Okay, I'm in love with this show.  Overhaulin' springs from the seemingly endless series of makeover reality shows that TLC offers...

First there was Trading Spaces, with the vivacious Paige Davis, featuring designers with no respect for other people's homes invading them and spraypainting easy chairs and gluing hay to the walls to the horror of the homeowners' friends.

Then came the offshoots Trading Spaces: Family and While You Were Out. TS: Family is pretty much the same show, but While You Were Out actually appeals to me a lot more than Trading Spaces.  The primary difference being that the space being made over is being made over with the design input of (usually) the spouse of the person who is away on a trip.  In other words, the designers have some respect for the fact that they are in somebody else's home.  Obviously the best part of the show is the reveal where the unsuspecting wife/hubby/partner comes home and is surprised and delighted with their new space.

Then there's Rides, which features tricked out vehicles and their owners.  The show covers projects where show cars are built and other interesting features.

Which brings me to Overhaulin', which combines all the coolness of Rides with the respect in While You Were Out.

The way it works is this: with the cooperation of a network of the "mark's" friends and family, the overhaulin' team steals their car.  The lead designer, Chip Foose, meets with the family and gets input on what should be done to the car cosmetically.  Then the team disassembles the car strips it down and rebuilds it from the ground up in 7 days.

Expenses are not spared in this show.  This isn't some paltry $1000 makeover, or $5000 shopping trip for a new wardrobe at high falutin' clothing stores... the amount of work that goes into these cars blows my mind.  Example: my car has a $1000 set of tuning rims on it, on many episodes of Overhaulin' rims are *designed*, mechanically *carved* from blanks, and then chrome plated.  Holy crap!  Extremely high quality rims can be purchased at prices on the order of $1000 each.  That doesn't even begin to cover the cost of custom designed and fabricated one-of-a-kind rims!

Big name automotive manufacturers, eager to get a plug on the show, gladly donate high performance transmissions or engines, components so high-end they would cost more than my car.

The lead designer does an incredible job of visualizing and sketching out what the new vehicle is going to look like.  During the show members of the team will sometimes look directly at the camera and speak to the mark who's car is being overhauled.  (The idea of course being, after the reveal, the guy gets to watch the show and see how they did what they did to the car.)

And they do everything.  Usually the engine, transmission, exhaust, and suspension are replaced with brand new high performance versions.  In the case of the suspension, the new one is likely completely custom.  New wheels altogether, custom rims, bad-ass tires, etc.  Bumpers, grille, lights, and fittings are repaired, retooled, replaced, and otherwise customized.

The body is sanded, patched, smoothed, and then custom painted like a work of art...we're not talking cheesey flame-jobs here.  We're talking beautiful layered paint jobs that are smooth and slick looking.  Flames only go on if the owner of the car has mentioned wanting to do that at some point.

The dash is typically rebuilt, with a custom sound system added to the vehicle.  The interior is gutted and a new custom interior is designed by the team, fabricated, and installed.

In the end, considering the size of the team and the pretty much constant activity on the vehicle, not to mention all the expensive custom or high end components, easily tens of thousands are being poured into the new vehicle, if not more.  I mean if you hired 50 people to completely rebuild and redesign your car with the highest quality components, how much do you think it would cost?  $100,000? More?

The side story of the car being illicitly snatched is maintained through a series of pranks where the owner is contacted by "detectives" or the crooks at the towing company who want him or her to come down and pay for the car to be released.

Then comes the reveal, and this is a reveal like no other.  When these people see their new cars they are looking at the dream machine they've always talked about but never in their wildest imaginations ever thought they'd own.  They're floored, amazed, and otherwise thrilled.  If you think about it, even as a homeowner for many it is their car that is truly their space.  The owners wring their hands with joy, shake their heads in utter disbelief, and sometimes weep.

The technicians (who have been deprived of much needed sleep for 7 days and who are therefore in an emotionally charged state) sometimes weep too during the reveal.  I imagine it must be an amazing experience to be part of an enterprise where you get make somebody's dream come true... for free.

Sure the jaded cynic within wonders at what problems there might be with completely custom car like that, and how would one ever find/afford someone suited to work on it when it needs work done, what would it cost to insure, and hey, maybe it's just an act and they knew all along?  Then I slap my inner cynic and tell him to shut up and not spoil it for me.

On Sunday I watched one show where a father (perhaps in his fifties) was led to believe that his son had lost a $20,000 bet and the bookie had taken the collateral he had put up--the father's cherished but beat up Ford Mustang. What a pill to have to swallow.  The impression I get from the father is he's basically the classic Dad, works hard for the family, generally soft spoken, decent guy.

Then while the Dad and son (who is in on it, of course) attempt to negotiate with the thugs to get the car back, Chip Foose and his team turn this:

Into this:

You should have seen the dad when he finally came in for the reveal.  You could tell that he had often dreamed of rebuilding this vehicle and now was facing the realization of that dream with trepidation.  The cute hostess literally had to take him by the hand and lead him in.  "I'm not sure I can take it." he said.  Then he saw the car and it was like ... wow. 

The Mustang was clearly a last vestige of the glory days of his youth, and here it was dressed up like nobody's business and packing a freaking jet engine under the hood.  I wish I could capture his emotions in words, but I can't... I'll have to use his...

My God.  Is this the same car? That's... dear Lord in heaven. ... It's like it's not even a car anymore it's a work of art. ... That's the most beautiful thing I've ever laid eyes on. ... And this is really mine?  It's really for me? ... I don't know what to say.

I definitely recognized the expression on his face when he slid into that new leather interior, placed his hands on the wheel and turned the key.  He was in love.

What a great episode.  Best one yet I think, though I definitely have some other favorites.  If you can catch this show sometime, I recommend it.  What a trip!