Monster Garage

1996 Lincoln Town Car Limousine / Fire Truck Jesse and his team of designers, welders, fabricators, and mechanics transform a Lincoln Town Car stretch limousine into a fire truck • Jesse James, custom-bike builder/designer, Long Beach, Calif. • Vini Bergman, custom-limo builder, California • Ed Blanford, car designer, Southern Calif. • Steve Dennish, hot-rod creator, La Mirada, Calif. • Wink Eller, custom-bike builder, Wink's Performance and Machine, Orange, Calif. • Rick Goodell, fire-engine engineer, Wisconsin • Paul Johnson, mechanic, Artesia, Calif. • Lisa Legohn, welding instructor, Los Angeles Trade Technical College and Compton Community College, Los Angeles, Calif. • Tom Prewitt, custom painter, Damon's Motorcycle Creations, Brea, Calif. • Michael Shrout, fireman, Long Beach, Calif.

2000 Volkswagen Beetle / Swamp Boat Before he started work on this VW Bug, Jesse happened across a TV show on how to survive if your car plunges underwater. Lucky coincidence ... or totally irrelevant? • Jesse James, custom-bike builder/designer, Long Beach, Calif. • Ricky Hsu, car designer, Gardena, Calif. • Brian Jendro, car customizer, Temecula, Calif. • John Krawczyk, welder and sculptor, Malibu, Calif. • Tom Prewitt, custom painter, Damon's Motorcycle Creations, Brea, Calif. • J.D. Streett, special-effects supervisor, Shadow Hills, Calif. • Christy Sumner, special-effects technician, Los Angeles, Calif. • Ronnie Thibodaux, boat designer/builder, Centerville, La. • John Uribe, auto-mechanics instructor, Reseda, Calif.

1990 Ford Mustang GT / Lawnmower In Switchblade, Jesse and his team are challenged to turn a 1990 Mustang GT convertible into a fiber-slashing, awe-inspiring monster mower • Jesse James, custom-bike builder/designer, Long Beach, Calif. • George Beers, ""parts guru,"" Stuart, Fla. • Bob Cleveland, lawn-mower engineer and racer, Locust Grove, Ga. • Mike Contreras, oil-rig mechanic, Long Beach, Calif. • Mike Desmond, custom-car designer, MAD Machines, southern California • Bill Dodge, custom-bike builder, Long Beach, Calif. • Carol Hodge, TV commercial director, Seattle, Wash. • Billy Lane, custom-bike builder, Melbourne, Fla. • Tom Prewitt, custom painter, Damon's Motorcycle Creations, Brea, Calif.

1996 Chevy Impala Supersport / Zamboni In 1996 it was born a Chevy Impala Supersport clone. In 2002 (July 2002, to be more exact) it mutated into a monster capable of smoothing out the roughest of frozen surfaces. Welcome to the story of Freezer Burn. • Jesse James, custom-bike builder/designer, West Coast Choppers, Long Beach, Calif. • Bob Van Der Brink, retired high-school shop teacher, Chino Hills, Calif. • Stuart Fuller, hot-rod designer, Downey, Calif. • Ken Hoffman, self-employed fabricator and welder, Simi Valley, Calif. • Renee Newell, sculptor, Santa Monica, Calif. • Dan Padilla, artist • Tom Prewitt, custom painter, Damon's Motorcycle Creations, Brea, Calif. • Tad Yenowine, set-builder, Los Angeles, Calif. • Richard Zamboni, president, Frank J. Zamboni & Co. Inc., Paramount, Calif.

1984 Porsche 944 / Golf-Ball Collector Golfers beware! This is no ordinary range-picker. It's a 1984 Porsche 944 that Jesse and company transformed into a player-harassing, ball-snagging monster back in August 2002. • Jesse James, custom-bike builder/designer, West Coast Choppers, Long Beach, Calif. • Alex Anderson, custom-car builder, Temecula, Calif. • Mac Gillum, former drag racer and range-picker builder, Different Designs, Stanton, Calif. • Pete Pepe, creative designer, Disney Animation • Tom Prewitt, custom painter, Damon's Motorcycle Creations, Brea, Calif. • Eric Scarlett, custom-car builder/shop owner and former U.S. Navy SEAL technician, Ventura, Calif. • Wendy Schmidt, animatronics specialist, Los Angeles, Calif. • Jay Skwarlo, bicycle mechanic/builder and hot-rodder, Long Beach, Calif.

1973 Miller Meteor Cadillac Hearse / Car Crusher-Destroyer Death was certainly the theme of this mission: the transformation of a 1973 Miller Meteor Cadillac hearse into a formidable car-crushing beast. Because it marked the first failure — and destruction — of a Monster vehicle. • Jesse James, custom-bike builder/designer, West Coast Choppers, Long Beach, Calif. • George Barris, custom-car designer (including the Batmobile, Kitt from Knightrider, the Munsters' Koach, and the DeLorean from Back to the Future) • Tim Conder, mechanic and motorcycle customizer, Seattle, Wash. • Jose Gonzalez, motorcycle customizer and forklift repairman, Yale/Chase, Long Beach, Calif. • Bart Grande, dyno shop owner and racer, GodSpeed Dyno Works, Oceanside, Calif. • Doran Hirschkorn, Bobcat manufacturing engineer, Bismarck, N.D. • Steve ""Tombstone"" Sterle, horror-prop manufacturer, Hollywood Tombstones, San Fernando Valley, Calif.

1989 Ford 20-Passenger School Bus / Pontoon Imagine — It's August 2002, and you've acquired a 1989 Ford 20-passenger school bus. What to do. Well, why not turn it into a pontoon party boat? Ah, if only Gilligan had had Jesse James and his team of monster mechanics around. • Jesse James, custom-bike builder/designer, West Coast Choppers, Long Beach, Calif. • Charlie Conn Jr., bus technician, A to Z Bus Sales, Riverside, Calif. • Jim Day, metal fabricator/sculptor, Inglewood, Calif. • Steve Furnish, fabricator, Wolff's Customs, Long Beach, Calif. • Tom Prewitt, custom painter, Damon's Motorcycle Creations, Brea, Calif. • Darren Shurig, engineering fabricator, Fountain Valley, Calif. • John West, owner/designer, Ultraboats, San Diego, Calif.

1998 Chevy Mac Tool Truck / Ultimate Delivery Truck In September 2002, Jesse James and the Monster crew set out to turn a 1998 Mac Tool truck into the ""ultimate"" delivery truck. Now, you might be thinking that's pretty ho-hum for this garage ... but have we mentioned that the transition involves a crossbow, cannon and catapult? Let's just say that you do not want Jesse James delivering your new 19-inch TV. The truck was equiped with the following: dual air cannons, a single 6-inch barrel air cannon, a ballista, & a trebuchet • Jesse James, custom-bike builder/designer, West Coast Choppers, Long Beach, Calif. • Paul Campbell, surgical nurse for Stanley Frileck M.D., Santa Monica, Calif. • Jim Farley, truck mechanic and hot-rodder, Reno, Nev. • Dais Nagao, artist /motorcycle designer, Honda, Pasadena, Calif. • Tom Prewitt, custom painter, Damon's Motorcycle Creations, Brea, Calif. • David Norris, owner, Sky Signs, Phoenixville, Pa. • Ron Toms, entrepreneur and medieval wea

1995 Geo Tracker / Hot-Air Balloon In October 2002, Jesse and his team hunkered down to see if they could redefine ""off-road"" ... literally. And in the process, they learned that you're not supposed to throw certain items — such as bowling balls — out of hot-air balloons. Bummer • Jesse James, custom-bike builder/designer, West Coast Choppers, Long Beach, Calif. • Chris Brown, custom-car designer, Brown Auto Design, Fullerton, Calif. • Chopper Dave, motorcycle builder, West Coast Choppers • Dan Danknick, software engineer, Orange, Calif. • Martin Harms, designer, Aerostar, Sioux Falls, S.D. • Chuck Mignacco, welder, Oakland, Calif. • Dave Park, attorney and motorcycle builder, San Diego, Calif. • Tom Prewitt, custom painter, Damon's Motorcycle Creations, Brea, Calif. • Jerry Schell, balloonist, Tucson, Ariz.

1997 F-150 Ford Pickup Truck / Tree-Shaker No, this machine shakes nuts (and fruit) from trees. Using a hydraulically powered clamp and rotating mass device, this harvesting device latches onto a tree, shakes vigorously, then collects the falling nuts in an umbrella — all without damaging the tree. Able to shake up to three trees a minute, this machine has revolutionized the agricultural industry. • Jesse James, custom-bike builder/designer, West Coast Choppers, Long Beach, Calif. • Russ Angold, agricultural engineer, San Luis Obispo, Calif. • Tim Beghoefer, hydraulics technician/ journeyman mechanic, Milwaukee, Wis. • Mike Pittinger, mechanical engineer/underwater welder, Baltimore, Md. • Tom Prewitt, custom painter, Damon's Motorcycle Creations, Brea, Calif. • Dan Robinson, farm equipment repairman/welder, Omaha, Neb. • Ralph Westerhoff, service manager, Orchard Machinery Corporation, Tulare, Calif.