LLAMAS ON MONSTER GARAGE SHOW LAST WEEKEND

I will say right off that Llamas in my learned opinion was the only one there that looked like he had ever been to school! :O) I don't know about the rest of that bunch of guys???? Sort of strange looking to me. I know one thing for sure and that is that Llamas has a lot more patience than I do. I would probably never been seen again after the rest of them tore me linb from limb because I would have thrown a fit over some of that smart mouth talk. Maybe it was all just for TV like the man said.?

And that budjet thing? $3000.00??? Does anybody really believe you can do something like that for $3000.00????? I know for certain that I saw way over $100,000.00 worth of tools alone being used not to mention the other stuff used like all that paint. Heck that probably cost $500.00. How much does a new PT cruiser cost?????

The only think kept thinking was what the heck are they doing using that sorry engine lift?????

I bought one last year at a tool sale for $85.00 a lot better than that thing. I think somebody forgot to bring one to the filming and they went out and borrowed that one from the next door shade tree mechanic.

I did enjoy the show though. Entertainment is entertainment ain't it!

You're a better man than I Dungerdin! (Or however you spell that guys name)!

Good show Llamas. Next thing you will be playing 007.

Zane

Look, guys, it's TV, where nothing is what it quite seems to be. You saw 40-something minutes of film condensed out of 180 hours - it's a 3-camera operation and we worked an honest 60 hours that week.

The team of guys I was working with were some great guys, I tell you what. Every one was highly skilled, every one dedicated to getting the job done. Matt Zabas is a college graduate, Erich Woodall is an AWS certified welder. Mick Gifford is national sales manager for Morbark, and you don't get there by being no fool - he's also well-known in ATPA circles, pulling a 125-horse JD A. Pete Finlan is some sort of a god in the world of Southern California hot-rodding for his amazing pinstriping skills, but he's also a regular family guy with a lovely wife and three great kids.

I admit, the tattoos and the piercings can take you aback, but once you look past them, these are some regular guys. As you could tell by the ways we were razzing on each other. Some of the 'fresh' talk was obviously highlighted to make good TV.

The $3K budget is kind of a staple of the show, and subject to - interpretation. Sure, that's a well-equipped shop. Sure, the budget doesn't include custom one-off wheels at $950 PER WHEEL plus $300 per tire. We could have put some junkyard wheels and tires on there, but if someone wants to throw $6K of free wheels and tires at it - hand me the lug wrench. But the bits we actually put in to make it work - the chipper, the air-suspension system, the tailgate stuff and so forth - well, you saw the budget numbers.

The paint is a joke, of course. House of Kolor paint goes for $500 a quart and up, and of course Tom Prewitt didn't woody, prep and paint that ride in one night - it was a week's work.

The engine lift - there's a story. It got damaged on a previous show - the nutshaker - and was slated to be repaired or replaced. Somebody dropped the ball - as you saw.

Jesse James is a character, all right, and I will say that he's not everyone's cup of tea. But he's a skilled metalworker and fabricator, and he's got whatever it is that he's got that makes his show the top-rated cable offering on Monday evenings. Can't blame a man for sticking with what works.

It's just entertainment, folks, don't read too much into it. It's not meant to represent real life too closely. Just bear in mind everything you didn't see, and the particular difficulties of doing that sort of work for TV. Sure, it's nice that you can stand up and ask for coffee and someone runs to fetch you a cup. But it's slow work when you have to stop what you're doing while they get the cameras set right or change tapes. And in my own shop, I never have to check for photographers before striking an arc.

I'm glad you enjoyed the show, it was meant to entertain.

llater,

llamas

The guy is a flake, but his creations sell in the $50-75,000 range, and serious bikers and bike-lovers with fat wallets think the guy is a genius.

I really like watching Monster Garage, but what's up with all the soap opera crappola on that show??? They spend so much time on who says what, and who gets angry with whom, and who looks at someone else funny, or who spends too much time goofing around, and so on and so forth. All I want to see is the good stuff, not all that soap opera crappola. And that Jesse james clown... what's up with him? Can't they get anyone else to head up the teams than that wide-eyed psycho? He needs professional help. Soon!

Anyone else think the same things about that show? And, when are they going to modify a Ford tractor? That's way, way overdue, don't you think?

Bri

Zane, 3 grand is what they get to spend on parts. They are given the vehicle, tools, and shop. Some stuff is a "freebie" like the tires/wheels, paint job, body trim, and what ever else they can get in exchange for national advertising exposure by telling everyone where they got the stuff for free.

Bill