Fast 'N Loud lied about 2 Firebird prototypes

-

DA69RT GT

South Florida Member
FABO Gold Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2009
Messages
1,379
Reaction score
62
Location
North Palm Beach, FL
Finally some reality to the reality shows. From Hot Rod Magazine:

What would you call the stories Fast ‘n Loud made up about those two “Barn Find” Firebirds? Fibs? Lies? BS? Or Something Else?

HOT ROD likes to take people at their word. Last week we posted a story about Fast 'N Loud finding the first two Firebird prototypes in a barn. See it HERE. The hot rod community is like a tribe, and you don’t jive your brother, right? So we are more than a little peeved that the hype the cable show Fast ‘N Loud fed everyone about the two “barn find” #1 and #2 ’67 Firebirds was not, shall we say, correct information. The problem comes from the show identifying things related to the two cars that could have only come from them, once you get the whole enchilada. So here’s what we really know about the two Firebirds:

1) The two cars weren't 'found in a barn' as the shows producers state, they have been stored.

2) They weren't prototypes or pilot cars, they were just the first two cars down the line, unlike what the producers state.

3) They weren't built in order to decide whether Pontiac wanted to build the Firebird, as the producers state. They are production line cars.

4) They aren't "worth" $325K as the producers state, they sold for $30K a couple years ago, that's probably close to their current value.

5) They're basic, bread and butter Birds, nothing unique about them except their VIN. No rare one-off parts, no super-rare Ram Air stuff, no hard to find trans or rear axle. Just a ’67 Firebird ragtop and hardtop, and a very expensive VIN and trim tag.

6) They were sold as a pair for $30K a couple years ago on E-Bay. The new owner was contacted by Fast N' Loud, and they decided to publicize the cars around their rather sensationalist blatherings.

If anyone from the show would like to contact HOT ROD to correct us or otherwise set the record straight, we will be more than happy to communicate your responses. As for now, it would seem that the show has lost what little cred they may have had up to this time, sorry to say. At least from HOT ROD’s perspective, we are disappointed that one of the public faces for the rewards of modifying cars would stoop this low just to hype a build that done legit would have been an honest portrayal of the joy and pride we all take in building our cars.


http://www.hotrod.com/news/did_fast_n_loud_make_this_up/
 

Attachments

  • Firebird-prototypes-discovered-hot-rodScreen-shot-2014-04-18-at-5.59.26-PM.jpg
    32.6 KB · Views: 1,910
  • firebird-restored5.jpg
    41.5 KB · Views: 1,836
On another note, that 69 Boss 429.....it came from Minneosta....I know part of the story and it was set-up, car came from a town where my dad lives....real car, real rare find, but French Lake Auto Parts bought cheap it and I heard they called all the "Big car" networks and told them about the car, and the Gas Monkey guys respond and made a show about it.

Kinda strange how Richard took the car to Barret Jackson auction, but then stayed off camers and outta sight during the bidding.......the car aired on TV after the auction......I bet anything he was told to stay off camera during the bidding for ther upcoming episodes that have "not aired" yet...usually that idiot is plastering his face at his car auctions......all for TV
 
Fullashit Hollywood as usual.
 
I dont really have many car friends local. But someone always asked me if I watch these types of shows. I tell them no they aren't realistic. This is one of the reasons why... Shows like this dont do the hobby justice.
 
Or the bogus Ferrari build... You really telling me "reality" TV isn't real.

I'm going to need to see a therapist now! Dang it! :)
 
The guys are Jackwagons...I watch car shows...Kounts Customs etc to see the cars, not to watch their egos or how they screw guys over
 
Or the bogus Ferrari build... You really telling me "reality" TV isn't real.

I'm going to need to see a therapist now! Dang it! :)

I know someone who just did an Auction Hunters tv episode.

It's not technically "Reality TV"

The contracts all say, "unscripted content".

And BTW, it was totally fake.
 
Some car shows where they appear to do practical fixes and it appears like real work for real customers are Car Fix and All Girls Garage, both in the same Tampa, FL studio and Wheeler Dealers (England). The Tampa shows get heavy on product marketing, but usually in spurts that I can skip on the tape. I also read that the serious guy on Two Guys Garage (also Tampa) is an engineering grad from UF. Some of these TV guys are smarter than the average mechanic. The Car Talk guys (radio) both have Phd's from MIT.
 
you mean Gas Monkey isn't truthful??

It is all entertainment-- I watch it as such--in fact how much of tv isn't entertainment anymore?


They will love the pub-- from the incorrect blatherings put out just means more watchers.. Why do they have a restaurant now?

Didn't the National Enquirer used to be considered trash-- now ever outlet has a lot of sensationalism.


I wished I could get to thrash one of the cars for a few laps though ,Lawrence
 
It's entertainment, not reality. The only thing I see that they did wrong was say that the cars were meant to be destroyed, and these two slipped out somehow?!?! I'm sure the true Pontiac guys knew where these cars were after the Ebay auction. If they sold a couple of years ago for $30k, that's what they are worth. The rest is just television hype for ratings.

That being said, I watch the show and they seem like pretty decent guys. You may not like the style of rods that they build, but there's no real assholes in the crowd. Bunch of guys working on cars and doing donuts in the parking lot. I'd drink a few beers with Richard, but probably wouldn't buy a car from him!
 
I like Twiggy on Vegas Rat Rods(former stripper from Toronto :prayer:).I watch most of the car building shows,as I like to see others ideas and imagination go into their builds.
 
If reality shows were actually reality, it would take about 2 years to do a car, because that's what reality really is! If I had corporate sponsorship, a huge donation base to get manufacturers products on TV, and unlimited resources like the so called reality shows really do, I could pump out the junk they do also! But then, it wouldn't be "reality" now would it!!

How many of you would watch a show where it shows a guy going out to his garage after working all day, turning on his favorite music, having a couple beers and doing some work on his car? That's reality!! That I would watch!! When you get these asshat "Texas Car Wars" flipper hacks with a little T&A thrown in to keep the National Enquirer crowd happy, it ruins the "reality" of the hobby for those of us in the know!! You want reality, read through all of the member restoration threads here, and on all of the other car forums.....that's reality!!

Just another way Hollywood is ruining the true American way of life!!! Geof
 
Guys, ALL of these, so called, "reality shows" are full of ****. I find that every one of the car reality shows is full of inconsistencies, false dram, scripted arguments, and most of all just plain bullshit. The are fun to watch, but believing that each and every day in the build op of one of these vehicles, generates a saga of dramatic deadlines, insurmountable issues that are miraculously solved just in the nick of time, is a little over the top.

When watching these shows, you have to do so with your tongue in your cheek. The are 30% reality, 30% bullshit, and 40% unnecessary (and nonexistent) drama.

That applies to 100% of these shows. Not just the one in the OP.

Sorry if that bursts some bubbles, but that's just the "reality" of it.
 
I knew something was up when the Boss 429 popped up out of the blue. I didn't see the end of the episode to see the finished car or sale, nor did I see the end of the firebirds episode. The tv producers have to make this stuff interesting, and it seems the truth is the easiest thing to modify. Kind of an insult to true car guys.
 
I'm not surprised.
Just like historical movies facts are distorted for more drama.

I'm glad those guys didn't get their hands on something that should be restored.
Did ya see the Ferrari F40 that they "fixed"? It sold for about half of what it could have if restored properly.
 
In my own oppinion, Richard is a egotistical prick and I wouldn't be seen with him.
Dennis seems like a decent guy, so it makes me wonder.
 
-
Back
Top