Coolest build I have seen in a while...

Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7JGQ9Nqo8Y

That looks cool!

They left the paint .......in its +40 year old condition. Kinda cool.

Crazy awesome sheet metal work but all the chrome and trim in perfect condition and then leaving the rest with the so called patina. Just not my thing but I sure would like to be able to fab work like that.

Unbelievable metal work. I wish I could do just some of it. Can't even imagine how much time and money was spent. I also would finish the body.
Doug

Amazing fab work. The headers look cool , but are not very practical for valve adjustments.... Too often the "patina" fad is just an excuse to not spend the time and $ to finish the job.

Mark

Super cool build. I like the patina. Real sleeper for making some street money...at least until you start it up. I couldn't even think of how much time and money went into that project. I'm guessing it would sell for around a million.

Kinda all over the place, not my cup 'o tea.

Like said above, all kinds of crazy fab work etc. but then they leave the paint. Why? No way anyone could mistake that thing for a sleeper. At least paint it a 1964 Dodge factory color.

Big HP and lowered - what is the end purpose of these types of builds? Just to showcase a shops' fabrication talent and how much someone can spend? I guess that's fine but who cares?

The beauty of our Mopars is already inherent in their DNA, why the desire to change all that with a new substructure? Conspicuous...

Jesse James describes his 1964 Dodge Polara, "It's a car that no ones ever done a Polara like this, they have only been done ONE way forever, which is like Old man style with American torque thrusts, and like kinda drag race style, not really to do one that is kinda pro-touring, lowered, a real driver...just perfect." It is cool he decided to build a '64 Dodge. Wonder what made him decide to pick this car to build?

Never knew that a super stock hemi or max wedge 1964 Dodge was old man style, but guess they are now since Jesse James said they are.....whatever dude. His car is impressive, very well built fabrication work by the Roadster Shop, but also unbelievable amount of money went into that build i'm sure. Way beyond what any normal working family guy could afford, as with most new over the top SEMA type cars like the Ring Brothers, Troy Trapienier, Foose, etc builds. If I was burning that much money, I think a paint job could be included and wanted, but Jesse James wants to beat on it and not scratch it, since it's a "machine", has to test the cars limits........sure ok. The patina paint trend is getting overdone, not unique anymore just like rat rods, getting boring and ridiculous. I can see building a car on a low dollar budget focusing on mechanicals only and not painting it, but this is not a cheap build. Hard to buy that this will be a real driver car as described. Might get 4 miles to the gallon...maybe with a 1500 HP twin turbo hemi. Is this the new expectation of a car build to completely gut the car, and only leave the outside shell? I just can't see the reason this is necessary unless your trying to race over 200 MPH at Bonneville or something.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT1R0x8u4xA

Here are a few old man style 1964 Dodge's. Glad no one cares about Jesse James' opinion on 1964 Dodge's.

That car required substantial resources ($$$$) to build. It wasn't just pick stuff out of the DSE catalog and put it together. Jesse James certainly has the money to do that. It's a cool car, really a work of art, but the rat rod/radical custom restomod mish-mosh really clashes for my tastes.

I'm not a big fan of the modern customized classics like Ring Brothers and others are doing. I prefer the classic lines and appearance. I would have at least done nice OE type paint and trim on that Polara. But ultimately, it's James' car and he car do whatever he wants with it and not care what anyone thinks.

Disagree. The normal family guy could build something like this IF he has a plan, sticks to the plan, is patient and doesn't have a hurry-up attitude that it needs to be completed ASAP. It might take several years, but it would be worth it IF that is his desire/dream. Its been done many many times by the normal family guy.

Its a cool build for sure, but I prefer the old SS look myself.

Ya, a regular family guy with a decent job can build a cool car, I've done it. You have a 1/2 million $$ plus laying around to build a car to this level? Can't build a car like this in your garage, unless you have one heck of a garage.

Normal family guy in the garage behind his house? Anyone notice the level of technology and tooling used to build that car?

Beautiful welds.. I only wish I could

Who doesn't have a laser scanner for their 3 car garage?!

Still bet I could beat him with my '63 at our local grudge night...

...and my car gets driven all over every week.

Why cant people just appreciate the level of detail and Craftsmanship that goes into a custom vehicle when its deserved?? Be appreciative that a MOPAR was chosen and had this level of effort put into it. We all complain about Chevy's getting all the attention well here's an exception. Whether its your preference or not appreciate the work especially when its done well...like this one.

It is a cool build. I'd like to visit that shop and see how they do some of the stuff they do. If I lived nearby I'd try to figure out how to do some work with those guys. They are doing some really impressive stuff with what appears to be fairly ordinary equipment.

his wife has the $$

No one is diminishing the abilities of the people that worked on the car but to me, it's overdone. These over-the-top builds just tend to have no soul.

Maybe I just like my cars to have a clear definition. If you really think about it, what would you realistically do with it? Maybe land speed racing or something?

On the other hand, I do agree that if people just stuck to the same old, same-old there wouldn't be anything to snicker at or talk about on the internet. Ed Roth never cared about what people said or thought but Jesse James can be tough to take seriously, makes him an easy target.

Love it or hate it you have to admit it is some pretty darned impressive work,,,wish I had .01% of that talent.

I agree that the engine is over the top. Not sure what the point of that engine is. If it was my car I would've gone with a NASCAR SB complete with dry sump and EFI. Then the car would be a cool cruiser/road racer.

The car will probably be up for auction within a few months so the next owner can pull the Hemi and sell it and then drop in something that is more in character with the rest of the build.

A sleeper? a daily driver? A normal person couldn't keep up with the fuel cost. I thought maybe after Jessie drove it and it didn't meet his expectations, he would drive it out into the desert and blow it away with a bazooka or drive over it with a military tank . You would have to had watched his Monster Garage TV show to understand his thoughts.

Everyone who has posted has stated the quality of the build, but they are also giving their opinion which I think is perfectly fine so I don't know where you are getting the complaining part from.

Even though I like a rusty look, (depending on the combo) what I think would flow better with the rest of this build would be,... body sanded down to bar metal to where it has the brushed metal look then clear coated.

Yeah, I know that's already been done before, but think it would look pretty good on a 64.

But also I remember Jesse saying he don't have to worry about scratches this way.

Granted the headers, roll bar aren't competition friendly. But I doubt it'll ever see the track. What I take from it is some of the fab ideas and the terrific craftsmanship. Most of us don't have the dollars or the time to do something this fancy. And yes, I'm an old school, nice paint, American's on my 64 drag car old guy.
Doug

I wonder if he still has a hot rod fab shop opened for business?
If so why farm it out
It needs painting

A Bucky Hess style paintjob would be perfect on this car. Swap the wheels while you are at it.

Awesome work, just awesome.

Very nice indeed. Very expensive stuff

Awesome build

Nice work for sure. But the 62 to 65 Mopars are old man cars ? Yea right as I will take one of our old man Mopars over any other car out there. Ron

Thank goodness I will never have those problems

Awesome
I like it
And you are right his wife has the jack

Well, Alexis deJoria is heir to the Paul Mitchell line of hair care products. She is also the first woman to break the 4 second mark in NHRA competition, so she has some street(strip)cred.

There are so many things about that car that are just over the top. All the sheet metal panels with pressed in stiffening ribs, creating a frame from scratch, that sort of thing. Who has a chassis jig at their house? Planishing hammer? You can see the effects of Hot Rod Magazine going crazy about "dimple die" cutouts. I have a feeling that that feature is going to be dead as orange Creamsicle paint in a couple of years. When the "rat rod" and "patina" craze fades in another 7 years, the car can have the outside straightened out and shot with some very smooth Hemi Orange paint.

Watching the video I got upset with the idiot narrator. "Restored" interior? Yeah, right!

The 1964 Dodge B-body is my absolute favorite of all. The single headlights give it a unique appearance. I wonder if that is because I got a Revell kit for Christmas about 1967, of that car. Trouble is, as the later B-bodies become more expensive, these cars aren't far behind.

I cannot believe that any one who frequents this board would rag on a twin turbo GII Hemi. Yeah, right your car could beat it until they got the chassis sorted out. Then all you'd see is taillights.

I saw Jesse James in a Walmart parking lot in Gillette, Wyoming, about a month before the exposure of his cheating on Sandra Bullock. He was pushing his own line of work clothes. Funny how they just melted out of the stores after his flameout. He's not a very big guy. He's more someone who would disappear in a crowd. I didn't wait around to shake his hand or get an autograph, the line was too long. He did have a very sweet late '50s Chevy short bed stepside pickup in the vehicle lineup.

I can't be a hater for someone who'd bankroll such a fine example of workmanship, even though I could never hope to approach most of the features of the car.

R.

PS: I cannot believe all the footage of the crew working the planishing hammer without hearing protection.

Anyone driving that much horsepower, on the street, with no head rests, with a home made fiberglass seat, with only a 4 way harness, on a ridiculously thin welded, lightened seat mounting bracket, is one rich DA idiot.

I'll say it again, it's awesome. I don't care if the engine is too powerful or it will use lots of gas or that it's not painted or that most of us could not afford it or that the average guy don't have that kind of tooling in there garage. Amazing skills.

You're kidding right? Without question, beautiful craftsmanship. Think he went a little astray on the goal - if he ever had one.

I'd be way more impressed if he had done the work himself. Anyone with more money than sense can afford to have professionals do mind blowing work, but I have much more respect for the guy who does the best he can with a limited budget and basic tools in his own garage. Cash can buy talent, but it can't make you talented.

While a lot of us would have done somethings differently it is still an incredible display of technology, talent and craftsmanship.

I am glad that they built it!

Bill

Only 1 man I knew who could lay dimes like that, RIP Dad. Beautiful craftsman ship absolutely flawless fab work. I cant tig that good, but Id sure give it a shot!

I like it, some details aren't to my liking, but I like the general aesthetic of the car. I like the over engineered aspect of the car, in a high end car, it's what really stands out to me. I've always liked the old aircraft Bomber style dimple die holes and blind rivets as well.

Nice paint doesn't make the car faster, so it's never been something that appeals to me. My own car won't be getting repainted. I would have fixed the rust in the rear quarter panels though.

I like it. Thanks for sharing. Pretty sure it's built to be street driven. Docile cam and small turbos. It'll pull like a freight train. Probably weighs close to a new Challenger or Camaro.

Yes Sir, I agree with you 100 percent.

richard rawling comment perhaps ?

That was my comment. Richard Rawling is an A$$hole! Photo was part of an underhanded internet marketing scheme that flooded forums with similar pics promoting Gas Monkey Garage the first time it was proposed. Didn't work then and the network put it on hold for 2 years before its first airing.

he,he,he. i meant your comment could apply to richard rawlings as well. "money can't make you talented".

I don't like the idea of forming, making and welding the frame up with flat stock
What say you guys more knowing about doing this?

Cab I agree w/the paint part. Looks half done. Never got into the patina crap or rat rod fad. All the engineering and fab work in the world wont overcome the ugly exterior.

With complete respect for all of the talent, skill, and money necessary to complete that build, for me it's hideous. I don't like turbos I don't like the interior styling, and I like paint.

To say he isn’t tallented or capable of doing this is making a false statement.
He is in the position to pay for a build like this precisely because of his skills. Unless you are a true “do it yourselfer” with actual experience in metal fab, maybe you just can’t recognize it. He is a rare breed of modern metal fabricator. He would be just as comfortable being a blacksmith as building a billet wheel.

Nice to see a positive post or two about this. I have been in the metal fabrication game for 35 years but I have never put out a job of this high standard. If I wanted a car at this level I would need to get help and pay for the work to be done, this should not be frowned on.

Yeah there is a few things I would have done different but would I knock it ? No way.

biggest concern doing it this way is to NOT grind the weld away radiusing the corners to make it appear super smooth. if the weld bead is not compromised by grinding it away, it will be as strong as if it was a one piece chunk. takes some practice to get right, however. hope this makes some sense.