A little story about Chip Foose

[Bruzilla]

My big issue with Foose is Overhaulin' goes overboard to portray him as this philanthropic, altruistic, benefactor of car people, but he isn't. Everything is paid for by the vendors and the show is really nothing but an infomercial for a wide range of car parts, products, and services. It used to be you would always see a statement at the end of shows like this that read something like "The following businesses have provided goods or services in return for promotional consideration...", but you don't see that much anymore.

Another issue is he keeps asking for people to submit the names of folks who should be considered, but most every car he does is within 100 miles or so of where he's at. He should be honest and say "if you live in Southern California and know someone who deserves..." because that's how it works out.

 

[rocky61201]

If a deserving guy or gal is getting a car for free, does it matter who is paying for it?

I do understand what you're saying about being in SoCal though. For what its worth I wrote in to the show asking to put my wife's 71 on when I first bought it. I thought it was a good and deserving letter. Short story, my wife had a 71 Charger when we first met back in 95. It was in horrible shape (rusted quarters, floor pans, etc.) but it was her baby. We got married and then I got orders to recruiting duty in Chicago and the Charger wouldn't have made the trip so she sold it. Fast foward to 2009 and we're back in SoCal driving around and we see some kid driving her 71 Charger in the exact same condition. I ran him down and begged to buy it but he wouldn't part with it. She was very distraught so that week I found another project 71 Charger for $3k up in LA and bought it for her and started on the build. At the same time I wrote in to overhaulin about her being a loyal Marine wife putting up with multiple deployments and taking care of the homefront while I was away. I thought it was a good story (and true) but we never got selected. We live in SoCal too.

The car is probably 70% done right now and the project is stalled due to money issues, but hopefully things turn around soon and I can get back to it. I wonder if the show will take a car that's already almost completed? Maybe i should write another letter, lol.

 

[tallhair]

A couple of years agoI happened to run into Chip in the antiques area of the City of Orange in SoCal, I approached him and asked if Overhaulin was going to return to TV any times soon. He told me that the economic downturn had hurt the networks and the car collecting world in general, but he was hoping for a return of Overhaulin. During our conversation he was open and friendly and seemed truly interested in our conversation, no celebrity ego or arrogance. We talked for about 10 minutes and I suggested my 66 Satty ragtop would really benefit from a little overhauling, he laughed and told me with any luck maybe we would benefit from the return of the show.
About a year later I was looking through the window of a vintage Ford shop in Orange and struck up a conversation with a guy who was also look at the shop. He was from the south on vacation in SoCal, he said he was a car guy and had visited a couple of car museums here. He told me one place he wanted to see was Chip Fooses garage/workshop, so he and his son drove to Chip's workshop with the hope of peeking though the fence. He went on to say he was happy with what he saw and felt it took care of an item on his bucket list. While he was there Chip saw him and invited him inside to see the cars up close, Chip opened the gate and showed him around the shop, this guy was still excited just telling me about it.
To make a long story short I believe Chip is a great guy with a passion for cars and car lovers, I wouldn't hesitate to let him Overhaul my Satty.

Great story and I believe Chip is as nice a guy as is portrayed .. who cares if he's making money, I wouldn't do what I do for free, it's entertainment for those of us that like to watch and great for the folks who get selected for the show

 

[HawkRod]

Of course vendors pay the bills on Overhaulin and they then advertise some of them there. However, if you look at Chip Foose on some of the shows where he is working with his Dad or he sees a really happy "victim", you can tell the guy gets emotional and cares.

Personally, I think he is one of the truly nice guys who loves cars. I may not like all of his projects, and that's fine. To each his own. However, to beat him up because you don't like what he did is wrong. If he was not famous and did this to a car on this forum, we would all sing his praises for his work, just like we (rightfully) did with Darius' project.

 

[Dennis H]

Don't know about the comaprison to Darius, he kept the appearance true to Mopar. Foose is a nice guy, good man. Can't say enough nice stuff about him. He can keep his hands off of my Coronet.

Few today can hold a candle to the guys who worked with clay to design the Legends of Mopar that are timeless. B. E. Coke Bottle. You name it.