Hot Rod TV: Big Dog Muscle Part 1

MotorTrend

11/8/2023

Jay Leno is a man of many talents

Transcript

00:00 Jay Leno's extending an invitation.

00:03 Let's talk about cars.

00:04 He's a man who knows hot rods.

00:06 Hot rod I guess is a modification well beyond standard.

00:10 He has plenty of those.

00:13 This is our turbocharged M47 patent tank engine hot rod.

00:17 This would be like a pocket hot rod.

00:19 Jay's original hot rod needs an engine repair.

00:22 And that motor is the world's first 572.

00:24 572, that's pretty big.

00:27 It's broken.

00:28 And the big dogs are going to fix it.

00:30 I blame Jay for it because he was behind the wheel when it broke so therefore he broke

00:33 it.

00:34 Maybe I was getting on it or something.

00:36 Stick around.

00:37 Important part of hot rodding, arm out the window.

00:40 This is Hot Rod TV.

00:41 Hey guys.

00:55 If you're a car guy, you wonder how he chooses what to drive today.

01:16 His selection is enormous.

01:17 First of all, let me say it's great to be on Hot Rod TV because when I do my TV show,

01:23 I have to wear makeup and a suit and they fix my hair and they do all that stupid show

01:29 business stuff.

01:30 See, this show, not only do they not have the budget for it, I don't have to do it and

01:34 I feel glad that I don't have to do it.

01:36 But let's talk about cars.

01:38 And more specifically, Leno wants to talk about hot rods.

01:42 Jay knows that hot rods come in all shapes, sizes, makes and models.

01:46 And he also knows that one definition does not fit all.

01:50 Well, it means a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

01:53 This for example would be, I think, a factory hot rod.

01:57 You all know, of course, the Mustang came out April 17th, 1964.

02:01 I was there at the showroom.

02:02 I got my hot dog and my donut and the guy pulled the sheet down and ooh, they revealed

02:07 the car.

02:08 They don't do that anymore.

02:12 The Shelby GT350 is a legendary car.

02:16 So Shelby, as you know the story, did the whole GT350.

02:20 Took a Mustang, took out the back seat so he could go racing with it.

02:25 350, as I'm sure you know, comes from how many feet it was from Shelby's office allegedly

02:32 to the building.

02:33 He counted off 350 feet and said, "Let's call it a GT350."

02:38 By the way, this ride is not a clone.

02:41 This is car number 120.

02:43 This is a very early car, battery in the trunk, fiberglass hood.

02:47 Wonderful car to drive.

02:49 Something else that was popular back in the day were these redline tires.

02:53 The car that was modified by someone other than the factory who was also a manufacturer

03:00 of Shelby.

03:01 So I think we can call that a hot rod.

03:03 Nearby there's a hot rod with a damaged engine.

03:06 It's a motor that also makes this ride a certified muscle car.

03:10 But of all the muscle cars, this one's probably my favorite.

03:13 This is my baby.

03:14 I've had this car since 1972.

03:16 I bought it out of a magazine called The Recycler here in Los Angeles for $350.

03:21 It's a '55 Buick Roadmaster.

03:26 We did a full restoration on it and we did some, I call, tasteful modification.

03:30 We didn't mess with the body or the style of the car.

03:33 We put a 572 big block in it, C5 Corvette suspension, front and back disc brakes.

03:39 And because we had the big Corvette disc brakes, we had to make 17-inch wheels.

03:43 Jay's baby has a little issue.

03:45 All right, but let's get to the nightmare part here.

03:49 What happened with this one is, essentially we blew a head gasket.

03:53 It's a 572 big block, the very first one, serial number 001, the very first engine.

03:58 What we're going to do now is we're going to pull the engine out, we're going to place

04:02 the head gaskets, we'll dyno it, and get this baby back on the road.

04:08 With a great deal of care, Jay gets the Buick into the work area.

04:11 He's soon joined by automotive expert Bernard Euckley.

04:15 It's broken.

04:16 I blame Jay for it because he was behind the wheel when it broke, so therefore he broke

04:20 it.

04:21 We don't have a lot of room to work in the engine compartment, so we'll just pull the

04:24 motor out and do it in the engine room.

04:27 And that'll give us an opportunity to kind of look at things, all of it.

04:33 Okay, we're going to start with this assembly here, of course.

04:38 We're going to start at the top of the motor and work our way down.

04:44 This is your first visit to Leno's garage, a few things are already clear.

04:48 This is a fully functioning, fully staffed automotive facility, servicing one of the

04:53 world's most impressive horsepower-driven collections.

04:56 But don't think for a moment that this is a museum.

04:59 The neat thing about Jay and his whole collection is that everything is being used, and I expect

05:06 he will break some things.

05:08 You know, I always say he breaks, he doesn't really.

05:12 Stick around, we're getting to the bottom of this 572, and we'll see even more of Leno's

05:17 incredible collection.

05:18 All that and more right here on Hot Rod TV.

05:21 (upbeat music)

Hot Rod TV: Big Dog Muscle Part 1

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