Ride along with HOT ROD's David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan on ROADKILL, as the dynamic duo go in search of their next gearhead adventure in all types of gassers, 'barely-legal' street machines and highly strung performance vehicles.
Genre: Reality-TV
Cast:Mike Finnegan , David Freiburger , Steve Dulcich , Tony Angelo , David Newbern , Lucky Costa , Elana Scherr , Rick Pewe , Fred Williams , Carlos Lago , Michael Cotten , Jonny Lieberman , Jim Meyer , Randy Pobst , Mike Finnegan , Josh Lucas , Mike Copeland , Kj Jones
On the premiere episode of Roadkill, HOT ROD's David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan head to El Paso, TX with money and a mission - to find a car they can buy, fix up, and drive back to Los Angeles. The catch? They only have $1500 bucks to do it, and they ne
On this episode of Roadkill, HOT ROD's David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan build a clone of the 1968 Ford Ranchero that the magazine ran in the very first Baja 1000, then head north for Alaska. But sometimes when you hit the road, the road hits back, and t
On this episode of Roadkill, HOT ROD's David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan join Fred Williams and Rick Péwé of Peterson's 4-Wheel & Off-Road magazine to compete in the infamous Cheap Truck Challenge. Riding into battle with a modded 1979 Bron
On this episode of Roadkill, David Freiburger, Mike Finnegan and a carsick dog drive a '69 El Camino 500 miles from home (on seven cylinders) to change an engine in the parking lot of Summit Racing. The story goes that Finnegan's wife's grandfather bought
On this episode of Roadkill, HOT ROD's David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan spend 24 crazy hours with a 1930 Model A Rat Rod and a 2012 Lamborghini Aventador to find out which wildly impractical, larger-than-life car attracts the most attention.
On this episode of Roadkill, David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan go head-to head in an epic driving competition that's really just an excuse for some hilarious, needless car bashing. The victims are two parts cars for HOT ROD magazine projects: a '90-somet
On this episode of Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan do unspeakable things to a '74 Jaguar XJ12, one of about 4,700 made. Namely, they cut a giant hole in the hood and install a Weiand 6-71 supercharger and twin Holley carburetors on the 350ci Chevy V8 th
On this episode of Roadkill, HOT ROD's David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan hit the road on a quest to build a car they've both dreamed of for years: a '55 Chevy Bel Air sedan set up like a '60s Gasser and powered by a Mopar 426 Hemi. The guys drag out a '7
On this episode of Roadkill, HOT RODs David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan hit the road with 500 of their friends for Drag Week. Its the most brutal test anywhere of real drag-racing, street-driven cars, as the competitors hit the road for 1,400 miles to ra
On this episode of Roadkill, there's endless burnouts and powerskids as David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan of HOT ROD magazine are on the loose in Australia with 727ci of Sonny Leonard hemi-headed madness. The massive big-block makes 1,275 horsepower betw
On this episode of Roadkill, David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan of HOT ROD magazine fly out of town, buy a car from a junkyard, make it run and drive, do burnouts, add nitrous, drag race twice, almost die, and the auction off the car at the end. The scene
On this episode of Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan are out to discover which used cop car they like best, the Chevy Caprice 9C1 or the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor P71. Of course you expect nothing but the most professional, scientific analysi
On this episode of Roadkill, the boys reignite their desire to go Ice Racing in Alaska! If you remember episode 2 of Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan hit the road in a '68 Ford Ranchero with a wild goal: to drive 3,600 miles from Los Angeles, California, to Big Lake, Alaska, to go ice racing. Somehow, they instead found themselves in the bottom of the Grand Canyon. You really need to check out Episode 2 to understand the level of fail that has chased these guys. But now, 14 months later, the guys are trying it again. The Ranchero's engine was freshened up and reinstalled just days before the second attempt. The goal: to run the ALCAN Highway on the way to the ice races with the Alaska Sports Car Club outside of Anchorage in Big Lake, Alaska. Will they get it done this time? Watch to find out. For those interested in tech specs, the '68 Ranchero is powered by a 363ci small-block Ford that's based on a big-bore Dart SHP block; the bore and stroke is 4.125x3.400. It has 9.3:1 compression, Dart 195cc heads, and a hydraulic roller cam with 232/244 duration at 0.050, .565/.580 lift, and a 114-degree LSA. The engine made 471 hp at 6,200 rpm and 451 lb-ft at 4,500. The trans is a Gearstar C4. The car's biggest problem is the 2.80:1 gears in the 8-inch rearend. That's too high for a heavily loaded car with a big cam, but they were used to keep rpm down during the trip to Alaska.
On this episode of Roadkill, the 14-month dream of ice racing in Alaska comes true! More than a year ago, on Episode 2 of Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan hit the road in a '68 Ford Ranchero with a wild goal: to drive 3,600 miles from Los Angeles, Califo
David Freiburger claims that this road trip on this episode of Roadkill is the most stupid thing that he and Mike Finnegan have ever done. Freiburger wanted to do a Jeep trip, so Finnegan bought an old Willys flatfender--one that had been turned into a tw
On this episode of Roadkill, it's fun with Leaf Blowers. Experts on the Internet said it would never work. That's never stopped Freiburger and Finnegan, and this time on Roadkill the guys put the theory to the test: can hardware-store leaf blowers superch
On this episode of Roadkill, a tank squashes a Prius to smithereens! It runs over that junk without even noticing. That's all you really need to know about this episode of Roadkill, but if you jump straight to the tank carnage you'll miss a bunch of cool
A Vette-powered stepside truck. Nitrous oxide. Honda Trail 70s. Drag racing, and lots and lots of burnouts. Those are the basic plot points on this episode of Roadkill, as Freiburger and Finnegan have big fun with retro trail motorcycles on their way to r
On this episode of Roadkill, it's Freiburger in the Super Bee versus Finnegan in the '67 Camaro as the guys make the trip from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City and back to go race at the Midnight Drags at Rocky Mountain Raceways in hopes of running the Bee o
On this episode of Roadkill, Finnegan builds an 1,100-horsepower big-block and Freiburger brings a Camaro that he's run 261 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Put 'em together and it's a recipe for win, right? If you think so, you're probably not a Roadkil
It's always a good idea to buy a car off the Internet sight-unseen, right? That's what a friend-of-a-friend of Roadkill did with the custom Merc-and maybe he made an even worse decision when he allowed Freiburger and Finnegan to wrench on the thing and deliver it to him. This deal was set up by a Roadkill fan, Jim Norman of Norman Vinyards in Paso Robles, California.
On this episode of Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan attack the low-buck endurance race called 24 Hours of Lemons. Not content do do this ridiculous race in a reasonable car like a little handling-oriented import, the race car of choice is a one-owner '73
Freiburger and Finnegan think this is the best episode so far! It's the longest, too. This show has it all: a Mad-Max-vibe 1968 Dodge Charger built with motorhome parts, sideways Dukes-style action, lots of low-buck wrenching, hilarious snafus, and cameo
This time, Freiburger and Finnegan were out for a gearhead vacation, heading from the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indy to HOT ROD Drag Week in Tulsa, but they had no car to drive. Posting on the Roadkill Facebook page was all it took to get fans to bring about a dozen cars for the guys to consider buying. After a struggle, they ended up letting a 5-year-old pick the car for them: a '67 Ford Country Sedan wagon.
This is the good stuff, the moments that didn't make the cut because we just couldn't fit them in, and the inside dirt on what really happens when we hit the road with 20 bucks in our pockets and a headful of good ideas. Sit back, pop open a few cold ones, and take a trip down memory lane with Freiburger and Finnegan as they reminisce on puking dogs, smashed hybrids and why nobody seems to like it when they drive to Alaska.
We hack the entire body off a C4 Corvette, cage it, and call it a race car. Freiburger and Finnegan fulfill a dream that began four-plus years ago when they first wrote the "Vette Hack" article for HOT ROD magazine, slicing 900 pounds of ugly fiberglass off of a 1985 Corvette to prove that it would handle better in the autocross. Less weight means more acceleration, better cornering, and better stopping.
More than any other episode, this Roadkill reveals what it's really like to work at HOT ROD Magazine. Follow along to get the behind-the-scenes dirt on how we pulled off the Roadkill Live engine swap in the Crusher Camaro at the 2013 Performance Racing Industry trade show, then watch the 2,400-mile trip home from Indy to LA in the Crusher Camaro--including visits with Funny Car Racer Tony Pedregon, Steve Schmidt Racing Engines, and Finnegan's dad! It all ends with a session at the drag strip where the Crusher went quicker than it ever has.
On this episode of Roadkill, we celebrate with a 44-minute special that includes details on what's become of every Roadkill project car since the start, plus a big-action showdown of 9 of the popular survivors. As a bonus, we invited Motor Trend hosts and
What do you get when you cross a rusted 1971 Datsun 240Z with a Chevy 4.3L V6 and a turbo from a Ford Power Stroke Diesel? The Rotsun! During Roadkill Episode 25, Freiburger and Finnegan revived the Rotsun expecting it to dominate in the 9-car autocr
Chevy runs deep! This time Freiburger and Finnegan find out just how deep as they visit the infamous sinkhole that opened up inside the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. To do it Roadkill style, the guys find the worst Corvette they can buy, get it running after sitting for six years, break auto parts, experience gators firsthand, and visit the Corvette assembly plant. Finally, they try and convince the Corvette Museum to let them leave their '75 Stingray behind......inside the sinkhole.
Remember the drag racing '74 Chevy Muscle Truck from Roadkill Episode 18? It's back, but with a twist: it's gonna become a true dual-sport ride for surf and turf, shedding its drag slicks for Super Swamper Boggers and hitting the sand dunes...hard! And to
In Episode 8 of Roadkill we introduced you to the greatest engine swap project ever-a Hemi into a 1955 Chevy Bel Air. Nearly two years later, we finally get Mike Finnegan's Mopar-powered Tri-Five on the road, but not without a few problems along th
On this episode of Roadkill, it's 2,600 miles, 530 cubic inches, 700 horsepower, six speeds, 17 mpg, and two fun visits with some friends from TV. Last time, on Roadkill Episode 29, we finished our Chrysler-Hemi-powered 1955 Chevrolet gasser in about two
One of the most incredible junkyards in the history of junk is Turner's Auto Wrecking in Fresno, California-and Freiburger and Finnegan hit those 100 acres of vintage sheetmetal and go spelunking for gold. After considerable debate, the guys select a 1950 GMC shortbed truck that had been off the road for 26 years and jam to get it running and driving for the trip home to Los Angeles. At least there was a 50-percent victory. Watch as the guys revamp the Jimmy inline six, panic over a wrecked master cylinder, sweat their cajones off for four days, and explore one of the greatest old-car stashes ever.
Subaru's all-new 2015 Legacy goes head-to-head with three of Roadkill's most famous project cars in tests of agility. Can the efficiency and traction of Subaru's Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive outrun the horsepower of the 1968 Ford Ranchero, the 1968 Dodge Charger "General Mayhem," and the turbo-Chevy-powered '71 "Rotsun" 240Z? You'll find out here in Roadkill's longest and most action-packed episode to date, as the guys thrash the cars mercilessly on a figure-8 obstacle course, at the DirtFish Rally School, and in a wheel-to wheel chase through a post-apocalyptic neighborhood.
On this episode of Roadkill, the boys are back to kick off Season 4 with their most epic engine swap to date! This time Finnegan and Freiburger drag an old Rogers Bonneville jet boat to a local Southern California lake behind the Muscle Truck, a lowered 1
Finnegan and Freiburger are at it again taking the hard way out by fixing up a 1969 Buick Wagon during a brutal winter road trip where they spent as much time hanging out in parking lots as they did hotels. Why?
To kick off the sponsorship, Finnegan and Freiburger called for some brand new 2015 supercars: the 707-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and Charger SRT Hellcat, plus a 645-horsepower Dodge Viper GT. Why? For an epic thrash, of course. This video has more tire smoke than you've ever seen from these cars, plus a big, irresponsible surprise at a motocross track. There are guest spots from Carlos Lago from Motor Trend, Fred Williams from Dirt Every Day, and pro drifter Tony Angelo.
Here's a premise you haven't seen before from the Roadkill guys: this time, Freiburger bought a car without Finnegan knowing, and Finnegan picked the road trip without Freiburger knowing. Result: the Monster Carlo! It's a 1980 Chevy M
We present a new Roadkill project car: the Crop Duster. It's a 1970 Plymouth Duster that Freiburger forgot that he owned-a result of multiple trades with a buddy, and at least 5 years of neglect in the dirt of a grape farm.
On this episode of Roadkill, hosts Mike Finnegan and David Freiburger revive Roadkill's finest, boosted European and Japanese road machines: the "Draguar" 1973 Jag XJ12 with a supercharged 383ci Chevy small-block, and the "Rots
Roadkill powered by Dodge is the show all about ridiculous beater cars. 24 Hours of LeMons is the racing series all about ridiculous beater cars. Match made in heaven! Roadkill is now the sponsor of LeMons, so you'd think the guys would be really g
See the very first running, driving vintage muscle car powered by a 707-horsepower, supercharged, 6.2L Hemi engine from a 2015 Dodge SRT Charger Hellcat! The car is the General Mayhem, Roadkill's 1968 Dodge Charger. In this episode, the Hellcat-pow
It's a project-car mishmash this time on Roadkill, powered by Dodge. It starts out Roadkill enough, with Finnegan surprising Freiburger with a '50 Ford 2-ton truck that the guys thrash to shorten up into a bobber rat rod. Somewhere along the
Freiburger and Finnegan travel to Santa Rosa, California, to drive a crazy '74 Mazda REPU mini-truck all the way back to SoCal, where they'll compete in Optima's Search for the Ultimate Street Car Challenge.
1970 Chevy Monte Carlo is transformed into the beast now known as the Nascarlo.
In this episode you'll see a huge road trip that includes Freiburger-versus-Finnegan showdowns with crazy burnouts in the General Mayhem and General Maintenance; drag racing with the Blasphemi, General Mayhem, Draguar, and Vette Kart; and road-racing in the Vette Kart and General Maintenance. It's all part of Roadkill Takes America, presented by Dodge, an event that was held in August of 2015.
A '71 Ford Crew Cab 4x4 tow truck. Yeah, exactly what Finnegan and Freiburger need in their lives. In this episode of Roadkill powered by Dodge, the guys trek to Colorado to meet up with cool fans who sold 'em the homebuilt, 460-powered tow truck that instantly became known as Harry Tow, or Harry for short. The guys hit the road aimlessly-a solid plan goes awry when snowpocalypse hits Colorado. Lost in the blizzard, Roadkill heads south to Arizona to pick up an old friend: Pigpen, the '50 GMC truck that was rescued from a junkyard in episode 31.
Roadkill is powered by Dodge, which honestly has nothing to do with us needlessly destroying a Chevy and a Ford in this episode. It's the mullet-car showdown, a battle of dirt-cheap beaters: an SN95 Mustang V-6 and a third-gen Camaro with a 305 that's so gutless it might as well be a V-6. Don't worry, neither one of these junkers was worth saving, but we prove that a couple of guys with some useless cars can have a whole lot of fun throwing caution to the wind in full-thrash mode on an off-road racetrack. Good air. And when parts finally fall out of the engines, Freiburger's Jeep comes out to put the mullet cars out of their misery. Enjoy this throwback to the early days of Roadkill: It's just like the van vs. wagon thrash battle (Episode 6) and the cop car shootout (Episode 12).
Roadkill survived 50 episodes. In that time, we've built a whole lot of cars, and in this episode we've got a shootout of the 10 that are still running and driving (and that have appeared on the show since our similar competition for the 25th episode). Fans asked for this, so we delivered.
Roadkill powered by Dodge brings back a Mazda pickup powered by a 455 Oldsmobile in the bed. In Episode 45, Mike Finnegan and David Freiburger bought a lemon-colored Mazda REPU mini-truck with a 455 Olds big-block mounted in the bed, powering the rear wheels through a Toronado transaxle. The seller said it did wheelies and ran 10s in the quarter-mile. Not surprisingly, the guys quickly realized the lemon wouldn't run 10s even if it had unicorn blood in the engine. In this episode of Roadkill, the guys pull out all the stops to push the Mazdarati into 10-second territory by doing a top-end rebuild in the staging lanes of a dragstrip, road-tripping on HOT ROD's Drag Weekend event, and then making one heroic pass with the nitrous button pushed.
The truck is transformed by a supercharged big-block Chevy in the back with a Gearstar 4L80E transmission and a V-drive from a boat-all set up like a '60s drag strip exhibition wheel-stander.
People love it when we rescue old cars from the junkyard. We'll see what happens when they see this episode of Roadkill presented by Dodge, during which we literally hack a '56 Buick Century out of a thorn bush it's been sitting in for 25 years, then continue slashing as we attempt to mount the body on a '73 Corvette chassis. Oh yeah, we hacked up that car, too. Watch for more Sawzalls, weed whacking, and plasma cutting per minute than any other episode of Roadkill.
For this episode of Roadkill powered by Dodge, David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan wrote a Facebook post seeking the coolest car they could buy from a fan for a rescue and adventure. The winner was a 1970 Dodge Challenger that had been set up as a dirt-track race car in the '90s but was then ignored for a decade-plus. The guys made a trek north to Oregon to hang out at a Mopar-and-llama farm to revitalize this long-lost race car, which turned out to be in surprisingly good shape once they looked past all the welded body panels and the rollcage made of water pipe. But, of course, junk is never quite as flawless as it seems when Roadkill gets involved, so the road trip turns into the normal breakdown-fest before the glorious and violent dirt-track thrashing could begin.
Finally, a diesel swap on Roadkill. Fans asked for it, but they couldn't have seen this coming: the victim is a 1991 Cadillac Brougham, now converted into the swingin' Broughammer with a Cummins turbodiesel. Join Freiburger and Finnegan with special guests Tony Angelo and Lucky Costa from the Hot Rod Garage show as they hit Colorado, dig through a private junkyard, and emerge with black-smoking, tire-churning, sky-launching power. Roadkill is powered by Dodge-this time, literally.
Roadkill Nights powered by Dodge is an event series with legal drag racing in unexpected places-like right on Woodward Avenue in Pontiac, Michigan, in front of M1 Concourse. For our August 2016 event, we knew we would have 30,000 to 50,000 people showing up, so naturally we wanted to race the worst junk possible. In this episode of Roadkill, follow along as we take our clapped-out 1970 Dodge Challenger dirt-track car to the Mopar Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, buy a bunch of questionable speed parts from the swap meet, install them on the spot, and road-trip to Pontiac for Roadkill Nights. Along the way, there's a detour to investigate a 1968 Pontiac Firebird 400/four-speed car, Mike Finnegan's dream machine. You'll also meet our competition, special guest Mike Musto from the House of Muscle show, along with his 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona clone.
What if you could have a supercharger on any car, any time? In this episode of Roadkill powered by Dodge, that was the plan with the Roadkill Boost Caboose, a trailer with an engine that powers a centrifugal supercharger that sends boost to the tow vehicle. And, it's not just any tow vehicle -- it's the long-lost Roadkill 1978 Chevy Monza Spyder from episode 16 that was boosted with five leaf blowers mounted under the hatch. This application of boost is a few notches more absurd, but does it really work? Watch as David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan head to a secret high-speed, high-tire-smoke test facility to find out.
On this episode of Roadkill powered by Dodge, both David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan get their dream car. Who wins that game is up to you: Is it Finnegan with his 1968 Datsun 520 mini-truck, or Freiburger with his 383-powered 1971 Plymouth Road Runner? One thing's for sure, the Datsun delivers a lot more suffering, and no one can believe it's more reliable than the Road Runner. Don't miss the special guest appearance by Fred Williams from Dirt Every Day.
Roadkill fans always ask to see a competition with hosts David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan going against each other, so we finally deliver it in Episode 59 of Roadkill powered by Dodge. The idea was to have each guy buy a car for $1,500 and enter the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational in Las Vegas. But there was a catch: the cars could not be American-made. Finnegan ended up with a 1974 Honda Civic-now known as Laphonda-and Freiburger had to go rear-wheel drive with a rotary-powered 1985 Mazda RX-7...but then the whole thing went "Roadkill" in a huge plume of Honda smoke. The story ends up with burnouts, road-tripping, engine explosions, engine swapping, racing, and, as usual, thrashing around in the desert. That's a lot of fun for $3,000 worth of cars.
A bonus episode of Roadkill powered by Dodge-the 13th installment of the 2016 season. David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan finally got together with Marty and Moog of Mighty Car Mods, Australia's most popular YouTube show for gearheads. The four guys came to an agreement: RK would build the most American car possible for the MCM blokes, and then Marty and Moog would assemble an absurd icon of Mighty Modding for the Roadkill boys. Both teams gave all: Roadkill jammed together a 1969 Chevy Impala stuffed with the supercharged, 489ci big-block Chevy that was formerly in the Crusher Camaro; and Mighty Car Mods hacked the Subarute out of a hapless turbo WRX. There's no way to imagine the fun that explodes across the language barrier when these four get together for some killer burnouts and mad skids.
Back in 2015, Roadkill hosts David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan went on the annual Hot Rod Power Tour road trip with a bunch of Roadkill project cars and shot a video for a Hot Rod show that never came to be. As a result, this lost episode of Roadkill powered by Dodge has not aired until now. And while this show does not have exactly the same production quality or format as a normal Roadkill episode, it's Roadkill-y enough that we thought we should share it with youhere on Motor Trend OnDemand.
This episode of Roadkill powered by Dodge features a special guest cohost, JP magazine editor Rick Péwé, who has been doing barn-find rescues and road trips with David Freiburger since before there was a Roadkill. Freiburger and Péwé are at it again here, revisiting a 1946 Willys flatfender Jeep they first pulled from the fields of Utah back in 2001.
The 24 Hours of LeMons people have a new rally series, and Roadkill powered by Dodge and sponsored by Optima Batteries, Jegs, Lincoln Tech, EBC Brakes, Pioneer, CRC Auto, and Cooper Tires, is down. Instead of the normal LeMons endurance races for dirt-cheap cars, the LeMons Rally is a road rally -- a time/distance challenge with ridiculous sights and contests along the way. In this episode, Roadkill signs up for the LeMons Retreat From Moscow event, an 1,800-mile trip from Moscow, Pennsylvania, to Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. The guys fly into town, buy a 1978 Lincoln Continental that's been shortened from a four-door to a two-door (and formerly driven by an Elvis impersonator), and hit the snowy roads-with the expected Roadkill breakdowns, waffle wars, and off-road thrashing along the way.
Roadkill is powered by Dodge, but on this episode, the world's most revered rust bucket gets powered by a used Ford 5.0L Mustang V-8 with a Power Stroke diesel turbo. Our old 1971 Datsun 240Z earned its fame with a junkyard turbo on a Chevy 4.3L, but that V-6 finally failed us for the last time and we kicked it to the curb because the crankshaft broke in two during the 24 Hours of LeMons race on Episode 42. We heard Ford 5.0L V-8 blocks break in half at 500 hp, and what better vehicle to test that theory than the Rotsun? We scored a beat-up Fox-body Mustang for $1,500 and threw the engine and trans into the Rotsun, along with the ol' used turbo that was made for a Ford Power Stroke diesel truck. But the big question is: Will the Rotsun finally fail to fail? Find out on this episode of Roadkill.
Powered by Dodge, it's a legit shootout of the performance potential of two hot project cars: the legendary Rotsun 1971 Datsun 240Z that was stuffed with a Ford 5.0L and a Power Stroke turbodiesel on Episode 64, and the 1969 Chevy Impala that's loaded with the 489ci, supercharged big-block Chevy that used to be in Hot Rod magazine's Crusher Camaro. Mike Finnegan sides with the Rotsun and David Freiburger bonds with the Impala as each guy heads separately to the chassis dyno to discover power numbers that remain a secret to the other host. Next, there's a 500-mile road trip to Tucson Dragway for a heads-up showdown. Will the Impala run as quickly as it looks? Will the Rotsun fail to fail for two episodes in a row?
David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan head to Englewood, Colorado, and visit the Corns family, builders of the crazy radial-Cessna-powered 1939 Plymouth truck you've seen all over the Internet and in Roadkill magazine.
On this episode of Roadkill powered by Dodge, we do the Tire Rack One Lap of America race the Roadkill way: buying a 1969 Pontiac Firebird that hasn't run in 17 years, changing every mechanical bit of it in three days, and then hitting the road for action! We do all this while assembling one of Mike Finnegan's dream cars-a first-gen Firebird-to conjure up bygone days of blasting around in his high-school buddy's car. Tony Angelo from HOT ROD Garage joins us for long days of wrenching and longer miles of driving on the Roadkill quest to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
The Tire Rack One Lap of America 2017 was a race involving 19 events at 8 tracks over a 3,500-mile road trip. Can you imagine Roadkill surviving that unscathed? No. If you saw our last episode you know that Mike Finnegan's 1969 Pontiac, which we built in three days, blew up an engine early in the race. Along with guest hosts Tony Angelo of Hot Rod Garage and Elana Scherr from Roadkill.com, Finnegan and Freiburger dive in to fix the Pontiac engine and hit the road to redemption.
One of the cheapest ways to go racing is to buy someone else's abandoned project car, and that's exactly what happens on this episode of Roadkill powered by Dodge. But do the guys get what they paid for? This time, "the guys" are Roadkill regular Mike Finnegan and guest cohost Tony Angelo (normally the host of HOT ROD Garage on the Motor Trend OnDemand).
On this episode of Roadkill powered by Dodge, it's the return of two popular, Mopar Hemi-powered Roadkill project cars: Mike Finnegan's "Blasphemi" 1955 Chevy Gasser and David Freiburger's "Rumble Bee" 1970 Dodge Super Bee. This time the guys are headed to the annual Roadkill Nights event powered by Dodge, in Pontiac, Michigan, with legal street drag racing on Woodward Avenue. Having lost to Gas Monkey Garage in 2015 and then handing a win to Mike Musto in 2016, the Roadkill crew knew that the surefire way to win in 2017 was to race one Roadkill car against another... but of course it's never that easy. Follow along with a slew of victories and defeats in cars that are very important to the hosts. Blasphemi is Finnegan's favorite car ever and its supercharged, 535ci Hemi takes a real beating in the episode. Freiburger's Super Bee has been with him for 35 years, yet in this case he's compelled to blast it with nitrous through its 484ci Hemi for the first time. Need a history lesson? Blasphemi has been in Roadkill Episodes 8, 29, 30, and 47. The Rumble Bee was in Roadkill 19 and 25.
What's the best way to build a great off-road car? Buy a used desert racer! That's exactly what happens in this episode of Roadkill powered by Dodge. With an urge to go rallycross racing, David Freiburger makes a sight-unseen purchase of a 1973 AMC Hornet that raced Baja in the '80s and finished the NORRA 1000 a couple of times before being parked circa 2012. When Mike Finnegan showed up, the guys found out the 360 AMC engine ran almost too good and, despite a thorough thrashing in the desert, the Hornet failed to fail! But is it able to outrun a Dodge minivan at a real rallycross event? You'll have to watch this episode of Roadkill to find out.
The Mustang now known as the Disgustang sat ignored for many more months until the start of this episode where the guys planned to head north from California to the DirtFish Rally School nearly 1,300 miles away.
One of the most epic Roadkills of all time is Episode 52, where we took a 1950 Ford dump truck, put a blown big-block Chevy and a Gearstar 4L80E trans behind the cab, powered it through a V-drive, and did a monster wheelstand that nearly killed Mike Finnegan. But does that stop him from trying again? No! On this episode of Roadkill powered by Dodge, Finnegan teams up with guest host Tony Angelo to revamp the truck we call Stubby Bob. With a new front axle and some added safety equipment, the guys hit the highway (yes, on the road with open zoomie headers!) to drive to the nostalgia drags at Eagle Field to try for wheelie distance. But then the Roadkill curse punches them in the face multiple times until they finally emerge victorious and lay down some scenes that will forever secure Stubby Bob as the most heroic dump truck of all time. You won't want to miss this episode!
Surprise. Fans assumed we'd do this for the 75th episode of Roadkill powered by Dodge, but we jumped the gun and served it up here in Episode 74: yup, it's a Roadkill project-car showdown at DirtFish Rally School. This location became famous on Episode 32 when Subaru challenged Roadkill to a showdown and we went head-to-head on the rally course with a Subie versus the General Mayhem 1968 Dodge Charger. It made for some of the best action scenes in the history of Roadkill, leaving fans demanding more. So, on this episode, the General Mayhem is back-complete with its new 707hp drivetrain from a 2015 Dodge Charger Hellcat. We also brought a number of other cars chosen loosely because they have appeared on the show since the last project-car showdown on Episode 50. You'll see the off-road Hornet from Episode 71; the Disgustang from Episode 66; the Crusher Impala from Episodes 60 and 65; Laphonda from 59; the frame-dragging Datsun mini-truck from 58; the Mazdaratti from 45, 50, and 51; and Nascarlo from Episode 46. Time for big action on Roadkill.
This is Roadkill, powered by Dodge. Way back in 2010 before Roadkill was even a thing, hosts David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan built (or unbuilt) the Vette Kart, a 1985 Chevy Corvette that was stripped to nothing but a chassis and powertrain to save weight and go fast for cheap. The Kart contraption was first seen on Roadkill, Episode 35, and later on Episode 47, and it inspired a legion of people to build similar rides. The Vette Kart has proven itself on the autocross, big track, and dragstrip, and now the guys are bringing it back to round out its motorsports accomplishments with sand-dune blasting and Roadkill's least-predictable stunt yet: skiing a car, which means driving on two wheels. Joining the guys for the adventure is stuntman James Smith, a ski-car specialist. He thinks Roadkill picked the worst car possible for learning to ski, and after watching the episode, you'll probably agree. Roadkill is supported by Jegs, Pilot Auto Transport, Optima Batteries, Gearstar Transmissions, and EBC Brakes.
In the early '50s, the first dedicated drag-race cars were 'rail jobs-vehicles stripped down to nothing but the frame and drivetrain to build the lightest setup for speed. Applying that concept, David Freiburger figured that a big-block pickup would make a great modern-day 'rail job. He scored a cheap GMC Crew Cab, and things got out of control in a way that ended up with Lucky Costa, Steve Dulcich, and Calin Head helping to lay the groundwork of a monster before Mike Finnegan showed up to zap the whole thing together. Then Freiburger and Finnegan drove the mid-engined, road-going dragster 500 miles to the Roadkill Zip-Tie Drags at Tucson Dragway.
Special cohost Tony Angelo alongside Mike Finnegan. Why? Because those two guys really needed a do-over after they joined up for Episode 69 where they rescued a 1977 Chevy El Camino drag race car from a barn and attempted big-nitrous action on the eighth-mile dragstrip. The result was a transmission fluid spill that can still be seen from space. This time the guys got together to install a new Gearstar automatic trans and attempt a road trip to the Merrill Ice Drags on a frozen river in Wisconsin. Will they make it? Will they be victorious? Or will we find out what engine oil looks like on ice?
A 440-powered Suzuki Samurai? Yup. Watch David Freiburger and guest host Steve Dulcich achieve a long-held Roadkill dream: building a car entirely out of a junkyard. The result is a ludicrous Suzuki Samurai tiptop powered by a 440 Chrysler big-block out of a B300 1-ton van. After stepping among scorpions, rattlesnakes, and junkyard dogs at Hidden Valley Auto Parts in Arizona, the guys actually get this abomination running and driving. But will it even do a burnout before the rear axle shatters like glass? Find out in this special all-junkyard episode.
This is about a good ol' road trip in random, unreliable junk. David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan wanted to buy a car sight-unseen and take a big adventure. The vehicle turned out to be a 1966 Ford Econoline flat-face pickup with a lot of rust, a worn-out 289 V-8, and a full-'70s stance, but it had one flaw that would trump all others: no hood to remove when it overheated, which it did-a lot. Stumped but never stopped, the guys overcame all obstacles and managed to see the Volo Auto Museum and the old Joliet prison for some Blues Brothers movie flashbacks before realizing they'd never make it from Wisconsin all the way into the southeast as they'd planned, so they ended it in glorious Roadkill fashion.
There's big action as David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan scheme some chaos in hot-rodded pickups. They invite Steve Dulcich from Roadkill Garage as well as Lucky Costa and Tony Angelo from HOT ROD Garage to join in. The plan: pure fun and clean comedy with a rallycross, dirt drags, autocross, donuts, and burnouts for distance. The players: Freiburger in the 630hp longbed '67 Chevy from Roadkill Garage, Finnegan in the OG Roadkill '74 Chevy C10, Dulcich in his Mopar Muscle Truck, Costa in the HOT ROD Garage Crown Hick, and Angelo in the HOT ROD Garage '67 shortbed. Watch these five fathers living it up sideways and smokin'.
Mike Finnegan has had Charger lust since his childhood exposure to the General Lee on The Dukes of Hazzard, so he recently bought a 1968 Dodge Charger that had been wrecked when new, then hacked into a circle-track race car. The car was abandoned in 1970 before ever making a lap and has lasted 48 years in as-built condition. After securing the time-capsule beater at his Georgia wrenching facility, Finneganwent to work alongside buddies Tony Angelo, David Newbern, and Daniel Boshears as they installed a fresh 383 big-block and a Silver Sport Transmissions'six-speed swap along with plenty of other stuff required to drive the Charger to Indianapolis to visit the car's original builder. Then, to finally fulfill the car's destiny, Finnegan and Angelowrap up the revival with some hot laps at a homemade circle track.
A tale of David Freiburger, Mike Finnegan, and Steve Dulcich taking a vacation to Alaska for the Fourth of July to visit the legendary celebration in the remote area of Glacier View where they throw cars off a cliff for the sheer hilarity of it. The guys buy a couple of really worthless cars, have some fun beating on them, and then toss them off a cliff only to realize that their hope of fixing them and driving them away were completely delusional. But the story ends with another fresh automotive discovery that may eventually find its way onto a future episode. This is gearhead fun that you gotta see.
It's a Roadkill challenge like no other. David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan are joined by Motor Trend originals' hosts for an all-out war on tires on this episode of Roadkill powered by Dodge. Watch as Head 2 Head and Ignition's Jethro Bovingdon, Junkyard Gold's Steve Magnante, HOT ROD Garage's Tony Angelo and Lucky Costa, and Roadkill Garage's Steve Dulcich all join the guys for two epic days of tire destruction on both a road course and on the dragstrip. We know the Best Driver's Car winner, but who is the "Best Driver of Cars" among these maniacal motorheads? Will the Roadkill guys be able to drive a new Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye without destroying it? Will Bovingdon be able to drive a Roadkill car without contracting tetanus? What will blow up first, the racers' egos or whatever car Angelo is driving?
The Road Runner is a highlight of Plymouth's B-Body platform, sought after by many a hot rodder and collector alike. It's valuable classic muscle with parts that can be worth more than the whole. Luckily, on this episode of Roadkill powered by Dodge, that's the case as David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan have found the world's only C-Body Road Runner, a bent-up, crescent-shaped B-Body that had an unfortunate encounter with a light pole. Most people would toss this derelict daily driver to the junkyard, but not the Roadkill guys. They take it from an undriveable scrapheap to a driveable scrapheap in a matter of days. The wounds on this car are far deeper that what's on the surface, and Freiburger and Finnegan have to use some real Roadkill ingenuity to bring it back to life. The rear suspension and driveshaft were crumpled beyond recognition, and the engine broke free of its mounts and pushed into the radiator. Almost every panel on the car is bent, and the body makes its own right turn, leaving the wheelbase with a difference of more than seven inches side to side. After fabricating their own suspension mounts and fixing everything to the best of their ability, the guys get the car back on the road. But if just getting it rolling again isn't enough, Freiburger and Finnegan take it to a dirt track to see if its "enhanced" stance makes.
The rear-engine, 455 Oldsmobile-powered Mazdarati mini-truck is back. David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan couldn't run it into the 10s on the dragstrip on Episode 51 (even though the previous owner claimed it would). Now they've decided to throw more at the little truck that could. On this episode of Roadkill powered by Dodge, the guys give it another shot by rebuilding the engine, repairing the transmission, and adding a bigger nitrous kit, of course. After a road trip back to Tucson and a series of dragstrip failures, will the Mazdarati finally prove its worth? Or will Freiburger and Finnegan have to finally give in to the fact that they may have been lied to?
Surprise! Fans assumed we'd do this for the 75th episode of Roadkill powered by Dodge, but we jumped the gun and served it up here in Episode 74: yup, it's a Roadkill project-car showdown at DirtFish Rally School. This location became famous on Episode 32 when Subaru challenged Roadkill to a showdown and we went head-to-head on the rally course with a Subie versus the General Mayhem 1968 Dodge Charger. It made for some of the best action scenes in the history of Roadkill, leaving fans demanding more. So, on this episode, the General Mayhem is back-complete with its new 707hp drivetrain from a 2015 Dodge Charger Hellcat. We also brought a number of other cars chosen loosely because they have appeared on the show since the last project-car showdown on Episode 50. You'll see the off-road Hornet from Episode 71; the Disgustang from Episode 66; the Crusher Impala from Episodes 60 and 65; Laphonda from 59; the frame-dragging Datsun mini-truck from 58; the Mazdaratti from 45, 50, and 51; and Nascarlo from Episode 46. Time for big action on Roadkill.
Follow along as Freiburger and Finnegan return to the site of the Broughammer diesel Cadillac buildup (episode 55) and select a weed-riddled 1967 Chevy Biscayne with a 283 V8 and a two-speed Powerglide transmission-the perfect cruiser for brutal mountain roads. Once the car is on the road it turns to a gearhead vacation as the guys blast around a long-abandoned road-race track before heading to the mountain that's been the scene of the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb since 1916. There are some Roadkill repairs along the way, and seemingly a big victory...or is it?
Witness the epic return of the Roadkill Draguar on a journey from the Roadkill Nights event on Woodward Avenue in Michigan all the way to racing at the NHRA Nationals in Minnesota. The fourth annual Roadkill Nights event at M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Michigan, where 40,000 people show up to see us drag race on the famed Woodward Avenue, experience Dodge Thrill Rides, race in Demon simulators, and check out all the radical cars. There's also nitro-powered dragster and Funny Car burnouts on Woodward and a celebrity showdown in new Hellcat-powered Challengers, both of which involve National Hot Rod Association star drivers Leah Pritchett and Matt Hagan. We figured that we allow them to destroy our track, so why shouldn't they let us run at an NHRA event?
The Vanishing Paint Challenger is back on the road with an upgraded suspension and it's ready to dominate the autocross. David Freiburger and Steve Dulcich rekindled their love for the VP Challenger on Roadkill Garage Episodes 34 and 36, and now they are putting it to the ultimate Roadkill road trip test. They've entered the Tire Rack SSCA Solo Nationals in Lincoln, Nebraska, a mere 1,700 miles away. Is there any better way to break in a new build? The guys hit the road, camp under the stars, shoot off fireworks, and work out roadside repairs in their most fun road trip yet. Will they make it in time to compete in the ultimate "Game of Cones" and can they keep it running well enough to hang with national competitors?
What happens when you take the front half of two separate four-wheel-drive vehicles and combine them into one? David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan are back in the junkyard to answer that question and make one of Freiburger's dream schemes come to life. With two engines, four driving wheels, and two steering wheels, is it twice the fun? One thing is for certain: no qualms over who gets to drive-that's until the guys enlist the help of NHRA Top Fuel Driver Leah Pritchett, who shows impressive prowess with the reciprocating saw and a lack of self-preservation when she agrees to drive this carnival ride. Will it do amazing donuts, drive sideways, or just break in half? Find out as the guys have more best days at work ever on this episode of Roadkill.
The Mazdarati is forever gone but still in our thoughts-so much so that David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan figure they could fill its void by taking the He Hate Me '66 Ford Econoline and make it a rear-engine monster. Maybe this one will actually run 10s. With a 500ci front-wheel-drive powertrain donated (stolen) from Dirt Every Day's twin-engine 4x4 Eldorado, the guys truly improve everything about the rusted, worn-out, and hated Econoline-that is, except for reliability and driveability. After shortening the wheelbase and eliminating the desire to ever run a quarter-mile for fear of death, the guys bring in Steve Dulcich to help finish off the Econorado. Meanwhile Finnegan takes the Blasphemi to the NHRA Winternationals for a grudge race against Jon Chase of Hoonigan in his '55 Chevy Gasser. In the end, there's really only one question: If the Econorado won't run 10s, will it do stoppies or maybe even wheelies? Check it out on this episode of Roadkill.
Back on Episode 78 of Roadkill, David Freiburger and Steve Dulcich built the Super Sammy-a junkyard-rescued Suzuki Samurai that they crammed a 440 Chrysler big-block into right where it sat in the middle of the junkyard. Now they're back to actually hit the road and find out why Suzuki never offered this engine combination from the factory. After some minor fixes and replacing the stock rearend with a better-fitting yet still undersized match for the 440, they make the Super Sammy "roadworthy" and head out for adventure. Will the police agree with the guys' acceptable level of roadworthiness? Will the new rearend make it 500 miles without exploding? Will Dulcich tame the ThermoQuad and make the Sammy do epic burnouts? Find out the answers to all of these questions, and more, in this junkyard road trip adventure on this episode of Roadkill.
Roadkill has always been dedicated to the artistry, styling, and raw beauty of all things burnout related. David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan have long considered themselves masters of "burnout-ology," yet they have never actually entered a burnout competition...until now. Armed with what's left of a rusted-out '76 Camaro-a parking lot mini spool upgrade and spare tires-the guys set out across Texas to show how to "scientifically" get the best burnouts. With a desire to win and a stronger desire to kill some tires, the guys enter the burnout competition at the Spring Break Jam car show in South Padre Island, Texas. They know how to do burnouts, that's a given...but the real question is: Will the Camaro's engine hold together longer than its tires? Find out on this episode of Roadkill.
On season 2 episode 3 of Roadkill's Junkyard Gold, Steve Magnante found a 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 XL that absolutely needed to be rescued. Why? Because it's a 390ci big-block with four-speeds of goodness, of course. This beauty has been sitting neglected for decades, and now David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan are determined to get it back on the road. With a little sweat, dirt removal, and some junkyard parts, the guys manage to get the 500 XL up and running. Funny thing is, though, most cars end up the junkyard for a reason, and they soon find out why this Galaxie was cast far, far away. After a few miles, the car begins to smoke worse than any car in the history of Roadkill. Will the guys make it to their destination, or will they end up performing a parking lot engine swap? Find out on this episode of Roadkill.
David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan are always out to determine the best bang for your buck when it comes to a beater under $3K. This time, it's a four-vehicle shootout in all of the most important match-ups: We've got Chevy versus Ford, truck versus car, and old versus newer. With the stipulation of finding the best vehicle for someone in high school, the guys went with one four-door V-8 and one pickup each. Freiburger chose newish with a 2006 Crown Vic and a 1999 Chevy S-10. Finnegan went vintage with a 1972 Ford Maverick and a 1976 Chevy LUV. From there it's an all-out battle using the classic Roadkill measuring stick of drag racing, burnouts for distance, dirt circle driving, and autocross. Which beater is best? Find out on this episode of Roadkill.
The blown 383 small block Chevy powered '74 Jaguar XJ 12 known as the Draguar is back. After sitting neglected for far too long, Freiburger and Finnegan have decided to put a new heart in the disabled Draguar in true Roadkill fashion. They are back the Summit parking lot in Sparks, NV - the site of their original extreme parking lot engine swap fiasco from episode 4 of Roadkill. And if giving the Draguar a new heart wasn't enough, the guys also follow up on a lead to fill the void of the stolen Mazdarati. Will this nostalgia trip lead to a rebirth of mini truck greatness, or just more epic destruction of Summit's pavement with unbelievable Draguar burnouts? Find out in this episode of Roadkill.
Ever dreamed of having a new ride every day of the week? David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan live that dream Roadkill-style, as they trade their way through the 25th HOT ROD Power Tour. Each day the guys trade away their junk for new junk and attempt to make it to the next stop on the tour. Needless to say, their trading skills don't land many upgrades, but the big question is: Will they make it all the way or end up on the side of the road with only a single red paper clip? Watch this episode of Roadkill to find out.
How many times have David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan been burned by rescuing a car from a junkyard? Too many, but this time it's a total win. Steve Magnante found an awesome '71 Pontiac T-37 at L&L Classic Auto in Idaho, on Episode 15 of Roadkill's Junkyard Gold and now he's led the guys to rescue this treasure. After finally learning their lesson, Freiburger and Finnegan take the time to "do things the right way," taking proper precautions to revive the motor that's 38 years stagnate. "Spoiler" alert-it doesn't all go smooth. After many speedbumps, the guys finally get the T-37 running, visit an Evel Knievel landmark, and even find out that their engine is something even better than they thought. What's under the Pontiac's hood? Find out on this episode of Roadkill.
When is taking untested, unreliable junk on a road trip a bad idea? Eh, maybe 90 percent of the time, but not when you have a buddy who's up for weathering any storm by your side. On this episode of Roadkill, Mike Finnegan and Tony Angelo take on a big adventure in a little truck. Sight unseen they buy a mid-'70s Chevy LUV mini-truck and hit the road, enduring miles of electrical problems, epic torrential downpours, water in the engine, and floods, and yet they still manage to install nitrous on the wee four-banger. Will Angelo blow it up, or will it do the longest nitrous burnout in Roadkill history? Find out on this awesome Roadkill adventure.
Eight years ago, David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan started a little Internet show where they played with cars so you could point and laugh. Now 100 episodes later, they're back to their roots. On this episode of Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan revive the premise of the first episode: throw a dart at a map and hit the road looking for adventure. This time, however, they're taking to new heights with a bigger map and a four-door Dart. Where will they end up? What's the car that started all that is Roadkill? Can a '76 318-powered Dodge Dart beat the terminal velocity of a 2013 in a quarter-mile? All of these questions and more will be answered in the 100th episode of Roadkill.
Surprise again. Remember when we did the last project car showdown for Episode 74 instead of 75? Well, we're keeping up with the chaos by serving up this one for Episode 101 instead of 100. You knew we wouldn't let you down and not deliver a Roadkill-style showdown around another milestone. On this episode of Roadkill, David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan bring their best Dodge project cars out to the M1 Concourse for the annual Roadkill Nights event powered by Dodge in Pontiac, Michigan. This time it's a road course, skidpad, and drag racing with seven favorite project cars. And since this is an all-Dodge showdown, we had to bring out the Mopar man himself, Steve Dulcich, to partake in the action. Will he lose the course and kill maximum cones? Find out on this epic showdown.
If the 1955 Chevy with a Hemi we call Blasphemi is known for three things, they would be going fast, being awesome, and breaking apart. On this episode of Roadkill, the Blasphemi delivers on all three as Mike Finnegan and Tony Angelo take on HOT ROD Drag Week. It's the most brutal five-day test of real drag-racing, street-driven cars, as competitors race five times on four drag strips while driving over 1,000 miles in between, battling to post the lowest average elapsed time at the end of the week. Last year Finnegan was the runner-up in his class. This year? Well, you might have already heard the results, but what you haven't seen is the epic adventure, the carnage, and the struggle it takes to survive. See how it all unfolded right here on Roadkill.
If there has been one car in the Roadkill fleet that absolutely never fails to fail, it's the 1971 Datsun 240z rust bucket known as the Rotsun. From the beginning, the Rotsun has let Freiburger and Finnegan down over and over, whether it be at autocross events, drag races, shootouts, or even 24 Hours of Lemons. However, it's the one car the guys can never quite give up on even though it's fulling deserving of desertion. Over the years it's had a variation of power plants, it's latest being a junkyard turbocharged 5.0 Liter V8 pulled from a fox body Mustang. Now on this episode of Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan attempt to get the Rotsun back up and running after years of neglect, by finally fixing its independent rear suspension issues and attempting to drive it to SEMA. Will the Rotsun fail to fail? Will it break more axles or will the axles break the guys?
Why would you purchase a 1971 Ford Torino Wagon with a Cummins 12-valve diesel engine swapped in it? Because your name is Mike Finnegan and you thought it would be an awesome vehicle to use to tow your newly purchased Toyota mini truck home with, of course. But why would you grab Tony Angelo and have him help you take the Torino from a manageable 300-ish horsepower to over 800 galloping horses? Because Cleetus McFarland challenged you to a diesel swap drag race duel - you know a normal day in the life of Roadkillers. That's right, in this episode of Roadkill, Finnegan and Tony take a diversion from their road trip to take on Cleetus in a diesel swapped Ford vs Ford drag race...but spoiler alert, all the real Roadkill action takes place as they take the Torino to new levels of 'hot mess'. Hold on tight, this one's a roller coaster.
What's better than racing a cheap beater? Picking the worst possible beater and making your friend drive it. On this episode of Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan buy each other their worst automotive nightmares and put them to the test against Steve Dulcich in an epic showdown. Finnegan rides high, Freiburger works through some "cosmetic" damage, and Dulcich rampages through fire.
Where's the best place to drive a '86 T-bird powered by a 302 V8 topped with a 6-71 Blower and welded gears? Across the frozen tundra of the northern USA of course. On this episode of Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan take the T-Bizzle on a classic road trip with plenty of fail. Follow along as the guys reveal a new project car and pull off the most patriotic burnouts in Roadkill history.
While we're all at home let's look back at favorite project cars and find out what's going on with them today. On this episode of Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan come to you from their own garages to give you the Top 10 Project Cars of Roadkill. Ever wondered what happened to your favorites, or what the guys really think of them? Find out all that plus what the future holds for them now.
Freiburger and Finnegan clean out the wheels stashed in the garage by slapping them on a neglected '66 Dodge D100 Utiline truck and hitting the road. As the guys quest to find the perfect 440 for it, the only real question is, will you love this truck as much as Freiburger?
Freiburger scrounges his parts pile to put together a killer 350 V8, while Finnegan and David Newbern add some power upgrades to the mini truck's four-banger. The pandemic might be keeping them in separate garages, but it doesn't change the Roadkill "work with what you got" mentality.
Freiburger and Steve Dulcich finally find out who has the better cheap 4x4. For years Freiburger has touted the superiority of the Suburban while Dulcich rallies a Durango. Now they'll settle it once and for all in an off-road challenge - for pinks. Will Dulcich lose the Durango, or just the course?
Mike Finnegan and Tony Angelo have a build off and race like no other. Tony transforms a shell of an '85 Monte Carlo into a beast, while Finnegan makes Newbern's Nova run with Ramp Truck parts. It's three days of wrenching, two tracks, and one unbelievable race.
Finnegan and David Newbern rescue an unbelievably mint '67 Pontiac Firebird. This Crusher Camaro look-alike has been stowed in a barn behind a dragstrip for almost two decades. Now the guys battle old parts, downpours and other issues in order to get this old drag car racing down the track once again.
Ready for a scenic, 1,300-mile road trip in questionable junk? Why not? Freiburger and Dulcich hit the road in the '68 Wreck Runner-a four-speed, 383ci clone made from the scraps of a '68 Road Runner and a '68 Satellite. It only has a few little issues, so why not hit the road to sort 'em out? There's nothing quite like a dirt-lot head swap and roadside repairs.
From the moment the '67 Firebird was plucked from barn next to a drag strip, you've been asking for this race. Finnegan and Newbern take the bird on an 800-mile road trip to race Freiburger and Dulcich in the Crusher Camaro. The question isn't just who will win, it's will they even make it to the strip? Campsite engine swap on the way and hood removal? Yes, and yes.
Freiburger and Finnegan take on Dulcich and Newbern in a circle track car shootout. On Episode 108, the guys picked up a beaten blue Duster circle track car and promised a shootout. Now they're at a rally course in Texas to pit it against the Faster with Finnegan dirt track Camaro. See who wins, and watch Dulcich drive the wheels off the Duster, literally.
Bigger is always better...or is it? Freiburger and Finnegan rediscover and road trip the 440 powered 1971 Chrysler Newport 8-door airport car they found back on episode 106. Nothing says winter road trip fun like taking 24 feet of rusted out, floorless junk from Fargo down south to some warmer climates and dirt tracks.
What's your MPQ? That's right, MPG is so passé. Now it's all about miles per quart. This time on Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan set new records of oil consumption in a '74 Toyota Hilux with a small-block Chevy V-8. Follow along as they road trip to Cleetus McFarland's Freedom Factory to race in the action-packed 2.4 Hours of LeMullets. Is this the smokiest road trip to date? Find out now.
Where were you in the '70s? Unless it was carving canyons in a custom widebody Camaro, who cares? What matters is that this time on Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan acquire all the awesomeness the late '70s had to offer rolled into one love-it-or-hate-it Mulholland-racer-inspired Camaro. The guys take their sight-unseen purchase on a test run road trip to a very famous racetrack.
What's better than driving on a world-famous racetrack? Pushing the Rotsun so hard it pukes its guts on said track, obviously. This time on Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan take the Rotsun, Nascarlo, and the Super Camaro to Laguna Seca Raceway to see how their junk handles the corkscrew and stacks up against a modern V-6 Camaro.
The Bubble is back. This time one Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan ride high as they test the dragstrip and off-road capabilities of their 1995 Chevy Caprice 9C1. It's the pink and lifted former cop car on 26-inch wheels that jumps amazingly well and is powered by a 4.3-liter V-8. Will the 262ci engine handle nitrous at the track as well as the suspension handles the desert trails?
The Muscle Truck is back. This time on Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan get the '74 Chevrolet C10 LS6-powered Muscle Truck back on the road and tow out the Rogers jet boat in order to upgrade it with twin turbos-all while in the pits of a drag boat race. Will they successfully race the boat, or just blow the rods out of the LS in the worst engine failure of Roadkill history?
For years they have bench raced it, but now it's finally happening. This time on Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan are finally making dreams come true as they figure a way to stuff a 426ci Hemi down the throat of their 1975 AMC Gremlin to create the fabled street freak known as the Hemi Gremmie.
It runs, it drives, and it does monster burnouts. This time on Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan finish up their 1975 AMC known as The Hemi Gremmie and take it for its first road test. With the body on a new chassis, a 426ci Hemi wedged under what remains of the hood, the guys get the suspension and all other kinks worked out before hitting the road for some tire-devouring action.
Freiburger and Finnegan buy a sight-unseen '56 Nash Metropolitan that's stretched over a '78 Toyota truck chassis, and powered by a boosted '88 Thunderbird 2.3L. They take if for a test drive by road-tripping it around the Pacific Northwest, and then thrash it at a local track.
Number matching Mopar? Nope, this is the Death Metal Charger. This time on Roadkill, Finnegan and Tony Angelo take the world's worst '68 to a whole new turbo-popping, flame-spewing, tire-shrieking level. With the addition of Toyota 2JZ engine and turbo, paired with the Tremec six-speed, Willys Timken rear axle, and Ford F-250 brake drums, the only numbers that matter end with horsepower.
Drag racing on Woodward is back at Roadkill Nights powered by Dodge. This time on Roadkill, the grudge racing is between influencers and Eric Malone from Fastest Cars in the Dirty South. While they battle it out, Freiburger and Finnegan, head in reverse by trading a clean Duster for a worse car every day enabling some true fans to step up their rides while the guys haul away in their old junk.
Taking a 1,000-mile road trip in a '67 Pontiac Firebird that sat in a barn in Georgia for over 16 years is crazy. But drag racing it every day along the way is true Roadkill. This time on Roadkill, Finnegan and David Newbern take the Rubber Duck Firebird on an endurance drag racing event. Watch as the guys hit four dragstrips in five days with more than 1,000 miles of brutal road trip in between.
This is what you've been waiting for: It's twice the Chargers. This time on Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan bring their buds Dulcich and Tony Angelo along to take the General Mayhem and the Death Metal Charger for a road trip and thrashing at DirtFish. See how the 440ci V-8 compares to the turbo six-cylinder TJZ in an epic battle of wildly different '68 Chargers.
What is a Pro Street car? Basically, it's just a car with a tubbed rear end that allows for bigger tires. But this time on Roadkill, it means so much more to Freiburger and Finnegan as they take a big-block 1980 Mirada on a road trip to the site of the Street Machine Nationals in Du Quoin, Illinois. Is this Pro Street Mirada fast? No. Does it handle well? No. Does it look obnoxiously awesome? Of course.
What do you do with access to a sprawling, deserted, snow-covered factory? You buy cheap beaters for a winter adventure battle and real-life road testing. This time on Roadkill, Freiburger picks the adventure and Finnegan picks the vehicles, a survivalist 2001 VW Jetta TDI and a horribly modified 2001 Toyota Sequoia. Find out which one survives the road trip to discover their next project.
When one vehicle fails, always make sure you have a suitable backup. This time on Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan attempt to road-trip the Hemi Gremmie only to be foiled by engine trouble. Instead of roadkilling fully and risking more damage, they do the only sensible thing...continue the road trip by "street legalizing" an Off-Road Race Truck and driving it 400+ miles on the highway.
Always test-drive a car before you buy, or if you're Roadkill, wait until after purchasing. This time on Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan buy an '86 Trans Am and take it for its first road test on the drag and drive event known as Sick Week. With a swapped 350 V-8 and six-speed transmission, the big question is, will they be able to make it faster each day or even finish the race at all?
We all have big dreams for our projects, but sometimes we just need to get them running and driving first. This time on Roadkill, Finnegan and Freiburger attempt to get a bucket-list '66 Corvette-abandoned halfway through an LS swap and restoration-back on the road. With multiple iterations and attempts, the 'Vette hasn't been on the road for 30 years. Will the guys change that?
Last time, Freiburger and Finnegan put a bucket-list '66 Corvette together before a fire almost burned it to the ground. This time on Roadkill, Finnegan and Newbern light the tires as they road-test the LS-powered C2 from Oakland to Las Vegas with the smokiest burnouts ever seen. Follow along as they blaze the coast and hit the drag trip with Dulcich before breaking down in Sin City.
Would you take a '71 Pontiac T-37 that was once pulled from a junkyard on a Northeastern road trip? This time on Roadkill, Freiburger and Dulcich attempt to check off the final five states David needs to finally hit all 50 by taking their junkyard T-37 across New England. Watch as the T-37 hits the road-and the road hits back-before the guys leave their Roadkill mark in New York City.
Should some junk stay in the junkyard? Maybe, but most cars deserve a second chance. This time on Roadkill, Finnegan and Newbern give new life to a '57 Chevy Bel Air that was pulled from a junkyard after more than 30 years. With the help of Flying Sparks Garage, the guys drop in a small-block V-8 and Turbo 350 to get the car back on the pavement for a bumpy road trip back to where it came from.
The 440 Dart from Roadkill Garage is hitting the road. This time on Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan meet up with Vice Grip Garage and Roadworthy Rescues owner Derek Bieri to take a 1968 big-block Dart known as "El Dart-O" on a tire-smoking road trip that includes a final run down Memphis International Raceway and some hair-raising passes down George Ray's Wildcat Dragstrip.
The '73 Chevy Ramp Truck is back. This time on Roadkill, Finnegan and Newbern revive the Ramp Truck after years of sitting idle in order to bring home the '55 Chevy Gasser known as Blasphemi. With a compound turbo 5.9L Cummins diesel now under the hood in place of the 454ci big-block Chevy, there's only one question: With over 1,300 ft-lb of torque, will the Ramp Truck spin the tires?
This time on Roadkill, Finnegan gives back to Freiburger big time. After a devastating first road trip in which the 426ci Hemi that's wedged into the 1975 AMC hurt itself, Finnegan uses a historied engine to overhaul the Gremmie. And with the help of Newbern, Cotten, and Dulcich, he surprises Freiburger at Roadkill Nights powered by Dodge. Why not hook a friend up with 700 hp of Hemi goodness?
See the other side of the Hemi Gremmie surprise. Last time, Finnegan surprised Freiburger with a 700hp Hemi in his Gremlin. Now see what led up to the surprise as Dulcich and Cotten keep Freiburger distracted with a road trip from St. Louis to Pontiac, MI in the Wreck Runner and Pink Pro Street Mirada. Will they even make it to Roadkill Nights for the surprise and an epic burnout fest?
The Street Freak 1975 AMC known as the Hemi Gremmie has had some failures in its life, but now the 426ci Hemi-powered Gremlin is finally completing a road trip. This time on Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan drive from Detroit to St. Louis, MO with a stopover for a roll cage installation, and finally give the Hemi Gremmie the road trip it deserves.
Viva Raunchero. Freiburger and Finnegan unearth their '68 Ford Ranchero from the depths of storage. The guys built it back in episode 2 as a clone of Hot Rod's entry into the first Baja 1000, and then subsequently drove it all the way to Alaska. After sitting dormant for far too long, the Raunchero is revitalized and taken on its first road trip in over eight years.
What's better than hauling your race car with something cool? Hauling it with something big. Freiburger and Finnegan fix up a stretched '86 Chevy crew cab "limo dually" to haul the '56 Chevy Field Car to multiple dragstrips. Will the famous '56 with a 500-hp small block run its fastest quarter mile yet, or will the ridiculous stretched truck fail to get it there?
Some vehicles need to be saved, but we need to save ourselves from some vehicles. This time on Roadkill, Freiburger and Dulcich divert from their original plan of road-tripping a Cadillac to rescue a '67 Ford F-250 that was recently purchased by a member of the crew. As they road-trip the truck, it's not long before they realize they might actually be rescuing the crew member who bought it.
It's another one of Off-Roadkill. This time on Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan get their '73/74 dirt-track Duster back up and running for a road trip and off-road, desert showdown against their famous Vette Kart. Chris Birdsong originally built the Duster, and now he just might have the chance to win it back if he can beat Finnegan around a muddy off-road course.
There's only one way to test-drive an 84-year-old car with a 68-year-old engine: take it on a road trip. This time on Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan attempt to keep a '39 Ford running on a 1,000-mile road trip to scope out a future project vehicle in Texas. With multiple parking lot fixes and a party in New Orleans, this one has it all.
There are many ways to take in the sights of our nation's capital, but the best way is in a '69 Mustang that's sat for over 27 years. Freiburger and Finnegan get more than they bargained for as they revive a very rusted-out '69 Mustang with a 302 V-8. After decades of neglect, the guys use some genius repairs to get it back on the road and tour Washington, D.C.
Pavement, dirt, and rocks-this one has it all. This time on Roadkill, Freiburger takes Mike Cotten on his first 4-wheeling adventure to Moab, Utah, to meet up with Dave Chappelle. The guys hit the road in Freiburger's 350 V-8-powered '81 Jeep Scrambler, find a hidden treasure land speed shop, and conquer rockcrawling trails all before rescuing a swamped Jeep from a water hole.
It's a muscle truck road trip and faceoff. This time on Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan take Finnegnan's LT4-powered '67 Chevy C-10 on its first road trip to compete at LS Fest West against Freiburger's LS6-powered '74 Chevy short-bed stepside, Original Muscle Truck. After getting the C-10 roadworthy, the guys use Roadkill ingenuity to beat the desert heat and beat on their trucks.
Sometimes bad becomes worse before it becomes great. This time on Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan buy a '77 Cadillac Eldorado that's been chopped in half and poorly mated with a 16-foot trailer to make a CadiRamp. After splitting down the middle, lofty goals of using it as a boat hauler quickly turn into a whole new creation, The EldoWrongo, with the help of Shea Seefeldt from Runs Good.
