Assignment One

Discovery's "Fast N Loud"

Figured World: A society associated with having a particular set of beliefs, ideas, or actions.
The figured world I chose to discuss looks at the concepts and conventions displayed by the
employees at Gas Monkey Garage, derived from Discovery channel's series "Fast N' Loud."

Background Info: Discovery's "Fast N Loud" is a reality TV based off the events and practices
that occur at Gas Monkey Garage, a car garage located in Dallas, Texas, that specializes in
restorations and performance modifications. "Fast N Loud" takes the day to day routine that
would be expected from successful automotive garage and puts a twist on it, by letting the
characters be their goofy selves with many comical skits. The comedy portrayed in the show as
well as the desired cars featured on the show has drawn in many viewers. The show first
premiered in the summer of 2012, and ever since has consistently held high ratings and is still
producing new episodes week by week. Though the shop was successful before it was televised,
the increase in popularity has helped with business, and getting the Gas Monkey name out to
people. Some customers who appear on the show will talk about how they have seen episodes of
the show and have seen the quality of work done by Gas Monkey Garage through the TV series.
The owner of the garage is Richard Rawlings, an entrepreneur who has a love for cars and
making them go fast in order to make a profit, who has seen his business grow and the growth
can be seen throughout different seasons of the show. Richard's right-hand man and master
mechanic, Aaron Kaufman, is the shop foreman and is in control of all of the mechanics who
work for Richard, "Gas Monkeys." During a typical show Richard is usually looking for cars for
an upcoming build, or he is looking for cars that he can buy cheap and turn for a quick profit.
The mechanics usually have a few small tasks they're performing on the side along with
everyone working on a big build headed up by Aaron. Though there is an actual business ran at
Gas Monkey Garage the atmosphere is exciting and employees are always seen doing comical
shenanigans. The use of sarcasm along with the joking attitudes the from the actors on the show,
give the show a more comical appearance and can be an interesting business techniques of
Richard's. With his use of sarcasm and jokes with clients can provide a less stress environment
for someone looking to buy a car or have Gas Monkey Garage build a car. Less stressed
customers and clients could lead to closer relationships with the garage, which would keep
people coming back and help build a good reputation for the company. Just like any other
automotive garage there are certain safeties that have to be upheld, even with all of the play that
goes on at the shop.

Actors: someone who plays a role in a figured world or community of practice, can be someone
of much importance or merely a member of that particular society.
Richard Rawlings: Owner and operator of Gas Monkey Garage. Richard's role typically
consists of only handling the business aspects of the garage, such as finding new cars and
handling cliental and customer relations. He is rarely seen in the shop and its usually just to
discuss something to Aaron or check up on builds. Richard is stingy with his money, but has

faith in Aaron's decisions and the work of his team to allow them extra money for a build, or
agreeing to do a build with seemingly not enough time. He often gambles with time and money
for jobs, but he looks and the risks and rewards and past situations, and typically he comes out on
top. Richard portrays a play boyish type of attitude, which seems inappropriate for an owner of a
business, but it seems to work for him.
Aaron Kaufman: Master mechanic at Gas Monkey Garage. He is Richard's right-hand man
and is usually with Richard when they go looking for new cars. Aaron is the most skilled of all
the workers at the garage, which rightfully puts him in a position of management and he heads
up all the builds. Richard's trust with Aaron using his money shows the confidence he has in
Aaron and how Aaron has proven himself to be successful.
K.C. Mathieu: Gas Monkey's skilled painter, and next in command below Aaron. K.C. started
out painting with his dad, out of his backyard paint booth. K.C. built up a well-respected
reputation for doing good work and was able to all of the jobs for Gas Monkey Garage. After
the shop expanded and moved locations, Richard added a paint booth for K.C. where he now
always working at the garage with everyone else.
Christie Brimberry: The shop secretary. She was hired after the garage started expanding and
Richard decided he needed to hire someone to help him run the business. She typically just
handles paperwork and answer phone calls. On rare occasions Richard has Christie go look at
potential cars he wants to buy, look cars up on the internet, or sells cars to customers who come
by the shop.
Sue Martin: Owner of ASM Upholstery, Gas Monkey Garage's main source for upholstery
work. A short-tempered Taiwanese woman who always jokes with Richard and they haggle
each other trying to make the most money.
Dennis Collins: Owner of Collins Brothers Jeep is a long time friend of Richard's. He has
appeared on Fast N Loud numerous times going with Richard to find cars and they have went in
together to buy multiple cars and share the profits. Dennis has a lot of knowledge of different
cars and their worth and Richard asks for Dennis's opinion on many cars. He and Richard have
also participated in a rally from New York to Los Angeles, called the Cannonball Run, where
they currently hold the record for the fastest time.

Artifacts: can be physical items, cultural practices, or similar feelings with in a community of
practice or figure world that is sacred to that particular group.
GMG (Gas Monkey Garage): Where and what the show is based off of, typical day to day
events that occur at Gas Monkey Garage. Located in Dallas, Texas, the heart of a large car scene
consisting of many automotive garages, race shops, and car enthusiasts.
Cars built by GMG: The foundation of the business and how it makes money is by building
cars and selling them to make a profit. Along with the major builds where the team may perform
an entire restoration of a car, there are also smaller jobs where Richard may find a car that's
cheap and do minor work to the car and quickly sell for a profit. Richard uses online sources

such as Craigslist to find cars for sell that are in the Dallas area. Sometimes he will go to
auctions where he may buy or sell cars.
Richard's Money: Richard is always stingy with his money, which explains his success as a
business man, so Richard is always putting a budget on builds and trying to get the most profit
out of every sale. Inevitably Richard's money is what pays all the employees at Gas Monkey
Garage and what keeps the garage going.

Communities of Practice: a branch off of a particular figured world that shares similar social
norms, ideas, and goals that may be more specific or detailed more so than the vast "figured
world".
Employees at GMG: Everyone does their assigned job in order to make business flourish and
continue operation. Whether it be the mechanics and Aaron working on the vehicles, Richard
finding and selling vehicles, or Christie doing all of the paperwork for the company.
Car Enthusiasts: A car enthusiast is pretty self-explanatory, but someone who enjoys the
technicality and complexity of automobiles, are marvels at cars and sees them as a work of art.
Most car enthusiasts like to make modifications to their vehicles to make it "theirs" and
distinguish it from someone else's. At Gas Monkey Garage a lot of what they do is modify cars,
either for performance or aesthetics, the whole premises behind modifications is to attract more
buyers and make a car more enjoyable. All of the employees at Gas Monkey Garage can be
considered car enthusiasts, as well as the clients and customers who deal business with Richard.

Domain: Is the common goals and interests of the community, the overall goal everyone is
working towards.
Make GMG Money: The main goal of the company is to make money, so that it trickles down
to all of the employee's pay checks. In order to make the company money everyone must
perform the tasks assigned to them and perform them to the best of their ability. Employees are
encouraged to give opinions and ideas about different builds, but ultimately the decisions are
made by Richard or Aaron. All of the employees understand that in order to uphold the Gas
Monkey reputation, they must do all of their work to the best of their ability so the whatever it is
they are working on will be as successful as possible.

Practices of the Community: specific actions that the actors within a community perform in
order to work towards achieving the common interest, domain.
Build Cars that attract buyers: Since the company is a garage the main focus and expectation
of the business is to build cars, but it doesn't help to build cars that no one wants to buy. So
Richard and Aaron always discuss the direction they plan on taking with a certain type of car to
attract a certain type of buyer. A typical build will consist of finding a sporty type of car and
making it faster and more enjoyable to own.

Literacy Practices: different ways people communicate through a figured world or community
of practice
Business Protocol: Just like any other kind of business there are employees who are hired to do
a certain job in order to make the business as a whole run smoothly and efficiently, so everyone
is expected to do the job which they are instructed to do. Also it being a garage there are certain
safety protocols the workers must follow that are put in place by organizations such as OSHA.
Build Sheet: Before each build Richard and Aaron will consult with the rest of the mechanics to
see what direction they want to take with a particular car that will attract a particular buyer.
During these pre-build sessions Richard and Aaron will decide on a budget and get a general idea
of what to expect for the final product. In some cases people will come to Richard with an idea
for a car and all Richard and Aaron have to do is make sure it turns out as planned and on time.

Relevant Car Terms:

Restoration: Rebuilding an old car to its original or an improved state. A total restoration can
comprise of replacing all nuts and bolts on the car, as well as repainting the entire car.
Depending on the make and model and rarity of a certain car, fully restored cars can go be priced
anywhere from $30,000 to $200,000 and beyond.
Muscle Car: A term used to describe sports car with big motors that produced lots of power.
The term was originally used to describe the mid to late 1960's cars such as the Mustang,
Camaro, and Challenger. The term muscle car is still used today to describe American sports
cars that pride themselves in having high horsepower.
Horsepower: A unit of measure to describe the power output of an engine or car. A stock
muscle car from the dealership in 1969 would have around 300-350 hp. A stock comparable
muscle car of the same kind bought today can have anywhere from 450-700 hp.
Coilover Suspension: A race inspired suspension setup where the coil sits over the shock. A
coilover setup can be adjusted to the drivers likings, where as a standard suspension setup with a
separate shock and coil spring cannot be adjusted. Coilovers provide a firm, yet comfortable
ride, while still improving handling in cars.

Observation 1 "Super Sonic Camaro: Part I":

(2:22) Richard and Aaron travel 3 hrs to Oklahoma, to the Sonic headquarters, to talk to Todd
Smith, Chief Marketing Officer of Sonic Corporation, because a personal interview is better than
a phone call. Richard had heard Sonic was looking for someone to build a muscle car for
upcoming commercials. On the way to Sonic, Richard tells Aaron to make sure and let him do
the talking.

(5:00) Christie is sent to look at a 1965 Cadillac Deville, that Richard is interested in, that will be
in an online auction the next day. Christie doesn't know what to look for in the car, so she calls
Richard asking what she should be looking for. Kyle Rosen, owner of Rosen systems, is selling
the car in the auction the next day.
(8:00) Richard and Aaron arrive at Sonic's headquarters and talks to CMO Todd Smith. Todd
explains how Sonic was looking for a new marketing icon, so they polled some online consumers
and the consensus said the perfect car for "America's drive-in" is a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro SS
convertible. Richard and Aaron at first think that it will be easy to find a 1968 Camaro because
they're everywhere, Right? Todd gives Richard a 30 day deadline, Richard plays it off like it
might be difficult to make the deadline to get more money, when in reality he's thinking it will be
easy. Richard's first offer was $200,000 for the build. Todd comes back and says he was
thinking more like $100,000. Richard automatically meets him in the middle at $150,000 and
Todd agrees. Todd only agreed to pay Richard $75,000 up front and agreed to pay the rest after
the 30 day deadline, Richard asks "well what if we don't make the deadline" and Todd answers
"well you'll have yourselves a Camaro."
(10:00) Richard calls Christie and asks her to bid on the Cadillac for him, since he didn't have
access to a computer. The current bid was $9200 and Richard tells Christie to bid $9300 and it
wouldn't go through, so he told her to bid $11,400 or something and it still denied. Christie had
just missed the auction deadline.
(12:05) Kevin Bowden from Center, TX pulls into Gas Monkey Garage looking to sell his 1969
Ford F-100 pick-up. The truck had been worked on a little with a 351 Windsor engine paired up
with a 4 speed manual transmission. Kevin originally asked $7000 for the truck and Richard
says that $7000 is close to actual retail, but offers him $4500. Kevin strikes back with an offer
of $6500 and they decide on a price of $5500 and a ride home. Richard thinks he can easily get
$7000-$7500 out of the truck as it sits.
(17:20) Richard and Aaron go to look at a 1968 Camaro SS conv. just like the one needed for the
Sonic build, but he was already 1 week behind because the car was harder to find than expected.
Richard meets John Wohr, owner of Keller Auto, who has the 68 Camaro Richard is looking for.
John first saw the car and became interested about 10 years ago, supposedly the car had been
previously owned by Jeff Gordon. John says the car runs and drives, but has not been on the
road since 1996. The car is equipped with a big block 396, and Richard finds out the rear-quarter
panels replaced and John said he believed the car was restored in the 80's. John wanted
somewhere around $30,000 for the car, because of its rarity. Richard offered him $25,000. John
says if it was only that much he would buy it himself and asked how high Richard would be
willing to go. Richard offers John $27.5K, they ended up settling for $28.5K for the car. After
settling on the price they load the car up and head back to the garage. Aaron makes a joke about
how he'd like a Coney (Sonic's hotdog).
(19:05) Aaron and Richard tell K.C. and the rest of the "monkeys" the plans for the car. Aaron
wants to go for a pro-touring feel with wide 18 inch wheels in front and rear, with a different rear
end, and an LS3 motor. Everybody then jumps in the Camaro to head to Sonic for lunch, but
first Richard does some burnouts in the parking lot.

(21:00) Richard and the guys talk about different ideas for the build. Richard gets the idea to use
a Sonic order button for a push start in the car. He also decides to paint the car a red that
matches the red used in the Sonic logo. Richard goes over everyone's job for the new build.
(22:00) The guys start taking the car apart to have K.C. start sand blasting the paint in order to
prep it for paint the next day. The shop previously completed 2 Firebirds identical to the
Camaro, so the guys think it will be a piece of cake. Aaron expresses how at first he didn't like
the idea of working with Sonic, but building a modern day pro-touring car out of a 68 muscle car
with a hefty budget made him excited.
(24:30) 4 hrs. later the "monkeys" have disassembled the car and the body is being pressure
washed to prep for paint. 3 weeks till the deadline and some "monkeys" were saying how they
wanted to get the car done early and they were caught playing around and joking in the shop. As
Mike Coy, one of K.C.'s paint helpers, was washing the car, paint started flaking off because it
wasn't sticking and Mike thought the car had been painted at least 3-4 times. They are now
going to have to take all of the paint off the car and strip it down to bare metal so the new paint
can stick to the body. The paint is supposed to only be about 4 millimeters thick, and the paint
on the car was thicker which never allowed it to fully dry and cure to the body. You could see
the different layers of paint and primer.
(25:20) FAST FACT: "What was the code name for the Camaro while it was being developed?"
A. Panther, B. Cobra, C. Cougar, D. Stallion. Answer is A. Panther.
(27:30) They disassembled the sub-frame from the body. K.C. was prepping the paint and body
while the other "monkeys" were putting in a RideTech coilover suspension. The new LS3 engine
and the 4 speed automatic transmission with overdrive was delivered to the shop. As they were
attaching the motor and transmission, the motor and transmission mounts were off, and would
require some modification.
(29:25) Aaron walks over to see what the problem was and to see if he could help. Aaron recalls
they order the engine and transmission mounts for a T-56 manual transmission, but they had
already decided to go with an automatic transmission, because that's what the car had originally
came with. Aaron says he will order the new parts and it should fit, but they only have 19 more
days to complete the build.
(32:00) Christie called the person who had one the auction for the 1965 Cadillac Deville from
earlier in the show and had them come to Gas Monkey Garage in order to sell the car to Richard.
Scott and Kristen Malone were the ones who one the auction for the car, and brought their
daughter and son in hopes to help sell the car. Scott is a car-flipper like Richard and says he
would sell it for a small profit. Richard offers $10,200 for the car, which is a $1000 profit for
Scott. Kristen immediately says that's not enough profit and $1000 won't feed their kids.
Richard then offers a $3000 profit, Kristen steps up with $4500 profit. Richard offers $4000
profit for Scott and he made the deal. After unloading the Cadillac Richard does a burnout and
jokingly says "It's smoking, I think something's wrong with it."
(33:00) Richard sees that the sub-frame isn't completed and starts worrying about the deadline
and that there is only 18 more days left.

(36:15) Mike is changing out the oil pan for the Camaro 's new engine with a new oil pan Aaron
ordered to fit the car. When he puts the wrong torque setting on the torque wrench, he breaks a
bolt of into the engine.
(38:00) Tony Taylor, Gas Monkey's salesman, has some potential buyers for the 69 F-100. Phil
and Deanna Choma came all the way to Dallas, TX, from Orlando, FL. Phil is buying the truck
for his daughter to drive to school, who currently only has her learner's permit. Phil starts by
offering $5500 for the truck, Tony offers him back $7500, Phil seals the deal at $7000.
(39:00) After replacing all the new motor parts the engine and transmission is starting to match
up correctly to the subframe. Richard walks up and says he didn't sleep well, because he was
stressed out about the build. The mechanics working on putting the subframe together said it
will be buttoned up in a matter of minutes and should be off to paint right after lunch.
(40:00) K.C. and his helpers start prepping the car for paint by doing body work and they notice
the wheel tubs haven't been modified to accommodate for larger wheels and tires, which will end
up causing a big delay.
(41:25) At the end of the episode Richard is explaining how the build is getting off to a bumpy
start and how he doesn't know if the car will even be completed on time. Richard asks for his
"beer assistant" and asks for two beers.

Picture from: www.realestate.aol.com

The Sonic Camaro at the end of Part I

Observation 2 "Super Sonic Camaro: Part II":

(2:50) Richard and Aaron provide a recap of the last episode and remind the viewer of the
problems they were faced with at the end of the "Part II of the Sonic Camaro build." Mike Coy,
one of the mechanics at Gas Monkey Garage, explains the process and concerns he has in order
to widen the wheel tubs so they can fit larger wheels and tires on the car. Mike gives the
assumption that it will take almost a full day to fix the car correctly.
(4:00) K.C. is ready to begin painting the car, but since he is set back another day he goes ahead
and begins to mix his paint for the car. The guys decided to paint the car a red that matches the
iconic Sonic red. K.C. was able to send the Sonic red paint to Valspar, the paint supplier for Gas
Monkey Garage, and they sent him the formula in order to match the paint perfectly. K.C.
begins my measuring out different pigments of paint in grams specified, by Valspar and then
mixes them together. K.C. feels pretty confident the paint is perfect for the car.
(4:50) Richard goes over to check on K.C. and see how the paint is coming. K.C. explains to
him how it should be the same color, and Richard has enough confident in K.C. and tells him to
paint it. K.C. and Richard joke around and end up throwing Sonic tater tots at each other.
(8:00) Richard tells how the build is becoming stressful, so he decides to head out the Houston
Classic Auction to hopefully buy some cars that he can sell for a quick profit. Before the auction
Richard spots a 1954 Cadillac that's all original and in pristine shape that he would like to bid
on. The number he had in his head was $27,000, towards the end of the auction the bid is at
$27,000 precisely with the bid in Richard's favor. At the last second somebody ups his bid and
Richard ends up buying the Cadillac for $29,000. Richard feels like he still got a pretty good
deal on the car.
(10:00) 13 days until the deadline and K.C. is finally able to start painting the car, in hopes of
having it finished by the end of the day. The temperature in the paint booth was 106 degrees

Fahrenheit, which is too hot for K.C. to perform a well job. K.C. consults Richard and tells him
that it's so hot the paint will dry as it comes out of the gun before it even touches the car, and
tells him it will be better to wait until morning. Richard is worried because he will be losing
another day as the deadline is rapidly approaching. K.C. says that if he paints it now and it
messes up then it will take more than a day to fix. Richard says that he can just wait another day,
in order to do the job right and to come out on top with this big build. Richard is worried how
the car will turn out and if it will turn out on time, because if he messes up on this build then he
most likely won't get any more offers.
(11:30) At 5:09 the next morning K.C. is in the booth preparing to start painting the car, before it
gets too hot to paint. Even though it was still 85 degrees Fahrenheit, K.C. says he can add
hardeners to the paint that will help slow the drying time, and that it is the most optimal time he
has to paint in Dallas, TX. K.C. is painting the car and says he is worried because the car has to
be perfect and match the Sonic red and the more he paints the better he feels. Towards the end
you see him dancing as he is painting.
(12:30) There were thunderstorms come through during the morning as Richard's Cadillac that
he won at the auction arrives. He also bought a 1972 Corvette Stingray which is what a lot of
collectors are looking for. He was very pleased by getting the car for only $30,000.
(13:15) Jason Akers, another mechanic at Gas Monkey Garage, explains how they are prepping
the suspension, sub frame, and fire wall assemblies before attaching them all to the freshly
painted body, with only 7 days until the deadline. He says the car is coming along, but is still a
million miles from delivery.
(15:05) Richard says a car that is going to be this cool on the outside has to be just as cool on the
inside, so he prepares to go back to Sue to have her finish the interior of the car. He says he's
been putting off seeing Sue, because she got a little mad when she found out he had another
interior shop working on one of his cars. Sue asks where Richard's been and was surprised to see
he returned for her business. Richard explains how the guy wanted the previous job and it was a
onetime deal, and that he is bringing her something to work on that's not junk. Richard takes Sue
the seats for the Camaro with new seat covers and ask her to do the job. She says she's going to
need to replace all of the seat padding and Richard asks how much she's going to charge. Sue
says $700 which is a good price and usually Richard tries to low ball her, but accepts in and goes
on. When he leaves Sue yells "Goodbye ass monkey."
(17:10) Richard meets a friend he has that lives in Sweden, Magnus Einarsson, who has a love
for fixing old Cadillacs and selling them to demanding clients back in Sweden. Magnus and his
son, Christopher, came to see the collection of Cadillacs Richard had. The first Cadillac that
stood out to Magnus was the 1954 Cadillac that Richard one at the auction a few days before.
Richard is up front and tells Magnus the no-haggle price is $32,500. Magnus knows that
$32,500 is still a good price for the car and knows he needs the car, so he asks Richard if he can
deposit $12,500 on the car now and the rest at the end of the week. Richard knowing Magnus
and having done business with him in the past accepts the offer and they shake hands.
(19:15) Aaron and Jason have connected the body of the car to the sub frame and have started
bolting things back together. Still being a long ways until finished Richard walks over and asks
Aaron how things are coming. Richard is stressing because Todd Smith is coming in only 5 days

and the car is not close to being finished, but Aaron assures Richard that the car will be finished,
but finished right so he doesn't know how much will get finished today.
(20:30) Sue shows up with the finished seats for the Sonic Camaro, Richard was well pleased
with the result and Sue had put in extra effort to make sure they were done right and fast. Sue
was confident in her product and tells Richard she don't do junk, and asks for his money.
(21:20) Aaron is explaining how they have a lot still to do for this car and starts by putting the
most iconic symbol on the car, the Sonic Push-to-Start button. After installing the button Aaron
is messing around and acting like he is ordering stuff from Sonic.
(24:10) Richard was stressed out and forgot he had lined up a potential buyer to view the 1972
Corvette he bought at the auction, so Tony says he has to pick up the slack like usual. Mike
shows up and tells Tony, he thinks he can help him sell the car. The potential buyer is Mary
Meyer from Charlotte, NC. After doing some research Tony and Richard found out the car is not
worth exactly what they had anticipated and was hoping to get $35,000-$36,000 out of the car,
but Tony said they would be lucky to break even. Tony offers Mary the car for $35,000,
explaining that it's an all original big block 454 CI engine with a 4 speed manual transmission
that has not been removed from the car. Mary says she was thinking more like $23,000, and
Tony tells her it's worth more than that. Tony throws out the offer of $30,000 and Mary says she
can maybe come up to $26,000. Tony takes a second to think and offers Mary the car for
$28,000 and she says what about $26,500. Tony says if I go below $27,000 then I'll have to call
Richard and he doesn't want to have to call Richard, so she takes his offer at $27,000. Tony
explains how they were in the whole by $3000 on this car, takes to the help of Mike, and Mike
says Richard would have never let that kind of car go for that little. Tony owns up that he has a
soft spot for cute redheads and let her have it.
(26:15) Aaron gets all excited because things start coming together with the Sonic Camaro build
and it's time to start the engine. Aaron pushes the little red button to start the car and it runs a
little rough, but is to be expected for the first start up of a new engine. After restarting the car
Aaron says the car sounds like it has an exhaust leak and says that's no good. The engine that
they decided to put in the car has been heavily modified and the computer that controls the car
and sets the timing of everything and ensures the car will run at its optimum wasn't set up for the
modifications that had been done to the car, so Aaron calls a guy that has experience tuning car
so he can make a custom tune for the on board computer. Sam, the tuner, tells Aaron the noise
coming from the engine is something inside the engine, and Aaron has a look of devastation on
his face, because Todd comes in the morning to pick up the car.
(27:00) FAST FACT: Which movie franchise features Camaros in a starring role?
A. Mission: Impossible B. Spiderman C. James Bond D. Transformers. Answer is D.
Transformers
(28:20) Richard shows up to the shop early to check on the Camaro and prepare for Todd to
come down from Sonic to pick up his car. Richard walks over to the car and sees the seats
haven't been installed and the car is on the lift with people working on things. Aaron tells
Richard they are remarkably close, but so far away. Richard said that Aaron had called him last
night telling him they found a knocking coming from the engine, but they weren't going to leave

until the problem was figured out. The car wasn't finished by the morning and Aaron says we
don't have a car working right now, everything on the car works as it is supposed to except the
engine. Richard goes back to his office accepting defeat, because he had promised a car to Todd
and he doesn't have a finished car yet.
(31:00) Christi walks into Richard's office to let him know that Todd was there. Todd shows up
around 9:30 and is wondering if he can see the car, Richard just says alright well lets go take a
look at it. Richard takes on play on Todd's words and they agreed to have a running and driving
car by that day, and Todd needed the car in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, by that day. Richard and
Todd agree that it will work if Richard is able to get the car to Oklahoma City by the end of the
day.
(33:00) Aaron begins to try and fix the engine by pulling it out of the car. The engine is a crate
engine which is typically simple, but since the car has been heavily modified, Aaron suspects
that where the problem will be. After taking the oil pan and the wind age tray, and it was clear
that the crankshaft had been hitting the wind age tray, causing all of the strange noises. Aaron
suspects the wind age tray was first damaged when Mike first put the oil pan on wrong at the
beginning of the build, so Aaron starts by taking the wind age tray begins removing the dents.
Richard comes over stressing about the car and Aaron explains how it was an easy fix and that
the motor should be back in within an hour and a half.
(35:00) Richard and Aaron finally get the car put back together and head to Oklahoma City. As
Richard is pulling into Sonic's headquarters he gets pulled over by a cop because he didn't use his
blinker when he was changing lanes.
(41:30) Todd Smith, CMO of Sonic INC., tells Aaron the car looks good and it's running, which
were the requirements for the build. After taking a test drive Todd was well pleased with the car
and the results and said it was better than he had expected. Todd tells Richard the money will be
on the way, but that a truck was on the way to pick up the car to take it to a TV shoot for an
upcoming commercial. Richard and Aaron close out the episode by talking about all of the
things they had done to the car from the suspension and engine to the interior. While standing in
a Sonic Drive-In Richard and Aaron finished the car, pleased the buyer, and got paid; a
successful first attempt with building a car for a big time corporation.

Picture from www.discovery.com

Finished Sonic Camaro

Picture from ASM Auto Upholstery Facebook

Observation 3: "Ford Falcon Racecar":

(5:00) Richard and Aaron go to meet up Jay Norgstrom, a friend of Richard's, who has a 1963
Ford Falcon that was previously a race car built by Jim Hadden. The car is built for racing, just
hasn't never been finished. Richard thinks it only needs to be painted and buttoned up with a few
things here and there. Richard asks Jay to get right down to business and Jay says he was
wanting $20,000 for the car. Richard strikes back with $10,000, Jay says he can't do tenthousand, so Richard offers up $12,500. Jay has dealt with Richard before and tells Richard he
knows what's coming next, Richard asks if he's thinking $15,000. Jay says he will take $15,000
cash for the car and a money back guarantee if the car doesn't make it back to Gas Monkey
Garage, which is only about a mile from Jay's shop. Aaron is already starting to show interests
in the car and drives it back to the shop.
(6.35) Tom, another mechanic at Gas Monkey Garage, is excited to be able to work on a 1919
Nash Healey, Richard had there at the shop. Richard told Tom he wanted the car sold, so he has
to clean it up and make sure it is running. Tom investigates the car and finds that the rotary
button was broken in the ignition coil, which provides spark to the engine in order to make the
car run. Tom is being Tom and tells the car, Stella, that he's gonna make her run again and
they're gonna dance.
(7:50) As soon as Aaron gets the car back to the shop, he starts expressing his enthusiasm with
the car. Richard ask him what color they should paint it and Aaron says he thinks it should be
painted white. Aaron points out that the car is setup with an older style, which he respects and
says with a little bit of work and not much rust-repair the car will be as good as gold. Richard
thinks he will just paint the car and do some minor work to finish it with a $5000 budget and
only 5 days.

(10:00) Aaron and the guys start taking the car apart, and since it was like a backyard racecar the
car came apart really easy, with only basic parts installed on the car. Aaron and the guys start by
finishing and replacing the old race modifications done to the car, making the car seem more
appealing and safer since the intent is for it to still be a racecar. As Aaron is working on the
Falcon, he shows his enjoyment and says he's going to have to end up buying the car.
(13:25) Aaron asks Richard if he can buy the Falcon and if he would loan him the money to
finish the car and Aaron will pay him back. Richard decides to provide Aaron with the money to
finish the car and make a 10% profit. Aaron say he can finish the car in the $30,000 budget and
have it finished in the original 5 day deadline.
(14:00) Aaron is excited to make an awesome racecar that will be envied at the track and one that
he can take home at the end of the day. The guys put the Falcon body on a cart so it can be
transported to K.C.'s paint shop to be sandblasted and painted.
(15:15) Richard goes to check on Tom, whose still working on trying to get the 1919 Nash
Healey running. Tom and his project is slowly coming along, and he jokes about how he won't
have a job if he doesn't get the car running.
(17:40) K.C. is at Johnny Ramir's shop, Dust Free Blasters, getting help to get the Falcon ready
for paint quicker with the fast approaching deadline. After getting the car back from Johnny's
K.C. has to get all of the sand out of the car. With the help of blowers and vacuums along with
rolling the car around the parking lot, K.C. is able to get the car ready for primer, but doesn't
have much time to spare so the car won't begin to rust. K.C. is put under pressure in order to
make sure the car turns out perfect and on time, since it is for Aaron.
(20:25) Tom and Jordan are now both working on the Nash and after hours of labor and
replacing the spark plug wires, spark plugs, and ignition coils, the car is still not starting. Then
Tom notices he didn't connect the starter switch to the power source of the car. After hooking up
the starter wire, Tom is able to start the car and runs around doing a "victory dance."
(22:25) After getting the car back from paint Aaron is loving it and is excited to get everything
put together so he can have his race car. Aaron decided to upgrade the suspension, motor,
transmission, new wheels, and also an electronic gauge cluster to monitor the car on the track.
(25:20) Richard is sitting in his office and notices a cool old truck pull up and goes out to meet
the guy. Dan Shanks was the man that drove up with his 1954 Chevrolet pickup truck to stop in
and meet the guys, while Richard is thinking he would really like to have this old truck. The
truck has a small block Chevrolet engine and a rust looking paint job that was painted on and
looks real. Richard asks Dan if it's for sell and Dan says no, well Richard says you've got to be
willing to sell it and Dan says for the right money. Richard offers him $7500, and Dan turns it
down, but offers up $20,000. Richard says there's no way he can go to $20,000, Richard offers
him $15,000 dollars in cash. Dan asks for $15,500 in order to pay for the truck and to get him
home, Richard agrees with hopes that he can take this truck and still make money with it.
Richard feels like he made a good deal, especially with an auction coming up the next day.
(27:15) Aaron and the guys are back working on the Falcon and Aaron's brand new engine
comes in, a crate 363 CI engine that should make around 500 HP, instead of the 300HP that the

old engine had. The clutch on the car had been burned up, so Aaron has to buy a new clutch and
flywheel and looking at a $2000 expenditure.
(27:45) FAST FACT: Which country still manufactures Ford Falcons?
A. Japan B. USA C. England D. Australia Answer is D. Australia
(29:50) While waiting on the clutch and flywheel to come in, Aaron and the guys put the motor
in the car but left out the transmission because the clutch and flywheel are needed to hook up the
engine with the transmission. Meanwhile Aaron has the guys continuing to add stuff to the car
like windshields and suspension components. Aaron's hope is to have the suspension put
together and have everything buttoned up except the transmission by the end of the day. Richard
comes in to voice his opinion how they are over budget and the over the deadline. Richard
confronts Aaron about being over budget and how the build is over time, Aaron says the build
should be completed in four more days and it should be out of the way. Also Richard got a hold
of the original builder of the car, Jim Hadden, who is going to fly from Florida to Dallas, TX, to
see what all they are doing to his racecar.
(32:20) Richard heads to the auction looking to make some money, he had already sold the Nash
for $12,100 so he didn't have to take it to the auction, but he still has the 54 Chevrolet on the
auction block and is excited to see how it's going to go down. The bid for the truck starts to
level out at $20,000 and Richard thinks it's about time to make a move. Richard offers to buy
dinner for the winner of the auction and the final bid was sold for $25,000. The buyer was
excited for his new truck and a dinner at the Gas Monkey Bar and Grill.
(33:40) Aaron finally got his clutch in and starts to button up the transmission to the motor and
has hopes the car will be completed by the time Jim Hadden comes by to take a look at the car
the next morning. Aaron wants to do all he can to the car running whenever Jim comes by.
After getting everything put together it's time to test the new motor. Which cranks right up and
sounds good, now all Aaron has to do is put some finishing parts on the car such as bumpers,
lights, and chrome accents.
(34:15) Aaron meets up with an old friend who is a tattoo artist, and gets a tattoo on his arm of a
pitchfork arrow.
(37:40) The car is now completed and Richard and Aaron take the car out to the race track to test
it out. Richard and Aaron begin by explaining all of the modifications done to the car and what
his purpose was for the car. Richard also tells how much he enjoys the car and how nice it is
while, Aaron is "fan-girling" over his new racecar.
Back at the shop, it's the day Jim Hadden is supposed to come and see what all Aaron has done
to his car. Jim Hadden shows up at the shop and jokingly tells Aaron all he had to do was roll
the car out and paint it. Aaron initially thought Jim would love that the car was finished, but hate
the direction Aaron took with it. It turns out Jim like the car and liked how Aaron built it, then
Aaron takes him for a ride, and Jim loved it. Jim then sits down with Richard and says how
much he loves the car, and that he needs it back. Richard feels like he's stuck because he has
already told Aaron it was his, but Jim immediately offers him $50,000. Richard explains to Jim
why he can't sell it and how he has to uphold his word. Jim says if he can't buy the car then he

will just go and watch Aaron race it. Aaron's final build costs him $55,000 and Aaron's happy as
could be.

Aaron's Fairlane
Picture from "Fast N Loud" viewer's pinterest
Interview:
Interviewing Ryan Picarieloo, an occasional viewer of "Fast N Loud," who enjoys the show and
the crazy, yet comical events that can be seen in every episode.
1) Tell me about the series "Fast N Loud"?
Response: A reality TV show about Gas Monkey Garage, which is owned by Richard Rawlings
and is assisted by Aaron Kaufman and they buy old cars and restore them to meet the interests of
different customers. There is a variety of cars built on the show from family cars to drag cars. I
enjoy the show and find it interesting and funny due to all of the comic relief in all of the
episodes.
2) What are some of the reoccurring events or themes throughout the series?
Response: The comic relief between Richard and Aaron, and the common reoccurring theme is
the time crunch they're always put under.
3) What are some of the social expectations portrayed in the show that affect the quality of the
show?
Response: Aaron has to build the cars and Richard owns the shop and funds all of the builds, so
they both go hand in hand and create a balance within the shop.
4) Give an example of some of the accepted and expected behaviors or actions around the Gas
Monkey Garage.

Response: It is expected that Aaron builds cars to the best of his ability and within the deadlines
and budgets he is given, as well as Richard is expected to meet with clients and set up different
events for Gas Monkey Garage.
5) How do the regular appearances from other companies and clients complicate the show?
Response: Certain reoccurring appearances from different clients complicate the show when
Richard will do something bold as to bet on a car and his team, which sometimes ends up costing
him money which upsets time tables and expectations of a entrepreneur.

Reflection:
My figured world for assignment one was observing some of the conventions and procedures
that took place at Gas Monkey Garage through episodes of Discovery channel's "Fast N Loud."
Before this assignment, I regularly watched the shows and have seen most if not all of the
episodes to the series, but after looking deeper into select episodes I have learned new things
about the show I'm not sure I would have ever noticed if I had not chosen this series for my
figured world. Having some background knowledge of Gas Monkey Garage and the actors on
the show, helped me to give detailed, accurate descriptions of the show and actors. Since I
already enjoyed casually watching the show it didn't seem all that difficult to watch an episode
and give thorough, detailed observations of what was happening and noticing key things in the
show, that someone unfamiliar with the show and processes wouldn't pick up on. Though I was
familiar with the show others who may read my assignment may not be as familiar with the show
and how the characters act, which could cause them to be confused as to why certain things
happen the way they happen. For example the actions of Richard and other actors on the show,
who seem to be sarcastic and don't always appear to be professional when running a business,
but it's just how they do things and it works in their situation. Also if someone were to read over
my descriptions and observations they would see that "Fast N Loud" is strictly a show about
cars, and someone who may not share the same interests would might think the show is not
interesting and might not be able to connect with the actors and understand a lot of the reasoning
behind what they do and why they do it.

The peer workshops we had in class were really helpful and allowed other people to see my
work, who had different perspectives and opinions. Others who read over my assignment were
able to point out things I needed to add or modify, that I might not have picked up on. For
example one of the comments suggested I give a description for Christie who was referenced
different times during one of the episodes. I originally didn't provide a description for Christie,
because she typically doesn't have a large impact on the show with her appearances, but when
someone who was not familiar with the show kept hearing about Christie and saw there wasn't an
actor description was confused as to who she was and her role on the show. Also there was a
comment about Richard's description that said he seemed unprofessional with the description I
gave him. I described Richard as he appears on TV and thought that adding a comment about
him liking to drink beer kind of shows how he is laid back and how comedy is mixed in with the
serious business aspect of the show. Overall I found that my peers reviews were helpful and
helped me see things that needed to be fixed, and parts of the assignment where I had done well.
I struggled with the "above and beyond" aspect of the assignment, since I am not typically a very
creative person. Even though I lack creativity I used my background knowledge of the show to
provide accurate and more in-depth descriptions off the show and characters. I also took the
time to provide more in-depth and lengthy observations trying to portray all of the events that
happen in an episode, that wasn't necessarily required. At the end of my observations I
incorporated pictures at the conclusion of each episode to show the progress and products from
the work observed in each of the episodes. The pictures give the reader an idea of the quality of
work performed at Gas Monkey Garage. A reader who previously had little to no interests in
cars, hopefully know can see my interests and enjoyment with seeing cars that have been
neglected for years turn into works of arts.

Picture or Aaron and Richard from thecarconnection.com