Fantom Works

[Donny]

Of all the TV shows, this one is a cut above them all in my opinion. Why? Dave tells the truth, he goes over costs which tends to weed out the Dreamers. I'm also impressed he has a near full service shop covering down on most aspects of the work these cars require. I also like Dave's attitude and deliberate nature he has. Plus, he was in the Army, and that alone is enough to hold all the water needed!

 

[Richard Cranium]

Of all the TV shows, this one is a cut above them all in my opinion.

Funny, I feel the exact opposite.

 

[HT413]

I agree, love the show. He is able to put a resto show together with very little BS and without planting a couple of knuckleheads in his shop for 'entertainment'. Good show.

 

[YY1]

I like it, but it's not without it's fabricated drama-

like spending two whole TV minutes chewing an employee a new one for not noticing the impala quarter panels were not convertible specific, only to find out after the commercial break that;

A- they were delivered with the car months before the worker was put on the project,
B- convertible specific quarters are not available
C- that worker is an expert metal fabricator and was easily able to modify the panels to fit

I'd have rather seen those two minutes spent on showing the work needed to make the quarters fit.

 

[Sonny Black]

Better bring your wallet when you watch this show....he may charge you for "air time"....

better off buying one already "done" if you are not doing it yourself....
:icon_silent:

BUT: other than that I still watch it, I have not picked up any pointers for what I deal with in any way typically.
:eusa_shifty:

Sonny would love to be that creative & engineer parts BUT my brain will not allow me to do so..............I do get things done one way or another & I am not afraid to ask for help.:head_smack:

(I used to think I was "all that" and could figure out things on my own) = too much down time. I like to drive it.

JMVHO & sorry I was long winded

 

[bee71]

A little too caustic attitude for me and too much blowing his own horn.

 

[Dennis H]

What channel? Have not heard of the Show here in Comcast lousy OVERPRICED cable land.

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

Fantom works is on Velocity.

His mindset is right, If I was one of his customers I would appreciate the up front honesty of what it's going to cost. His guys seem to do good work, as he has high expectations of them so I can relate. Just no enough MOPARS on that show is the only reason I don't watch it regularly Skim through the episode descriptions and if anything even near a mopar than I tune in but if not I really dont care.

 

[RJS]

This show greatly improved from last season! He seems very toned down and realistic with how he approaches the build.
Last season he was a hard-*** and the work seemed so so on some of the rides.

It is my favorite out of all the ones out there right now.
Ron

 

[Budnicks]

The owner seemed he has toned down his "prickness" attitude, a bit since last season, he's was an utter & complete a$$, last year IMHFO...

His quote "if he has to choose between the customers/owners & the cars, then he chooses the cars" or something like that quote, tells you something about his arrogance...

Seems he has a few young & talented people working there thou...

I think the producers &/or network maybe, had him tone it down some this season, he seems like much more of a nicer guy this season {maybe to help the show actually keep some viewers}, it was all about him & his added shop drama & a bunch of overpriced restorations last/1st season...

IMHFO it's not really a technical car show, by any means, it's just a guy who owns a restoration shop, who charges his customers a premium price, for him "allegedly" owning the largest restoration shop in the country...

That cafe' bike, they did for that girl, was relatively fairly priced, inexpensive enough, for what they did, not really my style...

The old coupe, that belonged to some guys father, they did on a $10-$20k budget build last year/season, wasn't really too bad either...

I didn't like some of the stuff he did or claimed he was doing, on that 63-64 Vette last season also, but came out OK, customer liked it...

Seems like last season, they were showing more of the negative side of the business & employees, his bad attitude toward his paying customers, like the guy with the Bug & the guy with the Mustang, didn't get at all what he was asking for, because Dan/Shop owner didn't like the concept, the customer wanted or what ever it was...

He's a Camaro guy on-top of all of that...LOL, but the 68 Camaro that he did for his wife, for their anniversary, was pretty nice...

A couple of the cars he's done I don't really care for, not my style, not sure if it's what the customer wanted or not, in the long run, that what really counts...

The Show Fantom Works...
It has it's moments, it's another car show, so I'll continue to watch, DVR it anyway, fast forward thru the BS, but not really what I'd call, "one of my favorites car shows" thou...

I even like GYC's better, not much, but Mark's not my favorite shop owner narcissist TV personality either, but at-least it has some cool Mopars to look at, to keep some interest... I actually see a theme now...he he ha ha

But, they're just TV shows after-all, they're just entertainment, not like it makes any difference in the scheme of things...

 

[pturner]

my reasons

I like it for a completely different aspect. I can watch the whole show without 50% of the language being beeped out. I almost loose track of the conversations on one of the other shows as every other word is beep-beep.
Donnie, I think this guy is a realist like us! His shop seem to be older buildings and his equipment is conservative.
just my 2 cents
pt in tennessee

 

[Rocketman]

I somewhat like these guys but like most of these shows everything they do is way over priced, but that could be the area they are in. Thinks in California and the NE are way more expensive than here.

 

[Hemi Rebel]

I couldn't get into phantom works. The few episodes I saw he built the cars the way he wanted which was not what the customer wanted. One was a mustang that the owner wanted a stroker motor built for it. The shop owner thought he knew better and didn't given the customer whatb he agreed to do. I ddnt care for that and tuned out.
Full custom garage is the best car show on imho. GYC is the ultimate mopar **** show but t FCG is best all around. Interesting and informative. The guy is an artist.

 

[Ron 73]

SONNY

"Sonny would love to be that creative & engineer parts BUT my brain will not allow me to do so..............I do get things done one way or another & I am not afraid to ask for help."

I couldn't agree more! I watch the show but do get tired of seeing the same ones over and over, at least it seems that way. Its entertainment, get to see the work and the cars but i myself do what i need to do, using every available ways i can, it all equals out that they get done, there right (sometimes better) and the only one that ever complained is me, and being i did it i try to do it better the next time... If were all honest we give our cars the work, material, the time and we do them the best we can, if not, then we fail ourselves not someone telling us it has to be right. MO....... And again. i agree "I am not afraid to ask for help!" we all need it at some point in time and pride does nothing but make mistakes.

 

[satman72]

What I like about Fantom Works, and also Restoration Garage, is that they show a bit more of the work going on, as opposed to just a bunch of drama. I may not agree with the pricing, I may not agree with the drama, but at least I can see something of the talent these guys have. Which is a lot more than I see from some of the other shows.

 

[HT413]

What I like about Fantom Works, and also Restoration Garage, is that they show a bit more of the work going on, as opposed to just a bunch of drama. I may not agree with the pricing, I may not agree with the drama, but at least I can see something of the talent these guys have. Which is a lot more than I see from some of the other shows.

Exactly, satman. I do like counting cars, and honestly cringed when I heard they did a 2nd gen charger. but instead of being horrified by some foose type of disaster, they did it factory original but they went from a box of parts and a shell to a complete car during the commercial break. They didn't even show the charger in the shop! What a disappointment.

 

[Donny]

These TV shows don't show the amount of time that goes into a build, you just can't appreciate how much time these things take in 30-60 minute TV show. I am glad Dave tells costs and hours required to build the stuff he touches. One thing you MUST do is look at it like a business, and not a Hobby. The cry babies here and everywhere that moan about costs, well, keep crying! I know for certain I am NOT ever going to do this sort of work so the customer will say "He gave me a good deal" speaking of costs. Just what is a 'good deal' anyways? 90% of all the guys that watch these TV shows might have a number in their heads they are willing to spend on their car/project, but, the reality is that artificial number needs to be tripled, and then that number is where things need to be to get things done.

 

[daredevil]

Funny, I feel the exact opposite.

Same here. I think hes a hack and a gouger. First show I watched he took the original motor out of an early model Stingray and swapped in a crate motor.Thasts when I decided he was a clown after a fast buck.And hes a prick.If he talked down to me like he does his customers I,d want to kick his ***.

 

[RJS]

Some of you guys have to forget what happened on the FIRST season. It's already been said that the show is better/softer for season 2. Wacth this season a little and comment...
Ron

 

[Donny]

As I said earlier, the show is fantastic because it's real, no faux drama and fart jokes and towel snapping. He's a business, and, last I checked, business are there to make money. So, talk about ripping people off etc is misplaced. I've never met Dave, but, I love his attitude. If dreamer customers had their way and say, then this skill set would not be marketed into a business. The level of connection I've seen people have with their cars is eye opening being on the business end of the spectrum myself. Does he do everything the way I'd do it, no, but, nor should he. But, the way he talks to people is no nonsense and very focused. I like that.