Tube.
Miss Tv.
But the crap on now my young boys don't need to see.

Keep track of Demos also on You tube.
 
We watched Ryan Evans from Counting cars paint, he is very good and is a nice guy. My wife wanted a picture with him and he took the time while I fumbled with the phone to get the picture. He said Horny Mike was more off the wall than even portrayed.

I wouldn't mind being one of the folks on those shows. Ryan Evans was made a millionaire by Counting Cars.

Phantom Works quit filming because it disrupted their shop so much I read.

The shows that I don't care for are the ones like ToyMarkerz and another one that farm the heavy lifting work out to other shops.

I also don't care for shows that make stuff up. There was a gun show on years ago where the shop made a gun for "The Preacher". It turned out that "The Preacher" was a person that took part in Cowboy Action shooting and that was his CAS persona. The folks from the film saw him and had him be in the show. It actually wasn't his gun at all.

Or when the shows with Jesse James was on, and he was ranting and raving. Just like on OCC with Jr and Sr. Turns me off. I can't stand the drama crap.

I have to say my favorite has become Full Custom Garage.

I can't stand those stupid bandanas covering their receding hairlines on Counting Cars. Soon they will have to find bandanas in a 2X-Large size.
I do love the craftsmanship of the guys at Joe Martin's shop. But every vehicle they do follows the same recipe - bag it, slam it, big rims.......... boring already.
 
I agree that Danny "The Count" has a pretty high forehead. At least he doesn't do a "comb over". Now that would be really bad.

Summit Racing sponsors a Rod and Piston show at the I-X Center in Cleveland Ohio. There was a charity painting event where different artists did pin-striping on panels that were then auctioned off for charity. It was at that event we met Ryan Evans. He attended solely for the charity event. For that I have respect for him.
 
I tend to pay attention when the guys on the T.V. shows do metal work, theres a few.. very few impressively skilled almost artists,
my wife always wants to turn off the shows, because I start yelling stuff, like " clean and bevel the edge before you try welding that"
"do you even know what an amp setting IS?" " have you ever heard of JIGS, accurate measurements or clamps"

but the vast majority handle tools like welders, metal brakes and even various power saws,
as if its the very first time they ever even saw the tools.
 
Last edited:
That's why I say that's the difference between a ROUGH carpenter and a FINISH carpenter. Some want perfection and others want it to function for a while. Only time and knowledge can fix that.
 
They Should have a Tv show called Let's Build A Racecar.
A guy works a day job as a mechanic.
All expenses paid by him soley.
Has a Wife and Kids and Mortgage.
Vintage Muscle car he has.
Build from a mix of Vintage and New Modern Racing parts.
He does all his own work
Builds all himself.
Goal is to go No Prep Drag Racing Street Outlaws.
Run against 500 -5000 Hp Full Drag cars.
Try and win the $100,000 - $200,000 prize money.
Able to build that New garage then.

Be Awesome.
 
Back
Top