[JLSuperfly]

My favorite show in Velocity (Motortrend) is Wheeler Dealers.
I used to watch South Beach Classics but it was pulled out after Ted Vernon and his domestic violence issues.

[DFWZ28]

have to pay to watch the episodes on my ipad...thanks motor trend!!

love graveyard cars w/ dan...the old chargers and cudas are amazing (new ones suck b@lls) and the guy knows his stuff frontwards and backwards. Where is the comparable chevy guy...has to be one somewhere that nows all about the 60s camaros, vettes, chevelles.....

[JLSuperfly]

Originally Posted by DFWZ28

have to pay to watch the episodes on my ipad...thanks motor trend!!

love graveyard cars w/ dan...the old chargers and cudas are amazing (new ones suck b@lls) and the guy knows his stuff frontwards and backwards. Where is the comparable chevy guy...has to be one somewhere that nows all about the 60s camaros, vettes, chevelles.....

Mark Worman. Dan is with Fantom Works.

[samman11]

Below is Dan Short's farewell letter to his fans.

By the first few days of 2019, we will finish filming the television series FantomWorks. The shop will continue to build cars for years to come but the show called FantomWorks will conclude. Our weekly tours will continue as they have since long before the show began. A few weeks back, the network officially posted the cancellation of our television show. Because of that announcement, I decided it was time to explain why I quit and thank all involved.
I want to thank my crew of amazing technicians and the film crew that gave a group of mechanical artisans the chance to be in the spotlight. The crew of FantomWorks maintained the utmost professionalism building cars while dealing with cameras in their faces, sound equipment stuffed into nooks and crannies, radio wars (they were turned off 25 times a day), takes and retakes, working lunches, early mornings that turned into late nights, unwanted travel, and the general difficulties associated with being in front of the cameras 5 days a week, 51 weeks a year, 6.5 years non-stop. Right after the show began, employee turnover increased tenfold; stresses in the shop skyrocketed, and attacks on my company (bloodsucking leeches trying to suck “riches” that never even existed) came out of nowhere. In 2017 I announced to my crew my decision to leave the television show. To my relief, the crew responded very positively. As the cameras are now closing out the final segments of filming, the crew’s morale has skyrocketed and the love of building cars is effervescent again.
I am told that filming a television show on a “set” designed for filming and utilizing paid actors is a reasonably easy thing to do. However in the case of the show FantomWorks, filming was never easy by anyone’s standards. My thanks to those members of the network and film crew who truly cared about the shop. Some understood how difficult it was and helped in any way they could. We had eleven directors in six years, most of whom agreed this was the most difficult show to shoot they’d ever worked on (most one-hour cars shows are shot in a 2-30 day window while this show averages 548 days). Car restorations that averaged almost two years were a reality while we had to display “continuity” during the builds so it looked like they were seamless done in only days. Shop dust and oils affected film gear resulting in an unusual number of equipment issues that then resulted in countless “do overs.” We never filmed less than five days a week, many weeks six. Film crews worked 7AM till 6 or 7PM most days alongside our crews. Often times, filming went well into the night. All this while trying to keep 65 to 98 cars in build at a time. It was never easy. To add insult to injury, many customers were upset as they were never reimbursed for travel or other expenses. The film schedule was so demanding that during the final weeks of my father’s life, I was not able to attend to him. The show took over my life and to make matters worse, my wife and I now face almost a million dollars of debt we incurred keeping the production going.
I have only one regret related to leaving the show. That regret is that we have to say goodbye to our many fans. I have been honored to meet thousands of viewers of the show during the tours at the shop, in local car shows, and national events like SEMA. I’ve travelled the globe and been truly delighted and humbled by meeting so many people who have openly expressed their love of our the shop and the show.
Just a few months ago, a very emotional fan of the show shared a wonderful story. He and his father would watch the show FantomWorks together during the months before his aged father passed. His father suffered from severe dementia had forgotten almost everything; his surroundings and family. It was only during the hour that they watched this show together that his father’s mind became alert. He’d been a car builder in his younger years. While the two watched the show together, his father could “remember” and for that hour, they’d connect… they’d talk. When he told me about what the show had done for his relationship, I rationalized that all the financial hardship we’d been through to make the show and even dealing with the gutless faceless internet trolls for six and a half years were somewhat justified.
So when one of the senior executives from the network and I had a long talk. He suggested that if it doesn’t make any sense to keep going, it’s time to call it done. It was time…
God Bless.
Dan Short

I say "Thanks Dan, for the best damn car show I have ever watched!"

[HDRDTD]

I loved FantomWorks. Not only the builds they did of such a huge variety of items from planes to cars to boats, but what I liked most, was the fact that after each build, Dan would sit down with the customer , present him with the final bill and actually reveal often, the cost. The cost in parts, and how many hours. That actually gave you a sense of just how much that build cost.
Too many other shows do some incredible builds, but you can only guess the huge amount of money that build cost.

For example the one shows build of a brand new ZL1 where they created a whole new frame for it requiring the entire body chopped to pieces to make it fit, etc.
Who knows just how much that entire build cost. Of course the owner owned his own plane and god knows what else, and probably just bought the new ZL1 as a new toy.

I especially loved Dan's final show where he agreed to sell one of his TWO genuine original ZL1 snowflake 427 engines to a customer that was building a Camaro from genuine original ZL1 parts. Now I don't recall just how much that build cost, but when the customer was asking Dan if he'd sell him a ZL1 engines, Dan mentioned that engine alone cost him more that what he paid for his house ($40,000)

What an awesome build to finish with.

THANK YOU Dan and all of FantomWorks.

[Mydivorcegift]

Well I’m in the minority...

I didn’t like the show and especially hated Dan and his attitude. The way he talked to people about the cars they brought in, their condition, and all they had to do to “fix” them....it’s like he was complaining.

Reminded me of a jeweler that used to work for me. Was the highest paid employee in the store but always complained about having to do “tough jobs”. I told him that if all he wanted to do was size rings (the equivalent of doing oil changes) he could make $15 an hour like the other jeweler instead of the near 6 figures he made.

[BMR Sales]

Originally Posted by Mydivorcegift

Well I’m in the minority...

I didn’t like the show and especially hated Dan and his attitude. The way he talked to people about the cars they brought in, their condition, and all they had to do to “fix” them....it’s like he was complaining.

Reminded me of a jeweler that used to work for me. Was the highest paid employee in the store but always complained about having to do “tough jobs”. I told him that if all he wanted to do was size rings (the equivalent of doing oil changes) he could make $15 an hour like the other jeweler instead of the near 6 figures he made.

I don't like the word Hate, but I'm with you - I never like his I'm right, you're wrong attitude. I really disliked his Brake Tests where he flat spotted customer tires - tires ain't pretty, and some ain't cheap!

[SS Performance]

I had a split on the show. I liked the builds he did bit didn't like the drama. The "this is impossible" then the miracle solution that only Dan could come up with.


He does seem to trash the customers cars. This could be seen as being "real" about the condition or it could be a way to justify his bill. I did like how on many builds they stated the cost of materials and hours spent on the build.

I am going to miss the show because the builds were realistic. Not thousand of hours of custom metal work. I enjoy those shows also but for different reasons.

[KJZ28]

Originally Posted by BMR Sales

I don't like the word Hate, but I'm with you - I never like his I'm right, you're wrong attitude. I really disliked his Brake Tests where he flat spotted customer tires - tires ain't pretty, and some ain't cheap!

Better that he tests the brakes like that then for a customer to do it in an emergency and they fail and file a lawsuit. I talked to a shop owner who works on only high end stuff, Ferrari F40, Porsche 959, just the rare stuff. He said that when he finishes a build he red line shifts, panic stops, etc. Because owners of those cars take there cars out a few times a year and expect them to perform like that, if they don't, they complain and tell all their friends.

[DC5]

I don't know why I frequently watched FantomWorks, as the show often left me feeling angry. The quality of their work was no better than what most guys could accomplish in their home garage or shop.

[lightsOUT]

I find Dan to be very unlikeable. Just how he comes across. His lip is always curled like the way a 3 year old does when they’re about to throw a tantrum. And those eyes. Dudes got crazy eyes. Like others said, just way too much drama for me.

Graveyard Carz is great but has begun to lose my interest. Theatrics seem to have taken precedent. Also Marks daughter trying to become a tv star is annoying and painfully obvious. Not surprising, it’s tv, the producers have to keep coming up with new ways to keep the audience captivated. Or do they....???

My favorite show is Chasing Classic Cars. It’s the same show it was when it first aired. Nothing really changes, it’s the same format it always was. The show is about cars and that’s it.

[HDRDTD]

Restoration Garage is another of my favorites.

[BMR Sales]

Originally Posted by KJZ28

Better that he tests the brakes like that then for a customer to do it in an emergency and they fail and file a lawsuit. I talked to a shop owner who works on only high end stuff, Ferrari F40, Porsche 959, just the rare stuff. He said that when he finishes a build he red line shifts, panic stops, etc. Because owners of those cars take there cars out a few times a year and expect them to perform like that, if they don't, they complain and tell all their friends.

Remind never to take my Car to your Shop Owner. There is a difference between Testing a Car and Beating on a Car.

Dan's Brake Testing was a Joke! Let's go 100 mph down a city street and see if I can push my foot through the floorboard!

[AZCamaroFan]

i see they are showing the MT Head 2 Head they do online. next weekend the 2018 1LE vs the Mustang GT.