Two buddies live out their dreams of restoring classic cars and hot rods in the new Discovery Channel series Rods n Wheels. The new series, set to debut on January 27, 2014 at 10pm ET/PT, takes place in Billy Derian and Steve Reck’s Da Rod Shop in Southern California. The best friends, along with their sons, believe they’re not just fixing old cars, they’re “saving a piece of American history.”
Details on Rods n Wheels:
In the first episode, a car collector brings in his ‘baby’- an original 1932 Ford 3 Window – hoping that the guys can fix it to look like something out of American Graffiti. But can Billy and Steve make it a showstopper in just a few weeks? If that job wasn’t enough, Billy and Steve’s sons are out to prove their worth when they take in the ultimate American muscle car, a 1968 Camaro, and attempt to flip it.
At first, it seems like a piece of cake. But the boys soon realize it might take a lot more money to fix it than expected. While Billy and Steve don’t always see eye-to-eye, they rely on each other’s strengths. Billy, the mover and shaker, acts as the salesman and has big plans to make Da Rod Shop the #1 garage in the country. He is a true entrepreneur who has tried his hands in just about everything, including a little show business but his first passion is cars. While Steve is the genius mechanic who can literally fix anything on wheels and is fine working at his own pace and doing favors for friends (even if it doesn’t pay).
Rounding out the shop are a bunch of ragtag employees that include:
- The Know-It-All: Shane, Steve’s son, is “allergic” to grease and admittedly OCD. While honing his craft on engines, he’s also obsessed with cleanliness, wearing rubber gloves and incessantly washing his hands.
- The Newbie: Billy Jr., son of Billy, is 20 years old and the greenest addition to Da Rod Shop. Billy decided to change career paths and turned in his real estate license for a chance to work in the shop with his Dad. Although he grew up around old cars, his Dad is now putting him to the test as an apprentice mechanic, throwing him new challenges at every turn.
- The Pretty Boy: Jeff, who is never without a comb and mirror in his back pocket. He is a great mechanic but is more concerned with his good looks and picking up chicks.
- The Professor: Mike serves as the lead mechanic and is known to school the others on what it takes to fix up just about any car.
- The Suspension Expert: Art, just 3′ 5″, uses his size to his advantage by finishing tight jobs in half the time it takes a regular-sized person. Living so close to Hollywood, Art also pursues his side passion of being an actor when he isn’t working on cars. From custom paint jobs with meticulous pinstripe detailing to complete restorations — jobs can run anywhere from a few hundred dollars to the tens of thousands. And by the time these hot rod heroes are done, the cars are priceless, rare historical beauties making even the toughest of tough guys shed a tear when the vehicle leaves the shop.
